Normal Pregnancy-Induced Islet Beta Cell Proliferation in Mouse Models That Are Deficient in Serotonin-Signaling.

During mouse pregnancy placental lactogens stimulate prolactin receptors on pancreatic islet beta cells to induce expression of the tryptophan hydroxylase , resulting in the synthesis and secretion of serotonin. Presently, the functional relevance of this phenomenon is unclear. One hypothesis is that serotonin-induced activation of 5-HT receptors on beta cells stimulates beta cell proliferation during pregnancy.

Pancreas and gallbladder agenesis in a newborn with semilobar holoprosencephaly, a case report.

Background: Pancreatic agenesis is an extremely rare cause of neonatal diabetes mellitus and has enabled the discovery of several key transcription factors essential for normal pancreas and beta cell development.

Case Presentation: We report a case of a Caucasian female with complete pancreatic agenesis occurring together with semilobar holoprosencephaly (HPE), a more common brain developmental disorder. Clinical findings were later confirmed by autopsy, which also identified agenesis of the gallbladder.

Predictors of progression to Type 1 diabetes: preparing for immune interventions in the preclinical disease phase.

Type 1 diabetes is an incurable disease associated with risk of serious acute and chronic complications. It is caused by a marked loss in insulin-producing beta cells. Immune intervention at clinical onset can transiently suppress a further decline in residual functional beta cell mass, particularly in young patients with a higher residual insulin producing capacity at start of treatment.

Poultry litter-induced endocrine disruption in fathead minnow, sheepshead minnow, and mummichog laboratory exposures.

Animal feeding operations in the United States produce more than 500 million tons of manure annually. Disposal of poultry waste via application as fertilizer results in substantial runoff of poultry litter-associated contaminants (PLAC). Of particular concern are sex steroids, 17β-estradiol, estrone and testosterone, responsible for sex differentiation and development of reproductive structures.

Primary leptomeningeal anaplastic oligodendroglioma with a 1p36-19q13 deletion: report of a unique case successfully treated with Temozolomide.

Primary leptomeningeal oligodendroglioma occurs very rarely and in only one patient a deletion of chromosome 1p has been reported. We describe a 60-year-old man with a prior history of an epileptic seizure three years earlier, who was referred because of depression and a rapid evolving cognitive impairment. Brain MRI showed a diffuse right parieto-occipital subarachnoid enhancing lesion without intra-axial extension.

Dietary cadmium and benzo(a)pyrene increased intestinal metallothionein expression in the fish Fundulus heteroclitus.

Fish were individually fed food pellets containing cadmium, benzo(a)pyrene, or a combination of the two, then analyzed for metallothionein mRNA expression in the intestine, liver, and gill using real-time RT-qPCR. An initial experiment using only cadmium showed that ingestion of pellets varied in individual fish, and estimates of cadmium dose from the numbers of ingested pellets indicated considerable individual variability in cadmium dose. Induction of intestinal metallothionein mRNA was apparent, however, and a linear dose-response relationship was observed for metallothionein expression and cadmium dose in the intestine, but not the other organs, which showed no induction.

MGMT promoter hypermethylation correlates with a survival benefit from temozolomide in patients with recurrent anaplastic astrocytoma but not glioblastoma.

Aims: To investigate the correlation between O(6)-methylguanine-DNA-methyltransferase (MGMT) promoter methylation and benefit from temozolomide in patients with recurrent high-grade glioma.

Patients And Methods: A real-time, quantitative, methylation-specific PCR assay was performed on archival tissue blocks from patients treated with temozolomide at the first recurrence.

Results: A subgroup of 38 patients who were chemotherapy-naive at recurrence was analysed (22 glioblastoma, 12 anaplastic astrocytoma [AA] and 4 anaplastic oligoastrocytoma [AOA]); none had 1p/19q loss.

Apolipoprotein A-I from striped bass (Morone saxatilis) demonstrates antibacterial activity in vitro.

HDL and apolipoprotein A-I from teleostean fishes demonstrate in vitro activity against gram-positive and gram-negative bacteria. In this study, we purified ApoA-1 from striped bass (Morone saxatilis) plasma and examined its in vitro antibacterial activity against Streptococcus sp., Escherichia coli, and Mycobacterium marinum.

Bioindicators of immune function in creosote-adapted estuarine killifish, Fundulus heteroclitus.

Several populations of the estuarine killifish, Fundulus heteroclitus, also known as the mummichog, exhibit characteristics of adaptation to priority pollutants. One such population of mummichog inhabits the Elizabeth River in Virginia at the Atlantic Wood site (AW), a U.S.

Induction of CYP1A and DNA damage in the fathead minnow (Pimephales promelas) following exposure to biosolids.

Biosolids (treated sewage sludge) are increasingly disposed of on land. Thus particle-sorbed and dissolved constituents have the potential to enter nearby watersheds. Although organic contaminants are known to be present in biosolids these are not currently regulated and little data exist on their potential toxicity to aquatic organisms.

Xenotransplantation of purified pre-natal porcine beta cells in mice normalizes diabetes when a short anti-CD4-CD8 antibody treatment is combined with transient insulin injections.

Background: Pre-natal porcine endocrine islet cell grafts were recently shown to contain immature beta cells with a marked potential for growth and differentiation following transplantation, and hence for a progressive and long-term correction of diabetes in immune-incompetent mice. The present study investigates whether these grafts are also capable of correcting hyperglycemia in immune-competent mice receiving a short treatment with anti-CD4-CD8 antibodies.

Methods: Pure endocrine islet cell grafts with 0.

A universal assay for vitellogenin in fish mucus and plasma.

Expression of vitellogenin (VTG) in male fish has become a widely used biomarker of exposure to environmental estrogens. Vitellogenin is usually measured in blood by immunoassays that require species-specific antibodies. In this paper, we describe a universal assay that is based on the high-molecular weight and extensive phosphoserine content of all VTGs.

The role of chemotherapy in the treatment of low-grade glioma. A review of the literature.

Low-grade gliomas (LGG) are a group of uncommon neuroglial tumors of the central nervous system. They are characterized by a grade I or II according to the WHO classification. Grade I tumors are non-invasive and amenable to surgical resection with curative intent.

In vitro response of the striped bass natural resistance-associated macrophage protein, Nramp, to LPS and Mycobacterium marinum exposure.

Mycobacteriosis in Chesapeake Bay (USA) striped bass Morone saxatilis is an ongoing disease problem with important economic implications for a large commercial and recreational fishery. Additionally, striped bass serve as a reservoir of potential mycobacterial zoonoses. Recently, we described a striped bass gene homolog of the natural resistance-associated macrophage protein family (MsNramp), which is responsible for resistance to mycobacterial infections in mice.

Mycobacterium-inducible Nramp in striped bass (Morone saxatilis).

In mammals, the natural resistance-associated macrophage protein 1 gene, Nramp1, plays a major role in resistance to mycobacterial infections. Chesapeake Bay striped bass (Morone saxatilis) is currently experiencing an epizootic of mycobacteriosis that threatens the health of this ecologically and economically important species. In the present study, we characterized an Nramp gene in this species and obtained evidence that there is induction following Mycobacterium exposure.

Detection of Salmonella in fresh cheese, poultry products, and dried egg products by the ISO 6579 Salmonella culture procedure and the AOAC official method: collaborative study.

Three food types were analyzed for the presence of Salmonella by the AOAC culture method and by the International Organization for Standardization (ISO 6579:2002) culture method. Paired test portions of each food type were simultaneously analyzed by both methods. A total of 21 laboratories representing federal government agencies and private industry, in the United States and Europe, participated in this interlaboratory study.

Poly-L-Lysine Induces Fibrosis on Alginate Microcapsules via the Induction of Cytokines.

Alginate - poly-l-lysine (PLL) microcapsules can be used for transplantation of insulin-producing cells for treatment of type I diabetes. In this work we wanted to study the inflammatory reactions against implanted microcapsules due to PLL. We have seen that by reducing the PLL layer, less overgrowth of the capsule is obtained.

Two cases of Robertsonian translocations in oligozoospermic males and their consequences for pregnancies induced by intracytoplasmic sperm injection.

Two case histories are presented documenting structural chromosome abnormalities in infertile males. The abnormalities were detected only after application of intracytoplasmic sperm injection (ICSI) was repeatedly unsuccessful or resulted in an abnormal pregnancy. A mosaic Robertsonian translocation 45,XY,der(13;13)(q10; q10)/46,XY,t(13;13)(p10;p10), der(13p;13p) incompatible with normal offspring was found in a male with extreme oligozoospermia after three subsequent ICSI treatments were unsuccessful and one had resulted in a spontaneous abortion.

Route-specific cellular expression of cytochrome P4501A (CYP1A) in fish (Fundulus heteroclitus) following exposure to aqueous and dietary benzo[a]pyrene.

Mummichog (Fundulus heteroclitus), an estuarine, teleost fish, were exposed for 456 hr to environmentally relevant concentrations of aqueous (10 micrograms/liter) and dietary (10 micrograms/g) benzo[a]pyrene (BP) in static renewal aquaria. Cellular expression of BP-inducible cytochrome P4501A (CYP1A) was evaluated several times during exposure by immunohistochemistry in longitudinal histologic sections of whole fish. CYP1A-associated staining intensities in tissues were scored by a subjective rating system similar to that used previously for qualitative information.

Proteoglycans from the vertebral cartilage of the clearnose skate, Raja eglanteria: Inhibition of hydroxyapatite formation.

Studies were undertaken to examine the importance of organic proteoglycan matrices in the calcification of elasmobranch vertebral cartilage. Proteoglycans were extracted from the vertebral cartilage of the clearnose skate, Raja eglanteria Bosc, with a 3M guanidine hydrochloride/10% EDTA solution. Proteoglycan solutions (12 μg ml(-1)) were effective inhibitors of hydroxyapatite formation in vitro from high concentration calcium phosphate solutions.

Cytochrome P450IA1 in hepatic lesions of a teleost fish (Fundulus heteroclitus) collected from a polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon-contaminated site.

The expression of cytochrome P450IA1 was examined in hepatic lesions of mummichog (Fundulus heteroclitus), a small, non-migratory teleost fish collected from a site in the Elizabeth River, VA, heavily contaminated with polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAH) of creosote origin. Immunoblot ('Western' blot) analysis using monoclonal antibody (MAb 1-12-3) to P450IA1 of the marine fish Stenotomus chrysops indicated that cytochrome P450IA1 levels in hepatocellular carcinoma and in foci of cellular alteration were 28-85% lower than those of adjacent non-neoplastic tissue. P450IA1-dependent monooxygenase activity, measured as ethoxyresorufin O-deethylase (EROD), exhibited a similar trend with EROD activity in lesions being 15-77% lower than activity in non-neoplastic tissue.

Glutathione S-transferase in intestine, liver and hepatic lesions of mummichog (Fundulus heteroclitus) from a creosote-contaminated environment.

Cytosolic glutathione S-transferase (GSH transferase) activity towards 1-chloro-2,4-dinitrobenzene (CDNB) was elevated approximately three to four-fold in intestine and liver of mummichog (Fundulus heteroclitus) collected from a creosote-contaminated site in the Elizabeth River, Virginia. Intestinal GSH transferase activity at the most heavily contaminated site, at a moderately contaminated site and at a relatively clean site averaged 3.64, 2.

Hepatic neoplasms in the mummichog Fundulus heteroclitus from a creosote-contaminated site.

High prevalences of idiopathic hepatic lesions were found in mummichog, Fundulus heteroclitus, from a site in the southern branch of the Elizabeth River, VA, contaminated with polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons. Grossly visible hepatic lesions occurred in a total of 93% of the individuals from this site and 33% of these fish had hepatocellular carcinomas. Hepatic lesions were not detected in fish from two less contaminated sites.

Induction of monooxygenase activity in the intestine of spot (Leiostomus xanthurus), a marine teleost, by dietary polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons.

The response of intestinal monooxygenases to dietary polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon (PAH) exposure was evaluated in spot (Leiostomus xanthurus), a marine teleost fish. Ethoxyresorufin O-deethylase (EROD) and aryl hydrocarbon hydroxylase (AHH) activities were highest in the pyloric caeca and in the proximal half of the intestine. Intestinal microsomes from fish given control diets had very low levels of EROD and AHH activities relative to those in liver.