Accumulation of the mitochondrial form of the sulphydryl oxidase Erv1p/Alrp during the early stages of spermatogenesis.

In this study, we investigated the expression of the mammalian FAD-dependent sulphydryl oxidase Erv1p/Alrp in the rat and mouse and during mouse spermatogenesis. Up to three forms of Alrp were identified in protein extracts from different tissues and organs, but very little enzyme was present in blood samples. The three forms of Alrp represent the full-length protein of 23 kDa and fragments of 21 kDa and 15 kDa.

Evidence that PACAP and GnRH down-regulate follicle-stimulating hormone-beta mRNA levels by stimulating follistatin gene expression: effects on folliculostellate cells, gonadotrophs and LbetaT2 gonadotroph cells.

Pituitary adenylate cyclase-activating polypeptide (PACAP) stimulates alpha-subunit transcription and lengthens LH-beta mRNA transcripts, but reduces FSH-beta mRNA levels in rat pituitary cell cultures. PACAP also stimulates follistatin transcription, an effect which may explain the decrease in FSH-beta mRNA. To begin to investigate the cells in which PACAP activates the follistatin gene, quantitative in situ hybridization for follistatin mRNA combined with immunostaining for LHbeta and S100 protein was performed.

Paracrine regulation of FSH by follistatin in folliculostellate cell-enriched primate pituitary cell cultures.

Primary pituitary cell cultures are an important tool for understanding pituitary hormone gene expression. In the course of study of pituitary cell cultures from nonhuman adult male primates, pituitary secretory cells were noted to be rapidly overgrown by epithelioid cells with the morphological, immunocytochemical, and proliferative characteristics of folliculostellate cells. Using competitive RT-PCR assays, follistatin mRNA levels were found to increase 4-fold as folliculostellate cells proliferated with time in culture, whereas FSH-beta mRNA and FSH secretion were suppressed.

Aberrant promoter methylation in bronchial epithelium and sputum from current and former smokers.

Recent studies from our laboratory suggest that gene-specific methylation changes in sputum could be good intermediate markers for the early detection of lung cancer and defining the efficacy of chemopreventive interventions. The purpose of our study was to determine the prevalence for aberrant promoter methylation of the p16, O(6)-methylguanine-DNA methyltransferase (MGMT), death-associated protein (DAP) kinase, and Ras effector homologue (RASSFIA) genes in nonmalignant bronchial epithelial cells from current and former smokers in a hospital-based, case control study of lung cancer. The relationship between loss of heterozygosity, at 9p and p16 methylation in bronchial epithelium and the prevalence for methylation of these four genes in sputum from cancer-free, current and former smokers were also determined.

Testosterone, sex hormone-binding globulin, and body composition in young adult African American and Caucasian men.

This study examined the diurnal variation in circulating total and free testosterone and sex hormone-binding globulin (SHBG) levels in young adult African American and Caucasian men in order to investigate whether there are differences in the secretion of these plasma hormones in populations at different risks of developing prostate cancer as they age. A significant and similar diurnal rhythm for total and free testosterone was found for both groups. Serum levels of total testosterone were 29.

Technical challenges of hepatic venous outflow reconstruction in right lobe adult living donor liver transplantation.

A right lobe graft that is drained by the right hepatic vein (RHV) is obtained by transecting the liver on the right side of the middle hepatic vein (MHV). On occasion, a small RHV that only drains a portion of the right lobe, with the predominant outflow achieved by the MHV, is encountered. If such variation is not recognized while performing right lobe liver transplantation and the RHV only is used for reconstruction, venous outflow obstruction with subsequent graft congestion and eventual graft failure will occur.

Pituitary follistatin and activin gene expression, and the testicular regulation of FSH in the adult Rhesus monkey (Macaca mulatta).

In rats, FSHbeta gene expression and FSH secretion are increased and decreased, respectively, by pituitary activin and follistatin. Because little information is available on the paracrine control of FSH secretion in the primate, follistatin and activin/inhibin beta(B) messenger RNA (mRNA) levels were measured in pituitaries of adult male rhesus monkeys 6 weeks after castration or sham surgery (n = 5/group). Follistatin mRNA was determined by quantitative RT-PCR assay using oligonucleotide primers designed to span exons 3-5 of the human follistatin gene.

Follistatin production by skin fibroblasts and its regulation by dexamethasone.

Activin and follistatin (FS) appear to play a role in the development of the skin and its appendages, in the inflammatory process, angiogenesis, and in wound healing. Although there is information on the expression of activin subunits and receptors in fibroblasts and keratinocytes, there are no reports on the regulation of FS expression in these cells. In the present study we analyzed the splicing variants of FS mRNAs in fibroblasts from genital and nongenital skin by RT-PCR and northern analysis, and examined the induction of FS mRNA and protein by hormones and growth factors in skin fibroblasts from human and nonhuman primates.

Characterization of 3-[(123)I]iodo-L-alpha-methyl tyrosine transport in astrocytes of neonatal rats.

3-[(123)I]Iodo-L-alpha-methyl tyrosine ((123)I-IMT) is used for diagnosis and monitoring of brain tumours by means of single-photon emission tomography. As recently shown, (123)I-IMT is predominantly mediated into rat C6 glioma cells by sodium-independent system L for large neutral amino acids. Until now, (123)I-IMT transport in non-neoplastic glial cells has not been examined.

Integrin expression is upregulated during early healing in a canine intrasynovial flexor tendon repair and controlled passive motion model.

To explore crucial early molecular events involved in contact healing of the intrasynovial flexor tendon, integrin expression was evaluated at the transcriptional and post-transcriptional levels during the first two weeks following injury, repair and controlled passive motion in a canine model. Specifically, immunohistochemical and reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) techniques were employed to evaluate expression of the fibronectin, vitronectin and endothelial cell binding integrin receptor subunits alpha5, alphav and alpha6, along with the common beta1 subunit. The two techniques revealed increasing expression of the four subunits over the two week post-repair period.

Treatment of late-onset tibia vara using afghan percutaneous osteotomy and orthofix external fixation.

The Afghan osteotomy was combined with external fixation on 19 patients (23 extremities) with late-onset tibia vara. The average weight was 258 lb and all patients weighed >95th percentile. The average preoperative deformity was 28.

Electromagnetic fields (1.8 GHz) increase the permeability to sucrose of the blood-brain barrier in vitro.

We report an investigation on the influence of high frequency electromagnetic fields (EMF) on the permeability of an in vitro model of the blood-brain barrier (BBB). Our model was a co-culture consisting of rat astrocytes and porcine brain capillary endothelial cells (BCEC). Samples were characterized morphologically by scanning electron microscopy and immunocytochemistry.

Vascular disease risk markers in diabetes: monitoring & intervention.

Identifying and treating risk markers for vascular disease in diabetes is significant in preventing long-term disabilities and containing health care costs. Current research recommends maintaining normal blood glucose levels in all diabetes patients. Blood glucose that is elevated for several years is a major factor in the development and progression of microvascular diabetes complications.

Serum testosterone levels decrease in middle age in women with the polycystic ovary syndrome.

Objective: To determine whether testosterone levels change as women with the polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS) grow older.

Design: A follow-up cross-sectional study of a cohort of women with PCOS identified up to 20-25 years ago.

Setting: Women with PCOS were recruited primarily from practice records between 1970 and 1990.

Partial characterization of circulating inhibin-B and pro-alphaC during development in the male rhesus monkey.

Gel filtration chromatography and ELISAs for inhibin-B and pro-alphaC were used to examine the circulating forms of inhibin in the neonatal (age 2-6 weeks), juvenile (age 1-2 yr), and adult male rhesus monkey. In all samples, isoforms of inhibin-B of 26-36K and 150K were found. Both forms were significantly greater in the adult.

Visceral obesity and insulin resistance are associated with plasma aldosterone levels in women.

Objective: Both obesity and insulin resistance increase the risk of hypertension and other cardiovascular diseases, but the mechanisms linking these abnormalities are unknown. The current study was undertaken to examine the effects of obesity, fat distribution, and insulin resistance on plasma levels of aldosterone and other adrenal steroids that might contribute to sequelae of obesity.

Research Methods And Procedures: Twenty-eight normotensive premenopausal women and 27 normotensive men with a wide range of body fat underwent measurements of visceral adipose tissue by CT scan, total fat mass by dual energy X-ray absorptiometry, blood pressure, insulin sensitivity, and plasma levels of three adrenal steroid hormones.

Regulation of lutenizing hormone secretion and subunit messenger ribonucleic acid expression by gonadal steroids in perifused pituitary cells from male monkeys and rats.

The mechanisms by which gonadal steroids regulate gonadotropin secretion remain incompletely understood. As previous studies suggest that the pituitary actions of testosterone (T) and estradiol (E) differ in male primates and rodents, we compared the effects of 10 nM T, 0.1 nM E, and 10 nM dihydrotestosterone (DHT) on the LH response to hourly pulses of GnRH as well as the GnRH receptor (GnRH-R) and LH subunit messenger RNA (mRNA) levels in dispersed pituitary cells from intact male monkeys and rats.

The effect of gap formation at the repair site on the strength and excursion of intrasynovial flexor tendons. An experimental study on the early stages of tendon-healing in dogs.

Background: Elongation (gap formation) at the repair site has been associated with the formation of adhesions and a poor functional outcome after repair of flexor tendons. Our objectives were to evaluate the prevalence of gap formation in a clinically relevant canine model and to assess the effect of gap size on the range of motion of the digits and the mechanical properties of the tendons.

Methods: We performed operative repairs after sharp transection of sixty-four flexor tendons in thirty-two adult dogs.

Current status of testosterone replacement therapy in men.

Testosterone plays an essential role in the development of the normal male and in the maintenance of many male characteristics, including muscle mass and strength, bone mass, libido, potency, and spermatogenesis. Androgen deficiency occurs with disorders that damage the testes, including traumatic or surgical castration (primary testicular failure) or disorders in which the gonadotropin stimulation of the testes is reduced (hypogonadotropic hypogonadism). The clinical manifestations of androgen deficiency depend on the age at onset and the severity and duration of the deficiency.