Maternal plasma corticotropin-releasing hormone associated with stress at 20 weeks' gestation in pregnancies ending in preterm delivery.

Objective: This study tested the hypothesis that maternal stress is associated with elevated maternal levels of corticotropin releasing hormone and activation of the placental-adrenal axis before preterm birth.

Study Design: In a behavior in pregnancy study, 524 ethnically and socioeconomically diverse women were followed up prospectively and evaluated at 3 gestational ages: 18 to 20 weeks, 28 to 30 weeks, and 35 to 36 weeks. Maternal variables included demographic data, medical conditions, perceived stress level, and state anxiety.

Anabolic influences of insulin-like growth factor I and/or growth hormone on the diaphragm of young rats.

It is controversial whether insulin-like growth factor I (IGF-I), growth hormone (GH), or their combination might enhance body growth and/or tissue anabolism in the well-fed animal with an intact somatotrophic axis. To assess this further, we studied four groups of adolescent rats: 1) control (Ctr), 2) GH, 3) IGF-I, and 4) GH/IGF-I. IGF-I was given via an osmotic minipump, whereas GH was injected subcutaneously for a period of 72 h.

Functional role and structure of the scalene: an accessory inspiratory muscle in hamster.

Although the scalene muscle (Sca) is a primary inspiratory muscle in humans, its respiratory function in other species is less clear. The electromyographic (EMG) activity of the Sca was studied during resting ventilation (eupnea) in both the awake and anesthetized hamster and after a variety of respiratory challenges in the anesthetized animal. The EMG activities of the medial Sca and the costal diaphragm were compared.

Developmental and hormonal regulation of rat theca-cell differentiation factor secretion in ovarian follicles.

We have recently presented data demonstrating that preantral follicles secrete a peptide (or family of peptides) that stimulates ovarian theca-interstitial cell (TIC) androgen production by an LH-independent mechanism. The purpose of the study reported here was to study the gonadotropin and developmental regulation of this thecal differentiating factor(s) (TDF) and to determine whether follicle-conditioned medium (FCM) containing TDF bioactivity could stimulate LH receptor and steroidogenic enzyme mRNA expression in TIC. Preantral follicles devoid of theca were obtained by limited enzymatic dispersal of 26-day-old rat ovaries.

High levels of AP-2-binding activity in cell lines infected with human T-cell leukemia virus type I: possible enhancement of AP-2 binding by human T-cell leukemia virus type I tax.

Human T-cell leukemia virus type I (HTLV-I) is the etiological agent for adult T-cell leukemia and tropical spastic paraparesis/HTLV-I-associated myelopathy. Recently, the transcription factor AP-2 has been demonstrated to be capable of activating gene expression from HTLV-I long terminal repeat. To determine whether changes occur in the levels of AP-2-binding activity in HTLV-I-infected cell lines, we compared the levels of AP-2 binding of nuclear extracts obtained from HTLV-I-infected T-cell lines with those of nuclear extracts obtained from uninfected T-cell lines.

Molecular analysis of a family of cyclin-dependent kinase inhibitor genes (p15/MTS2/INK4b and p18/INK4c) in non-small cell lung cancers.

Cyclin and cyclin-dependent kinase (CDK) complexes play important roles in modulating the cell cycle. The CDK inhibitors (CDKIs) inhibit the kinase activities of these complexes and block the cell cycle. The p16/multiple tumor suppressor (MTS) 1/inhibitor of CDK4 (INK4) a/CDKN2 gene, a CDKI, is frequently deleted in a variety of human cancers.

Frequent loss of heterozygosity at the retinoblastoma susceptibility gene (RB) locus in aggressive pituitary tumors: evidence for a chromosome 13 tumor suppressor gene other than RB.

Mice bearing retinoblastoma susceptibility gene (RB) germ-line mutations almost invariably develop pituitary neoplasms. We therefore tested 17 patients with pituitary tumors for loss of heterozygosity (LOH) using an RB sequence polymorphism and 5 polymorphic microsatellite markers surrounding the RB gene on the long arm of chromosome 13. In all of the 13 malignant or highly invasive pituitary tumor cases, and in 4 of their respective metastases, a RB allele was lost.

Involvement of cell cycle and mitogen-activated pathways in induction of parathyroid hormone-related protein gene expression in rat aortic smooth muscle cells.

PTH-related protein (PTHrP) is induced in aortic vascular smooth muscle cells (VSMC) in association with mitogen-stimulated proliferation. In this study we examined the role of the cell cycle in the control of PTHrP gene expression. In asynchronously cycling cells grown in serum-containing medium, PTHrP-immunoreactive cells were enriched in G2+M, as revealed by fluorescence-activated cell sorting using a specific monoclonal antibody.

Interactive effects of emphysema and malnutrition on diaphragm structure and function.

Interactive effects of emphysema (EMP) and prolonged nutritional deprivation (ND) on contractile, morphometric, and metabolic properties of hamster diaphragm muscle (DIA) were examined. Six months after induction of EMP (intratracheal elastase), saline-treated controls (CTL) and EMP hamsters of similar body weights were subjected to ND over 6 wk. Isometric contractile and fatigue properties of costal DIA were determined in vitro.

The beta-core fragment of chorionic gonadotropin is not complexed to macromolecules in amniotic fluid.

A prior report claimed that amniotic fluid contains substantial quantities of beta-core fragment, a major degradation product of CG metabolism, complexed to macromolecules. In an attempt to confirm this finding, we measured beta-core fragment concentrations in 36 second- and 22 third-trimester amniotic fluid samples in a direct beta-core fragment RIA as well as a total CG RIA and found that all of the apparent immunoreactivity could be accounted for by the cross-reaction of CG and CG beta in the beta-core fragment RIA. Chromatography of concentrated pools of amniotic fluid or pregnancy serum failed to reveal a peak of CG immunoreactivity in the beta-core fragment elution area.

Preliminary results with Sandostatin nasal powder in acromegalic patients.

This report details the first half of a double-blind, crossover sequence (Latin square) study of local and hormonal effects of nasally insufflated Sandostatin compared with those of subcutaneously injected Sandostatin. Nine of the planned 16 patients have been studied. They received a single application of 0.

The California Maternal Serum alpha-Fetoprotein Screening Program: the role of ultrasonography in the detection of spina bifida.

Between January 1988 and June 1990, 161 cases of open spina bifida were identified by the California Maternal Serum alpha-Fetoprotein Screening Program. Eight percent of these cases were not diagnosed by an initial ultrasonographic evaluation. Three defects were not recognized until birth.

Falloposcopy: a microendoscopic technique for visual exploration of the human fallopian tube from the uterotubal ostium to the fimbria using a transvaginal approach.

A transvaginal microendoscopic technique has been developed for safely exploring the human fallopian tube from the utero tubal ostium to the fimbria and adjacent peritoneal cavity. Falloposcopy was performed without complication or evidence of endotubal damage in 44 women, 38 of whom also underwent a concurrent laparoscopy. Eight women with normal tubes served as controls and 36 women with tubal damage underwent falloposcopy in an attempt to document endotubal defects.

Falloposcopy. A microendoscopic transvaginal technique for diagnosing and treating endotubal disease incorporating guide wire cannulation and direct balloon tuboplasty.

Direct visualization of the entire length of the fallopian tube lumen, from the uterotubal ostium to the fimbria, using a transvaginal approach, has been achieved. Small, flexible hysteroscopes with outside diameters (ODs) ranging from 3.3 to 4.

Intravenous/oral ciprofloxacin therapy versus intravenous ceftazidime therapy for selected bacterial infections.

The efficacy and toxicity of sequential intravenous and oral ciprofloxacin therapy was compared with intravenously administered ceftazidime in a prospective, randomized, controlled, non-blinded trial. Thirty-two patients (16 patients receiving ciprofloxacin and 16 patients receiving ceftazidime) with 38 infections caused by susceptible Pseudomonas aeruginosa, enteric gram-negative rods, Salmonella group B, Serratia marcescens, Pseudomonas cepacia, and Xanthomonas maltophilia at various sites were evaluable for determination of efficacy. Length of therapy varied from seven to 25 days.

Pituitary insulin-like growth factor-I gene expression: regulation by triiodothyronine and growth hormone.

Most of the growth-promoting effects of GH are mediated through insulin-like growth factor-I (IGF-I). Pituitary GH gene expression is, in turn, inhibited by IGF-I. Since rat pituitary tissue and GH3 pituitary tumor cells express both the GH and the IGF-I genes, we have attempted to clarify their potential interactions in the somatotroph by examining hormonal factors involved in the regulation of pituitary IGF-I gene expression.

Regulation of pituitary insulin-like growth factor-I messenger ribonucleic acid levels in rats harboring somatomammotropic tumors: implications for growth hormone autoregulation.

Insulin-like growth factor-I (IGF-I) is produced in multiple tissues and is believed to exert its action in a paracrine or autocrine fashion. We have investigated the GH dependency of tissue IGF-I gene expression in rats harboring implanted somatomammotropic tumors. Circulating GH and radioimmunoassayable IGF-I levels were markedly elevated in these animals.