ISSN:0304-324X    

DOI:10.1159/000213654

出版商:S. Karger AG    

年代:1995

数据来源: Karger

ISSN:0304-324X    

DOI:10.1159/000213655

出版商:S. Karger AG    

年代:1995

数据来源: Karger

摘要:

Influenza remains a serious cause of illness and death among certain populations. Influenza vaccines in use at present are of limited effectiveness due to the high variability of the virus, and trials all over the world are in progress to enhance their immunogenicity. Conflicting results, in fact, have been reported about the immune response to influenza vaccination in diverse populations. In this paper we analyzed the antibody response to the hemagglutinin (HA) of the H3N2 A/Shangai 16/89 strain, which was included into the trivalent 1991–92 influenza vaccine, in four groups of subjects: 8 healthy young, 13 human immunodeficiency virus (HIV)-infected and 37 elderly healthy people, 9 of whom were treated with thymopentin (TP-5). Our results show levels of anti-HA IgG before vaccination in HIV-infected and elderly people significantly lower than those of normal young subjects. After vaccination, HIV-infected and elderly healthy people showed a significant increase of specific antibodies, whereas a failure in the specific response in normal young subjects was observed, thus differences among the groups were no longer present. Moreover, the spectrotypic analysis of antibody response, by isoelectric focusing and reverse blotting, showed oligoclonal but polymorphic pattern in the majority of subjects, irrespective of the group, and more frequently lack of expansion of the spectrotype after vaccination, thus demonstrating the lack of the recruitment of antigen-specific B cells. Finally, the treatment with TP-5 did not influence the outcome of the vaccination in the group of elderly people. These results further emphasize the limited immunogenicity of influenza vaccination and the inefficacy of TP-5 as immunoadjuvant, in this model of vaccinatio

ISSN:0304-324X    

DOI:10.1159/000213656

出版商:S. Karger AG    

年代:1995

数据来源: Karger

摘要:

We isolated cDNA clones from Xenopus larvae, which encode a protein highly homologous to the mammalian β-amyloid precursor protein (APP), and analyzed developmental change of XenopuIs APP gene expression. The maternal APP mRNA is accumulated from early oogenesis, but after fertilization, this mRNA is degraded reaching a minimum level around the gastrula stage. Zygotic transcription appears to start after the gastrula stage and to continue during subsequent embryonic and larval stages. These results suggest some fundamental roles of the APP molecule in Xenopus early development

ISSN:0304-324X    

DOI:10.1159/000213714

出版商:S. Karger AG    

年代:1995

数据来源: Karger

摘要:

We measured regional cerebral blood flow (rCBF) in young and old Wistar-Kyoto (WKY) and spontaneously hypertensive (SHR) rats by a minimally invasive microsphere technique. Blood flows to the cerebrum, diencephalon, mesencephalon, cerebellum and pons-medulla during normocapnia were determined. To test the ability of the vessels to dilate, rCBF was also measured during hypercapnia. Reactivity to CO2 was calculated as ΔrCBF/ΔpaCO2. In the old SHR, blood flow to the pons-medulla (88 ± 8 ml/min/100 g, mean ± SEM) was markedly lower than that in the young SHR (107 ± 4 ml/min/100 g, p < 0.05), whereas the difference of those values in the old and young WKY rats was slight (0.05 < p < 0.1). There were no differences in the values of blood flow to the cerebrum, diencephalon, mesencephalon or cerebellum between the young and old rats in both species. Cerebrovascular CO2 reactivity was markedly impaired in the old SHR (p < 0.05) compared to that in the young SHR, but the difference in reactivity in the WKY rats was not significant. The results indicate that blood flow to the pons-medulla is reduced in association with age, particularly in the hypertensive animals, and that the ability of the cerebral vessels to dilate is impaired homogeneously by the combination of chronic hypertension and a

ISSN:0304-324X    

DOI:10.1159/000213657

出版商:S. Karger AG    

年代:1995

数据来源: Karger

摘要:

Phsophoinositide-specific phospholipase C (PLC) is a key enzyme in signal transduction. We demonstrated that an antibody to an isozyme of PLC, PLC-δ1, produced intense staining of neurofibrillary tangles (NFT) in the brains of patients with Alzheimer’s disease (AD). Western blot analysis using a specific antibody for PLC-δ1 showed that the concentration of PLC-δ1 protein was significantly higher in the cytosolic fraction of AD cortical tissues than in controls. The activity of PLC-δ1, which hydrolyzes phosphatidylinositol, was not significantly different in the Alzheimer and control cytosolic fraction, indicating that the specific activity of PLC-δ1 is decreased in Alzheimer brains. Western blot analysis also showed that the concentration of PLC-δ1 and PLC-γ1 was significantly lower in the membranous fraction of AD cortical tissues than in controls. These results suggest a differential involvement of PLC isozym

ISSN:0304-324X    

DOI:10.1159/000213716

出版商:S. Karger AG    

年代:1995

数据来源: Karger

摘要:

Morphometric measurements have been carried out on the human myenteric esophageal neurons at the ages of 20–40 and more than 70 years. The number of neurons decreases after 70 years of age, which is accompanied by an increase in the sizes of the neurons. In percentage terms the decrease in the number of neurons in the aged varied from 22 to 62% along the esophagus being most pronounced in its superior third at the junction with the pharynx.

ISSN:0304-324X    

DOI:10.1159/000213658

出版商:S. Karger AG    

年代:1995

数据来源: Karger

摘要:

Osteoporosis seen in aged individuals is represented by the reduced bone mass most likely resulting from decreased bone formation by osteoblasts. To examine whether aging causes a decrease in osteoblast activity, calvarial osteoblasts were isolated from aged rats (AOB) and studied for the capacity of the cells to form mineralized bone-like nodules in comparison with that of fetal calvarial osteoblasts (FOB). There were no significant differences in basal mineralized bone-like nodule formation determined by quantifying the size of the nodules which were formed in the cultures of AOB and FOB. However, the responsiveness of AOB to growth factors was profoundly reduced. AOB showed only marginal increase in mineralized bone-like nodule formation and growth in response to basic fibroblast growth factor (bFGF). On the other hand, bFGF markedly promoted mineralized bone-like nodule formation and proliferation in FOB. These results suggest that decreased responsiveness to local osteotropic growth factors such as bFGF might account for the reduced bone formation by aged osteoblasts, which in turn leads to the loss of bone mass characteristic for senile osteoporosis.

ISSN:0304-324X    

DOI:10.1159/000213717

出版商:S. Karger AG    

年代:1995

数据来源: Karger

摘要:

The measurements obtained on 103 male and female subjects, 60–103 years of age, who were participants in a community nutrition program, included weight, height, knee height, body mass index, triceps skinfold, midarm circumference, midarm muscle area, total body fat, total body water, and lean body mass. Over the 43-year range of this cross-sectional study, 78% of body weight loss in men and 51 % in women was attributable to lean tissue, while fat tissue accounted for 22% of weight loss in men and 53% in women. Analysis of variance of the measured values over the age interval showed trends that were not statistically significant among males, but females showed significant decreases in weight, body mass index, triceps skinfold, midarm muscle area, total body fat (% and lb), total body water (1), and lean body mass; also, a significant increase in total body water (%) was observed in females. Ethnic differences among the parameters included higher triceps skinfold in white than in black males and larger knee height and midarm circumference in white than in black females. Comparison of parameters by gender within each ethnic group showed larger body weight and midarm muscle area in white males than in white females; triceps skinfold was larger in black females than in black males. t tests indicated that subjects who received home-delivered meals had significantly smaller mean body weight, body mass index, triceps skinfold, midarm circumference and total body fat (% and lb) than those who came to a senior center for the noon meal. Elderly who lived alone had a higher total body fat (%) than those who lived with other(s). In females, significant correlation coefficients (r) were shown by weight, total body water (1), and lean body mass with all parameters. The weakest r values in females were those for height and for triceps skinfold with other parameters. In males, there was no single parameter that correlated with all others; triceps skinfold correlated with none. The strongest correlations in the male were for weight with total body water and with lean body mass, and for midarm circumference with midarm muscle are

ISSN:0304-324X    

DOI:10.1159/000213659

出版商:S. Karger AG    

年代:1995

数据来源: Karger

摘要:

The significance of the defective endothelial signal transduction in the impaired endothelium-dependent relaxations in atherosclerosis and related conditions was examined. Pertussis toxin-sensitive endothelium-dependent relaxations were prominently impaired in experimental atherosclerosis in pigs. The expression of endothelial Gi protein was reduced in atherosclerosis and related conditions in human coronary arteries. Thus, the dysfunction of pertussis toxin-sensitive G protein (Gi protein) may contribute to the impairment of the endothelium-dependent relaxations in atherosclerosis.

ISSN:0304-324X    

DOI:10.1159/000213718

出版商:S. Karger AG    

年代:1995

数据来源: Karger