Effects of temperature and preservation time on the pharmacological response of isolated vascular endothelial and smooth muscle function. (1/559)

In clinical transplantation and cardiovascular surgery, cold preservation is usually used because it is a simple method. However, the established temperature is by no means exact. The aim of this study was to find the optimum storage temperature for preservation of the vasculature by observing the pharmacological endothelium and smooth muscle response. The thoracic aorta of 36 male Wister rats were studied in organ baths: as fresh control after 24 hours, 48 hours and 72 hours of storage at 0.5 degree C, 4 degrees C and 8 degrees C in Krebs-Henseleit bicarbonate (KHB) solution. Acetylcholine (Ach) was used to elicit endothelium-dependent relaxation, and sodium nitroprusside (SNP) to elicit smooth muscle-dependent relaxation. The contractility caused by Phenylephrine (Ph) was influenced by time but before 48 hours it was not influenced by preservation temperature. Significant responsive deterioration by Ach and SNP was seen after 24 hours of storage at 0.5 degree C as compared with storage at 4 degrees C. The endothelium-dependent relaxing function and smooth muscle-dependent relaxing function were best preserved at 4 degrees C and 8 degrees C. These results indicate that precise temperature control is necessary for vessel preservation in clinical situations.  (+info)

A simple saliva-based test for detecting antibodies to human immunodeficiency virus. (2/559)

This study was performed to determine the feasibility of using saliva as a diagnostic medium for the detection of antibodies to human immunodeficiency virus type 1 (HIV-1) and HIV-2 under nonlaboratory conditions and to evaluate the performance characteristics of such a test. We developed for this purpose a self-contained kit (Saliva. Strip [ST]), which combines the collection and processing, as well as the analysis, of the specimen. The kit's performance was evaluated in a blinded study. Saliva collection was facilitated with a specially designed device that contains a sample adequacy indicator, and immunochromatography test strips were used for the analysis. A total of 1,336 matched serum and saliva specimens (684 reactive and 652 nonreactive specimens) were tested. We tested sera using an enzyme immunoassay (EIA) and a rapid strip test. Sera reactive in one of the assays were also analyzed by Western blotting. Sensitivity and specificity were 99.4 and 99.4%, respectively, for ST, 100 and 99.1%, respectively, for EIA, and 99.7 and 100%, respectively, for the serum strip test. The saliva test performed well when HIV-2-positive sera or a low-titer performance panel (HIV-1) of serum or plasma specimens were diluted (1:2,000) in nonreactive saliva. Because the methodology we present here uses a noninvasively obtained medium, the methodology may be suitable for use in the field where laboratory support and personnel are limited, such as community outreach programs, doctors' offices, surveillance studies, and community hospitals.  (+info)

The effect of specimen processing delay on borate urine preservation. (3/559)

AIM: To investigate the effect on urine culture results and their clinical interpretation of delaying the processing of urine samples in which boric acid had been used as a preservative. METHODS: 792 mid-stream specimens of urine from patients attending their general practitioner were received in borate containing plastic jars. The specimens were cultured upon receipt, stored at room temperature, and then recultured the following morning. RESULTS: After overnight delayed culture, the results were altered in 16% of samples and the clinical interpretation of these findings differed in 8% of specimens. In 28 samples (3.5%) the bacterium isolated on initial culture was not the same as that obtained by culture after overnight storage. CONCLUSIONS: Boric acid urine preservation used for overnight delayed processing of samples is associated with a significant alteration in culture results and the attendant clinical interpretation of such specimens. Rapid transportation/processing of urine specimens must remain the optimum procedure.  (+info)

Use of alcohol fixed cytospins protected by 10% polyethylene glycol in immunocytology external quality assurance. (4/559)

AIMS: To provide cytospins as a means of external quality assurance (EQA), while maintaining antigen expression integrity and achieving uniformity of material for all participating laboratories. METHODS: Cells were collected from two adenocarcinoma and one reactive pleural effusion specimens. Lymphoid cells were also collected through aspiration of a resected tonsil specimen. All cells were collected in Hanks balanced salt solution (HBSS); cytospins were made and fixed in methanol or acetone alone or protected using a layer of 10% polyethylene glycol (PEG) in 50% methanol. Two laboratories participated (RGHT and UCL). RESULTS: Cytokeratin expression detected using either CAM5.2 or AE1/AE3 antibodies was sensitive to temperature. Without PEG, unacceptable or negative staining was seen within six weeks of preparation. LCA was not sensitive to temperature, with good staining scores being achieved after eight weeks following preparation. CONCLUSIONS: It is possible to send alcohol fixed, air dried cytospins to laboratories participating as part of an EQA scheme for immunocytology. Some antigens will require protection from temperature variations during transit. A layer of 10% PEG in 50% methanol, allowed to air dry, is suitable for this purpose. Participating laboratories will only have to remove this layer using methanol before their localisation technique for assessment.  (+info)

Protein preservation and DNA retrieval from ancient tissues. (5/559)

The retrieval of DNA from fossils remains controversial. To substantiate claims of DNA recovery, one needs additional information on the preservation of other molecules within the same sample. Flash pyrolysis with GC and MS was used to assess the quality of protein preservation in 11 archaeological and paleontological remains, some of which have yielded ancient DNA sequences authenticated via a number of criteria and some of which have consistently failed to yield any meaningful DNA. Several samples, including the Neanderthal-type specimen from which DNA sequences were recently reported, yielded abundant pyrolysis products assigned to 2,5-diketopiperazines of proline-containing dipeptides. The relative amounts of these products provide a good index of the amount of peptide hydrolysis and DNA preservation. Of these samples, four stem from arctic or subarctic regions, emphasizing the importance of cooler temperatures for the preservation of macromolecules. Flash pyrolysis with GC and MS offers a rapid and effective method for assessing fossils for the possibility of DNA preservation.  (+info)

Effects of prolonged cold storage on purinergic and adrenergic components of sympathetic co-transmission in isolated canine splenic arteries. (6/559)

The present study demonstrated the progressive inhibition by prolonged cold storage (4, 7 and 14 days at 4 degrees C) on prejunctional and postjunctional functions of purinergic and adrenergic components of double-peaked vasoconstrictor responses to periarterial electrical nerve stimulation in the isolated canine splenic artery. After the cold storage for 4 days, the first phase constriction was markedly decreased, whereas the second response was not significantly modified. Furthermore, after the 7 days of cold storage, the first phase was substantially depressed at low frequencies, but at high frequencies, a low level of contractile responses was still observed. On the other hand, the second phase in the cold stored artery for 7 days largely remained at any used frequencies. Moreover, the 14 days of cold storage almost completely inhibited the vasoconstrictor responses to nerve stimulation. Tyramine-induced constrictions were progressively decreased in the stored-days dependent manner, although the ATP and the noradrenaline-induced one was not modified for 4 and 7 days of the cold storage. In conclusion, 1) the 4 degrees C cold stored artery for 4 days may show preferential injury of its tyramine-dependent noradrenaline releasing mechanisms, whereas nerve excited ones might well remain; and 2) the prejunctional contractile response of purinergic transmission might be damaged more preferentially than that of adrenergic transmission within 7 days storage.  (+info)

Regulation of drug sensitivity by ribosomal protein S3a. (7/559)

When bcl-2 is immunoprecipitated from (32)P-labeled cell extracts of all-trans retinoic acid (ATRA)-treated acute myeloblastic leukemia (AML) blasts, a phosphorylated protein of approximately 30 kd is coprecipitated. This protein has been identified as ribosomal protein S3a. The biologic effects of S3a include favoring apoptosis and enhancing the malignant phenotype. We sought to determine whether S3a, like bcl-2, influenced the response of cells to chemotherapeutic drugs and ATRA. Cell lines were studied in which S3a was genetically increased or disrupted; increased S3a was regularly associated with increased plating efficiency and increased sensitivity to either cytosine arabinoside (ara-C) or doxorubicin (DNR). S3a did not affect the sensitivity of cells to paclitaxel. Pulse exposures to either (3)HTdR or ara-C showed a greater percentage of clonogenic cells in the S phase of the cell cycle in cells with increased S3a than in controls. Cells with increased S3a responded to ATRA by increased ara-C or DNR sensitivity, whereas cells with reduced S3a protein were either protected by ATRA or not affected. We studied cryopreserved blast cells from patients with AML or chronic myelomonocytic leukemia (CMML). S3a protein levels were heterogeneous in these populations. In 32 cryopreserved blast populations, S3a levels were significantly correlated with both bcl-2 and with cell growth in culture. As in cell lines, high S3a in cryopreserved blasts was associated with ATRA-induced sensitization to ara-C. No significant association was seen between S3a levels and response to treatment.  (+info)

Myeloma progenitors in the blood of patients with aggressive or minimal disease: engraftment and self-renewal of primary human myeloma in the bone marrow of NOD SCID mice. (8/559)

The myelomagenic capacity of clonotypic myeloma cells in G-CSF mobilized blood was tested by xenotransplant. Intracardiac (IC) injection of NOD SCID mice with peripheral cells from 5 patients who had aggressive myeloma led to lytic bone lesions, human Ig in the serum, human plasma cells, and a high frequency of clonotypic cells in the murine bone marrow (BM). Human B and plasma cells were detected in BM, spleen, and blood. Injection of ex vivo multiple myeloma cells directly into the murine sternal BM (intraosseus injection [IO]) leads to lytic bone lesions, BM plasma cells, and a high frequency of clonotypic cells in the femoral BM. This shows that myeloma has spread from the primary injection site to distant BM locations. By using a cellular limiting dilution PCR assay to quantify clonotypic B lineage cells, we confirmed that peripheral myeloma cells homed to the murine BM after IC and IO injection. The myeloma progenitor undergoes self-renewal in murine BM, as demonstrated by the transfer of human myeloma to a secondary recipient mouse. For 6 of 7 patients, G-CSF mobilized cells from patients who have minimal disease, taken at the time of mobilization or after cryopreservation, included myeloma progenitors as identified by engraftment of clonotypic cells and/or lytic bone disease in mice. This indicates that myeloma progenitors are mobilized into the blood by cyclophosphamide/G-CSF. Their ability to generate myeloma in a xenotransplant model implies that such progenitors are also myelomagenic when reinfused into patients, and suggests the need for an effective strategy to purge them before transplant.  (+info)

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