Peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMC) of patients with Indian visceral leishmaniasis (VL) suppressed the natural killer cell (NK) activity of normal human PBMC in vitro in a dose-dependent manner. Adherent monocytes, but not the non-adherent lymphocytes of VL patients suppressed NK activity through soluble mediators. The level of suppression seen in different patients was variable.

Cell Adhesion↗

PubMedDate not supplied

Microtubule-targeting drugs induce bcl-2 phosphorylation and association with Pin1.

Bcl-2 is a critical suppressor of apoptosis that is overproduced in many types of cancer. Phosphorylation of the Bcl-2 protein is induced on serine residues in tumor cells arrested by microtubule-targeting drugs (paclitaxel, vincristine, nocodazole) and has been associated with inactivation of antiapoptotic function through an unknown mechanism. Comparison of a variety of pharmacological inhibitors of serine/threonine-specific protein kinases demonstrated that the cyclin-dependent kinase inhibitor, flavopiridol, selectively blocks Bcl-2 phosphorylation induced by antimicrotubule drugs. Bcl-2 could also be coimmunoprecipitated with the kinase Cdc2 in M-phase-arrested cells, suggesting that Cdc2 may be responsible for phosphorylation of Bcl-2 in cells treated with microtubule-targeting drugs. Examination of several serine-->alanine substitution mutants of Bcl-2 suggested that serine 70 and serine 87 represent major sites of Bcl-2 phosphorylation induced in response to microtubule-targeting drugs. Both these serines are within sequence contexts suitable for proline-directed kinases such as Cdc2. Phosphorylated Bcl-2 protein was discovered to associate in M-phase-arrested cells with Pin1, a mitotic peptidyl prolyl isomerase (PPIase) known to interact with substrates of Cdc2 during mitosis. In contrast, phosphorylation of Bcl-2 induced by microtubule-targeting drugs did not alter its ability to associate with Bcl-2 (homodimerization), Bax, BAG1, or other Bcl-2-binding proteins. Since the region in Bcl-2 containing serine 70 and serine 87 represents a proline-rich loop that has been associated with autorepression of its antiapoptotic activity, the discovery of Pin1 interactions with phosphorylated Bcl-2 raises the possibility that Pin1 alters the conformation of Bcl-2 and thereby modulates its function in cells arrested with antimicrotubule drugs.

Antineoplastic Agents↗

PubMedDate not supplied

Variations in body dimensions in relation to altitude among the Sherpas of the eastern Himalayas.

A biomedical study was undertaken on the Sherpas of Upper Khumbu (3500-4500m), Nepal, and their migrant counterparts in the lower altitudes (1000-1500m) of Kalimpong subdivision, Darjeeling district, West Bengal, to study the impact of altitude on human biological characteristics in this Himalayan population, following the basic design of the IBP/Human Adaptability Panel. The results of the anthropometric survey of the adults (234 males and 169 females) are presented here. The high-altitude Sherpas of both sexes have significantly higher values than their low-altitude counterparts for most of the length, breadth and girth measurements, weight, cormic index, weight/stature ratio, weight/(stature)2 ratio, chest/stature ratio, surface area and body fat.

Adipose Tissue↗

PubMedDate not supplied

Fertility, mortality and maternal anaemic status in a village population of West Bengal, India.

The present study was conducted on a Mahishya agricultural caste population of Chakpota village, Howrah district, West Bengal, India to enquire into the possible relations of anaemia, and fertility and mortality. The results confirm that negative relations exist between heamoglobin level of the mother, on the one hand, and fertility and offspring mortality, on the other.

Abortion, Spontaneous↗

PubMedDate not supplied

Vibrio cholerae O139 in Calcutta, 1992-1998: incidence, antibiograms, and genotypes.

We report results of surveillance for cholera caused by Vibrio cholerae O139 from September 1992, when it was first identified, to December 1998. V. cholerae O139 dominated as the causative agent of cholera in Calcutta during 1992-93 and 1996- 97, while the O1 strains dominated during the rest of the period. Dramatic shifts in patterns of resistance to cotrimoxazole, neomycin, and streptomycin were observed. Molecular epidemiologic studies showed clonal diversity among the O139 strains and continuous emergence of new epidemic clones, reflected by changes in the structure, organization, and location of the CTX prophages in the V. cholerae O139

Base Sequence↗

PubMedDate not supplied

II. Effect of n-3 and n-6 fatty acids on mammary H-ras expression and PGE2 levels in DMBA-treated rats.

In an attempt to evaluate some of the mechanisms by which dietary n-3 and n-6 PUFA influence 7,12,dimethylbenz(a)anthracene (DMBA)-induced mammary tumorigenesis, we measured: 1) concentrations of prostaglandin (PG) E1 (metabolite of C20:3, n-6) and PGE2 (metabolite of C20:4, n-6); and, 2) expression of H-ras oncogene in non-cancerous (NC) and cancerous (C) mammary tissues taken from rats 14 weeks after they were treated with 5 mg DMBA. Five groups of rats were fed one of the synthetic diets containing 23.5% of fat by weight: I. Blackcurrant oil (BCO) (23.5%); II. corn oil (CO) (23.5%); III. BCO (15.5%) + fish oil (FO) (8%); IV. FO (20.5%) + CO (3%); and V. BCO (20.5%) + FO (3%). PGE1 and PGE2 levels were lower in NC mammary tissues than in corresponding C tissues in all 5 diet groups. In Group IV, PGE2 levels in both NC and C tissues were significantly lower than in those of the remaining 4 groups. In groups fed BCO alone (I) or in combination with FO (III and V), PGE2, content in C tissue was lower compared with the corn oil-fed group (II), but these observations were significant only for III and V. Conversely, in Groups III and V, the content of PGE1 in C tissues was significantly higher. The results of the present study demonstrate interactions and competition between 3 eicosapolyenoic acids that act as substrates for cyclooxygenase. The observation that PGE2 production is reduced when mammary tumor development was inhibited confirms earlier findings. Whether these changes in eicosanoids can explain differences in ras p21 levels as judged by cross-linking to a-32 P-GTP remains to be investigated in greater detail. Preliminary results from a small number of samples indicate that expression of H-ras in C mammary tissue was in the order CO (II) greater than BCO (I) = FO (IV).

9,10-Dimethyl-1,2-benzanthracene↗