Search PubMed⌕ Search

Biomedical subjects

D R Hinton

Publications and source records attributed to D R Hinton.

At least 145 records · Page 8Linked to original sources

Hemangiopericytoma of the temporal bone presenting as a retroauricular mass.

An unusual case of a hemangiopericytoma arising from the temporal bone is presented. The patient was noted to have a postauricular mass and was neurologically asymptomatic. A preoperative magnetic resonance image and an angiogram revealed the tumor to be highly vascular. Preoperative embolization facilitated the surgical removal of the tumor by rendering it avascular. Current therapy consists of radical resection of the tumor with postoperative radiation therapy. Patients must be monitored carefully for local recurrence and systemic metastasis.

Adult↗

Inflammatory leukocytes and cytokines in the peptide-induced disease of experimental allergic encephalomyelitis in SJL and B10.PL mice.

Experimental allergic encephalomyelitis (EAE) was generated in SJL and B10.PL mice by using the synthetic myelin basic protein peptides. Inflammation in brain and spinal cord preceded clinical signs of disease. Infiltrating lymphocytes were predominantly Lyt1+ (CD5+), L3T4+ (CD4+) T cells, until day 18. After that, F4/80+ monocyte/macrophages outnumbered T cells. Ia+ cells were microglia, macrophages, and endothelial cells, but Ia was not detectable on astrocytes in this EAE model. Ia+ endothelial cells appeared later in the disease than Ia+ microglia and macrophages, suggesting that antigen presentation at the blood-brain barrier is not initially responsible for inflammation. Cells staining for interferon gamma, interleukin 2 (IL-2), and IL-2 receptors were more prominent than IL-4, IL-5, lymphotoxin (LT), and tumor necrosis factor alpha (TNF-alpha), which occurred transiently in the second week and were associated with fewer cells. TNF-alpha and LT were never seen in spinal cord, suggesting that these cytokines are not responsible for initiation of clinical disease. Few or no cells stained for IL-6, IL-1, or transforming growth factor beta. Control animals injected with complete Freund's adjuvant in saline or control antigen demonstrated no inflammatory cell infiltration or cytokine production. Thus, our findings suggest a peptide-induced EAE model in which Th1 T-cell-macrophage interactions result in the disease process.

Animals↗

Nucleolar organizer regions in paragangliomas of the head and neck.

The clinical behavior of head-and-neck paragangliomas cannot be accurately predicted using standard histologic criteria. Immunohistochemical profiles have proved to be prognostically helpful; however, other independent indicators of prognosis are needed. Tissue markers of proliferative activity include argyrophilic nucleolar organizer regions (AgNOR), which are proteins specifically associated with loops of transcriptionally active ribosomal DNA. Fifteen paragangliomas of the head and neck were divided into solitary nonrecurrent (n = 8), recurrent or locally invasive (n = 4), and multiple (n = 1), or malignant (n = 2) groups. The mean AgNOR count per cell was statistically different between the solitary nonrecurrent and the combined other poorer prognosis groups, suggesting that it may be useful as an independent indicator of biologic behavior. The wide variation in AgNOR counts within groups and the overlap of counts between groups limit, however, the predictive value of this technique for individual tumors.

Adult↗

Mosaicism for a specific somatic mitochondrial DNA mutation in adult human brain.

The levels of a specific mitochondrial DNA deletion (mtDNA4977) measured in 12 brain regions of 6 normal adults 39 to 82 years old exhibited striking variation among anatomical locations. Comparisons of the same region among individuals showed an increase of mtDNA4977 with age. The three regions with the highest levels, caudate, putamen and substantia nigra, are characterized by a high dopamine metabolism. The breakdown of dopamine by mitochondrial MAO produces H2O2 which can lead to oxygen radical formation. We suggest that mtDNA4977 may be the "tip of the iceberg" of the spectrum of somatic mutations produced by oxidative damage.

Adult↗

Cytokines and immunoregulatory molecules in malignant glial neoplasms.

Cytokines are important regulatory proteins controlling growth and differentiation of normal and malignant glial cells. Astrocytes and microglial cells produce and respond to many of the same cytokines employed by cells of the immune system. The authors have analyzed 15 histologically confirmed malignant glial neoplasms for the presence of infiltrating lymphocytes, macrophages, cytokines, and other immunoregulatory molecules using a panel of specific monoclonal and polyclonal antibodies on frozen-tissue sections. All neoplasms showed focal T-cell infiltration with CD8 cells predominating. Infiltration of activated macrophages (positive for CD11c, class II, and interleukin-2 receptor) was marked in all tumors. Within the neoplasm, tumor necrosis factor-alpha (TNF-alpha)- and interleukin (IL)-6-positive macrophages were prominent in five cases, while the tumor cells themselves were only weakly positive. In the other 10 cases, the numerous infiltrating macrophages were only rarely immunoreactive for TNF-alpha or IL-6. Transforming growth factor-beta (TGF-beta) immunoreactivity was most prominent in those tumors with little TNF-alpha-positive macrophage infiltration, although intratumoral variability was present. This study suggests that, in malignant gliomas, the cytokines TNF-alpha and IL-6, although weakly present in neoplastic cells, are most prominent in infiltrating macrophages and in those regions of the tumors that show little immunoreactivity for TGF-beta. The important interactions among neoplastic, reactive glial, and inflammatory cells, which regulate tumor growth, are likely to be in part mediated through these molecules.

Adult↗

Sequential infection of glial cells by the murine hepatitis virus JHM strain (MHV-4) leads to a characteristic distribution of demyelination.

An antigenic variant of the neurotropic murine coronavirus JHMV, designated 2.2-V-1, causes marked demyelination in the relative absence of encephalitis. It is thus useful for the study of the pathogenesis of demyelinating lesions. To better understand the sequential events leading to demyelination, we have examined murine brain and spinal cord tissue at daily intervals after intracerebral inoculation, evaluating them for the distribution of viral antigen, leukocyte infiltration, and demyelination. Immunohistochemical staining indicated that virus established primary infection in the ependymal cells in both brain and spinal cord before spreading into nearby structures and along white matter tracts by cell-to-cell contact. Spread from brain to spinal cord appeared to occur via cerebrospinal fluid. Viral replication was focally cytocidal for ependymal cells, and essentially noncytocidal for other neural cells including glia. In brain, viral antigen and inflammation reached a peak at day 5 postinfection, and rapidly subsided by day 10 postinfection. In spinal cord, viral antigen was less abundant than in brain and was maximal between days 7 and 9 postinfection. The inflammatory response and demyelination, however, were more severe persisting from day 7 through day 19. In the spinal cord, demyelinating lesions developed initially in areas closer to the central canal and were detected most prominently in the anterior funiculi. This finding suggests that the permissiveness of the ependymal cell is crucial to viral entry and that sequential infection of glial cells leads to the characteristic distribution of demyelination.

Animals↗

Tumor necrosis factor-alpha in the retina in acquired immune deficiency syndrome.

The presence of specific cytokines and the number and distribution of leukocytes were determined in the retinas of patients with acquired immune deficiency syndrome (AIDS). Using immunohistocytochemical techniques, three retinas from patients with AIDS had focal infiltration by T-lymphocytes and macrophages. These specimens stained positively for tumor necrosis factor-alpha (TNF-alpha) in cells identified morphologically as macrophages and glial cells and showed prominent reactive gliosis. The retinas from seven other affected patients had minimal leukocytic infiltration and no TNF-alpha reactivity; gliosis was present in only one. The retinas from clinically normal patients without human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) contained no TNF-alpha-positive cells. Using in situ hybridization for HIV, four of five patients with AIDS had rare positive cells. No interferon-gamma was detected in any of the retinal tissues tested. These data suggest a role for TNF-alpha in the development of AIDS-related retinal disease.

Acquired Immunodeficiency Syndrome↗

Lymphokines and immunoregulatory molecules in subacute sclerosing panencephalitis.

Frozen brain specimens from six patients with subacute sclerosing panencephalitis (SSPE) were analyzed immunohistochemically for the presence of leukocyte subpopulations and specific cytokines. In brain regions demonstrating perivascular cell infiltration and gliosis, CD4 and CD8 positive cells were identified within the brain parenchyma. Cytokine analysis revealed cells staining positively for tumor necrosis factor-alpha and interferon-gamma. These results were similar to those observed in multiple sclerosis (MS) and progressive rubella panencephalitis tissue and were different from other predominantly noninflammatory neurologic diseases and normal controls. Although SSPE and MS differ significantly in their etiology and histopathology, the similarities in leukocyte and cytokine staining patterns suggest a common mechanism of disease progression.

Adolescent↗

Retinal degeneration in the macula of patients with Alzheimer's disease.

Recent reports (Hinton et al. 1986; Blanks et al. 1989) document the involvement of the retina in the constellation of neurodegenerative changes present in Alzheimer's disease (AD). These studies demonstrate the degeneration of large numbers of optic nerve axons and loss of retinal ganglion cells (RGCs) in patients with AD, but the quantitative changes in the retina of patients with AD compared with age-matched controls have not been examined. An important question is whether the lesion affects the macula, the area of highest visual acuity and the region of the greatest density of cone photoreceptor cells and RGCs. Additionally, it is unknown if patients with AD have a uniform thinning of cells in the ganglion cell layer (GCL) or if there is a differential loss of the medium- to large-sized cells, as suggested earlier (Bassi et al. 1987) and documented histopathologically in some areas of the central nervous system of patients with AD (Kemper 1984). If patients with AD were to show a differential loss of large versus small RGCs with characteristic differences in density, distribution, central projections, and physiologic properties (see review by Rowe and Stone 1977), then a loss of the visual functions normally ascribed to these classes of mammalian RGCs might be expected. This quantitative study of the retinal lesions in the macula of patients with AD provides important data on the progression of the disease and may eventually be the basis for diagnostic procedures for assessing the severity of AD.

Aged↗

The standardized assessment of argyrophilic nucleolar organizer regions in meningeal tumors.

Tissue markers of cellular proliferation have been recently utilized as prognostic indicators in tumors of the central nervous system. Nucleolar organizer regions represent transcriptionally active sites of ribosomal deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA) and can be identified by a simple argyrophilic technique. The authors describe a standardized approach to the assessment of these argyrophilic nucleolar organizer regions in meningeal tumors. Twenty-five meningiomas were classified histologically into benign, atypical, or malignant groups. In addition, two hemangiopericytomas and one leptomeningeal melanoma were examined. Appropriate sections were silver stained and argyrophilic nucleolar organizer regions were counted in 200 nuclei. The mean argyrophilic nucleolar organizer region count was statistically different (p less than 0.001) between benign tumors (245 +/- 156, 1.23/cell), atypical tumors (497 +/- 135, 2.49/cell), and malignant tumors (921 +/- 59, 4.61/cell). The count for recurrent meningiomas (544 +/- 76) was also statistically different (p less than 0.02) from non-recurrent tumors (329 +/- 183). The standardized assessment of argyrophilic nucleolar organizer regions can be easily performed by any surgical pathology laboratory without specialized equipment and, in meningeal tumors, may be useful as an independent indicator of biological behavior.

Adult↗

Exacerbation of inflammatory demyelinating polyneuropathy after bone marrow transplantation.

Two patients with hematologic malignancy and quiescent inflammatory demyelinating polyneuropathy developed severe exacerbations of polyneuropathy at the time of bone marrow transplantation. The clinical course in both patients was progressive despite therapy with immuno-suppressive agents, plasmapheresis, and high dose immunoglobulin. The polyneuropathy resulted in quadriplegia which contributed to the patients' deaths 175 and 48 days after transplantation. Sections of multiple peripheral nerves sampled post mortem in the first case revealed prominent demyelination with heavy infiltration of macrophages and lymphocytes. Immunohistochemical studies demonstrated that most of the lymphocytes were of the CD8+, cytotoxic/suppressor cell class and that many of the Schwann cells expressed class II (HLA-DR) antigen. This report suggests that bone marrow transplantation can exacerbate inflammatory demyelinating polyneuropathy.

Adult↗

Degeneration of spinocerebellar neurons in amyotrophic lateral sclerosis.

The selective involvement of spinocerebellar neurons in sporadic amyotrophic lateral sclerosis was investigated using two monoclonal antibodies that have neuronal subset specificity in human spinal cord. In normal control subjects, monoclonal antibody 6A2 showed specificity for neurons of the dorsal nucleus of Clarke, the cells of origin of the dorsal spinocerebellar tract. Immunoreactive neurons were also observed in locations corresponding to the central cervical nucleus and spinal border region, containing neurons of the cervicospinocerebellar and ventral spinocerebellar tracts, respectively. The latter two neuronal subsets are indistinguishable from surrounding neurons when conventional histological stains are used. Antigen 6A2 was distributed on surfaces of neuronal somas and proximal neurites and extended into the extracellular space. A second antibody, monoclonal antibody 44.1, labeled the cytoplasm of neuronal somas and neurites, including all monoclonal antibody 6A2-reactive cells and alpha motoneurons. In spinal cords of all 5 patients with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, monoclonal antibody 6A2 reactivity in the majority of spinocerebellar neurons was absent or localized to the somal cytoplasm, which still stained with monoclonal antibody 44.1. In more severely involved tissues, there was loss of some spinocerebellar neurons and a corresponding loss of monoclonal antibody 44.1 reactivity. These findings confirm involvement of the spinal cord components of the spinocerebellar system at all levels in sporadic amyotrophic lateral sclerosis and suggest that some surface molecules are modified during the degenerative process.

Adult↗

Dystrophin protein and RFLP analysis for fetal diagnosis and carrier confirmation of Duchenne muscular dystrophy.

A pregnant woman with indeterminate Duchenne muscular dystrophy (DMD) carrier status, but with DMD diagnosed in her deceased brother (unavailable for study), presented for prenatal diagnosis, intending to continue the pregnancy only if proven unaffected with DMD with near absolute certainty. Creatine kinase (CK) assays to clarify carrier status were inconclusive. Male sex in the fetus was identified, but DNA restriction fragment length polymorphism (RFLP) analysis was not yet available to this centre to investigate the possible transmission of the DMD gene, and the pregnancy was terminated. Tissue histology and dystrophin protein analysis demonstrated the absence of DMD. In a situation with proven maternal carrier status, future fetal inheritance of the opposite maternal X chromosome would indicate the presence of DMD. However, maternal carrier status remained in doubt through a second pregnancy, even with RFLP studies, and was finally established when dystrophin analysis confirmed the presence of DMD in the second fetus. Histologic findings are presented, contrasting features in the two fetuses. The value of dystrophin analysis for establishing the diagnosis of fetal DMD, in this case proving maternal carrier status in a difficult situation, and for demonstrating DMD gene:RFLP haplotype relationships is illustrated.

Adult↗

Novel localization of a G protein, Gz-alpha, in neurons of brain and retina.

Recently, a cDNA coding for a novel G protein alpha-subunit, Gz-alpha, was isolated from a human retinal cDNA library and shown by Northern blot analysis to be expressed at high levels in neural tissues. We have prepared affinity-purified antibodies specifically directed against synthetic Gz-alpha peptides and employed immunohistochemical methods to map the localization of Gz-alpha in human, bovine, and murine retina and brain. By light microscopy, Gz-alpha was localized to the cytoplasm of neurons, with predominant reactivity in ganglion cells of the retina, Purkinje cells of the cerebellum, and most neurons of the hippocampus and cerebral cortex. Reactivity was confined to perikaryon, dendrites, and a very short segment of proximal axons, except for the retinal ganglion cells, in which the axons in the nerve fiber layer showed intense Gz-alpha immunoreactivity proximal to the lamina cribrosa. Pre-embedding immunoelectron microscopy demonstrated the presence of focal Gz-alpha immunoreactivity on the nuclear membranes, endoplasmic reticulum, and plasma membranes of Purkinje cell perikarya and in association with microtubules in their proximal dendrites. Subcellular fractionation studies confirmed the association of Gz-alpha with plasma and intracellular membranes. The localization of Gz-alpha and its unique amino acid sequence suggest that it may have a specialized function in neural tissues.

Animals↗

Multiparameter flow cytometric analysis of neoplasms of the central nervous system: correlation of nuclear antigen p105 and DNA content with clinical behavior.

Analysis of the DNA content of various solid tumors and hematological malignancies may provide useful prognostic information. To date, however, there has been a striking lack of correlation between DNA content in neoplasms of the central nervous system and clinical behavior. Simultaneous quantitation of DNA content and proliferation-associated nuclear antigen (p105) by flow cytometry was performed on paraffin-embedded tissues representing three major groups of central nervous system neoplasms--1) 21 astrocytic tumors, 2) 13 pituitary tumors, and 3) 19 meningiomas--and the results were correlated with clinical behavior. All 4 well-differentiated gliomas were diploid, while 3 of 9 anaplastic astrocytomas and 1 of 8 glioblastomas had a demonstrable aneuploid peak. Three of 13 pituitary tumors had an identifiable aneuploid peak, while only 2 of 19 meningiomas had an aneuploid DNA content. Cell-cycle analysis of the malignant gliomas revealed a significantly higher proliferative index (PI, %S + G2M) compared with the well-differentiated astrocytomas (P less than 0.05). Within the subgroup of diploid anaplastic astrocytomas, however, extended patient survival appeared to be associated with a higher PI. For diploid pituitary adenomas, the PI was consistently lower in the 3 tumors that recurred than it was in the remaining 8 adenomas. Nuclear antigen quantitation of diploid tumors showed a wide range of p105 expression in G0G1 cells, suggesting that, within each tumor, the cells are heterogeneous with respect to proliferative activity. Aneuploid nuclei of glial tumors showed enhanced expression of p105 relative to diploid cells of the same specimen. In pituitary tumors, the median G2M/G0G1 fluorescence ratio for p105 was significantly higher (P less than 0.05) for the 3 diploid recurrent tumors than for those that did not recur. These data support the assumption that the aggressive clinical course of malignant glial neoplasms may be related to an abnormal DNA stemline and/or an alteration in cell proliferative activity. Cell cycle analysis and measurement of p105 by this technique may provide information useful from both a prognostic standpoint and in directing adjuvant therapy.

Adult↗

Retinal ganglion cell degeneration in Alzheimer's disease.

This study documents the light-microscopic and ultrastructural characteristics of ganglion cell degeneration in the retinas of patients with Alzheimer's disease (AD). The results show degeneration in the retinal ganglion cells (RGCs) characterized by a vacuolated, 'frothy' appearance of the cytoplasm. The degeneration is unique in AD because of the absence of neurofibrillary tangles within the RGCs, or of neuritic plaques or amyloid angiopathy in the retinas or optic nerves of any of the cases examined. These results suggest that neuronal degeneration in the ganglion cell layer (GCL) should be added to the constellation of neuropathologic changes found in patients with Alzheimer's disease.

Aged↗