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Biomedical subjects

E Galun

Publications and source records attributed to E Galun.

At least 91 records · Page 5Linked to original sources

Polyarteritis nodosa and familial Mediterranean fever: a report of 2 cases and review of the literature.

Two cases of polyarteritis nodosa (PAN) in patients with familial Mediterranean fever (FMF) are reported. These and another 11 cases found in the literature suggest that PAN occurs more commonly in patients with FMF than would be expected in the general population. Perirenal hematoma, which is surprisingly high in patients with FMF, is a life threatening complication of PAN. The diagnosis of PAN in patients with FMF may be delayed due to the similarity of the clinical manifestations of both diseases.

Adolescent↗

Erythropoietin-induced polycythemia in athymic mice following transplantation of a human renal carcinoma cell line.

An established cloned human renal carcinoma line RC-1, which has been continuously maintained in culture for several years and which produces erythropoietin, was injected s.c. into BALB/c athymic mice and produced tumors. Tumorigenicity was directly correlated with the number of RC-1 cells inoculated. Tumor cell histology resembled the original patient-derived tumor. Tumor-bearing mice developed hepatosplenomegaly and significant reticulocytosis with elevated hemoglobin and hematocrit values that were proportional to tumor mass. In addition, red cell mass and blood volume of nude mice increased over 100% as compared to control mice or to animals bearing nonrelevant neoplasms. Large amounts of immunoreactive erythropoietin could be extracted from the nude mouse RC-1 tumors. These results indicate that the RC-1 cell line is tumorigenic and produces biologically active erythropoietin in vivo in athymic mouse hosts, thus providing a reproducible model to study ectopic erythropoietin production and its regulation in vivo.

Animals↗

Prediction of physical performance through muscle enzymes activity.

Physical performance deteriorates during strenuous exercise as manifested by a decrease in maximal aerobic power and increased activity of serum muscle enzymes. The relationship between these parameters was investigated in 41 trained subjects during 24 h marches and the following recovery period. Peak O2 uptake and serum activity of creatine phosphokinase (CPK) and glutamic oxalacetic transaminase (GOT) were measured. During the marches there was a simultaneous, significant elevation in serum CPK and GOT activity and a significant reduction in peak O2 uptake. During the early recovery period (24 h) no significant changes occurred in muscle enzyme activity and peak O2 uptake; thereafter (up to 72 h after the end of the march), a gradual decline in enzyme activity levels with a concomitant increase in peak O2 uptake was observed, reaching pre-march values. A "mirror image" relationship between muscle enzyme activity and peak O2 uptake was found during three clearly distinguished phases: a) 24 h march, b) early recovery stage and c) late recovery stage. These findings suggest that muscle enzyme leakage from muscle cells is closely related to the decline in muscular function and aerobic power. Thus, muscle enzyme activity might be a practical measure of physical performance capacity during the early and late stages of recovery from prolonged endurance exercise.

Adult↗

Widespread Castleman disease: CT and US findings.

The widespread form of Castleman disease is a rare condition that has been recognized only recently as a disease with an aggressive, often malignant course. The authors present computed tomographic (CT) findings in six patients with this condition and ultrasound (US) findings in four of the six. CT demonstrated splenomegaly and retroperitoneal lymphadenopathy in all six patients. In one patient, CT also showed additional widespread mesenteric and peripancreatic lymphadenopathy, a large mesenteric mass adherent to the descending colon in another, and mediastinal lymphadenopathy in a third. Three patients had peripheral axillary or inguinal lymphadenopathy. Enlarged lymph nodes were 1-4 cm in diameter, and none displayed contrast enhancement on CT scans obtained with drip infusion of contrast media. On US scans, the nodes were poorly echogenic in all four cases. In no case was focal liver or splenic infiltration seen on either CT or US scans.

Adolescent↗

Evidence for in vivo trans splicing of pre-mRNAs in tobacco chloroplasts.

The rps12 gene codes for chloroplast ribosomal protein S12. In the tobacco chloroplast genome (156 kbp circular DNA), exons II and III of this gene are separated by an intron of 536 bases and are present in two copies in the inverted repeat region, while exon I is located in the large single copy region at a distance of 90 kb and 126 kb from the two copies of exons II and III. These three exons were artificially combined in cloned DNA fragments and hybridized with tobacco chloroplast RNA. Electron microscopic analysis of RNA-DNA hybrids showed that exon I is transcribed as part of a polycistronic RNA containing upstream and downstream sequences; the same is true for exons II and III. Exon I is shown to be transcribed separately from exons II and III. In the most abundant class of the hybridized RNA molecules, exon I was covalently linked to exon II. In these molecules the sequences downstream of exon I and upstream of exon II are not present. These data indicate that maturation of rps12 pre-mRNAs in chloroplasts of tobacco involves trans splicing.

Chloroplasts↗

The molecular basis for rRNA-dependent spectinomycin resistance in Nicotiana chloroplasts.

The chloroplast genes coding for the 16S ribosomal RNA from several spectinomycin-resistant Nicotiana mutants were analyzed. Two classes of mutants were identified. In one class, a G to A base transition is found at position 1140 of the tobacco-chloroplast 16S rRNA gene, which eliminates an AatII restriction endonuclease site. This base transition is proximal to a mutation previously described for spectinomycin resistance in Escherichia coli. In the other class, a novel G to A transition is found at position 1012 of the 16S rRNA gene. Although the mutations in the two classes are 128 nucleotides apart, the secondary structure model for 16S rRNA suggests that the two mutated nucleotides are in spatial proximity on opposite sides of a conserved stem structure in the 3' region of the molecule. Phylogenetic evidence is presented linking this conserved stem with spectinomycin resistance in chloroplasts. Perturbation of the stem is proposed to be the molecular-genetic basis for rRNA-dependent spectinomycin resistance.

Journal Article↗

Ultrastructural localization of uranium biosorption in Penicillium digitatum by stem X-ray microanalysis.

When Penicillium digitatum Saccardo cultures are exposed to aqueous solutions containing soluble uranium salts, considerable amounts of this element are accumulated in the fungal mycelium. The accumulated uranium is retained after thorough rinsing with distilled water but is removed by alkali carbonate solutions. Analysis of thick sections (0.5 microm) of the fungal hyphae with TEM, after incubation in UO(2)Cl(2) solutions of varying concentrations under both light and dark conditions, revealed conspicuous crystal-like deposits in UO(2)Cl(2)-exposed hyphae, but none in the control hyphae. Thick sections were necessary for crystal visualization. Using energy-dispersive X-ray analysis, uranium was detected as the only heavy element in these crystals. Uranium crystal biosorption was localized on the outside surface of the hyphal cell wall (following short exposures to relatively low uranium concentrations) or inside the cell wall (following long exposure to relatively high uranium concentrations). In some cases, crystal-like deposits of uranium salts were located on the outside surface as well as inside the cell.

Journal Article↗

Changes of white blood cell count during prolonged exercise.

Leukocytosis was postulated to accompany short- and medium-length exercise; in this report, we have studied the changes in leukocyte count during and following prolonged exercise. White blood cell (WBC) counts were obtained in 15 endurance-trained subjects before, during, and at a recovery period after an ultralong exercise (120 km march), lasting 24 h. WBC counts increased after 16 h march from a baseline value of 8.5 +/- 0.3 10(9) l-1 to 11.3 +/- 0.8 10(9) l-1 (P less than 0.05) and then declined to 7.1 +/- 0.9 10(9) l-1 after 24 h march with no further significant changes during 64 h of recovery. These observations were supported by previous findings in three separate marches performed by a second group (40, 70, and 120 km). A parallel increase in plasma creatine phosphokinase activity from 127 +/- 4.4 ul-1 to 539 +/- 106.3 ul-1 was observed after 16 h march (P less than 0.01), indicating muscle cell damage. Our findings suggest that in extremely long marches, WBC counts return to baseline values before exercise is terminated. This phenomenon may reflect WBC infiltration to damaged muscle tissue.

Adult↗

Changes in serum magnesium concentration after strenuous exercise.

Serum magnesium concentration (S-Mg) was measured in 20 highly trained young men (mean age 19.5, +/- 0.5, range 18-20.5) before, and at 1 hour, 24 hours, 72 hours, and 3 months after a 120 km hike. As found in previous studies, S-Mg was significantly decreased at the end of the hike (p less than 0.001, [corrected] Student's t-test). In this group S-Mg had risen significantly after 24 hours in relation to the value at 1 hour (but not to starting value); yet, at 72 hours and 3 months later, it was once more significantly lower than the starting value (p less than 0.001 and p less than 0.05, respectively, Student's t-test). A marked elevation in serum creatine kinase activity (CK) suggests that the rise in S-Mg observed at 24 hours is the result of either exertional rhabdomyolysis or loss of membrane integrity, as a result of the strenuous exertion, since the CK had fallen sharply by 72 hours after the hike. The biphasic, statistically significant, lowering of S-Mg which persisted after 3 months suggests that strenuous exertion induces magnesium deficiency.

Adolescent↗

The enigma of the gene coding for ribosomal protein S12 in the chloroplasts of Nicotiana.

A 2.9 kbp region from within the inverted repeat of Nicotiana chloroplast DNA hybridized with a chloroplast DNA fragment from Euglena containing the complete rps12 gene coding for ribosomal protein S12. Nucleotide sequencing within this region revealed the existance of two rps12 coding stretches interrupted by 540 bp having class II intron structure. Joining and decoding the exon regions produced a sequence of 85 amino acids colinear and 81% homologous to the S12 protein of Euglena chloroplasts and E. coli, starting from amino acid residue 38 to the stop codon. Immediately upstream of codon 38, conserved intron sequences were located. However, the 5' 37 codon of Nicotiana chloroplast rps12 could not be identified by electron microscopy of RNA-DNA hybrids within a DNA region extending 4000 bp upstream of codon 38, nor by computer search of a completely sequenced region extending for more than 9000 bp upstream of this codon. In E. coli, alteration in rps12 codons 42 or 87 causes streptomycin resistance. However, the nucleotide sequence of the identified rps12 exons in two Nicotiana chloroplast mutants resistant to streptomycin were found to be identical to that of wild type.

Amino Acid Sequence↗

Insulinoma complicating pregnancy: case report and review of the literature.

A 24-year-old woman, gravida 1, para 0, experienced recurrent attacks of headaches and bizarre behavior from the sixth week of gestation onward. Three days before confinement, she lapsed into coma and was delivered of a normal child. Plasma glucose, insulin, and C-peptide levels were diagnostic of insulinoma. Subsequently, after she spontaneously regained consciousness, a pancreatic tumor was removed at laparotomy with complete resolution of symptoms. The problems of diagnosing insulinoma during pregnancy are discussed.

Adenoma, Islet Cell↗

Pyoderma gangrenosum complicating ulcerative colitis: successful treatment with methylprednisolone pulse therapy and dapsone.

A 36-yr-old patient suffering from chronic ulcerative colitis complicated by severe pyoderma gangrenosum of the leg is presented. Pyoderma gangrenosum rapidly progressed and failed to respond to a combined treatment of bed rest, prednisone, sulfasalazine, povidone-iodine, compresses, and debridement. Pyoderma gangrenosum responded and disappeared with no recurrence during the following months after the combined treatment of methylprednisolone, dapsone, and zinc sulfate.

Adult↗

Efficient induction and selection of chloroplast-encoded antibiotic-resistant mutants in Nicotiana.

A high rate of plastome-encoded mutations was induced in Nicotiana by exposing seeds to N-nitroso-N-methylurea. Seeds then were subjected to nutritional and in vitro selection procedures for systematic isolation of plastome-dependent antibiotic-resistant plants. Multiple flowering lines resistant to streptomycin, spectinomycin, lincomycin, or chloramphenicol were obtained. A detailed analysis of the streptomycin-resistant lines is presented. Sexual hybridization, cybrid formation following protoplast fusion, and in organello protein synthesis were used to rigorously assign the mutations to the chloroplast genome. The efficient rates of mutagenesis combined with the in vitro mass-screening procedures described here should facilitate investigation of fundamental aspects of chloroplast genetics in higher plants.

Journal Article↗