Search PubMed⌕ Search

Biomedical subjects

H Hoppe

Publications and source records attributed to H Hoppe.

At least 37 records · Page 2Linked to original sources

Intraoperative visualization of surgical planning data using video projectors.

The Institute for Process Control and Robotics has developed a new system using projector based augmented reality for the intraoperative visualization of preoperatively defined surgical planning data. Projector based augmented reality in medical applications represents a new field of research and gives an alternative solution to the commonly used Head Mounted Display technology. Moreover, the projector is not only used for visualization, but also for registration of the patient without the usage of invasive fiducial techniques as e.g. screw markers or frames. Recent results showed an achieved accuracy of +/- 1.5 mm which roughly meets clinical demands.

Data Display↗

Andreev reflection in strong magnetic fields

We have studied the interplay of Andreev reflection and cyclotron motion of quasiparticles at a superconductor-normal-metal interface with a strong magnetic field applied parallel to the interface. Bound states are formed due to the confinement introduced by both the external magnetic field and the superconducting gap. These bound states are a coherent superposition of electron and hole edge excitations similar to those realized in finite quantum-Hall samples. We find the energy spectrum for these Andreev edge states and calculate transport properties.

Journal Article↗

Videomicroscopic imaging of graft mucosa for monitoring immunosuppressive therapy after small intestinal transplantation in rats.

BACKGROUND: Early diagnosis of rejection and effective immunosuppressive treatment are essential after small intestinal transplantation. To date little is known about microscopic alterations of the intestinal mucosa of the graft during rejection. We attempted to determine whether videomicroscopic imaging of the graft mucosa is a suitable method for monitoring immunosuppressive therapy. METHODS: Real-time videomicroscopic imaging of an ileostoma was performed daily after allogeneic heterotopic small bowel transplantation in the rat (BN to LEW) with and without FK506 immunosuppression. Subsequently, the videomicroscopic findings were compared with the histologically determined grade of rejection. RESULTS: A semiquantitative staging system was established for the intravital mucosal changes during graft rejection. The earliest changes related to rejection appeared on POD 6 in the untreated allogeneic group. The mucosa developed patchy paleness and the mucosal architecture was interrupted in places. The crypts were slightly widened and their color turned dark red (stage I). These alterations spread progressively over the mucosa on POD 7 (stage II). On POD 9 the mucosa appeared pale, the villi were shortened, and the crypts appeared wide and rounded (stage III). In the animals treated with FK506 similar changes were observed, but with a delayed onset. When FK506 was administered as antirejection therapy at the onset of rejection, a temporary improvement of mucosal alterations was observed (stage II --> stage I). The video-microscopic stages correlated with the histological grade of rejection. CONCLUSIONS: The introduction of videomicroscopy has made computer-based high resolution imaging of mucosal microarchitecture possible. With videomi-croscopy beginning rejection can be detected, although it can still be reversed with antirejection therapy. This is a new noninvasive technique that might be of high clinical relevance.

Acute Disease↗

Noninvasive videomicroscopic monitoring of rat small-bowel rejection.

Successful small-bowel transplantation requires an early diagnosis of graft rejection. To date, little is known about macroscopic mucosal alterations during rejection. In the present study, these changes were analyzed in detail. Videomicroscopic monitoring of an enterostoma was performed after allogeneic heterotopic small-bowel transplantation in the rat (BN to LEW). Up to postoperative day (POD) 3 a mucosal edema was noticed (stage I of videomicroscopical alterations). The earliest changes related to rejection appeared on POD 6. The mucosa of the grafted intestine developed patchy paleness and interruptions in mucosal architecture. Crypts were slightly widened and their color turned to dark red (stage IIa). Progressively, these alterations spread over the mucosa on POD 7 (stage IIb). On POD 9, the mucosa appeared pale, villi were shortened, and crypts appeared wide and rounded. The mucosal surface was coated with fibrinous membranes (stage III). The videomicroscopic findings were closely related to the histological grading of rejection. We regard this technique of mucosal monitoring a simple and noninvasive method of detecting allograft rejection.

Animals↗

The first case report of the use of a zoom videoendoscope for the evaluation of small bowel graft mucosa in a human after intestinal transplantation.

BACKGROUND: Control of allograft rejection remains the most difficult dilemma in intestinal transplantation. Standard endoscopic surveillance to date has not been always accurate in the diagnosis of rejection. We describe the first application of a zoom video endoscope in monitoring graft mucosa in humans after intestinal transplantation. METHOD: A zoom video endoscope, which can magnify the image up to 100-fold, was used in this study. The patient was a 31-year-old man who received an isolated intestinal transplant. Surveillance endoscopy with the zoom video endoscope was performed through the ileostomy. Endoscopic biopsies were done at the same time. RESULTS: The zoom video endoscope showed the microscopic architecture of the graft mucosa such as villi and crypts with outstanding quality. We found that an enlargement of the crypt areas appeared to correlate with morphologic changes of early rejection. This finding was reversed with the treatment of rejection. CONCLUSIONS: The zoom video endoscope successfully showed the detailed information of intestinal mucosa. The ability to visualize a more representative view of the graft mucosa could lead to better detection of early rejection. A greater experience with this unique method will provide more accurate assessment of the intestinal allograft.

Adult↗

The influence of the mode of emergency ambulance transportation on the emergency patient's outcome.

Emergency transport by an ambulance can cause considerable psychical and physical stress for patients. We determined the haemodynamic and endocrinological values of 54 healthy volunteers subjected to one high speed emergency transport and one smooth transport. There were significant differences in all measurements: heart rate (p < or = 0.001), blood pressure, cortisol (p < or = 0.01), prolactin, somatotropine and ACTH between the two modes of transportation. We hypothesize that the additional stress of high speed ambulance transport particularly in patients with acute cardiac disease may result in additional morbidity.

Adrenocorticotropic Hormone↗

Recombinant gene products of two natural variants of the human cytidine deaminase gene confer different deamination rates of cytarabine in vitro.

The recent cloning of human cytidine deaminase (CDD) revealed two variants with a nonconservative amino acid deviation (Gln<-->Lys) at codon 27 within a region of structural homology to a core domain of bacterial CDDs. We here confirm the occurrence of both CDD sequences by cDNA cloning and show that at cytarabine (ara-C) concentrations of 1x10(-8) to 2x10(-2) M, the recombinant enzyme corresponding to the Lys-carrying natural variant (CDD-2) exerts a 1.3- to 3.3-fold higher in vitro deamination rate of ara-C than the Gln-carrying enzyme (CDD-1). These results suggest that this genetic polymorphism contributes to the different deamination phenotypes of ara-C observed in vivo, and that investigation of CDD allelotype frequencies and their correlation with ara-C resistance in patients with acute leukemia may be warranted. In addition, our data may be relevant to recently considered CDD gene transfer strategies for the detoxification of hematopoietic stem cells during high-dose therapy with cytosine nucleoside analogs.

Cytarabine↗

The detailed structure of tandem G.A mismatched base-pair motifs in RNA duplexes is context dependent.

The solution structure of the RNA duplex (rGGGCUGAAGCCCU), containing tandem G.A mismatches has been determined by NMR spectroscopy and restrained molecular dynamics. A homonuclear 3D TOCSY-NOESY was used to derive 18 to 30 distance restraints per nucleotide, as well as all gamma torsion angles and sugar puckers for the central UGAA part of the molecule. Using these constraints, together with cross-strand distances, involving exchangeable imino protons, and essentially all other torsion angles that can accurately be determined (i.e. beta, epsilon) otherwise, the structure of the UGAA domain could be determined with high precision (r.m.s.d. 0.62 A), without the aid of isotopically enriched RNA. The G.A base-pairs are of the sheared pairing type, with both nucleotides in the anti conformation, and hydrogen bonds between the guanine 2-amino and the adenine N7 and between the guanine N3 and the adenine 6-amino. Surprisingly the sugar of the guanosine of the G.A. mismatch adopts a 2'-endo sugar pucker conformation. Comparison with other RNA structures, in which two such G.A base-pairs are formed reveals that this detailed structure depends on the identity of the base 5' to the guanosine in the tandem G.A base-pairs. A geometrical model for the incorporation of sheared tandem G.A base-pairs in A-form helices is formulated, which explains the distinct different stacking properties and helical parameters in sequences containing tandem, sheared G.A base-pairs.

Adenine↗

Effects of antioxidants on motility and membrane integrity of chilled-stored stallion semen.

The use of chilled-stored stallion semen is limited by its relatively short-term fertilizing capacity. An important reason for the decrease in fertility during storage is the peroxidation of sperm membrane lipids. In this study, effects of the antioxidants ascorbic acid (0.45 and 0.9 g/L) and catalase (0.45 x 10(6) and 1.8 x 10(6) units/L) on chilled-stored stallion semen were investigated. Semen was collected by artificial vagina from 7 stallions and was diluted with skim milk extender or glycin extender. Sperm motility and membrane integrity were investigated after dilution and after 24, 48 and 72 h at 5 degrees C. Ascorbic acid significantly increased the percentage of membrane-intact spermatozoa at 24, 48 and 72 h at 5 degrees C when compared with that of the controls (P < 0.05), irrespective of the extender. Ascorbic acid decreased the percentage of progressively motile spermatozoa (P < 0.05) at a concentration of 0.9 g/L in glycin extender. Catalase decreased (P < 0.05) progressively motile spermatozoa after 24, 48 and 72 h at 5 degrees C in skim milk extender at a concentration of 1.8 x 10(6) units/L. Catalase decreased (P < 0.05) the percentage of membrane-intact spermatozoa at 24 h. Motility and membrane integrity of spermatozoa after dilution with glycin extender containing catalase did not differ from the controls. In conclusion, ascorbic acid has protective effects on sperm membrane integrity in diluted stallion semen.

Journal Article↗

Seminal plasma affects membrane integrity and motility of equine spermatozoa after cryopreservation.

Effects of seminal plasma on post-thaw motility and membrane integrity of cryopreserved horse spermatozoa were investigated. Carboxyfluorescein diacetate staining was used for the assessment of sperm membrane integrity. Adding 30% of seminal plasma from stallions with high post-thaw sperm motility to ejaculates from stallions with low post-thaw sperm motility increased progressive motility from 24.0 +/- 1.6 to 34.5 +/- 1.9% (P < 0.05) and membrane integrity from 27.0 +/- 2.1 to 34.3 +/- 2.3% membrane-intact spermatozoa (P < 0.05). Conversely, the addition of seminal plasma from stallions with low post-thaw sperm motility to ejaculates from stallions with high post-thaw motility decreased progressive motility from 36.0 +/- 1.6 to 30.0 +/- 2.7% (P < 0.05) but did not induce changes in membrane integrity. Seminal plasma from stallions with opposite post-thaw motility therefore clearly influenced the resistance of spermatozoa to the freezing and thawing process. We conclude that the individual composition of seminal plasma affects the suitability of stallions for semen cryopreservation.

Journal Article↗

Toxic effects on bacterial metabolism of the redox dye 5-cyano-2,3-ditolyl tetrazolium chloride.

The monotetrazolium redox dye 5-cyano-2,3-ditolyl tetrazolium chloride (CTC) has been used as a vital stain of actively respiring bacteria for several years. In this study, inhibitory effects on bacterial metabolism of this redox dye have been examined in a brackish water environment (Kiel Fjord, Germany) and a freshwater environment (Elbe River, Germany). As the results from time series experiments (1 to 10 h) show, bacterial growth and respiration of the investigated natural communities were clearly reduced by CTC supply. Compared with untreated controls (100%), CTC-treated samples showed distinctly lower heterotrophic bacterial plate counts (0 to 24 and 11.8 to 23.7%, respectively), bacterial production (0.9 to 14.1 and 1.1 to 9.6%, respectively), bacterial respiration (4.1 to 9.4 and 6.8 to 43.8% for several concentrations of (sup14)C-labeled glucose), and [(sup14)C]glucose incorporation (0.2 to 4.2%). Additionally, toxicity of CTC was demonstrated by luminescence in a Microtox bioassay. CTC concentrations of 0.1 and 5.0 (mu)M required only 15 min for decreases of approximately 50 and 100%, respectively. The suppression of CTC on several bacterial metabolic processes suggests that determination by the CTC technique underestimates the actual number of active cells distinctly. This conclusion is confirmed by the comparison of generation times calculated on the basis of thymidine uptake data and active bacterial counts determined by the CTC assay and microautoradiography. While unrealistic short generation times (0.5 to 5 h) resulted from the CTC assay, the generation times calculated according to microautoradiography ranged within values (7 to 21 h) reported elsewhere for comparable aquatic environments. The inhibitory effect of CTC demonstrated in our experiments is an aspect with regard to the application of this tetrazolium dye for the estimation of active bacteria in natural aquatic environments which hitherto has not been considered.

Journal Article↗

Biosynthetic and growth abnormalities are associated with high-level expression of CFTR in heterologous cells.

An inducible gene amplification system was utilized to study the effects of overexpression of cystic fibrosis transmembrane conductance regulator (CFTR) in vitro. BTS, a monkey kidney cell line expressing a temperature-sensitive simian virus 40 (SV-40) large T antigen was stably transfected at the nonpermissive temperature with a plasmid containing an SV-40 origin of replication and the cDNA for either the wild-type CFTR or the mutant G551D-CFTR. Shift of the isolated cell lines to the permissive temperature resulted in induction and accumulation to high levels of the CFTR plasmid, mRNA, and protein. However, high-level expression of CFTR was transient in both BTS-CFTR and BTS-G551D cells due to a decrease in their respective levels of CFTR mRNA. Because G551D-CFTR only exhibits residual Cl channel activity, this suggests that the observed downregulation with BTS-G551D cells may have been induced by either the physical presence of high amounts of CFTR or some low threshold level of Cl- channel activity. Examination of cell growth properties revealed a correlation between high-level expression of wild-type CFTR and growth arrest of the cells at the G2/M phase. However, similar induction of the G551D-CFTR mutant showed only a slight growth inhibition and little enrichment of cells at the G2/M phase. Cytofluorographic analysis further revealed that BTS-CFTR cells were significantly larger than parental BTS or BTS-G551D cells at all stages of the cell cycle. These results indicate that CFTR overexpression is capable of inducing its own downregulation and that high levels of Cl- channel activity can result in increased cell volume and subsequent cell growth abnormalities.

Animals↗

Characterization of the interaction of alkaline phosphatase with an activity inhibiting monoclonal antibody by progress curve analysis.

Using the enzyme activity inhibiting monoclonal antibody IB 10B8 against alkaline phosphatase of calf intestine (AP), the interaction of a macromolecular antigen with the antibody was studied with different reaction conditions and with different conformations of the antigen, i.e. using (i) different pH values, (ii) different temperatures, (iii) different substrate saturation of the enzyme, (iv) different glycosylphosphatidyl-AP (GPI-AP) aggregates, and (v) membrane-bound species. In the case of antibody excess and negligible substrate consumption enzymic product formation proceeds according to [P] = a + b x t - c x exp(-d x t). By direct progress curve fitting and secondary data evaluation using nonlinear regression, omitting numerical derivation and graphic techniques, kinetic constants of the immune reaction have been estimated. The method does not require any artificial labelling nor any separation of bound and free entities. (i) Upon increasing pH from 9.8 to 11.0, the dissociation constant of the enzyme-antibody complex is increased strongly, mainly due to the decreasing association rate constant. (ii) A temperature increase from 25 degrees C to 37 degrees C produces a marked increase of both the association and dissociation rate constant. (iii) To differentiate between the interaction of the antibody with the free (E) and substrate-bound (ES) enzyme, experiments were done at different substrate concentrations. The results were fitted to a model allowing determination of association and dissociation rate constants of the free and substrate-bound enzyme. The inverse variation of association and dissociation rate constants caused by substrate binding produces a marked increase of the dissociation constant of the antibody-enzyme complex. The antibody-bound enzyme shows a nearly three-fold higher Km value and a six-fold lower catalytic constant as compared to the free enzyme. (iv) Investigations of the interaction of the antibody with anchorless AP, different hydrophobic aggregates of purified GPI-AP (fractions II-V). (v) Membrane-bound GPI-AP show that the epitopes of all species are fully accessible to the antibody and not cryptic. Surprisingly the insertion of the GPI-moiety into the membrane and the aggregation of the different GPI-AP fractions II-V seem to improve antibody binding. Such improvement of binding was not found in control experiments with Fab, indicating only for the bivalent antibody a stronger interaction with the multivalent antigen than with the monovalent antigen.

Alkaline Phosphatase↗

Sequential backbone assignment of uniformly 13C-labeled RNAs by a two-dimensional P(CC)H-TOCSY triple resonance NMR experiment.

A new 1H-13C-31P triple resonance experiment is described which allows unambiguous sequential backbone assignment in 13C-labeled oligonucleotides via through-bond coherence transfer from 31P via 13C to 1H. The approach employs INEPT to transfer coherence from 31P to 13C and homonuclear TOCSY to transfer the 13C coherence through the ribose ring, followed by 13C to 1H J-cross-polarisation. The efficiencies of the various possible transfer pathways are discussed. The most efficient route involves transfer of 31Pi coherence via C4'i and C4'i-1, because of the relatively large JPC4' couplings involved. Via the homonuclear and heteronuclear mixing periods, the C4'i and C4'i-1 coherences are subsequently transferred to, amongst others, H1'i and H1'i-1, respectively, leading to a 2D 1H-31P spectrum which allows a sequential assignment in the 31P-1H1' region of the spectrum, i.e. in the region where the proton resonances overlap least. The experiment is demonstrated on a 13C-labeled RNA hairpin with the sequence 5'(GGGC-CAAA-GCCU)3'.

Base Sequence↗

Stoichiometry of recombinant cystic fibrosis transmembrane conductance regulator in epithelial cells and its functional reconstitution into cells in vitro.

We have generated several clones of Chinese hamster ovary, mouse epitheloid C127, and pig kidney epithelial LLCPK1 cells producing high levels of functional recombinant human cystic fibrosis transmembrane conductance regulator (CFTR). Processing of CFTR to the mature and fully glycosylated form in these cells is inefficient with only approximately 40% of all newly synthesized CFTR being converted to the mature form. Furthermore, expression of the most frequent mutant allele of the cystic fibrosis (CF) gene, the delta F508 mutant in these epithelial cells, indicated that it is biosynthetically arrested at the endoplasmic reticulum and fails to traffic to the plasma membrane. Using a combination of CFTR mutants and monoclonal antibodies, all the detectable recombinant CFTR in these cells was determined at least under the conditions used, to be present as a monomer. To demonstrate the feasibility of protein replacement therapy, we were able to effect the physical transfer of functional recombinant CFTR produced in Chinese hamster ovary cells to the plasma membranes of Ha3b fibroblasts, a cell line devoid of cAMP-stimulated chloride channels. Transfer of CFTR was mediated by the hemagglutinin viral fusion protein of influenza virus present on the Ha3b cells. Efficiency of transfer was up to 25% of the target cells, and CFTR chloride channel activity was detectable for up to 12 h post-fusion. Therefore, with the development of an appropriate formulation of fusogenic proteoliposome or virosome containing reconstituted purified CFTR, it should be feasible to introduce functional CFTR into CF-affected cells.

Adenosine Triphosphate↗