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Biomedical subjects

J R Esterly

Publications and source records attributed to J R Esterly.

At least 19 recordsLinked to original sources

Unique anomalies in cephalothoracopagus janiceps conjoined twins with implications for multiple mechanisms in the abnormal embryogenesis.

The anatomic features of female conjoined twins with the Janiceps type of cephalothoracopagus are described. Abnormalities included bilateral clefts of the alveolar arches, shared rudimentary mandible, high, arched clavicles, multiple rib deformities, single shared foregut and small intestine, absent large intestines, omphalocele, multicystic kidneys, hypoplastic lungs, interconnected aortas and neck vessels, single ovary with elongated uterus in each twin, displaced labia, abnormal segmentation of the vertebrae, spinal dysraphism, diastasis of the symphysis pubis, malrotated lower extremity, bilateral posterior dislocation of the hips, and club feet. There were two hearts with internal anomalies. Both spinal cords had a myelocele in the lumbar region. The abnormalities noted in previous reports of conjoined twins of this type are reviewed and compared. We propose that factors associated with conjoining, dysgenetic (developmental) defects, and deformations resulting from crowding in utero all may have been important in the abnormal development in this case.

Digestive System Abnormalities

Mosaic trisomy 7 and renal dysplasia.

Trisomy 7 was detected in umbilical cord cells cultured from a fetus with renal dysplasia. Skin fibroblasts were diploid. Because of a paucity of liveborn infants with full trisomy 7, the phenotype is not well described; however renal anomalies appear to be common with trisomy 7.

Adult

Alveolar macrophages in perinatal infants.

The presence of alveolar macrophages in the neonatal lung at the time of autopsy is correlated with the presence of pulmonary lesions and with the duration of postnatal life. Alveolar macrophages were noted at 20 weeks of gestation in infants with congenital pneumonia, but were not present in most full-term infants who were stillborn. They were found in nearly all infants who survived for 48 hours irrespective of pulmonary lesions or gestational age.

Female

Ontogeny of the inflammatory response in the fetal rat.

Fetal rats of 16, 17 and 18 days gestation (dg) were injected with turpentine or Streptococcus faecalis in 1% India ink. Specimens of peritoneal tissues and exudates were collected at 24, 48 and 96 h after injection. Inflammation was present in some of the youngest animals (16 dg) 24 h after injection with bacteria. The response consisted of infiltrates of polymorphonuclear (PMN) and mononuclear (MN) cells in tissues adjacent to the peritoneum. Inflammatory cells were also found within the peritoneal cavity. Phagocytosis of ink particles and bacteria was noted in these cells and in cells of the serosa and adjacent mesenchyme. Free peritoneal cells were not seen in littermate controls. Phagocytosis was also noted in PMNs and MNs in the exudates collected at 48 h. A more marked granulocytic response was seen in animals sacrificed 24 h following bacteria-ink injection at 17 dg. Inflammation was more extensive and consistent by 19 dg. The reaction to turpentine was associated with the variable degree of tissue injury noted in histologic sections. The gestational age at time of injection was a more important determinant of the magnitude and character of response than was the duration of the lesion.

Animals

Mitoses in peripheral pulmonary epithelium: the effect of colchicine.

Injury in the periphery of the lung was studied in rats given intratracheal trypsin. Mitotic figures were noted in the alveolar epithelium, and colchicine enhanced the yield. Of 65 mitotic figures examined in detail, 46 were present in the alveolar epithelium. Epithelial mitoses were confined to type II cells, many of which contained lamellar inclusions, abundant rough endoplasmic reticulum, and luminal microvilli. Mitoses were not seen in type I cells or in less well differentiated epithelial cells, but they were noted in occasional endothelial and interstitial cells. Colchicine-arrested type II cells were distinguished by radially disposed chromosomes surrounding pairs of centrioles and randomly oriented microtubules. In addition, many of these cells showed a pronounced cortical zone, devoid of microvilli, and others showed cytotoxic degenerative changes. These observations indicate that the alveolar epithelium is renewed exclusively by division of differentiated type II cells.

Animals

Observations on the human corpus luteum: histochemical changes during development and involution.

Morphologic studies of the developing, gestational, and involuting corpus luteum show that rapid structural changes occur and that involution is not associated with an appropriate inflammatory response. Histochemical techniques were used to demonstrate several patterns of enzyme activity. The luteunized granulosa cells stained with increasing intensity for lactic dehydrogenase, succinic dehydrogenase, cytochrome oxidase, glucose-6-phosphatase, and 3 beta-hydroxysteroid dehydrogenase, but reactivity for these enzymes dropped markedly with early involution, and staining was never conspicuous in the organizing cavity. Reactions for acid phosphatase, glucosaminidase, galactosidase, glucuronidase, and nonspecific esterase were also present in the developing corpus luteum, but staining decreased more slowly during involution and was prominent in the occasional macrophages in the granulosa and the granulation tissue in the cavity. Staining was moderately intense for all of the enzymes in the corpus luteum of pregnancy. The decrease in activity for these metabolic enzymes confirms the histologic impression of degeneration, but the loss of staining for lysosomal enzymes was more rapid than expected. The latter finding complicates the hypothesis of involution of involution of the corpus luteum as an example of programmed cell death.

Corpus Luteum

Unexplained bronchopulmonary disease with inflammatory bowel disease.

Six patients developed severe, unexplained, chronic bronchopulmonary disease from 3 to 13 years after the onset of nonspecific inflammatory disease of the colon. All had chronic bronchitis, bronchiectasis was diagnosed in four, and an obstructive type of pulmonary dysfunction was noted in five. Four of the six, including the two with only chronic bronchitis, had no history of smoking. There was an initial correlation between the pulmonary symptoms and the intestinal disease, except in two patients who developed overt pulmonary disease following total proctocolectomy. The frequent occurence of extraintestinal lesions has suggested that ulcerative colitis and regional enteritis are systemic disorders. Chronic unexplained bronchopulmonary disease may be another infrequent complication in such patients.

Bronchi

Histochemical demonstration of lysosomal hydrolase activity in endometrial mononuclear cells. I. Normal endometrium.

Interstitial cell reactivity for lysosomal hydrolases was demonstrated in 67 endometrial specimens with histochemical techniques. Cyclic changes in the number of reactive cells corresponded to the stage of the menstrual cycle. Techniques for galactosidase and glucuronidase showed increasing numbers of reactive cells through the late secretory stage. Staining for glucosaminidase and nonspecific esterase also increased in late secretory endometrium. In contrast, acid phophatase activity was biphasic, and that of leucine aminopeptidase remained relatively constant. Only minimal interstitial staining was seen in prepubertal and postmenopausal specimens.

Acid Phosphatase

Histochemical demonstration of lysosomal hydrolase activity in endometrial mononuclear cells. II. Abnormal endometrium.

The mononuclear cells in the endometrial stoma change in reactivity for lysosomal hydrolases during the menstrual cycle. Lymphoid follicles may occur in the stroma in any phase of the cycle and have been found in gestational endometrium. However, these cells have no significant lysosomal activity. Alterations in the endometrium are reflected in modified patterns of activity. Endometritis, association with an intrauterine contraceptive device, pregnancy, and adenocarcinoma result in increased numbers and staining intensity of mononuclear cells. In contrast, no consistent changes were apparent in foci of glandular hyperplasia, and decreased staining was seen in atrophic areas of endometrium. These data suggest that interstitial mononuclear cells are a sensitive monitor of morphologic changes in the endometrium.

Acid Phosphatase

Establishment of replicating long-term lines of rabbit macrophages and lymphocytes.

Macrophages (monocyte derived) and lymphocytes have been successfully cultured from rabbit peripheral blood so that replicating long-term cultures are maintained both in media and in the viable, frozen state. The macrophages are considered as such on the basis of phagocytic capabilities, gamma-globulin receptor sites as evidenced by rosette formation with sensitized red cells and disparate enzyme content from the lymphocytes.

Acid Phosphatase

Hepatic changes in young infants with cystic fibrosis: possible relation to focal biliary cirrhosis.

Focal biliary cirrhosis is an uncommon finding in infants with cystic fibrosis, but it is present in more than a fifth of surviving children and adolescents. It was found at postmortem examination in only five of 47 infants with CF younger than 3 months, in five of 32 infants from 3 to 12 months, and in 18 of 67 children older than 1 year. In infants under 3 months, excessive mucus in intrahepatic bile ducts was seen in 11 necropsies; in 15 others there were only nonspecific periportal changes. Cholestasis was found in the livers of 18 of the 26 infants. Excessive mucus in the biliary tree was occasionally associated with periportal changes and cholestasis in older infants. The periportal changes, which are regarded as nonspecific, were never found in infants more than 1 year of age.

Age Factors