[Electrocardiograms with deep terminal S wave in the 2d and 3d standard lead].
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Biomedical subjects
Publications and source records attributed to P Mayer.
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Calcium/calmodulin-dependent protein kinase type II (CaM kinase II) is an intracellular enzyme discovered several years ago in the brain which is obviously involved in intracellular signal transmission. Meanwhile it was detected in virtually every mammalian tissue. Several isoforms have been found to exist. Most recently the tissue distribution and the molecular structure of these isoforms have suggested that each form entails a particular function. In the present study we describe the identification, cloning, and nucleotide sequencing of two novel CaM kinase II isoforms which we discovered in rat heart. The presence of these additional subtypes makes the heart the organ which possesses the greatest number of different and unusual CaM kinase II isoforms throughout the body except for the brain. The importance of this finding is underscored by the fact that calcium is involved in the regulation of many crucial cardial parameters. The deduced amino acid sequence that we have obtained from the new CaM kinase II isoforms indicates a molecular organization which could make the design of subtype-specific inhibitory drugs for CaM kinase II possible. Such compounds would act similarly to but much more selectively than digitalis glycosides and would be likely to possess less side effects.
An experimental Pseudomonas aeruginosa lung infection was induced by aerosol exposure in mice which had been pretreated with cyclophosphamide. A single dose of 200 mg/kg cyclophosphamide resulted in leukopenia which lasted for three days. At the lowest PMN levels, the mice were exposed to aerosols containing varying doses of bacteria. The survival time of the mice and the number of viable bacteria in their lungs were determined. A dramatic rise in the viable counts of Pseudomonas organisms was found between 18 and 24 hours after infection. Mice which had not been pretreated with cyclophosphamide remained healthy and did not show any lung lesions. The number and phagocytic function of the alveolar macrophages remained unaltered after cyclophosphamide treatment. Thus, PMNs seem to play an important role in the lung's early defence mechanisms against Pseudomonas aeruginosa. This animal model could be of use in evaluating additional therapies for lung infections caused by Pseudomonas aeruginosa.
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Experimental sensitization in dogs has revealed that the capacity to produce high levels of IgE against a variety of allergens (high IgE responders), an essential characteristic of the atopic state, is a genetic trait inherited in a dominant manner. In high IgE responder dogs spontaneous development of IgE to inhaled allergens, such as house dust mites, on the other hand, represents an apparent phenotype very similar to that observed in human atopic families. The full potential of the high IgE response gene appears to be fulfilled only under some conditions such as early and repeated exposition to allergens. It is therefore quite possible that the true phenotype of human atopy would also be inherited in a dominant fashion but not constantly expressed. This would explain why the increase in the prevalence of allergic diseases started long before the environmental factors currently accused could have been at play. This hypothesis, which can be verified experimentally, has important implications for the future of allergy.
The continuous incubation for several days of HL60 cells, in exponential growth, with aclacinomycin A (ACM) induces growth inhibition, necrosis, differentiation and apoptosis. Differentiation and apoptosis were assessed by optical microscopy (OM) and flow cytometry (FCM). ACM displayed dose-dependent effects, except for the differentiation induction, which was biphasic. Differentiation and apoptosis could also be induced after a 1 h ACM exposure only. The poor reproducibility of apoptosis induction led us to study the culture conditions described in the literature (without renewing the medium) where control cells are not growing exponentially during the 5 day incubation period. During kinetic studies with different ACM concentrations, the differentiation was detected earlier by FCM than by OM, while it was not the case for apoptosis. This induction appeared more reproducible when non optimal conditions of culture were used.