Branched α-(1,4) glucans from Lentinula edodes (L10) in combination with radiation enhance cytotoxic effect on human lung adenocarcinoma through the Toll-like receptor 4 mediated induction of THP-1 differentiation/activation

This work investigated the role of structure in the binding of polysaccharides from 10 regionally different strains of Lentinula edodes to Toll-like receptor 4 (TLR-4) on monocytes (THP-1) and the potential effect of this interaction on tumor cell viability. Principal component analysis and multiple linear regression identified arabinose, glucose 1 → 4 linkage, and molecular weights about 2700 and 534 kDa as the significant determinant factors associated with TLR-4 binding activity. The branched α-(1,4)-glucan (L10) had the strongest ability to bind to TLR-4 and induce THP-1 cell differentiation. L10 induction of the THP-1 cell differentiation, superoxide production, and cytokine production followed the TLR-4/MyD88/IKK/NFκB pathway. Coculture of irradiated human lung adenocarcinoma A549 cells with L10-activated THP-1 cells resulted in significantly decreased percentage of viable A549 cells from 66 to 37% (p = 0.018), increased levels of superoxide, interleukin-8, and RANTES, and decreased levels of angiogenin and vascular endothelial growth factor. The results indicate that L10-activated monocytes have the potential to boost the antitumor immune response and antitumor activity of radiotherapy.     

Cor triatriatum sinister with incomplete atrioventricular septal defect in a cat

An 11-month-old, 3 kg, female domestic shorthair cat was referred to evaluate cardiac structure and function. Echocardiography revealed the membrane dividing the left atrium into two chambers, a large defect in the lower part of the atrial septum, and turbulent blood flow from the distal left atrium into the right atrium. These findings suggested cor triatriatum sinister (CTS) with incomplete atrioventricular septal defect (AVSD). The cat was treated with medications for management of congestive heart failure. In the end, she died from right-sided heart failure 17 months after the initial presentation. At necropsy, a fibromuscular membrane with a round orifice in the left atrium and an ostium primum defect were confirmed, and the definitive diagnosis of CTS with incomplete AVSD was made. To our knowledge, this study presents the first case report of CTS with incomplete AVSD in a cat.     

Tumor-promoting effect of GGN-MRP extract from the Maillard reaction products of glucose and glycine in the presence of sodium nitrite in C3H10T1/2 cells.

GGN-MRP is an extract from the Maillard reaction products of nitrite with glucose and glycine in the Maillard browning system. No genotoxicity of GGN-MRP in culture hepatocyte was found. A two-stage transformation protocol was used to transform chemically mouse embryo fibroblast C3H10T1/2 cells. To initiate transformation, the cells were treated with benzo[a]pyrene [B(a)P; 0.1 microg/mL], and GGN-MRP (0.01, 0.1, and 1.0 mg/mL) was employed to subsequently complete the transformation process. Malignant transformed foci were formed in B(a)P-initiated and GGN-MRP-promoted C3H10T1/2 cells after 8 weeks. Cells treated with GGN-MRP alone failed to induce transformation. However, cells initiated with B(a)P and promoted by GGN-MRP demonstrated oncogenic properties. Transformed colonies derived from GGN-MRP-treated cells exhibited enhanced growth rate, anchorage independence, and tumorgenicity in animals relative to parent cells. These results indicated that GGN-MRP contains a tumor promoter and may induce tumor promotion by two-stage oncogenesis.     

Persistence of porcine reproductive and respiratory syndrome virus in intensive farrow-to-finish pig herds.

An epidemiological study of porcine reproductive and respiratory syndrome (PRRS) within pig herds was conducted in 8 intensive farrow-to-finish pig farms. Persistence of PRRS virus (PRRSV) in pig herds was demonstrated by regular postmortem examination on 2 farms for a period of 2 y. Virus isolation and serum neutralization (SN) tests were performed on the sera collected from 9 groups of pigs (10 pigs/group) of various ages on 8 pig farms. Except for 1 farm, isolation rates of PRRSV reached the highest level of 70 to 100% of pigs 6 to 8 wk of age, which coincided with the lowest levels of maternal immunity. In 1 pig herd, sows (39 in total) with SN titers of < or = 1:2, 1:4-1:8, and > or = 1:16 were designated as groups 1, 2, and 3, respectively. Sera were obtained from their progeny (3 pigs randomly selected from each litter) at various ages from 0 to 22 weeks. A positive correlation (r = 0.377, P < 0.001) between the SN titers of sows and those of their progeny (1-week-old piglets) was observed. Pigs at the age of 6 wk, only 7.9% of group 1 pigs compared to 72.4% of group 3 pigs were seropositive. A significant difference (P < 0.01) in the percentage of pigs with PRRSV viremia among the 3 groups was observed, with the lowest level found in group 3 pigs. The isolation rates of PRRSV from serum reached the maximum at the age of 9 wk for all 3 groups. The results indicated that passively acquired serum antibodies conferred a protective effect for piglets; however, loss of passive immunity at various ages of pigs produced susceptible pigs that resulted in PRRSV persistence in the pig herds. Pigs 6 to 9 weeks old were the major reservoir for PRRSV in farrow-to-finish pig herds.     

Isolation and chemical analyses of nonfermented fiber fractions of oat hulls and cottonseed hulls.

The purpose of this study was to isolate, using both in situ and in vivo methodology, the nonfermented fiber fraction of oat hulls (OH) and cottonseed hulls (CSH) and to compare the concentrations of alkali-labile phenolic monomers, nitrobenzene oxidizable phenolic monomers, and neutral monosaccharides, as well as the cross polarization/magic angle spinning (CP/MAS) carbon-13 (13C) nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) spectra, of the nonfermented fraction with the original OH or CSH. The in situ isolation procedure involved a 30-h ruminal pretreatment and an 8-h acid:pepsin pretreatment followed by 1 to 7 additional days of incubation in the rumen. Fractions not fermented in vivo were isolated from duodena, ileal, and fecal material obtained from a site and extent of digestion trial in which these byproducts were fed to sheep at 80% of the diet (as-fed basis) and they represented the sole source of dietary fiber. Based on nonfermented fraction composition, both in situ and in vivo, all components analyzed were degraded to some extent. Also, all components present in original byproduct material were present in both the in situ and in vivo nonfermented fractions. Based on NMR analysis, cellulose crystallinity did not change during either long-term in situ or in vivo fermentation. However, CSH cellulose was more crystalline than that of OH. The ADL content of OH and CSH was 6.1% and 19.4%, respectively, and very little (15%) of the ADL disappeared during either in situ or in vivo fermentation. Much of the p-coumaric and ferulic acid of OH, associated with the cell wall matrix as lignin-carbohydrate and phenolic-carbohydrate complexes, was recovered in the fermented fractions. Data are interpreted to indicate that lignin encrustation and cellulose crystallinity are factors affecting CSH fermentation. Lignin encrustation and the presence of lignin-carbohydrate/phenolic-carbohydrate complexes are factors that inhibit OH fermentation.     

Antagonistic effect of atipamezole on xylazine-induced sedation, bradycardia, and ruminal atony in calves.

Three doses of an alpha 2-adrenoreceptor antagonist, atipamezole, were administered to reverse xylazine-induced sedation, bradycardia, and ruminal atony in calves. Once a week for 4 weeks, each of 6 calves was administered IV 1 treatment of: 0.3 mg of xylazine/kg of body weight, followed in 10 minutes by 1 ml of 0.9% NaCl; 0.3 mg of xylazine/kg, followed in 10 minutes by 3 micrograms of atipamezole/kg; 0.3 mg of xylazine/kg, followed in 10 minutes by 10 micrograms of atipamezole/kg; or 0.3 mg of xylazine/kg, followed in 10 minutes by 30 micrograms of atipamezole/kg. The order of the 4 treatments in each calf was selected at random. Xylazine alone caused lateral recumbency for 33.6 +/- 7.1 minutes (mean +/- SEM). Atipamezole administered at dosages of 3, 10, and 30 micrograms/kg shortened xylazine-induced lateral recumbency to 20.5 +/- 3.0, 10.2 +/- 0.2, and 9.3 +/- 0.5 minutes, respectively. Calves given xylazine alone stood at greater than 60 minutes after the onset of recumbency. Atipamezole given at 3, 10, and 30 micrograms/kg shortened the time from onset of lateral recumbency to standing to 40.2 +/- 6.9, 12.8 +/- 1.1, and 10.0 +/- 0.7 minutes, respectively. Drowsiness was found in calves given the lowest dosage of atipamezole (3 micrograms/kg) after the calves stood. Atipamezole given at dosages of 10 and 30 micrograms/kg reversed xylazine-induced ruminal atony in a dose-dependent manner. In addition, 30 micrograms of atipamezole/kg reversed xylazine-induced bradycardia, but the lower dosages of this antagonist did not. Results indicated that 30 micrograms of atipamezole/kg should be a useful antidote for xylazine overdose in cattle.     

Effects of ACTH administration on bovine polymorphonuclear leukocyte function and lymphocyte blastogenesis

Yearling steers were treated with ACTH to determine the effect of increased plasma cortisol concentration on bovine lymphocyte and polymorphonuclear leukocyte (PMN) function. The administration of ACTH caused a significant (P less than 0.01) increase in serum cortisol concentration and depression of lymphocyte blastogenesis in response to phytohemagglutinin and concanavalin A. The response to pokeweed mitogen was also depressed, but not significantly. Random migration by PMN was significantly enhanced by ACTH treatment, but there was no effect on ingestion of Staphylococcus aureus, nitroblue tetrazolium reduction, or antibody-dependent cell-mediated cytotoxicity by PMN. The iodination reaction, which evaluates the activity of the myeloperoxidase-hydrogen peroxide-halide antibacterial system of the PMN, was significantly impaired after ACTH treatment. These data indicate that specific parameters of lymphocyte and neutrophil function were impaired directly or indirectly by elevated in vivo concentrations of plasma cortisol.     

The right and the good: distributive justice and neural encoding of equity and efficiency

Distributive justice concerns how individuals and societies distribute benefits and burdens in a just or moral manner. We combined distribution choices with functional magnetic resonance imaging to investigate the central problem of distributive justice: the trade-off between equity and efficiency. We found that the putamen responds to efficiency, whereas the insula encodes inequity, and the caudate/septal subgenual region encodes a unified measure of efficiency and inequity (utility). Notably, individual differences in inequity aversion correlate with activity in inequity and utility regions. Against utilitarianism, our results support the deontological intuition that a sense of fairness is fundamental to distributive justice but, as suggested by moral sentimentalists, is rooted in emotional processing. More generally, emotional responses related to norm violations may underlie individual differences in equity considerations and adherence to ethical rules.     

An insulin-stimulated protein kinase similar to yeast kinases involved in cell cycle control

A protein kinase characterized by its ability to phosphorylate microtubule-associated protein-2 (MAP2), is thought to be an early intermediate in an insulin-stimulated phosphorylation cascade and in a variety of other mammalian cell responses to extracellular signals. A complementary DNA that encodes this protein serine-threonine kinase has been cloned, and the protein designated extracellular signal-regulated kinase 1 (ERK1). ERK1 has striking similarity to two protein kinases, KSS1 and FUS3, from yeast. The yeast kinases function in an antagonistic manner to regulate the cell cycle in response to mating factors. Thus, ERK1 and the two yeast kinases constitute a family of evolutionarily conserved enzymes involved in regulating the response of eukaryotic cells to extracellular signals.