bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Human blood platelet gC1qR/p33
Authors: Peerschke Ellinor I. B. , Ghebrehiwet Berhane 
Published: March 2003

Summary:Platelets are involved in the development of many types of vascular lesions. In addition to their role in primary hemostasis, they participate in inflammatory processes that may contribute to the development of thrombosis, atherosclerosis and vasculitis. In this regard, we have been interested in platelet interactions with the complement subcomponent C1q. C1q has been shown to modulate platelet interactions with collagen and immune complexes, and has been identified at sites of vascular injury and inflammation, as well as in atherosclerotic lesions. Platelets express a variety of C1q binding sites, including gC1qR/p33 (gC1qR), a multifunctional, multicompartment cellular protein. Here we focus on the structure and function of platelet gC1qR and its emerging role in modulating platelet function at sites of vascular injury and inflammation.The authors are grateful to Wei‐Xing Guo M.D. for construction of the Exon 2 expression vector and GST‐E2 fusion protein expression, and to Yan Fang and Tara K. Murphy for technical assistance. This research was supported in part by grant HL50291 from the National Heart Lung and Blood Institute (EIBP, BG) and grant IM771 (BG) from the American Cancer Society.
Regulation of eosinophil and neutrophil apoptosis – similarities and differences
Authors: Simon Hans‐Uwe 
Published: March 2003

Summary: Apoptosis is the most common form of physiologic cell death and a necessary process to maintain cell numbers in multicellular organisms. In many chronic inflammatory diseases, reduced cell death of different types of granulocytes is one important mechanism for cell accumulation. Granulocytes are constantly produced in large amounts in the bone marrow and the same numbers die, under normal circumstances, within a defined time period. Changing the rate of apoptosis rapidly changes cell numbers in such systems. Overexpression of IL‐5 appears to be crucial for delaying eosinophil apoptosis in many allergic disorders, whereas overexpression of GM‐CSF and G‐CSF is associated with suppression of neutrophil apoptosis in bacterial and non‐bacterial inflammations. Cytokine withdrawal leads to the induction of apoptosis both in vitro and in vivo. In contrast to the role of survival cytokines, little is known about the role of death factors and their receptors in the regulation of granulocyte apoptosis. Recent observations suggest a role for mitochondria in both eosinophil and neutrophil apoptosis, although the mechanisms that trigger mitochondria to release pro‐apoptotic factors remain to be determined. Besides similarities, there are differences in the regulation of apoptosis between these granulocyte subtypes that include both expression and function of Bcl‐2 and caspase family members. The identification of differences in the apoptosis regulation may help to define new molecular targets that allow specific induction of either eosinophil or neutrophil apoptosis by pharmacological means.Work in the author's laboratory is supported by the Swiss National Science Foundation (32‐58916.99), Helmut Horten Foundation (Madonna del Piano), Foundation Novartis (Basel), EMDO Foundation (Zurich), and Stiftung zur Krebsbekämpfung (Zurich).
All roads lead to actin: the intimate relationship between TCR signaling and the cytoskeleton
Authors: Fuller Claudette L. , Braciale Vivian L. , Samelson Lawrence E. 
Published: March 2003

Summary:Regardless of cell type, the regulation of the actin cytoskeleton is tightly linked to vital biological properties such as polarity, motility, cell–cell contact, exocytosis and proliferation. In the immune system, where rapid and efficient response to antigen‐provoked stimuli is crucial, an overwhelming amount of data implicate the actin cytoskeleton and its regulators as central to immune function. Increasingly, the cytoskeleton is considered an essential amplification step in T cell receptor (TCR)‐, costimulatory‐, and integrin‐mediated signaling. Advances in genetic manipulation and confocal imaging have led to a keener appreciation of the importance of TCR signal integration by the actin cytoskeleton. This review outlines recent advances in elucidating the regulation of T cell function through the actin cytoskeleton. We also examine intriguing parallels between the immune system and other models of cytoskeletal regulation.
Quantification of oral mucositis due to radiotherapy by determining viability and maturation of epithelial cells
Authors: Stokman M. A. , Spijkervet F. K. L. , Wymenga A. N. M. , Burlage F. R. , Timens W. , Roodenburg J. L. N. , De Vries E. G. E. 
Published: March 2003

AbstractBackground:  An in‐vitro assay has been developed for quantitative assessment of chemotherapy induced oral mucositis. In the present study this method was evaluated for assessment of irradiation mucositis at a cellular level.Methods:  Ten patients participated in this consecutive study. All patients were treated with conventional fractionated curative postoperative radiotherapy. Prior to, and weekly during, the irradiation course, oral washings were obtained to determine viability of epithelial cells by trypan blue dye exclusion. Maturation of epithelial cells was assessed from smears (Papanicolaou staining). The viability data were compared with the WHO‐score for mucositis.Results:  Epithelial cell viability increased during the first three weeks of radiation (P = 0.04), and was seen earlier than the subjective mucosal changes with the WHO‐score. Cell maturity shifted from immature and intermediate to mature (P = 0.03).Conclusions:  The cell viability assay can be considered an objective method for following the development of irradiation mucositis, and seems to be more sensitive during the first three weeks of irradiation than the WHO‐scoring method.
Clear cell odontogenic carcinoma with ghost cells and inductive dentin formation – report of a case in the mandible
Authors: Ariyoshi Yasunori , Shimahara Masashi , Miyauchi Mutsumi , Nikai Hiromasa 
Published: March 2003

AbstractAn atypical case of clear cell odontogenic carcinoma occurred in the mandible of a 50‐year‐old Japanese man. Microscopically, the tumor mainly consisted of clear, glycogen‐rich epithelial cell nests, aggressively proliferated in the mandible and invading into the surrounding soft tissues. Within the tumor cell nests, clusters of ghost cells were observed in addition to occasional foci of microcystic degeneration. Hyaline, osteoid or dentinoid‐like deposits were also demonstrated adjacent to the tumor cell nests. Dentinal tubules were clearly revealed in some of these structures. Hence, this tumor was regarded as an epithelial neoplasm with odontogenic ectomesenchyme induction.
Lessons from Kipling and Rao: How to Re‐Appropriate Another Culture
Authors: Almond Ian 
Published: March 2003

This brief study will examine Anglo‐Indian Rudyard Kipling and Indo‐Anglian Raja Rao's, attempts to re‐appropriate a foreign culture in terms of their own wills. The novelist Rao's conviction of India's position as the origin of all Western culture, alongside Kipling's own curious tale of a tribe of distant “Englishmen” rediscovered in Northwest Afghanistan, both offer examples of attempts to re‐describe and ultimately re‐locate radically different cultures within the authors' own more familiar vocabularies. How does this cultural re‐appropriation take place, and what happens to the author's parent culture when something as radically ‘other’ as an Afghan tribe or a medieval French heresy is suddenly and unexpectedly re‐incorporated into the ‘family’? The often unsettling consequences of this operation are considered as they manifest themselves in both texts in similar ways, advancing the possibility that cultural‐appropriation affects the appropriator as much as the appropriated. And so strong is the inclination that is rooted in Mankind to the Love of their Country, that some learned and witty Men … have used great Art and Industry to represent them with such advantage to the World, as though Paradise were but another Name for their native Country. Bishop Stillingfleet1
Usage of real‐time ultraviolet radiation data to modify the daily erythemal exposure of primary schoolchildren
Authors: Kimlin Michael , Parisi Alfio 
Published: March 2003

Background/Aims: Primary schoolchildren in their everyday school life are exposed to solar ultraviolet radiation. This may be through time spent outdoors whilst having meal breaks, physical education classes and other class orientated outdoor activities.Methods: This research investigates the UV exposure of primary schoolchildren and the effect real‐time UV irradiances data and an associated software package, UVGUIDE, have on UV exposure. This software utilises scientifically collected data, such as facial distribution of UV, as well as accessing real‐time on‐line UV irradiances data to estimate the UV distribution to the head region. The students can also enter other parameters such as hat usage and hat type to show the effect of using such a UV protective device on their facial UV distribution.Conclusions: The results from this study found that the average 3‐day erythemal UV exposure in late summer and early autumn to the left shoulder was 33% higher for the students not having access to the on‐line UV data and software package.
Psoralen plus ultraviolet‐A‐bath photochemotherapy as an adjunct treatment modality in cutaneous chronic graft versus host disease
Authors: Leiter Ulrike , Kaskel Peter , Krähn Gertraud , Gottlöber Petra , Bunjes Donald , Peter Ralf‐Uwe , Kerscher Martina 
Published: March 2003

Background: Cutaneous chronic graft versus host disease (GVHD) is a severe complication following allogeneic stem cell (PBSCT) and bone marrow transplantation (BMT). Immunosuppressive therapy consists of prednisone, cyclosporine‐A, azathioprine or mycophenolate mofetil (MMF). Treatment of patients refractory to immunosuppression represents a major problem.Methods: We report six patients suffering from severe chronic GVHD of the skin who did not respond to immunosuppressive therapy or relapsed after reduction of glucocorticosteroids. Patients were treated with psoralen plus ultraviolet (PUVA)‐bath photochemotherapy three times weekly following a standardized treatment protocol under continued treatment with prednisone and/or MMF. One patient was additionally pretreated with ultraviolet‐A1 (UV‐Al).Results: After a median of 14, 5 treatment sessions, skin lesions improved. Out of six patients, three showed a complete remission. In all patients, systemic immunosuppressive therapy could be reduced. In sclerodermic lesions, skin thickness returned to the levels of normal skin after 25 treatments confirmed by 20 MHz ultrasound evaluation. In a follow‐up ranging from 2 to 21 months (median 10, 3 months), skin conditions remained stable.Conclusion: Psoralen plus ultraviolet‐A‐bath represents an effective adjunct treatment option for extensive chronic and sclerodermic cutaneous GVHD offered by dermatologists. This is of high interest in patients suffering from cutaneous GVHD resistant to conventional immunosuppressive therapy and should be included to the menu of topical treatment options for chronic cutaneous GVHD.
The mutagenic effect of ultraviolet‐A1 on human skin demonstrated by sequencing the p53 gene in single keratinocytes
Authors: Persson Åsa E. , Edström Desiree W. , Bäckvall Helena , Lundeberg Joakim , Pontén Fredrik , Ros Anne‐Marie , Williams Cecilia 
Published: March 2003

Background:  Sun exposure is accepted as the major risk factor for developing skin cancer, the most common cancer in the western world. Ultraviolet‐B (UV‐B) radiation is considered the causative agent, but recently several findings suggest a role also for ultraviolet‐A (UV‐A) radiation. Repeated suberythemal doses of ultraviolet‐A1 (UV‐A1) on healthy human skin induce an increase of p53 immunoreactive cells in epidermis, which may indicate cell cycle arrest and/or occurrence of p53 mutations. Methods:
We have investigated the possible mutagenic effect of UV‐A1 on skin by sequencing exons 4–11 and adjacent intron sequence of the p53 gene in immunoreactive single cells from three healthy individuals. Previously unexposed buttock skin was irradiated three times a week for 2 weeks with physiological fluences (40 J/cm2) of UV‐A1. Punch biopsies were taken before and at different time‐points after the exposure, and from these single p53 immunoreactive cells were isolated by using laser‐assisted microdissection. Results:  Three mutations – all being indicative of oxidative damage and most likely related to UV‐A exposure – were found among the 37 single cells from exposed skin, whereas no mutations were found in the 22 single cells taken before exposure. Conclusions:  The findings indicate a mutagenic effect of low‐dose UV‐A1 on healthy human skin, which further demonstrates the importance of considering UV‐A when taking protective measures against skin cancer.
Characterization of melatonin high‐affinity binding sites in purified cell nuclei of the hamster (Mesocricetus auratus) harderian gland
Authors: Coto‐Montes Ana , Tomás‐Zapico Cristina , Germaine Escames  , León Josefa , Tolivia Delio , JosefaRodríguez‐Colunga Mª , Acuña‐Castroviejo Darío 
Published: March 2003

Abstract:  In the present paper, binding of melatonin to purified cell nuclei from harderian glands of male and female hamsters was assessed. Binding of 125I‐melatonin to cell nuclei fulfills the criteria for binding to a receptor site. Binding kinetics exhibit properties such as dependence on time and temperature as well as reversibility, saturability, high affinity and specificity. The dissociation constants (KD) and the number of binding sites (Bmax) for the binding of 125I‐melatonin to harderian gland nuclei were 260 ± 56 pm and 12.2 ± 0.8 fmol/mg protein in male glands, and 280 ± 43 pm and 9.8 ± 0.6 fmol/mg protein in female glands, respectively. Competition experiments showed IC50 values for melatonin of 250 ± 45 pm and 290 ± 68 pm in male and female glands, respectively. Other indoleamines such as N‐acetylserotonine and 5‐metoxytryptamine showed IC50 values in the micromolar range, suggesting that the binding sites are specific for melatonin. Hill analyses of the data show nH values of 0.96–0.98, suggesting the existence of a single class of binding sites. These data indicate that specific 125I‐melatonin binding sites exist in the cell nuclei of Harderian glands in male as well as in female hamsters, without significant differences between them. The KD and Bmax values obtained from the binding in both sexes correlates well with the concentration of melatonin described in these respective Harderian glands. It is hypothesized that the nuclear binding sites of melatonin here described could be a physiological melatonin receptor, which may be involved in the genomic‐dependent antioxidant effects of melatonin on hamster Harderian glands elsewhere reported.
Maternal transfer of photoperiodic information in Siberian hamsters. vi. effects of time‐dependent 1‐hr melatonin infusions in the mother on photoperiod‐induced testicular development of her offspring
Authors: Gündüz Bülent , Stetson Milton H. 
Published: March 2003

Abstract: We tested in Siberian hamsters the nature of the maternal signal that relays photoperiodic information to the developing fetuses. As previous investigations have identified maternal hormonal and circadian components in this process, the specific goal of this presentation is to determine quality of the signal that connotes daylength when it is imparted to the fetus. Does the function of the signal received by the fetus best support the coincidence or duration hypotheses of photoperiodic induction? Pregnant hamsters received 1 or 8 hr melatonin or vehicle infusions everyday. Juveniles of intact mothers gestated on 16 hr of light per day (16L) experienced maximal suppression of testicular development when reared on 14L. However, when intact mothers gestated on 10L received a 1‐hr melatonin infusion daily at 20:00–21:00 hr, their young responded to 14L with greatly accelerated testicular development. In the absence of the maternal pineal gland (and, therefore, the maternal melatonin signal), the effects of maternal melatonin infusions were reversed. Here, only the juveniles of 16L‐gestated females infused at 20:00–21:00 hr daily responded to 14L with enhanced testicular development. All other groups showed the same extent of gonadal development, independent of the time or type of infusion their mothers received. Testicular development on 14L of all juveniles from pinealectomized mothers gestated on 10L was of the same magnitude, regardless of the type and time of infusion their mothers received during pregnancy. The results suggest that the maternal signal transferred to the fetuses during gestation consists not only of the daily melatonin signal, but also some circadian‐based component that greatly affects the effect of the former. The timing, and not the duration, of the maternal melatonin signal with respect to the animals’ (mother and fetus) circadian day is of crucial importance in the transfer of photoperiodic information from mother to fetus.
Biophysical measurements of human forearm skin in vivo: effects of site, gender, chirality and time
Authors: Chilcott Robert Peter , Farrar Rebecca 
Published: March 2003

Background/aims: Measurements of transepidermal water loss (TEWL) and skin colour are biophysical techniques commonly used to measure the in vivo skin effects of cosmetics, topical medicaments and chemical irritants. The purpose of this study was to investigate the variability of TEWL and skin colour on human forearm skin as a function of regional variation, gender and preferred chirality over an 8 h period.Methods: Biophysical measurements of TEWL and skin colour were made at five sites on both forearms of male (n=8) and female (n=9) human volunteers in vivo (38% relative humidity, 21°C).Results: Rates of TEWL at the forearm midpoint were 10% lower than at the forearm extremities (P<0.01). Skin redness (a*) near the wrist was 5–10% higher than at other sites (P<0.05). Rates of TEWL were 5% higher in male volunteers (P<0.05). Red and blue (b*) colour measurements of male forearm skin differed by 18% and 20% in comparison with female, respectively. Rates of TEWL, skin brightness (L*) and b* decreased by 9% (P<0.05), 1.8% (P<0.05) and 4% (P<0.05), respectively, with time whereas a* and skin temperature increased by 4.5% (P<0.01) and 7.2% (P<0.01), respectively. There was a significant correlation between the change in all measured parameters with time.Conclusions: Significant differences in TEWL and skin colour were identified that may have relevance in the design and interpretation of multivariate analyses of human forearm skin. Diurnal variation of TEWL, skin colour and temperature may have a single underlying mechanism.
Autofluorescence spectrum of skin: component bands and body site variations
Authors: Na Renhua , Stender Ida‐Marie , Ma Lixin , Wulf Hans Christian 
Published: March 2003

Background/aims: The autofluorescence spectrum of skin consists of a number of overlapping single spectra emitted by fluorescent molecules. The overlapping makes it difficult to distinguish changes in the overall spectrum and the molecular basis for it. We applied curve fitting analysis to decompose the autofluorescence spectrum of normal human skin and studied the variation in different body sites.Methods: Skin autofluorescence spectra were obtained in vivo from the normal skin of 17 subjects, using 5 excitation wavelengths: 340, 350, 360, 370 and 380 nm. The spectra were displayed in the wavelength range of 400 nm to 800 nm. Curve fitting was performed for each spectrum using the Levenberg–Marquardt algorithm.Results: The skin autofluorescence spectra, provoked by all the excitation wavelengths, consisted of three component bands with center wavelengths at 450 nm, 520 nm and 625 nm. The 450 nm band contributed about 75% to the intensity of the overall spectrum, the 520 nm band contributed 25%, and the 625 nm band contributed about 2%. The three bands may correspond mainly to the fluorescence of nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide (NADH), flavin adenine dinucleotide (FAD), and porphyrins. Significant differences were found between the spectra of forehead and buttock skin. In forehead skin, the 625 nm band contributed more to the intensity of the overall spectrum, while the 450 nm and 520 nm bands had much lower peak heights, and the 450 nm and 625 nm bands were broader.Conclusions: The autofluorescence of skin is an overlapped spectra of molecules such as NADH, FAD, and porphyrins. These molecules contribute differently to the overall spectrum in different body sites.
Instrumental evaluation of retinoid‐induced skin irritation
Authors: Stücker M. , Hoffmann M. , Altmeyer P. 
Published: March 2003

Background/purpose Retinoids like tazarotene are approved for the treatment of chronic plaque psoriasis. In the beginning of topical retinoid therapy, 15–20% of the patients suffer from mild to moderate adverse reactions with burning and erythema. The aim of the study was to find predicative parameters of the individual irritative potential and to suggest options to reduce these initial irritations.Methods Twenty in‐patients with different skin types (1 + 2: 11, 3 + 4: 9), with chronic plaque psoriasis were included in this open study. In each patient, 7 randomized plaques on the forearm were treated for 14 days on different ways: test area 1: morning (m) and evening (e) placebo, test area 2: placebo (m) and tazarotene 0.05% (e), test area 3: placebo (m) and tazarotene 0.1% (e), test area 4: calcipotriol (m) and calcípotriol (e), test area 5: mometasone furoate (m) and tazarotene 0.05% (e), test area 6: mometasone furoate (m) and tazarotene 0,1% (e), test area 7: placebo (m) and tazarotene in increasing concentrations (e), test area 8: healthy skin for control. Before and after therapy, skin barrier function, blood flow and plaque thickness in 20‐MHz sonography were assessed in different test areas intraindividually by non‐ invasive biophysical measurements.Results After 14 days of therapy, tazarotene 0.05% and 0.1% produced a stronger increase of laser Doppler flow in patients with skin type 1 and 2 than in patients with skin type 3 and 4. When using the combination therapy of tazarotene and mometasone, the laser Doppler flow was significantly lower than in tazarotene as monotherapy. 20‐MHz‐ultrasound showed a significant decrease in the thickness of the echopoor band in all topical therapy regimens compared to placebo. Patients of skin type 1 and 2 reached a higher density of the dermis than patients of skin type 3 and 4, meaning a stronger decrease of inflammatory infiltration and acanthosis.Conclusion Adapting retinoid therapy to the patient's skin type can reduce the initial irritative side‐effects. During the first days, patients with skin type 1 or 2 should add a medium potency corticosteroid. Stronger skin irritation caused by tazarotene therapy increases therapy effects.