bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Cytomegalovirus‐infected neuroblastoma cells exhibit augmented invasiveness mediated by β1α5 integrin (VLA‐5)
Authors: Scholz M. , Blaheta R.A. , Wittig B. , Cinatl J. , Vogel J.‐U. , Doerr H.W. , Cinatl J. 
Published: March 2003

Abstract:Previously, experimental in vivo results showed that the productively and persistently human cytomegalovirus (HCMV)‐infected neuroblastoma cell line UKF‐NB‐4AD169 exhibits a more malignant phenotype than the non‐infected variant UKF‐NB‐4. To prove the assumption that enhanced malignancy may be due to enhanced invasive potential of the infected cells we studied interactions of both lines with monolayers of cultured endothelial cells. UKF‐NB‐4AD169 cells adhered to and transmigrated through endothelial monolayer to a significantly higher extent compared with UKF‐NB‐4. Furthermore, the adhesion of UKF‐NB‐4AD169 but not of UKF‐NB‐4 resulted in focal disruption of the monolayer integrity which facilitates tumor cell transmigration. Blocking antibodies directed against the β1 integrin chain as well as β1α5 on the tumor cells specifically inhibited adhesion in a concentration‐dependent manner. When UKF‐NB‐4 were pretreated with a β1 integrin activating antibody, focal disruption of the endothelial integrity also occurred. These findings lead us to suggest that HCMV infection activates β1α5 in the host neuroblastoma cell which in turn enables these cells to tightly adhere to endothelial cells. In the presence of the protease inhibitor phenantroline, β1α5‐mediated adhesion was not impaired whereas UKF‐NB‐4AD169‐mediated endothelial monolayer permeabilization was dose dependently inhibited. We conclude that human cytomegalovirus infection contributes to augmented neuroblastoma invasiveness via adhesion of activated β1α5 and subsequent matrix digestion by proteases.
CDw108 expression during T‐cell development
Authors: Mine T. , Harada K. , Matsumoto T. , Yamana H. , Shirouzu K. , Itoh K. , Yamada A. 
Published: March 2003

Abstract:We recently reported a gene encoding the human CDw108, a glycosylphosphatidylinositol (GPI)‐anchored membrane glycoprotein that is preferentially expressed on activated T lymphocytes and erythrocytes. The present study investigated the expression of CDw108 on various tissues and cells, particularly on T cells during development. The murine CDw108 cDNA was cloned initially, and it was highly homologous to the human CDw108 (88.0% or 89.3% similarity at the nucleotide or amino acid level, respectively) or identical to the murine semaphorin K1/Sema7A. The CDw108 mRNA was demonstrated in a few tissues including thymus and brain with the highest expression coming on day 7 in whole embryo followed by relatively consistent expression during development. Cell‐surface expression of the CDw108 during T‐cell development was further examined by flow cytometry in the human umbilical cord blood and thymus. It was preferentially expressed on a CD34+ stem cell population of umbilical cord blood, and CD3dull CD34+/‐ CD117 (c‐kit)+ CD4bright CD8bright cells in the thymus that are involved in the stage of positive selection. These results suggest the contribution of CDw108 in T‐cell development, especially in the stage of positive selection in the thymus (
Note).
Significant association of the tumor necrosis factor receptor 2 (TNFR2) gene with human narcolepsy
Authors: Hohjoh H. , Terada N. , Kawashima M. , Honda Y. , Tokunaga K. 
Published: March 2003

Acknowledgments:This work was supported by Grants‐in‐Aid from the Ministry of Education, Science, Sports and Culture of Japan and by the grant provided by the Uehara Memorial Foundation.Abstract:We report on the association study of the tumor necrosis factor receptor 2 (TNFR2) gene with human narcolepsy. A single‐nucleotide polymorphism in TNFR2, which is involved in an amino acid substitution [methionine(M)/arginine(R)] at position 196, was investigated in 149 Japanese narcoleptic patients and 204 healthy individuals as controls. Results reveal that the frequency of the TNFR2–196R allele significantly increased in the patients as compared with that in the controls (P=0.029), suggesting that TNFR2 is likely associated with the susceptibility to narcolepsy. In addition, the analyses of the relationship of TNFR2 and TNF‐α with the susceptibility to narcolepsy indicate the possibility that an additive effect on the susceptibility to the disorder lies between TNFR2–196R and TNF‐α(–857T) alleles.
Unusual presentation of graft‐versus‐host disease in pediatric liver transplant recipients: Evidence of late and recurrent disease
Authors: Pinna Antonio D. , Weppler Deborah , Berho Mariana , Masetti Michele , DeFaria Werviston , Kato Tomoaki , Thompson John , Ricordi Camillo , Tzakis Andreas G. 
Published: March 2003

Abstract:Graft‐versus‐host disease (GvHD) is a multi‐organ disease caused by mature donor T cells that are activated by alloantigens expressed by the host antigen‐presenting cells. GvHD has been reported after solid organ transplantation with two principal presentations: humoral and cellular. In the cellular type of GvHD after liver transplantation the symptoms are identical to the GvHD after bone marrow transplant, except that the liver is spared because it lacks host antigens. We have described three cases of intestinal GvHD after pediatric liver transplant with an unusual recurrent late presentation in two patients. Two patients were female, and their age at the time of transplant was 8 and 9 months, respectively, and one was an 8‐month‐old male. They all received reduced liver allografts of identical blood type from three different donors. One patient received two doses of donor bone marrow cell infusion. Two patients received double immunosuppressive therapy constituted by tacrolimus at a dose of 0.05 mg/kg p.o. b.i.d. and steroids 10 mg p.o. daily. One patient received a triple drug immunosuppression with tacrolimus (0.05 mg/kg p.o. b.i.d.), steroids (10 mg p.o. daily) and mycophenolate mofetil (125 mg p.o. b.i.d.). Diagnosis of intestinal GvHD was confirmed histologically on intestinal biopsies performed at the time of presentation of the clinical symptoms or at autopsy.
Regulatory role of auxin in adventitious root formation in two species of Rumex, differing in their sensitivity to waterlogging
Authors: Visser Eric J. W. , Heijink Clementine J. , Van Hout Karen J. G. M. , Voesenek Laurentius A. C. J. , Barendse Gerard W. M. , Blom Cornelis W. P .M. 
Published: March 2003

Adventitious rooting in Rumex plants, in which the root systems were in hypoxic conditions, differed considerably between two species. R. palustris, a species from frequently flooded river forelands, developed a large number of adventitious roots during hypoxia, whereas adventitious root formation was poor in R. thyrsiflorus, a species from seldom flooded dykes and river dunes. Adventitious rooting could also be evoked in aerated plants of both species by application of auxin (1‐naphthaleneacetic acid or indoleacetic acid) to the leaves. The response to auxin was dose‐dependent, but even high auxin doses could not stimulate R. thyrsiflorus to produce as many adventitious roots as R. palustris. Consequently, the difference between the species in the amount of adventitious root formation was probably genetically determined, and not a result of a different response to auxin.A prerequisite for hypoxia‐induced adventitious root formation is the basipetal transport of auxin within the shoot, as specific inhibition of this transport by N‐1‐naphthylphthalamic acid severely decreased the number of roots in hypoxia‐treated plants. It is suggested that hypoxia of the root system causes stagnation of auxin transport in the root system. This can lead to an accumulation of auxin at the base of the shoot rosette, resulting in adventitious root formation.
Effects of nitrogen deficiency on accumulation of fructan and fructan metabolizing enzyme activities in sink and source leaves of barley (Hordeum vulgare)
Authors: Wang Changwen , Tillberg Jan‐Eric 
Published: March 2003

Seedlings of barley (Hordeum vulgare L. cv. Agneta) were grown hydroponically under continuous light, constant temperature and relative humidity. During the first two weeks, the relative growth rate (RGR) was kept at 25% by limiting only the supply of nitrogen. The cultures were then transferred to nitrogen‐free media and the amounts of fructan, starch, sucrose, glucose and fructose in sink and source leaves were measured at 0, 12, 24, 48, 72, 120 and 156 h. The activities of two key enzymes in fructan metabolism, sucrose:sucrose fructosyltransferase (SST), fructan exohydrolase (FEH), as well as acid invertase were also measured in the two types of leaves.The fructan and starch levels in both sink and source leaves increased during nitrogen deficiency. The highest increase in starch was 200% of the control while for fmctans a 700% increase was recorded. The activity of SST increased parallel to fructan accumulation in sink leaves. However the FEH activity was constant and not affected by nitrogen deficiency. The invertase activity both in sink and source leaves was reduced by nitrogen deficiency. More fructans as well as sucrose and fructose accumulated in source leaves compared to sink leaves both before and after nitrogen starvation. The results show that fructan is the major carbohydrate reserve accumulating under nitrogen deficiency both in sink and source leaves in barley plants. The induction of fructan accumulation in sink leaves caused by nitrogen deficiency is intimately connected with the regulation of SST
Abscisic acid involvement in the induction of summer‐dormancy in Poa bulbosa, a grass geophyte
Authors: Ofir Micha , Kigel Jaime 
Published: March 2003

Summer‐dormancy occurs in geophytes that inhabit regions with a Mediterranean climate (mild, rainy winters and hot, dry summers). The environmental control of summer‐dormancy and the involvement of phytohormones in its induction have been little studied. Poa bulbosa L. is a perennial grass geophyte in which summer‐dormancy is induced by long days and by high temperature. Prolonged treatment with ABA (0.1‐1.0 mM) under non‐inductive 8‐h short days (SD) resulted in cessation of leaf and tiller production and in the development of typical features of dormancy: bulbing at the base of the tillers and leaf senescence. Short‐term applications of ABA had similar effects but dormancy was transient, i.e. after a short while, leaf growth from the formed bulbs was resumed. ABA treatment of plants growing under an inductive 16‐h photoperiod (LD) enhanced the onset of dormancy. Endogenous levels of ABA in leaf blades and at the tiller base (where the bulb develops) increased markedly after the plants were transferred from SD to LD. This increase was greater in the tiller base, and concomitant with bulb maturation. High temperature (27/22 vs 22/17°C) accelerated both bulb development and ABA accumulation in leaf blades.These results suggest that ABA plays a key role in the photoperiodic induction and development of summer‐dormancy in P. bulbosa.
Effects of ozone and elevated atmospheric carbon dioxide on carbohydrate metabolism of spruce needles. Catabolic and detoxification pathways
Authors: Sehmer L. , Fontaine V. , Antoni F. , Dizengremel P. 
Published: March 2003

We have studied the effects of ozone, carbon dioxide and ozone combined with carbon dioxide fumigations on catabolic and detoxification pathways in spruce (Picea abies[L.] Karst.) needles. The results obtained showed an increase in the activities of three enzymes involved in the detoxification pathway, superoxide dismutase (SOD, EC 1.15.1.1), ascorbate peroxidase (AscPOD, EC 1.11.1.11) and glutathione reductase (GR, EC 1.6.4.2) when trees were exposed to ozone and to ozone‐carbon dioxide treatments. In these two treatments, the fraction of SOD activity due to the chloroplastic isoform was increased (1.5‐fold). In the needles of trees exposed to ozone and to ozone‐carbon dioxide fumigation, an increase in the activities of glucose‐6‐phosphate dehydrogenase (G‐6‐PDH, EC 1.1.1.49) showed that the cell had the capacity to produce more NADPH necessary for the detoxification. Stimulation of other enzymes of catabolic pathways (fumarase [EC 4.2.1.2], phosphofructokinase [PFK, EC 2.7.1.1] and phosphoenolpyruvate carboxylase [PEPC, EC 4.1.1.31]), was also observed making it possible for the cell to provide the reducing power necessary for detoxification as well as energy and carbon skeletons involved in the repair processes.When carbon dioxide alone was applied, no effects could be detected on these enzyme activities. However, when carbon dioxide was combined with ozone, the effect of ozone on trees was less than that induced by ozone alone, suggesting that elevated atmospheric carbon dioxide concentrations may to some extent protect plants from ozone injury.
Prospective study of toxoplasma reactivation by polymerase chain reaction in allogeneic stem‐cell transplant recipients
Authors: Bretagne S. , Costa J.‐M. , Foulet F. , Jabot‐Lestang L. , Baud‐Camus F. , Cordonnier C. 
Published: March 2003

Abstract:Toxoplasmosis is a rare but life‐threatening complication of allogeneic stem‐cell transplantation. Polymerase chain reaction (PCR) offers the possibility to make the diagnosis earlier than conventional techniques, and is then expected to improve the prognosis. We undertook a prospective screening using a competitive PCR in blood in 32 stem‐cell transplant recipients. The sampling covered the first 150 days post‐transplant, at days 21, 30, 45, 60, 90, 120, and 150. Twenty‐four patients had anti‐toxoplasma antibodies before transplant. Three of them (12.5%) had transient PCR‐positive samples at 21, 45, and 90 days post‐transplant, respectively. The three PCR‐positive patients were febrile but had no funduscopic examination or cerebral computerised tomography (CT) scan abnormalities. The PCR signal disappeared when the patients were given trimethoprim‐sulfamethoxazole, and no full‐blown toxoplasmosis was observed. Toxoplasma reactivation evidenced using PCR is frequent in seropositive patients not receiving trimethoprim‐sulfamethoxazole during the 1–3 months post‐transplant. Toxoplasma PCR should be included in the diagnostic strategy of fever of unexplained origin in allogeneic stem‐cell transplant recipients. Then, prompt specific therapy can be initiated to avoid development of full‐blown toxoplasmosis Note.
Porcine cytomegalovirus in pigs being bred for xenograft organs: progress towards control
Authors: Clark Duncan A. , Fryer Jacqueline F. L. , Tucker Alexander W. , McArdle Peter D. , Hughes Allison E. , Emery Vincent C. , Griffiths Paul D. 
Published: March 2003

Clark DA, Fryer JFL, Tucker AW, McArdle PD, Hughes AE, Emery VC, Griffiths PD. Porcine cytomegalovirus in pigs being bred for xenograft organs: progress towards control. Xenotransplantation 2003; 10: 142–148. © Blackwell Munksgaard, 2003In human medicine, human cytomegalovirus (HCMV) is readily transmitted by organ transplant causing end‐organ disease and triggering graft rejection in recipients. Because of a chronic shortage of human organs, pigs transgenic for human complement control proteins are being considered as potential donors. Such xenotransplantation raises concerns about the potential zoonotic transmission of viruses including porcine cytomegalovirus (PCMV), an endemic infection of pigs. Similar to HCMV and PCMV transmission is thought to occur in utero and perinatally. We used quantitative polymerase chain reaction to examine the prevalence, organ distribution and viral load of PCMV in human decay accelerating factor (CD55) transgenic pigs. In animals reared under conventional farm conditions, virus was identified in a wide range of organs including potential xenografts (liver, kidney and heart). The spleen was PCMV DNA positive in all infected pigs. Examination of foetal spleens failed to identify evidence of transplacental infection and prospective monitoring of two litters showed that infection occurred in the postnatal period. This transmission was prevented by hysterotomy derivation and barrier rearing. Our findings demonstrate that PCMV could be eradicated from pig herds being bred for xenotransplantation and argue that the spleen from donor animals should be examined as part of quality control procedures if clinical trials proceed.
Local control of the immune response in the liver
Authors: Knolle Percy A. , Gerken Guido 
Published: March 2003

Summary: The physiological function of the liver – such as removal of pathogens and antigens from the blood, protein synthesis and metabolism – requires an immune response that is adapted to these tasks and is locally regulated. Pathogenic microorganisms must be efficiently eliminated while the large number of antigens derived from the gastrointestinal tract must be tolerized. From experimental observations it is evident that the liver favours the induction of tolerance rather than the induction of immunity. The liver probably not only is involved in transplantation tolerance but contributes as well to tolerance to orally ingested antigens (entering the liver with portal‐venous blood) and to containment of systemic immune responses (antigen from the systemic circulation entering the liver with arterial blood). This review summarizes the experimental data that shed light on the molecular mechanisms and the cell populations of the liver involved in local immune regulation in the liver. Although hepatocytes constitute the major cell population of the liver, direct interaction of hepatocytes with leukocytes in the blood is unlikely. Sinusoidal endothelial cells, which line the hepatic sinusoids and separate hepatocytes from leukocytes in the sinusoidal lumen, and Kupffer cells, the resident macrophage population of the liver, can directly interact with passenger leukocytes. In the liver, clearance of antigen from the blood occurs mainly by sinusoidal endothelial cells through very efficient receptor‐mediated endocytosis. Liver sinusoidal endothelial cells constitutively express all molecules necessary for antigen presentation (CD54, CD80, CD86, MHC class I and class II and CD40) and can function as antigen‐presenting cells for CD4+ and CD8+ T cells. Thus, these cells probably contribute to hepatic immune surveillance by activation of effector T cells. Antigen‐specific T‐cell activation is influenced by the local microenvironment. This microenvironment is characterized by the physiological presence of bacterial constituents such as endotoxin and by the local release of immunosuppressive mediators such as interleukin‐10, prostaglandin E2 and transforming growth factor‐b. Different hepatic cell populations may contribute in different ways to tolerance induction in the liver. In vitro experiments revealed that naive T cells are activated by resident sinusoidal endothelial cells but do not differentiate into effector T cells. These T cells show a cytokine profile and a functional phenotype that is compatible with the induction of tolerance. Besides sinusoidal endothelial cells, other cell populations of the liver, such as dendritic cells, Kupffer cells and perhaps also hepatocytes, may contribute to tolerance induction by deletion of T cells through induction of apoptosis.
Self‐etching vs. traditional bonding systems in orthodontics: an in vitro study
Authors: Velo S , Carano A , Carano A 
Published: March 2003

AbstractThe need for a bonding system that is consistently reliable, biocompatible, and most of all, easy to use and is unaffected by saliva contamination, has led to the development of products that did not require the initial step of etching the enamel surface. In these new systems elements of etching, priming and bonding are all in one component. The aim of this study was to compare the bonding strength of brackets with a traditional technique to the Prompt L‐Pop (monocomponent adhesive) using the same composite resin. The results showed no statistical differences in detachment values of these two groups.
Classification of oral clefts by affection site and laterality: a genotype–phenotype correlation study
Authors: Farina A , Wyszynski D F , Pezzetti F , Scapoli L , Martinelli M , Carinci F , Carls F , Nardelli G B , Tognon M , Carinci P 
Published: March 2003

Structured Abstract
Objectives –
The aim of this study was to classify the phenotypes found in a series of patients with non‐syndromic cleft lip (CL) with or without cleft palate (CP) and isolated cleft palate. Additionally, the frequency distribution of cases belonging to families linked to markers on chromosomes 6 and 2 within these phenotypic patterns were estimated.
Design –
A retrospective examination of all the available affected cases collected in Italy.
Setting and Sample Population –
Ninety‐seven affected subjects aged 5–18 years belonging to 38 families were considered. Patterns were identified by variance of the cleft (lip, primary palate, secondary palate) and stratified according to the side of occurrence (right, left, or bilateral). Latent class analysis was used as main statistical tool for carrying out the results.
Results – Three homogenous classes were identified (P < 0.0001) by means of latent class analysis. Individuals were assigned to the most suited class. All three variables (lip, primary and secondary cleft palate) generated a specific class. Optimal findings were reported in cases having `any isolated cleft lip' (class 1); `secondary CP with or without bilateral/right primary cleft palate + bilateral/right cleft lip' (class 2); and `left primary cleft palate + left/bilateral cleft lip with or without secondary CP' (class 3). Correspondence to the evidence of linkage to chromosome 6 showed that 9 of 10 cases presenting with `right primary CP + right CL with secondary cleft palate' (class 2) belonged to a linked family. The same combination, but occurring on the left side (class 3), revealed that only three of nine cases belong to families linked to chromosome 6 (P‐value=0.02). The two patterns (right and left) never occurred in the same family. Three reliable groups were identified based on laterality and the presence of a cleft. A single right sided pattern displayed a statistically different distribution of linkage to chromosome 6 when compared with the homologous left side.
Conclusion –
Non‐syndromic CL with/without CP can be classified according to laterality that can be under genetic control.