Two distinct regions of FC gamma RI initiate separate signalling pathways involved in endocytosis and phagocytosis

Cross-linking of the high affinity receptor for IgG, Fc gamma RI, can result in both endocytosis of immune complexes and phagocytosis of opsonized particles in myeloid cells, although the cytoplasmic domain of the receptor lacks the tyrosine activation motif which has been implicated in signal transduction triggered by cross-linking of other Fc receptors. To identify the structural determinants of Fc gamma RI-mediated ligand internalization, we have expressed Fc gamma RI or truncated versions of Fc gamma RI in COS cells, either alone or in the presence of the Fc epsilon RI gamma subunit (which contains a classical tyrosine activation motif and associates with Fc gamma RI in myeloid cells), and assessed their ability to mediate endocytosis and phagocytosis. We have found that Fc gamma RI alone (in the absence of the gamma subunit) is capable of mediating endocytosis in COS cells and that the process occurs via a novel, tyrosine kinase-independent signalling pathway. Activation of this pathway following cross-linking appears to require only the receptor extracellular domain. In contrast, Fc gamma RI phagocytic function in COS cells is dependent on an interaction between the receptor transmembrane domain and the gamma subunit and is mediated by recruitment of tyrosine kinase activity. Our data therefore indicate that distinct domains of the receptor regulate ligand internalization following receptor cross-linking by either immune complexes (endocytosis) or opsonized particles (phagocytosis) and that these functions are mediated by different intracellular signalling pathways.

Polling patients with self-administered surveys

After this paper describes how various forms of the self-administered survey can affect response to patient surveys, it compares survey response to two patient surveys-one conducted in a waiting room and the other conducted by mail. The waiting room survey produced a higher rate and speed of response, and resulted in more respondents with favorable attitudes toward the medical facility and the survey.

Binding of monomeric immunoglobulin G triggers Fc gamma RI-mediated endocytosis

Cross-linking of leukocyte Fc receptors specific for IgG (Fc gamma Rs) by multivalent IgG complexes triggers a wide range of immune functions. Many of these responses can also be stimulated in vitro using anti-Fc gamma R monoclonal antibody-containing complexes. This observation has suggested that cross-linking is the key event and that binding of IgG, which in itself does not elicit a response, is functionally passive. However, in this study we show that binding of monomeric IgG to the human high affinity receptor, Fc gamma RI, is itself sufficient to permit the receptor to enter an internalization-recycling pathway, which has a small intracellular pool. Unoccupied Fc gamma RI is not internalized and recycled in this manner. This finding may be explained by the previous observation that there is a physical association between Fc gamma RI and the cytoskeletal component, actin-binding protein (non-muscle filamin; ABP-280), which is disrupted upon IgG binding. Thus, in the absence of IgG, Fc gamma RI may be physically excluded from the endocytic pathway by tethering to the cytoskeleton. The role of cross-linking is to divert Fc gamma RI-IgG complexes from the recycling pathway, causing their retention and subsequent degradation within the cell. In contrast to Fc gamma RII-mediated endocytosis, intracellular accumulation of cross-linked Fc gamma RI-IgG complexes is not sensitive to inhibition by genistein, suggesting that the process is independent of tyrosine kinase activity.

Inhibition of NO synthase increases the severity of kainic acid-induced seizures in rodents

The nitric oxide (NO) synthase inhibitor N omega-nitro-L-arginine (NNA) and the putative brain-selective NO synthase inhibitor 7-nitroindazole (7-NI) were used to determine the role of endogenous NO on seizures induced by kainic acid (KA) in rats and KA, pilocarpine, bicuculline, picrotoxin and pentylenetetrazole (PTZ) in mice. Rats given a subconvulsant dose of KA (6 mg/kg, i.p.) had seizures after they had been pretreated with NNA (50 mg/kg, i.p.). With a higher dose of KA (12 mg/kg, i.p.), NNA caused an increase in wild running seizures and mortality. Unlike NNA, 7-NI had no effect on KA-induced seizures. Similarly, NNA but not 7-NI caused a worsening of seizures in mice measured as a shortening of seizure latency and an increase in wild running and mortality. The effect of NNA on seizure latency was completely reversed by the competitive substrate for NO synthase, L-arginine. NNA had no effect on seizure latency following any of the other convulsants and increased mortality following pilocarpine and picrotoxin alone. Our results indicate that NNA may enhance the severity of KA-induced seizures through suppression of NO synthase activity in the vascular endothelium. The resulting impairment of cerebrovascular autoregulation may cause a mismatch between metabolic demand and blood flow during seizures leading to facilitation of spread. The absence of a comparable effect of NNA on other seizure models may indicate differences in the degree to which seizure activity in different models is influenced by the metabolic impairment secondary to decreased blood flow.

Report of the First International Workshop on Equine Leucocyte Antigens, Cambridge, UK, July 1991

The First International Workshop on Equine Leucocyte Antigens was organized and convened for the purposes of identifying immunologically relevant cell surface molecules of equine leucocytes and establishing a system of nomenclature for those molecules. Participating members of the workshop represented the majority of laboratories world-wide engaged in the tasks of production and characterization of equine leucocyte and lymphocyte markers using monoclonal antibodies. The workshop confirmed the identification of several equine CD molecules described previously by individual laboratories, and in addition recognized antibodies identifying new CD molecules. The workshop also succeeded in fostering co-operation between laboratories around the world which study equine immunobiology. Equine CD molecules identified by the current battery of monoclonal antibodies include EqCD2, EqCD4, EqCD5, EqCD8, EqCD11a/18, EqCD13 and EqCD44. Other antibodies are markers for MHC class I and class II molecules, for B cells, granulocytes, macrophages, T cell subsets distinct from those defined by CD4 and CD8, and other sub-populations of horse leucocytes that do not have obvious counterparts in humans, rodents, or other species. Despite the progress made in the first workshop, there are still substantial gaps in the armory of reagents available to study equine leucocyte biology, and further definition of the structure, function, and genetics of the antigens identified by the workshop clusters (WC1, WC2 etc.) and other molecules of immunological importance will be a goal of future workshops. The study of equine immunobiology and resistance to disease also urgently requires the development of tools to study equine immunoglobulins and cytokines, and these needs will provide ample scope for future studies.

Cytosolic calcium elevation in response to Fc receptor cross-linking in undifferentiated and differentiated U937 cells

We have used the calcium indicator, Fura-2, to investigate cytosolic calcium responses to cross-linking of monomeric IgG-occupied surface Fc gamma receptors (Fc gamma R), using populations of the human monocyte-like cell line, U937. The magnitude and duration of the calcium response observed, and the relative contribution to the response of internal stores and external calcium, are found to depend on the state of differentiation of these cells. Initial release of calcium from stores following Fc gamma R cross-linking is enhanced by prior treatment of U937 cells with both interferon-gamma, and, to a lesser extent, with dibutyryl cAMP. A large and prolonged entry of external calcium is observed in dibutyryl cAMP treated cells; this may be due to direct regulation of calcium channels by the low affinity receptor, Fc gamma RII (whose expression is up-regulated in these cells), since the smaller and more transient entry observed in interferon-gamma treated cells, (where the high affinity receptor, Fc gamma RI, is up-regulated) argues against a common pathway of store-mediated calcium entry.

Down-regulation followed by re-expression of equine CD4 molecules in response to phorbol myristate acetate

The regulatory effects of phorbol myristate acetate (PMA) on the expression of the CD4 molecule on horse T cells were investigated. On both peripheral blood lymphocytes and thymocytes, PMA resulted in a rapid and transient down-regulation of equine CD4 expression, but had no such effect on the surface expression of equine CD5, CD8 or major histocompatibility complex (MHC) class I and class II molecules. Over 75% of the surface CD4 molecules per cell were lost after a 4 h exposure to PMA at 37 degrees C. The regulation of equine CD4 expression induced by PMA was temperature dependent and reversible. The PMA-mediated loss of CD4 expression was inhibited at 4 degrees C. After 24 h of exposure to PMA, CD4 molecules were re-expressed on the cell surface, even in the continued presence of PMA. These findings demonstrate that equine CD4+ T cells undergo alterations in CD4 expression in response to PMA, and suggest that the equine homolog of the CD4 molecule is regulated by PMA in a similar manner to the human CD4 molecule.

Protective function of extrinsic sensory neurons in acute rabbit experimental colitis

BACKGROUND/AIMS

Sensory nerves appear to have a protective effect against acute injury in the gastric mucosa. Their function in the intestine is unclear.

METHODS

In this study an immune-complex model of colitis was used to induce inflammation in the distal colon with and without functional ablation of sensory neurons by capsaicin pretreatment.

RESULTS

Colitis was more severe in the capsaicin-pretreated group than in the vehicle group 48 and 96 hours after induction of colitis. Neutrophil infiltration, expressed as inflammatory index, was significantly increased to 4.25 +/- 0.4 vs. 1.83 +/- 0.5 at 48 hours and to 2.66 +/- 0.6 vs. 1.65 +/- 0.3 at 96 hours in the capsaicin group and the vehicle group, respectively. The microscopic ulcer index also was significantly increased in the capsaicin-pretreated group compared with the vehicle group (63.3 +/- 10.6 vs. 3.3 +/- 2.4 at 48 hours, 20.0 +/- 8.4 vs. 1.5 +/- 1.1 at 96 hours). Immunoreactive substance P (SP) and calcitonin gene-related peptide (CGRP) contents were decreased in extracts of inflamed compared with uninflamed colon.

CONCLUSIONS

These data suggest that sensory neurons have a protective role in an acute rabbit model of experimental colitis by release of sensory neuropeptides (SP, CGRP), which may modulate vascular tone and mucosal blood flow.

Bufo alvarius: a potent hallucinogen of animal origin

Anthropologists have long speculated that ancient peoples of Mesoameria used a toad, Bufo marinus, as a ritual intoxicant. This hypothesis rests on many iconographic and mythological representations of toads and on a number of speculative ethnographic reports. The authors reject B. marinus as a candidate for such use because of the toxicity of its venom. A more likely candidate is the Sonoran desert toad, Bufo alvarius, which secretes large amounts of the potent known hallucinogen, 5-methoxy-N,N-dimethyltryptamine (5-MeO-DMT). The authors demonstrate that the venom of B. alvarius, although known to be toxic when consumed orally, may be safely smoked and is powerfully psychoactive by that route of administration. These experiments are the first documentation of an hallucinogenic agent from the animal kingdom, and they provide clear evidence of a psychoactive toad that could have been employed by Precolumbian peoples of the New World.

Winckelmann divided: mourning the death of art history

The discipline of art history is often said to have been invented in the writing of J.J. Winckelmann (1717-1768). In his Reflections on the Imitation of Greek Works in Painting and Sculpture (1754) and History of Ancient Art (1764), Winckelmann dealt with the homoerotic meanings of Greco-Roman arts in complex ways. To do so, he imagined a split between his subjective position as an observer with specific erotic and political interests and his objective position as an historian. His importance for art historians today derives from his own recognition and further elaboration of his "division," an awareness manifested in his principal metaphor for the status of the art historian as a "maiden" mourning her "lover," the "lost object" of her desire, namely, ancient representations of beautiful young men. This metaphor and related features of Winckelmann's texts situated the homoeroticism of art and of the art historian in mutual relations that enable the art historian to reconcile, if not to resolve, his fundamental "division." Winckelmann's image of art history presents a more adequate sense of the enterprise than the misleading polarization of "objective" history and "subjective" interpretation frequently encountered today.

Modulation of high-affinity choline carrier activity following incubation of rat hippocampal synaptosomes with hemicholinium-3

Membrane carriers display structural and functional asymmetry with a substrate binding site which can be oriented alternately, but not simultaneously, to the extracellular and intracellular environment. Hemicholinium-3 is an inhibitor of the high-affinity choline carrier in cholinergic nerve terminals which binds to the transporter at the outer membrane surface but is not taken up into the cell. In the present study, we investigated the decline in choline transport which occurs during the first few minutes cholinergic nerve terminals are incubated in physiological salt solutions. Following incubation of rat hippocampal synaptosomes with hemicholinium-3, samples were washed free of the inhibitor and high-affinity choline uptake was measured. Choline uptake into hemicholinium-treated nerve terminals was significantly greater than control (132 +/- 4%). This effect appeared not to be due to an increase in uptake of choline above initial values in the hemicholinium-treated synaptosomes, but to a decrease in choline carrier activity in control samples by more than 25% during the first few minutes of incubation. Addition of hemicholinium-3 to samples after the preincubation induced decrease in choline uptake, followed by a wash period to remove the inhibitor resulted in elevation of choline uptake levels to initial levels. The effect of hemicholinium-3 was concentration-dependent, requiring near saturating concentrations of the inhibitor to elicit the effect. Measurement of acetylcholine content of synaptosomes at different points during the incubation procedure revealed that there was a trend for transmitter levels to vary inversely compared to choline uptake activity, but the differences were not statistically significant during treatments when significant changes in transport activity were measured.

Adolescent (in)vulnerability

Three groups of subjects were asked to judge the probability that they and several target others (a friend, an acquaintance, a parent, a child) would experience various risks. Subjects were middle-class adults, their teenage children, and high-risk adolescents from treatment homes. All three groups saw themselves as facing somewhat less risk than the target others. However, this perception of relative invulnerability was no more pronounced for adolescents than for adults. Indeed, the parents were viewed as less vulnerable than their teenage children by both the adults and those teens. These results are consistent with others showing small differences in the cognitive decision-making processes of adolescents and adults. Underestimating teens' competence can mean misdiagnosing the sources of their risk behaviors, denying them deserved freedoms, and failing to provide needed assistance.

Adolescent (in)vulnerability

Three groups of subjects were asked to judge the probability that they and several target others (a friend, an acquaintance, a parent, a child) would experience various risks. Subjects were middle-class adults, their teenage children, and high-risk adolescents from treatment homes. All three groups saw themselves as facing somewhat less risk than the target others. However, this perception of relative invulnerability was no more pronounced for adolescents than for adults. Indeed, the parents were viewed as less vulnerable than their teenage children by both the adults and those teens. These results are consistent with others showing small differences in the cognitive decision-making processes of adolescents and adults. Underestimating teens' competence can mean misdiagnosing the sources of their risk behaviors, denying them deserved freedoms, and failing to provide needed assistance.

Extraction of Light Filth from Oriental Fish Products Containing Spice: Collaborative Study

A collaborative study was conducted to validate a new method for the extraction of light filth from oriental fish products containing spice. A100 g test portion is digested by boiling in a mixture of HCI, Igepal DM-710, and CO-730. Light filth is isolated by wetsieving on a No. 230 plain-weave sieve with Tergitol, deaeration boiling in 40% isopropanol, and extracting with mineral oil-heptane (85 + 15) and 40% isopropanol in a Wildman trap flask. Three spiking levels for rat hairs and insect fragments were used in the study. For rat hairs, recoveries at the low, medium, and high levels averaged 80.0,71.6, and 88.0%, respectively. Recoveries of insect fragments for low, medium, and high levels averaged 87.8,83.7, and 89.4%, respectively. The method was adopted first action by AOAC International.

Calcitonin gene-related peptide in inflammatory bowel disease and experimentally induced colitis

Pronounced changes in gut neuropeptide content have been observed in colonic tissues from animals with acute experimental colitis and in some patients with inflammatory bowel disease. The early decrease of CGRP in the colon during colitis in the animal studies suggest that CGRP is released during the inflammatory process. No data are available showing the biological action of released CGRP during inflammation. The sensory neurotoxin capsaicin was used in animal studies to examine the effect of sensory nerves on inflammation and healing in experimental animal models. The severity of colitis was enhanced after capsaicin pretreatment in acute and chronic animal models of colitis. These data support the hypothesis that sensory nerves exert a protective and healing-promoting function in the gut. CGRP is a good candidate for this action of sensory nerves because it is a major component in sensory nerve fibers. How CGRP exerts its protective function in the intestine is unknown. Data from gastric ulcer models support the hypothesis that a main action of CGRP is regulation of mesenteric and mucosal blood flow resulting in enhanced protection and tissue healing. Other effector roles of CGRP afferent nerve endings could also be considered.