Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis: serum factors enhance spontaneous and evoked transmitter release at the neuromuscular junction

Sera from 30 patients with sporadic amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) were tested to determine their effects at the neuromuscular junction. Spontaneous transmitter release was significantly increased, as evidenced by a 151% increase in MEPP frequency, by sera from 16 ALS patients. In addition, 16 patients' sera elevated EEP quantal content by an average of 89%. Eleven sera produced both effects. There was no consistent change in MEPP amplitude or time course, indicating the absence of a humoral effect on postjunctional ACh receptors or endplate membrane function. These results suggest that a portion of the sporadic ALS patient population possess serum factors that can alter presynaptic function of the motor nerve terminal. Evidence from the present experiments indicates that alterations at the neuromuscular junction are a result of a combination of increased Ca2+ influx into the cell and an independent increase in intracellular calcium concentration.

p53 mutation and overexpression in hepatocellular carcinoma and dysplastic nodules in the liver

In hepatocarcinogenesis, both de novo and multistep pathways have been suggested and in the latter a dysplastic nodule is the proposed precancerous lesion. In this study, we tried to ascertain whether or not the p53 gene is altered in low-grade/high-grade dysplastic nodules (LDN/HDN) and to determine the role of p53 alteration in multistep hepatocarcinogenesis. Eight hepatocellular carcinomas (HCCs), 9 HDNs, 17 LDNs and 25 cirrhotic nodules (LCs) were examined by polymerase chain reaction-single strand conformation polymorphism/direct sequencing and immunohistochemical staining for p53. Four of the 8 HCCs (50%) revealed p53 overexpression and 2 (25%) had missense mutations. Four of the 9 HDNs (44%) showed weak and/or focal p53 overexpression but none had mutation in the exons examined. Neither p53 overexpression nor mutation was found in 17 LDNs and 25 LCs. These results suggest that p53 mutation might be an unusual event in precancerous lesions of multistep hepatocarcinogenesis (DN-HCC sequence) and may play a less crucial part than in colorectal carcinogenesis.

Alpha-fetoprotein-producing gastric carcinoma presenting focal hepatoid differentiation in metastatic lymph nodes

Hepatoid adenocarcinoma (HA) is a rare variant of adenocarcinoma of the stomach, which is clinically characterized by increased level of serum alpha-fetoprotein (AFP) and poor prognosis. Microscopic findings include both adenocarcinomatous and hepatoid elements. A case of gastric adenocarcinoma with focal hepatoid differentiation confined within the metastatic lymph nodes occurred in a 55-year-old woman, who developed an advanced gastric carcinoma composed entirely of a typical papillo-tubular adenocarcinoma. Metastatic tumors were present in 8 of 13 perigastric lymph nodes, and 3 of these showed medullary and trabecular tumour growth reminiscent of hepatocellular carcinoma with immunohistochemical positivity for AFP. Preoperative serum AFP was 630 ng/ml and dropped to 76 ng/ml 2 weeks after the operation. Microscopic and immunohistochemical studies on the entire primary tumour tissue failed to demonstrate a focus of hepatoid or an AFP-positive area. This suggests that elevation of serum AFP may be reflected by focal hepatoid differentiation only in the metastatic lymph nodes, requiring extensive evaluation of the metastatic tumour in regional lymph nodes in the case of AFP-producing gastric carcinoma.

Short-chain fatty acids in ulcerative colitis

Short-chain fatty acids (SCFA), a by-product of anaerobic fermentation of undigested carbohydrates within the colon, are an important energy source for colonic epithelial cells. It has been proposed that ulcerative colitis, a chronic inflammatory condition of the colon, may result from a metabolic defect in SCFA oxidation in the colon and that this defect may be corrected by supraphysiologic luminal levels of SCFA in the colon. Clinical trials published to date suggest that topical SCFA provide an effective primary and/or adjunctive treatment in patients with mild to moderate distal ulcerative colitis at substantial cost savings and without significant side effects.

Promoter region of the Drosophila melanogaster norpA gene

We have sequenced the 5'-flanking region of the Drosophila melanogaster norpA gene and characterized its promoter. The potential promoter region, which was deduced from the determination of the transcription start point (tsp), lacks a distinct TATA box sequence. Deletion analysis of the promoter region suggests that the minimal promoter necessary for efficient expression of the gene is located between -138 (PstI) and +278 relative to the tsp. Within this minimal promoter region, at least two downstream regulatory elements responsible for the stimulation of gene expression seem to exist in the DNA fragments between +44 and +121 and between +214 and +278. Among these, the DNA fragment between +44 and +121 affects promoter activity more dramatically (about 6-7 fold). This DNA fragment contains the consensus promoter element previously reported to be important for photoreceptor cell-specific expression, and this promoter element seems to be working in the norpA gene expression.

Risk factors for the development of NIDDM in Yonchon County, Korea

OBJECTIVE

To determine the risk factors for the development of NIDDM in Yonchon County of Korea.

RESEARCH DESIGN AND METHODS

We studied 1,193 Korean nondiabetic subjects at baseline who participated in a 2-year follow-up study on diabetes in Yonchon County. A 75-g oral glucose tolerance test was performed 2 years after the baseline examination. Age, sex, and anthropometric and metabolic characteristics at baseline were analyzed simultaneously as potential predictors of conversion to NIDDM. We also designed a nested case-control study to determine the role of hyperinsulinemia and/or hyperproinsulinemia in the conversion to NIDDM in patients with newly developed diabetes and control subjects matched for age, sex, BMI, and waist-to-hip-ratio.

RESULTS

At 2 years, 67 subjects developed diabetes, as defined by World Health Organization criteria. The age-adjusted incidence was significantly higher in men (6.4%) than in women (3.0%), and the incidence increased as age increased in both sexes. Multiple logistic regression analysis revealed age, male sex, and fasting and 2-h glucose levels to be significant risk factors for the development of NIDDM, whereas waist-to-hip ratio and BMI were not. In a nested case-control study, baseline proinsulin but not insulin levels were significantly higher in subjects who progressed to NIDDM than in those who did not.

CONCLUSIONS

In the Korean population, beta-cell dysfunction, as measured by high proinsulin levels, seems to be associated with subsequent development of NIDDM, whereas regional and general obesity and fasting insulin levels, which may be a surrogate for insulin resistance, were not.

Conservative management of superior mesenteric and portal vein thrombosis associated with protein C and S deficiency. Case report

Protein C and S, vitamin K-dependent proteins, are blood coagulation inhibitors. Their deficiency causes systemic thrombosis. A 35-year-old man who developed superior mesenteric venous thrombosis and portal vein thrombosis showed markedly decreased protein C and S levels. The therapeutic modality of this thrombosis associated with protein C and S deficiency is still debated. We treated this patient with systemic anticoagulation and long term total parenteral nutrition without surgical intervention.

Activity-dependent conduction velocity changes of A(delta) fibers in a rat model of neuropathy

Activity-dependent changes of conduction velocity (CV) and conduction block in single A(delta) fibers of primary afferent neurons were characterized in a rat model of neuropathy (NP). Injured dorsal root (DR) fiber in NP rats exhibited profoundly greater decreases of CV following impulse activity than did DR fiber in normal rats. Activity-dependent conduction block was absent up to 100 Hz of activity rate in DR fiber of NP rats, but was present above 25 Hz in normal rats. Profiles of activity dependence in sciatic fibers were similar in both NP and normal rats. These results suggest that nerve injury may alter activity-dependent hypoexcitability of A(delta) DR fibers. Furthermore, this excitability change may be responsible for the elevated pain perception in neuropathy.

Effect of suramin on differentiation of human stomach cancer cell lines

This study was designed to demonstrate that differentiation of stomach cancer cells can be modified by microenvironmental change and to look for a method inducing or promoting tumor cell differentiation. To evaluate the biomorphological characterization of tumor cell differentiation in suramin-containing in vitro culture of human stomach cancer cell lines, inverted phase-contrast microscopic examination, analysis of growth curves and BrdU-positive S-phase fraction, immunocytochemical study, radioimmunoassay for CEA, transmission electron microscopic examination, DNA flow cytometry, and heterotransplantation in SCID mice were performed. Suramin inhibited tumor cell growth. Development of intracytoplasmic lumina and intercellular lumina was noted in suramin-containing culture with formation of numerous microvilli and frequent desmosomes. The amount of CEA released by a cell was increased in suramin-containing culture. Suramin inhibited heterotransplantation, and a transplant from suramin-containing culture revealed a much higher degree of differentiation than that from suramin-absent culture. Suramin induced no change in DNA ploidy pattern. Elimination of suramin from the culture medium did not reverse the tumor cell differentiation. Each stomach cancer cell line showed a different degree of responsiveness to suramin. In conclusion, this study shows that suramin inhibits growth of SNU-5 and SNU-16 cells and that suramin induces differentiation of SNU-16 cells.

NMDA receptors are important for both mechanical and thermal allodynia from peripheral nerve injury in rats

Previous studies showed that heat-hyperalgesia and mechanical allodynia produced by chronic constrictive injury of the sciatic nerve were differentially sensitive to the NMDA receptor antagonist dextrorphan and to morphine and other opioid receptor agonists. These results support the hypothesis that different kinds of neuropathic pain symptoms are caused by different pathological mechanisms. In the present study we determined whether mechanical and thermal allodynia produced by unilateral transection of the 'superior' caudal trunk which innervates the tail in rats were differentially sensitive to the non-competitive NMDA receptor antagonist MK-801. Injection of MK-801 (0.3 mg/kg, i.p.) prior to nerve injury delayed the emergence of both types of allodynia; the antagonist-treated rats exhibited neither mechanical nor thermal allodynia at least for 4 days after the injury, whereas untreated control rats exhibited clear signs of allodynia from the first day after the injury. MK-801 injection on post-injury day 14, when the allodynia was near peak severity, suppressed temporarily both the mechanical and thermal allodynia. These results suggest that the mechanical and thermal allodynia from partial denervation of the tail are both dependent on NMDA receptors in their induction and maintenance. Thus, our results do not support the notion that different pathological mechanisms underlie different modalities of neuropathic pain from partial peripheral nerve injury.

Oriented DNA binding by one-armed lambda repressor heterodimers and contacts between repressor and RNA polymerase at P(RM)

Bacteriophage lambda repressor activates transcription from P(RM) by contacting the sigma subunit of E. coli RNA polymerase. Although mutations in repressors that are defective in activation affect exposed residues in the repressor-operator co-crystal, the subunit in repressor dimers that is responsible for activation has not been determined experimentally. Here, we describe an oriented heterodimer approach using one-armed repressor-leucine zipper fusion proteins to resolve this question. Protection against methylation of operator DNA in vitro by one-armed and two-armed repressor-leucine zipper heterodimers shows that the subunit containing the arm in a one-armed repressor heterodimer binds preferentially in the consensus half-site of lambda operators. The patterns of activation of the P(RM) promoter in vivo by one-armed heterodimers containing the pc2 mutation in only one subunit show that RNA polymerase at P(RM) contacts the N-terminal domain of the promoter-proximal subunit of the repressor dimer.

Cells in pseudointimal hyperplasia is migrated from extravascular space

BACKGROUND

The aim of this study was to investigate the origin of the pseudointima (PI) formed in polytetrafluoroethylene (PTFE) tube grafts after implantation into the inferior vena cava (IVC) of rabbits.

METHODS

A segment of the IVC of rabbits was replaced by PTFE tube graft (3 cm long, 3 mm inner diameter, 30 microns internodal distance, 0.3 mm thickness). The experimental group was divided into two groups as follows: (Group A) non-wrapped, (Group B) wrapped the outer wall of PTFE with impermeable vinyl.

RESULTS

Grafts were harvested at three weeks after implantation and subjected to the following studies: patency, ultrastructural studies by light microscopy (LM) and immunostaining, scanning and transmission electron microscopy (SEM & TEM). The grafts were patient but the lumen of the control group was narrowed by PI. LM and immunostaining studies revealed the presence of thick PI composed of spindle-type cells in Group A, bust almost no PI in Group B. Only few erythrocytes, macrophage and protein-fibrin matrix was found in Group B. Endothelial like cell coverage, judged by SEM, was observed in only Group A. Only some macrophages and platelets were shown in the graft surface in Group B. TEM of PI revealed the presence of VSMCs, myofibroblasts and outer surface of grafts revealed the presence of myofibroblast in Group A.

CONCLUSIONS

The formation of PI suppressed by blocking the cellular migration from perigraft space suggest that PI was mainly originated by myofibroblast located in the perigraft space.

Sarcomatoid hepatocellular carcinoma with osteoclast-like giant cells: case report and immunohistochemical observations

Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) with osteoclast-like giant cells (OGC) developed in the cirrhotic liver of a 42-year-old male. Serum protein induced by vitamin K absence or antagonist II was elevated preoperatively. The patient died of the disease on the 28th postoperative day. Histologically, the tumor consisted of OGC and mononuclear cells (MC). The OGC were characterized by benign-appearing nuclei, whereas the MC had atypical nuclei with a considerable number of mitoses. A vaguely trabecular pattern was observed in the focal area of the tumor, but no evidence of overt HCC was found. Immunohistochemical analysis revealed that both OGC and MC were diffusely positive for histiocytic and mesenchymal markers. Some MC were focally positive for cytokeratins 7, 8 and 19, and for albumin. Our clinical, histological and immunohistochemical findings suggest that the MC were derived from hepatocytes, with some mesenchymal features, but the OGC were non-neoplastic and reactive histiocytes.

Genetic evidence for the multicentric origin of synchronous multiple gastric carcinoma

Multiple gastric cancers, which constitute 4% to 10% of all gastric cancers, occur in older people and are associated with more extensive intestinal metaplasia. With regard to the genesis of multiple gastric cancers, multicentricity (independent origin) rather than multifocality (local or lateral spread of one cancer) has been the favored theory. Conventional morphologic study, however, has not been able to provide convincing evidence in support of multicentricity. The purpose of this study was to verify the multicentric origin of multiple gastric cancers at a genetic level. For this purpose, immunohistochemical and molecular techniques were used to define the mutation pattern of APC, MCC and p53 in multiple lesions of synchronous multiple gastric cancers. The study was based on a total of 30 gastric tumors from 13 patients, including 10 double tumors, 2 triple tumors, and 1 quadruple tumor. Single-strand conformation polymorphism and polymerase chain reaction direct sequencing were carried out for exons 5 to 8 of p53, and loss of heterozygosity was detected on the basis of polymerase chain reaction amplification of polymorphism in exon 10 of MCC and in exon 11 of APC. Twelve of 13 cases showed alteration in one or more genetic markers. Of these, three demonstrated a discordant mutation pattern of p53 in individual lesions, and another two revealed allelic loss of MCC in one lesion and p53 mutation in the other. In six other cases, only one lesion showed alteration of APC, MCC, or p53, and in the remaining case, one lesion carried p53 and MCC mutations and the other carried MCC loss of heterozygosity only. The results of this study showed discordance of the mutation pattern of APC, MCC, and p53 in individual lesions of multiple gastric cancers, providing genetic evidence for a multicentric origin of synchronous multiple gastric carcinomas. Collectively, these findings supported the theory of field cancerization in gastric carcinogenesis.

The antihypertensive effect of orally administered nifedipine-loaded nanoparticles in spontaneously hypertensive rats

1. The therapeutic use of nifedipine is limited by the rapidity of the onset of its action and its short biological half-life. In order to produce a form devoid of these disadvantages we made nanoparticles of nifedipine from three different polymers, poly-epsilon-caprolactone (PCL), polylactic and glycolic acid (1:1) copolymers (PLAGA), and Eudragit RL/RS (Eudragit). Nifedipine in polyethylene glycol 400 (PEG) solution was used as a control. 2. The average diameters of the nanoparticles ranged from 0.12 to 0.21 micron; the encapsulation ratio was 82% to 88%. 3. In spontaneously hypertensive rats (SHR), the initial rapid fall in systolic arterial blood pressure following oral administration of nifedipine in PEG solution (from 193 +/- 3 to 102 +/- 2 mmHg) was not seen following administration of the same dose in Eudragit nanoparticles (from 189 +/- 2 to 156 +/- 2 mmHg); with PCL and PLAGA nanoparticles the initial fall in blood pressure was significantly reduced (nadirs PCL 124 +/- 2 and PLAGA 113 +/- 2 mmHg). Ten hours following administration, blood pressure in rats administered the nifedipine/PEG preparation had returned to normal (183 +/- 3 mmHg) whereas that of animals given nifedipine in nanoparticles (PCL 170 +/- 3, PLAGA 168 +/- 2, Eudragit 160 +/- 3 mmHg) was still significantly reduced. 4. All of the nanoparticle dosage forms decreased Cmax and increased Tmax and the mean residence time (MRT) values. Relative bioavailability was significantly increased with Eudragit nanoparticles compared to the nifedipine/PEG solution. 5. There was an inverse linear correlation between the fall in blood pressure and plasma nifedipine concentration with all preparations. 6. The nanoparticle nifedipine preparations represent sustained release forms with increased bioavailability, a less pronounced initial antihypertensive effect and a long-lasting action.

ICG clearance in assessing cirrhotic patients with hepatocellular carcinoma for major hepatic resection

Objective: To deWne the safety of major hepatectomy for hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) associated with cirrhosis and the selection criteria for surgery in terms of hospital mortality.

Design: Major hepatectomy for HCC in the presence of cirrhosis is considered to be contraindicated by many surgeons because the reported mortality rate is high (26% to 50%). Previous workers recommended that only selected patients with Child's A status or indocyanine green (ICG) retention at 15 minutes of less than 10% undergo major hepatectomy. A survery was made, therefore, of our patients with HCC and cirrhosis undergoing major hepatectomy between 1989 and 1994.

Setting: A tertiary referral center.

Patients: The preoperative, intraoperative, and post-operative data of 54 patients with cirrhosis who had major hepatectomy were compared with those of 25 patients with underlying chronic active hepatitis and 22 patients with normal livers undergoing major hepatectomy for HCC. The data had been prospectively collected.

Intervention: Major hepatectomy, defined as resection of two or more liver segments by Goldsmith and Woodburn nomenclature, was performed on all the patients. Main Outcome Measure: Hospital mortality, which was defined as death within the same hospital admission for the hepatectomy.

Results: Preoperative liver function in patients with cirrhosis was worse than in those with normal livers. The intraoperative blood loss was also higher (P=.01), but for patients with cirrhosis, chronic active hepatitis, and normal livers, the hospital mortality rates (13%, 16%, and 14%, respectively) were similar. The hospital mortality rate for patients with cirrhosis in the last 2 years of the study was only 5%. Patients with cirrhosis could tolerate up to 10 L of blood loss and survive the major hepatectomy. By discriminant analysis, an ICG retention of 14% at 15 minutes was cutoff level that could maximally separate the patients with cirrhosis with and without mortality.

Conclusion: Major hepatectomy for HCC in the presence of cirrhosis is associated with a mortality rate that is not different from the rate for patients with normal livers. An ICG retention of 14% at 15 minutes would serve as a better selection criterion than the 10% previously used.

Folate deficiency in rats induces DNA strand breaks and hypomethylation within the p53 tumor suppressor gene

Folate is essential for the de novo biosynthesis of purines and thymidylate, and is an important mediator in the transfer of methyl groups for DNA methylation. Folate deficiency, therefore, could contribute to abnormal DNA integrity and methylation patterns. We investigated the effect of isolated folate deficiency in rats on DNA methylation and DNA strand breaks both at the genomic level and within specific sequences of the p53 tumor suppressor gene. Our data indicate that folate deficiency induces DNA strand breaks and hypomethylation within the p53 gene. Such alterations either did not occur or were chronologically delayed when examined on a genome-wide basis, indicating some selectivity for the exons examined within the p53 gene. Folate insufficiency has been implicated in the development of several human and experimental cancers, and aberrations within these regions of the p53 gene that were examined in this study are thought to play an integral role in carcinogenesis. The aforementioned molecular alterations may therefore be a means by which dietary folate deficiency enhances carcinogenesis.

Overexpression of the 67 kD laminin receptor correlates with the progression of gastric carcinoma

This retrospective study was designed to investigate the relationship between overexpression of the 67 kD laminin receptor (67LR) using immunohistochemistry, and several clinicopathological parameters including overall survival in human gastric adenocarcinoma. We stained paraffin-embedded sections of 93 resected primary gastric adenocarcinomas using a polyclonal antibody specific for the 67LR as well as monoclonal antibodies for p53 protein, epidermal growth factor receptor, proliferating cell nuclear antigen, carcinoembryonic antigen and chromagranin. The results showed statistically significant correlations between overexpression of the 67LR and types of early or advanced gastric carcinoma (p < 0.001), depth of invasion (p < 0.001), WHO histopathologic classification (p < 0.001), stage (p = 0.001), expression of p53 protein (p = 0.019), expression of epidermal growth factor receptor (p < 0.001) and proliferating cell nuclear antigen labeling index (p = 0.002). A lower proportion of signet ring cells revealed a higher percentage of overexpression of 67LR in both early (p < 0.002) and advanced (p < 0.001) gastric carcinomas. Intestinal type adenocarcinoma (according to Lauren's classification) revealed a higher percentage of overexpression of the 67LR than the diffuse type in both early (p = 0.057) and advanced (p < 0.001) gastric carcinomas. The correlations between overexpression of the 67LR and lymph node metastasis were statistically significant (p < 0.07). Although the overexpression of the 67LR tended to correlate with lower survival rates, the correlation was not statistically significant due to the limited sample size. Our data revealed that overexpression of the 67LR is correlated with the progression of gastric carcinoma. The expression of the 67LR may be important as one of the steps which determines invasiveness during the progression of cancer.

Primary malignant lymphomas of the stomach. Pathological and clinical analyses of 38 resected cases

The stomach is the most frequent site of extranodal lymphoma and primary gastric lymphoma might be distinguished from the nodal lymphoma by its different pathogenesis and prognosis. Based on the Isaacson's classification, clinico-pathologic reviews of 38 resected primary gastric lymphomas were done. Immunohistochemical stainings for PCNA, B and T cell markers, bcl-2 and p53 were performed. Eighteen were of low grade and 20 were of high grade. There were significant differences between low and high graders in the aspect of the size, depth of lesion, gross type, immunophenotype, staining intensity for PCNA, expressions of bcl-2 and p53. The overall 2-year survival rate was 85.3%. Factors with prognostic significance on survival by univariate analyses included immunophenotype, histologic grading and PCNA staining pattern. After multivariate analyses, immunophenotype proved to be a significant factor. We think that the histologic grading by Isaacson's classification and the immunohistochemical stainings performed were useful in pathologic and/or clinical aspects. The excellent survival rate in this study was partly due to the selection of resectable cases. However, earlier diagnosis and appropriate treatment might have contributed to the improved prognosis of gastric lymphoma in recent years.

Dietary folate protects against the development of macroscopic colonic neoplasia in a dose responsive manner in rats

BACKGROUND AND AIMS

Diminished folate status is associated with enhanced colorectal carcinogenesis. This study investigated the potential chemopreventive role of dietary folate in the dimethylhydrazine colorectal cancer model.

SUBJECTS AND METHODS

Sprague-Dawley rats were fed diets containing either 0, 2 (daily dietary requirement), 8 or 40 mg folate/kg diet for 20 weeks. After five weeks of diet, rats were injected with dimethyl-hydrazine (44 mg/kg) weekly for 15 weeks. Fifteen weeks after the first injection of dimethylhydrazine, all rats were killed. Folate status was determined, and the entire colorectum from each rat was analysed for macroscopic and microscopic neoplasms.

RESULTS

Plasma and colonic folate concentrations correlated directly with dietary folate levels (p < 0.005). The incidence of microscopic neoplasms was similar among the four groups. However, the incidence and the average number of macroscopic tumours per rat decreased progressively with increasing dietary folate levels up to 8 mg/kg diet (p < 0.05). In the strongly procarcinogenic milieu used in this study, folate supplementation at 20 times the basal requirement was associated with rates of macroscopic tumour development that were intermediate, and not statistically distinct, from rates observed at either 0 or 8 mg/kg diet.

CONCLUSIONS

These data indicate that in this rat model, (a) increasing dietary folate up to four times the basal requirement leads to a progressive reduction in the evolution of macroscopic neoplasms from microscopic foci; and (b) folate supplementation beyond four times the requirement does not convey further benefit.

Blood pressure and HR in the fetal lamb: relationship to hypoglycemia, hypoxemia, and growth restriction

We examined blood pressure and heart rate (HR) in relation to glucose and arterial PO2 (PaO2) at approximately 121 days (early) and at approximately 140 days (late) gestation in 12 growth-restricted and 10 control fetal lambs. Mild growth restriction (relative to maternal weight) was produced by withdrawal of 25 ml/day of maternal blood during the second half of pregnancy (P < 0.05). Fetuses from this model are hypoglycemic during early and late gestation but hypoxemic only during late study. Mean systolic and diastolic pressures in the experimental group were approximately 8.0 mmHg lower than the corresponding values in controls at both studies (P < 0.05). Fetal HR (FHR) was 15.4 beats/min lower (P < 0.05) in 10 but was higher than control in 2 experimental fetuses that were also not growth restricted. There were significant correlations between late systolic pressure and HR and PaO2 (r = 0.54, P = 0.046 and r = 0.50, P = 0.049, respectively) and between FHR and blood pressure and birth weight/maternal weight (P < 0.05). We conclude that, in this model, fetal blood pressure and HR may serve as good indicators of hypoxemia and growth restriction.