Comparison of Lidocaine-Xylazine and Procaine-Xylazine for Lumbar Epidural Anesthesia in Cattle

Lumbar epidural anesthesia is commonly utilized in veterinary medicine for diagnostic, obstetrical, and surgical intervention in the abdominal and perineal regions of large animals. The aim of this study was to directly compare the time to onset and duration of epidural anesthesia produced by lidocaine-xylazine and procaine-xylazine combinations to that produced by xylazine alone in cattle. A total of 24 healthy adult Holstein dairy cows were included in this study. The time to onset and duration of anesthesia were recorded. The heart rate, respiratory rate, and rectal temperature were recorded at 0 minute and at 10, 20, 30, 60, and 90 minutes after the epidural administration of each treatment. The time to onset of anesthesia did not significantly differ between the xylazine only group and the lidocaine-xylazine and procaine-xylazine combination groups. The duration of anesthesia in the xylazine only group was significantly shorter than that in the lidocaine-xylazine and procaine-xylazine combination groups (p < 0.05). Ataxia was not observed in any group. The heart rate, respiratory rate, and rectal temperature values in all the treatment groups throughout the study did not significantly differ from those at baseline. We found that administration of procaine hydrochloride in combination with xylazine hydrochloride, an α2-adrenergic receptor agonist, offers the same time to onset and duration of anesthesia as does epidural anesthesia using a combination of lidocaine hydrochloride and xylazine hydrochloride. Furthermore, this combination of treatments did not cause adverse effects in the cardiovascular and respiratory systems. These findings indicate that combined administration of procaine and xylazine is an economic and useful approach for epidural anesthesia.

Angiopoietin-like protein 2 induces androgen-independent and malignant behavior in human prostate cancer cells

Angiopoietin-like proteins (ANGPTLs), which comprise 7 members (ANGPTL1-ANGPTL7), structurally resemble angiopoietins. We investigated the roles of ANGPTLs in the acquisition of androgen independence and the malignant behavior of human prostate cancer cells. Expression of ANGPTL messenger RNA (mRNA) and proteins were ascertained using RT-qPCR and western blot analysis in human prostate cancer cell lines. Androgen‑dependent LNCaP and androgen-independent LNCaP/AI cells, respectively, were cultured in fetal bovine and charcoal-stripped medium. Cell proliferation, androgen dependence, migration and invasion, respectively, were examined under the overexpression and knockdown of ANGPTL2 by transfection of ANGPTL2 cDNA and its small‑interfering RNA (siRNA). The effects of exogenous ANGPTL2 and blocking of its receptor, integrin α5β1, were also investigated. Human prostate cancer cell lines predominantly expressed ANGPTL2 among the members. Interrupting ANGPTL2 expression with siRNA suppressed the proliferation, migration and invasion of LNCaP cells. LNCaP/AI cells showed a higher ANGPTL2 expression than that of LNCaP cells. Furthermore, siRNA led to apoptosis of LNCaP/AI cells. The ANGPTL2-overexpressing LNCaP cells markedly increased proliferation, epithelial-to-mesenchymal transition (EMT) and malignant behavior in androgen‑deprived medium. The migration rates were increased depending on the concentration of ANGPTL2 recombinant protein and were inhibited by anti-integrin α5β1 antibodies. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first study to elucidate the expression of ANGPTL2 in human prostate cancer cells. ANGPTL2 may be important in the acquisition of androgen independency and tumor progression of prostate cancer in an autocrine and/or paracrine manner via the integrin α5β1 receptor. Targeting ANGPTL2 may therefore be an efficacious therapeutic modality for prostate cancer.

COMPARISON OF CYTOCHROMES IN MYCOBACTERIA GROWN IN VITRO AND IN VIVO

Kusaka, Takashi (National Institute for Leprosy Research, Tokyo, Japan), Ryo Sato, and Ko Shoji. Comparison of cytochromes in mycobacteria grown in vitro and in vivo. J. Bacteriol. 87:1383-1388. 1964.-Spectrophotometric investigations were made on cell suspensions or particulate fractions of four species of mycobacteria which had been cultivated in vitro. The results obtained indicated the presence in Mycobacterium smegmatis of cytochromes of the a, b(1), and c types, as well as a CO-binding pigment similar to cytochrome o; in BCG and M. avium, cytochromes of the a, b, and c types were present; and, in M. paratuberculosis, cytochromes of the a, b(1), and c types were present. Although no clear interrelations were evident between the cytochrome patterns of these organisms and the ease with which they can be cultivated in vitro, it was found that the total reduced nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide oxidase activity of the particulate fraction was remarkably low in M. paratuberculosis, which can be grown in vitro only with great difficulty. The cells of BCG grown in vivo and those of M. lepraemurium isolated from leprous nodules of mice were found to be completely deficient in cytochrome pigments.