A Protective Role for Complement C3 Protein during Pandemic 2009 H1N1 and H5N1 Influenza A Virus Infection

Highly pathogenic H5N1 influenza infections are associated with enhanced inflammatory and cytokine responses, severe lung damage, and an overall dysregulation of innate immunity. C3, a member of the complement system of serum proteins, is a major component of the innate immune and inflammatory responses. However, the role of this protein in the pathogenesis of H5N1 infection is unknown. Here we demonstrate that H5N1 influenza virus infected mice had increased levels of C5a and C3 activation byproducts as compared to mice infected with either seasonal or pandemic 2009 H1N1 influenza viruses. We hypothesized that the increased complement was associated with the enhanced disease associated with the H5N1 infection. However, studies in knockout mice demonstrated that C3 was required for protection from influenza infection, proper viral clearance, and associated with changes in cellular infiltration. These studies suggest that although the levels of complement activation may differ depending on the influenza virus subtype, complement is an important host defense mechanism

Selective phosphodiesterase inhibitors: a promising target for cognition enhancement

# The Author(s) 2008. This article is published with open access at Springerlink.com Rationale One of the major complaints most people face during aging is an impairment in cognitive functioning. This has a negative impact on the quality of daily life and is even more prominent in patients suffering from neurodegenerative and psychiatric disorders including Alzheimer’s disease, schizophrenia, and depression. So far, the majority of cognition enhancers are generally targeting one particular neurotransmitter system. However, recently phosphodiesterases (PDEs) have gained increased attention as a potential new target for cognition enhancement. Inhibition of PDEs increases the intracellular availability of the second messengers cGMP and/or cAMP. Objective The aim of this review was to provide an overvie

A Case of Congenital Bilateral Absence of Elbow Flexor Muscles: Review of Differential Diagnosis and Treatment

A 1-year-old boy presented to us with congenital inability to flex his elbow. He had bilaterally absent biceps brachii and brachialis muscles, a rare condition. We performed pedicle latissimus dorsi musculocutaneous flaps to the left and right volar upper arm at 21 and 24 months of age, respectively, to create elbow flexors. By 4 years of age, he had excellent elbow flexion bilaterally with strength grade in excess of 4.5. In addition to discussing our patient’s treatment options, we discuss other potential causes of weak elbow flexion when faced with this clinical dilemma

Phosphodiesterase inhibitors enhance object memory independent of cerebral blood flow and glucose utilization in rats

Phosphodiesterase (PDE) inhibitors prevent the breakdown of the second messengers, cyclic AMP (cAMP) and cyclic GMP (cGMP), and are currently studied as possible targets for cognitive enhancement. Earlier studies indicated beneficial effects of PDE inhibitors in object recognition. In this study we tested the effects of three PDE inhibitors on spatial memory as assessed in a place and object recognition task. Furthermore, as both cAMP and cGMP are known vasodilators, the effects of PDE inhibition on cognitive functions could be explained by enhancement of cerebrovascular function. We examined this possibility by measuring the effects of PDE5 and PDE4 inhibitor treatment on local cerebral blood flow and glucose utilization in rats using [14C]-iodoantipyrine and [14C]-2-deoxyglucose quantitative autoradiography, respectively. In the spatial location task, PDE5 inhibition (cGMP) with vardenafil enhanced only early phase consolidation, PDE4 inhibition (cAMP) with rolipram enhanced only late phase consolidation, and PDE2 inhibition (cAMP and cGMP) with Bay 60-7550 enhanced both consolidation processes. Furthermore, PDE5 inhibition had no cerebrovascular effects in hippocampal or rhinal areas. PDE4 inhibition increased rhinal, but not hippocampal blood flow, whereas it decreased glucose utilization in both areas. In general, PDE5 inhibition decreased the ratio between blood flow and glucose utilization, indicative of general oligaemia; whereas PDE4 inhibition increased this ratio, indicative of general hyperemia. Both oligaemic and hyperemic conditions are detrimental for brain function and do not explain memory enhancement. These results underscore the specific effects of cAMP and cGMP on memory consolidation (object and spatial memory) and provide evidence that the underlying mechanisms of PDE inhibition on cognition are independent of cerebrovascular effects

Validation of transit-time flowmetry for chronic measurements of regional blood flow in resting and exercising rats

The objective of the present study was to validate the transit-time technique for long-term measurements of iliac and renal blood flow in rats. Flow measured with ultrasonic probes was confirmed ex vivo using excised arteries perfused at varying flow rates. An implanted 1-mm probe reproduced with accuracy different patterns of flow relative to pressure in freely moving rats and accurately quantitated the resting iliac flow value (on average 10.43 ± 0.99 ml/min or 2.78 ± 0.3 ml min-1 100 g body weight-1). The measurements were stable over an experimental period of one week but were affected by probe size (resting flows were underestimated by 57% with a 2-mm probe when compared with a 1-mm probe) and by anesthesia (in the same rats, iliac flow was reduced by 50-60% when compared to the conscious state). Instantaneous changes of iliac and renal flow during exercise and recovery were accurately measured by the transit-time technique. Iliac flow increased instantaneously at the beginning of mild exercise (from 12.03 ± 1.06 to 25.55 ± 3.89 ml/min at 15 s) and showed a smaller increase when exercise intensity increased further, reaching a plateau of 38.43 ± 1.92 ml/min at the 4th min of moderate exercise intensity. In contrast, exercise-induced reduction of renal flow was smaller and slower, with 18% and 25% decreases at mild and moderate exercise intensities. Our data indicate that transit-time flowmetry is a reliable method for long-term and continuous measurements of regional blood flow at rest and can be used to quantitate the dynamic flow changes that characterize exercise and recover