391 research outputs found
The Induction of Tumours of the Mouse Bladder Epithelium by 4-Ethylsulphonylnaphthalene-1-Sulphonamide
Human epicardial adipose tissue expresses a pathogenic profile of adipocytokines in patients with cardiovascular disease
Introduction: Inflammation contributes to cardiovascular disease and is exacerbated with
increased adiposity, particularly omental adiposity; however, the role of epicardial fat is poorly
understood.
Methods: For these studies the expression of inflammatory markers was assessed in epicardial fat
biopsies from coronary artery bypass grafting (CABG) patients using quantitative RT-PCR. Further,
the effects of chronic medications, including statins, as well as peri-operative glucose, insulin and
potassium infusion, on gene expression were also assessed. Circulating resistin, CRP, adiponectin
and leptin levels were determined to assess inflammation.
Results: The expression of adiponectin, resistin and other adipocytokine mRNAs were
comparable to that in omental fat. Epicardial CD45 expression was significantly higher than control
depots (p < 0.01) indicating significant infiltration of macrophages. Statin treated patients showed
significantly lower epicardial expression of IL-6 mRNA, in comparison with the control abdominal
depots (p < 0.001). The serum profile of CABG patients showed significantly higher levels of both
CRP (control: 1.28 ± 1.57 μg/mL vs CABG: 9.11 ± 15.7 μg/mL; p < 0.001) and resistin (control:
10.53 ± 0.81 ng/mL vs CABG: 16.8 ± 1.69 ng/mL; p < 0.01) and significantly lower levels of
adiponectin (control: 29.1 ± 14.8 μg/mL vs CABG: 11.9 ± 6.0 μg/mL; p < 0.05) when compared to
BMI matched controls.
Conclusion: Epicardial and omental fat exhibit a broadly comparable pathogenic mRNA profile,
this may arise in part from macrophage infiltration into the epicardial fat. This study highlights that
chronic inflammation occurs locally as well as systemically potentially contributing further to the
pathogenesis of coronary artery disease
The technique of bladder implantation: further results and an assessment.
JuLL (1951) suggested that the surgical introduction of a pellet containing a test chemical into the lumen of the mouse bladder might be useful for routine testing for carcinogenic activity. The method, it was thought, would possess the following advantages: (i) the chemical would be slowly eluted from the pellet and would therefore remain in contact with the bladder epithelium for a prolonged period; (ii) the metabolic processes of the liver, etc., would be by-passed, and (iii) the bladder would function under approximately normal conditions. Bladder implantation has been used successfully in Leeds (Bonser, Clayso
Resistance of flight feathers to mechanical fatigue covaries with moult strategy in two warbler species
Flight feather moult in small passerines is realized in several ways. Some species moult once after breeding or once on their wintering grounds; others even moult twice. The adaptive significance of this diversity is still largely unknown. We compared the resistance to mechanical fatigue of flight feathers from the chiffchaff Phylloscopus collybita, a migratory species moulting once on its breeding grounds, with feathers from the willow warbler Phylloscopus trochilus, a migratory species moulting in both its breeding and wintering grounds. We found that flight feathers of willow warblers, which have a shaft with a comparatively large diameter, become fatigued much faster than feathers of chiffchaffs under an artificial cyclic bending regime. We propose that willow warblers may strengthen their flight feathers by increasing the diameter of the shaft, which may lead to a more rapid accumulation of damage in willow warblers than in chiffchaffs
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