Non-classical forms of pemphigus: pemphigus herpetiformis, IgA pemphigus, paraneoplastic pemphigus and IgG/IgA pemphigus

The pemphigus group comprises the autoimmune intraepidermal blistering diseases classically divided into two major types: pemphigus vulgaris and pemphigus foliaceous. Pemphigus herpetiformis, IgA pemphigus, paraneoplastic pemphigus and IgG/IgA pemphigus are rarer forms that present some clinical, histological and immunopathological characteristics that are different from the classical types. These are reviewed in this article. Future research may help definitively to locate the position of these forms in the pemphigus group, especially with regard to pemphigus herpetiformis and the IgG/ IgA pemphigus.Universidade Federal de São Paulo (UNIFESP), Escola Paulista de Medicina (EPM) Dermatology DepartmentUniversidade Federal de São Paulo (UNIFESP), Escola Paulista de Medicina (EPM) Dermatology and Pathology DepartmentsUNIFESP, EPM, Dermatology DepartmentUNIFESP, EPM, Dermatology and Pathology DepartmentsSciEL

Indicators of rural youth drug use

The relationships between personal substance use, health beliefs, peer use, sex, and religion were examined using data collected from 265 middle school students in rural northern Michigan and northeastern Wisconsin in January and February 1984. A positive correlation between peer and personal drug use was established. A relationship was also found between health beliefs and personal substance use. In addition, a regression model was able to account for a statistically significant amount of the variance of alcohol, marihuana, and cigarette use in the target population. Recommendations are made concerning future research, methods of improving health education program development, and possible target areas for psychotherapy.Peer Reviewedhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/45268/1/10964_2005_Article_BF01537674.pd

Species-specific regulation of angiogenesis by glucocorticoids reveals contrasting effects on inflammatory and angiogenic pathways

<div><p>Glucocorticoids are potent inhibitors of angiogenesis in the rodent <i>in vivo</i> and <i>in vitro</i> but the mechanism by which this occurs has not been determined. Administration of glucocorticoids is used to treat a number of conditions in horses but the angiogenic response of equine vessels to glucocorticoids and, therefore, the potential role of glucocorticoids in pathogenesis and treatment of equine disease, is unknown. This study addressed the hypothesis that glucocorticoids would be angiostatic both in equine and murine blood vessels.The mouse aortic ring model of angiogenesis was adapted to assess the effects of cortisol in equine vessels. Vessel rings were cultured under basal conditions or exposed to: foetal bovine serum (FBS; 3%); cortisol (600 nM), cortisol (600nM) plus FBS (3%), cortisol (600nM) plus either the glucocorticoid receptor antagonist RU486 or the mineralocorticoid receptor antagonist spironolactone. In murine aortae cortisol inhibited and FBS stimulated new vessel growth. In contrast, in equine blood vessels FBS alone had no effect but cortisol alone, or in combination with FBS, dramatically increased new vessel growth compared with controls. This effect was blocked by glucocorticoid receptor antagonism but not by mineralocorticoid antagonism. The transcriptomes of murine and equine angiogenesis demonstrated cortisol-induced down-regulation of inflammatory pathways in both species but up-regulation of pro-angiogenic pathways selectively in the horse. Genes up-regulated in the horse and down-regulated in mice were associated with the extracellular matrix. These data call into question our understanding of glucocorticoids as angiostatic in every species and may be of clinical relevance in the horse.</p></div

Injury of neoplastic cells by murine macrophages leads to inhibition of mitochondrial respiration.

Cytotoxic activated macrophages (CM) inhibited the growth of neoplastic L1210 cells in vitro but L1210 cell death was minimal to nonexistent. L1210 cells injured by CM were separated from macrophages and studied in an isolated system. CM-injured L1210 cells had an absolute requirement for glucose or another glycolyzable hexose (mannose or fructose) for at least 40 h after removal from macrophages. If the culture medium lacked sufficient concentration of one of these sugars, CM-injured L1210 cells died within 4 h. Uninjured L1210 cells cultured alone or with peptone-stimulated macrophages had no such requirement and maintained complete viability in hexoseless medium. The hexose requirement of CM-injured L1210 cells could not be fulfilled by other naturally occurring monosaccharides, glucose or mannose derivatives, or substrates that can be oxidized by mitochondria. The concentration requirements for glucose, mannose, and fructose by CM-injured L1210 cells correlated with the concentrations required to support maximal glycolysis of these sugars by other murine ascites cells. A concentration of 2-deoxy-D-glucose which completely inhibited L1210 cell glycolysis also complete prevented the ability of glucose or mannose to maintain viability of CM-injured L1210 cells. Interaction with CM led to inhibition of L1210 cell mitochondrial oxidative phosphorylation. This was supported by the findings that: (a) CM-injured L1210 cells had no Pasteur effect; their rate of aerobic glycolysis was the same as the rate of anaerobic glycolysis of uninjured L1210 cells, (b) Endogenous respiration of CM-injured L1210 cells was 15% of normal. Maximal inhibition of uninjured L1210 cell respiration by a specific mitochondrial poison (oligomycin) was nearly the same (13% of normal). It followed that CM-injured L1210 cells required hexose for chemical energy production via the glycolytic pathway. CM-induced mitochondrial injury occurred in five other neoplastic cell lines tested