Cyclosporine augments hepatic regenerative response in rats

A number of mechanisms participate in the hepatic injury that occurs during and following liver transplantation. A normal allograft regenerative response is probably essential for a successful transplant outcome. In this study, the effect of cyclosporine, a potent immunosuppressant used routinely after liver transplantation, on the regenerative response of the liver after partial hepatectomy was investigated. Male Wistar rats were pretreated for one week with either cyclosporine or the olive oil vehicle and were subjected to either a two-thirds partial hepatectomy or a sham operation. Animals were sacrificed at various times postoperatively and the remnant livers were weighed to determine the liver weight to body weight ratio, two biochemical measures of a regenerative response (cytosolic ornithine decarboxylase activity and thymidine kinase activity), and the hepatic content of estrogen and androgen receptors, as the content of these receptors has been shown to modulate, at least in part, the subsequent hepatic regenerative response. The preoperative hepatic cytosol content of ornithine decarboxylase, thymidine kinase, and estrogen receptor was significantly greater (P<0.05) in rats pretreated with cyclosporine than in those treated with the vehicle alone. A significant increase in ornithine decarboxylase and thymidine kinase activities occurred after partial hepatectomy in both the cyclosporine-pretreated and vehicle-pretreated animals. The absolute levels for each parameter were also greater in the cyclosporine-treated animals than in the vehicle-treated controls at 24 hr after partial hepatectomy (P<0.05). The pattern of change in the hepatic cytosolic content of estrogen and androgen receptors in both groups of animals was comparable with those described previously for regenerating liver. These data suggest that cyclosporine may predispose the liver to respond to either a regenerative signal or perceived need and thereby fortuitously enhance liver graft performance after successful surgical implantation. © 1989 Plenum Publishing Corporation

Dysmenorrhoea among Hong Kong university students: prevalence, impact, and management

published_or_final_versio

Methylation of miR-155-3p in mantle cell lymphoma and other non-Hodgkin's lymphomas

published_or_final_versio

Effect of cyclosporine on hepatic cytosolic estrogen and androgen receptor levels before and after partial hepatectomy

Estrogen and androgen receptors within the liver have been reported to modulate the hepatic regenerative response to partial hepatectomy. Moreover, cyclosporine has several untoward effects that might occur as a consequence of alterations in sex hormone activity. To evaluate these questions the following experiments were performed. Estrogen and androgen receptors in cytosol were quantitated in livers of rats treated with cyclosporine or olive oil vehicle before and after partial hepatectomy or a sham operation. Ornithine decarboxylase activity and thymidine kinase activity were assessed as indices of hepatic regeneration. Preoperative levels of estrogen receptor activity in the hepatic cytosol were significantly greater in rats treated with cyclosporine as compared to vehicle treated controls (P<0.01). In contrast, preoperative levels of androgen receptor activity in the cyclosporine-treated and vehicle-treated animals were similar. Following partial hepatectomy, a reduction in the activity of both sex hormone receptors in the hepatic cytosol was observed and was compatible with results described previously in normal animals. Unexpectedly the preoperative levels of ornithine decarboxylase (P<0.01) and thymidine kinase activity (P<0.01) were significantly greater in the rats treated with cyclosporine as compared to the vehicle treated controls. As expected, ornithine decarboxylase activity (at 6 hr) and thymidine kinase activity (at 24 hr) rose and peaked in response to a partial hepatectomy but were significantly greater (P<0.05) in the rats treated with cyclosporine as compared to the vehicle. These results show that cyclosporine treatment causes an increase in the hepatic content of estrogen receptor activity that is associated with an enhanced potential for a regenerative response. These effects of cyclosporine treatment on the sex hormone receptor levels in liver may explain the mechanisms responsible for some of the untoward effects of treatment with this agent. © 1990 Plenum Publishing Corporation

Risk of tuberculosis in high-rise and high density dwellings: an exploratory spatial analysis

PosterEnvironmental Pollution v. 183 entitled: Selected Papers from Urban Environmental Pollution 2012UEP 2012 focus on Creating Healthy, Liveable CitiesStudies have shown that socioeconomic and environmental factors have direct/indirect influences on TB. This research focuses on TB prevalence of Hong Kong in relation to its compact urban development comprising of high-rise and high-density residential dwellings caused by rapid population growth and limited land resources. It has been postulated that occupants living on higher levels of a building would benefit from better ventilation and direct sunlight and thus less likely to contract infectious respiratory diseases. On the contrary, those on lower floors amid the dense clusters of high-rises are more susceptible to TB infection because of poorer air quality from street-level pollution and lesser exposure to direct sunlight. However, there have not been published studies to support these claims. As TB continues to threaten public health in Hong Kong, this study seeks to understand the effects of housing development on TB occurrences in an urban setting.postprin

Identification of Ceruloplasmin as a Gene that Affects Susceptibility to Glomerulonephritis Through Macrophage Function

Crescentic glomerulonephritis (Crgn) is a complex disorder where macrophage activity and infiltration are significant effector causes. In previous linkage studies using the uniquely susceptible Wistar Kyoto (WKY) rat strain, we have identified multiple crescentic glomerulonephritis QTL (Crgn) and positionally cloned genes underlying Crgn1 and Crgn2, which accounted for 40% of total variance in glomerular inflammation. Here, we have generated a backcross (BC) population (n = 166) where Crgn1 and Crgn2 were genetically fixed and found significant linkage to glomerular crescents on chromosome 2 (Crgn8, LOD = 3.8). Fine mapping analysis by integration with genome-wide expression QTLs (eQTLs) from the same BC population identified ceruloplasmin (Cp) as a positional eQTL in macrophages but not in serum. Liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry confirmed Cp as a protein QTL in rat macrophages. WKY macrophages overexpress Cp and its downregulation by RNA interference decreases markers of glomerular proinflammatory macrophage activation. Similarly, short incubation with Cp results in a strain-dependent macrophage polarization in the rat. These results suggest that genetically determined Cp levels can alter susceptibility to Crgn through macrophage function and propose a new role for Cp in early macrophage activation

Ten-year experience with liver transplantation at Queen Mary Hospital: retrospective study.

OBJECTIVE: To report the experience with liver transplantation at the Queen Mary Hospital from 1991 to 2000. DESIGN: Retrospective study. SETTING: Liver transplant centre of a University teaching hospital, Hong Kong. PATIENTS: One hundred and forty-eight patients (127 adults and 21 children) who underwent a total of 155 liver transplants using 75 cadaver grafts (full-size, 67; reduced-size, 5; split, 3) and 80 living donor grafts (left lateral segment, 15; left lobe, 6; right lobe, 59) from October 1991 to December 2000 were reviewed. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: Graft and patient survival rate. RESULTS: The most common disease indications for liver transplantation were chronic hepatitis B-related liver disease (n=74) in adults and biliary atresia (n=14) in children. Eighteen patients had hepatocellular carcinoma. Forty-eight (31%) liver transplants (three ABO-incompatible) were performed in high-urgency situations for patients requiring intensive care. The proportion of living donor liver transplants was 47.7% in adults and 73.9% in children. The overall 1-year and 5-year patient survival rates were 82% and 77%, respectively. The survival of high-risk recipients, such as those with fulminant hepatic failure (80%), chronic hepatitis B (81%), or hepatocellular carcinoma (94%), was not inferior to that of other patients. CONCLUSION: Over the last decade, the promotion of (cadaver) organ donation through public education coupled with innovative techniques in living donor liver transplantation have enabled a liver transplantation programme to be established in Hong Kong with gratifying results.published_or_final_versio

Intakes of culinary herbs and spices from a food frequency questionnaire evaluated against 28-days estimated records

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Worldwide, herbs and spices are much used food flavourings. However, little data exist regarding actual dietary intake of culinary herbs and spices. We developed a food frequency questionnaire (FFQ) for the assessment of habitual diet the preceding year, with focus on phytochemical rich food, including herbs and spices. The aim of the present study was to evaluate the intakes of herbs and spices from the FFQ with estimates of intake from another dietary assessment method. Thus we compared the intake estimates from the FFQ with 28 days of estimated records of herb and spice consumption as a reference method.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>The evaluation study was conducted among 146 free living adults, who filled in the FFQ and 2-4 weeks later carried out 28 days recording of herb and spice consumption. The FFQ included a section with questions about 27 individual culinary herbs and spices, while the records were open ended records for recording of herbs and spice consumption exclusively.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>Our study showed that the FFQ obtained slightly higher estimates of total intake of herbs and spices than the total intake assessed by the Herbs and Spice Records (HSR). The correlation between the two assessment methods with regard to total intake was good (r = 0.5), and the cross-classification suggests that the FFQ may be used to classify subjects according to total herb and spice intake. For the 8 most frequently consumed individual herbs and spices, the FFQ obtained good estimates of median frequency of intake for 2 herbs/spices, while good estimates of portion sizes were obtained for 4 out of 8 herbs/spices.</p> <p>Conclusions</p> <p>Our results suggested that the FFQ was able to give good estimates of frequency of intake and portion sizes on group level for several of the most frequently used herbs and spices. The FFQ was only able to fairly rank subjects according to frequency of intake of the 8 most frequently consumed herbs and spices. Other studies are warranted to further explore the intakes of culinary spices and herbs.</p