Chinese herbs nephropathy-associated slimming regimen induces tumours in the forestomach but no interstitial nephropathy in rats

Chinese herbs nephropathy (CHN), a rapidly progressive interstitial fibrosis of the kidney, has been described in approximately 100 young Belgian women who had followed a slimming regimen containing some Chinese herbs. In 4 patients multifocal transitional cell carcinomas (TCC) were observed. Aristolochic acid (AA), suspected as the causal factor of CHN, is a well known carcinogen but its ability to induce fibrosis has never been demonstrated. The objective of this study was to evaluate the latter using doses of AA, durations of intoxication and delays of sacrifice known to yield tumours in rats. We also tested the hypothesis that a possible fibrogenic role of AA was enhanced by the other components of the slimming regimen. Male and female rats were treated orally with 10 mg isolated AA/kg per day for 5 days/week, or with approximately 0.15 mg AA/kg per day 5 days/week contained in the herbal powder together with the other components prescribed in the slimming pills for 3 months. The animals were killed respectively 3 and 11 months later. At sacrifice, animals in both groups had developed the expected tumours but not fibrosis of the renal interstitium, Whether the fibrotic response observed in man is due to species and/or strain related differences in the response to AA or to other factors, remains to be determined. Interestingly, despite the addition of fenfluramine and diethylpropion, two drugs incriminated in the development of valvular heart disease, no cardiac abnormalities were observed

Craniofacial morphometric analysis of individuals with X-linked hypohidrotic ectodermal dysplasia.

Hypohidrotic ectodermal dysplasia (HED) is the most prevalent type of ectodermal dysplasia (ED). ED is an umbrella term for a group of syndromes characterized by missing or malformed ectodermal structures, including skin, hair, sweat glands, and teeth. Th

Kinetics of structural reorganizations in multilamellar photosynthetic membranes monitored by small angle neutron scattering

We demonstrate the power of time-resolved small-angle neutron scattering experiments for the investigation of the structure and structural reorganizations of multilamellar photosynthetic membranes. In addition to briefly summarizing our results on thylakoid membranes isolated from higher plants and in unicellular organisms, we discuss the advantages and technical and methodological limitations of timeresolved SANS. We present a detailed and more systematical investigation of the kinetics of light-induced structural reorganizations in isolated spinach thylakoid membranes, which show how changes in the repeat distance and in the long-range order of the multilamellar membranes can be followed with a time resolution of seconds. We also present data from comparative measurements performed on thylakoid membranes isolated from tobacco

Prokaryote/eukaryote dichotomy and bacteria/archaea/eukarya domains : two inseparable concepts

The various schemes proposed to classify microorganisms in the living world have long been subject of heated debates. The classical dichotomic distinction between Prokaryotae (cells without nucleus) and Eukaryotae (cells with nucleus) functional and phenotypic categories was deeply changed by rRNA gene-based analysis that divided the living world into three phylogenetic domains: the Bacteria, the Archaea (originally Archaebacteria), and the Eukarya. In this chapter, we review the terms of this debate between the prokaryotic/eukaryotic functional and phenotypic dichotomy and the 16S/18S phylogenetic dichotomy that separates prokaryotes into two distinct domains. The specific characteristics that emphasize the organizational and functional complexity of prokaryotes and justify maintaining this terminology are discussed. We conclude that the organizational and functional concept of a prokaryotes/eukaryotes dichotomy can be easily supplemented by the phylogenetic concept Bacteria/Archaea/Eukarya. The two concepts are not irreconcilable but complementary, resulting in a consensual proposal that integrates bothphenotypic and genotypic criteri