Endothelial Function, Oxidative Stress and Inflammatory Studies in Chronic Coronary Slow Flow Phenomenon Patients

The coronary slow flow phenomenon (CSFP) is associated with coronary microvascular dysfunction although the responsible mechanisms are unknown. This study compared endothelial function assessed by changes in augmentation index (AIx) following endothelium-independent (glyceryl trinitrate, GTN) and endothelium-dependent vasodilators (salbutamol), in 40 stable CSFP patients and 23 age-matched healthy controls. Plasma concentrations of inflammatory proteins (myeloperoxidase and high-sensitivity C-reactive protein), oxidative stress biomarkers (malondialdehyde and homocysteine), and asymmetric dimethylarginine levels were also determined. There were no differences between CSFP and controls in response to salbutamol (AIx: -2.28 ± 0.88% vs. -3.22 ± 0.70%, p = 0.4) or GTN (AIx: -11.30 ± 0.75% vs. -13.30 ± 1.00%, p = 0.12). Similarly, there were no differences in the measured biomarkers. Thus, alternate mechanisms to the assessed endothelial function, inflammatory and oxidative stress processes should be explored to explain the microvascular dysfunction in CSFP patients.Victoria Kopetz, Jennifer Kennedy, Tamila Heresztyn, Irene Stafford, Scott R. Willoughby, John F. Beltram

Zoonotic parasites associated with felines from the Patagonian Holocene

Feline coprolites were examined for parasites with the aim of studying ancient infections that occurred in the Patagonian region during the Holocene period. Eggs compatible to Trichuris sp., Calodium sp., Eucoleus sp., Nematodirus sp., Oesophagostomum sp. (Nematoda), Monoecocestus sp. (Cestoda) and Eimeria macusaniensis (Coccidia) were recovered from faecal samples. The results obtained from the analysis provide evidence of consumption by felids of the viscera of both rodents and camelids. This knowledge allows for improved explanations as to the distribution of parasitism and its significance to the health of humans and animals inhabiting the area under study during the Middle Holocene

Nuclear export and cytoplasmic processing of precursors to the 40S ribosomal subunits in mammalian cells

It is generally assumed that, in mammalian cells, preribosomal RNAs are entirely processed before nuclear exit. Here, we show that pre-40S particles exported to the cytoplasm in HeLa cells contain 18S rRNA extended at the 3′ end with 20–30 nucleotides of the internal transcribed spacer 1. Maturation of this pre-18S rRNA (which we named 18S-E) involves a cytoplasmic protein, the human homolog of the yeast kinase Rio2p, and appears to be required for the translation competence of the 40S subunit. By tracking the nuclear exit of this precursor, we have identified the ribosomal protein Rps15 as a determinant of preribosomal nuclear export in human cells. Interestingly, inhibition of exportin Crm1/Xpo1 with leptomycin B strongly alters processing of the 5′-external transcribed spacer, upstream of nuclear export, and reveals a new cleavage site in this transcribed spacer. Completion of the maturation of the 18S rRNA in the cytoplasm, a feature thought to be unique to yeast, may prevent pre-40S particles from initiating translation with pre-mRNAs in eukaryotic cells. It also allows new strategies for the study of preribosomal transport in mammalian cells