Intestinal Radiation-Induced Stricture Favours Small Bowel Obstruction by Phytobezoar: Report of a Case

Bezoars represent the fifth most frequent cause of acute small bowel obstruction. Phytobezoar is the most common type of bezoar. It is a concretion of undigestible fibers derived from ingested vegetables and fruits. We report a case of a woman with a 1-year history of recurrent epigastric and periumbilical abdominal pain with intermittent vomiting caused by phytobezoar of the terminal ileum. After careful investigation of the case and review of literature, we identified the factor involved in bezoar formation as radiation-induced ileal stenosis due to previous treatment for a pelvic tumour. This report provides evidence to consider phytobezoar as a possible cause of small bowel obstruction in patients previously treated with abdominal radiotherapy

New evidence for nicotinic acid treatment to reduce atherosclerosis

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Serous cutaneous glands substructural organization in anurans as a model of peptide/protein aggregation

A combined Transmission Electron Microscope (TEM) and Fourier Transformation (FT) analysis has been performed on the secretory granules storing active peptides/ proteins in cutaneous glands of n. 12 anuran species. Previous TEM investigation showed that the granules are provided with remarkable repeating substructures based on discrete subunits, arranged into a consistent framework. Furthermore, TEM analysis revealed that this recurrent arrangement is acquired during a prolonged post-Golgian (or maturational) processing that affects the secretory product. Maturation leads to a variety of patterns that depends on the degree of subunit clustering. Since the ultrastructural features of these biological samples were found to be suitable for FT analysis, this variety of recurrent patterns has been plotted into a range of FT frequency spectra. Through this quantitative approach we found that the variable granule substructure can be reduced to a main mechanism of peptides/proteins aggregation

Oxaprozin-Induced Apoptosis on CD40 Ligand-Treated Human Primary Monocytes Is Associated with the Modulation of Defined Intracellular Pathways

The modulation of CD40L activity might represent a promising therapeutic target to reduce monocyte inflammatory functions in chronic diseases, such as rheumatoid arthritis. In the present study, we investigated the possible influence of nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) on CD40L-induced monocyte survival. Monocytes were isolated from buffy coats by using Ficoll-Percoll gradients. Monocyte apoptosis was evaluated by fluorescence microscopy on cytopreps stained with acridine orange or using flow cytometry analysis of Annexin-V and Propidium Iodide staining. Akt and NF-κB activation was assessed using western blot. Caspase 3 activity was determined spectrophotometrically. Among different NSAIDs, only oxaprozin dose-dependently increased apoptosis of CD40L-treated monocytes. Oxaprozin pro-apoptotic activity was associated with the inhibition of CD40L-triggered Akt and NF-κB phosphorylation and the activation of caspase 3. In conclusion, our data suggest that oxaprozin-induced apoptosis in CD40L-treated human monocytes is associated with previously unknown cyclooxygenase (COX)-independent pathways. These intracellular proteins might be promising pharmacological targets to increase apoptosis in CD40L-treated monocytes

Defining the role of mesenchymal stromal cells on the regulation of matrix metalloproteinases in skeletal muscle cells

AbstractRecent studies indicate that mesenchymal stromal cell (MSC) transplantation improves healing of injured and diseased skeletal muscle, although the mechanisms of benefit are poorly understood. In the present study, we investigated whether MSCs and/or their trophic factors were able to regulate matrix metalloproteinase (MMP) expression and activity in different cells of the muscle tissue. MSCs in co-culture with C2C12 cells or their conditioned medium (MSC-CM) up-regulated MMP-2 and MMP-9 expression and function in the myoblastic cells; these effects were concomitant with the down-regulation of the tissue inhibitor of metalloproteinases (TIMP)-1 and -2 and with increased cell motility. In the single muscle fiber experiments, MSC-CM administration increased MMP-2/9 expression in Pax-7+ satellite cells and stimulated their mobilization, differentiation and fusion. The anti-fibrotic properties of MSC-CM involved also the regulation of MMPs by skeletal fibroblasts and the inhibition of their differentiation into myofibroblasts. The treatment with SB-3CT, a potent MMP inhibitor, prevented in these cells, the decrease of α-smooth actin and type-I collagen expression induced by MSC-CM, suggesting that MSC-CM could attenuate the fibrogenic response through mechanisms mediated by MMPs. Our results indicate that growth factors and cytokines released by these cells may modulate the fibrotic response and improve the endogenous mechanisms of muscle repair/regeneration

Morphological analysis of the Hippocampal region of aged rats, role of Clasmatodendrosis

Clasmatodendrosis is a phenomenon first described by Alzheimer in 1910, which was observed in aged nervous system and in the course of neurodegenerative diseases. It consists in the loss of astrocytic distal processes. The occurrence of clasmatodendrosis is frequently associated with an increase of autofluorescent aggregates in different cell types of nervous tissue. In this study we designed a calibrated excitation/emission method of spectral unmixing aimed to discriminate the fluorescence emitted by commercial fluorochrome-conjugated antibodies from the autofluorescent signal, by using confocal microscopy and multiphoton fluorescence lifetime imaging techniques. By this method, the immunolabeled GFAP localization in the CA1 Hippocampal region of aged rats was analyzed. Autofluorescent debris showed a strong positivity to GFAP labeling, suggesting that the detached fragments of clasmatodendrotic astrocytes might take part in the generation of these structures. By 3D confocal analysis we found that these aggregates, were located on neuronal cell surfaces, as well as inside the soma and that, in addition, the presence of autofluorescent aggregates seemed to be related with increased adhesion phenomena among neurons. These data were compared with those obtained in control adult rats and in rats infused with lipopolysaccharide (LPS) in the 4th ventricle to induce a chronic inflammatory state. The presence of autofluorescent aggregates was detected in LPS rats and also in control rats, even if they appeared smaller and with a lesser intensity as compared with the aged rats. These findings suggest that clasmatodendrosis is a process involving the interaction of neurons and astrocytes in a prolonged timespan of life. Its severity increases with aging or under inflammatory and/or neurodegenerative diseases. In conclusion, our results seem to suggest that clasmatodendrosis can affect neuron functionality not only due to a decreased astrocyte activity, but also by direct interaction of the detached astrocytic fragments with neuron somata