<i>KISS1</i> and KISS1R expression in the human and rat carotid body and superior cervical ganglion

KISS1 and its receptor, KISS1R, have both been found to be expressed in central nervous system, but few data are present in the literature about their distribution in peripheral nervous structures. Thus, the aim of the present study was to investigate, through immunohistochemistry, the expression and distribution of KISS1 and KISS1R in the rat and human carotid bodies and superior cervical ganglia, also with particular reference to the different cellular populations. Materials consisted of carotid bodies and superior cervical ganglia were obtained at autopsy from 10 adult subjects and sampled from 10 adult Sprague-Dawley rats. Immunohistochemistry revealed diffuse expression of KISS1 and KISS1R in type I cells of both human and rat carotid bodies, whereas type II cells were negative. In both human and rat superior cervical ganglia positive anti-KISS1 and -KISS1R immunostainings were also selectively found in ganglion cells, satellite cells being negative. Endothelial cells also showed moderate immunostaining for both KISS1 and KISS1R. The expression of both kisspeptins and kisspeptin receptors in glomic type I cells and sympathetic ganglion cells supports a modulatory role of KISS1 on peripheral chemoreception and sympathetic function. Moreover, local changes in blood flow have been considered to be involved in carotid body chemoreceptor discharge and kisspeptins and kisspeptin receptors have also been found in the endothelial cells. As a consequence, a possible role of kisspeptins in the regulation of carotid body blood flow and, indirectly, in chemoreceptor discharge may also be hypothesized

The academic career of Max Clara in Padova.

The aim of the following investigation was to explore Max Clara's (1899-1966) early academic activity in Italy at the University of Padua. While Clara's career during the National-Socialist Party dictatorship was extensively studied in literature, little to no information is available regarding Clara's early academic years, with particular regard to his role at the University of Padua during his time in Italy. The scientific and didactic activities held by Clara during this timespan could sheld a light on his appointment as Professor of Anatomy at the University of Leipzig, clarifying the academic motives and political pretences behind it. To this end, systematic research has been conducted at the Historical Archives of the University of Padua, where our findings have revealed detailed records of Clara's teaching and research activity from 1929 to 1935. Our findings confirm that Clara held a paid position as free lecturer at the University of Padua, and was likely under the tutelage of Prof. Tullio Terni, who directed the Institute of Histology and General Embryology until 1933. Max Clara's didactic activity focused mainly on the teaching of microscopical anatomy, which was distinct from histology and considered within the field of anatomy. Even though Clara had a minimal amount of lectures assigned, our records suggest that he conducted part of his research in the laboratories of the University of Padua whilst also working independently in his private medical practice in Blumau (South Tyrol). It is therefore possible to speculate that the teaching of Microscopical Anatomy, rather than Histology, could have represented the pretext for appointing Clara as Professor of Anatomy, justifying his new, politically-driven role at Leipzig

Populational studies of an endemic gastropod from waterfalls environments

Chilinidae is a family endemic to South America, ranging from the Tropic of Capricorn to Cape Horn and the Falkland Islands, and includes 32 species. However, there are few population studies on the Chilinidae. We study aspects of the ecology of an endemic species, Chilina megastoma Hylton Scott, 1958, from the Arrechea Falls in the Iguazú National Park, Argentina, such as density and individual annual growth trends. Nine samplings were carried out between December 2003 and December 2005, using two transects that crossed the waterfall. Individual annual growth rate was analyzed according to length, following von Bertalanffy's model. Six cohorts were identified, some in the same climatic season but successive years (two in winter and two in summer). The winter and autumn cohorts reached 85% of their last whorl length in the first year. Compared to other families of gastropods from subtropical climates, these populations have several recruitment events per year, but never in winter.Fil: Gutierrez Gregoric, Diego Eduardo. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Conicet - La Plata; Argentina. Universidad Nacional de La Plata. Facultad de Ciencias Naturales y Museo. División Zoología Invertebrados; ArgentinaFil: Nuñez, Maria Veronica. Universidad Nacional de La Plata. Facultad de Ciencias Naturales y Museo. División Zoología Invertebrados; Argentina. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Conicet - La Plata; ArgentinaFil: Rumi Macchi Z., Alejandra. Universidad Nacional de La Plata. Facultad de Ciencias Naturales y Museo. División Zoología Invertebrados; Argentina. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Conicet - La Plata; Argentin

Tissue-engineered grafts from human decellularized extracellular matrices: A systematic review and future perspectives

Tissue engineering and regenerative medicine involve many different artificial and biologic materials, frequently integrated in composite scaffolds, which can be repopulated with various cell types. One of the most promising scaffolds is decellularized allogeneic extracellular matrix (ECM) then recellularized by autologous or stem cells, in order to develop fully personalized clinical approaches. Decellularization protocols have to efficiently remove immunogenic cellular materials, maintaining the nonimmunogenic ECM, which is endowed with specific inductive/differentiating actions due to its architecture and bioactive factors. In the present paper, we review the available literature about the development of grafts from decellularized human tissues/organs. Human tissues may be obtained not only from surgery but also from cadavers, suggesting possible development of Human Tissue BioBanks from body donation programs. Many human tissues/organs have been decellularized for tissue engineering purposes, such as cartilage, bone, skeletal muscle, tendons, adipose tissue, heart, vessels, lung, dental pulp, intestine, liver, pancreas, kidney, gonads, uterus, childbirth products, cornea, and peripheral nerves. In vitro recellularizations have been reported with various cell types and procedures (seeding, injection, and perfusion). Conversely, studies about in vivo behaviour are poorly represented. Actually, the future challenge will be the development of human grafts to be implanted fully restored in all their structural/functional aspects

Echographic study of the muscular fasciae

Today there is a great interest about the muscular fasciae and their possible role in myofascialpain, but it is still unclear what are their main features in living. For example the thickness of the thoracolumbar fascia, that is probably the most studied fascia, varies from 0.37 mm [1] to 0.68 mm [2]. The lack of a standard value for the fascial thickness has a great clinical relevance, indeed it seems that their increased thickness could be related to myofascial pain or reduction of the range of motion. Therefore, the definition of standard values of fascial thickness is the first step to investigate fascial alterations that may play a role in myofascial pain. The fascial thickness was evaluated in 24 subjects with a mean age of 30.46 years (SD ± 9.241).The mean BMI was of 22.08 (SD ± 3.696),in particular women with an BMI of 20.30 and 25.08 for men. The measurement was performed with the portable ultrasound system of SonoSite®, linear probe of 15 Hz. For each subject 13 deep fasciae were analyzed, both in the trunk, superior and inferior limbs. The collected data showed that the average thickness of the fasciae ranges from 0.71 ± 0.15 mm (deep fascia of the anterior region of the arm) and 1.62 ± 0.39 mm (plantar fascia). The fasciae of the anterior compartments are thinner respect to the fasciae of the posterior ones (p valu

Gender-specific Anatomical Distribution of Internal Pudendal Artery Perforator: A Radiographic Study for Perineal Reconstruction

Background: Cancer, trauma, infection, or radiation can cause perineal defects. Fasciocutaneous flaps based on perforator vessels (PV) from the internal pudendal artery (IPA) provide an ideal reconstructive option for moderate defects. We hypothesized that, due to gender differences in the pelvic-perineal region, the anatomical distribution of PV differs between genders. Methods: Computed tomography angiographies from male and female patients without pelvic-perineal pathologies were retrospectively analyzed to study the vascular anatomy of the IPA. The number, size, type, and distribution of PV were recorded and compared between genders. Four anatomical regions were defined to describe the distribution of PV on each perineal side: anterior (A), anterior-central (AC), central-posterior (CP), and posterior (P). Results: A total of 63 computed tomography angiographies were analyzed (men, 31; women, 32). Each IPA provides 2 +/- 1 PV and 5 +/- 2 terminal (cutaneous) branches: in both genders, 85% of PV are septocutaneous (15% musculocutaneous). In women, 70.5% of PV are located in AC, 28.2% in CP, 1.2% in A, and 0% in P: average diameter of the PV is 2.4 +/- 0.3 mm. In men, 53.7% of PV are located in CP, 43.1% in AC, 3.3% in A, and 0% in P: average diameter of the PV is 2.8 +/- 0.5 mm. Gender-specific differences in anatomical distribution of PV are significant (P \u3c 0.001). Conclusions: Number, size, and type of terminal branches of PV of the IPA are consistent between genders, but their distribution is different, with women having an anterior predominance. Knowledge of gender-specific anatomy can guide preoperative planning and intraoperative dissection in flap-based perineal reconstruction

Neurotransmitter and receptor systems in the subthalamic nucleus

The Subthalamic Nucleus (STh) is a lens-shaped subcortical structure located ventrally to the thalamus, that despite being embryologically derived from the diencephalon, is functionally implicated in the basal ganglia circuits. Because of this strict structural and functional relationship with the circuits of the basal ganglia, the STh is a current target for deep brain stimulation, a neurosurgical procedure employed to alleviate symptoms in movement disorders, such as Parkinson's disease and dystonia. However, despite the great relevance of this structure for both basal ganglia physiology and pathology, the neurochemical and molecular anatomy of the STh remains largely unknown. Few studies have specifically addressed the detection of neurotransmitter systems and their receptors within the structure, and even fewer have investigated their topographical distribution. Here, we have reviewed the scientific literature on neurotransmitters relevant in the STh function of rodents, non-human primates and humans including glutamate, GABA, dopamine, serotonin, noradrenaline with particular focus on their subcellular, cellular and topographical distribution. Inter-species differences were highlighted to provide a framework for further research priorities, particularly in humans

Post mortem computed tomography of heart

Post mortem Computed tomography (CT) has been increasingly used in routine forensic practice and research. While radiological examination is generally considered to be a good complement for conventional autopsy, it was thought to have limited application in cardiovascular pathology. The aim of the present study is to show our experience of radiological analysis of the heart as single organ, as an integrative tool for research and forensic applications. The anatomo-radiologic study for forensic purpose was performed on 10 hearts sampled at autopsy (8M, 2 F, mean age 45 years old). The specimens underwent CT examinations. In 5 out of 10 of cadavers, a myocardial infarction was found at macroscopic and microscopic analysis. In these same cases, the CT examination showed the presence and the localization of calcifications, corresponding to the infarct area. In 90% of cases the presence of calcifications allowed the visualization of the coronary arteries and their branches. Basing on our experience, isolated single-organ CT could be considered a useful integrative tool in addition to traditional autopsy investigation (macroscopic sections and histology) in identifying the cause of death by recognizing the presence and degree of coronary artery pathology

Ischemic colitis following left antegrade sclerotherapy for idiopathic varicocele: the role of forensic clinical anatomy

Introduction. The Tauber procedure, i.e. antegrade sclerotherapy for varicocele, can be complicated by ischemic colitis. Its possible pathogenesis is referred to the presence of an atypical kind of portal-systemic communication, which could represent an unfrequently reported anatomic variant. Aim of this study is to solve this anatomical controversy of utmost clinical usefulness. Materials and methods. A computer-aided and hand-checked systematic review of the literature was implemented to identify relevant publications on the topic. Moreover, we reviewed the computed tomography CT-scan of a clinical case with medico-legal implications due to severe vascular complication following Tauber’s procedure. Results. Despite specific References were made on the issue in more dated hardbacks since the 19th century, only a few clinical cases reporting an ischemic colitis following the Tauber’s procedure were found in contemporary literature. By reviewing the CT-scan images of a filed lawsuit we found traces suggestive for the presence of a significant communication between the internal spermatic and the left colic vein, as part of the portal-systemic anastomoses. Conclusions. A significant anatomical finding identified in the past have been under-reported and subsequently underestimated in its clinical value. For the first time we demonstrated its pathophysiological role in a real clinical scenario, coupling the anatomical variation to the clinical complication hence stressing that its knowledge is of utmost importance to raise the scientific awareness and to prevent possible devastating complication in clinical daily practice. Progress in the medical field coupled with increased medical-legal awareness has supported the ripening of clinical anatomy and forensic clinical anatomy, whose multidisciplinary represents the best way to recover and hand down the medical knowledge at risk of being forgotten

Anatomical study of the pre-segmental and segmental arteries of the kidney and their impact in the nephronsparing surgery

Clamping of the main renal artery (RA) is still regarded as a commonly used technique to decrease haemorrhage in partial nephrectomy, but it causes warm ischaemic injury. The aim of this study was to describe the pattern of pre-segmental and segmental branches of the RA. To obtain vascular corrosions casts, twenty kidneys were injected with acrylic resins and underwent to computed tomography examination. Analysis of images and of casts showed that the pattern of vascularisation of posterior renal segment was constant (except that in one case), presenting one segmental artery. The vascularisation of the anterior parenchyma (apical, superior, middle and inferior segments) originated directly from an anterior branch of the RA (70%) or thorough pre-segmental arteries (PSA) (30%). In 20% two middle segmental artery originated from two different PSAs. A series of vascular renal patterns have been identified, that the surgeon must know before to conduct the selective clamping, i.e. the selective clamping of segmental artery originating from a PSA could more difficult, because the surgeon can wrongly close the PSA with subsequent ischemia of the more parenchymal segments. Moreover, in case of multiple segmental arteries, originating from two PSA, the surgeon can wrongly clamp only one of them with subsequent intraoperative hemorrhage