Erythromycin has a well-known dual effect on the contractility of the gastrointestinal system and recently has also been shown to inhibit contractions of the rat myometrium. The aim of the present study was to investigate the effects of clarithromycin on oxytocin, prostaglandin F2a (PGF2a) and KCl-induced contractions of human myometrium in vitro. Myometrial strips were obtained from pregnant women undergoing elective Cesarean section and the strips were suspended in a jacketed organ bath filled with Krebs solution at 37 oC (pH 7.4) and continuously aired with 95 % oxygen and 5 % carbon dioxide. Isometric contractions were measured using a force displacement transducer. Oxytocin, PGF2a, KCl and clarithromycin were applied to the tissue bath and the amplitude and frequency of contractions were evaluated at 20-min intervals. Freidmann analysis of variance, Kruskal Wallis and Wilcoxon Rank tests were used for statistical analysis of the data. Clarithromycin dose dependently inhibited the amplitude of contractions independent of the stimulus. Pre-treatment with apamin prevented clarithromycin-induced effects on amplitude and frequency of contractions. We conclude that the macrolide antibiotic clarithromycin may have a direct inhibitory effect on contractions of human myometrium., H. Celik, A. Ayar., and Obsahuje bibliografii
Previously, the changes in phagocyte functions such as adherence, chemotaxis or TNFa production were found to be associated with oxidative stress in endotoxin-induced septic shock. However, in this type of oxidative stress the lymphocyte involvement has rarely been studied. In the present report, we analyzed the above functions in peritoneal lymphocytes from male and female BALB/c mice with a lethal endotoxic shock caused by intraperitoneal injection of E. coli lipopolysaccharide (LPS) (100 mg/kg), male and female Swiss mice with lethal endotoxic shock caused by intraperitoneal injection of LPS (150 and 250 mg/kg, respectively) or non-lethal endotoxic shock (100 mg/kg). In peritoneal lymphocytes obtained at 0, 2, 4, 12 or 24 h after LPS injection, the first two functions of these cells in the immune response, i.e. adherence to tissues and directed migration (chemotaxis), were studied. At 0, 0.5, 1, 1.5, 2, 4, 12 and 24 h after LPS injection, TNFa released by lymphocytes was also analyzed. The results show that endotoxic shock increases the adherence and TNFa release, and decreases the chemotaxis of peritoneal lymphocytes. These changes were more significant in mice with lethal than with non-lethal endotoxic shock, a fact that confirms the important role of lymphocytes during endotoxic shock., V. M. Víctor, D. Rubio, M. De la Fuente., and Obsahuje bibliografii
31P MR spectroscopy was used to measure the signal intensity ratios of high-energy metabolites for the calculation of free cytosolic magnesium concentration [fMg2+] and pH in the calf muscles of patients with primary juvenile hypertension and of healthy controls. Surface coil and spectroscopic imaging techniques were used. In patients with hypertension, the concentrations of [fMg2+] was 788±33 mmol/l and intracellular pH was 7.05±0.02; these values were not significantly different from the results obtained in healthy controls ([fMg2+], 776±21 mmol/l and pH, 7.06±0.01). Biochemical assays of magnesium in the serum (S-Mg) and in urine (DU-Mg) confirmed this finding. Significant differences in the relative signal intensities of high-energy phosphates between patients with primary juvenile hypertension and healthy controls were observed: a) signal intensity ratios of PCr/Pi, PCr/PbATP, PDE/PbATP were increased, and b) Pi/PDe, Pi/PATP were decreased. The results were the same irrespective of whether the surface coil method or 31P spectroscopic imaging were employed., M. Hájek, D. Palyzová, M. Kořínek, D. Kurková., and Obsahuje bibliografii
Left ventricular hypertrophy (LVH) is due to pressure overload or mechanical stretch and is thought to be associated with remodeling of gap-junctions. We investigated whether the expression of connexin 43 (Cx43) is altered in humans in response to different degrees of LVH. The expression of Cx43 was analyzed by quantitative polymerase chain reaction, Western blot analysis and immunohistochemistry on left ventricular biopsies from patients undergoing aortic or mitral valve replacement. Three groups were analyzed: patients with aortic stenosis with severe LVH (n=9) versus only mild LVH (n=7), and patients with LVH caused by mitral regurgitation (n=5). Cx43 mRNA expression and protein expression were similar in the three groups studied. Furthermore, immunohistochemistry revealed no change in Cx43 distribution. We can conclude that when compared with mild LVH or with LVH due to volume overload, severe LVH due to chronic pressure overload is not accompanied by detectable changes of Cx43 expression or spatial distribution., C. Vetter ... [et al.]., and Obsahuje bibliografii a bibliografické odkazy
Muscarinic acetylcholine receptors in the heart have been shown to display agonist-independent spontaneous (constitutive) activity which causes changes in the opening of cardiac ion channels and in the activity of G proteins. We investigated whether an inhibition of the constitutive activity of muscarinic receptors induced by the binding of antagonist brings about a change in the synthesis of cyclic AMP in rat cardiac membranes, and whether the action of the antagonist is stereospecific. Atropine and S-(-)-hyoscyamine were indeed found to enhance the forskolin-stimulated synthesis of cyclic AMP in rat cardiac (both atrial and ventricular) membranes by up to 24%. The effect was stereospecific and the potency of R-(+)-hyoscyamine was 30 fold lower than that of the S-(-) enantiomer, confirming that the action of hyoscyamine is receptor-mediated. The effect did not depend on the presence of endogenous acetylcholine in the system used. The results strongly suggest that the adenylyl cyclase in the heart is exposed to continuous mild inhibition by constitutively active muscarinic receptors in the membranes of cardiomyocytes., J. Říčný, F. Gualtieri, S. Tuček., and Obsahuje bibliografii
A rise in baseline cytosolic free Ca2+ in canine vascular endothelial-like cells (VEC) lining the luminal surface of the polyester arterial prosthesis is described. In one, three and six month implantation experiments we employed six adult mongrel dogs, polyester arterial prostheses Arteknit Ra K, fluorescent Ca2+ indicator Fura-2 and digital imaging microscopy to study cytosolic free Ca2+ in cultured VEC. The electron microscopy scanning of the luminal surface in different regions of the graft were also performed. A rise in cytosolic free Ca2+ in the VEC lining the luminal surface of the prosthesis is probably the result of the immunologic reaction and mechanical stress which stimulate the proliferation activity of the endothelial cells. It seems that the baseline cytosolic free Ca2+ reflects the course of the endothelization process on the polyester arterial prosthesis., P. Ondruš, R. Alberty, P. Pothier, V. Echavé, J. Poisson, G. Bkaily., and Obsahuje bibliografii
A theoretical model is presented, which attempts to account for the evaluation of complex stimuli in terms of their constituent elements that are relevant to the intent of the assessment. The subjective evaluation of a compound stimulus is postulated to be a function of the number, weight and integrity of critical components, or sub-qualities, and their interactions. The model has application to the evaluation of any stimulus complex including works of “art”. For illustrative purpose, it will here be applied to the analysis of pictorial works of art., J. P. Huston., and Obsahuje bibliografii
Antiendothelial cell antibodies (AECA) have been detected by flow cytometry analysis in 23 out of 80 patients with connective tissue diseases. Ten out of 19 serum samples from patients with systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) were positive. These antibodies were not detectable in healthy donors. We examined the capacity of serum samples to induce endothelial cell activation by modulating cell adhesion molecule expression on human umbilical vein endothelial cells. We found that sera from both AECA-positive and AECA-negative patient groups induced a significantly higher expression of E-selectin compared to healthy controls (P<0.05). There were no differences in the ICAM-1 on VCAM-1 expression. Our data suggest that increased E-selectin expression in activated endothelium in patients with various connective tissue disorders is not related to the production of AECA., M. Horváthová, E. Jahnová, Š. Nyulassy., and Obsahuje bibliografii
An attempt has been made to test for a reliable method of characterizing the isovolumic left ventricular pressure fall in isolated ejecting hearts by one or two time constants, tau. Alternative nonlinear regression models (three- and four-parametric exponential, logistic, and power function), based upon the common differential law dp(t)/dt = - [p(t)-Ptau]/ tau(t) are compared in isolated ejecting rat, guinea pig, and ferret hearts. Intraventricular pressure fall data are taken from an isovolumic standard interval and from a subinterval of the latter, determined data-dependently by a statistical procedure. Extending the three-parametric exponential fitting function to four-parametric models reduces regression errors by about 20-30 %. No remarkable advantage of a particular four-parametric model over the other was revealed. Enhanced relaxation, induced by isoprenaline, is more sensitively indicated by the asymptotic logistic time constant than by the usual exponential. If early and late parts of the isovolumic pressure fall are discarded by selecting a subinterval of the isovolumic phase, ? remains fairly constant in that central pressure fall region. Physiological considerations point to the logistic model as an advantageous method to cover lusitropic changes by an early and a late tau. Alternatively, identifying a central isovolumic relaxation interval facilitates the calculation of a single ("central") tau; there is no statistical justification in this case to extend the three-parametric exponential further to reduce regression errors., S. F. J. Langer,., and Obsahuje bibliografii