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Query: UMLS:C0016382 (flushing)
 6,387 document(s) hit in 31,850,051 MEDLINE articles (0.00 seconds)

Accurate identification of species that are consumed by vertebrate predators is necessary for understanding marine food webs. Morphological methods for identifying prey components after consumption often fail to make accurate identifications of invertebrates because prey morphology becomes damaged during capture, ingestion and digestion. Another disadvantage of morphological methods for prey identification is that they often involve sampling procedures that are disruptive for the predator, such as stomach flushing or lethal collection. We have developed a DNA-based method for identifying species of krill (Crustacea: Malacostraca), an enormously abundant group of invertebrates that are directly consumed by many groups of marine vertebrates. The DNA-based approach allows identification of krill species present in samples of vertebrate stomach contents, vomit, and, more importantly, faeces. Utilizing samples of faeces from vertebrate predators minimizes the impact of dietary studies on the subject animals. We demonstrate our method first on samples of Adelie penguin (Pygoscelis adeliae) stomach contents, where DNA-based species identification can be confirmed by prey morphology. We then apply the method to faeces of Adelie penguins and to faeces of the endangered pygmy blue whale (Balaenoptera musculus brevicauda). In each of these cases, krill species consumed by the predators could be identified from their DNA present in faeces or stomach contents.
Mol Ecol 2002 Dec
PMID:A DNA-based method for identification of krill species and its application to analysing the diet of marine vertebrate predators. 1245 50

The interaction of cyclohexapeptides c(X(1)(1)K(2)X(2)(3)K(4)X(3)(5)K(6)) in water with hydrolysed silicon surfaces were studied by attenuated total reflection Fourier transform infrared (ATR FTIR) spectroscopy and by force field calculations. The band sequences (1800-1500 cm(-1)) for dissolved and adsorbed cyclohexapeptides were recorded and compared with those obtained after flushing with distilled water in order to eliminate the background signal of the peptides in solution. Band analyses and principal component analyses were carried out for the characteristic peptide vibrations in order to evaluate the spectra. In addition, force field calculations were performed to study the binding energies to the surface and to illustrate the possible structures of the cyclohexapeptides. The positively charged lysine side chains of the cyclohexapeptides interact with the OH groups of the surface, as indicated by band shifts. This also was verified by the force field calculations. The bonding stability increases with the number of interacting sites (lysine side chains and other peptide residues) to the surface. These sites are determined by structure and polarity of the cyclohexapeptides.
Spectrochim Acta A Mol Biomol Spectrosc 2003 Mar 01
PMID:Small interacting peptides. Part I. Interaction of cyclohexapeptides with an unspecific SiOH surface: comparison of infrared investigations and force field calculations. 1260 33

This pilot project was designed to determine if normal kids could be produced after microinjection in pronuclear embryos and subsequent transfer to recipients in a transgenic goat program in Brazil. Twelve donors of the Saanen breed and 17 recipients of an undefined breed were used. The estrus of both donors and recipients was synchronized by a standard progestagen treatment and superovulation obtained by six pFSH injections. Donors in estrus were mated with fertile Saanen bucks. Zygotes were recovered surgically by flushing oviducts. The recovered zygotes with visible pronuclei were microinjected with 500 to 1000 copies of the human G-CSF gene. Two or four embryos were surgically transferred into the oviducts of recipients. One recipient became pregnant and two kids were born. No transgenic goat was identified after PCR analysis. Even though transgenic goats were not obtained, this experiment establishes the basis of a synchronization and superovulation regimen for use in goats raised in Brazil, for the purpose of collecting and manipulating the pronuclear embryos. This project also showed that microinjected one-cell goat embryos can survive to produce live young following surgical transfer.
Genet Mol Res 2003 Jun 30
PMID:Birth of normal kids after microinjection of pronuclear embryos in a transgenic goat (Capra hircus) production program in Brazil. 1496 85

Stopped-flow rapid mixing is a common, direct technique for the study of ligand-binding reactions. In this method, protein and ligand are mixed together at relatively high velocities directly into an observation chamber, so that time courses for reactions occurring on time scales as short as a few milliseconds can be measured. This chapter presents an introduction to this technique, including a discussion of experimental and technical issues that must be addressed when designing stopped-flow experiments. Simple experiments for measuring reaction dead time and flushing volume are also described along with the details of several common reaction schemes and methods for data analysis.
Methods Mol Biol 2005
PMID:Ligand binding with stopped-flow rapid mixing. 1594 5

Microarrays have helped researchers gain much insight into gene expression profiles in the context of many diseases including those in the injured heart. Our genomic investigations have been focused on elucidation of host gene responses to enterovirus infection. We have gained valuable technical expertise in using Affymetrix oligonucleotide arrays, also known as GeneChips, and cDNA spotted arrays to probe differential gene expression in both cultured cells and in heart tissue. Here, we provide a technique-focused supplement to the Affymetrix GeneChip Expression Analysis Manual for sample preparation, processing, and array hybridization. We provide expanded explanations to highlight important points within the existing protocol and offer variations to standard procedures when appropriate. For investigators using myocardial tissues for microarray experiments, we further address the necessity of and methods for in situ flushing of the vasculature, tissue homogenization, and considerations for limits of expression detection in rare cells. It is our intention to provide useful technical information, based on our experience, to assist those researchers using Affymetrix GeneChips in their own genomic research.
Methods Mol Med 2005
PMID:Affymetrix oligonucleotide analysis of gene expression in the injured heart. 1601 26

So far overlooked as a pigment involved in visual communication, the haemoglobin contained in the blood of all birds is responsible for the red flushing colours in bare skin areas of some species. Our aim has been twofold: (1) to study sub-epidermical adaptations for blood circulation in two flushing species: the crested caracara (Polyborus plancus) and the hooded vulture (Necrosyrtes monachus), and (2) to provide the first compilation of avian species with flushing skin. The bare facial skin of both the caracara and the hooded vulture contains a highly vascularised tissue under the epidermis that may be filled with blood and would thus produce red skin colours. In contrast, feathered areas of the head show very few vessels immersed in connective tissue and have no potential for colour changes. Species with flushing colours are few but phylogenetically diverse, as they belong to 12 different avian orders and at least 20 families. The majority are dark-coloured, large-sized species living in hot environments that may have originally evolved highly vascularised skin patches for thermoregulation. Bird behaviour as well as sex and age differences within species suggest that a signalling system for condition or status based on haemoglobin may have been super-imposed to the physiological process of heat dissipation.
Comp Biochem Physiol A Mol Integr Physiol 2006 Jan
PMID:Function and occurrence of facial flushing in birds. 1633 58

Endometriosis is an estrogen-dependent gynaecological disease associated with pain and infertility, which occurs in humans and menstruating primates. In this study, the marmoset monkey (Callithrix jacchus), which is a non-menstruating primate with high circulating estrogen levels, was used to test firstly the hypothesis that endometriosis is based on uterine shedding into the peritoneal cavity, secondly to study the pathogenesis of endometriosis due to its estrogenic situation. Female marmoset monkeys (n = 29) were exposed to two different experimental procedures (non-invasive versus invasive) for intrapelvic placement of endometrial cells by uterine flushing over an experimental period of 2-3 years. First endometriotic foci were detected by colour Doppler ultrasound at the bladder, the uterus and the ovaries at the earliest after 4 months of either treatments. However, invasive induction was more effective in terms of the time-course of induction and the number of resulting endometriotic foci. The analysis of the endometriotic foci by histology, immunohistochemistry and molecular techniques allowed a division into two distinct groups: an initial developing stage occurred, which under further treatment led to the second stage of established endometriosis. Both procedures showed a treatment-dependent increase of vascular supply to the endometriotic foci over the experimental period. The invasive method induced the final established stage of endometriosis more rapidly, with the expression of steroid receptors, aromatase, 17betaHSD1 and CD10. Altogether, 72% of the treated marmoset monkeys developed endometriosis under our endometrial reflux protocols. Our data support the theory that endometriosis can be induced artificially in a non-menstruating primate (C. jacchus) by endometrial shedding into the peritoneal cavity. Because the marmoset is a primate with very high peripheral estrogen levels, this offers an interesting model for studying the pathogenesis of this estrogen-dependent disease, as well as for therapeutic impacts on enzymes involved in steroid metabolism.
Mol Hum Reprod 2006 May
PMID:Induction of endometriosis in the marmoset monkey (Callithrix jacchus). 1660 6

In electron paramagnetic resonance imaging (EPRI), the accumulation of contrast agent in the bladder can create a very large source of signal, often far greater than that of the organ of interest. Mouse model images have become increasingly important in preclinical testing. To minimize bladder accumulation on mouse images, we developed a novel, minimally invasive, MRI/EPRI-friendly procedure for flushing a female mouse bladder. It is also applicable to other imaging techniques, for example, PET, SPECT, etc., where contrast agent accumulation in the bladder is also undesirable. A double-lumen urethral catheter was developed, using a standard IV catheter with a silicone tube extension, having a polyethylene tube threaded into the IV catheter. Flushing of the bladder provides a substantial reduction in artifacts, as shown in images of tumors in mice.
Mol Imaging 2006 Jul
PMID:Reduction of image artifacts in mice by bladder flushing with a novel double-lumen urethral catheter. 1695 32

The antidyslipidemic drug nicotinic acid (niacin) has been used for decades. One of the major problems of the therapeutical use of nicotinic acid is a strong cutaneous vasodilation called flushing, which develops in almost every patient taking nicotinic acid. Nicotinic acid-induced flushing has been shown to be mediated by the nicotinic acid receptor GPR109A and to involve the formation of vasodilatory prostanoids. However, the cellular mechanisms underlying this short-term effect are unknown. Here, we show that epidermal Langerhans cells are essential for the cutaneous flushing response induced by nicotinic acid. Langerhans cells respond with an increase in [Ca(2+)](i) to nicotinic acid and express prostanoid synthases required for the formation of the vasodilatory prostanoids prostaglandin E(2) and prostaglandin D(2). Depletion of epidermal Langerhans cells but not of macrophages or dendritic cells abrogates nicotinic acid-induced flushing. These data unexpectedly identify epidermal Langerhans cells as essential mediators of nicotinic acid-induced flushing and may help to generate new strategies to suppress the unwanted effects of nicotinic acid. In addition, our results suggest that Langerhans cells besides their immunological roles are also involved in the local regulation of dermal blood flow.
Mol Pharmacol 2006 Dec
PMID:Nicotinic acid-induced flushing is mediated by activation of epidermal langerhans cells. 1700 86

Nicotinic acid (niacin) has been used clinically to manage dyslipidemia for many years. The molecular target of nicotinic acid was unknown until the recent revelation of human G-coupled receptor HM74a as the high affinity receptor for nicotinic acid. In searching for a cell line expressing endogenous human HM74a receptor, we have identified that the A431 cell line, a human epidermoid cell line, expresses a high level of HM74a receptor. An HM74a-specific real time PCR probe set was designed and the mRNA levels of HM74a in A431 and 32 other cultured cell lines were measured quantitatively. When the mRNA expression of HM74a in A431 cells was compared to that in human primary preadipocytes, adipocytes and adipose tissue, we found that the level in A431 was about 10- fold higher than that in adipocytes and adipose tissue. The ratio of HM74a:HM74 mRNA was measured quantitatively and it was determined to be 3:2 in A431 cells. The function of the HM74a receptor in A431 cells was evaluated for its ability to inhibit forskolin-induced cAMP production. Pertussis toxin treatment abolished the inhibition. Our data suggest that the A431 cell line may serve as a cellular model for further investigation of niacin/HM74a-mediated signal transduction in modulating metabolism. A431 cell line may also provide a valuable cell model to study prostaglandin production upon HM74a activation to improve our understanding of niacin/HM74a-mediated skin flushing.
Mol Cell Biochem 2007 Jan
PMID:Human epidermoid A431 cells express functional nicotinic acid receptor HM74a. 1712 37


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