Gene/Protein Disease Symptom Drug Enzyme Compound
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Query: UMLS:C0432222 (SEM)
 47,337 document(s) hit in 31,850,051 MEDLINE articles (0.00 seconds)

DNA fragmentation was examined in situ in flash-frozen human postmortem midbrain as a marker for programmed cell death. A large series of cases comprising 16 pathologically confirmed idiopathic Parkinson's disease (IPD) cases, 14 control cases without brain pathology, and a group of 6 patients with other parkinsonian movement disorders were examined using TdT-mediated dUTP-biotin 3' end-labeling histology. Labeling of neurons and glia was seen in the substantia nigra of control and IPD cases and in other movement disorder cases. Labeled nuclei were seen in melanized nigral neurons; apoptotic bodies were also found but were more commonly associated with nigral glia. In the control group, labeling of neurons and glia was strongly associated with poor agonal status, assessed by tissue pH, a marker for antemortem hypoxia. The mean tissue pH of the control group with neuronal labeling was 6.28 (SEM .057), which was significantly different from that of the unlabeled group 6.55 (SEM .055). Mean tissue pH for all cases was 6.38. There was no association of nigral neuronal labeling with poor agonal status in the IPD cases, which showed labeling throughout the range of pH values. However, extranigral labeling, seen in the mesencephalon, red nucleus, superior colliculus, rostral pons, and periaqueductal gray matter, in all three subject groups was associated with tissue pH values of less than 6.3. These findings suggest that DNA fragmentation is influenced by antemortem hypoxia and that apoptosis-like changes seen in the postmortem nigra may parallel those seen in experimental ischemia in the animal brain. The likely influence of perimortem factors on these changes indicates that results from postmortem studies of apoptotic cell death in neurodegenerative disease should be treated with caution and underlines the importance of determining postmortem markers for agonal status in human brain.
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PMID:DNA fragmentation in human substantia nigra: apoptosis or perimortem effect? 982 10

We conducted a study to demonstrate vincristine-induced apoptosis in vivo in peripheral blood mononuclear cells of children with newly diagnosed acute lymphoblastic leukaemia (ALL). In five children, apoptosis was detected by terminal deoxynucleotide transferase-mediated dUTP-digoxigenin nick-end labelling (TUNEL) assay in blood samples collected during an up-front window study of vincristine monotherapy. In one patient, we found a striking increase of apoptotic cells from 2% (SEM 0.6) before to 40.7% (SEM 2.9) 3 h after vincristine injection. In the other patients, the maximum increase ranged from 0.8% to 4.3%. Wilcoxon matched pairs analysis of all patients confirmed that vincristine induces apoptosis in vivo in peripheral blood mononuclear cells in childhood ALL (P = 0.043).
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PMID:Vincristine-induced apoptosis in vivo in peripheral blood mononuclear cells of children with acute lymphoblastic leukaemia (ALL). 1112 50

Angiogenesis and capillary degeneration are both evident during ovarian follicle growth. However, the characteristics and distribution of thecal capillary proliferative and degenerative structures have not been fully defined. Indeed, the role of thecal microvasculature changes in follicular atresia is still a matter of debate. The present study examined the distribution of thecal capillary changes occurring during follicular growth and related the changes to capillary morphology (by scanning electron microscopy, SEM, on bovine ovarian corrosion casts) with the incidence of capillary apoptosis (TdT-mediated dUTP nick end-labelling, TUNEL) and follicular status (as confirmed by follicular fluid steroid concentrations). SEM demonstrated well-perfused vascular plexuses of small to large antral follicles with structural and functional changes to capillaries. Angiogenesis was evident mainly in the apical part of the inner capillary layer of medium follicles and the middle or basal part of the inner capillary layer of dominant follicles that exhibited high oestradiol:progesterone ratios. Degenerative capillaries were observed mainly in the outer vascular layers of small follicles, and in the inner and outer vascular layers of medium antral follicles. Although apoptotic structures were present only in the outer capillaries of the theca interna of morphologically healthy antral follicles, atretic follicles showed apoptotic structures in both the outer and inner thecal capillary layers. These results show that angiogenesis increases during bovine follicular growth and occurs unevenly in different inner theca regions of the follicles. The differential angiogenic and degenerative response of theca interna capillaries may reflect differences in the microenvironment of the follicles, which in turn determine the fate of the follicles (continued growth versus atresia).
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PMID:Capillary angiogenesis and degeneration in bovine ovarian antral follicles. 1257 35