Gene/Protein Disease Symptom Drug Enzyme Compound
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Query: UMLS:C0851184 (thinning)
 11,252 document(s) hit in 31,850,051 MEDLINE articles (0.00 seconds)

Ageing and degenerative changes of the human aorta are associated with medial thinning and a reduced dry weight content of elastin. The metabolic stability of cross-linked elastin was investigated by measuring the accumulation of D-aspartate with ageing in insoluble elastin isolated from human aorta. D-Aspartate accumulation in elastin was compared with D-aspartate accumulation in aortic collagen and an elastin bound glycoprotein fraction. The D-aspartate content of elastin, purified from infrarenal aorta; increased linearly with age from 3% of the total aspartate in youth to 13% in the mid 80s. In contrast the D-aspartate content of aortic collagen remained invariant (3-5% of the total aspartate) from youth to old age. The apparent first order rate constant for the racemization of L-aspartate in elastin was 1.14 x 10(-3). The D-aspartate content of the elastin bound glycoproteins increased by only a small amount, from 3% in the mid 30s to 6% in the mid 80s. These results argue for the metabolic stability of aortic elastin as compared with the fibrillar collagens of the human aorta. Both the rate of racemization and the specific accumulation of D-aspartate in elastin, but not collagen, indicates that mature cross-linked elastin is not synthesized in the adult aorta.
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PMID:On the accumulation of D-aspartate in elastin and other proteins of the ageing aorta. 146 64

Seven inbred mouse strains were examined for the presence of chronic Chagas' cardiomyopathy in postacute Trypanosoma cruzi infection. DBA/1, DBA/2, BALB/c, B10.T (6R), B10.Q, B10.D2, and B6 mice were infected for 100 days with the Brazil strain of T. cruzi. Standard histologic examination of cardiac tissue from these mice revealed the following relationship among the different strains based on the severity of observed inflammation (myocarditis): BALB/c, DBA/1, and DBA/2 were the most inflamed; B10.T (6R) and B10.Q were intermediate; and B6 and B10.D2 showed the least inflammation. Examination of these tissues for characteristics of myocardiopathy such as cell swelling, edema, vacuolization, necrosis, myocytolysis, connective tissue infiltration, and thinning of the right ventricular wall indicated a relative relationship among the different strains relative to the severity of cardiomyopathy as follows: BALB/c, DBA/2, and DBA/1 showed the most cardiopathy (pathopermissive); B10.T (6R) and B10.Q showed intermediate pathology; and B6 and B10.D2 showed the least involvement (pathoresistant). Anti-heart antibody present in the sera of all these mice showed specific reactivity in western blots to a 43-kDa glycoprotein from normal heart tissue. Also, anti-heart antibody enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay titers for all mouse strains were similar and showed no correlation with the severity of tissue damage. The fact that different inbred strains show various degrees of myocarditis and cardiomyopathy may be useful in the study of pathogenesis of chronic Chagas' disease. Results from this limited list of inbred strains suggest that background genes, rather than the major histocompatibility complex, play the major role in the expression of cardiac pathogenesis.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)
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PMID:Differential cardiac histopathology in inbred mouse strains chronically infected with Trypanosoma cruzi. 149 Dec 99

We subcutaneously injected indomethacin (IDM) to rats and evaluated its effects on the unstirred water layer (UWL) of the small intestine. One hour after IDM administration at a dose of 4, 10, 20 and 50 mg/kg, the thickness of UWL decreased dose-dependently. Serial measurement of UWL 1, 3, 6, 12 and 24 hours after the administration showed early thinning of UWL after 1-3 hours. Many IDM-induced ulcers were shown 24 hours after the injection of IDM at a dose of 10 mg/kg. However, in the group given food during the latter 3 hours between 12 and 15 hours after the drug administration, the number of ulcers was significantly decreased compared with those in the group given food ad libitum or in the group given food during the early 3 hours. When pectin, a soluble dietary fiber, was given together with solid stock food, ulcer formation was significantly inhibited. Synthesis of mucus glycoprotein by tissue organ culture was also decreased in the jejunum in the IDM-treated group. These results suggest that the formation of IDM-induced intestinal ulcer is related to the thing of intestinal UWL and the decrease of the synthesis of intestinal mucus glycoprotein.
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PMID:[A study on the mechanism of indomethacin induced intestinal ulcer--from a viewpoint of unstirred water layer]. 175 80

Administration of estrogen to gilts on Days 9 and 10 of pregnancy results in total embryonic loss by Day 18. The present study examined changes in the uterine endometrial surface and secretion during conceptus attachment in control and estrogen-treated (Days 9 and 10) pregnant gilts. Gilts were unilaterally hysterectomized on either Days 12 and 14 or Days 16 and 18 of gestation. Uterine horns were flushed with saline and conceptuses were evaluated. Intact conceptuses were recovered from all control gilts, whereas estrogen-treated gilts contained normal intact conceptuses only on Day 12 of gestation. Antiviral activity, which reflects conceptus viability, was reduced (p less than 0.01) in uterine flushings after Day 14 in estrogen-treated gilts. Culture of endometrial explants with [3H]glucosamine revealed several glycoproteins that are synthesized during the period of conceptus attachment; however, no difference in glycoprotein synthesis between treatment groups was detected by analysis with two-dimensional PAGE and fluorography. Analyses of the uterine epithelium by scanning and transmission electron microscopy demonstrated that estrogen administration caused an alteration in the uterine surface, a thinning of the uterine epithelial glycocalyx, and a reduction of cationic ferritin binding to the microvilli of the uterine epithelium. Results indicate that conceptus mortality after early administration of estrogen is associated with alterations in the uterine endometrial surface during the period of conceptus attachment in the pig.
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PMID:Endometrial surface and secretory alterations associated with embryonic mortality in gilts administered estradiol valerate on days 9 and 10 of gestation. 187 82

Mullerian-inhibiting substance (MIS) is a glycoprotein from the fetal testis which causes regression of the embryonic Mullerian duct. It was thought to be a locally acting agent, because in the true hermaphrodite, a Fallopian tube remains on the side contralateral to that bearing a testis, but is absent on the side adjacent to the testis. To test whether Mullerian duct regression could occur at a distant site, the chick-quail chimera was used. Chick embryos were maintained in shell-less culture from 3-14 days of incubation. At 7-9 days of incubation, a chick/quail chimera was created by grafting a quail Mullerian duct into the eye of the chick. Three or four days later, the eye was enucleated and histologically examined using the Feulgen reaction or a modification of this technique. Under these conditions, the quail cell nuclei could be readily identified, allowing absolute identification of the cells around the graft. Twenty-three female chick hosts received grafts; of the 17 grafts recovered, 16 were developing normally. In 16 male chicks receiving grafts, 10 Mullerian ducts were recovered, with 9 of these showing clear signs of regression, such as basement membrane dissolution, condensation of mesenchyme, diminution of epithelial tube size, and thinning of mesenchymal cuff. These results suggest that MIS reached the quail duct in the eye and was functionally active. This model suggests that MIS may be a true endocrine testicular secretion.
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PMID:Is Mullerian-inhibiting substance a circulating hormone in the chick-quail chimera? 668 83

The amastigogenesis primary of T. cruzi occurs naturally when metacyclic trypomastigotes transform into amastigotes within the cells of the mammalian host. The in vitro study of the macromolecular changes that occur over several days during the transformation process should provide significant indications of how the parasite adapts to the mammalian host environment. We show here that metacyclic trypomastigotes pre-incubated at 37 degrees C in a protein-rich medium reach a high degree of transformation to amastigotes when re-incubated in the fresh medium. Giemsa-stained smears show that during the pre-incubation phase, the metacyclic trypomastigotes undergo lengthening at the posterior end and a thinning out of the entire body. SDS-PAGE analysis of polypeptides and glycopeptides or Western blot with stage-specific antisera analyses indicate that the in vitro primary amastigogenesis is associated with abrupt changes in protein, glycoprotein, and stage-specific antigens that occur simultaneously during the first 24 hours of pre-incubation. Since the differentiating system consists of a rich media at 37 degrees C, temperature and medium constitution must trigger a macromolecular differentiation to amastigotes that precedes the morphological transformation by several days. This transformation is associated with the rearrangement of stage-specific antigens and takes place when the culture medium is changed.
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PMID:Early and late molecular and morphologic changes that occur during the in vitro transformation of Trypanosoma cruzi metacyclic trypomastigotes to amastigotes. 1212 4

The mucin secretagogue 15(S)-HETE was found to stimulate glycoprotein secretion in human ocular tissue at submicromolar concentrations in the present studies. Therefore, the ability of topically applied 15(S)-HETE to preserve corneal integrity was investigated in a rabbit model of desiccation-induced corneal defect. Desiccation-induced corneal injury was elicited in anesthetized rabbits by maintaining one eye open with a speculum. Corneal staining and corneal thickness changes were determined immediately following desiccation. 15(S)-HETE dose-dependently reduced corneal damage (ED50 = 120 nM) during a two-hour desiccation. Corneal staining was unchanged relative to control using a 1 microM dose of 15(S)-HETE. Through four hours of desiccation, 15(S)-HETE (500 nM) decreased corneal staining by 71% and completely prevented corneal thinning. 15(S)-HETE (1 microM) was significantly more efficacious than an artificial tear product over the 4-hour desiccation period. There was no evidence of tachyphylaxis following repeated topical ocular dosing of 15(S)-HETE. These studies demonstrate that 15(S)-HETE stimulates ocular mucin secretion in vitro and effectively protects the cornea in a rabbit model of desiccation-induced injury. The results suggest that the ocular mucin secretagogue 15(S)-HETE may have therapeutic utility in dry eye patients, alleviating corneal injury and restoring corneal integrity.
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PMID:Corneal protection by the ocular mucin secretagogue 15(S)-HETE in a rabbit model of desiccation-induced corneal defect. 1222 65

Human immunodeficiency virus type 1 (HIV-1) must bind to and enter lymphocytes to replicate and cause the acquired immunodeficiency syndrome. The association of viral particles with the lymphocyte plasma membrane may vary according to a multitude of unknown variables, including lymphocyte membrane receptor mobilization, lipid raft aggregation, clathrin, caveolin, endosomes, microendosome-mediated penetration or penetration through a hole in the membrane. The time course of this delivery appears to be short. Fusion of the virion membrane and lymphocyte plasma membrane leads to destabilization of the lymphocyte membrane. Five morphological stages of membrane alteration were observed in the infected lymphocytes: (1) swelling, (2) splitting, (3) fusion, (4) breaking, and (5) thinning of the lipid bilayer. These plasma membrane alterations were not contributed by fixation artifacts, because the dimensions and distance between the subunits of the surface glycoprotein (SU, gp120) and the transmembrane glycoprotein (gp41) of the viral particles adjacent to the infected cells and processed at the same time remained unchanged. Destabilization of lipid raft patches in the lymphocyte plasma membrane by unknown variables may facilitate HIV-1 penetration of lymphocyte, and other cell types. This a combined review of the pertinent literature with our data showing that HIV-1 may take advantage of multiple penetration approaches simultaneously in the same cell type (H9) to overwhelm the infected cells. The ultrastructural details of H9 cultured cells infected in vitro with HIV-1 contribute to our understanding of viral particle association with the plasma membrane of infected cells.
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PMID:Alterations of lymphocyte membranes during HIV-1 infection via multiple and simultaneous entry strategies. 1627 9

Gastric mucin, a high molecular weight glycoprotein, is responsible for providing the gel-forming properties and protective function of the gastric mucus layer. Bulk rheology measurements in the linear viscoelastic regime show that gastric mucin undergoes a pH-dependent sol-gel transition from a viscoelastic solution at neutral pH to a soft viscoelastic gel in acidic conditions, with the transition occurring near pH 4. In addition to pH-dependent gelation behavior in this system, further rheological studies under nonlinear deformations reveal shear thinning and an apparent yield stress in this material which are also highly influenced by pH.
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PMID:Rheology of gastric mucin exhibits a pH-dependent sol-gel transition. 1740 80

Antibodies reactive with the ovarian glycoprotein zona pellucida (ZP) have been linked with human female infertility. Anti-fertility vaccines that target ZP antigens have been utilized to restrict pest animal populations and their efficacy is associated with ovary-specific antibody induction. However, the necessity for zona pellucida-specific antibody in mediating infertility has not been examined in vivo. A recombinant mouse cytomegalovirus vaccine encoding murine zona pellucida 3 that induces rapid and complete infertility in BALB/c mice has been produced. The onset of infertility is temporally related to the presence of antibody sequestered into ovarian follicles and binding to the ZP of infected mice and the loss of mature follicles. When this vaccine was inoculated into immunoglobulin-deficient BALB/c mice with a null mutation in the immunoglobulin mu chain gene Igh-6, fertility was unaffected. Passive transfer of serum containing ZP3 antibodies also elicited transient infertility. Electron microscopy of ovarian tissue collected from ZP3-immunized immunocompetent mice demonstrated significant focal thinning of the zona pellucida (ZP) with reduced length and concentration of transzonal processes and many oocytes displayed evidence of injury. None of these changes were found in vaccinated immunoglobulin-deficient mice. These data confirm that ZP3-reactive antibody is necessary and sufficient to induce autoimmune-mediated follicular depletion and fertility suppression following the inoculation of this vaccine, and suggest that this is due to impaired zona pellucida formation. These findings have relevance in understanding the etiology of autoimmune ovarian disease in woman where anti-ZP antibodies are likely to have a causal role in infertility.
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PMID:Immunoglobulin to zona pellucida 3 mediates ovarian damage and infertility after contraceptive vaccination in mice. 2038 3


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