Serum interleukin-4 is elevated in clinical drug-induced liver injury.

BACKGROUND: Drug-induced liver injury (DILI) remains a challenging diagnosis due to an absence of specific biomarkers. DILI due to volatile anaesthetics (VA-DILI) is characterised by trifluoroacetyl and CYP2E1 antibodies, but may not be seen for weeks after injury. Interleukin-4 (IL-4) may be involved in the production of these antibodies and may serve as a clinically useful early biomarker of VA-DILI. AIM: To prospectively compare serum IL-4 levels between patients who develop VA-DILI and controls following exposure to the volatile anaesthetic. METHODS: A nested case-control study of patients exposed to VA during surgery was conducted. Thirteen DILI cases were identified from the original cohort, and 26 controls were matched according to age, sex and VA agent. Serum samples were collected before and 48-96 h after VA exposure, and analysed for IL-4 using quantitative enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay techniques. RESULTS: There was a statistically significant difference in serum IL-4 in post-VA samples between DILI cases and controls (control: 0.030 pg/mL, IQR: 0.030 - 0.030 pg/mL vs DILI: 0.044 pg/mL, IQR: 0.030 - 0.061 pg/mL; p = 0.039). A greater proportion of DILI cases had post-VA IL-4 levels above the assay lower limit of detection compared to controls (control: 23% vs DILI: 69%; p = 0.013). CONCLUSION: IL-4 is a potential biomarker of DILI. Clinical diagnosis and understanding of DILI disease mechanisms may be improved by further investigation of novel biomarkers, and this IL-4 signal in serum is important as proof of concept for prospective study designs.

FSH regulates the formation of adherens junctions and ectoplasmic specialisations between rat Sertoli cells in vitro and in vivo.

Spermatogenesis is dependent on the ability of Sertoli cells to form mature junctions that maintain a unique environment within the seminiferous epithelium. Adjacent Sertoli cells form a junctional complex that includes classical adherens junctions and testis-specific ectoplasmic specialisations (ES). The regulation of inter-Sertoli cell junctions by the two main endocrine regulators of spermatogenesis, FSH and testosterone, is unclear. This study aimed to investigate the effects of FSH and testosterone on inter-Sertoli cell adherens junctions (as determined by immunolocalisation of cadherin, catenin and actin) and ES junctions (as determined by immunolocalisation of espin, actin and vinculin) in cultured immature Sertoli cells and GnRH-immunised adult rat testes given FSH or testosterone replacement in vivo. When hormones were absent in vitro, adherens junctions formed as discrete puncta between interdigitating, finger-like projections of Sertoli cells, but ES junctions were not present. The adherens junction puncta included actin filaments that were oriented perpendicularly to the Sertoli cell plasma membrane, but were not associated with the intermediate filament protein vimentin. When FSH was added in vitro, ES junctions formed, and adjacent adherens junction puncta fused into extensive adherens junction belts. After hormone suppression in vivo, ES junctions were absent, while FSH replacement restored ES junctions, as confirmed by electron microscopy and confocal analysis of ES-associated proteins. Testosterone alone did not affect adherens junctions or ES in vitro or in vivo. We conclude that FSH can regulate the formation of ES junctions and stimulate the organisation and orientation of extensive adherens junctions in Sertoli cells.

Reduced protein adsorption on plastics via direct plasma deposition of triethylene glycol monoallyl ether.

The direct plasma-induced deposition of tri(ethylene glycol) monoallyl ether is reported. RF plasma polymerization of this monomer was carried out under both continuous wave (CW) and pulsed plasma operation. The major focus of this work was optimization of the degree of retention of the C-O-C bonds of the starting monomer during the deposition process. This successfully was accomplished using low RF power during the CW runs and low RF duty cycles during the pulsed plasma experiments. Spectroscopic analysis of the plasma films revealed a strong dependence of film composition on the RF power and duty cycles employed. In particular, an unusually high level of film chemistry compositional control was demonstrated for the pulsed plasma studies, with film composition varying in a steady, progressive fashion with sequential changes in the ratios of plasma on to plasma off times. This film chemistry controllability is demonstrated despite the relatively low volatility of the starting monomer. The utility of this plasma deposition approach in introducing polyethylene oxide (PEO) structures on solid substrates was evaluated via protein adsorption studies. Radiolabeled bovine albumin adsorption was studied on plasma-modified poly(ethylene teraphthalate) (PET) substrates. Dramatic reductions in both initial adsorption and retention of this protein were observed on PET samples having maximal PEO content relative to its adsorption on untreated PET surfaces. Good stability and adhesion of the plasma films to the underlying PET substrates were observed, as evidenced from prolonged immersion of plasma-treated surfaces in aqueous solution. Overall, the results obtained from the present work provide additional support for the utility of one-step plasma process to reduce biological fouling of surfaces via deposition of PEO surface units.

Structural determinants of aldosterone binding selectivity in the mineralocorticoid receptor.

The structural determinants of aldosterone binding specificity in the mineralocorticoid receptor (MR) have not been determined. The MR has greatest sequence identity with the better characterized glucocorticoid receptor (GR), which is reflected in their overlapping ligand binding specificities. There must be subtle sequence differences that can account for the MR-specific binding of aldosterone and the shared binding of cortisol. To characterize ligand binding specificity, chimeras were made between the human MR and GR ligand-binding domains (LBDs). Three points were chosen as break points to generate a total of 16 different constructs. These chimeric LBDs were placed in a human GR expression vector containing the GR DNA-binding and N-terminal domains and assayed by co-transfection into CV-1 cells with the mouse mammary tumor virus-luciferase reporter plasmid. Binding of [(3)H]aldosterone and [(3)H]dexamethasone was also measured. All of the constructs that are potently activated by aldosterone contain amino acids 804-874 of the MR. The results of the ligand binding experiments using [(3)H]aldosterone were consistent with the transactivation assay. Cortisol activation of the chimeras was surprisingly complex. Constructs that are activated by cortisol contain either amino acids 804-874 and 932-984 of the MR or amino acids 598-668 and 726-777 of the GR. However, all of the chimeras retained the ability to bind the synthetic glucocorticoid [(3)H]dexamethasone, and cortisol was able to displace [(3)H]dexamethasone binding, suggesting that the differential effects of cortisol on transcriptional activation are caused by an effect that occurs downstream of ligand binding. These results identify a subregion of the MR LBD that confers specificity of aldosterone binding, which contrasts with cortisol binding where differential effects between chimeras appear to be mediated by interactions distal to ligand binding.