Short and long term health effects of parental tobacco smoking during pregnancy and lactation: a descriptive review.

A great deal of attention has been focused on adverse effects of tobacco smoking on conception, pregnancy, fetal, and child health. The aim of this paper is to discuss the current evidence regarding short and long-term health effects on child health of parental smoking during pregnancy and lactation and the potential underlying mechanisms. Studies were searched on MEDLINE(®) and Cochrane database inserting, individually and using the Boolean ANDs and ORs, 'pregnancy', 'human lactation', 'fetal growth', 'metabolic outcomes', 'obesity', 'cardiovascular outcomes', 'blood pressure', 'brain development', 'respiratory outcomes', 'maternal or paternal or parental tobacco smoking', 'nicotine'. Publications coming from the reference list of studies were also considered from MEDLINE. All sources were retrieved between 2015-01-03 and 2015-31-05. There is overall consistency in literature about negative effects of fetal and postnatal exposure to parental tobacco smoking on several outcomes: preterm birth, fetal growth restriction, low birth weight, sudden infant death syndrome, neurodevelopmental and behavioral problems, obesity, hypertension, type 2 diabetes, impaired lung function, asthma and wheezing. While maternal smoking during pregnancy plays a major role on adverse postnatal outcomes, it may also cumulate negatively with smoking during lactation and with second-hand smoking exposure. Although this review was not strictly designed as a systematic review and the PRISMA Statement was not fully applied it may benefit the reader with a promptly and friendly readable update of the matter. This review strengthens the need to plan population health policies aimed to implement educational programs to hopefully minimize tobacco smoke exposure during pregnancy and lactation.

Apolipoprotein E genotyping by capillary electrophoretic analysis of restriction fragments.

We present the genotyping of apolipoprotein (apo) E by means of restriction fragment analysis of amplified genomic DNA by high-performance capillary electrophoresis and a replaceable non-gel-sieving matrix. This procedure streamlines the genotyping of apo E in large-scale population studies because of the automation and speed of capillary electrophoresis.

North Italian population genetic data on the STR system HumFGA.

Frequency data for the STR system HumFGA were obtained from a North Italian population sample (Milano area) of 201 unrelated individuals. PCR products were detected by horizontal polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis and a total of 15 alleles were identified by side-by-side comparison with a commercially available sequenced allelic ladder. The observed genotype distribution showed no significant deviation from Hardy-Weinberg equilibrium. The high information content (discrimination power > 0.96, polymorphism information content > 0.84) render this system a useful tool in forensic routine casework both in criminal and paternity cases.

Isolation of the newly described species Mycobacterium celatum from AIDS patients.

Mycobacterium celatum is a recently described species which, on the basis of conventional tests, may be misidentified as Mycobacterium xenopi or as belonging to the Mycobacterium avium complex. Only genomic sequencing or high-performance liquid chromatography of cell wall mycolic acids can presently allow a correct identification of this mycobacterium. Two cases of infection due to M. celatum, in AIDS patients, are described here. The quantitative susceptibility pattern of the isolates to a wide spectrum of drugs is also reported.

Lymphatic mast cell response and effect of compound 48/80 on popliteal lymph node reaction in rats following intracutaneous injection of Staphylococcus aureus.

To investigate the significance of mast cells in the popliteal lymph node during the development of an inflammatory response, rats were inoculated with 12 x 10(7) colony-forming units of Staphylococcus aureus in the hind foot pad. Numerical changes in mast cells were then measured in the corresponding popliteal lymph node. Six days after inoculation, despite the enlargement of the responding lymph node, a marked decrease in granulated mast cell number, relative to the contralateral node, was observed in the cortical and medullary compartments. Popliteal lymph nodes from rats treated with compound 48/80 and then inoculated with S. aureus showed a higher cortical and medullary hypertrophic response and a significant increase in degranulated/weakly basophilic mast cell number in the lymph node tissue. The findings suggest that (1) Staphylococcus aureus induces a reduction in granulated mast cell number in the cortical and medullary compartments of regional lymph nodes; (2) pretreatment with compound 48/80 appears to contribute to the lymphoid cell proliferation and the hypertrophic response of lymph nodes induced by S. aureus; and (3) granulated mast cells have a regulatory role on lymphoid cell proliferation.

Increase of the bursal follicular medullary compartment in chicks intracloacally inoculated with Bordetella pertussis.

The cloacal bursa is a primary lymphoid organ responsible for the maturation of B-lymphocytes. It has been suggested that the bursa may also play a peripheral role when antigens are inoculated by cloacal route. Qualitative and quantitative structural modifications in the bursa from chicks inoculated with Bordetella pertussis by the cloacal route were investigated. Observations indicated that the relative bursal growth as well as the volume fraction and the mitotic index of the follicular medulla from experimental bursae are significantly greater than those of the controls. Macrophages which have phagocytized bacteria, and a gradual relative increase of the RER of lymphoblasts, were other structural modifications found exclusively in the follicular medulla. The observations suggest that the bursal follicular cortex and medulla act as autonomous histophysiological compartments, the latter being responsible for an antigenic stimulation when Bordetella pertussis is intracloacally inoculated in chicks.

Presence of endo-oligopeptidase (EC 3.4.22.19), a putative neuropeptide-metabolizing endopeptidase in cells of the immune system.

Neuropeptides have been shown to modulate the bidirectional communication between the central nervous and immune systems. The endooligopeptidase (EC 3.4.22.19), originally isolated and characterized in the nervous tissue, was shown to hydrolyse several neuropeptides and to generate enkephalin from enkephalin-containing peptides. This report shows the presence of endopeptidase 22.19 in the rat immune system using both biochemical and immunochemical methods. The specific activity of endopeptidase 22.19 in soluble fraction of lymphocytes was 3-4-fold higher than the one found in the nervous tissue. Among rat blood cells the highest specific activity of endopeptidase 22.19 was found in T lymphocytes, being 2.5-fold higher than the activity found in other leukocytes. Immunocytochemical studies performed in tissues and cells of the immune system indicate the presence of endopeptidase 22.19-like enzyme in all types of leukocytes. The occurrence of this enzyme in cells of the immune system can be considered an important step in understanding the metabolism of neuropeptides in the immune system as well as its possible participation as a regulatory enzyme in neuroimmunomodulation.

Development of the cloacal bursa in the domestic fowl. II. A quantitative and fine structural analysis of the follicular cortex and medulla.

The estimated volumes of the follicular medulla (x) and cortex (y) from 14-day-old embryos till 28-day-old White Leghorn chicks were associated through the allometric formula y = bxk or log y = log b + k log x. Two successive allometric growth stages (I and II) are discernable, being hatching the transition region between them. The volumetric growth of the cortex is 2.49 times greater than that of the medulla in stage I, whereas cortex and medulla grow isometrically in stage II. The curve fitting procedure analysis of the absolute cortical and medullary growth confirmed these results. The fine structure of the cell types in the follicular medulla revealed that: a) in the allometric stage I pre-existing, bud precursor (Pr) cells appear to give rise to basal (Ba) and medullary epithelial (ME) cells, in both cases showing lucent and dark varieties. A medullary cytoreticulum is established at the onset of this stage. b) The marked lymphocyte proliferation during stage II occurs among the thin and short cytoplasmic processes of BA cells. These processes extend towards the centre of the medulla and also show many lateral interdigitating processes. During this same stage, the cytoplasmic processes of ME cells elongate and become thinner promoting a widening of the cytoreticulum interstices. The fine structural analysis of the cortical cytoarchitectural arrangement showed that: a) before the onset of stage I (14-day-old embryos) the cortex consists mainly of typical fibroblasts (F) and a few blastic (Pr?) cells. Later in this stage I, a poorly defined cortical framework is made up of typical fibroblasts, few cortical branching (CB) cells of the epithelial variety (which seem to be derived from Pr cells) and CB cells of the fibroblast-like variety. These cells are interspersed with mature and immature lymphocytes. b) Allometric stage II of the cortex is characterized by the presence of very thin and long cytoplasmic processes from CB cells of both epithelial and fibroblast-like varieties. The arrangement of CB cell profiles, visualized in electron micrographic montages, is remarkably similar to that of the ME cells profiles which are known to form a cytoreticulum. We thus propose that the mature follicular cortex is endowed with a cellular framework forming wide interstices in which packed mature lymphoid cells are lodged.

Development of the cloacal bursa in the domestic fowl. I. An allometric and morphological study of the interfollicular surface epithelium (ISE).

The allometric relation applied between the body weight and the volume increment of the interfollicular surface epithelium (ISE) showed just one developmental stage during the period analysed (from 16d old embryos through 28 old d chicks). In this single allometric developmental stage the ISE growth is relatively more pronounced than that of the bursa as a whole due to profound cellular modifications which that epithelium undergoes from the primitive undifferentiated epithelial cells through goblet and prismatic cells. The latter could have an endocytic capability due to their primary and secondary lysosomes content. A possible cellular differentiation of the ISE during the histogenesis of the cloacal bursa is also discussed.

An allometric study of the development of the cloacal bursa in the domestic fowl.

The allometric relation between the increment of the body weight and the relative growth of the cloacal bursa shows that the bursal growth is greater than the body growth, during the period analysed (from the 16th d of embryonic development through the 28th post-hatched day). No statistical difference in the mean relative bursal weight between male and female birds was achieved in the above mentioned period analysed. The advantages of using an allometric study for the evaluation of an organ's growth during development are discussed.

Proteolytic activity of developing dentine of rat tooth germs revealed by the gelatin-film substrate technique.

The ability of tooth germs to breakdown gelatin was investigated by incubating unfixed cryostat sections of 3-8 day rat molar tooth germs on processed photographic plates. Breakdown of gelatin occurred exclusively in regions which were overlain by developing dentine and bone, suggesting that these tissues contain proteolytic enzymes. As the proteolytic activity occurred at a pH closer to that of the extracellular fluid, i.e. closer to neutrality, it is proposed that neutral proteases, presumably released by odontoblasts, breakdown components of the organic matrix during dentinogenesis. The products of breakdown may, in turn, be taken up by odontoblasts to be further degraded in their extensive lysosomal-vacuolar system. Breakdown and resorption of matrix components may reflect the normal turnover of matrix materials, or may be a mechanism concerned with the regulation of either the amount of materials present in the matrix or its chemical composition during dentinogenesis.

Bursa of Fabricius--mitotic index in the follicles of immunized and non-immunized chicks (Gallus domesticus).

The mitotic index in the cortical compartment of the follicles of the bursa of Fabricius from chicks immunized with sheep red blood cells (SRBC) is always higher when compaired with non-immunized ones. This mitotic index reachs its maximum 6 days after the SRBC injection, coincident with the highest serum antibody titer. The mitotic activity in the cortex of the follicles of the bursa of Fabricius is always higher than that of the medulla during the postembryonic development of chickens (PROCHAZKA, RODAK, KREJCI 1967). Otherwise it is almost established that the cortex is a zone of continuous lymphocyte proliferation, not occuring the same with the medulla. In addition these bursal histological structures are considered as 2 distinct compartments (GROSSI et al. 1974). The purpose of this paper is to study the response in the mitotic index of the cortical and medullary compartments of the follicles of the bursa of immunized and non-immunized chicks. To correlate possible changes in the mitotic index with circulating antibody levels, the serum antibody titer from the same birds was also recorded.