The accessory heads of the muscles flexor pollicis longus and flexor digitorum profundus (Gantzer muscle) - An anatomical study in Brazilian cadavers.

An important accessory anatomical variation, exclusively human, and related to the muscular ventres of the flexor pollicis longus and flexor digitorum profundus is frequently denominated Gantzer. These variations have close relations with the anterior interosseous nerve (AIN), which provides, for many authors, by direct compression, one of the rare neuropathic syndromes. In this work, thirty-four forearms were dissected from the collections of the Medical School of the Federal University of Minas Gerais and the Department of Basic Sciences of the Federal University of Juiz de Fora, with a prevalence of 50% of the 34 forearms studied for the Gantzer muscle. The muscle relationship was mainly with the flexor pollicis longus muscle and only one occurrence related to the flexor digitorum profundus muscle, described as a rare occurrence of unilateral double formation of Gantzer muscle. Bilaterality was observed in 88.23% of the findings and the dominant innervation for this muscle variation occurred in 82.35% by the anterior interosseous nerve (AIN). The type morphological in all forms found was the fusiform, with 10.5cm of total length and an average of 0.3cm in diameter and all related, as origin, in the medial aspect of the coronoid process of the ulna, next to the origin of the flexor digitorum superficialis muscle. Our work largely reflected the findings of most publications and, considering the controversy of the occurrence of a compressive neuropathy, the data were not sufficient, from a strictly anatomical point of view, to confirm or refute the hypothesis.

Effects of glycerol, equilibration time and antioxidants on post-thaw functional integrity of bovine spermatozoa directly obtained from epididymis.

This work aimed to evaluate the effect of stabilisation times, glycerol concentration, and the catalase and superoxide dismutase supplementation of diluent on parameters of frozen-thawed spermatozoa from epididymis of Nelore bulls: Experiment 1: spermatozoa diluted in Tris-egg yolk with glycerol (3%, 5% or 7%) and stabilisation times (0, 2 or 4 hr at 5°C); Experiment 2: Tris-egg yolk only, Tris-egg yolk with catalase (CAT, 50 or 100 U ml-1 ) or superoxide dismutase (SOD, 50 or 100 U ml-1 ). Frozen-thawed spermatozoa were evaluated for kinetic parameters, plasma membrane and acrosome integrity, mitochondrial activity and IVF capacity. ALH and BCF were affected (p < .05) by glycerol at 3% after 4-hr equilibration time and 7% after 2-hr equilibration time. Glycerol 3% had lower (p < .05) iPM and iAc after 4 hr. Glycerol 5% had greater (p < .05) hPMM after 4 hr and iAc after 2 hr than at 0 hr. SOD 100 U ml-1 had lower (p < .05) linearity and wobble compared to control group. No was observed differences to fertilisation rate (p < .05) among groups. In conclusion, glycerol 5% in Tris-egg yolk extender for 4 hr is suitable for the preservation of sperm kinetics and membrane integrity. CAT (50 and 100 U ml-1 ) or SOD (50-100 U ml-1 ) had no beneficial effects on sperm kinetics, plasma and acrosomal membrane integrity, mitochondrial activity or the capacity for IVF of frozen-thawed spermatozoa from epididymis of Nelore bulls.

Quantitative Evaluation of Medial Temporal Lobe Morphology in Children with Febrile Status Epilepticus: Results of the FEBSTAT Study.

BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE: The pathogenesis of febrile status epilepticus is poorly understood, but prior studies have suggested an association with temporal lobe abnormalities, including hippocampal malrotation. We used a quantitative morphometric method to assess the association between temporal lobe morphology and febrile status epilepticus. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Brain MR imaging was performed in children presenting with febrile status epilepticus and control subjects as part of the Consequences of Prolonged Febrile Seizures in Childhood study. Medial temporal lobe morphologic parameters were measured manually, including the distance of the hippocampus from the midline, hippocampal height:width ratio, hippocampal angle, collateral sulcus angle, and width of the temporal horn. RESULTS: Temporal lobe morphologic parameters were correlated with the presence of visual hippocampal malrotation; the strongest association was with left temporal horn width (P < .001; adjusted OR, 10.59). Multiple morphologic parameters correlated with febrile status epilepticus, encompassing both the right and left sides. This association was statistically strongest in the right temporal lobe, whereas hippocampal malrotation was almost exclusively left-sided in this cohort. The association between temporal lobe measurements and febrile status epilepticus persisted when the analysis was restricted to cases with visually normal imaging findings without hippocampal malrotation or other visually apparent abnormalities. CONCLUSIONS: Several component morphologic features of hippocampal malrotation are independently associated with febrile status epilepticus, even when complete hippocampal malrotation is absent. Unexpectedly, this association predominantly involves the right temporal lobe. These findings suggest that a spectrum of bilateral temporal lobe anomalies are associated with febrile status epilepticus in children. Hippocampal malrotation may represent a visually apparent subset of this spectrum.

Effect of leptin on in vivo goat embryo production.

The aim of this study was to evaluate the effect of leptin administration during superovulation on in vivo goat embryo production. Ten mature does were superovulated with 133 mg follicle-stimulating hormone (FSH) i.m. in six descending doses at 12-h intervals. The goats received 4.8 µg/kg human recombinant leptin s.c. (leptin group, n = 5) or phosphate-buffered saline (PBS) (control group, n = 5) with the first and second FSH doses. The does were mated and subjected to embryo collection by transcervical technique 6 days later. The total number of cells per embryo and the number of cells with fragmented DNA were assessed in selected blastocysts by combining Hoechst 33342 and terminal dUTP nick-end labelling (TUNEL) staining. Plasma concentrations of oestradiol (E2 ) and progesterone (P4 ) were determined by electrochemiluminescence from the day of FSH treatment, on the day of superovulatory oestrus and on the day before embryo collection. Compared with the control group, the does that received leptin had a higher number of transferable embryos (p < 0.005), fewer embryos classified as degenerated (p < 0.001) and fewer TUNEL-positive cells/blastocyst (p < 0.001). The number of transferable embryos was positively correlated with E2 concentrations on day of oestrus (r = 0.562; p < 0.01) and P4 concentrations on the day of embryo collection (r = 0.912; p < 0.001). We concluded that in vivo leptin administration during FSH treatment improved embryo quality and affected ovarian steroidogenesis in superovulated goats.

Spectroscopic imaging of the pilocarpine model of human epilepsy suggests that early NAA reduction predicts epilepsy.

Reduced hippocampal N-acetyl aspartate (NAA) is commonly observed in patients with advanced, chronic temporal lobe epilepsy (TLE). It is unclear, however, whether an NAA deficit is also present during the clinically quiescent latent period that characterizes early TLE. This question has important implications for the use of MR spectroscopic imaging (MRSI) in the early identification of patients at risk for TLE. To determine whether NAA is diminished during the latent period, we obtained high-resolution (1)H spectroscopic imaging during the latent period of the rat pilocarpine model of human TLE. We used actively detuneable surface reception and volume transmission coils to enhance sensitivity and a semiautomated voxel shifting method to accurately position voxels within the hippocampi. During the latent period, 2 and 7 d following pilocarpine treatment, hippocampal NAA was significantly reduced by 27.5 +/- 6.9% (P < 0.001) and 17.3 +/- 6.9% (P < 0.001) at 2 and 7 d, respectively. Quantitative estimates of neuronal loss at 7 d (2.3 +/- 7.7% reduction; P = 0.58, not significant) demonstrate that the NAA deficit is not due to neuron loss and therefore likely represents metabolic impairment of hippocampal neurons during the latent phase. Therefore, spectroscopic imaging provides an early marker for metabolic dysfunction in this model of TLE.

Msx-2 and p21 mediate the pro-apoptotic but not the anti-proliferative effects of BMP4 on cultured sympathetic neuroblasts.

The differentiation, survival, and proliferation of developing sympathetic neuroblasts are all coordinately promoted by neurotrophins. In this study, we demonstrate that bone morphogenetic protein 4 (BMP4), a factor known to be necessary for the differentiation of sympathetic neurons (Schneider et al., 1999), conversely reduces both survival and proliferation of cultured E14 sympathetic neuroblasts. The anti-proliferative effects of BMP4 occur more rapidly than the pro-apoptotic actions and appear to involve different intracellular mechanisms. BMP4 treatment induces expression of the transcription factor Msx-2 and the cyclin-dependent kinase inhibitor p21(CIP1/WAF1) (p21). Treatment of cells with oligonucleotides antisense to either of these genes prevents cell death after BMP4 treatment but does not significantly alter the anti-proliferative effects. Thus Msx-2 and p21 are necessary for BMP4-mediated cell death but not for promotion of exit from cell cycle. Although treatment of cultured E14 sympathetic neuroblasts with neurotrophins alone did not alter cell numbers, BMP4-induced cell death was prevented by co-treatment with either neurotrophin-3 (NT-3) or nerve growth factor (NGF). This suggests that BMP4 may also induce dependence of the cells on neurotrophins for survival. Thus, sympathetic neuron numbers may be determined in part by factors that inhibit the proliferation and survival of neuroblasts and make them dependent upon exogenous factors for survival.

A unique intronic splicing enhancer controls the inclusion of the agrin Y exon.

Alternative splicing of the agrin mRNA controls the ability of agrin protein to induce the clustering of acetylcholine receptors at the neuromuscular junction. Using a transfectable reporter gene, we show that one agrin alternative exon, the Y exon, is controlled by a regulatory sequence in the downstream intron. Portions of this intronic sequence have the properties of a splicing enhancer that can activate splicing of a heterologous exon when placed in the intron downstream. The regulatory region is complex in structure, containing several different elements capable of activating splicing. Individual enhancing elements differ in their cell-type specificity, and are not apparently synergistic, as two elements together induce lower splicing than either does separately. Essential nucleotides within these regulatory elements were identified by scanning mutagenesis across the active region. Interestingly, the elements do not appear similar to known intronic splicing enhancer elements. This Y exon enhancer and its components take part in an apparent combinatorial system of control where multiple regulatory elements of varying activity combine to produce a precisely cell-specific exon inclusion. As a major contributor to the regulation of the Y exon, the enhancer ultimately controls the properties of the agrin protein.

In vivo deletion analysis of the herpes simplex virus type 1 latency-associated transcript promoter.

During herpes simplex virus latency, transcripts accumulate from a single transcription unit of the viral genome. The promoter for these latency-associated transcripts (LAT) has been located, and a number of studies have documented the specific regions of this promoter which are important in transient assays of neuronal cells in culture. To examine the regulation of this promoter from the viral genome, both in vitro and in vivo, a series of seven promoter deletion viruses which drive the expression of the reporter gene beta-galactosidase was constructed. Rabbit skin cells were infected in cell culture with viruses bearing each promoter mutation, and the LAT promoter activity was compared with that obtained by infecting two neuronal cell lines, ND7 cells and C1300 neuroblastoma cells. Mouse dorsal root ganglia were also infected with these recombinant viruses by footpad inoculations, and beta-galactosidase activity was measured. Infected neuronal cells lines and dorsal root ganglia exhibit much more LAT promoter activity than infected rabbit skin cells, suggesting that the region upstream of -250 may contain one or several neuronal specific DNA-binding sites. However, a comparison of LAT promoter activities within the deletion series revealed many differences between neurons of the dorsal root ganglia infected in vivo and the two neuronal cell lines infected in vitro. These results suggest that neurons may vary extensively in the quantity or kind of transcription factors they contain.

Effect of the transcription start region of the herpes simplex virus type 1 latency-associated transcript promoter on expression of productively infected neurons in vivo.

It has been previously reported that the latency-associated transcript (LAT) promoter contains a DNA sequence at the LAT transcription start site which resembles the ICP4 consensus DNA binding site and that this site allows ICP4-mediated downregulation of the LAT promoter in transient assays (A. H. Batchelor and P. O'Hare, J. Virol. 64:3269-3279, 1990). We have confirmed these data by showing that an ICP4-expressing plasmid will downregulate lacZ expression from a plasmid containing the LAT promoter and transcription start site (pJA1) and does not downregulate lacZ expression from a plasmid in which the start site has been mutagenized (pWAG15). To determine the role of the LAT transcription start site in regulating LAT promoter activity in the context of the virus, two recombinant viruses, KOS-1 and KOS-15, were studied. KOS-1 contains an 863-bp portion of the LAT promoter, including the LAT cap site, fused to the lacZ gene and inserted into the gC locus (T.P. Margolis, F. Sedarati, A.T. Dobson, L.T. Feldman, and J.G. Stevens, Virology 189:150-160, 1992). The second virus (KOS-15) was constructed in identical fashion, using plasmid pWAG-15, which is not downregulated by ICP4. Vero cells productively infected with KOS-15 produce 10-fold more beta-galactosidase than do those infected with KOS-1. In murine dorsal root ganglia acutely infected with KOS-1, only 1.2% of dorsal root ganglion neurons that expressed viral antigen also expressed beta-galactosidase. In contrast, in KOS-15-infected mice, beta-galactosidase was detected in 18% of viral antigen-positive neurons. Similar findings were observed in trigeminal ganglia acutely infected with KOS-1 and KOS-15. Thus, the region encompassing the LAT transcription start site appears to play an important role in repression of the LAT promoter activity not only in vitro but also in acutely infected neurons in vivo. These results suggest that during productive infection with HSV-1, LAT expression is tightly regulated.