Conditionally immortalized human podocyte cell lines established from urine.

Evidence suggests that loss of podocytes into urine contributes to development of glomerular diseases; shed podocytes are frequently viable and proliferate in culture conditions. To determine the phenotypic characteristics of viable urinary cells derived from human subjects, we established long-term urinary cell culture from two patients with focal segmental glomerulosclerosis and two healthy volunteers, via transformation with the thermosensitive SV40 large T antigen (U19tsA58) together with human telomerase (hTERT). Characterization of arbitrarily selected two clonal cell lines from each human subject was carried out. mRNA expression for the podocyte markers synaptopodin, nestin, and CD2AP were detected in all eight clones. Podocin mRNA was absent from all eight clones. The expression of nephrin, Wilms' tumor 1 (WT1), and podocalyxin mRNA varied among the clones, which may be due to transformation and/or cloning. These results suggest that podocyte cell lines can be established consistently from human urine. The generation of podocyte cell lines from urine of patients and healthy volunteers is novel and will help to advance studies of podocyte cell biology. Further improvements in the approaches to cell transformation and/or cell culture techniques are needed to allow cultured podocytes to fully reproduce in vivo characteristics.

The unique role of advanced practice nurses at the National Institutes of Health: Results of a 2006 survey.

PURPOSE: To characterize the role of advanced practice nurses (APNs), particularly nurse practitioners (NPs), in the practice setting of the National Institutes of Health (NIH), a Federal biomedical research facility. DATA SOURCES: APNs with prescriptive authority employed at the NIH were surveyed using an adaptation of the American Academy of Nurse Practitioners (AANP) "2004 Nurse Practitioner Sample Survey." A total of 56 of 93 surveys were returned (63% response rate), and of these, 54 (96%) were completed by NPs. CONCLUSION: In the 20 years they have been at NIH, the number of NPs has grown from less than 10 to more than 100. NIH NPs combine clinical research responsibilities with the provision of comprehensive medical management to patients enrolled on NIH protocols, blending clinical, research, educational, and administrative tasks into a unique and multifaceted role. There is a high level of satisfaction among NPs employed at the NIH, and they are considered an integral part of the research team. IMPLICATIONS FOR PRACTICE: This survey shows the variability in practice opportunities available to NPs in a research environment and the impact they have on public health.

Circulating transcriptome reveals markers of atherosclerosis.

Circulating monocytes mediate inflammation in atherosclerosis and may serve as easily accessible reporters of disease. To search for markers of atherosclerosis, we compared the in vivo transcriptomes of monocytes purified from patients undergoing carotid endarterectomy and normal subjects by using the serial analysis of gene expression technique. We selected a subset of differentially expressed monocyte-specific genes and confirmed their expression levels. The Finkel-Biskis-Jinkins osteosarcoma (FOS) gene was significantly increased in patients, and the highest levels of FOS associated with patients who had previously undergone coronary revascularization. The correlation between coronary revascularization and FOS was higher than that compared with the cardiac risk marker high sensitivity C-reactive protein. In vitro inhibition of FOS using small interfering RNA and 3-hydroxy-3-methyl-glutaryl CoA reductase inhibitor simvastatin (statin) affected monocyte activation and suggested an important role in pathogenesis. Given the prominent role of FOS in inflammation and calcification, its association with atherosclerosis severity has clear pathophysiologic bases as well as clinical implications as a marker. Our results suggest that analysis of gene expression in circulating cells may provide biological and clinical insights into human atherosclerosis, and that this type of approach may be applicable for studying other types of diseases.