ICAM-2 confers a non-metastatic phenotype in neuroblastoma cells by interaction with α-actinin.

Progressive metastatic disease is a major cause of mortality for patients diagnosed with multiple types of solid tumors. One of the long-term goals of our laboratory is to identify  molecular interactions that regulate metastasis, as a basis for developing agents that inhibit this process. Toward this goal, we recently demonstrated that intercellular adhesion molecule-2 (ICAM-2) converted neuroblastoma (NB) cells from a metastatic to a non-metastatic phenotype, a previously unknown function for ICAM-2. Interestingly, ICAM-2 suppressed metastatic but not tumorigenic potential in preclinical models, supporting a novel mechanism of regulating metastasis. We hypothesized that the effects of ICAM-2 on NB cell phenotype depend on the interaction of ICAM-2 with the cytoskeletal linker protein α-actinin. The goal of the study presented here was to evaluate the impact of α-actinin binding to ICAM-2 on the phenotype of NB tumor cells. We used in silico approaches to examine the likelihood that the cytoplasmic domain of ICAM-2 binds directly to α-actinin. We then expressed variants of ICAM-2 with mutated α-actinin-binding domains, and compared the impact of ICAM-2 and each variant on NB cell adhesion, migration, anchorage-independent growth, co-precipitation with α-actinin and production of localized and disseminated tumors in vivo. The in vitro and in vivo characteristics of cells expressing ICAM-2 variants with modified α-actinin-binding domains differed from cells expressing ICAM-2 wild type (WT) and also from cells that expressed no detectable ICAM-2. Like the WT protein, ICAM-2 variants inhibited cell adhesion, migration and colony growth in vitro. However, unlike the WT protein, ICAM-2 variants did not completely suppress development of disseminated NB tumors in vivo. The data suggest the presence of α-actinin-dependent and α-actinin-independent mechanisms, and indicate that the interaction of ICAM-2 with α-actinin is critical to conferring an ICAM-2-mediated non-metastatic phenotype in NB cells.

Evaluación de una intervención educativa en el control del dolor agudo postoperatorio: estudio antes-después / Assessment of training in the control of acute postoperative pain based on analysis of pretraining and posttraining measures

OBJETIVO: Valorar la efectividad de las medidas deintervención educativas aplicadas por una unidad dedolor agudo (UDA) sobre la atención al dolor postoperatorioen los servicios de traumatología y ortopedia yCirugía General.MÉTODOS: Estudio prospectivo antes-después en unhospital terciario. Se realizó intervención educativa amédicos y enfermeras de los servicios quirúrgicos consistenteen charlas con apoyo gráfico y administración ydifusión de protocolos de tratamiento de la UDA. Comovariables respuesta se estudiaron la EVA, satisfaccióndel paciente, número de días de tratamiento pautado porla UDA y causas de cese del tratamiento. Se analizaronlos datos correspondientes al año previo a la intervencióneducativa y el posterior.RESULTADOS: Se analizaron los datos de 854 pacientesantes de la intervención y 971 con posterioridad. Nohubo diferencias en el número medio de días de tratamiento,ni en la satisfacción del paciente por especialidad(traumatología y ortopedia U=-0,379 p=0,352; C.general U= -0,927 p= 0,177). Encontramos diferencias enlos valores de EVA de actividad y reposo a partir delsegundo y tercer día, con valores de diferencias demedias menores de 0,5 puntos. Se mejoraron en ambasespecialidades los casos en los que la UDA finalizaba eltratamiento inicialmente prescrito.CONCLUSIONES: La utilización de mediadas educativassobre el personal sanitario en el control del dolor postoperatoriono influye en la satisfacción de los pacientes, apesar de encontrar una discreta mejoría en los valoresEVA de actividad y reposo. Estas medidas sí tienenrepercusión al valorar la cumplimentación total de lostratamientos instaurados por la UDA, mejorando significativamente(AU)

OBJECTIVE: To assess the efficacy of an acute painunit’s training on postoperative pain control for staffof trauma-orthopedic and general surgerydepartments.METHODS: Prospective pretest-posttest study in atertiary care hospital. Physicians and nurses in the 2surgical departments were given training sessions thatincluded discussion with visual support andpresentation of the acute pain unit's treatmentprotocols. Outcome measures used were visual analogscale (VAS) scores, patient satisfaction scores, numberof days of treatment in accordance with the acute painunit's protocol, and reasons for stopping treatment.Data for the year before and after the training programwere analyzed.RESULTS: Data for 854 patients before training and971 after training were analyzed. There were nodifferences between surgical specialties in the meannumber of days of treatment. Nor did patientsatisfaction scores differ (trauma-orthopedic surgery,–0.379, P=.352; general surgery, –0.927, P=.177). VASscore differences of less than 0.5 points were found inactive and resting pain from the second and thirddays, respectively. There was improvement in bothspecialties in terms of the number of patients whocompleted the treatment initially prescribed by theacute pain unit.CONCLUSIONS: The staff training in postoperative paincontrol did not affect patient satisfaction, though a smallimprovement in active and resting VAS scores wasnoted. The training did have an effect on significantlyimproving overall compliance with the acute pain unit'streatment protocols(AU)

Broncoaspiración en un niño, por vaciamiento gástrico retardado, durante una urgencia traumatológica / No disponible

No disponible

[Assessment of training in the control of acute postoperative pain based on analysis of pretraining and posttraining measures]. / Evaluación de una intervención educativa en el control del dolor agudo postoperatorio: estudio antes-después.

OBJECTIVE: To assess the efficacy of an acute pain unit's training on postoperative pain control for staff of trauma-orthopedic and general surgery departments. METHODS: Prospective pretest-posttest study in a tertiary care hospital. Physicians and nurses in the 2 surgical departments were given training sessions that included discussion with visual support and presentation of the acute pain unit's treatment protocols. Outcome measures used were visual analog scale (VAS) scores, patient satisfaction scores, number of days of treatment in accordance with the acute pain unit's protocol, and reasons for stopping treatment. Data for the year before and after the training program were analyzed. RESULTS: Data for 854 patients before training and 971 after training were analyzed. There were no differences between surgical specialties in the mean number of days of treatment. Nor did patient satisfaction scores differ (trauma-orthopedic surgery, -0.379, P = .352; general surgery, -0.927, P = .177). VAS score differences of less than 0.5 points were found in active and resting pain from the second and third days, respectively. There was improvement in both specialties in terms of the number of patients who completed the treatment initially prescribed by the acute pain unit. CONCLUSIONS: The staff training in postoperative pain control did not affect patient satisfaction, though a small improvement in active and resting VAS scores was noted. The training did have an effect on significantly improving overall compliance with the acute pain unit's treatment protocols.

Cyclooxygenase cloning in dogfish shark, Squalus acanthias, and its role in rectal gland Cl secretion.

The present studies were carried out with the aims to determine the cDNA sequence for cyclooxygenase (COX) in an elasmobranch species and to study its role in regulation of chloride secretion in the perfused shark rectal gland (SRG). With the use of long primers (43 bp) derived from regions of homology between zebrafish and rainbow trout COX-2 genes, a 600-bp product was amplified from SRG and was found to be almost equally homologous to mammalian COX-1 and COX-2 (65%). The full-length cDNA sequence was obtained by 5'-RACE and by analyzing an EST clone generated by the EST Project of the Mt. Desert Island Biological Laboratory Marine DNA Sequencing Center. The longest open reading frame encodes a 593-amino acid protein that has 68 and 64% homology to mammalian COX-1 and COX-2, respectively. The gene and its protein product is designated as shark COX (sCOX). The key residues in the active site (Try(385), His(388), and Ser(530)) are conserved between the shark and mammalian COX. sCOX contains Val(523) that has been shown to be a key residue determining the sensitivity to COX-2-specific inhibitors including NS-398. The mRNA of sCOX, detected by RT-PCR, was found in all tissues tested, including rectal gland, kidney, spleen, gill, liver, brain, and heart, but not in fin. In the perfused SRG, vasoactive intestinal peptide (VIP) at 5 nM induced rapid and marked Cl(-) secretion (basal: <250 microeq x h(-1) x g(-1); peak response: 3,108 +/- 479 microeq x h(-1) x g(-1)). In the presence of 50 microM NS-398, both the peak response (2,131 +/- 307 microeq x h(-1) x g(-1)) and the sustained response to VIP were significantly reduced. When NS-398 was removed, there was a prompt recovery of chloride secretion to control values. In conclusion, we have cloned the first COX in an elasmobranch species (sCOX) and shown that sCOX inhibition suppresses VIP-stimulated chloride secretion in the perfused SRG.

Cloning, characterization, and functional expression of a CNP receptor regulating CFTR in the shark rectal gland.

In the shark, C-type natriuretic peptide (CNP) is the only cardiac natriuretic hormone identified and is a potent activator of Cl- secretion in the rectal gland, an epithelial organ of this species that contains cystic fibrosis transmembrane conductance regulator (CFTR) Cl- channels. We have cloned an ancestral CNP receptor (NPR-B) from the shark rectal gland that has an overall amino acid identity to the human homologue of 67%. The shark sequence maintains six extracellular Cys present in other NPR-B but lacks a glycosylation site and a Glu residue previously considered important for CNP binding. When shark NPR-B and human CFTR were coexpressed in Xenopus oocytes, CNP increased the cGMP content of oocytes (EC50 12 nM) and activated CFTR Cl- channels (EC50 8 nM). Oocyte cGMP increased 36-fold (from 0.11 +/- 0.03 to 4.03 +/- 0.45 pmol/oocyte) and Cl- current increased 37-fold (from -34 +/- 14 to -1,226 +/- 151 nA) in the presence of 50 nM CNP. These findings identify the specific natriuretic peptide receptor responsible for Cl- secretion in the shark rectal gland and provide the first evidence for activation of CFTR Cl- channels by a cloned NPR-B receptor.

Molecular and functional characterization of s-KCNQ1 potassium channel from rectal gland of Squalus acanthias.

Functional and pharmacological data point to the involvement of KCNQ1/IsK potassium channels in the basolateral potassium conductance of secretory epithelia. In this study, we report the cloning and electrophysiological characterization of the KCNQ1 protein from the salt secretory rectal gland of the spiny dogfish (Squalus acanthias). The S. acanthias KCNQ1 (s-KCNQ1) cDNA was cloned by polymerase chain reaction (PCR) intensive techniques and showed overall sequence similarities with the KCNQ1 potassium channel subunits of Man, mouse and Xenopus laevis of 64, 70 and 77%, respectively, at the translated amino acid level. Analysis of s-KCNQ1 expression on a Northern blot containing RNA from heart, rectal gland, kidney, brain, intestine, testis, liver and gills revealed distinct expression of 7.4-kb s-KCNQ1 transcripts only in rectal gland and heart. Voltage-clamp analysis of s-KCNQ1 expressed in Xenopus oocytes showed pronounced electrophysiological similarities to human and murine KCNQ1 isoforms, with a comparable sensitivity to inhibition by the chromanol 293B. Coexpression of s-KCNQ1 with human-IsK (h-IsK) induced currents with faster activation kinetics and stronger rectification than observed after coexpression of human KCNQ1 with h-IsK, with the voltage threshold of activation shifted to more negative potentials. The low activation threshold at approximately -60 mV in combination with the high expression in rectal gland cells make s-KCNQ1 a potential candidate responsible for the basolateral potassium conductance.

Vasoactive intestinal peptide, forskolin, and genistein increase apical CFTR trafficking in the rectal gland of the spiny dogfish, Squalus acanthias. Acute regulation of CFTR trafficking in an intact epithelium.

Defective trafficking of the cystic fibrosis transmembrane conductance regulator (CFTR) is the most common cause of cystic fibrosis. In chloride-secreting epithelia, it is well established that CFTR localizes to intracellular organelles and to apical membranes. However, it is controversial whether secretagogues regulate the trafficking of CFTR. To investigate whether acute hormonal stimulation of chloride secretion is coupled to the trafficking of CFTR, we used the intact shark rectal gland, a model tissue in which salt secretion is dynamically regulated and both chloride secretion and cellular CFTR immunofluorescence can be quantified in parallel. In rectal glands perfused under basal conditions without secretagogues, Cl- secretion was 151+/-65 microeq/h/g. Vasoactive intestinal peptide (VIP), forskolin, and genistein led to 10-, 6-, and 4-fold increases in Cl- secretion. In basal glands, quantitative confocal microscopy revealed CFTR immunofluorescence extending from the apical membrane deeply into the cell (7.28+/-0.35 micron). During stimulation with secretagogues, apical extension of CFTR immunofluorescence into the cell was reduced significantly to 3.24+/-0.08 micron by VIP, 4.08+/-0.13 by forskolin, and 3.19+/-0.1 by genistein (P < 0.001). Moreover, the peak intensity of CFTR fluorescence shifted towards the apical membrane (peak fluorescence 2.5+/-0.13 micron basal vs. 1.51+/-0.06, 1.77+/-0.1, and 1.38+/-0.05 for VIP, forskolin, and genistein; all P < 0.001). The increase in both Cl- secretion and apical CFTR trafficking reversed to basal values after removal of VIP. These data provide the first quantitative morphological evidence for acute hormonal regulation of CFTR trafficking in an intact epithelial tissue.

Cadmium disrupts the signal transduction pathway of both inhibitory and stimulatory receptors regulating chloride secretion in the shark rectal gland.

The heavy metal cadmium causes nephrotoxicity and alters the transport function of epithelial cells. In the shark rectal gland, chloride secretion is regulated by secretagogues and inhibitors acting through receptors coupled to G proteins and the cyclic AMP-protein kinase A pathway. We examined the effects of cadmium on the response to the inhibitory peptide somatostatin (SRIF), and to the stimulatory secretagogues forskolin and vasoactive intestinal peptide (VIP). In control experiments, SRIF (100 nM) entirely inhibited the chloride secretory response to 10 microM forskolin (maximum chloride secretion with forskolin 1984 +/- 176 microEq/h/g; with forskolin + SRIF 466 +/- 93 microEq/h/g, P < 0.001). Cadmium (25 microM) entirely reversed the inhibitory response to SRIF (chloride secretion 2143 +/- 222 microEq/h/g) and caused an overshoot (2917 +/- 293 microEq/h/g) that exceeded the response to forskolin (P < 0.01). Cadmium also enhanced forskolin-stimulated chloride secretion (2628 +/- 418 vs. 1673 +/- 340 microEq/h/g, P < 0.02) and reversed the declining phase of the forskolin response. Cadmium had a concentration-dependent, biphasic effect on the response to VIP. Cd (10-100 microM) increased both chloride secretion and tissue cyclic AMP content, whereas higher concentrations (1 mM) inhibited chloride secretion and cyclic AMP accumulation. Our findings provide evidence that Cd disrupts the signal transduction pathways of both inhibitory receptors and secretagogues regulating cAMP mediated transport in an intact epithelia. The results are consistent with direct effects of cadmium on adenylate cyclase and/or phosphodiesterase activity in this marine epithelial model.

Characterization of the cytolytic trigger molecules G7/PNK-E as a molecular complex on the surface of porcine phagocytes.

G7 and PNK-E mAbs recognize distinct porcine NK cell and granulocyte function-associated molecules that enhance and induce a significant cytolytic response against tumor cell targets through a mechanism of re-directed cytotoxicity. The present study shows that the G7 and PNK-E molecules are present on the surface of porcine neutrophils, monocytes, and pulmonary alveolar macrophages as a physically and functionally associated cytolytic trigger molecular complex. Two-color flow cytometric analysis demonstrates that most, if not all, neutrophils are G7 and PNK-E antigen positive. In contrast, monocytes and PAM contain both G7 and PNK-E positive as well as G7 positive and PNK-E negative subpopulations. mAb binding competition experiments indicate that pretreatment of phagocytes with G7 mAb can block subsequent binding by PNK-E mAb, suggesting that these antigens are physically associated on the surface of porcine phagocytes. Fluorescent co-capping experiments utilizing G7 and PNK-E mAbs clearly demonstrate a physical association between G7 and PNK-E antigens present on the surface of porcine neutrophils. Pretreatment of phagocytes with F(ab')2 fragments of G7 and PNK-E mAbs shows that F(ab')2 G7 mAb blocks subsequent induction of phagocyte-mediated tumor cell cytotoxicity by whole PNK-E mAb but pretreatment with F(ab')2 PNK-E does not block subsequent induction of phagocyte-mediated tumor cell cytotoxicity by whole G7 mAb. In addition, pretreatment of neutrophils and mononuclear phagocytes with F(ab')2 fragments of G7 mAb blocks subsequent whole PNK-E mAb-dependent activation of a phagocytic cell intracellular oxidative burst response but pretreatment with F(ab')2 PNK-E does not block subsequent G7 mAb-dependent activation of a phagocytic cell intracellular oxidative burst response. These data reinforce a physical and functional association between the G7 and PNK-E molecules. Recent identification of the G7 antigen as the porcine homolog of Fc gamma RIII indicates that the G7 and PNK-E mAbs recognize a unique and previously uncharacterized Fc gamma R cytolytic trigger molecular complex present on the surface of porcine neutrophils, monocytes, and PAM.