Effect of consuming high-fat diet on the morphological parameters of adrenal gland.

OBJECTIVES: The incidence of obesity and obesity-assosiated pathologies continues to increase with profound adverse effects on health status in the developed countries. BACKGROUND: We aimed to investigate the effect of high fat diet on the adrenal gland morphology. METHODS: We fed the mice with either high-fat diet (60 % kcal from fat) or low-fat diet (10 % kcal from fat) for nine weeks. Unbiased stereological methods were used to evaluate the adrenal gland morphology. The sections were evaluated using Cavalieri's method and volume fraction approach. We calculated mean volume of adrenal gland, mean volume of adrenal medulla, VVadrenal medulla/adrenal gland, mean diameter of cromaffin cells, number of chromaffin cells in per unit volume (NVcc mm‒3), total number of cromaffin cells, VVzona glomerulosa/adrenal cortex, VVzona fasciculata/adrenal cortex , VVzona reticulosa/adrenal cortex. RESULTS: The weight of adrenal gland, body weight intraperitoneal adipose tissue and adrenal gland weight in the obese mice significantly increased when compared with the control group. No changes were observed in the mean volume of adrenal gland, mean volume of adrenal medulla, VVzona glomerulosa/adrenal cortex, VVzona fasciculata/adrenal cortex, total number of cromaffin cells and diameter of cromaffin cells. However, NVcc mm-3 and VVzona reticulosa/adrenal cortex in the obese mice considerably increased compared with the control group. CONCLUSION: The present results suggest that high fat diet adversely affects the adrenal gland morphology (Tab. 2, Fig. 6, Ref. 28).

The impact of intravascular ultrasound guidance during drug eluting stent implantation on angiographic outcomes.

OBJECTIVE: Major limitation for the use of stent in the treatment of coronary artery disease is development of stent restenosis. The impact of intravascular ultrasound (IVUS) guidance during drug eluting stent (DES) implantation is presently not yet well established. PATIENTS AND METHODS: For the present study, we included 30 patients who received DES with IVUS-guided stenting (Group A) and 30 patients receiving the DES without IVUS-guided stenting (Group B). The patients were evaluated for their ninth month control angiographies and were followed during two years for the development of relevant clinical events after the DES implantations. The angiographic and clinical results were compared between the groups. RESULTS: After the percutaneous intervention, the minimal luminal diameter and net acute gain were significantly increased in Group A in respect to Group B (3.3 ± 0.34 vs. 2.8 ± 0.33, p < 0.01). Moreover, the rate for performing post-dilatation following stent implantation was higher in Group A than in Group B (p = 0.01). By contrast, stent restenosis rates were similar between the groups (p > 0.3). CONCLUSIONS: The present results indicate that the use of IVUS for the implantation of DES can increase the success rate of the intervention. The IVUS guidance during DES implantation can be complementary percutaneous intervention, in particularly by detecting the situations that need for post-dilatation.

Relationship between hypoplastic right coronary artery and coronary artery anomalies.

OBJECTIVES: The frequency of hypoplastic right coronary artery (HRCA) and its contribution to coronary artery anomalies (CAAs) has not been thoroughly studied. Here we aimed to investigate whether a casual relationship exists between the presence of HRCA and CAAs. MATERIALS AND METHODS: We retrospectively reviewed coronary angiography records of 7500 patients. The images were carefully assessed for coronary artery (CA) anatomy and CAAs. Overall, we compared CAAs at the presence and absence of HRCA and evaluated potential association between HRCA and CAAs. Besides, we grouped HRCA patients according to the presence of CA disease (CAD) into two groups and compared their CAAs. RESULTS: While the percentage of HRCA was 6.2%, it was 3.34% for CAAs. The percentage of CA with anomalous origin (CAAO) at the presence of HRCA was significantly higher than the presence of normal right coronary artery (NRCA) (p < 0.01). Similarly, the percentage of absent left main coronary artery (ALMCA) was also considerable increased in HRCA patients with respect to the patients with NRCA (p < 0.01). The percentage of CAAO was notably higher in the CAD (-) than CAD (+) patients with HRCA (p < 0.01). Likewise, the prevalence of ALMCA was also noticeably higher in the CAD (-) than CAD (+) patients with HRCA (p < 0.01). CONCLUSIONS: HRCA is a clinically significant and frequently encountered congenital variation. The present observations indicate that the presence of HRCA is closely associated with a high prevalence of CAAO, particularly with increased rate of ALMCA.

Ontogeny of the follicular dendritic cell phenotype and function in the postnatal murine spleen.

Follicular dendritic cells (FDCs) represent a unique cell population of antigen trapping cells restricted to follicles within the secondary lymphoid tissues. FDCs appear to be involved in the formation of primary follicles during the ontogeny of lymphoid tissue. We sought to determine the kinetics and tissue distribution of cells in the spleen of newborn mice expressing various differentiation antigens restricted to FDCs using immunohistochemistry with monoclonal antibodies (mAb) against FDCs and in vivo immune complex binding and retention. The earliest FDC-specific marker displayed was the antigenic determinant recognized by the FDC-M1 mAb, which was detectable by Day 3 prior to follicle formation on cells located around the peripheral part of the developing white pulp. The appearance of CD21/35 (complement receptor Type 2 and 1, CR1.2) was observed at the end of the first week, revealing a focal pattern in B-cell-rich areas. In addition, at that time there were some FDC-M1-positive cells in the nonfollicular part of the periarteriolar region. The administration of anti-horseradish peroxidase antibody followed by soluble antigen HRP into 7-day-old newborn mice resulted in the trapping and retention of immune complexes onto FDCs even in the absence of Fcgamma receptors. The appearance of another FDC-specific marker, FDC-M2, was observed during the second week after birth and was restricted on the cells located in the same area as CR1.2 cells. The Fcgamma receptor Type II appeared on FDCs after the second postnatal week. The above sequence of phenotypic maturation could also be observed in newborns after lethal irradiation at Day 3. This indicates that not only mature FDCs but also their precursors are highly radioresistant, and their phenotypic maturation follows a programmed path that requires only a small number of mature B cells.