Neuroimaging studies of GABA in schizophrenia: a systematic review with meta-analysis.

Data from animal models and from postmortem studies suggest that schizophrenia is associated with brain GABAergic dysfunction. The extent to which this is reflected in data from in vivo studies of GABA function in schizophrenia is unclear. The Medline database was searched to identify articles published until 21 October 2016. The search terms included GABA, proton magnetic resonance spectroscopy (1H-MRS), positron emission tomography (PET), single photon emission computed tomography (SPECT), schizophrenia and psychosis. Sixteen GABA 1H-MRS studies (538 controls, 526 patients) and seven PET/SPECT studies of GABAA/benzodiazepine receptor (GABAA/BZR) availability (118 controls, 113 patients) were identified. Meta-analyses of 1H-MRS GABA in the medial prefrontal cortex (mPFC), parietal/occipital cortex (POC) and striatum did not show significant group differences (mFC: g=-0.3, 409 patients, 495 controls, 95% confidence interval (CI): -0.6 to 0.1; POC: g=-0.3, 139 patients, 111 controls, 95% CI: -0.9 to 0.3; striatum: g=-0.004, 123 patients, 95 controls, 95% CI: -0.7 to 0.7). Heterogeneity across studies was high (I2>50%), and this was not explained by subsequent moderator or meta-regression analyses. There were insufficient PET/SPECT receptor availability studies for meta-analyses, but a systematic review did not suggest replicable group differences in regional GABAA/BZR availability. The current literature does not reveal consistent alterations in in vivo GABA neuroimaging measures in schizophrenia, as might be hypothesized from animal models and postmortem data. The analysis highlights the need for further GABA neuroimaging studies with improved methodology and addressing potential sources of heterogeneity.

Three-dimensional cultures of normal human osteoblasts: proliferation and differentiation potential in vitro and upon ectopic implantation in nude mice.

We report the establishment in vitro of three-dimensional (3D) cultures of human osteoblasts (hOB) derived from normal adults and supported uniquely by the extracellular matrix (ECM) they deposit. Osteoblasts were cultured in 3D cultures in vitro for up to 120 days. The 3D cultures, examined at 25, 31, and 48 days, expressed protein markers of osteoblastic cells, namely osteonectin, collagen type I, fibronectin, osteopontin, bone sialoprotein, biglycan, and decorin. Sequentially, alkaline phosphatase (AP) and then Ca incorporation, mineralization of matrix (monitored by histochemistry and transmission electron microscopy), and finally osteocalcin expression, were detected in the 3D cultures. Ultrastructurally, morphology progressed from early to mature osteoblast and to osteocyte-like. Cells were embedded in a matrix with organized collagen type I fibers containing, increasingly with time of culture, needle-shaped crystals, often associated with matrix vesicles, characteristic of those in bone. During the culture (up to 120 days) there was an outgrowth of proliferating osteogenic cells from the 3D structure. Subcutaneous implantation in nude mice for 20 days of osteoblasts cultured in 3D culture for different lengths of time in vitro, showed progression of mineralization from the inner region of the implant outward, with peripheral cells being embedded in nonmineralized, collagen-rich matrix. The 3D implants were invaded by vessels derived from the host.

Species identification and confirmation of human and animal cell lines: a PCR-based method.

Misidentification and cross-contamination of cell lines are major problems of cell cultures that can make scientific results and their reproducibility unreliable. This paper describes a PCR-based method for easily identifying or confirming the species of origin of cell lines by using a panel of oligonucleotides specific for the nine animal species most common in cell culture laboratories. A panel of 35 human and animal cell lines, whose species of origin were previously confirmed by isoenzyme assay, was studied with nine species-specific primer pairs that specifically anneal to DNA sequences codifying for human, cat, dog, mouse, rat, horse, rabbit, African Green monkey cytochrome c oxidase subunit I (cox I), and one primer pair specific for the cytochrome b gene of Chinese hamster. The amplified fragments were analyzed by electrophoresis in ethidium bromide-stained 2% agarose gels. The method is simple, rapid, highly sensitive, and useful for routinely monitoring the species identity of cell cultures.

Men and masculinities: scales for masculinity ideology and masculinity-related constructs.

PIP: 11 instruments for assessing beliefs and attitudes about men or masculinity standards (masculinity ideology) and 6 instruments that assess first-person accounts of gender role conflict, stress, or conformity to masculinity ideology are evaluated in this review. The 17 instruments were all developed in the past 2 decades and peer reviewed, and are readily accessible. An introductory section distinguishes between gender ideology and gender orientation and defines the scope of the first set of 11 scales as indexing the extent to which subjects accept the ideas and beliefs used to justify gender roles and relations. The second set of 6 scales focus on how men individually experience their gender. All scales were systematically evaluated according to whether they include items comparing the sexes or concerning gender relations or items assessing attitudes and beliefs about women. Inclusion of these types of items is noted in a table, along with information on whether the authors assumed one dominant form of masculinity, whether subscales were identified, and the psychometric properties of the scale and subscale. The review suggests that measures of gender orientation and measures of gender ideologies are independent and have differential correlates. Evidence also suggests that gender ideologies about men are distinct from and have differential correlates from gender ideologies about women or about gender relations in general. Items comparing genders should thus be avoided in measures of attitude toward masculinities. Several of the measures have too narrow a definition of masculinity.^ieng