Evaluating the contribution of fat infiltration in anterior gluteus minimus muscle to walking ability in female with unilateral hip osteoarthritis and candidates for total hip arthroplasty.

BACKGROUND: The purpose of this study is to investigate the relationship between gait and fat infiltration in anterior and posterior gluteus minimus in the patients with hip osteoarthritis. METHODS: Ninety-one female patients who were diagnosed as the unilateral hip osteoarthritis, classified into Kellgren-Lawrence global scoring system grades 3 or 4, and candidate for total hip arthroplasty were retrospectively reviewed. The horizontally cross-sectional regions of interest for the gluteus medius and anterior and posterior gluteus minimus were manually circumscribed in a single transaxial computed tomography image and muscle density of those regions were obtained. The gait was assessed as the step and speed with the 10-Meter Walk Test. The multiple regression analysis was used to compare the step and speed with age, height, range of motion in flexion, the muscle density of anterior gluteus minimus in the affected side, and that of gluteus medius muscle in both affected and unaffected sides. FINDINGS: Multiple regression analysis for step revealed that the muscle density of anterior gluteus minimus in the affected side and height were the independent predictors for step (R2 = 0.389, p < 0.001). That for speed identified the muscle density of anterior gluteus minimus in the affected side as the only factor determining speed (R2 = 0.287, p < 0.001). INTERPRETATION: The fatty infiltration of anterior gluteus minimus muscle in affected side can be a predictor for the gait in in female with unilateral hip osteoarthritis and candidates for total hip arthroplasty.

Some properties of beta-1,2-mannosyltransferases related to the biosynthesis of the acid-labile oligomannosyl side chains in Candida albicans NIH B-792 strain cells.

We detected the beta-1,2-mannosyltransferases (beta-1,2-MTs), which participate in the biosynthesis of oligomannosyl side chains in the mannan acid-labile fraction, in a particulate insoluble fractions prepared from Candida albicans NIH B-792 strain cells grown at 27 degrees C and at 37 degrees C in a yeast extract-added Sabouraud liquid medium (YSLM). The beta-1,2-MT VI-6 prepared from the cells grown at 27 degrees C exhibited the maximum activity at pH 7.0 and at 30 degrees C. The beta-1,2-MT VI-6 activity was only slightly affected by Mn2+, Mg2+, Ca2+, and ethylenediaminetetraacetic acid, but completely inhibited by Zn2+ and Ni2+. The beta-1,2-MT activities from the cells grown at 37 degrees C were lower than that from the cells grown at 27 degrees C, especially on the longer beta-1,2-mannooligosaccharides than tetraose.

Activity and stability of alpha- and beta-mannosyltransferases in Candida albicans cells cultured at high temperature and at low pH.

We measured the activity and stability of three mannosyltransferases to ascertain the mechanisms of changes in the antigenicity and the mannan structure of Candida albicans cells cultured at high temperature (37 degrees C) under acidic (pH 2.0) conditions in a liquid medium. The alpha-1,6-mannosyltransferase (alpha-1,6-MT) activity of the particulate-insoluble enzyme fractions prepared from C. albicans J-1012 (J-1012) cells cultured at 37 degrees C was retained compared to those at 27 degrees C, whereas beta-1,2-mannosyltransferase II (beta-1,2-MT II) activity was detected in the 27 degrees C fraction but not in the 37 degrees C fraction. Similar results were obtained in the fraction prepared from J-1012 cells cultured at pH 2.0. The alpha-1,6-MT activities of fractions prepared from C. albicans NIH B-792 (B-792) strain cells cultured at 37 degrees C were retained compared to those at 27 degrees C, whereas beta-1,2-mannosyltransferase VI-6 (beta-1,2-MT VI-6) activity was detected in the fraction of B-792 cells cultured at 27 degrees C but not detected in the 37 degrees C fraction. We also found that the beta-1,2-MT II and beta-1,2-MT VI-6 activity of C. albicans cells was more sensitive to both high temperature and low pH compared with alpha-1,6-MT activity.

Antigenicity of Candida tropicalis strain cells cultured at 27 and 37 degrees C.

All cells of four Candida tropicalis strains IFO 0199 (Ct-0199), IFO 0587 (Ct-0587), IFO 1400 (Ct-1400), and IFO 1647 (Ct-1647), obtained by cultivation at 27 and 37 degrees C for 48 h in yeast extract-added Sabouraud liquid medium, showed the shapes of typical budding yeast and the same agglutination patterns against factor sera 1, 4, 5 and 6 in the commercially available kit 'Candida Check'. The cells of the C. tropicalis IFO 0589 strain display the same properties at 27 degrees C but formed hyphae at 37 degrees C. The cell wall mannan (Ct-0589-37-M) obtained from the strain cells cultured at 37 degrees C had lost most of its reactivity against factor sera 4, 5 and 6 in an enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay, in contrast to the mannan (Ct-0589-27-M) at 27 degrees C. The 1H-nuclear magnetic resonance patterns of the mannans obtained from the cells of the four C. tropicalis strains IFO 0199, IFO 0587, IFO 1400, and IFO 1647, obtained by cultivation at 37 degrees C, did not change compared to those at 27 degrees C. By contrast, the Ct-0589-37-M had significantly lost the beta-1,2-linked mannopyranose units, corresponding to the serum factors 5 and 6. These results show that the IFO 0589 strain is an unusual strain among the general C. tropicalis strains studied.

Antigenicity of cell wall mannans of Candida albicans NIH A-207 strain cells cultured in galactose-added yeast nitrogen base medium.

The cultivations of the Candida albicans NIH A-207 strain (A-strain) for 5 d at 27 and 37 degrees C in 500 mM galactose-added yeast nitrogen base medium (YNB-Gal) decreased the growth of blastoconidia and the pH in the cultures, with dry weights of 56 and 47% and with pHs of 2.41 and 2.47, compared with the dry weight of 100% and pH of 5.63 for a standard cultivation of 2 d at 27 degrees C in the yeast extract-added Sabouraud liquid medium (YSLM). The cells obtained by cultivations at 27 and 37 degrees C in the YNB-Gal clearly decreased the agglutination against serum factors 4, 5, and 6 in the commercially available kit 'Candida Check', especially at 37 degrees C, in contrast to those obtained by the standard cultivation. It was also revealed by 1H-NMR analysis that both the mannans obtained from cultures at 27 and 37 degrees C in the YNB-Gal had drastically lost a phosphate group and a beta-1,2-linked mannopyranose unit, and increased the non-reducing terminal alpha-1,3-linked mannopyranose unit, especially at 37 degrees C.