Treatment with LPS plus INF-γ induces the expression and function of muscarinic acetylcholine receptors, modulating NIH3T3 cell proliferation: participation of NOS and COX.

BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE: LPS and IFN-γ are potent stimuli of inflammation, a process in which fibroblasts are frequently involved. We analysed the effect of treatment with LPS plus IFN-γ on the expression and function of muscarinic acetylcholine receptors in NIH3T3 fibroblasts with regards to proliferation of these cells. We also investigated the participation of NOS and COX, and the role of NF-κB in this process. EXPERIMENTAL APPROACH: NIH3T3 cells were treated with LPS (10 ng·mL(-1)) plus IFN-γ (0.5 ng·mL(-1)) for 72 h (iNIH3T3 cells). Cell proliferation was evaluated with MTT and protein expression by Western blot analysis. NOS and COX activities were measured by the Griess method and radioimmunoassay respectively. KEY RESULTS: The cholinoceptor agonist carbachol was more effective at stimulating proliferation in iNIH3T3 than in NIH3T3 cells, probably due to the de novo induction of M3 and M5 muscarinic receptors independently of NF-κB activation. iNIH3T3 cells produced higher amounts of NO and PGE2 than NIH3T3 cells, concomitantly with an up-regulation of NOS1 and COX-2, and with the de novo induction of NOS2/3 in inflamed cells. We also found a positive feedback between NOS and COX that could potentiate inflammation. CONCLUSIONS AND IMPLICATIONS: Inflammation induced the expression of muscarinic receptors and, therefore,stimulated carbachol-induced proliferation of fibroblasts. Inflammation also up-regulated the expression of NOS and COX-2, thus potentiating the effect of carbachol on NO and PGE2 production. A positive crosstalk between NOS and COX triggered by carbachol in inflamed cells points to muscarinic receptors as potential therapeutic targets in inflammation.

[Bone turnover in lactating adolescent: evaluation at the end of pregnancy, during and after the weaning period]. / Recambio óseo en nodrizas adolescentes: evaluación al término de la gestación, lactancia y postdestete.

BACKGROUND: There is paucity of information about bone metabolism during pregnancy or breast feeding in teenagers. AIM: To study bone turnover at the end of pregnancy and during breast feeding in teenagers and correlate it with environmental, hormonal or nutritional variables. SUBJECTS AND METHODS: Thirty teenagers during their breast feeding period after a first pregnancy and 30 nulliparous girls matched for age, age of menarche and body mass index were assessed three weeks after delivery (period 1), at six months of breast feeding (period 2) and one year after the lactating period (period 3). Calcium intake and plasma calcium, phosphorus, alkaline phosphatases, parathormone, estradiol and prolactin were measured. Calcium, creatinine and hydroxyproline were also measured in a morning urine sample. RESULTS: Lactating and control girls were aged 16.3 +/- 0.8 and 16.1 +/- 0.7 years old respectively. Calcium intake in lactating and control girls was 798 +/- 421 and 640 +/- 346 g/day respectively in period 1, 612 +/- 352 and 592 +/- 309 mg/day in period 2 and 495 +/- 180 and 456 +/- 157 g/day in period 3. During periods 1 and 2, lactating girls had higher alkaline phosphatases (161 +/- 37 compared to 119 +/- 28 U/l and 149 +/- 37 compared to 106 +/- 23 U/l), parathormone (4.3 +/- 2.6 compared to 2.8 +/- 0.8 ng/dl and 3.6 +/- 1.6 compared to 3.0 +/- 0.9 ng/dl) and urinary hydroxyproline (95 +/- 16 compared to 63 +/- 15 mg/g creatinine and 84 +/- 19 compared to 59 +/- 15 mg/g creatinine). No differences were observed in period 3. No correlation between bone turnover variables, body mass index or hormonal parameters, was observed. CONCLUSIONS: In teenagers, there is an increase in bone turnover at the end of pregnancy, that persists during the lactating period. These changes are not related to nutritional or hormonal variables.

Parenting and physical punishment: primary care interventions in Latin America.

Physical punishment is a form of intrafamilial violence associated with short- and long-term adverse mental health outcomes. Despite these possible consequences, it is among the most common forms of violent interpersonal behavior. For many children it begins within the first year of life. The goal of this study was to determine the feasibility of involving public sector primary health care providers to inform parents about alternatives to physical punishment. The study used a qualitative design utilizing focus groups and survey questionnaires with parents and providers at six clinic sites chosen to be representative of public sector practice settings in Costa Rica and in metropolitan Santiago, Chile. The data were collected during 1998 and 1999. In the focus groups and surveys the parents voiced a range of opinions about physical punishment. Most acknowledged its common use but listed it among their least preferred means of discipline. Frequency of its use correlated positively with the parents' belief in its effectiveness and inversely with their satisfaction with their children's behavior. Some parents wanted to learn more about discipline; others wanted help with life stresses they felt led them to use physical punishment. Parents reported they chose other family members more frequently as a source of parenting information than they did health care providers. Some parents saw providers as too rushed and not knowledgeable enough to give good advice. Providers, in turn, felt ill equipped to handle parents' questions, but many of the health professionals expressed interest in more training. Parents and providers agreed that problems of time, space, and resources were barriers to talking about child discipline in the clinics. Many parents and providers would welcome a primary-care-based program on physical punishment. Such a program would need to be customized to accommodate local differences in parent and provider attitudes and in clinic organization. Health care professionals need more training in child discipline and in the skills required to interact with parents on issues relating to child behavior.

An epidemiological view of adolescent health in Latin America.

PIP: Only recently has attention been given to the condition and needs of adolescents in Latin America. Many assume that the low mortality rate among adolescents is an indication of their more than adequate health status. In reality, however, data on the health status of Latin American teens in lacking and those data which are available have been poorly synthesized and employed. In an effort to redress this oversight, the authors review and synthesize existing data on the subject from UNESCO, the World Bank, PAHO, the ILO, and other international organizations. From sections on the demography of adolescents, education, employment, economic and social conditions, mortality, morbidity, risk behaviors, and reproductive health, the authors find that adolescents in Latin America suffer traditional infectious illnesses and nutritional deficiencies; are increasingly exposed to alcohol, tobacco and drugs; and are experiencing new morbidities from violence, self-destructive behaviors, injuries, and addictions. While the level of educational attainment had increased for these youths and illiteracy has decreased across the board, poverty pervades much of the region and constrains the ability of adolescents to secure and maintain a decent quality of life. Health professionals and the general public need to dismiss the myth that adolescents in Latin America are overwhelmingly healthy and move proactively to provide them with the attention and services they so desperately need.^ieng

Actividad de renina plasmatica (ARP) en ninos normales y desnutridos. / Plasma renin activity in normal and malnourished children

Se midio la ARP en 66 ninos de 1 mes a 15 anos de edad, mediante radio-immunoensayo.En el grupo habian 25 sujetos, que sufrian desnutricion. No se encontraron diferencias entre ambos sexos ni entre sujetos normales y desnutridos. La ARP vario inversamente con la ingestion de sodio y mostro una disminucion progresiva con la edad