Lesion-induced changes of brevican expression in the perineuronal net of the superior vestibular nucleus.

Damage to the vestibular sense organs evokes static and dynamic deficits in the eye movements, posture and vegetative functions. After a shorter or longer period of time, the vestibular function is partially or completely restored via a series of processes such as modification in the efficacy of synaptic inputs. As the plasticity of adult central nervous system is associated with the alteration of extracellular matrix, including its condensed form, the perineuronal net, we studied the changes of brevican expression in the perineuronal nets of the superior vestibular nucleus after unilateral labyrinth lesion. Our results demonstrated that the unilateral labyrinth lesion and subsequent compensation are accompanied by the changing of brevican staining pattern in the perineuronal nets of superior vestibular nucleus of the rat. The reduction of brevican in the perineuronal nets of superior vestibular nucleus may contribute to the vestibular plasticity by suspending the non-permissive role of brevican in the restoration of perineuronal net assembly. After a transitory decrease, the brevican expression restored to the control level parallel to the partial restoration of impaired vestibular function. The bilateral changing in the brevican expression supports the involvement of commissural vestibular fibers in the vestibular compensation. All experimental procedures were approved by the 'University of Debrecen - Committee of Animal Welfare' (approval No. 6/2017/DEMAB) and the 'Scientific Ethics Committee of Animal Experimentation' (approval No. HB/06/ÉLB/2270-10/2017; approved on June 6, 2017).

Nucleotide Transition 390C-T in the Wilms' Tumor 1 Gene: A Risk Factor of Hypospadias?

INTRODUCTION: The gene Wilms' tumor 1 (WT1) encodes a unique transcription factor. Its defects are known to cause a wide range of complex genitourinary malformations and may contribute to non-syndromic forms of hypospadias. MATERIALS AND METHODS: We performed WT1 mutation analysis and copy number analysis of WT1-interacting protein in 13 Hungarian patients diagnosed with isolated hypospadias. RESULTS: Sequencing of WT1 revealed a high frequency of heterozygosity for transition 390C-T (5 heterozygotes out of 13 patients, including 2 brothers). WT1-interacting protein had a normal copy number in all patients. CONCLUSION: Nucleotide substitution 390C-T may play a role in the pathogenesis of non-syndromic hypospadias. The genotype-phenotype correlation should be confirmed by a larger-scale analysis.

Modification of tenascin-R expression following unilateral labyrinthectomy in rats indicates its possible role in neural plasticity of the vestibular neural circuit.

We have previously found that unilateral labyrinthectomy is accompanied by modification of hyaluronan and chondroitin sulfate proteoglycan staining in the lateral vestibular nucleus of rats and the time course of subsequent reorganization of extracellular matrix assembly correlates to the restoration of impaired vestibular function. The tenascin-R has repelling effect on pathfinding during axonal growth/regrowth, and thus inhibits neural circuit repair. By using immunohistochemical method, we studied the modification of tenascin-R expression in the superior, medial, lateral, and descending vestibular nuclei of the rat following unilateral labyrinthectomy. On postoperative day 1, tenascin-R reaction in the perineuronal nets disappeared on the side of labyrinthectomy in the superior, lateral, medial, and rostral part of the descending vestibular nuclei. On survival day 3, the staining intensity of tenascin-R reaction in perineuronal nets recovered on the operated side of the medial vestibular nucleus, whereas it was restored by the time of postoperative day 7 in the superior, lateral and rostral part of the descending vestibular nuclei. The staining intensity of tenascin-R reaction remained unchanged in the caudal part of the descending vestibular nucleus bilaterally. Regional differences in the modification of tenascin-R expression presented here may be associated with different roles of individual vestibular nuclei in the compensatory processes. The decreased expression of the tenascin-R may suggest the extracellular facilitation of plastic modifications in the vestibular neural circuit after lesion of the labyrinthine receptors.

Complete recovery from psychosis upon miglustat treatment in a juvenile Niemann-Pick C patient.

Niemann-Pick disease type C is a rare lipid trafficking disorder characterized by the accumulation of cholesterol and glycosphingolipids in the brain and viscera. Perinatal, early infantile, late infantile, juvenile and adult forms are distinguished based on the age of manifestation. In the juvenile form, patients in their early years are usually, but not always, symptom free, but present with neurodegeneration later in their lives. These include clumsiness, ataxia, seizures, motor and intellectual decline. Psychiatric manifestations may occur at any stage of the disease. These manifestations include schizophrenia, presenile dementia, depression or psychosis. In 2009, miglustat was approved for the therapy of the disease. We present a case of a patient with juvenile Niemann-Pick C disease whose psychosis was reversed completely by miglustat treatment. Based on our clinical experience we suggest considering Niemann-Pick C in cases of therapy-resistant psychosis and encourage the introduction of miglustat in Niemann-Pick C patients even in the most advanced cases, with respect to psychiatric illness.

Short-term adaptation of rat intestine to ileostomy: implication for pediatric practice.

BACKGROUND: Surgical neonates with complex intestinal conditions, such as enterocolitis, midgut volvulus with bowel loss and multiple atresias, often require temporary stomas. Little is known on the postsurgical response of the altered gut segments, although adaptation is an important consideration in neonatal postoperative care, particularly after stoma closure. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Rats underwent bowel resection at a point 15 cm proximal to the ileocecal valve, and a split ileostomy was performed. On the 6th postoperative day the mucosal thickness was calculated with Soft Imaging System Analysis Pro, the rate of proliferation was measured following Ki67 immunohistochemistry and the apoptotic index was determined on sections stained with ApopTag Plus. The intestinal motor activity was recorded on isolated gut segments. Neuronal nitric oxide synthase (nNOS) expression and distribution was examined with NADPH-diaphorase histochemistry and Western blot analysis. RESULTS: An increased wet weight of the mucosa and a pronounced mucosal thickening were observed in the proximal functional bowel segment. Enterocyte proliferation rate was increased significantly, while the apoptotic index remained unchanged in the epithelial layer. The dilation of the gut lumen resulted in a morphological change in the nitrergic myenteric network with an overexpression of nNOS. As a consequence of the surgical procedure, the functional proximal gut segment showed strong and frequent contraction waves, with an enhanced responsiveness to cholinergic stimuli. CONCLUSIONS: The dilated functional bowel segment was characterized by hyperplasic changes in the mucosa and stronger mechanical activity with overproduction of nNOS. Although early restoration of intestinal continuity is recommended, our observations on adaptive changes may partly explain intestinal motility disorders after early stoma closure, suggesting the need for a careful approach to a redo-laparotomy.

Atresia of the ileocecal junction with agenesis of the ileocecal valve and vermiform appendix: report of a case.

Intestinal atresia involving the ileocecal region is a very rare intestinal malformation, and the presence or absence of the ileocecal valve influences its surgical management. We report the case of a male newborn with a provisional diagnosis of distal ileal atresia, in whom laparotomy revealed that the entire ileocecal region was atretic with an absent ileocecal valve and appendix vermiformis. We resected the dilated terminal ileum together with the atretic segment and performed an ileocolic anastomosis between the terminal ileum and the transverse microcolon without valve reconstruction. When last seen, 8 months after the operation, the baby was developing normally. Ileocolic anastomosis without valve replacement appears to be sufficient if an ileocecal valve is completely absent and only a short segment of the terminal ileum is lost.