The beneficial effect of cold atmospheric plasma on parameters of molecules and cell function involved in wound healing in human osteoblast-like cells in vitro.

The aim of this study was to analyse the effect of cold atmospheric plasma (CAP) on human osteoblast-like cells in vitro. Additionally, underlying intracellular mechanisms were to be studied. Human osteoblast-like (MG63) cells were exposed to CAP for 60 s. The effects of CAP on key molecules essential for the wound healing response were studied using real-time PCR, ELISA and immunocytochemistry. For studying intracellular signalling pathways, MAP kinase MEK 1/2 was blocked. Cell viability was analysed by an XTT assay and with an EVE automated cell counter. Cell migration was examined by an in vitro wound healing assay.CAP exposition on osteoblast-like cells caused a significant upregulation of interleukin (IL)-1ß, IL-6, IL-8, tumor necrosis factor (TNF)α, cyclooxygenase (COX)2, collagen (COL) 1α, matrix metalloproteinase (MMP)1, Ki67, proliferating-cell-nuclear-antigen (PCNA) and chemokine ligand (CCL)2 mRNA expression at 1 day. Interestingly, after blocking of MAP kinase, CAP-induced upregulation of Ki67 was inhibited by 57%. Moreover, CAP treatment improved significantly osteoblast-like cell viability as compared to untreated cells at 1 day. Beneficial effect of CAP treatment was shown by an in vitro wound healing assay, displaying a significant faster wound closure. Our findings provide evidence that CAP exposure effects gene and protein regulation in human osteoblast-like cells. Furthermore, CAP treatment has a positive impact on wound closure in an in vitro setting and might improve existing concepts of hard tissue regeneration in the future.

Cyanophenyl vs. pyridine substituent: impact on the adlayer structure and formation on HOPG and Au(111).

A new cyano substituted bis(terpyridine) derivative CN-BTP was synthesized and its adsorption on highly oriented pyrolytic graphite (HOPG) and Au(111) was investigated. CN-BTP is closely related to the previously investigated 2,4'-BTP, where the cyanophenyl groups are replaced by pyridine moieties. The scanning tunneling microscopy (STM) investigation of CN-BTP at the liquid|HOPG interface shows a highly ordered herringbone structure that is stabilized by double weak intermolecular C-HN hydrogen bonds, partially through the -CN substituents, which is different from the most stable square structure of 2,4'-BTP. The adsorption processes were investigated using cyclic voltammetry (CV) on Au(111) in a neutral phosphate buffer. A fast and full adlayer formation could be observed with CN-BTP, whereas an extremely slow process with 2,4'-BTP under the same conditions was found. Our data show that the CN substituents on BTP not only change the structure of the monolayer at the liquid|HOPG interface, but also accelerate the phase transition process in the electrolyte dramatically. This could be explained by the adlayer-substrate interactions, which is supported by DFT calculations. Our findings might be extended more generally to further pyridine comprising self-assembling molecules to fine-tune the adlayer structure and phase transition/adsorption kinetics by replacing pyridine by cyanophenyl moieties.

Regional serotonin transporter availability and depression are correlated in Wilson's disease.

In patients with Wilson's disease (WD), depression is a frequent psychiatric symptom. In vivo neuroimaging studies suggest that depression and other neuropsychiatric disorders are associated with central serotonergic deficits. However, in vivo measurements of serotonergic neurotransmission have not until now been performed in patients with this copper deposition disorder. The present prospective study revealed that depressive symptomatology is related to an alteration of presynaptic serotonin transporters (SERT) availability as measured by [123I]-2beta-carbomethoxy-3beta-(iodophenyl)tropane ([123I]beta-CIT) and high-resolution single-photon emission computed tomography (SPECT). SERT imaging with [123I]beta-CIT-SPECT could therefore become a useful tool for diagnosis and therapy monitoring in depressed WD patients.

The degree of depression in Hamilton rating scale is correlated with the density of presynaptic serotonin transporters in 23 patients with Wilson's disease.

OBJECTIVE: One of the most frequent psychiatric symptoms in patients with Wilson's disease (WD) is depression. It has been suggested that depression is associated with deficits in serotonergic neurotransmission, but, hitherto, no measurements have been performed in WD. METHODS: We prospectively examined 23 adult patients (12 women, 11 men, mean age 40 years) with WD for symptoms of depression using the Hamilton rating scale for depression (HAMD). We correlated the data with the presynaptic serotonin transporter density (SERT density) in the thalamus-hypothalamus and the midbrain-pons regions measured with high resolution single-photon emission computed tomography (SPECT) 24 hours after the application of 180 MBq 2beta-carbomethoxy-3beta-(4 [(123)I]iodophenyl)tropane ( [(123)I]b-CIT). The regions of interest were determined by coregistration with a standard MRI dataset. RESULTS: A significant negative correlation was found between HAMD and SERT density in the thalamus-hypothalamus region (r = -0.49, p = 0.02), but not in the midbrain-pons (r = -0.31, p = 0.15). CONCLUSIONS: We conclude that depression in patients with Wilson's disease is correlated with alterations of serotonergic neurotransmission in the thalamus-hypothalamus region.

[Cerebral MRI and evoked potentials in Wilson disease. Comparison of findings in patients with neurological follow-up]. / Zerebrales MRT und evozierte Potenziale bei Morbus Wilson. Gegenüberstellung von Befunden bei Patienten mit neurologischer Verlaufsform.

Wilson's disease is caused by toxic copper accumulation, which leads predominantly to hepatic and basal ganglia damage. Characteristic findings in MRI and electrophysiologic examinations are described according to the occurrence of neurological symptoms. In the present study, 28 patients suffering from Wilson's disease (neurological type) were investigated. The results of MRI are compared with abnormalities of evoked potentials (BAEP, MSEP, T-VEP, MEP). All patients show hypodensities in the basal ganglial area (putamen and GI. pallidus) regularly combined with atrophy of the cerebrum and cerebellum in MRI. Signal abnormalities in the mesencephalic region (46% occurrence) and Nc. dentatus (36% occurrence) are combined with the other findings in variable patterns. Only slight changes are found in the pontine region. BAEP are disturbed in 71% of all cases and MSEP in 46%. Combined abnormalities of BAEP and MSEP were found in 39%. Pathological values occurred with a lower frequency in T-VEP (36%) and MEP (39%). The comparison of MRI findings with electrophysiological data done separately for each patient reveals no strong correlation between both methods. Individual MRI findings do not correspond with the patterns of disturbed evoked potentials and vice versa. Therefore we conclude that these methods, MRI and electrophysiological evaluation, supplement each other. Magnetic resonance imaging and electrophysiological evaluation should be performed simultaneously for therapy monitoring.

Destruction of quantum coherence and stochastic ionization of Rydberg electrons by fluctuating laser fields.

It is shown that diffusion and stochastic ionization of an optically excited Rydberg electron are generic long time phenomena which are consequences of the destruction of quantum coherence by laser fluctuations. Quantitatively these novel fluctuation-induced phenomena are characterized by non-exponential time evolutions whose power law dependences can be determined analytically. It is demonstrated that the competition between stochastic ionization and autoionization may lead to interesting new effects.

Truncation of the D2 protein in Synechocystis sp. PCC 6803: a role of the C-terminal domain of D2 in photosystem II function and stability.

Termination and deletion mutations were introduced near the C-terminal end of the D2 protein in the cyanobacterium Synechocystis sp. PCC 6803 in order to determine the role of the large hydrophilic C-terminal domain of D2 in the function and stability of photosystem II (PS II). The loss of 57 residues from the C-terminal end of D2 (most of the hydrophilic tail) resulted in the loss of D2 and PS II reaction centers from thylakoids. Truncation of 16, 15, 14, or 13 amino acid residues from the C-terminus of D2 resulted in a virtual disappearance of oxygen evolution, a loss of photoautotrophic growth, and a decrease in the number of PS II centers in thylakoids. The loss of 11 C-terminal amino acid residues led to a photoautotrophic mutant that grew at one-half the rate of the wild type under photoautotrophic conditions and that showed a progressive loss of oxygen evolution at high light intensity. Truncation of 9 residues from D2 led to a virtual loss of CP43, presumably because of interference of the mutation with the overlapping ribosome-binding site for psbC translation. To delete smaller portions of D2 and yet not interfere with psbC expression, various deletions were made between the tenth and twentieth amino acid residues from the C-terminal end of D2, resulting in the loss of 8, 7, 4, 3, and 2 residues.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)

Evidence for the persistence of visual guidance information.

An earlier study from our laboratory provided initial support for the hypothesis that information facilitating visual guidance persists in the absence of retinal stimulation. The present study supports and extends this hypothesis with three experiments in which visually occluded subjects positioned a point of light at the location of a previously viewed target and also walked in the direction of a previously viewed path. In both tasks, performance was possible following occlusion, and in all cases, performance slowly and significantly decreased with longer durations of occlusion. This decay in performance was gradual and had a "half-life" of greater than 15 sec. Absolute performance was correlated across tasks. The effect of occlusion on absolute error in the localization performance was relatively stable within individuals over a 3-week period. The biological utility of guidance information persistence is discussed along with implications for space constancy, illusions of motion, and problems of disorientation.

Improvements in survival by aggressive resections of hilar cholangiocarcinoma.

The operative management of hilar cholangiocarcinoma has evolved because of advances in diagnostic imaging that have permitted improved patient selection, and refinements in operative techniques that have lowered operative mortality rates. Over a 4-year period, 48 patients with hilar cholangiocarcinoma were managed. Twenty-seven patients were treated by palliative measures. Preoperative investigation identified 29 patients who were judged fit for operation without proven irresectability by radiologic studies, and 21 of the 29 patients had tumor removal (72%). Twenty-three operative procedures were performed: local excision (n = 12) (two had subsequent hepatic resection), and hepatic resection primarily (n = 9). Eight patients had complications (35%), and one patient died (4.3%). The mean actuarial survival after local excision in 36 months, and after hepatic resection, 32 months. Palliation as assessed by personal interview was excellent for more than 75% of the months of survival. A combination of careful patient selection and complete radiologic assessment will allow an increased proportion of patients to be resected by complex operative procedures with low mortality rate, acceptable morbidity rate, and an increase in survival with an improved quality of life.

Cloning of the psbK gene from Synechocystis sp. PCC 6803 and characterization of photosystem II in mutants lacking PSII-K.

We cloned and sequenced the psbK gene, coding for a small photosystem II component (PSII-K), from the transformable cyanobacterium, Synechocystis sp. PCC 6803, and determined the N-terminal sequence of mature PSII-K. The psbK gene product is processed by cleaving off eight amino acid residues from the N terminus. A mutant lacking psbK was constructed; this mutant grew photoautotrophically, but its growth rate was reduced. The number of photosystem II reaction centers on a chlorophyll basis was decreased by less than a factor of 2 in the psbK-deletion mutant. In Synechocystis sp. PCC 6803, the psbK gene is transcribed as a single gene and is not part of an operon. Single-site mutations were introduced into psbK leading to early termination or deletion of the presequence. The phenotype of these mutants strongly resembles that of the psbK deletion mutant, indicating that indeed the change in phenotype in the deletion mutant is directly correlated with PSII-K. PSII-K is not essential for photosystem II assembly or activity but is needed for optimal photosystem II function.

The psbC start codon in Synechocystis sp. PCC 6803.

The translation start codon for psbC, the gene encoding CP43, a chlorophyll-binding protein of photosystem II, has been identified for the cyanobacterium Synechosystis sp. PCC 6803 using site-directed mutagenesis. An AUG codon, about 50 bases upstream from the end of psbD-I had previously been assumed to be the translation start site of psbC. However, the fact that the AUG codon is not present in psbC from several other organisms, whereas a GUG codon 14 bases upstream from the end of psbD-I is strictly conserved suggests that CP43 translation starts at the latter codon. Mutation of GUG, but not of AUG, led to a loss of CP43 and photoautotrophic growth, indicating that the GUG codon is the sole initiation site for translation of the CP43 protein in Synechocystis sp. PCC 6803.