Trichomonas vaginalis and bacterial vaginosis. Coexistence in vaginal wet mount preparations from pregnant women.

OBJECTIVE: To identify how frequently trichomoniasis and characteristics of bacterial vaginosis (BV) occur concomitantly in wet mount preparations from pregnant women. STUDY DESIGN: Diagnosis of trichomoniasis was predicted on visualization of the organism. Diagnosis of BV required a positive volatile (whiff) test, presence of "clue cells" and one of two minor criteria: (1) absence of lactobacilli, or (2) a pH > 4.5. Pregnant women from January 1995 to July 1997 at our clinic had wet mount/KOH preparations performed as standard prenatal care. Corresponding medical charts were analyzed for symptoms, race, BV, sexually transmitted diseases, urinary tract infections and other infections. RESULTS: Of 191 pregnant women identified, 69 had trichomoniasis. Seventy-nine percent of the 69 were African American. Fifteen percent of pregnant women (17) had concomitant trichomoniasis and BV. Irrespective of race, 35-38% of pregnant women with trichomoniasis had another sexually transmitted disease or a urinary tract infection diagnosed in that pregnancy. CONCLUSION: BV, or bacteria excess syndrome, is a frequent coinfection in pregnant women harboring Trichomonas vaginalis.

Adherence to very-low-fat diet by a group of cardiac rehabilitation patients in the rural southeastern United States.

This 28-week observational study measured adherence to and acceptability of the diet and nutrition component of an Ornish-type program among patients in a rural southern setting. Ten volunteers followed a very-low-fat (10% of energy), total vegetarian diet and participated in a program of exercise, stress management, and group support. Patients made significant dietary changes and found the diet "acceptable." Three patients consumed less than 10% of energy from fat and two additional patients consumed less than 20% of energy from fat. Eighty-five percent of the patients' meals adhered to a near vegetarian diet. Weight loss ranged from 0.1 to 11.7 kg (0.25 to 26 lb). Lipid values were unchanged. At 12 months, without the benefit of the structured program, one patient reported 100%, six reported 85%, and two reported 50% adherence to the dietary principles. We conclude that motivated patients with coronary artery disease can follow a very-low-fat, near vegetarian diet but experience difficulty without a structured program.

Lipopolysaccharide-induced cytokine production in human monocytes: role of tyrosine phosphorylation in transmembrane signal transduction.

The signal transduction events that follow the binding of lipopolysaccharide (LPS) to the macrophage cell surface are not well defined. In the current studies LPS was found to induce alterations in phosphorylation of monocyte proteins on tyrosine. Herbimycin A and genistein, inhibitors of tyrosine kinases, markedly attenuated LPS-induced tumor necrosis factor-alpha (TNF-alpha) and interleukin-6 (IL-6) protein and mRNA production. Reciprocally, the tyrosine phosphatase inhibitor sodium orthovanadate enhanced LPS-induced production of TNF-alpha. LPS induced a concentration-dependent increase in tyrosine phosphorylation of several proteins, which paralleled and preceded the onset of LPS-induced TNF-alpha production. LPS stimulation had different but reproducible effects on three members of the src family of tyrosine kinases. Both Hck and Lyn kinase activity increased before the onset of TNF-alpha production, consistent with their participation in the observed LPS-induced tyrosine phosphoprotein accumulation. In contrast, Yes kinase activity was not affected. These observations were made at concentrations of LPS that required serum rich in LPS-binding protein and the monocyte surface antigen CD14 for TNF-alpha production. These data indicate that tyrosine kinases and phosphatases are involved in the signal transduction cascade by which LPS induces production of TNF-alpha and IL-6 by human monocytes, and suggest that Lyn and Hck are candidate participants in this process.

Alternative forms of the human G-CSF receptor function in growth signal transduction.

Two forms of the human granulocyte colony-stimulating factor (G-CSF) receptor (HuG-CSFR), differing only at the carboxyl terminus, were recently identified by cDNA cloning. In this report we show that transfection and subsequent expression of either cDNA clone in the interleukin-3 (IL-3)-dependent murine cell line BAF/BO3 converts the cells to G-CSF-responsiveness. The transfected cells bound HuG-CSF in a manner indistinguishable from the native receptors. Expression of a mutant form of the HuG-CSFR, with a deletion in the cytoplasmic domain, in BAF/BO3 cells failed to convert the cells to HuG-CSF-responsiveness. In a similar manner, expression of these two HuG-CSFRs in the interleukin-6 (IL-6)-dependent murine hybridoma B9 resulted in the ability of these cells to grow in HuG-CSF [corrected]. These results strongly suggest that sequences in the first 96 amino acids of the cytoplasmic domain of the HuG-CSFR are required for signal transduction in response to ligand binding.

Induction of macrophage inflammatory protein-1 beta gene expression in human monocytes by lipopolysaccharide and IL-7.

HuMIP-1 beta is a member of a gene family of inflammatory cytokines whose expression is induced by proinflammatory and mitogenic stimuli. The gene was rapidly induced in human peripheral blood monocytes by either LPS or IL-7. However, IL-7 was unable to induce HuMIP-1 beta mRNA in peripheral blood T cells. The induction of HuMIP-1 beta mRNA in monocytes by IL-7 or LPS was inhibited by IL-4. The 5'-regulatory region of the HuMIP-1 beta gene was cloned and sequenced. An analysis of this sequence revealed three consensus-binding sites for the nuclear factor PU.1 and three potential glucocorticoid response elements. However, the HuMIP-1 beta gene appears to be unresponsive to dexamethasone. Also present in the 5'-regulatory region was a LPS-responsive element located within 455 bp 5' to the start of transcription.