Far-field optical control of a movable subdiffraction light grid.

We demonstrate experimentally a subdiffraction light pattern, with a period down to 150 nm, at the surface of an optimized silicon nanostructured thin film. We show, using near-field and far-field characterization, that this subdiffraction pattern can be translated and rotated just by changing the illumination angle. The movable high frequency light pattern paves the way for subdiffraction resolution surface imaging microscopy without scanning near-field probes.

Distribution of delta opioid receptor-expressing neurons in the mouse hippocampus.

Delta opioid receptors participate to the control of chronic pain and emotional responses. Recent data also identified their implication in spatial memory and drug-context associations pointing to a critical role of hippocampal delta receptors. We examined the distribution of delta receptor-expressing cells in the hippocampus using fluorescent knock-in mice that express a functional delta receptor fused at its carboxyterminus with the green fluorescent protein in place of the native receptor. Colocalization with markers for different neuronal populations was performed by immunohistochemical detection. Fine mapping in the dorsal hippocampus confirmed that delta opioid receptors are mainly present in GABAergic neurons. Indeed, they are mostly expressed in parvalbumin-immunopositive neurons both in the Ammon's horn and dentate gyrus. These receptors, therefore, most likely participate in the dynamic regulation of hippocampal activity.

Dense transient receptor potential cation channel, vanilloid family, type 2 (TRPV2) immunoreactivity defines a subset of motoneurons in the dorsal lateral nucleus of the spinal cord, the nucleus ambiguus and the trigeminal motor nucleus in rat.

The transient receptor potential cation channel, vanilloid family, type 2 (TRPV2) is a member of the TRPV family of proteins and is a homologue of the capsaicin/vanilloid receptor (transient receptor potential cation channel, vanilloid family, type 1, TRPV1). Like TRPV1, TRPV2 is expressed in a subset of dorsal root ganglia (DRG) neurons that project to superficial laminae of the spinal cord dorsal horn. Because noxious heat (>52 degrees C) activates TRPV2 in transfected cells this channel has been implicated in the processing of high intensity thermal pain messages in vivo. In contrast to TRPV1, however, which is restricted to small diameter DRG neurons, there is significant TRPV2 immunoreactivity in a variety of CNS regions. The present report focuses on a subset of neurons in the brainstem and spinal cord of the rat including the dorsal lateral nucleus (DLN) of the spinal cord, the nucleus ambiguus, and the motor trigeminal nucleus. Double label immunocytochemistry with markers of motoneurons, combined with retrograde labeling, established that these cells are, in fact, motoneurons. With the exception of their smaller diameter, these cells did not differ from other motoneurons, which are only lightly TRPV2-immunoreactive. As for the majority of DLN neurons, the densely-labeled populations co-express androgen receptor and follow normal DLN ontogeny. The functional significance of the very intense TRPV2 expression in these three distinct spinal cord and brainstem motoneurons groups remains to be determined.

Collagenous gastroduodenitis on collagenous colitis.

We report on a case of collagenous gastroduodenitis with concomitant collagenous colitis in a 75-year-old woman with watery diarrhea of approximately six months' standing. The step biopsy material obtained from the colon revealed continuous collagenous colitis with thickening of the basal membrane to 30 microns. The biopsies taken from the stomach and duodenum also revealed a band-like deposition of collagen in the duodenum (bulb and proximal portion of the descending portion) along the basal membrane of the lining epithelium, associated with partial atrophy of the villi. In the stomach, this band of collagen was located, parallel to the mucosal surface, at the level of the floor of the foveolae.