[Erectile dysfunction as a result of spinal trauma]. / Erektilní dysfunkce jako následek spinálního traumatu.

Erectile dysfunction (ED) is one of many consequences of spinal trauma. Its extent is influenced by several factors, depending mainly on the height of spinal injuries as well as the premorbid state. The incidence of spinal cord injuries in the Czech Republic and around the world has a slightly upward trend. Epidemiological statistics include mostly young people for whom sexual activity has a reproductive function. Disorders in the intimate area seriously and significantly reduce the quality of life. The article presents current theoretical knowledge of erectile dysfunction, according to epidemiological data on spinal cord injuries in the Czech Republic, and an overview of up-to-date therapeutic modalities for erectile dysfunction in men after spinal trauma.

[Prevalence of the overweight and obesity in the random selected group of young females and their clinical-somatic parameters]. / Prevalencia nadhmotnosti a obezity v náhodne vybratej skupine mladých zien a ich klinicko-somatické parametre.

BACKGROUND: Obesity is serious health-nutritional problem and its incidence moves into younger age. The aim of the study was to evaluate clinical - somatic parameters of the health-nutritional state in the random selected group of young females. Prevalence of the overweight and obesity were studied and risk of their reciprocal relations of the clinical - somatic parameters was evaluated. METHODS AND RESULTS: We evaluated 161 females between the ages of 20-25 years (average age 21,6+/-1,1 years). The body fat content was measured using the method of bioelectrical impedance analyse and Bodystat Quadscan 4000 (Bodystat Ltd, Doubles, Isle of Man, UK). Body mass index, index of centrality, waist to height ratio, ideal body weight and difference between the actual and ideal body weight was calculated on the basis of measured values. Total cholesterol in the blood was measured by Reflotron Plus (Matsuka Co. LTD, Japan). The results showed that in the tested group of females 49,1% body fat content had less than 20% (group A), 47.8% women had body fat content varying from 20 to 29% (group B), and 3,1% had fat content varying from 30-34% (group C). The higher values almost of all evaluated parameters was confirmed (total cholesterol, body mass index, waist circumference, index of centrality, waist to height ratio and difference between the actual and ideal body weight) in groups with higher fat content (group B and C). In all groups significant differences were observed. According to circumference of waist and hip the android health risk had 3,1% of women. The increased risk of metabolically complications of obesity had 5,6% of women and high risk 1,2% of women. The critical value of cholesterol had 8,1% of investigated women. Accorging to the body mass index (D, E, F groups) had 90,1% of females normal body weight (group D), 9.3% of overweight (group E) and only 0.6% obesity. With increasing value of body mass index were also increased values of all monitored parameters, between groups D and E was differences significant in six of eleven parameters (body weight, waist circumference, waist to hip ratio, waist to height ratio, difference between the actual and ideal body weight). CONCLUSIONS: The increased cholesterol level is more frequent in women body with higher content of body fat. Groups with higher content of body fat have, except of body weight and body mass index, concurrently higher the waist circumference, waist to hip ratio, waist to height ratio and difference between the actual and ideal body weight.

Cell suicide in starving hybridoma culture: survival-signal effect of some amino acids.

Two mouse hybridoma cell lines cultured in different basal media withthe iron-rich protein-free supplement were subjected to deliberatestarvation by inoculation into media diluted with saline to 50% or less.In the diluted media the growth was markedly suppressed and a largefraction of cells died by apoptosis. The cells could be rescued fromapoptotic death by individual additions of amino acids, such as glycine,L-alanine, L-serine, L-threonine, L-proline, L-asparagine, L-glutamine,L-histidine, D-serine, ß-alanine or taurine. Amino acids withhydrophobic or charged side chains were without effect. The apoptosispreventing activity manifested itself even in extremely diluted media,down to 10% of the standard medium. The activity of L-alanine in theprotection of cells starving in 20% medium was shown also in semicontinuousculture. In the presence of 2 mM L-alanine the steady-state viable cell density more than doubled, with respect to control, andthe apoptotic index dropped from 37% in the control to 16%. It wasconcluded that the apoptosis-preventing amino acids acted as signalmolecules, rather than nutrients, and that the signal had a character ofa survival factor. The specificity of present results, obtained with twodifferent hybridomas, supports our view (Franek and Chládková-Srámková, 1995) that the membranetransport macromolecules themselves may play the role of therecognition elements in a signal transduction pathway controlling thesurvival of hybridoma cells.

Protection of B lymphocyte hybridoma against starvation-induced apoptosis: survival-signal role of some amino acids.

The phenomenon of starvation-induced apoptosis was studied in cultures of a mouse B lymphocyte hybridoma. In a continuous culture the limitation of nutrients was modelled by dilution of a protein-free medium with saline to 15%. Surprisingly, the hybridoma clone did not die out under extreme starvation conditions. A steady state was established in which the cells continued to grow at very low viable cell concentration, concomitantly with an enhanced rate of apoptotic death. Suppression of the death rate, and increase of steady-state viable cell concentration, could be achieved by additions of L-alanine, L-asparagine or L-glutamine, but not by addition of L-phenylalanine. This specificity pattern is in agreement with previous screening experiments that have identified a set of apoptosis-preventing amino acids (glycine, L-alanine, L-serine, L-threonine, L-proline, L-asparagine, L-glutamine, L-histidine). The analysis of amino acid consumption and production showed a consistent production of alanine and serine both in standard medium and in diluted media. When alanine was added at a final concentration of 2 mM to media diluted either to 40 or 20%, apoptosis was partly suppressed. A limited production of alanine was observed also in alanine-enriched diluted media. It is concluded that the apoptosis-preventing amino acids act as signal molecules, besides their nutritive function, and that the signal has a character of a survival factor. The observed phenomena are interpreted in terms of a survival-control mechanism that regulates the viable cell number of a lymphocyte clone in an adequate proportion with the level of available nutrients.

Cell suicide in starving hybridoma culture: survival-signal effect of some amino acids.

Two mouse hybridoma cell lines cultured in different basal media with the iron-rich protein-free supplement were subjected to deliberate starvation by inoculation into media diluted with saline to 50% or less. In the diluted media the growth was markedly suppressed and a large fraction of cells died by apoptosis. The cells could be rescued from apoptotic death by individual additions of amino acids, such as glycine, L-alanine, L-serine, L-threonine, L-proline, L-asparagine, L-glutamine, L-histidine, D-serine, ß-alanine or taurine. Amino acids with hydrophobic or charged side chains were without effect. The apoptosis preventing activity manifested itself even in extremely diluted media, down to 10% of the standard medium. The activity of L-alanine in the protection of cells starving in 20% medium was shown also in semicontinuous culture. In the presence of 2 mM L-alanine the steady-state viable cell density more than doubled, with respect to control, and the apoptotic index dropped from 37% in the control to 16%. It was concluded that the apoptosis-preventing amino acids acted as signal molecules, rather than nutrients, and that the signal had a character of a survival factor. The specificity of present results, obtained with two different hybridomas, supports our view (Franek and Chládková-Srámková, 1995) that the membrane transport macromolecules themselves may play the role of the recognition elements in a signal transduction pathway controlling the survival of hybridoma cells.

Apoptosis and nutrition: Involvement of amino acid transport system in repression of hybridoma cell death.

Mouse hybridoma cells cultured on the verge of starvation-induced apoptosis, i.e. in a medium diluted with saline, proved to serve as a sensitive screening system for apoptosis-suppressing activity of nutrient medium components. Conventional amino acid mixtures were found to suppress the starvation-induced apoptosis, whereas a vitamin mixture was ineffective. (Franek F (1995) Biotechnol. Bioeng. 45: 86-90). Recent experiments showed that suppression of apoptosis, and concurrent resumption of growth, could be achieved by addition of single substances at millimolar concentrations. The set of active substances included certain coded L-amino acids (glycine, alanine, serine, threonine, proline, asparagine, glutamine, histidine), non-coded amino acids (ß-alanine, taurine, 4-aminobutyric acid), and a non-metabolizable analogue (2-aminoisobutyric acid). This finding shows that some amino acids do not act solely as nutrients, but also as specific signal molecules. The specificity of the effect points to the involvement of adaptively regulated amino acid transport systems A and N in maintaining the balance between triggering and suppression of starvation-induced apoptosis.

Improvement of the culture stability of non-anchorage-dependent animal cells grown in serum-free media through immobilization.

A murine hybridoma cell line producing a monoclonal antibody against penicillin-G-amidase and a murine transfectoma cell line secreting a monovalent chimeric human/mouse Fab-antibody fragment were cultivated in three different media (serum-containing, low protein serum-free, and iron-rich protein-free) in flask cultures, stirred reactors and a fixed bed reactor. In static batch cultures in flasks both cell lines showed similar good growth in all three media.In suspension in a stirred reactor, the hybridoma cell line could be cultivated satisfactory only in serum-containing medium. In low protein serum-free medium, Pluronic F68 had to be added to protect the hybridoma cells against shear stress. But even with this supplement only batch, not chemostat mode was possible. In iron-rich protein-free medium the hybridoma cells grew also in continuous chemostat mode, but the stability of the culture was low. The transfectoma cell line did not grow in stirred reactors in any of the three media.Good results with both cell lines were obtained in fixed bed experiments, where the cells were immobilized in macroporous Siran(®)-carriers. The media, which were optimized in flask cultures, could be used without any further adaptation in the fixed bed reactor. Immobilization improved the stability and reliability of cultures of non-adherent animal cells in serum-free media tremendously compared to suspension cultures in stirred reactors. The volume-specific glucose uptake rate, an, indicator of the activity of the immobilized cells, was similar in all three media. Deviations in the metabolism of immobilized and suspended cells seem to be mainly due to low oxygen concentrations within the macroporous carriers, where the cells are supplied with oxygen only by diffusion.

[69, XXY triploidy in a liveborn infant]. / Triploidia 69, XXY u zivorodeného dietata.

Triploidy 69, XXY was described in a liveborn foetus weighing 760 g. Diagnosis was based on postmortal cytogenetical analysis.

Behavioral regulation of developmental cycle in Pyrrhocoris apterus L. (Heteroptera: Pyrrhocoridae).

During the warm season the larvae of Pyrrhocoris apterus select in their natural habitats places with temperatures which do not exceed 24°C on average even at the hours of maximum sunshine. At the same time other places of their habitats have temperatures up to 50°C. This active behavioral selection of the microclimate regulates the speed of P. apterus development and entertains the monovoltine cycle in climatic, conditions of Central Europe. A less rigorous choice of the microclimate, even when higher temperatures were tolerated and the development was not disturbed by them, would cause the disturbance of the monovoltine cycle and would probably endanger the survival of the population.