Expression of Glial Cell Line-Derived Neurotrophic Factor (GDNF) and the GDNF Family Receptor Alpha Subunit 1 in the Paravaginal Ganglia of Nulliparous and Primiparous Rabbits.

PURPOSE: To evaluate the expression of glial cell line-derived neurotrophic factor (GDNF) and its receptor, GDNF family receptor alpha subunit 1 (GFRα-1) in the pelvic (middle third) vagina and, particularly, in the paravaginal ganglia of nulliparous and primiparous rabbits. METHODS: Chinchilla-breed female rabbits were used. Primiparas were killed on postpartum day 3 and nulliparas upon reaching a similar age. The vaginal tracts were processed for histological analyses or frozen for Western blot assays. We measured the ganglionic area, the Abercrombie-corrected number of paravaginal neurons, the cross-sectional area of the neuronal somata, and the number of satellite glial cells (SGCs) per neuron. The relative expression of both GDNF and GFRα-1 were assessed by Western blotting, and the immunostaining was semiquantitated. Unpaired two-tailed Student t -test or Wilcoxon test was used to identify statistically significant differences (P≤0.05) between the groups. RESULTS: Our findings demonstrated that the ganglionic area, neuronal soma size, Abercrombie-corrected number of neurons, and number of SGCs per neuron were similar in nulliparas and primiparas. The relative expression of both GDNF and GFRα-1 was similar. Immunostaining for both GDNF and GFRα-1 was observed in several vaginal layers, and no differences were detected regarding GDNF and GFRα-1 immunostaining between the 2 groups. In the paravaginal ganglia, the expression of GDNF was increased in neurons, while that of GFRα-1 was augmented in the SGCs of primiparous rabbits. CONCLUSIONS: The present findings suggest an ongoing regenerative process related to the recovery of neuronal soma size in the paravaginal ganglia, in which GDNF and GFRα-1 could be involved in cross-talk between neurons and SGCs.

Role of Estrogens in the Size of Neuronal Somata of Paravaginal Ganglia in Ovariectomized Rabbits.

We aimed to determine the role of estrogens in modulating the size of neuronal somata of paravaginal ganglia. Rabbits were allocated into control (C), ovariectomized (OVX), and OVX treated with estradiol benzoate (OVX + EB) groups to evaluate the neuronal soma area; total serum estradiol (E2) and testosterone (T) levels; the percentage of immunoreactive (ir) neurons anti-aromatase, anti-estrogen receptor (ERα, ERß) and anti-androgen receptor (AR); the intensity of the immunostaining anti-glial cell line-derived neurotrophic factor (GDNF) and the GDNF family receptor alpha type 1 (GFRα1); and the number of satellite glial cells (SGCs) per neuron. There was a decrease in the neuronal soma size for the OVX group, which was associated with low T, high percentages of aromatase-ir and neuritic AR-ir neurons, and a strong immunostaining anti-GDNF and anti-GFRα1. The decrease in the neuronal soma size was prevented by the EB treatment that increased the E2 without affecting the T levels. Moreover, there was a high percentage of neuritic AR-ir neurons, a strong GDNF immunostaining in the SGC, and an increase in the SGCs per neuron. Present findings show that estrogens modulate the soma size of neurons of the paravaginal ganglia, likely involving the participation of the SGC.

Aromatase expression is linked to estrogenic sensitivity of periurethral muscles in female rabbits.

Beyond its role in the conversion of androgens to estrogens, the expression of aromatase could influence on the estrogenic signalling in targeted tissues. Considering the well-defined biochemical and physiological differences between the pubococcygeus (Pcm) and bulbospongiosus (Bsm) muscles in female rabbits, it is presently hypothesized that the aromatase expression is differentially linked to the estrogen sensitivity of each muscle. To this end, serum estradiol levels and the aromatase expression, presence of ERα and ERß and morphometry were evaluated in the Pcm and Bsm of female rabbits allocated in control, ovariectomized (OVX) and OVX treated with estradiol benzoate (OVX + EB) groups. Aromatase expression was high in the Pcm. Independently to serum estradiol, ovariectomy increased aromatase expression in the Pcm while decreased it in the Bsm. The EB treatment avoided the effect of ovariectomy only in the Pcm. The number of immunoreactive nuclei anti-ERα and anti-ERß was high in the Pcm of OVX and OVX + EB rabbits, while those in the Bsm remained unchanged. The number of peripheral nuclei per fibre and the cross-sectional area-to-myonucleus ratio were modified only in the Pcm. Our findings support aromatase expression in the Pcm, and Bsm of rabbits is differentially linked to estrogenic sensitivity of each muscle.

Hipercalcemia por intoxicación con vitamina d / Hypercalcemia by poisoning with vitamin d

La hipercalcemia es una entidad poco frecuente, que a nivel mundial no se han reportado un número significativo de casos. A nivel nacional no se encuentran casos reportados según las estadísticas dellNEC en el último reporte. En el Hospital Baca Ortiz revisando los datos estadísticos del hospital tampoco hay reporte de casos por lo que este sería el primero reportado en los últimos 5 años. A continuación presentamos el caso de un paciente de 9 meses de edad que al ingreso presenta un cuadro respiratorio acompañado de importante sintomatología abdominal con antecedente de recibir 17 días antes del ingreso una ampolla diaria de Raquiferol D por nueve días (600.000Ulc/amp de vitamina D) lo que equivale decir que el paciente recibe 1.500 veces las dosis recomendada, a las 44 horas de hospitalización presenta un claro deterioro clínico seguido de paro cardiorrespiratorio por 2 ocasiones, a las 56 horas de ingreso a UCIP el paciente fallece.