Is there a need for plasticizer-free biomaterials in dialysis therapy?

The impact of plasticizers on general health is an extremely controversial subject. Most of the results in this area, especially those related to di-ethylhexyl-phthalate, are collected from animal studies and the extrapolation to humans is still controversial and difficult. This review of research findings explores the science of using soft polyvinyl(chloride). With particular reference to dialysis, it explains why some companies now offer products made of plasticizer-free biomaterials.

Involvement of Ras-related Rho proteins in the mechanisms of action of Clostridium difficile toxin A and toxin B.

Toxins A and B of Clostridium difficile are responsible for pseudomembranous colitis, a disease that afflicts a substantial number of hospitalized patients treated with antibiotics. A major effect of these proteins is the disruption of the actin cytoskeleton. Recently, I. Just, G. Fritz, K. Aktories, M. Giry, M. R. Popoff, P. Boquet, S. Hegenbarth, and C. von Eichel-Streiber (J. Biol. Chem. 269:10706-10712, 1994) implicated Rho proteins as cellular targets of C. difficile toxin B, since pretreatment of cells or purified Rho with toxin prevented subsequent ADP-ribosylation of Rho by exoenzyme C3. Moreover, they showed that overexpression of Rho proteins in cells suppressed cell rounding normally associated with exposure of cells to C. difficile toxin B. Here we expand these findings by showing directly that Rho proteins are covalently modified by both C. difficile toxins A and B. In addition, we demonstrate that the stability of toxin-modified Rho in NIH 3T3 cells is dramatically reduced. Finally, we show that C. difficile toxins A and B do not have similar effects on the closely related Rac and CDC42 GTP-binding proteins.

Clostridium difficile toxin B activates calcium influx required for actin disassembly during cytotoxicity.

The principal cellular response to Clostridium difficile toxin B, a protein toxin associated with antibiotic-associated colitis, is the disassembly of actin microfilaments. Although receptor-activated signal transduction mechanisms have been proposed to mediate these effects, the intracellular events that precede actin breakdown are unknown. In NIH-3T3 fibroblasts, toxin B induced an elevation of intracellular calcium possessing either a slow (minutes) or fast (seconds) rise time, followed by a sustained elevation of calcium concentration. Subcellular analysis of steady-state calcium distribution after toxin B demonstrated that the increase of calcium was homogeneous throughout the cytosol and did not vary based on the kinetics of the initial calcium rise. All calcium responses were blocked by substitution with calcium-free buffer or buffer containing lanthanum chloride, indicating that the rise in calcium was attributable to calcium influx from the extracellular space. Quantitatively similar responses were observed in primary cultured gastric smooth muscle and AR42J pancreatic tumor cells, suggesting that toxin-induced calcium signal transduction was conserved between cell types. The morphological response to toxin B consisted of sequential dissociation of the actin cytoskeleton from membrane attachments, retraction of actin stress fibers from the periphery to the perinuclear region, loss of fibre alignment, and cell rounding. The actin reorganization associated with toxin B was blocked by incubation of cells in calcium-free media or the clamping of intracellular calcium with cell-permeant calcium chelating agents. These results demonstrate that the calcium influx activated by C. difficile toxin B is a necessary condition for the breakdown of filamentous actin associated with cytotoxicity.