The renal glomeruli of 12 male Osborne-Mendel (OM) rats 3 to 24 weeks old were examined by electron microscopy. Effacement of podocyte foot processes (FPs) developed at 3 weeks of age and became progressively worse over time. Loss or dislocation of the slit membrane was also found. Vacuoles and osmiophilic lysosomes appeared in the podocytes starting at 6 weeks of age. Podocyte detachment from the glomerular basement membrane (GBM) was apparent at 18 weeks of age. Laminated GBM was occasionally observed in all animals. These features might lead to the development of spontaneous proteinuria and glomerulosclerosis in OM rats.
Animals ; Animals, Outbred Strains ; Glomerular Basement Membrane/*pathology/ultrastructure ; Kidney Diseases/complications/etiology/*pathology ; Male ; Microscopy, Electron, Transmission ; Nephrosclerosis/etiology/pathology ; Nephrosis/complications/pathology ; Podocytes/*pathology/ultrastructure ; Proteinuria/etiology/pathology ; Rats

OBJECTIVETo investigate the protective immunity induced by the anti-idiotypic monoclonal antibody NP30 of Schistosoma japonicum in mice.

METHODSAn orthogonal table L(16) (4 x 2(12)) was selected as the experimental design. Eight-week-old Kunming outbred mice (male and female) were randomly divided into 16 experimental groups and 2 control groups. Control groups were injected with SP2/0 ascites intraperitoneally. Mice from each group were infected with 100 +/- 2 cercariae of Schistosoma japonicum in the abdominal skin and were sacrificed on the thirtieth day postchallenge. Adult worms were recovered and counted by perfusion of the left ventricle-portal vein. The SP2/0 ascites injected mice were used as controls and the percentage of protection was calculated.

RESULTSActive immunization of mice with NP30 could produce protection levels ranging from 22.36% to 50.46% depending on the different immunity protocols. The best immunization protocol was established from the results.

CONCLUSIONSActive immunization with NP30 can induce a degree of protection to infection with Schistosoma japonicum cercariae and NP30 is a potential vaccine candidate against Schistosoma japonicum.

Analysis of Variance ; Animals ; Animals, Outbred Strains ; Antibodies, Anti-Idiotypic ; immunology ; therapeutic use ; Antibodies, Monoclonal ; immunology ; therapeutic use ; Female ; Male ; Mice ; Schistosoma mansoni ; immunology ; Schistosomiasis mansoni ; immunology ; parasitology ; prevention & control ; Treatment Outcome ; Vaccination

AIMTo investigate the stage-specific localization of metastasis-associated protein 1 (MTA1) during spermatogenesis in adult human and mouse testis.

METHODSThe immunolocalization of MTA1 was studied by immunohistochemistry and Western blot analysis. The distribution pattern of MTA1 in mouse testis was confirmed by using quantitative analysis of purified spermatogenic cells.

RESULTSThe specificity of polyclonal antibody was confirmed by Western blot analysis. MTA1 was found expressed in the nucleus of germ cells, except elongate spermatids, and in the cytoplasm of Sertoli cells; Leydig cells did not show any specific reactivity. MTA1 possessed different distribution patterns in the two species: in humans, the most intensive staining was found in the nucleus of round spermatids and of primary spermatocytes while in mice, the most intense MTA1 staining was in the nucleus of leptotene, zygotene and pachytene spermatocytes. In both species the staining exhibited a cyclic pattern.

CONCLUSIONThe present communication initially provides new evidence for the potential role of MTA1 in mature testis. In addition, its distinctive expression in germ cells suggests a regulatory role of the peptide during spermatogenesis.

Adult ; Animals ; Animals, Outbred Strains ; Blotting, Western ; Histone Deacetylases ; metabolism ; Humans ; Male ; Mice ; Mice, Inbred BALB C ; Repressor Proteins ; metabolism ; Sexual Maturation ; physiology ; Species Specificity ; Spermatogenesis ; physiology ; Testis ; cytology ; metabolism ; Transcription Factors ; metabolism

Phosphodiesterase (PDE) 4 inhibitors have been shown to induce the cAMP-mediated signaling pathway by inhibiting cAMP hydrolysis. This study investigated the effect of a PDE4 inhibitor on the expression of the inducible cAMP early repressor (ICER), which is an endogenous inhibitor of CRE- mediated transcription, in osteoblastic cells. RT-PCR analysis revealed that rolipram, a PDE4 inhibitor, stimulates the ICER mRNA in a dose dependent manner. The induction of ICER mRNA expression by rolipram was suppressed by the inhibitors of protein kinase A (PKA) and p38 MAPK, suggesting the involvement of PKA and p38 MAPK activation in ICER expression by rolipram. It was previously shown that rolipram induced the expression of TNF-related activation-induced cytokine (TRANCE, also known as RANKL, ODF, or OPGL) in osteoblasts. This paper provides evidences that a transcriptional repressor like ICER might modulate TRANCE mRNA expression by rolipram in osteoblasts.
3', 5'-Cyclic-Nucleotide Phosphodiesterase/*antagonists & inhibitors ; Animals ; Animals, Outbred Strains ; Cyclic AMP-Dependent Protein Kinases/metabolism ; DNA-Binding Proteins/genetics/*metabolism ; Gene Expression/drug effects ; Mice ; Osteoblasts/*drug effects/metabolism ; Phosphodiesterase Inhibitors/*pharmacology ; Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't ; Rolipram/*pharmacology ; Transcription Factors/genetics/*metabolism ; p38 Mitogen-Activated Protein Kinases/metabolism