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Journal Article 2009; 30(2): 180-184 PubMed PMID: 19675525 Citation  Keywords:  Adiponectin:metabolism, Aging:metabolism, Cardiovascular Diseases:metabolism, Humans, Longevity:physiology, Risk Factors,.   

: Adiponectin, a protein secreted by adipocytes, has been recently found to be also secreted by cardiomyocytes. Adiponectin possesses several physiological functions including modulation of glucose metabolism and energy homeostasis. The interactions between adiponectin and metabolic parameters were found. Studies on aging humans revealed that enhanced adiponectin values are a distinctive feature of centenarians. Thus, this parameter may be considered as a prognostic factor of prolonged survival. However, it has also been demonstrated that high adiponectin levels may predict mortality in patients with cardiovascular disease (CVD). Several mechanisms of adiponectin elevation, both in the process of aging and in pathomechanism of CVD, are discussed in this paper....

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Journal Article 2009; 30(2): 185-191 PubMed PMID: 19675524 Citation  Keywords:  Attention, Choice Behavior, Culture, Economics, Humans, Models, Neurological, Reinforcement (Psychology), Time Factors,.   

: According to theories of cultural neuroscience, Westerners and Easterners may have distinct styles of cognition (e.g., different allocation of attention). Previous research has shown that Westerners and Easterners tend to utilize analytical and holistic cognitive styles, respectively. On the other hand, little is known regarding the cultural differences in neuroeconomic behavior. For instance, economic decisions may be affected by cultural differences in neurocomputational processing underlying attention; however, this area of neuroeconomics has been largely understudied. In the present paper, we attempt to bridge this gap by considering the links between the theory of cultural neuroscience and neuroeconomic theory of the role of attention in intertemporal choice. We predict that (i) Westerners are more impulsive and inconsistent in intertemporal choice in comparison to Easterners, and (ii) Westerners more steeply discount delayed monetary losses than Easterners. We examine these predictions by utilizing a novel temporal discounting model based on Tsallis' statistics (i.e. a q-exponential model). Our preliminary analysis of temporal discounting of gains and losses by Americans and Japanese confirmed the predictions from the cultural neuroeconomic theory. Future study directions, employing computational modeling via neural networks, are outlined and discussed....

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Journal Article 2009; 30(2): 204-208 PubMed PMID: 19675523 Citation  Keywords:  Analysis of Variance, Animals, Bone Marrow Cells:physiology, Cell Movement:physiology, Cell Survival:physiology, Coculture Techniques:methods, Insulin:metabolism, Islets of Langerhans:physiology, Mesenchymal Stromal Cells:physiology, Microfluidic Analytic.   

OBJECTIVES: A coculture microfluidic chip had been fabricated to investigate the dynamic process of bone marrow mesenchymal stem cells migrating to the pancreatic islets in vitro.

METHODS: We fabricated a coculture microfluidic chip using standard procedures. On the chip, bone marrow mesenchymal stem cells and pancreatic islets were introduced respectively into two microchambers which could be connected by a traffic tunnel. Migration assay was performed along the tunnel, and the function of pancreatic islets was timely evaluated by analysis of insulin secretion in response to high-glucose-challenge.

RESULTS: The results showed that some bioactive factors excreted by freshly isolated pancreatic islets could enhance the migrating rate of BM-MSCs. Besides, pancreatic islets also showed a better survival and function by coculturing with bone marrow mesenchymal stem cells.

CONCLUSION: The results demonstrated that bone marrow mesenchymal stem cells had the ability to migrate to pancreatic islets and provide an apparent overall preservation for islet function. This microfluidic device was a potentially useful tool to mimic actual biological processes of bone marrow mesenchymal stem cells migrating to the pancreatic islets in vitro....

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Journal Article 2009; 30(2): 221-226 PubMed PMID: 19675522 Citation  Keywords:  5' Untranslated Regions, Animals, Female, Gene Expression, Genotype, Mutation, Polymerase Chain Reaction, Polymorphism, Single Nucleotide, Prolactin:blood, Reproduction:genetics, Sequence Analysis, DNA, Swine:genetics, Thyrotropin-Releasing Hormone:metabo.   

OBJECTIVES: The recent genetics and molecular biology progress seems to be a fascinating challenge for the interdisciplinary studies on the effects of genetic changes in gene structure that causes the modification of physiological functions of many important proteins including hormones. Pig prolactin is one of the interesting hormones for this study.

AIM OF THE STUDY: The aim of the study was to analyze the mutation in 5'UTR region of the pig prolactin (PRL) gene and to evaluate the effect of this polymorphism on changes in plasma prolactin concentration.

RESULTS: It was found that only two individual groups of animals differed by the genotype in examined PRL gene locus - homozygote C/C and heterozygote C/T. PRL plasma concentration was 38.4 ng/ml (for C/T animals) or 42.7 ng/ml (for C/C animals). Animals with C/C genotyped exhibited a tendency to elevate PRL concentration as compared to the C/T group (p< 0.07).

CONCLUSIONS: This research combines the genetic, molecular and, in vivo, physiological study which allows focus on the possible relationship between the gene polymorphism and physiological status of animal....

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Journal Article 2009; 30(2): 262-267 PubMed PMID: 19675521 Citation  Keywords:  Adolescent, Adrenal Hyperplasia, Congenital:pathology, Child, Child, Preschool, Disorders of Sex Development:pathology, Female, Genitalia:abnormalities, Genitalia, Female:abnormalities, Humans, Infant, Male, Reconstructive Surgical Procedures, Treatment O.   

INTRODUCTION: Ambiguous genitalia always present diagnostic and therapeutic problem. Long-term results of feminizing operations are unsatisfactory in some cases and reports from follow-up after feminizing genitoplasty are rare in the literature. Systematic studies are needed to evaluate ultimate function of all girls undergoing feminizing surgery. In our opinion, the lack of worldwide-accepted scale for the assessment of long-term effects of feminizing genitoplasty, enabling the possibility of comparing outcomes between institutions and countries, may contribute to this deficit of reliable data.

AIM: The aim of the study was the evaluation of the outcomes of surgical management of masculinization using a novel scale developed by the authors.

MATERIAL AND METHODS: We examined 43 patients aged 3-24 years (mean age 15,4 years) operated due to ambiguous genitalia. Most of the patients were females with congenital adrenal hyperplasia (CAH) diagnosed in 38 of subjects (88.4%).The patients were operated at the age from 10 months - 15 years (mean age 4,5 years). Five patients had to be reoperated. The effects of surgical management in ambiguous genitalia were assessed using our own scale. We evaluated five anatomical and cosmetic parameters (general appearance, size of pudendal labia, symmetry of pudendal labia symmetry, size and position of clitoris, size of introitus and position of urethra opening), each of them was scored 0-2 points.

RESULTS: In 36 of examined patients the result of the surgery was considered good, in 4 patients - satisfactory and in 3 - poor. The most common complication of feminizing genitoplasty in our patients was stenosed vagina (in 10 patients, 23.8%). Location of urinary coil in anterior wall of vagina was found in 6 patients (13.9%) and in 1 patient it was invisible (2.3%). Post-operational clitoral enlargement was found in 3 cases (6.9%).

CONCLUSION: Taking into consideration controversial data about the results of feminizing genitoplasty, a standarized, well-defined and commonly accepted scale enabling comparison between methods and institutions is necessary. In our opinion scoring scale makes the evaluation more precise and the results are more comparable....

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Journal Article 2009; 30(2): 268-274 PubMed PMID: 19675520 Citation  Keywords:  Animals, Antineoplastic Agents, Hormonal:pharmacology, Apoptosis:drug effects, Cell Line, Tumor, Cell Proliferation:drug effects, Cell Survival:drug effects, Estradiol:analogs & derivatives, Estrogen Antagonists:pharmacology, MAP Kinase Kinase 4:metabolis.   

OBJECTIVES: Unlike the successful endocrine therapy of breast cancers and other estrogen-dependent diseases, little is known about the effect of anti-estrogen treatment on pituitary tumors. Our objectives were to study the effect of fulvestrant, a new type anti-estrogen devoid of any agonistic activities, on prolactinoma cell line MMQ in vitro and its possible mechanisms.

DESIGN: In the experiment, the prolactin concentration, proliferation and apoptosis of the MMQ cell were measured to investigate the anti-tumor effect of the fulvestrant. The expression of estrogen receptor (ESR) mRNA and protein and MAPK pathway-related proteins ERK1 and 2, JNK, and p38 were measured to investigate the possible mechanisms.

RESULTS: Fulvestrant significantly inhibited prolactin secretion (up to 85.5%), decreased proliferation (IC50 = 32.4 nmol/l), and promoted apoptosis of the MMQ cells.

CONCLUSIONS: The suppression was possibly mediated by inhibition of ESR mRNA expression, down-regulation of ESR expression and activation of MAPK pathway-related proteins. Thus, fulvestrant has suppressive effects on prolactinoma cells and its anti-tumor mechanism appears to be related to the inhibition of ESR and the MAPK pathway....

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Journal Article 2009; 30(2): 153-179 PubMed PMID: 19675519 Citation  Keywords:  Animals, Behavior:physiology, Bone and Bones:metabolism, Cannabinoid Receptor Modulators:antagonists & inhibitors, Cardiovascular System:metabolism, Endocannabinoids, Gastrointestinal Tract:metabolism, Humans, Immune System:metabolism, Neoplasms:metabolis.   

: The endocannabinoid system (ECS) is a lipid signalling system, comprising of the endogenous cannabis-like ligands (endocannabinoids) anandamide (AEA) and 2-arachidonoylglycerol (2-AG), which derive from arachidonic acid. These bind to a family of G-protein-coupled receptors, called CB1 and CB2. The cannabinoid receptor 1 (CB1R) is distributed in brain areas associated with motor control, emotional responses, motivated behaviour and energy homeostasis. In the periphery, the same receptor is expressed in the adipose tissue, pancreas, liver, GI tract, skeletal muscles, heart and the reproduction system. The CB2R is mainly expressed in the immune system regulating its functions. Endocannabinoids are synthesized and released upon demand in a receptor-dependent way. They act as retrograde signalling messengers in GABAergic and glutamatergic synapses and as modulators of postsynaptic transmission, interacting with other neurotransmitters. Endocannabinoids are transported into cells by a specific uptake system and degraded by the enzymes fatty acid amide hydrolase (FAAH) and monoacylglycerol lipase (MAGL). The ECS is involved in various pathophysiological conditions in central and peripheral tissues. It is implicated in the hormonal regulation of food intake, cardiovascular, gastrointestinal, immune, behavioral, antiproliferative and mammalian reproduction functions. Recent advances have correlated the ECS with drug addiction and alcoholism. The growing number of preclinical and clinical data on ECS modulators is bound to result in novel therapeutic approaches for a number of diseases currently treated inadequately. The ECS dysregulation has been correlated to obesity and metabolic syndrome pathogenesis. Rimonabant is the first CB1 blocker launched to treat cardiometabolic risk factors in obese and overweight patients. Phase III clinical trials showed the drug's ability to regulate intra-abdominal fat tissue levels, lipidemic, glycemic and inflammatory parameters. However, safety conerns have led to its withrawal. The role of endocannabinoids in mammalian reproduction is an emerging research area given their implication in fertilization, preimplantation embryo and spermatogenesis. The relevant preclinical data on endocannabinoid signalling open up new perspectives as a target to improve infertility and reproductive health in humans....

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Case Reports 2009; 30(2): 192-194 PubMed PMID: 19675518 Citation  Keywords:  Cesarean Section, Female, Fibroma:complications, Humans, Meigs Syndrome:complications, Ovarian Neoplasms:complications, Pregnancy, Pregnancy Complications, Neoplastic:pathology, Pregnancy Outcome, Virilism:etiology, Young Adult,.   

BACKGROUND: A half of virilizing ovarian tumors in pregnancy are malignant. The risk of cancer increases with ascites and hydrothorax. Our case shows that such tumor can be benign with good outcome.

CASE: Primigravida in 30 weeks with advanced hirsutism (from 15 weeks), vomiting, epigastric pain, dyspnoea, ascites, hydrothorax, ovarian mass and high level of serum testosterone was operated. After the tumorectomy (fibrothecoma) we performed cesarean section (placental abruption suspected). The female fetus had no signs of virilization. In mother all symptoms and effusions resolved.

CONCLUSION: Meigs' syndrome in pregnancy leads to acute clinical symptoms and needs the surgical intervention with the risk of placental abruption. Virilization of mother was the first symptom of ovarian tumor but the female fetus was protected of hyperandrogenism....

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