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Biomedical subjects

B A Summers

Publications and source records attributed to B A Summers.

At least 37 records · Page 2Linked to original sources

Release of substance P by low oxygen in the rabbit carotid body: evidence for the involvement of calcium channels.

Carotid bodies from diverse species contain substance P (SP), an 11-residue peptide that belongs to the tachykinin peptide family. Previous studies indicated that SP is excitatory to the carotid body and is associated with sensory response to hypoxia. However, release of SP from the carotid body during hypoxia has not been documented. In the present study, we determined whether hypoxia releases SP from the carotid body and further characterized the mechanism(s) associated with SP release by low oxygen. The release of SP from superfused rabbit carotid body was determined by an enzyme immunoassay (EIA). SP-like immunoreactivity was localized to many glomus cells and nerve fibers and the concentration of SP in the rabbit carotid body was 1.5+/-0.1 ng/mg protein. For release studies, carotid bodies (n=56) were superfused with a modified Tyrode medium containing Hepes buffer, pH 7.4, saturated with either room air (normoxia) or hypoxic gas mixtures. The basal release of SP during normoxia was 51.0+/-1.5 fmol/min per mg protein. Hypoxia increased SP release from the carotid body and the magnitude of release is dependent on the severity of hypoxic stimulus. Moderate hypoxia (pO2, 79+/-4 mmHg) stimulated SP release by approximately 50%, whereas SP release during severe hypoxia (pO2, 11+/-6 mmHg) was 2-fold higher than the normoxic control. A similar pattern of SP release was also observed when superfusion medium containing CO2-HCO3 buffer, pH 7.4, was used for release studies. To examine the mechanism(s) associated with hypoxia-induced SP release from the carotid body, moderate level of hypoxia (12% O2+N2) was used. Omission of calcium in the superfusion medium markedly attenuated hypoxia-induced SP release (>95%), whereas the basal release of SP was unaffected. Cd2+ (100 microM), a voltage-dependent Ca2+ channel blocker, abolished hypoxia-induced SP release. About 85% of SP release by hypoxia was inhibited by omega-conotoxin GVIA (1 microM), an N-type Ca2+ channel blocker, whereas nitrendipine (1.5 microM), an inhibitor of L-type Ca2+ channel partially attenuated ( approximately 65%) hypoxia-induced SP release. By contrast, omega-agatoxin TK (50 nM), a P/Q-type Ca2+ channel inhibitor, had no significant effect (P>0.05, n=6). These results suggest that SP is released from the rabbit carotid body by hypoxia that depends on the severity of the hypoxic stimulus. Further, SP release by hypoxia is a calcium-dependent process and is primarily mediated by N- and L-type Ca2+ channels.

Animals↗

Gastrointestinal stromal tumors in equids.

Eleven gastrointestinal neoplasms from 10 aged horses and 1 pony were examined grossly, his tologically, immunohistochemically, and (in two cases) ultrastructurally. Clinical signs were associated with two neoplasms, and the other nine tumors were incidental findings at laparotomy or necropsy. The neoplasms were solitary (9/11) or multifocal (2/11), well demarcated, serosal or mural masses of stomach (1), jejunum (1), ileum (3), cecum (5), and/or colon (2). Microscopic examination revealed discrete spindle cells arranged in compact patterns with fascicles and whorls or cribriform pattern with fascicles and rare palisades, often with a myxoid interstitial matrix. Three tumors infiltrated between the muscularis interna and the muscularis externa at the myenteric plexi. All neoplasms were vimentin positive, 3/11 were S-100 positive, 2/11 were muscle actin positive, and no neoplasm was positive for glial fibrillary acid protein, desmin, factor VIII, chromogranin, or neuron-specific enolase. Of the two tumors studied ultrastructurally, one contained an admixture of smooth muscle cells and cells resembling Schwann cells, and the second was populated by homogeneous fusiform mesenchymal cells separated by homogeneous matrix. Gastrointestinal stromal tumors (GIST) have been recognized in humans, more recently in dogs and nonhuman primates, and now in equids. Most of these tumors are comprised of a loosely arranged network of spindled cells separated by myxoid matrix. GIST may be composed of myogenic, neurogenic, combined myogenic and neurogenic, and undifferentiated mesenchymal cells.

Animals↗

Experimental induction of chronic borreliosis in adult dogs exposed to Borrelia burgdorferi-infected ticks and treated with dexamethasone.

OBJECTIVE: To develop a method to experimentally induce Borrelia burgdorferi infection in young adult dogs. ANIMALS: 22 healthy Beagles. PROCEDURE: All dogs were verified to be free of borreliosis. Twenty 6-month-old dogs were exposed to Borrelia burgdorferi-infected adult ticks and treated with dexamethasone for 5 consecutive days. Two dogs not exposed to ticks were treated with dexamethasone and served as negative-control dogs. Clinical signs, results of microbial culture and polymerase chain reaction (PCR) testing, immunologic responses, and gross and histologic lesions were evaluated 9 months after tick exposure. RESULTS: Predominant clinical signs were episodic pyrexia and lameness in 12 of 20 dogs. Infection with B burgdorferi was detected in microbial cultures of skin biopsy specimens and various tissues obtained during necropsy in 19 of 20 dogs and in all 20 dogs by use of a PCR assay. All 20 exposed dogs seroconverted and developed chronic nonsuppurative arthritis. Three dogs also developed mild focal meningitis, 1 dog developed mild focal encephalitis, and 18 dogs developed perineuritis or rare neuritis. Control dogs were seronegative, had negative results for microbial culture and PCR testing, and did not develop lesions. CONCLUSIONS AND CLINICAL RELEVANCE: Use of this technique successfully induced borreliosis in young dogs. Dogs with experimentally induced borreliosis may be useful in evaluating vaccines, chemotherapeutic agents, and the pathogenesis of borreliosis-induced arthritis.

Animals↗

Augmentation of calcium current by hypoxia in carotid body glomus cells.

Several lines of evidence indicate that transduction of the hypoxic stimulus at the carotid body involves an increase in cytosolic Ca2+ ([Ca2+]i) via activation of voltage-gated Ca2+ channels in the glomus cells. However, reported responses to hypoxia include either no effect on or inhibition of Ca2+ current in glomus cells. The apparent discrepancy between the effects of hypoxia on [Ca2+]i and Ca2+ channel activity prompted us to re-examine the effects of low oxygen on Ca2+ currents in glomus cells. Experiments were performed on freshly dissociated glomus cells from rabbit carotid bodies. Ca2+ channel activity was monitored using the whole-cell configuration of the patch clamp technique with Ba2+ as the charge carrier. Hypoxia (pO2 = 40 mmHg) augmented the Ca2+ current by 24% (at 0 mV). This augmentation was seen in a CO2/HCO3- but not in a HEPES buffered extracellular solution. However, when the extracellular pH (pHo) of a HEPES buffered solution is lowered from 7.4 to 7.0, then the Ca2+ current in glomus cells is augmented by hypoxia by 20%. Nisoldipine, an L-type Ca2+ channel blocker (2 microM), prevented augmentation of the Ca2+ current by hypoxia. On the other hand, an N- and P-type Ca2+ channel blocker (2 microM omega-conotoxin MVIIC) did not prevent the augmentation of the Ca2+ current by hypoxia. Protein kinase C (PKC) inhibitors, staurosporine (100 nM) and bisindolylmaleimide (2 microM), prevented augmentation by hypoxia. Okadaic acid (100 nM), an inhibitor of serine/threonine phosphatases also prevented augmentation of Ca2+ current by hypoxia; whereas, norokadaone, an inactive analog of okadaic acid, had no effect. These results suggest that hypoxia augments Ca2+ current through L-type Ca2+ channels via a PKC and/or phosphatase-sensitive pathways.

Animals↗

Alaskan Husky encephalopathy--a canine neurodegenerative disorder resembling subacute necrotizing encephalomyelopathy (Leigh syndrome).

The gross and histopathological findings in the brain and spinal cord of five Alaskan Husky dogs with a novel incapacitating and ultimately fatal familial and presumed hereditary neurodegenerative disorder are described. Four dogs presented with neurological deficits before the age of 1 year (7-11 months) and one animal at 2.5 years old. Clinical signs in all dogs were of acute onset and included ataxia, seizures, behavioral abnormalities, blindness, facial hypalgesia and difficulties in prehension of food. In animals allowed to survive, the disease was static but with frequent recurrences. Pathological findings were limited to the central nervous system. Grossly visible bilateral and symmetrical cavitated foci were consistently present in the thalamus with variable extension into the caudal brain stem. Microscopic lesions were more widespread and included foci of bilateral and symmetrical degeneration in the basal nuclei, midbrain, pons and medulla, as well as multifocal lesions at the base of sulci in the cerebral cortex and in the gray matter of cerebellar folia in the ventral vermis. Neuronal loss with concomitant neuronal sparing, spongiosis, vascular hypertrophy and hyperplasia, gliosis, cavitation and transient mixed inflammatory infiltration were the main histopathological findings. In addition, a population of reactive gemistocytic astrocytes with prominent cytoplasmic vacuolation was noted in the thalamus. Lesions of this nature in this distribution within the neuroaxis have not been reported in dogs. The neuropathological findings resemble Leigh's disease/subacute necrotizing encephalomyelopathy of man. Neuronal sparing in conjunction with apparently transient astrocytic vacuolation point to the possible pathogenetic role of astrocytes in the evolution of these lesions. An inherited metabolic derangement of unknown nature is postulated as the cause of this breed-specific disorder.

Age Factors↗

Probabilistic learning and reversal deficits in patients with Parkinson's disease or frontal or temporal lobe lesions: possible adverse effects of dopaminergic medication.

Three groups of patients with Parkinson's disease (PD) - mild, unmedicated (UPD), mild, medicated (MPD) and severe, medicated (SPD) - and patients with lesions of the frontal lobe (FLL) or temporal lobe (TLL) were compared with matched controls on the learning and reversal of probabilistic and two-pair concurrent colour discriminations. Both of the cortical lesion groups showed reversal deficits, with no increase in perseverative responding. The UPD group, although impaired on a spatial recognition task, showed intact discrimination learning and reversal; the MPD and SPD patients showed non-perseverative reversal impairments on both reversal tasks. Two hypotheses - based on disease severity and possible deleterious effects of medication - are offered to explain the reversal impairments of the PD patients and the results are discussed in terms of the role of dopamine in reward-based learning.

Adult↗

Status of Borrelia burgdorferi infection after antibiotic treatment and the effects of corticosteroids: An experimental study.

Sixteen specific-pathogen-free beagles were infected with Borrelia burgdorferi. Three groups of 4 dogs were treated with antibiotics for 30 consecutive days starting 120 days after tick exposure; 4 dogs were untreated controls. At day 420 after tick exposure and again before euthanasia, 2 dogs of each group were treated with prednisone for 14 days. All dogs contracted infection and 11 developed acute arthritis 50-120 days after exposure. After day 120, one of 12 antibiotic-treated dogs and 2 of 4 untreated dogs became lame. Antibiotic therapy reduced the frequency of Borrelia-positivity in subsequent skin biopsy samples. After prednisone treatment, both control dogs developed severe polyarthritis. At euthanasia, single tissues of the antibiotic-treated dogs and multiple tissues of all control dogs were Borrelia-positive by polymerase chain reaction. Viable spirochetes were not recovered from antibiotic-treated dogs. Two antibiotic-treated dogs showed histologic evidence of minimal lesions, whereas all control dogs had mild polyarthritis with periarteritis.

Animals↗

Augmentation of L-type calcium current by hypoxia in rabbit carotid body glomus cells: evidence for a PKC-sensitive pathway.

Previous studies have suggested that voltage-gated Ca(2+) influx in glomus cells plays a critical role in sensory transduction at the carotid body chemoreceptors. The purpose of the present study was to determine the effects of hypoxia on the Ca(2+) current in glomus cells and to elucidate the underlying mechanism(s). Experiments were performed on freshly dissociated glomus cells from rabbit carotid bodies. Ca(2+) current was monitored using the whole cell configuration of the patch-clamp technique, with Ba(2+) as the charge carrier. Hypoxia (pO(2) = 40 mmHg) augmented the Ca(2+) current by 24 +/- 3% (n = 42, at 0 mV) in a voltage-independent manner. This effect was seen in a CO(2)/HCO(3)(-)-, but not in a HEPES-buffered extracellular solution at pH 7.4 (n = 6). When the pH of a HEPES-buffered extracellular solution was lowered from 7.4 to 7. 0, hypoxia augmented the Ca(2+) current by 20 +/- 5% (n = 4, at 0 mV). Nisoldipine, an L-type Ca(2+) channel blocker (2 microM, n = 6), prevented, whereas, omega-conotoxin MVIIC (2 microM, n = 6), an inhibitor of N and P/Q type Ca(2+) channels, did not prevent augmentation of the Ca(2+) current by hypoxia, implying that low oxygen affects L-type Ca(2+) channels in glomus cells. Protein kinase C (PKC) inhibitors, staurosporine (100 nM, n = 6) and bisindolylmaleimide (2 microM, n = 8, at 0 mV), prevented, whereas, a protein kinase A inhibitor (4 nM PKAi, n = 10) did not prevent the hypoxia-induced increase of the Ca(2+) current. Phorbol 12-myristate 13-acetate (PMA, 100 nM), a PKC activator, augmented the Ca(2+) current by 20 +/- 3% (n = 8, at 0 mV). In glomus cells treated with PMA overnight (100 nM), hypoxia did not augment the Ca(2+) current (-3 + 4%, n = 5, at 0 mV). Immunocytochemical analysis revealed PKCdelta-like immunoreactivity in the cytosol of the glomus cells. Following hypoxia (6% O(2) for 5 min), PKCdelta-like immunoreactivity translocated to the plasma membrane in 87 +/- 3% of the cells, indicating PKC activation. These results demonstrate that hypoxia augments Ca(2+) current through L-type Ca(2+) channels via a PKC-sensitive mechanism.

Animals↗

Possible intraspinal metastasis of a canine spinal cord nephroblastoma.

A 2-year-old Basset Hound was admitted to the University of Florida Veterinary Medical Teaching Hospital with progressive spastic paraparesis. At necropsy, intradural extramedullary tumors produced areas of spinal cord swelling and softening in spinal cord segments T11-T12 and L4-L6. Histologic examination of the masses revealed sheets of polygonal blastemal cells, epithelial cells forming tubules and rosettes, and embryonal glomeruloid-like structures in the thoracic mass. Cells in the lumbar mass were less differentiated, forming rare tubules and no glomeruloid-like structures. The occurrence of two tumors in the spinal cord along with the less differentiated appearance of the lumbar tumor raises the possibility that the lumbar mass arose as a result of intraspinal metastasis. To our knowledge, this is the first report of multifocal or metastatic canine spinal nephroblastoma. In addition, the vimentin and cytokeratin immunohistochemical staining characteristics of these spinal cord nephroblastomas are described.

Animals↗

Marginal siderosis and degenerative myelopathy: a manifestation of chronic subarachnoid hemorrhage in a horse with a myxopapillary ependymoma.

Marginal siderosis is recognized in humans as an uncommon clinicopathologic entity characterized by degeneration of neural tissue at the surface of the brain and spinal cord, in association with the accumulation of hemosiderin, and resulting from chronic subarachnoid hemorrhage. The sources of hemorrhage are various and include neoplasms, malformations, cysts, and vasculopathy. Marginal siderosis of the spinal cord due to a myxopapillary ependymoma was diagnosed in a 19-year-old Dutch Warm Blood horse with clinical signs of myelopathy. There is only one previous report of marginal siderosis in the veterinary literature, also in a horse with clinical myelopathy.

Animals↗

Sarcocystis neurona-like encephalitis in a Canada lynx (Felis lynx canadensis).

A 13-yr-old female Canada lynx (Felis lynx canadensis) died after a short clinical illness, and necropsy revealed multifocal, nonsuppurative encephalitis with protozoal schizonts present in cerebral vascular endothelial cells. The schizonts stained immunohistochemically with antiserum to Sarcocystis neurona. This is the first report of Sarcocystis encephalitis in the Canada lynx.

Animal Diseases↗

Up-regulation of inducible nitric oxide synthase mRNA in dogs experimentally infected with Borrelia burgdorferi.

The up-regulation of the inducible nitric oxide synthase (iNOS) mRNA was determined by RT-PCR in 25 tissues each from 22 specific pathogen-free (SPF) dogs experimentally infected with Borrelia burgdorferi by tick exposure and from five uninfected control dogs. Using primers specific for a homologous region of the human and canine iNOS sequence, and canine macrophage mRNA, we isolated and partially sequenced canine iNOS. A sequence of 1775 bases was obtained and primers specific for canine iNOS mRNA constructed to investigate the expression of iNOS in dog tissues in response to infection with B. burgdorferi. In 12 out of 22 dogs infected with B. burgdorferi, acute lameness occurred within 55-82 days after infection whereas the other 10 dogs showed no or only mild clinical signs despite persistent infection up to Day 175. The numbers of iNOS mRNA-positive tissues in dogs with acute lameness were significantly higher than in dogs without lameness, while uninfected dogs showed only negligible iNOS expression. Dogs with acute lameness also had higher numbers of borrelia-positive tissues as well as higher scores in histopathological evaluations than infected dogs without lameness. Our results show that the expression of iNOS mRNA is related to the number of B. burgdorferi-positive tissues and the severity of inflammation as assessed by histopathology. These results implicate an up-regulation of the iNOS mRNA as part of the host's immune response to borrelia infection and a possible role for NO in the pathogenesis of canine Lyme arthritis.

Animals↗

Encephalopathy with idiopathic hyperammonaemia and Alzheimer type II astrocytes in equidae.

In 3 mature female horses of varying breeds, episodes of colic and depression for 14 days preceded an encephalopathic disorder with maniacal behaviour, anxiety, profuse sweating and, in one case, terminal opisthotonus. Blood ammonia levels were elevated approximately 10-fold. At necropsy, there were gastrointestinal serosal and mesenteric haemorrhages. Histologically, all 3 cases revealed diffuse Alzheimer type II astrocytes in the cerebral grey matter. Alzheimer type II astrocytes were glial fibrillary acidic protein (GFAP) negative or only weakly positive, weakly S-100 positive, and vimentin negative. In the absence of primary hepatic and/or renal lesions, an increase in intestinal ammonia absorption due to ileus or increased ammonia production by colonic bacteria is hypothesised.

Alzheimer Disease↗

Nitric oxide inhibits L-type Ca2+ current in glomus cells of the rabbit carotid body via a cGMP-independent mechanism.

Previous studies have shown that nitric oxide (NO) inhibits carotid body sensory activity. To begin to understand the cellular mechanisms associated with the actions of NO in the carotid body, we monitored the effects of NO donors on the macroscopic Ca2+ current in glomus cells isolated from rabbit carotid bodies. Experiments were performed on freshly dissociated glomus cells from adult rabbit carotid bodies using the whole cell configuration of the patch-clamp technique. The NO donors sodium nitroprusside (SNP; 600 microM, n = 7) and spermine nitric oxide (SNO; 100 microM, n = 7) inhibited the Ca2+ current in glomus cells in a voltage-independent manner. These effects of NO donors were rapid in onset and peaked within 1 or 2 min. In contrast, the outward K+ current was unaffected by SNP (600 microM, n = 6), indicating that the inhibition by SNP was not a nonspecific membrane effect. 2-(4-carboxyphenyl)-4,4,5, 5-tetramethyl-imidazoline-1-oxyl-3-oxide (carboxy-PTIO; 500 microM), an NO scavenger, prevented inhibition of the Ca2+ current by SNP (n = 7), whereas neither superoxide dismutase (SOD; 2,000 U/ml, n = 4), a superoxide scavenger, nor sodium hydrosulfite (SHS; 1 mM, n = 7), a reducing agent, prevented inhibition of the Ca2+ current by SNP. However, SNP inhibition of the Ca2+ current was reversible in the presence of either SOD or SHS. These results suggest that NO itself inhibits Ca2+ current in a reversible manner and that subsequent formation of peroxynitrites results in irreversible inhibition. SNP inhibition of the Ca2+ current was not affected by 30 microM LY 83, 583 (n = 7) nor was it mimicked by 600 microM 8-bromoguanosine 3':5'-cyclic monophosphate (8-Br-cGMP; n = 6), suggesting that the effects of NO on the Ca2+ current are mediated, in part, via a cGMP-independent mechanism. N-ethylmaleimide (NEM; 2.5 mM, n = 6) prevented the inhibition of the Ca2+ current by SNP, indicating that SNP is acting via a modification of sulfhydryl groups on Ca2+ channel proteins. Norepinephrine (NE; 10 microM) further inhibited the Ca2+ current in the presence of NEM (n = 7), implying that NEM did not nonspecifically eliminate Ca2+ current modulation. Nisoldipine, an L-type Ca2+ channel blocker (2 microM, n = 6), prevented the inhibition of Ca2+ current by SNP, whereas omega-conotoxin GVIA, an N-type Ca2+ channel blocker (1 microM, n = 9), did not prevent the inhibition of Ca2+ current by SNP. These results demonstrate that NO inhibits L-type Ca2+ channels in adult rabbit glomus cells, in part, due to a modification of calcium channel proteins. The inhibition might provide one plausible mechanism for efferent inhibition of carotid body activity by NO.

Aminoquinolines↗

Clinical manifestations, pathogenesis, and effect of antibiotic treatment on Lyme borreliosis in dogs.

BACKGROUND: Borrelia burgdorferi, the causative agent of Lyme disease, infects humans and animals. In humans, the disease primarily affects the skin, large joints, and the nervous system days to months after infection. Data generated with appropriate animal model help to understand the fundamental mechanisms of the disease. OBJECTIVE: 1) More clearly define the clinical manifestation and pathogenetic mechanisms of Lyme disease in dogs; 2) evaluate the effect of antibiotics in dogs infected with B. burgdorferi; 3) describe the effects of corticosteroids on dogs persistently infected with B. burgdorferi. DESIGN: Specific-pathogen-free beagles were infected with B. burgdorferi using ticks collected in an endemic Lyme disease area. Clinical signs were recorded daily. Antibody titers were measured by ELISA at two-week intervals. B. burgdorferi organisms were detected in tissues by culture and PCR. Synovial fluids were evaluated microscopically and with a chemotaxis cell migration assay. Histological sections were examined for pathological lesions. Specific cytokine up-regulation in tissues was detected by RT-PCR. INTERVENTIONS: In three separate experiments, B. burgdorferi-infected dogs received antibiotic treatment (amoxicillin; azithromycin; ceftriaxone; doxycycline) for 30 consecutive days. Two subclinical persistently infected dogs received oral prednisone for 14 consecutive days starting at day 420 post-infection. RESULTS: Dogs developed acute arthritis in the joints closest to the tick bites after a median incubation period of 68 days. Synovial membranes of lame and non-lame dogs produced the chemokine IL-8 in response to B. burgdorferi. Antibiotic treatment prevented or resolved episodes of acute arthritis, but failed to eliminate the bacterium from infected dogs. Corticosteroid treatment reactivated Lyme disease in persistently infected dogs, which had not received antibiotics previously. CONCLUSIONS: B. burgdorferi disseminates through tissue by migration following tick inoculation, produces episodes of acute arthritis, and establishes persistent infection. The spirochete survives antibiotic treatment and disease can be reactivated in immunosuppressed animals.

Adrenal Cortex Hormones↗

Agonist-specific alterations in receptor-phospholipase coupling following inactivation of Gi2alpha gene.

Different forms of phospholipase A2, together with pertussis toxin-sensitive G-proteins, [Ca2+]i (intracellular Ca2+ concentration), protein kinase C, calmodulin, protein tyrosine kinases, mitogen-activated protein kinases and Ca2+/calmodulin-dependent protein kinase appear to play a role in agonist-mediated release of arachidonic acid. Here we report that fibroblasts from 14-day-old mouse embryos with inactivated Gi2alpha (alpha-subunit of the heterotrimeric G-protein Gi2) gene display a marked decrease in the ability of lysophosphatidic acid, thrombin and Ca2+ ionophores to release arachidonic acid compared with their normal counterparts. The requirement for Gi2alpha in the release of arachidonic acid following increased [Ca2+]i may be explained by the incomplete translocation of cytosolic phospholipase A2 observed in Gi2alpha-deficient cells. Paradoxically, inactivation of the Gi2alpha gene resulted in up-regulation of bradykinin receptors and their coupling to increased arachidonic acid release, phospholipase C activity and [Ca2+]i. A concomitant increase in basal phospholipase C activity was also observed in the Gi2alpha-deficient cells. These observations establish a pleiotropic and essential role for Gi2alpha in receptor-phospholipase coupling that contrasts with its less obligatory participation in agonist-mediated inhibition of adenylate cyclase.

Adenylate Cyclase Toxin↗