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B Reinhart

Publications and source records attributed to B Reinhart.

At least 19 recordsLinked to original sources
PubMed2006

Cell adhesion characteristics of a monocytic cell line derived from rainbow trout, Oncorhynchus mykiss.

In experiments investigating the adhesive properties of the rainbow trout splenic monocyte-like cell line RTS11 it was found that the cells bound with low affinity to plates coated with bovine serum albumin (BSA) but that phorbol ester-induced activation/differentiation greatly increased adhesion to BSA. Similarly, pre-exposure to 500 microM MnCl(2) at time of plating, increased RTS11 adhesion to BSA coated plates, in agreement with the reported ability of divalent cations such as Mn(2+) to activate integrins. Integrins are a diverse family of heterodimeric cell surface glycoproteins that have been shown to mediate cell-cell and cell-extracellular matrix adhesion. Transcripts of the beta(2)-integrin CD18 were detected by PCR in RTS11 but not in RTG-2 cells, a fibroblastic lineage derived from rainbow trout gonads. These results suggest that differentiated RTS11 express molecules related to members of the beta(2)-integrin subfamily such as the macrophage lineage marker Mac-1 (CD11b/CD18) and/or p150,95 (CD11c/CD18) and possibly as well alpha(4)beta(1) of the beta(1)-integrin subfamily.

Animals↗
PubMed2002

Integrin-like substrate adhesion in RTG-2 cells, a fibroblastic cell line derived from rainbow trout.

Fluorometric cell attachment assays together with competitive inhibitors of adhesion were used to probe for the presence of integrins, a diverse family of heterodimeric cell-surface glycoproteins involved in cell-cell and cell-extracellular matrix adhesion, in the fibroblastic rainbow trout cell line, RTG-2. The adhesive properties of this cell line were evaluated. RTG-2 cells adhered poorly to TC plastic in the absence of serum but as little as 2.5% fetal bovine serum allowed over 75% of the cells to attach after 5 h. Surfaces coated with the extracellular matrix proteins collagen I, collagen IV, fibrin, fibrinogen, or fibronectin were able to support attachment of RTG-2 cells. Adhesion of RTG-2 cells to fibronectin varied linearly with fibronectin coating densities in the range 0 to 65 ng/mm(2). Oligopeptides containing the sequence Arg-Gly-Asp (RGD) caused dose-dependent inhibition of adhesion to microtiter plates coated with fibrin, fibrinogen, and fibronectin, whereas attachment to collagen I and collagen IV was less severely affected. In all cases, peptides containing Arg-Gly-Glu (RGE) or Asp-Gly-Arg (DGR) sequences caused no reduction of cell attachment. Since many integrins mediate adhesion by binding to RGD sequences in their target ligands, these results suggest the presence of integrin-like adhesion molecules on the surface of RTG-2 cells.

Amino Acid Sequence↗
PubMed1999

Chemokine and chemokine receptor expression in a novel human mesangial cell line.

Chemokines are thought to play a pivotal role in mediating the selective migration of leukocytes into sites of tissue injury. The local production of chemokines by mesangial cells (MC) has been linked to inflammatory processes within the glomerulus. To study the chemokine biology of human MC, an immortalized human MC line was generated and then chemokine and chemokine receptor expression was examined in response to various proinflammatory stimuli. The results show that human MC have a specific and limited repertoire of chemokine expression. The stimulus-specific regulation of the chemokines monocyte chemoattractant protein- (MCP- 1), regulated upon activation, normal T cell expressed and secreted (RANTES), interleukin-8 (IL-8), and IP-10 was demonstrated using RNase protection assays. Transcripts for the chemokines MIP-1alpha, MIP-1beta, I-309, or lymphotactin could not be detected. The expression of CC chemokine receptors was investigated by reverse transcription-PCR and RNase protection assays. MC stimulated with interferon-gamma (IFN-gamma) expressed mRNA for the chemokine receptor CCR1. The expression could be further increased by activating the cells with a combination of tumor necrosis factor-a (TNF-alpha), IL-1beta, and IFN-gamma. Under these conditions, no mRNA for CCR2, CCR3, CCR4, CCR5, or CCR8 was detected. A comparison of the immortalized human mesangial cells with primary cells showed identical expression patterns of chemokine receptors. To demonstrate functional activity of chemokine receptors expressed by human MC, chemotaxis assays were performed. MC stimulated with a combination of TNF-alpha, IL-1beta, and IFN-gamma, but not unstimulated MC, migrated toward a RANTES gradient. Eotaxin did not enhance the migratory activity of human MC. In summary, a novel human mesangial cell line was established and the pattern of chemokine expression was examined. For the first time, the inducible expression of functionally active CCR1 by human MC was shown.

Cell Line↗
PubMed1998

HIV-1-infected long-term slow progressors heterozygous for delta32-CCR5 show significantly lower plasma viral load than wild-type slow progressors.

OBJECTIVE: Patients heterozygous for delta32-CCR5 may have a delayed progression of HIV-1 disease. The aim of the present study was to investigate the influence of CCR5/delta32-CCR5 genotype in long-term slow progressors using plasma viral load as a marker of disease progression. DESIGN: We analyzed 70 long-term slow progressors (diagnosis > 8 years previously; CD4 count > 500/microl; asymptomatic, never received antiretroviral therapy) for CCR5 genotype, plasma viral load, and lymphocyte subsets. Distribution of CCR5 genotypes was compared with a cohort of 61 multiply exposed noninfected individuals and a group of 336 control subjects. All study participants were white. METHODS: CCR5 genotype was determined by polymerase chain reaction (PCR) amplification. Plasma viral load was quantified by branch DNA hybridization, lymphocyte subsets were determined by fluorescence-activated cell sorter (FACS) analysis. The Mann-Whitney-Wilcoxon test was used for statistical analyses. RESULTS: The frequency of the CCR5/delta32-CCR5 heterozygote genotype was higher in long-term slow progressors (37.1%) and multiply exposed noninfected individuals (26.2%), compared with the control group (15.8%). In addition, plasma viral load was found to be significantly lower in CCR5/delta32-CCR5 heterozygous long-term slow progressors (median < log10 2.70; 53.8% < log10 2.70; 0% > log10 4.0) relative to that seen in CCR5/CCR5 long-term slow progressors (median log10 3.64; 22.7% < log10 2.70; 22.7% > log10 4.0). CONCLUSIONS: These findings strengthen the hypothesis of a favorable influence of CCR5/delta32-CCR5 genotype on progression of HIV-1 infection. Therefore, evaluation of CCR5 genotype might influence antiretroviral therapy strategies in early stages of HIV-1 infection.

Cohort Studies↗
PubMed1998

CFTR mRNA and its truncated splice variant (TRN-CFTR) are differentially expressed during collecting duct ontogeny.

The collecting duct epithelium originates from the embryonic ureter by branching morphogenesis. Ontogeny-dependent changes of CFTR mRNA expression were assessed by quantitative reverse transcriptase-polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) in primary monolayer cultures of rat ureteric buds (UB) and cortical collecting ducts, microdissected at different embryonic and postnatal developmental stages. The amount of wild-type CFTR-specific PCR product in UB declined to 20% of the initial value between embryonic gestational day E15 and postnatal day P1. After birth the CFTR product increased transiently between P1 and P7 by a factor of 10 and decreased towards day P14. PCR products specific for TRN-CFTR, a truncated splice variant, however, were low in early embryonic cells, increased markedly between day E17 and P2, and reached a plateau postnatally. Therefore, mRNA encoding TRN-CFTR does not appear to have a specific embryonic-morphogenetic function. By contrast, such function is suggested for wild-type CFTR mRNA as its abundance was high in early embryonic nephrogenesis, as well as during a postnatal period shortly before branching morphogenesis is completed.

Alternative Splicing↗
PubMed1998

Plasma antioxidants and cognitive performance in middle-aged and older adults: results of the Austrian Stroke Prevention Study.

OBJECTIVES: To study the association between cognitive status and plasma concentrations of various antioxidants in middle-aged and older individuals without neuropsychiatric disease. DESIGN: Evaluation of cross-sectional data from a cohort study. SETTING: The Austrian Stroke Prevention Study. PARTICIPANTS: A total of 1769 subjects aged 50 to 75 years, with no history or signs of neuropsychiatric disease, selected randomly from the community register. MEASUREMENTS: The score on the Mattis Dementia Rating Scale (MDRS) was dichotomized according to age-and education-specific lowest quartile cut-off points. Reversed-phase high performance liquid chromatography measurements of the plasma concentrations of lutein/zeaxanthin, cryptoxanthin, canthaxanthin, lycopene, alpha-carotene, beta-carotene, retinol, gamma-tocopherol, alpha-tocopherol, and ascorbate were measured. RESULTS: Individuals with MDRS results below the lowest quartile cut-off point had lower levels of beta-carotene and alpha-tocopherol than their counterparts with test performance above this limit (0.44+/-.33 micromol/L vs 0.51+/-.48 micromol/L, P < .001; and 29.50+/-7.98 micromol/L vs 30.93+/-11.10 micromol/L, P < .001, respectively). Only alphatocopherol remained significantly associated with cognitive functioning when logistic regression analysis was used to adjust for possible confounders including age, sex, month of blood sampling, years of education, smoking, lipid status, and major risk factors for stroke (P = .019). CONCLUSION: These observations are compatible with the view that some dietary antioxidants may protect against cognitive impairment in older people.

Age Factors↗
PubMed1998

Beta-fibrinogen gene polymorphism (C148-->T) is associated with carotid atherosclerosis: results of the Austrian Stroke Prevention Study.

Polymorphisms at the beta-fibrinogen locus have been shown to be associated with plasma concentration of fibrinogen and coronary heart disease. The effect of the genetic heterogeneity of fibrinogen on carotid atherosclerosis has not been determined so far. We examined the influence of the C148 --> T polymorphism on carotid disease in a large cohort of middle-aged to elderly subjects without evidence of neuropsychiatric disease. This polymorphism is located close to the consensus sequence of the interleukin-6 element and may represent a functional sequence variant. The genotype of 399 randomly selected, neurologically asymptomatic individuals, aged 45 to 75 years, was determined by denaturing gradient gel electrophoresis. Carotid atherosclerosis was assessed by color-coded duplex scanning and was graded on a five-point scale ranging from 0 (=normal) to 5 (=complete luminal obstruction). The C/C, C/T, and T/T genotypes were noted in 226 (56.6%), 148 (37.1 %), and 25 (6.3%) individuals, respectively. The T/T genotype group demonstrated higher grades of carotid atherosclerosis than did the C/C and C/T genotypes (P=.003). Logistic regression analysis created a model of independent predictors of carotid atherosclerosis that included apolipoprotein B (odds ratio [OR], 1.17/10 mg/dL), age (OR, 2.46/10 years), lifetime tobacco consumption (OR, 1.03/1000 g), presence of the beta-fibrinogen promoter T/T genotype (OR, 6.17), plasma fibrinogen concentration (OR, 1.05/10 mg/dL), and cardiac disease (OR, 1.80). These data suggest that the beta-fibrinogen promoter T/T148 genotype represents a genetic risk factor for carotid atherosclerosis in the middle-aged to elderly.

Aged↗
PubMed1997

The impact of sociodemographic, environmental, and behavioral factors, and cerebrovascular risk factors as potential predictors of the mattis dementia rating scale.

BACKGROUND: Age and education have been found to affect the Mattis Dementia Rating Scale (MDRS) score of elderly normals, but there have been no studies assessing the influence of environmental and behavioral factors on this scale. Their role as potential predictors of the MDRS total score was investigated. METHODS: The MDRS was administered to 1,927 normal elderly subjects in the setting of a stroke prevention study. Results were correlated with 16 sociodemographic, environmental, and behavioral factors, and cerebrovascular risk factors. Study statistics resulted from multiple logistic regression analysis. RESULTS: Results indicated that higher age and arterial hypertension were associated with poorer cognitive performance, while better education and moderate general life stress exerted a positive effect on the participants' test results. CONCLUSIONS: Thus, besides the well-established factors of age and educational level, moderate general life stress and hypertension were identified as relevant predictors in determining the MDRS test performance of elderly normals.

Aged↗
PubMed1997

[Prevalence and risk factors in the population of Graz (Austrian Stroke Prevention Study)].

The Austrian Stroke Prevention Study recruited 1960 randomly selected subjects aged 50 to 75 years during a 3-year period of enrollment. The response rate of the study was 32.4%. A telephone interview with 200 randomly selected non-responders yielded no differences to responders regarding the frequency of major vascular risk factors known to the subjects. Besides demographics, the study assessed arterial hypertension, diabetes mellitus, cardiac disease, smoking, a complete lipid status including the apolipoprotein-E genotype, serum fibrinogen and anticardiolipin antibodies as well as various natural antioxidants such as vitamins A, C, E and beta-carotene. Arterial hypertension, diabetes mellitus, cardiac disease and hypercholesterolemia > 200 mg/dl were strikingly common and occurred in 38%, 7.6%, 32% and 76%, respectively. Suboptimal plasma concentrations of vitamin A, E, and beta-carotene were noted in 77.2%, 56.1% and in 53.2% of study participants. The rate of treatment of major risk factors known to the subjects prior to study entry were 60.3% and 70% for arterial hypertension and diabetes mellitus, but only 37.1% and 6.3% for cardiac disease and hypercholesterolemia > 250 mg/dl. Diet was commonly used to treat diabetes but was almost neglected in the treatment of other vascular risk factors. These data provide an orientation on the prevalence of risk factors and the use of primary preventive measures for stroke treatment in our community.

Adult↗
PubMed1996

Sociodemographic predictors and concurrent validity of the Mini Mental State Examination and the Mattis Dementia Rating Scale.

The Mini Mental State Examination (MMSE) and the Mattis Dementia Rating Scale (MDRS) are among the most commonly used screening tests for dementia. The goals of our study were, firstly, to identify sociodemographic factors which may explain the variance of test results in a community sample and, secondly, to investigate the interrelationship of these two dementia screening tests in order to evaluate the concurrent validity. A total of 1947 subjects were investigated in the setting of the Austrian Stroke Prevention Study (ASPS). Our study confirms most previous results demonstrating a relationship of higher dementia test scores with both younger age and higher educational level. Interestingly, the results we obtained suggest only a weak relationship and poor concurrent validity of the two tests. The total scores of the two tests show poor joint variance. This could lead to the conclusion that these tests evaluate different cognitive domains.

Age Factors↗
PubMed1996

Mini mental state examination: influence of sociodemographic, environmental and behavioral factors and vascular risk factors.

Age and education have been found to affect the Mini Mental State Examination (MMSE) score of elderly normals, but there have been no studies assessing the influence of environmental and behavioral factors on this test. We therefore administered the MMSE to 1437 normal elderly subjects in the setting of a stroke prevention study and correlated their results to 16 sociodemographic, environmental, and behavioral factors, and vascular risk factors. Study statistics composed of a multiple logistic regression analysis and graphical models revealed the relations between variables in greater detail. Logistic regression yielded education level, occupational status, living as a single, general life stress, physical strain, and physical inactivity to be independent predictors of the MMSE score. Age was not included in this model. Graphical models demonstrated similar results, but did not include living as a single and physical inactivity. As shown in our independence graph, general life stress is the crucial predictor and links other environmental and sociodemographic variables with the test performance of elderly normals.

Aged↗
PubMed1996

The porcine skeletal muscle ryanodine receptor gene structure coding region 1 to 10614 harbouring 71 exons.

The skeletal muscle ryanodine receptor (RYR1) belongs to a family of calcium release channels that are expressed in different tissues. The RYR1 gene is one of the largest genes characterized, so far, containing a 15253 nucleotide ORF in swine. To study the genomic organization of the porcine skeletal muscle ryanodine receptor gene we have isolated seven genomic fragments spanning 72.7 kb of chromosomal DNA of chromosome 6q12. This region harbours exons 1 to 71 coding for 3538 amino acids (69.6%) of the ryanodine receptor 1.

Amino Acid Sequence↗
PubMed1996

Apolipoprotein E e4 allele in the normal elderly: neuropsychologic and brain MRI correlates.

The presence of the apolipoprotein E e4 allele has been considered to be a risk factor for Alzheimer's disease and vascular dementia. We therefore used demanding neuropsychologic testing and brain MRI to determine if elderly normals with at least one e4 allele demonstrate subclinical changes in cognition and a higher frequency of brain atrophy or silent ischemic brain damage. The study population consisted of 214 randomly selected individuals aged 50 to 75 years without neuropsychiatric or general disease. There were 175 (81.8%) subjects without and 39 (18.2%) with at least one e4 allele. The two groups were comparable for age, length of education, verbal intelligence, mood and major vascular risk factors. Apolipoprotein E e4 carriers performed significantly worse than non-carriers when assessed for learning and memory abilities, while there were no differences in test results of conceptualization, attention, speed of mental processing and visuopractical skills. There were no between-group differences for thromboembolic and lacunar infarcts, white matter hyperintensity grading and the semiautomatically measured white matter hyperintensity area. The extent of sulcal and ventricular widening as well as hippocampal and parahippocampal volumes were also similar between the comparative subsets. We conclude that the apolipoprotein E e4 allele is associated with subtle learning and memory deficits in normal elderly persons and may therefore be suggested a marker for accelerated cognitive aging. In this group of subjects it was not associated with brain parenchymal changes as demonstrated by MRI.

Aged↗
PubMed1996

Estrogen replacement therapy in older women: a neuropsychological and brain MRI study.

OBJECTIVE: To determine if postmenopausal women receiving estrogen perform better on demanding cognitive tests than women without estrogen replacement and if this beneficial effect on cognition is caused by estrogen-related prevention of silent ischemic brain damage. DESIGN: Cross-sectional study comparing postmenopausal estrogen users and non-users. SETTING: Austrian Stroke Prevention Study. PARTICIPANTS: A total of 70 women currently using estrogen and 140 women who have never used estrogen from a subset of 222 postmenopausal women without neuropsychiatric or general disease undergoing extensive diagnostic work-up in a large-scale stroke prevention study among randomly selected community members. MEASUREMENTS: Neuropsychological test scores and focal brain abnormalities as well as size of ventricles and cortical sulci as assessed by 1.5 Tesla MRI. RESULTS: Estrogen users performed better than non-users on almost all neuropsychological tests administered. When ANCOVA was used to correct for slight differences between groups in age, length of education, mean arterial blood pressure and self-reported activation, values of P < .05 were noted on tasks assessing conceptualization, attention, and visuopractical skills. After adjustment for multiple comparisons, the differences in conceptualization and visuopractical skills remained significant. MRI showed a lower rate and extent of white matter hyperintensities and a significantly smaller total white matter hyperintensity area in women treated with estrogen (P = .043). The total white matter hyperintensity area was inversely related to the duration of estrogen replacement therapy(P = .040). However, there was no difference in neuropsychological performance between estrogen users with and without white matter abnormalities, and this was also supported by the lack of an association between cognitive test results and the extent of white matter disease. CONCLUSIONS: Our study demonstrated an association between estrogen replacement therapy and better cognitive functioning and a lower rate of clinically unsuspected ischemic brain damage in postmenopausal women.

Analysis of Variance↗
PubMed1996

[Structure and expression of the porcine skeletal muscle ryanodine receptor gene].

The ryanodine receptors (RYR) are a family of intracellular Ca2+ release channels that were first identified in the terminal cistenae of the sarcoplasmic reticulum of the skeletal and cardiac muscle. Mutations within the skeletal muscle isoform were shown to cause malignant hyperthermia in swine and man. We have analysed the genomic structure of the porcine skeletal muscle ryanodine receptor and its expression using chimeric reporter gene constructs consisting of the RYR1 gene promoter and the chloramphenicol acetyltransferase gene after transfection in muscle and non-muscle cells.

Animals↗
PubMed1994

Assessment of cerebrovascular risk profiles in healthy persons: definition of research goals and the Austrian Stroke Prevention Study (ASPS).

The advent of new laboratory methods and noninvasive imaging modalities has extended the diagnostic possibilities in normal individuals. This article elaborates the new options for the assessment of stroke risk offered by these techniques. In this context we present the Austrian Stroke Prevention Study, which is the first prospective long-term investigation of normals that includes Doppler sonography, magnetic resonance imaging and single photon emission computed tomography. The design, utility and limitations of this study are discussed.

Aged↗
PubMed1994

The Mattis Dementia Rating Scale: normative data from 1,001 healthy volunteers.

We administered the Mattis Dementia Rating Scale (MDRS) to 1,001 healthy volunteers, aged 50 to 80 years, randomly selected from our community. Multivariate regression analysis revealed educational level (p = 0.000004) and age (p = 0.00001), but no other sociodemographic or risk factors for stroke, to be significantly associated with the MDRS score. The age- and education-specific lowest quintile cutoff scores ranged from 140 in subjects aged 50 to 59 years with at least college experience to 130 in subjects aged 70 to 80 years with only 4 to 9 years of schooling. These percentile distributions obtained for decades of age and different levels of education should be useful reference values for clinicians and investigators when applying the MDRS to assess cognitive functioning.

Aged↗