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Biomedical subjects

M J Dallman

Publications and source records attributed to M J Dallman.

At least 73 records · Page 4Linked to original sources

Cytokine gene expression: analysis using northern blotting, polymerase chain reaction and in situ hybridization.

We describe here the use of northern blotting, PCR and in situ hybridization for the analysis of cytokine gene expression. These techniques, each with their advantages and disadvantages, have been used to monitor cytokine gene expression in sites of immune reactivity and in the developing thymus. Whilst expression of a gene usually correlates well with protein production from that gene, this may not always be the case. The development of methods to analyze protein production in situ, for instance by immunohistochemistry, together with analysis of mRNA expression will allow us to begin to understand the role of cytokines within the immune system of the intact animal.

Animals↗

Comparison of the width of the intervertebral disk space and radiographic changes before and after intervertebral disk fenestration in dogs.

Intervertebral disk space widths were measured on lateral radiographs of 73 anesthetized dogs. Weight was found to have a significant (P less than 0.01) effect on disk space width. Using weight-adjusted disk space width measurements for all subsequent studies, older (7- to 16-year-old) dogs and males had consistently, but not significantly, wider, disk spaces than did alternative groups. Cervical and lumbar intervertebral disk spaces tended to be wider than those in the caudal thoracic region. The widest cervical intervertebral disk spaces were C4-5 and C5-6 and the narrowest was C2-3. In the lumbar region, L2-3 was the widest disk space and L4-5 was the narrowest. Dachshunds generally had greater mean intervertebral disk space width than did other breeds of dogs. Cervical (n = 6 dogs) and thoracolumbar (n = 6 dogs) disk fenestration resulted in narrow intervertebral disk spaces, regardless of breed. When a ventral approach was used in thoracolumbar fenestration, the mean intervertebral disk space was narrower than that resulting from use of a dorsolateral approach. Spondylosis was found radiographically 1 to 4 years after intervertebral disk fenestration in 3 of 6 dogs that had cervical fenestrations and in 5 of 6 dogs that underwent thoracolumbar fenestration.

Age Factors↗

Rotational strength of double-pinning techniques in repair of transverse fractures in femurs of dogs.

Transverse midshaft fractures of femurs from freshly euthanatized dogs were stabilized by means of 6 methods: (1) 3.5-mm bone plate and screws, (2) single intramedullary pin, (3) double intramedullary pins retrograded proximally and driven distally to the level of the femoral trochlea, (4) double intramedullary pins retrograded distally and driven proximally into the trochanteric region, (5) double intramedullary pinning in Rush pin fashion, and (6) multiple intramedullary pinning that filled the medullary cavity at the fracture site. All bones were subjected to torsional stress. The measured strain was converted to forces of torque and correlated with bone diameter to normalize the data. The forces of torque from each fixation technique were compared with each other and with the mean torque force necessary to fracture intact femurs. Torsional shear applied to plated femurs resulted in failure at a mean level of 33.8% of the calculated theoretic moment. Torsional forces were concentrated at one end of the plate and catastrophically failed at that point, whereas the fracture site remained rigidly fixed. There was no significant difference in the initial moment of torsional failure between the single intramedullary pin technique (0.05 Nm) and the double-pinning techniques (0.03 to 0.04 Nm). The multiple-pinning technique was 1.8 to 3 times as effective in resisting rotational forces, compared with the other pinning techniques, but not significantly so.

Animals↗

Esophageal obstruction as a sequela to ruptured esophagus in a goat.

Granulation tissue as a sequela to ruptured esophagus was diagnosed as the cause of esophageal obstruction and regurgitation in a 3.5-year-old Toggenburg buck. Thoracic radiography was useful in localization of the problem. The condition was successfully treated by removal of the granulation tissue through left-sided thoracotomy.

Animals↗

The specificity of rejection and the absence of susceptibility of pancreatic islet beta cells to nonspecific immune destruction in mixed strain islets grafted beneath the renal capsule in the rat.

The specificity of rejection of isolated pancreatic islets was examined in the rat using a quantitative model in which syngeneic (DA) or a mixture of syngeneic and allogeneic (DA and LEW or PVG) islets were implanted beneath the capsule of the kidney of nondiabetic normal rats (DA). 3 wk after transplantation total insulin extraction assays of the kidney with its islet implant together with immunohistological examination of the site of transplantation for evidence of syngeneic or allogeneic tissue demonstrated the total destruction of allogeneic islets without any evidence of damage to syngeneic islets either distant or in immediate proximity to allogeneic islets. Pancreatic islets, and especially beta cells, appear to be particularly vulnerable to the effector arm of both autoimmune and alloimmune responses, a vulnerability that has been attributed to the cytotoxic effects of lymphokines, notably IL-1, released in both autoimmune and alloimmune responses. The experiments reported here demonstrate not only the exquisite specificity of the allograft reaction but are not compatible with a hypothesis that B cells within an intact islet are nonspecifically susceptible to destruction by lymphokines.

Animals↗

Functional suture-holding layer of the esophagus in the dog.

Several investigators have stated that the suture-holding layer of the esophagus is the mucosa. In this study, the component layers of the esophagus were separated. Segments of the cervical esophageal wall, muscularis, submucosa, and submucosa-mucosa were each sutured, and the suture lines were subjected to tensile forces. When subjected to tensile force, all suture lines failed when sutures pulled through the tissue. The data were subjected to statistical analysis. Based on this analysis, it was concluded that the full esophageal wall had the greatest ability, and the muscularis the least ability, to hold sutures against tension. Therefore, when no significant difference in suture-holding ability between the submucosa alone and the submucosa-mucosa together was demonstrated, it was concluded that the submucosa was the suture-holding layer of the esophagus.

Animals↗

Lack of correlation between the induction of donor class I and class II major histocompatibility complex antigens and graft rejection.

The induction of donor major histocompatibility complex (MHC) antigens on nonrejected and rejected rat renal allografts was compared at various times after transplantation in two strain combinations, DA-to-PVG and LEW-to-DA. Graft rejection was prevented by preoperative donor-specific blood transfusion (DST). Quantitative absorption analysis and immunohistology were performed using monoclonal antibodies specific for donor class I and class II MHC antigens. A significant increase in the expression of donor MHC antigens, both class I and class II, was demonstrated on nonrejected as well as rejected kidneys after transplantation. A kinetic analysis showed that induction of donor class I antigens was accelerated on the nonrejected grafts, and by day 5 the nonrejected kidneys showed increased expression of class I antigen when compared with the rejected grafts (a 37- vs. a 25-fold increase in expression). Increased expression of donor class I antigens persisted on the nonrejected grafts and was still detectable on long-term-surviving kidneys, 50 days after transplantation. The magnitude of class II antigen induction was similar on both rejected and nonrejected grafts (8-fold by 5 days after transplantation). Immunohistology demonstrated that class I and class II antigens were induced on identical structures in the kidney in both situations. In particular the vessel endothelia, which do not express class II antigens in normal kidney, become strongly positive in both rejected and nonrejected grafts 5 days after transplantation. Although renal allograft rejection is completely suppressed in rats given a single donor-specific blood transfusion before transplantation, graft survival cannot be explained by the lack of induction of donor MHC antigens. Donor MHC antigens are induced on these nonrejected kidney grafts, and therefore they could act as target molecules for the effector cells that mediate graft destruction. Thus the induction of donor MHC antigens on tissue allografts should not be considered as indicative of a rejection response resulting in graft destruction.

Animals↗

Histochemical study of normal and collapsed tracheas in dogs.

Tracheas from 15 toy breed dogs with normal tracheas and 6 dogs with collapsed tracheas were examined histologically and histochemically. Tracheal cartilage was analyzed for chondroitin sulfate by means of alcian blue (CEC method) and for calcium with alizarin red S. Cartilage arcs from dogs with collapsed tracheas had areas that were apparently hypocellular, and some had other areas that appeared like fibrocartilage or fibrous tissue. Histochemically, collapsed tracheal cartilage had less chondroitin sulfate and calcium than did normal tracheal cartilage. Cartilage arcs from the collapsed tracheas were not uniformly affected to the same degree, and parts of a given tracheal arc appeared normal, whereas other parts had an abnormal histologic appearance.

Animals↗

Specific cytotoxic T cells are found in the nonrejected kidneys of blood-transfused rats.

Preoperative, donor-specific blood transfusion leads to indefinite survival of rat renal allografts in the strain combinations used. 51Cr-release assays have shown that the level of specific cytotoxic effector activity in the grafts of transfused (nonrejected kidney) animals is very high and may equal or exceed that seen in the grafts of untreated (rejected kidney) recipients. Such cytotoxicity demonstrates specificity for the alloantigens of the kidney, is T cell-mediated, and may persist within the transplant.

Animals↗