PURPOSE The authors investigated the phagocytic processes of the rod outer segments (ROS) in rat retinal pigment epithelium (RPE) cells, and the appearance of lysosomal enzymes, acidification, and degradation of the contents in the phagolysosomes. In particular, they examined the effect of bafilomycin A1, a specific inhibitor of vacuolar-type H(+)-ATPase, on the degradation of ROS in the RPE ce...

background: mycobacterium tuberculosis is a major cause of mortality and morbidity worldwide. infection with this bacterium is known to induce the development of autoantibodies of which a few are also known to be diagnostic markers for some other diseases. antineutrophil cytoplasmic antibodies (anca's) are among those autoantibodies used in clinical setting for diagnosing systemic vasculit...

We report the case of a 59-year-old female who developed facial edema together with hypoproteinemia. On the basis of (99m)Tc-human serum albumin scintigraphy and a1-antitrypsin clearance, she was diagnosed with protein-losing gastroenteropathy. Furthermore, she was diagnosed with Sjögren syndrome on the basis of eye and oral dryness, positive result with anti-SSA antibody, and salivary gland bi...

Cardiac anaphylaxis is a severe, life-threatening manifestation of acute hypersensitivity reactions to allergens and drugs. Earlier studies highlighted an amplifying effect of locally applied C5a on the process; however, the role of systemic complement (C) activation with C5a liberation in blood has not been explored to date. In the present study, we used the porcine liposome-induced cardiopulm...

Whether ClC-3 encodes volume-sensitive organic osmolyte and anion channels (VSOACs) remains controversial. We have shown previously that native VSOACs in some cardiac and vascular myocytes were blocked by a commercial anti-ClC-3 carboxy terminal antibody (Alm C592-661 antibody), although recent studies have raised questions related to the specificity of Alm C592-661 antibody. Therefore, we have...

In this issue of Arteriosclerosis, Thrombosis, and Vascular Biology, Aymé et al provide new insights into the role played by von Willebrand factor (VWF) in modulating in vivo inflammatory responses. In particular, a single-domain antibody against the VWF A1 domain is shown to markedly attenuate leukocyte recruitment and vascular permeability in 2 distinct murine models of inflammation. Collecti...

Mast cells in the left cranial pulmonary lobe of colostrum-deprived neonatal calves were quantified 2 and 6 h after intrabronchial inoculation with Mannheimia (Pasteurella) haemolytica A1. The mast cells were detected (1) immunohistochemically with a mouse anti-human mast cell tryptase monoclonal antibody, and (2) by metachromatic staining with low pH toluidine blue. A greater number of mast ce...

Multiphoton polymerization (MPP) enables 3D fabrication of micro- and nanoscale devices with complex geometries. Using MPP, we create a 3D platform for protein assays. Elevating the protein-binding sites above the substrate surface allows an optically sectioned readout, minimizing the inevitable background signal from nonspecific protein adsorption at the substrate surface. Two fluorescence-lin...