BACKGROUND To date, there has been little agreement on the use of ultrasonographic parameters in predicting the long-term outcome after transplantation. This study evaluates whether ultrasonography of the graft performed in the early stage after transplantation is a valuable predictor for long-term-outcome. OBJECTIVES The aim of this study was to evaluate the association of ultrasonographic p...

Polyphosphoinositides have many roles in cell signalling and vesicle trafficking [1-3]. Phosphatidylinositol 3,5-bisphosphate (PI(3,5)P2), a recently discovered PIP2 isomer, is ubiquitous in eukaryotic cells and rapidly accumulates in hyperosmotically stressed yeast. PI(3,5)P2 is synthesised from PI(3)P in both yeast and mammalian cells [4,5]. A search of the Saccharomyces cerevisiae genome dat...

Vu, M. K., J. Vecht, E. H. Eddes, I. Biemond, C. B. H. W. Lamers, and A. A. M. Masclee. Antroduodenal motility in chronic pancreatitis: are abnormalities related to exocrine insufficiency? Am. J. Physiol. Gastrointest. Liver Physiol. 278: G458–G466, 2000.—In patients with chronic pancreatitis (CP) the relation among exocrine pancreatic secretion, gastrointestinal hormone release, and motility i...

Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) is caused by α1-antitrypsin deficiency (AATD) genetic susceptibility and exacerbated by infection. The current pilot study aimed at studying the combined effect of AATD and bacterial loads on the efficacy of COPD conventional pharmacotherapy. Fifty-nine subjects (29 controls and 30 COPD patients) were tested for genetic AATD and respiratory function....

This study aimed to measure the levels of interferon-gamma (IFN-γ), tumor necrosis factor-alpha (TNF-α), interleukin 1 (IL-1), interleukin 6 (IL-6), and nitrite/nitrate (NO x ) in serum of dogs experimentally infected with Rangelia vitalii. Twelve female mongrel dogs were divided into 2 groups; group A (uninfected controls) composed by healthy dogs (n=5) and group B consisting of dogs inoculate...

Phosphatidylinositol 4,5-bisphosphate (PI 4,5-P(2)) on the plasma membrane is essential for vesicle exocytosis but its role in membrane fusion has not been determined. Here, we quantify the concentration of PI 4,5-P(2) as approximately 6 mol% in the cytoplasmic leaflet of plasma membrane microdomains at sites of docked vesicles. At this concentration of PI 4,5-P(2) soluble NSF attachment protei...

Meloidogyne incognita penetration and development were studied in roots of highly resistant (PI 96354, PI 417444), resistant (Forrest), and susceptible (Bossier) soybean genotypes. Although more second-stage juveniles (J2) had penetrated roots of PI 96354 and PI 417444 than roots of Forrest and Bossier by 2 days after inoculation, fewer J2 were present in roots of PI 96354 at 4 days after inocu...

Phosphorus availability is limited in many natural ecosystems. Plants adapt to phosphate (Pi) deficiency by complex molecular processes. There is growing evidence suggesting that transcription factors are key components in the regulation of these processes. In this study, we characterized the function of ZAT6 (zinc finger of Arabidopsis 6), a cysteine-2/histidine-2 zinc finger transcription fac...

Information about resistance profile of darunavir (DRV) is scarce in Brazil. Our objectives were to estimate the prevalence of DRV resistance mutations in patients failing protease inhibitors (PI) and to identify factors associated with having more DRV resistance mutations. All HIV-infected patients failing PI-based regimens with genotyping performed between 2007 and 2008 in a referral teaching...

This study assessed the active role of the portal vein endothelium in the functional loss of pancreatic islet (PI) grafts, considered in the context of PI transplantation for treatment of type I diabetes mellitus. We hypothesized that PI engraftment may be jeopardized by portal vein endothelial cell-induced activation of host T cells. We designed an in vitro system using portal vein endothelial...