Cellular telephone use and time trends in brain tumour mortality in Switzerland from 1969 to 2002

A rising concern exists that with the widespread use of mobile communication technologies, the incidence of brain tumours may increase. On the basis of data from the Swiss national mortality registry from 1969 to 2002, annual age-standardized brain tumour mortality rates per 100,000 person-years were calculated using the European standard population. Time trend analyses were performed by the Poisson regression for six different age groups in men and women separately. The study period was divided into two intervals: before and after 1987, when the analogue mobile technology was introduced in Switzerland. Age-standardized brain tumour mortality rates ranged between 3.7 and 6.7 for men and 2.5 and 4.4 for women per 100,000 person-years. For the whole study period, a significant increase in brain tumour mortality was observed for men and women in the older age groups (60-74 and 75+ years) but not in the younger ones in whom mobile phone use was more prevalent. Time trend analyses restricted to data from 1987 onwards revealed relatively stable brain tumour mortality rates in all age groups. For instance, the annual change in brain tumour mortality rate for the 45-59-year age group was -0.3% (95% confidence interval: -1.7; 1.1) for men and -0.4% (95% confidence interval:-2.2; 1.3) for women. We conclude that after the introduction of mobile phone technology in Switzerland, brain tumour mortality rates remained stable in all age groups. Our results suggest that mobile phone use is not a strong risk factor in the short term for mortality from brain tumours. Ecological analyses like this, however, are limited in their ability to reveal potentially small increases in risk for diseases with a long latency period.

Type I IFN induction in response to Listeria monocytogenes in human macrophages: evidence for a differential activation of IFN regulatory factor 3 (IRF3)

Listeria monocytogenes is a prototypic bacterium for studying innate and adaptive cellular immunity as well as host defense. Using human monocyte-derived macrophages, we report that an infection with a wild-type strain, but not a listeriolysin O-deficient strain, of the Gram-positive bacterium L. monocytogenes induces expression of IFN-beta and a bioactive type I IFN response. Investigating the activation of signaling pathways in human macrophages after infection revealed that a wild-type strain and a hemolysin-deficient strain of L. monocytogenes activated the NF-kappaB pathway and induced a comparable TNF response. p38 MAPK and activating transcription factor 2 were phosphorylated following infection with either strain, and IFN-beta gene expression induced by wild-type L. monocytogenes was reduced when p38 was inhibited. However, neither IFN regulatory factor (IRF) 3 translocation to the nucleus nor posttranslational modifications and dimerizations were observed after L. monocytogenes infection. In contrast, vesicular stomatitis virus and LPS triggered IRF3 activation and signaling. When IRF3 was knocked down using small interfering RNA, a L. monocytogenes-induced IFN-beta response remained unaffected whereas a vesicular stomatitis virus-triggered response was reduced. Evidence against the possibility that IRF7 acts in place of IRF3 is provided. Thus, we show that wild-type L. monocytogenes induced an IFN-beta response in human macrophages and propose that this response involves p38 MAPK and activating transcription factor 2. Using various stimuli, we show that IRF3 is differentially activated during type I IFN responses in human macrophages.

Attenuation of myocardial reperfusion injury in pigs by Mirococept, a membrane-targeted complement inhibitor derived from human CR1

OBJECTIVES: Membrane-targeted application of complement inhibitors may ameliorate ischemia/reperfusion (I/R) injury by directly targeting damaged cells. We investigated whether Mirococept, a membrane-targeted, myristoylated peptidyl construct derived from complement receptor 1 (CR1) could attenuate I/R injury following acute myocardial infarction in pigs. METHODS: In a closed-chest pig model of acute myocardial infarction, Mirococept, the non-tailed derivative APT154, or vehicle was administered intracoronarily into the area at risk 5 min pre-reperfusion. Infarct size, cardiac function and inflammatory status were evaluated. RESULTS: Mirococept targeted damaged vasculature and myocardium, significantly decreasing infarct size compared to vehicle, whereas APT154 had no effect. Cardioprotection correlated with reduced serum troponin I and was paralleled by attenuated local myocardial complement deposition and tissue factor expression. Myocardial apoptosis (TUNEL-positivity) was also reduced with the use of Mirococept. Local modulation of the pro-inflammatory and pro-coagulant phenotype translated to improved left ventricular end-diastolic pressure, ejection fraction and regional wall motion post-reperfusion. CONCLUSIONS: Local modification of a pro-inflammatory and pro-coagulant environment after regional I/R injury by site-specific application of a membrane-targeted complement regulatory protein may offer novel possibilities and insights into potential treatment strategies of reperfusion-induced injury.

Endogenous bone marrow derived cells express retinal pigment epithelium cell markers and migrate to focal areas of RPE damage

PURPOSE: The aim of the present study was to investigate whether bone marrow-derived cells (BMCs) can be induced to express retinal pigment epithelial (RPE) cell markers in vitro and can home to the site of RPE damage after mobilization and express markers of RPE lineage in vivo. METHODS: Adult RPE cells were cocultured with green fluorescence protein (GFP)-labeled stem cell antigen-1 positive (Sca-1(+)) BMCs for 1, 2, and 3 weeks. Cell morphology and expression of RPE-specific markers and markers for other retinal cell types were studied. Using an animal model of sodium iodate (NaIO(3))-induced RPE degeneration, BMCs were mobilized into the peripheral circulation by granulocyte-colony stimulating factor, flt3 ligand, or both. Immunocytochemistry was used to identify and characterize BMCs in the subretinal space in C57BL/6 wild-type (wt) mice and GFP chimeric mice. RESULTS: In vitro, BMCs changed from round to flattened, polygonal cells and expressed cytokeratin, RPE65, and microphthalmia transcription factor (MITF) when cocultured in direct cell-cell contact with RPE. In vivo, BMCs were identified in the subretinal space as Sca-1(+) or c-kit(+) cells. They were also double labeled for GFP and RPE65 or MITF. These cells formed a monolayer on the Bruch membrane in focal areas of RPE damage. CONCLUSIONS: Thus, it appears that BMCs, when mobilized into the peripheral circulation, can home to focal areas of RPE damage and express cell markers of RPE lineage. The use of endogenous BMCs to replace damaged retinal tissue opens new possibilities for cell replacement therapy in ophthalmology.

LIF promotes neurogenesis and maintains neural precursors in cell populations derived from spiral ganglion stem cells

BACKGROUND: Stem cells with the ability to form clonal floating colonies (spheres) were recently isolated from the neonatal murine spiral ganglion. To further examine the features of inner ear-derived neural stem cells and their derivatives, we investigated the effects of leukemia inhibitory factor (LIF), a neurokine that has been shown to promote self-renewal of other neural stem cells and to affect neural and glial cell differentiation. RESULTS: LIF-treatment led to a dose-dependent increase of the number of neurons and glial cells in cultures of sphere-derived cells. Based on the detection of developmental and progenitor cell markers that are maintained in LIF-treated cultures and the increase of cycling nestin-positive progenitors, we propose that LIF maintains a pool of neural progenitor cells. We further provide evidence that LIF increases the number of nestin-positive progenitor cells directly in a cell cycle-independent fashion, which we interpret as an acceleration of neurogenesis in sphere-derived progenitors. This effect is further enhanced by an anti-apoptotic action of LIF. Finally, LIF and the neurotrophins BDNF and NT3 additively promote survival of stem cell-derived neurons. CONCLUSION: Our results implicate LIF as a powerful tool to control neural differentiation and maintenance of stem cell-derived murine spiral ganglion neuron precursors. This finding could be relevant in cell replacement studies with animal models featuring spiral ganglion neuron degeneration. The additive effect of the combination of LIF and BDNF/NT3 on stem cell-derived neuronal survival is similar to their effect on primary spiral ganglion neurons, which puts forward spiral ganglion-derived neurospheres as an in vitro model system to study aspects of auditory neuron development.

Brain endothelial PPARgamma controls inflammation-induced CD4+ T cell adhesion and transmigration in vitro

An important step in the pathogenesis of multiple sclerosis is adhesion and transmigration of encephalitogenic T cells across brain endothelial cells (EC) which strongly relies on interaction with EC-expressed adhesion molecules. We provide molecular evidence that the transcription factor peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor gamma (PPARgamma) is a negative regulator of brain EC inflammation. The PPARgamma agonist pioglitazone reduces transendothelial migration of encephalitogenic T cells across TNFalpha-stimulated brain EC. This effect is clearly PPARgamma mediated, as lentiviral PPARgamma overexpression in brain EC results in selective abrogation of inflammation-induced ICAM-1 and VCAM-1 upregulation and subsequent adhesion and transmigration of T cells. We therefore propose that PPARgamma in brain EC may be exploited to target detrimental EC-T cell interactions under inflammatory conditions.

Therapeutic targeting of leukocyte trafficking across the blood-brain barrier

The central nervous system (CNS) has long been regarded as an immune privileged organ implying that the immune system avoids the CNS not to disturb its homeostasis, which is critical for proper function of neurons. Meanwhile, it is accepted that immune cells do in fact gain access to the CNS and that immune responses are mounted within this tissue. However, the unique CNS microenvironment strictly controls these immune reactions starting with tightly regulating immune cell entry into the tissue. The endothelial blood-brain barrier (BBB) and the epithelial blood-cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) barrier control immune cell entry into the CNS, which is rare under physiological conditions. During a variety of pathological conditions of the CNS such as viral or bacterial infections, or during inflammatory diseases such as multiple sclerosis (MS), immunocompetent cells readily traverse the BBB and subsequently enter the CNS parenchyma. Most of our current knowledge on the molecular mechanisms involved in immune cell entry into the CNS has been derived from studies performed in experimental autoimmune encephalomyelitis (EAE), an animal model for MS. Thus, a large part of our current knowledge on immune cell entry across the BBBs is based on the results obtained in this animal model. Similarly, knowledge on the benefits and potential risks associated with therapeutic targeting of immune cell recruitment across the BBB in human diseases are mostly derived from such treatment regimen in MS. Other mechanisms of immune cell entry into the CNS might therefore apply under different pathological conditions such as bacterial meningitis or stroke and need to be considered.

Prevention of brain injury by the nonbacteriolytic antibiotic daptomycin in experimental pneumococcal meningitis

Bacteriolytic antibiotics cause the release of bacterial components that augment the host inflammatory response, which in turn contributes to the pathophysiology of brain injury in bacterial meningitis. In the present study, antibiotic therapy with nonbacteriolytic daptomycin was compared with that of bacteriolytic ceftriaxone in experimental pneumococcal meningitis, and the treatments were evaluated for their effects on inflammation and brain injury. Eleven-day-old rats were injected intracisternally with 1.3 x 10(4) +/- 0.5 x 10(4) CFU of Streptococcus pneumoniae serotype 3 and randomized to therapy with ceftriaxone (100 mg/kg of body weight subcutaneously [s.c.]; n = 55) or daptomycin (50 mg/kg s.c.; n = 56) starting at 18 h after infection. The cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) was assessed for bacterial counts, matrix metalloproteinase-9 levels, and tumor necrosis factor alpha levels at different time intervals after infection. Cortical brain damage was evaluated at 40 h after infection. Daptomycin cleared the bacteria more efficiently from the CSF than ceftriaxone within 2 h after the initiation of therapy (log(10) 3.6 +/- 1.0 and log(10) 6.3 +/- 1.4 CFU/ml, respectively; P < 0.02); reduced the inflammatory host reaction, as assessed by the matrix metalloproteinase-9 concentration in CSF 40 h after infection (P < 0.005); and prevented the development of cortical injury (cortical injury present in 0/30 and 7/28 animals, respectively; P < 0.004). Compared to ceftriaxone, daptomycin cleared the bacteria from the CSF more rapidly and caused less CSF inflammation. This combined effect provides an explanation for the observation that daptomycin prevented the development of cortical brain injury in experimental pneumococcal meningitis. Further research is needed to investigate whether nonbacteriolytic antibiotic therapy with daptomycin represents an advantageous alternative over current bacteriolytic antibiotic therapies for the treatment of pneumococcal meningitis.

Statistical shape analysis via principal factor analysis

Statistical shape analysis techniques commonly employed in the medical imaging community, such as active shape models or active appearance models, rely on principal component analysis (PCA) to decompose shape variability into a reduced set of interpretable components. In this paper we propose principal factor analysis (PFA) as an alternative and complementary tool to PCA providing a decomposition into modes of variation that can be more easily interpretable, while still being a linear efficient technique that performs dimensionality reduction (as opposed to independent component analysis, ICA). The key difference between PFA and PCA is that PFA models covariance between variables, rather than the total variance in the data. The added value of PFA is illustrated on 2D landmark data of corpora callosa outlines. Then, a study of the 3D shape variability of the human left femur is performed. Finally, we report results on vector-valued 3D deformation fields resulting from non-rigid registration of ventricles in MRI of the brain.

Inhibition of matrix metalloproteinases and tumour necrosis factor alpha converting enzyme as adjuvant therapy in pneumococcal meningitis

Matrix metalloproteinases (MMPs) and tumour necrosis factor alpha (TNF-alpha) converting enzyme (TACE) contribute synergistically to the pathophysiology of bacterial meningitis. TACE proteolytically releases several cell-surface proteins, including the proinflammatory cytokine TNF-alpha and its receptors. TNF-alpha in turn stimulates cells to produce active MMPs, which facilitate leucocyte extravasation and brain oedema by degradation of extracellular matrix components. In the present time-course studies of pneumococcal meningitis in infant rats, MMP-8 and -9 were 100- to 1000-fold transcriptionally upregulated, both in CSF cells and in brain tissue. Concentrations of TNF-alpha and MMP-9 in CSF peaked 12 h after infection and were closely correlated. Treatment with BB-1101 (15 mg/kg subcutaneously, twice daily), a hydroxamic acid-based inhibitor of MMP and TACE, downregulated the CSF concentration of TNF-alpha and decreased the incidences of seizures and mortality. Therapy with BB-1101, together with antibiotics, attenuated neuronal necrosis in the cortex and apoptosis in the hippocampus when given as a pretreatment at the time of infection and also when administration was started 18 h after infection. Functionally, the neuroprotective effect of BB-1101 preserved learning performance of rats assessed 3 weeks after the disease had been cured. Thus, combined inhibition of MMP and TACE offers a novel therapeutic strategy to prevent brain injury and neurological sequelae in bacterial meningitis.

[In search of strategies for preventing brain damage as a sequela of bacterial meningitis]

Multiplication of bacteria within the central nervous system compartment triggers a host response with an overshooting inflammatory reaction which leads to brain parenchyma damage. Some of the inflammatory and neurotoxic mediators involved in the processes leading to neuronal injury during bacterial meningitis have been identified in recent years. As a result, the therapeutic approach to the disease has widened from eradication of the bacterial pathogen with antibiotics to attenuation of the detrimental effects of host defences. Corticosteroids represent an example of the adjuvant therapeutic strategies aimed at downmodulating excessive inflammation in the infected central nervous system. Pathophysiological concepts derived from an experimental rat model of bacterial meningitis revealed possible therapeutic strategies for prevention of brain damage. The insights gained led to the evaluation of new therapeutic modalities such as anticytokine agents, matrix metalloproteinase inhibitors, antioxidants, and antagonists of endothelin and glutamate. Bacterial meningitis is still associated with persistent neurological sequelae in approximately one third of surviving patients. Future research in the model will evaluate whether the neuroprotective agents identified so far have the potential to attenuate learning disabilities as a long-term consequence of bacterial meningitis.

Matrix metalloproteinases contribute to brain damage in experimental pneumococcal meningitis

The present study was performed to evaluate the role of matrix metalloproteinases (MMP) in the pathogenesis of the inflammatory reaction and the development of neuronal injury in a rat model of bacterial meningitis. mRNA encoding specific MMPs (MMP-3, MMP-7, MMP-8, and MMP-9) and the inflammatory cytokine tumor necrosis factor alpha (TNF-alpha) were significantly (P < 0.04) upregulated, compared to the beta-actin housekeeping gene, in cortical homogenates at 20 h after infection. In parallel, concentrations of MMP-9 and TNF-alpha in cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) were significantly increased in rats with bacterial meningitis compared to uninfected animals (P = 0.002) and showed a close correlation (r = 0.76; P < 0. 001). Treatment with a hydroxamic acid-type MMP inhibitor (GM6001; 65 mg/kg intraperitoneally every 12 h) beginning at the time of infection significantly lowered the MMP-9 (P < 0.02) and TNF-alpha (P < 0.02) levels in CSF. Histopathology at 25.5 +/- 5.7 h after infection showed neuronal injury (median [range], 3.5% [0 to 17.5%] of the cortex), which was significantly (P < 0.01) reduced to 0% (0 to 10.8%) by GM6001. This is the first report to demonstrate that MMPs contribute to the development of neuronal injury in bacterial meningitis and that inhibition of MMPs may be an effective approach to prevent brain damage as a consequence of the disease.

Chondrogenic differentiation of bovine synovium: bone morphogenetic proteins 2 and 7 and transforming growth factor beta1 induce the formation of different types of cartilaginous tissue

OBJECTIVE: To compare the potential of bone morphogenetic proteins 2 and 7 (BMP-2 and BMP-7) and transforming growth factor beta1 (TGFbeta1) to effect the chondrogenic differentiation of synovial explants by analyzing the histologic, biochemical, and gene expression characteristics of the cartilaginous tissues formed. METHODS: Synovial explants derived from the metacarpal joints of calves were cultured in agarose. Initially, BMP-2 was used to evaluate the chondrogenic potential of the synovial explants under different culturing conditions. Under appropriate conditions, the chondrogenic effects of BMP-2, BMP-7, and TGFbeta1 were then compared. The differentiated tissue was characterized histologically, histomorphometrically, immunohistochemically, biochemically, and at the gene expression level. RESULTS: BMP-2 induced the chondrogenic differentiation of synovial explants in a dose- and time-dependent manner under serum- and dexamethasone-free conditions. The expression levels of cartilage-related genes increased in a time-dependent manner. BMP-7 was more potent than BMP-2 in inducing chondrogenesis, but the properties of the differentiated tissue were similar in each case. The type of cartilaginous tissue formed under the influence of TGFbeta1 differed in terms of both cell phenotype and gene expression profiles. CONCLUSION: The 3 tested members of the TGFbeta superfamily have different chondrogenic potentials and induce the formation of different types of cartilaginous tissue. To effect the full differentiation of synovial explants into a typically hyaline type of articular cartilage, further refinement of the stimulation conditions is required. This might be achieved by the simultaneous application of several growth factors.

Gain-of-function haplotype in the epithelial calcium channel TRPV6 is a risk factor for renal calcium stone formation

The rate-limiting step of dietary calcium absorption in the intestine requires the brush border calcium entry channel TRPV6. The TRPV6 gene was completely sequenced in 170 renal calcium stone patients. The frequency of an ancestral TRPV6 haplotype consisting of three non-synonymous polymorphisms (C157R, M378V, M681T) was significantly higher (P = 0.039) in calcium stone formers (8.4%; derived = 502, ancestral = 46) compared to non-stone-forming individuals (5.4%; derived = 645, ancestral = 37). Mineral metabolism was investigated on four different calcium regimens: (i) free-choice diet, (ii) low calcium diet, (iii) fasting and (iv) after a 1 g oral calcium load. When patients homozygous for the derived haplotype were compared with heterozygous patients, no differences were found with respect to the plasma concentrations of 1,25-vitamin D, PTH and calcium, and the urinary excretion of calcium. In one stone-forming patient, the ancestral haplotype was found to be homozygous. This patient had absorptive hypercalciuria. We therefore expressed the ancestral protein (157R+378V+681T) in Xenopus oocytes and found a significantly enhanced calcium permeability when tested by a (45)Ca(2+) uptake assay (7.11 +/- 1.93 versus 3.61 +/- 1.01 pmol/min/oocyte for ancestral versus derived haplotype, P < 0.01). These results suggest that the ancestral gain-of-function haplotype in TRPV6 plays a role in calcium stone formation in certain forms of absorptive hypercalciuria.

Interferon-beta stabilizes barrier characteristics of the blood-brain barrier in four different species in vitro

BACKGROUND: Blood-brain barrier (BBB) breakdown is an early event in the pathogenesis of multiple sclerosis (MS). In a previous study we have found a direct stabilization of barrier characteristics after treatment of bovine brain capillary endothelial cells (BCECs) with human recombinant interferon-beta-1a (IFN-beta-1a) in an in vitro BBB model. In the present study we examined the effect of human recombinant IFN-beta-1a on the barrier properties of BCECs derived from four different species including humans to predict treatment efficacy of IFN-beta-1a in MS patients. METHODS: We used primary bovine and porcine BCECs, as well as human and murine BCEC cell lines. We investigated the influence of human recombinant IFN-beta-1a on the paracellular permeability for 3H-inulin and 14C-sucrose across monolayers of bovine, human, and murine BCECs. In addition, the transendothelial electrical resistance (TEER) was determined in in vitro systems applying porcine and murine BCECS. RESULTS: We found a stabilizing effect on the barrier characteristics of BCECs after pretreatment with IFN-beta-1a in all applied in vitro models: addition of IFN-beta-1a resulted in a significant decrease of the paracellular permeability across monolayers of human, bovine, and murine BCECs. Furthermore, the TEER was significantly increased after pretreatment of porcine and murine BCECs with IFN-beta-1a. CONCLUSION: Our data suggest that BBB stabilization by IFN-beta-1a may contribute to its beneficial effects in the treatment of MS. A human in vitro BBB model might be useful as bioassay for testing the treatment efficacy of drugs in MS.