The murine skeletal muscle contains hematopoietic stem cells, but this potential has so far not been studied quantitatively or qualitatively in vitro. To quantify the hematopoietic stem cell potential, we have used hi...The murine skeletal muscle contains hematopoietic stem cells, but this potential has so far not been studied quantitatively or qualitatively in vitro. To quantify the hematopoietic stem cell potential, we have used highly purified SP/CD45^＋ cells in long-term culture initiating cell （LTC-IC） assays. The SP/CD45^＋ cell population purified from murine muscle was found to have significant stem cell activity with an LTC-IC frequency of 1/640. Single-cell-sorted SP/CD45^＋ cells from muscle exhibited robust proliferative activity in vitro at day 16 （380-fold amplification）, especially after culture with OP-9 layers that also support embryonic stem cells. Amplified cell populations originating from single cells exhibited multilineage differentiation ability with evidence of myeloid, lymphoid and NK cell markers. Thus, our results demonstrate that hematopoietic stem cells that can be quantified by LTC-IC assays exist in the murine skeletal muscle and show also for the first time, at the single-cell level, that these cells exhibit multilineage differentiation ability and major proliferative potential.展开更多
AIM: To determine the presence of Helicobacter species DNA in the liver of chronic hepatitis C (CHC) patients with and without cirrhosis as compared to controls, and to identify the bacterial species involved. METHODS...AIM: To determine the presence of Helicobacter species DNA in the liver of chronic hepatitis C (CHC) patients with and without cirrhosis as compared to controls, and to identify the bacterial species involved. METHODS: Seventy-nine consecutive patients (HBV and HIV negative) with a liver sample obtained after liver biopsy or hepatic resection were studied: 41 with CHC without cirrhosis, 12 with CHC and cirrhosis, and 26 controls (HCV negative). Polymerase chain reactions (PCRs) targeting Helicobacter 16S rDNA and species- specific were performed on DNA extracted from the liver. A gastric infection with H pylori was determined by serology and confirmed by 13C-urea breath test. RESULTS: Overall, Helicobacter 16S rDNA was found in 16 patients (20.2%). Although positive cases tended to be higher in CHC patients with cirrhosis (41.6%) than in those without cirrhosis (17.0%) or in controls (15.4%), the difference was not statistically significant (P =0.08). H pylori-like DNA was identified in 12 cases and H. pullorum DNA in 2, while 2 cases remained unidenti- fied. Gastric infection with H pylori was found in only 2 of these patients. CONCLUSION: Our results do not confirm the associ- ation of Helicobacter species DNA in the liver of CHC patients with advanced liver disease. The lack of correlation between positive H pylori serology and the presence of H pylori-like DNA in the liver may indicate the presence of a variant of this species.展开更多
Objective: To assess the potential of anticholinergic drugs as a cause of non- degenerative mild cognitive impairment in elderly people. Design: Longitudinal cohort study. Setting: 63 randomly selected general practic...Objective: To assess the potential of anticholinergic drugs as a cause of non- degenerative mild cognitive impairment in elderly people. Design: Longitudinal cohort study. Setting: 63 randomly selected general practices in the Montpellier region of southern France. Participants: 372 people aged >60 years without dementia at recruitment. Main outcome measures: Anticholinergic burden from drug use, cognitive examination, and neurological assessment. Results: 9.2% of subjects continuously used anticholinergic drugs during the year before cognitive assessment. Compared with non-users, they had poorer performance on reaction time, attention, delayed nonverbal memory, narrative recall, visuospatial construction, and language tasks but not on tasks of reasoning, immediate and delayed recall of wordlists, and implicit memory. Eighty per cent of the continuous users were classified as having mild cognitive impairment compared with 35% of non- users, and anticholinergic drug use was a strong predictor of mild cognitive impairment (odds ratio 5.12, P = 0.001). No difference was found between users and non- users in risk of developing dementia at followup after eight years. Conclusions: Elderly people taking anticholinergic drugs had significant deficits in cognitive functioning and were highly likely to be classified as mildly cognitively impaired, although not at increased risk for dementia. Doctors should assess current use of anticholinergic drugs in elderly people with mild cognitive impairment before considering administration of acetylcholinesterase inhibitors.展开更多
文摘The murine skeletal muscle contains hematopoietic stem cells, but this potential has so far not been studied quantitatively or qualitatively in vitro. To quantify the hematopoietic stem cell potential, we have used highly purified SP/CD45^＋ cells in long-term culture initiating cell （LTC-IC） assays. The SP/CD45^＋ cell population purified from murine muscle was found to have significant stem cell activity with an LTC-IC frequency of 1/640. Single-cell-sorted SP/CD45^＋ cells from muscle exhibited robust proliferative activity in vitro at day 16 （380-fold amplification）, especially after culture with OP-9 layers that also support embryonic stem cells. Amplified cell populations originating from single cells exhibited multilineage differentiation ability with evidence of myeloid, lymphoid and NK cell markers. Thus, our results demonstrate that hematopoietic stem cells that can be quantified by LTC-IC assays exist in the murine skeletal muscle and show also for the first time, at the single-cell level, that these cells exhibit multilineage differentiation ability and major proliferative potential.
文摘AIM: To determine the presence of Helicobacter species DNA in the liver of chronic hepatitis C (CHC) patients with and without cirrhosis as compared to controls, and to identify the bacterial species involved. METHODS: Seventy-nine consecutive patients (HBV and HIV negative) with a liver sample obtained after liver biopsy or hepatic resection were studied: 41 with CHC without cirrhosis, 12 with CHC and cirrhosis, and 26 controls (HCV negative). Polymerase chain reactions (PCRs) targeting Helicobacter 16S rDNA and species- specific were performed on DNA extracted from the liver. A gastric infection with H pylori was determined by serology and confirmed by 13C-urea breath test. RESULTS: Overall, Helicobacter 16S rDNA was found in 16 patients (20.2%). Although positive cases tended to be higher in CHC patients with cirrhosis (41.6%) than in those without cirrhosis (17.0%) or in controls (15.4%), the difference was not statistically significant (P =0.08). H pylori-like DNA was identified in 12 cases and H. pullorum DNA in 2, while 2 cases remained unidenti- fied. Gastric infection with H pylori was found in only 2 of these patients. CONCLUSION: Our results do not confirm the associ- ation of Helicobacter species DNA in the liver of CHC patients with advanced liver disease. The lack of correlation between positive H pylori serology and the presence of H pylori-like DNA in the liver may indicate the presence of a variant of this species.
文摘Objective: To assess the potential of anticholinergic drugs as a cause of non- degenerative mild cognitive impairment in elderly people. Design: Longitudinal cohort study. Setting: 63 randomly selected general practices in the Montpellier region of southern France. Participants: 372 people aged >60 years without dementia at recruitment. Main outcome measures: Anticholinergic burden from drug use, cognitive examination, and neurological assessment. Results: 9.2% of subjects continuously used anticholinergic drugs during the year before cognitive assessment. Compared with non-users, they had poorer performance on reaction time, attention, delayed nonverbal memory, narrative recall, visuospatial construction, and language tasks but not on tasks of reasoning, immediate and delayed recall of wordlists, and implicit memory. Eighty per cent of the continuous users were classified as having mild cognitive impairment compared with 35% of non- users, and anticholinergic drug use was a strong predictor of mild cognitive impairment (odds ratio 5.12, P = 0.001). No difference was found between users and non- users in risk of developing dementia at followup after eight years. Conclusions: Elderly people taking anticholinergic drugs had significant deficits in cognitive functioning and were highly likely to be classified as mildly cognitively impaired, although not at increased risk for dementia. Doctors should assess current use of anticholinergic drugs in elderly people with mild cognitive impairment before considering administration of acetylcholinesterase inhibitors.
