Perfluoroalkyl substances in the blood samples from a male population of Sweden

Temporal trends of perfluoroalkyl substances （PFASs） have been determined in the blood samples from several countries globally including a female population in Sweden recently, yet little is known about the time trends in the blood levels of these compounds in Swedish male populations over recent years. In this study, the fourteen target PFASs consisted of four perfluorosulfonates （PFSAs） and ten perfluorocarboxylates （PFCAs） in the whole blood samples, collected from 153 Swedish elderly men during the period between 2008 and 2010, were analyzed via ultra-performance liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry （UPLC-MS/MS）. As the dominant PFASs contaminants in the blood samples, perfluorooctane sulfo- nate （PFOS） showed the highest geometric mean （GM） at 8.5 ng/mL, ranging from 1.7 to 29 ng/mL, while blood perfluorooctanoic acid （PFOA） contained the GM of 1.8 ng/mL, ranging from 0.35 to 6.4 ng/mL. Both the levels of these two compounds were lower than those determined in the blood samples of Swedish elderly pop- ulations derived from the late 1990s. According to the temporal trend analysis, over the three years, the blood levels of PFOS in Swedish male populations declined 16 % per annum, while those of perfluoroundecanoic acid （PFUnDA） increased 6.1% per annum, which were con- sistent with those reported previously for the populations from other countries.     

Isoprenaline-like effects of the phosphodiesterase inhibitor 3-isobutyl-1-methylxanthine on mechanical, biochemical and electrophysiological parameters in the mammalian heart

The phosphodiesterase inhibitor 3-isobutyl-1-methylxanthine (IBMX) mimicked the effects of isoprenaline on the force of contraction, the cAMP content and the slow Ca++ inward current (Isi) in isolated guinea pig papillary muscles. The results support the hypothesis that phosphodiesterase inhibitors and beta-adrenoceptor agonists exert their positive inotropic effects by increasing Isi via the common mediator cAMP.     

Absence of immunosuppression in DBA/2 mice vaccinated with Trypanosoma cruzi treated with actinomycin-D

The subcutaneous (s.c.) vaccination of DBA/2 mice with 4 weekly doses of 3 x 10(7) living metacyclic forms of T. cruzi, Y strain, obtained from culture in axenic medium and treated for 24 h with actinomycin-D (50 micrograms/10(7) parasites), a drug that promotes an irreversible blockade of the parasite replication, do not induce any detectable degree of humoral and cellular immunosuppression as assessed by a) the production of anti-SRBC antibodies, b) the permanence of delayed cutaneous reaction to T. cruzi antigen, to PPD and DNCB and c) the degree of blastogenic transformation of spleen lymphocytes in the presence of the specific antigen.     

Developments in biotechnology

This issue of EXPERIENTIA on ‘Developments in Biotechnology’ is dedicated to Professor Armin Fiechter who celebrated his 65th birthday in October. He is one of the most eminent promoters of biotechnology in Switzerland and he was instrumental in establishing the Institute for Biotechnology at ETH in 1982 of which he is still director. By pioneering the combination of fundamental and applied aspects he has greatly influenced the advancement of biotechnology in teaching and research in Switzerland. Distinguished scientists from various countries were invited to contribute to this special issue of EXPERIENTIA to review aspects of yeast physiology, process optimization and control, analytics, and applications. We are well aware that the articles presented here are only a narrow selection of the current activities in biotechnology but since Professor Fiechter has devoted most of his scientific career to research on yeast physiology, process development and instrumentation it is appropriate to focus this issue on these aspects. We thank all the authors who have contributed to mark this special event. Professor Fiechter continues to actively stimulate progress in biotechnology with a still lively awareness of future developments. May he continue to persue his objectives and, together with Mrs. Fiechter, enjoy the time to come.     

Nouveaux livres

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Compte rendu des publications

Cellular and Molecular Life Sciences -     

Vaspin inhibits kallikrein 7 by serpin mechanism

The molecular target of the adipokine vaspin (visceral adipose tissue-derived serpin; serpinA12) and its mode of action are unknown. Here, we provide the vaspin crystal structure and identify human kallikrein 7 (hK7) as a first protease target of vaspin inhibited by classical serpin mechanism with high specificity in vitro. We detect vaspin–hK7 complexes in human plasma and find co-expression of both proteins in murine pancreatic β-cells. We further demonstrate that hK7 cleaves human insulin in the A- and B-chain. Vaspin treatment of isolated pancreatic islets leads to increased insulin concentration in the media upon glucose stimulation without influencing insulin secretion. By application of vaspin and generated inactive mutants, we find the significantly improved glucose tolerance in C57BL/6NTac and db/db mice treated with recombinant vaspin fully dependent on the vaspin serpin activity and not related to vaspin-mediated changes in insulin sensitivity as determined by euglycemic-hyperinsulinemic clamp studies. Improved glucose metabolism could be mediated by increased insulin plasma concentrations 150 min after a glucose challenge in db/db mice, supporting the hypothesis that vaspin may inhibit insulin degradation by hK7 in the circulation. In conclusion, we demonstrate the inhibitory serpin nature and the first protease target of the adipose tissue-derived serpin vaspin, and our findings suggest hK7 inhibition by vaspin as an underlying physiological mechanism for its compensatory actions on obesity-induced insulin resistance.     

Dendritic reticulum cells in AIDS-related lymphadenopathy

Summary One of two cases of acquired immune deficiency syndrome-related persistent generalized lymphadenopathy revealed a profoundly altered pattern of dendritic reticulum cells as demonstrated by immunoreactive acid cysteine proteinase inhibitor. The alterations could be related to totally or partially destructed lymphoid secondary follicles.Acknowledgments. This work has been partially supported by the grant from the Sigrid Juselius Foundation, Finland.