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In captivity, cardiovascular diseases are common in grey parrots. The diagnosis of these diseases in living birds is difficult, and new diagnostic possibilities would be desirable. The heart is an important endocrine organ in which cardiomyocytes synthetise B-type natriuretic peptide (BNP) and release it into the bloodstream. This hormone has a significant role in cardiovascular and body fluid regulation. The blood concentration of BNP is used in human medicine and small animal medicine as a diagnostic tool in the identification of heart diseases and as a prognostic marker for the risk of mortality. The nucleotide and amino acid sequence of BNP was described in Congo (n = 4) and Timneh (n = 3) grey parrots by PCR after RNA isolation from the atria and ventricles. The results showed a high similarity between the nucleotide sequences of the grey parrots' BNP and the already known sequence of this hormone in chickens. The amino acid sequence of the mature peptide region is consistent in these three species. BNP plasma concentration could be a possible blood parameter for identifying clinically manifest cardiovascular diseases in grey parrots as it is in other species. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Due to limited treatment options the prognosis of patients with advanced hepatocellular cancer (HCC) has remained poor. To investigate an alternative therapeutic approach, we examined the feasibility of radioiodine therapy of HCC following human sodium iodide symporter (NIS) gene transfer using a mouse α-fetoprotein (AFP) promoter construct to target NIS expression to HCC cells. For this purpose, the murine Hepa 1–6 and the human HepG2 hepatoma cell lines were stably transfected with NIS cDNA under the control of the tumor-specific AFP promoter. The stably transfected Hepa 1–6 cell line showed a 10-fold increase in iodide accumulation, while HepG2 cells accumulated 125I approximately 60-fold. Tumor-specific NIS expression was confirmed on mRNA level by northern blot analysis, and on protein level by immunostaining, that revealed primarily membrane-associated NIS-specific immunoreactivity. In an in vitro clonogenic assay up to 78% of NIS-transfected Hepa 1–6 and 93% of HepG2 cells were killed by 131I exposure, while up to 96% of control cells survived. In vivo NIS-transfected HepG2 xenografts accumulated 15% of the total 123I administered per gram tumor with a biological half-life of 8.38 h, resulting in a tumor absorbed dose of 171 mGy MBq−1 131I. After administration of a therapeutic 131I dose (55.5 MBq) tumor growth of NIS expressing HepG2 xenografts was significantly inhibited. In conclusion, tumor-specific iodide accumulation was induced in HCC cells by AFP promoter-directed NIS expression in vitro and in vivo, which was sufficiently high to allow a therapeutic effect of 131I. This study demonstrates the potential of tumor-specific NIS gene therapy as an innovative treatment strategy for HCC.Gene Therapy (2008) 15, 214–223; doi:10.1038/sj.gt.3303057; published online 8 November 2007 [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

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Copyright of Der Internist is the property of Springer Nature and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

The present study prospectively evaluated the value of liver biopsy in patients with chronic hepatitis B (N=75) and C (N=135) prior to interferon therapy. Biopsy specimens revealed cirrhosis in 26% of patients with hepatitis B and 30% with hepatitis C. Although cirrhosis was not predictable by laboratory values in individual patients mean gamma-GT, alkaline phosphatase, and bilirubin levels were significantly higher in patients with cirrhosis compared to those without. Since cirrhosis significantly impairs the response rate to interferon therapy in hepatitis C but not in hepatitis B, liver biopsy is important for the management of chronic hepatitis C infection. In 88% of patients with serum HBV-DNA, irrespective of the serum HBeAg status, chronic active hepatitis was seen. Similarly, chronic active hepatitis was found in 84% of patients with elevated aminotransferases and hepatitis C antibodies. Thus, chronic active hepatitis was diagnosed in the majority of cases with chronic viral hepatitis, showing that this histopathological diagnosis is of little additional value for the recommendation on interferon treatment in these patients. However, none of the other grading systems of liver biopsy specimens described so far have been evaluated for their ability to predict overall prognosis or response rates to interferon therapy. Therefore, the physician is presently left with the questionable value of a procedure with well-known risks and costs in patients suitable for interferon treatment. Hence, prospective randomized controlled studies to evaluate histopathological grading systems are urgently needed to redefine the necessity of liver biopsy in this routine clinical setting. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Zeitschrift für Experimentelle Pathologie und Therapie is the property of Springer Nature and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)