Extensive research on prenatal alcohol exposure has proven the potent teratogenicity of this substance of abuse. Children born to alcoholic mothers are often diagnosed with fetal alcohol syndrome (FAS). Those afflicted with FAS often have muscle weakness, muscle wasting, and atrophy. This study assessed the effects of prenatal alcohol exposure on the developing rat neuromuscular system.
The identification of new virus strains is important for the study of infectious disease, but current (or existing) molecular biology methods are limited since the target sequence must be known to design genome-specific PCR primers. Thus, we developed a new method for the discovery of unknown viruses based on the cDNA--random amplified polymorphic DNA (cDNA-RAPD) technique. Getah virus, belonging to the family Togaviridae in the genus Alphavirus, is a mosquito-borne enveloped RNA virus that was identified using the Virus-Discovery-cDNA RAPD (VIDISCR) method.
The preterm diaphragm is functionally immature compared with its term counterpart. In utero inflammation further exacerbates preterm diaphragm dysfunction. We hypothesized that preterm lambs are more vulnerable to in utero inflammation-induced diaphragm dysfunction compared with term lambs. Pregnant ewes received intra-amniotic (IA) injections of saline or 10 mg lipopolysaccharide (LPS) 2 or 7 days before delivery at 121 days (preterm) or ∼145 days (term) of gestation. Diaphragm contractile function was assessed in vitro. Plasma cytokines, diaphragm myosin heavy chain (MHC) isoforms, and oxidative stress were evaluated. Maximum diaphragm force in preterm control lambs was significantly lower (22%) than in term control lambs ( P < 0.001). Despite similar inflammatory cytokine responses to in utero LPS exposure, diaphragm function in preterm and term lambs was affected differentially. In term lambs, maximum force after a 2-day LPS exposure was significantly lower than in controls (by ~20%, P < 0.05). In preterm lambs, maximum forces after 2-day and 7-day LPS exposures were significantly lower than in controls (by ~30%, P < 0.05). Peak twitch force after LPS exposure was significantly lower in preterm than in controls, but not in term lambs. In term lambs, LPS exposure increased the proportion of MHC-I fibers, increased twitch contraction times, and increased fatigue resistance relative to controls. In preterm diaphragm, the cross-sectional area of embryonic MHC fibers was significantly lower after 7-day versus 2-day LPS exposures. We conclude that preterm lambs are more vulnerable to IA LPS-induced diaphragm dysfunction than term lambs. In utero inflammation exacerbates diaphragm dysfunction and may increase susceptibility to postnatal respiratory failure.
Fetal alcohol syndrome (FAS), a condition occurring in some children of mothers who have consumed alcohol during pregnancy, is characterized by craniofacial malformations, and physical and mental retardation. It is significant that even children with history of gestational ethanol exposure but relatively unaffected overall IQ performance, often exhibit learning difficulties and behavioral problems, suggestive of impaired memory formation. Hence, the specific aim of this study was to examine memory formation in chicks exposed to ethanol during early gestation toward the understanding of neurobehavioral disturbances in FAS. Chicks were exposed to alcohol on gestational days 1-3 by injection of ethanol into the airspace of freshly fertilized eggs. The effects of prenatal ethanol on physical growth and development, and memory formation were studied. The one-trial passive avoidance learning paradigm in 1-day-old chicks was used to study memory formation in these chicks. It was observed that chick embryos exposed to 10% ethanol on gestational days 1-3 had significant reduction in all body parameters when compared with appropriate controls. Further, ethanol-exposed chick embryos had significantly impaired (P
The present study described the kinetics of Rat cytomegalovirus (RCMV) infection in newborn rats by monitoring infectious virus and viral antigens in various organs, viral DNA in the blood (DNAemia) and antibody response. These parameters were evaluated quantitatively using double-antibody sandwich ELISA (DAS-ELISA), real-time PCR, indirect ELISA and virus infectivity assay. For the first time DAS-ELISA was used for detection of RCMV antigen directly from organ samples. The relationships between the presence of viral antigens in the infected organs and antibody levels were established by the Spearman's rank test. It was found that the virus was present in the blood, spleen, liver, lungs, and kidneys earlier than in the salivary glands. Furthermore, the early immunity of the newborn rats led to a delayed seroconversion. We suggested that the prolonged presence of the virus in salivary glands could augment the antibody response that conversely might be responsible for a reduction of viremia. This study expanded our understanding of RCMV pathogenesis leading to improved therapeutic and preventive treatment regimens particularly for the neonatal Human cytomegalovirus (HCMV) infections. Additionally, the detection procedures developed in this study such as DAS-ELISA and real-time PCR could serve as alternative techniques for rapid screening of large number of samples.