Sugar expressions were examined on the epithelium of both the middle portion of the vagina and the vaginal portion of the cervical canal (CC) in pregnant mice to understand the pathogenesis of bacterial infection in the female reproductive organ by using a panel of lectins. As a result, N-acetylglucosamine was positive before pregnant day (P) 7 but negative after P10 and at diestrus on both the vagina and the CC. In addition, some differences in sugar expressions were seen between them. These results suggest that sugar expressions on the mucosal surface would change not only site-specifically but also time-dependently, and these sugar differences indicate the possibility of the alteration of the settled bacterial species on the vaginal mucosa in pregnancy.
Abstract Spina bifida aperta (SBA), one of the most common congenital malformations, causes various neurological disorders. Pain is a common complaint of patients with SBA. However, little is known about the neuropathology of SBA-related pain. Because loss of γ-aminobutyric acid (GABA)ergic neurons in the spinal cord dorsal horn is associated with pain, we hypothesized the existence of cross-talk between SBA-related pain and alterations in GABAergic transmission in the spinal cord. Therefore, we investigated the kinetics of GABAergic transmission in the spinal cord dorsal horn in a chicken model of SBA. Neonatal chicks with SBA exhibited various pain-like behaviors, such as an increased number of vocalizations with elevated intensity (loudness) and frequency (pitch), reduced mobility, difficulty with locomotion, and escape reactions. Furthermore, the chicks with SBA did not respond to standard toe-pinching, indicating disruption of the spinal cord sensorimotor networks. These behavioral observations were concomitant with loss of GABAergic transmission in the spinal cord dorsal horn. We also found apoptosis of GABAergic neurons in the superficial dorsal horn in the early neonatal period, although cellular abnormalization and propagation of neurodegenerative signals were evident at middle to advanced gestational stages. In conclusion, ablation of GABAergic neurons induced alterations in spinal cord neuronal networks, providing novel insights into the pathophysiology of SBA-related pain-like complications.
The diagnostic performance of helical computed tomography (CT) is excellent. However, some artifacts have been reported, such as motion, beam hardening and scatter artifacts. We herein report a case of motion-induced artifact mimicking cervical dens fracture. A 60-year-old man was involved in a motorcycle accident that resulted in cervical spinal cord injury and quadri plegia. Reconstructed CT images of the cervical spine showed a dens fracture. We assessed axial CT in detail, and motion artifact was detected.
Laparoscopic and robotic surgery for transverse colon cancer are difficult due to complex fusion of the foregut and midgut and variation of the vessels of the transverse colon. Although the vessels of the right colon have been investigated, middle colic artery (MCA) variation and the relationship with vessels around the transvers colon are unknown. We investigated variation of the MCA using computed tomography angiography (CTA) and cadaver specimen and the relationship between the superior mesenteric vein (SMV) and MCA using CTA. The classification of vessels around the transverse colon may lead to safer and reliable surgery.This study included 505 consecutive patients who underwent CTA in our institution from 2014 to 2020 and 44 cadaver specimens. Vascular anatomical classifications and relationships were analyzed using CT images.The MCA was defined as the arteries arising from the superior mesenteric artery (SMA) that flowed into the transverse colon at the distal ends. The classifications were as follows: type I, branching right and left from common trunk; type II, the right and left branches bifurcated separately from the SMA; and type III, the MCA branched from a vessel other than the SMA. Type II was subclassified into two subtypes, type IIa with one left branch and type IIb with two or more left branches from SMA. In the CTA and cadaver studies, respectively, the classifications were as follows: type I, n = 290 and n = 31; type IIa, n = 211 and n = 13; type IIb, n = 3 and n = 0; and type III, n = 1 and n = 0. We classified the relationship between the MCA and left side of the SMV into three types: type A, a common trunk runs along the left edge of the SMV (n = 173; 59.7%); type B, a right branch of the MCA runs along the left edge of the SMV (n = 116; 40.0%); and type C, the MCA runs dorsal of the SMV (n = 1; 0.3%).This study revealed that The MCA branching classifications and relationship between the SMV and MCA. Preoperative CT angiography may be able to reliably identify vessel variation, which may be useful in clinical practice.
Because excessive glutamate release is believed to play a pivotal role in numerous neuropathological disorders, such as ischemia or seizure, we aimed to investigate whether intrinsic prosaposin (PS), a neuroprotective factor when supplied exogenously in vivo or in vitro, is up-regulated after the excitotoxicity induced by kainic acid (KA), a glutamate analog. In the present study, PS immunoreactivity and its mRNA expression in the hippocampal and cortical neurons showed significant increases on day 3 after KA injection, and high PS levels were maintained even after 3 weeks. The increase in PS, but not saposins, detected by immunoblot analysis suggests that the increase in PS-like immunoreactivity after KA injection was not due to an increase in saposins as lysosomal enzymes after neuronal damage, but rather to an increase in PS as a neurotrophic factor to improve neuronal survival. Furthermore, several neurons with slender nuclei inside/outside of the pyramidal layer showed more intense PS mRNA expression than other pyramidal neurons. Based on the results from double immunostaining using anti-PS and anti-GABA antibodies, these neurons were shown to be GABAergic interneurons in the extra- and intra-pyramidal layers. In the cerebral cortex, several large neurons in the V layer showed very intense PS mRNA expression 3 days after KA injection. The choroid plexus showed intense PS mRNA expression even in the normal rat, and the intensity increased significantly after KA injection. The present study indicates that inhibitory interneurons as well as stimulated hippocampal pyramidal and cortical neurons synthesize PS for neuronal survival, and the choroid plexus is highly activated to synthesize PS, which may prevent neurons from excitotoxic neuronal damage. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first study that demonstrates axonal transport and increased production of neurotrophic factor PS after KA injection.
