To date over 400 HUCB transplants have been reported from different centers. It has been suggested that there is a reduced graft-versus-host-disease (GVHD) with HUCB compared to bone marrow transplantation. Since cytokine production by a cell is an indication of the cells function it is important to determinate the differences between APB and HUCB with respect to production of these soluble fac...

Background: Oocyte vitrification and assisted oocyte activation have increasingly important implications in assisted reproductive technology. However, an important area of concern with matured oocyte cryobiology is that elements of oocytes intimately involved in metaphase-II arrest may be modified by cryopreservation. In a comparison between different cellular characteristics of unvitrified, vi...

INTRODUCTION Dialysis has been associated with acute changes in the complement activation status, granulocyte markers, macrophage function, T cell activation and the release of pro-inflammatory cytokines. The most common analysis of cytokine production in patients on dialysis has focused on the changes in monokines (particularly IL-1 and TNF alpha), however it is becoming clear that T cell cyto...

We have previously show" thai after peripheral nerve lesion the synthesis 0' NGF is induced in cells 01 the nerve sheath (Heumann el 81., 19878). Further analysis led 10 the identiflcation 01 growth factars and intracellular mechanisms responsible 10r this induction in sciatic fibroblasts (lind holm el 81., 1988; Hengerer el 81., 1990). The prese"t work aimed al the elucidation of the regulatio...

We isolated the opercular epithelium of seawater killifsh (Fundulus heteroclitus) to study the mediation of catecholamine inhibition of Cl secretion. The receptors are a2-adrenergic, as they have a high affmity for the a2-adrenergic agonist clonidine over phenylephrine and clonidine action is blocked by yohimbine. Pertussis toxin and indomethacin did not block the clonidine effect; hence inhibi...

The first total synthesis of the marine macrolide miyakolide has been achieved, and its absolute stereochemistry has been determined. The carbon skeleton is assembled in a convergent fashion from three fragments via esterification, [3 + 2] dipolar cycloaddition, and aldol addition. The utility of â-ketoimide aldol reactions in fragment coupling was demonstrated on fully elaborated intermediates...