Hemolytic disease of the newborn (HDN) arising from MNSs incompatibility is rare, with few reports of prolonged anemia and reticulocytopenia following HDN. We report the younger of 2 male siblings, both of whom had anti-M-induced HDN and anemia persisting for over a month. Peripheral reticulocytes remained inappropriately low for the degree of anemia, and they needed multiple red cell transfusions. Viral infections were ruled out. Corticosteroids were given for suspected pure red cell aplasia. Anemia and reticulocytopenia subsequently improved. Colony-forming unit erythroid assay revealed erythropoietic suppression of M antigen-positive erythroid precursor cells cultured with maternal or infant sera containing anti-M. In conclusion, maternal anti-M caused HDN and prolonged anemia by erythropoietic suppression in 2 siblings.

We previously demonstrated that an intracerebroventricular injection of recombinant human interferon-alpha (rhIFN-alpha) reduced the cytotoxicity of splenic natural killer (NK) cells in rats and mice. In the present study, we investigated the brain sites at which rhIFN-alpha acts to suppress splenic NK activity in unanesthetized rats implanted unilaterally with a chronic hypothalamic cannula. A microinjection of 200 U of rhIFN-alpha into the medial part of the preoptic hypothalamus reduced NK activity to approximately 60% of control 30 min after the injection. Administration of 50 U of rhIFN-alpha also decreased NK activity to approximately 80%. The injection of 200 U of rhIFN-alpha into other hypothalamic areas (lateral preoptic hypothalamus, ventromedial hypothalamus, lateral hypothalamus, and paraventricular nucleus) had no effect. The medial preoptic hypothalamus-rhIFN-alpha-induced immunosuppression was completely blocked by splenic denervation, but not by adrenalectomy. These results suggest that IFN-alpha suppresses splenic NK activity predominantly through the medial preoptic hypothalamus-sympathetic pathway.

No abstract

To establish the role of pituitary adenylate cyclase activating polypeptide (PACAP), a member of vasoactive intestinal polypeptide (VIP) family, as a neurotransmitter/neuromodulator in the central nervous system, the effects of PACAP38, PACAP27 and VIP on the single neuron activity in the magnocellular portion of the hypothalamic paraventricular nucleus (mg.PVN) were examined in rat brain slice preparations. Extracellular recordings were made from 111 neurons in the mg.PVN, which fired spontaneously at an average rate of 1.85 +/- 0.2 spikes/s (mean +/- SEM). PACAP38 and PACAP27 were applied to 78 and 33 of the 111 neurons, respectively. Perfusion with PACAP38 in doses between 10 nM and 1 microM increased the firing rate of 56 (71.8%) of the 78 neurons in a dose-dependent manner. The threshold dose of PACAP38 to excite the neurons seemed to lie below 10 nM. The application of PACAP27 (1 microM) also increased the firing rate of 19 (57.6%) of the 33 neurons tested. Eleven (52.4%) of 21 neurons which were excited by PACAP38 also showed excitation following perfusion with VIP (1 microM). The responses to PACAP38 in 12 of 20 neurons and those to VIP in 6 of 9 neurons tested were still observed in a low Ca2+ and high Mg2+ medium. Although there was no difference in the mean latency between the responses to PACAP38 (1 microM) and VIP (1 microM) (2.1 +/- 0.1 min and 2.4 +/- 0.4 min, respectively), the duration of the PACAP38-induced excitation (59.0 +/- 5.0 min) was much longer than that of the VIP-induced one (18.8 +/- 3.1 min). The PACAP38 (30 nM)-induced excitation was reversibly blocked by a concurrent application of PACAP5-38 (300 nM), a PACAP receptor antagonist. While a selective VIP receptor antagonist, [Lys1, Pro2,5, Arg3,4, Tyr6]-VIP (1 microM), did not affect the excitatory responses to PACAP38 (300 nM), it completely blocked the VIP (1 microM)-induced excitation. These findings suggest that PACAP may therefore modulate the secretion of the pituitary hormones at least partly by its action on the neurons in the mg.PVN through the activation of specific receptors for PACAP.

)] 5-, in both the solid and solution states through extended X-ray absorption fine structure (EXAFS) studies. The existence of the chiral inorganic species in acetonitrile with double-stranded V8 chains was confirmed through EXAFS oscillations.