Several models of tumor necrosis factor (TNF)/TNFreceptor 1 (TNF-R1)-dependent liver injury in mice were investigated with respect to caspase-3-like protease activation representing a pivotal mechanism of apoptotic cell death. Injection of TNF or T-cell-activating agents (i.e., agonistic anti-CD3 antibody or staphylococcal enterotoxin B [SEB]) into galactosamine (GalN)-sensitized mice caused TNF/TNF-R1-dependent liver injury. Intravenous concanavalin A (Con A) alone induced TNF-mediated hepatotoxicity dependent on both TNF-R1 and TNF-R2. Hepatic caspase-3-like proteases were activated in GalN/TNF, GalN/anti-CD3, or GalN/SEB-treated mice, but not in Con A-treated mice. Consistently, the broad-spectrum caspase inhibitor, benzoyloxycarbonyl-val-ala-asp-fluoromethylketone (zVADfmk), prevented TNF-mediated hepatotoxicity in all GalNdependent models, but failed to protect against Con A. Under transcriptional arrest, however, Con A induced TNF-R1-dependent, but not TNF-R2-dependent, activation of caspase-3-like proteases, and zVADfmk prevented animals from Con A-mediated liver injury under this condition. Histological analysis revealed distinct differences between Con A-and GalN/Con A-induced liver injury regarding apoptotic morphology of hepatocytes. We conclude that impaired transcription induces a switch of Con A hepatotoxicity toward a caspase-3-like protease-dependent pathway. The observation that the functional state of the transcriptional machinery decides whether TNF-driven hepatocyte apoptosis involves activation of caspase-3-like proteases or alternative signaling pathways in vivo might be of relevance for the immunopathology of the liver. (HEPATOL-OGY 1999;30:1241-1251.) Activation of T lymphocytes appears to be the initial event in the pathophysiology of a variety of autoimmune liver diseases (e.g., chronic active hepatitis) or viral hepatitis. 1 This lymphocyte activation and the ensuing interactions of these cells with macrophages leads to a systemic cytokine response. The continuous release of proinflammatory cytokines such as tumor necrosis factor (TNF) or interferon gamma (IFN-␥) into the circulation is currently held responsible for the onset of pathological symptoms and the clinical manifestation of a variety of immunologically mediated liver diseases. [2][3][4][5] Several animal models of cytokine-dependent liver tissue destruction allow the study of mechanisms of T-lymphocyte activation in relation to the extent and time course of subsequent hepatic injury. In two commonly used models, D-galactosamine (GalN)-sensitized mice are injected with T-cell-activating anti-CD3 monoclonal antibodies, 6 or with the superantigen, staphylococcal enterotoxin B (SEB). 7 These treatment regimens both result in severe liver injury 8,9 characterized by histological features of apoptosis as well as internucleosomal DNA fragmentation. 9 In contrast to these GalN models, naive mice, when injected with the T-cell mitogen, concanavalin A (Con A), develop an acute, partly apoptotic, hepatic injury that is subsequently ove...

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Neoplasms of the nervous system, whether spontaneous or induced, are infrequent in laboratory rodents and very rare in other laboratory animal species. The morphology of neural tumors depends on the intrinsic functions and properties of the cell type, the interactions between the neoplasm and surrounding normal tissue, and regressive changes. The incidence of neural neoplasms varies with sex, location, and age of tumor onset. Although the onset of spontaneous tumor development cannot be established in routine oncogenicity studies, calculations using the time of diagnosis (day of death) have revealed significant differences in tumor biology among different rat strains. In the central nervous system, granular cell tumors (a meningioma variant), followed by glial tumors, are the most common neoplasms in rats, whereas glial cell tumors are observed most frequently in mice. Central nervous system tumors usually affect the brain rather than the spinal cord. Other than adrenal gland pheochromocytomas, the most common neoplasms of the peripheral nervous system are schwannomas. Neural tumors may develop in the central nervous system and peripheral nervous system from other cell lineages (including extraneural elements like adipose tissue and lymphocytes), but such lesions are very rare in laboratory animals.

We have tested two surfactant preparations with the same phospholipid (PL) composition, containing recombinant surfactant protein-C (rSP-C surfactant) and without SP-C (plain PL surfactant). The effects of rSP-C surfactant were compared with the bovine-derived surfactant preparations Alveofact, bLES, and Infasurf in a lung lavage model, with surfactant given 1 h after the last lavage. The effects of surfactant treatment on histopathologic changes (e.g., hyaline-membrane formation) and improvement of oxygenation were compared with changes in untreated controls. The surfactants were given in doses of 25, 50, and 100 mg PL/kg body weight. At 120 min after treatment, only the protein-containing surfactants showed a statistically significant increasing dose dependence with respect to improving oxygenation. The values were 318 +/- 120 mm Hg, 443 +/- 58 mm Hg, and 480 +/- 43 mm Hg (mean +/- SD) for the three doses of rSP-C surfactant and 105 +/- 81 mm Hg, 100 +/- 69 mm Hg, and 131 +/- 108 mm Hg for the three doses of PL surfactant. The respective values for Alveofact were 104 +/- 81 mm Hg, 105 +/- 93 mm Hg, and 260 +/- 143 mm Hg; for bLES 373 +/- 138 mm Hg, 441 +/- 88 mm Hg, and 467 +/- 43 mm Hg; and for Infasurf 146 +/- 96 mm Hg, 284 +/- 178 mm Hg, and 436 +/- 70 mm Hg. The oxygen values of controls remained low, at 74 +/- 46 mm Hg. Only the protein-containing surfactants dose-dependently inhibited the formation of hyaline membranes. We conclude that rSP-C surfactant is at least as effective as bovine-derived surfactants. Furthermore, the data imply that the difference between plain PL surfactant preparations and bovine-derived surfactant preparations containing both SP-B and SP-C can be overcome by addition of SP-C.