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Embryological Development (embryological + development)
Selected AbstractsEmbryological development of Caiman latirostris (Crocodylia: Alligatoridae)GENESIS: THE JOURNAL OF GENETICS AND DEVELOPMENT, Issue 8 2008Josefina Iungman Diagram of the head of a day 48 embryo of Caiman latirostris (Crocodylia: Alligatoridea). See the paper by Iungman et al. in this issue. [source] ,And the beat goes on' The cardiac conduction system: the wiring system of the heartEXPERIMENTAL PHYSIOLOGY, Issue 10 2009Mark R. Boyett The cardiac conduction system (CCS), consisting of the sino-atrial node, atrioventricular node and His,Purkinje system, is responsible for the initiation and co-ordination of the heart beat. In the last decade, our understanding of the CCS has been transformed. Immunohistochemistry, used in conjunction with anatomical techniques, has transformed our understanding of its anatomy; arguably, we now understand the position of the sino-atrial node (not the same as in medical textbooks), and our new understanding of the atrioventricular node anatomy means that we can compute its physiological and pathophysiological behaviour. Ion channel expression in the CCS has been shown to be fundamentally different from that in the working myocardium. Dysfunction of the CCS has previously been attributed to fibrosis, but it is now clear that remodelling of ion channels plays an important role in dysfunction during ageing, heart failure and atrial fibrillation. Differences in ion channel expression may even be responsible for the bradycardia in the athlete and differences in heart rate among different species (such as humans and mice). Recent work has highlighted less well-known components of the CCS, including tricuspid, mitral and aortic rings and even a third (retro-aortic) node. These additional tissues do not participate in the initiation and co-ordination of the heart beat and instead they are likely to be the source of various life-threatening arrhythmias. During embryological development, all parts of the CCS have been shown to develop from the primary myocardium of the linear heart tube, partly under the influence of the transcription factor, Tbx3. [source] ZFHX1B mutations in patients with Mowat-Wilson syndrome,HUMAN MUTATION, Issue 4 2007Florence Dastot-Le Moal Abstract Mowat-Wilson syndrome (MWS) is a recently delineated mental retardation (MR)-multiple congenital anomaly syndrome, characterized by typical facies, severe MR, epilepsy, and variable congenital malformations, including Hirschsprung disease (HSCR), genital anomalies, congenital heart disease (CHD), and agenesis of the corpus callosum (ACC). It is caused by de novo heterozygous mutations or deletions of the ZFHX1B gene located at 2q22. ZFHX1B encodes Smad-interacting protein-1 (SMADIP1 or SIP1), a transcriptional corepressor involved in the transforming growth factor-, signaling pathway. It is a highly evolutionarily conserved gene, widely expressed in embryological development. Over 100 mutations have been described in patients with clinically typical MWS, who almost always have whole gene deletions or truncating mutations (nonsense or frameshift) of ZFHX1B, suggesting that haploinsufficiency is the basis of MWS pathology. No obvious genotype,phenotype correlation could be identified so far, but atypical phenotypes have been reported with missense or splice mutations in the ZFHX1B gene. In this work we describe 40 novel mutations and we summarize the various mutational reports published since the identification of the causative gene. Hum Mutat 28(4), 313,321, 2007. © 2007 Wiley-Liss, Inc. [source] Anomalous Origin of the Middle Meningeal Artery from the Basilar Artery: A Case ReportJOURNAL OF NEUROIMAGING, Issue 3 2007Qaisar A. Shah MD ABSTRACT Anomalous courses, anastomoses, and origins of the middle meningeal artery have often been described in the literature; however origin from the basilar artery or its branches is exceedingly rare with only five previous reports. We describe a middle meningeal artery originating from a large lateral pontine branch of the basilar artery. The lateral pontine branch also supplied most of the cerebellar hemispheric territory normally vascularized by both the anterior inferior cerebellar artery and posterior inferior cerebellar artery. We discuss the anatomy and possible embryological development of middle meningeal origin from the basilar artery. [source] Muscarinic receptor subtypes in neuronal and non-neuronal cholinergic functionAUTONOMIC & AUTACOID PHARMACOLOGY, Issue 3 2006R. M. Eglen Summary 1 Muscarinic M1,M5 receptors mediate the metabotropic actions of acetylcholine in the nervous system. A growing body of data indicate they also mediate autocrine functions of the molecule. The availability of novel and selective muscarinic agonists and antagonists, as well as in vivo gene disruption techniques, has clarified the roles of muscarinic receptors in mediating both functions of acetylcholine. 2 Selective M1 agonists or mixed M1 agonists/M2 antagonists may provide an approach to the treatment of cognitive disorders, while M3 antagonism, or mixed M2/M3 antagonists, are approved for the treatment of contractility disorders including overactive bladder and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease. Preclinical data suggest that selective agonism of the M4 receptor will provide novel anti-nociceptive agents, while therapeutics-based upon agonism or antagonism of the muscarinic M5 receptor have yet to be reported. 3 The autocrine functions of muscarinic receptors broadly fall into two areas , control of cell growth or proliferation and mediation of the release of chemical mediators from epithelial cells, ultimately causing muscle relaxation. The former particularly are involved in embryological development, oncogenesis, keratinocyte function and immune responsiveness. The latter regulate contractility of smooth muscle in the vasculature, airways and urinary bladder. 4 Most attention has focused on muscarinic M1 or M3 receptors which mediate lymphocyte immunoresponsiveness, cell migration and release of smooth muscle relaxant factors. Muscarinic M4 receptors are implicated in the regulation of keratinocyte adhesion and M2 receptors in stem cell proliferation and development. Little data are available concerning the M5 receptor, partly due to the difficulties in defining the subtype pharmacologically. 5 The autocrine functions of acetylcholine, like those in the nervous system, involve activation of several muscarinic receptor subtypes. Consequently, the role of these subtypes in autocrine, as well neuronal cholinergic systems, significantly expands their importance in physiology and pathophysiology. [source] 2331: Are the Meibomian glands "hair follicles without a hair shaft" ?ACTA OPHTHALMOLOGICA, Issue 2010E KNOP Purpose The Meibomian glands (MG) are atypically large sebaceous glands in the eyelids with numerous generations of secretory acini along an extensive central duct. They share similarities with the ciliary hairs in development, and hyper-keratinisation leading to obstructive MG dysfunction (MGD) represents the typical pathology. It was hence investigated which structural similarities they share with cilia. Methods Conjunctival whole-mounts including the lid margin from ten normal human body donors were embedded in paraffin. Serial sections were stained by H&E, Masson-Goldners stain and by immunohistochemistry (IHC) against cytokeratins and associated proteins. Results The terminal part (excretory duct) of the MG central duct is an ingrowth of epidermis similar to the hair follicles of the cilia. Characterization of individual cytokeratinis by IHC showed that CK14, a marker for undifferentiated cells, was expressed in the basal cell layer of the skin, MG ducts and the secretory acini. The excretory duct epithelium expressed the skin keratin CK10 and the keratinisation marker involucrin but in proximal direction along the central duct full cornification as well as both markers were gradually lost. Filaggrin, however, a marker for incipient stages of keratinisation located in keratohyalin granules continued in the superficial epithelial layer all along the MG ductal system. Conclusion All parts of the normal human MG ductal system have signs of incipient keratinisation and preserve a commitment to full cornification. This supports the assumption that the MG are basically "hair follicles without a hair shaft" in which the progression to full epithelial cornification is apparently blocked during embryological development but may reoccur under pathological influences. Support DFG KN317/11 [source] An unusual course of the left recurrent laryngeal nerveCLINICAL ANATOMY, Issue 3 2007Amir A. Khaki Abstract Variation in the course of the left recurrent laryngeal nerve is seemingly very rare. During the routine dissection of an adult male cadaver, the entire left recurrent laryngeal nerve after branching from the left vagus nerve was noted to travel medial to the ligamentum arteriosum. We hypothesize that this rare variation may occur, if the left recurrent laryngeal nerve passes inferior to the fifth rather than the sixth aortic arch during embryological development. As our case report demonstrates, the relationship between the ligamentum arteriosum and the left recurrent laryngeal nerve is not absolute. Although seemingly rare, cardiothoracic surgeons must consider variations of the left recurrent laryngeal nerve during surgical procedures in the region of the ligamentum arteriosum in order to minimize potential postoperative complications. Clin. Anat. 20:344,346, 2007. © 2006 Wiley-Liss, Inc. [source] | |||||||||||||