University of Tennessee Health Science Center

About: University of Tennessee Health Science Center is a education organization based out in Memphis, Tennessee, United States. It is known for research contribution in the topics: Population & Transplantation. The organization has 15716 authors who have published 26884 publications receiving 1176697 citations.

Structure of the murine Jak2 protein-tyrosine kinase and its role in interleukin 3 signal transduction.

Abstract: Interleukin 3 (IL-3) regulates the proliferation and differentiation of hematopoietic cells. Although the IL-3 receptor chains lack kinase catalytic domains, IL-3 induces tyrosine phosphorylation of cellular proteins. To investigate the potential role of the JAK family of protein-tyrosine kinases in IL-3 signal transduction, we have obtained full-length cDNA clones for murine Jak1 and Jak2 protein-tyrosine kinases and prepared antiserum against the predicted proteins. Using antisera against Jak2, we demonstrate that IL-3 stimulation results in the rapid and specific tyrosine phosphorylation of Jak2 and activates its in vitro kinase activity.

Time course of early motor and neuropathological anomalies in a knock-in mouse model of Huntington's disease with 140 CAG repeats.

Abstract: Huntington's disease (HD) is caused by an abnormal expansion of CAG repeats in the gene encoding huntingtin. The development of therapies for HD requires preclinical testing of drugs in animal models that reproduce the dysfunction and regionally specific pathology observed in HD. We have developed a new knock-in mouse model of HD with a chimeric mouse/human exon 1 containing 140 CAG repeats inserted in the murine huntingtin gene. These mice displayed an increased locomotor activity and rearing at 1 month of age, followed by hypoactivity at 4 months and gait anomalies at 1 year. Behavioral symptoms preceded neuropathological anomalies, which became intense and widespread only at 4 months of age. These consisted of nuclear staining for huntingtin and huntingtin-containing nuclear and neuropil aggregates that first appeared in the striatum, nucleus accumbens, and olfactory tubercle. Interestingly, regions with early pathology all receive dense dopaminergic inputs, supporting accumulating evidence for a role of dopamine in HD pathology. Nuclear staining and aggregates predominated in striatum and layer II/III and deep layer V of the cerebral cortex, whereas neuropil aggregates were found in the globus pallidus and layer IV/superficial layer V of the cerebral cortex. The olfactory system displayed early and marked aggregate accumulation, which may be relevant to the early deficit in odor discrimination observed in patients with HD. Because of their early behavioral anomalies and regionally specific pathology, these mice provide a powerful tool with which to evaluate the effectiveness of new therapies and to study the mechanisms involved in the neuropathology of HD. J. Comp. Neurol. 465:11–26, 2003. © 2003 Wiley-Liss, Inc.

The A.B.F.O. study of third molar development and its use as an estimator of chronological age.

Abstract: Radiographs depicting third molars (M3s) have been used to estimate chronological age in juvenile and adult suspects, but accuracy of the method has been in question. This study provides age benchmarks for American whites (age range: 14 to 24 years) based on cases (n = 823) drawn from diplomates of the American Board of Forensic Odontologists in the United States and Canada. Maxillary M3 formation was slightly advanced over mandibular M3s, and root formation occurred earlier in males than females. Mean and median ages for M3 formation are tabled using Demirjian's eight-grade classification. Regression formulas and empirical probabilities are provided relative to the medicolegal question of whether an individual is at least 18 years of age. The M3 is the most variable tooth in the dentition, but situations arise where M3 formation is the only usable datum for age estimation.

Hyperglycemic Crises in Adult Patients With Diabetes: A consensus statement from the American Diabetes Association

Abstract: Diabetic ketoacidosis (DKA) and hyperosmolar hyperglycemic state (HHS) are the two most serious acute metabolic complications of diabetes. Most patients with DKA have autoimmune type 1 diabetes; however, patients with type 2 diabetes are also at risk during the catabolic stress of acute illness such as trauma, surgery, or infection. Table 1 outlines the diagnostic criteria and electrolyte and fluid deficits for both disorders. The mortality rate in patients with DKA is <5% in experienced centers, whereas the mortality rate of patients with HHS still remains high at ∼11% (1–8). Death in these conditions is rarely due to the metabolic complications of hyperglycemia or ketoacidosis but rather relates to the underlying precipitating illness. The prognosis of both conditions is substantially worsened at the extremes of age and in the presence of coma and hypotension (7,9–11) This consensus statement will outline precipitating factors and recommendations for the diagnosis, treatment, and prevention of DKA and HHS in adult subjects. It is based on a previous technical review and more recently published peer-reviewed articles since 2001, which should be consulted for further information. Although the pathogenesis of DKA is better understood than that of HHS, the basic underlying mechanism for both disorders is a reduction in the net effective action of circulating insulin coupled with a concomitant elevation of counterregulatory hormones, such as glucagon, catecholamines, cortisol, and growth hormone (1,3,4,8–13). DKA and HHS can fall anywhere along the disease continuum of diabetic metabolic derangements. At one extreme, pure DKA without significant hyperosmolarity typically indicates the total or relative absence of insulin (seen in type 1 diabetes). At the other extreme, HHS without ketoacidosis typically occurs with lesser degrees of insulin deficiency, as seen in type 2 diabetes. However, …