Subcutaneous seeding of small hepatocellular carcinoma after fine needle aspiration biopsy

Ultrasonically guided fine needle (21 gauge) aspiration biopsy (FNAB) was performed on a patient with a hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) measuring 1.5 x 1.5 cm in segment VI of the liver. The tumour was located just beneath the liver surface. Subsegmentectomy of segment VI was performed. Twelve months after the biopsy and 10 months after the operation, levels of alpha-fetoprotein (AFP) and protein induced by Vitamin K absence or antagonist-II (PIVKA-II) increased gradually without any evidence of recurrence of HCC in the liver. Thirteen months after the biopsy, the patient palpated a hard subcutaneous nodule 1.5 cm in diameter in the right lower anterior chest wall at the insertion site of the biopsy needle. A subcutaneous tumour was excised and histological examination revealed moderately differentiated HCC. The levels of AFP and PIVKA-II normalized thereafter. These tumour markers were therefore useful for diagnosing the subcutaneous nodule as a metastatic HCC. The patient is currently doing well without further recurrence of HCC or needle-tract seeding 23 months after subsegmentectomy and 11 months after excision of the subcutaneous tumour.

Effect of irradiation by semiconductor laser on responses evoked in trigeminal caudal neurons by tooth pulp stimulation

The effect of irradiation with a gallium-aluminum-arsenide semiconductor laser on responses evoked in trigeminal subnucleus caudal neurons by tooth pulp stimulation was investigated electrophysiologically in Wistar rats anesthetized with urethane plus alpha-chloralose. The pulp of lower incisor was electrically stimulated and the evoked action potentials were extracellularly recorded in the ipsilateral caudal neurons. The laser beam was applied on the cervical surface of the stimulated incisor. The rate of firing discharges and the numbers of spikes evoked in the caudal neurons were compared before and after laser irradiation. Laser irradiation suppressed the late discharges in the response of the caudal neurons which were evoked by excitatory inputs from C-fiber afferents, but did not suppress the early discharges evoked by inputs from A delta-fiber afferents. This indicates that low power laser irradiation (semiconductor laser: 830 nm, 350 mW, CW, through the tooth structures, for 120 s) inhibited the excitation of unmyelinated fibers of the pulp without affecting fine myelinated fibers. These results suggest that low power laser irradiation has a suppressive effect on injured tissue by blocking the depolarization of C-fiber afferents.

Purification of a trypsin-type protease from human umbilical vein endothelial cells which is highly sensitive to the Kunitz inhibitor domain peptide of Alzheimer's disease amyloid protein precursor

A trypsin-type protease was purified to enzymatic homogeneity from human umbilical vein endothelial cells by sequential affinity chromatographies. The enzyme specifically hydrolyzed dibasic substrates with leucine at the P3 positions, but scarcely hydrolyzed the other substrates tested. The enzyme was strongly inhibited by the Kunitz inhibitor domain peptide of Alzheimer's disease amyloid protein precursor (Ki value, 0.35 nM) and by the microbial inhibitors leupeptin and anti-pain. These results, together with a previous finding of a significant increase in the expression of Alzheimer's amyloid protein precursors (beta APPs) with the Kunitz inhibitor domain in Alzheimer's disease, suggest that the activity of the trypsin-type protease is suppressed by an increase of beta APPs with inhibitor activity in Alzheimer's disease, resulting in aberrant intracellular protein catabolism including degradation of beta APPs and beta-protein deposition.

Reduction of increased signal intensity in the basal ganglia on T1-weighted MR images during treatment of hepatic encephalopathy

A 61-year-old man with liver cirrhosis showed a symmetrical increase in the signal intensity of the basal ganglia on T1-weighted magnetic resonance (MR) images, which was diminished after 3 months of treatment for hepatic encephalopathy. He recovered from encephalopathy with treatment, and liver dysfunction (hyperammonemia and abnormal blood coagulation) as well as the results of quantitative psychometric tests showed a marked improvement. The cause of these high signal intensity changes on T1-weighted images and the reason for their partial reversibility are not known, but hyperammonemia due to portal-systemic shunting might be closely related to these clinical observations.

Antibacterial spectrum of lactoferricin B, a potent bactericidal peptide derived from the N-terminal region of bovine lactoferrin

A physiologically diverse range of Gram-positive and Gram-negative bacteria was found to be susceptible to inhibition and inactivation by lactoferricin B, a peptide produced by gastric pepsin digestion of bovine lactoferrin. The list of susceptible organisms includes Escherichia coli, Salmonella enteritidis, Klebsiella pneumoniae, Proteus vulgaris, Yersinia enterocolitica, Pseudomonas aeruginosa, Campylobacter jejuni, Staphylococcus aureus, Streptococcus mutans, Corynebacterium diphtheriae, Listeria monocytogenes and Clostridium perfringens. Concentrations of lactoferricin B required to cause complete inhibition of growth varied within the range of 0.3 to 150 micrograms/ml, depending on the strain and the culture medium used. The peptide showed activity against E. coli O111 over the range of pH 5.5 to 7.5 and was most effective under slightly alkaline conditions. Its antibacterial effectiveness was reduced in the presence of Na+, K+, Mg2+ or Ca2+ ions, or in the presence of various buffer salts. Lactoferricin B was lethal, causing a rapid loss of colony-forming capability in most of the species tested. Pseudomonas fluorescens, Enterococcus faecalis and Bifidobacterium bifidum strains were highly resistant to this peptide.

Substrate adhesiveness and experimental metastatic potential of rat ascites hepatoma AH7974-derived variant sublines

Cells of an adherent subline (74AD, adhesion greater than 95%) and a floating subline (74FL, adhesion less than 1%) of rat ascites hepatoma AH7974 produced substrates containing fibronectin (FN), laminin (LN) and type IV collagen (CL-IV), with 74AD cells producing higher levels of each component. 74AD cells possessed high adhesion affinities to LN and CL-IV substrates. By contrast, 74FL cells hardly adhered to these purified attachment proteins. The difference in adhesion between the two lines in vitro tended to increase on incubation of the cells in medium containing fetal bovine serum. However, 74FL and 74AD cells adhered avidly to the extracellular matrix (ECM) of vascular endothelial cells. Although the cell-ECM adhesion apparently was not inhibited by pretreatment of the ECM with anti-FN, anti-LN and anti-CL-IV antibodies, the 74FL cell-ECM adhesion was inhibited considerably by pretreatment of the ECM with a mixture of these antibodies, especially with a combination of anti-FN and anti-LN antibodies. The lung-colonizing potential of 74FL cells was greater than that of 74AD cells, but the liver-colonizing potential of 74FL cells was less than that of 74AD cells. These results suggest that rat ascites hepatoma cells with extremely reduced substrate adhesiveness retain an adhesion mechanism that binds to FN and LN in the ECM of vascular endothelial cells. This mechanism may be a minimum essential unit of tumor cell-ECM adhesion in lung colonization, but the unit is insufficient for liver colonization of these cells.

Identification of the bactericidal domain of lactoferrin

We report the existence of a previously unknown antimicrobial domain near the N-terminus of lactoferrin in a region distinct from its iron-binding sites. A single active peptide representing this domain was isolated following gastric pepsin cleavage of human lactoferrin, and bovine lactoferrin, and sequenced by automated Edman degradation. The antimicrobial sequence was found to consist mainly of a loop of 18 amino acid residues formed by a disulfide bond between cysteine residues 20 and 37 of human lactoferrin, or 19 and 36 of bovine lactoferrin. Synthetic analogs of this region similarly exhibited potent antibacterial properties. The active peptide of bovine lactoferrin was more potent than that of human lactoferrin having effectiveness against various Gram-negative and Gram-positive bacteria at concentrations between 0.3 microM and 3.0 microM, depending on the target strain. The effect of the isolated domain was lethal causing a rapid loss of colony-forming capability. Our studies suggest this domain is the structural region responsible for the bacterial properties of lactoferrin.

A study on the removal of the melanin pigmentation of dog gingiva by CO 2 laser irradiation

Removal of melanin pigmentation of the gingiva with CO 2 laser irradiation was investigated. The melanin-pigmented gingiva of 5 dogs were classified according to the degree of gingival pigmentation (slight, moderate, severe) and its extent (local, extensive). CO 2 laser was irradiated on the surface of the pigmented gingiva under the following conditions; defocused beams of spot size 4 mm, irradiation time 0.2(S), output 6-8(W)). That is, the irradiation energy density was 9.6-12.8 J/cm 2. The irradiated gingiva was examined macroscopically and histopathologically. The histopathological changes were investigated by hematoxylin-eosin staining and Masson staining for the differential diagnosis of melanin pigmentation cells. These examinations were done one week and three weeks after the laser irradiation. Immediately after irradiation, the gingiva surface showed white color and bulla-like appearance. One week after irradiation, the pigmentation of the lased gingiva disappeared in all cases macroscopically. Histologically, the pigmented-laden cells could not be found and no inflammatory cell infiltration was observed. Three weeks after irradiation, no reappearance of pigmentation was observed in either macroscopical or microscopical investigations excluding severe/extensive cases. These findings suggested that it is possible to remove gingival melanin pigmentation by CO 2 laser irradiation.

Specific detection of acetyl-coenzyme A by reversed-phase ion-pair high-performance liquid chromatography with an immobilized enzyme reactor

A selective chromatographic detection system for the determination of acetyl-coenzyme A (CoA) is reported. The short-chain acyl-CoA thioesters were separated by reversed-phase ion-pair high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC), and then acetyl-CoA was selectively detected on-line with an immobilized enzyme reactor (IMER) as a post-column reactor. Thio-CoA liberated enzymatically from acetyl-CoA was determined spectrophotometrically after reaction with Ellman's reagent in the reagent stream. The IMER with phosphotransacetylase had a substrate specificity sufficient to determine acetyl-CoA and was active and stable in the mobile phase containing methanol and the ion-pair reagent. The calibration graph was linear between 0.2 and 10 nmol, with a detection limit of 0.05 nmol. This HPLC system with detection by IMER allows the selective identification and determination of acetyl-CoA in a mixture of acetoacetyl-CoA and 3-hydroxy-3-methylglutaryl-CoA, which are difficult to separate with ion-pair HPLC.

Determination of idebenone in rat serum and brain by high-performance liquid chromatography using platinum catalyst reduction and electrochemical detection

A high-performance liquid chromatographic determination of idebenone, a new cerebral metabolism-improving agent, in rat serum and brain has been developed. After separation of idebenone on a reversed-phase column, idebenone was reduced once in a platinum catalyst reduction column connected on-line, then monitored quantitatively by electrochemical detection. A linear relationship between the peak-height ratio of idebenone to the internal standard and idebenone concentration was observed in the range 0.015-50 ng with a detection limit of 5 pg (signal-to-noise ratio = 5). This method was satisfactorily rapid and sensitive, and was successfully applied to the determination of idebenone in rat serum and brain tissues.

Potent antibacterial peptides generated by pepsin digestion of bovine lactoferrin

The antibacterial properties of enzymatic hydrolysates of bovine lactoferrin were examined to determine whether active peptides are produced from this protein. Hydrolysates prepared by cleavage of lactoferrin with porcine pepsin, cod pepsin, or acid protease from Penicillium duponti showed strong activity against Escherichia coli O111, whereas hydrolysates produced by trypsin, papain, or other neutral proteases were much less active. Low molecular weight peptides generated by porcine pepsin cleavage of lactoferrin showed broad-spectrum antibacterial activity, inhibiting the growth of a number of Gram-negative and Gram-positive species, including strains that were resistant to native lactoferrin. The antibacterial potency of the hydrolysate was at least eightfold greater than that of undigested lactoferrin with all strains tested. The active peptides retained their activity in the presence of added iron, unlike native lactoferrin. The effect of the hydrolysate was bactericidal as indicated by a rapid loss of viability of E. coli O111. The lactoferrin hydrolysate described in the present study has commercial value as a natural preservative agent for use in foods and cosmetics, and as a functional component of new clinical foods for prevention or treatment of gastrointestinal disease.

Effects of diazepam administration on melatonin synthesis in the rat pineal gland in vivo

The effect of diazepam (DZP) on melatonin synthesis in rat pineal gland was investigated in vivo. Subcutaneous injection of DZP (3 mg/kg) 1 h before the start of darkness significantly suppressed nocturnal elevations of pineal N-acetylserotonin (NAS) and melatonin contents in rats, and caused a 2-h delay in reaching the maximum melatonin level in the dark phase. DZP treatment also markedly suppressed the dark-induced increase of pineal N-acetyltransferase activity, which catalyzes the rate-limiting step in melatonin synthesis, but had no effect on hydroxyindole-O-methyltransferase activity, which catalyzes the final step of melatonin formation. Pineal norepinephrine and dopamine contents, in contrast, were not altered by DZP injection. The distribution rate of DZP to the brain reached the highest level 30 min after a single injection, while that to the pineal gland was observed 5 h later (i.e., 4 h after the start of darkness). It is clear that the inhibitory effect of DZP on melatonin synthesis in rat pineal gland appears concomitantly with the increase in the distribution volume of DZP into this gland. These results suggest that the inhibitory effect of DZP on melatonin synthesis results from the drug's direct action on the rat pineal gland.

Superoxide is involved in the pathogenesis of paraquat-induced injury in cultured rat liver slices

We examined whether superoxide is a factor responsible for paraquat-induced liver injury in terms of superoxide dismutase using cultured rat liver slices exposed to various concentrations of paraquat. The degree of liver injury was assessed by measurement of percentage of lactate dehydrogenase leakage into the medium and lipid hydroperoxides in the liver slices and by direct histopathological observation. Paraquat produced concentration- and time-related liver injury in the cultured rat liver slices. Notably, after exposure to 5 mmol/L paraquat, a significant increase of the percentage of lactate dehydrogenase leakage occurred from 4 hr (p less than 0.05 vs. control group), and this gradually increased up to 8 hr (p less than 0.01 and p less than 0.001 vs. control group at 6 and 8 hr, respectively). Changes in lipid hydroperoxides in the liver slices were similar to those in percentage of lactate dehydrogenase leakage (p less than 0.05 and p less than 0.01 vs. control group at 6 and 8 hr, respectively). Liver injury was located around the central vein at 6 hr and gradually spread at 8 hr. Paraquat-induced liver injury was aggravated both biochemically and histopathologically by pretreatment with 5 mmol/L diethyldithiocarbamate, an inhibitor of copper- and zinc-containing superoxide dismutase activity (percentage of lactate dehydrogenase leakage: p less than 0.01 and p less than 0.001 vs. paraquat group at 6 and 8 hr, respectively; lipid hydroperoxides: p less than 0.01 vs. paraquat group at 8 hr). Incubation of liver slices with liposome-encapsulated superoxide dismutase increased the augmentation of superoxide dismutase in the liver slices.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)

Effects of adrenergic blockers or bicuculline on diazepam induced changes in rat pineal melatonin synthesis in vivo and in vitro

The effect of propranolol (PPL), phenoxybenzamine (PBZ) or bicuculline (BCL) on the diazepam (DZP)-induced changes of pineal melatonin synthesis in male rats was examined in vivo and in vitro. Administration of PBZ did not affect the inhibitory action of DZP on pineal melatonin synthesis in vivo. A single injection of PPL inhibited the pineal melatonin synthesis similarly to the administration of DZP alone, but the two drugs together did not exhibit additive or synergistic effects on the melatonin synthesis. Significant decreases in the N-acetyltransferase (NAT) activity and the N-acetylserotonin (NAS) and melatonin contents were observed in the BCL-injected group, being greater than those in the DZP-treated group. Unexpectedly, however, the combination treatment of DZP and BCL causes an increase in the NAT activity and melatonin content compared with the BCL-alone group. Incubation with DZP at higher concentrations resulted in an increase of pineal NAT activity in vitro, but this increase was inhibited by preincubation with PPL, PBZ or BCL. DZP treatment thus appeared to have different effects on pineal NAT activity in vivo and in vitro. These results suggest that both a GABAergic mechanism and peripheral benzodiazepine (BZP) receptors in rat pineal gland may be involved in the modulation of melatonin synthesis by DZP.

Two autopsy cases of primary leiomyosarcoma of the liver. Superiority of muscle-specific actin immunoreactivity in diagnosis

Two autopsy cases of leiomyosarcoma of the liver in a 49-year-old female and 63-year-old male are reported. Both of the liver tumors showed electron microscopically dense patches in the cytoplasm and intermediate junctions between the tumor cells, suggesting a smooth muscle cell origin, irrespective of their different histological features. The nature of both tumors was confirmed by positive immunoreactivity for muscle-specific actin in the tumor cells, whereas desmin immunoreactivity was labile in both cases, showing a higher diagnostic value of the former compared with the latter in these leiomyosarcomas. Both cases, showed extensive distant metastases in spite of an evident difference in their mitotic indices, indicating that this index is not reliable for judging the metastatic potential of these tumors.

[Changes of Cu, Zn-SOD and LPO in the regenerating liver after partial hepatectomy--effect of coenzyme Q10 administration]

We have investigated the effect of CoQ10 to lipid peroxide (LPO) and Cu, Zn-SOD in the regenerating liver in rats. Cu, Zn-SOD was investigated in biochemical activity, and immunohistochemical localization. In normal control liver, Cu, Zn-SOD was diffusely stained throughout the hepatic lobules, with predominance in the centrilobular area and with vicinity of thick portal vein. In early stage of regenerating liver. LPO was increased and Cu, Zu-SOD was decreased. Destruction of the membrane of hepatocyte was confirmed by electron microscopy in the early stage of regenerating liver, Cu, Zn-SOD might be speculated to leak out into extra cellular spaces. CoQ10 suppressed the mentioned phenomenon in regenerating liver.

[Analysis of factors affecting hepatic dysfunction during group health checks for local inhabitants]

During health checks within the framework of the Geriatric Health Law, hepatic dysfunction was detected at a high incidence in inhabitants of K town. The factors affecting hepatic dysfunction in these cases were explored. The number of inhabitants who received health checks in 1989 in this town was 4,491 (78.5% of all inhabitants aged over 35 years). A diagnosis of hepatic dysfunction was made if GOT was equal to or higher than 41 IU/l or GPT was equal to or higher than 39 IU/l. On this basis, hepatic dysfunction was detected in 418 inhabitants (9.8%). The incidence of hepatic dysfunction was higher in males than in females. Inhabitants younger than 50 years had a higher incidence than those 50 years or older. The percentage of inhabitants with either a history of alcohol consumption or of receiving blood transfusion was significantly higher for inhabitants with hepatic dysfunction (29% and 10%, respectively) than for healthy inhabitants (10% and 3%, respectively). HBs antigen and anti HCV antibody positive rates for inhabitants with hepatic dysfunction were 3.3% and 36.1% respectively. These results suggest that the relatively high rate of hepatic dysfunction in this town is related to alcohol consumption, blood transfusion and hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection. Of these three factors, the influence of HCV infection seemed to be the most influential. The study additionally disclosed variations in the incidence of hepatic dysfunction among the different regions of the town probably related to regional differences in the anti-HCV antibody positive rate.

Changes in alpha 1- and beta 1-adrenergic receptors and calcium ion binding sites in the fetal myocardium of spontaneously hypertensive rats (SHR)

The present study examined changes in [3H]prazosin, [125I]iodocyanopindolol and [3H]nitrendipine binding to alpha 1- and beta 1-adrenergic receptors and Ca2+ binding sites of cardiac muscle isolated from fetal Wistar Kyoto rats (WKY) and spontaneously hypertensive rats (SHR), using the radioligand binding assay method. The catecholamine concentration in the cardiac muscle of both groups was also determined. The Bmax values in beta 1-adrenoceptors and Ca2+ binding sites in SHR cardiac muscle were lower than those of WKY, but values for SHR alpha 1-adrenoceptors were higher than those of WKY. The Kd values of beta 1-adrenoceptors in cardiac muscles of SHRs were also lower than those of WKY. On the other hand, there were no differences between the catecholamine concentrations in fetal SHR and WKY cardiac muscles. Thus, significant differences in both alpha 1- and beta 1-adrenoceptors and Ca2+ binding sites were already present in fetal SHR hearts, thus suggesting that the changes in fetal hearts of SHRs may be caused by genetic defects in the mother rats at early age.

Incident polarization angle and temperature dependence of polarization and spectral response characteristics in optical fiber couplers

The incident polarization angle and temperature dependence of the polarization and spectral response characteristics of three different types of fiber coupler are presented. The couplers are (1) the biconicalfused- twisted-taper single-mode fiber (coupler A), (2) the asymmetric-etched-fused-taper wavelength division multiplex (coupler B), and (3) the biconical-polished polarization maintaining fiber (coupler C), respectively. It is confirmed experimentally that the polarization characteristics of couplers A and B vary greatly with temperature, but those of coupler C are independent of temperature. Also, the wavelength dependence characteristics of the power splitting ratio of couplers B and C have almost no change with temperature. However, the wavelength dependence of coupler A is greatly changed with temperature. Comparing couplers A and B, it is postulated that the sinusoidal variations of the polarization state vs the incident polarization angle are due to the stress birefringence caused by the fiber twisting when the fused fiber coupler is fabricated and packaged.

[A proposal for a new histological criteria and staging of non-specific duodenitis (NSD)]

Using normal duodenal mucosa (28 cases), initial duodenal ulcer-associated duodenitis (IUAD, 14 cases; 3 active, 8 healing and 3 scarring or healed ulcers) and recurrent duodenal ulcer-associated duodenitis (RUAD, 16 cases; 5 active, 8 healing and 3 scarring or healed ulcers), a new histological criteria and staging of NSD was tried to be made with discriminant analysis. As a result, it is concluded that neutrophilic cell infiltration in the stroma (Ne), gastric superficial epithelial metaplasia (GM), height of villus-crypt unit (HVC) and width of villus (WV) are important factors for histological criteria of NSD, and that number of neutrophilic cells in the stroma (NeS) and percentage of GM in the villus-crypt unit (%GM) are important factors for histological staging of NSD.

Duodenal mucosal hemodynamics in patients with liver cirrhosis

Clinical studies show that patients with liver cirrhosis associated with portal hypertension have a high incidence of duodenal ulcer and duodenitis. However, little information is available concerning pathophysiological process of such duodenal diseases in liver cirrhosis. Hemodynamics of the duodenal mucosa was studied in cirrhotics with esophageal varices (68 cases) and in noncirrhotics with non-ulcer dyspepsia (37 cases) as well. In each group, hemoglobin concentration in the peripheral venous blood was measured, and mucosal hemodynamics was examined in 4 regions of the duodenum by endoscopic reflectance spectrophotometer. No significant intergroup difference was noted in the mean age or sex ratio. Hemoglobin concentration in the peripheral venous blood was significantly lower (p less than 0.01) in the cirrhotics. There were no significant intergroup differences in duodenal mucosal blood volume. However, the cirrhotics showed significantly lower oxygen saturation of hemoglobin in all regions of the duodenum (p less than 0.01). These results show that the cirrhotics with esophageal varices had relative increase in blood volume and decrease in oxygen saturation of hemoglobin in the duodenal mucosa. Such microcirculatory disturbances seem to predispose liver cirrhosis patients to duodenal injury.