[Neoplastic angioendotheliosis diagnosed by open lung biopsy]

Neoplastic angioendotheliosis (NAE) is a rare neoplastic disease, and its pre-mortem diagnosis is extremely difficult. A 49-year-old male developed vertigo, hearing and visual disturbance, transverse myelopathy below Th 5 and hypercalcemia. These symptoms were markedly improved by VEPA chemotherapy. Thirty-four months after onset, diffuse reticular shadows were noted on chest X-ray. The biopsy specimen of the lung revealed intravascular lymphoid cells differentially stained with L26 and LCA. Southern blot analysis of the DNA from the tissue showed rearranged bands for the immunoglobulin gene (JH). A diagnosis of NAE of B-cell nature was established.

Establishment and characterization of a new human lung poorly differentiated adenocarcinoma cell line, GLL-1, producing carcinoembryonic antigen (CEA) and CA19-9

A new human lung poorly differentiated adenocarcinoma cell line producing carcinoembryonic antigen (CEA) and CA19-9, designated GLL-1, was established from a serial xenograft established in our laboratory. In this paper, we investigated the characteristics of GLL-1 cells. The cell line grew in a monolayer and had a polygonal epithelioid appearance in phase-contrast microscopy. The doubling time of GLL-1 cells during exponential growth was approximately 28 h in RPMI-1640 with 10% fetal calf serum. Positive reactions for CEA and for CA19-9 were seen within the cytoplasm of GLL-1 cells by immunohistochemical staining. In log phase, the fractions for G0/G1, S and G2/M were 76.2%, 20.0% and 3.8%, respectively. Chromosome analysis revealed that GLL-1 cells contained the modal number of 72 chromosomes (range 66-97). GLL-1 cells exhibited numerous numerical and structural abnormalities. The Do value for radiation sensitivity, calculated by taking the reciprocals of the slope of the radiation dose response curve, was 109 cGy. The extrapolation number (n) for the radiation response curve was 1.57. Tumor take was observed in nude mice inoculated subcutaneously in the back with 2 x 10(6) GLL-1 cells. The histopathological features of the tumor induced by inoculation of GLL-1 cells were also the same as the original lung cancer.

Measurement of cerebral blood flow with two-dimensional cine phase-contrast mR imaging: evaluation of normal subjects and patients with vertigo

PURPOSE

The purpose of this study was to determine whether or not the vertebral flow of patients with vertigo and normal brain magnetic resonance (MR) images was decreased in comparison with normal controls.

MATERIALS AND METHODS

Cerebral blood flow (CBF) was quantitatively measured by a two-dimensional phase contrast cine MR imaging technique in 24 normal controls (mean age, 38.6 years; range, 12-70) and 23 patients (mean age, 53.7 years; range, 19-76) with a 1.5 Tesla MR imaging unit.

RESULTS

Inter- and intraobserver variation in blood flow measurements was small (r = 0.970, standard error of the estimate [SEE] = 2.9 ml, n = 80; r = 0.963, SEE = 4.6 ml, n = 40, respectively). In the normal group, mean summed vertebral flow (171 ml/min, SD = 40.6) was significantly less than mean summed carotid flow (523 ml/min, SD = 111). Right vertebral flow (80.2 ml/min, SD = 30.5) was less than left vertebral flow (91.2 ml/min, SD = 38.2), but the difference was not statistically significant (p < 0.05). In the 23 patients, although the summed vertebral flows of two patients (63.3, 88.8 ml/min) were significantly less than that of the normal group, mean summed vertebral flow (165 ml/min, SD = 59.1) showed no significant difference from that of the normal group (p < 0.05).

CONCLUSIONS

In this study, the majority of patients had normal CBF. This method is clinically useful for estimating CBF.

Effect of nicotine on dopamine uptake in COS cells possessing the rat dopamine transporter and in PC12 cells

The effect of nicotine on the uptake of dopamine (DA) is not completely understood. We studied its effect on PC12 cells and on COS cells transfected with the rat DA transporter cDNA (pcDNADAT1). DA uptake by PC12 cells was inhibited by nicotine in a concentration-related fashion. Treatment of PC12 cells with nerve growth factor (NGF) increased such inhibition. This inhibitory effect was abolished by hexamethonium and mecamylamine, indicating that nicotine acted via the nicotinic acetylcholine (nACh) receptors in PC12 cells. This view is also supported by evidence that acetylcholine (ACh) reduced the uptake of DA in a hexamethonium-, but not atropine-, sensitive fashion. However, nicotine failed to inhibit DA uptake by COS cells possessing the DA transporter. These results suggest that the inhibitory effect of nicotine on DA uptake, when coupled with an nACh receptor leading to an indirect action on the transporter, may play a role in regulating extracellular concentrations of DA.

Methionine uptake by tumor tissue: a microautoradiographic comparison with FDG

L-methyl-11C-methionine (11C-Met) and 2-deoxy-2-18F-fluoro-D-glucose (18F-FDG) are used for tumor diagnosis and treatment evaluation by PET. In order to examine the role of these tracers in cancer imaging, intratumoral properties of 14C-Met were studied and compared to those of 18F-FDG.

METHODS

The distribution of 14C-Met in various cellular elements of two different mouse malignant tumor tissues, MH134 and FM3A, was analyzed serially using microautoradiography within a period of 120 min after injection of the tracer.

RESULTS

Carbon-14-Met and 18F-FDG showed different distributions in tumor tissue. Carbon-14-Met uptake by the tumor was mostly by viable cancer cells. The uptake by macrophages and other cellular components was low. The uptake was higher in the highly proliferative tumor but did not reflect protein synthesis. The rapid and slow growing tumors demonstrated that 14C-Met uptake ratio was lower than that of 18F-FDG, reflecting de novo DNA synthesis ratio.

CONCLUSION

Carbon-14-Met uptake represents the presence of viable cancer cells. Carbon-11-Met may be suitable for treatment evaluation of individual tumors but not growth rates of different tumors. Fluorine-18-FDG reflects tumor-host immune system reaction and is an excellent tool for pretreatment evaluation of tumors and determination of tumor proliferative activity.

[Hypercalcemia in multiple myeloma]

Human myeloma cells have been supposed to produce osteoclast activating factors (OAF) that stimulate osteoclasts. The OAF from myeloma cell lines and freshly isolated myeloma cells has been attributed to TNF beta and IL-1 beta, respectively, although production of these cytokines is still controversial. Because of the bone resorption and latent renal dysfunction, hypercalcemia appears to develop readily in myeloma patients. The level of the cytokine production by myeloma cells appears to be relatively low; however, it may be sufficient to activate osteoclasts, because myeloma cells are present close to them. Recently, PTH-rP has been suggested to be involved in the bone resorption. In addition to conventional treatment of hypercalcemia, bisphosphonate may be a usefull tool to inhibit bone resorption.

In vivo regulation of rat neutrophil apoptosis occurring spontaneously or induced with TNF-alpha or cycloheximide

We previously demonstrated that human TNF-alpha induces rapid apoptosis of human neutrophils. To understand better the in vivo significance of neutrophil apoptosis, we examined spontaneous, recombinant human and mouse TNF-alpha- or cycloheximide-induced apoptosis of normal peripheral blood neutrophils (PBN), PBN from rats injected i.p. with proteose peptone or a streptococcus preparation, OK-432 (inflammatory PBN), peritoneally exudated neutrophils (PEN) obtained after a proteose peptone injection, and normal bone marrow neutrophils. The following observations were made. 1) Normal PBN responded to TNF-alpha, but PEN, normal bone marrow neutrophils, and inflammatory PBN at 12 h after stimulation did not. 2) The sensitivity to TNF-alpha of the inflammatory PBN started to decrease at 3 h, was lowest at 12 h, and was almost restored at 52 h after stimulation. 3) Spontaneous apoptosis of normal and inflammatory PBN reached 25% at 12 h after in vitro incubation, but that of PEN and normal bone marrow neutrophils was very low over this period. 4) The sensitivity to cycloheximide (6 h incubation) was high for normal PBN and bone marrow neutrophils, but low for PEN and inflammatory PBN after 12 h. 5) 125I-rhTNF-alpha binding of bone marrow neutrophils was significantly lower than that of normal and inflammatory PBN and PEN. 6) TNF-alpha-induced apoptosis of normal or inflammatory PBN and bone marrow neutrophils was enhanced by treatment with low doses of cycloheximide that alone were barely able to induce neutrophil apoptosis; however, apoptosis of PEN was not. The mechanisms and in vivo significance of these phenomena are discussed.

[MRI of traumatic anosmia]

On MRI, the authors were able to demonstrate the contused lesions of bilateral rectal gyri near the crista galli in all of five cases of traumatic anosmia. Thin slice coronal and sagittal images of MRI were very useful for detecting the lesions. Conventional CT scans failed to demonstrate the lesions in 3 out of the 5 cases, but, even in these cases, MRI was able to clearly depict the contused lesions of bilateral rectal gyri. Therefore, the depicted lesions of bilateral rectal gyri on MRI can be evidence of traumatic anosmia and this may be very significant in medico-legal cases.

Altered extracellular matrix component gene expression in murine polycystic kidney

The DBA/2FG-pcy mouse has a form of slowly progressive kidney disease that appears similar in many respects to that seen in the autosomal dominant form of human polycystic kidney disease. This study was designed to assess how the expression of extracellular matrix component genes is regulated in a model of murine polycystic kidney disease and control DBA/2 mice at 8, 16, and 30 weeks of age. The mRNA levels encoding for collagen IV, the B1 and B2 chains of laminin, heparan sulfate proteoglycan, fibronectin, and collagens I and III increased with the progression of cystic lesions in the kidney of DBA/2FG-pcy mice. At 30 weeks of age, mRNA levels for collagen IV, laminin B1 and B2, heparan sulfate proteoglycan, fibronectin, and collagens I and III were increased 8.1-fold, 7.0-fold, 7.0-fold, 9.8-fold, 7.0-fold, 5.5-fold, and 5.4-fold, respectively, compared to those of control DBA/2 mice. An immunofluorescence study revealed the irregular staining for collagen IV, laminin, heparan sulfate proteoglycan, and collagens I and III around the cysts. These data suggest that changes in the expression of basement membrane components and interstitial collagens are associated with the development of polycystic kidney disease.

Risk factors for operative morbidity in patients with systemic lupus erythematosus: an analysis of 63 surgical procedures

The surgical morbidity rate of patients with Systemic Lupus Erythematosus is considered very high; however, the experience in the literature is small. This study will determine the rate of surgical morbidity and the existence of predictive factors in patients with such a disease. The medical records of 53 patients with Systemic Lupus Erythematosus who underwent 63 major operations were analyzed retrospectively. The rate and causes of operative morbidity were registered. Univariate and multivariate statistical analysis was performed to ascertain the existence of predictive factors for morbidity. The overall morbidity and mortality were 16% and 6% respectively. Lymphopenia, hypoalbuminemia, increased SGOT and SGPT, urgent indication of operation, the physical status of the American Society of Anesthesiology, as well as a shorter duration of Systemic Lupus Erythematosus showed a significant correlation with operative morbidity in the univariate analysis; high blood urea nitrogen showed marginal significance. Physical status, urgent indication, and blood urea nitrogen remained as significant variables with the multivariate logistic regression analysis. The surgical morbidity rate of these patients may be lower than previously estimated. The physical status, urgency of operation, and level of blood urea nitrogen seemed to be the most useful independent predictors for surgical morbidity risk in patients with Systemic Lupus Erythematosus.

In vivo regulation of rat neutrophil apoptosis occurring spontaneously or induced with TNF-alpha or cycloheximide

We previously demonstrated that human TNF-alpha induces rapid apoptosis of human neutrophils. To understand better the in vivo significance of neutrophil apoptosis, we examined spontaneous, recombinant human and mouse TNF-alpha- or cycloheximide-induced apoptosis of normal peripheral blood neutrophils (PBN), PBN from rats injected i.p. with proteose peptone or a streptococcus preparation, OK-432 (inflammatory PBN), peritoneally exudated neutrophils (PEN) obtained after a proteose peptone injection, and normal bone marrow neutrophils. The following observations were made. 1) Normal PBN responded to TNF-alpha, but PEN, normal bone marrow neutrophils, and inflammatory PBN at 12 h after stimulation did not. 2) The sensitivity to TNF-alpha of the inflammatory PBN started to decrease at 3 h, was lowest at 12 h, and was almost restored at 52 h after stimulation. 3) Spontaneous apoptosis of normal and inflammatory PBN reached 25% at 12 h after in vitro incubation, but that of PEN and normal bone marrow neutrophils was very low over this period. 4) The sensitivity to cycloheximide (6 h incubation) was high for normal PBN and bone marrow neutrophils, but low for PEN and inflammatory PBN after 12 h. 5) 125I-rhTNF-alpha binding of bone marrow neutrophils was significantly lower than that of normal and inflammatory PBN and PEN. 6) TNF-alpha-induced apoptosis of normal or inflammatory PBN and bone marrow neutrophils was enhanced by treatment with low doses of cycloheximide that alone were barely able to induce neutrophil apoptosis; however, apoptosis of PEN was not. The mechanisms and in vivo significance of these phenomena are discussed.

Reversible expression of motility and flagella in Clostridium chauvoei and their relationship to virulence

Clostridium chauvoei strain Okinawa produced spontaneous non-motile variants at an unusually high rate (approx. 10(-4) per generation) under normal conditions without mutagen. Revertants of non-motile variants were detected at a rate of approximately 10(-3). Biochemically, every variant corresponded well with the parental strain. By transmission electron microscopy, three of nine non-motile variants of strain Okinawa were found to be flagellate, while the other six were found to be aflagellate. These phenotypes were confirmed by Western blot analysis using monoclonal antibodies directed against the flagella of C. chauvoei. Moreover, the parental flagellate strain and non-motile flagellate variants were significantly more virulent in mice than non-motile, aflagellate variants. Our results demonstrated that phase variation in motility and flagellation occurs in C. chauvoei, and that the flagella are associated with the full expression of virulence.

Isolation and characterization of four novel bioactive peptides from a polychaete annelid, Perinereis vancaurica

Four bioactive peptides were purified from an extract of the polycheate annelid Perinereis vancaurica using an HPLC system for fractionation of the extract and the esophagus of the worm as bioassay system. The sequences of the peptides were determined to be H-Trp-Val-Val-Gly-Asp-Val-Gln-OH, H-Ala-Thr-Trp-Leu-Asp-Thr-OH, H-Trp-Met-Val-Gly-Asp-Val-Gln-OH and H-Phe-Tyr-Glu-Gly-Asp-Val-Pro-Tyr-OH. These peptides showed an excitatory activity on the esophagus of P. vancaurica. The excitatory effect of the second and fourth peptides was marked. They may be neuropeptides involved in regulation of the esophagus.

Lipopolysaccharide-induced apoptosis in swine lymphocytes in vivo

The in vivo effects of bacterial lipopolysaccharide (LPS) on the immune systems of piglets were investigated. Intravenous injection of 0.5 mg of LPS per kilogram of body weight induced apoptosis, which was characterized by nuclear chromatin condensation and fragmentation and a ladder formation of nucleosomal DNA in lymphocytes both in the cortex of the thymus and in the germinal centers and paracortical areas of mesenteric lymph nodes at 24 h postinjection. The levels of endotoxin, tumor necrosis factor alpha, and cortisol in serum increased, generally according to the dose of LPS. These findings suggest that LPS can induce in vivo apoptosis of lymphocytes in piglets and support the notion that cytokine and endocrine responses may play an important role in LPS-induced apoptosis in the immune system.

[Cytokine mRNA expression in peripheral blood mononuclear cells from hemodialysis and CAPD patients]

Inflammatory cytokines, including TNF-alpha, IL-1 beta and IL-6, have been reported to be responsible for acute or chronic complications and biocompatibility issues in dialysis patients have focused on the role of these cytokines. Expression of mRNA for TNF-alpha, interleukin (IL)-1 beta and IL-6 in peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMC) and their plasma concentrations was examined in 10 hemodialysis and 10 continuous ambulatory peritoneal dialysis (CAPD) patients. Plasma TNF-alpha and IL-1 beta levels in hemodialysis, CAPD and in every healthy subject were below the detection limits. Plasma IL-6 concentration was increased significantly in hemodialysis and CAPD patients when compared to normal controls (p < 0.01). Expression of mRNA for TNF-alpha, IL-1 beta and IL-6 in PBMCs was increased significantly (p < 0.01) in hemodialysis and CAPD patients compared to normal subjects. These mRNA expressions were lower in CAPD patients than in hemodialysis patients (p < 0.05). Significant correlation was observed between the plasma IL-6 concentration and PBMC IL-6 mRNA expression in patients on hemodialysis or CAPD (p < 0.01). IL-6 mRNA expression in PBMCs did not correlate with the duration of hemodialysis or CAPD, blood urea nitrogen (BUN) or serum creatinine levels. These findings suggest that mRNA expression indicates stimulation by dialysis procedures in patients, and CAPD is tolerated better than hemodialysis by patients with end-stage renal failure.

Time-variant structure of auditory cortex of the macaque monkey

Supra-threshold responses of neurons in the primary auditory cortex of the macaque monkey are so complex that the characteristic frequency cannot be determined. By statistical analyses based on analysis of variance and principal component analysis, we demonstrated that the similarity of neurons from penetration perpendicular to the surface of the cortex decreases to such a level that they cannot be considered as a unit and that correlation among neurons from different cortical positions can be higher than that for neurons from penetration. This means that the frequency map is not evident for stimuli at supra-threshold. Moreover, we found that a single neuron utilizes different time segments to extract different physical aspects of stimuli. Our results indicate that encoding auditory information may involve other structures than the frequency map.

Squamous cell carcinoma antigen is a potent inhibitor of cysteine proteinase cathepsin L

A squamous cell carcinoma antigen (SSCA), which is a member of the serpin family of proteinase inhibitors, was purified from sera of cancer patients. It did not inhibit serine proteinases. However, it non-competitively inhibited human cathepsin L with a Ki of 0.064 nM, but not cathepsins B and H among cysteine proteinases. These results indicated that SCCA is a non-functional serpin that inhibits cathepsin L in cancer cells.

Occurrence of a latent serine protease in the follicular fluid of porcine ovary

Porcine ovary follicular fluid contains a latent form of a protease which is activatable with trypsin. The active enzyme hydrolyzed peptide 4-methylcoumaryl-7-amide (MCA) substrates with a preference for the Arg-MCA bond. The enzyme was strongly inhibited by diisopropylfluorophosphate, aprotinin, leupeptin and antipain, but not by soybean trypsin inhibitor. The apparent molecular weight of the enzyme was approximately 630,000 as estimated by gel filtration. No significant difference in molecular size was seen between the inactive precursor and trypsin-activated enzyme. The results suggest that the present enzyme is a novel type of serine protease.

The anti-proliferative effect of proliferating cell nuclear antigen-specific antisense oligonucleotides on human gastric cancer cell lines

The proliferating cell nuclear antigen (PCNA) is a nuclear protein that leads DNA synthesis by the DNA polymerase delta. As the PCNA gene is strongly expressed in invasive gastric cancer cells with high proliferative activity, PCNA is suspected of playing an important role in the proliferation and advancement of gastric cancer. Thus, the effects of antisense oligonucleotides specific for PCNA mRNA were examined in seven gastric cancer cell lines. It was found that treatment with antisense oligonucleotides at concentrations of 10-40 microM dose-dependently inhibited the growth of all cell lines; however, random sequence oligonucleotides did not modify the proliferation of any type of cells. These results indicate that PCNA is essential for cell proliferation in gastric cancer cells, and that the growth inhibitory effect results from the inhibition of PCNA gene expression. Therefore, PCNA-specific antisense oligonucleotides may be effective in the treatment of gastric cancer.

In vivo occurrence of p16 (MTS1) and p15 (MTS2) alterations preferentially in non-small cell lung cancers

Frequent homozygous deletions of the p16 (MTS1) gene encoding a cyclin-dependent kinase inhibitor were recently reported in various tumor cell lines including examples derived from lung cancers, but direct evidence for their occurrence in lung cancer patients has not been reported thus far. In the present study, alterations of p16 and/or p15, a p16-related cyclin-dependent kinase, were observed not only in lung cancer cell lines but also in the corresponding tumor specimens in vivo, excluding the possibility of in vitro artifacts. Interestingly, a clear specificity was also noted in terms of the affected histological subtype; i.e., only non-small cell lung cancers carried alterations (6 of 20 as compared to 0 of 20 small cell lung cancer cell lines).

Concomitant coronary bypass grafting and curative surgery for cancer

The surgical management of patients with concomitant critical coronary artery disease (CAD) and surgically resectable cancer is controversial. We evaluated 19 patients who underwent concomitant coronary artery bypass grafting (CABG) and curative operation for cancer of the stomach in 9 patients, the colon in 4, the lung in 4, and the breast in 2. Each cancer operation was performed under stable hemodynamics without any serious bleeding tendency, immediately after CABG with an average of 2.5 +/- 0.8 grafts. There were no operative deaths and no incidences of perioperative myocardial infarction. Postoperative complications developed in three of the patients with lung cancer: respiratory dysfunction caused by phrenic nerve paralysis in two and mediastinitis in one. During the mean follow-up period of 33 +/- 23 months, 5 patients died of recurrent cancer or non-cardiac disease; however, all 19 patients remained free from any postoperative cardiac events and their quality of life apparently improved. This experience suggests that such simultaneous correction would be safe and beneficial in carefully selected patients who have surgically correctable CAD and potentially curable cancer.

[Four cases of urinary lithiasis associated with chronic inflammatory bowel disease]

We report 4 cases of urinary lithiasis associated with chronic inflammatory bowel disease. All cases were surgically treated and the mode of operation was total colectomy in two cases, ileal resection (1 m) in 1 case and total colectomy and ileal resection (1 m) in 1 case. The composition of the stone was uric acid in 2 cases treated with total colectomy and calcium oxalate in the other 2 cases treated with ileal resection. Low urine volume was observed in 3 cases and acid urine in all cases. Hypocitruria was observed in 3 cases. Two cases with ileal resection showed enteric hyperoxaruia and increased urinary excretion of oxalate was observed on the oxalate loading test.