Enhancement of thymic lymphocyte proliferation by the culture supernatant of thymus epithelial cells stimulated by prolactin

Culture supernatant of thymus epithelial cells (TECs) stimulated by prolactin (PRL) enhanced markedly DNA synthetic activity of thymic lymphocytes (TLs) as compared with the hormone-non-stimulated TECs. The supernatant, which was treated with anti-insulin-like growth factor-I (IGF-I) monoclonal antibody (MAb) (binding specifically to C region of IGF-I) has still the capacity of enhancing remarkably TL-proliferation. However, further treatment by ultrafiltration of the MAb-treated supernatant, removing the immune complex (IGF-I and anti-IGF-I MAb) from the supernatant, suppressed significantly the enhanced proliferation of TLs. It is assumed that PRL, like growth hormone (GH), promotes the release of IGF-I from TECs which induces a marked TL-proliferation. Moreover, it seems that the active site for inducing the proliferation is a region different from C, possibly the A or the B regions. TLs, present at different maturation steps, were separated into three subsets by discontinuous density gradient centrifugation and then treated with the supernatant of PRL-stimulated TECs. The least dense subset containing precursor T-cells and the most immature TLs showed the highest proliferative response to the supernatant in the comparison with other subsets and whole TLs. It is possible that the target cells to one of TL-proliferation-inducing factors (PIFs), namely IGF-I, in the supernatant exist in a greater concentration in the most immature step of TL population.

[Neurological outcome associated with influenza viral infection]

Several neurological complications associated with Influenza virus infection are known as a febrile convulsion, polyneuritis, meningitis, encephalomyelitis and encephalopathy. Influenza encephalopathy is the most severe complication associated with Influenza. It may be classified into several subtypes according to the clinical symptoms and laboratory data. In this review, Reye's syndrome, acute necrotizing encephalopathy and hemorrhagic shock and encephalopathy syndrome (HSE) are described in detail. The 1995 influenza pandemia in Nagasaki prefecture was markedly neurovirulent and lethal. Twelve cases developed influenza encephalopathy, and the mortality rate between them was 50%. Almost all of them had never be inoculated of influenza vaccine before.

Hepatectomy of right superior portion (segment VII and VIII) combined with right hepatic vein reconstruction: a case report

A 63-year-old man was admitted for the surgical treatment of hepatocellular carcinoma in the segment VIII. The tumor was 4 cm in size, and the major trunk of the right hepatic vein and a branch of the middle hepatic vein were compressed by the tumor on preoperative hepatic venogram. To preserve the remnant liver function, resection of segments VII and VIII combined with right hepatic vein reconstruction was attempted. Right hepatic vein was reconstructed using an autologous external iliac vein graft after resection of segments VII and VIII with the reason that the inferior right hepatic vein was small in this case and the congestive change was recognized on the surface of segment V and VI after temporary clamp of the right hepatic vein. The postoperative course was uneventful, and the grafted portion was patent on postoperative hepatic venogram. Postoperative pathological examination revealed that poorly differentiated hepatocellular carcinoma of 4 cm x 3.5 cm in size existed in the segment VIII, and directly infiltrated to the main trunk of the right hepatic vein. This is uncommon operative method, but may be useful for preservation of the remnant liver function.

Primary prevention of HTLV-1 in Japan

The Nagasaki Prefecture, Japan (population: 1.5 million), is one of the hot endemic foci of Human T-lymphotropic virus type 1 (HTLV-1). Prevalence of HTLV-1 carriers are approximately 10% in the age group over 40 years old (40,000 individuals), approximately 10 times of the national average. Annual registry of adult T-cell leukemia (ATL) in the Prefecture is approximately 60 cases (estimated incidence: 100 cases), or a half percent of total deaths. A effective measure to control the endemic cycle of HTLV-1 has been imperative, since practical ways to prevent or control ATL are not available. A prefecture wide intervention at Nagasaki by refrain from breast-feeding blocked approximately 80% of mother-to-child transmission of HTLV-1.

Trigonal splitting is a major complication of endoscopic trigonoplasty at 1-year followup

PURPOSE

The long-term results of endoscopic trigonoplasty in patients with vesicoureteral reflux were investigated.

MATERIALS AND METHODS

We performed endoscopic trigonoplasty in 28 patients with vesicoureteral reflux, including 6 girls 6 to 8 years old. Reflux was grade I in 14 reno-ureteral units, grade II in 15, grade III in 8, grade IV in 1 and grade V in 1. Median followup was 23 months.

RESULTS

At a median of 3 months postoperatively vesicoureteral reflux was not apparent in 37 units (95%) and it was downgraded in 1 (3%). At a median of 12 months postoperatively 27 (79%) and 4 (12%) of the 34 ureters had cessation and downgrading, respectively. Of the 13 select patients who underwent cystoscopy 3 had retreating ureteral orifices and 5 had trigonal splitting 6 to 12 months postoperatively. Vesicoureteral reflux was demonstrated in 3 of the 5 patients (4 ureters) with trigonal splitting and in 1 (1 ureter) with retreating ureteral orifices. At a median of 24 months after surgery voiding cystography showed reflux in only 1 of 15 units. No postoperative upper urinary tract dilatation was noted at followup.

CONCLUSIONS

Cessation rates of vesicoureteral reflux 12 months after endoscopic trigonoplasty were low with a high incidence of trigonal splitting. These unsatisfactory results mandate technical refinements to avoid trigonal splitting.

Childhood leukemia: epidemiological investigation and effectiveness in treatment in Nagasaki over the past 12 years

An epidemiological investigation of childhood leukemia was performed in Nagasaki Prefecture. The objective of this investigation was to analyze the disease as a whole by studying (i) the incidence classified by year, sex, area and disease type, (ii) age of onset, (iii) effectiveness of treatment, (iv) prognosis, and (v) possible association with the atomic bombing in 1945. The annual incidence was 3.0 per 100,000 children under 15 years of age, lower than the national average. There was no significant change in the annual incidence for 12 years. No increase in incidence was observed in Nagasaki City and its surrounding areas. There was no obvious difference in age of onset and incidence by sex from those previously reported. Acute lymphocytic leukemia accounted for a large part of childhood leukemia. There was no increase in the incidence of acute non-lymphocytic leukemia, but its familial occurrence and accumulation were observed. The rate of first complete remission and the number of long-term survivors increased with the improvement of treatment for acute leukemia. The influence of the atomic bomb was not clear when the incidence of disease types was compared between areas. The comparison of the disease type ratio in patients of the second and third generations of atomic bomb victims with that of patients without a family history of atomic bomb exposure also did not show an obvious influence of the bomb.

Serum Soluble Interleukin-2 Receptor Levels in Patients with Breast Cancer

Preoperative levels of serum soluble interleukin-2 receptor (1L-2R) were examined in 37 patients with breast cancer. We investigated the correlations of serum soluble IL-2R levels with various factors such as stage grouping, lymph node metastasis, distant metastasis, tumor size, histophthological type, estrogen receptor (ER), progesterone receptor (PgR) and CA 15-3. Serum soluble 1L-2R levels were measured with an enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay. Levels of serum soluble 1L-2R in the patients with stage III and IV breast cancer were significantly higher than those in the normal controls, and patients with stage I and II breast cancer. Preoperative levels of serum soluble IL-2R in patients with T3 and T4 were also significantly higher than those in patients with T1 and T2. Serum levels of IL-2R in patients with distant metastasis were also significantly higher than those in patients without distant metastasis. Moreover, serum levels of soluble IL-2R in patients with higher CA 15-3 were significantly higher than those in patients with normal CA 15-3 levels. We conclude that preoperative serum soluble IL-2R levels in patients with breast cancer may be a valuable parameter, especially in evaluating whether they have distant metastasis or not.

[Analysis of renal blood flow velocity in hydronephrosis]

We investigated the velocity of renal blood flow on hydronephrosis using the pulse color Doppler ultrasound technique, comparing velocity on the healthy side with the diseased side of the renal, segmental and interlobar arteries. The velocities of the diseased side were markedly decreased, depending on the degree of hydronephrosis. These results suggest that the evaluation of renal arterial blood flow velocity in hydronephrosis is a useful examination for determining grade and predicting prognosis.

Marked differences in proliferative response to stimulation of growth hormone and insulin-like growth factor-I between thymoma- and normal thymus-derived epithelial cell lines

Two kinds of thymus epithelial cell lines have been utilized: the TAD3 from lymphocyte-dominant rat thymoma and the IT-45R1 derived from normal rat thymus. In the preconfluent state, the percent increase of DNA synthetic activity of TAD3 cells stimulated by GH or IGF-I was significantly higher than that of IT-45R1 cells. In the confluent state, at the contrary, no any noticeable modification of the activity by GH could be detected and that in both cell lines. However, a treatment of the confluent TAD3 cells with IGF-I caused a significant increase of their DNA synthetic activity, whereas the confluent IT-45R1 cells treated with these molecules did not. It was observed that TAD3 cells in the preconfluent state proliferate markedly after stimulation by GH or IGF-I as compared with IT-45R1 cells and that the former is able to proliferate even in the confluent state, after an exposure of IGF-I, whereas the latter did not. Thymus epithelial cells treated with GH were reported to release more IGF-I molecules what had as a consequence a marked proliferative response of thymic lymphocytes. It is therefore assumed that the very particular nature of TAD3 cells treated with IGF-I, able of proliferating by crossing over the contact inhibition, might have a close relationship in the formation of the lymphocyte-dominant thymoma.

Immunohistochemical localization of extracellular matrix components in human breast tumours with special reference to PG-M/versican

Immunohistochemical localization of the large proteoglycan, PG-M/versican, was studied in 36 breast tumours, including infiltrating ductal carcinomas, benign tumours and fibrocystic diseases. The relation between the proteoglycan and the other extracellular matrix components was also investigated. In the carcinoma tissues, the interstitial elements of the 'specific stroma', consisting of fibroblastic cells and fine fibrils, were reactive to antibody 2B1, which specifically recognizes the large proteoglycan, PG-M/versican. In the peripheral invasive areas of infiltrating ductal carcinoma, the most intense 2B1-positive reaction was visualized in mesenchymal tissues between carcinoma cells clumps and the surrounding tissues, where hyaluronic acid could be demonstrated histochemically. The 2B1-positive elements were not reactive to antibody 6B6, which specifically recognizes small proteoglycan. In the central sclerotic areas, where antibody 6B6 was reactive, a 2B1-positive reaction was detected only in elastosis masses, which also bound antibodies to type IV collagen and laminin, and to some extent antibody raised against chondroitin 6-sulphate proteoglycan. Elastic tissues of blood vessel walls and perivascular elements became reactive to antibody 2B1 when they were involved in carcinoma invasion. The present results have shown that PG-M/versican was localized in the proliferating interstitial tissues, in particular in hyaluronic acid-rich portions, in association with carcinoma cell growth, and also that PG-M/versican accumulated in vascular and perivascular elastic tissues involved in carcinoma invasion. The biological significance of PG-M/versican was briefly discussed.

Surgical treatment of patients with psychiatric disorders: a review of 21 patients

Between January 1985 and September 1994, 21 patients with psychiatric disorders underwent various forms of surgery at our hospital. There were 12 men and 9 women with an average age of 57.6 years. The coexisting psychiatric disorders were schizophrenia in 15 patients, depression in 2, dementia in 2, mental retardation with epilepsy in 1, and Parkinson's disease in 1. All the patients had been receiving neuroleptic medications for a long period. The indications for surgery were: cholelithiasis in 6 patients, acute appendicitis in 4, perforation of the small intestine in 3, incarceration of an inguinal hernia in 2, and esophageal cancer, stomach cancer, bleeding from a gastric ulcer, perforation of a duodenal ulcer, strangulating ileus, and burns in 1 patient each, respectively. All of the patients who underwent elective surgery were given epidural anesthesia with or without general anesthesia. Antipsychotic medications were given until just prior to surgery and recommenced concurrent with the first meal. Abnormal behavior was observed in 11 patients (52.4%) postoperatively, but all the patients were discharged in accordance with recovery from their surgical disorder. Intra- and postoperative hypotension resistant to intravenous catecholamine administration was recognized in 9 patients (42.9%), and this peculiar complication should be borne in mind when patients with psychiatric disorders require surgical management.

Molecular cloning of a novel rat salt-tolerant protein by functional complementation in yeast

To elucidate the genetic basis of salt-sensitivity in mammalian hypertension, we isolated six rat complementary DNAs by functional complementation in yeast. These genes were able to substitute for the salt-tolerant activity of HALI which confers salt tolerance by modulating the cation transport system in yeast. We identified these genes as beta-globin, lambda-crystallin, androgen-regulated protein, mitochondrial cytochrome b, a homologue of infant brain cDNA, and a novel gene, called salt-tolerant protein (STP). STP contains 1964 bp nucleotides and an open reading frame which encodes 496 amino acid residues. Northern blot analysis showed that STP mRNA is expressed in various rat tissues.

Characterization of anti-sperm antibodies and their coding cDNA sequences by Epstein-Barr virus transformed B cell lines from lymphocytes of infertile women possessing anti-sperm antibodies

Epstein-Barr virus (EBV)-transformed B cell lines that produce human antisperm antibodies were established using peripheral blood lymphocytes (PBLs) from infertile women with sperm immobilizing antibodies in their sera. We obtained three stable cell populations (designated B1, B2, D5) of transformed PBLs originating from three different patients. They produced IgM sperm-reacting antibodies directed against the tail of live, methanol-fixed and NaIO4-treated human spermatozoa. The established antisperm antibodies recognized noncarbohydrate sperm membrane antigens with different specificity and distribution in the male reproductive system. Antisperm antibody-B2 corresponding antigen appears to be specific for the male reproductive system. This antigen is excreted from the epithelial cells of the ductus epididymidis and bound to the spermatozoa in the lumen of the ductus. Antisperm antibodies B1 and D5 corresponding antigens were expressed on the spermatozoa in the seminiferous tubules and were common to the secretions of the ductus epididymidis, prostate and some other somatic organs. The cDNA of the immunoglobulin heavy chain genes were analyzed by reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) using RNA extracted from these clones. The immunoglobulin heavy chain cDNA sequences of these antisperm antibodies showed extremely high homology to previously reported immunoglobulin germline DNA sequences, implying that these antisperm antibodies might be natural autoantibodies rather than antibodies stimulated by external antigen.

Endogenous tumor necrosis factor inhibits the cytotoxicity of exogenous tumor necrosis factor and adriamycin in pancreatic carcinoma cells

Pancreatic carcinoma is one of the most devastating neoplasms with regard to its resistance to conventional therapy. In a previous report, we found that endogenous tumor necrosis factor (enTNF) exerts an intracellular protective effect against exogenous TNF- and Adriamycin (ADM)-induced cytotoxicity by scavenging oxygen free radicals (OFR) with induced manganous superoxide dismutase (MnSOD). We also know that glutathione S-transferase pi (GST-pi) and glutathione (GSH) also scavenge OFR. It remains unclear to what extent enTNF and MnSOD induced by enTNF regulate the sensitivity to ADM and exogenous TNF among different carcinoma cells. In this study, we examined the relationship between ADM and exogenous TNF sensitivity and en-TNF expression and MnSOD activity in four pancreatic carcinoma lines. We determined whether ADM and exogenous TNF sensitivity could be predicted by measuring enTNF expression and MnSOD activity in the carcinoma cells. The sensitivity to TNF and ADM varied with the cell lines, and TNF sensitivity correlated well with Adriamycin sensitivity. Moreover, enTNF expression and Mn-SOD activity correlated positively with resistance to ADM and exogenous TNF. When MIAPaCa-2 cells, which had the lowest enTNF expression and the highest sensitivity to exogenous TNF and ADM, were transfected with the nonsecretory-type human TNF gene (pTNF delta pro) to increase enTNF synthesis, their intracellular MnSOD activity and exogenous TNF and ADM resistance were increased. These findings suggest that MnSOD plays a critical role in scavenging OFR induced by ADM and exogenous TNF. enTNF is the most important factor that regulates the production of MnSOD. Therefore, it is plausible that inhibition of enTNF expression or MnSOD activity in pancreatic carcinoma would improve the efficacy of therapies for pancreatic carcinoma.

[Pharmacokinetic and clinical studies on azithromycin in children]

Azithromycin (AZM) is a new oral macrolide antibiotic drug. AZM either in 10% fine granules form or in 100 mg capsule form was studied for its pharmacokinetics and treatment efficacy in pediatric patients with various infections. 1. Pharmacokinetics. Plasma and urine samples were collected from four patients with pharyngitis and post-dosing drug levels were determined. The drug was given once daily at 10 mg/kg body weight for 3 days. The drug concentrations found in plasma at 96 hours after the first dosing (48 hours after the final dosing) lay in a range of 0.02 and 0.04 microgram/ml and in urine at 120 hours after the first dosing (72 hours after the final dosing) in a range between 3.2 and 7.7 micrograms/ml. AZM was found in two patients but no effect was observed on blood levels of theophylline determined between 48 and 96 hours after the first dosing in the treatment of underlying bronchial asthma. 2. Clinical study results. Clinical studies of AZM was carried out in 25 pediatric patients with bacterial infections that mainly affected the respiratory tract. The patients received either 10% fine granules at 10 or 20 mg/ kg body weight or 100 mg capsules at 10 mg/kg body weight once daily over 3 to 6 days. The drug was found markedly effective in six patients, moderately effective in thirteen patients, while the investigators could not assess the drug efficacy in six patients. Although no side effect was reported in the study, two patients experienced slight decrease in WBC.

The effects of a 4.7 tesla static magnetic field on the frequency of micronucleated cells induced by mitomycin C

The effects of a 4.7 tesla (T) static magnetic field (SMF) on the frequency of micronucleated cells (MN-cells) in CHL/IU cells induced by mitomycin C (MMC) were studied in vitro. Exposure to a 4.7 T SMF for 6 hr significantly decreased the frequency of MMC-induced MN-cells for expression culture periods of 18, 42, 54 and 66 hr. The highest frequency of MMC-induced MN-cells was observed at the expression culture period of 42 hr and decreased gradually in the same manner in both exposed and control groups. These results suggest that a 4.7 T SMF may exert on influence during the DNA damage stage produced by MMC rather than on the formation of micronuclei during the stage following MMC-induced DNA damage.

Evaluation of the cell kinetics of MNNG-treated rat gastric mucosa based on AgNOR and ODC activity

To investigate the process of carcinogenesis in gastric cancer, we studied the histological features and cell kinetics in the gastric mucosa of N-methyl-N'-nitro-N-nitrosoguanidine (MNNG)-treated rats. Samples of gastric mucosa from both MNNG-treated and control rats were histologically examined by staining with nucleolar argylophilic nonhistone (AgNOR) proteins, and their ornithine decarboxylase (ODC) activity was determined every 2 months for 10 months. In 40% of the MNNG-treated rats, atrophy of the gastric mucosa was observed after 2 months, followed by adenomatous proliferation. More AgNOR-positive granules were found in the pyloric glands than in the fundic glands, and the total number of positive granules increased over time. Cancerous and hyperplastic lesions preferentially developed in the pyloric glands and showed significantly more AgNOR-positive granules than the normal mucosa. After 6 months the ODC activity in the MNNG-treated rats was significantly higher than that in the control rats. These results thus suggest that the pyloric glands have a high growth activity, while in addition, adenomatous proliferation is a characteristic pathological feature of precancerous lesions in the stomach in MNNG-treated rats.

Osteogenic action of parathyroid hormone-related peptide (1-141) in rat ROS cells

To examine the autocrine/paracrine effect of parathyroid hormone-related peptide (PTHrP) on osteoblast function, the entire coding region of rat PTHrP (1-141) cDNA inserted into the expression vector was stably transfected into the rat clonal strain of the osteoblast-like cell, ROS 17/2.8, and established stable transfectants. Using the PTHrP-overexpressing ROS cells (ROS/PLP/6), we analyzed in vitro cell characterization and in vivo osteogenic properties. As expected, overexpression of endogenous PTHrP in vitro induced PTH/PTHrP receptor down-regulation confirmed by Northern blots, receptor binding assays, and functional analysis. The established transfectants indicated a decreased growth rate compared with the original non-transfected ROS 17/2.8. Although cAMP production induced by exogenous PTH was suppressed in ROS/PLP/6, the stimulatory effects of forskolin and chorela toxin showed no significant difference between the original ROS 17/2.8 and transfected cells, but the in vivo osteogenic properties were histologically potentiated in transfectants with increased bone matrix and acceleration of mineralization within tumors. The levels of osteocalcin and osteopontin mRNAs were also increased in transfectants. The down-regulated in vitro PTH/PTHrP receptor mRNA was restored in in vivo tumor tissues. Our study provides clear evidence that the in vivo osteogenic function in ROS cells is potentiated by PTHrP, through an autocrine/paracrine mode of action.

Serological study of Bartonella henselae in cat scratch disease in Japan

It has become clear that Bartonella henselae is a common cause of cat scratch disease (CSD). The indirect fluorescence antibody (IFA) test for detection of IgG and IgM antibodies to B. henselae concerning CSD showed that 5 (50%) of 10 patients with CSD had a serum IgG antibody titer of 1:128 or more and that 2 (20%) patients had a serum IgM antibody titer of 1:20 or more. One of 7 asymptomatic members of patients' families (14%) had IgG antibody to B. henselae at a titer of 1:256. IgM antibody to B. henselae was not detected in sera from the patients' families. Both IgG and IgM antibodies to B. henselae were not detected in sera from the healthy control group. These data suggest that B. henselae may be a cause of CSD in Japan.

[The preventive effect of weekly high-dose 5-FU infusion (WHF) after resection of hepatic metastasis from colorectal cancer]

Hepatic metastasis is often found even after resection of hepatic metastases from colorectal cancer. This implies that the micrometastasis already existed in residual liver when the resection was performed, and so complete recovery with resection alone is rare. We have been using a weekly high-dose 5-FU HAI (WHF = 5-FU 1,000 mg/m2/5 hrs/qw) since 1991, which has preventive effects for metastasis in residual liver as compared to a group treated without infusion chemotherapy. Hepatectomy was performed in 30 of 113 cases of hepatic metastasis from colorectal cancer during the past 16 years. For comparison, we divided the 30 cases into group A1 (16 cases H1:12, H2:4), which received hepatectomy only, and group A2 (14 cases H1:8, H2:4, H3:2), which additionally received infusion chemotherapy. The 1- and 3-year (cumulative) survival rates were 64.6% and 32.3% in group A1, and 100% and 75.3% in group A2 respectively in which the treatment outcome was significantly higher. The 1- and 3-year recurrence rates were 41.7 and 66.3 in group A1, and 8.3% each in group A2, respectively, which reveals that metastasis in residual liver was controlled in group A2. Other metastases were seen in lung (6 cases), bone (2 cases), hepatic hilar lymph node (3 cases), brain (1 case) and local (3 cases) in group A1, while only one metastasis in each brain and locally was seen in group A2 so far. WHF after resection of hepatic metastasis from colorectal cancer has a preventive effect not only for the recurrence in residual liver but also for other metastases. Therefore, as improvement in the survival rate is expected.

[A case of non-resectable pancreatic cancer surviving more than 4 years by intra-arterial infusion chemotherapy with angiotensin-II]

This is a report of a 62-year-old woman whose non-resectable pancreatic cancer had been treated effectively by a new method of intra-arterial regional chemotherapy for more than 4 years. A catheter was placed into the celiac artery during laparotomy, and an intra -arterial chemotherapy (methotrexate (50 mg) and Angiotensin-II (AT-II, 5 micrograms)) has been repeated every other week (108 times) in addition to the external beam therapy (50 Gy). Both pain relief and "partial response" in the size of tumor have been obtained, with no hepatic metastasis or adverse effect. She died of brain metastasis at 51 postoperative months. Autopsy revealed that the pancreatic tumor was mostly replaced by fibrous connective tissues. Scintigraphic study indicated that the intra-arterial infusion of AT-II increased the blood flow in the tumor but decreased it in the surrounding non-cancerous tissues. This seemed to explain the effective loco-regional control in the present case.

Lipopolysaccharide activates transcription of the heme oxygenase gene in mouse M1 cells through oxidative activation of nuclear factor kappa B

It has been known for a long time that heme oxygenase (HO) is a key enzyme in heme catabolism, and it was found to act as an oxidative-stress protein to produce carbon monoxide, which has similar actions to those of nitrogen monoxide. We examined transcriptional control of the HO gene in mouse M1 (myeloleukemia) cells during treatment with lipopolysaccharide (LPS; an oxidative reagent). Since the promoter region of this gene in human cells contains a 12-O-tetradecanoyl- phorbol-13-acetate(TPA)-responsive element (TRE) and a nuclear-factor-kappa B-responsive element. HO mRNA expression might be regulated by an oxidative activation pathway. We investigated activation of the HO gene after treatment of M1 cells with LPS. Upon treatment with LPS, H2O2 was produced, the nuclear proto-oncogenes fos and jun were activated, then the HO gene was activated. The extent of transcriptional activation of the fos, jun and HO genes in M1 cells treated with LPS was strongly reduced by a scavenger of oxygen radicals (N-acetyl-L-cysteine), but a specific inhibitor of protein kinase C only reduced transcriptional activation by 10-20%. These results suggest that LPS may be an oxidative reagent. Some oxidative reagents (e.g., H2O2) are strong activators of NF-kappa B, and therefore we treated M1 cells with H2O2. Essentially the same extends of transcriptional activation of the fos, jun and HO genes were observed as those observed after LPS treatment. Super-shift assays with DNA that contained the TRE motif revealed that the Fos and Jun proteins from nuclei of M1 cells treated with LPS and H2O2 bound weakly to the TRE motif, and, in assays with DNA that contained the NF-kappa B motif, nuclear protein from M1 cells treated with H2O2 or LPS bound strongly to the NF-kappa B motif. These results strongly suggest that the HO gene in M1 cells is mainly activated by LPS through oxidative activation of NF-kappa B due to production of H2O2.

Nitric oxide donors increase cytosolic ionized calcium in cultured human intestinal epithelial cells

We used fluorescence spectrophotometry, digital-imaging fluorescence microscopy, and the fluorescent dye, Fura-2, to measure the effects of several different nitric oxide (NO.) donors on intracellular levels of ionized calcium ([Ca2+]i) in cultured Caco-2BBe cells, a human enterocytic cell line. Incubation of Caco-2BBe cells with sodium nitroprusside (SNP) or isosorbide dinitrate for 2 h significantly increased [Ca2+]i. The effects of both agents were concentration dependent. The lowest concentrations of SNP or isosorbide dinitrate capable of increasing [Ca2+]i were .625 mM and 10 mM, respectively. Chelation of extracellular Ca2+ with 2 mM EGTA abrogated the increase in [Ca2+]i induced by SNP. In contrast, blockade of voltage-gated Ca2+ channels with 2 mM NiCl2 or 200 microM verapamil failed to affect SNP-induced alterations in [Ca2+]i. Using NBD-phallicidin to stain polymerized (F)-actin, we found that incubation of Caco-2BBe cells with SNP results in actin polymerization, particularly in the periphery of cells. We conclude that NO. increases [Ca2+]i and promotes actin polymerization in a cultured enterocytic cell line.

Endoscopic trigonoplasty in pediatric patients with primary vesicoureteral reflux: preliminary report

PURPOSE

We investigated the preliminary surgical results of endoscopic trigonoplasty in pediatric patients with primary vesicoureteral reflux.

MATERIALS AND METHODS

We performed endoscopic trigonoplasty in 6 pediatric patients (11 refluxing ureters). Reflux was grade II in 4 reno-ureteral units, grade III in 5, grade IV in 1 and grade V in 1 (international classification). Surgery was done using laparoscopic and endoscopic instruments.

RESULTS

Vesicoureteral reflux disappeared 3 to 12 months postoperatively. Analgesics were administered postoperatively to 4 patients for 24 hours and to 2 for 48 hours. No bladder irritability or postoperative upper urinary tract dilatation was observed in the early postoperative period.

CONCLUSIONS

Minimally invasive endoscopic trigonoplasty can be an effective surgical procedure for pediatric patients with vesicoureteral reflux.