[A case of solitary myeloma (BJ-lambda) showing marked morphological changes]

The case report here was documented clinically, cytologically and histologically over a period of 5 years. A 49-year-old man was admitted to our hospital in September, 1975 because of a painful lump over the sternum and a diagnosis of solitary well-differentiated plasmocytoma (BJ-lambda) was made. The tumor promptly subsided following chemotherapy. In July, 1980 as it had in June, 1979, the sternal tumor relapsed; morphologically it was a poorly differentiated plasmocytoma. It promptly subsided following the start of chemotherapy and/or radiation therapy. In February, 1981, an abdominal tumor and ascites developed, morphologically it was plasma cell sarcoma composed of giant and bizarre tumor cells of plasma cell origin as demonstrated by immunoelectron microscopy. In April, 1981, the patient died of cachexia. At autopsy, multiple tumor formations consisting of giant and bizarre myeloma cells were found in the abdominal cavity, liver, retroperitoneum, diaphragm, left adrenal gland, mediastinum and lymph nodes. There was no infiltration of myeloma cells into bones other than the sternum.

Synthesis and antibacterial activity of 6- and 7-[2-(5-carboxyimidazole-4-carboxamido)phenylacetamido]-penicillins and cephalosporins

The synthesis and antibacterial activity of a series of beta-lactam antibiotics having a 5-carboxyimidazole-4-carbonyl group attached through an amide linkage to ampicillin, cephaloglycin or their analogs are described. Some compounds of this series were found to possess high activity against Pseudomonas and other Gram-negative bacteria.

The effect of parental age on rate of mutation for Duchenne Muscular dystrophy

The effect of parental age on mutation rates at the Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy (DMD) locus was studied in 514 male probands who constitute two thirds of the known patients in Japan. We were unable to detect an effect of maternal age at birth of proband or maternal grandfather's age at birth of the mother of the proband on the rate of DMD mutations. The result supports an observation on the hemophilia gene.

Ultrastructure of vacuolated plasma cells in macroglobulinemia associated with production of Mu-chain fragment

In a unique case of macroglobulinemia associated with the production of mu-chain fragment, the authors observed vacuolated plasma cells (Vac-P) in the bone marrow. Immunofluorescence with anti-mu-chain showed positive staining for the cytoplasm but negative for the vacuoles. On electron microscopic study, clear vacuoles were localized in the vicinity of the Golgi complex, and the contents were amorphous membrane debris and concentric circular structures. The vacuolar membrane was partially disrupted and was contiguous with the outer surface of the concentric circular structure. From the findings, the authors thought these vacuoles were autophagic. Disruption of vacuolar membranes was also demonstrated in three other cases of Vac-P studies with electron microscope. Heterophagy of toxic substances, such as silica or salt or urate, leads to membrane disruption. Vac-P observed in abnormal mu-chain production may produce toxic substances. Once the substance is incorporated into the autophagic vacuole, the vacuolar membrane will be weakened, and the absorption of part of the membrane and cytoplasm or organelles follows.

Differential effects of dithiothreitol and iodoacetamide on corticotropin-releasing factor (CRF) activity of bovine hypothalamic CRFs and vasopressin

Various fractions were tested in vivo for corticotropin-releasing factor (CRF) activity after Sephadex G-100 fractionation of 0.1-N HCl extracts of bovine hypophyseal stalk or cerebral cortex. Female rats pretreated with chlorpromazine, morphine, and Nembutal were used for CRF assay. CRF-A (void volume fractions; big CRF), CRF-B (Kav = 0.583), and CRF-C (salt volume fractions) of bovine hypophyseal stalk and lysine or arginine vasopressin all induced clear-cut stimulation of ACTH and corticosterone in the assay rat, whereas they were ineffective in acutely hypophysectomized rats. Control fractions purified from bovine cerebral cortex had no CRF activity. Treatment of arginine and lysine vasopressin and CRF-C with dithiothreitol and iodoacetamide completely abolished their CRF activity, whereas the CRF activities of CRF-A and CRF-B were unaltered by these treatments. Treatment with iodoacetamide alone had no effect on the CRF activity of any of these substances. Fractionation of either CRF-C or arginine vasopressin on Sephadex G-15 yielded a CRF-active peak at a Kav of 0.35. We conclude that 1) three different forms of CRF exist in bovine hypophyseal stalk; 2) CRF-A and CRF-B are unrelated to vasopressin and require neither a disulfide bond(s) nor a sulfhydryl group(s) for their CRF activity; 3) reduction of the disulfide bond of vasopressin destroys both CRF and antidiuretic activities; 4) CRF-C requires an intact disulfide bond(s) for its CRF activity and is likely to be either vasopressin itself or a substance closely related to vasopressin; and 5) CRF-B is likely to be the physiologically important form of bovine CRF.

In vivo adrenocorticotropin-releasing activity of neurohypophyseal hormones and their analogs

The ability of 21 neurohypophyseal hormones and related synthetic peptides to raise plasma ACTH or corticosterone concentrations was studied in female rats anesthetized with chlorpromazine, morphine, and pentobarbital. Corticotropin-releasing factor (CRF) activity was significantly correlated with pressor but not with antidiuretic or oxytocic activity. However, peptides with little or no pressor but very potent antidiuretic activity had weak CRF activity if given in a dose greater than 4 antidiuretic units/100 g BW; the dose-response slopes of these analogs were significantly flatter than that of arginine vasopressin. Pretreatment with antagonists with antipressor but not antiantidiuretic activity consistently reduced the CRF activity of the analogs with potent pressor activity. We conclude that the CRF activity of the neurohypophyseal hormones is primarily related to pressor activity.

Intracellular immunoglobulin in lymphocytes from patients with chronic lymphocytic leukemia: an immunoelectron microscopic study

The presence of ultrastructural distribution of intracellular immunoglobulin (Ig) in leukemic cells from patients with chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL) and in normal B cells were investigated by an immunoelectron microscopic technique. Most normal B cells had no intracellular Ig in spite of the presence of surface Ig. However, leukemic cells from 10 to 11 patients with CLL contained intracellular Ig and showed various staining patterns. In eight patients, Ig was present in the perinuclear space (PN), the endoplasmic reticulum (ER) and, if identified, the Golgi complexes. In four patients, most cells had diffuse staining of the cytoplasm. In five patients, Ig was detected in the ER-associated structures or the vesicles, in addition to the PN and ER. These findings suggest that CLL cells have a greater capacity to produce Ig than those of normal B cells and include various clones with distinct staining patterns of intracellular Ig.

Hypoglycemia stimulates ACTH secretion through a direct effect on the basal hypothalamus

The primary site of action of insulin hypoglycemia to induce ACTH secretion was investigated in rats with medial basal hypothalamic ablation (MBHA), medial basal hypothalamic deafferentation (MBHD), and chlorpromazine-morphine-pentobarbital (C-M-P) treatment. Plasma corticosterone (B) concentration was used as an index of ACTH secretion. Hypoglycemia failed to provoke ACTH secretion in MBHA and C-M-P treated animals, while it stimulated ACTH secretion in MBHD animals to the same extent as in controls. The rise in plasma B induced by synthetic lysine-vasopressin injection was not significantly different between MBHA and control animals, indicating pituitary ACTH reserve was not affected by the operation. Our data indicate that hypoglycemia stimulates ACTH secretion through a primary effect in the medial basal hypothalamus and not in the extrahypothalamic CNS or adenohyphophysis.

J chain synthesis in lymphocytes from patients with selective IgA deficiency

J chain synthesis was investigated by in vitro pokeweed mitogen (PWM) stimulated peripheral blood lymphocyte (PBL) cultures in eight patients with selective IgA deficiency and compared with that of normal persons. In normals, all IgM-containing cells always had the J chain but only in a portion of IgG- and IgA-containing cells was J chain detectable. The percentage of J chain-positive cells amongst IgG or IgA cells increased during culture, reached a peak at days 5-6 or 6-7, respectively, and then decreased. IgA-deficient patients had very few IgA-containing cells and an increased number and percentage of J chain-positive IgG cells, except for one patient, who had a significant number of IgA-containing cells without IgA secretion into the culture supernatants. Measurement of Ig in culture supernatants by radioimmunoassay revealed that lymphocytes from seven patients secreted significantly smaller amounts of IgG and IgM than did the normal controls, in addition to the defect in IgA production. These results suggested the presence of some ontogenetic relationship between J chain-positive IgG cells and the precursors of IgA-producing cells, and some functional immaturity of most IgG-producing clones seen in patients with selective IgA deficiency.