Evaluation of a fully automated system (RAISUS) for rapid identification and antimicrobial susceptibility testing of Staphylococci

RAISUS is a system for rapid bacterial identification and antimicrobial susceptibility testing. RAISUS and VITEK showed 97.8% and 75.9% agreement in identification of 45 Staphylococcus aureus strains and 58 coagulase-negative staphylococci (CoNS), respectively, and RAISUS and CLSI (formerly NCCLS) methods showed 87.2% and 87.9% agreement in the MICs for S. aureus and CoNS, respectively. RAISUS provided these data within 3.75 h, suggesting its utility for clinical bacteriological laboratories.

Serum CC-10 in inflammatory lung diseases

BACKGROUND

Although Clara cell secretory protein (CC-10) has been ascribed an anti-inflammatory role in lung diseases, its precise role remains unclear.

OBJECTIVE

To further our understanding of the role of CC-10 in inflammatory lung diseases, CC-10 protein levels were measured.

METHODS

Sera or bronchoalveolar lavage (BAL) fluids were collected from patients with different inflammatory lung diseases including bronchial asthma, chronic obstructive lung disease (COPD), sarcoidosis, idiopathic interstitial pneumonia (IIP), chronic eosinophilic pneumonia (CEP), pneumonia and lung cancer. Serum CC-10 concentrations were measured by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay using urinary protein-1 antibody. Then, the relationships between CC-10 concentrations and lung diseases were investigated. Immunohistochemistry was performed using lung biopsy samples.

RESULTS

Increased serum CC-10 levels were recognized in IIP patients, while CC-10 levels were decreased in bronchial asthma patients and CEP patients. Immunohistochemistry revealed an aberrant expression in areas of fibrosis in IIP patients. Serum CC-10 concentrations were not associated with severity among IIP, COPD, and sarcoidosis. In contrast, serum CC-10 concentrations were correlated with FEV(1)/FVC in bronchial asthma patients.

CONCLUSIONS

Although the number of patients was quite limited, these data provide new insights into the role of CC-10 in lung diseases, and the possibility that the CC-10 concentration in serum could be a new marker indicating the severity of bronchial asthma.

Retinoic acid fails to reverse emphysema in adult mouse models

BACKGROUND

Previous work has shown that all-trans-retinoic acid reverses elastase induced emphysema in rats. Since there is currently no effective treatment for pulmonary emphysema, the effect of retinoic acid should be further investigated in other adult species. A study was undertaken using two murine models of emphysema to evaluate the effect of retinoic acid.

METHODS

The models used were an elastase induced emphysema model for acute alveolar destruction and a tumour necrosis factor (TNF)-alpha transgenic mouse which exhibits chronic air space enlargement, loss of elastic recoil, increased lung volume, and pulmonary hypertension comparable to human pulmonary emphysema. All-trans-retinoic acid (2 mg/kg) was injected for 12 successive days after the establishment of emphysema. The effects of treatment were evaluated using physiological and morphometric analyses.

RESULTS

In contrast to the rat, administration of all-trans-retinoic acid in these murine models did not improve the emphysema. Moreover, worsening of emphysema was observed in TNF-alpha transgenic mice treated with all-trans-retinoic acid. The level of keratinocyte chemoattractant (KC), a CXC chemokine, in bronchoalveolar lavage fluid was increased in TNF-alpha transgenic mice following retinoic acid treatment. These data raise the possibility that retinoic acid causes deterioration of emphysema by promoting inflammation in this model.

CONCLUSIONS

In these models, retinoic acid did not show positive effects on emphysema. The effect of retinoic acid in the treatment of pulmonary emphysema remains controversial, and further studies are required to determine its physiological effects under a variety of experimental conditions.

An impairment of barrier size and charge selectivity of glomerular basement membrane in streptozotocin-induced diabetes and prevention by pharmacological therapy

We examined barrier size (pore size) and charge selectivity (anionic sites) of the glomerular basement membrane (GBM) in experimental diabetes. For estimation of the pore size we employed a new method, tissue negative staining. In diabetic rats, enlarged pores and decreased numbers of anionic sites of GBM were observed. Both insulin treatment and angiotensin-converting enzyme inhibitors prevented these changes. The renoprotective effect of the two drugs is discussed in the article.

[The false positive reaction of the Triage panel drug-of-abuse by herbal drugs ma-huang (Ephedra sinica (Ephedraceae))]

We investigated false-positive reactions obtained from a drug screening test using a Triage panel. We detected 2 cases giving false-positive reaction for AMP (amphetamine, methamphetamine) during the screening of 187 normal subjects. Subsequent follow up testing by high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC), showed both to be false-positive reactions. As both cases have a history of ingesting the herbal drug, Ma-huang (Ephedra sinica (Ephedraceae)), containing ephedrine, we examined the relationship between false-positive reactions on Triage and Ma-huang. All urine samples collected from 7 healthy volunteers following administration of Ma-huang indicated AMP positive on Triage. Also a high ratio of AMP positives was observed in the patients who were administered Ma-huang-containing drugs at the hospital. However, none of them were identified as true-positives by HPLC or gas chromatography mass spectrometry (GC/MS) analysis. The extract of Ma-huang contained in herbal drugs, which otherwise contain neither amphetamine nor its derivatives, gives (AMP) positive indications on Triage. We speculate that unidentified components of Ma-huang cause the false-positive reactions. We suggest that follow-up tests by GC/MS or HPLC are needed wherever a positive result is obtained from a screening test by Triage. Furthermore, it will be established to continue collecting information on prescribed and non-prescribed drugs.

Enkephalin analogues with 2',6'-dimethylphenylalanine replacing phenylalanine in position 4

Four Leu-enkephalin (Enk) analogues containing 2',6'-dimethyphenylalanine (Dmp) in position 4 were prepared and tested for their receptor binding and biological activities. Among the analogues prepared, [2', 6'-dimethyltyrosine, D-Dmp4]Enk was found to be an antagonist toward mu and delta opioid receptors with pA2 values of 6.90 and 5.57, respectively.

Combined coronary intervention in heart-transplant patient with rapidly accelerated cardiac allograft vasculopathy

A 46-year-old man accepted for heart transplantation due to persistent cardiac failure from dilated cardiomyopathy underwent a transplant in Germany on July 13, 1995. The donor heart was suspected of coronary artery disease at explantation, but he could wait no longer because of his rapidly deteriorating hemodynamics. Postoperative coronary angiography revealed 25% stenosis of the left descending artery. He showed several episodes of minimal or moderate rejection postoperatively, and coronary angiography 15 months postoperatively showed rapidly accelerated cardiac allograft vasculopathy demonstrating triple vessel disease with multiple lesions. Percutaneous transluminal coronary angioplasty was successful on 2 coronary vessels, but immediately recurrent stenosis and new lesions involving the left main trunk occurred 6 weeks thereafter. Since he was financially unable to afford a second heart transplantation, quadruple coronary artery bypass grafting was conducted October 25, 1996. A biventricular assist device was used when he could not be weaned from cardiopulmonary bypass. He died of multiple organ failure 3 days after surgery.

Lack of association between the Met196Arg polymorphism in the TNFR2 gene and autoimmune diseases accompanied by vasculitis including SLE in Japanese

A polymorphism in high-affinity receptor of TNF (TNFR2) gene, Met196Arg, was reported to be associated with systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) in Japanese, whereas the association could not be found in Europeans at all and this represents an apparent discrepancy. The association, then, should be tested in other populations to clarify the possible involvement, if any, of the TNFR2 polymorphism in SLE or other related autoimmune diseases. The purposes of this study were to examine the TNFR2 polymorphism in Japanese patients with SLE and to investigate its association with other autoimmune diseases accompanied by vasculitis, mixed connective tissue disease, Buerger's disease, and Takayasu's arteritis. We found no association at all between the TNFR2 polymorphism and any autoimmune diseases including SLE in Japanese.

[A survey of radical surgery without neoadjuvant therapy for patients with stage B and C prostatic carcinoma]

There has been much controversy regarding radical surgery for both localized and locally extensive carcinoma of the prostate. We analyzed the outcome of radical prostatectomy and the preoperative evaluation in order to assess the indication of radical prostatectomy. Fifty-six patients with clinical stage B or C prostate cancer were treated by radical prostatectomy without neoadjuvant therapy. Endocrine therapy was added to the non-curative cases postoperatively. Preoperative evaluation was compared with pathological results and survival, and furthermore the usefulness of the preoperative PSA and PSA half-life were investigated. The mean follow-up period was 44.5 months. The accuracy of the grade and the clinical stage were 58.9% and 23.2%, respectively. Organ-confined disease was seen in patients with an initial PSA level less than 30 ng/ml. Postoperative PSA half-life is significantly prolonged in cases with poorly differentiated adenocarcinoma or lymph node involvement and may be a predictor of PSA failure. The cause-specific 5-year survival rates were 92.7% on the whole, 92.9% for well differentiated, 96.7% for moderately differentiated, 85.7% for poorly differentiated, 100% for stage B1, 95.0% for stage B2 and 86.8% for stage C. These results indicated that patients with an initial PSA level of less than 30 ng/ml will benefit from radical prostatectomy.

Carbohydrate-modulated DNA photocleavage: design, synthesis, and evaluation of novel glycosyl anthraquinones

Novel and artificial anthraquinone-carbohydrate hybrids were designed and synthesized, and found to effectively cleave DNA under irradiation with a long wavelength UV light and also exhibit cytotoxicity against HeLa S3 cells.

Clinical experience of milrinone as a pharmacological bridge to heart transplantation

A 19-year-old man with idiopathic dilated cardiomyopathy developed cardiogenic shock. A HeartMate left ventricular assist device was inserted as an emergency procedure, but removed after 189 days due to sepsis related to the device. Intravenous milrinone was administered because of recurrence of heart failure, and as a result the symptoms disappeared and the urinary output increased. Echocardiography showed improvement in the left ventricular ejection fraction. Subsequently, the patient successfully underwent heart transplantation. Milrinone was effective as a pharmacological bridge to heart transplantation in this patient with terminal and critical heart failure after removal of a left ventricular assist device.

Biological properties of opioid peptides replacing Tyr at position 1 by 2,6-dimethyl-Tyr

To understand the effect of the replacement of Tyr residue at position 1 in opioid peptides by 2,6-dimethyl-Tyr (Dmt) on the biological property, chiral (D or L) Dmt1 analogs of Leu-enkephalin (Enk) and Tyr-D-Arg-Phe-beta Ala-NH2 (YRFB) were synthesized and their enzymatic stabilities, in vitro bioactivities and receptor binding affinities compared with those of parent peptides. [L-Dmt1]Enk (1) exhibited 4-fold higher stability against aminopeptidase-M and possessed dramatically increased activities in guinea pig ilium (GPI) (187-fold) and mouse vas deferens (MVD) (131-fold) assays, and in rat brain receptor binding assays (356-fold at mu receptor and 46-fold at delta receptor) as compared to Enk. [L-Dmt1]YRFB (3) also exhibited increased activities in GPI (46-fold) and MVD (177-fold) assays, and in the binding assays (69-fold at mu receptro and 341-fold at delta receptor) as compared to the parent peptide. [D-Dmt1]Enk (2) and [D-Dmt1]YRFB (4) exhibited activities with diminished or lesser potency than the parent peptide in all assays. These results indicate that there is a tendency for mu affinity to be enhanced more than delta affinity with introduction of L-Dmt into delta ligand peptide (Enk), and for delta affinity to be enhanced more than mu affinity in case of mu ligand peptide (YRFB), resulting in reduced receptor selectivities at the receptors.

Synergistic induction by collagen and fibronectin of liver-specific genes in rat primary cultured hepatocytes

The extracellular matrix plays an important role for maintaining liver functions. We examined the effects of type I collagen and fibronectin on the expression of liver-specific genes in rat primary hepatocytes. When primary culture hepatocytes were overlaid with a type I collagen-gel, the expression of liver-specific genes (tyrosine aminotransferase, aldolase B, and albumin) increased by 4-5 times, compared with not overlaid hepatocytes. In contrast, the expression of non-liver-specific genes (GAPDH and beta-actin) was suppressed under the same conditions. The addition of fibronectin together with type I collagen-gel further enhanced the expression of liver-specific genes by 1.4-1.8 times. The addition of GRGDS peptide instead of fibronectin with the collagen-gel had a similar effect on hepatic gene expression to that of fibronectin. Addition of fibronectin alone exhibited had no effect on gene expression. These results suggest that type I collagen and fibronectin synergistically induce liver-specific genes.

Preference of Peyer's patches to jejunal epithelium for intestinal absorption of oligopeptides, tyrosylglycylglycine and D-kyotorphin

The intestinal absorption of oligopeptides, peptidase-degradable tyrosylglycylglycine (TGG) and peptidase-resistant L-tyrosyl-D-arginine (D-kyotorphin, D-KTP) across Peyer's patches (PP) in rabbit intestine were studied using an Ussing-type chamber and in situ closed perfusion methods. The clearance for the serosal appearance of intact TGG across PP by the Ussing-type chamber method was a little higher than that across the jejunal epithelium (JE). Meanwhile, the in situ closed perfusion experiment showed that the clearance for the plasma appearance of intact TGG across PP was about 10 times that of JE. Furthermore, it was shown that the clearance for the plasma appearance of D-KTP in PP was about twice that in JE by the in situ closed perfusion method, indicating that the membrane permeability of PP was higher than that of JE. Therefore, these results indicate that PP had less metabolic peptidase activity than JE, and that the PP was a suitable site for the intestinal absorption of oligopeptides, especially peptidase-degradable peptides.

Liver cytosolic aldehyde dehydrogenase (ALDH1) polymorphism and its inheritance in Wistar rats

Rats are very important experimental animal to study alcohol related problems. Liver aldehyde dehydrogenases (ALDHs) which metabolize aldehydes are reported to have several isozymes which are distributed in mitochondrial, microsomal and cytosolic fractions. However, there is discrepancy on reports concerning properties of cytosolic ALDH from normal liver. We report here the liver cytosolic ALDH (ALDH1) polymorphism and its inheritance in Wistar rats. Isoelectrophoretic focusing technique reveals the three ALDH1 phenotypes (termed AA, AC and CC) which are inherited in accordance with Mendelian fashion, indicating the existence of two alleles, ALDH1A and ALDH1C. In the range of pI 5.3 to 5.8, the AA phenotype possesses a major anodic band with pI 5.3 and CC phenotype also has a cathodic pI 5.8 band. In contrast, AC phenotype exhibits five bands with pIs of 5.3, 5.4, 5.5, 5.7 and 5.8. Intensity of these bands gradually diminishes from the main band with pI 5.5 to the both opposite ends. These findings suggest that AC phenotype as well as AA and CC types has a structure of tetramer which consist of the combination of subunit of the A and C gene products.

[Juxtaglomerular cell tumor: a case report]

We report a case of juxtaglomerular cell tumor. A 17-year-old female complained of headache with severe hypertension, hypokalemia, and elevated level of plasma renin activity. Computerized tomographic (CT) scan revealed a slightly enhanced tumor at middle pole of right kidney. Angiography showed a hypovascular tumor. A renin secreting tumor of the right kidney was diagnosed and right nephrectomy was performed. The pathological findings showed a juxtaglomerular cell tumor. Postoperatively, prompt normalization of blood pressure and decrease of plasma renin activity level were found. This case was incorporated into a review of the 43 cases previously published and we discussed the clinical characteristics of juxtaglomerular cell tumor in this report.

[Recurrent and up-grading bladder cancer in a young female: a case report]

We report a case of superficial bladder cancer in a young female, with grade-up tumor after frequent recurrences. A 29-year-old woman complained of gross hematuria on April 25, 1991. Cystoscopic examination revealed a papillary pedunculated tumor and transurethral resection of bladder tumor (TUR-BT) was performed. Pathological examination showed transitional cell carcinoma (TCC) pT1 grade 1. In spite of prophylactic therapy, such as intravesical instillation of anticancer drugs and radiochemohyperthermia, she suffered frequent recurrences. At the 6th recurrence, the tumor deteriorated to grade 3 on September 2, 1992. Total cystectomy was done on February 15, 1993 because of uncontrollable bleeding from bladder cancer. Convalescence was uneventful, and no evidence of recurrence was present 2.8 years postoperatively.