Idiopathic calcifying pancreatitis in a Japanese pediatric patient

We recently experienced a rare case of chronic pancreatitis in a 13-year-old Japanese boy. Recently, in hereditary pancreatitis patients, some mutations have been identified in the trypsinogen gene. The purpose of this study was to investigate whether the same mutations could also be found in this patient. Polymerase chain reaction (PCR)-amplified products of his cationic and anionic trypsinogen genes were examined by direct sequence analysis. The gene analysis failed to show any mutation in any exons and their flanking intronic sequences of his trypsinogen genes. These findings indicate that the chronic calcifying pancreatitis in the present patient is "idiopathic", and thus a rare case of juvenile pancreatitis.

Pharmacologic graft protection without donor pretreatment in liver transplantation from non-heart-beating donors

BACKGROUND

Non-heart-beating donors (NHBDs) are considered potential sources of transplant organs in an effort to alleviate the problem of donor shortage in clinical liver transplantation. We investigated the possibility of pharmacologic protection of hepatic allograft function from NHBDs without donor pretreatment.

METHODS

Orthotopic liver transplantation was performed using pigs. In donors, cardiac arrest was induced by stopping the respirator. Forty-five minutes after cessation of the respirator, the liver was flushed with cold lactated Ringer's solution including heparin and with the University of Wisconsin (UW) solution, and then preserved for 8 hr at 4 degrees C in the UW solution. The pigs were divided into two groups: a control group and a treated group. In the treated group, an endothelin antagonist TAK-044 was added to the UW solutions (10 mg/L), and TAK-044 (10 mg/kg body weight) and a platelet activating factor antagonist E5880 (0.3 mg/kg body weight) were also administered to the recipients.

RESULTS

TAK-044 and E5880 treatment significantly increased the 7-day survival rate of the recipients (100% vs. 17%, P<0.05). In the treated group, portal venous pressure immediately after reperfusion of the graft was significantly lower than in the control group, and postoperative increase in serum concentrations of glutamic oxaloacetic transaminase and total bilirubin was attenuated. Moreover, the energy charge and adenosine triphosphate concentration of the liver were rapidly restored after reperfusion.

CONCLUSIONS

Pharmacologic modulation with TAK-044 and E5880 avoiding donor pretreatment can improve the viability of hepatic allografts procured from NHBDs.

Clonogenic colony-forming ability of flow cytometrically isolated hepatic progenitor cells in the murine fetal liver

Stem cells are defined as cells having multilineage differentiation potential and self-renewal capability. Hepatic stem cells have aroused considerable interest not only because of their developmental importance but also for their therapeutic potential. However, their presence in the liver has not yet been demonstrated. With the use of a fluorescence-activated cell sorter (FACS) and monoclonal antibodies, we attempted to ascertain whether hepatic stem cells are present in the murine fetal liver. For this purpose, we optimized a cell isolation technique for FACS sorting of fetal liver cells. When isolated CD45 TER119 cells (the non-blood cell fraction in the fetal liver) were tested for their clonogenic colony-forming ability, mechanical dissociation (pipetting) was the most suitable cell isolation technique for FACS sorting. We confirmed that these colonies contained not only cells expressing hepatocyte markers but also cells expressing cholangiocyte markers. To identify hepatic stem cells, studies must focus on CD45TER119- cells in the murine fetal liver.

Effects of side cooling on temperature, humidity and water recycling efficiency in a culture vessel for a space experiment--results of ground experiment

Seed-to-seed experiments using dwarf plants will be conducted in Cell Biology Experiment Facility (CBEF) set up in the International Space Station (ISS). Development of a simple system to recycle water transpired by plants is necessary to save space and electrical power. A cooling system using a cooling plate that cools one side of the ventilated culture vessel to enhance water vapor condensation was developed. Effects of side cooling on air temperature, relative humidity and water recycling efficiency in the culture vessel were investigated on the ground. Decreasing the cooling plate temperature lowered temperatures of cooled side and inside air. Cooling treatment also decreased relative humidity inside the vessel less than 90% and lowered the amount of water vapor lost from the vessel through ventilation filters. This seemed to be due to the increased water vapor condensation onto the cooled side. To investigate the effect of increases in outside humidity on water recycling efficiency in the culture vessel, a water vapor transfer model was established. The calculation results indicate that an increase in relative humidity around the vessel can decrease water vapor loss from the vessel, increase water condensation onto the cooled side, and therefore, enhance water recycling efficiency in the vessel. The side cooling system seems to be useful for the CBEF in ISS because relative humidity in the CBEF is controllable.

An endothelin receptor antagonist ameliorates injuries of sinusoid lining cells in porcine liver transplantation

BACKGROUND

TAK-044 is an endothelin receptor antagonist. Whether the agent has protective effects on liver graft injuries from non-heart-beating donors is unknown.

METHODS

In donor pigs, cardiac arrest was induced by stopping the respirator. Forty-five minutes after cessation of the respirator, the liver was flushed with University of Wisconsin (UW) solution, preserved for 8 hours at 4 degrees C, and transplanted orthotopically. The pigs were divided into two groups: a control group and a drug-treated group in which TAK-044 was given in the UW solutions (10 mg/L) and was administered to recipients (10 mg/kg body weight).

RESULTS

TAK-044 treatment significantly increased recipient survival rate. After reperfusion of the graft, portal venous pressure and 15-minute retention rate of indocyanine green were significantly reduced in the drug-treated group. Electron microscopic findings indicated that TAK-044 attenuated endothelial cell injuries.

CONCLUSION

TAK-044 treatment improves the viability of livers harvested from non-heart-beating donors. The main effect of the agent is protection of endothelial cells from ischemia/reperfusion injuries.

Soluble forms of CD95 and CD95 ligand after living related liver transplantation

BACKGROUND

Soluble forms of CD95 and CD95 ligand (sCD95 and sCD95L, respectively) can increase in the serum of patients with some inflammatory disease. In this study, we investigated the serum levels of sCD95 and sCD95L in liver transplantation recipients.

METHODS

Serum levels of sCD95 and sCD95L in living related liver transplant recipients were analyzed by ELISA and their relation to the clinical findings estimated.

RESULTS

Serum samples from the recipients did not show detectable levels of sCD95L but showed significantly increased levels of sCD95. The increase of sCD95 was positively associated with that of total-bilirubin and incidence of rejection, infection, and graft ischemia.

CONCLUSIONS

The present results indicate an existence of sCD95 in the recipients of living related liver transplants. The increased serum levels of sCD95 may modify the immunological situation of the recipients after transplantation or represent the ongoing graft damage.

Chemotactic activity of soluble Fas ligand against phagocytes

A recombinant soluble form of human Fas ligand (sFasL) was tested for its chemotactic activity against human and mouse polymorphonuclear neutrophils (PMN) by the Boyden chamber method. sFasL exhibited a potent chemotactic activity against both human and mouse PMN and HL-60 cells when differentiated into neutrophils or monocytes. A neutralizing anti-FasL mAb abolished the chemotactic activity, while control mAb did not. Ligation of Fas by either IgM- or IgG-type anti-Fas mAb also induced PMN migration. PMN derived from lpr mice that express few Fas molecules did not respond to sFasL. In contrast, those derived from lpr(cg) mice that express Fas molecules with a mutated death domain normally responded to sFasL chemotaxis. These results directly indicated a chemotactic activity of sFasL against PMN and suggest a novel signaling function of Fas, which appears to be independent of the death domain-mediated apoptosis.