Antitumor effect of S-1 on DMH induced colon cancer in rats

The aim of this study was to establish an autochthonous colon cancer model in the rat as an in vivo secondary screen for the general evaluation of new anticancer agents against colorectal cancer, and also to evaluate practically the antitumor activity of 1M tegafur-0.4M 5- chloro-2,4-dihydroxypyridine-1M potassium oxonate(S-1), a new p.o. fluoropyrimidine. Thirty-two Sprague-Dawley rats received dimethlhydrazine(40 mg/kg) s.c. once weekly for 10 weeks to induce colon cancer.20 weeks after beginning the carcinogen treatment, a barium enema was performed to visualize tumors. The animals were divided into a control group and S-1 treatment group. After 5 weeks of treatment, the barium enema was repeated. The mean doubling time of 24 tumors in the control group was 19.0 + 8.4 (SD) days. Response to S-1 was judged as effective when the doubling time exceeded 35.8 days, calculated from the mean + 2SDs in the control group. The response rate of S-1 was 55%, 34% of the tumors were decreased in size after treatment. This figure was higher than that of clinically-used 5-fluorouracil(5-FU) derivatives; 5-FU;6%, Tegafur(FT):6%, 1M tegafur-4M uracil(UFT):14%, reported in our previous study. An autochthonous colon cancer model is useful to evaluate the clinical therapeutic efficacy of drugs for colorectal cancer, and S-1 is expected to have a high therapeutic effect on human colorectal cancer.

Suicidal inactivation of human dihydropyrimidine dehydrogenase by (E)-5-(2-bromovinyl)uracil derived from the antiviral, sorivudine

An enzymatic study was performed to clarify the mechanism of 18 acute deaths in patients who had received the new oral antiviral drug, sorivudine (SRV), during anticancer chemotherapy with 5-fluorouracil (5-FU) prodrugs. Human dihydropyrimidine dehydrogenase (hDPD), playing a key role in the liver as the rate-limiting enzyme in catabolism of 5-FU, was expressed in E. coli, purified and incubated in the presence of NADPH with SRV or (E)-5-(2-bromovinyl)uracil (BVU), a metabolite of SRV produced by human gut flora. hDPD was rapidly and irreversibly inactivated by BVU, but not by SRV. Radioactivity of [14C]BVU was incorporated into hDPD in the presence of NADPH in a manner reciprocal to the enzyme inactivation. In the absence of NADPH, hDPD was not inactivated by BVU, nor radiolabeled with [14C]BVU. Thus, as we demonstrated previously with studies using the rat, the acute deaths were strongly suggested to be attributable to markedly elevated tissue 5-FU levels which were responsible for irreversible inhibition of hDPD by covalent binding of a reduced form of BVU as a suicide inactivator.

Enhancement of an inhibitory input to the feeding central pattern generator in Lymnaea stagnalis during conditioned taste-aversion learning

To study the neuronal mechanism of a conditioned taste-aversion (CTA) learning in the pond snail Lymnaea stagnalis, we examined the synaptic connection between the neuron 1 medial (N1M) cell and the cerebral giant cell (CGC), the former is an interneuron in central pattern generator for the feeding response and the latter is a regulatory neuron to the central pattern generator. Inhibitory postsynaptic potential (IPSP) which was evoked in the N1M cell by activation of the CGC was larger and lasted longer in the conditioned animal than that in the control animal. The electrical properties of the cell body of CGC and the responses of the CGC to the chemosensory inputs were not changed during the CTA learning. These results, together with the previous report indicating the existence of excitatory projection from the N1M cell to the feeding motoneuron, suggest that enhanced IPSP in the N1M cell may underlie the suppression of feeding responses in the Lymnaea CTA learning.

[A case of axonal form of Guillain-Barré syndrome associated with anti-GM1b IgG antibody following Penner 4 Campylobacter jejuni infection]

A 41-year-old woman was admitted to the hospital because of diarrhea followed by progressive weakness of all extremities and dysphagia. On neurological examination, she showed facial diplegia, bulbar palsy, flaccid quadriplegia, and absence of all deep tendon reflexes in addition to Laségue's sign. The Campylobacter jejuni Penner type 4 was isolated from the culture of stool. The test of anti-GM1b antibody (IgG) was positive in the serum. The protein content was elevated in the cerebrospinal fluid without pleocytosis. The studies of motor nerve conduction velocity showed a pattern of the axonal neuropathy. This is a case of Guillain-Barré syndrome presenting with the axonal neuropathy possibly due to the immune response directed to GM1b which is triggered by the Campylobacter jejuni Penner type 4 infection.

Lethal drug interactions of sorivudine, a new antiviral drug, with oral 5-fluorouracil prodrugs

Rats were orally co-administered sorivudine (SRV: 1-beta-D-arabinofuranosyl-(E)-5-(2-bromovinyl)uracil), a new oral antiviral drug for herpes zoster, with the oral anticancer drug tegafur (FT: 1-(2-tetrahydrofuryl)-5-fluorouracil as a prodrug of 5-fluorouracil (5-FU) once daily to investigate a toxicokinetic mechanism of 15 Japanese patients' deaths recently caused within a brief period by the drug interaction of these drugs. All the rats showed extremely elevated levels of 5-FU in plasma and tissues, including bone marrow and small intestine, and died within 10 days, whereas the animals given the same dose of SRV or FT alone were still alive over 20 days without any appreciable toxic symptom. Before their death, there was marked damage of bone marrow, marked atrophy of intestinal membrane mucosa, marked decreases in white blood cells and platelets, diarrhea with bloody flux, and severe anorexia as reported with the Japanese patients. Data obtained by in vivo and in vitro studies strongly suggested that (E)-5-(2-bromovinyl)uracil generated from SRV by gut flora was reduced in the presense of NADPH to a reactive form by hepatic dihydropyrimidine dehydrogenase (DPD), a key enzyme determining the tissue 5-FU levels, bound covalently to DPD as a suicide inhibitor, and markedly retarded the catabolism of 5-FU.

Lethal drug interactions of sorivudine, a new antiviral drug, with oral 5-fluorouracil prodrugs

Rats were orally co-administered sorivudine (SRV: 1-beta-D-arabinofuranosyl-(E)-5-(2-bromovinyl)uracil), a new oral antiviral drug for herpes zoster, with the oral anticancer drug tegafur (FT: 1-(2-tetrahydrofuryl)-5-fluorouracil) as a prodrug of 5-flourouracil (5-FU) once daily to investigate a toxicokinetic mechanism of 15 Japanese patients' deaths recently caused within a brief period by the drug interaction of these drugs. All the rats showed extremely elevated levels of 5-FU in plasma and tissues, including bone marrow and small intestine, and died within 10 days, whereas the animals given the same dose of SRV or FT alone were still alive over 20 days without any appreciable toxic symptom. Before their death, there was marked damage of bone marrow, marked atrophy of intestinal membrane mucosa, marked decreases in white blood cells and platelets, diarrhea with bloody flux, and severe anorexia as reported with the Japanese patients. Data obtained by in vivo and in vitro studies strongly suggested that (E)-5-(2-bromovinyl)uracil generated from SRV by gut flora was reduced in the presense of NADPH to a reactive form by hepatic dihydropyrimidine dehydrogenase (DPD), a key enzyme determining the tissue 5-FU levels, bound covalently to DPD as a suicide inhibitor, and markedly retarded the catabolism of 5-FU.

Occurrence of autoimmune antibodies to liver microsomal proteins associated with lethal hepatitis in LEC rats: effects of TJN-101 ((+)-(6S,7S,R-biar)- 5,6,7,8-tetrahydro-1,2,3,12-tetramethoxy-6,7-dimethyl-10,11- methylenedioxy-6-dibenzo[a,c]cyclooctenol) on the development of hepatitis and the autoantibodies

Long Evans Cinnamon (LEC) rats, that spontaneously develop hepatitis, were found to possess autoantibodies to liver microsomal proteins (anti-LM) before the development of hepatitis. Anti-LM antibody was assumed to appear in association with the lethal hepatitis in the LEC rats. Thus, the purpose of this study was to investigate the effects of an anti-hepatitis drug on the development of hepatitis and the occurrence of the antibody in LEC rats. Mortality, blood biochemical parameters and the titer of serum anti-LM antibody were measured. In control LEC rats, 4 of 8 rats died before 20 weeks of age. In rats treated with TJN-101 ((+)-(6S,7S,R-biar)-5,6,7,8-tetrahydro-1,2,3,12-tetramethoxy -6,7-dimethyl-10,11 - methylenedioxy-6-dibenzo[a,c]cyclooctenol), 4 of 7 rats died of hepatitis, but the time of death was delayed by 7-10 weeks compared to the control rats. The titer of the anti-LM antibody increased 3-7 weeks before death in the non-survivors in control and TJN-101-treated rats, supporting the idea that anti-LM antibody occurs in association with acute lethal hepatitis.

Occurrence of autoantibody to protein disulfide isomerase in rats with xenobiotic-induced hepatitis

The occurrence of an autoantibody to protein disulfide isomerase (PDI) in rats after administration of various hepatotoxic drugs was investigated by immunoblotting and radioimmunoassay. An anti-PDI autoantibody was detected with high frequency in rats treated with D-galactosamine, acetaminophen with diethylmaleate, and carbon tetrachloride with diethylmaleate. The antibody-positive rate was relatively low in the groups of rats given carbon tetrachloride, acetaminophen or DL-ethionine alone. The anti-PDI antibody was not detected in rats treated with diethylmaleate alone. Although the mechanism of the production of the anti-PDI autoantibody is unclear, the occurrence of anti-PDI antibody correlated with high serum GPT activities. It is suggested that the autoantibody plays an important role in the development and persistence of drug-induced hepatitis.

Occurrence of autoantibody to protein disulfide isomerase in patients with hepatic disorder

The occurrence of autoantibody to protein disulfide isomerase (PDI) was examined in sera from patients with alcoholic liver disease, liver cirrhosis, systemic lupus erythmatosus (SLE) and cancer. Judging by results of Western blotting using a purified preparation of PDI, the anti-PDI antibody was hardly seen in most sera from healthy controls but was raised in patients with alcoholic liver disease, liver cirrhosis, SLE and liver cancer. When the antibody titer to PDI was measured by radioactivity in a radioimmunoassay, positive values (cut off value; mean + 2SD = 256 cpm) were seen in 46% (11/24) of the patients with moderate alcoholic liver disease (mean radioactivity, 339 cpm) and in 54% (7/13) of those with severe alcoholic liver disease (mean radioactivity, 664 cpm). Only 8% (4/48) of the healthy controls were positive (mean radioactivity, 50 cpm). Four of six patients with hepatoma were positive, while none of the seven patients with non-hepatic cancer were positive. The positive proportions in the patients with liver cirrhosis and SLE were 64% (9/14) and 40% (4/10), respectively. These results suggest that the occurrence of anti-PDI antibody would play an immunological role in the progression of hepatic disorders.

[A case of dementia associated with multiple iron deposits in the brain on MRI]

We report a 63-year-old man presenting with dementia and cerebellar ataxia associated with multiple iron deposits in the brain on MRI. Numerous small lesions of low-intensity on both T1- and T2-weighted images were found in the parenchyma and surface of the cerebrum, cerebellum and brain stem. The number and size of lesions were increased on MRI with the method of gradient recalled acquisition in the steady state (GRASS), indicating that they were composed of iron. The similar lesions were not found in any organs on the abdominal GRASS-MRI. Any abnormalities were also not found in the cerebral angiography. Meanwhile, the protein and IgG levels and activated CD4-cells were increased in the cerebrospinal fluid, indicating the involvement of chronic inflammation in the iron deposits in this case.

Effects of cyclosporin-A and D-penicillamine on the development of hepatitis and the production of antibody to protein disulfide isomerase in LEC rats

Long Evans Cinnamon (LEC) rats, which spontaneously develop hepatitis, produce an autoantibody to protein disulfide isomerase (PDI) before the development of clinical signs of hepatitis. Anti-PDI antibody may be associated with immunological hepatitis. Thus, the purpose of this study was to investigate the effects of some drugs on the development of hepatitis and the occurrence of the antibody in LEC rats. Cyclosporin-A, an immunosuppressant, and D-penicillamine, which promotes copper excretion, were orally administered to LEC rats for 23 weeks. Mortality, blood biochemical parameters and the titer of serum anti-PDI antibody were measured. In control LEC rats, four of eight rats died before 20-weeks-old. Only one of seven rats in the cyclosporin-A-treated group died at the age of 20 weeks. When rats were treated with D-penicillamine, the development of clinical signs of hepatitis was inhibited, and all rats survived. Cyclosporin-A-treated rats showed increases in blood biochemical parameters similar to those in control rats. The titer of anti-PDI antibody in control rats was higher the non-survivors than survivors. These findings suggest the association of the anti-PDI antibody with lethality, but not with the apparent development and progression of hepatitis as measured by blood biochemical parameters in LEC rats.

Identification of protein disulfide isomerase and calreticulin as autoimmune antigens in LEC strain of rats

Long Evans Cinnamon (LEC) rats, showing spontaneous hereditary hepatitis and hepatic carcinoma, were found to possess autoimmune antibodies to liver microsomal proteins, particularly to proteins with the molecular weight of 56kD and 55kD. The antibodies occurred in association with acute lethal hepatitis in the LEC rats in our previous study. Two-dimensional immunoblot analysis of the antigenic proteins revealed that the 56kDa and 55kDa proteins showed 4.2 and 4.0 pI values and were estimated to be protein disulfide isomerase (PDI) and calreticulin, respectively, from NH2-terminal amino acid sequence analysis. These proteins were further identified by immunoblot analyses using purified proteins and specific antibodies. PDI was a major autoimmune antigenic protein.

Occurrence of autoimmune antibodies to liver microsomal proteins in association with fulminant hepatitis in the LEC strain of rats

The Long Evans Cinnamon (LEC) rat, which has been established as a strain showing hereditary hepatitis and hepatic carcinoma, was found to possess autoimmune antibodies to liver microsomal proteins, particularly to a protein with the molecular weight of 56kD. The antibodies also recognized a protein(s) in liver microsomes from Long Evans Agouti and Sprague-Dawley rats. About 42 and 15 percent of respective female and male LEC rats died within a week after acute hepatitis; sera from all of the animals contained the antibodies. About 43 and 0 percent of the surviving female and male LEC rats possessed the antibodies, respectively. These results suggest that the autoantibodies occur in association with acute lethal hepatitis in the LEC rats.

A sensitive enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay of ochratoxin A based on monoclonal antibodies

We prepared seven monoclonal antibodies (mAbs, OTA.1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6 and 7) which were reacted with ochratoxin A (OTA), and have developed a specific and highly sensitive enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) for detection of OTA. The mAbs, OTA.1, 3, 4, 5 and 7, specifically reacted with OTA but much less with its analogs, ochratoxin B (OTB, about 1% of OTA) and ochratoxin alpha (OT alpha, less than 0.1% of OTA). One of the mAbs, OTA.2, equally reacted with OTA and OTB but hardly at all with (4R)-4-hydroxyochratoxin A or OT alpha (less than 0.1% of OTA). All of the mAbs reacted with ochratoxin C. None of the mAbs reacted with coumarin, 4-hydroxycoumarin or L-beta-phenylalanine. In the competitive ELISA with OTA.1 and OTA.7, the lowest detectable amount of standard OTA in solution was 50 pg/ml (2.5 pg per assay). This assay was applied for the quantitation of OTA added to chicken meat, wheat flour, porcine plasma and bovine serum. With minimal sample preparation, reliable and reproducible determinations were possible when concentrations of OTA were higher than 0.1-1 ng/g.

A sensitive enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay for detection of T-2 toxin with monoclonal antibodies

Six monoclonal antibodies (mAbs, T-2.1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6) which react with a trichothecene mycotoxin, T-2 toxin (T-2), were prepared. All antibodies specifically reacted with T-2 but less (0.5% of T-2) with the metabolites such as HT-2 toxin and 3'-hydroxy-T-2 toxin. Significant but less than 0.02% cross-reactivity was observed with T-2 triol, 3'-hydroxy-HT-2 toxin and neosolaniol. No significant reaction with other trichothecenes such as deoxynivalenol, nivalenol, fusarenon-X, crotocin, or roridin A was observed. The least detectable amount of T-2 with the best mAb T-2.1 was 2.5 pg T-2 per assay. This specific and highly sensitive assay for T-2 was applied for the quantitation of T-2 in wheat flour spiked with mycotoxin, with combination of a simple extraction procedure.

Application of an enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay for screening of T-2 toxin-producing Fusarium spp

Culture filtrates of Fusarium species were subjected without clean-up procedures to an indirect competitive enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay with anti-T-2 toxin monoclonal antibody. Fusarium sporotrichioides, F. poae, F. tricinctum, and F. culmorum strains were positive for T-2 toxin, with a minimum detection limit of 5 pg per assay (100 pg/ml of culture filtrate), and the assay data correlated well with the gas-liquid chromatographic data.

Effect of indigestible polysaccharides on pancreatic exocrine secretion and biliary output

The present study was designed to determine the effect of purified viscous polysaccharides on pancreatic exocrine secretion and biliary output. Male Sprague-Dawley rats aged 5 weeks were fed either on the control diet which contained no fiber or on the experimental diets that contained 5% indigestible polysaccharides (agar, kappa-carrageenan, Na-alginate and konjac mannan). After pretreatment with each diet for 2 weeks, the diet was discontinued overnight, and the animals were then allowed to eat 4 g of the test diet in 1 h. Immediately after this, a polyethylene tube was placed in the common bile duct, under anesthesia. Combined, free drained pancreatic-bile juice was collected for the following 1 h. Long-term (2 weeks) administration of Na-alginate and konjac mannan gave rise to increases in the volume of secreted juice and in the output of total bile acids, amylase and protease, whereas that of agar and kappa-carrageenan had no affect. Since a single dose of Na-alginate and konjac mannan was ineffective as regards pancreatic-bile secretion, the elevated secretion observed over prolonged periods may result from processes of adaptation against highly viscous polysaccharides.

Activities of various enzymes of pyrimidine nucleotide and DNA syntheses in normal and neoplastic human tissues

The activities of the key enzymes of pyrimidine nucleotide and DNA syntheses in 43 human tumors and 28 normal human tissues were investigated. The activities of cytidine triphosphate synthetase, deoxycytidine monophosphate deaminase, uridine kinase, thymidine kinase, thymidine monophosphate kinase and DNA polymerase were markedly increased in tumor tissues, compared with those in the corresponding normal tissues, while the activities of deoxycytidine kinase, cytidine deaminase and deoxycytidine deaminase were only slightly increased. The use of thymidine and deoxyuridine as substrates of human pyrimidine nucleoside phosphorylase gave 1 to 2 orders of magnitude higher activity than that of uridine.

Metabolism of 5-fluorouracil in various human normal and tumor tissues

The metabolism of 5-fluorouracil (5-FU) in tumors and normal tissues of humans was investigated in vitro. Phosphorylation of 5-FU was faster in tumor tissues than in normal tissues. Phosphorylating activity with 2-deoxy-alpha-D-ribose 1-phosphate (dRiblP) and ATP as cofactors was more active than that with alpha D-ribose 1-phosphate (RiblP) and ATP, or 5-phospho-alpha-D-ribosyldiphosphate (PPRibP) as cofactors. Phosphorylating activity in squamous cell carcinoma of the lung was similar to that in adenocarcinomas. Degradation of 5-FU was much faster in the liver than in other tissues including tumor tissues.

Studies on the metabolism of 1-(2-tetrahydrofuryl)-5-fluorouracil and uracil co-administered orally to tumor-bearing rats

The metabolism of 1-(2-tetrahydrofuryl)-5-fluorouracil (FT) plus uracil (1:4, UFT) was compared with that of FT alone and that of uracil alone in tumor-bearing rats by using 3H-tracer. After oral administration of UFT, both FT and uracil were rapidly absorbed and no interaction of their absorptions was observed. The levels of 5-fluorouracil (5-FU) in the blood and tissues and the excretion of 5-FU in the urine of rats given UFT were temporarily higher, and the levels of alpha-fluoro-beta-ureidopropionic acid (a catabolic metabolite of 5-FU) in almost all tissues were lower than in rats given FT. The levels of 5-FU, 5-fluorouridine, and fluoronucleotides increased more in the tumors than in normal tissues of rats given UFT, but not in those given FT. The metabolism of uracil administered exogenously as UFT was not influenced by 5-FU or its metabolites derived from FT.

Further studies on the reduction of vitamin A content in the livers of rats given polychlorinated biphenyls

Further investigations on the reduction of vitamin A content in the liver of rats fed a 0.1% PCB diet were conducted. The first experiment, in which rats were fed a 0.1% PCB diet for 8 weeks and vitamin A in the liver was determined at 2-week intervals, suggested that a significant decrease of vitamin A in the liver might occur within 2 weeks of PCB ingestion. In the second experiment a significant reduction of vitamin A content per gram of liver, but not per whole liver, in rats fed a 0.1% PCB diet was observed on the 3rd day of PCB ingestion, and then on the 6th day the difference between the control group and the PCB-fed group became much more remarkable. But thereafter no further reduction was seen, indicating a lower limit of vitamin A concentration in the liver of rats fed PCB. It was found that retinol binding protein in the serum of rats fed the 0.1% PCB diet decreased to one-half that of the control group on the 10th day of PCB ingestion, suggesting also a marked reduction in serum vitamin A level. Another experiment revealed that a decrease in hepatic vitamin A occurred even at low PCB levels, but serum phospholipid did not respond at all to any PCB level examined until 7 days after PCB ingestion began. The mechanisms of sensitive response of vitamin A in the animals fed PCB are briefly discussed.