Stage-specific expression of mouse BST-1/BP-3 on the early B and T cell progenitors prior to gene rearrangement of antigen receptor

Human bone marrow stromal cell antigen 1 (BST-1) was identified as a glycosylphosphatidyl-inositol-anchored ectoenzyme expressed on bone marrow stromal or synovial cell lines and having the ability to facilitate pre-B cell line growth. The analysis of the expression of mouse BST-1/BP-3 on the surface of lymphoid cells in the bone marrow and thymus revealed that it was very transiently expressed on both B and T cell progenitors undergoing gene rearrangement of the antigen receptor. Among CD45R+ CD43+ B cell progenitors in the bone marrow, BST-1 expression appeared on the CD24 (heat stable antigen)+, CD19+ or CD117 (c-kit)+ population. In the thymus, BST-1 was expressed on CD4-CD8-CD3- [triple negative (TN)] CD90 (Thy-1)+ cells. In TN thymocytes, the majority of CD25+ cells and CD44(10)/- cells expressed BST-1. In fetuses, BST-1+ cells appeared in the thymus and liver at day 14 and 16 of gestation respectively. The expression level of BST-1 by fetal thymus was maximal and > 60% of thymocytes were positive for BST-1 at day 15 or 16 and the proportion then gradually decreased during development. Among day 15 fetal thymocytes, BST-1 was negative on the CD44+ CD25- fraction, very slightly positive on the CD44+ CD25+ fraction, and strongly positive on the CD44(10)/- CD25+ and CD44-CD25- fractions. These results showed that murine BST-1 is a useful marker for lymphoid progenitor cells initiating gene rearrangement of their antigen receptors.

[Efficacy of implantable injection port for advanced breast cancer patients]

After breast cancer surgery, it is important to avoid drawing blood sample or injecting chemotherapeutic agents from the involved arm, because severe lymphedema and infection sometimes occurs. Adriamycin, one of the most effective drugs for breast cancer, frequently causes peripheral thrombophlebitis. Therefore, it is often difficult for advanced breast cancer patients to secure IV line and to finish the entire course of chemotherapy. For these reasons, an implantable injection port was applied in 26 breast cancer patients. The status of these patients was metastatic (9 patients), locally advanced (7 patients) and bilateral (10 patients). The average dwell time was 535.8 days with a range of 35 to 1,524 days. The complication events occurred at 0.047/100 catheter days. The results of this study indicate that the implantable injection port provides safe and reliable central venous access and improves the QOL of advanced breast cancer patients.

PET study of cerebral glucose metabolism and fluorodopa uptake in patients with corticobasal degeneration

We measured cerebral glucose utilization and fluorodopa metabolism in the brain of patients with corticobasal degeneration using position emission tomography. The clinical pictures are distinctive, comprising features referable to both cerebral cortical and basal ganglionic dysfunctions. Brain images of glucose metabolism can demonstrate specific abnormalities with a marked asymmetry in the parietal cortex (the primary motor and sensory cortex and the lateral parietal cortex), the thalamus, the caudate nucleus and the putamen of the dominantly affected hemisphere related to clinical symptoms in six patients. [18F]dopa uptake also reduced in an asymmetric pattern, both the caudate nucleus and the putamen in four patients. This unique combination study measuring both cerebral glucose utilization and fluorodopa metabolism in the nigrostriatal system can provide efficient information about the dysfunctions which are correlated with individual clinical symptoms.

[Associated complication of biliary atresia: cystic dilatation of intrahepatic biliary system]

Cystic dilatation of intrahepatic biliary system (CDIB) was observed on 10 postoperative patients with biliary atresia (BA). Fever, jaundice and alcoholic stool were found when CDIB was diagnosed with ultrasonography and computed tomography assertained by cholangiography. CDIB was divided into three groups by the shape of intrahepatic biliary system. They were group A (n = 3); solitary non-communicating cyst, group B (n = 1); solitary communicating cyst and group C (n = 6); multi-cystic dilatation. Treatments of CDIB were percutaneous transhepatic bile drainage (PTBD) and reanastomosis of hepatic portoenterostomy. All of our patients of group A and B were doing well after PTBD in two and re-do Kasai operation in two. However, out of 6 patients of group C, two died without any treatments, three were transplanted liver from their parents and the rest one is still in the hospital and PTBD is continued. Outcome of CDIB is good in group A and B, and poor in group C.

The Sendai paramyxovirus accessory C proteins inhibit viral genome amplification in a promoter-specific fashion

Many paramyxoviruses express small basic C proteins, from an alternate, overlapping open reading frame of the P gene mRNA, which were previously found to inhibit mRNA synthesis. During recent experiments in which infectious Sendai virus (SeV) was recovered from cDNA via the initial expression of the viral N, P, and L genes from plasmids, the abrogation of C protein expression from the plasmid P gene was found to be necessary for virus recovery. We have investigated the effect of C coexpression on the amplification of an internally deleted defective interfering (DI) genome directly in the transfected cell, for which, in contrast to virus recovery experiments, genome amplification is independent of mRNA synthesis carried out by the SeV polymerase. We find that C protein coexpression also strongly inhibits the amplification of this DI genome but has little or no effect on that of a copy-back DI genome (DI-H4). We have also characterized the C protein from a mutant SeV and found that (i) it had lost most of its inhibitory activity on internally deleted DI genome amplification and (ii) its coexpression no longer prevented the recovery of SeV from DNA. However, consistent with the insensitivity of copy-back DI genomes to C protein inhibition, C coexpression did not prevent the recovery of copy-back nondefective viruses from DNA. The inhibitory effects of C coexpression thus appear to be promoter specific.

Increased production of B cell growth factor (BCGF) in Sjögren's syndrome

The objective of this investigation to clarify possible roles of B cell growth factor (BCGF) in the abnormal activation of B cells in Sjögren's syndrome (SS). Lymphocyte subsets of peripheral blood from 20 patients with SS (14 with primary SS and six with secondary SS) and 11 healthy donors were analysed by flow cytometry. Supernatants of peripheral blood T cells obtained from patients with SS and from donors, cultured with or without PHA, were studied using bioassay with a B cell line, KS-3.F10. The number of CD20+ cells and CD4+DR+ cells was significantly increased in SS patients compared with healthy donors. T cells from SS patients showed increased production of BCGF, whether or not they were stimulated with PHA. The enhancement of BCGF production by PHA had a positive correlation with the percentage of CD4+CD45RA+ cells, and a negative correlation with the focus score of lip biopsy. Our experiments showed that BCGF production by T cells was spontaneously increased in SS patients. The accelerated BCGF production with PHA stimulation may be related to the increase of CD4+CD45RA+ cells and the decrease of the inflammation determined by the grade of cell infiltration into salivary glands, but not by the increase of CD20+ cells.

[Optimum dose study of cefozopran in the pediatric field]

Cefozopran (SCE-2787, CZOP) was administered to patients with pediatric infections three to four times daily by intravenous injection or 30-minute intravenous drip infusion, and investigations were made in individual cases, on relationships among doses, pharmacokinetics, effects on pathogenic bacteria and MIC against them, and clinical effects. The following results on optimal doses of CZOP were obtained. 1. Clinical cases in which CZOP was administered at a dose of 10 mg (potency)/kg The subjects were 7 patients including 4 patients with pneumonia. Severities of the diseases were severe in one of the patients with pneumonia, and moderate in the other patients. The MIC against pathogenic bacteria (4 strains) isolated from these cases ranged from 0.2 to 1.56 micrograms/ml. The serum concentrations were in a range between 1.4 and 7.6 micrograms/ml at 4 hours after administration. In some cases, the serum concentrations were lower than the MICs, though slightly. In the clinical evaluation, CZOP was excellent in 3 cases, good in 2 cases and fair in 1 case. The evaluation was impossible in 1 case. The efficacy rate was 83.3% (5/6). In bacteriological evaluation, 3 out of the 4 strains disappeared. Adverse reactions and abnormal laboratory test values were not observed. 2. Cases in which CZOP was administered at a dose of 20 mg (potency)/kg The subjects were 5 patients including 2 with pneumonia, and severities were severe in one of the patients with pneumonia, and moderate in the other patients. The MICs against the pathogenic bacteria (3 strains) isolated from these cases ranged from 0.1 to 1.56 micrograms/ml. While, serum concentrations at 4 hours after administration were in a range between 3.0 and 7.7 micrograms/ml sufficiently exceeding the MICs. In the clinical evaluation, CZOP was excellent in 1 case and good in four cases, with an efficacy rate of 100% (5/5). In the bacteriological evaluation, all the 3 strains disappeared. No adverse reactions were observed, but an abnormal laboratory test value showing eosinophilia was noted in one case. 3. Cases in which CZOP was administered at a dose of 40 mg (potency)/kg The subjects were 5 patients including 3 with pneumonia. The severity was moderate in 2 of the pneumonia patients, and severe in the other three cases. The MICs against the pathogenic bacteria (4 strains) isolated from these cases were in a range between 0.1 and 0.78 micrograms/ml. The serum concentrations at 4 hours after administration ranged from 6.5 to 21.9 micrograms/ml, sufficiently exceeding the MICs. In the clinical evaluation, CZOP was excellent in 4 cases and good in 1 case, with an efficacy rate of 100% (5/5). The efficacy rate in the bacteriological evaluation was also 100%. As adverse reaction, red urine was observed in one case. Eosinophlia was noted in one case in the laboratory tests. When CZOP was administered to patients with pediatric infections at a dose of 10 mg (potency)/kg, the clinical effect of the drug was insufficient in a case in which serum concentration of CZOP at 4 hours after administration was lower than the MICs against the pathogenic bacteria. When CZOP was administered at a dose of 20 mg (potency)/kg, sufficient concentrations were obtained, and the drug efficacies were found to be excellent or good in all cases. Therefore, the effective dose normally used is considered to be 20 mg (potency)/kg. When CZOP was administered at a dose of 40 mg (potency)/kg, the drug was found to be excellent or good in all of the cases although the severities were high in more than half of the cases tested. In addition, the rate of excellent efficacies was 80% (4/5). Furthermore, no severe adverse reactions were observed. It was, therefore, confirmed that CZOP should be administered at a dose of 40 mg (potency)/kg in severe or intractable cases.

Normal D-JH rearranged products of the IgH gene in SCID mouse bone marrow

SCID mice are profoundly immunodeficient, resulting from an inability to carry out the V(D)J recombination reaction during both B cell and T cell development. Recently, however, it was revealed that normal rearrangement frequently did occur in the TCR delta and gamma chain loci in the SCID thymus. To evaluate whether the normal rearrangement occurring in SCID is a T-cell-specific phenomenon, we directly cloned using PCR the DQ52-JH2 and DFL16.1-JH2 rearranged segments of the IgH gene from SCID bone marrow. The subsequent analysis revealed that normal V(D)J recombination occurred in a significant number of the analyzed clones. By quantitative Southern hybridization it was shown that the quantity of normal DQ52-JH2 joints existing in the SCID bone marrow is approximately 4-7% that in normal bone marrow. D-JH rearrangement in SCID mice and normal mice differs in the frequency of nucleotide insertion (N insertion). Although most of the normal mouse clones exhibited N insertion in the D-JH rearrangement, in SCID mouse clones N insertion was identified in only a few D-JH rearrangements. Furthermore, in several normal rearranged clones, the recombination occurred at the short homologous sequence. These observations suggest that the V(D)J recombination of IgH normally occurs at the early stage of SCID B cell development, just as TCR gene rearrangement occurs during SCID T cell development. Furthermore, the features of rearranged products isolated from SCID bone marrow cells were remarkably similar to those from leaky SCID mice.

Device that keeps a pierced ear hole intact while treating an infected earlobe

The authors describe a simple, inexpensive, Teflon shaft and silicone ring device that keeps a pierced hole in an infected earlobe intact while an infection is being treated.

K-ras and p53 mutations in stage I gallbladder carcinoma with an anomalous junction of the pancreaticobiliary duct

BACKGROUND

An anomalous junction of the pancreaticobiliary duct (AJPBD) was thought to be an important risk factor for gallbladder carcinoma in Japan. In this report, we compared K-ras and p53 mutations in Stage I gallbladder carcinomas (GC) of patients with AJPBD with those in patients without AJPBD:

METHODS

We examined 6 GC of patients with AJPBD and 20 GC of patients without AJPBD: Immunohistochemistry was performed for p53 protein. K-ras and p53 mutations were examined using genomic DNA extracted from the cancer regions. The methods of polymerase chain reaction (PCR) single strand conformation polymorphism analysis were performed for mutations in exons 5-8 of p53. The methods of PCR restriction fragment length polymorphism were performed for mutation in codon 12 of K-ras.

RESULTS

p53 positivity was 67% in GC of patients with AJPBD and 65% in GC of patients without AJPBD: p53 mutations were found in exons 7 and 8 in GC of patients with AJPBD and in exons 5, 6, and 7 in GC of patients without AJPBD: The incidence of K-ras mutation in GC of patients with AJPBD (50%) was greater than that in patients without AJPBD (6%) (P < 0.05).

CONCLUSIONS

These results suggest that K-ras mutation may be important in the early stage of carcinogenesis of the gallbladder mucosa with AJPBD, and that p53 mutations may also contribute to the early stage of carcinogenesis of the gallbladder mucosa, regardless of AJPBD:

Localization of sympathetic and parasympathetic neurons innervating pancreas and spleen in the cat

The localization of sympathetic and parasympathetic neurons innervating the pancreas and spleen was studied in the cat utilizing retrograde transport of wheat germ agglutinin conjugated horseradish peroxidase (WGA-HRP). Injection of WGA-HRP into the pancreas resulted in retrograde labeling in the whole of the solar plexus, while injection of WGA-HRP into the spleen also resulted in heavy labeling in the celiac ganglia bilaterally. Only a few labeled neurons were distributed in the superior mesenteric ganglion. With respect to parasympathetic innervation, HRP-labeled pancreatic and splenic neurons were found throughout the rostrocaudal extent of the dorsal motor nucleus of the vagus nerve (DMV) bilaterally. Although pancreatic neurons in the DMV were mainly observed in limits rostral to the obex, splenic neurons were centered at the level of the obex.

Processing of a precursor of 72-kilodalton type IV collagenase/gelatinase A by a recombinant membrane-type 1 matrix metalloproteinase

Membrane-type 1 matrix metalloproteinase that is associated with the proteolytic activation of progelatinase A was expressed as a recombinant fusion protein in Escherichia coli. The recombinant enzyme cleaved the propeptide sequence of gelatinase A in a sequence-specific manner. A mutant progelatinase A that has a substitution of Asn(66)-Leu to Ile-Val was not processed at all. The processing was blocked by tissue inhibitor of metalloproteinases-2 or BB-94 but not by tissue inhibitor of metalloproteinases-1. Thus, membrane-type 1 matrix metalloproteinase is a direct activator of progelatinase A without requiring additional proteases.

Expression of Bombyx family fungal protease inhibitor F from Bombyx mori by baculovirus vector

Fungal protease inhibitor F (FPI-F) from silkworm hemolymph is a novel serine protease inhibitor of the Bombyx family. The cDNA of FPI-F was introduced into a baculovirus vector and a recombinant virus was isolated and plaque-purified. The protease inhibitory activities increased in the culture medium of insect cells and in the hemolymph of silkworms infected with the recombinant virus. Judged from the behavior on ion-exchange and reversed-phase chromatographies, amino acid compositions, amino-terminal sequences, and CD spectra, the recombinant FPI-F was identical with native FPI-F. Infection with the recombinant virus caused inhibition of larval development of the silkworm. However, the degree of the effect was different in two strains, Shinryukaku and Taiheichoan, indicating that the selection of the strain of silkworm is important in using the baculovirus expression system.

Estimation of the optimal cut off point in a new immunological faecal occult blood test in a corporate colorectal cancer screening programme

OBJECTIVE

To estimate the optimal cut off point in a new immunological method (OC-Hemodia) for faecal occult blood testing (FOBT).

SETTING

A corporate colorectal cancer screening programme in Japan. METHOD - The screening programme targeted colorectal cancer and adenomatous polyps > or = 10 mm, and was conducted on 27 860 participants (age > or = 40 ) during 1991-92. The follow up consisted of diagnostic management by total colonoscopy on positive screened subjects exceeding the manufacturer recommended cut off level of 50 ng/ml faecal haemoglobin, and the identification of false negative cases by health insurance claims. The optimal cut off point was estimated by the positive predictive value, receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve, and a cost effectiveness analysis. In this study evaluation was carried out only for cancer as the target disease.

RESULTS

- At the current cut off level of 50 ng/ml the sensitivity and specificity were 86.5% and 94.9%. When the optimal cut off point was estimated the highest positive predictive value was obtained at 250-350 ng/ml. The ROC curve showed that the sum of sensitivity and specificity is maximised at 50 ng/ml, but evaluation of the ratio, change in sensitivity/change in false positive rate, pointed to higher optimal cut off points, showing marked changes occurring at about 200 ng/ml. The average cost per case was lowest at 250-300 ng/ml. Overall, the optimal cut off point was estimated to be about 200 ng/ml, at which the sensitivity and specificity of the test would be 77.5% and 98.9%, respectively.

CONCLUSION

The optimal cut off point of the new immunological method of FOBT was estimated to be about 200 ng/ml, a value which, more than the current cut off value, favours specificity over sensitivity.

Salivacin 140, a novel bacteriocin from Lactobacillus salivarius subsp. salicinius T140 active against pathogenic bacteria

Fifteen of 353 environmental isolates of lactic acid bacteria consistently showed activity against Listeria monocytogenes, Streptococcus mutans, Actinomyces viscosus, and/or Propionibacterium acnes. Strain T140, isolated from the surface of Japanese pampas grass leaves and identified as Lactobacillus salivarius subsp. salicinius, also had activity against several Lactobacillus species, Staphylococcus aureus and Yersinia enterocolitica. Since the antagonistic factor(s) produced by T140 was sensitive to a proteolytic enzyme, it was concluded that a bacteriocin (named salivacin 140) was involved in the inhibition activity. Strain T140 required a high initial pH (7.5-8.5) in agar plates for bacteriocin production.