Oncocytic adenocarcinoma of the ovary

A case of ovarian adenocarcinoma mainly composed of oncocytes was studied by light and electron microscopy. Oncocytes, characterized by granular and eosinophilic cytoplasm by light microscopy possessed numerous mitochondria at the ultrastructural level. These oncocytes were classified into two types: typical and condensed oncocytes. Typical oncocytes seemed to be active, whereas condensed oncocytes were thought to be involved in a degenerative process. The two types of cells showed a close similarity to oncocytes in other organs (e.g., thyroid, parathyroid and salivary glands). This appears to be the first report of an ovarian oncocytic tumor.

Influence of single doses of dothiepin and amitriptyline on physiological measures and psychomotor performance in normal young and elderly volunteers

The subjects were 14 (7 young and 7 elderly) men. Self-rating, and physiological and psychological measurements were applied, and experiments were performed 24 h after drug administrations. 25 mg dothiepin hydrochloride (DP) decreased critical flicker frequency less than 25 mg AMP in both age groups. 25 mg DP reduced whole mouth salivary rates less than 25 mg AMP, especially in the young subjects. 25 mg DP decreased diastolic blood pressure more than 25 mg AMP. Systolic blood pressure (after 25 mg DP and 25 mg AMP) and whole mouth salivary rates (after 25 mg AMP) were affected more intensely in the elderly than in the young volunteers.

A radioreceptor assay for insulin: direct measurement of human serum insulin

A simple radioreceptor assay was established with sensitivity and accuracy sufficient to detect concentrations of insulin in human peripheral sera. The radioreceptor assay was carried out at 4 degrees C using rabbit erythrocyte membranes and 125I-insulin. In the absence of native insulin, approximately 31% of the total 125I-insulin concentration was bound to erythrocyte membranes. Fourty-six per cent of this binding was displaced by 312 microunits/ml of native insulin. The precision expressed as coefficient of variation was 3 to 21% of the mean for the within-assay, and 1 to 21% for the between-assay, respectively. The recovery of standard porcine insulin added to the serum was 105% on the average. Insulin values in 24 samples of human sera measured by the present assay agreed well with immunoreactive insulin values.

Formation of erythrocyte rouleaux in preheated normal serum: roles of albumin polymers and lysophosphatidylcholine

The role of humoral factors in cell-cell interactions was studied in a simple model system: the aggregation of erythrocytes into cylindrical rouleaux when suspended in normal serum preheated at 62 degree C for 20 min. The rouleaugenic activity of heated serum was associated with an increased concentration of albumin polymers. On heating above 62 degree C, albumin released ligands, such as lysophosphatidylcholine, in quantities sufficient to convert erythrocytes to acanthocytes. The latter did not participate in rouleaux formation. Thus normal serum only became rouleaugenic when heated over a narrow range of temperatures. These properties of serum were reproduced in a system consisting only of erythrocytes, heated albumin, and lysophosphatidylcholine. Rouleau formation increased as albumin polymer size increased. Unheated normal serum could also be made rouleaugenic merely by concentrating to above normal physiological concentrations. Unheated, unconcentrated, sera from patients with various diseases are known to be rouleaugenic, but polymeric albumin appears infrequently in such sera; usually there are increases in macroglobulins are large polymeric forms of smaller serum proteins. Current evidence is consistent with the hypothesis that a small shift in the concentration of one or more of these macromolecules above a critical value promotes a phase separation of erythrocytes which spontaneously aggregate to form rouleaux.

Polyembryoma of ovary producing alpha-fetoprotein and HCG: immunoperoxidase and electron microscopic study

Polyembryoma of ovary producing alpha-fetoprotein (AFP) and human chorionic gonadotropin (HCG) was studied by indirect immunoperoxidase method for AFP and HCG, and electron microscopy. Clinically, this patient showed pseudoprecocious puberty caused by elevated HCG which is synthesized by trophoblastic cells in polyembryoma. She is put under VAC (vincristine, actinomycin-D, cyclophosphamide) chemotherapy after operation and shows no signs of recurrence including reelevation of serum AFP at five months after operation. Embryoid bodies which we studied correspond to normal embryo at 15- or 16-day stage. Immunoperoxidase study showed that AFP is synthesized by yolk sac cells of the embryoid bodies and HCG is synthesized by syncytiotrophoblastic cells. The finding about AFP synthesis suggests that normal embryo at 15- or 16-day stage may begin AFP synthesis. Electron microscopic study showed that each part of the embryoid bodies had some characteristic structures. Most striking features found in the cytodifferentiation of the embryoid bodies were noticed in some special differentiation of plasma membrane and existence of surface coat. Desmosomes were found in endodermal cells and yolk sac cells. Ectodermal cells were attached to each other by zonulae occludentes and adherentes. Microvilli were found in ectodermal cells and yolk sac cells. Two different kinds of surface coat were found in mesodermal cells and lining cells of yolk sac cavity: thin-layered deposit of electron-dense material covering the plasma membrane facing intercellular space of mesodermal cells and endodermal cells, and thick-layered deposit of electron-dense material which covered the plasma membrane facing yolk sac cavity of endodermal cells and yolk sac cells. Presence of similar characteristic material in RER of yolk sac cells led us to speculate that thick deposit was synthesized by yolk sac cells and secreted into yolk sac cavity. Combined with immunoperoxidase study by light microscopy, we assume that this thick-layered deposit has some close relation to AFP.

Studies of the function of natural killer-interferon system in patients with Sjögren syndrome

The natural killer (NK)-interferon (IFN) system is shown to be significantly involved in the resistance of host to viral infections and to tumours in numbers of animal models (1-4). The patients with Sjögren syndrome (SS) as well as those with collagen diseases were systematically investigated for the functions of NK-IFN system, including endogenous and augmented NK activity, IFN production, and responsiveness of NK cells to IFN stimulation, using virus persistently infected cells (heLa-measles cells) as target and stimulator cells. Although endogenous NK activity was not reduced, augmented NK activity by HeLa-measles cells in vitro was significantly depressed in patients with SS compared with that in age-matched normal controls. The patients with SS had also impaired capacity to produce IFN, which is shown to be a major factor regulating NK activity (5,6) in response to HeLa-measles cells in vitro. In three patients with SS who showed severely depressed NK activity, the effect of exogenous IFN was examined, and virtually no augmentation of NK activity was observed in all cases. Under the same condition, the normal controls demonstrated a dramatic increase in NK activity. The reduced IFN production was observed in all examined patients with SS, whereas impaired augmentation of NK activity by the stimulation with HeLa-measles cells as well as IFN seemed to be more striking in patients with the systemic manifestations of the disease, such as hypergammaglobulinemia and lymphoid hyperplasia. The possible involvement of dysfunction of NK-IFN system in the systemic manifestations of SS is discussed.

High uptake of 14C-labeled D-amino acids by various tumors

As an extension of the previous finding that radioactivity of 14C-labeled D-amino acids after injection is localized preferentially in the tumor and the pancreas of tumor-bearing animals as compared with the corresponding L-amino acids tested, the results of similar uptake experiments using other tumors araa reported here. The present studies show high radioactivity uptake by human colon cancer, human thyroid cancer, and human leiomyosarcoma transplanted into nude mice, and by solid leukemia L1210 and solid sarcoma 180, but not by Morris hepatoma 7316A or 3'-methyl-4-(dimethylamino)azobenzene-induced rat hepatoma. The results suggest the potential utility of 11C-labeled D-amino acids for the detection of some cancers.

Role of serum in inhibition of cultured lymphocytes by lysophosphatidylcholine

Serum was heated at various temperatures to inactivate components which might be involved in the regulation of lysophosphatidylcholine (lysoPC) levels in rabbit lymph-node cell cultures. Cells cultured in medium containing serum preheated for 20 min at 66 degrees C ("66 degrees C-serum") were inhibited much more by exogenous lysoPC (5 microM) than were cells cultured in medium containing control serum ("38 degrees C-serum"). This was observed over a 20 h culture period as a slow increase in inhibition of cell labelling with [3H] uridine, which reflected cytotoxic cell damage. Heating serum at 66 degrees C caused (i) conversion of monomeric albumin to highly polymeric forms which were deficient in lysoPC-binding activity, (ii) transfer of lysoPC from albumin to lipoproteins, predominantly high density lipoproteins, and (iii) inhibition of two lysoPC metabolizing activities (which were detected only at low levels in control serum). Addition of albumin to cultures containing 66 degrees C-serum decreased the toxicity of lysoPC to the same extent as did the addition of control serum with an equivalent albumin content. Thus, albumin was the major heat-labile factor protecting cells against lysoPC. However, cell inhibition by lysoPC was dependent on the sequence of heating serum and lysoPC addition. Inhibition was small when lysoPC was added before heating the serum. This could not be explained by a detectable difference in the binding of lysoPC to serum components. Furthermore, although radioactive labelling of cells with [14C] lysoPC was increased in 66 degrees C-serum, this did not correlate with cell inhibition. Increased labelling with [14C] lysoPC occurred several hours before significant cell inhibition was evident and was not affected by the sequence of heating and lysoPC addition. Since preincubation of lysoPC with 66 degrees C-serum increased the inhibition, it is suggested that the heated serum lysoPC generates another factor which is responsible for the cytotoxic effects observed.

[Labeling of unnatural amino acids with 99mTc and tissue distribution of the labeled products in mice]

The selective affinity of amino acids for pancreas, due to its high rate of protein synthesis, has prompted us to synthesize new radio-labeled amino acids for pancreatic imaging. Labeling of 19 unnatural amino acids with 99mTc was tried in the usual way, and 10 labeled products were obtained with low yields. The highest distribution of radioactivity from all these labeled amino acids, which had been injected intravenously into mice, was found in the kidney, whereas little activity was found in the pancreas. Thier low distributions in stomach suggest little dissociation of the labeled amino acids into 99mTcO4- in mice. It is presumed that these labeled amino acids behave unlike their original acids in the body.

[Hepatitis B antigens systems in schistosomiasis mansoni]

The authors have studied the antigenic systems HBs and HBe and B virus hepatitis in 155 patients with mansonic schistosomiasis and have found: a) 22,5% HBsAg positivity in patients with the hepatosplenic form of the disease which was associated with histologic liver alterations and 8,7% anti-HBs positivity in patients with the hepatointestinal form of the disease which was associated with a preserved liver histology; in controls they have found 1% positivity for HBsAg. b) HBeAg and anti-HBe were of good prognostic value.

On the acid denaturation of porcine erythrocyte catalase in relation to its subunit structure

Porcine erythrocyte catalase [EC 1.11.1.6] (molecular weight, ca. 250,000) was found to dissociate partially between pH 3.5 and 3.0 and completely below pH 3.0 into two presumably identical 1/2-sized subunits (molecular weight, 112,000) as estimated by ultracentrifugal analyses. This dissociation was accompanied by a marked change in hydrodynamic properties; the sedimentation coefficient decreased from about 11S to 4S. This acid denaturation also resulted in complete loss of enzyme activity and disappearance of absorption bands characteristic of heme protein, in particular, a shift of the Soret band from 405 nm to a small and broad band at 375 nm. The change in enzyme activity correlated well with that of the Soret band, depending on the denaturation time and pH used. Reversible recovery of enzyme activity was not detected below pH 3.1 after 2 h denaturation. The pH dependence of alpha-helical content estimated from the CD intensity at 222 nm also correlated well with that of enzyme activity. The rate constants of initial reaction of acid denaturation at several pHs were determined by following the changes in the Soret band with time, since the changes showed an isosbestic point at 384 nm. The results revealed that the first-order rate constant at pH 3.0 was 45 times larger than that at pH 3.4, indicating that the rate of acid denaturation increased rapidly within a narrow acidic pH range. The temperature dependence of the denaturation rate was also measured and the activation energy for the acid denaturation was found to be 76.3 kcal/mol from an Arrhenius plot.

The interactions of thiol compounds with porcine erythrocyte catalase

The effects of thiol compounds on the conformation of porcine erythrocyte catalase were examined. The thiol compounds showed two types of reactivity with the catalase in terms of changes in absorption spectra. One is characterized by the appearance of a new absorption maximum at 595 nm; this was seen with 2-mercaptoethanol (designated as inactive catalase type I). The other is characterized by new maxima at 535 and 570 nm, and this was seen with reduced glutathione, dithiothreitol, cysteine, and cysteamine (inactive catalase type II). The thiol compounds caused gradual inactivation of catalase, correlating with the enhancement of the absorption maximum at 595 nm or 570 nm. Removal of excess thiol reagents from the reaction mixtures caused partial recovery of activity, which was more marked with inactive catalase type II. Similar reversibility was observed in the absorption, CD and MCD spectra, whereas reversibility was not observed for inactive catalase type I. The MCD spectra suggested conversion of heme groups from a high to a low spin state on incubation with thiols, e.g., reduced glutathione, leading to inactive catalase type II. alpha-Helical conformation of the polypeptide backbone and titratable free SH groups in the catalase molecule were unaffected by all these thiol treatments. It is suggested that "active oxygen" which may be produced on incubation of catalase with thiol compounds, was responsible for the formation of inactive catalase type II.