Quantitative circulatory measurements in branch retinal vessel occlusion

We used the laser Doppler technique to quantify retinal circulatory abnormalities in three patients with branch retinal artery occlusion and in two patients with branch retinal vein occlusion, each of whom had shown delayed filling on fluorescein angiography. Blood flow in occluded arteries was 40-50% lower than in non-occluded arteries of the same branching order. In the patients with branch retinal vein occlusion blood flow in arteries supplying the affected regions was 80-90% lower than in arteries supplying the unaffected regions. One vein occlusion patient was measured serially over 18 months. Blood flow increased from 4 to 12 microliters/min in the artery supplying the affected region in this patient. The results demonstrate that retinal circulatory abnormalities can be evaluated quantitatively during the course of retinal vascular occlusive disease, and suggest that the efficacy of therapy can be monitored using our techniques.

[Evaluation of angiographic delayed vasospasm due to ruptured aneurysm in comparison with cerebral circulation time measured by IA-DSA]

Delayed vasospasm due to ruptured aneurysm has been basically evaluated by angiographic changes in contrast to clinical features such as delayed ischemic neurological deficits (DIND). However, the discrepancies between angiographic and clinical findings have been pointed out. In this study, angiographic changes and cerebral circulation time in ruptured aneurysms were simultaneously investigated with IA-DSA. Thirty-two patients, who had ruptured aneurysms at the anterior circle of Willis and neck clippings at the acute stage, were investigated. Carotid angiogram was performed with IA-DSA on the 7-13th day after the attack. Angiographic changes were evaluated by Fischer's classification and circulation time was calculated in the following way. A time-density curve was obtained at the two ROI's; the C3-C4 portion and the rolandic vein. Circulation time was defined by the difference between the time showing peak optical density at the carotid and the venous portion. The control value of this circulation time obtained from 20 cases with non-rupture aneurysm and epilepsy was 3.4 sec (53 year old) on the average. X-ray CT scan examination was performed at the same time and clinical features were observed everyday. Angiographically, 3 cases were free from vasospasm, 18 cases were found to present slight to moderate vasospasm, and 11 cases showed severe vasospasm. Circulation time in patients with no spasm was 3.6 seconds, in patients with slight to moderate vasospasm it was 4.3 seconds and in patients with severe vasospasm it was 6.8 seconds. Ten patients showing cerebral infarction on CT scans demonstrated significantly long circulation time, 7.0 second on the average.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)

Differential effect of growth hormone and insulin-like growth factor-I, insulin-like growth factor-II, and insulin on Ig production and growth in human plasma cells

The effect of human growth hormone (GH) and insulin-like growth factor-I (IGF-I), IGF-II, and insulin on human plasma cell responses was studied. GH enhanced Ig production and thymidine uptake in the human plasma cell lines, IM-9 and AF-10. IGF-I, but not IGF-II or insulin, also enhanced Ig production and proliferation in them. However, enhancement by GH was not mediated by IGF-I, because enhancement was blocked by anti-GH antibody (Ab), but not by Ab to IGF-I or IGF-I receptor. Conversely, the enhancement by IGF-I was blocked by either Ab to IGF-I or IGF-I receptor, but not by anti-GH Ab. GH and IGF-I also enhanced production of IgG1, IgG2, IgG3, IgG4, IgA1, IgA2, and IgM and thymidine uptake in PCA-1+ plasma cells generated in vitro. Again, enhancement by GH was specifically blocked by anti-GH Ab, whereas enhancement by IGF-I was specifically blocked by either Ab to IGF-I or IGF-I receptor. These results indicate that GH and IGF-I may play important roles in plasma cell responses.

The signal transduction mechanism responsible for gamma interferon-induced indoleamine 2,3-dioxygenase gene expression

We examined the signal transduction mechanism responsible for the gamma interferon-induced indoleamine 2,3-dioxygenase (IDO) gene expression in a human monocytic cell line, THP-1. Our results suggest that gamma interferon-induced activation of protein tyrosine kinase is a prerequisite for gene expression and that activation of protein kinase C and another unknown signal(s), both of which are transduced by the protein tyrosine kinase, synergistically induce IDO gene expression. Neither Ca2+ influx nor cyclic nucleotide-dependent kinases were suggested to be involved in the signaling pathway.

Alteration of tumorigenicity in undifferentiated thyroid carcinoma cells by introduction of normal chromosome 11

The tumorigenicity of various cell lines has been shown to be suppressed by the introduction of chromosome 11 and other chromosomes via micro-cell-mediated chromosome transfer. In this study, we investigated whether a human undifferentiated thyroid carcinoma cell line, TTA-1, was suppressed by the introduction of normal human chromosome 11 or 10. Chromosome 10 or 11 was transferred from A9 cells containing a single human chromosome 10 or 11 tagged with pSV2-neo plasmid DNA into TTA-1 cells, by microcell fusion. The tumorigenicity of the TTA-1 cells and their colony-forming efficiency in soft agar were suppressed by chromosome 11, but not by chromosome 10. These results suggest that normal human chromosome 11 carries a putative tumor suppressor gene that affects the tumor-associated phenotypes of TTA-1 cells.

Effect of growth hormone and insulin-like growth factor-I on immunoglobulin production by and growth of human B cells

The effect of human GH and insulin-like growth factor-I (IGF-I) on immunoglobulin (Ig) production by and proliferation of human B cells was studied in serum- and hormone-free medium. GH enhanced the production of Ig by and thymidine uptake of the human lymphoblastoid B cell lines, CBL and GM-1056. IGF-I, but not IGF-II or insulin, also enhanced Ig production by and proliferation of CBL and GM-1056. However, the GH-induced enhancement was not mediated by IGF-I inasmuch as enhancement was blocked by anti-GH antibody but not by anti-IGF-I antibody or anti-IGF-I receptor antibody. Conversely, the IGF-I-induced enhancement was blocked by either anti-IGF-I antibody or anti-IGF-I receptor antibody but not by anti-GH antibody. GH and IGF-I also enhanced Ig production by and proliferation of the human lymphoblastoid B cell lines, CESS, GM-1500, SKW, and GM-3332. Furthermore, GH and IGF-I enhanced production of IgG1, IgG2, IgG3, IgG4, IgA1 IgA2, and IgM by and thymidine uptake of tonsillar B cells stimulated with Staphylococcus aureus Cowan strain I. Again, the GH-induced enhancement was blocked by anti-GH antibody whereas the IGF-I-induced enhancement was blocked by either anti-IGF-I antibody or anti-IGF-I receptor antibody but not vice versa.

[Preliminary clinical applications of asymmetric screen-film systems in chest radiography]

The physical imaging properties of asymmetric systems and a conventional system were evaluated by measuring characteristic curves, resolution properties and noise Wiener spectra. The potential clinical application of asymmetric screen-film systems was studied by evaluating the visibility of the anatomical structures and various types of abnormalities in comparison with those of a conventional screen-film system. The asymmetric systems showed a wider dynamic range than the conventional system. The resolution properties of asymmetric systems depend on the combination of front and back screens used. Chest radiographs obtained with asymmetric systems improved the visibility of the mediastinal area. The visibility of the lung field in the asymmetric systems was slightly inferior to that with the conventional system when the same tube potential was used. However, the image quality and visibility of various abnormalities showed greater improvement with the asymmetric systems when a lower tube potential was applied. We conclude that the selection of radiographic techniques and combination of screens are important for the clinical use of asymmetric systems.

IFN-gamma induces IL-12 mRNA expression by a murine macrophage cell line, J774

Interleukin (IL)-12 is a logical candidate for participation in the differentiation of T helper (Th) 1 cells. IL-12 is produced by macrophages and B cells and induces the production of interferon (IFN)-gamma from Th1 cells and NK cells. In this study, we show that the IFN-gamma itself is capable of inducing IL-12 mRNA expression in murine macrophage cell line J774. The mRNA was apparent by 12h after IFN-gamma treatment, although maximal induction required 36 to 48h. Furthermore, we investigated the signal transduction mechanism responsible for the mRNA expression. The IFN-gamma-inducible IL-12 mRNA was blocked by two protein tyrosine kinase (PTK) inhibitors, genistein and herbimycin A, suggesting that PTK is involved in the IFN-gamma-inducible IL-12 mRNA expression.

Central terminations of low-threshold mechanoreceptive afferents in the trigeminal nuclei interpolaris and caudalis of the cat

Previous studies indicate that vibrissa, nonvibrissa, guard hair, hairy skin, and periodontal ligament afferents give rise to morphologically distinct terminal arbors in the trigeminal nuclei principalis (Vp) and oralis (Vo) in the cat. The present study describes the extent to which morphological and functional relationships exist in the nuclei interpolaris (Vi) and caudalis (Vc). Twenty-two fibers were physiologically characterized and stained by intra-axonal HRP injection techniques. The fast adapting (FA) vibrissa (VF) afferents gave rise to compact and circumscribed arbors in Vi and Vc. These tended to be larger in Vc than in Vi. The slowly adapting (SA) vibrissa (VS) afferents in Vi and Vc had more widespread and larger arbors than those of the VF afferents. The VS arbors in Vc tended to be larger and less circular than those in Vi. Guard hair (GH) afferents gave rise to circumscribed arbors in both nuclei, but those in Vc tended to have larger and more circular arbors than those in Vi. Down hair (DH) afferents gave rise to small, circumscribed arbors or a few distinct patches of boutons within a small area in Vi; arbors in Vc were less extensive and "stringy." Unlike other afferents, DH arbors were larger in Vi than in Vc, but smaller than those of GH afferents in either nuclei. The SA hairy skin (SS) afferents had arbors that were widespread with a few distinct patches of boutons; the arbors in Vc were larger than those in Vi. The arbors of SS afferents were smaller than those of VS and GH afferents in both nuclei. Like GH afferents, FA periodontal ligament (PF) afferents gave rise to large and circumscribed arbors in Vi, although the arbors in Vc were smaller and less dense. The present study demonstrated significant functional and morphological relationships for primary afferents in Vi and Vc, thus suggesting that sensory information from each of the distinct fiber or functional classes is processed in a characteristic manner in the individual nuclei.

Production of cytokines by thyroid carcinoma cell lines

Five cell lines were established from four undifferentiated carcinomas and one squamous cell carcinoma of the thyroid. The levels of several kinds of cytokines were measured in the conditioned media of these cell lines by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA). Interleukin-6 (IL-6) was produced by four of the five cell lines, interleukin-1 alpha (IL-1 alpha) by three cell lines, and granulocyte-colony stimulating factor (G-CSF) by two cell lines. The mRNA of IL-1 alpha or IL-6 was detected by Northern blot analysis in all the cell lines which secreted these cytokines into culture medium. These results suggest that undifferentiated carcinoma and squamous cell carcinoma of the thyroid frequently produce cytokines. Further studies are needed to clarify the possible clinical effects of these cytokines in patients with thyroid carcinoma.

[Nephropathy in patients with primary antiphospholipid antibody syndrome]

Primary antiphospholipid antibody syndrome (APS) is characterized by abortion, thrombosis, thrombocytopenia and/or valvular disease and it is liable to complicate systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE). We carried out a study to investigate the clinical and renal pathological findings in five patients with APS, but not SLE. In the clinical findings, the patients had negative tests for proteinuria and hematuria, and their renal function and tubular function were within normal limits. In the light microscopic findings, three patients exhibited mild mesangial hypercellularity, and two had minor glomerular abnormalities. In immunofluorescent study, there were IgM and/or C3 depositions in the mesangial area in some cases, and in electron microscopic study, there were no special findings other than mesangial hypercellularity. In conclusion, nephropathy is a rare complication in patients with APS, unlike systemic lupus erythematosus.

Alcohol and acetaldehyde dehydrogenase gene polymorphism and alcoholism

Inherited variations in alcohol and aldehyde dehydrogenases, the principal enzymes of ethanol metabolism, have been implicated in determining susceptibility to alcoholism and alcohol-related organ damage. An association between an RFLP for the alcohol dehydrogenase-2 (ADH2) gene and alcohol-induced liver damage was demonstrated in a Caucasian population. Genotyping studies revealed an increase in the ADH3(2) allele in patients with alcohol-induced cirrhosis. PCR studies of the ALDH5 gene have demonstrated diverse polymorphism within a short segment of its coding region, with marked inter-racial variation in allele frequencies. In addition, the Caucasian alcohol-induced flushing reaction has been characterised and its relationship with phenotypic polymorphism of ALDH1 examined.

Synaptotagmin can cause an immune-mediated model of Lambert-Eaton myasthenic syndrome in rats

The possible antigenicity of synaptotagmin, a synaptic vesicle protein acting as a cooperative calcium (Ca2+) receptor in exocytosis, was tested to determine whether it is involved in the induction of Lambert-Eaton myasthenic syndrome in which antibodies against voltage-dependent Ca2+ channels or related molecules play a pathogenic role. Repeated injections to Lewis rats with peptides of synaptotagmin residues 20 through 53 or 1 through 30 that are presumably exposed at the nerve terminal surface during exocytosis induced corresponding antipeptide antibodies; on immunoblots, antibodies recognized synaptotagmin that was expressed in the clonal cells. Electrophysiologically, the peptide (residues 20-53)-immunized rats showed (1) reduced acetylcholine quantal content of end-plate potential, (2) an increase in quantal content at high extracellular Ca2+ concentration, and (3) early facilitation followed by less marked depression of end-plate potential amplitude at a tetanic rate of repetitive nerve stimulation. Findings are similar to those in human Lambert-Eaton myasthenic syndrome and passively transferred Lambert-Eaton myasthenic syndrome in mice, and thus suggest that antibody to a synaptotagmin-voltage-dependent Ca2+ channel complex may be involved in the pathogenesis of Lambert-Eaton myasthenic syndrome. The peptide (residues 1-30)-immunized rats showed no electrophysiological abnormality.

Immunohistochemical study of hepatocellular carcinoma-specific aldehyde dehydrogenase

Tumor-associated aldehyde dehydrogenase (ALDH) was reported in cases of human hepatocellular carcinoma and animal hepatoma models. This ALDH isozyme is similar to ALDH3 which exists in the stomach and lung; however, the biochemical and clinical significance of this unique ALDH isozyme have not been established. Human tumor-associated ALDH was purified, and polyclonal antibodies prepared. Using these antibodies, specific development of tumor-associated ALDH was confirmed by immunohistochemical techniques. It was found that about 50% of hepatocellular carcinomas reacted with the antibody. This unique ALDH isozyme may be a novel tumor marker of hepatocellular carcinoma.

UDP glucuronosyltransferase gene expression is involved in the stimulation of ascorbic acid biosynthesis by xenobiotics in rats

Wistar-Shi (genotype +/+), heterozygous Gunn (j/+) and homozygous Gunn (j/j) rats was injected intraperitoneally with 3-methylcholanthrene (3MC) dissolved in corn oil. In rats of all genotypes the hepatic concentration of UDP glucuronosyltransferase (UDPGT) mRNA was increased at 48 and 96 h after the treatment with 3MC. Hepatic activity of 4-nitrophenol UDPGT was increased by 3MC in Wistar-Shi rats and heterozygous Gunn rats but not in homozygous Gunn rats. Urinary ascorbic acid excretion increased 72 and 96 h after the injection with 3MC in Wistar-Shi and heterozygous Gunn rats but not in homozygous Gunn rats. Ninety-six hours after the injection with 3MC, the hepatic concentration of ascorbic acid in Wistar-Shi rats was 90% higher than that in the corresponding control group, whereas in heterozygous and homozygous Gunn rats the increases were 70 and 30%, respectively. Wistar-Shi rats and homozygous Gunn rats were also injected daily for 3 d with sodium phenobarbital. In rats of both genotypes, the activity and hepatic concentration of chloramphenicol-UDPGT mRNA and liver and urine ascorbic acid concentration were increased by sodium phenobarbital. The data indicate that the stimulation of the expression of both the 4-nitrophenol and chloramphenicol UDPGT genes plays a key role in the ascorbic acid biosynthesis induced by 3MC and sodium phenobarbital.

Sequential promotion of normal and leukemic hemopoiesis by recombinant human granulocyte colony-stimulating factor during the course of myelodysplastic syndrome

A 48-year-old man developed refractory anemia with excess of blasts in transformation. Complete response was achieved by low-dose ara-C therapy, but he relapsed 15 months later, with pancytopenia and 13.0% myeloblasts in normocellular marrow. He was treated unsuccessfully with prednisolone, metenolone, and 1-alpha-hydroxyvitamin D3 for 8 weeks. He then developed life-threatening pneumonia and was treated with recombinant human granulocyte colony-stimulating factor (rhG-CSF Filgrastim; 125 micrograms/day s.c.). The pneumonia resolved and, interestingly, he achieved a partial response, with normal blood cell counts and only a few dysmyelopoietic cells in the marrow. However, thrombocytopenia progressed when rhG-CSF administration was tapered. When the dose was increased again, leukemic blasts were found to proliferate. When rhG-CSF was discontinued, blasts rapidly decreased in the peripheral blood. Chromosomal analysis revealed a complex abnormality during the first relapse, a normal 46,XY karyotype during the partial response, and recurrence of the same complex abnormality during leukemic transformation. The stimulation index of marrow mononuclear cells cultured with rhG-CSF increased with disease progression. These findings suggest that rhG-CSF initially stimulated the selective proliferation of normal hemopoietic cells, but the evolution or selection of a leukemic clone responsive to rhG-CSF appears to have occurred subsequently.

Diverse polymorphism within a short coding region of the human aldehyde dehydrogenase-5 (ALDH5) gene

Human aldehyde dehydrogenase-5 gene (originally named as ALDHX) is expressed in liver and testis. The ALDH5 does not contain introns in the coding sequence for 517 amino acid residues. Within a short nucleotide region of the gene, the following three nucleotide changes were found in high frequencies, i.e., a silent C<-->T at nucleotide (nt) 183, C<-->T at nt 257 associated with a Val<-->Ala substitution, and T<-->G at nt 320 associated with a Arg<-->Leu substitution. The frequency of C at nt 183 is 81% in Caucasians and 65% in Japanese, and the difference is statistically not significant. The frequency of C at nt 257 is 76% in Caucasians and 55% in Japanese, and the difference is statistically significant (P = 0.02). The frequency of T at nt 320 is 71% in Caucasians, while it is only 27% in Japanese. The racial difference at nt 320 is highly significant (P < 0.001). No significant difference was found in the genotypes of the three nucleotide positions between alcoholic and nonalcoholic Caucasians within the limited numbers of subjects examined.

The effect of enalapril on proteinuria in patients with chronic glomerulonephritis and renal insufficiency

We evaluated the effect of enalapril on proteinuria in 20 patients with chronic glomerulonephritis (CGN) and renal insufficiency. Patients were accepted into the study according to the following criteria: 1) a serum creatinine (s-Cr) level over 1.5 mg/dl or a creatinine clearance (Ccr) under 70 ml/min; and 2) urinary protein (UP) over 1.0 g/day, expect for the cases with uncontrollable hypertension. We measured total protein (TP), albumin, s-Cr, Ccr, UP, and Ht during the elanapril therapy. After enalapril therapy, UP slowly decreased, and TP and albumin levels increased. The levels of s-Cr and Ccr did not vary. None of the patients required discontinuation of enalapril therapy caused by side effects, such as anemia or hyperkalemia. In conclusion, enalapril has the effect of decreasing in proteinuria and increasing TP and albumin in patients with CGN and renal insufficiency irrespective of the original diseases.