Different apoptotic pathways mediated by Fas and the tumor-necrosis-factor receptor. Cytosolic phospholipase A2 is not involved in Fas-mediated apoptosis

Fas is a cell-surface receptor that belongs to the tumor-necrosis factor (TNF)/nerve growth factor receptor family. Fas can transduce an apoptotic signal through the death domain in the cytoplasmic region, which has similarity with the corresponding region of the TNF type-I receptor. Here, we expressed human Fas in mouse L929 cells or its subline (C12), which express extremely low levels of cytosolic phospholipase A2 (cPLA2). L929 cells were sensitive to the cytotoxic activity of TNF, while C12 cells were resistant. Cross-linking of human Fas with anti-(human Fas antibody) Ig killed both L929 transformants and C12 transformants expressing human Fas. Various inhibitors of the arachidonate metabolism significantly inhibited the TNF-induced cytotoxicity in L929 cells, but they did not have any effect on Fas-mediated apoptosis. These results indicated that cPLA2 is required for TNF-induced apoptosis, whereas it is dispensable for Fas-mediated apoptosis, and suggested that the TNF receptor and Fas use different signaling pathways for apoptosis.

[A case of diffuse idiopathic skeletal hyperostosis (DISH) with various neurological complications]

A 71-year-old female presented with a 10-year history of slowly progressive gait disturbance and dorsolumbar pain. Motion of he neck and trunk was severely restricted. She showed decreased sensation of vibration and position in the upper and lower limbs and had Romberg's sign. Hyperesthesia of touch sensation was distributed in a stocking pattern. She showed hyporeflexia and pathological reflexes in lower limbs. Her gait was ataxic and spastic. Laboratory examination of blood and urine revealed no remarkable findings. Radiographic examination revealed ligamentous calcification and ossification along the anterolateral aspect of the vertebral column at several levels, and there was ossification of hte ligament and tendon attachment to the bone at extraspinal sites. The radiographic features were characteristic of diffuse idiopathic skeletal hyperostosis (DISH). Computed tomography at lower thoracic and lumbar vertebral portions showed compression of the spinal cord by ossification of the flavatum ligament. The conduction velocity of tibial nerves and sural nerves were delayed, and the mechanism of the occurrence of peripheral nerve lesions in this patient could be explained by extrinsic compression by heterotopic calcification or some metabolic factor due to DISH.

The cavity in the hydrophobic core of Myb DNA-binding domain is reserved for DNA recognition and trans-activation

The DNA-binding domain of Myb consists of three imperfect repeats, R1, R2 and R3, each containing a helix-turn-helix motif variation. Among these repeats, R2 has distinct characteristics with high thermal instability. The NMR structure analysis found a cavity inside the hydrophobic core of R2 but not in R1 or R3. Here, we show that R2 has slow conformational fluctuations, and that a cavity-filling mutation which stabilizes the R2 structure significantly reduces specific Myb DNA-binding activity and trans-activation. Structural observations of the free and DNA-complexed stages suggest that the implied inherent conformational flexibility of R2, associated with the presence of the cavity, could be important for DNA recognition by Myb.

Combined effects of an angiogenesis inhibitor (TNP-470) and hyperthermia

TNP-470, a synthetic analogue of fumagillin first isolated from Aspergillus fumigatus, is known to be a potent anti-angiogenic compound. The combined effects on tumour growth and tumour angiogenesis of TNP-470 and hyperthermia were investigated. The tumour used was SCCVII carcinoma of the C3H/He mouse. The tumour response was evaluated by the tumour growth (TG) time assay. The TG time is the time required for one-half of the treated tumours to reach three times the initial tumour volume. Significant delay of tumour growth was observed by TNP-470 alone (100 mg kg-1 x 2 or x 4), indicating that TNP-470 alone has antitumour effect in vivo. When TNP-470 (100 mg kg-1 x 2 or x 4) was administered after hyperthermia at 44 degrees C, the TG times of the combined treatment were significantly longer than those of heat alone (44 degrees C) or TNP-470 (100 mg kg-1 x 2 or x 4) alone. However, the TG time of combined treatment with TNP-470 and hyperthermia at 42 degrees C was quite similar to that of TNP-470 alone. This conflicting result on the combined effect of TNP-470 and hyperthermia may be related to the temperature-dependent vascular damage by hyperthermia. Dose-dependent inhibition of angiogenesis by TNP-470 was demonstrated in microangiograms obtained 4 days and 7 days after hyperthermia (44 degrees C for 30 min). It is, thus, suggested that the combined effect of TNP-470 and hyperthermia is attributable to the inhibition of angiogenesis by TNP-470 following heat-induced vascular damage.

Vertebral osteomyelitis presenting with bilateral pleural effusions in a leprous patient

We present a highly rare case of vertebral osteomyelitis due to Salmonella newport that was associated with pleural effusion in a leprous woman. The salmonella infection was considered to be precipitated by her hemolytic anemia resulting from dapsone. The direct spread of infection from the vertebrae led to the pleurisy.

Identification of HLA-DR9 (DRB1*0901)-binding peptide motifs using a phage fUSE5 random peptide library

We identified HLA-DRB1*0901-binding peptides by affinity-based selection of a phage random peptide library using the biotinylated DR9 complex. Analogue peptides with single amino acid residue substitutions of a DR9 binder revealed that two major anchors (WxxS, where x is any amino acid) play an essential role in binding to DR9. Determination of the binding affinity of synthetic wild-type-based analogue peptides showed that substituting W to F or L, and S to A, V, or F allow high affinity binding with DR9. Collectively, DR9-binding peptide motifs identified in this study are characteristic in that (a) only two anchors of the NH2-terminal half of binding peptides play important roles in binding, and (b) small neutral hydrophilic Ser is allowed as the second anchor for high-affinity binding, unlike the other DR-binding motifs heretofore reported. The implications of our results are discussed in light of the HLA-DR9-associated susceptibility to juvenile-onset myasthenia gravis and systemic lupus erythematosus with antiphospholipid syndrome, in particular, T-cell responses to autoantigens.

Involvement of Jasmonic Acid in Elicitor-Induced Phytoalexin Production in Suspension-Cultured Rice Cells

It has been suggested that jasmonic acid (JA) could be an integral part of a general signal transduction system regulating inducible defense genes in plants. It was reported that treatment with an elicitor (N-acetylchitoheptaose) induced production of phytoalexin in suspension-cultured rice (Oryza sativa L.) cells. In this study, the role of JA in the induction of phytoalexin production by N-acetylchitoheptaose was investigated. Exogenously applied ([plus or minus])-JA (10-4 M) clearly induced the production of momilactone A, a major phytoalexin, in suspension-cultured rice cells. On the other hand, in rice cells treated with N-acetylchitoheptaose, endogenous JA was rapidly and transiently accumulated prior to accumulation of momilactone A. Treatment with ibuprofen, an inhibitor of JA biosynthesis, reduced production of momilactone A in the cells treated with N-acetylchitoheptaose, but the addition of ([plus or minus])-JA increased production of momilactone A to levels higher than those in the elicited rice cells. These results strongly suggest that JA functions as a signal transducer in the induction of biosynthesis of momilactone A by N-acetylchitoheptaose in suspension-cultured rice cells.

The F(ab')2 fragment of an anti-ICAM-1 monoclonal antibody attenuates liver injury after orthotopic liver transplantation

Long-term storage of liver grafts results in increased adhesion of leukocytes onto the sinusoidal walls. This eventually leads to posttransplant graft damage through disturbances of hepatic microcirculation. Intracellular adhesion molecule-1 (ICAM-1) is known to be involved in attachment of leukocytes. This study was designed to examine whether ICAM-1 participated in the pathogenesis of posttransplant liver injury. Inbred Lewis rats were used as both donors and recipients to avoid immunoreactivity. Donor livers were stored for either 1 or 6 hr in ice-cold Euro-Collins solution and subsequently implanted. Expression of ICAM-1 was examined immunohistochemically. In some rats that received livers stored for 6 hr, the intact IgG (1.0 mg/kg) or the F(ab')2 fragment (0.5 mg/kg) of an anti-ICAM-1 mAb (1A29) was administered via the tail vein immediately after reperfusion of portal blood. In the group receiving livers stored for 6 hr, ICAM-1 began to be expressed on the sinusoidal endothelial cells as early as 15 min after reperfusion of the portal blood. Strong ICAM-1 expression was observed from 2 hr up to 24 hr after reperfusion. In contrast, expression of ICAM-1 was not evident at any time point after surgery in the 1-hr storage group as well as in untransplanted, normal livers. Serum alanine aminotransferase (ALT) levels were significantly higher in the 6-hr storage group compared with those of the 1-hr storage group (1-hr: 171 +/- 9 IU/L; 6-hr: 825 +/- 109 IU/L, P < 0.05; mean +/- SEM) 24 hr after transplantation. Serum ALT levels were markedly reduced by treatment with the F(ab')2 fragment of 1A29 (247 +/- 34 IU/L, P < 0.05 vs. 6-hr storage group). This was associated with reduced accumulation of leukocytes in the liver. In marked contrast, treatment with the intact IgG of 1A29 increased serum ALT levels dramatically (5297 +/- 634 IU/L, P < 0.05 vs. 6-hr storage group) and reduced serum complement. Histological examination revealed focal hepatocellular necrosis 24 hr after surgery in the 6-hr storage group. Treatment with the F(ab')2 fragment decreased the liver damage; in marked contrast, treatment with the intact IgG strikingly aggravated the injury, as characterized by massive necrosis throughout the liver. Liver damage caused by the intact IgG might be related to activation of the complement system by the Fc portion of the antibody. Taken together, these results indicate that ICAM-1 is involved in the mechanism of postoperative liver injury following liver transplantation.

Donor-specific prolongation of rat skin graft survival induced by rat-donor cells and cyclophosphamide under coadministration of monoclonal antibodies against T cell receptor alpha beta and natural killer cells in mice

Because of the recent interest in human xenotransplantation, we investigated the possibility of inducing tolerance in a xenogeneic combination using cyclophosphamide (CP). Donor-specific prolongation of xenogeneic Fisher 344 (F344) rat skin graft survival for up to 60 days was induced in C57BL/6 (B6) mice by giving F344 bone marrow cells and spleen cells on day 0, CP on day 2, and monoclonal antibodies against murine TCR-alpha beta and NK1.1 on days--1 and 3. The inoculation of the xenogeneic cells brought accelerated repopulation of TCR-alpha beta+ T cells, even under the administration of anti-TCR-alpha beta mAb. The quick increase of the host TCR-alpha beta+ T cells caused by the xenogeneic cell injection was deeply suppressed by CP. Mixed lymphocyte reaction, CTL activity, and antibody production against donor F344 were profoundly suppressed for 50 days. Mixed xenogeneic chimerism was observed for 1 month after the inoculation of donor cells in the spleen and peripheral blood of the recipient B6 mice, but was never observed in the thymus. Moreover, when irradiated F344 cells were used in place of viable cells, chimerism was never detected and graft survival was only slightly prolonged. Clonal deletion of V beta 5- or V beta 11-bearing murine T cells was not observed on day 50 in the thymus or spleen of the recipient B6 mice. These results suggest that treatment with viable xenogeneic donor cells, CP, and mAbs against T and NK cells can induce a temporary peripheral mixed chimerism and donor-specific prolongation of xenogeneic skin graft survival. The destruction with CP of T and B cells that are xenoreactive and thus proliferating after antigen stimulation, followed by mechanism other than intrathymic clonal deletion, may be the mechanism of the hyporesponsiveness in the present system.

Anti-CD4 monoclonal antibody reduces the dose of cyclophosphamide required to induce tolerance to H-2 haplotype identical skin allografts in mice

Cyclophosphamide (CP)-induced tolerance which consists of a single i.p. injection of 200 mg/kg CP 2 days after priming with 1 x 10(8) donor spleen cells (SC), leads to long-lasting donor-specific skin allograft tolerance in H-2 compatible, multiminor antigen incompatible, murine strain combinations. In this system, the optimal dose of CP has been suggested to be 200 mg/kg, however, such a dose of CP causes strong myelosuppression. In the present study, we therefore attempted to reduce the dose of CP by administering anti-CD4 monoclonal antibody (mAb) before donor cell priming in this tolerance-inducing system. When C3H/He (C3H; H-2k, Mls-1b) mice were injected i.p. with 200 micrograms anti-CD4 mAb on day -3, 1 x 10(8) AKR/J (AKR; H-2k, Mls-1a) SC plus 3 x 10(7) bone marrow cells (BMC) i.v. on day -2 and then 100 mg/kg CP i.p. on day 0, a long-lasting donor-specific skin allograft tolerance was established; furthermore, the decreases in the number of leukocytes and the concentration of hemoglobin (Hb) in the peripheral blood were all less in the C3H mice treated with this new combined protocol than in the C3H mice injected with 200 mg/kg CP following the previous protocol. In the periphery of these tolerant mice, the number of donor-reactive V beta 6+CD4+ T cells decreased and mixed chimerism was observed on both days 14 and 80. On the other hand, in the mice injected with AKR SC, BMC plus 100 mg/kg CP without anti-CD4 mAb, the number of V beta 6+CD4+ T cells decreased on day 14, and then recovered by day 80 when the mixed chimerism disappeared. These results therefore suggest that the combined use of anti-CD4 mAb with CP can reduce the dose of CP without affecting the efficiency of inducing donor-specific tolerance, probably due to the enhancement of the destruction effect of donor-reactive T cells by CP.

Synthesis and activity of 1-N-iminosugar inhibitors, siastatin B analogues for alpha-N-acetylgalactosaminidase and beta-N-acetylglucosaminidase

N-Acetylgalactosamine-based 1-N-iminosugars, new types of glycosidase inhibitor have been synthesized by modeling on siastatin B, isolated from a Streptomyces culture. The analogues of siastatin B were proved to be potent inhibitors for alpha-N-acetylgalactosaminidase and/or beta-N-acetylglucosaminidase.

Effect of RS61443 in combination with leflunomide or FK506 on rat heart allograft survival

Mycophenolate Mofetil (RS61443) is a potent inhibitor of de novo purine synthesis and lymphocyte proliferation. It is known to prevent ongoing rejection and even reverse established rejection, alone and in combination with, cyclosporin. We investigated whether RS61443 in combination with leflunomide (Lef) or FK506 (FK) could prolong allograft survival in a rat heart model, since combination therapy might help to overcome drug toxicity. Abdominal heart grafting was performed from DA to LEW rats (250 g) and RS61443, 10 mg/kg or 30 mg/kg monotherapy or combination treatment (RS 10 mg/kg with Lef 5 mg/kg or FK 0.5 mg/kg) was begun orally at transplantation and continued daily until the ninth posttransplant (post-Tx) day. Ventricular motion was graded daily and rejection was defined as lack of contractions, confirmed by histology. Results were analysed using non-parametric tests. A two-tail P value < 0.05 was considered significant. RS at 10 mg/kg was ineffective and all grafts were rejected under immunosuppression between 5 and 6 post-Tx day, whereas RS at 30 mg/kg was immunosuppressive for as long as it was given. The combinations of RS at 10 mg/kg with either Lef at 5 mg/kg or FK at 0.5 mg/kg were immunosuppressive in the majority of cases, for as long as they were given. However, the combination of RS at 10 mg/kg with FK at 0.5 mg/kg was attendant with graft vein anastomosis rupture (3/5). The combination of RS with Lef was clinically therapeutic for as long as it was given; grafts were rejected 3-4 days after withdrawing immunosuppression. The combination of RS with FK resulted in over-immunosuppression, leading to graft vein anastomosis non-healing and rupture within 5 days of grafting; histology demonstrated evidence of bacterial infection with complete destruction of the vein wall. These data suggest that the combination of RS with Lef or FK in subtherapeutic doses might be a potentially promising strategy for combination therapy in solid organ transplantation.

Longer survival in high grade gliomas: intraoperative radiation therapy (IORT) and immunocytochemical assessment of their growth potential

The authors report prolonged survival in patients with high grade (grade 3 and 4) gliomas who were given additional intraoperative radiation therapy (IORT) and discuss survival in relation to the immunocytochemical assessment of their tumours. Of 54 selected patients with high grade gliomas treated with multimodal therapy including IORT during the years from 1985 to 1989, 11 had long-term survival over 5 years after the initial treatment. The clinicopathological features, analysed retrospectively, that were associated with prolonged survival were: (1) epileptic seizures, (2) initial CT scans showing a small mass without contrast enhancement which developed into an enhancing larger mass on follow up, (3) tumour location which was frequently frontal and near the cortical surface, (4) 20-30 Gy irradiation (mean 25.5 Gy) in IORT delivered in one fraction to the post-resection tumour bed, and (5) a low proliferating cell nuclear antigen (PCNA) labelling index (LI). The most favourable prognostic indicator was found to be a low PCNA LI.

Phylogenetic relationships of entomopathogenic nematophilic bacteria: Xenorhabdus spp. and Photorhabdus sp

Phylogenetic relationships of Xenorhabdus spp. and Photorhabdus sp. were investigated on the basis of 16S rRNA gene sequences. Xenorhabdus spp. and Photorhabdus sp. were grouped together with Proteus vulgaris and Arsenophonus nasoniae. This group was distant from other members of the family Enterobacteriaceae. Xenorhabdus japonicus, previously proposed as a new species, was nearly located to Xenorhabdus nematophilus. Signature nucleotides of X. japonicus were identified that distinguish it other members of the family Enterobacteriaceae.

High-dose intraoperative radiotherapy for unresectable pancreatic cancer

PURPOSE

The results of high-dose intraoperative radiotherapy (IORT) and/or external beam radiotherapy (EBRT) for unresectable pancreatic cancer were analyzed to evaluate the possible advantages of IORT in combination with EBRT.

METHODS AND MATERIALS

Between 1983 and 1993, 115 patients with unresectable adenocarcinoma of the pancreas (53 with non-Stage IV disease and 62 with Stage IV disease) were treated with EBRT + IORT (55 patients), EBRT alone (44 patients), or IORT alone (16 patients). In non-Stage IV patients, the use of EBRT alone was due to the unavailability of IORT and the use of IORT alone was due to refusal of EBRT. The IORT dose was 30-33 Gy and the EBRT dose was 40-60 Gy. A historical control group comprised of 101 patients undergoing palliative surgery alone was also analyzed.

RESULTS

Both non-Stage IV and Stage IV patients receiving EBRT with or without IORT had a better prognosis than the nonirradiated historical controls. Among non-Stage IV patients, the median survival of the EBRT + IORT group (8.5 months) and the EBRT group (8 months) was similar, although survival from 12 to 18 months was higher in the former group (38% vs. 10% at 12 months, p = 0.018, and 19% vs. 0% at 18 months, p = 0.023). In Stage IV patients, the prognosis was not influenced by the type of radiotherapy. Multivariate analysis revealed that a pretreatment carbohydrate antigen (CA) 19-9 level < 1000 U/ml was associated with better survival. In non-Stage IV patients with a CA 19-9 level < 1000 U/ ml, EBRT + IORT appeared to produce a better survival than EBRT alone (p = 0.047). This was supported by multivariate analysis.

CONCLUSION

High-dose IORT + EBRT may be more effective than EBRT alone in patients with unresectable but localized pancreatic cancer and a low CA 19-9 level.

Single amino acid substitutions on a Japanese cedar pollen allergen (Cry j 1)-derived peptide induced alterations in human T cell responses and T cell receptor antagonism

We generated T cell clones specific to a Japanese cedar pollen allergen (Cry j 1) and investigated effects of altered T cell receptor (TCR) ligand on changes of T cell responses. One of these Cry j 1-specific T cell clones established from patients with Japanese cedar pollinosis, ST1.9, recognized an antigenic peptide Cry j 1 p335-346 in the context of HLA-DRA+DRB3*0301 molecules and secreted interleukin-4 dominantly, with a smaller amount of interferon-gamma. ST1.9 represented one of the major T cell clones specific to Cry j 1 in the donor, because a short-term cultured polyclonal T cell line specific to Cry j 1 exhibited the same character as the ST1.9. We synthesized various analog peptides derived from Cry j 1 p335-346 with single amino acid substitutions and determined key residues for interactions between TCR of ST1.9 and HLA-DR molecules. We also analyzed changes in the responses of ST1.9 to Cry j 1 p335-346-derived analog peptides. Of interest was that the substitution of 339threonine to valine resulted in a significant increase in interferon-gamma production, with no remarkable changes either in proliferative response or interleukin-4 production. Analog peptides carrying the substitutions of 339threonine to glycine or glutamine revealed TCR antagonism, without changes in their binding affinities to the DR molecule. Therefore single amino acid substitutions on an allergen peptide carrying the T cell epitope may suppress helper-T-dependent class switch pressure to IgE in B cells either by inducing increased interferon-gamma production or by inhibiting proliferative responses in helper-T cells.

Epitope analysis of HLA-DR-restricted helper T-cell responses to Der p II, a major allergen molecule of Dermatophagoides pteronyssinus

T-cell epitopes of Der p II, a major allergen of Dermatophagoides pteronyssinus, were analyzed by using human T-cell clones. We tested 38 cloned T cells from two Japanese patients with allergic rhinitis, and identified at least two peptides (K33-T47 and I58-C73) as helper T-cell epitopes. The former epitope was shown to be restricted by HLA-DRB1*1502, and the latter by HLA-DRB1*0405, both of which are typical Japanese HLA-DR alleles, suggesting that those T-cell epitopes might be important for the onset of house-dust mite allergy in the Japanese population. We prepared 15 analog peptides of the HLA- DRB1*1502-restricted 15-mer peptide. Of those 15 residues, five (F35, L37, A39, F41, and E42) were critical for the epitope activity, and three residues (F35, A39, and E42) seemed to be included in anchor motifs for HLA-DRB1*1502. The epitope peptide was also recognized by HLA-DRB1*1502-positive healthy donors; however, only allergic T cells showed Th2 functions. Antigen-presenting cells of nonallergic donors were able to activate allergic T cells to express Th2 function. This seemed to suggest that antigen recognition of T cells, as well as additional unknown factors which promote Th2, rather than Th1, responses, might be important for the onset of house-dust mite allergy.