Vitamin B-6 deficiency in germfree rats

Germfree and conventional rats were used to investigate the influence of gut microflora upon vitamin B-6 deficiency. The body weights of conventional rats fed a vitamin B-6-deficient diet for more than 5 weeks plateaued, but the rats remained alive until the end of week 9 of deficiency. The body weights of germfree rats fed the same deficient diet decreased, andmost of rats were moribund around the end of week 9 of deficiency; three died. Urinary xanthurenic acid excretion following tryptophan load continued to rise at each experimental week in deficient germfree rats, while such a progressive increase in the level of the excretion was not observed in deficient conventional rats. Autopsy revealed that some of deficient germfree rats suffered from partial or toal lunficient conventional rats. The lung atelectasis was presumed to be the result of the respiratory muscle insufficiency which was closely related to the changes of the peripheral nerves innervating these muscles. The results may suggest that the presence of gut microflora made some contribution to improvement of the vitamin B-6 deficiency.

Symptomatic Rathke's cleft cyst. Morphological study with light and electron microscopy and tissue culture

A rare case is reported in which a symptomatic Rathke's cleft cyst was studied by light and electron microscopy and tissue culture. The findings are compared with those of a craniopharyngioma studied in the same way. The patient was a 26-year-old woman presenting with headache, chiasmatic syndrome, and hypopituitarism. A cyst containing a mural nodule was partially removed and an Ommaya reservoir placed in the operative site for further treatment. The cyst wall was composed of connective tissue and three kinds of epithelial cells: non-ciliated squamous, ciliated columnar, and mucous-secreting cells. The morphology of these cells in vitro was similar to prickle cells seen in craniopharyngioma and the epidermis. It is concluded that both Rathke's left cyst and craniopharyngioma originate in remnants of Rathke's pouch, but at times may show some histological differences.

An autopsy case of liposarcoma with granulocytic leukemoid reaction

A 57-year-old female with a large retroperitoneal tumor was atutopsied. She showed through the entire course of illness marked leukocytosis with the appearance of immature marrow cells, and this finding was hematologically interpreted as granulocytic leukemoid reaction. An intermittent pyrexia was also seen without infective etiology. The histologic diagnosis of the tumor was liposarcoma of the pleomorphic type. The tumor showed extensive necrosis, but no metastatic invasion was found. So-called leukemoid reaction appears sometimes together with malignant neoplasms. The majority of these tumors show widespread bone marrow metastases, and without bone marrow invasion they only rarely induce this reaction. Besides it is not common for leukemoid reaction to be evoked by the development of malignant mesenchymal tumors except for malignant lymphomas. The pathophysiologic process of the present of the present case is thought to be a rare occurrence.

Ultrastructure of the "non-pathologic" human pituitary gland

The ultrastructure of "non-pathologic" human pituitary gland obtained from eight cases at autopsy, who received no hormonal therapy and who revealed no significant changes in the pituitary and its target organs, was investigated in an attempt to identify human adenohypophyseal cells by comparing their secretory granules with those of experimental animals. Besides the follicular cell, five different granulated cell types were distinguished The Type 1 cell contained abundant, dense secretory granules (350-500 mmu across). The Type II cell was characterized by dense granules, which were the largest in size (500-700 mmu across) and the most irregular in shape. Granules of the Type III cell were less characteristic (200-300 mmu across). The Type IV cell contained dense granules, which were the smallest in size (100-150 mmu across) and were characteristically arranged along the plasma membrane. The Type V cell was characterized by the presence of small, haloed granules (100-200 mmu across). The cells of these five types could presumably be the somatotroph, lactotroph, gonadotroph, thyrotroph and corcitotroph, respectively.