Oxidative and phosphorylative activities of the gastric mucosa of animals and humans in relation to the mechanism of stress ulcer

In order to elucidate the mechanism of stress ulceration, which is mainly involved with the corpus mucosa of the stomach, the aerobic energy metabolism of the corpus mucosa of rats, rabbits and humans was investigated and compared with those of the antral mucosa as well as other organs such as heart, kidney and liver. The results showed that the activities of respiration and oxidative phosphorylation and the concentration of the respiratory chain components were far greater in the corpus mucosa than in the antral mucosa, the activities in the former being almost equal to that of the highly aerobic tissue, kidney cortex. Furthermore, the endogenous respiratory rate (in the absence of added substrate) was also much higher in the corpus mucosa than in the antral mucosa, indicating that oxygen demand at resting state (during the period of H+ secretion) is also higher in the corpus mucosa. We conclude that in the corpus mucosa of the stomach the aerobic energy metabolism is predominant. It is suggested that circulatory insufficiency may easily result in cell damage mainly of the corpus mucosa due to energy deficit.

Simultaneous measurement of mitochondrial and microsomal cytochrome levels in human liver biopsy

The mitochondrial and microsomal cytochromes in patients' livers obtained from needle biopsies have been analyzed using a sensitive spectrophotometric method. To determine simultaneously the concentration of these cytochromes from hemoglobin-contaminated liver, difference spectra of liver homogenates were taken at the temperature of liquid nitrogen before and after photolysis of carbon monoxide molecules from various hemoprotein-CO complexes. This method utilizes a characteristic property of hemoprotein-CO complexes, in which the reassociation of CO molecules with photolyzed hemoglobin, cytochrome P-450 and cytochrome alpha3 is temperature-dependent. The results in 69 cases with a variety of liver diseases have revealed that the concentrations of cytochromes alphaalpha3, P-450 and beta5 showed a huge variation in the injured livers as compared with those in the normal controls. The significance of the measurement of these cytochrome concentrations and their ratios is discussed.

Carcinoembryonic antigen, alpha-fetoprotein and carcinoplacental alkaline phosphatase in gastric carcinoma metastatic to the liver

Carcinoembryonic antigen (CEA), alpha-fetoprotein (AFP), and carcinoplacental alkaline phosphatase (CPALP) were detected simultaneously in the sera and body fluids of two male patients with gastric carcinoma matestatic to the liver. At autopsy, widely disseminated gastric cancer of Borrmann III type with liver metastases was revealed in both bases. Histologically, they were moderately differentiated tubular and papillary adenocarcinomas with marked cellular atypia and necrosis. In Case 1, the properties of CPALP were identical to Nagao type CPALP, and in Case 2 the Variant type CPALP. Using immunofluorescence, CEA and CPALP were demonstrated in both primary and metastatic cells. However, only in Case 2 was AFP observed in some of the primary tumor cells.

Gastrointestinal bleeding following head injury: a clinical study of 433 cases

The incidence of gastrointestinal bleeding was studied in 433 patients with head injury. This complication has a strong correlation to the severity of the injury. Other factors such as shock, arterial pO2 and glucocorticoid administration were not related to incidence of gastrointestinal bleeding. Forty per cent of patients developed bleeding within 48 hours and approximately and additional 40% within one week. Only nine patients required more than 1,000 ml of blood, and eight of these died and one requiring emergency abdominal surgery lived.

Endoscopic observation of the gastric mucus in vivo stained with azure A

Gastric mucus was stained with Azure A, a cationic dye, which had the highest affinity with macromolecular constituents of the mucus, under such conditions as 0.2% Azure A-0.5% NaHCO3 solution (pH 8.1) in dye concentration, staining for ten minutes, 37 degrees C in reaction temperature and the salt concentration and ionic strength below 6.0 x 10(-2). In rat and resected human stomachs, gastric mucus was clearly stained under these conditions. In human subjects, the in vivo stained muscu was observed endoscopically. The pyloric gland region. The difference was seen in the pattern of the gastric area between the fundic and pyloric gland region. Histological examination revealed that only the mucous layer was stained with Azure A. The stained macromolecules in the mucus and factors affecting the staining were discussed.

An abnormal ratio of cytochromes in the respiratory chain of mouse and human myelomas

Mouse myeloma cells and mitochondria had the same kinds of cytochrome components in the respiratory chain as the normal ones. Their constitution, however, was abnormally different from that found in normal cells and mitochondria. The cytochrome aa3 concentration was especially low in the myeloma as compared with cytochrome c concentration, and the resulting cytochrome aa3/c ratio was 0.25, which was the lowest ever reported in animal mitochondria. Normal lymph node cells, producing the immunoglobulin similar to the myeloma cells, had a ratio of 1.1. Human myeloma mitochondria had the same characteristics as the mouse myeloma. Ascite form myeloma originated from mouse solid from myeloma grew faster, and yet aa3/c of 0.5 in the ascites myeloma was found to be quite similar to that observed in various ascites tumor cells such as hepatomas, Ehrlich and sarcoma 180. A significant part of the cytochromes in the respiratory chain of the mouse myeloma remained in the oxidized form in the cyanide-inhibited or anaerobic states, and was reduced only by the addition of dithionite. The properties of the b cytochromes in mouse myeloma mitochondria are also described and discussed in the context of multiple forms of the b cytochromes in the respiratory chain.

Dynamic studies on the portal hemodynamics of scintiphotosplenoportography. Streamline flow in the human portal vein

To demonstrate streamline flow in the human portal vein, the hepatic lobar distribution of splenic flow was studied in 6 patients without liver disease and 4 patients with chronic hepatitis using a new technique, scintiphotosplenoportography, followed by 198Au-colloid liver scintigraphy. In two patients, a 99mTcO4-bolus injected into the spleen drained predominantly into the left lobe of the liver. A repeat examination performed in one patient revealed that the bolus was chiefly directed to the other lobe, the right lobe. In 3 patients, the distribution of 99mTcO4- radioactivity was the same as that observed with 198Au-colloid. In the other 5 patients the predominant distribution of 99mTcO4- was observed in the right lobe. In 8 of 11 studies, splenic flow was distributed either to the right or left lobe instead of diffusely to both lobes. This result suggests that flow in the human portal vein is streamline rather than turbulent.

"Trench ulcer" of the stomach

The clinical, endoscopic and histological findings of 14 cases with unusual gigantic ulcers of the stomach were reported. The patients were mainly aged, complicated by cardiovascular diseases. The ulcer was designated as "trench ulcer" from the characteristic endoscopic features, which ran from the cardiac portion to the angle along the lesser curvature.