Functional expression of thyrotropin receptor in differentiated 3T3-L1 cells: a possible model cell line of extrathyroidal expression of thyrotropin receptor

Thyrotropin receptor (TSHR) in extrathyroidal tissue, especially fat tissue, is supposed to have important roles in the development of extrathyroidal manifestations of Graves' disease. However, the molecular mechanism of TSHR expression is not known. Expression of TSHR mRNA and TSH-dependent cAMP production were observed in differentiated but not in undifferentiated 3T3-L1 cells. Maximal expression was obtained when the cells were differentiated in the presence of insulin, dexamethasone, and isobutylmethylxanthine (IBMX). Dexamethasone and IBMX were indispensable for the first three days. On the other hand, after day 4, insulin was indispensable for the expression of TSHR. 3T3-L1 cell is the first non-thyroidal cell line reported that expresses TSHR and whose expression can be induced. 3T3-L1 cell can be a good model to investigate the mechanism of expression of TSHR and extrathyroidal manifestations of Graves' disease.

Value of the staged segmental crossclamp to the aorta technique and reimplantation of intercostal arteries for the prevention of spinal complications associated with surgery for descending and thoraco-abdominal aortic aneurysms

Spinal complication associated with descending and thoracoabdominal aortic aneurysm surgery is most serious. This report deals with the value of the segmental crossclamp technique and/or reimplantation of intercostal arteries for the prevention of this serious complication. The subjects were 107 patients, 87 with descending thoracic and 21 with thoracoabdominal aortic aneurysm who were operated on from May 1987 to March 1992 at the National Cardiovascular Center in Osaka. The staged segmental crossclamp technique was applied in 24, while the reconstruction of intercostal arteries was undertaken in 25 patients. Thirteen patients received both procedures simultaneously. The surgical and hospital mortality rates were 1.8% and 8.4%, respectively. Spinal complications were encountered in 11 patients (8.3%), paraplegia in 2 (1.8%) and paralysis in 7 (6.5%). The incidence of paraplegia or paralysis did not decrease under the crossclamp technique and/or reimplantation of intercostal arteries, although no spinal complication was observed in the last consecutive 33 cases. It was speculated that although advances in surgical techniques in dealing with these lesions have been obtained, these two procedures did not completely prevent spinal ischemia/complication during surgical intervention.

In vitro analysis of peritoneal adhesions in peritonitis

Peritoneal adhesions due to peritonitis make surgery more difficult and may cause complications. Clarifying the formation mechanism of peritoneal adhesions could help identify methods useful for their prevention. We cultured mesothelial monolayers on plates and microcarriers to simulate the parietal and visceral peritoneum, respectively. We then investigated the effects of lipopolysacchride (LPS) and tumor necrosis factor (TNF) on the homologous adhesion of these mesothelial monolayers. There was no adhesion of mesothelial monolayers in the control medium. When monolayers were cultured with endotoxin (LPS), approximately 90% of the microcarriers adhered to the mesothelial microplate. Adhesions occurred at LPS concentrations of 10 ng/ml and increased linearly in a dose-dependent manner. Kinetic studies revealed that the mesothelial adhesion appeared at 12 hr, and that 90% of the microcarriers were adherent after 24 hr. Open intercellular spaces were observed after a 24-hr treatment with LPS. Scanning electron microscopy revealed that the mesothelial cells adhered to the naked glass. LPS also caused increased permeability of the mesothelial monolayer. TNF did not cause any significant adhesion. Through our experiments we were able to develop an in vitro model of peritoneal adhesion using peritoneal mesothelial cell culture. Endotoxin caused an increase in homologous adhesion of peritoneal mesothelial monolayers, which may correspond to the initial stage of peritoneal adhesion formation in peritonitis.

A Y-box protein is a suppressor factor that decreases thyrotropin receptor gene expression

The decanucleotides in a tandem repeat, -162 to -140 bp, are suppressor elements that decrease TSH receptor (TSHR) gene expression by different mechanisms. A factor(s) interacting with the 3'-decanucleotide compete for proteins that bind the cAMP response element, -139 to -132 bp, a constitutive enhancer necessary for efficient TSHR expression. The 5'-decanucleotide is in a CT-rich, S1 nuclease-sensitive region of the promoter; its suppressor activity has been related to its ability to bind a nonthyroid-specific protein to its coding strand. In this report we clone a complementary DNA encoding a single strand DNA-binding protein that forms a specific protein-DNA complex with the coding strand of the 5'- but not the 3'-decanucleotide and not with the 5'-decanucleotide noncoding or double strand. We show, by cotransfection with TSHR promoter-chloramphenicol acetyltransferase chimeras, that the protein is a suppressor that regulates the function of the 5'- but not the 3'-decanucleotide. The protein is a Y-box protein that was previously cloned as an enhancer factor from the rat liver; it is, however, 95% identical to human YB-1, which suppresses major histocompatibility class II gene expression, and to human nuclease-sensitive element protein-1, a Y-box protein identified by its ability to bind single strand, CT-rich, nuclease-sensitive elements of genes that, like the TSHR, have GC-rich promoters. Unexpectedly, the Y-box protein binds two other sites in the minimal TSHR promoter in a single strand-specific fashion and acts a suppressor at each of these sites. One is associated with the insulin response element of the minimal TSHR promoter and is not in an overtly CT-rich region. The other is located 3' to the cAMP response element in a region termed the S-box, -120 to -113 bp, because of its homology to the S-box of the major histocompatibility class II promoter; this site is in a CT-rich area and, as in the class II promoter, is linked to cAMP-induced gene suppression. A conserved CCTC sequence in each site is important for the binding and suppressor function of the Y-box protein.

Experimental correspondence between spore dosimetry and spectral photometry of solar ultraviolet radiation

The biologically effective dose of solar UV radiation was estimated from the inactivation of UV-sensitive Bacillus subtilis spores. Two types of independent measurements were carried out concurrently at the Aerological Observatory in Tsukuba: one was the direct measurement of colony-forming survival that provided the inactivation dose per minute (ID/min) and the other was the measurement of the spectral irradiance by a Brewer spectrophotometer. To obtain the effective spectrum, the irradiance for each 1 nm wavelenght interval from 290 to 400 nm was multiplied with the efficiency for inactivation derived from the inactivation action spectrum of identically prepared spore samples. Integration of the effective spectrum provided the estimate for ID/min. The observed values of ID/min were closely concordant with the calculated values for the data obtained in four afternoons in 1993. The average ratio (+/- SD) between them was 1.24 (+/- 0.16) for 14 data points showing high inactivation rates (> 0.05 ID/min). Considering difficulties in the absolute dosimetry of UV radiation, the concordance was satisfactory and improved credibility of the two types of monitoring systems of biologically effective dose of solar UV radiation.

Laparoscopic adrenalectomy: review of 14 cases and comparison with open adrenalectomy

We reviewed 14 cases of laparoscopic adrenalectomy and compared the results with those of a recent series of 15 consecutive patients undergoing a traditional open adrenalectomy for a benign tumor. The laparoscopic adrenalectomy group included nine patients with primary aldosteronism, three with Cushing's syndrome, one with pheochromocytoma, and one with a nonfunctioning incidentaloma. In the patient with pheochromocytoma, a good operative field was safely obtained by a combination of pneumoperitoneum at less than 6 mm Hg insufflation pressure and the abdominal wall-lift method. In both groups, the tumors were removed successfully in all cases. Laparoscopic adrenalectomy, which required neither a large skin and muscle incision nor any resection of the ribs, offered a lower morbidity and earlier recovery in spite of the longer operation time. The most important complication observed in laparoscopic adrenalectomy was that of pneumothorax secondary to an injury of the diaphragm and pleura during the dissection of the left adrenal gland using electrocautery. However, the injury wound was small, and the pneumothorax was resolved by suturing the tear under laparoscopy. These results suggest that laparoscopic adrenalectomy is a minimally invasive alternative to traditional open adrenalectomy and thus has the potential soon to become a standard procedure for the treatment of benign adrenal tumors.

Induction of invasive growth in a gallbladder cancer cell line by hepatocyte growth factor in vitro

To study the mechanism of invasion and metastasis of gallbladder cancer cells, we established a cancer cell line, GB-d1, from a metastatic lymphnode of poorly differentiated adenocarcinoma of the gallbladder. GB-d1 cells proliferate well in a dish culture and form small cystic cell clusters in a collagen gel containing 10% fetal bovine serum. A conditioned medium of human embryonic lung fibroblasts (HEL) stimulated the proliferation of GB-d1 cells and induced cell scattering in the dish culture. In the gel culture, the conditioned medium induced a transformation of the spherical clusters to arborizating colonies with tubular projections that mimicked an invasion of cancer cells into the surrounding tissue. Similar results were obtained when 10 ng/ml of human recombinant hepatocyte growth factor (h-rHGF) was added to the culture medium. The proliferative and morphological changes induced by the conditioned medium were inhibited by antiserum against h-HGF. HEL and human gallbladder stromal fibroblast-like cells produced substantial levels of HGF in the culture media, while GB-d1 did not produce any detectable level of HGF. These results suggest that HGF promotes the invasive growth of gallbladder cancer cells in vitro, and it was also suggested that stromal fibroblasts may play an important role in the invasive progression of gallbladder cancer in a paracrine fashion.

Single strand DNA-binding proteins and thyroid transcription factor-1 conjointly regulate thyrotropin receptor gene expression

An element, -186 to -176 base pairs (bp), in the minimal TSH receptor (TSHR) promoter binds thyroid transcription factor-1 (TTF-1) and is important for both constitutive expression and TSH/cAMP-induced negative autoregulation of the TSHR in thyroid cells. An element on the noncoding strand of the TSHR, contiguous with the 5'-end of the TTF-1 element, has single strand binding activity. It is distinct from the TTF-1 site, as evidenced by competition experiments using gel shift assays; but the association of the two elements is not random. Thus, the single strand binding protein (SSBP) element also exists contiguous to the 5'-end of an upstream TTF-1 site, -881 to -866 bp; mutation of two conserved nucleotides in each SSBP element results in the loss of SSBP binding and cross-competition. Transfection experiments indicate that full, constitutive TSHR gene expression in FRTL-5 thyroid cells requires the binding of both SSBPs and TTF-1, since mutation of either element halves thyroid-specific promoter activity, whereas mutation of both decreases promoter activity to values near those of a control vector. Transfection experiments with rat liver cells support their independent activities and show that the SSBP site contributes to TSHR gene expression in non-thyroid tissue. The SSBPs function conjointly with TTF-1 in thyroid-specific, TSH/cAMP-induced negative autoregulation of the TSHR. Thus, TSH or forskolin-treated FRTL-5 cells coordinately decrease TSHR RNA levels and TSHR DNA binding to both the SSBPs and TTF-1; also the maximal TSH/cAMP-induced decrease in gene expression requires both elements. The TSH-induced effect in each case is inhibited by cycloheximide; the TSH-induced decrease in SSBP/DNA complex formation requires the presence of insulin or calf serum, exactly as does TSH-induced down-regulation of TSHR RNA levels. In sum, full, constitutive expression of the TSHR in thyroid cells requires TTF-1 and the SSBPs to bind separate, contiguous elements on the TSHR promoter. TSH/cAMP decreases the binding of each factor to its respective site, thereby decreasing TSHR gene expression. The role of the SSBP and TTF-1 sites in constitutive TSHR expression and in TSH/cAMP-induced negative regulation of the TSHR is, therefore, additive and independent.

Characterization of an up-stream thyroid transcription factor-1-binding site in the thyrotropin receptor promoter

A thyroid transcription factor-1 (TTF-1)-binding element in the rat TSH receptor (TSHR) promoter, between -189 and -175 basepairs (bp), is important for both thyroid-specific expression and thyroid-specific TSH/cAMP autoregulation of the TSHR. The identification of an up-stream TTF-1-binding site and its relationship to the function of the down-stream TTF-1 element are the subjects of this report. Sequence analysis identifies a potential TTF-1 site at -878 bp; deoxyribonuclease-I footprinting shows that the -881 to -866 bp region is protected by recombinant TTF-1 protein and by nuclear extracts from FRTL-5 thyroid cells that contain TTF-1, but not by extracts from nonfunctioning FRT thyroid or Buffalo rat liver (BRL) cells, which have no TTF-1, or by Pax-8. FRTL-5, but not FRT or BRL cell nuclear extracts, form a specific protein-DNA complex with this region in gel mobility shift analyses; its formation is prevented by TTF-1-binding elements from the thyroglobulin promoter. The upstream TTF-1 site acts as an enhancer when coupled to a heterologous simian virus-40 promoter-chloramphenicol acetyltransferase (CAT) chimera and transfected into FRTL-5 thyroid cells. There is a greater increase, 3-vs. 2-fold (P < 0.05), when TSHR promoter-CAT chimeras, which contain the up-stream TTF-1 element, pTRCAT5'-907 or pTRCAT5'-886, as opposed to those in which it is deleted, pTRCAT5'-907 delta USTTF-1, are transfected into FRTL-5 cells or cotransfected with a TTF-1 expression vector into BRL cells, which have no endogenous TTF-1. The TTF-1-dependent activity of pTRCAT5'-907 delta USTTF-1 is the same as that of the minimal promoter, -220 to -39 bp, containing only the down-stream TTF-1 site in both cells. Transfection of chimeric TSHR-CAT plasmids with the down- and/or up-stream TTF-1 site deleted reveals that the down-stream TTF-1 element functions in the absence of the up-stream element, but function of the up-stream site requires the down-stream TTF-1 element. Like the down-stream TSHR TTF-1-binding site, the up-stream TTF-1 site is different from TTF-1 sites in the thyroglobulin and thyroid peroxidase promoter, in that it does not interact with Pax-8.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 400 WORDS)

The thyrotropin receptor

This chapter has outlined the complex process required for thyroid growth and function. Both events are regulated by TSHR via a multiplicity of signals, with the aid of and requirement for a multiplicity of hormones that regulate the TSHR via receptor cross-talk: insulin, IGF-I, adrenergic receptors, and purinergic receptors. Cross-talk appears to regulate G-protein interactions or activities induced by TSH as well as TSHR gene expression. The TSHR structure and its mechanism of signal transduction is being rapidly unraveled in several laboratories, since the recent cloning of the receptor. In addition, the epitopes for autoantibodies against the receptor that can subvert the normal regulated synthesis and secretion of thyroid hormones, causing hyper- or hypofunction, have been defined. Studies of regulation of the TSHR minimal promotor have uncovered a better understanding of the mechanisms by which TSH regulates both growth and function of the thyroid cell. A key novel component of this phenomenon involves TSH AMP positive and negative regulation of the TSHR. Negative transcriptional regulation is a common feature of MHC class I genes in the thyroid. Subversion of negative regulation or too little negative regulation is suggested to result in autoimmune disease. Methimazole and iodide at autoregulatory levels may be important in reversing this process and returning thyroid function to normal. Their action appears to involve factors that react with the IREs on both the TSHR and the TG promoter. Too much negative regulation, as in the case of ras transformation, results in abnormal growth without function. TTF-1 is implicated as a critical autoregulatory component in both positive and negative regulation of the TSHR and appears to be the link between TSH, the TSHR, TSHR-mediated signals, TG and TPO biosynthesis, and thyroid hormone formation. Differentially regulated expression of the TSHR and TG by cAMP and insulin depend on differences in the specificity of the TTF-1 site, that is, the lack of Pax-8 interactions with the TSHR, and the IRE sites. Single-strand binding proteins will become important in determining how TSHR transcription is controlled mechanistically.

Identification of a novel insulin-responsive element in the rat thyrotropin receptor promoter

By transfecting TSH receptor (TSHR)-chloramphenicol acetyltransferase (CAT) chimeras into FRTL-5 thyroid cells in the presence or absence of insulin, we identify an insulin-responsive element (IRE) between -220 and -190 bp of the TSHR 5'-flanking region. The region between -220 and -192 bp is footprinted by nuclear extracts from FRTL-5 cells and, coupled to a heterologous SV40-CAT chimera, an oligonucleotide containing the protected region induces insulin responsiveness in FRTL-5 cells. FRTL-5 cell nuclear extracts form two groups of protein-DNA complexes, A and B, in gel shift assays using an oligonucleotide having the protected sequence; mutation data indicate only the A complexes are increased by exposure of FRTL-5 cells to insulin; TSH can also increase A complex formation, but the TSH action is insulin-dependent. The nuclear factor(s) in FRTL-5 cells that interact with the TSHR IRE are distinct from thyroid transcription factor-2 (TTF-2), the insulin regulatory factor of the thyroglobulin promoter, as evidenced by the absence of competition in gel shift assays; there is no apparent sequence similarity of this region with other known IREs. The IRE is immediately upstream of a thyroid transcription factor-1 (TTF-1) binding site, -189 to -175 bp; mutation of the TTF-1 site causing a loss of TTF-1 activity also causes a loss of insulin responsiveness when the TSHR-CAT chimera at -220 bp is transfected into FRTL-5 cells and an altered IRE footprint by nuclear extracts. The TSHR appears, therefore, to contain a novel IRE whose activity depends at least in part on TTF-1, a thyroid-specific, homeodomain-containing transcription factor important both for thyroid-specific TSHR gene expression and TSH/cAMP autoregulation of the TSHR.

[Two cases reports of extramammary Paget's disease with adenocarcinoma]

Two patients who suffered from extramammary Paget's disease with adenocarcinoma were treated with combination chemotherapy. Both patients who complained of scrotal induration were the Paget's cells with undifferentiated adenocarcinoma in pathology. We tried CAP (cyclophosphamide, pirarubicin, cisplatin) therapy on case 1, and MEC (methotrexate, etoposide, cisplatin) therapy on case 2. The primary lesion was reduced and the metastatic lesion, showed regression.

Thyroid-specific expression and cyclic adenosine 3',5'-monophosphate autoregulation of the thyrotropin receptor gene involves thyroid transcription factor-1

The chimeric chloramphenicol acetyltransferase (CAT) construct, pTRCAT5'-199, containing the TSH receptor (TSHR) minimal promoter, -199 to -39 base pairs (bp), exhibits the thyroid specificity and TSH/cAMP autoregulation evident in TSHR gene expression. The present report shows that a cis-acting element between -189 and -175 bp, which binds thyroid transcription factor-1 (TTF-1), is involved in both activities. The 22 bp between -199 and -178 contains a positive element important for expression of the TSHR minimal promoter in rat FRTL-5 thyroid cells. DNAase I footprinting shows that extracts from functioning FRTL-5, but not non-functioning FRT thyroid or Buffalo rat liver (BRL) cells, protect a region between -189 and -175 bp. The protection is duplicated by TTF-1, and the protected element has only a two-base mismatch from the consensus TTF-1 element identified in the thyroglobulin (TG) and thyroid peroxidase minimal promoters. Gel mobility shift analyses reveal that FRTL-5 thyroid cell nuclear extracts form a specific protein/DNA complex with this region, which is prevented by the TTF-1 binding element from the TG promoter; FRT and BRL cell nuclear extracts do not have TTF-1 and do not form this complex. A role for the TSHR/TTF-1 binding element in thyroid-specific expression of the TSHR gene is evidenced as follows. Overexpression of TTF-1 in FRT or BRL cells, which have no TTF-1, increased the activity of pTRCAT5'-199, but not pTRCAT5'-177, which has no TTF-1 binding element. A nonsense mutation of the TTF-1 binding element eliminated TTF-1-induced activation of TSHR promoter activity in FRT or BRL cells and reduced TSHR promoter activity in FRTL-5 thyroid cells. In contrast, mutation of this element to the TTF-1 consensus sequence of the TG or thyroid peroxidase promoter had no significant influence on TSHR promoter activity. The activity of the TSHR/TTF-1 binding element requires a functioning cAMP response element (CRE). Thus, TTF-1 activity is lost when the CRE site is mutated to a nonfunctional, nonpalindromic sequence; it is, in contrast, maximized when CRE activity is maximized by its mutation to a consensus AP1 element. TTF-1 phosphorylation is important for binding and activity. Thus, binding of TTF-1 to the TSHR/TTF-1 element is phosphatase-sensitive and is increased by treating nuclear extracts with the catalytic subunit of protein kinase A. Overexpression of the catalytic subunit of PKA enhances TTF-1-increased activity of the TSHR minimal promoter.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 400 WORDS)

Three synchronous carcinomas of the papilla of Vater, common bile duct and pancreas

Multiple carcinomas of the pancreatico-biliary tree are rare. A 53 year old Japanese man was diagnosed as having an adenocarcinoma in the papilla of Vater. During the operation, he was also found to have a polypoid mass in the common bile duct. While cutting the operative specimen into stepwise sections, a small tumor was also detected incidentally in the main pancreatic duct of the pancreatic head. Histologically, all three tumors proved to be papillary adenocarcinomas and were restricted to the mucosa. Immunohistochemically, all three tumors were positive for carcinoembryonic antigen, carbohydrate antigen 19-9, chromogranin A and serotonin, while they were negative for somatostatin. Immunoreactivity to the tumor suppressor gene p53 protein (PAb 1801) was found in all three tumors. A flow cytometric analysis of the cellular DNA content revealed all three tumors to be aneuploid. The above results suggested that these three tumors from different sites all had the same histological, immunohistochemical and flow cytometrical characteristics.

Multicentre randomised study of adjuvant chemotherapy with mitomycin C and tegafur or tegafur-uracil in gastric cancer

OBJECTIVE

To compare therapeutic results and five year survival after two regimens of adjuvant chemotherapy after resections for gastric cancer.

DESIGN

Prospective randomised multicentre trial.

SETTINGS

21 departments of surgery.

SUBJECTS

243 patients with stage II, III, or IV gastric cancer.

INTERVENTIONS

All patients received an intravenous bolus of mitomycin C 20 mg on the day of operation, and 10 mg on the first postoperative day. They were then randomised to receive either tegafur 600 mg or tegafur-uracil 600 mg orally daily beginning two weeks after operation and continuing for two years. Patients with histological confirmed stage IV disease also received mitomycin C 10 mg every three months starting one month after operation.

MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES

Survival and side effects.

RESULTS

13 patients (5%) were withdrawn from the study, leaving 230 for analysis. There were no serious side effects and both drugs were safe when given continuously for two years. There were no significant differences in 5 year survival (though patients who were given tegafur-uracil tended to live longer), except when patients who had histological curative resections were compared with and those with poorly differentiated adenocarcinoma (p = 0.04).

Aragusterol C: a novel halogenated marine steroid from an Okinawan sponge, Xestospongia sp., possessing potent antitumor activity

A novel chlorinated steroid, aragusterol C, was isolated from an Okinawan marine sponge of the genus Xestospongia. The compound strongly inhibited the proliferation of KB cells in vitro, and also showed potent in vivo antitumor activity against L1210 cells in mice. The complete structure of aragusterol C was determined by spectroscopic analysis and X-ray crystallographic analysis.

DMSO preparation as a direct solubilizer of calcium bilirubinate stones

Despite considerable progress in operative techniques, biliary surgeons continue to encounter difficulties when treating patients with intrahepatic gallstones. We have experienced a significant number of patients in whom complete stone removal was impossible during an operation due to the anatomical complexity of intrahepatic bile ducts, and the variety in the size and hardness of the stones. Under such circumstances, the application of a direct solubilizer capable of dissolving intrahepatic calcium bilirubinate stones, might be a possible alternative. Up to now, however, only calcium chelating agents have been used for removing calcium from calcium bilirubinate stones, and they are not always effective. As a promising solution to this problem, we have now developed a direct solubilize for bilirubin complexes--a dimethyl sulfoxide (DMSO) preparation. DMSO is a well-known bipolar nonprotonic solvent. We prepared solutions of DMSO and performed toxicological studies by administering this preparation to rats and dogs. Biochemical indices of liver and renal function remained unchanged after 7-28 days of DMSO administration. Nor were there any histological changes in the DMSO-treated animals on systemic survey of various organs. On comparing the in vitro capability for solubilizing calcium bilirubinate stones, the DMSO preparation was consistently superior to a calcium chelating agent alone. The combination of a chelating agent with DMSO had the highest solubilizing capacity.

The cAMP response element in the rat thyrotropin receptor promoter. Regulation by each decanucleotide of a flanking tandem repeat uses different, additive, and novel mechanisms

A decanucleotide tandem repeat (TR) sequence, between -162 and -140 base pairs (bp) of the minimal thyrotropin receptor promoter, decreases gene expression by repressing constitutive enhancer activity of its cAMP response element (CRE). Each decanucleotide acts additively. CRE-binding proteins and liver or thyroid nuclear extracts footprint a region including the CRE and the 3' decanucleotide, -148 to -124 bp; nuclear proteins interacting with the 3' decanucleotide protect a smaller region -148 to -135 bp. Separate groups of nuclear proteins interact with the CRE and the 3' decanucleotide; mutations of the CRE affect protein interactions with the 3' decanucleotide and the converse. Nuclear proteins bind to single- or double-stranded 3' decanucleotide DNA; those interacting with the CRE bind only double-stranded DNA. The repressor action of the 5' decanucleotide is associated with an interaction between the coding strand and a single-stranded binding protein in liver and thyroid nuclear extracts. The 5' decanucleotide is in a CT-rich region with S1 nuclease hypersensitivity, near perfect mirror images, and direct repeats. The data therefore indicate that each TR decanucleotide modulates CRE constitutive enhancer activity by different but additive mechanisms, competition versus interaction with a single-stranded binding protein, and each interacts with different nuclear proteins that are not thyroid-specific. The same region in the human thyrotropin receptor represses CRE constitutive enhancer activity by the same mechanisms, despite a nonidentical sequence and no overt TR.

A new 5 alpha,8 alpha-epidioxy sterol from the Okinawan marine sponge of the Axinyssa genus

A new sterol (axinysterol) was isolated from the Okinawan marine sponge of the genus Axinyssa. The structure of axinysterol was assigned as 5 alpha,8 alpha-epidioxyergosta- 6,22,25-trien-3 beta-ol based on spectroscopic analysis and chemical transformation.

[Ureteral stump metastasis from renal cell carcinoma: a case report]

A case of ureteral metastasis from renal cell carcinoma is reported. A 71-year-old man who had received radical nephrectomy for left renal cell carcinoma, G1 and about two years earlier presented with asymptomatic macrohematuria. He had received interferon therapy and surgical treatments for bone metastasis two times after the operation. Cystoscopic examination revealed bleeding from the left residual ureter but CT scan showed no abnormal findings. Left ureterectomy and partial cystectomy was performed and a small finger tip-sized tumor was found at 13.5 cm above the ureteral orifice. Pathological examination showed metastatic renal cell carcinoma, G1 > G2. Histologically and clinically, this tumor seemed to have metastasized by a hematological pathway. Seventeen cases of ureteral metastasis of renal cell carcinoma have been reported previously in the Japanese literature.

[A case report of markedly effective recombinant interferon therapy in residual tumor of renal cell carcinoma]

A 53-year-old man complaining of pain in his right upper abdomen was diagnosed as suffering from right renal cell carcinoma with tumor thrombus. Right nephrectomy was performed but curative operation was not possible because of the adhesion of the tumor to psoas muscle. The residual tumor spread to the second lumbar vertebra and the patient complained of lumbago. The tumor continued to grow and the patient suffered from paraplegia even after the administration of natural interferon for 32 weeks. The administration of 9 x 10(6) units of recombinant interferon alfa 2a three times a week, however, resulted in an 86.5% reduction of the tumor after 13 weeks and the patient between able to walk. The PR continued for 17 months.