Pursuit of oxidation behavior for conjugated polyenoyl glycerols and establishment of their novel oxidation prevention method

Although conjugated oils are paid much attentions to their interesting physiological properties such as anticancer, anti-arteriosclerosis, anti-hypertension activities, loss in body fat etc, there is few information on their oxidation behavior. In the present work, their oxidation behavior and oxidation prevention method were evaluated to utilize as functional foods or drugs. As results, an oxidation behavior of conjugated oils was different from that of corresponding non-conjugated oils, and conjugated oils were supposed to form not only hydroperoxides but also kinds of cyclic peroxides as primary oxidation products in the autoxidation. In a thermal oxidation, polymerization reaction might be prior to decomposition reaction owing to form a large quantity of more polymerized products in conjugated oils. Solidification of conjugated oils by thermal oxidation was prevented for long time by addition of tocopherol, and optimal addition amounts of tocopherol into conjugated oils were 1,000 ppm either in autoxidation or thermal oxidation. Equi-molar of phosphatidyl ethanolamine showed synergistic effect slightly on 1,000 ppm tocopherol for preventing thermal oxidation of conjugated oil.

Lipase specificity in the transacylation of triacylglycerin

The Lipase-catalyzed transesterification method is utilized as a safe and effective method for preparing various structured oils. As each lipase shows different fatty acid specificity, it is important to select an appropriate lipase according to fatty acid species incorporated into oils. In the present study fatty acid specificities of lipases obtained from different origins were evaluated by transacylation between oils and various fatty acids. Of 12 kinds of lipases used, 5 lipases have 1,3-regio specificity and 7 lipases have non-regio specificity for hydrolysis of oils. Fatty acid substrates of transacylation were 8 saturated fatty acids with 6 to 18 carbon numbers, and C18 unsaturated fatty acids with different double bonds such as oleic, linoleic and linolenic acids. As results shown below, most lipases used gave high transacylation ratios for lauric acid when saturated fatty acids are compared and a different tendency in C18 unsaturated fatty acids. Regarding the fatty acid specificity of different lipases, fatty acid specificity of each lipase differed by its origin. Almost all lipases with or without regio specificities showed high selectivity for C10 and C12, especially C12 saturated fatty acid, and a little selectivity for C14-20 saturated fatty acids. On the other hand, C6 saturated fatty acid was little incorporated into TAG, and C18 fatty acids with higher unsaturation were incorporated easily into TAG. Transacylation activity defined as an acydolysis unit (AU) of an activity which is able to incorporate 1 micromol of C12 saturated fatty acid into TAG for 24h represents high relationship with the known hydrolysis activity. It is considered that structured lipids can be prepared effectively by transacylation based on the proper selection of lipase with higher transacylation or hydrolysis activities for specific fatty acids.

[Clinical analysis of resected pulmonary pleomorphic carcinoma]

OBJECTIVE

We studied the clinical feature of pulmonary pleomorphic carcinoma.

PATIENTS

Of 1,073 patients underwent the resection of lung cancer in our hospital, 15 patients (1.4%) had primary pulmonary pleomorphic carcinoma.

RESULTS

All patients were male, and the age was ranged from 57 to 83, mean 70.3 years old. The mean Brinkman Index was 1,028.7. Thirteen patients underwent the lobectomy with lymph node dissection, 1 patient underwent the bilobectomy with lymph node dissection, and the wedge resection was done for the remaining one. Four patients were in stage IA, 5 were in stage IB, 2 were in stage IIB, 1 was in stage IIIA, 2 were in stage IIIB, and 1 was in stage IV. Histologically, the vascular invasion was showed in 8 of 15 patients. The recurrence was occurred on 9 patients, from 1 to 20 months after surgery. The site of recurrence was lung in 3 patients, brain in 3, and abdominal lymphnodes, subcutaneous soft tissue of shoulder, carcinomatous pleurisy was observed in one patient each. The 1-year survival was 62.5% , and the 3-year survival was 46.9%. Conclusion : The prognosis for pulmonary pleomorphic carcinoma is poor. More meticulous follow up is necessary for patients with pleomorphic carcinoma than those with common non-small cell carcinoma.

Development of an all-permanent-magnet microwave ion source equipped with multicusp magnetic fields for high current proton beam production

An all-permanent-magnet (APM) microwave hydrogen ion source was developed to reduce the size and to simplify structure of a conventional solenoid coil microwave ion source developed for reliability improvement of high current proton linac application systems. The difficulty in developing the APM source was sensitive dependence of the source performance on axial magnetic field in the microwave discharge chamber. It was difficult to produce high current proton beam stably without precise tuning of the magnetic field using solenoid coils. We lowered the sensitivity using multicusp magnetic fields for plasma confinement at the discharge chamber sidewall of the source. This enabled stable high current proton beam production with the APM microwave ion source with no tuning coil. The water cooling and the power supply for the coils are not necessary for the APM source, which leads to better reliability and system simplification. The outer diameter of the APM source was around 300 mm, which was 20% lower than the coil source. The APM source produced a maximum hydrogen ion beam current of 65 mA (high current density of 330 mA/cm(2), proton ratio of 87%, and beam energy of 30 keV) with a 5 mm diameter extraction aperture, pulse width of 400 micros, and 20 Hz repetition rate at 1.3 kW microwave power. This performance is almost the same as the best performances of the conventional coil sources. The extracted ion beams were focused with electrostatic five-grid lens to match beam to acceptance of radio-frequency quadrupole linacs. The maximum focused beam current through the orifice (5 mm radius) and the lens was 36 mA and the 90% focused beam half-width was 1-2 mm.

Multicentric Castleman disease with secondary AA renal amyloidosis, nephrotic syndrome and chronic renal failure, remission after high-dose melphalan and autologous stem cell transplantation

Multicentric Castleman disease is a systemic lymphoproliferative disease with incomplete understood etiology. The various renal complications of this disease may include minimal change disease, mesangial proliferative glomerulonephritis, membranous glomerulonephritis and nephrotic syndrome, caused by secondary amyloidosis. In several reported cases of localized Castleman disease associated with renal amyloidosis and nephrotic syndrome, resection of organs involved by lymphoid proliferation resulted in complete remission. However, therapy of multicentric Castleman disease with renal amyloidosis is not well-established. We treated a case of a 39-year-old woman with multicentric Castleman disease complicated by nephrotic syndrome caused by secondary AA amyloidosis. The patient underwent autologous peripheral blood stem cell transplantation (auto-PBSCT), achieving complete remission. Autologous stem cell transplantation may be an attractive choice in therapy for refractory multicentric Castleman disease.

A pediatric occurrence of crescentic glomerulonephritis associated with antineutrophil cytoplasmic antibodies and mesangial IgA deposits

Antineutrophil cytoplasmic antibody-(ANCA) associated glomerulonephritis usually shows histopathologic features of pauciimmune crescentic glomerulonephritis and occurs late in life. We report a 14-year-old Japanese girl presenting with proteinuria, hematuria and mildly elevated serum creatinine. A renal biopsy specimen demonstrated crescentic glomerulonephritis, immunofluorescence showed mesangial IgA staining. Electron microscopic examination disclosed paramesangial deposits. Serum ANCA against myeloperoxidase (MPO) were detected at high titers. Myeloperoxidase-ANCA-related nephritis accompanied by IgA nephropathy is considered rare in childhood and teen years. Yet, if ANCA assays and detailed electron microscopic examination of renal specimens were performed routinely in patients with rapidly progressive glomerulonephritis, the diagnosis might be more frequent in young patients.

MR-sialography as functional separate imaging of salivary gland for evaluation of radiation-induced xerostomia

16522

Background: For head and neck cancer (HNC) patients who receive curative irradiation (RT), RT-induced xerostomia is a frequent and troublesome adverse event diminishing quality of life. In this prospectve study, morphological changes in salivary glands were evaluated by means of MR volume calculation and examination of the functional changes in MR-sialography as compared with subjective symptoms. Materials and Methods: Sixteen HNC patients (15 squamous cell carcinomas and 1 lymphoma) scheduled to receive more than 44 Gy to the primary tumor were registered (median dose to salivary glands: 60 Gy). MRI was performed prior to start of RT (pre-RT), as well as 2–4 weeks after completion of RT (post-RT). Evaluations were undertaken as follows: 1) Subjective symptoms of oral dry sensation were scaled by visual analogue scale (pre-RT VAS, post-RT VAS); 2) Changes in depictions of MR-sialography (heavy T2WI) following tartaric acid stimulation were graded into three categories (good,fair, poor); and, 3) Changes in salivary gland volume were measured as reduction ratio(%) = (pre-RT volume - post -RT volume) / pre-RT volume × 100. Results: Post-RT VAS of oral dry sensation was greater than that of pre-RT (p=0.001). Clinical symptoms (changes in VAS) did not correlate with salivary gland reduction ratio nor radiation dosage for either the parotid (PG) or submandibular glands (SG). RT dosage and reduction ratio correlated well (r=0.62). Reactivity of MR-sialography stimulated by tartaric acid became poor after RT. The mean RT dosages to PG and SG of the poor group were higher than those of the good group (p<0.05). Conclusions: MR-sialography after RT showed a poor response to secretion stimulation, which correlated with RT dosage. Moreover, MR- sialography with secretion stimulation may have the potential to be a non-invasive and sensitive method by which to assess the severity of xerostomia of each gland separately as ‘functional MR - sialography‘. More cases and longer follow up, and dose-volume histogram evaluation of each salivary gland are required to confirm the results.

No significant financial relationships to disclose.

Effect of mechanical processing of corn silage on in vitro ruminal fermentation, and in situ bacterial colonization and dry matter degradation

Rumen fermentation and bacterial colonization of mechanically processed corn silage were evaluated in a series of in vitro and in situ experiments using ruminally cannulated cows. Data from rumen-simulated continuous culture (Rusitec) showed that total VFA concentration was increased (P < 0.001) by feeding processed corn silage, while pH was reduced (P < 0.001) and ammonia nitrogen remained unchanged (P > 0.05). Mechanical processing enhanced the in situ rate and extent of dry matter disappearance for corn stems and kernels, respectively (P < 0.05). It also enhanced in situ, the initial attachment of rumen bacteria responsible for corn digestion, as monitored by real-time PCR. The16S rDNA copy numbers of amylolytic and lipolytic bacteria, such as Succinivibrio dextrinosolvens, Ruminobacter amylophilus and Anaerovibrio lipolytica, attached to corn kernels were increased for processed corn silage (P < 0.05), in particular at 2 h after the start of incubation. In addition, corn stemattached cellulolytic and hemicellulolytic bacteria, such as Fibrobacter succinogenes, ruminococci and Eubacterium ruminantium, increased in 16S rDNA copy numbers for processed corn silage (P < 0.05). This was observed for the initial incubation period from 10 min to 2 h. These results demonstrate more rapid attachment and heavier colonization of rumen bacteria to the processed compared with the unprocessed silage, which facilitates ruminal digestion and fermentation. Key words: Corn silage, mechanical processing, rumen fermentation, bacteria, attachment

Nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs induce hypermotilinemia and disturbance of interdigestive migrating contractions in instrumented dogs

Nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) induce gastric ulcers due to inhibition of prostaglandin production. Prostaglandins have an influence on physiological gastrointestinal motility, but the relationships between NSAID-induced gastric ulcer, gastrointestinal motility and motilin are unknown. Fifteen dogs were allocated randomly to three groups in which either gelatin, meloxicam or indomethacin was administered. Fecal occult blood and gastrointestinal motility were monitored continuously for 6 days. In addition, analyses of the plasma motilin concentration, gastrointestinal endoscopy and gastric emptying, and detection of motilin cells were performed. Gastrointestinal motility was disturbed in the indomethacin group, presenting as disappearance of interdigestive migrating contractions (IMCs) 3 days before gastric ulcers were detected. Delayed gastric emptying and hypermotilinemia were observed significantly more often in the indomethacin group compared with the other groups. Motilin cell-crypt/villi ratio in the indomethacin group significantly decreased in the duodenum and jejunum, compared with the other groups. No significant changes in any tests were observed in the meloxicam group, when compared with the gelatin group. These findings suggest that the disturbance of IMCs caused by hypermotilinemia, with changes in motilin cell distribution, and delayed gastric emptying induced by indomethacin may contribute to the development of gastric ulcers.

Cutaneous infiltration with Waldenström macroglobulinemia

A 59-year-old Japanese man was diagnosed as Waldenström macroglobulinema. With impaired general performance and a 2-year history of pruritic eruptions that were initially confined to the forearms, but later involved the face, limbs, and trunk. A skin biopsy that was performed on the forehead showed infiltration with abnormal cells of the dermis around the central vessels. PCR analysis of the skin biopsy showed immunoglobulin heavy chain rearrangement. As the rearrangement band occurred at the same site as that of the bone marrow aspiration, skin infiltration with abnormal cells was proven.

Phase II study of an epirubicin and docetaxel (ET) combination as pre and post-operative systemic therapy in patients with early stage breast cancer (EBC)

10660

Background: The goal of chemotherapy (CT) for EBC is to achieve a high pathologic complete response (CR) leading to an increase in the rate of breast conserving surgery (BCS). ET is one of the most active CT regimens for metastatic breast cancer. The primary endpoint of this study was to evaluate clinical response Methods: Eligible patients (pts) were newly diagnosed with EBC and had large primary tumors (stage II-III, > 3 cm). Forty-seven pts were enrolled and received epirubicin 60 mg/m2 followed by docetaxel 60 mg/m2 every 3 weeks for 4 cycles before surgery. Within 4 weeks after surgery, 4 additional cycles of ET were given to the pts who responded to ET. Results: Forty-five pts were evaluable for safety and clinical response. The median age was 47 (range, 29–75). The tumor size was T2 in 44% of the pts, T3 in 36%, and T4 in 20%. ER and PgR were both positive in 40% of pts, while both negative in 31%. HER2 was positive in 33% of pts. Four cycles of ET at full dose were given to 96% of pts prior to surgery. The clinical response was 73% including 7% CR (95% CI 58–85%); the BCS rate was 36%. Central pathologic review was performed in 37 pts showing disappearance of all tumor cells (grade 1) in 1 patient (3%) and 2 pts (5%) achieved a grade 2 response (in situ carcinoma in the operated breast) by Chevallier’s criteria. Grade 3–4 toxicities included neutropenia (71%), leukocytopenia (69%), febrile neutropenia (18%) and anorexia (9%). Twenty-four of 33 pts who responded to ET received additional ET after surgery. Conclusions: ET showed a high clinical response in previously untreated EBC with acceptable toxicity. In order to improve pathological CRs further, the doses and treatment schedule of this regimen needs to be improved. Currently, we are following the pts to assess differences in survival between pts with or without additional adjuvant ET.

No significant financial relationships to disclose.

Intestinal thrombotic microangiopathy following reduced-intensity umbilical cord blood transplantation

Thrombotic microangiopathy (TMA) is a significant complication after hematopoietic stem-cell transplantation (HSCT); however, there is little information on it following reduced-intensity cord blood transplantation (RI-CBT). We reviewed the medical records of 123 adult patients who received RI-CBT at Toranomon Hospital between January 2002 and August 2004. TMA was diagnosed in seven patients based on intestinal biopsy (n = 6) or autopsy results (n = 1). While these patients showed some clinical symptoms such as diarrhea and/or abdominal pain, mental status alterations or neurological disorders were not observed in any of them. Laboratory results were mostly normal at the onset of TMA; >2% fragmented erythrocytes (n = 1), <10 mg/dl haptoglobin (n = 1), and >200 IU/dl lactic dehydrogenase (LD) (n = 4). On endoscopic examination, TMA lesions, consisting of ulcers, erosions, and diffuse exfoliation, were distributed spottily from terminal ileum to rectum. Intestinal graft-versus-host disease (GVHD) and cytomegalovirus (CMV) colitis were confirmed in five and four patients, respectively. With therapeutic measures including supportive care (n = 4), fresh frozen plasma (n = 1), and a reduction of immunosuppressive agents (n = 1), TMA improved in four patients. The present study demonstrates that intestinal TMA is a significant complication after RI-CBT. Since conventional diagnostic criteria can overlook TMA, its diagnosis requires careful examination of the gastrointestinal tract using endoscopy with biopsy.

Properties of the peptides liberated from rice protein in sokujo-moto

In the supernatant of sokujo-moto, a high level of acid carboxypeptidase (ACP) activity and a large amount of peptides were observed, however, the amount of free amino acids liberated was small. In order to determine why these peptides were not hydrolyzed to any significant degree by the ACP, the properties of the peptides in sokujo-moto were investigated in this study. Peptides were fractionated from sokujo-moto by ion exchange column chromatography. ACP purified from rice-koji (rice overgrown with Aspergillus oryzae) was allowed to react with the peptides, and it was found that they were not hydrolyzed to any significant degree by the enzyme. Gel filtration chromatography was performed to ascertain the molecular size distribution of the peptides in sokujo-moto, and it was revealed that they were of low molecular sizes; molecular size: mainly in the range of 200-400, and chain length: 2-3. ACP purified from rice-koji was also allowed to react with various synthetic peptides, and it was found that ACP of rice-koji could not rapidly hydrolyze low-molecular-size peptides, such as dipeptides or tripeptides. Acid protease (AP) purified from rice-koji released peptides of molecular sizes mainly in the range of 300-600 or above from rice protein under acidic conditions (pH 3.6; the pH of sokujomoto). When AP and ACP were allowed to act at the same time on rice protein, mainly low-molecular-size peptides (molecular sizes mainly in the range of 200-400) were produced. From these results, it was estimated that AP released peptides with molecular sizes mainly in the range of 300-600 or above from rice protein and ACP degraded the relatively higher molecular size peptides among them to lower molecular size peptides; consequently only low-molecular-size peptides with molecular sizes mainly in the range of 200-400 were released in the supernatant of sokujo-moto.

Effect of overexpression of LAS17 on stress tolerance and the stability of extrachromosomal DNA in Saccharomyces cerevisiae

The effects of the overexpression of LAS17/BEE1, which encodes a yeast protein exhibiting sequence homology to the Wiscott-Aldrich syndrome protein, on the cell growth of Saccharomyces cerevisiae were examined. Sake yeast strain UT-1 grows at a faster rate as a result of the overexpression of LAS17 than control cultures under various stresses such as high temperature, high ethanol concentration, and oxidative stress, and the tolerance to these stresses was increased compared with the control. Moreover, a high cell survival rate was attained with overexpression of LAS17, when cells in the stationary phase of the growth cycle were subjected to heat killing (48 degrees C) or ethanol killing (20% v/v). In addition, the rate of induction of rho- was markedly reduced by overexpression of LAS17 when serine, tyrosine, and aspartic acid were used as N sources and the yeast was cultured at 35 degrees C, while rho- strains in control cultures were induced at a high frequency. After the incubation of cells harboring a multicopy vector in YPD or synthetic complete medium, almost all of the cells inherited the vector at about 15 copies per cell as a result of the overexpression of LAS17, whereas the cells harboring the control vector accounted for only 15% of the total number of cells. These results suggest that Las17p might be a multifunctional protein involved in cell growth regulation, extrachromosomal DNA transportation and stress responses.

Relationship between temporary inhibition and structure of disulfide-linkage analogs of marinostatin, a natural ester-linked protein protease inhibitor

A 12-residue marinostatin [MST(1-12): (1)FATMRYPSDSDE(12)] which contains two ester linkages of Thr(3)-Asp(9) and Ser(8)-Asp(11) strongly inhibits subtilisin. In order to study the relationship between the inhibitory activity, structure, and stability of MST, MST analogs were prepared by changing ester linkages to a disulfide linkages. The analogs without the disulfide linkage between 3 and 9 positions lost their inhibitory activity. The K(i) value of 1SS(C(3)-C(9)) ((1)FACMRYPSCSDE(12)), which has a single disulfide linkage of Cys(3)-Cys(9) was comparable with those of MST(1-12) and MST-2SS ((1)FACMRYPCCSCE(12)), a doubly linked analog of Cys(3)-Cys(9) and Cys(8)-Cys(11). However, 1SS(C(3)-C(9)) and MST-2SS showed temporary inhibition, but not MST(1-12): These analogs were inactivated after incubation with subtilisin for 30 min, and were specifically hydrolyzed at the reactive site. (1)H NMR study showed that 1SS(C(3)-C(9)) has two conformations, which contain a cis- (70%) or trans- (30%) Pro residue, while MST-2SS as well as MST(1-12) takes a single conformation containing only a cis-Pro residue. Hydrogen-deuterium exchange rate of the Arg(5) (P1') NH proton of the MST analogs was about 100 times faster than that of MST(1-12). These results indicate that the linkage between the positions 8 and 11 plays a role for fixing the cis-conformation of the Pro(7) residue, and that the linkage between 3 and 9 is indispensable for the inhibition, but not enough for stable protease-inhibitor complex.

Akt activation in renal cell carcinoma: contribution of a decreased PTEN expression and the induction of apoptosis by an Akt inhibitor

BACKGROUND

Akt has been implicated in the oncogenesis of human malignant tumors, because Akt regulates many key effector molecules involved in cell survival. PTEN (phosphatase and tensin homolog deleted on chromosome 10) negatively regulates Akt activation.

MATERIALS AND METHODS

The expression of phosphorylated Akt (p-Akt), total Akt and PTEN was analyzed by Western blotting in 45 renal cell carcinoma (RCC) patients. The Bad and phosphorylated Bad (p-Bad) statuses were analyzed in 20 RCC patients. A phosphatidylinositol ether analog was used as an Akt inhibitor to treat four RCC cell lines, namely Caki-1, KU19-20, SW839 and Caki-2.

RESULTS

The PTEN expression in RCC was observed to decrease and p-Akt expression to increase significantly in comparison with that in the corresponding normal kidney tissue. The PTEN expression inversely correlated with the p-Akt expression. These alterations were specific for clear cell type RCC, but not for papillary or chromophobe type RCC. Alterations in Bad phosphorylation were also specifically observed in clear cell type. The Akt inhibitor induced apoptosis in KU19-20 and Caki-2 cells with a high Akt activity.

CONCLUSIONS

A decreased expression of PTEN may be an underlying mechanism for Akt activation. An Akt inhibitor may be a therapeutic option for a subset of RCC with an elevated Akt activity.