Altered basal C-peptide/insulin molar ratios in obese patients with fatty liver

To elucidate if the presence of fatty liver in obesity influences hepatic insulin extraction under basal conditions, serum immunoreactive insulin (IRI) and C-peptide immunoreactivity (CPR) were measured in 20 obese patients with normal glucose tolerance and in 8 normal subjects. The obese patients were subdivided into two groups matched for age and body weight according to the presence or absence of fatty liver: 8 obese patients without fatty liver (OBN) and 14 with fatty liver (OBF). Basal levels of IRI and CPR were significantly greater in the obese patients than in the normals, but were similar in the two obese groups. In the OBF group, the CPR/IRI molar ratios, a relative measure of hepatic insulin uptake, were significantly lower than in the other two groups, while the ratios of the normal and OBN groups were similar. The CPR/IRI molar ratios in all obese patients correlated well with the degree of fatty liver (r = 0.785, p less than 0.001). These results suggest that hepatic insulin extraction in a subgroup of obese patients is either reduced or indistinguishable from that of non-obese subjects, and that basal CPR/IRI molar ratio may serve as a useful indicator of the presence of fatty liver in simple obesity.

Tooth in an ovarian cystic teratoma

The findings of this analysis indicate that the hard tissue is a decidous canine with a small amount of alveolar bone.

Buccal hemangioma with phleboliths. Report of two cases

Two cases of buccal hemangioma with phleboliths were reported. Angiography, angioxerography, and computerized tomography were carried out before the procedures were planned. One patient was treated by means of surgical excision of the tumor after ligation of the left external carotid artery. The second patient was treated by means of surgical excision alone. Histologic examinations suggested that the thrombi in the blood vessels of hemangiomas might become the core of the phleboliths. Analysis of the phleboliths by means of x-ray diffraction and infrared spectrometry confirmed calcium phosphate and calcium carbonate as the main components of the phleboliths.

Plasma fibrinopeptide A levels during insulin-induced plasma glucose falls in diabetics

Plasma fibrinopeptide A (FPA) concentration, as a measure of thrombin activity, was determined during an insulin tolerance test in 17 non-obese diabetics. FPA was measured by a modification of the Nossel method. Administration of insulin significantly lowered plasma glucose, accompanied by a significant increase in FPA from 0.9 +/- 0.1 ng/ml to 4.3 +/- 1.6 ng/ml (P less than 0.05) as well as a significant increase in circulating levels of epinephrine and growth hormone. The magnitude of the peak in epinephrine levels correlated well with both the rate of decline of plasma glucose and the magnitude of the peak of FPA. In addition, the FPA increment was suppressed by treatment with heparin. These results indicate that insulin-induced hypoglycemia or a rapid fall in plasma glucose is associated with enhanced thrombin generation and fibrin formation, which may be considered as a contributory factor to the development of diabetic microangiopathy through a hypercoagulable state.

A case of oromandibular-digital hypogenesis syndrome

The oromandibular-digital hypogenesis syndrome is characterized by failure of development of the intraoral region and the distal extremities. A 12 year old female with an anomaly of the lingual fraenum, hypodontia of the lower incisors and defective fingers and toes was referred to our clinic. The aetiology of the disorder is still obscure. The author has reviewed the literature and discusses the morphological variation of the lingual fraenum.

Alterations in tight junctions of human endometrial epithelial cells during normal menstrual cycle--freeze-fracture electron microscopic study

The structural change in the tight junction between human endometrial epithelial cells during the normal menstrual cycle was observed by means of freeze-fracture replica electron microscopy. Tight junctions between epithelial cells of the endometrial basal layer showed no alterations in structure during the menstrual cycle, while those between epithelial cells of the functional layer exhibited remarkable changes synchronized with the menstrual cycle; in the early proliferative phase, the tight junctions were composed of strands running mainly parallel to the luminal surface and the depth of the junctions from the luminal surface was 0.57 +/- 0.04 micron (Mean +/- S.E.), whereas in the late proliferative phase the junction formed a prominent network of strands 0.80 +/- 0.04 micron deep. In the early secretory phase, the junctions developed mostly as a complex network, and the depth was 0.96 +/- 0.04 micron. In the late secretory phase, the network consisting of the junctions looked disorderly and the depth of the junctions was reduced to 0.71 +/- 0.04 micron. As a conclusion, it was suggested that the tight junction in the human endometrial epithelium tended to develop or diminish according to the phase of the menstrual cycle.

[Effect of 4-(o-benzylphenoxy)-N-methylbutylamine hydrochloride (bifemelane hydrochloride, MCI-2016) on cerebral glucose metabolism]

To predict the influence of MCI-2016 on cerebral energy metabolism, the activity of MCI-2016 on uptake of 2-deoxy-D-[14C]glucose ([14C]-DG) into the brain under normal or hypoxic conditions, formation of 14CO2 from 14C-glucose in the brain, and local cerebral glucose utilization (LCGU) were examined. Cerebral uptake of [14C]-DG in mice were significantly enhanced by 6 day repeated administration of MCI-2016 (25 mg/kg, i.p.) and Ca-hopantenate (100 mg/kg, i.p.). The two drugs showed a slight enhancing effect on [14C]-DG uptake after single administration. As an index of cerebral glucose metabolism, 14CO2 formation from 14C-glucose was also stimulated by 6 day repeated administration of MCI-2016 (100 mg/kg, p.o., mice and rats) and Ca-hopantenate (250 mg/kg, i.p., rats). MCI-2016 moderately attenuated the decreased [14C]-DG uptake under the hypoxic condition in rats after 6 day repeated administration (100 mg/kg, p.o.). In addition, local cerebral glucose utilization (LCGU) in rats was also significantly potentiated by MCI-2016 (100 mg/kg, p.o., 6 days) in the areas of the visual cortex, thalamus ventral nucleus and uvula. From these results, MCI-2016 may be suggested to have a moderate activating effect on cerebral energy metabolism.

Phagocytosis of spermatozoa and latex beads by epithelial cells of the ampulla vasis deferentis of the rabbit: a combined SEM and TEM study

The fine structure in the ampullary region of the vas deferens of the rabbit was observed by scanning and transmission electron microscopy, with emphasis on the occurrence of epithelial spermiophagy. The epithelial cells were cuboidal or low columnar and contained moderately developed organelles. These cells, like luminal macrophages, were found to be not only involved in spermiophagy but also capable of actively taking up latex beads administrated intraluminally. Taking into consideration the previous findings in some other species, the epithelial spermiophagy seems to be a common event in the vas deferens of mammals.

Three-dimensional profile of three types of spermatogonia and their topographies in adolescent or adult rats

Stereomorphic profiles of three types of spermatogonia and their topographical distribution in the basal portion of the seminiferous epithelium of adolescent or adult rats were studied mainly with the scanning electron microscope. According to their cytological features, three types of spermatogonia (large-sized and long fusiform or polygonal; medium-sized and elliptical; small-sized and round) were discerned in both groups of rats. The basal areas of the three spermatogonia were relatively smaller in the adolescent rats than in the adult rats. The type of spermatogonia in the adolescent rats varied somewhat depending upon the diameter of the seminiferous tubules, but such a discrimination could not be made in the adult rats. In the adolescent rats, small cells were less frequently observed than large and medium cells. This ratio of appearance was less marked in the adult rats. Clones from the same spermatogonial cells showed similar topography in both groups of rats as follows. The clones of a few medium cells were arranged singularly(As) or in pairs (Apr), but the clones of most medium cells appeared to form single cords (Aal) through intercellular bridges, while those of the small cells formed an open polygonal network as a large syncytium.

Brown adipose tissue lipectomy leads to increased fat deposition in Osborne-Mendel rats

Inter- and subscapular brown adipose tissue depots were removed from nine female Osborne-Mendel rats. These lipectomized animals and nine sham-operated controls recovered from surgery for 7 days at 25 degrees C and were then placed on a highly palatable liquid diet. All animals were maintained for a 2nd wk at 25 degrees C before being switched to 8 degrees C. After 9 wk in the cold, animals were killed, and the brown adipose tissue was dissected from scapular, cervical, thoracic, perirenal, and axillary regions. Total brown fat pad mass, protein content, brown adipocyte number, citrate synthase activity, and beta-hydroxyacyl CoA dehydrogenase activity in each of the dissected brown fat depots were significantly less than those of the sham-operated controls. Thus there was incomplete metabolic compensation in the remaining brown fat depots after the removal of the scapular brown fat in the lipectomized rats. The mass and lipid content of the retroperitoneal white adipose depot were significantly increased in the lipectomized rats as was their carcass fat content (up 14%). Food intake of the lipectomized rats was slightly but significantly decreased. These data indicate that a reduction in the amount of functional brown fat is accompanied by increased body fat accretion and are thus consistent with the hypothesis that decreased brown adipose thermogenesis can lead to altered energy balance and increased white fat deposition.

The effect of brown fat removal on the development of obesity in Zucker and Osborne-Mendel rats

Removal of significant amounts of brown fat in young Zucker rats maintained at room temperature triggered compensatory changes in the remaining brown fat depots. These changes, which occurred to a greater extent in the lean than in the obese rats, enhanced the thermogenic potential of the remaining depots, thus possibly accounting for the lack of increased adiposity in these lipectomized rats. When the Zucker rats were maintained in the cold, rather than at room temperature, their ability to compensate for removal of the scapular brown fat was compromised, particularly in the obese animals. Under such conditions, the amount of functional brown fat was significantly reduced, and the amount of body fat elevated. In the lipectomized Zucker rats, this increase in adiposity was accompanied by increased body mass. In contrast, in the cold-exposed Osborne-Mendel rats, where lipectomy was not accompanied by compensatory increases in the mass and cellularity of the remaining brown fat depots, increased body fat occurred in the absence of any increase in food intake or in total body mass.

Scapular brown fat removal enhances development of adiposity in cold-exposed obese Zucker rats

To investigate the contribution of brown fat (BAT) to the development of obesity in genetically obese Zucker rats (fa/fa), scapular brown fat (SBAT) was removed from obese and lean 4-wk-old females. Eight weeks after surgery there was no regrowth of SBAT. Lipectomy had no effect on body weight gain, food intake, and body composition when rats were housed at 25 degrees C. Lean rats completely compensated for the lipectomy by increasing BAT mass, protein, cellularity, and activity of citrate synthase (CS) in axillary, perirenal, and thoracic depots. beta-Hydroxyacyl-coenzyme A dehydrogenase (HOAD) activity was increased, but compensation was incomplete. In lipectomized obese rats, only BAT protein and cell number were increased sufficiently for complete compensation. In a second experiment SBAT was removed from obese and lean rats, but rats were housed in the cold (10 degrees C) for 8 wk. In lean rats, although compensation was incomplete, it was sufficient to maintain a weight gain and body composition comparable with sham-operated lean rats. In obese rats, where there was little or no compensation for lipectomy, weight gain and fat deposition were greater than observed in sham-operated obese controls. These data support the hypothesis that reducing the amount of functional BAT contributes to the development of increased adiposity.

Lipoprotein lipase activity and cellularity in brown and white adipose tissue in Zucker obese rats

The genetically obese adult Zucker rat (fafa) exhibits reduced thermogenesis when stimulated by physiological agents (cold, catecholamines). Recent evidence suggests that this thermogenic defect may be important in the manifestation of the animal's obesity and that it reflects a reduced thermogenic contribution from brown adipose tissue, the major nonshivering thermogenic site in many mammals. The present study describes the effects of the obese genotype on brown (and white) adipocyte size, number, and lipid content and tissue lipoprotein lipase (LPL) activity. In the obese rats, brown fat depots were increased in mass. This increase could be accounted for by brown fat hypertrophy (due primarily to an increase in the amount of triglyceride present in each cell) rather than hyperplasia (there being no increase in the number of brown fat cells). In addition, unlike the situation in white fat, the brown fat from the obese rats did not exhibit higher LPL activity than did the brown fat from their lean littermates. This absence of an increased capacity for triglyceride uptake, coupled with the greater amount of triglyceride per brown adipocyte, is consistent with a reduction of triglyceride oxidation (and, thus, heat production) in the cells from the obese (v the lean) rats.

Bipedicled cervical skin flap for repair after resection of oral cancer

A technique for immediate reconstruction after resection of intraoral cancer, using a bipedicled cervical skin flap, is reported. This procedure does not necessitate a split-thickness skin graft, and the neck wound may be closed by primary approximation.

[Effects of 4-(o-benzylphenoxy)-N-methylbutylamine hydrochloride (MCI-2016) on monamine metabolism in the brain]

Effects of MCI-2016 on the uptake, contents and turnover rate of monoamines were studied in the rat brain. MCI-2016 exhibited more potent inhibitory effect on the noradrenaline (NA) uptake than on dopamine (DA) and serotonin (5-HT) uptake. Especially, the inhibitory effect of MCI-2016 on the NA uptake in the hypothalamus was comparable to that of imipramine with the IC50 value of 4 X 10(-8) M. The levels of NA and its metabolite, MHPG-SO4, in the whole brain were significantly increased by 30 mg/kg, i.p. of MCI-2016. The peak effects were reached between two to 4 hrs after administration. The increase in 5-HT contents at the cortex were also observed by MCI-2016 (30 mg/kg, i.p.), with little changes in 5-HIAA contents. The levels of DA, HVA and DOPAC in the whole brain were not significantly influenced by MCI-2016. The turnover rate of NA was facilitated by 61.1% by 15 mg/kg, i.p. of MCI-2016. DA and 5-HT turnover rates were little affected by the same dosage of MCI-2016. In the case of imipramine (15 mg/kg, i.p.), however, it didn't increase the NA turnover, and in addition, it inhibited the 5-HT turnover. The increase in NA turnover rate induced by MCI-2016 was antagonized by 54.5% by 30 mg/kg, i.p. of atropine. Physostigmine (1 mg/kg, i.p.) also increased NA turnover rate which was also partially (62.6%) inhibited by atropine. These results may suggest that the effects of MCI-2016 on noradrenergic mechanisms were qualitatively different from those of tricyclic antidepressants. In addition, the results with atropine on the turnover rate may in part suggest a possible participation of the cholinergic mechanism on the turnover increasing effect of MCI-2016.