[Evaluation of the therapeutic effect of HCFU (1-hexylcarbamoyl-5-fluorouracil) on non-resectable stomach cancer]

The present study was aimed at investigating the efficacy of a new oral anticancer agent, HCFU, that is, (1-hexylcarbamoyl-5-fluorouracil), against 14 cases of unresectable gastric cancers which were confirmed by the laparotomy. The daily dose was 600mg and given continuously as long as the patients could take the drug orally. The efficacy was examined by X-ray photographs according to the criteria for the judgement of direct effect of the chemotherapy for solid malignant tumor. For the diffuse invasive type of gastric cancer, the changes in the X-ray finding such as stiffness and poor elasticity of gastric wall and malignant relief were also taken into consideration for the judgement. Among 9 patients, in whom the efficacy was measurable, two cases showed "partial response (PR)", two cases were diagnosed as "no change (NC)" and other 5 cases were diagnosed as "progressive disease (PD)". Among 2 partial responders, 1 case showed 85.3% decrease of the tumor size on the X-ray film and the other, who had diffuse invasive gastric cancer, showed much improvement on the X-ray film described above. The survival was around 5 months in "progressive disease" group. On the other hand, the patients with the good response to HCFU such as PR patients and NC patients could obtain a relatively longer survival period.

Antibody spectrum and anticomplementary activity of a plasmin-treated human immunoglobulin preparation

A commercial plasmin-treated human immunoglobulin was studied for its antibody spectrum and anticomplementary activity. Except for a decrease in anti-vaccinia antibody titers in two of three paired samples collected before and after plasmin treatment, there was practically no fall in titers of diphtheria antitoxin and of antibodies to measles, rubella and mumps viruses. Among the three major fractions isolated from the preparation, the plasmin-resistant 7S IgG fraction showed the highest anticomplementary activity when tested by our routine method described in the "Japanese Minimum Requirements'. The Fab fraction showed moderate anticomplementary activity which was thought to be due to the selective consumption of C3. On the contrary, the Fc fraction was not found to be anticomplementary in our test method. In some of the above-mentioned features, the preparation seems to be different from the domestic product formerly studied by ourselves.

Effect of human immunoglobulin preparations on Fc rosette formation between anti-D-coated erythrocytes and lymphocytes

Human immunoglobulin (Ig) preparations were tested for their inhibitory effect on Fc rosette formation between anti-D-coated human erythrocytes and lymphocytes, as compared to their complement activating capacity. Both of the two biological activities ascribed to the sites in the Fc portion of the IgG molecules were found to be reduced in the pepsin-treated, as well as in the S-sulfonated Ig preparations, as compared to the activities of the normal human Ig preparation. In the plasmin-treated Ig preparation, which was found to be composed of three major components: plasmin-Fab, plasmin-Fc and plasmin-resistant IgG, the activity of inhibiting the Fc rosette formation was well retained, in contrast to its low complement activating capacity.

Recent structural studies of peptides in Japan

Recent x-ray structure analyses of peptides in Japan were reviewed. A series of peptides containing an aminoisobutyric acid (Aib) residue was analyzed and their helical types were investigated. Two convenient methods to determine helical types were obtained. One method was obtained by calculating averaged helical parameters and the other was obtained by investigating meridional intensity distributions. The conformations of some peptides, such as aureobasidin E, ascidiacyclamide, synthetic analogues of heat-stable enterotoxin, were studied by an x-ray diffraction method, and in some cases, with the help of nmr spectroscopy and molecular mechanics calculations. Since these peptides have physiologically important activities, the structure-activity relationships of these peptides were discussed. Several other peptide structures and the polymorphism of amino acids are also reported.