Mouse strain variations in the magnitude of induction of liver DT-diaphorase and hereditary transmission of the trait

1. Strain variations among mice in terms of cytosolic DT-diaphorase activity were studied in liver, kidney, stomach and heart tissues with or without the administration of 3-tert-butyl-4-hydroxyanisole (BHA). 2. BHA induced DT-diaphorase activity in all strains examined, and the magnitude of induction varied depending on the strain and tissue. Among the 10 inbred strains tested, BALB/c and C57BL mice showed relatively large magnitudes of induction for liver DT-diaphorase, whereas C3H and CBA mice showed relatively small magnitudes. 3. Results of examinations of BALB/c-C3H-F1, -F2 and C57BL-CBA-F1 mice revealed that smaller magnitudes of induction of liver DT-diaphorase were inherited essentially as a dominant trait. The hereditary trait could be adequately explained by postulating two gene loci that regulate the magnitude of induction. 4. The possible significance of DT-diaphorase activity in chemical carcinogenesis was discussed.

[Determination of various tumor markers, with special reference to neuron-specific enolase in lung cancer]

Serum neuron-specific enolase (NSE) was measured in 23 patients with small cell lung cancer (SCLC) and 184 patients with non-small cell lung cancer (non-SCLC), both of which were untreated. Increased levels of serum NSE were observed in 82.6% (19/23) of SCLC, whereas 9.8% (18/184) of non-SCLC had positive results showing an overall positive rate of 17.9% (37/207) in lung cancer cases. In addition, the elevation of serum NSE levels in non-SCLC patients seemed to suggest poor prognosis. Elevated serum NSE levels returned to normal with either surgical resection of the tumor or response to chemotherapy, after which serum NSE levels were again raised to levels higher than the previous ones in cases of relapse or progression. The evaluation of serum NSE may be a useful marker for both diagnosis and monitoring of responsiveness to therapy as well as for recognition of relapse and progression in SCLC. Identification of NSE as assessed by immunohistochemical procedure employing the ABC method on formalin-fixed paraffin-embedded tissue sections in lung cancer cases of each histological type, showed that some materials from non-SCLC cases were positively stained despite the presence of normal serum NSE levels, and did not always parallel the serum levels. Among other various tumor markers determined, serum CA 19-9 had a relatively high positive rate of 38.2% (42/110) in adenocarcinoma of the lung.

Synthesis of water-soluble, branched polysaccharides having D-mannopyranose, D-arabinofuranose, or oligo-D-arabinofuranose side-chains and their antitumor activity

Branched polysaccharides having D-mannopyranose, D-arabinofuranose, or oligo-D-arabinofuranose side-chains were synthesized by the reaction of 3,4,6-tri-O-acetyl-(1,2-O-ethylorthoacetyl)-beta-D-mannopyranose, 3,5-di-O-benzoyl-(1,2-O-ethylorthobenzoyl)-beta-D-arabinofuranose, or 3-O-benzoyl-(1,2,5-O-orthobenzoyl)-beta-D-arabinofuranose with cellulose acetate or curdlan acetate, followed by desterification. The structure and antitumor activity of the water-soluble portion of the polysaccharides thus obtained were investigated. Polysaccharides synthesized from (1----3)-beta-D-glucan as the main chain with oligo-D-arabinofuranose side-chains exhibited high antitumor activity.

Synthesis of three disaccharides for the preparation of immunogens bearing immunodeterminants known to occur on glycoproteins

p-Nitrophenyl 2-acetamido-3,6-di-O-benzyl-2-deoxy-beta-D-glucopyranoside was condensed with 2,3,4,6-tetra-O-benzyl-alpha-D-galactopyranosyl bromide, the product deprotected, and the disaccharide glycoside converted into p-trifluoroacetamidophenyl 2-acetamido-2-deoxy-4-O-beta-D-galactopyranosyl-beta- D-glucopyranoside. p-Nitrophenyl 3-O-benzoyl-4,6-di-O-benzylidene-alpha-D-mannopyranoside was condensed with 3,4,6-tri-O-acetyl-2-deoxy-2-phthalimido-beta-D-glucopyranosyl bromide, and the product was deprotected, to yield p-nitrophenyl 2-O-(2-acetamido-2-deoxy-beta-D-glucopyranosyl)-alpha-D-mannopyranoside. p-Nitrophenyl 2-acetamido-3,4-di-O-benzoyl-2-deoxy-beta-D-glucopyranoside was condensed with 2,3,4-tri-O-benzyl-alpha-L-fucopyranosyl bromide, and, after reduction, trifluoroacetylation, and deprotection, p-trifluoroacetamidophenyl 2-acetamido-2-deoxy-6-O-alpha-L-fucopyranosyl-beta-D-glucopyranoside was obtained.