[Evaluation of the combined assay of alpha-feto protein and gamma-glutamyl transpeptidase isoenzyme II in the diagnosis of primary hepatic carcinoma]

Serum alpha-feto protein (AFP) and gamma-glutamyl transpeptidase isoenzyme II (gamma-GTP-II) were assayed in 104 patients with primary hepatic carcinoma (PHC), gamma-GTP-II had a higher specificity of 95.7%, while AFP a higher sensitivity of 84.6%. There was no significant difference in the positive diagnostic rate of the two markers in patients with AFP > or = 400 micrograms/L and with AFP < 400 micrograms/L. Nor was there any difference if the patients were divided into four groups according to the serum AFP levels of 200 micrograms/L, 400 micrograms/L and 1,000 micrograms/L. Altogether 97 of the 104 PHC patients were detected when the two markers were assayed in combination (40 out of 42 PHC patients with AFP > or = 400 micrograms/L and 57 out of 62 PHC patients with AFP < 400 micrograms/L). These results suggest that combined assay of the two serum PHC markers will increase the detecting rate of PHC and be of value especially in those patients with normal or low serum level of AFP.

High resolution renal diffusion imaging using a modified steady-state free precession sequence

A modified steady-state free precession (SSFP) diffusion sequence is proposed for high resolution renal imaging. A pair of bipolar diffusion gradients was used to minimize the errors in measured apparent diffusion coefficient (ADC) caused by variations in T1, T2, and RF flip angle that have been observed with previously employed SSFP diffusion sequences. Motion sensitivity was reduced by the use of compensated gradients, frame-by-frame averaging, and a repetition time of 22 ms, which for a single-acquisition 128 x 128 image requires only 3 s. High resolution was achieved by signal averaging. The modified sequence was applied to in vivo diffusion measurements. In six normal rat kidneys the ADCs (mean +/- SD; x 10(-3) mm2/s) of the cortex, outer medulla, and inner medulla were 2.28 +/- 0.05, 2.38 +/- 0.10, and 2.95 +/- 0.05, respectively. The technique requires relatively large gradients to achieve adequate diffusion weighting.

Treatment of 23 patients with advanced gastric cancer by intravenously transfer of autologous tumor-infiltrating lymphocytes combined with rIL-2

Tumor-infiltrating lymphocytes (TIL) isolated from metastatic lymph nodes in patients with nonoperable advanced gastric cancer were induced to become LAK-like cytotoxic activity of TIL after in vitro culture with rIL-2. Twenty-three patients with advanced gastric cancer were treated by intravenously transfer of autologous TIL combined with rIL-2. The tumor focus disappeared (complete remission, CR) in 3 patients (13.0%) and significantly decreased (partial remission, PR) in 5 patients (21.7%). Fifteen patients did not respond to the treatment. The amount of soluable IL-2 receptor in serum was significantly decreased after treatment, the cytotoxicity of NK cells and OT test were significantly increased. No significant difference in CD4/CD8 was found between before and after treatment. No serious side effect was observed in the treatment.

[Tuberculous lymphadenitis: a sarcoidosis-like variation]

By means of polymerase chain reaction technique to amplify DNA sequence specific for mycobacterium tuberculosis (M. TB-PCR), BCG immunohistochemistry (BCG-IHC) as well as acid fast stain (AF), mycobacterium other than tuberculosis (MOTT) and mycobacterium tuberculosis (M. TB) were detected in paraffin blocks from 12 cases diagnosed by consultant pathologists as lymph node "sarcoidosis". Of the 5 cases which consulting pathologists unanimously agreed to the lymph node "sarcoidosis" diagnosis, 1 case showed BCG-IHC (+) and M. TB-PCR (+); Of the 7 cases which most of the consulting pathologists agreed to be "sarcoidosis", 1 case showed AF (+), BCG-IHC (+) and M. TB-PCR (+). The results suggest: (1) some tuberculous lymphadenitis cases may present as "sarcoidosis"-like lesions; (2) lymph node sarcoidosis may be related to MOTT and M. TB infection.

Expression and alternative splicing of the cytochrome P-450 CYP2A7

In order to investigate the relative levels of expression of human cytochrome P-450 (P-450) CYP2A genes and determine how this relates to polymorphism in coumarin hydroxylase activity, cDNA clones for members of the CYP2A gene family were isolated. These clones were CYP2A6, CYP2A7 and an alternatively spliced version of CYP2A7 (CYP2A7AS). The latter clone was missing exon 2, but contained a 10 bp segment of intron 1. Translation of CYP2A7AS resulted in an in-frame deletion of 51 amino acids. The expression of these cDNAs in COS-7 cells showed that both CYP2A6 and CYP2A7 generated a protein of molecular mass 49 kDa, whereas the protein product of CYP2A7AS was about 44 kDa. Only the CYP2A6 had coumarin hydroxylase activity. The relative level of CYP2A7 and CYP2A7AS mRNA was investigated by reverse transcription followed by PCR (RT-PCR) using human liver RNAs and an RNA sample from a human skin fibroblast cell line. In one of five liver RNAs studied, the aberrantly spliced CYP2A7 mRNA was 3-4-fold more abundant than the normal mRNA. The other samples contained very low levels of this mRNA species. Interestingly, CYP2A7AS mRNA was the major CYP2A7 mRNA detected in the fibroblast cell line. In this case only a protein band of 44 kDa was observed by Western-blot analysis. The relative of mRNA encoding CYP2A6 and CYP2A7 was established in seven human liver samples by RT-PCR and found to range between 1:0.5 and 1:3. These data strength the previous findings that alternative splicing is an important factor in determining the levels of many human P-450s and that this may be subject to tissue-specific effects. Whether in this case the protein product has some function remains to be determined.

A longitudinal study on electrophysiological properties of atrioventricular accessory pathways in infants and children

In this study the electrophysiological developmental changes of accessory pathway (AP) properties in infants and children are examined. Intracardiac and/or transesophageal electrophysiological studies were performed on seven infants (group 1, mean age 2 months) and four children (group 2, mean age 9 y; study 1), and documented orthodromic atrioventricular tachycardia in all cases. At follow-up study (study 2), supraventricular tachycardia was induced in three of seven (43%) cases in group 1 and in all four cases in group 2. Changes in antegrade conduction properties of AP were documented by loss of pre-excitation (two of four cases in group 1) or change to intermittent pre-excitation (one of two cases in group 2).

Lack of demonstrable chromosome allele loss in hepatocellular adenoma

Several studies of loss of constitutional genetic heterozygosity in the development of hepatocellular carcinoma have been carried out with the aim of determining the location of relevant tumour suppressor genes, but there is as yet no report of a similar investigation in hepatocellular adenomas. In this study we analyzed six such patients searching for evidence of chromosome allele loss, or loss of heterozygosity, with 25 DNA probes recognising restriction fragment length polymorphisms. The 25 probes have been assigned to 21 chromosome arms. None of those probes detected allele loss in any of the 6 tumours. One of the patients had a synchronous hepatocellular carcinoma. Chromosome 17p allele loss was detected in her hepatocellular carcinoma but not in the adenoma. The study suggests that chromosome allele loss is not a frequent genetic change in the development of hepatocellular adenoma.

Corrections to the cross-polarization dynamics in solids. The effect of nonsecular terms of heteronuclear dipolar interaction on cross-relaxation

The dynamic theory of cross-polarization in solids is modified by considering the contribution of the nonsecular terms of the heteronuclear dipolar interaction Hamiltonian in the laboratory frame to cross-relaxation. This contribution is evaluated numerically and confirmed experimentally. It is shown that these nonsecular terms may play a considerable role in cross-relaxation in many systems, especially in those with fast internal molecular motion. The complication in the cross-polarization process is further revealed.

Quantitation of hydroperoxides in the aqueous solutions of non-ionic surfactants using polysorbate 80 as the model surfactant

The application of coupled oxidation of NADPH to peroxide quantitation in non-ionic surfactant solutions is demonstrated using polysorbate 80 as the model surfactant. The linearity, precision, accuracy, and sensitivity of the method are discussed. The method has the following advantages over the traditional iodimetric method: (1) it is not affected by the non-ionic surfactant present in the solution; (2) it is reactive to less reactive hydroperoxides; (3) it is not light sensitive; and (4) it is carried out at near physiological pH in aqueous solutions. The method was employed to monitor the peroxide concentration of polysorbate 80 solutions stored under three different conditions. The effects of light and heat on peroxide concentration are more pronounced in more dilute solutions (0.1 and 1%). The peroxide concentration determined in the freshly prepared polysorbate 80 solution can be converted to the peroxide number of the raw material, which is not available from the supplier of polysorbate 80.

Differences in the tumor DNA analysis of a hepatocellular-carcinoma and a synchronous fibrolamellar variant

A 60 year old man had two tumours resected from his liver which were shown histologically to be a well differentiated hepatocellular carcinoma and the fibrolamellar variant. Both are considered clinically distinct and of different pathogenesis and have not been previously reported occurring synchronously. DNA analysis revealed allele loss on chromosome 12 in the hepatocellular carcinoma which was not found in the fibrolamellar variant. This finding may suggest that hepatocellular carcinoma and fibrolamellar variant may have different molecular-genetic mechanisms for the development, in addition to their clinico-pathological difference.

Precorneal sampling techniques for ophthalmic gels

Drug-cornea contact time is a critical issue in ocular drug delivery. Existing methods for its experimental determination are developed mainly for eye drops and ointments, and have not been reported for ophthalmic gels. The present study evaluated two tear film sampling techniques (capillary tubes and Schirmer strips) and one recovery technique (cotton swab) for their suitability for the determination of precorneal drug concentration as a function of time for ophthalmic gels. The study was conducted using the rabbit eye model, and the gel studied was a commercial polyacrylate-based gel containing pilocarpine HCl. The three techniques explored yield similar results with respect to drug-cornea contact time, about one hour for the gel studied. The strip method suffers from a gel-carry-over problem at the early time points; therefore it is not recommended for tear sampling until most of the gel is cleared from the cul-de-sac. Successful tear sampling was accomplished using capillary tubes. Drug concentration in the tear film as a function of time determined using this technique reveals not only the duration of contact between the drug and the cornea, but also demonstrates a nonuniform drug distribution in the tear film at the early time points (10 and 30 minutes). Finally the cotton swab technique is gentle, easy, and nondestructive. It recovers total drug remaining in the cul-de-sac but does not yield information for the tear film.

[Establishment of standard strains of serotypes (groups) of Streptococcus pneumoniae in China]

Streptococcus pneumoniae is an important human pathogen which is responsible for life-threatening infections such as pneumonia, bacteremia and meningitis as well as for less severe but highly prevalent diseases such as otitis media and sinusitis. The number of serogroups (types) of Streptococcus pneumoniae found in the world is total 46 groups or 83 types according to typing system of Statens Serum Institute, Copenhagen, Denmark. The standard strains established in our lab of 42 groups or 67 types distributed in 17 different regions in China. The significance of this study is that two of the new serotypes (10C, 16A) are first reported in the literature in which the microbes were the agents causing pneumococcal infections. Our standard strains also include some serotypes on rare occasions such as 19C and 22A and 33C which have been found only in Asia. Our findings not only increase the total number of known types of pneumococci from 83 to 85, but also indicate that China has made progress in the field of pneumococcal research. It is the first time to report establishing a series of standard strains of pneumococci involving many serotypes (groups) in China. The work is necessary as a preliminary for pneumococcal disease prevention and treatment. The standard strains listed here with providing the resource of strain and scientific basis for developing vaccine and biological products.

The nucleotide sequence of the genomic RNA of kennedya yellow mosaic tymovirus-Jervis Bay isolate: relationships with potex- and carlaviruses

The nucleotide sequence of the genomic RNA of kennedya yellow mosaic tymovirus-Jervis Bay isolate (KYMV-JB) has been determined. The genome of KYMV-JB is 6362 nucleotide residues long and encodes three major open reading frames. The genomic organization and the encoded proteins of KYMV-JB are very similar to those of three other tymoviruses that have recently been reported. Sequence comparisons revealed that the possible replicase proteins of tymoviruses are closely related to those of potexviruses and carlaviruses, suggesting a close evolutionary relationship among these viruses, despite differences in their genome organization and particle morphology.

Measurement of serum transferrin by the gamma-gamma perturbed angular correlation method. Differences between normal and cancer serum

In this work, the average perturbed angular correlation integral attenuation factor G2 of the transferrin in the serums from the normals and the patients with liver cancer were determined using time integral perturbed angular correlation method (PAC). The average values of G2 were 0.1945 +/- 0.0155 for the cancer serum transferrin and 0.2865 +/- 0.0411 for the normal serum transferrin. The difference between these two groups is significant. Mathematical deduction and theoretical analysis suggested that the equivalent radius of the transferrin molecules in the serum of cancer patients becomes smaller than normal, because of a change in the molecular conformation. Similar results were also observed in experiments with rat serum transferrin.