Morphological change in tumor endothelial cells induced by natural-type human tumor necrosis factor

Research progress in the last quarter of the 20th century at the University of Tokyo and Tokyo Women's Medical University

Professor Keiji Sano described the history of neurosurgery in Japan until 1975. After World War II, not only neurosurgery but all fields of medicine were devastated in Japan. Professor Sano contributed greatly to the reform and modernization of neurosurgery during that very difficult era in Japan. He performed much research by himself and also as a leader of research groups on stereotactic and functional neurosurgery, cerebrovascular diseases, head injuries, and brain tumors. He organized the Fifth International Congress of Neurological Surgery in Tokyo in 1973. I succeeded in the chairmanship of the Department of Neurosurgery of the University of Tokyo in 1981. We have performed research on the treatment of brain tumors and cerebrovascular diseases. To obtain the best results for brain tumor treatment, we have introduced several new radiotherapeutic methods, such as the gamma knife, heavy-particle irradiation, and the photon radiosurgery system. To improve surgical treatment, we have energetically engaged in medical engineering research on computer-assisted surgical systems (intraoperative monitoring and navigation systems). We have also performed much research on chemotherapy and immunotherapy. In the field of cerebrovascular diseases, the main research projects have been focused on the mechanism and treatment of vasospasm and brain edema after subarachnoid hemorrhage. I summarize the results of our research performed in the Department of Neurosurgery of the University of Tokyo until 1992 and at Tokyo Women's Medical University after 1992, in the last quarter of the 20th century.

Characteristic proliferations of reticular and dendritic cells in angioimmunoblastic lymphoma

Angioimmunoblastic lymphoma (AIL) is a T-cell proliferation with a distinct clinical presentation that often poses a difficult diagnostic challenge. Angioimmunoblastic lymphoma is characterized by prominent vascular and stromal proliferations. Using a panel of antibodies, we investigated the nature of the stromal component in 15 cases of AIL as compared with 40 cases of nodal-based peripheral T-cell lymphoma (PTCL) of other types. As has been previously noted, extrafollicular proliferations of follicular dendritic cells (detected by CD21 and low molecular-weight nerve growth factor receptor staining) were highly associated with AIL and were only rarely seen in other lesions. Unexpectedly, large networks of desmin-positive reticulum cells also were noted in all cases of AIL evaluated. These cells with characteristic long cytoplasmic processes were present in much smaller numbers or only rarely in other types of peripheral T-cell lymphoma. This population of nodal stromal cells, a subset of the fibroblastic reticulum cells detected by vimentin immunostaining, may be responsible for the prominent reticulum deposition seen in AIL. No association of AIL with proliferations of other types of reticulum cells (e.g., interdigitating dendritic cells or histiocytes) was noted. These findings suggest that networks of follicular dendritic and desmin-positive reticulum cells are useful diagnostic features in angioimmunoblastic lymphoma and probably are related to the pathogenesis of this entity.