Crystal Structure and Physical Properties of Conducting Molecular Antiferromagnets with a Halogen-Substituted Donor: (EDO-TTFBr2)2FeX4 (X = Cl, Br)

The crystal structure and physical properties of radical ion salts (EDO-TTFBr2)2FeX4 (X = Cl, Br) based on halogen-substituted organic donor and magnetic anions are investigated, including the comparison with the isomorphous compounds (EDO-TTFBr2)2GaX4 with nonmagnetic anions. The crystal structure of these four salts consists of uniformly stacked donor molecules and tetrahedral counter anions, and the Br substituents of the donor molecules are connected to halide ligands of anions with remarkably short intermolecular atomic distances. These salts show metallic behavior around room temperature and undergo a spin-density-wave transition in the low-temperature range, as confirmed with the divergence of the electron spin resonance (ESR) line width. Although close anion-anion contacts are absent in these salts, the FeCl4 salt undergoes an antiferromagnetic transition at TN = 4.2 K, and the FeBr4 salt shows successive magnetic transitions at TN = 13.5 K and TC2 = 8.5 K with a helical spin structure as a candidate for the ground state of the d-electron spins. The magnetoresistance of the FeCl4 salt shows stepwise anomalies, which are explained qualitatively using a pi-d interaction-based frustrated spin system model composed of the donor pi-electron and the anion d-electron spins. Although on the ESR spectra of the FeX4 salts signals from the pi- and d-electron spins are separately observed, the line width of the pi-electron spins broadens under the temperature where the susceptibility deviates from the Curie-Weiss behavior, showing the presence of the pi-d interaction.

Molecular evolution and diversification of snake toxin genes, revealed by analysis of intron sequences

The genes encoding erabutoxin (short chain neurotoxin) isoforms (Ea, Eb, and Ec), LsIII (long chain neurotoxin) and a novel long chain neurotoxin pseudogene were cloned from a Laticauda semifasciata genomic library. Short and long chain neurotoxin genes were also cloned from the genome of Laticauda laticaudata, a closely related species of L. semifasciata, by PCR. A putative matrix attached region (MAR) sequence was found in the intron I of the LsIII gene. Comparative analysis of 11 structurally relevant snake toxin genes (three-finger-structure toxins) revealed the molecular evolution of these toxins. Three-finger-structure toxin genes diverged from a common ancestor through two types of evolutionary pathways (long and short types), early in the course of evolution. At a later stage of evolution in each gene, the accumulation of mutations in the exons, especially exon II, by accelerated evolution may have caused the increased diversification in their functions. It was also revealed that the putative MAR sequence found in the LsIII gene was integrated into the gene after the species-level divergence.

Prognostic significance of Bcl-2, Bcl-xL/S, Bax and Bak expressions in colorectal carcinomas

The immunohistochemical expressions of the apoptosis-related proteins Bcl-2, Bcl-xL/S, Bax and Bak were investigated in tumor specimens selected from 58 consecutive patients undergoing surgery for advanced colorectal carcinoma. The expression patterns in 50 specimens of adjacent normal colonic mucosa were also examined. In the normal colonic mucosa, Bcl-2-positive epithelial cells tended to be located at the base of the crypts, while the Bcl-xL/S-, Bax- and Bak-positive epithelial cells tended to be located at the luminal surface. The intracellular expression patterns of Bcl-2 and Bax were diffuse cytoplasmic, whereas those of Bcl-xL/S and Bak were granular cytoplasmic. In the adenocarcinomas, the intracellular expression patterns of all antibodies were diffuse cytoplasmic, and the percentages of Bcl-2-, Bcl-xL/S-, Bax- and Bak-positive cases (>20% of cancer cells labeled) were 29%, 43%, 45% and 69%, respectively. Bax expression was significantly correlated with less lymph vessel invasion (p=0.02) and less depth of invasion (p=0.04). In relation to prognosis (5-year-survival), the patients with Bax-positive tumors had significantly better prognoses than the patients who had Bax-negative tumors (p<0.05). However, the Bcl-2, Bcl-xL/S and Bak expressions were not related to any clinicopathological factors examined. Thus, Bax expression may be an additional prognostic marker in colorectal carcinomas.

Effects of fatty acids on liver metastasis of ACL-15 rat colon cancer cells

The effects of eicosapentaenoic acid [EPA; n-3 polyunsaturated fatty acid (PUFA)], linoleic acid (LA; n-6 PUFA), and palmitic acid (PA; saturated fatty acid) on 1,2-dimethylhydrazine-induced F344 rat colon carcinoma cells (ACL-15) were investigated in vivo and in vitro. The number and size of liver metastatic foci via a superior mesenteric vein injection of ACL-15 cells in F344 rats were significantly inhibited in the EPA-treated group compared with the LA-treated group (p < 0.01); the PA-treated animals and those fed commercial rodent chow (standard diet) demonstrated intermediate values. In a dot immunoblotting assay, vascular cell adhesion molecule 1 expression on ACL-15 cells was downregulated by EPA-ethyl ester treatment and upregulated by LA-ethyl ester treatment compared with the untreated control cells, whereas the expression of matrix metalloproteinase 1 and 2 was not influenced by the fatty acid ethyl esters. In a 3-(4,5-dimethylthiazol-2-yl)-2,5-diphenyltetrazolium bromide assay, EPA-ethyl ester suppressed ACL-15 cell growth in a schedule-dependent manner, and LA-ethyl ester showed schedule-dependent stimulation. In contrast, PA demonstrated no regulatory effect on cell growth at lower concentrations (< or = 5 mg/ml) but concentration-dependent inhibition at higher concentrations. According to our in vivo cell kinetic study, the difference in tumor growth at the metastatic site was due to different tumor cell proliferation rates; the cell loss rate was not altered. Therefore, the inhibitory effect of liver metastasis on ACL-15 cells by EPA can be explained by a decreased ability of tumor cell adhesion to the capillary bed (low expression of vascular cell adhesion molecule 1) and a lower potential of tumor cell proliferation (low mitotic rate) at the secondary site.

Immunohistochemical localization of epithelial glycoprotein EGP-2 and carcinoembryonic antigen in normal colonic mucosa and colorectal tumors

Epithelial glycoprotein EGP-2 and carcinoembryonic antigen (CEA) are transmembrane glycoproteins and cell surface markers. Eighty-four colorectal tumors including 23 adenomas (2 mild, 13 moderate, and 8 severe atypia) and 61 adenocarcinomas (33 well- and 28 moderately differentiated) as well as adjacent normal colonic mucosa (51 cases) were studied for the immunolocalization of EGP-2 as detected by the monoclonal antibody VU-1D9, and compared with CEA expression. In the normal colonic mucosa, basolateral VU-1D9 expression in the surface epithelial cells was constantly seen in all 51 cases, while weak apical CEA staining in the surface epithelium was seen in 25% (13/51) of the cases. In 91% (21/23) of the adenomas, regardless of the grade of atypia, VU-1D9 labeled the basolateral membrane of a few surface lining cells leaving atypically proliferating glands negative, while CEA expressed strong apical staining in the surface epithelial cells as well as atypically proliferating glands. The well-differentiated adenocarcinomas showed homogeneous basolateral staining for VU-1D9 and strong apical staining for CEA; the moderately differentiated adenocarcinomas showed membranous as well as cytoplasmic VU-1D9 staining and luminal as well as cytoplasmic CEA staining. The VU-1D9 and CEA localizations and the stage of expression in relation to tumor progression were completely different. Strong CEA expression was seen in the adenomatous stage, while the homogeneous VU-1D9 expression required tumor progression to the carcinomatous stage. VU-1D9 especially when applied in combination with CEA, will be a useful marker for colorectal lesions, and its reactivity patterns in carcinoma can predict the prognosis.

Clinicopathologic and immunohistochemical analyses in lung metastasis of colorectal carcinoma

We compared the immunohistochemical staining patterns of carcinoembryogenic antigen (CEA), CA19-9 and proliferating cell nuclear antigen (PCNA) between specimens from 13 patients who had undergone surgery for colorectal carcinoma with lung metastasis (lung metastasis group) and specimens from 13 patients who had no evidence of recurrence or metastasis within at least 5 years after colorectal resection (no metastasis group). The PCNA labeling indices of primary and metastatic lesions were 53.29 8.88% and 63. 26 6.21% (p<0.001), respectively. The PCNA labeling index in the no metastasis group was 26 12.9% (p<0.001). There was no significant difference in the CA19-9 staining patterns between the two groups. The CEA distribution patterns in the primary and lung metastatic lesions were different even in the same case. The original tumor cells showed apical or C1 localization, whereas metastatic cells showed C2 localization. These findings indicate that patients having colorectal carcinoma with a high PCNA labeling index have a high probability of lung metastasis, and that the CEA distribution pattern would change after original tumor resection.

Dietary effects of fatty acids on growth and metastasis of KPL-1 human breast cancer cells in vivo and in vitro

To evaluate the effects of dietary fats on breast cancer growth and metastasis, KPL-1 human breast carcinoma cells which have a propensity for axillary lymph node metastasis when inoculated into the thoracic mammary fat pad of female nude mice were examined. The mice were fed one of three semipurified diets containing 9.5% eicosapentaenoic acid plus 0.5% linoleic acid (EPA diet), 10% linoleic acid (LA diet), or 9.5% palmitic acid plus 0.5% linoleic acid (PA diet), or commercial laboratory chow containing 8.5% fat of which 4.1% was LA, 1.1% was PA, 0.06% was EPA, and 3.24% was other (Standard diet) starting 19 days before tumor cell inoculation and continuing until the end of the experiment (43 days after tumor cell inoculation). The tumor growth was faster and at a higher incidence in the mice fed the LA diet, and much slower and at a lower incidence in the EPA diet group compared with the mice fed the PA or Standard diet; the two separate experiment demonstrated identical results. The differences in tumor weight between the LA and PA groups and between the PA and EPA groups were significant (P < 0.05, respectively) at the termination of the experiment; the differences were due to different tumor cell proliferation rates. In an in vitro MTT assay, fatty acids showed direct stimulatory or inhibitory effects on the KPL-1 cells. Lymph node metastasis was seen in the LA and Standard diet groups, whereas it was not seen in the PA or EPA groups. The body weights were significantly lighter in the LA and EPA groups compared with the PA and Standard diet groups (P < 0.05, respectively). The results indicate that the EPA diet produced a reduction in tumor cell growth and metastasis whereas the LA diet had an enhancing effect on these parameters; dietary fatty acids may thus have a direct role in the growth and metastasis of human breast carcinoma independent of their systemic effects.

Time-specific action of N-methyl-N-nitrosourea in the occurrence of retinal dysplasia and retinal degeneration in neonatal mice

The morphologic response of neonatal mouse retina to the alkylating agent N-methyl-N-nitrosourea (MNU) was examined at different periods of retinal development. A dose of 60 mg/kg N-methyl-N-nitrosourea was injected intraperitoneally to neonatal C57BL mice at 0, 3, 5, 8, 11, 14, 17, and 20 days of age and to C3H mice at 0 days of age, and the retinas were examined sequentially. In the C57BL mice, MNU evoked a time-dependent occurrence of retinal dysplasia and retinal degeneration. With MNU treatment at day 0 and day 3 (the stage of retinal cell proliferation), retinal dysplasia characterized by the progressive disorganization of neuroblasts, which led to the formation of rosettes, was found in the outer neuroblastic/nuclear layer above the normal pigment epithelial cells during days 8-20, but decreased at day 50. The rosettes were surrounded by photoreceptor segments and Müller cell processes, and by photoreceptor nuclei. The MNU response was related to retinal differentiation; following MNU treatment at day 5 or 8 (the stage of retinal cell differentiation) the cells were much less sensitive (i.e. no retinal response was found). However, with MNU treatment at days 11, 14, 17, and 20 (after cellular differentiation), retinal degeneration characterized by selective photoreceptor apoptosis was seen. These results suggest that there is a critical period for the time of MNU administration in the development of mouse retinal lesions. In C3H (rd/rd) mice, MNU treatment at day 0 resulted in retinal degeneration with only slight rosette formation at the peripheral retina.

Adenoid basal carcinoma of the uterine cervix: immunohistochemical study and literature review

Adenoid basal carcinoma of the uterine cervix is rare and its cell origin is still obscure. We report a case of adenoid basal carcinoma of the uterine cervix discovered incidentally in a 69-year-old woman who had been hysterectomized due to endometrial adenocarcinoma of the uterine corpus. Histologically, small round-to-oval cancer cell nests with peripheral cell palisading were seen budding from the basal cell layer of the uterine cervix showing carcinoma in situ. Immunohistochemically, the basaloid cells of the adenoid basal carcinoma were positive for keratins 14, 17 and 19 and resembled reserve cells of the cervical epithelium. The results of this study clearly demonstrated that adenoid basal carcinoma shows a phenotype similar to reserve cells of the uterine cervix. A review of the literature indicated that this tumor has a favorable prognosis and should be clearly separated from adenoid cystic carcinoma, which has a much poorer outcome.

Expression and localization of matrix metalloproteinases and tissue inhibitors of metalloproteinases as a prognostic factor in advanced colorectal carcinomas

To clarify the usefulness of matrix metallo-proteinases (MMPs) and tissue inhibitors of metalloproteinases (TIMPs) as prognostic factors in advanced colorectal carcinoma, the immunohistochemical expressions of MMP-1, MMP-2, MMP-3, MMP-9, TIMP-1 and TIMP-2 were examined. Specimens were selected from 67 consecutive patients undergoing surgery for advanced colorectal carcinoma. The patterns of expression were compared with the prognoses of the patients. The patients with TIMP-2 expression in stroma adjacent to the tumor mass had better prognoses than those of the patients who had no TIMP-2 expression in normal stroma adjacent to the tumor (p<0.05), which probably acted as a block of cancer cell invasion. However, the expression of MMP-2, presumably acting as an antagonist to TIMP-2 was not related to the prognosis, and the MMP-1, MMP-2, MMP-3, MMP-9 and TIMP-1 expressions were not related to any clinicopathological factors examined.

Keratin expression in normal uterine cervical epithelium and carcinomas of cervical origin

The immunohistochemical expression of keratins 7, 8, 10, 13, 14, 17, 18 and 19 was examined in formalin-fixed paraffin-embedded tissues of normal uterine cervical epithelium and carcinomas of cervical origin (4 squamous cell carcinoma in situ, 17 squamous cell carcinoma, 9 adenocarcinoma, and 1 adenoid basal carcinoma). A panel of 8 monoclonal antibodies capable of recognizing 8 individual keratin subtypes was employed using microwave oven heating and a labeled streptavidin biotin method. Ectocervical squamous epithelium expressed keratins 14 and 19 in the basal cell layer, and keratins 10 and 13 in the suprabasal cell layer. Endocervical columnar cells were found to express keratins 7, 8, 18 and 19, whereas the reserve cells expressed keratins 7, 8, 14, 17, 18 and 19. Most of the squamous cell carcinomas, both keratinizing and non-keratinizing, as well as the carcinoma in situ revealed a keratin phenotype detected in normal ectocervical squamous cells (keratins 10, 13, 14 and 19) and endocervical subcolumnar reserve cells (keratins 7, 17 and 18). The adenocarcinomas, both endocervical and endometrial type, were positive for keratins 7, 8, 17, 18 and 19. The adenoid basal carcinoma expressed all the keratins examined including the expression of reserve cell keratin. Reserve cell keratins were found mostly in squamous cell carcinomas, adenocarcinomas and adenoid basal carcinoma of cervical origin. Therefore, the keratin expression pattern indicates the origin of a variety of carcinomas of the uterine cervix from a common progenitor, endocervical reserve cells.

Synthesis and properties of mirror-image DNA

We have investigated the conformations of the hexadeoxyribonucleotide, L-d(CGCGCG) composed of L-deoxyribose, the mirror image molecule of natural D-deoxyribose. In this paper, we report the synthesis of four L-deoxynucleosides and the L-oligonucleotide-ethidium bromide interactions. The L-deoxyribose synthon 9 was synthesized from L-arabinose with an over all yield of 28.5% via the Barton-McCombie reaction. The L-deoxynucleosides were obtained by a glycosylation of appropriate nucleobase derivatives with the 1-chloro sugar 9. After derivatization to nucleoside phosphoramidites, L-deoxycytidine and L-deoxyguanosine were incorporated into a hexadeoxynucleotide, L-d(CGCGCG) by a solid-phase beta-cyanoethylphosphoramidite method. This L-hexanucleotide was resistant to digestion with nuclease P1. The conformations of L-d(CGCGCG) were an exact mirror image of that of the corresponding natural one as described previously, and the conformations of the L-d(CGCGCG)-ethidium bromide complex were also the mirror images of those of the D-d(CGCGCG)-ethidium bromide complex under both low and high salt conditions. These results suggest that ethidium bromide prefers not a right-handed helical sense, but the base-base stacking geometry of the B-form rather than that of the Z-form. Thus, L-DNA would be a useful tool for studying DNA-drug interactions.

Passage time measurement of individual red blood cells through arrayed micropores on Si3N4 membrane

A new system has been developed for determining the deformability of individual red blood cells (RBCs), simulating the passage of RBCs in capillaries. The kernel of this system was the micropore array filter with an accurately defined pattern made by semiconductor microprocessing techniques. Individual microscopic RBC images were processed in parallel through a microcomputer and its interfacing circuit. An experiment with a normal RBC from a human donor demonstrated that it could pass the circular pore filter with a diameter as small as 1.0 micron at 2 cm H2O pressure difference. Deformability of RBCs treated with diamide or acetylphenylhidralazine was also measured, showing that the system was sufficiently sensitive to detect the deformability loss due to membrane damage or to polymerization of the cytoplasma.

Measurement of human red blood cell deformability using a single micropore on a thin Si3N4 film

The filtration method for the evaluation of the RBC deformability has been further refined to simulate the deformations encountered in the recticuloendothelial system (in particular the spleen), a recognized site of aged and sickled cells removal. The core of the developed measuring system is a very thin (0.4 micron thick) filter that consists of single micropore (diameters down to 1 micron) on a Si3N4 film which has been constructed using silicon microfabrication techniques. Individual RBC's deformability is quantified measuring the cell pore passage time. From one blood sample 200 passage times are analyzed by a computer, displaying mean and median values as deformability indexes, and class and cumulative histograms for studying the passage times distribution. In this paper the effectiveness of the developed system as a routine clinical evaluation tool is demonstrated by studying several factors that are known to affect the RBC deformability, such as temperature, addition of diamide and glutaraldehyde, and blood storage conditions. In addition, it is experimentally demonstrated that the human RBC can traverse a pore with a diameter as small as 1 micron when the pore length is very short, thus broadening the experimental conditions under which the RBC deformability (fluidity) can be studied.

[Infarct size related to the distribution and site of coronary artery lesions studied by the unfolded map technique using single photon emission computed tomography]

To assess the relative importance of the anatomical characteristics of the coronary artery distribution and the sites of the arterial stenoses in relation to infarct size, 21 patients with old myocardial infarction and angiographically-proven 90% or greater stenoses (AHA classification) of one of the major coronary arteries were studied. The infarct size was evaluated by a new quantitative method, the unfolded map, derived from single photon emission computed tomography (SPECT). Eleven patients had right coronary artery disease (Group RCA: segment 1; five patients and segment 2; six patients). Seven patients who had the large left anterior descending artery (LAD) which was distributed to the inferior portion of the apical area were defined as Small R, and four patients with large RCA as Large R. Ten patients each had a significant stenosis in the LAD (Group LAD: segment 6; six patients and segment 7; four patients). Four patients with significant stenosis proximal to segment 9 were defined as Pre-9, and seven patients with stenosis distal to the segment, as Post-9. Stress T1-201 scintigraphy with SPECT was performed and the unfolded map was obtained with data of the maximal count circumferential profiles in the redistribution image. Infarction was defined as a defect below 55% of the standard value. The necrotic area ratio expressed as percentage of the defect area to the entire map area was calculated and used as the indicator of infarct size. Although there was no significant difference in the necrotic area ratio between segment 1 and 2 lesions. Large R had the significantly larger necrotic area ratios (24.9 +- 4.6%) than did Small R (9.7 +- 4.4%; p less than 0.01). In the Group LAD, there was no significant difference in the necrotic area ratio between segment 6 and 7 lesions, but Pre-9 had the larger ratio (30.4 +- 3.3%) than did Post-9 (15.4 +- 7.7%; p less than 0.01). These data suggest that the factors related to infarct size are either the distribution of the coronary arteries in the apical area in the Group RCA or the sites of the stenotic lesions relative to the branching portion of the first diagonal branch in the Group LAD.