Scirrhous carcinoma of the stomach: A clinical and pathological study of 106 surgical cases

Clinical and pathological characteristics of scirrhous carcinoma of the stomach were studied in 106 cases treated by gastrectomy between 1973 and 1983. The male to female ratio was 0.58. The percentage of scirrhous carcinomas to all gastric carcinomas resected in the same period was three times higher in females than males. The age distribution of the patients suggested that there were two peaks in the forties and sixties in the male, and in the thirties and fifties in the female. The incidence of scirrhous carcinoma in all types of gastric carcinoma was significantly higher in the twenties, thirties and forties compared to the lowest incidence in the seventies. In the female group the primary lesion had a tendency to be adjacent to the fundic gland area and to avoid intestinal metaplasia. In the male the opposite was recognized. Cancer nests with single cells or only several cells were common in this type of carcinoma. These findings suggest that there might be two biologically different scirrhous carcinomas both in the male and the female, the appearance of single carcinoma cells might be favored by female sex hormones and young ages, and not only the original gastric mucosa but also mucosa with intestinal metaplasia could be precursors of single carcinoma cells.     

FDP D-dimer induces the secretion of interleukin-1, urokinase-type plasminogen activator, and plasminogen activator inhibitor-2 in a human promonocytic leukemia cell line.

We studied the effect of fibrinogen degradation products D, E, and D-dimer on a human promonocytic leukemia cell line, NOMO-1. After exposure to a 10(-5)-mol/L fragment D or D-dimer, the cells displayed macrophage-like characteristics, such as adherence to plastic surfaces, and showed approximately a twofold increase in response to the nitroblue tetrazolium reduction test. The secretion of interleukin-1 alpha (IL-1 alpha) into the medium was markedly stimulated by a 10(-5)-mol/L fragment D, E, and D-dimer, whereas a significant increase in IL-1 beta secretion was observed only in D-dimer-stimulated cells. In addition, D-dimer induced a rapid increase in urokinase-type plasminogen activator on day 1 (0.52 +/- 0.02 ng/mL v 0.07 +/- 0.01 ng/mL in the control culture) and a slow increase in plasminogen activator inhibitor-2 on day 5 (3.9 +/- 1.6 ng/mL v 1.2 +/- 0.2 ng/mL in the control culture). An increase in tissue factor (TF) was also demonstrated on the cell surface of NOMO-1 cells exposed to fragment D or D-dimer by indirect immunofluorescence using an anti-TF monoclonal antibody. Scatchard plot analysis showed that fragment D and D-dimer bound to the NOMO-1 cells with a kd of 3.3 nmol/L and 2.7 nmol/L, respectively. These results suggest that fragment D-dimer specifically stimulates cells of monocyte-macrophage lineage to secrete key substances that regulate blood coagulation, fibrinolysis, and inflammation.     

Diverse Pathological Findings of Interstitial Lung Disease in a Patient with Dyskeratosis Congenita

A 42-year-old man with a history of surgery for tongue cancer was referred to our hospital due to an abnormal chest shadow. High-resolution computed tomography showed lower lobe reticulation. A physical examination revealed nail dystrophy, oral leukoplakia, and reticulated hypopigmentation. Lung biopsy revealed subpleural and perilobular fibrosis, suggestive of usual interstitial pneumonia. However, multiple pathological findings, including homogenous fibrosis and cell infiltration in the centrilobular region, which were compatible with nonspecific interstitial pneumonia, and bronchiolitis were also seen. Genetic testing showed a hemizygous missense mutation in the DKC1 gene, and the patient was diagnosed with dyskeratosis congenita. Although anti-fibrotic therapy was initiated, the patient''s respiratory function has continued to decrease.     

Paradoxical mineralocorticoid receptor activation and left ventricular diastolic dysfunction under high oxidative stress conditions

BACKGROUND: Salt status plays a pivotal role in angiotensin-II-induced organ damage by regulating reactive oxygen species status, and it is reported that reactive oxygen species activate mineralocorticoid receptors. METHOD: To clarify the role of reactive oxygen species-related mineralocorticoid receptor activation in angiotensin-II-induced cardiac dysfunction, we examined the effect of the following: salt status; an MR antagonist, eplerenone; and an antioxidant, tempol in angiotensin-II-loaded Sprague-Dawley rats. RESULTS: Angiotensin-II/salt-loading elevated blood pressure, and neither eplerenone nor tempol antagonized the rise in blood pressure significantly. Left ventricular diastolic function was monitored by measuring peak velocity of a mitral early inflow (E), the ratio of mitral early inflow to atrial contraction related flow (E/A), deceleration time of mitral early inflow and -dP/dt, the time constant (T), and filling pressure (left ventricular end-diastolic pressure) by echocardiography or cardiac catheterization. Despite the suppressed serum aldosterone, left ventricular diastolic function was deteriorated with angiotensin II/high salt, but not affected by angiotensin II/low salt. However, angiotensin-II/salt-induced cardiac dysfunction was restored by eplerenone and tempol. Nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide phosphateoxidase-derived superoxide formation was greater in the hearts of the angiotensin II/high-salt rats than of the angiotensin II/low-salt rats. The expression of the Na(+) -H(+) exchanger isoform 1, a target of mineralocorticoid receptor activation, was significantly increased in the angiotensin II/high-salt group. Both tempol and eplerenone inhibited the angiotensin-II/salt-induced upregulation of Na(+) -H(+) exchanger isoform 1. CONCLUSION: These findings demonstrate that mineralocorticoid receptor activation by oxidative stress can cause left ventricular diastolic dysfunction in a rat model of mild hypertension.     

Grades of 43 fish species in Japan based on IgE-binding activity.

BACKGROUND: Hypersensitivity reactions to fish are a common food allergy, but IgE-binding activity to fish species have not been fully elucidated. The aim of this study was to identify fish with high binding activity to IgE in sera from Japanese fish-hypersensitive individuals. METHODS: 38 children with a history of at least one episode of hypersensitivity after ingestion of fish were enrolled and 34 children with no history of reactions and negative IgE results for at least five kinds of fish antigen were included as controls. Using a radioallergosorbent test, we examined IgE-binding to each fish species using sera from fish-hypersensitive subjects. Fish were then graded according to IgE-binding activity. RESULTS: Many fish species, including red salmon, silver salmon, yellowfin tuna, big eyed tuna, Atlantic tuna, saurel, skipper, yellowtail, Japanese sardine, bonita and mackerel had high IgE-binding activity. All of these fish are abundantly consumed in Japan. The hypersensitivity reactions experienced by many subjects occurred after ingestion of species with high IgE-binding activity. Only halibut (Osteichthyes) and sharks (Chondrichthyes) had low IgE-binding activity. CONCLUSIONS: A correlation was observed between IgE levels and expression of symptoms after fish ingestion. High consumption of salmon, tuna, scad (including saurel), skipper, yellowtail, sardine, bonita and mackerel in Japan might be the cause of the high IgE-binding activity of these species. The grades of fish species consumed widely in Japan are likely to be useful for nutritional instruction of fish-allergic patients.     

Rapid turnover of the W chromosome in geographical populations of wild silkmoths, Samia cynthia ssp.

Our previous studies revealed a considerably high level of chromosomal polymorphism in wild silkmoths, Samia cynthia ssp. (Lepidoptera: Saturniidae). Geographical populations of this species complex differ in chromosome numbers and show derived sex chromosome systems including Z0/ZZ in S. cynthia ricini (2n?=?27/28; Vietnam), neo-Wneo-Z/neo-Zneo-Z in S. cynthia walkeri (2n?=?26/26; Sapporo, Hokkaido) and neo-WZ₁Z₂/Z₁Z₁Z₂Z₂ in S. cynthia subsp. indet. (2n?=?25/26; Nagano, Honshu). In this study, we collected specimens of S. cynthia pryeri in Japanese islands Kyushu, Shikoku and Honshu, with an ancestral-like karyotype of 2n?=?28 in both sexes and a WZ/ZZ sex chromosome system, except for one population, in which females have lost the W chromosome. However, the S. cynthia pryeri W chromosome showed a very unusual morphology: It was composed of a highly heterochromatic body, which remained condensed throughout the whole cell cycle and of a euchromatin-like “tail.” We examined molecular composition of the W and neo-W chromosomes in S. cynthia subspecies by comparative genomic hybridisation and fluorescence in situ hybridisation with W chromosome painting probes prepared from laser-microdissected W chromatin of S. cynthia pryeri. These methods revealed that the molecular composition of highly heterochromatic part of the S. cynthia pryeri W chromosome is very different and lacks homology in the genomes of other subspecies, whereas the euchromatin-like part of the W chromosome corresponds to a heterochromatic part of the neo-W chromosomes in S. cynthia walkeri and S. cynthia subsp. indet. Our findings suggest that the curious WZ system of S. cynthia pryeri may represent an ancestral state of the Samia species complex but do not exclude an alternative hypothesis of its derived origin.     

Characteristics of gram-negative bacteremia during febrile neutropenia among allogeneic hematopoietic stem cell transplant recipients on levofloxacin prophylaxis

European Journal of Clinical Microbiology & Infectious Diseases - The aim of this study is to clarify the characteristics of gram-negative bacteremia (GNB), including extended-spectrum...