Temporal and spatial expression of transforming growth factor-β in the healing patellar ligament of the rat

We investigated the temporal and spatial expression of transforming growth factor-β in the healing patellar ligament of the rat by immunohistochemistry. The mid-portion of the medial half of the patellar ligament in 14-week-old male Wistar rats was cut transversely with a scalpel. On day 1 after ligament injury, diffuse staining for transforming growth factor-β was observed in the extracellular matrix filling the wound, and the staining in the adjacent ligament tissue was as weak as it was in the normal ligament. On day 3, the intensity of the diffuse extracellular staining decreased, and the staining was observed in correspondence with the cellular distribution in the wound site and in the adjacent uninjured ligament tissue. On day 7, the intense staining was widely distributed over the whole length of the ligament tissue. On day 28, the staining for transforming growth factor-β was still observed at the wound site and in the adjacent uninjured ligament tissue, where the staining was reduced in intensity but still stronger than it was in the normal ligament. On day 56, the expression of transforming growth factor-β was still detectable at the wound site: however, in the adjacent uninjured ligament tissue, it had almost subsided to the normal level. The results of the present study suggest that ligament healing may be accompanied by extensive changes in the expression of transforming growth factor-β over the whole length of ligament tissue.     

Rapidly enhancing hepatic hemangiomas at MRI: Distinction from malignancies with T2-weighted images

The purpose of this study is to describe a subset of atypical hepatic hemangiomas that enhance rapidly and diffusely and to determine whether heavily T2-weighted images could distinguish between atypically enhancing liver hemangiomas and hypervascular malignancies. A retrospective search of MR records identified seven patients with liver hemangiomas that demonstrated diffuse early enhancement and 23 patients with biopsy-proven malignant liver lesions that were hypervascular on dynamic gadolinium-enhanced MR images. Quantitative analysis of signal intensity measurements was performed on the T2-weighted images, heavily T2-weighted (TE < 140), and dynamic gadolinium-enhanced images. Blinded reader comparison of the T2-weighted images and gadolinium-enhanced images was performed. Hypervascular hemangiomas enhanced to a greater degree than hypervascular malignant liver lesions on the early phase gadolinium-enhanced images. Perilesional parenchymal enhancement was demonstrated in five cases of rapidly enhancing hemangiomas. Signal intensity and contrast-to-noise ratios on the heavily T2-weighted images of the hemangiomas were significantly greater than that of the hypervascular malignant lesions (P < .05). Hemangiomas were differentiated from the hypervascular malignant liver lesions with high accuracy (97–100%) by three blinded readers based on the T2-weighted images. A subset of hemangiomas have atypical rapid diffuse enhancement on dynamic gadolinium-enhanced images. These atypical hemangiomas can be distinguished from hypervascular malignant liver lesions on T2-weighted MR images.     

Cerebrovascular reserve capacity in ischemia due to occlusion of a major arterial trunk: studies by Xe-CT and the acetazolamide test.

Classifications based on clinical and radiographic criteria have proved to be inadequate predictors of the course of cerebral ischemia or its response to therapy. In this study the cerebrovascular reserve capacity (CRC) of 46 patients with symptomatic cerebrovascular ischemia was studied by stable xenon-enhanced CT (Xe-CT) combined with the acetazolamide test. Fifteen patients had internal carotid artery (ICA) occlusion, 10 had ICA stenosis, 10 had middle cerebral artery (MCA) occlusion, and 11 had MCA stenosis. In the patients with chronic cerebral ischemia due to occlusive lesions of the ICA and MCA, the CRC was reduced most in those with MCA occlusion, followed, in descending order, by those with ICA stenosis, MCA stenosis, and ICA occlusion. Our results indicate that measurement of the CRC elucidates cerebral hemodynamic factors that cannot be detected by angiography in patients with chronic cerebral ischemia and that Xe-CT combined with the acetazolamide test is useful for this purpose.     

Antitumor activity of polysaccharide from a Chinese medicinal herb, Acanthopanax giraldii Harms.

The results of experiments with Acanthopanax giraldii polysaccharide (AGP) demonstrated that it inhibited the growth of solid Sarcoma 180 and prolonged the survival time significantly. In tumor-bearing mice, AGP enhanced the phagocytosis and chemiluminescence of macrophages. By the immunofluorescent method, binding of the third component of complement (C3) cleavage product to macrophages and proportion of C3 positive cells were increased. In crossed immunoelectrophoresis, human serum C3 was converted by AGP and appeared as the 3rd peak. The height of the 3rd peak was directly proportional to doses of AGP. The residual CH50 units of human serum decreased dose-dependently. These results suggest that the antitumor activity of AGP is related to the enhancement of immune responses.     

Transverse myelopathy in a patient with systemic lupus erythematosus associated with positive anticardiolipin antibody--a case report]

A 52-year-old woman who developed acute transverse myelopathy following systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) was reported. At the age of 46, she was diagnosed as having atypical psychosis. Neurological examination revealed mild depressive state, paraparesis, diffuse hyperreflexia, hypesthesia below the breasts, and urinary disturbance. Gait was slightly ataxic and Romberg sign was positive. Laboratory study disclosed lymphocytopenia, positive antinuclear antigen, false positive Venereal Disease Research Laboratories flocculation test and prolonged activated partial thromboplastin time. IgG anticardiolipin antibody (aCLA) was positive, whereas IgM aCLA was negative. Cerebrospinal fluid was normal except the elevation of %IgG. Nerve conduction studies were normal and no abnormality was detected in the brain and spinal cord by MRI and CT. We treated her by two series of steroid pulse therapy, which resulted in marked improvement of symptoms and disappearance of aCLA. Before and after the pulse therapy, symptoms were fluctuated in parallel with the levels of aCLA. These findings suggest the relation of aCLA to the transverse myelopathy in SLE. This is the first case report of a good prognosis of myelopathy in a SLE patient who was treated by steroid pulse therapy with the aim of disappearance of aCLA.     

Histopathological studies on experimental marine toxin poisoning--4. Pathogenesis of experimental maitotoxin poisoning

Repeated injections of 45 ng/kg of maitotoxin into the peritoneal cavities of male ICR mice resulted in marked atrophy of lymphoid tissues, a reduction of lymphocytes in the circulating blood, reduced immunoglobulin M in serum, and an increase of calcium content in the adrenal glands. A single injection of 200 ng/kg of maitotoxin induced a marked increase in total calcium content of the adrenal glands as well as in plasma cortisol concentration (about seven times control) within 1 hr. In contrast, mice pretreated with CoCl2, a calcium channel inhibitor, and/or adrenalectomized mice, showed no discernible changes in the lymphoid tissues after repeated injections of maitotoxin. It is thus suggested that maitotoxin first stimulates calcium influx in the adrenal glands, which then causes the release of cortisol into the blood. The excess amount of cortisol in serum produces acute involution of the thymus and other lymphoid tissues.     

Relation between Estrogen Receptor and Malignancy of Thyroid Cancer

The relationship between the histological grade of dedifferentiation of thyroid cancer and estrogen receptors (ER) was examined immunohistochemically. Thyroid cancers were from postmenopausal females of almost the same mean age (69-73 years old) and within the same period of time (1974–1983). ER immunoreactivity located in the nucleus of the epithelium was found in all 6 well differentiated papillary cancers, and 5 of them (83.3%) showed ER-immunoreactive (ER-IR) cells amounting to 20 or more per visual field (x 100) under a light microscope. Of the 6 cases of poorly differentiated papillary cancer, 5 (83.3%) had 1-19 ER-IR cells per visual field. ER-IR cells were negative in 5 out of 6 cases (83.3%) of anaplastic cancers. Thus, the number of ER-IR cells tended to decrease with the degree of atypism of thyroid cancer (P < 0.001).