The Impact of Purple-Flesh Potato (Solanum tuberosum L.) cv. “Shadow Queen” on Minor Health Complaints in Healthy Adults: A Randomized,Double-Blind,Placebo-Controlled Study

The purple-flesh potato (Solanum tuberosum L.) cultivar “Shadow Queen” (SQ) naturally contains anthocyanins. This randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled study determines whether ingesting purple potatoes increases the number of mesenchymal stem cells (MSC) and improves stress response, a minor health complaint in healthy adults (registration number: UMIN000038876). A total of 15 healthy subjects (ages: 50–70 years) with minor health complaints were randomly assigned to one of two groups. For 8 weeks, the placebo group received placebo potatoes cv. “Haruka” and the test group received test potato cv. SQ containing 45 mg anthocyanin. The MSC count and several stress responses were analyzed at weeks 0 and 8 of the intake periods. The ingestion of a SQ potato did not affect the MSC count but markedly improved psychological stress response, irritability, and depression as minor health complaints compared with “Haruka”. No adverse effects were noted. Hence, an 8-week intake of SQ could improve stress responses.     

Significant accumulation of KRAS mutations in bronchiolar metaplasia-associated honeycomb lesions of interstitial pneumonia

Interstitial pneumonia (IP) is a major risk factor for lung adenocarcinoma (LADC). IP-related LADC predominantly develops in the bronchiolar metaplasia lining in honeycomb lesions. Kirsten rat sarcoma virus (KRAS) is the most common oncogene mutated in IP-related LADC. The present study examined the metaplastic epithelia in honeycomb lesions for KRAS mutations using digital droplet polymerase chain reaction (ddPCR), a sensitive method used to detect infrequent mutations. Significantly higher KRAS mutation variant allele frequencies (VAFs) were detected in the metaplastic lung epithelia from 13 patients with IP compared with those in 46 non-lesioned lung samples from patients without IP (G12V, P=0.0004, G12C, P=0.0181, and G12A, P=0.0234; Mann Whitney U test). Multivariate analyses revealed that higher KRAS G12V (logistic regression model; P=0.0133, odds ratio=7.11) and G12C (P=0.0191, odds ratio=5.81) VAFs in patients with IP were independent of confounding variables, such as smoking and age. In patients with IP, metaplastic epithelia exhibited significantly higher KRAS G12V and G12C VAFs compared with the non-lesioned counterparts (paired t-test; G12V, P=0.0158, G12C, P=0.0465). These results suggested that IP could increase KRAS mutations and supported the hypothesis that bronchiolar metaplasia could be a precursor for IP-related LADC.     

Serum markers of liver fibrosis and histologic severity of fibrosis in resected liver

BACKGROUND/AIMS: Serum concentrations of the 7S fragment of type IV collagen (7S collagen), amino-terminal propeptide of type III procollagen (PIIIP), and hyaluronic acid (HA) have been reported to serve as serologic markers of liver fibrosis in hepatitis and cirrhosis. We investigated whether these fibrosis markers reliably reflect histologic changes in the livers of patients with hepatocellular carcinoma. METHODOLOGY: Subjects included 165 patients undergoing liver resection for hepatocellular carcinoma. Most were seropositive for chronic hepatitis B or C. Histopathologic changes in liver tissue resected with the tumor were scored according to Knodell's histologic activity index. Serum was sampled for assays shortly before surgery. RESULTS: Significant correlations were found between hepatitis activity score and 7S collagen, PIIIP, and HA. Concentrations of 7S collagen differed significantly between activity grades, but differences were not significant for PIIIP or HA. Significant correlations were found between fibrosis staging score and all these three markers. When patients were divided according to activity grade, 7S collagen showed stronger correlation with fibrosis staging score than did PIIIP or HA. CONCLUSIONS: The 7S collagen fragment correlated more strongly than PIIIP or HA with stage and activity grade in patients with hepatocellular carcinoma. However, overlapping of results between histologically defined groups appeared to limit clinical diagnostic usefulness of all markers in individual patients.     

Different effects of pravastatin and cerivastatin on the media of the carotid arteries as assessed by integrated backscatter ultrasound.

BACKGROUND: Currently, there are various types of statins used in the treatment of hyperlipidemia and coronary artery disease. The purpose of this study was to compare the effects of a lipophilic statin (cerivastatin) with those of a hydrophilic statin (pravastatin) on the carotid arterial media using integrated backscatter (IB) ultrasound. Cerivastatin (C) has a strong anti-proliferative effect (APE) on smooth muscle cells (SMCs), whereas pravastatin (P) has a weak effect. METHODS AND RESULTS: The IB values in the media of 72 segments of carotid arteries were measured in 36 patients with hyperlipidemia before and after statin therapy or diet for 6 months (C, n=13: P, n=12: diet, n=11). In addition, IB values of 34 segments of carotid arteries were measured in 34 patients without coronary risk factors. Intima - media thickness (IMT) and arterial stiffness (stiffness beta) were measured by conventional echo at the same time. IB values did not significantly change in the P group (12.8+/-3.5 vs 12.7+/-2.7 dB), but decreased in the C group (12.1 +/-2.9 vs 10.0+/-2.7 dB, p<0.01). Also, stiffness beta did not significantly change in the P group (8.3+/-3.1 vs 7.6+/-2.5), but decreased in the C group (10.1+/-4.3 vs 7.9+/-3.3, p<0.05). IB values correlated with age (r=0.70, p<0.01) and stiffness beta (r=0.67, p<0.01) in the 34 patients without coronary risk factors. CONCLUSIONS: Statin therapy with cerivastatin, but not pravastatin, decreased the IB values of the carotid media and arterial stiffness. The difference between these 2 statins may be related to their effective dose range.     

Effect of H. pylori on COX-2 expression in gastric remnant after distal gastrectomy

BACKGROUND/AIMS: Helicobacter pylori infection is known to induce gastritis, oxidative stress, and cyclooxygenase (COX)-2 expression in the gastric mucosa. However, the effect of H. pylori infection on remnant gastritis has not been studied. We investigated whether the severity of remnant gastritis and COX-2 expression were affected by H. pylori infection after distal gastrectomy. METHODOLOGY: The study included 97 patients with gastric cancer who underwent curative distal gastrectomy with lymphadenectomy in our department between May 1999 and April 2001. All patients underwent endoscopic examination 2 weeks before and 12 weeks after surgery. The presence of H. pylori infection was determined by urease activity, hematoxylin-eosin staining, and immunochemical staining. Histologic remnant gastritis was graded based on the degree of neutrophil infiltration using the updated Sydney System. COX-2 expression was estimated immunohistochemically. RESULTS: Both the degree of neutrophil infiltration and the level of COX-2 expression were significantly higher in patients with than without H. pylori (p<0.05). There was a significant correlation between the degree of neutrophil infiltration and the degree of COX-2 expression (p<0.001). CONCLUSIONS: H. pylori eradication may become a treatment for preventing both remnant gastritis as well as remnant gastric carcinoma after distal gastrectomy.     

Age-related changes in barrier function in mouse brain II. Accumulation of serum albumin in the olfactory bulb of SAM mice increased with aging

Brain transfer rate (BTR) and brain to plasma concentration ratio (BPCR) of radiolabelled human serum albumin injected intravenously were calculated to evaluate the brain transfer of serum albumin in the cerebral cortex, the right hemi-brain and the olfactory bulb of senescence accelerated prone mice (SAMP8) and senescence accelerated resistant mice (SAMR1). BTR and BPCR in SAMP8 and SAMR1 were significantly higher in the olfactory bulb than in the cerebral cortex or the right hemi-brain. Age-related significant changes in BTR and BPCR were observed in the olfactory bulb of SAMP8 and SAMR1. These findings suggest that the barrier function to serum albumin in the olfactory bulb of SAMP8 and SAMR1 is not so tight as it is in the cerebral cortex and becomes weaker with age and that the age-related changes are manifested at a younger age in SAMP8 than in SAMR1.     

A Large Retroperitoneal Encapsulation of Bile from a Spontaneous Perforation of the Common Bile Duct

We report a patient with spontaneous rupture of the common bile duct. This is an extremely rare condition which produces free leakage of bile into the peritoneal cavity. There has been no previous report concerning the formation of a large retroperitoneal encapsulation of bile. The preoperative diagnosis in our patient was very difficult and endoscopic retrograde pancreatocholangiography and cystography by ultrasound guidance were helpful.     

Expression of atrial natriuretic polypeptide in ventricles of heart with hypertrophic cardiomyopathy: an immunohistochemical study of endomyocardial specimens]

To investigate the ventricular expression of atrial natriuretic polypeptide (ANP) in human hypertrophic heart, we conducted an immunohistochemical study using endomyocardial biopsy specimens obtained from the right side of the interventricular septum (RVB), left ventricular free wall (LVB), or both of 39 patients with hypertrophic cardiomyopathy (HCM), and 9 control subjects without hypertrophy. No HCM patients had apparent congestive heart failure. ANP was not present in control subjects' RVB or LVB specimens, but was found in HCM patients', showing its characteristic distribution patterns (RVB > LVB, p < 0.05); it was present in 15 of 36 RVB (42%) and 2 of 25 LVB (8%). No clinical data, including echocardiographic, hemodynamic and angiographic data, were directly related to ventricular ANP expression in HCM. According to histological data, however, ANP-present RVB specimens of HCM had larger myocytes, severer fibrosis and myofiber disarray than the specimens without ANP. This indicates that a failing state may not be a prerequisite for ANP expression in human hypertrophic ventricles, but that ventricular ANP expression may occur concomitantly with myocyte hypertrophy as an adaptive response to focal stress due to "histological overloads" such as disarray and fibrosis in HCM, which may be reflected in the characteristic distribution patterns of intraventricular ANP.     

Changes in insulin, somatostatin, and glucagon secretion during the development of obesity in ventromedial hypothalamic-lesioned rats

Changes in insulin, somatostatin, and glucagon secretion during the development of obesity in rats after ventromedial hypothalamic (VMH) lesions were evaluated by measuring fasting hormone levels and their secretion from the isolated perfused pancreas. Fasting peripheral insulin levels were not altered 1 week after the VMH lesions but became progressively elevated at 3-4, 8-9, and 11-12 weeks compared to the values in sham-operated and age-matched control rats. In the portal vein, insulin levels also progressively increased in VMH-lesioned rats, but the portal-peripheral gradient of insulin in the later phase of VMH obesity was significantly lower than in the early phase after VMH lesions. On the contrary, the arginine-induced insulin release from the perfused pancreas was highest at 1 week and gradually decreased thereafter, although it continued to remain higher than that of controls. The perfusate somatostatin response to arginine also was exaggerated in the VMH-lesioned rats. However, both the peripheral glucagon level and the glucagon secretion from the perfused pancreas of the VMH-lesioned rats were not significantly different from the controls. These results show that VMH lesions result in an increased insulin and somatostatin secretion. Using the cyclically perfused liver in situ, we have found that the hepatic extraction rate of insulin is indeed reduced in rats 8-9 weeks after VMH lesioning, and so have at least partly accounted for the decreased portal-peripheral gradient of insulin in the later VMH postoperative phase.