Genetic background determines the nature of immune responses and experimental immune-mediated blepharoconjunctivitis (EC)

PURPOSE: Experimental immune-mediated blepharoconjunctivitis (EC) was induced in Lewis rats by immunization with ovalbumin (OVA) in complete Freund's adjuvant (CFA) or aluminum hydroxide [Al(OH)3]. To investigate the affect of genetic factors on the susceptibility of EC, we tested different strains of rats for the development of EC. METHODS: Lewis and Brown Norway (BN) rats were immunized once with 100 microg of OVA in CFA or Al(OH)3. Three weeks later they were challenged with OVA in eye drops; 24 hours after the challenge they were sacrificed and their eyes, blood, and lymph nodes were harvested for histological studies, measurement of OVA-specific antibodies (IgG, IgG1, IgG2a, IgE), and proliferation or cytokine assay, respectively. ELISA was used to detect OVA-specific IgG; passive cutaneous anaphylaxis was used for detecting IgE. RESULTS: EC, OVA-specific IgG, and cellular immunity were induced in Lewis rats by using either adjuvant, whereas IgE was not produced by either adjuvant. In contrast, IgE was produced in BN rats using either adjuvant, whereas cellular immunity was evoked only when CFA was used. Less cellular infiltration as well as cellular proliferation was detected in BN rats immunized with Al(OH)3. In both strains, Al(OH)3 induced a higher IgG1/IgG2a ratio than did CFA. More interferon-gamma by stimulation with OVA was noted in Lewis rats compared to BN rats, whereas interleukin-4 was detected only in BN rats. CONCLUSIONS: The severity of EC evaluated by cellular infiltration was dependent on OVA-specific cellular immunity. Genetic background is more important than adjuvants in determining the nature of EC and immunity.     

Superior petrosal sinus dural arteriovenous malformation with varix indenting brain stem--report of a case and review of the literature

A rare case of the dural AVM mainly around the left petrosal sinus was reported. A 64 years old man was admitted just after the sudden onset of severe headache and nausea. The CT scan revealed subarachnoid hemorrhage in the left ambient cisterns. A small hematoma was also found in the left cerebellar peduncle. External carotid angiogram showed a dural AVM which nidus was located adjacent to the left superior petrosal sinus. Its feeding arteries were as follows; the middle meningeal artery, the artery of foramen rotundum, the accessory meningeal artery, the dural branch of occipital artery and the ascending pharyngeal artery. The voluminous petrosal vein and the dilated cortical veins were identified as drainers and, the portion of the latter appeared as "varix" embedded in the pons, which was clearly delineated by MRI. In the venous phase, stenotic straight sinus and residual Falcine sinus were illustrated. Superselective embolization of the feeding arteries was employed followed by the direct clippings of draining vein. Postoperative course was uneventful. The present case should be classified into the tentorial dural AVM. Only 26 cases of this rarely encountered entity was reported in the literature. Based on both the present and the previously reported cases, the clinical features, treatment and pathogenesis of this disease were briefly discussed.     

Dietary zinc deficiency decreases glutathione S-transferase expression in the rat olfactory epithelium

Zinc deficiency leads to olfactory and gustatory dysfunction, but little is known about the underlying molecular mechanism of this phenomenon. We examined the effect of dietary zinc deficiency on the rat olfactory epithelium. Immunoreactivities of glutathione S-transferase (GST) mu, neuron-specific enolase (NSE) and proliferating cell nuclear antigen (PCNA), and in situ hybridization of GST mu mRNA in the olfactory epithelia were examined under different dietary zinc intake conditions. Adult male rats were fed a zinc-deficient (ZD) diet (0.5 mg zinc/kg diet), whereas control rats, including pair-fed (PF) and zinc-adequate (ad libitum consumption, AL) groups, were fed a zinc-adequate diet (58 mg zinc/kg diet) for 7 wk. We also examined the effect of zinc replacement (ZR) by subsequently feeding half of the ZD group a zinc-adequate diet for 5 wk after the initial 7-wk deprivation. No significant differences in immunoreactivity for NSE in olfactory epithelial receptor cells or for PCNA in basal cells were noted among groups. Intense GST mu immunoreactivity and hybridization signals were observed in olfactory supporting cells of AL, PF and ZR groups, but very minimal or no such signal was noted in ZD rats. Our findings indicated that zinc deficiency reduces GST mu expression in the supporting cells of rat olfactory epithelia but does not affect receptor cell proliferation or maintenance.     

The effect of interleukin-6 on enhancing the invasiveness of head and neck cancer cells in vitro

Patients with head and neck cancers that produce a high concentration of granulocyte colony-stimulating factor (G-CSF) or patients with esophageal squamous cell carcinomas who have elevated serum interleukin-6 (IL-6) concentrations have been found previously to be at significant risk for tumor invasion to adjacent organs as well as frequent metastases. This suggests that G-CSF and Il-6 enhance the invasiveness and metastatic potential of cancer cells. We studied the in vitro invasiveness of head and neck cancer cell lines with and without recombinant human G-CSF (rhG-CSF) and human IL-6 (hIL-6) in an extracellular matrix membrane system. The degree of invasiveness was affected by incubating cells with hIL-6, but not by pre-incubating the cell-matrix with hIL-6. The maximum concentration of hIL-6 for enhanced invasiveness was approximately 5,000 u/ml. In addition, rhG-CSF enhanced the invasiveness of tumor cells that produced large amounts of G-CSF. The present study also suggests that tumor cells tend to invade and metastasize in an environment rich in hIL-6. Received: 3 November 1997 / Accepted: 1 April 1998     

根据日本乡村绝经后妇女腰椎骨密度的随访研究制定骨质疏松的护理卫生方针

为了检测妇女绝经后发生骨量减少的相关指标进而倡导依据生活方式的特点对绝经后妇女骨质疏松的发生采取相应的预防和护理方针，我们对日本乡村的绝经后妇女（末次月经后六个月或更长时间算起）进行了为期4a的随访。我们运用双能X线骨密度仪（DXA）对腰椎骨密度（BMD）进行检测并对各种变量，包括年龄、绝经时的年龄、骨折史、日常摄奶量以及吸烟习惯进行多元分析，结果表明这些因素对于腰椎骨密度（BMD）的恢复是不相关联的。 在这些变量中，骨折史被证明对于相关人群是最具危险性的，这些对象有高比例的骨量减少（6．6％），其次是不规律的摄奶（13．6％）和吸烟（9．3％）。在护理中使用的作用于足跟骨的检测骨密度的设备被证实与作用于腰椎的DXA设备可以相互替代。依据这些结果，针对居住在日本乡村的绝经后妇女制订了相应的预防骨质疏松的方针。这些卫生指导方针依据特定区域的生活方式而制定并可适用于其他的人群和区域。在本文中，作者列出了不同的有助于预防绝经后妇女出现骨质疏松的方法并进行了调查。     

Gamma-rays enhance rAAV-mediated transgene expression and cytocidal effect of AAV-HSVtk/ganciclovir on cancer cells

Adeno-associated virus (AAV) vector has several unique properties suited for gene therapy applications. However, relatively low efficiency of transgene expression, which is mainly due to a limited second-strand synthesis from the single-stranded AAV genome, can be a problem in some applications that require potent gene expression such as antitumor applications. Recently, gamma-ray irradiation has been reported to enhance the second-strand synthesis of the AAV genome, and consequently transgene expression. We demonstrate here that an AAV vector harboring the herpes simplex virus type-1 thymidine kinase (HSVtk) is able to kill cancer cells more efficiently when used in combination with gamma-ray irradiation. A human maxillary sinus cancer cell line, NKO-1, was efficiently killed in combination with HSVtk transduction and ganciclovir (GCV), as expected. More importantly, gamma-ray irradiation of practical dosages augmented the cytocidal effect of the HSVtk/GCV system. Southern analysis indicated that gamma-rays enhanced the double-strand synthesis of the rAAV genome in NKO-1 cells. These findings suggest that the combination of rAAVtk/GCV suicide gene therapy with radiotherapy has synergistic effects in the treatment of cancers and may lead to a reduction of the potential toxicity of both rAAVtk/GCV and gamma-ray irradiation.     

Resection of Gastric Cancer Remitted Anti-signal Recognition Particle Myopathy

A 72-year-old woman presented with gradually-worsening myalgia and muscle weakness of the proximal lower limbs as well as elevated serum creatine kinase level. Based on a clinicoseropathological examination including a muscle biopsy, she was diagnosed with anti-signal recognition particle (SRP) myopathy. Although the myopathy relapsed two times in two years under oral prednisolone and intravenous immunoglobulin therapy, the myopathy remained in remission for more than three years after resection of gastric cancer. Although the anti-SRP myopathy is not considered to be cancer-associated in general, we should note that some cases of anti-SRP myopathy may be ameliorated with appropriate cancer treatment.