AN AUTOPSY CASE OF DIPROSOPUS

A case of diprosopus, a very rare malformation belonging to dupli-citas, of a female newborn is reported. This diprosopus monauchenos tetrophthalmus triotus dioris was delivered from a 33 years old multipara. Autopsy revealed duplication of cerebral hemispheres, 1st, 2nd and 3rd cranial nerves, hypophysis, intracranial internal carotid arteries, basilar artery and tip of tongue. This diprosopus had also congenital cardiac and great vessel anomalies consisting of double outlet right ventricle without pulmonary stenosis, coarctation of aorta (infantile type), ventricular septal defect, patent ductus arteriosus, patent foramen ovale and thick right ventricular wall. Except for mesenterium commune, the organs in the chest and abdomen, and the extremities were normal in position, shape and number. ACTA PATH. JAP. 20: 239–249, 1970.     

Clinical Trials of a New Anticancer Drug, 1-Hexylcarbamoyl-5-fluorouracil

1-Hexylcarbamoyl-5-fluororacil (HCFU) is a new anticancer drugdiscovered as a derivative of 5-fluorouracil (5-FU). In thisstudy, peculiar types of toxicity such as a hot sensation, pollakisuriaand urgency to defecate appeared in 23% of the patients, whilegastrointestinal, hematological, hepatic and renal toxicitywas very rarely observed. Blood levels of the HCFU fractionand 5-FU were maintained at high concentrations until four hoursafter administration. In a study of 30 evaluable cases withtumors in the various primary sites, good responses were obtainedin an infant with a recurrence of hepatoblastoma and in a patientwith recurrent cancer of the stomach.     

Influence of a Bacterial Lipopolysaccharide on the Pharmacokinetics of Tobramycin in Rats

Abstract— The effects of Klebsiella pneumoniae O3 lipopolysaccharide on the renal handling and distribution characteristics of the aminoglycoside tobramycin were investigated in rats. Tobramycin (2 mg kg^?1) and inulin (100 mg kg^?1) were administered intravenously 2 h after administration of 50,250 or 500 μg kg^?1 lipopolysaccharide. Lipopolysaccharide delayed the disappearance of tobramycin from plasma in a dose-dependent manner. A dose-dependent decrease in systemic clearance of tobramycin was observed, although the elimination rate constant and fraction of urinary recovery of unchanged drug were not significantly different in any group. Lipopolysaccharide significantly decreased the central compartment volume of distribution of tobramycin, but did not influence the steady-state volume of distribution. A dose-related increase in the ratio of the rate constant of transfer to the peripheral compartment to the rate constant of transfer from peripheral compartment to central compartment was observed. The glomerular filtration rate was significantly decreased by pretreatment with 250 μg kg^?1 lipopolysaccharide and the clearance ratio was decreased by 20%, indicating that lipopolysaccharide increases the tubular reabsorption of tobramycin. Our findings suggest that K. pneumoniae O3 lipopolysaccharide modifies the glomerular filtration rate and tubular reabsorption without change in the terminal half-life and that drug distribution characteristics from the rapidly-distributing compartment to the peripheral compartment were altered without expansion of the extracellular fluid volume.     

甘草野生抚育技术研究Ⅰ——灌溉和地下茎长度对成活率、药材产量及质量的影响

采用田间试验研究了灌溉和地下茎(种栽)长度对甘草仿野生栽培成活率、药材产量和质量的影响。结果发现增加地下茎(种栽)长度可显著提高不定根分生数量和移栽成活率,但是对于甘草酸含量没有显著影响。此外,栽培3年后,不定根中甘草酸平均质量分数可达到3.03%,地下茎(种栽)的平均质量分数可保持在2.12%,说明其所产药材质量远远高于种子繁殖的人工甘草,这一现象可以用“野生甘草药用成分合成惯性假说”解释。但是,从药材产量看栽植3年后最高平均每公顷产量仅能达到945 kg。因此,通过人工栽植野生甘草地下茎进行甘草仿野生栽培,可以快速而稳定的获得优质甘草药材,但今后还有待于在如何提高药材产量方面进一步开展工作。     

Dynamic ultrastructure of mouse pulmonary alveoli revealed by an in vivo cryotechnique in combination with freeze-substitution

A morphological approach to cell dynamics is usually difficult, since routine preparative techniques for electron microscopy always induce artifacts due to cessation of the blood supply into organs. An in vivo cryotechnique followed by the freeze-substitution method probably reduces such problems. It was applied for examining the pulmonary alveoli of BALB/c mice in vivo. The following ultrastructural features were revealed. (1) A surfactant layer provided a continuous covering to the alveolar epithelium. (2) Pleural epithelial cells, alveolar cells and endothelial cells contained many small vesicles and pits. In the alveolar epithelium, they were often localised near microtubules. (3) Typical lamellar structures in large alveolar epithelial cells were rarely detected. (4) Circulating erythrocytes with various shapes were observed in branching blood capillaries. (5) A close association between erythrocytes and the endothelium was seen at the peripheral alveolar septum. Such ultrastructural arrangements may be appropriate for the physiological functions of the pulmonary alveoli, such as exchanges of gases or materials in vivo.     

Soluble E-cadherin: a novel cutaneous disease marker

E-cadherin is a major homophilic cell-cell adhesion molecule of the skin. There are two forms of E-cadherin—membrane and soluble types. Although various abnormalities of the former type have been identified in some cutaneous diseases, information relating to the latter is sparse. We measured the concentrations of soluble E-cadherin in several cutaneous diseases, and found higher levels in sera from patients with bullous pemphigoid, pemphigus vulgaris, psoriasis vulgaris and inflammatory skin diseases, compared with controls. In psoriasis vulgaris the levels of soluble E-cadherin in sera correlated with the PASI score. In normal individuals, levels in suction blister fluid were double those in sera. These findings suggest that changes occur in circulating levels of soluble E-cadherin in skin disease, possibly reflecting increased turnover and/or proteolysis of cell-surface molecules in the epidermis.     

Mosaic expression of uncein and 180-kDa bullous pemphigoid antigen in generalized atrophic benign epidermolysis bullosa

Immunofluorescence microscopy of epidermodermal junction components in serial cryosections from the perilesional skin of a patient with generalized atrophic benign epidermolysis bullosa (GABEB) showed broken line-like staining of both BPAG2 (180-kDa bullous pemphigoid antigen) and uncein (antigen of 19-DEJ-l monoclonal antibody), whereas integrin α6 and laminin 5 were continuously expressed along the basement membrane zone. Immunoelectron microscopy revealed a mosaic distribution of the BPAG2/uncein positive and negative cells. BPAG2, a candidate protein of GABEB, probably has a close connection with uncein, an anchoring filament component.     

Pulmonary hypertension is ameliorated in mice deficient in thrombin‐activatable fibrinolysis inhibitor

Summary. Background: The fibrinolytic system has been implicated in the pathogenesis of pulmonary hypertension (PH). Thrombin‐activatable fibrinolysis inhibitor (TAFI) inhibits fibrinolysis and therefore its absence would be expected to increase fibrinolysis and ameliorate PH. Objective: The objective of the present study was to evaluate the effect of TAFI deficiency on pulmonary hypertension in the mouse. Methods and results: PH was induced in C57/Bl6 wild‐type (WT) or TAFI‐deficient (KO) mice by weekly subcutaneous treatment with 600 mg kg^?1 monocrotaline (MCT) for 8 weeks. PH was inferred from right heart hypertrophy measured using the ratio of right ventricle‐to‐left ventricle‐plus‐septum weight [RV/(LV+S)]. Pulmonary vascular remodeling was analyzed by morphometry. TAFI‐deficient MCT‐treated and wild‐type MCT‐treated mice suffered similar weight loss. TAFI‐deficient MCT‐treated mice had reduced levels of total protein and tumor necrosis factor‐alpha (TNF‐α), interleukin‐6 (IL‐6), transforming growth factor‐β (TGF‐β) and monocyte chemoattractant protein‐1 (MCP‐1) in bronchial alveolar lavage compared with wild‐type MCT‐treated mice. The ratio of RV to (LV+S) weight was significantly higher in WT/MCT than in KO/MCT mice. The pulmonary artery wall area and vascular stenosis were both greater in MCT‐treated WT mice compared with MCT‐treated TAFI‐deficient mice. Conclusions: TAFI‐deficient MCT‐treated mice had less pulmonary hypertension, vascular remodeling and reduced levels of cytokines compared with MCT‐treated WT animals, possibly as a result of reduced coagulation activation.