Immunohistochemical characteristics of duodenal adenomas in familial adenomatous polyposis with special reference to cell kinetics

The duodenum is the second most frequent site of cancer in patients with familial adenomatous polyposis (FAP). The main objective of this study was to evaluate the cell kinetics in duodenal and ampullary adenomas in FAP. The endoscopic and biopsy findings of duodenal adenomas in 22 FAP subjects and 18 non-FAP subjects were compared. Adenomas in FAP included 15 ampullary adenomas and 17 nonampullary adenomas. The cell kinetics was evaluated by immunohistochemistry for Ki-67, p53, bcl-2, and cyclooxygenase 2 (COX2), and the apoptotic index (AI) as determined by terminal deoxynucleotidyl transferase-mediated dUTP-biotin nick-end labeling (TUNEL) method. Any correlations between the indices for cell kinetics and the endoscopic findings were identified. All 50 adenomas were histologically verified to be tubular adenoma with low-grade dysplasia. Neither the expression of Ki-67, p53, bcl-2, and COX2 nor the AI differed substantially between FAP and non-FAP subjects. In patients with FAP, duodenal adenoma tended to have a higher Ki-67-labeling index than the ampullary adenoma (54.3 +/- 11.3 versus 46.8 +/- 12.7; .05 < P < .1). In addition, the Ki-67-labeling index in endoscopically normal or slightly enlarged ampullary adenoma was significantly higher than that in markedly enlarged ampullary adenoma (51.8 +/- 11.4 versus 39.4 +/- 11.3; P < .05). Duodenal adenoma in FAP subjects was not found to have a higher proliferative activity or a smaller degree of apoptosis compared with those in non-FAP subjects. The smaller proliferative activity in larger ampullary adenoma may thus be related to the static nature of ampullary adenoma in FAP.     

Generators of visual evoked potentials for faces and eyes in the human brain as determined by dipole localization

Human visual evoked potentials were recorded during presentation of photos of human and animal faces and various face features. Negative waves with approximate peak latencies of 165 msec (N170) were bilaterally recorded from the occipito-temporal regions. Mean peak latencies of the N170 were shorter for faces than eyes only. Analyses of amplitudes of evoked potentials indicated that the N170 elicited by faces reflected activity of a specific neural system which was insensitive to detailed differences among individual faces regardless of species, and consequently suggest that this system might function to detect existence of faces in general. On the other hand, the mean amplitude of the N170 elicited by human eyes was significantly larger than those by animal eyes. These differences in response latencies and amplitudes of the N170 suggest existence of at least 2 different visual evoked potentials with similar latencies (i.e., N170) which are sensitive to faces in general and human eyes, respectively. Dipole source localization analysis indicated that dipoles for the N170 elicited by eyes were located in the posterior inferior temporal gyrus, and those for faces, located initially in the same region, but moved toward the fusiform and lingual gyri at the late phase of the N170. The results indicated that information processing of faces and eyes separated at least as early as the latency of the N170 at the posterior inferior temporal gyrus as well as the fusiform and lingual gyri, and might provide neurophysiological and anatomical bases to an initial structural encoding stage of human faces.     

Multilocular thymic cyst associated with follicular hyperplasia: clinicopathologic study of 4 resected cases

We report here 4 cases of multilocular thymic cysts (MTCs) with reactive lymphoid follicular hyperplasia. They were admitted to our hospital to examine anterior mediastinal masses demonstrated on chest computed tomographic scans. Three patients presented high-grade intermittent fever, and 2 patients were associated with Sjogren syndrome with elevated serum antinuclear antibody levels. All patients were subjected to extended thymectomy. Interestingly, their fever disappeared immediately after surgery. Histologically, the lesions were characterized by several cystic spaces separated by various thick walls with dense lymphoid tissue containing large reactive germinal centers. The inner cyst walls were lined by flattened cuboidal epithelia in some portions. Columnar epithelia with focal cilia were partially observed in 2 cases. These pathological findings led to a diagnosis of MTCs that were thought to result from cystic transformation of medullary duct derivatives by acquired inflammatory processes. The pathological findings, together with clinical courses of our cases, suggest that inflammation accompanied by autoimmune diseases may play, in part, an important role in the development of MTCs.     

Comparison of clinical efficacy and cost-quality of antihistamines in early treatment for Japanese cedar pollinosis]

BACKGROUND: Japanese cedar pollinosis (JCP) affects more than 16% of the Japanese population. The estimated direct and indirect costs for this disease totaled 286 billion yen in 1998. In JCP therapy, antihistamines are first line agents. It is well known that starting treatment for JCP with antihistamines before initial day of the pollen scattering can relieve nasal symptom severity during pollen season. The aim of this study is to assess the clinical efficacy and cost-quality of 7 major second-generation antihistamines in early treatment for Japanese cedar pollinosis (JCP). METHODS: Patients were randomly selected from 16 ENT clinical sites in Osaka and Wakayama between February 24 and March 8, 2003 (peak pollen season). Effectiveness was assessed using patient'ratings of nasal and ocular symptoms and overall assessment in their condition compared to previous season ones. Costs include direct costs of the drugs used for treatment to JCP from January to March. RESULTS: One hundred seventy-five patients who were treated with antihistamine monotherapy (azelastine: n=15, cetirizine: n=15, ebastine: n=36, epinastine: n=16, fexofenadine: n=16, loratadine: n=60, oxatomide: n=17) and 510 non-treatment patients were evaluated. Among 8 groups, there were significant differences in sneezing, rhinorrhea, ocular itching and overall health condition. However, among 7 monotherapy groups, there were no differences in each symptom or the overall assessment. In cost-quality analysis, there were significant differences in a cost for each effective patient (defined as those with improvement in their overall condition) among 7 drugs. The top three cost-efficacious drugs resulted in azelastine, loratadine and fexofenadine. CONCLUSION: These results show that there were no significant differences in clinical efficacy in early treatment for JCP among 7 antihistamines. But Japanese National Health Insurance drug price scheme led to significant differences in cost-quality.     

A new selective agent for poly(tetrahydrofuran) degradation as a tool for the determination of the crystallite core size

The method formerly used to determine the crystallite core size of polyethylene was applied to poly(tetrahydrofuran) (PTHF). This method is based on the different diffusivity of a chaincleaving agent in crystalline and amorphous parts of the polymer. Butyllithium was used as a cleaving agent of PTHF. The degree of polymerization of the undecomposed part of the polymer (PTHF crystallites) was determined by gel permeation chromatography. This value agrees well with the value to be expected from the size of the crystallites determined small-angle X-ray scattering.     

Glomerulosclerosis develops in Thy-1 nephritis under persistent accumulation of macrophages

To clarify the relationship between macrophages and development of glomerulosclerosis, the authors developed a new experimental nephritis model with macrophages persisting in Thy-1 nephritis. Methyl-cellulose was administered intraperitoneally in addition to the intravenous injection of the anti-Thy-1 antibody to Wistar rats. Foamy macrophages influxed into the lytic mesangium and stayed to form nodular aggregates. Mesangial cells proliferated with the formation of extracellular matrices around these nodular aggregates of macrophages. Immunohistochemical analyses revealed that alpha-smooth muscle actin (alpha-SMA) was expressed in the proliferative area around these nodules of foamy macrophages from day 7. Type I collagen and type IV collagen were also expressed around the foamy macrophages in correspondence with alpha-SMA expression from day 7. The electron microscopic study revealed that collagen fibrils were formed around the transformed mesangial cells. The expression of platelet endothelial cell adhesion molecule-1 (PECAM-1, CD31), a marker of glomerular vasculature endothelial cells, was not found in the area occupied by the foamy macrophages, suggesting the impairment of glomerular reconstruction. Macrophages may participate in the progression of glomerulosclerosis in Thy-1 nephritis by enhancing the production of the extracellular matrix through transformed mesangial cells and preventing reconstruction of the capillary network.     

Enhancement of an inhibitory input to the feeding central pattern generator in Lymnaea stagnalis during conditioned taste-aversion learning

To study the neuronal mechanism of a conditioned taste-aversion (CTA) learning in the pond snail Lymnaea stagnalis, we examined the synaptic connection between the neuron 1 medial (N1M) cell and the cerebral giant cell (CGC), the former is an interneuron in central pattern generator for the feeding response and the latter is a regulatory neuron to the central pattern generator. Inhibitory postsynaptic potential (IPSP) which was evoked in the N1M cell by activation of the CGC was larger and lasted longer in the conditioned animal than that in the control animal. The electrical properties of the cell body of CGC and the responses of the CGC to the chemosensory inputs were not changed during the CTA learning. These results, together with the previous report indicating the existence of excitatory projection from the N1M cell to the feeding motoneuron, suggest that enhanced IPSP in the N1M cell may underlie the suppression of feeding responses in the Lymnaea CTA learning.     

A second group of hepatitis C viruses

cDNA clone 11–7 was isolated by immunoscreening a cDNA library that was prepared from a pooled plasma of non-A non-B hepatitis (NANBH) patients using expression vector gt 11. This cDNA corresponds to known nucleotide positions 3983–4745 of the genome of hepatitis C virus (HCV). This clone was used as a probe for screening the HCV-related cDNAs in a cDNA library similarly prepared by using gt 10. As a result, six more cDNA clones were isolated and analyzed for their nucleotide sequences. The results strongly suggested that there are at least two groups of HCV, group I and group II. According to our classification, the prototype HCV and clone 11–7 belong to group I HCV, and their nucleotide and deduced amino acid sequences were diverged from those of group II HCV. Genetic variation observed in the nucleotide and the amino acid sequences between the two groups resembles that in the NS3 region of the genome between Japanese encephalitis virus and West Nile fever virus. Polypeptides produced inEscherichia coli carrying a clone 11–7 or a group II cDNA clone E reacted with antibodies in the blood of 12 or 4 out of 14 individual chronic NANBH patients, respectively. Our data clearly indicate the existence of a second group of HCV.     

Effects of nerve growth factor and glucocorticoid on cultured human pheochromocytoma cells

Primary cell cultures of two human pheochromocytomas (PC) that were associated with high serum levels of adrenaline and noradrenaline were developed to study the effects of nerve growth factor (NGF) and dexamethasone on the morphology and function of PC cells in vitro. By phase-contrast microscopy, cultured cells were small and hyperchromatic on the first day of culture; neurite-like processes that extended to other cells developed several days later and were maintained for more than 3 months. NGF (100ng/ml), dexamethasone (10^–5M), or NGF + dexamethasone were added to the culture media 2 weeks after the cultured cells had stabilized. Catecholamine concentrations in the medium were maintained at higher levels after addition of NGF, dexamethasone, or NGF + dexamethasone as compared to control cells. In the presence of NGF, extension of neurite-like processes was clearly accelerated, while high levels of dexamethasone inhibited growth of processes. These in vitro studies showed that the addition of NGF or the removal of dexamethasone induces differentiation of adrenal neurons present in pheochromocytomas, suggesting that adrenocortical steroid hormones influence the morphological control of adrenal medullary cells.