Actin mutations are one cause of congenital fibre type disproportion

We report three heterozygous missense mutations of the skeletal muscle alpha actin gene (ACTA1) in three unrelated cases of congenital fiber type disproportion (CFTD) from Japan and Australia. This represents the first genetic cause of CFTD to be identified and confirms that CFTD is genetically heterogeneous. The three mutations we have identified Leucine221Proline, Aspartate292Valine, and Proline332Serine are novel. They have not been found previously in any cases of nemaline, actin, intranuclear rod, or rod-core myopathy caused by mutations in ACTA1. It remains unclear why these mutations cause type 1 fiber hypotrophy but no nemaline bodies. The three mutations all lie on one face of the actin monomer on the surface swept by tropomyosin during muscle activity, which may suggest a common pathological mechanism. All three CFTD cases with ACTA1 mutations had severe congenital weakness and respiratory failure without ophthalmoplegia. There were no clinical features specific to CFTD cases with ACTA1 mutations, but the presence of normal eye movements in a severe CFTD patient may be an important clue for the presence of a mutation in ACTA1.     

Combination of alpha-fetoprotein mRNA-based detection of hematogenously disseminating hepatocellular carcinoma cells and analysis of cancer cell membrane fluidity is more accurate in screening patients at risk of postoperative recurrence

We developed an mRNA-based, highly specific and sensitive method to detect hepatocellular carcinoma cells present in blood. However, the reason for some patients being positive for blood analysis and negative for recurrence has yet to be found. We recently established a method to measure membrane fluidity of hepatocellular carcinoma cells, and used it to analyze the actual membrane fluidity of human hepatocellular carcinoma cells. We found that patients with carcinoma cells with lower membrane fluidity less frequently developed recurrence. The analysis of both membrane fluidity and alpha-fetoprotein mRNA thus greatly increased the accuracy of the prediction of postoperative recurrence.     

Pharmacokinetics of the new pyrimidine derivative NS-7, a novel Na+/Ca2+ channel blocker. 2nd communication: tissue distributions, placental transfer and milk secretion of radioactivity after a single intravenous 14C-NS-7 injection to rats

Tissue distribution, placental transfer and secretion of radioactivity in milk were studied after a single intravenous administration of 0.2 mg/kg of 14C-NS-7 (4-(fluorophenyl)-2-methyl-6-(5-piperidinopentyloxy)pyrimidine hydrochloride, CAS 178429-67-9), a novel Na+/Ca2+ channel blocker, to rats. Except for white fat in male and female rats, tissue radioactivity concentrations 5 min after administration were 2 to 100 times the plasma values, evidence that the drug is widely distributed throughout the body. Five minutes after administration the highest concentration was in the lung followed in order by the adrenal gland, kidney and thyroid gland. Concentrations in the cerebral cortex, striatum and cerebellum, the target organs of NS-7, were similar and 10 to 18 times the plasma concentrations in the male and female rats. Radioactivity concentrations in the lungs decreased rapidly. The pancreas had the highest concentration 2 h after administration. Concentrations decreased in all the tissues examined as the plasma concentration decreased. Maternal and fetal tissue radioactivity concentrations were determined after intravenous injection of 14C-NS-7 to pregnant rats on the 18th day of gestation. Radioactivity was well and rapidly distributed to the maternal tissues, and concentrations in all the tissues tested were higher than the plasma concentrations. In the amniotic fluid, however, the concentration was lower than in the plasma. In all the fetal tissues tested, radioactivity reached a maximum 1 h after administration. The respective fetal blood and whole body concentrations were 2 to 6 and 11 to 13 times the maternal plasma concentration. Of the fetal tissues tested the liver had the highest radioactivity. Decreases in fetal tissue radioactivity concentrations paralleled the decrease in the maternal plasma. More than 90% of the radioactivity present in the placenta and fetal whole body 1 and 24 h after administration was due to the unchanged drug. After intravenous injection of 14C-NS-7 (0.2 mg/kg) to lactating rats on the 10-14th day after parturition, radioactivity was excreted rapidly into the milk, reaching a maximum that was 4 to 6 times the plasma value 1 h after injection.     

Acetic acid conditioning stimulus induces long-lasting antinociception of somatic inflammatory pain

A wide variety of noxious stimuli are known to induce a powerful inhibition of pain sensation evoked at a remote region of the body. Here we show that an intraperitoneal acetic acid (AA) conditioning stimulus produces long-lasting inhibition of formalin-evoked somatic inflammatory pain behavior in mice. This novel long-lasting antinociception was completely blocked by the 5-hydroxytryptamine type 2A/2C (5-HT(2A/2C)) receptor antagonists, ketanserin and ritanserin, but not by the opioid receptor antagonist, naloxone, and alpha-adrenergic receptor antagonists, phentolamine and yohimbine. In contrast, the 5-HT(3/4) receptor antagonist, tropisetron, significantly potentiated this long-lasting antinociception. The conditioning stimulus significantly upregulated the levels of both tryptophan hydroxylase immunoreactivity in the medulla oblongata and the 5-HT(2A/2C) receptor mRNA level in the spinal cord. These results suggested that the visceral noxious stimulus caused a long-lasting augmentation of the serotonergic inhibitory system and downregulated the somatic inflammatory nociceptive transmission.     

Features of second primary cancer in patients with gastric cancer

BACKGROUND: In order to improve the prognosis of gastric cancer patients, the timely identification of second primary cancers is considered to be a crucial clinical problem. METHODS: We analyzed the clinicopathological data of 2250 patients with gastric cancer with regard to both synchronous and metachronous second primary cancers. RESULTS: Of 2250 patients, 95 (4.2%) had a second primary cancer. Both colorectal and lung cancer were frequently detected, followed by cancer in the liver, esophagus and breast. Regarding the time of detection for such second cancers, 65% of colorectal cancers were detected synchronously, while more than 80% of lung cancers were detected metachronously. The prognosis of gastric cancer patients with a second primary cancer was more negatively influenced by a second primary cancer than by a primary gastric cancer. CONCLUSION: Since gastric cancer patients may develop synchronous and metachronous second cancers in other organs, effective preoperative and postoperative diagnostic modalities both for second primary cancers, as well as for the recurrence of gastric cancer, need to be developed.     

In vivo evaluation of platelet--endothelial interactions after transient retinal ischemia

PURPOSE: Accumulating evidence suggests that platelets play an important role in ischemia-reperfusion injury. To fulfill that role, platelets flowing in the bloodstream would have to interact with retinal endothelial cells and to accumulate in the postischemic retina. This study was designed to investigate quantitatively platelet-endothelial interactions in postischemic retina after transient retinal ischemia. METHODS: Transient retinal ischemia was induced in Long-Evans rats for 60 minutes by temporal ligation of the optic nerve. Isolated platelet samples labeled with carboxyfluorescein diacetate succinimidyl ester were administered intravenously to recipient rats after various reperfusion periods. Platelet-endothelial interactions in postischemic retina were evaluated in vivo with a scanning laser ophthalmoscope. Anti-P-selectin monoclonal antibody (mAb) was administered 5 minutes before the injection of labeled platelets. P-selectin gene expression in the postischemic retina was studied by semiquantitative polymerase chain reaction. RESULTS: Under basal conditions, infused platelets showed minimal interactions with retinal endothelial cells. In contrast, postischemic retinas showed active platelet-endothelial interactions. Many platelets were observed rolling along and adhering to the major retinal veins. The number of rolling and adhering platelets reached a peak (555 +/- 65/mm per min and 25.8 +/- 3.2/mm(2)) 12 hours after reperfusion. However, the interactions between platelets and postischemic retinal endothelial cells were substantially inhibited by neutralizing P-selectin expressed on endothelial cells. In addition, P-selectin gene expression in postischemic retina corresponded with the time course of platelet-endothelial interactions during the reperfusion period. CONCLUSIONS: This study demonstrated that platelets actively interacted with retinal endothelial cells in the postischemic retina through P-selectin expressed on the retinal endothelial cells.     

Changes in lipid peroxide and oxygen radical scavengers in cerulein-induced acute pancreatitis. Imbalance between the offense and defense systems

The role of free radicals in the development of cerulein-induced pancreatitis was evaluated by measuring the activity of the endogenous scavengers, superoxide dismutase (SOD), catalase (CAT) and glutathione peroxidase (GSHpx), as indicators of the defense system, and the level of lipid peroxide (LPO) in the pancreas, as an indicator of the offense system. Acute pancreatitis was induced by 5 hourly intraperitoneal administrations of cerulein (50 micrograms/kg body weight), in 0.9% NaCl, to mice. The presence of acute pancreatitis was confirmed by changes in serum amylase levels and in typical microscopical features. Regarding the changes in the levels of endogenous scavengers, the SOD level was decreased significantly from a basal level of 52.6 +/- 3.94 to 43.1 +/- 2.79 mU/micrograms DNA at 6 h (p less than 0.01) to 38.8 +/- 5.18 mU/micrograms DNA at 9 h (p less than 0.05) and to 31.7 +/- 3.10 mU/micrograms DNA at 12 h (p less than 0.01) after the first intraperitoneal cerulein injection. The CAT level also decreased significantly from a basal level of 7.80 +/- 0.27 to 5.86 +/- 0.46 mU/micrograms DNA at 9 h (p less than 0.01) and to 4.52 +/- 0.21 mU/microgram DNA at 12 h (p less than 0.01). GSHpx increased from a basal level of 6.80 +/- 0.43 to 7.58 +/- 0.50 mU/micrograms DNA at 9 h and to 10.2 +/- 0.52 mU/micrograms DNA at 12 h after the first intraperitoneal cerulein injection.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)