Reducing bacterial contamination inside fluid catch bag in 25-gauge vitrectomy by use of 0.25 % povidone-iodine ocular surface irrigation

To examine the bacterial detection rate in infusion fluid collected inside the fluid catch bag during 25-gauge (25G) vitrectomy when the ocular surface was irrigated with infusion fluid or 0.25 % povidone-iodine. Two groups using different fluids for ocular surface irrigation during 25G vitrectomy were studied. Fifty-five consecutive eyes received ocular surface irrigation with infusion fluid (IF group) and 52 consecutive eyes with 0.25 % povidone-iodine (PI group). Samples of ocular surface fluid were collected at the beginning of surgery and samples of infusion fluid inside the fluid catch bag were collected at the end of surgery for bacteriological cultures. At the beginning of surgery, the bacterial detection rates in ocular surface fluid samples were 5.8 % (3 of 52 eyes) in the IF group and 7.7 % (4 of 52 eyes) in the PI group, with no significant difference (P = 0.6955). At the end of surgery, the bacterial detection rates in infusion fluid collected inside the fluid catch bag were 23.1 % (12 of 52 eyes) in the IF group and 3.8 % (2 of 52 eyes) in the PI group, with a significant difference (P = 0.0041). No endophthalmitis occurred in either group. These results demonstrate the risk of bacterial contamination when surgical instruments fall accidentally into the fluid catch bag during conventional 25G vitrectomy. Irrigating the ocular surface with 0.25 % povidone-iodine instead of infusion fluid significantly reduces the bacterial contamination rate in the fluid catch bag.     

G9a selectively represses a class of late-replicating genes at the nuclear periphery

We have investigated the role of the histone methyltransferase G9a in the establishment of silent nuclear compartments. Following conditional knockout of the G9a methyltransferase in mouse ESCs, 167 genes were significantly up-regulated, and no genes were strongly down-regulated. A partially overlapping set of 119 genes were up-regulated after differentiation of G9a-depleted cells to neural precursors. Promoters of these G9a-repressed genes were AT rich and H3K9me2 enriched but H3K4me3 depleted and were not highly DNA methylated. Representative genes were found to be close to the nuclear periphery, which was significantly enriched for G9a-dependent H3K9me2. Strikingly, although 73% of total genes were early replicating, more than 71% of G9a-repressed genes were late replicating, and a strong correlation was found between H3K9me2 and late replication. However, G9a loss did not significantly affect subnuclear position or replication timing of any non-pericentric regions of the genome, nor did it affect programmed changes in replication timing that accompany differentiation. We conclude that G9a is a gatekeeper for a specific set of genes localized within the late replicating nuclear periphery.     

Outcome of transarterial chemoembolization monotherapy, and in combination with percutaneous ethanol injection, or radiofrequency ablation therapy for hepatocellular carcinoma

Aim:  Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) is one of the most commonly occurring malignances worldwide. Curative therapies such as resection, percutaneous ethanol injection (PEI) and radiofrequency ablation (RFA) have been applied to patients with early-stage HCC. Patients with more advanced cancers require local or systemic therapies. We present the results of our retrospective review conducted to evaluate whether transarterial chemoembolization (TACE) alone and combined TACE with percutaneous ablation for HCC exhibited superior efficacy to palliative treatment.
Methods:  The effects of TACE and of the combined therapies (TACE + PEI or TACE + RFA) on the long-term survival rates were evaluated in 268 untreated HCC patients by various statistical analyses.
Results:  The cumulative survival rates in the TACE alone group were significantly superior to those in the palliative treatment group. Further, the cumulative survival rates in the combined TACE + PEI/RFA group were significantly superior to those in the TACE alone group. When the comparison among the groups was restricted to patients with two or three tumors fulfilling the Milan criteria, significantly greater prolongation of survival was observed in the combined TACE + PEI/RFA group than in the PEI/RFA alone group.
Conclusions:  The aforementioned treatment modalities yielded greater improvements of the survival rate and survival duration as compared to palliative treatment in HCC patients. Furthermore, in terms of the effect on the survival period, combined TACE + PEI/RFA therapy was more effective than TACE monotherapy, and also more effective than PEI or RFA monotherapy in cases with multiple tumors fulfilling the Milan criteria.     

Production of experimental autoimmune sialadenitis in mice immunized with homologous salivary gland extract and Klebsiella O3 lipopolysaccharide

An experimental murine model for autoimmune sialadenitis was produced by repeated immunization of homologous salivary gland extract together with Klebsiella O3 lipopolysaccharides as an immunological adjuvant. The cell infiltration was observed in the salivary glands of mice immunized more than twice. Inflammatory cells consisting mainly of CD4+ T cells and CD8+ T cells accumulated at the perivascular regions. There was hyperplasia and enlargement of ductal epithelial cells in the secretory acinar units in salivary glands of repeatedly immunized mice. The repeated immunization developed delayed-type hypersensitivity and autoantibody production to the homologous salivary gland extract. The immunohistochemical analysis showed positive staining on the cuboidal cells in the intercalated ducts, and the columnar pseudostratified cells in the striated ducts. Organ-specific antigens with molecular weights ranging from 20 to 90 kDa were recognized by the sera from immunized mice. Therefore, it was suggested that the sialadenitis was produced by the autoimmune mechanism and might be a new experimental model for characterization of the pathogenesis of autoimmune sialadenitis.     

Detailed characterization of a homozygously deleted region corresponding to a candidate tumor suppressor locus at 21q11-21 in human lung cancer

The frequent presence of loss of heterozygosity (LOH) at 21q21 in lung cancer suggests the existence of putative tumor suppressor genes in this genomic region. Furthermore, the identification of a homozygous deletion in this region has lent further support for its potential involvement in pathogenesis. In the present study, extensive screening of a large panel of lung cancer cell lines resulted in the identification of a homozygous deletion at 21q21.1 in the large cell lung carcinoma cell line Calu-6. Subsequent detailed characterization allowed us to narrow down the extent of the shortest region of overlap of homozygous deletions at 21q21.1 to 3.4 Mbp. Together with existing information showing a relationship with the shortest region of overlap and LOH in lung cancer, the overlapping 1.8-Mbp region was suggested to be a prime candidate for a genomic region that may harbor putative tumor suppressor genes. We found frequent downregulation of two coding genes, SAMSN1 and USP25, as well as of three miRNA genes, miR-99a, let-7c, and miR-125b-2, which reside in the commonly deleted region in human lung cancer. In addition, initial attempts were made to investigate their potential alterations and functional involvements in the development of lung cancer.