Apoptosis with FasL+ cell infiltration in the periphery and thymus of corrected autoimmune mice.

Fas (CD95) ligand (L) is a death factor that binds to its receptor, Fas, and induces apoptotic cell death, a crucial process in immunological tolerance. gld (generalized lymphoproliferative disorder) mice, which have a point mutation in the FasL gene, develop spontaneous systemic autoimmune syndromes characterized by hypergammaglobulinaemia and lymphoid hyperplasia owing to accumulation of abnormal B220+ CD3+ cells. Transplantation of wild-type (wt) bone marrow cells into old gld mice on the same strain background results in normalization of autoimmune syndromes. We characterized the cellular mechanisms (functionally and histologically) of the above phenomena in gld mice after bone marrow transplantation (BMT) to determine the role of apoptosis via Fas/FasL interactions in inducing and maintaining self-tolerance in vivo. Activated splenocytes from wt and BMT (wt to gld) mice showed significant cytotoxic activity against Fas transfectant cells while those from BMT (gld to gld) mice did not. Cells in the thymus, spleen and lymph nodes of gld mice uniformly upregulated Fas expression and were sensitive to Fas-mediated apoptosis compared with those in wt mice. Cells sensitive to Fas-mediated apoptosis in gld mice resided not only among abnormal B220+ CD3+ cells but also among conventional lymphocytes. More importantly, histological analysis revealed that cells in the spleen, lymph nodes and thymus frequently underwent apoptosis with infiltration of FasL+ cells in BMT (wt to gld) mice compared with BMT (gld to gld) mice. Our results indicated that apoptosis via Fas/FasL interactions can directly eliminate pathogenic cells responsible for autoimmunity in the periphery and possibly in the thymus in vivo.     

Cell damage and proliferation in human gastric mucosa infected by Helicobacter pylori--a comparison before and after H pylori eradication in non-atrophic gastritis

Helicobacter pylori (HP) is believed to be involved in the transition from normal gastric mucosa to atrophic gastritis and intestinal metaplasia. Infection with the organism is one of the risk factors for development of intestinal-type gastric adenocarcinoma, possibly through altered cell turnover. Medical eradication of HP is widely performed for the treatment of peptic ulcers and other upper gastrointestinal disorders. Eradication of HP may affect altered cell turnover of the gastric mucosa caused by the infection, but there are few reports comparing sterilized mucosa with HP-infected and non-infected mucosa. In this study, we examined cell damage using terminal deoxynucleotidyl transferase-mediated dUTP-biotin nick-end labeling (TUNEL), in situ nick translation (ISNT), and cell proliferation by Ki 67 immunohistochemistry staining in gastric mucosa before and after HP eradication and in non-infected gastric mucosa. We then compared these findings using endoscopic gastric biopsy specimens. Labeling indices of TUNEL (2.46 +/- 1.22), ISNT (1.13 +/- 0.42), and Ki67 (21.8 +/- 6.14) in tissue from which HP had been eradicated were significantly lower than those of HP-infected mucosa (6.36 +/- 2.26, 4.00 +/- 1.62, 45.8 +/- 5.35, for TUNEL, ISNT, and Ki67, respectively). There were no significant differences between formerly infected and non-infected mucosa (TUNEL: 2.26 +/- 0.69, ISNT: 1.29 +/- 0.63, Ki67: 23.5 +/- 8.20). These results indicate that medical HP eradication results in decreased cell proliferation and damage, restoring the condition seen in non-infected mucosa. Thus, HP eradication may be effective, not only in the treatment of gastric ulcers or gastric symptoms, but also in the prevention of gastric carcinoma.     

HEREDITARY HEMORRHAGIC TELANGIECTASIA WITH MALIGNANT LYMPHOMA An Autopsy Case

A 60-year-old Japanese woman was diagnosed at autopsy as having had hereditary hemorrhagic telangiectasia (HHT) associated with systemic hemangiomas. In her repoduction period, premenstrual epistaxis frequently occurred. At the age of 60, the patient died of malignant lymphoma. At autopsy, multiple telangiectatic spots were noted on the face, limbs and trunk. The paraaortic lymph nodes, which were enlarged and irregularly conglomerated, were histologically diagnosed as malignant lymphoma of the diffuse large cell type. Submucosal telangiectatic lesions were found in the gastrointestinal system from the oral cavity to the rectum. Cavernous hemangiomas were present in various visceral organs including the liver, spleen, small and large intestines, rectum, appendix, uterus, and jejunal and colonic mesenteries. There was an arteriovenous fistula in the left lung. Examination of her family pedigree showed that the patient had an autosomal dominant trait of inheritance. The pathogenesis of the systemic visceral hemangiomas observed in this patient was considered to be similar to that of hamartoma.     

Role of nitric oxide in lipopolysaccharide-induced hepatic injury in D-galactosamine-sensitized mice as an experimental endotoxic shock model

The role of nitric oxide (NO) in lipopolysaccharide (LPS)-induced hepatic injury was studied in D-galactosamine (D-GalN)-sensitized mice. The inducible isoform of NO synthase (iNOS) was immunohistochemically detected on hepatocytes around blood vessels in livers of mice injected with D-GalN and LPS not on hepatocytes in mice injected with D-GalN or LPS alone, although mRNA for iNOS was found in those mice. Nitrotyrosine (NT) was also found in livers of mice injected with D-GalN and LPS. The localization of NT was consistent with that of iNOS, and the time courses of NT and iNOS expression were almost the same. Expression of iNOS and NT was detected exclusively in the hepatic lesions of mice injected with D-GalN and LPS. Anti-tumor necrosis factor alpha neutralizing antibody inhibited iNOS and NT expression and hepatic injury. The results suggested that NO from iNOS may play a role in LPS-induced hepatic injury on D-GalN-sensitized mice as an experimental endotoxic shock model.     

Response of the visual system evoked by an alternating current

Alternating current stimulation of the eye generates an occipital electrically evoked response (a.c.-e.e.r.) of which the frequency characteristic shows a monophasic pattern for which the optimum stimulus frequency for evoking a maximum response is 18 Hz. A.C.-E.E.R. is a very useful tool for making a diagnosis of pigmentary retinal dystrophy and is different from the e.r.g. in that it is not affected by diseases of the optical system such as strong refractive anomalies or vitreous opacities.     

Kinetic profiles of sequential gene expressions for chemokines in mice with contact hypersensitivity

Using cDNA microarray technology, the expression of chemokine genes in the elicitation site of 2,4,6-trinitrochlorobenzene-induced contact hypersensitivity (CHS) was examined in mice. Of the 33 genes analyzed, levels of 11 gene expressions changed, and these can be assigned to four groups based on their kinetic patterns; (1) LARC/CCL20 whose mRNA level increased rapidly at 3 h post-challenge and then gradually decreased, (2) JE/CCL2, MARC/CCL7, MIP-1gamma/CCL9, monocyte chemoattractant protein (MCP)-5/CCL12, ELC/CCL19 and BRAK/CXCL14 whose mRNA levels increased with time and reached the maximum at 6-9 h post-challenge, (3) LIX/CXCL5, Mig/CXCL9 and IP-10/CXCL10 whose mRNA levels increased gradually at least up to 12 h post challenge, and (4) SLC/CCL21 whose mRNA level decreased gradually with time after challenge. The findings suggest that sequential expression of chemokine genes is essential for orientating non-specific skin response to hapten-specific CHS response through the recruitment of inflammatory cells such as neutrophils, monocytes/macrophages and T-cells from the circulation into the tissue site.