Differential mechanism of retention of Cu-pyruvaldehyde-bis(N4-methylthiosemicarbazone) (Cu-PTSM) by brain and tumor: A novel radiopharmaceutical for positron emission tomography imaging

The reductive retention of⁶²Cu-PTSM was comparatively studied in the brain and Ehrlich ascites tumor cells by electron spin resonance spectrometry and nonradioactive Cu-PTSM. In the brain, only the mitochondrial fraction showed the ability to reduce Cu-PTSM, and the other subcellular fractions did not. In contrast, the cytosolic fraction of Ehrlich ascites tumor cells was the specific site of Cu-PTSM reduction. It was therefore considered that the retention of Cu-PTSM in the brain is closely related to mitochondrial reduction, most probably involving the mitochondrial electron transport system.     

Abnormal synovium in the frozen shoulder: A preliminary report with dynamic magnetic resonance imaging

We studied 16 patients (18 shoulders) with frozen shoulders, 8 patients with subacromial impingement syndrome, and 3 healthy volunteers with dynamic magnetic resonance imaging enhanced with gadolinium diethylenetriaminepentaacetic acid. After intravenous contrast was administered, gradient-recalled echo images were obtained in the oblique coronal plane every 11 to 13 seconds for a total period of 4 to 5 minutes. The signal intensity was measured at the periphery of the glenohumeral joint and in the subacromial bursa. The coefficient of enhancement (percent signal increase per second) in the frozen shoulders was 1.33±0.43 (mean ± SD) for the glenohumeral joint and 0.89±0.47 for the subacromial bursa. These values were far greater than those in subacromial impingement syndrome or in the control group, indicating increased blood flow to the synovium in the frozen shoulders. No previous reports have shown a clinical measure related to the pathophysiology of this disease.     

Three-dimensional MR vascular imaging of the spine using gadolinium-DTPA.

To investigate the fine vascular structures in the spinal and paraspinal region, the authors performed three-dimensional GRASS scanning after the administration of contrast material. The scan sequence was sagittal volume scan, TR/TE 100/16, with a flip angle of 45 degrees. First-order gradient moment nulling was employed. Four normal volunteers and 31 patients were studied. Using this technique, longitudinal anterior epidural veins and vertebral arteries were clearly identified. Paraspinal fine vessels of slow to moderate flow, including dilated anterior spinal artery, radiculo-medullary vein, and perimedullary coronal venous plexus, were demonstrated in pathological cases. In addition, with processing of the volume data set, phlebographic projection images of the ladder-shaped anterior epidural venous system could be generated. This method provided more detailed information on epidural and intradural vessels than conventional MR imaging.     

K-ras activation and ras p21 expression in latent prostatic carcinoma in Japanese men.

Twenty-three clinically silent prostatic carcinomas discovered in Japanese men at autopsy were surveyed for ras proto-oncogene mutations by mutation-specific oligonucleotide probe hybridization after polymerase chain reaction (PCR) amplification from a section of formalin-fixed, paraffin-embedded tissue. Six of the 22 that were satisfactory amplified contained activating point mutations in codon 12 of K-ras, a significantly higher frequency than has been reported in patients with clinically advanced disease in the United States. Of the six cases with activating point mutations in codon 12 of K-ras, one had a GGT----GAT transition, four had GGT----GTT transversions, and one had both GGT----GAT and GGT----GTT mutations. Sections from the same tissues were immunohistochemically stained with an anti-ras p21 antibody. Carcinoma cells stained for ras p21 to some degree in 13 cases. Immunohistochemically detectable expression of p21 was always focal and was not necessarily associated with K-ras mutation. K-ras oncogene activation in prostatic carcinoma appears to merit additional study as a significant event in the pathogenesis of this neoplasm.     

Gene expression profiling in schizophrenia and related mental disorders.

The etiology and pathophysiology of schizophrenia and related mental disorders such as bipolar disorder and major depression remain largely unclear. Recent advances in mRNA profiling techniques made it possible to perform genome-wide gene expression analysis in a hypothesis-free manner. It was thought that this large-scale data mining approach would reveal unknown molecular cascades involved in mental disorders. Contrary to this initial expectation, however, DNA microarray results in psychiatric fields have been notoriously discordant. Here the authors review the findings of DNA microarray analysis, focusing on systematic gene expression changes in schizophrenia, as well as alterations in the expression of specific genes, that have been reported and replicated. The authors also address the probable causes for the discordance among studies, possible ways to solve the problem, and their preferred approach for data interpretation.     

MR appearance of parasymphyseal insufficiency fractures of the os pubis

 Objective. To clarify the MRI features of parasymphyseal insufficiency fractures of the os pubis. Design and patients. MRI was performed in four postmenopausal women with parasymphyseal insufficiency fractures. The diagnosis was confirmed with plain films in every patient. T1-weighted and T2-weighted images were obtained in four patients using a 1.5-T unit. Postcontrast T1-weighted imaging was also done in three patients. Results and conclusions. MRI of pubic parasymphyseal insufficiency fracture characteristically demonstrates a hyperintense mass lesion with a hypointense rim on T2-weighted imaging, showing peripheral and septal enhancement after contrast administration. It is important to have this entity in mind in patients with osteoporosis, especially in patients with a history of pelvic irradiation for malignant disease, so as not to misinterpret it as a chondroid tumor or bone metastasis.     

Clinical study of respiratory infections complicating bronchial asthma]

We conducted a clinical study on respiratory infections complicating bronchial asthma. Transtracheal aspiration (TTA) was performed 37 times in 22 patients. The most frequently isolated organism was H. influenzae. The patients in whom organisms were isolated on TTA had a high incidence of fever and evidence of inflammation. Antimicrobial therapy caused a decrease in indices of inflammation (white blood cell count and ESR), but was less effective against the asthmatic symptoms. Respiratory infection may play a complex role in the clinical picture of bronchial asthma.     

Pancreatic tumor antigen in transplantable adenocarcinomas induced by N-bis(2-hydroxypropyl)nitrosamine in hamsters

An attempt was made to detect a pancreatic tumor antigen (PTA) in transplantable pancreatic adenocarcinomas induced by N-bis(2-hydroxypropyl)nitrosamine (DHPN) in hamsters. Antibody against antigenic protein was raised by immunizing rabbits with whole homogenate of the tumors transplanted into the back of hamsters. PTA was purified by affinity chromatography and shown to have the physicochemical properties of a glycoprotein with a molecular weight of 800,000, migrating in the beta regions upon agarose gel electrophoresis. Loss of immunological properties was observed after heating at 65 degrees C for 30 min. Enzyme immunoassay revealed that the levels of PTA in the serum and tissue showed a positive correlation with the induction of the presence of tumor, and size of the tumor. It is tentatively suggested that PTA values above 150 ng/ml serum are indicators of tumors, because in normal hamsters the PTA range is from 25 to 130 ng/ml serum. Immunohistochemically, PTA was demonstrated to be localized within the cytoplasm of epithelial tumor cells of well-differentiated tubular adenocarcinomas.     

Carcinogenic activity of endogenously synthesized N-nitrosobis(2-hydroxypropyl)amine in rats administered bis(2-hydroxypropyl)amine and sodium nitrite

The carcinogenic activity of endogenously synthesized N-nitrosobis(2-hydroxypropyl)amine(BHP) was investigated in male Wistar rats administered bis(2-hydroxypropyl)amine(BHPA) mixed in powder diet at a concentration of 1%, and sodiumnitrite (SN) dissolved in distilled water at concentrationsof 0.15 and 0.3%, for 94 weeks. Urinary excretion of BHP wasdetected in rats given 1% BHPA and 0.3% SN but not in the groupsreceiving either of these precursors alone. Nasal cavity, lung,esophagus, liver and urinary bladder tumors were found in animalstreated with combinations of 1% BHPA and 0.15 or 0.3% SN, suggestingthat the target organs of the endogenously synthesized BHP aresimilar to those affected when the carcinogen is administeredexogenously. The incidences of nasal cavity and lung tumorsreached 74 and 58% in rats given 1% BHPA and 0.3% SN, respectively.Tumors at sites other than target organs were only found atlevels similar to those previously reported for spontaneoustumors in male Wistars. The present results clearly indicatedthe tumor inducibility of a nhrosatable amine, BHA, throughan endogenous nitrosation by feeding to rats in conjunctionwith nitrite, and provide further suggestive evidence that endogenousnitrosations of environmental nitrosatable amines can be a potentialrisk factor in human cancer development.