Positive effect on bone fusion by the combination of platelet-rich plasma and a gelatin β-tricalcium phosphate sponge: a study using a posterolateral fusion model of lumbar vertebrae in rats

We developed a novel method for bone fusion by combining platelet-rich plasma (PRP) and a gelatin β-tricalcium phosphate (β-TCP) sponge. The PRP is an autologous concentration of platelets that includes several growth factors. The gelatin β-TCP sponge comprises gelatin and β-TCP, thus enabling the sustained release of growth factors and osteoconduction. To evaluate this method, we generated a posterolateral fusion model of lumbar vertebrae in rats and divided it into five groups by implanting the following materials between transverse processes of vertebrae, (1) the gelatin β-TCP sponge with PRP (PRP sponge), (2) the gelatin β-TCP sponge with platelet-poor plasma, (3) gelatin hydrogel with PRP, (4) autologous iliac bone (autograft), and (5) no material was implanted as a control. The assessment of bone fusion by a radiographic assessment, a biomechanical test, microcomputed tomography, and histological evaluations demonstrated that there were no significant differences between the PRP sponge and the autograft groups regarding the osteogenic effect. Subsequent examinations revealed that no significant differences existed between the PRP sponge and the autograft groups in either biomechanical stiffness or the bone volume over time; whereas the radiographic and histological composition underwent similar changes in the fusion process. These results indicate that the PRP sponge could, therefore, be potentially useful as an attractive and less invasive method for bone fusion.     

A case of leiomyosarcoma of the testis

A 64-year-old man presented with the painless hard swelling of left scrotal content. Left orchiectomy with high ligation of the spermatic cord was performed with clinical diagnosis of testicular tumor. Histopathologically, it was diagnosed as leiomyosarcoma arising from the spermatic cord. There has been neither local recurrence nor metastasis for 5 months after operation. This is the 20th case of leiomyosarcoma of the spermatic cord in Japan.     

Structural and functional adaptation of the pulpal nerve fibers in the rat incisor

Special fine structure of the pulpal nerve fibers adapted to the continuously growing incisor was studied on 20 rats (25-d-old-males) electron microscopically and was compared with that of the molars of limited growth. The incisal pulp was innervated by 2 kinds of the nerve fibers derived from the cervical sympathetic and the trigeminal ganglia: polyaxonal unmyelinated and monoaxonal myelinated. In the apical pulp, however, the pulpal nerve fibers were unmyelinated, showing 3 different profiles in the fine structure: 1. polyaxonal, 2. polyaxonal with dial plate-like profile and 3. monoaxonal. The monoaxonal unmyelinated fiber reflected the transverse profile of the unmyelinated part of the myelinated axon derived from the trigeminal ganglion. It can be concluded that the pulpal nerve fibers derived from the trigeminal ganglion maintain the immatured nature in the apical proliferating pulp to adapt to the continuous growth of the incisor.     

Expression of anticardiolipin cofactor, human beta 2-glycoprotein I, by a recombinant baculovirus/insect cell system.

A full-length cDNA coding a human beta 2-glycoprotein I (beta 2-GPI) was introduced into the baculovirus genome to construct a recombinant baculovirus. Spodoptera frugiperda (Sf9) cells were infected with the recombinant baculovirus. A protein (mol. wt 43,000) reactive with anti-beta 2-GPI antisera was produced in the insect cells and secreted into the culture medium. The recombinant beta 2-GPI was purified from the culture supernatant by sequential cardiolipin (CL)-affinity column chromatography and gel filtration. The N-terminal amino acid sequence of the protein was identical to that of the native beta 2-GPI purified from human sera, and a putative signal peptide was cleaved from the secreted form of the recombinant protein. The purified recombinant protein had a cofactor activity which enhances CL binding of anticardiolipin antibodies (aCL) in systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) patients, as well as the native beta 2-GPI. Thus, the beta 2-GPI expressed in insect cells is an immunologically active cofactor.     

Two new lignan glucosides from the fruit of <Emphasis Type="Italic">Vitex cannabifolia</Emphasis>

Two new phenyldihydronaphthalene-type lignan glucosides, vitecannasides A (1) and B (2) were isolated from the fruit of Vitex cannabifolia Sieb. et. Zucc. (Verbenaceae) along with the six known lignan derivatives (3–8), four known iridoid glucosides (9–12), three known flavonoids (13–15), and one known phenylbutanone glucoside (16). Their chemical structures were determined on the basis of spectroscopic data as well as chemical evidence. The scavenging effect of 1, 2, and 11–16 on the stable free radical 1,1-diphenyl-2-picrylhydrazyl was examined. Compounds 1, 2, 14, and 15 exhibited stronger activity than that of l-cysteine. Especially, 14 and 15 showed more potent activity than that of α-tocopherol.     

Neoplastic involvement of granulocytic lineage,not granulocytic-monocytic,monocytic, or erythrocytic lineage,in a patient with chronic neutrophilic leukemia case report

Chronic neutrophilic leukemia (CNL) is a very rare myeloproliferative disorder. To determine the neoplastic origin of CNL, morphological and cytogenetical studies were made of colonies derived from hematopoietic progenitors of a patient with CNL. The patient's hematopoietic progenitors spontaneously formed colonies consisting of mature granulocytes, and cytogenetical study of the colonies indicated chromosome abnormalities identical to those in the patient's bone marrow cells. Analysis of colonies consisting of granulocytes and macrophages, macrophages, or erythrocytes disclosed a normal karyotype. These results demonstrated that the neoplastic process in this patient with CNL originated in hematopoietic progenitors capable of differentiating only into granulocytes, and not granulocytes and monocytes, monocytes, or erythrocytes. Am. J. Hematol. 57:221–224, 1998. © 1998 Wiley-Liss, Inc.