Transplantation of neural cells derived from retinoic acid-treated cynomolgus monkey embryonic stem cells successfully improved motor function of hemiplegic mice with experimental brain injury

We induced neural cells by treating cynomolgus monkey embryonic stem (ES) cells with retinoic acid. The treated cells mainly expressed betaIIItubulin. They further differentiated into neurons expressing neurofilament middle chain (NFM) in elongated axons. Half of the cells differentiated into Islet1+ motoneurons in vitro. The monkey ES-derived neural cells were transplanted to hemiplegic mice with experimental brain injury mimicking stroke. The neural cells that had grafted into periventricular area of the mice distributed extensively over the injured cortex. Some of the transplanted cells expressed the neural stem/progenitor marker nestin 2 days after transplantation. The cells expressed markers characteristic of mature motoneurons 28 days after transplantation. Mice with the neural cell graft gradually recovered motor function, whereas control animals remained hemiplegic. This is the first demonstration that neural cells derived from nonhuman primate ES cells have the ability to restore motor function in an animal model of brain injury.     

Organization of anterior cingulate and frontal cortical projections to the anterior and laterodorsal thalamic nuclei in the rat

The anterior and laterodorsal thalamic nuclei provide massive projections to the anterior cingulate and frontal cortices in the rat. However, the organization of reciprocal corticothalamic projections has not yet been studied comprehensively. In the present study, we clarified the organization of anterior cingulate and frontal cortical projections to the anterior and laterodorsal thalamic nuclei, using retrograde and anterograde axonal transport methods. The anteromedial nucleus (AM) receives mainly ipsilateral projections from the prelimbic and medial orbital cortices and bilateral projections from the anterior cingulate and secondary motor cortices. The projections from the anterior cingulate cortex are organized such that the rostrocaudal axis of the AM corresponds to the rostrocaudal axis of the cortex, whereas those from the secondary motor cortex are organized such that the rostrocaudal axis of the AM corresponds to the caudorostral axis of the cortex. The ventromedial part of the anteroventral nucleus receives ipsilateral projections from the anterior cingulate cortex and bilateral projections from the secondary motor cortex, in a topographic manner similar to the projections to the AM. The ventromedial part of the laterodorsal nucleus (LD) receives ipsilateral projections from the anterior cingulate and secondary motor cortices. The projections are roughly organized such that more dorsal and ventral regions within the ventromedial LD receive projections preferentially from the anterior cingulate cortex. The difference in anterior cingulate and frontal cortical projections to the anterior and laterodorsal nuclei may suggest that each thalamic nucleus plays a different functional role in spatial memory processing.     

A case of squamous metaplasia of the ureter

This paper reports a 73-year-old man who developed ureteral squamous metaplasia. Preoperative drip infusion pyelography showed a ureteral tumor with a major axis measuring 2.5 cm, which had a smooth surface and a broad base. Computed tomography findings suggested that the lesion might be a submucous mesodermal tumor or inverted papillary transitional cell carcinoma. Therefore, retroperitoneal laparoscopic left nephroureterectomy was performed.     

The significance of lifestyle as a risk factor for the metabolic syndrome

The metabolic syndrome is featured by obesity, dyslipidemia and insulin resistance, additionally associated with inflammatory and fibrinolytic dysfunctions, all of which are risk factors of cardiovascular diseases and type 2 diabetes. The lifestyle factors that could cause and aggravate the metabolic syndrome are physical inactivity, calorie-dense diet, habitual alcohol drinking and smoking, and psychosocial stress. Energy excess along with a lot of saturated fat, i.e. more fast food and sugar-containing drinks, and sedentary lifestyle like television viewing are contributing to the epidemic of obesity. The significance of lifestyle from birth to adulthood will be reviewed in the context of the metabolic syndrome, as well as the background and environment in which the convenient lifestyle spread far and wide among us.     

Collecting duct carcinoma of the kidney: an immunohistochemical study of 11 cases

Background  

Collecting duct carcinoma (CDC) is a rare but very aggressive variant of kidney carcinoma that arises from the epithelium of Bellini's ducts, in the distal portion of the nephron. In order to gain an insight into the biology of this tumor we evaluated the expression of five genes involved in the development of renal cancer (FEZ1/LZTS1, FHIT, TP53, P27 ^kip1, and BCL2).     

A case of retroperitoneal neuroblastoma in an adult with extensive bone marrow metastasis

We present a case of retroperitoneal neuroblastoma in a 27-year-old male with extensive bone marrow metastasis at the first presentation. After the simple excision of the tumor, adjuvant multi-drug chemotherapy, consisting of vincristine, actinomycin-D, ifosfamide, doxorubicin, carboplatin and etoposide, was carried out for 17 months, leading to complete remission. Ten months after completion of the chemotherapy, the tumor recurred with bone marrow metastasis. He further developed thoracic vertebral metastases resulting in paraplegia, and died of the disease 41 months after the presentation. The clinical course of this case, with its emphases especially on the effect of the chemotherapy, is described in this report. Since the clinical characteristics and treatment strategies for adult neuroblastoma have not yet been well established, they remain to be investigated in detail.     

Neurologic complications associated with influenza vaccination: two adult cases

We describe two adult cases of neurologic complications occurring after influenza vaccination. The first case was a 62-year-old man who experienced convulsions 5 days after vaccination, and the second case was a 70-year-old man who exhibited paraplegia 7 days after vaccination. Diagnoses of acute disseminated encephalomyelitis and transverse myelitis with acute motor axonal neuropathy were made, respectively, and steroid pulse therapy and intravenous gamma globulin therapy alleviated the patients' symptoms. Although the efficacy and cost benefit of influenza vaccination have been widely accepted, such neurologic complications might occur in the elderly or even in adults.     

Restoration of fragile histidine triad (FHIT) expression induces apoptosis and suppresses tumorigenicity in breast cancer cell lines

The fragile histidine triad (FHIT) gene at chromosome 3p14.2 is a tumor suppressor gene that is altered mainly by deletion in a large fraction of human tumors, including breast cancers. To evaluate the potential of FHIT gene therapy in this type of cancer, we have studied the biological effects of adenoviral FHIT transduction (Ad-FHIT) in breast cancer cell lines. The results showed that, after FHIT restoration in BT-549, MDA-MB-436, and HCC1806 cells, they underwent apoptosis by activation of the intrinsic pathway. In all three cell lines infected with Ad-FHIT, we have found activation of caspase-2, which is required for permeabilization of mitochondria, release of cytochrome c, and apoptosis. Furthermore, Fhit overexpression produces alteration in cell cycling properties, as well as reduction of the tumorigenic potential in nude mice.     

Neonatal hydronephrosis detected on routine health check-up

BACKGROUND/PURPOSE: Prenatal dilatation of the urinary tract may be caused by obstructive defects, and it is known that 20% of normal fetuses have some degree of renal pelvic or calyceal dilatation, determined by sonographic examination. We analyzed the clinical course of patients found to have dilatation of the renal pelvis by ultrasound 1 month after birth, and compared prenatal and postnatal sonograms of each patient. METHODS: Between January 1996 and December 1998, renal ultrasounds were performed on 2,071 children at their 1 month routine health checks in our hospital. We found dilatation of the renal pelvis in 92 kidneys in 84 children and then compared these neonatal sonograms with the prenatal ultrasounds for each child. Ultrasound examinations were performed at 28 weeks of gestational age and 1 month after birth. Our criterion for diagnosis of hydronephrosis at 1 month of age was a renal pelvis measuring greater than 7 mm at the central echo complex. The medical records of patients found to have hydronephrosis were then reviewed. RESULTS: Eight patients had bilateral hydronephrosis, 2 had dilatation only in the right kidney and 74 had this finding only in the left kidney. Examination of 36 (39%) of these 92 kidneys revealed renal pelvic dilatation to be present both prenatally and neonatally. The dilatation ranged from 7 to 43 mm. No dilatation of the renal pelvis was seen on the other 56 fetal examinations. During the follow-up period, 2 patients (1 with bilateral and the other with right-sided hydronephrosis) were diagnosed with vesicoureteral reflux, the 1 patient with bilateral pelvic dilatation was found to have a vesico-ureteral junction obstruction. After full evaluation, the other children were found to have no anatomic abnormalities. CONCLUSIONS: We found 84 of 2,071 children showed dilatation of the renal pelvis on ultrasound examination performed at 1 month of age. Three (3.3%) of the 84 children required surgery to correct the neonatal hydronephrosis detected via this imaging modality. Interestingly, 88% of the children had only left-sided hydronephrosis, which did not predict an adverse outcome during the follow-up period. We conclude that neonatal hydronephrosis appears to be a relatively benign condition and the requirement of surgery is relatively slight.