Fibrolamellar hepatocellular carcinoma coexistent with a hepatocellular carcinoma of common type: Report of a case

A case of small fibrolamellar hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) coexistent with a HCC of common type is herein reported. A 56-year-old man was diagnosed as having multi-nodular type HCC with liver cirrhosis. The serum alpha-fetoprotein (AFP) level was slightly increased. The patient underwent a partial caudate lobectomy and lateral segmentectomy. Histologically, both resected tumors were small HCCs measuring less than 2 cm in diameter. One was a fibrolamellar type located in the caudate lobe, while the other was the common type in the lateral segment of the liver. Positive immunohistochemical staining for AFP was observed in the tumor cells of the HCC of common type but was not observed in the fibrolamellar HCC. We also reviewed previously reported cases of fibrolamellar HCC in Japan, and discussed the clinicopathologic implications of this disease.     

Development of new immunoradiometric assay for CA 125 antigen using two monoclonal antibodies produced by immunizing lung cancer cells

CA 125 is an antigen associated with non-mucinous epithelial ovarian cancer, which is defined by OC 125 antibody developed by immunizing ovarian cancer cells. We have produced two monoclonal antibodies, 130-22 and 145-9, by using the human lung adenocarcinoma cell line PC-9. Both 130-22 and 145-9 antibodies recognized CA 125 antigen. However, the binding sites seemed to be separate from those of OC 125. Testing by 9 immunoradiometric assays (IRMA), using different combinations of the 3 monoclonal antibodies 130-22, 145-9 and OC 125 demonstrated that the best standard curve for detecting CA 125 could be obtained by a "simultaneous sandwich" assay based on a mixture of 125I-labeled OC 125 and 130-22 or 145-9 coated beads. One-step IRMA, using 130-22 as a tracer and 145-9 as an immunoadsorbent, also showed good reproducibility and sensitivity for measuring CA 125. Antigens were detectable in the culture supernatants of PC-9 cells and 5 of 6 ovarian cancer and endometrial adenocarcinoma cells. These results indicate that one-step IRMA using 130-22 and 145-9 is useful for detecting CA 125 antigen.     

Growth and Production of Steroid Saponin in Solanum aculeatissimum During One Vegetation Period

SOLANUM ACULEATISSIMUM (Solanaceae) plants, which were cultivated in the open field, were harvested once a month from June 1985 to January 1986. The growth matter and content of steroid saponins, aculeatiside A and B which are precursors of steroid hormones in root, were then measured in order to examine their seasonal variations during one vegetation period. The aerial parts of the plants died of chill and frost in January. In November the dry weight of root reached the maximum, and the content of steroid saponins was more than 10% and showed a maximum. The yield of steroid saponins per plant was greatest in November. These results suggest that November is the appropriate time for harvest, and that S. ACULEATISSIMUM can be more useful than the DIOSCOREA species which is now used as a source plant of steroid hormones.     

Preparation of 67Ga-labeled antibodies using deferoxamine as a bifunctional chelate. An improved method

Radionuclides or anti-cancer drugs may be coupled to antibodies for specific transport to target tissues. We have previously reported that several proteins could be rapidly and efficiently labeled with gallium (67Ga) by using deferoxamine (DFO) as a bifunctional chelating agent. In the present paper, we have described the use of hetero-bifunctional agents for the conjugation of DFO with antibodies and investigated the effect of coupling agents on in vitro properties and biodistribution of 67Ga-labeled antibodies. 67Ga-labeled monoclonal antibodies retained antigen-binding activity when prepared under optimum conditions. The use of hetero-bifunctional reagents, such as succinimidyl 6-maleimido-hexanoate (EMCS) or N-succinimidyl-3-(2-pyridyldithio)-propionate (SPDP), which link thioether bonds and disulfide bridges prevented the formation of polymerized antibodies. Although high non-specific uptake in the liver was observed with radiolabels prepared by the homo-bifunctional agent glutaraldehyde, uptake in the liver was low with conjugates linked by hetero-bifunctional agents. 67Ga-labeled antibodies with thioether bonds showed in vivo stability, but the clearance from the circulation was the fastest with the radiolabel holding disulfide bonds. The coupling reagents used to link DFO and antibodies greatly influenced both in vitro properties and in vivo distribution of labeled antibodies and 67Ga-labeled antibodies provide a good model for the study of coupling methods and biodistribution of antibody conjugates.     

Association of the insertion/deletion polymorphism of the angiotensin I-converting enzyme gene in patients of migraine with aura

Recently, several angiotensin I-converting enzyme (ACE) inhibitors and an angiotensin II receptor blocker were demonstrated to have a clinically important prophylactic effect in migraine. ACE is one of the key enzymes in the rennin-angiotensin-aldosterone system, which modulates vascular tension and blood pressure. In humans, serum ACE levels are strongly genetically determined. Individuals who were homozygous for the deletion (D) allele showed increased ACE activity levels. To investigate the role of ACE polymorphism in headache, we analyzed the ACE insertion (I)/deletion (D) genotypes of 54 patients suffering from migraine with aura (MwA), 122 from migraine without aura, 78 from tension-type headache (TH), and 248 non-headache healthy controls. The ACE D allele were significantly more frequent in the MwA than controls (p<0.01). The incidence of the D/D genotype in MwA (25.9%) was significantly higher than that in controls (12.5%; p<0.01; odds ratio=5.26, 95% confidence interval: 1.69-16.34, adjusted for age and gender). No differences in the remaining groups were found. Our results support the conclusion that the D allele and the D/D genotype in the ACE gene is a genetic risk factor for Japanese MwA. There seems to be a possible relationship between ACE activity and the pathogenesis of migraine.     

Overexpression of Ets-1 proto-oncogene in latent and clinical prostatic carcinomas

AIMS: The high incidence of clinically diagnosed prostatic cancer is exceeded by the frequency of tumours detected at autopsy. The Ets-1 proto-oncogene is expressed by a variety of malignant and normal tissues. Therefore, in this study, expression of Ets-1 protein was investigated in 'latent' prostatic cancer detected at autopsy, compared with benign prostatic hyperplasia, normal prostatic tissues and clinical prostatic cancer. METHODS AND RESULTS: Using immunohistochemistry, we analysed Ets-1 expression in 95 prostatic specimens including 19 cases of latent prostatic carcinoma (LPC) and 55 cases of clinical prostatic carcinoma (CPC), 11 cases of benign prostatic hyperplasia (BPH) and 10 cases of normal prostate (NP). Differences in the incidence of LPC and CPC suggest different courses for the biological progression of prostatic cancer. There was a significant difference in the degree of Ets-1 expression in CPC and LPC (P < 0.05). Ets-1 was not expressed in BPH and NP, but in malignant cases (57 of 74; 77.0%) commonly demonstrated immunoreactivity in the tumour cells. In our study the expression of Ets-1 between benign and malignant, and well, moderately and poorly differentiated adenocarcinomas of prostatic cancer showed significant differences. The presence of Ets-1 mRNA was confirmed by in-situ hybridization in human prostatic tissues. CONCLUSION: Our results suggest that Ets-1 might play an important role in carcinogenesis and/or the progression of human prostatic carcinomas.     

Rapid purification of human DNase I using mouse monoclonal anti-DNase I antibodies and characterization of the antibodies

Five anti-human deoxyribonuclease I (DNase I) monoclonal antibodies were obtained from BALB/c mice immunized with DNase I purified from human urine. Four of them inhibited DNase I enzyme activity, as did a rabbit polyclonal antibody; these 4 did not have immunostaining ability. The remaining one had immunostaining ability but no inhibitory activity. A Sepharose 4B column conjugated with 1 of the 4 antibodies that had inhibitory activity effectively adsorbed and eluted the DNase I enzyme; this did not occur with the rabbit polyclonal antibody. We showed that adding an immunoaffinity chromatography step made the purification of human DNase I easier and faster than the conventional procedure.     

INTRAUTERINE CANDIDA INFECTION IN PREMATURE BABY

An autopsy case of pulmonary candidiasis occurring in a neonatal girl was reported. The mycological examination of the lung taken at autopsy revealed only Candida albicans and followed by the elucidation under the microscopic sections prepared with special stains; periodic acid-Schiff and methenamine silver, in the lung, stomach, umbilical cord, and amnion. The presence of Candida vaginitis in her mother supported the concept that Candida albicans was the etiological agent of the pulmonary candidiasis.