MTT assay using fresh surgical specimens with reference to the transfer system and reproducibility in "test center" method

A chemosensitivity test (MTT assay) was conducted using 59 fresh surgical specimens collected from Keio University, Kitasato Institute Hospital and 14 affiliated hospitals, in order to assess the specimen transfer system and the reproducibility of the assay results obtained at Keio University and Kitasato Institute Hospital. Although the optical density yielded by the tumor cells in a number of 5 x 10(4)/well and the number of evaluable cases were significantly reduced through the transfer, the chemosensitivity pattern of the specimen was identical before and after the transfer. Fifty seven of 59 cases were evaluable and the concordant rate of the assay results between the two institutes was 80.6% (108/134) among each case-drug combination. Since the transfer system of the specimen was established and the reproducibility of the assay results in two institutes was confirmed, the "test center" method of the MTT assay appears to be possible by collecting the surgical specimens from the affiliated hospitals.     

A case of dermatofibrosarcoma protuberans in the skin over the breast

Dermatofibrosarcoma protuberans (DFSP) is a slow-growing but locally aggressive, fibrous tumor that has a high rate of local recurrence after surgical resection. This tumor occurs most commonly in the trunk and proximal extremities. In this report we present a case of dermatofibrosarcoma protuberans in the skin over the breast which was re-excised after pathological diagnosis, considering cosmetic aspects. Only three other cases of dermatofibrosarcoma protuberans of the anterior chest wall have been encountered in our hospital, and all of these cases were male. The presence of this tumor in the skin over the breast appears to be rare in females. Careful complete resection is recommended for this type of tumor.     

Characterization of connectin-like proteins of obliquely striated muscle of a polychaete (Annelida)

Summary In obliquely striated muscle of polychaete, Neanthes sp., three kinds of connectin (titin)-like high molecular weight proteins, 4000 kDa, 1200 kDa and 700 kDa, were detected by SDS gel electrophoresis and immunoblots using antibodies to vertebrate skeletal muscle connectin and antiserum to the protein in question. The 700 kDa protein was isolated and characterized as a sheet-rich filament 170 nm long and 4 nm wide. Using polyclonal antibodies to the 700 kDa protein, the binding of the immunogold to the thick filament was only demonstrated in high ionic strength relaxing solution which solubilized some myosin. This observation suggested that the 700 kDa protein was localized below the layers of myosin in the thick filament and this localization is different from that of twitchin of C. elegans bodywall muscle that is on the surface of thick filament. The 4000 kDa protein was identified as a very thin filament linking the thick filament to the dense body. The very thin filaments were visualized in gelsolin-treated actin filament-free fibres. The 1200 kDa protein was located in the periphery of the dense body. A model of the elastic filament in polychaete bodywall muscle is presented.     

A study on how a 6-month aerobic exercise program can modify coronary risk factors depending on their severity in middle-aged sedentary women

It is well known that physical exercise can reduce coronary risk factors. But how an aerobic exercise modifies coronary risk factors in relation to severity and physical fitness is still controversial. Fifty-four middle-aged women (mean age, 55 years) completed a 6-month on-site and home-based anaerobic threshold-level exercise program. The changes in coronary risk factor profiles were observed during the pre-intervention and intervention periods. Before the intervention (during control period), most coronary risk factors showed a rather unfavorable trend. After the program, their mean body weight decreased from 56.7 to 55.7 kg (p>0.05) and the proportion of body fat from 30.9 to 27.9% (p>0.05) without any reduction in lean body mass. Systolic blood pressure (SBP) decreased from 129.0 to 125.0 mm Hg (p>0.05) and diastolic blood pressure from 79.5 to 76.6 mm Hg (p>0.05). Fasting plasma glucose (FPG) declined from 109.6 to 103.4 mg/dl (p>0.05). Changes in SBP and FPG were most remarkable in their respective worst tertile. Serum lipids improved only modestly. Maximum oxygen uptake increased from 23.6 to 26.1 ml/kg/min (p>0.01). However, no significant correlations were found between changes in coronary risk factors and those in physical fitness. We conclude that the 6-month aerobic exercise program would modify women’s coronary risk factors depending on their initial values, probably independently of the changes in physical fitness.     

Clinical experience with video-assisted thoracic sympathectomy through the retrosternal pulmonary junction

A new technique of video-assisted thoracic sympathectomy through retrosternal pulmonary junction can be done safely using a scope guide and a flexible scope. Bilateral thoracic sympathectomy was performed, employing a single skin incision, in 18 patients with palmar hyperhidrosis. The advantages include minimal neuralgia and superior cosmesis.     

Postoperative mediastinitis after the coronary artery bypass grafting using internal thoracic artery graft

It has been pointed out in general that the resistance against infection is decreased in the diabetic patients. This problem is very important in patients undergoing major surgery. In cardiovascular surgery, the median wound infection may result in life threatening sequelae. We have used the internal thoracic artery as the appropriate graft for its excellent long-term patency. In this series of the diabetic patients who underwent coronary artery bypass grafting with bilateral internal thoracic artery grafts, the incidence of postoperative mediastinitis was significantly higher than other cases. Therefore the use of bilateral internal thoracic artery grafts should be avoided, if possible in the diabetic patients.     

Handlebar hernia with intra-abdominal extraluminal air presenting as a novel form of traumatic abdominal wall hernia: Report of a case

An 18-year-old male was admitted to our Emergency Department with a traumatic abdominal wall hernia (TAWH) of the left lower quadrant (LLQ) after suffering hypogastric blunt injury and urogenital lacerations in a motorcycle accident. Upright chest X-ray showed a small amount of right infradiaphragmatic free air, and a computed tomographic (CT) scan demonstrated an abdominal wall hernia. At surgery, no impairment was found in the digestive tract, and an abdominal herniorrhaphy was performed. It is suggested that the free air had passed through a connection between the scrotal laceration and the contralateral abdominal defect via the subcutaneous space and was palpated as emphysema. This is a new type of TAWH, which suggests that blunt abdominal trauma may result in negative pressure in the subcutaneous and peritoneal cavity, and this could reflect the pathophysiology of TAWH.     

Bone marrow transplantation attenuates murine IgA nephropathy: role of a stem cell disorder

BACKGROUND: The pathogenesis of IgA nephropathy is still obscure. The aim of this study was to investigate whether the fundamental pathogenesis of IgA nephropathy lies in bone marrow stem cells (BMCs). METHODS: We used donors of two different strains for bone marrow transplantation (BMT) into mice with a high content of serum IgA (ddY strain, HIGA mice), a murine model of IgA nephropathy. One group (B6-->HIGA, N = 5) received BMCs of C57BL/6j (B6) mice, and the other (HIGA-->HIGA, N = 8) were reconstituted with BMCs of HIGA mice. RESULTS: Twenty-six weeks after BMT, in B6-->HIGA mice, mesangial deposits of IgA and C3 were statistically milder than those in HIGA-->HIGA mice. Light microscopic observations disclosed that glomerular sclerosis and mesangial matrix expansion in B6-->HIGA mice were decreased compared with those in HIGA-->HIGA mice. These B6-->HIGA mice also excreted less urinary albumin than HIGA-->HIGA mice. Furthermore, serum levels of IgA in B6-->HIGA mice were markedly lower than those in HIGA-->HIGA mice. Size analysis of serum IgA revealed that macromolecular IgA were notably lower in B6-->HIGA mice than in HIGA-->HIGA mice. CONCLUSIONS: Our results suggest that qualitative and quantitative changes of serum IgA are determined at the level of stem cells, and that BMT from normal donors can attenuate glomerular lesions in HIGA mice. This approach may offer a new avenue to study the pathogenesis of IgA nephropathy.     

The effect of tulobuterol tape on histamine-induced bronchoconstriction in conscious guinea pigs: long duration of action

The objective of the present study was to determine the action duration of tulobuterol tape within a 24-hr period in conscious guinea pigs. The bronchoconstriction induced by histamine-inhalation was significantly inhibited by tulobuterol tape in comparison with its placebo tape 8 and 12 hr after binding, and the inhibitory rate was 50+/-11% and 35+/-13%, respectively. Twenty-four hours after binding, the inhibitory effect of tulobuterol tape gradually diminished, but the inhibitory rate was maintained at 30+/-14%. These results suggest that tulobuterol tape has a long lasting bronchodilatory action.     

Stresgenin B, an inhibitor of heat-induced heat shock protein gene expression, produced by Streptomyces sp. AS-9

Stresgenin B was isolated as an inhibitor of heat-induced heat shock protein (HSP) gene expression from a culture broth of Streptomyces sp. AS-9 by silica gel chromatography and HPLC. The molecular formula of the novel compound was determined as C11H13NO5 by high resolution FAB-MS analysis, and the structure was determined by UV, 1H NMR, 13C NMR, HMQC, HMBC, and NOESY spectra. Stresgenin B inhibited heat-induced luciferase reporter-gene expression directed by the human hsp70B promoter in Chinese hamster ovary (CHO) cells at concentrations lower than the concentrations for inhibition of dexamethasone-induced luciferase reporter-gene expression directed by the mouse mammary tumor virus (MMTV)-LTR promoter. The inhibition of heat-induced reporter gene expression was evident even when cells were exposed to stresgenin B only during heat stress treatment. Moreover, the compound inhibited heat-induced syntheses of hsp72/73, hsp90, and hsp110 and thereby suppressed the induction of thermotolerance. Stresgenin B showed moderate cytotoxic activities against several neoplastic cell lines and also showed antibacterial activities against Micrococcus luteus, Bacillus subtilis and Staphylococcus aureus strains.