Increased Oocyte Production after Acupuncture Treatment during Superovulation Process in Mice

Objective To investigate whether acupuncture treatment during superovulation process improves ovarian response and increases egg production. Methods ICR female mice aged 12 -5 weeks were divided into control group, anaesthesia group and acupuncture group. Female mice were injected intraperitoneally with pregnant mare＇s serum gonadotropin （PMSG）, followed by human chorionic gonadotropin （hCG） injection 56 h later. Anaesthesia group and acupuncture group were anaesthetized three times by injecting 10% nembutal solution according to 7.5-10.0μl/g weight. Acupuncture group was treated three times with puncture Sanyinjiao Points（SP6） under anaesthesia. After 17 h of hCG injection, eggs were recovered and ovaries were isolated. Matured eggs were counted, ovarian histology and expression of follicle stimulating hormone receptor（FSH-R） in ovary were analyzed. Results Acupuncture treatment statistically increased the number of ovulated eggs. Histological section showed that some matured follicles left in the ovaries of control and anaesthesia groups after ovulation. On the contrary, all matured follicles ruptured and converted into corpus lutea in Acupuncture group. Expression of FSH-R in ovary was decreased in acupuncture group compared with those of the two others. Conclusion Acupuncture treatment during superovulation process improves ovarian response so as to increase egg production. The positive effect of acupuncture may be associated with regulated FSH-R expression.     

Upregulation of water channel aquaporin-4 in experimental autoimmune encephalomyeritis

Aquaporin-4 (AQP4) is a water channel protein that plays an important role in water movement in the central nervous system (CNS). Recently, presence of anti-AQP4 antibody has been reported in the sera from patients with neuromyelitis optica. AQP4 is therefore a possible target for inflammatory mechanisms in CNS. In the present investigation, we performed semi-quantitative analysis of AQP4-mRNA in brain and spinal cord from mice affected with experimental autoimmune encephalomyelitis (EAE) using real-time PCR. AQP4-mRNA expression was increased in EAE; reaching a peak in the spinal cord at 14 days, and in the brain at 21 days after first inoculation. Immunohistochemical analysis showed that AQP4 is expressed on astrocytes, indicating that the increase in AQP4 expression may correlate with astrocytic activation. This is the first study to demonstrate upregulation of AQP4 in EAE. The upregulation of AQP4 could be involved in the development of inflammation in the acute phase of EAE.     

Albuminuria, but not metabolic syndrome, is a significant predictor of stroke recurrence in ischemic stroke

The aim of this study is to determine if there was an association of stroke recurrence with metabolic syndrome (MetS), defined by the National Cholesterol Education Program's Adult Treatment Panel III (NCEP-III) report or the International Diabetes Federation (IDF), as well as with other risk factors, including albuminuria. From February 1, 2004 to February 5, 2006, 523 patients were admitted to our Stroke Care Unit within 7 days of stroke onset. After excluding 22 patients who died in hospital and 27 patients who did not provide consent, 474 survivors (M/F=313/161, median age, 71 years) were enrolled. End-point events were fatal or nonfatal stroke. Diagnosis of MetS by NCEP-III criteria was made in 33% of patients, and by IDF criteria in 26%. During follow-up (505.4 person-years), 2 patients dropped out. Forty-nine patients among 370 with ischemic stroke and 5 patients among 102 patients with brain hemorrhage had stroke recurrence, being fatal in 3. A significant predictor of recurrence was albuminuria (HR: 1.835, 95% CI: 1.005-3.350) in ischemic stroke. There were no significant predictors of stroke recurrence in patients with brain hemorrhage. In conclusion, albuminuria, but not MetS, was a significant predictor of stroke recurrence in ischemic stroke.     

Interleukin-10 correlates with oxidized low density lipoprotein in coronary culprit plaques

Inflammation and oxidation play crucial roles in plaque instability. We immunohistochemically assessed expression of the anti-inflammatory cytokine interleukin (IL)-10, and of oxidized low density lipoprotein (ox-LDL) in coronary atherectomy specimens from 19 and 18 patients with stable and unstable angina, respectively. Immunopositive areas for IL-10 and ox-LDL were significantly greater in the group with unstable angina (p < 0.05, each), and they positively correlated (r = 0.452, p < 0.005). These results suggest that IL-10 plays an anti-inflammatory role in atherosclerotic lesions and modulates the inflammatory process in unstable coronary plaque.

Conflict of interest

None     

Expression of sphingosine kinase 2 in synovial fibroblasts of rheumatoid arthritis contributing to apoptosis by a sphingosine analogue, FTY720

Gene expression profiles in synovial tissues from rheumatoid arthritis (RA) patients have yielded useful information on the pathogenetic process of the synovitis. In one group of them, sphingosine kinase 2 (SPHK2), a nuclear protein regulating cell proliferation, seemed to be highly expressed, undergoing a different pathogenetic process of synovitis. In the present study it was clarified that SPHK2 was expressed in the synovial fibroblasts of the synovial tissues obtained from the knee joints of the RA patients. In the cultured synovial fibroblasts from these patients, SPHK2 was more highly expressed than that in the human macrophage cell line, THP-1 and human dermal fibroblasts. SPHK2 was expressed in and around the nucleus and transferred to the cytoplasm and cell surface by the administration of epidermal growth factor, associated with the increased expression of sphingosine-1-phosphate. A sphingosine analogue, FTY720, which is activated by phosphorylation specifically by SPHK2, mediated apoptotic signaling of the cultured synovial fibroblasts. These findings suggest that SPHK2 may regulate the autonomous proliferation of synovial fibroblasts as one of the predisposing genes to RA and could be a target for a novel therapeutic strategy for RA.     

Impact of Postoperative Infection on Long-Term Survival After Potentially Curative Resection for Gastric Cancer

We focused on the impact of postoperative infection on long-term survival after potentially curative resection for gastric cancer. Postoperative surgical and medical complications have been implicated as a negative predictor of long-term outcome in various malignancies. However, there have been no published reports assessing the impact of complications arising from postoperative infection on survival in gastric cancer. We studied a population of 1,332 patients who underwent curative resection for gastric cancer. These patients were divided into two groups based on the occurrence (141 patients, 10.6%) or absence (1,191 patients, 89.4%) of postoperative complications due to infection. We investigated the demographic and clinicopathological features of each patient with and without postoperative complications from infection, and thereby the impact of postoperative infection on long-term survival. Patients with postoperative infection had significantly higher frequency of males, upper side tumor location, and total gastrectomy as a surgical procedure, more advanced stage of gastric cancer, and greater age compared with those without postoperative infection. Patients with complications due to postoperative infection had significantly more unfavorable outcome compared with those patients without postoperative infection. Multivariate analysis demonstrated that age, preoperative comorbidity, blood transfusion, tumor depth, nodal involvement, and postoperative infection correlated with overall survival. We conclude that postoperative complications from infection are a predictor of adverse clinical outcome in patients with gastric cancer. However, further immunological study and prospective trials are necessary to confirm the biological significance of these findings.     

Use of a Matsui-Kitamura stent-graft for endovascular repair of patent ductus arteriosus in an adult patient

Open surgical repair of patent ductus arteriosus is difficult in the case of elderly patients because of calcification of the duct and the possibility of rupture. Furthermore, endovascular repair with the use of a coil or an occluding device poses problems such as residual shunt or migration of the device. We describe a case wherein closure of a large patent ductus arteriosus in an adult patient was achieved using a Matsui-Kitamura curved nitinol stent-graft.     

Type-I interferon receptor expression: Its circadian rhythm and downregulation after interferon-α administration in peripheral blood cells from renal cancer patients

Objectives:   To investigate the regulation of interferon-α (IFN-α) receptor expression in metastatic renal cell carcinoma (RCC) after IFN-α administration.
Methods:   Blood sampling was carried out in eight patients with metastatic RCC and six healthy volunteers. Flow-cytometric analysis using a monoclonal antibody against the active subunit of the type-I IFN-α receptor (IFNAR2) was carried out to examine the circadian rhythm of IFNAR2 expression in peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMC) as well as its downregulation after IFN-α administration.
Results:   According to its circadian rhythm IFNAR2 in PBMC had a peak expression at night. Once IFN-α is administered, IFNAR2 levels in PBMC showed downregulation within 48 h and recovered within another 48 h.
Conclusions:   Our findings might support the establishment of an optimal schedule for IFN-α administration.     

Carotid duplex ultrasonography during head-up tilt in patients with orthostatic hypotension

Orthostatic hypotension (OH) is defined by evaluating postural blood pressure (BP) change, but the correlation between postural BP decreases and OH-associated symptoms is poor. We examined carotid duplex ultrasonography during HUT in 27 patients with various neurological disorders. Nine patients were diagnosed to have OH, and 4 of them had symptoms associated with OH. Decreased end-diastolic velocity of common carotid artery in symptomatic OH patients (-24.5 +/- 4.2 cm/s) was significantly larger than that in asymptomatic OH patients (-11.0 +/- 8.0 cm/s; p = 0.0143), despite no significant differences in values and changes of BP between them. This may be useful for predicting the development of OH symptoms.