Leukocytapheresis for the treatment of active pouchitis: a pilot study

BACKGROUND: Pouchitis is a major long-term complication of ileal pouch-anal anastomosis for ulcerative colitis. The aim of this study is to investigate the efficacy of leukocytapheresis for the treatment of active pouchitis. METHODS: Eight patients with active pouchitis received leukocytapheresis weekly for 5 weeks in an open-label treatment protocol together with baseline therapy. RESULTS: Patients showed significant improvement in their pouchitis disease activity index scores, from 9.5 (range, 8-10) to 4.0 (range, 2-8) (P < 0.05). Six (75%) of the 8 treated patients achieved remission. No adverse events were observed. CONCLUSIONS: Leukocytapheresis therapy could be a new therapeutic strategy for patients with pouchitis after ileal pouch-anal anastomosis for ulcerative colitis. These encouraging results lead us to propose a randomized controlled trial.     

Developmental changes in contractile protein adenosine 5'-triphosphatase in the rabbit heart

This study was designed to investigate developmental changes in contractile protein adenosine 5'-triphosphatase in the rabbit heart. Myofibrils and myosin were isolated from ventricular muscles from the fetal, newborn, and adult rabbits. Actin and troponin-tropomyosin complex were isolated from the adult skeletal muscle. Myofibrillar (actomyosin) adenosine 5'-triphosphatase measured at low ionic strength increased with development. In contrast, myofibrillar calcium adenosine 5'-triphosphatase at high ionic strength was the greatest in the newborn and the lowest in the adult. Myosin calcium adenosine 5'-triphosphatase and actin-activated myosin adenosine 5'-triphosphatase were also the greatest in the newborn and the lowest in the adult. The relative proportion of myosin isozyme V1 was the greatest in the newborn and the lowest in the adult. The addition of troponin-tropomyosin complex stimulated myosin adenosine 5'-triphosphatase in the presence of calcium in the adult, but not in the newborn and fetus. As a result, actin-activated myosin adenosine 5'-triphosphatase in the presence of troponin-tropomyosin complex was the greatest in the adult, followed by the newborn and fetus. These data suggest that the low myofibrillar adenosine 5'-triphosphatase activity at low ionic strength in the premature heart may be due to the age-related difference in the interaction of myosin with troponin-tropomyosin. Developmental change in myosin calcium adenosine 5'-triphosphatase (which is determined by the relative proportion of isomyosin V1 and V3) may not be directionally identical to that of the physiologically important myofibrillar adenosine 5'-triphosphatase.     

Spatial and temporal expansion of intrahepatic metastasis by molecularly‐defined clonality in multiple liver cancers

Multiple hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) is divided into two categories: intrahepatic metastasis (IM), which is a true relapse of HCC, and multicentric origin (MO), which is a second primary tumor. Clinical diagnosis of multiple HCC is usually made based on tumor location and/or time to recurrence; however, it is often difficult to distinguish the two types of multiple HCC. Using 41 matched pairs of multiple HCC specimens, we confirmed the accuracy of clinical diagnoses using exome sequence data and investigated the importance of discriminating the type of multiple HCC. Genomic analysis revealed that 18 (43.9%) patients diagnosed as having genomic IM had common mutations in a pair of HCC tumors with the main tumor of these patients being more progressive compared to those with genomic MO. The accuracy of clinical diagnosis based on lobe (Definition 1) and segment (Definition 2) were 68.3% and 78.0%, respectively. Intriguingly, recurrence ≥2 years after initial surgery for 3 patients was IM. The survival of patients with clinical IM was significantly shorter than for those with clinical MO based on both Definition 1 (P = 0.045) and Definition 2 (P = 0.043). However, mean survival was not different between the patients with genomic IM and those with MO (P = 0.364). Taken together, genomic analysis elucidated that liver cancer may spread more extensively and more slowly than previously thought. In addition, distinguishing multiple HCC as IM or MC may have provided biological information but was not of clinical importance with respect to patient prognosis.     

Non‐centrosomal microtubules regulate F‐actin organization through the suppression of GEF‐H1 activity

Animal cells contain two populations of microtubules: one radiating from the centrosome and the other growing from non‐centrosomal sites. Whether or not they have differing roles in cellular architecture and function remains not fully understood. The cytoplasmic protein Nezha (also known as CAMSAP3) stabilizes non‐centrosomal microtubules by attaching to their minus ends. Here, we found that depletion of CAMSAP3 in HeLa cells resulted in a relative increase in centrosomal microtubules, and this change was accompanied by accelerated actin stress fiber formation. In these cells, RhoA activity was upregulated, and the soluble fraction of GEF‐H1, a RhoGEF whose activity is inhibited by binding to microtubules, increased, explaining why stress fiber formation was promoted. We further found that CAMSAP3 depletion led to an increase in detyrosinated microtubules, and these microtubules did not interact with GEF‐H1. These findings suggest that CAMSAP3‐anchored non‐centrosomal microtubules capture GEF‐H1 more efficiently than other microtubules do and that a balance between these microtubules is important to maintain proper actin organization.     

Small calcification depiction in ultrasound B-mode images using decorrelation of echoes caused by forward scattered waves

Purpose  

The purpose of this study is to propose a novel method to depict small calcifications in ultrasound B-mode images using decorrelation of forward scattered waves with no decrease in the frame rate.     

Cerebral hemispheric differences in memory of emotional and non-emotional words in normal individuals

The present study was designed to examine the cerebral hemispheric differences in memory of positive, negative and non-emotional words using a new method of successive presentation to each visual half-field in which perception of each item was nearly perfect thereby allowing laterality differences for effects of emotion on memory to emerge unconfounded by perception (Experiment 1). This procedure was compared with traditional perceptual identification (Experiment 2). In Experiment 1, 12 words were presented successively in each half field in each trial followed by free recall at the end of the trial. The results showed that recall of positive and negative emotional words was better than that of non-emotional words in both visual fields. Recall of positive and negative emotional words was not different in left and right visual fields (RVFs) although the recall of non-emotional words was better in the RVF than in the left visual field (LVF). The differences in recall between emotional and non-emotional words was greater in the LVF than in the RVF. Experiment 2 used the more traditional method of perceptual identification following each visual half-field presentation of a single item. Perceptual identification was better in the RVF than the LVF in each word condition. There were no visual field differences in perceptual identification between emotional and non-emotional words, as there was for memory in Experiment 1. The results supported the hypothesis that explicit memory for emotional words was dependent more on the right hemisphere, whereas perception of both emotional and non-emotional words was more dependent on the left hemisphere.