Deformability of human red blood cells exposed to a uniform shear stress as measured by a cyclically reversing shear flow generator

Red blood cells (RBCs) suspended in a dextran solution were at first loaded with a uniform shear stress of 21, 43 and 64 Pa for the duration of 0, 10, 20, 30, 45 and 60 min, respectively, followed with measurement of the dynamic deformation in terms of stretching and recovery, using a cyclically reversing sinusoidal shear flow with the peak stress of 128 Pa at 2 Hz. The L/W value, where L and W were the major and minor axis length of the RBC images, was derived to compare the effects of the uniform shear stress level and the exposure time. The exposure to the uniform shear stress of 21 Pa for the duration of as long as 60 min caused statistically insignificant L/W change in comparison to the control RBCs with L/W of 4.6 +/- 0.1. The exposure to 43 and 64 Pa for longer than 45 and 20 min, respectively, induced statistically significant change in the maximal L/W when compared to that of 21 Pa (p < 0.05). The composition of the maximal L/W values varied depending on the stress level and exposure time; with 21 Pa, the majority of cells exhibited the maximal L/W larger than 4.0 and few cells less than 2.0, whereas with the increase in the stress level to 43 and 64 Pa, cells having less than 2.0 exceeded 50%. Cyclic reversing shear flow is a useful means to measure dynamic deformation capability of RBCs which may be sub-hemolytically sheared without lysis.     

A case of anesthetic management using levobupivacaine in epidural anesthesia combined with general anesthesia for thymectomy with thoracoscopy for generalized type myasthenia gravis

Combined epidural and general anesthesia has become a standard anesthetic method for thymectomy. We employed levobupivacaine for epidural anesthesia combined with general anesthesia using remifentanil and sevoflurane for thymectomy with thoracoscopy for generalized type of myasthenia gravis. After decreasing the high level of antibodies to acethylcholine receptor by plasmapheresis, we could perform a stable and successful anesthetic management without the use of any muscle relaxants for the thymectomy. And a myasthenic crisis did not occur after the procedure. We concluded that levobupivacaine would be one of the appropriate options in epidural anesthesia for thymectomy for myasthenia gravis.     

Bioavailability of a film-coated tablet of valproate in nonfasting volunteers

The bioavailability of a film-coated tablet of valproate (VPA) in nonfasting volunteers was studied. Ten healthy adults received a single 200 mg (mean 3.55 mg/kg) film-coated tablet, 15 minutes after breakfast. Venous blood was then taken at regular intervals of up to 4 or 7 hours after the dosage, and the serum VPA concentrations were determined by means of a fluorescence polarization immunoassay. VPA was slowly absorbed with the peak concentrations occurring 1.5 to 4 hours after the administration. The mean concentration (Cmax) and extent of absorption (area under the concentration-time curve) between 1 and 4 hours were 22.2 micrograms/ml and 59.3 micrograms.h/ml, respectively. It was concluded that Cmax with a film-coated tablet of VPA can be detected if blood is taken at around 3 hours after the dosage under nonfasting conditions.     

Characterization of cell surface antigens expressed in the HMA-1 breast cancer cell line

This report describes the characterization of an estrogen receptor-positive breast cancer cell line, HMA-1, established from a breast cancer patient, based on the expression of tumor-associated antigens (TAAs), the HLA-DR antigen, and the c-erbB-2 proto-oncogene product. In flow cytometric and immunohistochemical analyses, HMA-1 was found to express increased levels of several TAAs including MUC1, TAG-72 (sialyl Tn), Tn, T, sialyl Le^a, Le^x, and Le^y, HMA-1 also expressed enhanced levels of the HLA-DR antigen and c-erbB-2 protein. These results indicate that HMA-1 is a unique cell line with abundant TAAs which may serve as an appropriate breast cancer cell line for application in the multidisciplinary research of breast cancer.     

Possible roles of protein kinases in neutrophil chemotactic factor production by leucocytes in allergic inflammation in rats.

1. In an air pouch-type allergic inflammation model in rats, leucocytes that had infiltrated into the pouch fluid collected 4 h after the antigen challenge produced proteinaceous chemotactic factors for neutrophils when they were incubated in the medium. 2. To clarify the mechanism of activation of the infiltrated leucocytes in producing these factors, the effects of protein kinase inhibitors on neutrophil chemotactic factor production were examined. 3. When the infiltrated leucocytes were incubated for 4 h in medium containing the non-selective protein kinase inhibitor K-252a (1-100 ng ml-1, 2.14-214 nM), the tyrosine kinase inhibitor genistein (1-50 micrograms ml-1, 3.7-185 microM), and the more selective protein kinase C inhibitor H-7 (5-100 micrograms ml-1, 13.7-274 microM); neutrophil chemotactic activity in the conditioned medium was decreased in a concentration-dependent manner, but the adenosine 3':5'-cyclic monophosphate (cAMP)-dependent protein kinase inhibitor H-89 (1-1000 ng ml-1, 2.24-2240 nM) showed no effect. 4. Isoelectric focusing of the conditioned medium revealed that the leucocytes produced two neutrophil chemotactic factors, leucocyte-derived neutrophil chemotactic factor (LDNCF) 1 and LDNCF-2. Treatment of the leucocytes with K-252a, genistein, and H-7, but not H-89, inhibited production of both LDNCF-1 and LDNCF-2. 5. These results suggest that activation of tyrosine kinase and protein kinase C, but not cAMP-dependent protein kinase, is responsible for the production of LDNCF-1 and LDNCF-2. 6. The steroidal anti-inflammatory drug dexamethasone and the protein synthesis inhibitor cycloheximide inhibited neutrophil chemotactic factor production in a concentration-dependent manner.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)     

Lipid-secreting carcinoma of the breast

Lipid secreting carcinoma is a very rare tumor of the breast. This is regarded as a special type of breast carcinoma, which is characterized by abundant intracytoplasmic neutral lipid stained with Sudan IV. Two cases (75 and 42 year old females) of lipid secreting carcinoma of the breast are presented. No other reports of lipid secreting carcinoma have been available in the Japanese literature. In this report, the physical, mammographic and ultrasonographic diagnosis and pathological findings are described and discussed.