Immunocytochemical and morphologic features of poorly differentiated adenocarcinoma of the nasopharynx

Poorly differentiated adenocarcinoma of the nasopharynx is not rare. It comprises 5% of all nasopharyngeal carcinomas. In this paper, specimens of 41 cases of poorly differentiated adenocarcinoma of the nasopharynx were studied. The microscopic findings have the tendency to form glandular or duct-like structures, or a specific "cerebriform" appearance, AB-PAS stain was positive. In addition to the common features of adenocarcinoma (cancer cells vary in size, with large, round central nuclei, enlarged conspicuous nucleoli), a specific feature that the nuclei of cancer cells were 1-2 times larger than those of normal cells was seen in smear. Electron microscopic observation revealed that the cytoplasm of the cancer cells contained numerous mitochondria, RER, developed Golgi apparatus and some secretory granules. Immunocytochemical studies proved that it was moderately positive for immunostain of low molecular weight keratin protein (K10,11), but was negative for keratin (K) it is different from poorly differentiated squamous cell carcinoma and vesicular nuclear cell carcinoma, of which were strongly positive or partially positive for keratin. The main points of differential diagnosis for these carcinomas are elucidated.     

An Immunotoxicological Evaluation of 4, 4'-Thiobis-(6-t-butyl-m-cresol) in Female B6C3F1 Mice: 1. Body and Organ Weights, Hematology, Serum Chemistries, Bone Marrow Cellularity, and Hepatic Microsomal Parameters

An Immunotoxicological Evaluation of 4,4'-Thiobis-(6-t-butyl-m77-cresol)in Female B6C3F1 Mice. 1. Body and Organ Weights, Hematology,Serum Chemistries, Bone Marrow Cellularity, and Hepatic MicrosomalParameters. MUNSON, A. E., WHITE, K. L., JR., BARNES, D. W.,MUS-GROVE, D. L., LYSY, H. H., AND HOLSAPPLE, M. P. (1988).Fundam. Appl. Toxicol. 10, 691–700. Adult female B6C3F1mice were gavaged with 4,4'-thiobis-(6-t-butyl-m-cresol) (TBBC)in corn oil at doses of 10, 100, or 200 mg/kg daily for 14 consecutivedays. There was no overt toxicity, as manifested by grosslyobservable behavioral changes, decreased growth rate over theexposure period, or mortality. There were also no marked effectson serum chemistries or hematology, with the exception of asignificant increase (41%) in the number of leukocytes at thehighest dose. Absolute differential counts indicated that significantincreases occurred in the number of lymphocytes (31%) and neutrophils(177%). Studies with bone marrow indicated a significant 30%increase in the number of cells/femur from animals treated withthe highest dose of TBBC. The number of macrophage progenitors(CFU-M)/femur was significantly increased by 28%, while thenumber of granulocyte-monocyte progenitors (CFU-GM)/femur wasnonsig-nificantly increased by 20% in the high dose animals.The weight of both the spleen and liver was increased in a dose-relatedfashion, although the histopathology of the spleen of TBBC-treatedmice was not different from control. The livers of mice receivingthe high dose showed mild focal hydropic degeneration, mildhepatitis, and a slight increase in the number of Kupffer cells.No other organs were affected. Liver microsomal protein andcytochrome P-450 levels were increased in a dose-related fashion.Enzyme activities of aminopyrine demethylase and aniline hydroxylase,but not arylhydrocarbon hydroxylase, were also increased ina dose-related fashion.     

Immunotoxicity of the Semiconductor Gallium Arsenide in Female B6C3F1 Mice

The effects of gallium arsenide (GaAs) exposure on immunocompetenceof B6C3F1 female mice were investigated. GaAs was administeredas a single intratracheal instillation at doses of 50, 100,and 200 mg/kg. Fourteen days after exposure, various cellularand humoral immune parameters were assessed. GaAs exposure increasedspleen cellularity in a dose-dependent manner. However, thepercentages of Thy 1.2 positive and 1g positive cells were decreasedand that of F4/80 positive cells was increased dose dependency.The IgM and IgG antibody-forming cell response of the spleento the T-dependent antigen sheep erythrocytes was reduced by66 and 48%, respectively, at 200 mg/kg. Levels of the serumcomplement protein, C3, were increased by as much as 16% withno significant change in CH50 levels. The mitogenic responseof splenic T cells to Con A and PHA was unaffected by GaAs,but that of B cells to LPS was increased by 52%. The delayedhypersensitivity response to keyhole limpet hemocyanin and mixedlymphocyte response were significantly reduced in a dose-dependentmanner by GaAs exposure. Natural killer cell activity againstthe YAC-1 mouse lymphoma was enhanced in treated mice. Analysisof peritoneal exudate cells (PEC) revealed a dose-dependentdecrease in number and a shift in the composition of PECs. Thepercentage of PEC monocytes increased from 53% of the populationto 81%, while the lymphocytes decreased from 46 to 20%. Theadherent PEC population demonstrated decreased phagocytosisof covaspheres and increased phagocytosis of chicken erythrocytes(CRBC). GaAs exposure had no effect on host resistance to Plasmodiumyoelii or Streptococcus pneumoniae, but dose dependency increasedresistance of the mouse to Listeria monocytogenes Treated micedemonstrated a significantly decreased resistance to the B16F10melanoma with a sevenfold increase in tumor burden at 200 mg/kg.GaAs affects both humoral and cellular immune parameters inmice and impairs the ability of the immune system to protectagainst B16F10 tumor challenge.     

An AscI boundary library for the studies of genetic and epigenetic alterations in CpG islands

Knudson's two-hit hypothesis postulates that genetic alterations in both alleles are required for the inactivation of tumor-suppressor genes. Genetic alterations include small or large deletions and mutations. Over the past years, it has become clear that epigenetic alterations such as DNA methylation are additional mechanisms for gene silencing. Restriction Landmark Genomic Scanning (RLGS) is a two-dimensional gel electrophoresis that assesses the methylation status of thousands of CpG islands. RLGS has been applied successfully to scan cancer genomes for aberrant DNA methylation patterns. So far, the majority of this work was done using NotI as the restriction landmark site. Here, we describe the development of RLGS using AscI as the restriction landmark site for genome-wide scans of cancer genomes. The availability of AscI as a restriction landmark for RLGS allows for scanning almost twice as many CpG islands in the human genome compared with using NotI only. We describe the development of an AscI-EcoRV boundary library that supports the cloning of novel methylated genes. Feasibility of this system is shown in three tumor types, medulloblastomas, lung cancers, and head and neck cancers. We report the cloning of 178 AscI RLGS fragments via two methods by use of this library.     

Progress in Rhesus Histocompatibility Typing Resulting from the Second International Nonhuman Primate Histocompatibility Workshop (1973)

The Second International Nonhuman Primate Histocompatibility Workshop permitted comparison of rhesus monkey alloantisera developd in various laboratories on a single common panel of related and unrelated monkeys. Analysis of the data permits the conclusion that at least nine specificities are recognized by more than one laboratory, including six at the first locus and three at the second locus.     

Enhancement of murine IgE antibody detection by IgG removal

RATIONALE: Although animal models for the study of allergic reactions are desirable, the use of mice has been hindered by the lack of sufficiently sensitive in vitro immunoglobulin epsilon (IgE) antibody assays. The aim of this study was to enhance IgE antibody measurements by immunoglobulin gamma (IgG) depletion. METHODS: Seven- to eight-week-old female mice of four strains (C3H/HeJ, CBA/J, C57Bl/6J, and Balb/c) were immunized (20 mice/group) with shrimp or peanut extracts using Al(OH)(3) as adjuvant. Following immunization, animals were sacrificed by exsanguination and the sera of each group pooled. Initial measurements of IgE antibody levels by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) were relatively low; IgG and IgE reactivity patterns by immunoblot were similar. Thus, sera from shrimp or peanut immunized mice were depleted of IgG (absorbed 3-6 times with immobilized protein G) and then tested for IgE antibody to shrimp or peanut allergen. RESULTS: A 3- to 5-fold increase in IgE antibody reactivity as measured by ELISA was demonstrated when >80-90% of the IgG was removed. This increase in detection of allergen-specific IgE occurred in sera from all mouse strains and to all allergens tested. In addition, reactivity of IgE antibodies to peanut or shrimp allergens by immunoblot increased visually approximately 4- to 10-fold. CONCLUSIONS: These studies indicate that allergen-specific IgG antibodies, which may be in more than 100-fold excess to IgE antibodies, interferes with detection of allergen-specific IgE, probably by competitive binding to allergenic epitopes. Substantial depletion of IgG antibodies (>80%) result in a significant increase in the sensitivity of the antibody measurements.     

耳蜗的扫描电镜观察

为研究柯替氏器的超微结构,用豚鼠、猫及4个月胎儿的耳蜗,在扫描电镜下观察。柯替氏器呈螺旋梯状,围绕在蜗轴周围。蜗尖部的柯替氏器较宽,蜗底部的较窄,其上方的前庭膜由单层扁平上皮组成,上皮表面有微绒毛。紧贴表面的盖膜由原纤维组成。大多数原纤维平行排列,表面与边缘的原纤维多交织成网。柯替氏器中有3排外毛细胞与1排内毛细胞,二者之间有柱细胞头板,外毛细胞上的听毛排列成W形,内毛细胞上的听毛排列成弧形。此外,所有细胞表面均有微绒毛。在轻度噪音刺激后,听毛减少并紊乱,微绒毛也减少或消失。 4月胎儿的柯替氏器有3～4排外毛细胞,其表面为绒球状听毛,后来发育为W形排列。内毛细胞为1排,表面为束状的原始听毛,后变为弧形排列。本文还观察到断裂的柯替氏器中,暴露出外毛细胞的柱状胞体及底部的杯状支持结构。外毛细胞由外指细胞所肩托。外指细胞的指突与外毛细胞均倾斜排列,交错成一定角度。当暴露出外柱细胞时,其胞体上细下粗,表面有传入神经纤维。当外毛细胞、外柱细胞等掀向上方后,可见隧道中纵行的神经纤维束及其分支,即螺旋隧道束与放线隧道纤维,它们系橄榄耳蜗束的传出纤维。     

The Gm-Pi linkage heterogeneity in view of Pi M subtypes

In this study linkage between the loci for Gm (γ-type heavy-chain immunoglobulin markers) and Pi (α₁-antitrypsin/α₁-protease inhibitor) has been shown in families segregating for the Pi M subtypes (Ml, M2, M3 and Msal) as identified by separator isoelectric focusing. The estimate for the Gm-Pi (M-type) recombination is 0-29 (95% limits 0-24-O37) at a peak lod score of 4-31 and with no sex difference. This value is not significantly different from updated recombination frequency estimates for Gm-Pi in Pi MS (0-26) and Pi MZ, SZ and FZ families (0 21). The overall Gm-Pi recombination fraction estimate of 0 26 (95 % limits O23-0-30) at a peak lod score of 20-75 must now be considered as solid. There is a significant heterogeneity within the male Pi MZ families in that the new Finnish families show a higher recombination between Gm and Pi. There is also a possible segregation distortion (Z:M = 23:8). The heterogeneity is discussed in terms of haplotypes, the behaviour of which could be determined by linked genes or chromosomal rearrangements. The possibility that the α₁-antitrypsin level influences recombination frequency has not been ruled out, but cannot explain the heterogeneity within Pi MZ families.