A Tissue-Engineered Artificial Bile Duct Grown to Resemble The Native Bile Duct

The aim of this study was to fabricate an artificial bile duct for the development of a new treatment for biliary diseases. Eighteen hybrid pigs were implanted with a bile duct organoid unit (BDOU) made of a bioabsorbable polymer. Twelve of the transplanted BDOUs had been seeded with autologous bone marrow cells (BMCs) in advance. Six animals, the controls, were grafted with the scaffold alone with no BMCs seeded. The common bile duct was cut, the hepatic cut end of the native common bile duct was anastomosed to the BDOU and the other end was anastomosed to the duodenum. The controls underwent a similar operation. The neo-bile duct was removed at pre-determined time points and investigated histologically. All 18 recipient pigs survived until their sacrifice at 6 weeks, 10 weeks or 6 months. Histological examination revealed incomplete epithelialization of the neo-bile duct at 6 weeks and 10 weeks after transplantation. At 6 months, the organoid exhibited a morphology almost identical to that of the native common bile duct. No differences were found between the controls and BMC-seeded pigs. These results show that the artificial bile duct thus fabricated can serve as a substitute for the native bile duct.     

Glial localization of four‐repeat tau in atypical progressive supranuclear palsy

In the present case, a patient in whom limb apraxia and asymmetrical parkinsonism developed suggesting corticobasal degeneration, is reported. Neuropathologic examination revealed numerous tufted astrocytes in the precentral cortex in addition to the characteristic pathologic findings of PSP. Therefore, on the basis of clinicopathologic features, atypical progressive supranuclear palsy was diagnosed. In addition, the brain tissue of the present patient was investigated with an antibody specific for four‐repeat tau (4R‐tau). In the precentral cortex, numerous tau‐positive tufted astrocytes, pretangles, and threads were positive for 4R‐tau. Using a confocal microscopy we demonstrated that tufted astrocytes positive for 4R‐tau were adjacent to astrocytes positive for GFAP. The present findings suggest that accumulation of four‐repeat tau in astrocytes is a degenerative process rather than a reactive process.     

Immunoreactive opsin and glial fibrillary acidic protein in persistent hyperplastic primary vitreous

An 8-month-old boy had an anterior type of persistent hyperplastic primary vitreous in the right eye. Results of needle biopsy, performed because of elevated intraocular pressure, disclosed clusters of blastic cells. The eye was enucleated on the suspicion of retinoblastoma. Histological examination showed retrolental fibrovascular tissue and retinal dysplasia. Immunoreactive opsin was detected in the innermost structures and in photoreceptor-like cells of rosettes. We conclude that photoreceptor cells differentiated to express opsin, even when neighbouring cells were abnormally arranged. An immunocytochemical study of glial fibrillary acidic protein demonstrated glial proliferation in the inner layer of the retina but not in the preretinal space.     

Virucidal activity and viral protein modification by myeloperoxidase: a candidate for defense factor of human polymorphonuclear leukocytes against influenza virus infection.

Influenza virus (IFV) was inactivated by treatment with degranulated fluid (DF) or myeloperoxidase (MPO) from human polymorphonuclear leukocytes in the presence of H2O2. Hemagglutinin and neuraminidase activities of the virus were also reduced by DF treatment. In addition, treatment with DF or MPO in the presence of H2O2 resulted in delayed migration of viral proteins in SDS-PAGE, indicating extensively modified viral proteins. Parallel with this aberrant migration, the radioactivity of each protein band on SDS-PAGE using [35S]methionine-labeled IFV was greatly reduced. Moreover, some of the modified viral protein did not migrate. A small amount of acid-soluble degraded viral peptide was also generated. The modification of the proteins was exhibited in all major viral proteins, including the inner proteins in the envelope. These results suggest that inactivation of IFV and protein modification by DF is due to MPO present in DF.     

The determination of thymidylate synthetase inhibition for testing fluoropyrimidines--pharmacokinetics and metabolism of carmofur (HCFU) in patients with gynecologic malignancies--Tokai HCFU Study Group for Gynecologic Malignancies

The pharmacokinetics and metabolism of carmofur (HCFU) were studied. Sixty-six patients were administered 100 mg of HCFU orally, and the plasma levels of the HCFU fraction (HCFUf) and 5-fluorouracil (5-FUra) were determined at 0, 1, 2, 4 and 6 hours. The average half-life of HCFUf and 5-FUra were 1.05 and 1.31 hours, and the average areas under the curves (AUC) of the plasma concentration were 6.51 hr X mcg/ml and 0.46 hr X mcg/ml, respectively. Surgical specimens of the tumors were obtained about three hours after the administration and assayed for HCFUf. 5-FUra fluorodeoxyuridine-monophosphate (FdUMP), deoxyuridine-monophosphate (dUMP), total thymidylate synthetase (TS total), and non-FdUMP-bound free enzyme (TS free). The TS inhibition rate (IR) was calculated by the follow method: IR = (TS total-TS free)/TS total X 100 levels of the TS total varied from not-detected (less than 0.10 pmol/g) to 20.5 pmol/g. The average FdUMP: dUMP ratio was 3.44 X 10(3), However, more than 80% inhibitions of TS were observed in nine cases (21.4%). The correlation indicates between TS IR and tissue FdUMP level or FdUMP: dUMP ratio were 0.57 and 0.62 in ovarian malignancies respectively. No significant correlations were observed between TS inhibition and levels of tissue 5-FUra or AUC of 5-FUra.     

A study of revised self-monitoring scale]

The present study attempted to construct the Japanese version of Revised Self-Monitoring Scale (Lennox & Wolfe, 1984). Factor analysis of this scale yielded two factors: 1) Sensitivity to expressive behavior of others, 2) Ability to modify self-presentation. This scale and its two factors had acceptable internal consistency: these results were almost similar with the original study. In correlational analyses with other personality measures, this scale correlated positively with both Private and Public Self-Consciousness Scale and Maudsley Personality Inventory-E Scale, but positively or negatively with some scales of Yatabe-Guilford Personality Inventory (e.g., G, S: positively. I, T: negatively.). Moreover the correlations between the two factors and the above mentioned measures provided interesting results. The availability of this scale was discussed.     

Laser Raman spectroscopic study of hereditary cataractous lenses in ICR/f-strain rat

The lenses of ICR/f-strain rats with hereditary cataract were monitored in situ by laser Raman spectroscopy. The lenses used were within the age of 3-10 weeks before lens opacification became manifest. The reduction of protein SH group content and the increase of protein S-S bond content were observed in ICR/f rats in the precataractous stage. No significant change in the water content was observed.     

Antinociceptive Effects of Morphine Were Different Between Experimental and Genetic Diabetes

This study was designed to investigate the effect of morphine on formalin-induced nociceptive responses in streptozotocin (STZ) induced-diabetic mice, noninsulin-dependent genetically diabetic db/db mice and their respective controls (ddY and +/+). In nondiabetic (ddY and +/+) mice, morphine (1–10 mg/kg, PO) dose dependently attenuated the biphasic nociceptive responses induced by SC injection of formalin to the hindpaw, demonstrating equipotency on both the first and second phases. Para-chlorophenylalanine (800 mg/kg × 2, PO) and pindolol (1 mg/kg, IP) reduced the effect of morphine on the first phase, sulpiride (10 mg/kg, IP) abolished the effect on both phases, while ketanserin (1 mg/kg, IP) had no effect. In STZ (200 mg/kg, IP)-diabetic mice, morphine weakly attenuated the nociception in comparison to control ddY mice, whereas it had comparable effects in both the first and second phases of control +/+ mice and db/db mice. The serotonergic agonist, meta-chlorophenylpiperazine (0.32–3.2 mg/kg, PO), dose dependently attenuated the biphasic nociceptive responses to formalin in both phases of diabetic mice; however, FR64822, a dopaminergic compound (0.1–10 mg/kg, PO), had little effect. We speculate that activation of both dopaminergic (DA)- and serotonergic-mediated mechanisms are potentially responsible for the effect of morphine on the first phase, while the DA-mediated effect is involved in the second phase. The DA-mediated mechanism, but not the serotonin-mediated one, appears to be altered in both STZ-diabetic and db/db mice. These results suggest that the attenuated effects of morphine might be due to a dopaminergic dysfunction in STZ mice, and that there might be other mechanisms compensating for this attenuation of dopaminergic function in db/db mice.