Transforming growth factor beta is protective in host resistance against Listeria monocytogenes infection in mice.

The role of transforming growth factor beta (TGF-beta) in host resistance against Listeria monocytogenes infection was studied with mice. The constitutive expression of TGF-beta 1 mRNA was observed in the spleens and livers of mice before and after infection. Injecting the mice with anti-TGF-beta 1 peptide serum resulted in diminished antilisterial resistance, whereas the administration of human platelet-derived TGF-beta 1 enhanced the resistance. Moreover, mice were protected against lethal infection when treated with TGF-beta 1. These results suggest the TGF-beta 1 might be involved in antilisterial resistance. On the other hand, injecting the mice with TGF-beta 1 resulted in a decrease in the titers of endogenous gamma interferon, tumor necrosis factor alpha, and interleukin-6, which are crucial in antilisterial resistance, in sera and in extracts of spleen and liver. Thus, a complicated mechanism might be involved in the role of TGF-beta 1 in host resistance against L. monocytogenes infection.     

An immunodominant haptenic epitope of carbamazepine detected in serum from patients given long-term treatment with carbamazepine without allergic reaction

An anticarbamazepine antibody was detected in the serum of a patient with severe carbamazepine-induced serum sickness. We found that the patient's T cells and IgG antibody recognized an epitope which appeared in subjects showing an allergic reaction, as well as that in subjects who showed no allergic reaction, after long-term carbamazepine therapy. These results show that an anti-carbamazepine immune response does not occur in the majority of subjects who undergo long-term carbamazepine therapy without developing allergic symptoms, although the immunodominant haptenic epitope of carbamazepine is present in their sera.     

The role of the solitary and paramedian reticular nuclei in mediating cardiovascular reflex responses from carotid baro- and chemoreceptors

1. With dye-filled micro-electrodes single neurones in the medulla of anaesthetized paralysed cats were identified which: (a) fired rhythmically in synchrony with or were modulated by the cardiac cycle, and which ceased firing with occlusion of the ipsilateral common carotid artery (carotid sinus baroreceptor neurones); (b) were excited by stimulation of carotid body chemoreceptors by close intra-arterial injection of lobeline into the thyroid artery (carotid body chemoreceptor neurones).2. Twelve carotid baroreceptor neurones were identified, in thirty-three cats, nine of which were localized in the intermediate area of the nucleus of the solitary tract (NTS) within 1 mm ahead of or behind the obex; three units were located either in the parahypoglossal area or the dorsal portion of the paramedian reticular nucleus (PRN).3. Of the twenty-one carotid chemoreceptor neurones which were identified, thirteen were localized in the NTS, three in the parahypoglossal area and four in the dorsal PRN.4. Bilateral lesions of the paramedian reticular area of medulla destroying the PRN, abolished or reversed the depressor response to electrical stimulation of myelinated fibres of the carotid sinus nerve (CSN), attenuated the depressor response to carotid sinus stretch and augmented the pressor response to chemoreceptor stimulation by lobeline. Such lesions did not significantly alter the reflex heart rate responses.5. Small lesions of the NTS within an area 1 mm rostral to the obex abolished all reflex blood pressure and heart rate responses to electrical stimulation of the CSN or natural stimulation of carotid baro- or chemoreceptors.6. Baroreceptors and chemoreceptors of the CSN project both to the intermediate zone of the NTS and to more medial areas of the medulla, particularly the dorsal PRN and parahypoglossal area.7. The PRN serves to mediate the reflex depressor, but not cardio-vagal, response from myelinated baroreceptors and buffers the pressor responses from chemoreceptors; it may serve as an important area integrating cardiovascular activity descending from forebrain, brain stem and cerebellum with baroreceptor reflexes.8. Cardiovascular reflex responses arising from non-myelinated baroreceptors and all chemoreceptors are mediated by neurones in the intermediate area of the NTS.     

A girl with 1p36 deletion syndrome and congenital fiber type disproportion myopathy

Chromosome 1p36 deletion syndrome is characterized by hypotonia, moderate to severe developmental and growth retardation, and characteristic craniofacial dysmorphism. Muscle hypotonia and delayed motor development are almost constant features of the syndrome. We report a 4-year-old Japanese girl with 1p36 deletion syndrome whose muscle pathology showed congenital fiber type disproportion (CFTD) myopathy. This is the first case report of 1p36 deletion associated with CFTD. This association may indicate that one of the CFTD loci is located at 1p36. Ski proto-oncogene −/− mice have phenotypes that resemble some of the features observed in patients with 1p36 deletion syndrome. Because fluorescent in situ hybridization analysis revealed that the human SKI gene is deleted in our patient, some genes in 1p36, including SKI proto-oncogene, may be involved in muscle hypotonia and delayed motor development in this syndrome. Received: March 4, 2002 / Accepted: July 7, 2002     

BRONCHIAL PLASMACYTOMA IDENTIFIED BY IMMUNOPEROXIDASE TECHNIQUE ON PARAFFIN EMBEDDED SECTION

A case of bronchial plasmacytoma occurring in a 57- year-old housewife is reported. She had had the productive cough and the "abnormal shadow" in the right lower lobe for three years before admission. On bronchocopy, a tumor was found in the right main bronchus, large enough to obstruct the air way. The tumor was resected through rigid bronchoscope. Histological impression was "plasmacytoma with local amyloid deposit." M-protein was never detected in the serum or urine. Applying the immunoperoxidase technique for the paraffin section, the plasma cells were found to contain only a single type of immunoglobulin, Ig G-L. The differential diagnosis between plasmacytoma and plasma cell granuloma was made, and plasmacytoma was considered to be one type of extranodal malignant lymphoma.     

Dna ploidy of pheochromocytoma on cytology specimen by image analysis

Pheochromocytoma usually shows prominent nuclear atypia, but the presence of such atypical cells is known to be an unreliable predictor of malignancy. DNA ploidy of pheochromocytomas has been analyzed by flow cytometry or photospectrometry on paraffinem-bedded tissue, but the results were controversial. We performed DNA analysis on cytology specimens of 11 pheochromocytomas using an image analysis system. All tumors had a mixed pattern of a large population of diploid cells and a small population of polyploid cells. DNA content correlated with nuclear size, and larger cells had more DNA content. Such larger tumor cells had polyploid nuclei, such as 4 C, 8 C, 16 C, and 32 C, in both malignant and benign pheochromocytomas. The larger polyploid nuclei may result from difficulty of duplication at the mitotic phase of the cell cycle.     

Significance of fibrils in the formation of the Kimmelstiel-Wilson nodule

Summary The pathogenesis of the nodular lesion in diabetic glomerulosclerosis is described in association with fibrils. Thirteen diabetic patients with glomerular nodular lesions and 9 diabetics without the nodules were examined by electron microscopy using periodic acid-thio-carbohydrazide-silver proteinate staining. In cases of nodular glomerulosclerosis, abundant fibrillar structures mixed with electron-dense material were detected within the nodule and the mesangial matrix. They were also occasionally observed along the subendothelial space of the glomerular capillary walls. On the cross-section, these fibrils, including the lucent periphery, were 34 nm wide. Immunohistologically, collagen V and collagen VI were detected in nodular lesions. In contrast, in cases of the diffuse type of glomerulosclerosis, the widened mesangium was composed of dense material, which resembled the original mesangial matrix. The above fibrils were not detected in the mesangium. These findings suggest that the accumulation of the peculiar fibrils in the glomerular mesangium is a major pathogenic factor in the formation of Kimmelstiel-Wilson nodules.     

Kinetic profiles of sequential gene expressions for chemokines in mice with contact hypersensitivity

Using cDNA microarray technology, the expression of chemokine genes in the elicitation site of 2,4,6-trinitrochlorobenzene-induced contact hypersensitivity (CHS) was examined in mice. Of the 33 genes analyzed, levels of 11 gene expressions changed, and these can be assigned to four groups based on their kinetic patterns; (1) LARC/CCL20 whose mRNA level increased rapidly at 3 h post-challenge and then gradually decreased, (2) JE/CCL2, MARC/CCL7, MIP-1gamma/CCL9, monocyte chemoattractant protein (MCP)-5/CCL12, ELC/CCL19 and BRAK/CXCL14 whose mRNA levels increased with time and reached the maximum at 6-9 h post-challenge, (3) LIX/CXCL5, Mig/CXCL9 and IP-10/CXCL10 whose mRNA levels increased gradually at least up to 12 h post challenge, and (4) SLC/CCL21 whose mRNA level decreased gradually with time after challenge. The findings suggest that sequential expression of chemokine genes is essential for orientating non-specific skin response to hapten-specific CHS response through the recruitment of inflammatory cells such as neutrophils, monocytes/macrophages and T-cells from the circulation into the tissue site.     

Ordering behaviors and age-hardening in experimental AuCu-Zn pseudobinary alloys for dental applications

Age-hardening mechanisms and related ordering behaviors of the experimental (AuCu)_1−xZn_x alloys with x0.2 were investigated for dental applications. The addition of Zn to equiatomic AuCu greatly increased the age-hardening rate and delayed overaging. It was suggested that the quenched-in excess vacancies were greatly related to the age-hardening rate in the AuCu–Zn pseudobinary alloys. In these alloys, the hardness became maximum during the very initial stage of ordering, and with the development of ordered phase, the hardness began to decrease. Transmission electron microscopy revealed that the age-hardening of AuCu–Zn pseudobinary alloys is caused by lattice distortion that occurred during the very early stage of atomic ordering. The addition of Zn to AuCu effectively increased the density of antiphase boundaries per unit volume of the AuCu II superstructure. This is suggested to be the main cause for the retardation of the overaging in the alloys containing Zn of 5 at% or more. This pronounced effect of Zn addition to AuCu alloy on its age-hardening characteristics may be advantageous for obtaining stable mechanical properties of dental casting gold alloys.