Liver cell adenoma: A case report and a review of 30 cases reported in Japan

A 38 year old man with a huge liver cell adenoma extending to the pelvis was treated by left lateral lobectomy. The tumour, which was well-encapsulated by fibrous membrane, was 18 × 19 × 6 cm in size and weighed 1500g. Histopathologically, this tumour was composed of well-differentiated liver cell trabeculae and a small number of pseudobiliary ducts, but no Glisson sheaths. For the past 4 years 8 months he has remained asymptomatic. Thirty cases of liver cell adenoma found in Japanese literature are reviewed here and possible pathogenic implications are discussed.     

Hypercalcemia Associated With Neoplastic Diseases

Hypercalcemia was observed most frequently in patients withadvanced breast cancer, following which the order of occurrencewas in lung, cervix, esophagus and tongue cancer patients, andmyeloma patients. The shortening of Q – aTc interval onthe electrocardiogram was remarkable and served as a usefulindicator in the early detection of hypercalcemia. The loweredserum phosphorus level was often observed in hypercalcemia inpatients with skeletal metastases. Metabolic alkalosis in hypercalcemiawas probably due to hypochloremia or hypopotassemia. The degreeof calcium deposition along the renal tubules was proportionalto the duration of hypercalcemia. Corticosteroid administrationwas effective in the treatment of hypercalcemia. However, patientsdied frequently of uremia when hypercalcemia persisted for morethan 20 days. The mechanism of hypercalcemia associated withneoplastic diseases is discussed.     

Primary pulmonary choriocarcinoma in a four month old boy complicated with precocious puberty

A four month old boy with pulmonary choriocarcinoma, showing iso-sexual precocious puberty is reported. His serum human chorionic gonadotropin (HCG) was highly elevated. A round isolated tumor in the right lung, found by chest X-ray, magnetic resonance imaging and gallium scintigraphy, was removed surgically a month and a half after clinical manifestations were noticed. It was determined to be choriocarcinoma on the basis of histological findings and positive HCG on histochemical examination. Skull irradiation and chemotherapy (cisplatinum, vinblastin and bleomycin) had only a transient effect on reducing tumor size and normalizing the serum level of HCG. This case suggests that a more effective treatment regimen needs to be established.     

PEPTIC ULCER: PATHOGENESIS,HEALING AND ANTI-ULCER DRUGS

Abstract At present, the evaluation of anti-ulcer drugs is generally accomplished simply by calculating the cumulative healing rate at a certain point of time during treatment, which does not implicate any analysis of the healing speed of the ulcer. If the cumulative healing rate of an ulcer is expressed as a function of drug administration time, t, then it will be possible to calculate parameters concerning the healing speed of ulcers and thus evaluate drug efficacy as the time series analysis of the cumulative healing rate. A new method of evaluating anti-ulcer drugs by a statistical analysis of healing speed is proposed. A non-linear regression analysis was performed between two variables, t (time of drug administration: week) and y (non-healing rate: %), to obtain the exponential function y = Ae^?kt. The theoretical values calculated from the exponential equation were in close proximity to the observed values. With this analysis, four parameters concerning the healing speed were defined, namely the healing rate constant, the initiation time of healing, the half-life of non-healing rate and the time necessary for 50% healing. With this method, the efficacy of drugs on peptic ulcer healing was dynamically analysed, the non-healing rate (y) being expressed as an exponential function of length of time (t) of treatment, thus obtaining digital parameters for healing speed.     

The Establishment of a Cell Strain (PC-1) from a Human Lung Cancer

A human lung cancer cell strain (PC-1) was established in vitroand maintained in continuous growth for more than two and ahalf years. The material used for explanation was a metastaticlymph node of a case of poorly differentiated epidermoid carcinomaconsisting predominantly of small anaplastic cells of a polygonalcell type. The cultured cell grew attached to a glass surfacein layered heaps and were epidermoid ultrastructurally. Chromosomal analysis of the cells at the 7th passage culturerevealed that all mitotic cells with the chromosome number of46 or more exhibited the karyotypic abnormality of Dp⁺. Tumorsdeveloped after hetcrotransplantation of the cultured cellsinto the hamster's cheek pouch showed features of epidermoidcarcinoma with keratinization indicating neoplastic cell originof the strain. Doubling time of the total cell population was72 hours. Histogenesis of the small cell anaplastic carcinoma was discussed.     

Morphometry of Bladder Cancer Cells in Tissue Sections According to Histological Grade of Malignancy

Morphometrical analysis was performed on cells of bladder carcinomastaken from patients who had undergone surgery at the NationalCancer Center Hospital. Ten cases each of the following groupswere compared as to the nuclear area, standard deviation ofnuclear areas, cytoplasmic area, and nuclear/cytoplasmic ratio:normal mucosa and grade I transitional cell carcinoma obtainedby transurethral resection (TUR), and normal mucosa, grade II,III and in situ transitional cell carcinomas obtained by totalcystectomy. There were significant differences in both nuclear area andnuclear/cytoplasmic ratio between normal epithelium obtainedby TUR and grade I carcinoma. There were also significant differencesin nuclear area and nuclear/cytoplasmic ratio among the fourtotal cystectomy groups. In this cytomorphometrical analysis, cells of carcinoma in situhad the characteristics of grade II or grade III carcinoma cells.The morphometrical features of the two advanced cases of gradeII carcinoma revealed that the nuclear area, the standard deviationof the nuclear area and the cytoplasmic area were rather small,whereas the nuclear/cytoplasmic ratio was almost average forthe grade II group. The results of this analysis, especially those for the nuclear/cytoplasmicratio, corresponded well with the histological grading of bladdercarcinoma.     

Effect of Local Anaesthetics on the Stimulus-secretion Coupling in Bovine Adrenal Chromaffin Cells*

Abstract— This study was carried out to determine the relative potencies of local anaesthetics to inhibit the cholinergic synaptic transmission using cultured bovine adrenal chromaffin cells, and to clarify if the inhibitory action would correlate with biophysical and pharmacological properties. Local anaesthetics (bupivacaine, etidocaine, tetracaine, lignocaine and procaine; 0·02–2 Mm ) inhibited carbachol-induced catecholamine release from the cells in a concentration-dependent manner. This inhibition was completely reversible. IC50 (concentration of 50% inhibition) of each anaesthetic showed no correlation with the lipid solubility. The local anaesthetics showed greater inhibitory potency at a higher extracellular pH. The results suggest that clinically relevant concentrations of local anaesthetics inhibit the stimulus-secretion coupling in the chromaffin cells. The un-ionized base form plays a major role, and the inhibitory potency does not depend on the lipid solubility of the anaesthetics.     

Interaction of gramicidin S analogs with lipid bilayer membrane

One of the side chains of Orn residues in gramicidin S (GS) was connected with alanine (AGS), sarcosine (SGS), or histidine (HGS) residue, aiming at developing membrane-active artificial enzymes by virtue of the membrane-associating property of GS. The conformation of the GS analogs was similar to that of GS. However, the affinity of GS and its analogs for dipalmitoylphosphatidylcholine (DPPC) vesicles decreased in the order of GS > SGS > HGS ? AGS. The addition of GS analogs at 10 μ to DPPC vesicles decreased the membrane fluidity, indicating that GS analogs did not disrupt the vesicular structure of DPPC vesicles. On the other hand, GS analogs enhanced carboxyfluorescein-leakage from DPPC vesicles. It was therefore considered that the GS analogs induced the phase-separation of the lipid bilayer membrane. Hydrolytic reactions of HGS in the presence of DPPC vesicles were studied using N-methylindoxyl alkanoate as substrate. HGS reacted only with N-methylindoxyl hexanoate below the phase-transition temperature of the membrane. The substrate specificity of HGS was ascribed to the condensation of HGS in the neighbourhood of the substrate in the lipid bilayer membrane due to the phase-separation below the phase-transition temperature of the membrane.     

Estimation of damaged tubular epithelium in renal allografts by determination of vimentin expression

BACKGROUND: Various invasive and non-invasive methods have been investigated for their prognostic value in predicting the outcome of renal allografts. In the present study, vimentin expression in tubular epithelial cells (TEC) was determined by the immunohistochemical examination of biopsy specimens and the prognostic value of this method was assessed. METHODS: Ninety-two renal transplant recipients were recruited for the present study. Protocol biopsy of the renal graft was performed 1, 3 and 5 years after transplantation in each case. All biopsy specimens were treated with conventional stains and immunostained with an antivimentin antibody. The correlation between vimentin expression and glomerular filtration rate (GFR) and the association between vimentin expression and histopathological findings were determined. RESULTS: Vimentin was localized in TEC adjacent to interstitial lesions with lymphocyte infiltration and also in TEC with tubulitis or in atrophic tubules. Vimentin positivity significantly correlated with GFR and both vimentin positivity and GFR were significantly associated with the extent of chronic allograft nephropathy, but not with acute rejection. Additionally, vimentin expression and GFR 3 and 5 years after transplantation were higher in cases where graft loss occurred between 5 and 7 years after transplantation compared with graft survival cases. CONCLUSIONS: These results suggest that immunohistochemistry using antivimentin antibodies on protocol biopsy specimens is useful for the detection of injured TEC and as a predictor of allograft outcome.     

IMMUNOHISTOLOGIC LOCALIZATION OF RAS P21 IN NORMAL, HYPERPLASTIC, AND NEOPLASTIC EPIDERMIS

Background. Ras p21, a ras oncogene product, plays an important role in tumorigenesis, proliferation, and differentiation in various tissues and cells. Methods. Using a monocolonal antibody raised against ras p21 (RASK 4), localization of ras p21 in normal epidermis and involved epidermis of various skin diseases was examined immunohistologically. Results. Ras p21 was not present in basal cells of normal epidermis or basaloid cells of basal cell epithelioma but was found almost evenly in the cytoplasm of squamous cells and granular cells. This suggests that ras p21 is concerned with differentiation of epidermal cells. The mode of distribution of ras p21 differed from one cell to another in epidermal cells that turned to malignancy. The distribution was uneven and irregular in the tumorous region on the whole. Conclusions. This result might possibly represent abnormal differentiation of epidermal cells that turned to malignancy, deviating from the regular mode of the distribution of ras p21, which is necessary for normal differentiation.