Pharmacological studies of lycorenine, an alkaloid of Lycoris radiata Herb.: II. Effects of blood pressure in rats and dogs and the mechanism of tachyphylaxis to the vasodepressor action of lycorenine in rats

Blood pressure responses to lycorenine were investigated in rats and dogs. Lycorenine (10--40 mg/kg p.o.) produced a decrease in blood pressure in conscious rats which was greater in hypertensive rats than in normotensive rats. In conscious dogs, lycorenine (5 or 10 mg/kg i.v.) produced rises in blood pressure and heart rate except for a few instances, while it produced a decrease in blood pressure in pentobarbital anesthetized dogs. Thus, there are species differences in cardiovascular effects of lycorenine between conscious rats and dogs. The development of tachyphylaxis to the vasodepressor actions of lycorenine and its related compounds was related to their alpha-adrenergic blocking activities at the time of the second injection in anesthetized rats. Desipramine which abolished or diminished the development of tachyphylaxis to the vasodepressor action of lycorenine (5 or 7.5 mg/kg i.v.), shortened the duration of its vasodepressor action and reduced its alpha-adrenergic blocking action. These results indicate that the development of tachyphylaxis to the vasodepressor action of lycorenine is ascribed to maintenance of its alpha-adrenergic blocking action.     

Report on the Computer Software Contest at 38th Congress of the Japan Society of Anesthesiology

We held a computer software contest at 38th Congress of the JSA, held in March, 1991. The aim is to encourage the members of the Society to write softwares and to help distribute them, especially as Freewares. We received 25 entries for the contest; two-thirds of these are for computers of NEC PC9801 series and a third are for Macintosh. We received donations 3 million yen worth of instruments and goods for prizes plus some cash, which as prizes were distributed to those who made entries for the contest.Most of these programs have been registered as freewares at various computer networks, including our Ether-Net, one of the common computer network SIGBBSs among Japanese anesthesiologists.(Suwa K, Miyasaka K, Tanaka Y, et al.: Report on the computer software contest at 38th congress of the Japan society of anesthesiology. J Anesth 5: 441–444, 1991)Executive Committee of the Computer Software Contest at 38th Congress of the Japan Society of Anesthesiology     

Induction of unresponsiveness to islet xenograft by MMC treatment of graft and blockage of LFA-1/ICAM-1 pathway

BACKGROUND: Induction of unresponsiveness to graft is one of major interest in xenotransplantation. Two different modalities [direct graft treatment by mitomycin C (MMC) and blockage of the lymphocyte function-associated antigen-1/intracellular adhesion molecule-1 (LFA-1/ICAM-1) pathway in recipients by species-specific mAbs] were tested for their ability to produce unresponsiveness to secondary islet xenografts. METHODS: Collagenase-digested WS (RT1k) rat islets, purified by Ficoll density gradient, were incubated for 30 min with MMC 10 microg/ml, cultured for 20 hr, and transplanted into the renal subcapsular space of streptozotocin-induced diabetic C57BL/6 (H-2b) mice. Recipient mice were divided into experimental groups according to anti-rat ICAM-1 and/or anti-mouse LFA-1 mAb treatment and transplantation of MMC-treated or nontreated islets. RESULTS: MMC pretreatment alone prolonged graft survival, with a mean survival time (MST) of 23.0+/-7.4 days, compared with that of cultured islets (12.4+/-2.7 days; P<0.01). MMC treatment of islets significantly augmented graft survival, compared with that of crude islet grafts under treatment with anti-donor ICAM-1 mAb (MST: >41.3+/-30 vs. 16.6+/-5.4 days, P<0.01), anti-recipient LFA-mAb (MST: >70.3+/-28.9 vs. 30.4+/-10.4 days, P<0.001), or both mAbs (MST: >88.1+/-24.1 vs. 23+/-7.4 days, P<0.0001). One of six, four of nine, and six of eight animals accepted MMC-treated islet xenografts over 100 days after treatment with anti-rat ICAM-1, anti-mouse LFA-1, or both mAbs treatments, respectively, whereas none of the animals accepted nontreated islets under the same treatment. When the mice bearing long-term functioning xenografts were challenged with the secondary graft from the original donor strain, the animals previously treated with anti-recipient LFA-1 and anti-donor ICAM-1 mAbs were more prone to accept it than animals given anti-recipient LFA-1 mAb alone (MST: 55.8+/-25.7 vs. 15+/-2.4 respectively; P<0.001), although they rejected the third-party xenograft and allograft acutely. CONCLUSIONS: In the xenogeneic islet transplantation model, MMC graft pretreatment and blockage of the ICAM-1/LFA-1 pathway constitute a potent protocol for inducing unresponsiveness to islet xenografts.     

HPLC法测定丹参类注射液中4种水溶性成分含量

目的采用HPLC法同时测定香丹注射液 (复方丹参注射液 )及丹参注射液中 4种水溶性成分丹酚酸B、迷迭香酸、丹参素和原儿茶醛含量。方法采用HypersilC18(2 5 0mm× 4 6mm ,5 μm)色谱柱 ;以甲醇 水 二甲基甲酰胺 冰醋酸为流动相梯度洗脱 ;流速为 1 0mL/min ;柱温为 35℃ ;检测波长 2 80nm。结果丹参素、原儿茶醛、迷迭香酸和丹酚酸B线性范围分别在 0 0 194～0 194 0 g·L-1、0 0 0 4 0 4～ 0 0 4 0 4 g·L-1、0 0 0 80 8～ 0 0 80 8g·L-1和 0 0 2 6 0～ 0 2 6 0 0 g·L-1内 ,线性关系良好 (r≥ 0 9998) ;加样回收率分别为 10 4 % ,98 3% ,10 1% ,10 3% ,RSD <2 0 %。结论本研究为丹参类注射液的质量综合评价和控制提供了简单、准确、可行的分析方法。     

Identification of CCND3 and BYSL as candidate targets for the 6p21 amplification in diffuse large B-cell lymphoma.

PURPOSE: Increases in gene dosage through DNA amplification represents a common feature of many tumors and can result in the up-regulation of tumor-promoting genes. Our recent genome-wide, array-based comparative genomic hybridization analysis of 66 cases of diffuse large B-cell lymphoma found that genomic gain of 6p21 was observed in as many as 17 cases, including 14 cases with low-level copy number gain and three cases with high-level copy number gains (amplifications). EXPERIMENTAL DESIGN AND RESULTS: To identify the target gene(s) for 6p21 amplification, we constructed a detailed amplicon map at the region of genomic amplification with the aid of high-resolution contig array-based comparative genomic hybridization glass slides, consisting of contiguously ordered bacterial artificial chromosome/P1-derived artificial chromosome clones covering 3 Mb throughout the 6p21 amplification region. Alignment of the amplifications identified a minimally overlapping 800 kb segment containing 15 genes. Quantitative expression analysis of the genes from both patient samples and the SUDHL9 cell line revealed that CCND3 and BYSL (1.9 kb telomeric to the CCND3 gene locus) are the targets of 6p21 genomic gain/amplification. CONCLUSIONS: Although it is known that t(6;14)(p21;q32) induces aberrant overexpression of CCND3 in B-cell malignancies, we were able to show that CCND3, which encodes the cyclin D family member protein that controls the G1-S phase of cell cycle regulation, can also be a target of genomic gain/amplification. Overexpression of CCND3 through genomic amplification is likely to lead to aberrant cell cycle control, although the precise biological role of BYSL with respect to tumorigenesis remains to be determined.     

Preliminary report: use of clinical criteria for the determination of pediatric brain death and confirmation by radionuclide cerebral blood flow

The medical records of all brain dead patients (n = 228) at the Hospital for Sick Children, Toronto from January 1990 to December 1999 were reviewed. A radionuclide cerebral blood flow study (RCBFS) as a supportive and confirmatory test was performed on 27 patients and the clinical diagnosis of brain death was confirmed on all of them. A RCBFS was performed on 10 out of 27 patients because full clinical evaluation could not be performed due to severe facial injuries or cervical injuries. A RCBFS was performed on 17 patients who underwent a full clinical evaluation, of which 15 cases were due to uncertainty in the clinical etiology of the deep coma and 2 cases were due purely to the need to persuade the family. In recent years, RCBFS was not used as extensively on patients who underwent a full clinical evaluation, reflecting social acceptance and a higher level of clinical certainty in diagnosing brain death in children. This study supports the opinion that brain death can be accurately diagnosed in pediatric patients with clinical criteria alone and confirmatory tests are not necessary in most cases.