Analysis of regional lymph node T-lymphocyte subsets in patients with gastric cancer

The proportion of T-lymphocyte subsets of the regional lymph node lymphocytes of 36 gastric cancer patients was analysed using single and two color flow cytometry technique. The antibodies against human T-lymphocyte were anti-CD3, CD4, CD8, CD4 X Leu8, CD4 X 4B4 and CD8 X CD11. The results were as follows. 1) Using single color analysis, the proportion of CD3+ and CD4+ cells in the metastatic lymph node was decreased and that of CD8+ cells was not changed compared with the non-metastatic lymph node. Therefore, the ratio of CD4 to CD8 was reduced. Using two color analysis, proportion of CD4+ Leu8- cells and CD4+ 4B4- cells was reduced. On the contrary, that of CD8+ CD11+ cells was increased in the metastatic lymph node compared with the non-metastatic lymph node. 2) The proportion of CD3+, CD4+ and CD4+ 4B4- cells was decreased in the non-metastatic lymph node of patients with lymph node metastasis compared with that of patients without lymph node metastasis. 3) The proportion of T-lymphocyte subsets was not changed in the metastatic lymph node, whether the volume including cancer cell is much or not. These results suggest that the metastatic lymph node was less defensive against lymph node metastasis in the gastric cancer.     

Serum lipids, lipoproteins and apolipoproteins in patients with senile dementia]

Serum lipid, lipoprotein, apolipoprotein, and sterol profiles were studied in 22 patients with senile dementia of the Alzheimer type (SDAT) and 29 patients with vascular dementia (VD). Levels of high density lipoprotein-cholesterol (HDL-C) were lower in both patients groups of SDAT and VD than in control group. Apolipoprotein AI and AII are two major proteins in HDL. In this study, apolipoprotein AI levels were normal, but apolipoprotein AII levels were lower in the patient groups, especially in the VD group, than in the control group. Lipoprotein(a) levels were higher in both patient groups, especially in the VD group. There were no differences of cholesterol, cholesterol precursors (desmosterol and lathosterol), and plant sterols (campesterol and beta-sitosterol) among the three groups. Murine apolipoprotein AII is a serum precursor of murine senile amyloid protein, and the apolipoprotein AII variant with proline-->glutamine substitution at position 5 in the serum of accelerated senescence-prone mice is identical to the murine senile amyloid fibril protein from amyloid-deposited tissues of these mice. In human SDAT and VD, the reason for the low level of apolipoprotein AII remains unclear.     

Pharmacologic preconditioning effects: Prostaglandin E1 induces heat-shock proteins immediately after ischemia/reperfusion of the mouse liver

Prostaglandin E1 (PGE1) has several potential therapeutic effects, including cytoprotection, vasodilation, and inhibition of platelet aggregation. This study investigates the protective action of PGE1 against hepatic ischemia/reperfusion injury in vivo using a complementary DNA microarray. PGE1 or saline was continuously administered intravenously to mice in which the left lobe of the liver was made ischemic for 30 minutes and then reperfused. Livers were harvested 0, 10, and 30 minutes postreperfusion. Messenger RNA was extracted, and the samples were labeled with two different fluorescent dyes and hybridized to the RIKEN set of 18,816 full-length enriched mouse complementary DNA microarrays. Serum alanine aminotransferase and aspartate aminotransferase levels at 180 minutes postreperfusion were significantly lower in the PGE1-treated group than in the saline-treated group. The cDNA microarray analysis revealed that the genes encoding heat-shock protein (HSP) 70, glucose-regulated protein 78, HSP86, and glutathione S-transferase were upregulated at the end of the ischemic period (0 minutes postreperfusion) in the PGE1 group. Our results suggested that PGE1 induces HSPs immediately after ischemia reperfusion. HSPs might therefore play an important role in the protective effects of PGE1 against ischemia/reperfusion injury of the liver.     

Treatment strategies for hepatic metastasis from colorectal cancer

Hepatic micrometastases of the parenchyma adjacent to a macroscopic lesion were detected in 17 of 31 resected liver metastases. Fifty-nine micrometastatic lesions were detected in total; 26 lesions were situated in the portal vein (PV), 22 in the central vein (CV), 5 in the bile duct (BD), and 6 in the sinusoid (SS). A histological study confirmed the direct invasion of the macrometastatic cancer cells into the adjacent PV, CV, BD, and SS. According to the tumor doubling time, the mean diameter of the macrometastases in 19 remnant livers was calculated to have been 0.57±0.87 cm at the time of the primary resection. The calculated diameter of 3 of these 19 macrometastases was found to be less than 0.01 cm, the minimum implantable size, indicating that the cancer recurrence in these specimens may have developed from macroscopic metastatic lesions as a satellite, and not from the primary tumor. In 13 patients who received doses of 5250 mg or more of 5 fluorouracil (FU) via the hepatic artery, the cumulative disease-free rate 2 years postoperatively was 100%; this value was 47.6% in 11 patients who received less than 5250 mg of 5 FU via the hepatic artery, and 0% in 39 patients who received no chemotherapy (P<0.005). These results suggest that anatomical hepatic resection for satellite lesions, combined with prophylactic hepatic arterial chemotherapy for micrometastases, decreases the recurrence rate of hepatic metastases in the remnant liver.     

Urinary hydroxyproline, creatinine and urea excretion during the growth of five siblings

Urinary excretions of hydroxyproline, creatine and urea in 24 h specimens from 5 siblings have been determined monthly from 1971 to 1976 together with the measurements of body height and body weight. Changes with age in the urinary levels of these substances are in good agreement with those from cross-sectional studies in various age groups of children. Wide fluctuations of excretion levels occurred. The creatinine coefficients did not remain constant even over short periods. Menarche was observed shortly after the peak of hydroxyproline excretion at puberty. The hydroxyproline excretion pattern is similar to that of hydroxyproline index proposed by Whitehead, and it is quite different from that of hydroxyproline ratio.     

Effects of body position on snoring in apneic and nonapneic snorers

STUDY OBJECTIVES: The positional dependency of obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) is well known, but objective evidence for the positional effect on snoring is lacking. The aim of this study is to elucidate the effect of body position on snoring, and that of sleep stage as well. DESIGN: Retrospective analysis of the effects of body position and sleep stage on snoring in nonapneic snorers (snorer group) and OSA patients (apneic group). SETTING: A sleep laboratory in a national hospital in Japan. PATIENTS: Seventy-two patients who complained of habitual snoring and underwent overnight polysomnography. INTERVENTIONS: N/A MEASUREMENTS AND RESULTS: In the lateral position, most subjects in the snorer group showed decreased snoring both in time (p = 0.0004) and intensity (p = 0.0003), but subjects in the apneic group showed variable changes. In the apneic group, the positional dependency of snoring (the ratio of lateral value to supine value) was correlated with supine apnea-hypopnea index (AHI), that is, OSA patients with higher supine AHI tended to show increased snoring in the lateral position. AS to the effect of sleep stage, snoring was increased in deeper non-rapid eye movement sleep and decreased in rapid eye movement sleep in a given position. CONCLUSIONS: This study demonstrated that the positional dependency is different between nonapneic snorers and OSA patients. Most of the nonapneic snorers snore less in the lateral position than in the supine position in contrast to OSA patients who often fail to decrease snoring even in the lateral position.     

Characteristics of cis-diamminedichloroplatinum-selected in vitro passaged cells derived from a transplantable rat malignant fibrous histiocytoma

A cis-diamminedichloroplatinum (CDDP)-selected cell line (MT-R10) was induced by continuous exposure of an in vitro passaged cell line (MT-P) established from a transplantable rat malignant fibrous histiocytoma (MFH-MT) to CDDP. MT-R10, capable of proliferating in the presence of 1.0 microgram CDDP/ml, was passaged in CDDP-free medium. The doubling time of MT-R10 at passage 10 (MT-R10/10) was almost the same as that of MT-P, being 22.3 and 25.5 h, respectively. The concentration of CDDP required for 50% inhibition of MT-R10/10 proliferation was two-fold higher than that of MT-P. MT-R10 consisted of round, epithelial-type cells arranged in compact sheets. Ultrastructurally, MT-R10 had numerous free ribosomes, some mitochondria, and other poorly developed cytoplasmic organelles suggesting its undifferentiated nature. MT-R10 showed no reaction for acid phosphatase or non-specific esterase. Tumors induced in syngeneic rats by inoculation with MT-R10 consisted of small, round, undifferentiated cells with scanty cytoplasm. They showed organoid and trabecular patterns, and were often arranged in compact sheets. The neoplastic cells showed no reaction for any of the histiocytic lysosomal and antigenic markers tested, but exhibited a strong reaction for alkaline phosphatase. Bone formation was often observed in the tumors. These observations suggest that CDDP-selected, undifferentiated cells may have osteogenic potential and may be one of the progenitor cells of MFH-MT.     

Twice-daily measurements of stature and body weight in two children and one adult

Stature and body weight of two children, 12.5 and 9.3 years, and their mother were measured twice daily for 488 days, immediately after rising and just before bed. The time of the measurements was also recorded and diurnal changes during daytime and nighttime were estimated. Stature began to decrease instantaneously after rising. Therefore, morning measurements were made immediately after rising. Stature decreased during the day, and the mean daytime loss was 1.78 cm in the older child, 1.61 cm in the younger child, and 1.43 cm in the adult. Stature increased during sleep hours at night, and the mean nighttime gain was 1.79 cm, 1.63 cm, and 1.43 cm in each subject, respectively. Stature also increased after naps and a bath. Body weight decreased during sleep hours at night, and the mean nighttime loss was 0.46 kg, and 0.38 kg, and 0.36 kg in each subject, respectively. Diurnal changes were largest in the older child, while the ratios of changes (ΔST/ST, ΔWT/WT) were largest in the younger child whose growth rate was the greatest. In the children, the nighttime gain of stature was not as highly correlated with hours of sleep as in the adult. Diurnal change varies depending upon sleep hours and stage of growth. Rapid growth in stature of 1 cm in only three weeks was observed once in the younger child. During this period, diurnal change was smaller than the mean value over 488 days. In the older child, the growth rate decreased in both stature and weight about three months after menarche. © 1993 Wiley-Liss, Inc.     

HLA-DR2 frequency increase in severe aplastic anemia patients is mainly attributed to the prevalence of DR15 subtype

The association between severe aplastic anemia (AA) and DR2 antigen seems to be well established. However, since discrimination between two DR2-associated splits, namely DR15 and DR16, rarely was performed, it remains unclear whether one or both of these subvariants are responsible for AA susceptibility. In this study, we have analyzed the HLA-DR allelic distribution in a group of 37 AA patients of slavic origin from North-Western Russia. The experimental design included PCR-based amplification of DRB-specific sequences, followed by reverse dot-blot hybridization of the biotinylated PCR-product with the set of sequence-specific oligonucleotide probes. HLA-DRB alleles were identified by non-radioactive enzymatic reaction, then standard serological specificities of HLA-DR antigen were estimated according to the WHO nomenclature. Whereas DR15 subtype occurred more often in the patients (23.0% vs. 13.3%, p< 0.05), DR16 split did not show the same tendency. The results, show the overall predominance of HLA-DR2 specificity (DR15+DR16) did not reach statistical significance (24.4% vs.17.5%, p<0.2). Thus, we conclude that repeatedly reported DR2 frequency increase in AA patients is mainly attributed to the prevalence of DR15 subtype.