Ceruloplasmin activity in blood serum in stomach and duodenal ulcers

An examination of 100 patients with ulcer disease of the stomach duodenum and 20 practically healthy people has shown that the level of extracellular antioxidant enzyme defense (ceruloplasmin) is higher than those in practically healthy people. This dependence was most pronounced in the group of patients requiring surgical interventions. In the process of treatment the level of ceruloplasmin activity gradually decreased, without reaching normal values. The level of ceruloplasmin activity in patients with ulcer disease of the stomach and duodenum are thought to characterize the state of compensatory reactions in these patients.     

Naphthalimido derivatives as antifolate thymidylate synthase inhibitors

A new series of N-(substituted)benzyl-1,8-naphthalimides 4, structurally related to the previously reported thymidylate synthase (TS) inhibitor naphthaleins 3, were synthesized and compounds tested for their inhibition of several species of TS. Moreover, their in vitro cytotoxicity together with antimycotic and antibacterial properties were assayed. While no activity was detected in the antibacterial tests, the m-nitro (4ae) and the p-nitro (4af) derivatives were found able to partially inhibit TS at low micromolar concentrations. Introduction of nitro or (substituted)-amino groups in position 4 of the naphthalic ring always led to less active compounds.     

Angiomyolipoma of the kidneys

59 angiomyolipomas were studied: immunohistochemistry (IHC) was used in 24 cases, electron microscopy (EM) in 6 cases. 57 tumors had a typical structure, 2 did not contain fat component. Premelanosomes were found by EM in one tumor. Smooth muscle actin was found in all tumor cells. Involvement of lymph nodes was observed in 2 patients. Histogenesis of this tumor is discussed.     

Critical ovarian hyperstimulation syndrome in a coasted in-vitro fertilization patient

We report an instance of critical ovarian hyperstimulation syndrome in a highly responsive in-vitro fertilization patient despite the preventive measure of a 4 day 'coast' interval during which no gonadotrophins were administered while gonadotrophin-releasing hormone agonist therapy continued until serum oestradiol concentrations fell below 3000 pg/ml.      

Effect of antipyretics on the formation of leukocytic pyrogen by granulocytes

The effect of sodium salicylate, acetylsalicyclic acid, aminopyrine, and phenazone on the ability of granulocytes to produce endogenous pyrogen was studied. Experiments in vitro with verification of the viability of the leukocytes showed that of these antipyretics only sodium salicylate inhibited pyrogen formation.Department of General Pathology, Scientific-Research Institute of Experimental Medicine, Academy of MedicalSciences of the USSR, Leningrad. (Presented by Academician of the Academy of Medical Sciences of the USSR P. N. Veselkin.) Translated from Byulleten' Éksperimental'noi Biologii i Meditsiny, Vol. 88, No. 8, pp. 166–168, August, 1979.     

Macrophage development: II. Early ontogeny of macrophage populations in brain, liver, and lungs of rat embryos as revealed by a lectin marker.

Earliest origins of macrophage populations in the central nervous system, the liver, and the lungs were studied in rat embryos aged between 10.5-11 days and 14 days of gestation, based on light and electron microscopic identification of macrophages using peroxidase-coupled isolectin B4 of Griffonia simplicifolia (GSA I-B4), which recognizes alpha-D-galactose groups on the cell membrane. During embryonic life macrophages and their precursors are GSA I-B4-positive and generally bereft of peroxidase-positive granules. At 10.5 days the yolk sac and embryonic circulations have just become joined, the brain has five vesicles but nerve cells are little differentiated, the liver exists as a diverticulum of the gut with fingerlike extensions of hepatocytes, and the lungs as a laryngotracheal groove. Macrophages and/or their precursors occurred in small numbers in embryonic mesenchyme and blood vessels but showed no special affinity for either liver or lung rudiments. The developing brain was the first organ to be colonized, beginning on prenatal day 12. The liver followed between days 12 and 13 and was succeeded by the lungs, beginning between days 13 and 14. Dividing macrophages were present in these organs at the outset of colonization and throughout the duration of the embryo series, indicating that from the beginning, replication of resident cells contributes to growth of the local population. Granulocyte precursors were first apparent in the liver around day 13; they are also GSA-positive but are distinguished from macrophages by their content of peroxidase-positive granules. Organ cultures of 13-day liver and lungs, and 14-day brain tissue, indicate that whereas isolated liver fragments support the formation of both granulocytes and macrophages, only the latter develop in brain or lung cultures. A resident population of macrophages evidently is set up very early in these organs, well before white cells colonize the spleen, bone marrow, and other future blood forming regions. The events outlined are seen as stages in an embryo-wide process that leads to establishment of macrophage populations in various organs.