Non-destructive, ultrasonic evaluation of meat quality in live Japanese Black steers from coloured images produced by a new ultrasound scanner.

An improved colour scanning scope was used for evaluating meat quality (marbling) of live Japanese Black steers. This equipment consisted of a small size ultrasonic probe (2 MHZ) and LCD display. Seventeen fattened Japanese Black cattle were scanned at the region of the 7th rib about one week before slaughter.

A preadipocyte clonal line from bovine intramuscular adipose tissue: nonexpression of GLUT-4 protein during adipocyte differentiation.

A clonal bovine intramuscular preadipocyte (BIP) line has been established from the intramuscular white adipose tissue of the M. longissimus thoracis in each of three Japanese Black cattle. Exponentially growing BIP cells exhibited a fibroblastic appearance.

The distribution of [11C]cocaine in normal and cocaine-sensitization mice.

[N-11C-methyl]-cocaine ([11C]cocaine), synthesized by N-methylation of norcocaine with [11C]CH3I, was used to assist in imaging the variety of local distribution by positron emission tomography (PET). The radiochemical yield and the radiochemical purity after purification of [11C]cocaine by high performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) at a sp. act.

Expression of mRNA encoding IFN alpha in macrophages stimulated with Lactobacillus gasseri.

The ability of Lactobacillus gasseri, a dairy lactic acid bacterium, to induce interferon (IFN) was investigated in murine macrophage cultures. IFN alpha was substantially induced by some strains of L. gasseri and the titers were the highest at a concentration of 100 micrograms ml-1 of L.

Invasive development of right atrial myxoma--a case report.

A thirty-nine-year-old man was admitted to the authors' department complaining of exertional dyspnea and high fever. An echocardiogram showed a mass in the right atrium, which was observed to move to the right atrium during the systolic phase and to the right ventricle during the diastolic phase. Magnetic resonance imaging showed that the mass developed from the right atrium to the superior vena cava.

Distribution of carbon-11 labeled methamphetamine and the effect of its chronic administration in mice.

[11C]Methamphetamine, a psychotropic agent, was synthesized by N-methylation of amphetamine with [11C]CH3 I in hopes that it could be applied in the near future to assist positron emission tomography (PET) in the imaging of its distribution in the human brain. The regional distribution of [11C]methamphetamine was investigated in the mice brain at various intervals after an intravenous (i.v.

Cytotoxic effect of hinokitiol and tropolone on the growth of mammalian cells and on blastogenesis of mouse splenic T cells.

Hinokitiol (I) and tropolone (II) showed characteristic cytotoxic effects in vitro on five kinds of human and murine cell lines and blastic lymphocytes from mouse splenocytes. The cytotoxic effect of I on the growth of murine and human tumor cell lines, including RL male-1, MH134, HL60, K562 and KATO-III was definite when examined by thymidine incorporation into DNA and its 50% inhibitory concentration (IC50) on all cells was 0.3-0.

[Experimental epithelioid cell granuloma formation in Lewis rats induced by injection of cell wall fragments derived from alpha-streptococcus--etiologic relationship between bacterial cell wall and sarcoid granuloma].

We observed the presence of epithelioid granulomas in follicles near lacunae in the tonsils from patients with active sarcoidosis. Bacteria isolated in these tissues were mostly alpha-streptococci. The present study was undertaken to determine whether alpha-streptococcus can induce granuloma formation.

Impaired NK response of cancer patients to IFN-alpha but not to IL-2: correlation with serum immunosuppressive acidic protein (IAP) and role of suppressor macrophage.

In vitro NK responses of cancer patients (N = 21) to rIFN-alpha A and rIL-2 were examined. The serum concentration of IAP (immunosuppressive acidic protein) was determined in parallel. Five out of seven patients whose serum IAP contents were within the normal range (270 micrograms/ml to 470 micrograms/ml), had their NK activities significantly augmented by rIFN-alpha A and rIL-2.

Preventive effect of a synthetic immunomodulator, 2-carboxyethylgermanium sesquioxide, on the generation of suppressor macrophages in mice immunized with allogeneic lymphocytes.

The effect of 2-carboxyethylgermanium sesquioxide (Ge-132) on the generation of splenic suppressor macrophages (S-M phi) in C3H/He mice (H-2k) immunized with allogeneic spleen cells from C57Bl/6 mice (H-2b) was investigated. We have previously demonstrated that S-M phi expressing I-J antigen, which appeared during alloimmunization, inhibited cytotoxic T lymphocyte (CTL) generation in the MLR and the elimination of these S-M phi before subjection to the MLR resulted in more effective generation of CTL. The CTL activity, which was determined in vivo by the Winn's test, was markedly enhanced when immunized mice received a 100 mg/kg dose of Ge-132.

Postoperative adjuvant chemotherapy in non-small cell lung cancer: prognostic value of DNA ploidy and post-recurrent survival.

Eighty-six patients with non-small cell lung cancer who underwent curative operations were postoperatively randomized to control and adjuvant chemotherapy groups. In the adjuvant chemotherapy group, patients received cisplatin-based combination chemotherapy 3 or 4 weeks after operation and the average cycle of chemotherapy was 2.3 (from 1 to 6 cycles).

Influence of chemotherapeutic agents on superoxide anion production by human polymorphonuclear leukocytes.

The effects of 11 chemotherapeutic agents on superoxide anion (O2-) production were examined in human polymorphonuclear leukocytes (PMNL). All drugs, except predonine, were found to suppress O2- production in PMNL. Adriamycin (doxorubicin), mitomycin C, vindesine, cisplatin, etoposide, nimustine, and pepleomycin suppressed O2- production at relatively low drug concentrations, whereas methotrexate, 5-fluorouracil and vincristine suppressed O2- production at high drug concentrations.

Depletion of macrophages expressing I-J antigen results in efficient generation of alloreactive cytotoxic T lymphocytes.

The role of suppressor macrophages (S-M phi) produced during generation of cytotoxic T lymphocytes (CTL) stimulated with allogeneic lymphocytes was investigated. Splenic CTL from C3H/He mice (H-2k) were generated by in vivo immunization and subsequent in vitro stimulation by splenic lymphocytes from C57B1/6 mice (H-2b) in mixed lymphocyte reaction (MLR). In addition to in vitro standard 51Cr release assay, the CTL activity was mainly measured in vivo using the Winn assay against EL-4 thymoma cells in B6C3F1 mice (H-2b/k).

Recombinant granulocyte colony-stimulating factor and lipopolysaccharide maintain the phenotype of and superoxide anion generation by neutrophils.

Superoxide anion (O2-) generation by human blood neutrophils induced by phorbol myristate acetate, formyl-methionyl-leucyl-phenylalanine, and monoclonal antibody YI51 was measured 24 h after incubation in medium alone, medium with recombinant human granulocyte colony-stimulating factor (rG-CSF), and medium with lipopolysaccharide (LPS). Monoclonal antibody YI51 was able to bind to neutrophils and induce O2- generation after the addition of anti-mouse immunoglobulin antibody as a cross-linking agent. In the 24-h culture, there was no significant difference in neutrophil survival among the three cultures.

Long-term survival after brain metastases from tracheal carcinoma.

A case of prolonged survival after radiotherapy for primary tracheal squamous cell carcinoma and the subsequent brain metastases is reported. The patient is alive and well without any sign of relapse, approximately six years after the onset of brain metastases from tracheal carcinoma. Radiotherapy proved useful in the treatment of both the primary tracheal carcinoma and the brain metastases.

[Evaluation of prognostic factors in early lung cancer].

We evaluated the prognostic factors in 52 cases of resected early lung cancer: hilar early lung cancers 9 cases and peripheral early lung cancers 43 cases. All hilar lesions were squamous cell carcinoma, and peripheral lesions were adenocarcinoma (31 cases), squamous cell carcinoma (10 cases), large cell carcinoma (2 cases) and carcinoid (1 case). No relapse was found in hilar lesions, but 7 relapses and 5 deaths were found in peripheral lesions.

Multimodality therapy for small cell carcinoma of the lung--the role of surgical treatment.

Reviewing the outcome of 70 cases of clinically localized small cell lung cancer (SCLC) treated with combined modality treatment, we attempted to define the role of resection in this disease. The survival rate for all cases was 37 per cent at 2 years and 23 per cent at 3 years with a median survival time (MST) of 14 months. For 25 resected cases the overall 5-year survival rate was 37 per cent with an MST of 26 months.

Phorbol myristate acetate modulates calcium ion-dependent superoxide anion generation induced by a monoclonal antibody raised against polymorphonuclear leukocytes.

We used a monoclonal antibody, YI 51, raised against human polymorphonuclear leukocytes (PMN) to induce superoxide anion (O2-) generation in cells. Although YI 51 alone played only a small part in inducing O2- generation in PMN, the amount of O2- generation induced in 5 X 10(5) PMN was 3.7 to 5.

Antiviral activity of carboxyethylgermanium sesquioxide (Ge-132) in mice infected with influenza virus.

The protective effect of carboxyethylgermanium sesquioxide (Ge-132) in mice infected with a mouse-adapted strain of influenza virus (H2N2) was investigated. When mice were exposed to a 10 LD50 dose of influenza virus via aerosol and were treated orally with 20 or 100 mg/kg of Ge-132 daily for 6 consecutive days, a significant protective effect was demonstrated. The antiviral effect of Ge-132 was indicated by an increase of survivors, a prolongation of mean survival days, an inhibition of the development of lung consolidation, and a decrease of virus titer in lung tissues, as compared to infected control mice treated with phosphate-buffered saline.

Evaluation of recombinant human tumor necrosis factor by scheduled intratumoral administration in mice bearing transplantable tumors.

The antitumor effect of recombinant human tumor necrosis factor (rTNF) was examined against Meth A fibrosarcoma in BALB/c mice and Sarcoma-180 in ddY mice. Significant hemorrhagic necrosis in tumor tissues occurred within 24 hr when optimal rTNF (1,000 to 5,000 units per mouse) was injected intratumorally on day 5 after intradermal inoculation of 5 x 10(5) tumor cells. Complete tumor regression resulted when two repeated courses of administration a week, each for 3 consecutive days, were given.

Intrathecal synthesis of immunosuppressive acidic protein (IAP) in patients with multiple sclerosis and other inflammatory neurological diseases.

Immunosuppressive acidic protein (IAP), an immunosuppressive substance produced mainly by macrophages, has previously been shown to increase in the serum of patients with inflammatory neurological diseases. In this study we assayed the IAP levels in cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) by a passive hemagglutination-inhibition test. CSF-IAP levels increased significantly in patients with multiple sclerosis (MS) during both the active and inactive stages and in patients with Guillain-Barré syndrome (GBS) or Miller Fisher syndrome (MFS) as compared with those of control patients, but not in patients with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis or spinocerebellar degeneration.

Metastatic potential of murine B16 melanoma correlates with reduced surface heparan sulfate glycosaminoglycan.

We studied the relationship between the metastatic potential of murine B16 melanoma cells and their surface expression of heparan sulfate glycosaminoglycan (HS-GAG) by using HepSS-1, a monoclonal antibody specific to HS-GAG. Firstly, among five B16 sublines, those capable of developing lung colonies with high efficiencies, such as B16-F10, had relatively low levels of surface HS-GAG. Secondly, a subline freshly prepared from metastatic lung colonies (F1) displayed a level of surface HS-GAG lower than that of injected B16 cells.

Interferon-alpha A/D blocks an increase in Fc receptors of a human promyelocytic leukemia cell line (HL-60) induced by other recombinant interferons.

The effect of recombinant hybrid interferon (IFN)-alpha A/D either alone or in combination with retinoic acid (RA) on induction of differentiation of the human promyelocytic leukemia cell line HL-60 was studied. The combination of 10 nM RA and IFN-alpha A/D at concentrations of 120 units/ml and higher induces differentiation into cells having many monocytic characteristics such as monocyte-like morphology, ability of superoxide anion production, antibody-dependent cellular cytotoxicity, and nonspecific esterase activity. However, this combination does not induce an increase in IgG Fc receptors (Fc gamma R) and immunoerythrophagocytosis.

[Antitumor effect of PSK (1). Interferon-inducing activity and intratumoral administration].

After oral administration of 20 mg/kg of PSK, a significant level of interferon (IFN) activity was detected in the sera of BCG (1 mg/mouse)-sensitized mice. A low titer of IFN was also detected in the sera of all of 4 cancer patients after 3 g/day oral administration of PSK for 7 consecutive days. Intratumoral administration of PSK (5 mg/mouse) strongly inhibited the growth of Meth-A solid tumors in male BALB/c mice and led to complete regression of tumors and resistance to reinoculated tumors in the host animals.

Restoration of Fc receptor-mediated desensitization of superoxide generation in human PMN by PMA.

The superoxide (O2-) generating activity of human polymorphonuclear leukocytes (PMN) was suppressed more than 50% compared with control cells by preincubation of the cells with soluble immune complexes (Fc receptor-mediated desensitization). The suppression was observed when wheat germ agglutinin (WGA) or N-formyl-L-methionyl-L-leucyl-phenylalanine (fMLP) was used as stimuli for O2- generation. However, the desensitized cells could produce as much O2- as control cells when they were stimulated with phorbol myristate acetate (PMA).