Inhibitory effects of somatostatin on tumor necrosis factor-alpha-induced interleukin-6 secretion in human pancreatic periacinar myofibroblasts.

Pancreatic periacinar myofibroblasts are considered to be therapeutic targets for the suppression of acute pancreatitis. To elucidate the mechanisms mediating the therapeutic actions of somatostatin on acute pancreatitis, we investigated how somatostatin affects the tumor necrosis factor (TNF)-alpha-induced interleukin (IL)-6 and IL-8 secretion from pancreatic myofibroblasts. Cytokine secretion was determined by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) and Northern blotting.

IL-17 stimulates inflammatory responses via NF-kappaB and MAP kinase pathways in human colonic myofibroblasts.

Colonic subepithelial myofibroblasts (SEMFs) may play a role in the modulation of mucosal inflammatory responses. We investigated the effects of interleukin (IL)-17 on IL-6 and chemokine [IL-8 and monocyte chemoattractant protein (MCP)-1] secretion in colonic SEMFs. Cytokine expression was determined by ELISA and Northern blotting.

Novel vaccination protocol consisting of injecting MUC1 DNA and nonprimed dendritic cells at the same region greatly enhanced MUC1-specific antitumor immunity in a murine model.

In order to induce specific antitumor immunity in mice, we attempted to immunize C57BL/6 mice with DNA vaccine encoding MUC1 polypeptide. When the mice immunized with MUC1 DNA were challenged with EL4-muc, MUC1-transfected syngeneic lymphoma cells, they completely rejected tumors. When DNA vaccine was given to the EL4-muc tumor-bearing mice, this vaccination was insufficient to suppress tumor growth in the mice.

Cross-reactive mechanism for the false elevation of free triiodothyronine in the patients treated with diclofenac.

We report three cases of patients exhibiting a false elevation of serum free triiodothyronine (FT3) as a result of a cross-reaction with diclofenac. The first case is a 66-yr-old woman with a long history of rheumatoid arthritis (RA). The patient was receiving diclofenac for the treatment of her RA.

Periosteal chondroma of the rib: report of two cases.

We report two cases of periosteal chondroma of the rib, an extremely rare entity. The first case involved a 5-year-old boy who was admitted with pain and swelling around his left fifth rib. Surgery was performed in May 1999, and an 8 x 6 x 5 mm tumor was resected with the fifth rib.

Analysis of MUC4 mucin expression in lung carcinoma cells and its immunogenicity.

Background: MUC4 has been cloned from tracheobronchial mucosa cDNA and reportedly is highly expressed in some human malignancies, including lung carcinoma. However, little is known about molecular and biologic characteristics. The authors analyzed expression levels of MUC4 mRNA and protein in lung carcinoma cells and analyzed the immunogenicity of this mucin.

(99m)Tc-sestamibi retention characteristics during pharmacologic hyperemia in human myocardium: comparison with coronary flow reserve measured by Doppler flowire.

Unlabelled: The aim of the study was to investigate the increase in myocardial (99m)Tc-methoxyisobutylisonitrile (sestamibi) retention in humans during pharmacologic vasodilation.

Methods: For calculation of the increase in (99m)Tc-sestamibi retention during hyperemia, baseline and adenosine triphosphate (ATP)-induced hyperemic stress sestamibi studies were performed using a same-day rest-stress protocol. On the injection of sestamibi, left ventricular dynamic data were obtained for 90 s.

Angiomatoid fibrous histiocytoma in mediastinum.

Angiomatoid fibrous histiocytoma (AFH) is a rare tumor of soft tissue with low-grade malignancy that occurs most commonly in the soft tissues of the extremities or trunk. We present a case of AFH of the mediastinum, which is a very unusual site for this tumor. The patient has survived with no recurrence of the disease for 60 months after surgery and adjuvant radiotherapy.

Involvement of granzyme B and perforin in suppressing nodal metastasis of cancer cells in breast and lung cancers.

Aims: Granzyme B and perforin, which are contained in cytotoxic granules produced by tumour-infiltrating immune cells, have been reported to be involved in suppression of cancer progression. In this study, the relationship between expression of these molecules and clinical factors in cancer patients was studied.

Methods: Tumour tissue obtained from 23 breast cancer patients and 13 lung cancer patients were examined for expression of granzyme B, perforin and B7-1, using an immunohistochemical technique.

Reexpansion pulmonary edema due to high-frequency jet ventilation: report of a case.

Barotrauma is well known to be a relatively common complication of high-frequency jet ventilation (HFJV); however, the occurrence of reexpansion pulmonary edema (REPE) is extremely rare. We report herein a case of REPE caused by difficulties encountered with anesthesia using HFJV during video-assisted thoracic surgery (VATS) for a spontaneous pneumothorax. We believe the rapid increase in pressure in the lung after degassing for VATS resulted in REPE as well as typical barotrauma.

[Perioperative management of a patient with general lymph-congestion following total spondylectomy with posterior and anterior fusion for first thoracic vertebral hemangioma].

A 50-year-old healthy woman was scheduled for surgery of the first thoracic vertebral (T 1) hemangioma accompanying rapidly aggravated neurological deficit in three months. Anesthesia was induced with intravenous fentanyl and propofol and maintained with isoflurane-oxygen-air inhalation, followed by propofol infusion combined with sevoflurane inhalation. Following posterior decompression of T 1 with fusion of C 6-T 3, consecutive total spondylectomy of T 1 with anterior fusion of C 7-T 2 was carried out.

Encapsulated pericardial fat necrosis treated by video-assisted thoracic surgery: report of a case.

A 55-year-old moderately obese man who was admitted to a local hospital following a traffic accident reported having experienced an episode of sharp and sudden pleuritic pain in the left anterior lower chest 2 days earlier. A computed tomographic scan on admission demonstrated a nonhomogeneous mass in the anterior left side of the chest, abutting the left cardiac margin, and a left-sided pleural effusion. As a mediastinal tumor was suspected, he was referred to our hospital for investigation and treatment.

Autologous dendritic cells or cells expressing both B7-1 and MUC1 can rescue tumor-specific cytotoxic T lymphocytes from MUC1-mediated apoptotic cell death.

We attempted to induce MUC1-specific cytotoxic T lymphocytes (CTLs) by mixed-lymphocyte tumor cell culture (MLTC) using two allogeneic MUC1-positive cancer cell lines, T-47D and MCF7. The induced CTLs exhibited MUC1-specific cytotoxicity 16 days after the initial stimulation. However, these CTLs underwent apoptotic death within 16 days.

[Squamous cell type lung cancer that produced granulocyte colony-stimulating factor].

A 73-year-old man was hospitalized because of weight loss and fever. Laboratory data showed marked leukocytosis (21,200/mm3), granulocytosis (89.7%), thrombocytosis (47.

Results of combined resection of adjacent organs in lung cancer.

Background: Indications for surgical treatment in advanced lung cancer still remain to be established.

Methods: The outcomes of combined resection of adjacent organs in lung cancer were assessed in terms of complications and the invasiveness of surgery, using intraoperative blood loss and operation time as indices.

Results: In 68 patients undergoing combined resection between 1980 and 1997, the 5-year-survival rates and the incidence of complications and hospital deaths were 24.

Diabetes mellitus, deafness, muscle weakness and hypocalcemia in a patient with an A3243G mutation of the mitochondrial DNA.

In a 54-year-old woman with diabetes mellitus, hearing loss, muscle weakness and hypocalcemia, caused by idiopathic hypoparathyroidism, an A to G transition at the nucleotide position of 3243 (A3243G mutation) was found in the mitochondrial DNA from her leukocytes. Clinical features of diabetes mellitus and hearing loss in association with the A3243G mutation are compatible with a diagnosis of maternally inherited diabetes and deafness (MIDD). Although hypoparathyroidism is rarely seen in MIDD, we consider that hypoparathyroidism in this patient is a possible phenotype caused by the A3243G mutation of mitochondrial DNA.

Physical development of surgically treated patients with primary spontaneous pneumothorax.

Study Objectives: There have been many studies on the physical characteristics at the time of contraction of a primary spontaneous pneumothorax (PSP), but it has not been shown when and how such physical characteristics develop. These issues were investigated.

Patients And Design: Physical development of 27 male patients with PSP were examined.

Reduced urination rate while drinking beer with an unpleasant taste and off-flavor.

A lowered subjective evaluation of the taste and flavor of beer due to staleness or to the addition of an unpleasant taste and flavor was found to be closely correlated with the urination rate. Beer in the same lot was compared immediately after shipment from the brewery and after leaving at room temperature for 1 month or 5 months. Each beer sample was given to volunteers at the rate of 3 ml/kg/15 min for 2 hours, and the urine volume was measured every 30 minutes.

Residual cardiomyocytes and scintigraphic findings in advanced coronary artery disease: correlation with technetium-99m-tetrofosmin and thallium-201 single photon emission computed tomography.

A 68-year-old man suffering from chronic heart failure due to coronary artery disease (CAD) underwent rest technetium-99m (99mTc)-tetrofosmin and thallium-201 (201Tl) with reinjection studies, but died thereafter. The heart was removed and sectioned into short-axis slices and examined by gross and microscopic pathologic methods. A close correlation between the amount of residual cardiomyocytes and the level of regional tracer activity in the left ventricular wall was obtained for redistribution 201Tl, reinjection 201Tl and rest 99mTc tetrofosmin images.

Giant hamartoma of the lung.

In the following case of giant pulmonary hamartoma, a 62-year-old woman exhibited a huge tumor shadow in the right lung field, whilst remaining asymptomatic. A thoracotomy revealed a solid intrapulmonary mass histologically diagnosed as a cartilaginous hamartoma with no evidence of malignancy. The tumor was resected by enucleation and there has been no recurrence for 40 months since surgery.

Role of transforming growth factor-beta1 and decorin in development of central fibrosis in pulmonary adenocarcinoma.

Transforming growth factor-beta1 (TGF-beta1) is known as the growth factor that stimulates the synthesis of extracellular matrix. Recently, TGF-beta has been found to control the growth of cancer cells. Small chondroitin-dermatan sulfate (decorin) is an abundant extracellular matrix component.

[Intraabdominal organ injury due to blunt chest trauma--report of two cases].

Two cases of intraabdominal organ injuries due to blunt chest trauma are reported. A 58-year-old man was admitted to our hospital with multiple rib fractures, hemopneumothorax and left flail chest. An emergency operation was performed and intraoperative findings revealed that the fractured rib was penetrating through the diaphragm to the stomach.

Reconstruction of the aortic arch in invasive thymoma under retrograde cerebral perfusion.

Extensive en-bloc resection of the aortic arch and anterior wall of the main pulmonary artery was performed in a 46-year-old man with invasive thymoma. The aortic arch was replaced with a Hemashield vascular graft under hypothermic circulatory arrest with retrograde cerebral perfusion. Patch plasty with Xenomedica was performed for the anterior wall of the main pulmonary artery under cardiopulmonary bypass.

Establishment and characterization of two cell lines from N-methyl-N-nitrosourea-induced mouse glandular stomach carcinomas.

We previously reported the induction with N-methyl-N-nitrosourea (MNU) of mouse glandular stomach carcinomas showing a gastric phenotype but variation in histologic appearance, as with human gastric carcinomas. In the present study, we established two cell lines, designated MGT-40 and MGT-93, from MNU-induced mouse glandular stomach carcinomas. These cell lines are keratin-positive and grow as epithelial monolayers in culture, requiring transforming growth factor alpha, epidermal growth factor or insulin/transferrin for optimal growth in addition to 10% fetal bovine serum.

Delayed administration of low-dose NPC18915 ameliorates lung ischemia-reperfusion injury.

Background: NPC18915, a member of new antiinflammatory agent called nactins (neutrophil activation inhibitors), has been shown to reduce reperfusion injury in rat lung transplantation at high dosage. In vitro studies have demonstrated effectiveness of this compound even at low dosage. We hypothesized that this compound ameliorates lung ischemia reperfusion injury even at low dosage levels if administration is optimally timed.