Skeletal muscle injury induces hepatocyte growth factor expression in spleen.

Hepatocyte growth factor (HGF) is present in skeletal muscle and facilitates skeletal muscle regeneration by activating quiescent satellite cells and stimulating their proliferation. However, possible involvement of HGF from non-muscle organs during muscle regeneration is still uncovered. Since liver injury induces HGF expression in distal HGF-producing organs such as lung, kidney and spleen, we examined if this is the case in muscle injury in analogy.

Autocrine motility factor enhances hepatoma cell invasion across the basement membrane through activation of beta1 integrins.

Autocrine motility factor/phosphohexose isomerase (AMF/PHI) is a cytokine that is linked to tumor invasion and metastasis. In hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) tissues, hepatoma cells produce AMF/PHI and its receptor, Mr 78,000 glycoprotein (gp78), is strongly detected in hepatoma cells invading into the stroma and tumor thrombi in the portal vein. Here, we investigated the mechanism of hepatoma cell invasion through Matrigel induced by AMF/PHI using 3 hepatoma cell lines.

Epidemiological study of human herpesvirus-6 and human herpesvirus-7 in pityriasis rosea.

Background: Pityriasis rosea (PR) is a common papulosquamous skin disorder that is suspected to have an infectious aetiology.

Objectives: We aimed to study the role of human herpesvirus (HHV)-7 and HHV-6 in the pathogenesis of PR.

Methods: We performed seroepidemiological studies (indirect immunofluorescence test) and polymerase chain reaction (PCR) analysis for HHV-6 and HHV-7 in patients with PR.

[Two cases of Trichophyton mentagrophytes infection contracted from a hamster and a chinchilla].

We report two cases of Trichophyton mentagrophytes infection. Case 1: A 10-year-old girl visited Tokyo Electric Power Hospital in June 1994 for evaluation of an erythematous lesion on her head. Three months of topical steroid therapy exacerbated the lesion with pustular formation.

Regulation of granulocyte colony-stimulating factor and parathyroid hormone-related protein production in lung carcinoma cell line OKa-C-1.

Previously we have established a clonal squamous cell carcinoma cell line OKa-C-1 derived from lung cancer of a patient with marked leukocytosis and hypercalcemia. OKa-C-1 cells simultaneously produce granulocyte colony-stimulating factor (G-CSF) and parathyroid hormone-related protein (PTHrP) at the single cell level and cause paraneoplastic syndromes in nude mice bearing the tumor. It is known that the production of G-CSF and PTHrP is individually regulated by inflammatory cytokines in various malignant cells.

Aryl radical cyclizations: one-Pot syntheses of protoberberine and pavine alkaloids.

Treatment of 2-(2'-bromo-beta-phenethyl)isocarbostyrils 7 with AIBN-Bu(3)SnH in boiling benzene gave 8-oxoberbines 3 in good yields. A similar treatment of 2-(2'-bromo-beta-phenethyl)isoquinolinium bromides 6 and their nor- and homoanalogues (10,11) induced 6-, 5-, and 7-exo radical closures in a one-pot manner to give protoberberines 2, dibenzo[b,g]indolizidine 14a and, dibenzo[a, h]-1-azabicyclo[5.4.

A Facile Route to Indolo.

Treatment of 1-(2'-bromobenzyl)-3,4-dihydroisoquinolines 2 in the presence of K(2)CO(3) in boiling DMF efficiently provided a variety of alkoxy-substituted indolo[2,1-a]isoquinolines 3. Application of this cyclization to 7-benzyloxyisoquinoline derivatives, followed by further elaboration of the resultant 2-benzyloxy-5,6-dihydroindolo[2,1-a]isoquinolines 16a,b, led to the formal synthesis of dibenzopyrrocoline alkaloids, (+/-)-cryptaustoline (1a) and (+/-)-cryptowoline (1b).

Aryl radical cyclizations of 1-(2'-bromobenzyl)isoquinolines with AIBN-Bu3SnH: formation of aporphines and indolo.

[reaction: see text] Radical cyclization of alkoxy-substituted 1-(2'-bromobenzyl)-3,4-dihydroisoquinolines 1 with AIBN-Bu3SnH gave 6a,7-dehydroaporphines 2 preferentially. A steric repulsion between the respective alkoxy groups at the 7- and 3'-positions gave 5,6-dihydroindolo[2,1-a]isoquinolines 3 in a "disfavored" 5-endo cyclization mode. Radical cyclizations of the related substrates, such as 1-(2'-bromobenzoyl)isoquinolines or 1-(2'-bromo-alpha-hydroxybenzyl)isoquinolines, were also found to give the corresponding oxoaporphines or oxyaporphines.

Effects of postprandial walking exercise on meal-related hypotension in frail elderly patients.

The purpose of this study was to assess the hemodynamic effects of a postmeal walk in frail elderly patients with postprandial hypotension. We demonstrated that frail elderly patients with postprandial hypotension are able to increase their blood pressure and heart rate in response to a postmeal walking exercise, but this effect is limited to the exercise period only and is not sustained during subsequent rest.

Inhibition of tissue factor pathway during intermittent pneumatic compression: A possible mechanism for antithrombotic effect.

Intermittent pneumatic compression (IPC) devices are an effective prophylaxis against lower extremity deep vein thrombosis. Their antithrombotic effect has been attributed to a reduction in venous stasis and enhanced fibrinolysis. The initiating mechanism for blood coagulation is the tissue factor (TF) dependent pathway, which is inhibited by tissue factor pathway inhibitor (TFPI).

Endometrial expression of cellular protooncogene c-ski and its regulation by estradiol-17beta.

The expression of the cellular protooncogene c-ski was examined in the rat uterus. In situ hybridization revealed that c-ski mRNA was expressed in the uterus of the adult rat on the day of estrous and localized mainly in the luminal and glandular epithelia. To test the possibility that the expression of c-ski mRNA is induced by estrogen, rats were ovariectomized and estradiol-17beta (E2) was injected.

[A case of human infection with Clinostomum sp].

The genus Clinostomum is a cause of parasitic laryngo-pharyngitis. We report the 15th case of Clinostomum sp. infection in Japan.

Nine patients with hepatocellular carcinoma surviving for more than six years after treatment, including two patients who have survived without recurrence after hepatic lobectomy.

Of patients treated for hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) accompanied by liver cirrhosis at our University Hospital between 1985 and 1990, clinical background factors in nine patients (7.0% of all patients) who survived for more than six years were examined to clarify the conditions that facilitate long-term survival. In particular, we describe two cases among these patients who have survived without the recurrence of a liver tumor for more than six years after hepatic lobectomy.

The fibrinolytic effects of intermittent pneumatic compression: mechanism of enhanced fibrinolysis.

Background And Objectives: Intermittent pneumatic compression (IPC) is an effective form of deep vein thrombosis prophylaxis for general surgery patients. The antithrombotic effect of IPC is thought to be the result of increased venous velocity and stimulation of endogenous fibrinolysis. However, the mechanism of enhanced fibrinolytic activity and the relative effects on normal and postthrombotic veins have not been defined.

[Prognosis and prognostic factor after extended lymphadenectomy in lung cancer].

From 1984 to 1994, 418 patients were received surgery for the lung cancer in our center. Of them, 178 patients were underwent extended lymphadenectomy. Fifty six of the 178 were histologically proven N2 of N3 alpha disease after surgery.

Etiology and prognosis of cryptogenic liver cirrhosis: possible contribution of hepatitis B virus.

Three female patients without type B or type C viral hepatitis, alcoholic, metabolic or autoimmune liver disease, were selected from 250 cases with histologically proven liver cirrhosis (M:F = 183:67). All three cases showed at least one positive aspect among three parameters of serum anti-HBc (RPHA, x1), HBV-DNA (gene S, nested PCR) and liver HBs and/or pre-S2 antigen (immunoperoxidase methods). Two cases may suggest a spontaneous disappearance of HBV from sera.

The human cut homeodomain protein can repress gene expression by two distinct mechanisms: active repression and competition for binding site occupancy.

By analogy with other homeodomain proteins conserved in evolution, mammalian Cut proteins are believed, as in Drosophila melanogaster, to play an important role in determining cell type specificity in several tissues. At the molecular level, Cut proteins appear to serve as transcriptional repressors. In this study, we have examined the mechanism by which the human Cut (hCut) protein down-regulates gene expression.

HIV-1 reverse transcriptase shows no specificity for the binding of primer tRNA(Lys3).

The transcription initiation primer for HIV-1 is a specific cellular tRNA species, tRNA(Lys3). We used several methods to assess the binding of tRNA by recombinant HIV-1 p51/p66 reverse transcriptase (RT), gel retardation analysis, intrinsic RT protein fluorescence quenching, and nitrocellulose filter binding assays. The binding of tRNA to RT was saturable, implying a distinct site or sites on the enzyme for tRNA interaction.

Is venous duplex imaging an appropriate initial screening test for patients with suspected pulmonary embolism?

Noninvasive tests for deep venous thrombosis (DVT) are helpful in evaluating patients with suspected pulmonary embolism (PE) who have non-high-probability ventilation/perfusion (V/Q) lung scans. Based on the enthusiasm for these noninvasive tests, venous duplex imaging (VDI) has evolved as the initial screening test for patients with clinically suspected PE in some centers. This study evaluates the utility of VDI as the initial test in a diagnostic algorithm for patients with suspected PE.

Reticular erythematous mucinosis syndrome: glycosaminoglycan synthesis by fibroblasts and abnormal response to interleukin-1 beta.

Background: Reticular erythematous mucinosis (REM) syndrome is characterized by an accumulation of mucin in the dermis.

Objective: To elucidate the mechanism of mucin deposition, the response of REM syndrome fibroblasts to various exogenous factors was studied.

Method: REM and control fibroblasts were treated with potent modulators including tumor necrosis factor-alpha, basic fibroblast growth factor, interferon-gamma, transforming growth factor-beta 1 and interleukin-1 alpha (IL-1 alpha) and -4.

[Evaluation of neck lymph node dissection and extended lymphadenectomy through a collar incision and median sternotomy for lung cancer].

Since 1983, 421 patients have been treated for lung cancer at this institute. Since 1988, neck lymph node dissection (11 cases) and new extended lymphadenectomy through a collar incision and median sternotomy (22 cases) have been conducted. Indications for this new radical operation are scalene, supraclavicular or highest mediastinal node involvement, or superior pulmonary sulcus carcinoma, in patients aged 70 or less without distant metastasis and NSCLC.

A noninvasive screening test to detect "critical" deep venous reflux.

Purpose: The venous filling index (VFI) was introduced as a noninvasive measure of venous valvular reflux. Because it is quantitative, identifying increasingly severe reflux should be possible. The purpose of this study is to evaluate the sensitivity and predictive value of the VFI as a predictor of phlebographically demonstrated "critical" venous reflux.

Lymphomatoid papulosis followed by Ki-1 positive anaplastic large cell lymphoma: proliferation of a common T-cell clone.

We report a case of lymphomatoid papulosis (LyP) followed by Ki-1 positive anaplastic large cell lymphoma (LCL). A 33-year-old man developed subcutaneous nodules in the left inguinal region and the left thigh after a seven-year-history of self-healing papulonecrotic lesions of LyP. Histological and immunohistochemical examination of the subcutaneous nodules revealed LCL.

[Combination therapy with arbekacin and fosfomycin against postoperative severe mixed-pneumonia of MRSA in primary lung cancer patients].

We experienced successful treatment of postoperative severe pneumonia of Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) with combination therapy of Arbekacin (ABK) and Fosfomycin (FOM) in three lung cancer patients. Case 1 was a advanced age of seventy-nine man who had had right upper lobectomy. Case 2 was a 61-year-old man who had had left lower lobectomy and extended bilateral mediastinal lymph-node dissection through the median sternotomy.