[A MULTICENTER CLINICAL SURVEY ABOUT THE PREVALENCE OF JAPANESE CYPRESS POLLINOSIS AND THE EFFICACY OF SUBLINGUAL IMMUNOTHERAPY WITH JAPANESE CEDAR POLLEN EXTRACT DURING JAPANESE CYPRESS POLLEN DISPERSAL PERIOD].

Background: Little is known whether sublingual immunotherapy using Japanese cedar pollen extract (cedar SLIT) is effective for not only Japanese cedar pollinosis but also Japanese cypress pollinosis. We investigated the prevalence rate of Japanese cypress pollinosis, efficacy of cedar SLIT on cypress pollinosis and patients' wish to receive cypress SLIT.

Methods: We investigated a multi-center (31 institutions), cross-sectional survey using a self-administrated questionnaire with four questions for patients received cedar SLIT aged from 5 to 69 years old.

Detection of human parechoviruses from clinical stool samples in Aichi, Japan.

Between April 1999 and March 2008, a total of 4,976 stool specimens collected from patients with suspected viral infection through infectious agent surveillance in Aichi, Japan, were tested for the presence of human parechoviruses (HPeVs). We detected HPeVs in 110 samples by either cell culture, reverse transcriptase PCR (RT-PCR), or both. Serotyping either by neutralization test or by nucleotide sequence determination and phylogenetic analysis of the VP1 region and 5' untranslated region (5'UTR) regions revealed that 63 were HPeV type 1 (HPeV-1), followed by 44 HPeV-3 strains, 2 HPeV-4 strains, and 1 HPeV-6 strain.

Suppression of histone deacetylase 3 (HDAC3) enhances apoptosis induced by paclitaxel in human maxillary cancer cells in vitro and in vivo.

Inclusion of chemotherapeutic drugs in treatment of patients with newly diagnosed head and neck cancer has improved response rates and prolonged median survival. Nevertheless, most patients with advanced head and neck cancer are destined to relapse and to develop resistance to initially used drugs such as paclitaxel. Consequently, it has been more important in cancer therapy to determine the molecular mechanisms that are related to cell-killing effects of anti-cancer agents or cancer resistance against them.

Molecular identification of enteroviruses including two new types (EV-98 and EV-107) isolated from Japanese travellers from Asian countries.

Of 58 enterovirus strains isolated from Japanese travellers returning from Asian countries, eight were non-serotypable with existing antisera. By sequencing a part of the VP1 region, six of these strains were typed as echovirus 9, enterovirus (EV)-73, EV-79 or EV-97. The nucleotide identity of the VP1 region of isolate T92-1499 to all enterovirus prototypes was <70 %.

[Study on pyrogen in natural and cultivated edible mushrooms].

We examined endotoxin and pyrogen contents in several kinds of natural and cultivated edible mushrooms, as well as some cultivated vegetables. According to the Japanese Pharmacopoeia, 14th Ed., two types of endotoxin (gel-clot Limulus amebocyte lysate) test and the pyrogen test were performed using natural edible mushrooms collected in Aichi Prefecture and cultivated mushrooms and vegetables purchased at a market.

Reliability of platelet-derived endothelial cell growth factor as a prognostic factor for oral and oropharyngeal carcinomas.

Objective: To identify a strong prognostic biological marker for patients with oral and oropharyngeal squamous cell carcinomas.

Design: We evaluated the protein expressions of 26 tumor-associated factors, including cytokines and cytokine receptors (granulocyte colony-stimulating factor [G-CSF], interleukin 10 [IL-10], G-CSF receptor [G-CSFR], and IL-12 receptor); angiogenic factors (platelet-derived endothelial cell growth factor [PD-ECGF] and vessel count); cell cycle-related proteins (p27, cyclin D1, and cyclin E); apoptosis-related factors (wild-type p53, Bax, Bcl-2, apoptotic index, Fas, and Fas ligand); oncogene proteins (c-fos and c-Myc); cell-surface proteins (P-glycoprotein, multidrug resistance-associated protein, nm23, and CD40); intracellular proteins (aryl hydrocarbon receptor nuclear translocator, aryl hydrocarbon receptor, and heat shock protein 27); and DNA mismatch-repair genes (protein encoded by human mutL homologue 1 and the human mutS homologue of the chromosome 2p gene) by means of immunohistochemical analysis.

Setting: Department of Otorhinolaryngology-Head and Neck Surgery, University of Fukui, Fukui, Japan.

Oral and oropharyngeal squamous cell carcinomas expressing CCR7 have poor prognoses.

Objective And Methods: Tumor cell migration and metastasis have many similarities with leukocyte trafficking regulated by chemokines and their receptors. In this study, we investigated the expression of CC chemokine receptor 7 (CCR7) in oral and oropharyngeal squamous cell carcinomas (SCCs) using an immunohistochemical approach.

Results: Among 90 cases of oral and oropharyngeal SCCs, 54 cases (60%) were positive for CCR7.

Inhibition of histone deacetylase 3 stimulates apoptosis induced by heat shock under acidic conditions in human maxillary cancer.

To elucidate the molecular mechanisms for the enhancement of heat-induced apoptosis on exposure to acidic conditions, human maxillary carcinoma IMC-3 cells were heat-shocked at 44 degrees C for 30 min at either pH 7.4 or 6.7.

A rapid detection method for paralytic shellfish poisoning toxins by cell bioassay.

We report here a rapid detection method for paralytic shellfish poisoning (PSP) toxins using a cultured neuroblastoma cell line, modified from the bioassay system previously established by Manger et al. [Manger, R.L.

Treatment of scattered glass foreign bodies in both the superficial and deep neck: a case report.

There have not been any reports about scattered glass foreign bodies in the neck, while injuries of the head and neck region as a result of traffic accidents have been frequently reported. We report the case of a 17-year-old male injured in a traffic accident, with scattered glass foreign bodies in both the superficial and deep neck. A CT scan indicated the existence of numerous glass foreign bodies in the various layers of the neck.

Isolation and identification of a novel human parechovirus.

A cytopathic agent (A308/99) was isolated using Vero cells from a stool specimen of a 1-year-old patient with transient paralysis. The agent was approximately 28 nm in diameter with a distinct ultrastructure resembling the virus particle of an enterovirus. It could not be neutralized by antisera against human picornaviruses such as human enterovirus, Aichi virus or human parechovirus.

Isolation and characterization of a new species of kobuvirus associated with cattle.

A cytopathic agent was isolated using Vero cells from the culture medium of HeLa cells that had been used for more than 30 years in our laboratory. This agent, termed U-1 strain, was serially passed in Vero cells with distinct CPE. Particles of U-1 strain negatively stained with phosphotungstic acid exhibited a distinct surface that resembled Aichi virus.

[Treatment strategy for T4N1 thyroid papillary carcinoma based upon our clinical experience].

We retrospectively evaluated clinical profiles and prognoses in 152 patients with thyroid papillary carcinoma treated at Fukui Medical University between 1986 and 2000. As standard treatment, 106 (70%) underwent hemithyroidectomy to preserve the normal thyroid lobe. Subtotal thyroidectomy or total thyroidectomy was conducted on 40 cases (23%).

Expression of p27 and apoptosis in oral leukoplakia.

Recently, a close relationship between the cell cycle and apoptosis was confirmed in oral squamous cell carcinoma (SCC). To clarify the expression of cell cycle-related proteins and apoptosis in the oral premalignant state, we investigated the expression of p27, cyclin D1 and proliferating cell nuclear antigen (PCNA) using immunohistochemical staining, and apoptotic index (AI) using ApopTag in situ staining. The positive expression-score of p27 was 42.

Gene expression analysis of human middle ear cholesteatoma using complementary DNA arrays.

Objective: To identify genes regulated in human cholesteatoma compared with normal skin tissue using complementary DNA arrays.

Study Design: In vitro analysis.

Methods: Eight cholesteatoma and retroauricular skin samples were obtained from the same patients during surgery.