Histogenesis-specific expression of fibroblast activation protein and dipeptidylpeptidase-IV in human bone and soft tissue tumours.

Aims: Fibroblast activation protein (FAP)/seprase and dipeptidylpeptidase-IV (DPP-IV)/CD26 are serine integral membrane proteases. They are involved in tissue remodelling, cancer invasion and metastases, mechanisms that are controversial. The aim was to identify cell types that express FAP and DPP-IV in human bone and soft tissue tumours, and to determine whether there are any correlations between the expression of FAP and DPP-IV and the malignant potential of tumours.

Comparison of the effectiveness of geranylgeranylacetone with cimetidine in gastritis patients with dyspeptic symptoms and gastric lesions: a randomized, double-blind trial in Japan.

Background And Aim: Controversy remains regarding the treatment of choice for chronic gastritis patients with dyspeptic symptoms when Helicobacter pylori eradication is not indicated or fails for their gastric lesions. A multicenter, randomized, double-blind trial was performed to compare the effectiveness of geranylgeranylacetone (GGA), a mucoprotective drug, against cimetidine (CIT), an H(2)-receptor antagonist, on the treatment of erosions and petechial hemorrhage in H. pylori-infected patients with dyspeptic symptoms.

Up-regulation of matrix metalloproteinase-2 and membrane-type 1-matrix metalloproteinase were coupled with that of type I procollagen in granulation tissue response after the onset of aortic dissection.

The pathophysiological significance of matrix metalloproteinases (MMPs) in aortic dissection remains poorly understood. The purpose of the present study is to clarify the significance of MMPs in aortic dissection. The activities and distributions of MMP-2, membrane-type 1-MMP (MT1-MMP), and MMP-9 were evaluated by gelatin zymography, immunohistochemistry, and in situ hybridization in 29 patients and seven autopsy cases.

Infiltration of CD19+ plasma cells with frequent labeling of Ki-67 in corticosteroid-resistant active ulcerative colitis.

Abnormalities in humoral immunity are implicated in the pathogenesis of ulcerative colitis. However, the detailed mechanisms of B-cell activation in the locale remain unaccounted for. We analyzed ulcerative colitis from the standpoint of lymphocytic expansion in the loco.

Selective infiltration of CCR5(+)CXCR3(+) T lymphocytes in human colorectal carcinoma.

T cell infiltration in colorectal cancer is associated with a favorable prognosis, suggesting an occurrence of a certain degree of anti-tumor immunity. T helper type 1 (Th1) and Th2 cells are now known to selectively express CC-chemokine receptor 5 (CCR5)/CXC-chemokine receptor 3 (CXCR3) and CCR4, respectively. To clarify the mechanism of T cell infiltration, we examined in situ expression of these chemokine receptors and their respective chemokine ligands in 40 cases of human colorectal cancer.

Gastric epithelial cell turnover and mucosal protection in Japanese children with Helicobacter pylori infection.

Background: In adults, epithelial cell proliferation and apoptosis of the gastric mucosa are induced by Helicobacter pylori infection and are associated with gastric atrophy or gastric carcinoma. In children, there are few studies about such epithelial changes. To elucidate the role of H.

Constant and severe involvement of Betz cells in corticobasal degeneration is not consistent with pyramidal signs: a clinicopathological study of ten autopsy cases.

This report concerns a clinicopathological study of three additional patients with corticobasal degeneration (CBD), described here for the first time, and a clinicopathological correlation between pyramidal signs and upper motor neuron involvement, in ten autopsy cases of CBD, including seven cases reported by us previously. We investigated pyramidal signs, including hyperreflexia, Babinski sign, and spasticity, and involvement of the primary motor cortex and pyramidal tract, focusing on the astrocytosis of the fifth layer of the primary motor cortex. Pyramidal signs were observed in six (60%) of the ten cases.

Immunoglobulin A enteropathy: a possible variant of Henoch-Schönlein purpura.

This study calls attention to a new syndrome presenting with gastrointestinal symptoms including abdominal pain, vomiting, and/or hematemesis and endoscopic multiple lesions predominantly in the descending duodenum, without the skin rash observed in Henoch-Schonlein purpura. We examined the gastrointestinal mucosa for IgA deposits in nine children and compared the results with those for three patients with Henoch-Schönlein purpura. In addition, gastroduodenal biopsy specimens of 11 patients with various diseases were studied as controls for IgA staining.

Accumulation of CCR5+ T cells around RANTES+ granulomas in Crohn's disease: a pivotal site of Th1-shifted immune response?

Immunological abnormalities are implicated in the pathogenesis of inflammatory bowel disease (IBD), that is, Crohn's disease and ulcerative colitis. In particular, Crohn's disease is considered to be a T helper type 1 (Th1)-shifted disease. Chemokines and their receptors are involved in various immune responses including Th1- and Th2 responses.

Association of estrogen receptor alpha gene polymorphisms with neurofibrillary tangles.

Estrogen receptor alpha (ERalpha) may be implicated in the pathogenesis of Alzheimer's disease (AD). The aim of this study was to clarify the association between ERalpha gene polymorphisms and AD-related pathologic changes. The staging of neurofibrillary tangles (NFT) and senile plaques (SP) was performed according to the method by Braak and Braak and two polymorphisms, PvuII (P or p) and XbaI (X or x), of the ERalpha gene were typed in 551 Japanese cadavers (294 men and 257 women; mean age, 80.

Infiltration of CD8+ T cells containing RANTES/CCL5+ cytoplasmic granules in actively inflammatory lesions of human chronic gastritis.

Chronic gastritis is frequently associated with infection of Helicobacter pylori and characterized by tissue infiltration of neutrophils, lymphocytes, and plasma cells. To address the mechanism of lymphocyte infiltration in chronic gastritis, we examined the expression of chemokines and their receptors using frozen sections of chronic gastritis, obtained from 23 patients who underwent gastrectomy for gastric cancer. By immunohistochemistry, lymphocytes in inflamed gastric mucosa expressed CCR5 abundantly, CXCR3 less frequently, and CCR4 sparsely.

Expression of mucosal addressin cell adhesion molecule 1 on vascular endothelium of gastric mucosa in patients with nodular gastritis.

Aim: The interaction of mucosal addressin cell adhesion molecule 1 (MAdCAM-1) with integrin alpha4beta7 mediates lymphocyte recruitment into mucosa-associated lymphoid tissue (MALT). Nodular gastritis is characterized by a unique military pattern on endoscopy representing increased numbers of lymphoid follicles with germinal center, strongly associated with H pylori infection. The purpose of this study was to address the implication of the MAdCAM-1/integrin beta7 pathway in NG.

Accumulation of phosphorylated alpha-synuclein in aging human brain.

Alpha-synuclein in Lewy bodies (LBs) is phosphorylated at Ser129. We raised monoclonal and polyclonal antibodies to this phosphorylation site (psyn) and examined 157 serial autopsy brains from a geriatric hospital. Anti-psyn immunoreactivity was observed in 40 of these cases (25.

[Marked decrease of intracranial atherosclerosis in contrast with unchanged coronary artery stenosis in Japan].

We conducted comparative studies on intracranial atherosclerosis and coronary artery stenosis over the past 28 years. Two-year consecutive autopsy case studies from an urban geriatric hospital between 1974-1975 (Group I. 484 cases).

Infiltrating CD8+ T cells in oral lichen planus predominantly express CCR5 and CXCR3 and carry respective chemokine ligands RANTES/CCL5 and IP-10/CXCL10 in their cytolytic granules: a potential self-recruiting mechanism.

Lichen planus is a chronic inflammatory disease of the skin and oral mucosa in which the cell-mediated cytotoxicity is regarded as a major mechanism of pathogenesis. To understand its pathophysiology further, the present study examined the in situ expression of chemokines and chemokine receptors in oral lichen planus. Immunohistochemical analysis of 15 cases has consistently revealed that infiltrating CD4(+) and CD8(+) T cells in the submucosa predominantly expressed CCR5 and CXCR3.

Clinical characteristics of Japanese reflux esophagitis patients as determined by Los Angeles classification.

Background: Recent studies have shown that the number of patients with reflux esophagitis is increasing in Japan, but the prevalence and risk factors associated with reflux esophagitis in Japanese patients are not well defined.

Methods: By using all endoscopic records in the Katta General Hospital from April through to September 1999, we identified 392 patients. We examined the Los Angeles classification, peptic ulcer, gastric mucosal atrophy, hiatal hernia and other medical variable factors for their contribution to esophagitis in the patients.

Differential expression of CCL19 by DC-Lamp+ mature dendritic cells in human lymph node versus chronically inflamed skin.

De novo formation of lymphoid tissue is one of the characteristic features of chronic inflammation. The formation of T cell-mature dendritic cell (DC) clusters has been previously demonstrated in chronically inflamed skin infected with Candida albicans. A functional similarity was also found between chronic inflammation and the T-cell zone of lymph nodes (LNs), since a substantial fraction of phenotypically mature DCs in both tissues expressed CCL22 (macrophage-derived chemokine; MDC) and were closely surrounded by memory-type T cells expressing its receptor, CCR4.

Comparison of the distribution and numbers of antigen-presenting cells among T-lymphocyte-mediated dermatoses: CD1a+, factor XIIIa+, and CD68+ cells in eczematous dermatitis, psoriasis, lichen planus and graft-versus-host disease.

Antigen-presenting cells (APCs) participate in the initiation of the inflammatory process in various immune-mediated dermatoses through the activation of antigen-specific T lymphocytes. The skin contains several different subsets of APCs. To investigate the role of these APCs in T-cell immune-mediated inflammation, we examined the distribution and numbers of epidermal and dermal CD1a(+) dendritic cells (DCs), factor XIIIa(+) dermal DCs, and CD68(+) macrophages in five T-cell-mediated inflammatory skin diseases.

Differential expression of mucosal addressin cell adhesion molecule-1 (MAdCAM-1) in ulcerative colitis and Crohn's disease.

Mucosal addressin cell adhesion molecule-1 (MAdCAM-1) is selectively expressed in the endothelial cells of intestinal mucosa and gut-associated lymphoid tissue (GALT). Engagement of MAdCAM-1 to its ligand, integrin alpha4beta7, on lymphocytes is associated with the homing of gut-associated lymphocytes to normal gastrointestinal tract and inflammation sites. The present study was designed to elucidate differences between Crohn's disease (CrD) and ulcerative colitis (UC) from the expression patterns of MAdCAM-1.

Localization of antigen-presenting cells in Helicobacter pylori-infected gastric mucosa.

Helicobacter pylori (HP) infection is known to induce the specific immune response in the gastric mucosa. The immune response is triggered by presentation of antigen peptides on the major histocompatibility assembly of the antigen-presenting cells (APC) with the assistance of costimulatory molecules such as B7-1 (CD80) and B7-2 (CD86). Their counter-receptors or ligands on T cells are CD28 or cytotoxic lymphocyte-associated molecule-4.

CXC chemokine receptor 1 (CXCR1) is expressed mainly by neutrophils in inflamed gut and stomach tissues.

CXC chemokine receptor 1 (CXCR1) is one of the important receptors for CXC chemokines with ELR motif, of which interleukin 8 (IL-8; CXCL8) is representative. To identify the cell type(s) of CXCR1-expressing cells in inflamed stomach and gut tissues, we performed immunoperoxidase method using pre-fixed frozen sections. In chronic gastritis associated with Helicobacter pylori infection (7 cases), CXCR1 was positive in neutrophils (polymorphonuclear leucocytes) in the lamina propria near the neck region and those in pit abscess.

Close association between Fas ligand (FasL; CD95L)-positive tumor-associated macrophages and apoptotic cancer cells along invasive margin of colorectal carcinoma: a proposal on tumor-host interactions.

Anti-tumor immune responses are considered to be one of the key host reactions in human colorectal cancer, with T cells as important effector cells. For the induction of tumor-specific immunity, processing of cancer cells and priming of T cells by antigen-presenting cells are important. The present study was designed to clarify the relationship between Fas ligand (FasL; CD95L) expression and apoptotic cancer cells.