[Effect of combination therapy with an adriamycin-lipiodol emulsion and a mitomycin C microcapsule in hepatocellular carcinoma complicated by portal thrombosis].

An intra-arterial injection of an Adriamycin-Lipiodol emulsion and a Mitomycin C microcapsule has been given to two patients of hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) complicated with a tumor thrombosis of the portal trunk. One patient showed a partial response, while the other evidenced no change, alpha-Fetoprotein decreasing from 4510 to 419 ng/ml in the partial response case, and from 328 to 283 ng/ml in the no change case. In each instance the hepatic injury treated by this combination therapy was mild and reversible.

[Analysis of human mitochondrial DNA in hepatocellular carcinomas].

Based on the following 3 points: 1) tumor proliferation is energy-dependent, 2) mitochondrial energy-production system is dominant for cell growth, and 3) liver mitochondria (mt) possess their own DNA and RNA synthesizing some of their own proteins including respiratory enzymes such as cytochrome oxidases, a possible relationship between mutations of mt-DNA and clinical status of cell proliferation was examined in 10 HCC patients who underwent liver resection. Mt-DNA at the cancerous and the noncancerous portions of 1g resected liver specimens were separated from the nuclear DNA, and then digested with Hinf I endonuclease. DNA filters were made of the digested mt-DNA fragments on the agarose and polyacrylamide gel.

Taxonomic studies of Acinetobacter species based on the electrophoretic analysis of enzymes.

Thirty six strains of Acinetobacter, 22 strains from the culture collections and 14 isolates from soil and cotton samples, were examined for the presence of twelve enzymes using polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis. A numerical analysis was carried out on the basis of similarity values obtained from the electrophoretic mobilities of the enzymes. The strains used were divided into four clusters (Z-1, Z-2, Z-3 and Z-4), and cluster Z-1 was further divided into three subclusters (Z-1a, Z-1b and Z-1c).

Effects of UVB irradiation on epidermal adenylate cyclase responses in vitro: its relation to sunburn cell formation.

UVB irradiation augmented the beta-adrenergic adenylate cyclase response of pig skin epidermis in vitro. The effect was observed 2-4 h following the irradiation and lasted at least for 48 h. There was no significant difference in cyclic AMP phosphodiesterase activity between control and UVB-irradiated epidermis at lower irradiation dose (150 mJ/cm2), which is the dose of the most marked beta-adrenergic augmentation effect.

Ouabain susceptibility of heart muscle of the house musk shrew, an insectivore: a comparison with the rat, guinea pig and rhesus monkey.

The susceptibility to ouabain of the heart muscle of the house musk shrew (Suncus murinus), an insectivore, was investigated by means of in vitro experimentation, and compared with the rat, guinea pig, and rhesus monkey. Contraction of the electrically driven heart muscles of all species slowly increased following application of ouabain. The shrew was approximate 100-fold more sensitive than the rat and 10-fold less than the guinea pig and rhesus monkey.

Retrograde transport and differential accumulation of serum proteins in motor neurons: implications for motor neuron diseases.

We found immunocytochemical evidence of serum albumin and immunoglobulin G in motor neurons of rats under physiologic conditions, but not when axoplasmic flow was abolished. The amount of serum proteins was highest in somatic motor neurons of the spinal anterior horn, nucleus ambiguous, and trigeminal motor nucleus; less in hypoglossal and facial neurons; and sparse in preganglionic autonomic, oculomotor, and hypothalamic neurons. Toxic or trophic substances, bound to serum proteins, could also be incorporated into motor neurons.

Evolution of tissue damage in compressive spinal cord injury in rats.

The evolution of tissue damage in compressive spinal cord injuries in rats was studied using an immunohistochemical technique and by sodium dodecyl sulfate-polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis (SDS-PAGE) analysis. The rupture of small vessels accompanied by intense tissue permeation of serum components in and around the hemorrhagic foci appeared to be immediate consequences of the mechanical insult. The loss of cell membrane integrity in neural elements became evident within 1 hour after injury as shown by the diffuse albumin-immunoreactivity of the cytoplasm.

Suppression of neurofilament degradation by protease inhibitors in experimental spinal cord injury.

Intraperitoneal administration of the neutral protease inhibitors leupeptin and E-64c substantially suppressed the degradation of neurofilament proteins (NFP) at the site of mechanical insult and secondary axonal degeneration, and facilitated the recovery of motor functions in acute spinal cord injury in rats. The drug effects were assessed by sodium dodecyl sulphate polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis of NFP fractions from the injured tissue and by morphometry of degenerating axons revealed by the Fink-Heimer method in distal spinal cord segments with the aid of an automated image analyzer. The role of calcium-activated neutral proteases in acute central nervous tissue damage and potential use of protease inhibitors as therapeutic modalities are discussed.

Effect of forphenicinol, a low molecular weight immunomodifier, on the growth of and the immune responses to murine lymphoma EL4.

Oral administration of forphenicinol, S-2-(3-hydroxy-4-hydroxymethylphenyl)glycine, inhibited the growth of EL4 lymphoma by both pre- and posttreatment. Although some mice given this drug rejected the tumor, they could not obtain acquired immunity against the tumor. Macrophages taken from normal mice did not inhibit the growth of EL4 cells in vivo (tumor neutralization assay) or in vitro (cytostasis assay).

Adenylate cyclase system of human trichilemmoma cell line.

The adenylate cyclase system of an established human trichilemmoma cell line was investigated. Stimulators of human epidermal adenylate cyclase system, epinephrine, histamine, adenosine, and prostaglandin E increased cyclic AMP levels of the trichilemmoma cells. The effects of epinephrine, histamine, and adenosine were inhibited by the addition of propranolol (a beta-adrenergic antagonist), cimetidine (histamine H2-antagonist), and theophylline (adenosine-receptor antagonist), respectively.

Melittin-induced alteration of epidermal adenylate cyclase responses.

Using an in vitro pig skin-slice incubation system, we investigated the effect of melittin, a phospholipase A2 (PLA2) stimulator, on the adenylate cyclase-cyclic AMP (cAMP) system. Significant decreases of various epidermal (beta-adrenergic, adenosine, and histamine) adenylate cyclase responses were observed as early as 1 h following the melittin treatment (50 micrograms/ml). The effect of melittin was concentration-dependent and the minimal concentration of melittin was 10 micrograms/ml for the inhibition of the beta-adrenergic adenylate cyclase response, whereas more than 50 micrograms/ml concentration was required for the inhibition of the adenosine and histamine adenylate cyclase responses.

Nucleotide sequence of a cloned hepatitis B virus genome, subtype ayr: comparison with genomes of the other three subtypes.

The entire nucleotide sequence of genomic DNA was determined for hepatitis B virus (HBV) of subtype ayr, which had been derived from the blood of a Japanese asymptomatic carrier. The genome was 3215 nucleotides long, and differed in DNA sequence by 10% from that of subtypes adw or ayw, but by only 2% from that of subtype adr. Amino acid sequences coded for by the S, C, P and X genes, as well as by the pre-S region, closely resembled those of subtype adr, indicating that the evolution of HBV/ayr from HBV/adr was more recent than the differentiation of the other three subtypes.