Thrombotic thrombocytopenia purpura caused by piperacillin successfully treated with plasma infusion.

An 81-year-old man was admitted to the hospital with a fever and loss of appetite. After treatment with piperacillin sodium (PIPC), the patient exhibited thrombocytopenia, hemorrhagic colitis, and drug-induced skin eruption. On the fifth day after PIPC induction, he further experienced neurological abnormalities, such as disorientation and confusion, renal dysfunction, and microangiopathic hemolytic anemia (MAHA).

Induction of allogeneic tumour- and lymphokine-activated lymphocytes against hepatocellular carcinoma.

For clinical application of adoptive immunotherapy against hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC), it is not easy to prepare tumour specific effector cells such as cytotoxic T lymphocytes (CTL). To induce potent and broad-spectrum effectors, allogeneic cultured hepatoma cell lines (JHH-4 and HuH-6) were used as stimulators of peripheral blood lymphocytes (PBL) instead of autologous HCC cells. Allogeneic tumour- and lymphokine-activated killer cells (ATLAK) were generated by a mixed culture of lymphocytes and allogeneic cultured tumour cells with recombinant interleukin-2 (rIL-2).

Production of basic fibroblast growth factor-like factor by cultured human cholangiocellular carcinoma cells.

An extract of cultured human cholangiocellular carcinoma cells (HuCC-T1) was found to contain high mitogenic activity for BALB/c3T3 cells. The growth factor eliciting most of the mitogenic activity was purified and concluded to be identical with basic fibroblast growth factor (bFGF)-like factor on the basis of its molecular weight and heparin-Sepharose elution profile, and the results of immunoblotting and radioimmunoassay. HuCC-T1 cells also secreted bFGF-like factor into serum-free medium.

Subcellular abnormalities of liver sinusoidal lesions in human hepatocellular carcinoma.

Liver sinusoidal lesions in 20 cases of human hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) were examined with the electron microscope. Kupffer cells existed in the compact type of HCC. In area with pseudoglandular and trabecular cell patterns, Kupffer cells could not be observed.

[An attempt of in vitro portal invasion model of hepatocellular carcinoma utilizing permeable collagen membrane].

Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) possessed the ability of vascular invasiveness toward hepatic portal vein on the process of progression. This biological character of HCC can influence the patients survival on clinically. In this paper, we tried to establish the in vitro portal invasion model with human materials.