Spectrum of Epstein-Barr virus-related diseases: a pictorial review.

Epstein-Barr virus (EBV) prevails among more than 90% of the adult population worldwide. Most primary infections occur during young childhood and cause no or only nonspecific symptoms; then the virus becomes latent and resides in lymphocytes in the peripheral blood. Inactive latent EBV usually causes no serious consequences, but once it becomes active it can cause a wide spectrum of malignancies: epithelial tumors such as nasopharyngeal and gastric carcinomas; mesenchymal tumors such as follicular dendritic cell tumor/sarcoma; and lymphoid malignancies such as Burkitt lymphoma, lymphomatoid granulomatosis, pyothorax-associated lymphoma, immunodeficiency-associated lymphoproliferative disorders, extranodal natural killer (NK) cell/T-cell lymphoma, and Hodgkin's lymphoma.

Epstein-Barr virus-positive inflammatory pseudotumour and inflammatory pseudotumour-like follicular dendritic cell tumour.

Various splenic inflammatory pseudotumours are reported to be infected with Epstein-Barr virus (EBV), which is thought to be associated with the pathogenesis of the lesion. The term "inflammatory pseudotumour (IPT)-like follicular dendritic cell tumour", all cases of which are also EBV positive, has recently been proposed. Here, we describe the imaging findings of these splenic tumours and present the cases of an IPT-like follicular dendritic cell tumour and two EBV-positive inflammatory pseudotumours in two female patients and one male patient.

Construction of a prediction model for type 2 diabetes mellitus in the Japanese population based on 11 genes with strong evidence of the association.

Prediction of the disease status is one of the most important objectives of genetic studies. To select the genes with strong evidence of the association with type 2 diabetes mellitus, we validated the associations of the seven candidate loci extracted in our earlier study by genotyping the samples in two independent sample panels. However, except for KCNQ1, the association of none of the remaining seven loci was replicated.

Differential regulation of gene expression in isolated tendon fascicles exposed to cyclic tensile strain in vitro.

Mechanical stimulus is a regulator of tenocyte metabolism. The present study investigated temporal regulation of the expression of selected genes by tenocytes in isolated fascicles subjected to tensile strain in vitro. Cyclic tensile strain with a 3% amplitude superimposed on a 2% static strain was provided for 10 min, followed by either an unstrained period or continuous cyclic strain until the end of a 24-h incubation period.

Variants in KCNQ1 are associated with susceptibility to type 2 diabetes mellitus.

We carried out a multistage genome-wide association study of type 2 diabetes mellitus in Japanese individuals, with a total of 1,612 cases and 1,424 controls and 100,000 SNPs. The most significant association was obtained with SNPs in KCNQ1, and dense mapping within the gene revealed that rs2237892 in intron 15 showed the lowest Pvalue (6.7 x 10(-13), odds ratio (OR) = 1.

CT appearance of Epstein-Barr virus-associated gastric carcinoma.

Epstein-Barr virus (EBV) is associated with pathogenesis of several epithelial neoplasms and lymphoproliferative disorders. A certain percentage of gastric carcinomas are associated with EBV. EBV-associated gastric carcinoma is a distinct entity associated with good prognosis.

CD73-generated adenosine restricts lymphocyte migration into draining lymph nodes.

After an inflammatory stimulus, lymphocyte migration into draining lymph nodes increases dramatically to facilitate the encounter of naive T cells with Ag-loaded dendritic cells. In this study, we show that CD73 (ecto-5'-nucleotidase) plays an important role in regulating this process. CD73 produces adenosine from AMP and is expressed on high endothelial venules (HEV) and subsets of lymphocytes.

Accurate quantitation of salivary and pancreatic amylase activities in human plasma by microchip electrophoretic separation of the substrates and hydrolysates coupled with immunoinhibition.

A high-performance determination system for alpha-amylase isoenzyme activities in human plasma involving microchip electrophoresis with a plastic chip was developed. The combination of microchip electrophoresis for substrate and hydrolysate separation and an immunoinhibition method for the differentiation of isoenzyme activities using antihuman salivary amylase (S-AMY) mAb allowed the highly selective determination of amylase isoenzyme (S-AMY and pancreatic amylase (P-AMY)) activities even in a complex matrix such as a crude plasma sample. We used 8-aminopyrene-1,3,6-trisulfonic acid (APTS)-labeled maltohexaose (G6) as a substrate.

Time dependence of cyclic tensile strain on collagen production in tendon fascicles.

Mechanical loading is a regulator of tissue metabolism in tendon, which may lead to alterations in structural and mechanical properties via mechanotransduction processes. The present study investigated specified responses of tenocyte metabolism in isolated tendon fascicles subjected to four loading regimes. Cyclic tensile strain of 3% amplitude superimposed on a 2% static strain was applied to the fascicles for 10min, 1, 6 or 24h of a 24-h incubation period.

Determination of human blood glucose levels using microchip electrophoresis.

A high-performance monitoring system for human blood glucose levels was developed using microchip electrophoresis with a plastic chip. The combination of reductive amination as glucose labeling with fluorescent 2-aminoacridone (AMAC) and glucose-borate complex formation realized the highly selective detection of glucose even in a complex matrix such as a blood sample. The migration time of a single peak, observed on an electropherogram of AMAC-labeled plasma, closely resembled that of glucose standard solution.

Maspin is involved in bone matrix maturation by enhancing the accumulation of latent TGF-beta.

Unlabelled: Maspin, a serine protease inhibitor, is expressed by formative osteoblasts. The repression of maspin expression in osteoblastic cells decreased the level of latent TGF-beta in the extracellular matrix, whereas the overexpression of maspin increased latent TGF-beta. These findings suggest that maspin plays an important role in bone matrix formation, particularly in the accumulation of latent TGF-beta.

Lack of association of CPT1A polymorphisms or haplotypes on hepatic lipid content or insulin resistance in Japanese individuals with type 2 diabetes mellitus.

Accumulation of fat in the liver is associated with insulin resistance and type 2 diabetes mellitus. The carnitine palmitoyltransferase (CPT) enzyme system facilitates the transport of long-chain fatty acids into mitochondria, and the gene for the hepatic isoform of CPT1 (CPT1A) is a candidate gene for metabolic disorders such as insulin resistance associated with fatty liver. We have now investigated the contribution of the CPT1A locus to hepatic lipid content (HLC), insulin resistance, and susceptibility to type 2 diabetes mellitus.

The tensile properties of collagen fascicles harvested from regenerated and residual tissues in the patellar tendon after removal of the central third.

The central one-third portion of the patellar tendon (PT) is commonly used for the reconstruction of the anterior cruciate ligament. For better understanding of the healing mechanisms of the PT, tensile properties of collagen fascicles harvested from the healing PT were studied. A rectangular defect was made at the central third portion in each right PT in the skeletally mature rabbit.

Melatonin at pharmacological doses enhances human osteoblastic differentiation in vitro and promotes mouse cortical bone formation in vivo.

Melatonin is known to regulate a variety of physiological processes including control of circadian rhythms, regulation of seasonal reproductive function, regulation of body temperature, and so forth. Accumulating evidence from in vitro and in vivo experiments using rodent and chicken has also suggested that melatonin may have an influence on skeletal growth and bone formation. However, little is known about the effects of melatonin on human osteoblasts, which thus remains to be elucidated.

Electroacupuncture suppresses myostatin gene expression: cell proliferative reaction in mouse skeletal muscle.

Complementary and alternative medicine (CAM) may provide patients with an alternative to traditional medicine, but an assessment of its efficacy is required. One CAM method, electroacupuncture (EA) treatment, is a maneuver that utilizes stimulation of acupuncture needles with a low-frequency microcurrent. To study the effect of short-term EA, we evaluated the differential expression of genes induced by EA in mouse skeletal muscle for up to 24 h.

Magnetic resonance findings of bile duct adenoma with calcification.

Computed tomographic (CT) and magnetic resonance (MR) appearances of bile duct adenoma (BDA in a patient who underwent partial hepatectomy of segment 8 are presented. BDA showed a ring-shaped hyperdense area suggesting calcification and ring enhancement on CT. It appeared hypointense on both T1- and T2-weighted MR images.

Assessment of major aortopulmonary collateral arteries with multidetector-row computed tomography.

Multidetector-row computed tomography (MDCT) studies were performed in three adult patients with pulmonary atresia with a ventricular septal defect. In all patients, the native pulmonary arteries were absent, and the pulmonary circulation was totally supplied by major aortopulmonary collateral arteries (MAPCAs). MDCT studies with 1-mm collimation provided detailed information on MAPCAs and bronchial collaterals, such as the numbers and sites of origin, their varying diameters, their courses, and the areas of the lungs they supply.

Effect of drug transporter genes on cysteine export and overproduction in Escherichia coli.

L-cysteine is an important amino acid in terms of its industrial applications. We previously found a marked production of L-cysteine from glucose in recombinant Escherichia coli cells expressing an altered cysE gene encoding feedback inhibition-insensitive serine acetyltransferase. Also, a lower level of cysteine desulfhydrase (CD) activity, which is involved in L-cysteine degradation, increased L-cysteine productivity in E.

Conformational separation of monosaccharides of glycoproteins labeled with 2-aminoacrydone using microchip electrophoresis.

The conformational separation of monosaccharides labeled with fluorescent 2-aminoacrydone (AMAC) was performed by electrophoresis on a plastic microchip with light-emitting diode confocal fluorescence detection. The AMAC-labeled five neutral monosaccharide mixture (D-glucose (Glc), D-mannose, D-galactose, L-fucose, and D-xylose) or two amino monosaccharide mixture (N-acetyl-D-glucosamine and N-acetyl-D-galactosamine) were well separated at pH 8.5 and 0.

Association of the -112A>C polymorphism of the uncoupling protein 1 gene with insulin resistance in Japanese individuals with type 2 diabetes.

The -112A>C polymorphism (rs10011540) of the gene for uncoupling protein 1 (UCP1) has been associated with type 2 diabetes mellitus in Japanese individuals. The aim of the present study was to investigate the effects of this polymorphism, as well as the well-known -3826A>G polymorphism (rs1800592), on clinical characteristics of type 2 diabetes. We determined the genotypes of the two polymorphisms in 93 Japanese patients with type 2 diabetes.

Prediction of docetaxel response in human breast cancer by gene expression profiling.

Purpose: Docetaxel is one of the most effective anticancer drugs available in the treatment of breast cancer. Nearly half of the treated patients, however, do not respond to chemotherapy and suffer from side effects. The ability to reliably predict a patient's response based on tumor gene expression will improve therapeutic decision making and save patients from unnecessary side effects.

Fetal DNA levels in maternal blood correlated with fetal prognosis in a case of intervillous hematoma.

Several methods for detection of fetal components in maternal blood have been reported. However, few have proven clinically useful for determining the treatment in cases of placental injuries. Here, we report a case of extensive intervillous hematoma diagnosed at 25 weeks of gestation with severe intrauterine growth restriction and oligohydramnios.

[A case of uterine endometrial cancer with lung metastases improved by various treatments including taxane].

Surgery is the treatment of choice for uterine endometrial cancer. However, partial response anticancer chemotherapies for advanced cases with metastasis may also be effective. Current therapy is CAP (CDDP + ADM + CPM), which is centered on CDDP, but sufficient effect is not provided, and a new regimen is needed.

Effect of microsomal triglyceride transfer protein gene polymorphism in the promoter region on dyslipidemia in type 2 diabetic subjects.

Objective: To explore the relationship between microsomal triglyceride transfer protein (MTP) gene variation and diabetic dyslipidemia among Chinese.

Methods: Using PCR restriction fragment length polymorphism (PCR-RFLP) analysis and gene sequencing, we studied the influence of a common MTP gene polymorphism in the promoter region on the apoB-containing lipoproteins in 44 Chinese type 2 diabetic subjects and 32 non-diabetic volunteers.

Results: A common functional G/T polymorphism in 493 bp upstream from the transcriptional start point was detected among native Chinese.