Antimicrobial Resistance and Type III Secretion System Virulotypes of Pseudomonas aeruginosa Isolates from Dogs and Cats in Primary Veterinary Hospitals in Japan: Identification of the International High-Risk Clone Sequence Type 235.

This study aimed to investigate the current trends in antimicrobial resistance among Pseudomonas aeruginosa clinical isolates of canine and feline origin and the prevalence of their sequence types (STs) and type III secretion system (T3SS) virulotypes, which remains unknown in Japan. A total of 240 nonduplicate clinical isolates of P. aeruginosa from dogs (= 206) and cats (= 34) collected from 152 primary care animal hospitals between August 2017 and October 2019 were examined.

[Pulmonary embolism in esophageal cancer patients receiving neoadjuvant chemotherapy with CDDP and 5-FU].

We report our experience with 2 male patients (71 and 74 years old, respectively) with advanced esophageal cancer who exhibited pulmonary embolism during treatment with neoadjuvant chemotherapy with cisplatin (CDDP) and 5-fluorouracil (5- FU). The patients had no symptoms associated with pulmonary embolism. The pulmonary emboli were incidentally detected on computed tomography performed to assess the effect of chemotherapy.

Tumor necrosis factor-α-induced apoptosis of gastric cancer MKN28 cells: accelerated degradation of the inhibitor of apoptosis family members.

The role of the inhibitor of apoptosis (IAP) family members in tumor necrosis factor-α (TNF-α)-induced apoptosis of human gastric cancer MKN28 cells was explored. TNF-α induced up-regulation of cIAP2, whereas cycloheximide (CHX) induced down-regulation of XIAP and survivin. Degradation of cIAP1 and XIAP, but not survivin, was accelerated by co-treatment of cells with TNF-α and CHX, and TNF-α-induced up-regulation of cIAP2 was inhibited by BMS-345541 (NF-κB inhibitor).

Efficacy of a hypotonic treatment for peritoneal dissemination from gastric cancer cells: an in vivo evaluation.

The aim of the present study was to determine the efficacy of a hypotonic treatment for peritoneal dissemination from gastric cancer cells using an in vivo model. We firstly evaluated the toxicity of a peritoneal injection of distilled water (DW) (2 mL for 3 days) in mice. Macroscopic and microscopic examinations revealed that the peritoneal injection of DW did not severely damage the abdominal organs of these mice.

A regulatory role of K(+)-Cl(-) cotransporter in the cell cycle progression of breast cancer MDA-MB-231 cells.

K(+)-Cl(-) cotransporter (KCC) has been shown to be involved in cell proliferation as well as cell volume regulation. A regulatory role of KCC in cell cycle progression of breast cancer MDA-MB-231 cells was explored by using synchronized MDA-MB-231 cells and dihydro-indenyloxy-alkanoic acid (DIOA), a potent inhibitor of KCC. MDA-MB-231 cells cultured in the presence of DIOA exhibited an increase in cell volume, a decrease in intracellular Cl(-) concentration, and reduction in cell proliferation with the G0/G1 phase arrest, which was accompanied with down-regulation of cyclin D1 and cyclin E2, and up-regulation of p21.

Evaluation of lymph node metastasis in patients with gastric cancer: a comparison of the directionality of lymph node metastasis and the total number of metastatic lymph nodes.

Purpose: The clinical impact of the directionality of lymph node (LN) metastasis was assessed in comparison with the staging by the Japanese Classification of Gastric Carcinoma (JCGC), a numerical LN staging system.

Methods: Two hundred forty-one gastric cancer patients who were diagnosed pathologically to have LN metastasis, and 54 patients who underwent preoperative multidetector-row computed tomography (MDCT) with an image thickness of 1 mm were classified into three groups (unidirectional [Uni-], bidirectional [Bi-], and tridirectional [Tri-] groups) depending on the directionality of their LN metastasis.

Results: The prognosis of the Uni-group was better than that of the Bi- or the Tri-group when assessed on the basis of the pathological findings of metastatic LN and also the preoperative MDCT findings.

XB130 as an independent prognostic factor in human esophageal squamous cell carcinoma.

Background: Adaptor proteins, with multimodular structures, can participate in the regulation of various cellular functions. A novel adaptor protein XB130 has been implicated as a substrate and regulator of tyrosine kinase-mediated signaling and in controlling cell proliferation and apoptosis in thyroid and lung cancer cells. However, its expression and role in gastrointestinal cancer have not been investigated.

Total pancreatectomy for pancreatic carcinoma: evaluation of safety and efficacy.

Background/aims: To determine the safety and the efficacy of total pancreatectomy for the curative treatment of pancreatic carcinoma.

Methodology: Retrospective analysis was performed using 10 patients receiving total pancreatectomy.

Results: The median duration of the operative procedure was 8.

The directionality of lymphatic spreading as a prognostic factor in gastric cancer: uni- or multidirectional lymphatic metastases.

Background/aims: The most critical problem of the numerical lymph node staging system is difficulty in evaluating preoperative staging. We investigated the directionality of metastatic lymph nodes as an alternative prognostic indicator of gastric cancer.

Methodology: One hundred and seventy two patients who had undergone curative gastrectomy were examined.

Gastrointestinal Stromal Tumor in a Patient with Neurofibromatosis: Abscess Formation in the Tumor Leading to Bacteremia and Seizure.

A 66-year-old woman with neurofibromatosis type 1 (NF1) was brought to the emergency room with seizures and high-grade fever. Seizure in adult NF1 patients raises concern for intracranial lesions. However, neurological examination and central nervous system imaging failed to detect any causative intracranial lesions for her seizure.

[The role of adjuvant chemotherapy with S-1 for gastric cancer patients].

A randomized controlled trial of adjuvant chemotherapy with S-1 for gastric cancer (ACTS-GC) demonstrated that the chemotherapy with S-1 improved the relapse-free survival and overall survival rates of patients with locally advanced gastric cancer. We examined retrospectively 47 patients with locally advanced gastric cancer, who received adjuvant chemotherapy with S-1 after curative gastrectomy. Patients who received more than 50% of the total scheduled dose of S-1 during the first 1 year after starting the chemotherapy showed a tendency to favorable outcome in terms of relapse-free survival compared with patients who received less than 50% of the dose, although no statistical significance was detected.

Appendiceal ascariasis in children.

Background: The propensity of Ascaris lumbricoides to wander leads to varied surgical complications in the abdomen. Wandering A lumbricoides may sometimes reach the vermiform appendix and its presence there may remain silent or incite pathology. Our aim was to study ascariadial appendicitis.

[A case of S-1-resistant gastric cancer with multiple bone metastases and disseminated intravascular coagulation--effective treatment by combined chemotherapy with CDDP and CPT-11].

A 49-year-old female with advanced gastric cancer complicated with peritoneal dissemination underwent distal gastrectomy, and thereafter she was treated with a combined chemotherapy of S-1 and paclitaxel for 5 months, followed by treatment with S-1 alone. A year after the gastrectomy, she developed disseminated intravascular coagulation (DIC) with multiple bone metastases despite the continuous treatment with S-1, indicating that S-1 was no longer effective. She was then effectively treated by a combined chemotherapy with cisplatin(CDDP)and irinotecan hydrochloride (CPT-11), and DIC subsided within 7 days after the treatment.

Calpain inhibition induces activation of the distinct signalling pathways and cell migration in human monocytes.

We have recently reported that constitutively active calpain negatively regulates activation of the distinct signalling pathways and cell migration in human neutrophils. Here, we report that a similar regulatory system is also functioning in human monocytes, but not lymphocytes. Calpain was constitutively active in resting human monocytes, but not lymphocytes.

Noncontrast and contrast enhanced computed tomography for diagnosing acute appendicitis: A retrospective study for the usefulness.

Abdominal computed tomography (CT) provides great benefits for the differential diagnosis in patients complaining of acute abdominal pain. However, the use of diagnostic X-rays is associated with the cumulative risk of cancer development. In order to determine the relative usefulness of noncontrast and enhanced CT with intravenous contrast material for diagnosing acute appendicitis, the retrospective analysis was performed using 247 patients (46 children and 201 adults) with clinically suspected appendicitis, who were admitted to our hospital from 2002 to 2006 and underwent noncontrast or combined noncontrast and enhanced CT examination.

Calpain inhibition delays neutrophil apoptosis via cyclic AMP-independent activation of protein kinase A and protein kinase A-mediated stabilization of Mcl-1 and X-linked inhibitor of apoptosis (XIAP).

Human neutrophils underwent spontaneous apoptosis, which was accompanied with proteasome-mediated degradation of Mcl-1 and X-linked inhibitor of apoptosis (XIAP). Calpain inhibitors (PD150606 and N-acetyl-Leu-Leu-Nle-CHO) prevented spontaneous neutrophil apoptosis and degradation of Mcl-1 and XIAP, and the effects of calpain inhibitors on neutrophils were resistant to cycloheximide. Calpain inhibitors induced protein kinase A (PKA) activation, which was unaccompanied with an increase in intracellular cyclic AMP.

Torsion of vermiform appendix with fecalith: a case report.

Introduction: Torsion of the vermiform appendix is a rare disorder, which causes abdominal symptoms indistinguishable from acute appendicitis and is found by chance during the laparotomy.

Case Presentation: We report a case (a 76-year-old male) suffering of torsion of the vermiform appendix with fecalith. It was twisted 540 degrees in an anti-clockwise direction.

Calpain-mediated regulation of the distinct signaling pathways and cell migration in human neutrophils.

We studied the mechanisms underlying calpain inhibition-mediated human neutrophil migration. MAPKs, including ERK, p38, and JNK, MEK1/2, MAPK kinase 3/6 (MKK3/6), PI-3K/Akt, c-Raf, and p21-activated kinase (PAK; an effector molecule of Rac) were rapidly (within 30 s) activated in neutrophils upon exposure to calpain inhibitors (PD150606 and N-acetyl-Leu-Leu-Nle-CHO) but not PD145305 (inactive analog of PD150606). Following activation of these pathways, neutrophils displayed active migration (chemotaxis), which was sustained for more than 45 min.

Distinct role of c-Jun N-terminal kinase isoforms in human neutrophil apoptosis regulated by tumor necrosis factor-alpha and granulocyte-macrophage colony-stimulating factor.

We studied the role of c-Jun N-terminal kinase (JNK) in human neutrophils stimulated by tumor necrosis factor-alpha (TNF-alpha) and granulocyte-macrophage colony-stimulating factor (GM-CSF). Stimulation of neutrophils with TNF-alpha and GM-CSF caused phosphorylation of p54 or p46 JNK or both. The phosphorylated p46 JNK band in TNF-alpha-stimulated neutrophils mobilized faster than that in GM-CSF-stimulated cells.

Calcium channel blockers suppress cytokine-induced activation of human neutrophils.

Background: Neutrophils, in concert with proinflammatory cytokines, play an important role in the progression of atherosclerosis. Calcium channel blockers are commonly used in the treatment of hypertension, and their pleiotropic effects, other than the lowering of blood pressure, have been recently recognized.

Methods: We studied the effects of various calcium channel blockers (amlodipine, nicardipine, cilnidipine, benidipine, efonidipine, nifedipine, azelnidipine, verapamil, and diltiazem; each being used at 5 and 10 micromol/l) on superoxide (O(2)(-)) release, migration, and signaling pathways in human neutrophils stimulated by granulocyte-macrophage colony-stimulating factor (GM-CSF) or tumor necrosis factor-alpha (TNF-alpha).

Secondary torsion of vermiform appendix with mucinous cystadenoma.

Torsion of the vermiform appendix is a rare disorder, which causes abdominal symptoms indistinguishable from acute appendicitis. We report a case (a 34-year-old male) of secondary torsion of the vermiform appendix with mucinous cystadenoma. This case was characterized by mild inflammatory responses, pentazocine-resistant abdominal pain, and appendiceal tumor, which was not enhanced by the contrast medium on computed tomography presumably because of reduced blood flow by the torsion.