Malignant mesothelioma of testicular tunica vaginalis.

We report here a case with malignant mesothelioma of testicular tunica vaginalis. An 81-year-old Japanese man with left hydrocele was referred for operation. When hydrocelectomy was performed, a thick wall of tunica vaginalis without malignancy was observed.

Clenbuterol induces expression of multiple myosin heavy chain isoforms in rat soleus fibres.

Clenbuterol, a beta2-agonist, administration results in hypertrophy of fast fibres and an increase in the fast myosin heavy chain (MHC) composition of both fast and slow muscles. The present study was designed to determine the phenotypic response at the single fibre level. Clenbuterol was added to the drinking water (30 mg L(-1)) of adult male Wistar rats for 4 weeks.

Mosaic-like structure of penicillin-binding protein 2 Gene (penA) in clinical isolates of Neisseria gonorrhoeae with reduced susceptibility to cefixime.

Neisseria gonorrhoeae strains with reduced susceptibility to cefixime (MICs, 0.25 to 0.5 micro g/ml) were isolated from male urethritis patients in Tokyo, Japan, in 2000 and 2001.

Molecular basis of the alteration in skin collagen metabolism in response to in vivo dexamethasone treatment: effects on the synthesis of collagen type I and III, collagenase, and tissue inhibitors of metalloproteinases.

Background: Glucocorticoids are widely used for the treatment of various diseases, despite known side-effects such as skin atrophy. Many studies have shown that the status of collagen fibres in the skin is affected by glucocorticoid treatment. However, the molecular mechanism underlying the alteration of collagen metabolism in the skin by glucocorticoid treatment remains unknown.

[Polyorchidism with undiscending testis: a case report].

We report here the 21st case of polyorchidism in Japan. A 3-year-old boy with left undiscending testis was referred to our hospital for orchiopexy. At surgery, the undiscending testis was identified as two testes.

Prognostic implications of histological features in patients with chromophobe cell renal carcinoma.

Objective: To assess the relationship between the histological features of renal chromophobe cell carcinoma (CCC) and clinical outcome in patients with renal cell carcinoma.

Patients And Methods: From 1957 to 1996, 41 patients with CCC of the kidney (4.9% of all kidney carcinomas) were treated at our university hospitals.

[A case of lung collapse caused by endobronchial metastasis from renal cell carcinoma reinflated with laser and electrosurgical snaring].

A 62-year-old woman, who had undergone left nephrectomy for renal cell carcinoma and had received interferon-alpha for metastasis to the lung, was hospitalized because of cough, dyspnea and anorexia 16 months after nephrectomy. Chest radiography showed collapse of the right lung. We performed bronchoscopy and found a red polypoid tumor completely obstructing the right bronchus.

Guidewire bias in rotational atherectomy in the angled lesion: evaluation based on the thickness of the ablated intima and media.

The effect of guidewire bias on angled-lesion ablation by rotational atherectomy (RA) was assessed by measuring the changes in vertical lumen diameter, horizontal lumen diameter and the intima-media thickness of the coronary artery, using intravascular ultrasound in 10 lesions with an angle greater than 10 degrees. The vertical and horizontal diameters significantly increased after RA. The intima-media thickness at the 4 orthogonal sites significantly decreased.

Ultrastructure of human pheochromocytoma cells cultured for long periods.

We conducted ultrastructural analysis of human pheochromocytoma (PC) cells maintained in primary culture for about 10 months. The cells were first isolated by the enzymatic treatment of a surgically resected tissue specimen obtained from a 37-year-old man with PC, a condition which is characterized by elevated blood levels of adrenaline and noradrenaline. It was found that noradrenaline production in the medium continued until the 90th day of culture (1330 pg/ml).

Histological features of hypovascular or avascular renal cell carcinoma: the experience at four university hospitals.

Background: We aimed to evaluate the pathological features of hypovascular or avascular renal cell carcinoma (RCC), by the retrospective review of the histological features that coincide with hypovascular or avascular RCC.

Methods: Seven hundred and ninety-one patients who underwent both preoperative angiography and nephrectomy were examined. Of these patients, the 126 patients (15.

Activation of extracellular signal-regulated kinases is essential for pressure-induced proliferation of vascular smooth muscle cells.

In hypertension, increased transmural pressure directly influences vascular smooth muscle cells and causes cell proliferation. However, the mechanisms of transmural pressure-induced proliferation of vascular smooth muscle cells are unknown. We investigated the role of various protein kinases in pressure-induced proliferation of vascular smooth muscle cells.

[Malignant fibrous histiocytoma of perirenal tissue: a case report].

A 75-year-old woman was admitted to our hospital with an extremely large retroperitoneal tumor that had been detected with ultrasound on a routine health check. She had no complaint except lumbar pain. Computed tomography revealed a heterogenous tumor located outside the right kidney which was enhanced gradually.

[Schwannoma with purely cystic form originating from the adrenal area: a case report].

A 62-year-old woman was hospitalized with complaints of right upper abdominal discomfort. Various imaging studies showed an extremely large suprarenal mass with solitary cystic formation. Partial adrenalectomy was successfully performed through the transperitoneal approach.

Gender as a prognostic factor in patients with renal cell carcinoma.

Objective: To evaluate gender as a prognostic factor in patients with renal cell carcinoma (RCC), using a retrospective review of patients with RCC stratified according to gender and analysing factors affecting prognosis.

Patients And Methods: From January 1957 to December 1995, 768 patients with pathologically defined RCC (all of whom underwent nephrectomy) were classified as having clear cell carcinoma in 662 (follow-up in 648), papillary RCC in 43 (follow-up in 42), chromophobe cell carcinoma in 36 (follow-up in 34) and cyst-associated RCC in 27 (all followed up) according to the criteria proposed by the World Health Organization. The survival rates were compared between men and women, calculated and stratified according to the subtype of RCC.

[A case of complete self-mutilation of penis].

Self-mutilation of the penis is extremely rare. A 69-year-old man was admitted after having amputated his own penis completely from its root. He had no history of psychiatric illness, but his physical condition on admission was abnormal.

Long-term survival of a patient with Marshall-Smith syndrome.

A 7-year-old girl presented with classic signs of typical Marshall-Smith syndrome, a rare early overgrowth syndrome. Her long-term survival, which is extremely uncommon in such patients, can be attributed to the successful securing and maintenance of an airway. Continued follow-up is extremely important in finding out how to ensure long-term survival of such patients.

[Clinical study of bladder injury].

Since bladder injury has no specific clinical symptoms, accurate diagnosis at first consultation is relatively difficult. To elucidate the clinical characters type of injury, clinical symptoms, laboratory findings, methods of therapy and diagnosis, we reviewed 15 patients with bladder injury over a 9-year-period 1990-1998 (10 were traumatic injuries and 5 spontaneous injuries). We found no specific clinical symptom of bladder injury.

Novel fluorescence labeling and high-throughput assay technologies for in vitro analysis of protein interactions.

We developed and tested a simple method for fluorescence labeling and interaction analysis of proteins based on a highly efficient in vitro translation system combined with high-throughput technologies such as microarrays and fluorescence cross-correlation spectroscopy (FCCS). By use of puromycin analogs linked to various fluorophores through a deoxycytidylic acid linker, a single fluorophore can be efficiently incorporated into a protein at the carboxyl terminus during in vitro translation. We confirmed that the resulting fluorescently labeled proteins are useful for probing protein-protein and protein-DNA interactions by means of pulldown assay, DNA microarrays, and FCCS in model experiments.

Effects of protein deprivation on alpha1(I) and alpha1(III) collagen and its degrading system in rat skin.

Protein malnutrition affects the status of dermal collagen, the major structural protein in the skin. However, the molecular mechanism underlying the alteration of collagen fibers in the skin by protein deficiency remains unknown. In the present study, the effect of dietary protein deprivation on collagen metabolism was studied by analyzing the status of the synthesis and degradation of collagen in the dorsal skin of rats.

Muscle type-specific response of HSP60, HSP72, and HSC73 during recovery after elevation of muscle temperature.

An original method to induce heat stress was used to clarify the time course of changes in heat shock proteins (HSPs) in rat skeletal muscles during recovery after a single bout of heat stress. One hindlimb was inserted into a stainless steel can and directly heated by raising the air temperature inside the can via a flexible heater twisted around the steel can. Muscle temperature was increased gradually and maintained at 42 degrees C for 60 min.

[Pulmonary infarction caused by the spontaneous migration of the vena caval tumor thrombus of right renal cell carcinoma: a case report].

A 70-year-old male with right renal mass incidentally found by annual check-up using ultrasound, was referred to Department of Urology, Jikei University Affiliated Kashiwa Hospital. He was diagnosed as having right renal cell carcinoma with vena caval tumor thrombus extending above the diaphragm (T3c) preoperatively. The day before the scheduled day of operation, right pulmonary infarction caused by spontaneous migration of vena caval tumor thrombus of right renal cell carcinoma developed.

Up-regulation of upstream stimulatory factors by protein malnutrition and its possible role in regulation of the IGF-binding protein-1 gene.

Protein malnutrition drastically induces the expression of the IGF-binding protein-1 (IGFBP-1) gene. We have previously shown that the region between -77 and -112 bp upstream of the rat IGFBP-1 gene contributes to the response of this gene to amino acid limitation. In an attempt to elucidate the basis of the responsiveness of this putative amino acid response unit (AARU), we searched the nucleus of the rat liver for a trans-acting factor whose binding to AARU was dependent on protein nutrition.

Expression of heat shock protein 72 in atrophied rat skeletal muscles.

Changes in the expression of heat shock protein 72 (HSP72) in response to atrophic-inducing perturbations of muscle involving chronic mechanical unloading and denervation were determined. Adult male Wistar rats were assigned randomly to a sedentary cage control (CON), hind limb unloading (HU, via tail suspension), HU plus tenotomy (HU + TEN), HU plus denervation (HU + DEN), or HU + TEN + DEN group. Tenotomy and DEN involved cutting the Achilles tendon and removing a segment of the sciatic nerve, respectively.

A spatial light modulator based on fused-silica plates for adaptive feedback control of intense femtosecond laser pulses.

A novel spatial light modulator (SLM) made of an array of fused-silica plates was developed for the purpose of feedback control for intense femtosecond laser pulses over a wide spectral range. Dispersion compensation for 20-fs pulses from a Ti:sapphire oscillator was successfully demonstrated using the SLM with an adaptive feedback control system. The SLM was also applied to the output pulses from a Ti:sapphire amplifier for compensation of material.