Expression of osteoblastic and osteoclastic genes during spontaneous regeneration and autotransplantation of goldfish scale: a new tool to study intramembranous bone regeneration.

Complementary DNA of osteoblast-specific genes (dlx5, runx2a, runx2b, osterix, RANKL, type I collagen, ALP, and osteocalcin) was cloned from goldfish (Carassius auratus) scale. Messenger RNA expressions were analyzed during spontaneous scale regeneration. Dlx5 had an early peak of expression on day 7, whereas osterix was constantly expressed during days 7-21.

Parathyroid hormone 1 (1-34) acts on the scales and involves calcium metabolism in goldfish.

The effect of fugu parathyroid hormone 1 (fugu PTH1) on osteoblasts and osteoclasts in teleosts was examined with an assay system using teleost scale and the following markers: alkaline phosphatase (ALP) for osteoblasts and tartrate-resistant acid phosphatase (TRAP) for osteoclasts. Synthetic fugu PTH1 (1-34) (100pg/ml-10ng/ml) significantly increased ALP activity at 6h of incubation. High-dose (10ng/ml) fugu PTH1 significantly increased ALP activity even after 18h of incubation.

Severe protein losing enteropathy with intractable diarrhea due to systemic AA amyloidosis, successfully treated with corticosteroid and octreotide.

This report concerns two patients with severe protein losing enteropathy and refractory diarrhea due to AA amyloidosis who were successfully treated with corticosteroid and octreotide. In these patients, biopsied tissues from the gastrointestinal (GI) tract showed extensive deposition of AA amyloid, which was caused by rheumatoid arthritis in one case and was of unidentified etiology in the other. Both patients manifested severe diarrhea unresponsive to conventional treatment with hypoproteinemia, and protein leakage from the small intestine to the ascending colon was confirmed by 99mTc-diethylene triamine pentaacetic acid human serum albumin (HSA-D) scintigraphy.