Recovery of preservation-injured primary human hepatocytes and nonparenchymal cells to tissuelike structures in large-scale bioreactors for liver support: an initial transmission electron microscopy study.

This study investigated large-scale regeneration and tissue reorganization of adult human liver cells from preservation injured transplant organs. The use of basement membrane protein gels and growth factor enriched culture medium in standard culture flasks promotes liver tissue formation in isolated rat and pig hepatocytes, resulting in prolongation of phenotypic stability and metabolic competence of primary cells in vitro. A special bioreactor construction for high-density three-dimensional cell recovery was developed and isolation of cells from discarded human donor livers was enabled.

Electron microscopic and immunohistochemical examination of scarred human cornea re-treated by excimer laser.

Purpose: To elucidate differences, at the macromolecular level, in corneal tissue subjected to repeated argon fluoride excimer treatment.

Methods: A light microscopic, electron microscopic, and immunohistochemical study was performed on a scarred human cornea.

Results: Keratocytes were enlarged with an expanded endoplasmic reticulum and exhibited a fibroblastic appearance.

Large-scale isolation of sinusoidal endothelial cells from pig and human liver.

Objective: Hepatic in vitro studies, like those on hypoxia/reperfusion injury in liver transplants, demand large numbers of cultivated sinusoidal endothelial cells (SECs). In this article, we present and evaluate a new method for the isolation of SECs from porcine and human livers.

Methods: SECs were isolated employing a four-step collagenase perfusion.

LI-cadherin: a marker of gastric metaplasia and neoplasia.

Background: Intestinal metaplasia is considered a risk factor for the development of gastric adenocarcinomas of the intestinal type and is found in approximately 20% of gastric biopsies. Conventional histology only detects advanced stages of intestinal metaplasia.

Aims: To study expression of the enterocyte specific adhesion molecule liver-intestinal (LI)-cadherin in intestinal metaplasia as well as in gastric cancer, and to evaluate its use as a diagnostic marker molecule.

[Scanning microscopy and immunohistochemical studies of an explanted phacic posterior chamber lens (ICL-M, STAAR)].

Objective: This study was performed to find out if an explanted phacic collamer IOL (ICL/STAAR) showed structural or surface quality changes after an intraocular implantation.

Material And Methods: We explanted an ICL 6 months after implantation and compared it to a new reference lens using scanning electron microscopy and immunohistochemical investigations.

Results: The explanted ICL showed no changes in comparison to a new ICL except for a coating with an unidentified material.

Liver transplantation after organ preservation with normothermic extracorporeal perfusion.

Objective: To study normothermic extracorporeal liver perfusion (NELP) as a means to preserve livers for transplantation and to reverse warm ischemic injury.

Summary Background Data: The authors provide experimental evidence that successful transplantation after 4 hours of normothermic extracorporeal liver perfusion is possible and as reliable as 4 hours of cold preservation in University of Wisconsin solution. NELP preserves liver function completely and can reverse 60 minutes of warm ischemic injury in non-heart-beating donors.

Cellular sources of enhanced brain-derived neurotrophic factor production in a mouse model of allergic inflammation.

The aim of this study was to investigate production and cellular sources of brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF) production in allergic asthma. For this purpose a mouse model of chronic and severe ovalbumin (OVA)-induced airway inflammation was developed. Allergen-exposed mice developed elevated immunoglobulin E titers; airway inflammation with influx of lymphocytes, monocytes, and eosinophils; and airway hyperresponsiveness.

Long-term results of total parathyroidectomy without autotransplantation in patients with and without renal failure.

The optimal surgical procedure for severe renal secondary hyperparathyroidism (sHPT) is still a point of controversy. Total parathyroidectomy (PTX) without auto-transplantation was abandoned for fear of an adynamic bone condition; however, in the case of autotransplantation recurrent sHPT is frequent and promotes atherosclerosis. We studied 11 hemodialysis patients (age 59+/-12 years) on dialysis for 18 (12-30) years in whom total PTX was performed due to severe sHPT (group I; intact PTH: 1,240+/-230 pg/ml), and 5 patients (age 55+/-10 years) without renal insufficiency who inadvertently received total PTX during thyroid surgery (group II).

A human-SCID mouse model for allergic immune response bacterial superantigen enhances skin inflammation and suppresses IgE production.

Chronic skin colonization with Staphylococcus aureus is a well-known feature in atopic dermatitis. The aim of this study was to develop a human-SCID mouse model to analyze the possible role of bacterial superantigens in human allergic immune responses under in vivo conditions. SCID mice were reconstituted with peripheral blood mononuclear cells (between 2 and 9 x 10(7) cells per mouse) from atopic dermatitis patients sensitized to house dust mite allergen (Der p).

Comparison of hollow fibre membranes for hepatocyte immobilisation in bioreactors.

Various hollow fibre membranes of polyamide, cellulose and polypropylene were investigated as potential substrata for hepatocyte immobilisation in bioreactors for hybrid liver support systems. Membranes were subjected to a cytocompatibility test in which the attachment and morphology of primary hepatocytes were evaluated. The effect of coating with collagen and fibronectin was also studied.

The relevance of murine animal models to study the development of allergic bronchial asthma.

Bronchial asthma (BA) develops on the basis of a genetic predisposition and involves a characteristic sequence of changes in immune functions. In the immunopathogenesis, several phases can be distinguished: the initial stage is defined as the development of allergic sensitization. This step is dependent on: (i) T cell activation; (ii) IL-4 production; (ii) IgE synthesis; and (iv) mediator release by effector cells.

[Leiomyosarcoma of the pulmonary artery].

In a 58-year-old man, a leiomyosarcoma was found to be the cause of unclear thoracal pain on the right side. The initial diagnose was an embolus of the pulmonary artery. The MRI showed a suspicious area similar to an intravasal tumor.

Improved hepatocyte in vitro maintenance in a culture model with woven multicompartment capillary systems: electron microscopy studies.

Primary pig hepatocytes form a tissuelike structure in an in vitro culture model that has provision for three-dimensional cell orientation, cell aggregation, decentralized cell perfusion with low metabolite gradients, integral oxygenation, and nonparenchymal cell coculture. Scanning electron microscopy (SEM) has shown that hepatocytes spontaneously form aggregates in a three-dimensional structure between and on the surface of artificial capillaries. Transmission electron microscopy (TEM) has shown that after 7 weeks of in vitro perfusion, the cell ultrastructure remains similar to that of the parenchyma in vivo.

[High-resolution magnetic resonance tomography (HR-MRT) of the pleura and thoracic wall: normal findings and pathological changes].

Aim: To determine the value of high-resolution MRI in pleural and chest wall diseases, the normal and pathologic costal pleura and adjacent chest wall between paravertebral and the axillary region were examined with contrast enhanced high-resolution T1-weighted MRI images using a surface coil.

Material And Methods: Normal anatomy was evaluated in 5 healthy volunteers and a normal specimen of the thoracic wall, and correlation was made with corresponding HR-CT and histologic sections. CT-proved focal and diffuse changes of the pleura and the chest wall in 36 patients underwent HR-MRI, and visual comparison of MRI and CT was done retrospectively.

Liver-intestine cadherin: molecular cloning and characterization of a novel Ca(2+)-dependent cell adhesion molecule expressed in liver and intestine.

A novel member of the cadherin family of cell adhesion molecules has been characterized by cloning from rat liver, sequencing of the corresponding cDNA, and functional analysis after heterologous expression in nonadhesive S2 cells. cDNA clones were isolated using a polyclonal antibody inhibiting Ca(2+)-dependent intercellular adhesion of hepatoma cells. As inferred from the deduced amino acid sequence, the novel molecule has homologies with E-, P-, and N-cadherins, but differs from these classical cadherins in four characteristics.

Comparison of four methods for mass hepatocyte isolation from pig and human livers.

Using the pig liver, parameters for large scale hepatocyte isolation were studied in order to develop a technique suitable for human organs. These investigations led to a 5-step modification of the original 2-step method. Four groups were compared.

Hepatocyte culture between woven capillary networks: a microscopy study.

A multi-compartment capillary membrane culture model with independently perfused three-dimensionally woven capillaries was developed for immobilization of hepatocytes in bioreactors. This enables spatial restructuring of cells and enhanced mass transfer performance with more efficient oxygenation and metabolite exchange. Seeding density defines cell behaviour in this model.

Hepatocyte aggregate culture technique for bioreactors in hybrid liver support systems.

Utilizing a modified culture technique for hepatocytes, a high performance suspension culture is possible in which hepatocytes spontaneously form cell aggregates. The aggregates of 20-100 cells have been histologically confirmed to hold a three-dimensional structure, they show a long-term external metabolism and a survival time comparable with standard adhesion cultures. This technique has several advantages in the construction of large scale bioreactors for hybrid liver support systems.

A case of rhinoscleroma cured with ciprofloxacin.

The diagnosis of rhinoscleroma was confirmed in a 17-year-old female patient from Tehran, Iran, suffering from a roundish tumour of the nose. Prior treatment with streptomycin and tetracycline had been unsuccessful. A three-month course of high-dose oral ciprofloxacin (750 mg b.

[Esthesioneuroblastoma: diagnostic conformation by immunohistology and electron microscopy].

The aesthesioneuroblastoma (olfactory neuroma) is a rare neuroepithelial tumour of the nasal cavity, the clinical symptoms of which become manifest very late in most patients. In general, with the light microscope used routinely (fixation of the specimens with formaldehyde, staining with haematoxylin-eosine) a malignant round cell neoplasia can be recognised without further differentiation. To ensure the diagnosis of an aesthesioneuroblastoma, immunohistological techniques (vimentin, S-100 protein, neurofilaments, neuron-specific enolase) are undoubtedly necessary.

Abnormal length of cilia--a cause of primary ciliary dyskinesia--a case report.

A 7-year-old Turkish boy had suffered from chronic coughing from early childhood. Severe bronchiectasis in the right lung was confirmed by bronchography. Ciliary beat frequency determined in a bronchial mucosal biopsy was markedly decreased (5.

Prevention of catheter-related infections by a new, catheter-restricted antibiotic filling technique.

Catheter-related infections pose a hazard to both humans and laboratory animals. The aim of this study was to develop a technique preventing bacterial colonization of intravascular catheters. In 27 dogs a total of 70 catheters were implanted.