Development of an abdominal wall abscess caused by fish bone ingestion: a case report.

Background: A small percentage of patients with foreign body ingestion develop complications, which have a variety of clinical presentations. Less than 1% of cases require surgical intervention. We present a patient with an abdominal wall abscess resulting from a fish bone that pierced the cecum.

Primary hepatic carcinosarcoma with multimodal treatment.

Hepatic carcinosarcoma (HCS) generally presents in advanced stages, demonstrates aggressive behavior, and has a poor prognosis. Other than curative primary resection, no effective treatment options exist. We present a case of resected HCS with four repeat resections for solitary lymph node recurrence followed by chemoradiotherapy with doxorubicin and ifosfamide.

Low intensity pulsed ultrasound (LIPUS) influences the multilineage differentiation of mesenchymal stem and progenitor cell lines through ROCK-Cot/Tpl2-MEK-ERK signaling pathway.

Mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) are pluripotent cells that can differentiate into multilineage cell types, including adipocytes and osteoblasts. Mechanical stimulus is one of the crucial factors in regulating MSC differentiation. However, it remains unknown how mechanical stimulus affects the balance between adipogenesis and osteogenesis.

LPS-induced chemokine expression in both MyD88-dependent and -independent manners is regulated by Cot/Tpl2-ERK axis in macrophages.

LPS signaling is mediated through MyD88-dependent and -independent pathways, activating NF-?B, MAP kinases and IRF3. Cot/Tpl2 is an essential upstream kinase in LPS-mediated activation of ERKs. Here we explore the roles of MyD88 and Cot/Tpl2 in LPS-induced chemokine expression by studying myd88(-/-) and cot/tpl2(-/-) macrophages.

Molecular mechanisms of the inhibitory effect of lipopolysaccharide (LPS) on osteoblast differentiation.

Osteoblasts express Toll like receptor (TLR) 4 and produce osteoclast-activating cytokines in response to the stimulation by lipopolysaccharide (LPS). It has recently been reported that LPS exerts an inhibitory effect on osteoblast differentiation into osteocytes. However, the molecular mechanisms of this inhibitory effect remain ambiguous.

Comprehensive screening for antigens overexpressed on carcinomas via isolation of human mAbs that may be therapeutic.

Although several murine mAbs that have been humanized became useful therapeutic agents against a few malignancies, therapeutic Abs are not yet available for the majority of the human cancers because of our lack of knowledge of which antigens (Ags) can become useful targets. In the present study we established a procedure for comprehensive identification of such Ags through the extensive isolation of human mAbs that may become therapeutic. Using the phage-display Ab library we isolated a large number of human mAbs that bind to the surface of tumor cells.

Immunological cell situation in the skin of atopic model mice.

Background: We observed nishikinezumi, cinnamon-coloured (NC)/Fujita (F) mice aged between 5 and 28 weeks. These NC mice have skin eruptions that resemble human atopic dermatitis (AD) under conventional circumstances.

Object: We investigated the skin of eruptive and non-eruptive lesions in NC/F mice by using haematoxylin-eosin (H&E) staining, toluidine blue staining and immunohistopathological study with immunoglobulin (Ig)EepsilonRI, CD23, interleukin (IL)-4, IL-5, interferon (INF)-gamma and Ia antigen.

Composite tumor of mucinous cystadenoma and somatostatinoma of the kidney.

Approximately 30 cases of carcinoid tumor of the kidney have been reported in the English literature, including three cases found as components of teratomas. Renal composite tumors associated with somatostatinoma have not been described. A 53-year-old female presented with an incidentally found right renal cystic lesion.

Inhibition of N-ethyl-N'-nitro-N-nitrosoguanidine-induced Duodenal Tumorigenesis in Mice by Whole-leaf Aloe arborescens Miller var. natalensis Berger.

We examined the modifying effects of freeze-dried whole-leaf Aloe arborescens Miller var. natalensis Berger (designated as 'ALOE') on N-ethyl-N'-nitro-N-nitrosoguanidine (ENNG)-induced duodenal tumorigenesis in C57BL/6 mice. Experiment 1: Male mice were given ENNG in drinking water for the first 4 weeks, and then 10% ALOE in basal diet for 16 weeks.

Inhibitory Effects of Heated Garlic on N-Ethyl-N'-nitro-N-nitrosoguanidine-induced Carcinogenesis in the Duodenum and Jejunum of C57BL/6 Mice.

We examined the modifying effects of heated garlic (Allium sativum L.) on N-ethyl-N'-nitro-N-nitrosoguanidine (ENNG)-induced duodenal and jejunal carcinogenesis in mice. Heated garlic powder used in this study was prepared as follows: unpeeled garlic bulbs were blanched in boiling water for 6 min, and then peeled, the cloves being crushed, homogenized, and finally freeze-dried.

It is true that, when Langerhans cells migrate from the skin to the lymph node, they are transported via lymph vessels.

Background: Generally, Langerhans cells deliver antigen information from the skin to the draining lymph nodes via lymph vessels.

Methods: By immunohistopathology, we investigated the delivery route of Langerhans cells in human skin using CD1a and S-100 protein antibodies.

Results: We noted CD1a- and S-100-positive Langerhans cells in the lymph vessels of the dermis.

Primary cutaneous CD30-positive anaplastic large cell lymphoma analysis.

Objective: To examine 10 cases with primary cutaneous CD30-positive anaplastic large cell lymphoma (ALCL), analyze their clinical manifestations and pathological and immunohistochemical features, and improve early diagnosis of this disease.

Methods: We studied the morphological characteristics of primary cutaneous CD30-positive ALCL using histopathological methods. Leukocyte common antigen (LCA), CD20, CD30, CD45RO, CD68, epithelial membrane antigen (EMA), cytokeratin (CK) and HMB45 antibodies were used to determine the expression of their respective antigens from routine paraffin samples of the patients.

Gene therapy for mitochondrial disease by delivering restriction endonuclease SmaI into mitochondria.

The restriction endonuclease SmaI has been used for the diagnosis of neurogenic muscle weakness, ataxia and retinitis pigmentosa disease or Leigh's disease, caused by the Mt8993T-->G mutation which results in a Leu156Arg replacement that blocks proton translocation activity of subunit a of F(0)F(1)-ATPase. Our ultimate goal is to apply SmaI to gene therapy for this disease, because the mutant mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) coexists with the wild-type mtDNA (heteroplasmy), and because only the mutant mtDNA, but not the wild-type mtDNA, is selectively restricted by the enzyme. For this purpose, we transiently expressed the SmaI gene fused to a mitochondrial targeting sequence in cybrids carrying the mutant mtDNA.

Experimental study on phototoxicity and the photosensitization potential of ketoprofen, suprofen, tiaprofenic acid and benzophenone and the photocross-reactivity in guinea pigs.

Background: Ketoprofen, suprofen and tiaprofenic acid are arylpropionic anti-inflammatories. Their chemical structures share the same elements as the benzoyl radical and the tiophene ring. We experienced nine cases of ketoprofen photoallergy, seven cases of suprofen photoallergy and three cases of tiaprofenic photoallergy.

Contact urticaria due to polyethylene gloves.

We report a rare case of contact urticaria due to polyethylene gloves. The patient, a 46-year-old cook, had had had chronic urticaria since 1985, and first visited our hospital in June 2000. We began by prescribing antihistamine and antiallergenic drugs for him, but his condition did not improve.

Male siblings with dyserythropoiesis, microcephaly and intrauterine growth retardation.

Male siblings with intrauterine growth retardation, hydrops, mild liver dysfunction, chronic diarrhoea, failure to thrive and microcephaly are reported. In both patients, the intrauterine growth retardation was detected in the second trimester of pregnancy. Relatively severe early onset neonatal jaundice, microcytosis, anisocytosis and abnormal iron metabolism were also seen.

An effective method for suspicious cases in urinary cytodiagnosis by the combined use of scanning and transmission electron microscopy following light microscopy.

In urinary cytodiagnosis, pathological characterization of atypical cells is sometimes difficult because cells in urine samples tend to be degenerated. To overcome this problem, we adopted serial examination under light microscopy (LM), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), and transmission electron microscopy (TEM). Five patients with transitional cell carcinoma primarily developed in the bladder, three patients with dysplastic cells, and one patient with metastatic and infiltrative colorectal carcinoma were subjects of the present study.

A case of AFP-producing early gastric carcinoma with rapid growth liver metastasis.

An 84-year-old man presented with complaints of epigastric discomfort. Upper gastrointestinal series and endoscopy showed an elevated lesion at the posterior wall of greater curvature on the gastric fundus. Diagnosed as moderately differentiated tubular adenocarcinoma by biopsy, wedge resection and 4sa regional lymph node dissection were carried out.

Increased activity and intranuclear expression of phospholipase D2 in human renal cancer.

We examined the PLD activities of human renal cancers and found that the PLD2 activity was greatly elevated in almost all cases examined as compared with the adjacent normal region. Western blot analysis showed the increased levels of PLD2 protein, but the PLD1 was not discernible. The oleate-dependent PU) activity was very low but appeared to increase in most cases.

Primary malignant melanoma arising from the base of the tongue.

A rare case of malignant melanoma of the base of the tongue in a 65-year-old Japanese woman is described. The primary and metastatic tumors were treated by surgery, chemohormone and immunotherapy. There was no recurrence for 5 years after the initial diagnosis.