Cadmium, lead, and selenium in cord blood and thyroid hormone status of newborns.

Cadmium (Cd), lead (Pb), and selenium (Se) concentrations in cord whole blood, sampled from 24 women at the time of delivery in a hospital in Tokyo in 2005, were determined by inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry with a reaction cell. Signal enhancement caused by nonspectroscopic interference for Se was evident and the standard addition technique was essential for correcting the interference. Median concentration in cord bloods was 0.

Thyroid hormone status of newborns in relation to in utero exposure to PCBs and hydroxylated PCB metabolites.

The associations between in utero exposure to polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) or hydroxylated PCB metabolites (OH-PCBs), and free thyroxin (fT4) or thyroid-stimulating hormone (TSH) status in the newborn were investigated as a pilot study of a large-scale epidemiologic study on in utero PCB or OH-PCB exposure and thyroid function of the newborns. Umbilical cord tissue was used as the media for the biological monitoring of PCBs/OH-PCBs exposure in utero. For the measurement of fT4 and TSH, a heel-prick blood sample spotted on filter paper, which is called Guthrie card, is collected from each neonate at day 4-6 postpartum for this study when the mass screening sampling was performed.

Human cord blood cells transplanted into chronically damaged liver exhibit similar characteristics to functional hepatocytes.

Human umbilical cord blood (CB) cells have many advantages as a source for stem cell transplantation because of immaturity and availability. It has been reported that CB cells transplanted into an injured liver displayed hepatocyte-like phenotypes. However, there have been few studies to characterize CB-derived hepatocyte-like cells (HLCs).

[Influenza complicating pregnancy].

Influenza is a highly contagious acute respiratory infection that is of major clinical importance both in Japan and worldwide. This infection usually is not life-threatening in otherwise healthy adults, but pregnant women do not tolerate serious pulmonary involvement. In previous reports of influenza pandemics, pregnant women have experienced increased risk of morbidity and mortality compared to non-pregnant women.

Human umbilical cord blood as a source of transplantable hepatic progenitor cells.

Human umbilical cord blood (UCB) cells have many advantages as grafts for cell transplantation because of the immaturity of newborn cells compared with adult cells. In contrast to their hematopoietic and mesenchymal potential, it remains unclear whether UCB cells have endodermal competence. Here, with a view to utilize UCB cells for cell transplantation into injured liver, we investigated the hepatic potential of UCB cells both in vitro and in vivo.