[A case of alpha-fetoprotein-producing fetal gut-like small intestinal cancer].

A 72-year-old Japanese woman was admitted because of vomiting and abdominal pain. An enhanced computed tomography scan showed a small intestinal obstruction due to ileal wall thickening and multiple liver metastases. Her serum alpha-fetoprotein (AFP) level was high at 1671.

CD40 expression in HCV-associated chronic liver diseases.

CD40 is expressed primarily on B cells and plays an important role in antigen presentation, B cell proliferation, and T cell activation. It has been reported that the CD40 signal modulates apoptosis and has an anti-viral effect in certain cells. Therefore, we investigated the expression and the function of CD40 in HCV-associated chronic liver disease.

Cellular apoptosis susceptibility protein and proliferation in human hepatocellular carcinoma.

The cellular apoptosis susceptibility protein (CAS) is the human homologue of the product of the essential yeast chromosome segregation gene, CSE1, and has important roles in tumor necrosis factor (TNF)-induced apoptosis and cell proliferation. In this study, we used immunoblotting and immunohistochemistry to look at CAS expression in human hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) cells. We also studied the correlation between CAS expression and cell proliferation.

Augmentation of tumor necrosis factor family-induced apoptosis by E3330 in human hepatocellular carcinoma cell lines via inhibition of NF kappa B.

Aim: To investigate the reduction of cell viability in human hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) cell lines induced by inhibition of nuclear factor kappa B (NF kappa B).

Methods: HLE, SKHep1, and HepG2 were incubated and E3330 was used to compare the stimulation of some chemotherapeutic drugs with that of TNF family, Fas ligand, TNF alpha and TNF-related apoptosis-inducing ligand (TRAIL) at the point of the reduction of cell viability by inhibiting NF kappa B.

Results: E3330 decreased NF kappa B levels in HLE cells stimulated by TNF and TRAIL.

Different effects of bile acids, ursodeoxycholic acid and deoxycholic acid, on cell growth and cell death in human colonic adenocarcinoma cells.

Secondary bile acids have been implicated as an important etiological factor in colorectal cancer. We investigated the effects of ursodeoxycholic acid (UDCA) and deoxycholic acid (DCA) on the growth and cytotoxicity in HT29 human colonic adenocarcinoma cells. Proliferation assay, cell cycle analysis and cell death characterization by bile acids were performed.

Acute pancreatitis in patients with ulcerative colitis.

Twenty-two patients (13 men and 9 women; median age, 34 years; range, 15-64 years) with ulcerative colitis (UC) were evaluated to determine the incidence of acute pancreatitis with UC at the First Department of Internal Medicine, Mie University School of Medicine, during 1989-2001. Among these, three patients (14%) were diagnosed as having had episodes of acute pancreatitis during the mean follow-up period of 6 years. One patient presented with acute pancreatitis and UC simultaneously.

Expression of TNF-related apoptosis-inducing ligand in human hepatocellular carcinoma.

TNF-related apoptosis-inducing ligand (TRAIL), as well as Fas ligand, plays a pivotal role in lymphocyte cytotoxicity and the maintenance of immunological homeostasis in various tissues, but its physiological role in immune evasion of cancer cells remains unknown. We have previously shown strong resistance to TRAIL-induced cytotoxicity in human hepatocellular carcinomas (HCCs). The current study investigates the expression of TRAIL in HCCs.

Clinical characteristics and prognostic indicators of drug-induced fulminant hepatic failure.

Background/aims: In most cases of drug-induced liver injury, it is difficult to diagnose whether these cases would progress to fulminant hepatic failure. We investigated the characteristics of non-viral and suspiciously drug-induced fulminant hepatic failure by comparing clinical data between cases that progressed and those that did not progress to fulminant hepatic failure.

Methodology: Ninety-five cases of suspicious drug-induced liver injury including 22 cases that had been treated at our hospital, and subsequently progressed to fulminant hepatic failure were involved in this study.

Overexpression of X-linked inhibitor of apoptosis in human hepatocellular carcinoma.

The X-linked inhibitor of apoptosis (XIAP) is a member of a novel family of inhibitors of apoptosis. Since suppression of apoptosis is fundamentally important for carcinogenesis and tumor growth, we investigated the expression and function of XIAP in human hepatocellular carcinomas (HCCs). XIAP was expressed constitutively in HCC cell lines.

Cellular FLICE/caspase-8-inhibitory protein as a principal regulator of cell death and survival in human hepatocellular carcinoma.

Human hepatocellular carcinomas (HCCs) show resistance to apoptosis mediated by several death receptors. Because cellular FLICE/caspase-8-inhibitory protein (cFLIP) is a recently identified intracellular inhibitor of caspase-8 activation that potently inhibits death signaling mediated by all known death receptors, including Fas, TNF-receptor (TNF-R), and TNF-related apoptosis-inducing ligand receptors (TRAIL-Rs), we investigated the expression and function of cFLIP in human HCCs. We found that cFLIP is constitutively expressed in all human HCC cell lines and is expressed more in human HCC tissues than in nontumor liver tissues.

Transcatheter arterial embolization and extrabeam radiation therapy for subcutaneous seeding of hepatocellular carcinoma by percutaneous ethanol injection.

A 74-year-old man with a hepatocellular carcinoma received percutaneous ethanol injection twice following the needle biopsy of the tumor. Two years and 6 months after percutaneous ethanol injection, a subcutaneous tumor, which appeared to be a needle tract seeding by percutaneous ethanol injection, was recognized in the right lower anterior chest wall. A curative surgical resection was impossible because of the patient's decreased coagulopathy and severe liver dysfunction.

Long-term follow-up of chronic hepatitis C in Japan.

Background/aims: Chronic hepatitis C which exhibits a varied natural course, is becoming a major problem worldwide.

Methodology: In this study, we investigated 161 patients with chronic hepatitis C by repeated liver biopsies. From initial biopsies, we diagnosed 56 patients with chronic persistent hepatitis, 74 with chronic active hepatitis 2A, and 31 with chronic active hepatitis 2B.

The effect of endoscopic injection sclerotherapy on portal blood flow and liver function.

Background/aims: It is still controversial whether endoscopic injection sclerotherapy can affect portal blood flow and liver function. To clarify this issue, we investigated the change in portal blood flow velocity and the relationship between liver function and portal blood flow after sclerotherapy.

Methodology: Ten liver cirrhosis patients with F2 esophageal varices were enrolled in this study.

Hepatic angiosarcoma mimicking cavernous hemangioma on angiography.

A 60-year-old woman was admitted to our department for evaluation of a hepatic mass. The mass was diagnosed as a hemangioma of the liver by abdominal angiography because of typical cotton wool appearance and stretched arterial vessels and no peripheral staining. However, one month later, the mass was surgically removed because of extravasation.

Detection of precore-mutant hepatitis B virus genome in patients with acute and fulminant hepatitis using mutation site-specific assay (MSSA).

Background/aims: Precore mutation of hepatitis B virus was recently been suggested to be involved in the pathogenesis of fulminant hepatitis. In this study, we analyzed the occurrence of precore mutants in patients with acute and fulminant hepatitis B using new simple rapid and sensitive MSSA (mutation site-specific assay) and evaluated this method for predicting prognosis.

Methodology: We analyzed HBV-DNA of 10 patients with fulminant hepatitis B, 15 patients with acute self-limited hepatitis, and 4 patients with acute severe hepatitis using MSSA.

Expression of survivin during liver regeneration.

Survivin functions to suppress cell death and regulate cell division, and is observed uniquely in tumor cells and developmental cells. However, the expression and regulation of survivin in non-transformed cells are not well elucidated. Therefore, we investigated the expression of survivin in a murine liver regeneration model after partial hepatectomy and intraperitoneal carbon tetrachloride (CCl(4)) injection.

Functional expression of tumor necrosis factor-related apoptosis-inducing ligand in human colonic adenocarcinoma cells.

TNF-related apoptosis-inducing ligand (TRAIL) can induce apoptosis in various transformed cell lines. Therefore, we investigated TRAIL sensitivity, TRAIL-induced nuclear factor-kappaB (NF-kappaB) activation, and expression of TRAIL in human colonic adenocarcinoma cell lines (HT-29, LS180, SK-CO-1). All four TRAIL receptors (TRAIL-R1 through TRAIL-R4) are expressed in these cell lines.

Endoscopic sclerotherapy (ethanolamine oleate injection) for acute rectal varices bleeding in a patient with liver cirrhosis.

Treatment for acute rectal bleeding from rectal varices in a patient with liver cirrhosis is often difficult. Herein, we report an elderly male with cirrhosis who successfully underwent endoscopic sclerotherapy for rectal bleeding from rectal varices. He had a history of esophageal varices, which were treated by endoscopic sclerotherapy.

High expression of p21WAF1/CIP1 is correlated with human hepatocellular carcinoma in patients with hepatitis C virus-associated chronic liver diseases.

p21(WAF1/CIP1) (p21) protein is a universal inhibitor of cyclin-dependent kinases and is regulated transcriptionally by p53, which is activated by DNA stress. Hepatocytes in chronic hepatitis receive several DNA stresses by lymphocytes and Kupffer cells. Therefore, we analyzed p21 expression of hepatocytes in hepatitis C virus (HCV)-associated chronic liver diseases and investigated the possible involvement of p21 in hepatocarcinogenesis.

Histone deacetylase inhibitors sensitize human colonic adenocarcinoma cell lines to TNF-related apoptosis inducing ligand-mediated apoptosis.

Histone deacetylase inhibitor (HDAI) induces accumulation of highly acetylated histones by inhibiting the activity of histone deacetylase and inhibits cell proliferation, induces differentiation, and promotes apoptosis. TNF-related apoptosis inducing ligand (TRAIL) induces apoptosis in various human cancer cells, a promising observation because it raises the possibility of a death ligand selectively for tumor cells. However, resistance to TRAIL-induced apoptosis was seen in colonic adenocarcinoma cell lines.

Peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor gamma augments tumor necrosis factor family-induced apoptosis in hepatocellular carcinoma.

Proliferator-activated receptor gamma (PPARgamma) is a nuclear receptor, which mainly associates with adipogenesis, but also appears to facilitate cell differentiation or apoptosis in certain malignant cells. This apoptosis induction by PPARgamma is increased by co-stimulation with tumor necrosis factor (TNF)-alpha-related apoptosis-inducing ligand (TRAIL), a member of the TNF family. In this study, we investigated the effect of PPARgamma on Fas-mediated apoptosis in hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) cell lines.

Laparoscopic ethanol injection therapy for hepatocellular carcinoma.

Ethanol injection into HCC tumors is an effective therapy and percutaneous ethanol injection therapy (PEIT) is performed on many HCC patients. However, there are cases in which PEIT becomes difficult because the HCC could not be detected by ultrasonography or the tumor is located in an area where it is impossible to perform PEIT. Nine patients with HCC underwent laparoscopic ethanol injection therapy (LEIT) in our institution.