A selective cyclooxygenase-2 inhibitor, NS-398, inhibits cell growth by cell cycle arrest in a human malignant fibrous histiocytoma cell line.

Background: NS-398, a selective cyclooxygenase-2 (COX-2) inhibitor, has been shown to suppress cell proliferation and induce apoptosis in a variety of human cancer cell lines in vitro, except for sarcoma cell lines. The aim of this study was to examine the effect of NS-398 on two human malignant fibrous histiocytoma (MFH) cell lines: MFH-ino and MFH-ToE.

Materials And Methods: We investigated the effect of NS-398 at various concentrations on the growth of MFH cell lines using cell proliferation assay, cell cycle analysis and EIA assay of PGE2 production.

[Study on a method for delivering scFv recombinant antibody into cultured cells].

We try to develop a method for delivering antibody from blood circulation through blood brain barrier to brain. In order to achieve this goal, antibody has to cross cellular membrane of brain capillary endothelial cells twice. As a first step of our study, we examined the ability for scFv antibody to cross cellular membrane of RBL-2H3 cells once and be delivered into the inside of the cultured cells with the help of TAT peptide.

Case-control study of risk factors for fractures of the distal radius and proximal humerus among the Japanese population.

We conducted a case-control study to identify risk factors for fractures of the distal radius and proximal humerus. Subjects were selected from women aged 45 and over with distal radius and proximal humerus fractures, resulting from minor trauma. Two age- and gender-matched controls for each case were selected from patients who subsequently visited the same clinic for treatment of conditions other than fractures.

Intraspinal synovial cyst communicating with the C1-C2 facet joints and subarachnoid space associated with rheumatoid atlantoaxial instability.

Study Design: The first case of intraspinal synovial cyst communicating with the C1-C2 facet joints and subarachnoid space associated with rheumatoid atlantoaxial instability is presented.

Objectives: To describe the diagnosis and successful treatment of a synovial cyst of the C1-C2 junction in a patient with rheumatoid arthritis and atlantoaxial instability.

Summary Of Background Data: Intraspinal synovial cysts of the C1-C2 junction are extremely rare.

Oral sensitization of W/W(v) mice with ovalbumin and possible involvement of the decrease in gammadelta-T cells.

Mast-cell-deficient WBB6F1-W/W(v) mice (W/W(v)) and congenic wild-type (+/+) mice were sensitized by oral administration of 0.1 or 1.0 mg ovalbumin (OVA) in the form of gavage every day for 9 weeks, and active systemic anaphylaxis (ASA) was induced by intraperitoneal injection of OVA.

Determination of enzymatic activity of 5-enolpyruvylshikimate-3-phosphate synthase by LC/MS.

A liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry (LC/MS) method for determining the enzymatic activity of 5-enolpyruvylshikimate-3-phosphate synthase (EPSP synthase), an enzyme of the shikimate pathway, was developed. EPSP synthase catalyzes the formation of 5-enolpyruvylshikimate-3-phosphate (EPSP) from shikimate-3-phosphate (S-3-P) and phosphoenolpyruvate (PEP) in microorganisms and plants. The enzymatic activity of EPSP synthase was assessed by the determination of EPSP after a 30-min incubation with S-3-P and PEP using the LC/MS system.

Comparative study of in vitro digestibility of food proteins and effect of preheating on the digestion.

Information on the comparative digestibility of food allergens and non-allergenic proteins is crucial when stability to digestion is to be used as a criterion to assess the allergenic potential of novel proteins. Preheating effect on in vitro digestibility has not been fully examined. In this study we investigated the preheating effect of in vitro digestibility of several proteins and their proteolytic fragments in simulated gastric fluid (SGF) and simulated intestinal fluid (SIF).

Functional haplotypes of PADI4, encoding citrullinating enzyme peptidylarginine deiminase 4, are associated with rheumatoid arthritis.

Individuals with rheumatoid arthritis frequently have autoantibodies to citrullinated peptides, suggesting the involvement of the peptidylarginine deiminases citrullinating enzymes (encoded by PADI genes) in rheumatoid arthritis. Previous linkage studies have shown that a susceptibility locus for rheumatoid arthritis includes four PADI genes but did not establish which PADI gene confers susceptibility to rheumatoid arthritis. We used a case-control linkage disequilibrium study to show that PADI type 4 is a susceptibility locus for rheumatoid arthritis (P = 0.

Presence and primary sequence of a high-affinity IgG receptor on canine mastocytoma (CM-MC) cells.

Mast cells play a central role in IgE-dependent allergic responses. Although they have been reported to express only low-affinity IgG receptors and no high-affinity receptors (FcgammaRI), our recent study showed that canine mastocytoma CM-MC cells are activated by monomeric canine IgG, suggesting the presence of FcgammaRI on CM-MC cells. In the present study, we measured the affinity of canine IgG with CM-MC cells, determined the presence of the FcgammaRI protein and mRNA, and identified the cDNA sequence of it.

Effect of minodronic acid (ONO-5920) on bone mineral density and arthritis in adult rats with collagen-induced arthritis.

Objective: To study the effect of minodronic acid (ONO-5920) on bone loss and arthritis in rats with collagen-induced arthritis (CIA) treated according to 2 different schedules.

Methods: Four groups of female Sprague-Dawley rats (7 months old) were studied: rats without CIA treated with vehicle (controls), CIA rats treated with vehicle (CIA-V), CIA rats treated therapeutically with minodronic acid (CIA-T), and CIA rats treated prophylactically with minodronic acid (CIA-P). Minodronic acid was administered orally at 0.

[Clinical trials of alendronate].

A number of large scale double-blind controlled studies with alendronate were carried out to evaluate therapeutic efficacy for osteoporotics. Alendronate administered orally at 5 mg per day for 7 years induced an average 8.2% increase of bone mineral density in the spine and 2.

Effect of subchronic feeding of genetically modified corn (CBH351) on immune system in BN rats and B10A mice.

Subchronic animal feeding studies to examine the effect on the immune system of genetically modified corn CBH351, which contains the Cry9C protein derived from Bacillus thuringiensis subspecies tolworthi, were conducted in female BN rats and B10A mice. The studies were designed to compare the effect of a line of genetically modified corn CBH351 (GM corn) with that of isoline corn (non-GM corn). Heat-treated corn meal was incorporated into the diets of the rats and mice at a concentration of 50%.

Application of human Fc epsilon RI alpha-chain-transfected RBL-2H3 cells for estimation of active serum IgE.

We transfected the alpha-chain of human FcepsilonRI into rat basophilic leukemia cell line RBL-2H3, established several stable transfected cells, and screened them by beta-hexosaminidase release induced by sensitization with human IgE and stimulation with anti-human IgE antibody. A cloned cell line RBL-hEIa-2B12 was the strongest responder among the transfected cell clones. The concentrations of cytosolic free Ca2+ concentration in the human IgE-sensitized cells increased after stimulation with anti-human IgE antibody.

Gene expression profiling of Ca2+-atpase inhibitor DTBHQ and antigen-stimulated RBL-2H3 mast cells.

Objective And Design: Ca2+ signaling is critical for mast cell activation by antigen stimulation, and we previously described that the signaling can be mimicked by Ca2+-ATPase inhibitors. We therefore investigated the effect of the Ca2+-ATPase inhibitor and antigen stimulation on the gene expression profiles of RBL-2H3 mast cells.

Material: A Ca2+-ATPase inhibitor, 2,5-di(tert-butyl)-1,4-hydroquinone (DTBHQ), an antigen (dinitrophenylated BSA), a high-density oligonucleotide microarray (Affymetrix GeneChip) technique, and a well-characterized rat mast cell line RBL-2H3 were used.

The canine mast cell activation via CRP.

We report here canine mastocytoma-derived cell (CMMC) activation via two pentraxin, limulus- and human-CRP. Mast cell chemotaxis was measured by Boyden's blindwell chamber. To confirm that the cell migration was chemotactic, "checkerboard" analysis was performed.

Correlation between bone mineral density and intervertebral disk degeneration in pre- and postmenopausal women.

The purpose of this study was to investigate the relationship between intervertebral disk degeneration and bone mass. Magnetic resonance imaging was performed to evaluate lumbar disk degeneration according to Thompson's classification (grades 1 and 2, normal disk; grades 3, 4, and 5, degenerated disk), and bone mineral density (BMD) in the lumbar vertebrae, radius, and calcaneus was measured by dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry for 90 women (22-74 years old). The relationship between the grade of intervertebral disk degeneration and the BMD ( Z score) was analyzed in pre- and postmenopausal women.

IgG-mediated signal transduction in canine mastocytoma-derived cells.

Background: We have reported canine cutaneous mastocytoma-derived cells named CM-MC sensitized with monomeric IgG released histamine upon anti-IgG stimulation. However, IgG or IgE-mediated signal transduction in the cells remains to be examined.

Methods: Monomeric IgG-binding to cells was measured by flow cytometry using FITC-anti-IgG.

Development of the attachment zones in the rat anterior cruciate ligament: changes in the distributions of proliferating cells and fibrillar collagens during postnatal growth.

The development of the attachment zones of the anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) is an important consideration when examining the structural properties. The aim of this study was to elucidate the morphological changes and the distribution of proliferating cells and collagen types I, II and III at the attachment zones of the rat ACL during postnatal growth. The majority of proliferating cell nuclear antigen (PCNA) immunostained cells were noted near the ligament insertion, especially at the tibial site, and these cells gradually changed to fibrochondrocyte-like cells but still produced collagen types I and III at birth until one month old when rapid longitudinal growth of the ACL took place.

Nerve-mast cell (RBL) interaction: RBL membrane ruffling occurs at the contact site with an activated neurite.

Mast cell-neurite interaction serves as a model for neuroimmune interaction. We have shown that neurite-mast cell communication can occur via substance P interacting with neurokinin (NK)-1 receptors on the mucosal mast cell-like cell, the rat basophilic leukemia (RBL) cell. Neurite (murine superior cervical ganglia) and RBL cell [expressing the granule-associated antigen CD63-green fluorescent protein (GFP) conjugate] cocultures were established and stimulated with bradykinin (BK; 10 nM) or scorpion venom (SV; 10 pg/ml), both of which activate only neurites.

Spontaneous fusion of isthmic spondylolisthesis after discitis: a case report.

This is the first case report of a child with isthmic spondylolisthesis and discitis who had spontaneous fusion develop at an unstable level with relief of symptoms after nonoperative treatment. Although the blood culture was negative, the 14-year-old boy with Grade III isthmic spondylolisthesis of L5 was diagnosed with discitis at the L5-S1 level, based on clinical findings, elevated C-reactive protein, plain radiographs, and magnetic resonance imaging scans. The patient was treated with antibiotics for 19 weeks and bed rest for 4 weeks followed by immobilization in a hip spica cast for 8 weeks and a thoracolumbosacral orthosis for an additional 12 weeks.

Increased digestibility of two products in genetically modified food (CP4-EPSPS and Cry1Ab) after preheating.

We performed experiments on in vitro digestion of newly expressed proteins by SGF (simulated gastric fluid) and SIF (simulated intestinal fluid) to assess the allergenicity of food components derived from biotechnological modification. For newly expressed proteins, we chose CP4-EPSPS (5-enolpyruvylshikimate-3-phosphate synthase from Agrobacterium sp. strain CP4) and Cry1Ab derived from Bacillus thuringiensis subsp.

Cross-sectional and longitudinal study of osteoporosis in patients with rheumatoid arthritis.

To elucidate the pathology of osteoporosis associated with rheumatoid arthritis (RA), bone mass measurements were performed in 146 female patients with RA and compared with those in 150 age-matched female patients with osteoarthritis (OA) and postmenopausal osteoporosis (OP). Bone mineral density (BMD) was measured at the lumbar spine (L-BMD), the mid-radius (MR-BMD) and the calcaneus (C-BMD) by dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry (DXA), and at the distal radius by peripheral quantitative computed tomography (pQCT). The RA group showed significantly lower BMD at all sites, except L-BMD, than the OA group.

mRNA expression of multiple cytochrome p450 isozymes in four types of cultured skin cells.

Background: Many drugs are known to induce allergic reactions in the skin. The metabolic activation of drugs resulting in the formation of protein adducts is thought to be a first step in the induction of these allergic reactions. We postulated that dermal tissue might be a site of drug activation by cytochrome P450 (CYP) isozymes.

[Hypersensitivity about environmental chemicals--mainly about food allergy].

The hypersensitivity of environmental chemicals and natural products has been reviewed. Among environmental chemicals, small molecular weight molecules work as hapten and cause immediate-type and delayed-type hypersensitivity. Among natural products, relatively lower molecular weight protein or glycoprotein (MW 10,000-70,000 kDa) work as allergen and cause mainly immediate-type hypersensitivity.