Periportal hepatocyte proliferation at midgestation governs maternal glucose homeostasis in mice.

The maternal liver is challenged by metabolic demands throughout pregnancy. However, hepatocyte dynamics and their physiological significance in pregnancy remain unclear. Here, we show in mice that hepatocyte proliferation is spatiotemporally regulated in each liver lobular zone during pregnancy, with transient proliferation of periportal and pericentral hepatocytes during mid and late gestation, respectively.

Evolutionary histories of breast cancer and related clones.

Recent studies have documented frequent evolution of clones carrying common cancer mutations in apparently normal tissues, which are implicated in cancer development. However, our knowledge is still missing with regard to what additional driver events take place in what order, before one or more of these clones in normal tissues ultimately evolve to cancer. Here, using phylogenetic analyses of multiple microdissected samples from both cancer and non-cancer lesions, we show unique evolutionary histories of breast cancers harbouring der(1;16), a common driver alteration found in roughly 20% of breast cancers.

Optimization of prediction methods for risk assessment of pathogenic germline variants in the Japanese population.

Predicting pathogenic germline variants (PGVs) in breast cancer patients is important for selecting optimal therapeutics and implementing risk reduction strategies. However, PGV risk factors and the performance of prediction methods in the Japanese population remain unclear. We investigated clinicopathological risk factors using the Tyrer-Cuzick (TC) breast cancer risk evaluation tool to predict BRCA PGVs in unselected Japanese breast cancer patients (n = 1,995).

Transaortic cryoablation of uncommon atrioventricular nodal reentrant tachycardia after Senning and Rastelli operations.

A 36-years-old woman with a congenital corrected transposition of the great arteries, who underwent Senning and Rastelli operations, was admitted with a symptomatic supraventricular tachycardia. During an electrophysiological study, uncommon atrioventricular (AV) nodal reentrant tachycardia was induced. The coronary veins and coronary sinus did not connect to the systemic venous atrium.

Transvenous shock-only implantable cardioverter defibrillator after an atrio-pulmonary Fontan surgery.

A 42-year-old woman with tricuspid atresia who underwent a Fontan surgery (atrio-pulmonary connection) was admitted to our hospital due to symptomatic ventricular tachycardia (VT). A defibrillation lead was implanted in a distal site of a coronary vein since there was no usual entry to the ventricle. Ventricular pacing was impossible due to the high threshold, however, good sensing was obtained.

Genetic and clinical landscape of breast cancers with germline BRCA1/2 variants.

The genetic and clinical characteristics of breast tumors with germline variants, including their association with biallelic inactivation through loss-of-heterozygosity (LOH) and second somatic mutations, remain elusive. We analyzed germline variants of 11 breast cancer susceptibility genes for 1,995 Japanese breast cancer patients, and identified 101 (5.1%) pathogenic variants, including 62 BRCA2 and 15 BRCA1 mutations.

Impact of preoperative electrophysiological intervention on occurrence of peri/postoperative supraventricular tachycardia following Fontan surgery.

Background: Little is known about the effects of preoperative electrophysiological study (EPS) and catheter ablation (CA) in Fontan surgery candidates with supraventricular tachycardia (SVT).

Objective: The purpose of this study was to investigate the clinical impact of EPS-guided intervention in Fontan surgery candidates with preceding SVT events.

Methods: A total of 109 consecutive patients with a history of SVT before Fontan surgery were divided into 3 groups: 44 in whom EPS with CA was attempted (CA group); 21 in whom EPS without CA was attempted (EPS group); and 44 in whom EPS was not performed (N group).

High-resolution imaging mass spectrometry combined with transcriptomic analysis identified a link between fatty acid composition of phosphatidylinositols and the immune checkpoint pathway at the primary tumour site of breast cancer.

Background: The fatty acid (FA) composition of phosphatidylinositols (PIs) is tightly regulated in mammalian tissue since its disruption impairs normal cellular functions. We previously found its significant alteration in breast cancer by using matrix-assisted laser desorption and ionisation imaging mass spectrometry (MALDI-IMS).

Methods: We visualised the histological distribution of PIs containing different FAs in 65 primary breast cancer tissues using MALDI-IMS and investigated its association with clinicopathological features and gene expression profiles.

Long-Term Efficacy of Implantable Cardioverter Defibrillator in Repaired Tetralogy of Fallot - Role of Anti-tachycardia Pacing.

Background: Tetralogy of Fallot (TOF) is one of the common congenital heart diseases (CHD) in implantable cardioverter defibrillator (ICD) recipients, but few studies have reported the long-term outcomes of and the anti-tachycardia pacing (ATP) efficacy in repaired TOF.Methods and Results:Twenty-one repaired TOF patients with an ICD implanted between April 2003 and March 2015 were investigated retrospectively. ICD therapy and clinical outcome were analyzed.

Successful catheter ablation of ventricular tachycardia in a patient with congenitally corrected transposition of great arteries after double switch operation.

Ventricular tachycardia (VT) may cause sudden death late after repair of congenital heart disease. Radiofrequency catheter ablation (CA) of VT can be effective but may be hampered by hypertrophied myocardium or prosthetic material. A 33-year-old man with congenitally corrected transposition of the great arteries (ccTGA) had undergone a double switch operation (DSO) with the combined Mustard and Rastelli procedures when he was 10 years old.

Pattern of RECK CpG methylation as a potential marker for predicting breast cancer prognosis and drug-sensitivity.

The membrane-anchored glycoprotein RECK negatively regulates multiple metalloproteinases and is frequently downregulated in tumors. Forced RECK expression in cancer cells results in suppression of tumor angiogenesis, invasion, and metastasis in xenograft models. A previous methylome study on breast cancer tissues detected inverse correlation between RECK CpG methylation (in an intron-1 region) and relapse-free survival.

A homeobox protein, NKX6.1, up-regulates interleukin-6 expression for cell growth in basal-like breast cancer cells.

Among breast cancer subtypes, basal-like breast cancer is particularly aggressive, and research on the molecules involved in its pathology might contribute to therapy. In this study, we found that expression of NKX6.1, a homeobox transcription factor, is higher in basal-like breast cancer than in other subtypes.

Sudden cardiac arrest associated with an anomalous aortic origin of the left coronary artery from the opposite sinus of valsalva.

A 13-year-old boy was brought to our hospital after recovering from ventricular fibrillation that occurred after an episode of chest pain during training with his soccer team. Subsequent 64-slice multidetector computed tomography revealed the left coronary artery arising from the right sinus of Valsalva, which coursed between the ascending aorta and root of the main pulmonary artery. Surgical correction including unroofing of the left coronary ostium and pulmonary artery translocation was performed successfully.

[Possible predictors of discontinuation of basal-flow of postoperative patient-controlled analgesia].

Background: The purpose of this study was to identify possible predictors of discontinuation of basal-flow of postoperative patient-controlled analgesia.

Methods: We reviewed postoperative pain assessment records by the postoperative pain service team from April 2010 to July 2011 in which surgical patients were provided with intravenous or epidural patient-controlled analgesia (IV-PCA or Epi-PCA). From these data, we extracted cases with discontinuation of basal-flow of PCA, and candidate variables such as patients' characteristics, preoperative and intraoperative variables were assessed.

[A patient with primary breast cancer who responded remarkably well to neoadjuvant chemotherapy with FEC100 followed by Abraxane].

A 49-year-old woman visited our hospital presentind with a right breast lump. She underwent core needle biopsy, and her disease was diagnosed as breast cancer(invasive ductal carcinoma, ER slightly positive, PgR and HER2 negative). We chose neoadjuvant chemotherapy because the tumor size was over 3 cm in diameter with a histological grade III, and she asked to have her breast conserved.

A dog with acute myelomonocytic leukemia.

A three-year-old dog with marked leukocytosis, lymphadenopathy, and diarrhea showed an increase in unidentified blasts in the peripheral blood, and they were proliferated in the bone marrow. The dog was diagnosed with myelomonocytic leukemia (M4) because the blast cells were demonstrated by cytochemical staining to be both myeloid and monocytic cells. Although the dog was treated with a multi-combination chemotherapy and induction therapy using vitamin K2, it died on day 47 after the first admission.

[Difficult airway management during emergency tracheostomy in a patient with severe rheumatoid arthritis].

We experienced difficult airway management in a 65-year-old woman with acute dyspnea due to bilateral recurrent nerve palsy suffering from severe rheumatoid arthritis for fifty years. Her cervical spine was ankylosed and could not be extended at all. Tracheostomy was planned under local anesthesia because of difficulty of endotracheal intubation, possibility of airway obstruction and laryngeal edema.