Release from persistent T cell receptor engagement and blockade of aryl hydrocarbon receptor activity enhance IL-6-dependent mouse follicular helper T-like cell differentiation in vitro.

Follicular helper T (Tfh) cells are crucial for humoral immunity. Dysregulation of Tfh cell differentiation can cause infectious, allergic, and autoimmune diseases. To elucidate the molecular mechanisms underlying Tfh cell differentiation, we attempted to establish an in vitro mouse model of Tfh cell differentiation in the absence of other cell types.

Non-amplification nucleic acid detection with thio-NAD cycling.

The PCR technique is indispensable in biology and medicine, but some difficulties are associated with its use, including false positive or false negative amplifications. To avoid these issues, a non-amplification nucleic acid detection protocol is needed. In the present study, we propose a method in which nucleic-acid probe hybridization is combined with thio-NAD cycling to detect nucleic acids without amplification.

Urinary adiponectin as a new diagnostic index for chronic kidney disease due to diabetic nephropathy.

Objective: The chronic kidney disease (CKD) is widely diagnosed on the basis of albuminuria and the glomerular filtration rate. A more precise diagnosis of CKD, however, requires the assessment of other factors. Urinary adiponectin recently attracted attention for CKD assessment, but evaluation is difficult due to the very low concentration of urinary adiponectin in normal subjects.

Enhanced transgene expression by plasmid-specific recruitment of histone acetyltransferase.

Histone acetylation is associated with the activation of genes on chromosomes. Transgene expression from plasmid DNA might be increased by the acetylation of histones bound to plasmid DNA. To examine this hypothesis, we employed a positive feedback system, using a fusion protein of the sequence-specific DNA binding domain of yeast GAL4 and the histone acetyltransferase (HAT) domain of mouse CREB-binding protein (GAL4-HAT), in which GAL4-HAT promotes its own expression as well as that of a reporter gene product (luciferase).

[Antibiotic-associated colitis in senile patients].

Antibiotic-associated colitis (AAC) is a relatively frequent disorder in the senile population. Because of the change of life style in the elderly, the clinical pattern of AAC may be varied. The causative antibiotics, duration of administration, duration from taking antibiotics to onset of symptoms, background disorders, symptoms, laboratory data, therapies and prognosis in patients with AAC were investigated retrospectively in 54 cases of averaging 80.

Aged Budd-Chiari syndrome attributed to chronic deep venous thrombosis with alcoholic liver cirrhosis.

Budd-Chiari syndrome is a rare disease, but there are many known causes. Recent studies showed that it can be an acquired lesion resulting from thrombosis in some elderly patients. We report a 74-year-old man with Budd-Chiari syndrome attributed to chronic deep venous thrombosis and alcoholic liver cirrhosis.

Significance of serum iron and ferritin in patients with colorectal adenomas.

Background: Colorectal adenomas are often detected on mass screening, although detection rates with fecal occult blood tests are low. The relationship between colorectal adenomas and the resulting blood loss was examined indirectly, using serum iron and ferritin levels.

Methods: Serum iron and ferritin concentrations were measured in 184 men with colorectal adenomas (> or = 1 cm in 92; < 1 cm in 92) and in 92 healthy male controls.

Changes in urinary nitrate and nitrite during treatment of ulcerative colitis.

The urinary excretion rates of nitrate (NO3) and nitrite (NO2) were monitored in 14 patients with active ulcerative colitis during treatment using hydrocortisone and sulfasalazine. During the active phase of the disease, the NO3 excretion was significantly higher in the patients than in healthy controls (n = 6, p < 0.05), although it varied considerably among the patients.

Portal hypertensive colopathy: endoscopic findings and the relation to portal pressure.

Portal hypertensive colopathy (PHC) is a new clinical entity in patients with liver cirrhosis. In this study, colonoscopic findings and clinical features including upper gastrointestinal endoscopy and hepatic hemodynamics were prospectively investigated among 35 PH patients with a hepatic venous pressure gradient (HVPG) of greater than 12 mmHg due to chronic liver diseases. Colonoscopy was also performed in 100 patients without liver disease as non-PH controls.

Clinical significance of serum iron and ferritin in patients with colorectal cancer.

To clarify the significance of serum iron and ferritin as indicators of iron loss caused by continuous bleeding, and, thus, to determine their value as markers of colorectal cancer, values for the two were compared in male patients with early and advanced colorectal cancer and age-matched male controls. The mean value of serum iron levels in patients with advanced colorectal cancer was significantly decreased compared with values in patients with early colorectal cancer and controls, 50.5 +/- 38.

An endoscopic study of antibiotic-associated hemorrhagic colitis.

Colonoscopy was performed on acute stage within 72 hours from onset in 48 patients with antibiotic-associated hemorrhagic colitis (AAHC). From our observations we have developed a new endoscopic classification of AAHC and investigated the incidence of each finding in further detail. We have classified in principle the endoscopic findings of the 48 subjects into two groups: major and minor ones respectively.

Pulmonary infiltration and eosinophilia associated with sulfasalazine therapy for ulcerative colitis: a case report and review of literature.

We report a 52-yr-old man with ulcerative colitis who developed sulfasalazine-induced pulmonary infiltration with eosinophilia (PIE syndrome), which resolved completely after withdrawal of this drug. Desensitization to sulfasalazine was successful, and allowed the patient to receive this drug without recurrence of the pulmonary toxicity. This is the first case of the sulfasalazine-induced PIE syndrome in Japan; a review of the world literature found no previous cases of successful desensitization following sulfasalazine-induced PIE syndrome.