Simultaneous disturbance of NHE1 and LOXL2 decreases tumorigenicity of head and neck squamous cell carcinoma.

Objective: Although there have been brilliant advancements in the practical application of therapies targeting immune checkpoints, achieving success in targeting the microenvironment remains elusive. In this study, we aimed to address this gap by focusing on Na / H exchanger 1 (NHE1) and Lysyl Oxidase Like 2 (LOXL2), which are upregulated in head and neck squamous cell carcinoma (HNSCC) cells.

Methods: The malignancy of a metastatic human HNSCC cell line was assessed in a mouse tongue cancer xenograft model by knocking down (KD) NHE1, responsible for regulating intracellular pH, and LOXL2, responsible for extracellular matrix (ECM) reorganization via cross-linking of ECM proteins.

Long-term outcomes of lung transplantation requiring renal replacement therapy: A single-center experience.

Background: Life-long immunosuppressive therapy after lung transplantation (LT) may lead to end-stage renal disease (ESRD), requiring renal replacement therapy (RRT). We aimed to investigate the characteristics and long-term outcomes of patients undergoing LT and requiring RRT.

Methods: This study was a single-center, retrospective cohort study.

Duration of antimicrobial therapy after video-assisted thoracoscopic surgery for thoracic empyema and complicated parapneumonic effusion: A single-center study.

Background: There are no evidence-based reports on the proper duration of antimicrobial therapy following video-assisted thoracoscopic surgery debridement (VATS-D) in thoracic empyema (TE) or complicated parapneumonic effusion (PPE). This study aimed to investigate the optimal duration of antimicrobial therapy after VATS-D.

Methods: Between January 2011 and December 2019, 33 patients corresponding to American College of Chest Physicians (ACCP) category 3 or 4 undergoing VATS-D were included.

Appropriate Antibiotic Selection during the in-hospital Waiting Period for Surgery for Appendicitis.

Objectives: Acute appendicitis is a common disease that often requires emergency surgery. However, recently, not all cases are treated as an urgent operation, but surgery may be delayed to when medical resources are abundant to perform the operation safely. In such cases, preoperative antibiotics are administered during the waiting period.

Safety of salvage lung resection after immunotherapy for unresectable non-small cell lung cancer.

Background: The safety of salvage lung resection after immune checkpoint inhibitor (ICI) therapy in patients with advanced non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) is not well understood.

Methods: In this retrospective multicenter study, we reviewed perioperative morbidity and mortality rates in 11 patients (8 men, 3 women; median age 70 years) who underwent salvage lung resection for unresectable NSCLC after ICI therapy in the 4 years since 2017. Operative factors were also compared according to operating time (> 6 h, n = 7; < 6 h, n = 4).

Lung transplantation for idiopathic multicentric Castleman disease: potential efficacy and tolerability of a humanized anti-interleukin-6 receptor monoclonal antibody.

Background: Idiopathic multicentric Castleman disease (iMCD) is a rare polyclonal lymphoproliferative disease caused by the overrepresentation of interleukin-6 (IL-6). Tocilizumab (TCZ) is a humanized monoclonal antibody that binds to the IL-6 receptor and is approved for the treatment of iMCD. The efficacy and tolerability of TCZ in patients with iMCD undergoing lung transplantation (LTx) remain unknown.

Intracranial self-stimulation-reward or immobilization-aversion had different effects on neurite extension and the ERK pathway in neurotransmitter-sensitive mutant PC12 cells.

Various actions trigger pleasure (reward) or aversion (punishment) as emotional responses. Emotional factors that negatively affect brain neural control processes for long periods of time might cause various mental diseases by inducing neuronal changes. In the present study, newly developed PC12m12 cells which are　highly sensitivity to neurotransmitters such as acetylcholine (ACh), were used.

Two cases of granuloma mimicking local recurrence after pulmonary segmentectomy.

Background: Fluorodeoxyglucose (FDG)-positron emission tomography (PET)/CT is the most sensitive non-invasive imaging method for the detection of tumor metastasis and recurrence, but sometimes reveals false-positive results. Herein, we report two cases of false-positive results on PET/CT scans along with elevated serum carcinoembryonic antigen (CEA) levels, mimicking local recurrence after pulmonary segmentectomy.

Case Presentation: Case 1; A 75-year-old woman underwent thoracoscopic left basal segmentectomy for primary lung cancer.

Feasibility of Laparoscopic Radical Cystectomy in Elderly Patients: A Comparative Analysis of Clinical Outcomes in a Single Institution.

Laparoscopic radical cystectomy (LRC) is a standard surgical treatment for muscle-invasive bladder cancer and high-risk non-muscle-invasive bladder cancer. LRC is a less invasive modality than conventional open surgery. Therefore, even elderly patients with invasive bladder cancer may be candidates for LRC.

Hoarseness after radical surgery with systematic lymph node dissection for primary lung cancer.

Objectives: Radical surgery with systematic upper mediastinal node dissection for primary lung cancer can cause recurrent laryngeal nerve (RLN) paralysis, but this is poorly reported.

Methods: We retrospectively reviewed the clinical data for consecutive patients who underwent radical surgery for primary lung cancer with an observation period of at least 12 months. During follow-up, hoarseness and vocal fold movement were assessed clinically and laryngoscopically, respectively.

Elevated Na/H exchanger-1 expression enhances the metastatic collective migration of head and neck squamous cell carcinoma cells.

Cancer cells can migrate as collectives during invasion and/or metastasis; however, the precise molecular mechanisms of this form of migration are less clear compared with single cell migration following epithelial-mesenchymal transition. Elevated Na/H exchanger1 (NHE1) expression has been suggested to have malignant roles in a number of cancer cell lines and in vivo tumor models. Furthermore, a metastatic human head and neck squamous cell carcinoma (HNSCC) cell line (SASL1m) that was isolated based on its increased metastatic potential also exhibited higher NHE1 expression than its parental line SAS.

Imipramine-induced c-Fos expression in the medial prefrontal cortex is decreased in the ACTH-treated rats.

Previous studies have shown that the antidepressive-like effect of tricyclic antidepressants is blocked by repeated treatments with adrenocorticotropic hormone (ACTH). However, little is known about the neuroanatomy underlying the mechanism of the imipramine treatment-resistant depression model. In the present study, first experimental evidence showed no significant difference of the serum imipramine concentrations between the saline and ACTH-treated rats.

The antinociceptive and antihyperalgesic effects of topical propofol on dorsal horn neurons in the rat.

Background: Propofol (2,6-diisopropylphenol) is an IV anesthetic used for general anesthesia. Recent evidence suggests that propofol-anesthetized patients experience less postoperative pain, and that propofol has analgesic properties when applied topically. We presently investigated the antinociceptive effects of topical propofol using behavioral and single-unit electrophysiological methods in rats.

The differential effects of halothane and isoflurane on windup of dorsal horn neurons selected in unanesthetized decerebrated rats.

Halothane and isoflurane, in the peri-minimum alveolar anesthetic concentration (MAC) range, exert differential effects on spinal nociceptive neurons, whereby halothane further depresses their responses from 0.8 to 1.2 MAC, whereas isoflurane does not.

Heterogeneity of posterior limbic perfusion in very early Alzheimer's disease.

Purpose: This study was designed to quantify the heterogeneity of cerebral perfusion on SPECT images in elderly controls and Alzheimer's disease (AD) patients in mild stage using a three-dimensional fractal analysis (3D-FA).

Material And Method: Seventy-five patients with possible and probable AD based on the NINCDS/ADRDA criteria, and thirty-one elderly controls underwent 99mTc-HMPAO SPECT scanning. Dementia severity was assessed using the clinical dementia rating (CDR).

Expression patterns of sialylated epitope recognized by KL-6 monoclonal antibody in ocular surface epithelium of normals and dry eye patients.

Purpose: To determine the association of the KL-6 epitope (sugar moiety) with MUC1 and its distribution on the ocular surface of human non-dry and dry eyes.

Methods: The human ocular surface was examined immunohistochemically and immunoelectron microscopically using monoclonal antibody (mAb) KL-6, which recognize a carbohydrate epitope of MUC1. The expression patterns of KL-6 epitope in corneal and conjunctival cells were examined by impression cytology from 24 non-dry eye volunteers and 43 dry-eye patients.

Regulation of collagen synthesis in mouse skin fibroblasts by distinct angiotensin II receptor subtypes.

We examined the possibility of whether angiotensin (Ang) II type 1 (AT1) and type 2 (AT2) receptor stimulation differentially regulates collagen production in mouse skin fibroblasts. Both AT1 and AT2 receptors were expressed in neonatal skin fibroblasts prepared from wild-type mice to a similar degree, and the AT1a receptor was exclusively expressed as opposed to the AT1b receptor. In wild-type fibroblasts, Ang II increased collagen synthesis accompanied by an increase in expression of tissue inhibitor of metalloproteinase (TIMP)-1, and these increases were inhibited by valsartan, an AT1 receptor blocker, but augmented by PD123319, an AT2 receptor antagonist.

Tumor necrosis factor-alpha inhibits growth factor-mediated cell proliferation through SHP-1 activation in endothelial cells.

Src homology 2-containing protein-tyrosine phosphatase 1 (SHP-1) is known to regulate signal transduction through the dephosphorylation of tyrosine kinases. In this study, we addressed the role of SHP-1 under tumor necrosis factor-alpha (TNF-alpha) stimulation in endothelial cells. The addition of recombinant vascular endothelial growth factor (50 ng/mL) or epidermal growth factor (50 ng/mL) significantly increased thymidine incorporation and c-fos promoter activity, whereas TNF-alpha (5 ng/mL) attenuated these effects in human or bovine aortic endothelial cells.

[Clinical significance of serum LpA-I levels measured by immunoturbidimetric assay in type 2 diabetes mellitus patients].

Previously, we developed an immunoturbidimetric assay method for lipoprotein A-I(LpA-I) on sera pre-absorbed with anti-apolipoprotein A-II. In the present study, correlations between serum lipoprotein A-I and other serum parameters levels were examined and LpA-I levels were studied in patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus. The serum levels of LpA-I did not correlate with those of diabetic markers such as fasted blood glucose, glycohemoglobin(HbA1c) and fructosamine, but correlated well with the levels of total cholesterol and HDL cholesterol, phospholipids, apolipoprotein A-I and seemed to correlate inversely with arteriosclerosis index.

Immunohistochemical study of cyclooxygenases in prostatic adenocarcinoma; relationship to apoptosis and Bcl-2 protein expression.

Background: Cyclooxygenase (COX) is a key enzyme in the conversion of arachidonic acid to prostaglandins and other eicosanoids. A recent report has indicated a selective COX-2 inhibitor resulted in increased apoptosis and down-regulated bcl-2 expression in the androgen-sensitive human prostate cancer cell. We investigated the localization of COXs in prostatic adenocarcinoma and the possible correlation of androgen blockade with its expression.

Effects of transforming growth factor beta-1 and all-trans-retinoic acid on androgen-induced development of neonatal mouse bulbourethral glands in vitro.

Effects of transforming growth factor beta-1 (TGF-beta1) and all-trans-retinoic acid (All-trans-RA) on development of bulbourethral glands (BUGs) of neonatal mice were investigated in vitro. BUGs from 0-day-old male mice were cultured for 6 days in serum-free, chemically defined medium containing transferrin and bovine serum albumin, supplemented with 5alpha-dihydrotestosterone (DHT; 10-8 M) and insulin (10 microg/mL) alone or in combination. Prior to culture, BUGs from 0-day-old mice consisted of a simple epithelial rudiment encapsulated by mesenchyme.

Expression of heat shock proteins in developing and degenerating rat testes.

In the testis, several types of heat shock proteins (HSPs) have been identified and characterized, although the cellular basis of the HSPs remains elusive. In the present study, alterations in the cellular localization of HSPs, including HSP 25, 60, 70, and 90, were studied during the developing and degenerating periods in the rat testis using immunohistochemistry and Western blotting. HSP25 was expressed in neither germ cells nor somatic cells on all days examined.

Expression of growth factors after the release of ureteral obstruction in the rat kidney.

Background: Little is known about the mechanisms underlying recovery from hydronephrosis. Using a rat kidney model, we investigated the possible contribution of growth factors during regeneration after hydronephrosis.

Methods: After the unilateral ureteral obstruction for 7 days, the obstruction was released by ureterocystostomy.