High expressions of caveolins on the proliferating bile ductules in primary biliary cirrhosis.

Aim: An increase in bile ductular structures is observed in diverse human liver diseases, especially in primary biliary cirrhosis (PBC). These structures harbor the progenitor cell component of the liver. Caveolins are cholesterol-binding proteins involved in the regulation of several intracellular processes including cholesterol transport.

Biopsy of brain stem glioma using motor-evoked potential mapping by direct peduncular stimulation and individual adjuvant therapy. Case report.

A 23-year-old man presented with a brain stem glioma manifesting as a 6-month history of right hemiparesis and diplopia. Serial magnetic resonance imaging showed an intrinsic diffuse brain stem glioma that gradually localized to the left cerebral peduncle after initial adjuvant therapy. Surgery was performed through a left subtemporal transtentorial approach under motor-evoked potential (MEP) mapping by direct peduncular stimulation.

Expression of intercellular adhesion molecule-1 and lymphocyte function-associated antigen-1 protein and messenger RNA in primary biliary cirrhosis.

Objective: This study examined the role of intercellular adhesion molecule-1 (ICAM-1) and lymphocyte function-associated antigen-1 (LFA-1) in the autoimmune process of bile duct destruction in the early stages of primary biliary cirrhosis (PBC).

Materials And Methods: Ten PBC liver samples and five control samples were studied. Immunohistochemical studies of ICAM-1 and LFA-1, and Western blot of ICAM-1 were performed.

Elevated expression of caveolin-1 at protein and mRNA level in human cirrhotic liver: relation with nitric oxide.

Background: Caveolin, the principal structural protein of caveolae, binds with endothelial nitric oxide synthase (eNOS) leading to enzyme inhibition. This study examined the expression of caveolin and eNOS at the protein and mRNA levels in patients with hepatocellular carcinoma and hepatitis C-related cirrhosis, and in control noncirrhotic liver specimens obtained from patients with metastatic liver carcinoma.

Methods: Anti-eNOS, anti-caveolin-1, and anti-calmodulin antibodies were used for Western blotting.

Visual observations of glottal configuration and vocal outcomes in arytenoid adduction.

Arytenoid adduction procedures involve approximation of the arytenoid cartilages with the goal of reducing posterior glottal gap size and improving voice. However, voice outcomes after arytenoid adduction are not always optimal and may be improved by precise use of suture placements, forces, and direction angles. The development of intraoperative methods of assessing optimal suture direction appears critical for achieving the best voice outcome.

Distribution and localization of caveolin-1 in sinusoidal cells in rat liver.

Caveolin, the principal structural protein in caveolae, is involved in signal transduction. The aim of the present study was to clarify the distribution and ultrastructural localization of caveolin-1 in hepatic sinusoidal endothelial cells (SECs) and hepatic stellate cell (HSCs) by confocal microscopy and the electron immunogold method. Liver tissue sections were prepared from male Wistar rats.

O6-methylguanine-DNA methyltranspherase gene expression in gliomas by means of real-time quantitative RT-PCR and clinical response to nitrosoureas.

O(6)-methylguanine-DNA methyltransferase (MGMT) mRNA expressions were examined in 100 neuroepithelial tumors by real-time quantitative reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) using SYBR Green I. The mean relative quantitation value of MGMTmRNA normalized to the level of beta2-microglobulin for 100 tumors was 5.3 +/- 11.

Glottal configuration, acoustic, and aerodynamic changes induced by variation in suture direction in arytenoid adduction procedures.

Arytenoid adduction is a phonosurgical procedure in which the arytenoid cartilages are approximated to reduce posterior glottal gap size and improve voice. Voice outcomes following arytenoid adduction are not always optimal. The goal of this study was to systematically vary suture direction and force of pull on the arytenoid cartilages in a human excised laryngeal model to determine the optimal combination of factors for reducing glottal gap and improving voice.

Assessment of oropharyngeal cancer.

The records of 87 patients with squamous cell carcinoma of the oropharynx, treated between 1971 and 1998 at Kitasato University Hospital, were reviewed with the aim of investigating further directions for oropharyngeal cancer treatment. The patients were divided into four major treatment groups: a radiotherapy group; an operation group; a simultaneous chemoradiotherapy group; and a combination treatment group. The 5-year cumulative survival rates for Stages I-IV were 75%, 78%, 68% and 41%, respectively.

Treatment effects in patients with squamous cell carcinoma of the oral cavity.

A total of 221 patients (155 males, 66 females; stage I, n = 55: stage II, n = 58; stage III, n = 57; stage IV, n = 51) with squamous cell carcinoma of the oral cavity were studied. Tumor localization was as follows: cancer of the tongue, n = 161; cancer of the oral floor, n = 28; cancer of the hard palate, n = 12; cancer of the buccal mucosa, n = 11; and cancer of the gingiva, n = 9. In order to compare the effect of different treatments, three major treatment groups were defined, namely a surgery group, a radiotherapy group and a combination treatment group.

A case of extramedullary plasmacytoma of the larynx.

An 84-year-old male with a complaint of hoarseness was examined. A mass lesion was recognized in the false vocal fold. The tumor was excised and found to consist of atypical plasmacytes.

[Subsequent upper urothelial cancer following bladder tumor].

A total of 110 patients were treated with primary transitional cell carcinoma (TCC) of the urinary bladder from 1990 to 2000. During the follow-up period, which was for at least two years, four patients (3.6 percent) had subsequent upper urothelial cancer at an average of 61.

Drug-resistance gene expression and progression of astrocytic tumors.

To clarify the influence of biochemotherapy on the progression of astrocytic tumors, the expression of O6-methylguanine DNA-methyltransferase (MGMT) mRNA, as well as of other drug-resistance- and drug-sensitivity-related genes such as multidrug resistance gene 1, multidrug resistance-associated protein, glutathione S-transferase-pi, DNA topoisomerase II, and interferon receptor mRNA, and the interferon regulatory factor (IRF)-1 and -2 ratios in gliomas were investigated by quantitative reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR). The mean MGMT/beta2-microglobulin (beta2-MG) ratio for 130 neuroepithelial tumors was 8.2 +/- 17.

Signal detection of endothelin receptor subtypes in human cirrhotic liver by a new in situ hybridization method.

Endothelin (ET) has been implicated in the regulation of hepatic microcirculation and development of portal hypertension, but the role of ET in cirrhosis of the liver has not yet been elucidated. We present here the application of peptide nucleic acid (PNA) probes in a fast and sensitive in situ hybridization (ISH) method for localizing the mRNA of endothelin receptor subtypes in formalin-fixed, paraffin-embedded sections of normal and cirrhotic human liver. The results of ISH using synthetic FITC-labeled PNA probes combined with the catalyzed signal amplification (CSA) system were compared with those using the standard detection system.

Bile canalicular contraction and dilatation in primary culture of rat hepatocytes--possible involvement of two different types of plasma membrane Ca(2+)-Mg(2+)-ATPase and Ca(2+)-pump-ATPase.

Increasing evidence has indicated that bile canalicular contraction is mediated by the nonmuscular Ca(2+)-calmodulin-actomyosin system, and the contraction facilitates canalicular bile flow. The aim of the present study was to examine, by electron cytochemistry, how the expression of two types of plasma membrane Ca(2+)-ATPase, i.e.

[A case of gastrointestinal stromal tumor of rectum, difficult to differentiate from leiomyosarcoma of prostate].

A 70 year-old male was seen at the hospital with the chief complaints of frequent miction and incomplete urinary retention. A hen's egg-sized firm mass was palpable in anterior wall of rectum by digital rectal examination. Intravenous urography showed severe bilateral hydronephroureter.

Enhanced expression of endothelin B receptor at protein and gene levels in human cirrhotic liver.

Endothelin (ET) has been implicated in the regulation of hepatic microcirculation and development of portal hypertension. This study examined the localization of ETA receptor (ETAR) and ETB receptor (ETBR) in cirrhotic liver tissues from patients with hepatocellular carcinoma with hepatitis C-related cirrhosis, and normal liver samples from patients with metastatic liver carcinoma. Anti-ETAR and ETBR antibodies were used for immunohistochemistry and Western blot.

Hepatic stellate cells express Ca2+ pump-ATPase and Ca2+-Mg2+-ATPase in plasma membrane of caveolae.

Intracytoplasmic free calcium ions (Ca2+) are maintained at a very low concentration in mammalian tissue by the extrusion of Ca2+ across a steep extracellular Ca2+ gradient, mainly through the activity of plasma membrane Ca2+ pump-ATPase. The present study aimed to identify, by electron cytochemical and electron immunogold methods, the ultrastructural localizations of two types of plasma membrane Ca2+-ATPase; Ca2+-Mg2+-ATPase and Ca2+ pump-ATPase, in hepatic stellate cells. Liver tissues and isolated hepatic stellate cells (HSCs) were studied.

[A case report of hemiparesis due to compression of the medulla oblongata by an elongated vertebral artery].

The authors report a case of a 53-year-old woman who developed symptoms and signs of compression of the left medulla oblongata by the elongated and curved left vertebral artery with normal diameter. Twelve days before admission to the hospital, the patient suddenly noticed severe occipital-nuchal headache and nausea with vomiting, while she was unloading a burden. Neurological examination revealed left facial hyperalgesia, right hemihypesthesia and mild right hemiparesis.

[Two cases of primary carcinoma developed in a vesical diverticulum treated with ileal neobladder for total bladder replacement].

Two cases of carcinoma developed in vesical diverticulum were encountered. Both these males, the first, 66-year-old and the second case, 68-year-old gentleman, visited our clinic with a complaint of asymptomatic gross hematuria. Total cystectomy was performed, and an ileal neobladder was constructed for total bladder replacement in both two cases.

Margin clearance and HPV infection do not influence the cure rates of early neoplasia of the uterine cervix by laser conization.

A lesion existing in the endocervical and/or ectocervical conized margin and HPV-DNA existing in a conized specimen are reported to be at risk of persistence or recurrence of early neoplasia of the cervix when treated by conization. The aim of this study was to investigate whether margin clearance and HPV infection influenced the outcome in our series of laser conization. Excisional conization with the KTP/YAG Surgical Laser System or Nd-YAG laser was performed in this study.

[A case of seronegative spondylarthropathy with iritis and retroperitoneal fibrosis].

In 1985 a 41-year old male visited a local hospital because of congestion in the bulbar conjunctiva, which was diagnosed as iritis. In August 1990, right coxalgia and arthralgia of metatarsophalangeal joints appeared, with recurrence of iritis. In October, stiffness in the hands and arthralgia of proximal interphalangeal joints also started.

[Efficacy of immunized milk for preventing viral infection].

This paper investigated the efficacy of passive protection provided by milk (immunized milk) against enterovirus infection in mice experimentally infected with enterovirus. Milk with a high antibody titer against six enterovirus serotypes was prepared from hyperimmunized goat. In vivo and in vitro experiments were performed and the results showed that immunized milk has an antiviral activity against enterovirus infection.