Identification of Recurrence-Related microRNAs from Bone Marrow in Hepatocellular Carcinoma Patients.

Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) is a poor-prognosis cancer due to its high rate of recurrence. microRNAs (miRNAs) are a class of small non-coding RNA molecules that affect crucial processes in cancer development. The objective of this study is to identify the role of miRNAs in patient bone marrow (BM) and explore the function of these molecules during HCC progression.

Leptin improves fatty liver independently of insulin sensitization and appetite suppression in hepatocyte-specific Pten-deficient mice with insulin hypersensitivity.

Nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) is recognized as the hepatic component of the metabolic syndrome. Although NAFLD is a major cause of cirrhosis and cancer of the liver of unknown cause, no established pharmacological treatment for NAFLD has been established yet. It has been reported that leptin treatment improved fatty liver dramatically as well as insulin resistance and hyperphagia in patients with lipodystrophy.

Intravoxel incoherent motion magnetic resonance imaging findings in the acute phase of MELAS: a case report.

Objective: We report the clinical application of intravoxel incoherent motion (IVIM) magnetic resonance (MR) imaging to diagnose a case of mitochondrial myopathy, encephalopathy, lactic acidosis, and stroke-like episodes (MELAS) in the acute phase.

Results: On IVIM MR Images of this patient, higher perfusion (f) and diffusion (D) values in the left occipital and temporal lobes were found compared to the contralateral areas.

Conclusion: These findings imply a breakdown of autoregulation with hyperperfusion and vasogenic edema during the acute phase of MELAS, as described in previous reports.

Spontaneous regression of breast cancer with axillary lymph node metastasis: a case report and review of literature.

Spontaneous regression (SR) of cancer is a rare but well-documented biological phenomenon. However, the mechanism remains to be elucidated. We herein report a case of the SR of breast cancer at both the primary site and metastatic axillary lymph node with spontaneously-induced T cell-mediated immunological responses.

[Efficacy of levofloxacin 500 mg for middle ear diseases].

We examined the cases that prescribed levofloxacin (LVFX) 500mg for middle ear diseases in our hospital. LVFX 500mg was prescribed in 18 cases (7 male, 11 female, 24-81 years old). LVFX was mainly used for the following clinical conditions, 1) otitis media with granulation proliferation: 3 cases, 2) infection to an artificial materials : 5 cases, 3) treatment for or prevention against the inflammation of the inner ear: 4 cases.

[Analysis of parent-child sleeping and living habits related to later bedtimes in children].

Purpose: To find the relationship between parents' sleeping and living behaviors and their children's sleeping habits, and to investigate factors specifically related to children staying up late in recent Japan.

Methods: During regular health check-ups of children at three local health centers in the city A, we recruited the parents of one-and-half-year-old and three-year-old children to participate in the Child Sleep Cohort Project (ChiSCoP). Parents of 184 children who consented to participation were mailed three questionnaires by placement method.

Pdcd4 expression in intraductal papillary mucinous neoplasm of the pancreas: its association with tumor progression and proliferation.

Intraductal papillary mucinous neoplasm is characterized by cystically dilated main and/or branch pancreatic duct with mucus. According to the degree of atypia, intraductal papillary mucinous neoplasm is classified into 3 groups: adenoma, borderline, and carcinoma. Furthermore, intraductal papillary mucinous neoplasm is considered to progress through an adenoma-carcinoma sequence like colorectal carcinoma.

Programmed cell death triggered by nucleotide pool damage and its prevention by MutT homolog-1 (MTH1) with oxidized purine nucleoside triphosphatase.

Accumulation of oxidized bases such as 8-oxoguanine in either nuclear or mitochondrial DNA triggers various cellular dysfunctions including mutagenesis, and programmed cell death or senescence. Recent studies have revealed that oxidized nucleoside triphosphates such as 8-oxo-dGTP in the nucleotide pool are the main source of oxidized bases accumulating in the DNA of cells under oxidative stress. To counteract such deleterious effects of nucleotide pool damage, mammalian cells possess MutT homolog-1 (MTH1) with oxidized purine nucleoside triphosphatase and related enzymes, thus minimizing the accumulation of oxidized bases in cellular DNA.

A case of tracheobronchopathia osteochondroplastica diagnosed by fiberoptic bronchoscopy upon removal of an aspirated crown.

Tracheobronchopathia osteochondroplastica (TO) is a relatively rare benign disease, around 300 and 130 cases have been reported in English and Japanese literature, respectively. Most of the cases have been diagnosed incidentally at autopsy. Due to the widespread use of fiberoptic bronchoscopy (FOB), the number of cases diagnosed upon examination is increasing.

Development of a multipotent clonal human periodontal ligament cell line.

The periodontal ligament (PDL) that anchors the tooth root to the alveolar bone influences the lifespan of the tooth, and PDL lost through periodontitis is difficult to regenerate. The development of new PDL-regenerative therapies requires the isolation of PDL stem cells. However, their characteristics are unclear due to the absence of somatic PDL stem cell lines and because PDL is composed of heterogeneous cell populations.

Purification and thermal analysis of perfluoro-n-alkanoic acids.

Purification of perfluoro-n-alkanoic acids (C(n)F(2n+1)COOH, n=7, 9, 11, 13, 15 and 17) was made by repeated recrystallizations from n-hexane/acetone mixed solvent, and their purity was found to be more than 99.5% by GC-MS, NMR, and elemental analysis. The thermal behaviors such as melting point and enthalpy change of fusion were investigated using differential scanning calorimetry (DSC).

Postgastrectomy development or accentuation of focal fatty change in segment IV of the liver: correlation with the presence of aberrant venous branches of the parabiliary venous plexus.

Background: Focal fatty change in segment IV (S4) of the liver is occasionally a diagnostic dilemma in the postoperative follow-up of gastric cancer patients.

Goal: To determine whether development of focal fatty change in S4 is related to the presence of aberrant venous branches of the parabiliary venous plexus (PBP).

Study: Two hundred seventy-six patients with gastrectomy who had been imaged by thin-slice preoperative computed tomography (CT) and at least one postoperative CT, and had no apparent liver masses were retrospectively analyzed.

[The immunoregulatory role of local antigen-presenting cells in ocular inflammation].

The immune privilege that exists in the eye is maintained by various mechanisms. One of the best studied is a form of systemic tolerance termed anterior chamber-associated immune deviation (ACAID). We have recently shoun that the vitreous cavity(VC) also had the ability to induce tolerance and named this phenomenon 'vitreous cavity-associated immune deviation(VCAID).

Genetic mutual relationship between PTEN and p53 in gastric cancer.

Both PTEN (encoding phosphate and tensin homologue) and p53 are known as cancer suppressor genes, and they are assumed that their gene mutations and loss of heterozygosity (LOH) occur frequently in various types of carcinoma. In the present study, we investigated both the p53 mutation and LOH of PTEN in 113 gastric cancer patients. We observed the LOH of PTEN in 11.

Inositol 1,4,5-trisphosphate (IP3) receptor type1 (IP3R1) modulates the acquisition of cisplatin resistance in bladder cancer cell lines.

To investigate the molecules that regulate the acquisition of cis-diamminedichloroplatinum (II) (cisplatin) resistance, we performed cDNA microarrays using two pairs of parental and cisplatin-resistant bladder cancer cell lines. We found a markedly reduced expression of inositol 1,4,5-trisphosphate (IP3) receptor type1 (IP3R1), endoplasmic reticulum membrane protein, in cisplatin-resistant cells. The suppression of IP3R1 expression using small interfering RNA in parental cells prevented apoptosis and resulted in decreased sensitivity to cisplatin.

Effect of erythropoietin on endothelial cell apoptosis induced by high glucose.

Erythropoietin (Epo) has been reported to inhibit apoptosis of neuron and erythroid cells. In this study, we examined an effect of high glucose on apoptosis of endothelial cells and investigated an anti-apoptotic effect of Epo. Human aortic endothelial cells were incubated with normal or high glucose for 72 h, and apoptotic cells were detected by TUNEL assay.

Influence of feeding schedule on 24-h rhythm of hepatotoxicity induced by acetaminophen in mice.

The influence of feeding schedule on the chronopharmacological aspects of acetaminophen (APAP) was examined in mice housed under 12-h light/dark cycle (lights on from 7:00 AM to 7:00 PM) with food and water ad libitum feeding (ALF) or under repeated time-restricted feeding (feeding time between 9:00 AM and 5:00 PM) for 2 weeks before the experiment. For the ALF group, there was a significant 24-h rhythm of mortality after APAP (600 mg/kg i.p.

Sequence requirement for nuclear localization and growth inhibition of p27Kip1R, a degradation-resistant isoform of p27Kip1.

p27(Kip1R) is an isoform of p27(Kip1), having a distinct C-terminus. The sequences of p27(Kip1R) required for nuclear localization and growth inhibition were determined in HeLa cells using a green fluorescence protein (GFP) as a reporter molecule. Region 153-168 and residues K168 and I169 were determined to play a critical role in the nuclear localization of p27(Kip1R).

A dominant negative form of the AAA ATPase SKD1/VPS4 impairs membrane trafficking out of endosomal/lysosomal compartments: class E vps phenotype in mammalian cells.

SKD1 is a member of the family of ATPases associated with cellular activities whose yeast homologue Vps4p has been implicated in endosomal/vacuolar membrane transports. When a mutant of SKD1 that lacks ATPase activity [SKD1(E235Q)] was overexpressed in mammalian cells, it induced a dominant negative phenotype characterized by aberrant endosomal structures (denoted as E235Q compartments). Expression of SKD1(E235Q) caused an accumulation of basolateral recycling receptors, such as asialoglycoprotein receptor and low-density lipoprotein in polarized hepatocytes and Madin-Darby canine kidney cells, respectively, in E235Q compartments.

In situ localization of IFN-gamma-positive cells in psoriatic lesional epidermis.

Interferon-gamma (IFN-gamma) is believed to be an important mediator in the cytokine cascade of psoriasis. Lesional T cells in the epidermis may play a role in psoriasis. We examined whether IFN-gamma-producing T cells were present in the epidermis of psoriasis in situ by immunohistochemical techniques.

Device-directed therapeutic drug delivery systems.

To increase the therapeutic effectiveness of device-directed drug delivery systems for diseased cardiovascular tissues and cancerous tissues, new devices and new functional biomaterials were devised to meet the requirements as listed below: drug-infusible balloon catheter, drug-releasable and covered stents, and in situ hydrogelation on and in cancerous tissues. New therapeutic strategies based on these devices were discussed.

Video-assisted parathyroidectomy for primary hyperparathyroidism: a new approach involving a skin-lifting method.

Background: Recent advances have allowed the performance of parathyroidectomy as an endoscopic procedure. Carbon dioxide (CO2) insufflation can be used to create a working space in the anterior neck, but it has been associated with a number of complications. We have devised a skin-lifting method to overcome these problems.