The Japanese journal of experimental medicine最新文献

Engorged larvae of Leptotrombidium pallidum were collected from a wild rodent, Apodemus speciosus, and reared in a plastic container fed with fresh eggs of colembolla, Sinella curviseta, under moist conditions at 25 degrees C. Fully developed adults were separated into individual containers and a proven male was paired with a suspected female. Of the pairings, 38 produced larvae and 4 infected colonies were established. Females in these colonies were shown to be infected with Karp type of Rickettsia tsutsugamushi (Rt) by the method of isolating Rt from individual mites using mouse passage. Males were negative for Rt. Vertical transmission of Rt was monitored in each infected colony. The female of parent generation (P) produced F1 and F2 generations. At F1 generation, 11 males and 12 females maintained until production of eggs and all adults were positive for Rt by detection from individual mites. By sibmating of F1 adults, 11 males and 14 females developed at F2 generation and all males and females were proven to be positive for Rt. From 4 pairs of infected males and infected females at F1 generation, 2, 5, 21 and 35 larvae were collected as samples, respectively, and all larvae were positive for Rt by individual detection. Spermatophores from infected males at F2 generation were examined for Rt and none of 29 spermatophores were positive for Rt. From these results, the transmission rate of Rt from P to F1 and from F1 to F2 was 100% through eggs from infected females but not through spermatophores from infected males.

We studied the effect of vitamin B complex (vitamin B1, B6 and B12 complex) on the immune responsiveness in gastric cancer patients who underwent surgery. The depression of blastogenic responses to both PHA and PWM was observed 2 weeks after surgery in half of the patients treated with Vitamedin but the degree was significantly less than that in the control patients without vitamin B treatment whose lymphocyte responses were depressed. Moreover, the blastogenic responses were induced by vitamin B administration 2 or 4 weeks after surgery in 5 of the 8 stage III-IV patients whose lymphocytes had not responded prior to surgery. Four weeks after surgery, the patients without vitamin B treatment showed only a tendency of recovery of their lymphocyte responses, whereas the recovery of blastogenic responses in the patients treated with vitamin B was significant. Essentially similar results were obtained with skin reactions to PHA and PPD. These results suggest that the administration of vitamin B1, B6 and B12 complex is useful for the protection against and the recovery of immune dysfunction produced by surgery in cancer patients.

The rickettsial diseases of man in Japan include Tsutsugamushi disease (scrub typhus), murine typhus, which occurs sporadically, and one of spotted fever group diseases, recognized as a new entity since 1984. Starting from 1976, there has been a remarkable resurgence in the number of reported cases of Tsutsugamushi disease in Japan after several years of virtual absence, and endemics are still continuing after reaching a prominent outbreak in 1984. Its yearly incidences from 1982 to 1986 were 538, 749, 971, 890 and 738, respectively. This resurgence is most likely related to an increase of vector mite colonies that carry Rickettsia tsutsugamushi. However, it cannot be explained as to how these foci of vector mites developed. The existence of spotted fever group disease had not been recognized until quite recently. This rickettsiosis was first identified in Tokushima and Kochi Prefectures in 1984. To date, the estimated total number of sero-positive cases is over 45 cases. The causative rickettsiae were isolated from the blood of 5 patients using cell culture methods and the identification of these rickettsiae is now being carried out.

Mouse and rat myeloma cell lines showed little or no rosette formation with sheep erythrocytes (SRBC) coated with rabbit IgG (rabbit EA) but showed marked rosette formation after treatment with trypsin, pronase or neuraminidase. These cell lines showed no rosette formation with SRBC coated with mouse IgG (mouse EA): treatment with trypsin enabled the detection of rosettes among the mouse myeloma cell lines but not by the rat myeloma cells. The F(ab')2 fragment of the anti-Fc receptor II antibody blocked the formation of rosettes with rabbit EA by mouse myeloma cell lines after treatment with trypsin. Aggregated mouse IgG1 and IgG2b subclasses strongly inhibited the formation of rosettes with rabbit EA, whereas aggregated mouse IgG2a showed a marginal inhibitory effect. A large amount of mouse IgG2a, however, caused significant inhibition. Our results also revealed that aggregated mouse IgG could bind to the rat myeloma cell line. The Fc rosette forming abilities of the enzyme-treated mouse and rat myeloma cells became reduced after cultivation both in the presence and absence of FCS but not after cultivation in the presence of cycloheximide, suggesting that cell surface substances, which may be glycoprotein that incompletely mask Fc receptors, are produced by myeloma cells.

Acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS) can be transmitted through heterosexual intercourse and prostitutes may be responsible for this form of transmission. Thirty-four prostitutes were included in this study and their humoral and cellular immunological parameters were compared with control group. Prostitutes were divided in two subgroups according to their sexual practice and the use of illicit drugs and compared with each other. The only immunological parameter that is significantly different from the control group was the serum IgM level. In prostitutes who have more than 11 partners in a week, the mean number of E rosettes, EAC rosette forming cells and cells expressing surface immunoglobulins were significantly higher than prostitutes who have 0-10 sexual partner in a week.

All lipids, including neutral lipids, phospholipids and glycolipids, in the dermis and epidermis from footpad and dorsal skin of guinea pigs were quantitatively determined, and distinct and characteristic differences in lipid composition were observed in both regions. Ceramides, cerebrosides and cholesterol sulfate were abundant in the epidermis, the amounts being 8.8-12.0, 2.8-4.0 and 6.0-6.5 times higher than those in the dermis, respectively, whereas sulfatide was predominantly found in the dermis. Four and six bands of ceramides, and three and four bands of cerebrosides were detected for the lipids from both the epidermis and dermis on TLC, respectively, two of the ceramides and one of the cerebrosides being found to be esterified. Cerebrosides in the epidermis were predominantly glucocerebrosides, whereas those in the dermis comprised a mixture of gluco- and galactocerebrosides. In addition, an esterified cerebroside, glucosyl N-(O-linoleoyl-omega-hydroxylignoceroyl) sphingosine, was present in the epidermis as a tissue-characteristic compound and this finding seems to be common for several animal species. The marked differences in lipid components between the epidermis and dermis should be quite useful for discriminating these functionally as well as histologically different regions on a biochemical basis.

The distribution of [14C]hematoporphyrin derivative (HpD) has been studied in mice bearing human lung tumor and in guinea pig bearing Line 10 tumor. The amount of [14C]HpD in the transplanted tumor tissue of mice at various times following drug administration (20 mg/kg) was higher than in skin or muscle tissue but was less than in liver, kidney, spleen, lung and heart tissue. The distribution pattern of [14C]HpD in guinea pig at 2 days following injection was also similar to that in mice. Our data were different from those that suggested the selectivity of uptake and retention of HpD by malignant tissues, using fluorometric techniques.

The present study was conducted to examine the effect of 1-hexylcarbamoyl-5-fluorouracil (HCFU) on the development of urinary bladder tumors induced by N-butyl-N-(4-hydroxybutyl)nitrosamine (BBN) in rats. One hundred twenty male Fischer 344 rats were divided into 6 groups. Sixty rats (groups 1, 2 and 3) were given 0.05% BBN in drinking water for the initial 8 weeks of the experiment and another 60 rats (groups 4, 5 and 6) served as controls. HCFU mixed in the powder diet was administered at daily doses of 100 mg per kg of body weight. Group 2 received HCFU throughout and group 3 after BBN administration for 8 weeks. All animals were sacrificed at 20 weeks from the beginning of the experiment and examined histopathologically. In groups 1, 2 and 3, urinary bladder tumors developed in 13 of 18, 0 of 20, and 4 of 19, respectively. Incidences of tumors in the 2 groups treated with HCFU were significantly lower than that of group 1 treated with BBN alone. These results indicated that HCFU was effective in suppressing the incidence of bladder tumor.