[Hokkaido igaku zasshi] The Hokkaido journal of medical science最新文献

Purpose: To report a case in which the unilateral intraocular pressure (IOP) before hemodialysis was higher than the day following hemodialysis.

Case: A 59-year-old woman had been followed with diabetic retinopathy in a local eye clinic and was referred to our hospital for a vitreous hemorrhage in the right eye in June 2002. She started hemodialysis for renal failure due to diabetic nephropathy in July 2002; vitreous and cataract surgeries were performed in September 2002. In May 2004, she underwent surgery in the left eye. The IOP in the left eye increased to the high 20s in August 2005. The visual acuity in the right eye was 0.7 and 0.3 in the left eye. The angles were open bilaterally. Before hemodialysis, the IOP in the left eye was significantly higher than that in the days following hemodialysis. There was no significant change in the right eye between before and after hemodialysis. Following trabeculectomy performed in the left eye in January 2007, the IOP in the left eye stabilized in the low teens.

Conclusion: In some cases, the IOP can vary between before and the days following dialysis. It is important to check the IOP at these time points.

Helicobacter pylori (H. pylorii) changes from a spiral form to coccoid by the aggravation of its surrounding environment. It was believed that the coccoid H. pylori indicated to be dying or becoming dormant. However, the implication of coccoid formation, itself, has not yet been elucidated. In this study, both the ultrastructural changes and the localization of the intracellular DNA were observed during coccoid formation in H. pylori. Some coccoid forms were observed to adhere to each other during transformation from the spiral form. The DNA and Cag A in each bacterium were detected at the boundary area of the aggregate, and then mixed in one new coccoid bacterium formed from the syncytium by plural bacteria. This type of coccoid formation was thought to be a transfer phenomenon of intracellular genetic proteins into neighbor organisms. In other words, the coccoid formation of H. pylori means not only the dying or the dormant condition but also a horizontal gene transfer processes with a positive significance for species-preservation under environmental stress.

Background: The photodynamic therapy using 5-aminolevulinic acid is one of the new therapeutic modalities for malignant glioma yet. There has been a controversy as to the mechanism of cell damage in acute phase induced by 5-ALA-mediated PDT. In this study, acute morphological and histological sequelae of 5-ALA-mediated PDT in the C6 spheroid model were examined and the cell damage mechanism in acute phase was discussed.

Methods: Various sizes of C6 spheroids were incubated for 4 h in 100 microg/ml of 5-ALA and subsequent by irradiated with a diode laser at various total energies (635+/-5 nm, 5-100 mW/cm2, total light dose 2.5-50 J/cm2). For investigating morphological changes, the spheroid's diameter was measured just before and after PDT. Hematoxylin-eosin and TUNEL assays were performed on cryosections of the spheroids after PDT as a histological assessment. Fluorescence microscopic examination was performed using annexin V-FITC and propidium iodide (PI) to distinguish necrosis and apoptosis. Control groups with laser only, ALA only or no treatment were used in comparison.

Results: All spheroids with 5-ALA-mediated PDT enlarged in their diameters immediately after PDT. They increased light transparency in superficial zone, which indicated cell membrane damage. There were no significant differences in the expansion of spheroids of a same size among the total light doses at 2.5-50 J/cm2. Large spheroids were less expanded by PDT at total light dose 25 J/cm2 as compared with small ones (P<0.01). H.E. staining showed condensed nucleus and cytoplasm in the superficial layer. However, these cells were negative for TUNEL staining. The spheroid after 5-ALA-mediated PDT was apparently densely positive for PI staining. Double stains for PI and annexin V-FITC indicated that positive cells for annexin V-FITC were also positive for PI. Only annexin V-FITC-positive cells were scarcely demonstrated. These findings were not seen in any of control groups.

Conclusions: PDT-mediated 5-ALA for experimental glioma using spheroid model in the present in vitro study resulted in rapid and significant cells damage, which indicated acute necrosis just after PDT.

Purpose: To determine the role of prorenin in the pathogenesis of retinal neovascularization, we evaluated the inhibitory effect of the handle region peptide (HRP) on retinal neovascularization.

Methods: Neonatal C57BL6 mice were exposed to 75% oxygen from postnatal day 7 (P7) to P12 and placed in room air. The animals received HRP (1.0 or 0.1 mg/kg/day), captopril (10 mg/kg/day), or normal saline from P12 to P17. Following enucleation of the eyes, the retina was dissected for whole-mount retinal sections and semiquantitative analysis of mRNA of vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF), placental growth factor (PIGF), fms-like tyrosine kinase 1 (Flt-1), fetal liver kinase 1 (Flk-1), angiopoietin 2 (Ang2), and tyrosine kinase with immunoglobulin and epidermal growth factor homology domains 2 (Tie2).

Results: The average numbers of neovascular nuclei in retinopathy of prematurity treated with normal saline, captopril, and HRP (0.1 or 1.0 mg/kg/day) were 37.2+/-8.6, 7.7+/-3.4, 39.5+/-7.3, and 6.5+/-2.7, respectively. HRP (1.0 mg/kg/day) and captopril inhibited neovascularization in rhodamine-perfused retina; HRP (0.1 mg/kg/day) did not. Semiquantitative analysis of mRNA for angiogenic factors showed that HRP (1.0 mg/kg/day) inhibited overexpression of PIGF, Flt-1, and Ang2.

Conclusions: HRP inhibits retinal neovascularization by interfering with nonproteolytic activation of prorenin, indicating that prorenin may promote retinal neovascularization.

Although C6 glioma spheroids have been widely utilized for assessment of new therapeutic modalities, they need to be generated for long-term use and special instruments. Therefore we generated a multicellular mass (spheroid) from C6 glioma cells on non-adhesive culture plates. Cells cultured in a spheroid plate (Sumiron Celltight Spheroid) spontaneously aggregated and formed a cell mass after 24 h in culture. After three days of culture, the cell mass became spherical with a diameter ranging from 300 to 650 microm. The size of the spheroid depended on the number of cells plated in each well. Histological examination indicated no spheroid had aggregations of cell death during the 8 days of culture. In the case where 1.0 x 10(3) cells were plated in each well, the size of the spheroid increased gradually and stagnated at approximately 850 microm. The present study demonstrated that a spheroid was easily generated from C6 glioma cells on a non-adhesive plate. This method could provide a new tool for analyzing therapeutic modalities for glioma.

Transfusion-transmitted infection has long been one of the major adverse reactions in blood transfusion. However, the implementation of effective screening tests makes it minor at present. Especially NAT (nucleic acid amplification test) is highly sensitive in detecting infection with HBV, HCV and HIV-1. Now the residual risk of post-transfusion hepatitis has reduced to as low as 1:100000. Not all of the blood-borne infections are included in the category of transfusion-transmitted infection, since donors are interviewed and examined for their health statuses. As to the organisms screening is not prepared or the window period infection, donor interview would be especially important. Namely, only the organisms that are cryptogenic and induce little symptoms are included in the category of transfusion-transmitted infection. Virus infections which tend to be asymptomatic are among them, such as HBV, HCV, and HIV, as well as bacteria and protozoan infection of long latency and probably prions. At present bacterial contamination is one of the major risks of blood transfusion. West Nile virus (WNV) and hepatitis E virus (HEV) have emerged as members of transfusion transmitted infection. Other newly developing blood-borne infections will be a menace to the blood safety, and thus we should be ready to prepare for preventing them. Selection of the countermeasures should be based on cost benefit analysis. Inactivation of organisms is under study, but its distant adverse effects are not yet clear. Vaccination and the clearance of organisms from the general population would be a more basic countermeasure.