Medical journal of Osaka University最新文献

Pancreas cancer-associated antigen (PCAA), primarily isolated from the ascites of pancreatic cancer (PC) patients, is strongly positive in PC, colon cancer and normal colonic mucosa. In immunohistochemical staining of tumor tissues with antibodies, medullary thyroid carcinoma (MTC) was no less strongly positive for PCAA than PC, and we studied its details. Antibodies to PCAA, calcitonin and CEA were used in the immunostaining of normal thyroid tissues and thyroid tissues from patients with adenomas, MTC, papillary carcinomas, and follicular carcinomas. The PCAA from the liver metastases of MTC was studied for molecular weight and antigenicity in comparison with the PCAA from the ascites of PC patients. Serum levels of PCAA were determined in MTC patients. Of 11 patients with MTC, PCAA, calcitonin and CEA were studied immunohistologically and positive in 10, 11 and 10 patients, respectively. The PCAA from the metastases had a molecular weight of about 700,000, and was immunochemically identical to that from the ascites of PC patients. Serum levels of PCAA were elevated in 4 of 6 MTC patients. The thyroid tissues from the MTC patients, familial or non-familial, were as strongly positive for PCAA as for calcitonin and CEA. It was antigenically identical to that of PC origin, and positive in the serum of MTC patients.

The relationships between lifestyles and urinary mutagenicity were investigated by using blue rayon extraction from 33 healthy male workers' urine. Subjects were classified into three groups, as "good", "moderate", and "poor" according to their responses on a questionnaire regarding eight health practices (cigarette smoking, alcohol consumption, eating breakfast, hours of sleep, hours of work, physical exercise, caring about nutritional balance, mental stress). The better lifestyle groups exhibited the lower mutagenicity. Subjects in a "good" group showed significantly lower urinary mutagenicity than those both in a "moderate" (p < 0.05) and a "poor" (p < 0.05) groups at fraction number 1 to 3 that were given after ingesting fried beef. These tendencies also found at fraction number 8 to 9 that were given after smoking, although not significant. The lifestyles were significantly associated with the urinary mutagenicity, and the results suggested that not only particular lifestyle factor but also some combinations with smoking significantly enhanced with the urinary mutagenicity.

Light and electron microscopic observation showed two types of neuronal immunostaining for basic fibroblast growth factor in the hippocampal CA2 subfield, where the densest immunoreactive neurons were localized in the brain. One neuronal type showed intense nuclear (eu- and heterochromatin) immunostaining but weak cytoplasmic immunostaining (N-type), and the other showed intense cytoplasmic but no or only faint nuclear immunoreactivity (C-type). The N-type also showed weak immunoreactivity in the perinuclear rough endoplasmic reticulum and contained bFGF mRNA as observed by in situ hybridization histochemistry, showed that this type can produces the bFGF protein. The N-type localized exclusively in the CA2 subfield. The C-type showed strong immunoreactivity on the rER, free ribosomes, and Golgi apparatus, although no clear evidence for bFGF production was observed. The multivesicular bodies, a pathway of endocytosis in hippocampal neurons showed apparent immunoreactivity under EM observation of both of types neurons (Parton et al. J. Cell Biol. 119: 123-137, 1992) suggesting a receptor-mediated type of incorporation of the bFGF.

The ultrastructure and clinical significance of the basement membrane (BM) are still unclear in esophageal cancer. In this report, we examined the ultrastructure of the BM and microstructures related intercellular adhesion in squamous cell carcinoma of human esophagus using a transmission electron microscope, and investigated their clinical significance. BM was absent in 38% of the examined cases and the frequency or the presence of the microstructures of cancer cells of the infiltrating margin (CCIM) was negatively related to the presence of BM (BM-P); CCIM of BM-P tumors often had smaller number per cell of desmosomes and cytoplasmic processes. These results indicate that CCIM of BM-P tumor are in an 'inconvenient status' for tumor cells to form a firm group. In the intercellular space between CCIM and BM or surrounding stromal cells, all of the CCIM of BM-P tumors had hemidesmosomes, but not those of BM absent (BM-A) tumors. Though no statistical significant difference was found in our clinical observation between BM-P and BM-A tumors, the present study suggested that a considerable proportion of cancer cells have abnormal intercellular adhesiveness via a mechanical mechanism related to the presence or absence of BM.

The cause of liver infarction previously reported [1-4] are mainly due to occlusion of hepatic artery. Herein, we report the case of liver infarction resulted from simultaneous occlusion of hepatic artery and portal vein due to trauma and therapeutic transcatheter arterial embolization (TAE), and we followed up the infarcted lesion with computed tomography (CT), ultra sonography (US) and magnetic resonance imaging (MR imaging) until it disappeared.

We investigated the difference in temporal bone specimens fixated by three sorts of fixative solution (10% formalin fixative, Wittmaack's fixative and Heidenhein-SuSa fixative). 1. 10% Formalin's fixative solution We found many pinkish precipitates, which are stained by hematoxy-eosin, in the scala media of the cochlea. Same substance is found in the perilymphatic space and endolymphatic space in the vestibulum. The fusion of the cells is indicated in the tectorial membrane, inner sulucus cell, outer sulucus cell especially in the apical turn of the cochlea. 2. Wittmaack's fixative solution The detachment of inner and outer sulucus cells are found from basilar membrane at the basal turn of the cochlea. The tendency in convex and concave form of the Reissner's membrane is most remarkable in these three fixative solution. 3. Heidenhein-SuSa fixative solution In this solution, no precipitates, no fusion of cells are found. No detachment of the inner or outer sulucus cells is also found. This study indicates that Heidenhein-SuSa fixation is most excellent fixative method.

We make a comparison of classification ability between BPN (Back Propagation Neural Network) and k-NN (k-Nearest Neighbor) classification methods. Voice data and patellar subluxation images are used. The result was that the average recognition rate of BPN was 9.2 percent higher than that of the k-NN classification method. Although k-NN classification is simple in theory, classification time was fairly long. Therefore, it seems that real time recognition is difficult. On the other hand, the BPN method is long in learning time but is very short in recognition time. Especially if the number of dimensions of the samples is large, it can be said that BPN is better than k-NN in classification ability.

The rate of oxygen release from single hepatic sinusoid of rat was determined. A scanning spectrophotometer, equipped with a grating and two photoncounters, was connected to a microscope with light-guides, and absorption spectra (450-650 nm) were obtained simultaneously at two microspots (10 microns diameter) on single sinusoid. The concentration ([Hb]) and oxygen saturation (SO2) of hemoglobin were calculated from the spectra. Reference transmittance was obtained at neighbouring hepatocytes. The erythrocyte velocity was measured by dual-spots cross-correlation method using two photomultipliers connected to the microscope with two light-guides. The gradient in SO2 was observed along each sinusoid, due to oxygen release from flowing erythrocytes to hepatocytes. The rate of oxygen release per unit surface area was 0.24 +/- 0.14(n = 14)nmoles O2/cm2/sec, which was calculated from [Hb], difference in SO2 between the spots at up- and down-stream, erythrocyte velocity, two spot's distance and sinusoidal diameter. The rates of O2 release depended on sinusoidal diameter and sinusoidal blood flow.