Acta Medica Okayama volume15 issue1

1. When the various anticancer agents are injected intravenously to normal rabbits and intraperitoneally to normal mice, it seems that the serum properdin levels fall transitorily for some hours after administration with a small dose and then keep rising, but with a massive dose it continues to fall from the beginning. 2. The properdin level is decreased considerably by Thio-TEPA and Carzinophilin; moderately by Mitomycin C; and slightly by M. H. OX-substance hardly changes the level and 8-azaguanine rather has a tendency to raise the level. 3. The administration of most anticancer agents seems to suppress the properdin system. 4. The influence of these agents on human serum properdin is similar to that of rabbits. 5. The properdin levels keep at high titers in the group to which the agents act effectively on the cancer, but the levels fall down more rapidly and animals die earlier in the group to which the agents act ineffectively on the cancer as compared with the control group.

For the purpose to reveal whether or not the liver and the cell organellae are responsible for the abnormal metabolism of polysaccharides found in cancer bearing individuals, the author analyzed the liver and ascites with tumor cells of AH 130 hepatoma bearing rats biochemically with some histochemical observations. A quantitative increase in polysaccharides accompanied by the production of unusual polysaccharides is found in the supernatant of liver from cancer bearing rats, but not from mitochondrial or microsomal fractions. Tumor cells themselves and ascites fluid do not contain the abnormal polysaccharides found in the liver supernatant.

1. The properdin levels in sera from mice bearing Ehrlich ascitic carcinoma and from rabbits with Brown-Pearce carcinoma decrease inversely with the increase of the ascites or the tumors. In the incipient period of tumor transplantation, the level rather rises. When the tumor is proliferating or large, the level keeps falling or is low. On the contrary, when the tumor is regressing or disappears, the level elevates or reverts to that before transplantation. Strong A and R III mice with spontaneous mammary cancer have markedly low serum properdin levels as compared with those of healthy mice. 2. The properdin levels are less than 2 units per milliliter of the serum in 44.4 per cent of patients with gastric cancer, in 18.2 per cent of ones with non-malignant tumor and in 18.2 per cent of ones with gastric or duodenal ulcer. The abnormal low level has been found in 33.3 per cent of patients without recurrence, who had undergone extended radical gastrectomy combined with radical lymphadenectomy for gastric cancer. 3. Some correlation can be seen between the serum properdin levels and the degree of progress of gastric cancer. 4. The cancer patients with low total serum protein have lower serum properdin levels than those having nomal protein. 5. As for influence of surgical operation on the serum properdin levels, there is observed a tendency that a minor operation causes the levels to increase and a major operation causes the levels to fall. 6. It has been inferred that the properdin system could be one of the host natural resistance against cancer.

1. Properdin assay which is comparatively sensitive and reproducible has been described. The assay may be called a modified method of properdin assay by HUNTER·HILL and McNALL. 2. The properdin assay of serum is possible by using a very small amount of test serum (0.1 ml at the least). The necessary amount of zymosan is very little, the procedure of properdin assay is comparatively simple and it can safely be used clinically. 3. Serum properdin of guinea pig, rat, rabbit and mouse can easily be measured by means of Rp and Ra made from guinea-pig sera. 4. In the properdin assay of human serum, human Rp serum IS preferable to guinea-pig Rp serum. 5. Human Rp serum is always prepared easily from pooled sera of advanced cancer bearing patients. 6. Insulin has not such ability of making Rp and R3 as can replace zymosan. 7. Properdin assay is possible by means of goat's hemolytic system as well as sheep's hemolytic system.

The author studied the distribution of polysaccharides and the amino-acid composition of cytoplasmic organellae, the problems that have come to call a great interest in the field of studies on cancer bearing animals. And also biochemical and electron microscopic observations were carried out to study the influences of cytoplasmic organellae in the cancer cells (AH 130), the livers of cancer bearing animals, and normal liver on the catalase activity of the liver. The results obtained are as follows : Cytoplasmic organellae of various cells do not affect so markedly the hexose metabolism of the liver. As for the amino-acid pattern of cytoplasmic organellae of various cells studied by paperchromatography, it is interesting to note that the pattern of the liver of cancer bearing animals, shows lack in histidine, while in can~er tissue and in the liver of cancer bearing animals an increase in phenylalanine can be observed. The decrease in the liver catalase activity is caused by the primary factor of cancer cells, especially their microsomes, and also by the secondary factor of the liver mitochondria in cancer bearing animals. On the other hand, the mitochondria of cancer cells, instead of reducing the catalase activity in the liver, markedly increases the catalase activity. By the morphological changes observed with light microscope and electron microscope, liver cells revealed marked morphological differences, proving that the microsomes of hepatoma cell induce considerably marked changes in the liver, while the mitochondria of hepatoma cell, on the contrary, induce the hypertrophy of liver cells. Sirriilarly in the electron microscopic observations the mitochondria of mouse liver injected with cancer mitochondria are enlarged, but no destruction of cellular structures such as cristae can be recognized. Also microbodies and the growing process of mitochondria can be observed, but no marked changes in endoplasmic reticulum.

1. Clinical and histological evaluation of so-called chorioepithelioma malignum and hydatidiform mole has been made on the cases treated at the Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Okayama University Hospital during the 20year period friom 1939 to 1958. 2. CC has been confirmed to be a poor risk in the treatment than CA and SE. 3. The two-year cure rate and the five-year cure rate yield an approximate value in each of CC, CA and SE, so that the two-year survival would be an ideal index for determination of the prognosis. 4. It may be pointed out that CC would indicate a tendency of a higher gonadotropin content suggestive of the poor prognosis, provided the disease contain a greater number of La-cells comparing to Sy-cells. 5. Metastasis of CA is not so infrequent as has been formerly believed, and there were two cases, which proved to be a typical SE and had metastasis to the vaginal wall. 6. Concerning the last labor preceding the chorioepithelioma, it has been clarified that the disease occurs more frequently following spontaneous abortion rather than after artificial abortion. 7. It is noted that the mole showing a marked proliferation of the trophoblasts entailed CC. However, in order to evaluate a correlation of the histological findings of the mole with chance occurrence of the subsquent CC, further study on the cases is required.