Okayama University Medical School

In the immunofluorescent study it has been revealed that rabbit sera immunized with transformed cells induced by SV-40 DNA, produce circulating antibody capable of re:lcting with intranuclear antigens synthesized by SV-40 complyte virus transforming process, In addition, the result confirmed that SV-40 DNA replicates DNA-containing viruses in the host cell and that also the genome coding for the synthesis of SV-40 tumor antigen is resposible for viral DNA.

The local graft-versus-host (GvH) reaction in (C57BL/6 X BALB/c) F1 hybrid mice, assayed by popliteal lymph node enlargement, was specifically depressed by an injection of parental lymphocytes mixed with spleen cells from F1 mice pretreated with the same parental lymphocytes. Suppressor activity of CBF1 spleen cells was obtained 7 days after inoculation of parental lymphocytes, and peaked on day 10. The suppressive activity was induced by only spleen cells from CBF1 which was inoculated Balb/c lymphocytes, but not C57BL/6 lymphocytes. The lymphocyte subpopulation responsible for the suppressive activity was noticed in T cell population.

Biologically active peptides and neurotransmitter substances were added to anterior pituitary cell cultures to examine the presence of corticotropin releasing factor (CRF)-like activity. Hypothalamic extract (HE) induced significant dose-related increase of ACTH, and the lowest effective dose was 0.01 HE/ml. Other tested substances including luteinizing hormone-releasing hormone, thyrotropin releasing hormone, melanocyte stimulating hormone release inhibiting factor, somatostatin, substance P, neurotensin, beta-endorphin. leu-enkephalin, met-enkephalin, bradykinin, norepinephrine, dopamine, serotonin, acetylcholine, histamine, gamma-amino butyric acid or gamma-hydroxy butyric acid showed no CRF-like activity. Relatively high doses of lysine vasopressin, arginine vasopressin and angiotensin II increased the release of ACTH in pituitary cell cultures, but the maximal ACTH response was markedly less than with HE. These results indicate that cultured anterior pituitary cells are sensitive and fairly specific in detecting CRF(s) comparing with other detecting procedures.

Eine Salieyl-Chinin-Lithium-Kombination wurde im Siemens Unterriehtsreaktor SUR 100 BE des Instituts fur Kernteehnik der Teehnisehen UniversiUit Berlin mit Neutronen aktiviert. AnsehlieBend erfolgte die Messung der spektralen Verteilung der Gamma-Zahlrate zu zwei versehiedenen Zeitpunkten naeh der Aktivierung. Es wird festgestellt, daB diese Salieyl-Chinin-Lithium-Kombination nur sehwaeh im SUR-Reaktor aktivierbar ist, vergliehen mit einer Goldsonde etwa 200 mal sehwaeher. Trotzdem konnten mit Hilfe eines 400-Kanal-Analysators die spektralen Verteilungen der Gamma-Energien dieses Praparates noch sehr genau bestimmt werden. Ein ausgepragter Gamma-Peak tritt auf bei der Energie 0.53 MeV. Er klingt ab mit einer Halbwertszeit von 1.6 h und ist vermut· lich auf ein Element der Tablettierhilfsstoffe zurUckzufUhren. Vom strahlenphysikalischen Gesichtspunkt ist das Praparat fUr die Human. medizin gut geeignet.

<P>Spheroid cultures of human hepatoblastoma cells (HuH-6 line) were established by rotating 3 x 10(6) cells/3 ml culture medium in 25-ml Erlenmeyer flasks on a gyratory shaker. The size of the spheroids rapidly increased until 4 days of culture, and thereafter their size gradually increased until 8 days of culture. A considerable amount of lactate dehydrogenase (LDH) was detected in the culture medium at 24h after seeding because of cell damage by subculturing, but thereafter the amount released was small, indicating that the spheroids were in healthy condition. Albumin production, one of the differentiated functions of hepatocytes, was higher in spheroid cultures than in monolayer cultures. Using this spheroid culture model, the cytotoxic effects of alcohols on HuH-6 cells were studied by measuring the activity of LDH released in the medium from damaged cells. The results indicate that the increasing order of toxicity of the alcohols was as follows: methanol < ethanol < propanol.</P>

Experiments were undertaken to determine the relationship between evoked spinal cord potential (ESP) and the partial pressure of oxygen in tissue in the epidural space (E-pO2) during aortic clamping. Eighteen adult mongrel dogs were studied as follows. In group I (n = 6), the descending thoracic aorta was clamped partially at the proximal site for 15 min to maintain the distal arterial pressure at 60, 40, and 20 mmHg consecutively at 15 min intervals. In group II (n = 6), the descending thoracic aorta was clamped proximally for 30 min. In group III (n = 6), the descending thoracic aorta was cross-clamped at proximal and distal sites for 30 min. Postoperative complete paraplegia was observed in 4 of 6 dogs in group III, but none in group II. The change in ESP with aorta cross-clamping was very mild in groups I and II. Transient increases and decreases in the ESP amplitude were observed in group III. The decrease of E-pO2 correlated well with the distal arterial pressure, and a rapid return to baseline of the E-pO2 was observed after declamping. The E-pO2 changed in response to spinal ischemia more rapidly than did ESP in all groups. The critical level of E-pO2 was 50 mmHg or a 40% decrease from baseline. Because the ESP reflects spinal function and the E-pO2 reflects spinal blood pressure, we propose that combined recording of ESP and E-pO2 would improve spinal monitoring during thoracic aortic surgery.

<P>In this study, 42 cases of spinal schwannomas are reviewed. We analyzed the therapeutic results of patients with spinal schwannomas in order to investigate the factors which affect the clinical outcomes. Early diagnosis and treatment could help procure a good result for the patient. The delay in diagnosis and the subsequent duration of symptoms was significantly longer in cases of lumbar lesions compared to cervical and thoracic lesions. Tumor recurrence was rare, but in some cases where complete resection was not possible, close follow-up of the patients postoperatively with MRI was indicated.</P>

Under barbiturate anesthesia, male Wistar rats weighing 250-300 g were injected with 2.5 microliters of 0.2 M FeCl3 solution into the left sensori-motor cortex to induce an epileptic focus with minimal abnormal activities. Polygraphy started 1 week after the surgery, showed a spindle-like hypersynchronous activity that appeared not only in the slow wave sleep period but also during paradoxical sleep (PS). This activity had a frequency of 8-14 Hz. The amplitude was more than 200 mu v in the right (non-injected side) cortex but very small in the left cortex (injected side). Isolated spike discharges were observed in an ECoG of slow wave sleep. Apart from this activity there was nothing resembling the usual sleep spindles.

We studied the effects of a splenectomy in combination with immunotherapy on the survival of patients who had undergone a total gastrectomy. It was found that a splenectomy was not effective against advanced gastric cancer at stage III, and that the spleen should be retained for immunotherapy. Splenectomy for gastric cancer at terminal stage IV, particularly in combination with immunotherapy, produced not only augmentation of cellular immunity, but also increased survival.

Spontaneous dissection of the superior mesenteric artery (SMA) is a rare condition. Here we report 2 cases of spontaneous SMA dissection causing acute abdomen. Bowel infarction did not occur in either case despite total occlusion or severe stenosis of the SMA;we successfully managed isolated SMA dissection without surgical intervention. Our nonoperative management regimen for spontaneous SMA dissection consisted of intestinal rest with fasting, administration of a vasodilator, and blood pressure control. Surgical intervention should be unnecessary unless complications, such as intestinal infarction and abdominal angina, occur.

Three cell lines, spontaneously transformed in vitro, MWE-l and MWE-2 originating from C3Hf/Bi mouse whole embryos and NHLu-l originating from newborn syrian hamster lungs were obtained. These transformed cell lines were characterized by short generation time, marked aneuploidy in chromosome numbers and tumor induction in vivo. Histological appearance of the tumors induced by MWE-l was fibrosarcomatous. Myogenic character in MWE-2 and epithelial character in NHLu-l were interesting features.

<p>A female patient who died of apparent postradiation sarcoma in the inguinal region after irradiating a metastatic squamous cell carcinoma of the same site was reported. For approximately 20 months, the patient had received a total of 6,600 and 9,600 Roentgen to the right para-aortic and inguinal areas, respectively. About 10 years later, she developed a sarcoma, namely a malignant fibrous histiocytoma. Sputum cytology demonstrated numerous giant cells with bizarre nuclei; subsequent chest films also presented apparent metastatic tumor shadows. The cellular characteristics and also rather low incidence of detection of nonepithelial malignant tumor by sputum cytology were briefly discussed, and ways of enhancing cytodiagnostic accuracy were proposed.</p>

In vivo inactivation of cystathionine gamma-lyase by D,L-propargylglycine, a suicide inhibitor, was found to be less profound in rat kidney than in the liver. We investigated the cause of this difference using rat tissues. We fractionated kidney extract to characterize the substance which protected enzyme, and found that cysteine exhibits protecting action. Addition of 0.3 mM L-cysteine to the incubation mixture containing dialyzed kidney supernatant and 0.5 mM D,L-propargylglycine resulted in the protection of cystathionine gamma-lyase from the inactivation by the inhibitor. The content of cysteine in the kidney was six-fold higher than that in the liver. Thus, we have concluded that one of the reasons why the in vivo inactivation of cystathionine gamma-lyase in rat kidney was less than that in the liver is the presence of a higher concentration of cysteine in the kidney. S-Carboxymethylcysteine, a cysteine derivative, exhibited a similar, but weaker, protective effect.

The stability of rat (human) CRF in serum, urine and tissue incubation medium was examined using Sephadex gel filtration and CRF radioimmunoassay with anti-rat (human) CRF serum. Human serum after incubation with rat (human) CRF for 1 h at 37 degrees C showed two peaks of CRF immunoreactivity on a Sephadex G-50 fine column. Most of the immunoreactivity coeluted with the rat (human) CRF marker. When rat (human) CRF was incubated with rat liver, kidney or hypothalamus, only 3.1-14.9% of the CRF was recovered at the rat (human) CRF position on gel filtration, and two to four CRF-immunoreactive peaks appeared after the rat (human) CRF marker. When rat (human) CRF was incubated with human urine (pH 6.0) for 24 h at room temperature, one peak of CRF immunoreactivity coeluted with the rat (human) CRF marker on Sephadex gel filtration. The urine extracts of normal rats showed some small peaks of CRF-like immunoreactivity on the Sephadex column, with the main peak appearing after authentic CRF. These results suggest that rat (human) CRF is relatively stable in serum and urine, but is easily degraded by tissue enzymes, with the degraded CRF fragments being excreted in the urine.

The effects of coenzyme Q10 (Co Q10) on potassium ion release, membrane potential and fluidity of rabbit red blood cells were studied. Co Q10 inhibited the increased potassium ion release induced by cetylamine or lysolecithin from the cells. Co Q10 slightly decreased the membrane potential monitored by changes in fluorescence intensity of cyanine dye, 3,3'-dipropyl-2,2'-thiodicarbocyanine iodide [diS-C3-(5)], and also slightly decreased the membrane fluidity measured by using 1,6-diphenyl-1,3,5-hexatriene (DPH). These effects of Co Q10 on the membrane are considered to be due to its membrane stabilizing activity by interaction with lipid bilayers of the membrane.