Okayama University Medical School

The thalamic posterior ventral neurons with bifurcating axons to both the first and second somatosensory cortical areas (SI and SII) in the cat were examined by the fluorescent retrograde double labeling technique. After injection of Evans blue (EB) into the SI, and of 4',6-diamidino-2-phenylindol.2HCl (DAPI) into the SII of the same hemisphere, EB- and DAPI-labeled cells were observed predominantly in both the posterolateral ventral and the posteromedial ventral nuclei of the thalamus. Although EB single-labeled and DAPI single-labeled cells tended to occupy separate regions within the posterior ventral nuclei, a small number of cells double-labeled with both EB and DAPI were detected in the border zone between two single-labeled cell groups. These observations indicate that some cells in the posteromedial and posterolateral ventral nuclei project both to the SI and SII by bifurcating axons.

ADAMTS1 (a disintegrin and metalloproteinase with thrombospondin motifs 1) is an inflammatory-induced gene. We have previously reported that ADAMTS1 was strongly but transiently expressed in the infarcted heart. In this study, we investigated whether a 3'-untranslated region (UTR) affects the mRNA stability of this gene. When stimulated with tissue necrosis factor (TNF)-alpha, the expression level of ADAMTS1 mRNA rapidly increased, but the induction of ADAMTS1 mRNA peaked at 6h after stimulation, after which the expression levels of ADAMTS1 mRNA decreased. The 3'-UTR ADAMTS1 mRNA contains multiple adenine and uridine-rich elements, suggesting that the 3'-UTR may regulate gene stability. The addition of actinomycin D, an RNA synthesis inhibitor, demonstrated the decay of induced ADAMTS1 mRNA by TNF-alpha. Furthermore, a region containing multiple AUUUA motifs within the ADAMTS1 3'-UTR destabilized transfected Enhanced Green Fluorescence Protein (EGFP) mRNA expression. These results demonstrated that the ADAMTS1 3'-UTR may regulate the expression of ADAMTS1 mRNA.

Increase of capillary permeability is the chief symptomatic reaction of various pathologic states, especially that of localized inflammation, and this is the characteristic pharmacological properties of histamine at a far smaller concentration than that of any other chemical substances (Lewis, 1927; Crammer and Hele, 1944). There are numerous observations as to the diminishing effect of antihistamines on the flare and wheal caused by histamine and the inhibition by antihistamines of localized accumulation of intravenously injected dyes, such as trypan blue, referable to intradermal injection of histamine (for refs. cf. Loew, 1947; Fe£nberg et al., 1950). As for the inhibition of capillary permeability by antihistamines, some maintain that this action is limited to the case where such permeability has been increased by histamine (Wells, Morris and Dragstedt, 1946; Netter, 1947; Rigdon, 1949), but no single and decisive conclusion can yet be given.

The purpose of this study is to compare the performance of laparoscopic partial nephrectomy (LPN) with and without clamping of the renal artery and to evaluate the impact of clamping on postoperative renal function. A total of 20 patients underwent LPN, 13 without and 7 with clamping of the renal artery. The 2 groups were compared with respect to complications, blood loss, operative time, mean tumor size, and incidence of positive margins. Renal function was evaluated by pre- and postoperative renal scintigraphy using ^99mTechnetium-mercaptoacetyltriglycine (^99mTc-MAG3). Intraoperative blood loss was significantly higher in the group without clamping than in the group with clamping (p0.04). In the group with clamping, the median warm ischemic time was 35min (range 25-40min). The serum creatinine values and the renal scintigraphy showed no influence on postoperative renal function with or without clamping. In the group without clamping, 2 cases were showed positive surgical margins. The procedure performed with clamping of the renal artery is superior to the procedure performed without clamping as it provides the advantages of controlling hemorrhaging without injury to renal function and prolonging the surgical time and allowing for more accurate resection of renal tumors.

Our study aimed to investigate the potential radioprotective effects of N-acetylcysteine (NAC) by comparing its biochemical effects with those of WR-2721, as a representative of clinically used radioprotectors, in preventing oxidative damage caused by gamma irradiation (single dose, 6Gy) in normal rat tissue. The rats (n=40) were divided randomly and equally into 4 groups:Control (C), Radiation (R), R+NAC (received irradiation and 1,000mg/kg NAC) and R＋WR-2721 (received irradiation and 200mg/kg WR-2721) rats. Liver tissues and blood samples were harvested and utilized for reduced glutathione (GSH), malondialdehyde (MDA) and myeloperoxidase (MPO) detection. Serum and tissue GSH levels of R rats decreased compared to those of other groups (p<0.01). Tissue MDA levels of R+NAC and R+WR-2721 rats decreased compared to R rats (p<0.01;p<0.05, respectively). Tissue MPO activities of R+NAC and R+WR-2721 rats were higher than those of R rats (p<0.001). Serum MPO levels of R+WR-2721 rats were lower than those of C rats and R rats (p<0.01, p<0.001, respectively). In conclusion, the study suggests that the radioprotective effect against radiation-induced oxidative damage of NAC may be similar to that of WR-2721.