Effect of fish oil on the development of AOM-induced glutathione S-transferase placental form positive hepatocellular foci in male F344 rats

Omega-3 fatty acids, which are contained in fish oils and certain vegetable oils in contrast to corn oil or safflower oil rich in omega-6 fatty acids (linoteic acid), have been reported to reduce the carcinogenesis in several organs. In this study, the modifying effect of menhaden fish oil was investigated on the occurrence of azoxymethane (AOM)-induced glutathione S-transferase placental form (GST-P) positive hepatocellular foci, recognized preneoplastic lesions in the liver, in male F344 rats. Starting at five weeks of age, groups of animals were fed ad libitum a semipurified diet containing 5% corn oil (low fat). At seven weeks of age, all animals except the vehicle-treated groups were injected subcutaneously with AOM (15 mg/kg body wt, 1x/wk for 2 wks). Four days after the second injection, groups of animals were fed the diets containing 4% menhaden oil + 1% corn oil (low fish oil diet), 22.5% menhaden oil + 1% corn oil (high fish oil diet), and 5% corn oil. Thirty-four weeks after AOM injections, all animals were necropsied. Livers were sectioned and performed immunohistochemical staining of GST-P for quantitative analysis of enzyme altered foci of the liver. The results demonstrate that the density and the unit area of AOM-induced enzyme altered foci in the liver were significantly lower in the high fish oil group (0.60 +/- 0.08/cm2, 3.0 +/- 0.4 x 10(-4)) than in the 5% corn oil group (2.71 +/- 0.33/cm2, 16.6 +/- 2.6 x 10(-4)) and the low fish oil group (1.66 +/- 0.33/cm2, 11.1 +/- 1.9 x 10(-4)).(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)

Human pulmonary vascular and venous compliances are reduced before and during left-sided heart failure

Human pulmonary vascular and venous compliances were measured in 41 patients with or without left-sided heart failure. Two methods were used. Method 1 was based on analysis of pulmonary capillary wedge (PCW) pressure tracings according to Cv,PCW = (SF/100)(0.075PCW + 0.90)SV/[(v - d)PCW + 1], where Cv,PCW is compliance of pulmonary venous system, SF is systolic fraction of pulmonary venous flow [related to pulmonary capillary wedge pressure (PCW) as SF = 82 - 2.01PCW], (v - d)PCW is pulse pressure in PCW position, and SV is stroke volume. The (0.075PCW + 0.90) term equals k", i.e., systolic run-off ratio. Method 2 was used to measure to pulmonary vascular volume-pressure (V-P) relationship and pulmonary vascular compliance (Cvasc) and is based on measurement of pulmonary blood volume (PBV) and its increase with passive elevation of the legs to calculate Cvasc. Assuming the proportion of blood entering pulmonary venous system (in increase of PBV) during passive leg elevation to be 0.8, pulmonary venous compliance (Cv,PBV) was calculated as Cv,PBV = 0.8Cvasc. Cv,PCW correlated fairly closely with Cv,PBV (r = 0.81, coefficient of variation = 31%). This fair agreement between two independent methods suggests strongly that both methods may be valid, although other interpretations are possible. Cv,PCW, Cvasc, and Cv,PBV decreased going from New York Heart Association class I to classes II and III. When PBV was plotted vs. PCW, average V-P line for class II patients was flatter and shifted downward to the right compared with that for class I. This suggests pulmonary vasoconstriction as well as other factors. Average V-P line for class III patients is flatter but not displaced compared with that for class II. Another previously reported series of 50 patients, most of whom had ischemic heart disease, are included in this study.

Modulation of muscle protein metabolism in disseminated intravascular coagulation

Muscle protein degradation and intracellular protease activities were investigated in disseminated intravascular coagulation (DIC), which is frequently associated with severe catabolic states such as sepsis and multiple organ failure. DIC was introduced in rats by repeated intravenous thrombin injections. Saline was injected in control rats. In the 28 rats (14 with DIC and 14 controls), the bilateral soleus (SOL) muscles were incubated in an oxygenated medium without cycloheximide (CH) to determine the release of tyrosine (Tyr) into the incubated medium. From 24 rats (12 with DIC and 12 controls), the SOL and extensor digitorum longus (EDL) muscles were harvested to measure the activities of proteasome and of cathepsins L and B. The contralateral muscles were incubated in a medium with 0.5 mM CH to determine the release of Tyr and 3-methylhistidine (3-MH). The release of Tyr without CH (net proteolysis) from SOL muscles with DIC was greater than in controls (218 +/- 83.3 vs. 145 +/- 47.7 pmol/mg/h. However, the release of Tyr and 3-MH with CH (total proteolysis) and the activities of proteasome and cathepsins in DIC were nearly the same as those in controls. In both DIC and control rats, the total release of Tyr and proteasome activity were greater in SOL than in EDL muscles. These results suggest that reutilization of Tyr, reflecting protein synthesis, is suppressed in DIC and that the red slow muscle is more active in nonfibrillar proteolysis than the white fast muscle.

Microheterogeneity of mouse antidextran monoclonal antibodies

Mouse antidextran monoclonal antibodies showed microheterogeneity which was analyzed by two-dimensional polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis (2-D PAGE). Not only the heavy (H) chains but also the light (L) chains were heterogeneous in terms of isoelectric point (pI). The higher the pI, the more prominent the H chain spots. To demonstrate the cause of the microheterogeneity an IgG1 monoclonal antibody (mAb 35.8.2H) was examined especially for involvement of the sugar moiety in the microheterogeneity. The glycosylated region was determined in the Fc portion from serine 239 to methionine 309 by a glycan detection method using mild periodate oxidation, which confirms that the sugar chain is attached to the conserved glycosylation site of asparagine 297. However, charge heterogeneity of the H chain was not entirely attributed to the Fc because the papain digest of the antibody was separated into two Fc spots, a few Fd spots and two L chain spots by 2-D PAGE. This indicates that factors other than the sugar moiety are responsible for charge heterogeneity of IgG monoclonal antibody. On the other hand, the H chain isoforms of lower pI were shown to be more susceptible to V8 protease by peptide mapping. This result strongly suggests the occurrence of deamidation at glutamine or asparagine residues.

Inhibition by erythromycin of superoxide anion production by human polymorphonuclear leukocytes through the action of cyclic AMP-dependent protein kinase

The long-term low-dose administration of erythromycin is effective in treating chronic inflammatory diseases of the lower respiratory tract. The aim of this study was to clarify the mechanism for this therapeutic effect of erythromycin. We measured its effect on the production of superoxide anion (O2-) by polymorphonuclear leukocytes (PMN) that was induced by N-formyl-methionyl-leucyl-phenylalanine (fMLP) or by phorbol myristate acetate (PMA). 25 microM erythromycin inhibited fMLP-induced O2- production by about 50%, but not PMA-induced O2- production. Moreover, this inhibition was overcome by adding an inhibitor of cyclic AMP-dependent protein kinase (PKA), H-89. The fMLP-induced O2- production was also inhibited by isoproterenol, a beta-adrenergic agonist, and by dibutyryl cyclic AMP, a cell membrane permeating analogue of cyclic AMP. The inhibition was also overcome by the addition of H-89. Therefore, the effect of erythromycin seemed to be, in part, mediated through the activation of PKA. The inhibition by erythromycin of O2- generation by PMN may contribute to the beneficial effect of this drug in treating chronic respiratory diseases.

Effects of lansoprazole on mucosal regeneration in patients with gastric ulcers: evaluation using an electronic endoscope with a magnifying function

When healing of gastric ulcers is observed using an electronic endoscope with a magnifying function, five types of regenerated mucosa can be distinguished. The membranous type appears first at the ulcer margin and is followed by the spindle-shaped and palisade-shaped regenerated mucosae that plays an important role in ulcer healing. These two types change into the cobblestone-shaped and the basically normal structure, which have an important relation to the maturity of ulcer healing. In observation of gastric ulcer healing in 10 patients who received lansoprazole 30 mg (L group) or in 12 patients who received famotidine 20 mg b.i.d. (F group), the spindle- and palisade-shaped mucosae were significantly more developed in the L group than in the F group after 4 weeks (p < 0.05). On the other hand, after 8 weeks, the development of these two types of mucosa was less extensive in the L group than in the F group, because these two types had changed into cobblestone-shaped and basically normal structure in the L group. In conclusion, treatment with lansoprazole resulted in more rapid ulcer healing and maturation of regenerated mucosa than did treatment with famotidine in this study.

Characterization, partial purification, and peptide sequencing of p130,the main phosphoprotein associated with v-Crk oncoprotein

The transforming gene v-crk found in CT10 and ASV-1 avian sarcoma viruses induces marked phosphorylation of several proteins in cells expressing p47v-crk (v-Crk). In this work, the main tyrosine-phosphorylated proteins in ASV-1-infected chicken cells and v-crk-transfected rat cells were characterized biochemically. Both these proteins have a molecular mass of about 130 kDa and are tightly associated with v-Crk in vivo. Two-dimensional gel electrophoresis revealed that they are both essentially single proteins (p130) with modifications that result in a broad spot in an acidic region. The broad band of semi-purified p130 became sharp at an elevated position in the gel upon treatment with orthovanadate in vivo or with c-Src kinase produced using a baculovirus vector in vitro, whereas it shifted at a lower position upon treatment with alkaline phosphatase in vitro. These results suggest multiple phosphorylation states of p130, which result in a broad band of p130. Two procedures of immunoaffinity purification were used to purify p130 from 3Y1 cells transfected with v-crk. Approximately 30 pmol of purified p130 was obtained in an immobilized form on a filter starting from 3 x 10(10) cells. Peptide mapping of p130 digested in situ by peptidase revealed that the purity and quantity of the final material were enough for peptide sequencing. Several stretches of partial amino acid sequences were determined, and they indicated that p130 is a novel protein.

Thermodynamic procedure to synthesize heteropolymers that can renature to recognize a given target molecule

We suggest a procedure to synthesize polymers with characteristics similar to those observed in globular proteins: renaturability and the existence of an "active site" capable of specifically recognizing a given target molecule. This procedure is investigated by computer simulation, which finds a yield of up to 65%. We believe that, in principle, this scheme can be realized in vitro. The applicability of this approach as a model of prebiotic synthesis in vivo is also discussed.

Nonrandomness in protein sequences: evidence for a physically driven stage of evolution?

The sequences, or primary structures, of existing biopolymers--in particular, proteins--are believed to be a product of evolution. Are the sequences random? If not, what is the character of this nonrandomness? To explore the statistics of protein sequences, we use the idea of mapping the sequence onto the trajectory of a random walk, originally proposed by Peng et al. [Peng, C.-K., Buldyrev, S. V., Goldberger, A. L., Havlin, S., Sciortino, F., Simons, M. & Stanley, H. E. (1992) Nature (London) 356, 168-170] in their analysis of DNA sequences. Using three different mappings, corresponding to three basic physical interactions between amino acids, we found pronounced deviations from pure randomness, and these deviations seem directed toward minimization of the energy of the three-dimensional structure. We consider this result as evidence for a physically driven stage of evolution.

[Serum levels of intact molecular osteocalcin in children with growth hormone (GH) deficiency during GH therapy: an early predictor of GH therapy]

Recently we developed a sandwich enzyme immunoassay (EIA) specific for intact molecular osteocalcin (I-OC), produced only by osteoblast cell and partially released into blood circulation, to establish a specific biochemical marker of bone formation. In order to confirm whether serum I-OC levels constitute a specific marker for bone formation and to assess the relationship between serum I-OC levels and growth response to growth hormone (GH) therapy, we measured the serum I-OC in serial serum samples using this EIA from 61 children with GH deficiency who showed significant bone growth during GH therapy. The serum I-OC levels in children with GH deficiency before GH therapy were slightly lower than those in normal children (Kanzaki S. et al., J. Clin Endocrinol Metab. 1992;75:1104-9), and had a wide distribution overlapped with the normal range. These levels were apparently increased during GH treatment; that is, in contrast to the levels of 22.9 +/- 1.5 ng/ml (mean +/- SE) before GH treatment, the levels after 1 and 2 months of GH treatment were 29.1 +/- 1.6 ng/ml and 32.5 +/- 1.8 ng/ml, respectively. However, they decreased slightly at 3 months and then they gradually rose to 37.5 +/- 2.8 ng/ml after 12 months, I-OC ratios, represented by the I-OC level at each month of GH therapy in relation to pretreatment level, correlated well with the growth response (growth velocity, growth velocity SD score and delta growth velocity SD score) after 12 months of GH treatment. Correlation coefficients of the growth velocity versus I-OC ratio at 1 and 6 months of GH treatment were 0.677 (p < 0.001, N = 58) and 0.752 (p < 0.001, N = 55), respectively. However, both IGF-I and ALP ratios represented in the same way as the I-OC ratio, correlated poorly as compared with the I-OC ratio. These results demonstrate that the change of serum I-OC levels indicates a direct and sensitive reflection of bone formation, because serum I-OC levels significantly increased with the growth response to GH therapy. The measurement of serum I-OC levels after 1 month of GH treatment may be a useful tool in predicting improved growth velocity during long-term GH therapy.

Characterization of the myosin-binding subunit of smooth muscle myosin phosphatase

A myosin phosphatase was purified from chicken gizzard smooth muscle. The holoenzyme is a trimer and consists of 130,000-, 38,000-, and 20,000-Da subunits (in agreement with the results of Alessi et al.: Alessi, D., MacDougall, L. K., Sola, M. M., Ikebe, M., and Cohen, P. (1992) Eur. J. Biochem. 210, 1023-1035). The catalytic subunit, 38,000 Da, is the type 1 delta isoform, and its derived amino acid sequence is identical to the rat isoform. The larger subunit bound to myosin and also interacted with the catalytic subunit. cDNA clones encoding the large subunit were isolated from chicken gizzard cDNA libraries. Overlapping clones indicated the presence of two isoforms, and open reading frames of 2889 and 3012 bases were obtained. These encoded proteins of 963 and 1004 amino acids, with masses of 106,700 and 111,600 Da, respectively. The insert in the larger isoform is in the center of the molecule, at residues 512-552. The N-terminal third of the molecule is composed of eight repeat sequences, similar to the cdc10/SWI6 or ankyrin repeat. Myosin binding and binding to the catalytic subunit are properties of a 58,000-Da fragment that represents the N-terminal part of the molecule.

[Basic and clinical approaches for surgical treatment of intractable epilepsies]

Recent reports demonstrated that patients with medically intractable epilepsy were benefited with surgical treatments. Even in pediatric patients, early surgery is effective not only in seizure control but also in verbal, intelligent and social outcomes. In the present study, basic and clinical approaches in the treatment of intractable epilepsies were studied. In chronic cat model of intractable temporal lobe epilepsy induced by a microinjection of kainic acid, temporal cortical excision with amygdala focus resection or focus and hippocampal resections were examined by means of microsurgical technics. The cats with amygdala focus resection demonstrated spontaneous hippocampal seizures while cats with focus and hippocampal resection did not show seizures in the long time course after the surgery. In a cat model of cortical focal seizures, multiple subpial transection(MST) was examined. The cortical seizures, induced by a microinjection of kainic acid into unilateral sensori-motor cortex, were suppressed immediately after the MST. Postoperative course was uneventful and seizure was not recurred. However, pathological study demonstrated subpial scar formation at the site of MST in the sensori-motor cortex. In 38 patients with medically intractable epilepsies, surgical treatments were performed in the Department of Neurosurgery. Asahikawa Medical College. The site of the epileptogenic lesion was studied with Video-EEG longterm monitorings, Neuro-imagings with CT, MRI, interictal SPECT and/or ictal SPECT. At the surgery, intraoperative electrocorticograms(ECoGs) were monitored under light neuroleptanalgesia in order to localize epileptic focus. Seizure free rate with or without postoperative medication was 72%. Remarkable improvement was observed in 7 patients (18%), but, 4 patients (10%) did not show any improvement.

Gastric cancer surgery in patients aged at least 80 years old

Fifty-six patients with gastric cancer who were at least 80 years of age (range 80-88) (Group 1) were retrospectively investigated and compared with younger patients. The resectability rate was 80% (45/56) in Group 1, 88% (331/373) in Group 2 (patients aged between 70 and 79) and 91% (992/1,087) in Group 3 (patients aged under 70 years). Of the cases resected, 73% had advanced cancer in Group 1, 61% in Group 2 and 55% in Group 3. Total gastrectomy was performed in only 11% of the resected cases in Group 1, in 25% of those in Group 2 and in 33% in Group 3. Of these, combined resections were employed in none of the patients in Group 1, in 38% of those in Group 2 and in 47% of those in Group 3. Pathologically, 78% of Group 1 cancers were of the differentiated type, 68% of Group 2 and 49% of Group 3 cancers (Group 1: Group 3, p < 0.001). R3 gastrectomy was performed for advanced cancer in none of the patients in Group 1, in 21% in Group 2, and in 39% of those in Group 3. In resected early cancers, the lymph node metastasis (n) rate was 0% for Group 1, 10% for Group 2, and 9% for Group 3. In the advanced cases, n(+) was 67% for Group 1, 65% for Group 2, and 73% for Group 3. Postoperative complications occurred in 25% of Group 1 and in 12% of Group 2 patients. Anastomotic leakage occurred in 4% of Group 1 and in 5% of Group 2 patients. The 5-year-survival rate was 47% for all resected cases in Group 1, and 68% for Groups 2 and 3.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)

Enhancement of fibroblast-dependent mast cell growth in mice by a conditioned medium of keratinocyte-derived squamous cell carcinoma cells

We investigated the increase in mast cell numbers at the sites of inoculation of keratinocyte-derived squamous cell carcinoma cell line (KCMH-1) cells in mice. A significant increase in the number of mast cells was observed at the sites of tumours developed at the sites of inoculation of the KCMH-1 cells. Enhancement of mast cell growth was observed by culturing bone marrow-derived mast cells (BMMC) on NIH/3T3 fibroblast monolayers in the presence of conditioned medium (TCM) obtained from KCMH-1. Activities of known factors for mast cell growth, such as interleukin-3 (IL-3), IL-4, IL-9, IL-10 and stem cell factor (SCF), were not detected in the TCM. Nerve growth factor (NGF) did not induce mast cell growth. Mast cell growth induced by the TCM needed 3T3 fibroblasts. These results suggest that KCMH-1 cells may produce a factor which induces mast cell growth with 3T3 fibroblasts, other than the already known mast cell growth factors. This may be the mechanism of mast cell accumulation at sites of tumours.

Prevalence of malaria and its relationship to anemia, blood glucose levels, and serum somatomedin c (IGF-1) levels in the Solomon Islands

As part of establishing effective methods for malaria control, the malaria-associated nutritional status was surveyed on Guadalcanal Island in the Solomon Islands in 1993. A total of 506 residents participated in this study. The slide positive rate for malaria was 54% (275/506) in all ages, with a high of 79% for children aged 4-6 years. Plasmodium falciparum was the most common species (52%), followed by P. vivax (29%). Splenomegaly in children from infants to age 15 was detected at the rate of 30% (104/343) by the palpation method. Body mass index was lower in Solomon Islanders than for the Japanese population up to 15 years old in both genders. Mean values for serum insulin-like growth factor-1 (IGF-1) were also lower in Solomon Islanders in children under 18 years old. The hemoglobin distribution curves were almost identical in the malaria-positive (P(+)) and -negative (P(-)) groups. The percentage of cases with less than 80 mg/dl of blood glucose and those with less than 50 ng/ml of IGF-1 were higher in the P(+) group than for the anti-malaria drug-untreated malaria-negative (P(-)D(-)) group. It is suggested that low blood glucose and low IGF-1 levels may have some relationship with the malaria infection.