The IL-17-IL-17RA axis is required to promote osteosarcoma progression in mice

Osteosarcoma is rare but is the most common bone tumor. Diagnostic tools such as magnetic resonance imaging development of chemotherapeutic agents have increased the survival rate in osteosarcoma patients, although 5-year survival has plateaued at 70%. Thus, development of new treatment approaches is needed. Here, we report that IL-17, a proinflammatory cytokine, increases osteosarcoma mortality in a mouse model with AX osteosarcoma cells. AX cell transplantation into wild-type mice resulted in 100% mortality due to ectopic ossification and multi-organ metastasis. However, AX cell transplantation into IL-17-deficient mice significantly prolonged survival relative to controls. CD4-positive cells adjacent to osteosarcoma cells express IL-17, while osteosarcoma cells express the IL-17 receptor IL-17RA. Although AX cells can undergo osteoblast differentiation, as can patient osteosarcoma cells, IL-17 significantly inhibited that differentiation, indicating that IL-17 maintains AX cells in the undifferentiated state seen in malignant tumors. By contrast, IL-17RA-deficient mice transplanted with AX cells showed survival comparable to wild-type mice transplanted with AX cells. Biopsy specimens collected from osteosarcoma patients showed higher expression of IL-17RA compared to IL-17. These findings suggest that IL-17 is essential to maintain osteosarcoma cells in an undifferentiated state and could be a therapeutic target for suppressing tumorigenesis.

Transthyretin amyloid deposition in ligamentum flavum (LF) is significantly correlated with LF and epidural fat hypertrophy in patients with lumbar spinal stenosis

Lumbar spinal stenosis (LSS) is a degenerative disease characterized by intermittent claudication and numbness in the lower extremities. These symptoms are caused by the compression of nerve tissue in the lumbar spinal canal. Ligamentum flavum (LF) hypertrophy and spinal epidural lipomatosis in the spinal canal are known to contribute to stenosis of the spinal canal: however, detailed mechanisms underlying LSS are still not fully understood. Here, we show that surgically harvested LFs from LSS patients exhibited significantly increased thickness when transthyretin (TTR), the protein responsible for amyloidosis, was deposited in LFs, compared to those without TTR deposition. Multiple regression analysis, which considered age and BMI, revealed a significant association between LF hypertrophy and TTR deposition in LFs. Moreover, TTR deposition in LF was also significantly correlated with epidural fat (EF) thickness based on multiple regression analyses. Mesenchymal cell differentiation into adipocytes was significantly stimulated by TTR in vitro. These results suggest that TTR deposition in LFs is significantly associated with increased LF hypertrophy and EF thickness, and that TTR promotes adipogenesis of mesenchymal cells. Therapeutic agents to prevent TTR deposition in tissues are currently available or under development, and targeting TTR could be a potential therapeutic approach to inhibit LSS development and progression.

Remnant tissue enhances early postoperative biomechanical strength and infiltration of Scleraxis-positive cells within the grafted tendon in a rat anterior cruciate ligament reconstruction model

When ruptured, ligaments and tendons have limited self-repair capacity and rarely heal spontaneously. In the knee, the Anterior Cruciate Ligament (ACL) often ruptures during sports activities, causing functional impairment and requiring surgery using tendon grafts. Patients with insufficient time to recover before resuming sports risk re-injury. To develop more effective treatment, it is necessary to define mechanisms underlying ligament repair. For this, animal models can be useful, but mice are too small to create an ACL reconstruction model. Thus, we developed a transgenic rat model using control elements of Scleraxis (Scx), a transcription factor essential for ligament and tendon development, to drive GFP expression in order to localize Scx-expressing cells. As anticipated, Tg rats exhibited Scx-GFP in ACL during developmental but not adult stages. Interestingly, when we transplanted the flexor digitorum longus (FDP) tendon derived from adult Scx-GFP+ rats into WT adults, Scx-GFP was not expressed in transplanted tendons. However, tendons transplanted from adult WT rats into Scx-GFP rats showed upregulated Scx expression in tendon, suggesting that Scx-GFP+ cells are mobilized from tissues outside the tendon. Importantly, at 4 weeks post-surgery, Scx-GFP-expressing cells were more frequent within the grafted tendon when an ACL remnant was preserved (P group) relative to when it was not (R group) (P vs R groups (both n = 5), p<0.05), and by 6 weeks, biomechanical strength of the transplanted tendon was significantly increased if the remnant was preserved (P vsR groups (both n = 14), p<0.05). Scx-GFP+ cells increased in remnant tissue after surgery, suggesting remnant tissue is a source of Scx+ cells in grafted tendons. We conclude that the novel Scx-GFP Tg rat is useful to monitor emergence of Scx-positive cells, which likely contribute to increased graft strength after ACL reconstruction.

A machine learning-based scoring system and ten factors associated with hip fracture occurrence in the elderly

Hip fractures are fragility fractures frequently seen in persons over 80-years-old. Although various factors, including decreased bone mineral density and a history of falls, are reported as hip fracture risks, few large-scale studies have confirmed their relevance to individuals older than 80, and tools to assess contributions of various risks to fracture development and the degree of risk are lacking. We recruited 1395 fresh hip fracture patients and 1075 controls without hip fractures and comprehensively evaluated various reported risk factors and their association with hip fracture development. We initially constructed a predictive model using Extreme Gradient Boosting (XGBoost), a machine learning algorithm, incorporating all 40 variables and evaluated the model's performance using the area under the receiver operating characteristic curve (AUC), yielding a value of 0.87. We also employed SHapley Additive exPlanation (SHAP) values to evaluate each feature importance and ranked the top 20. We then used a stepwise selection method to determine key factors sequentially until the AUC reached a plateau nearly equal to that of all variables and identified the top 10 sufficient to evaluate hip fracture risk. For each, we determined the cutoff value for hip fracture occurrence and calculated scores of each variable based on the respective feature importance. Individual scores were: serum 25(OH)D levels (<10 ng/ml, score 7), femoral neck T-score (<-3, score 5), Barthel index score (<100, score 3), maximal handgrip strength (<18 kg, score 3), GLFS-25 score (≥24, score 2), number of falls in previous 12 months (≥3, score 2), serum IGF-1 levels (<50 ng/ml, score 2), cups of tea/day (≥5, score -2), use of anti-osteoporosis drugs (yes, score -2), and BMI (<18.5 kg/m2, score 1). Using these scores, we performed receiver operating characteristic (ROC) analysis and the resultant optimal cutoff value was 7, with a specificity of 0.78, sensitivity of 0.75, and AUC of 0.85. These ten factors and the scoring system may represent tools useful to predict hip fracture.

Potential function of Scx+/Sox9+ cells as progenitor cells in rotator cuff tear repair in rats

Tendons and their attachment sites to bone, fibrocartilaginous tissues, have poor self-repair capacity when they rupture, and have risks of retear even after surgical repair. Thus, defining mechanisms underlying their repair is required in order to stimulate tendon repairing capacity. Here we used a rat surgical rotator cuff tear repair model and identified cells expressing the transcription factors Scleraxis (Scx) and SRY-box 9 (Sox9) as playing a crucial role in rotator cuff tendon-to-bone repair. Given the challenges of establishing stably reproducible models of surgical rotator cuff tear repair in mice, we newly established Scx-GFP transgenic rats in which Scx expression can be monitored by GFP. We observed tissue-specific GFP expression along tendons in developing ScxGFP transgenic rats and were able to successfully monitor tissue-specific Scx expression based on GFP signals. Among 3-, 6-, and 12-week-old ScxGFP rats, Scx+/Sox9+ cells were most abundant in 3-week-old rats near the site of humerus bone attachment to the rotator cuff tendon, while we observed significantly fewer cells in the same area in 6- or 12-week-old rats. We then applied a rotator cuff repair model using ScxGFP rats and observed the largest number of Scx+/Sox9+ cells at postoperative repair sites of 3-week-old relative to 6- or 12-week-old rats. Tendons attach to bone via fibrocartilaginous tissue, and cartilage-like tissue was seen at repair sites of 3-week-old but not 6- or 12-week-old rats during postoperative evaluation. Our findings suggest that Scx+/Sox9+ cells may function in rotator cuff repair, and that ScxGFP rats could serve as useful tools to develop therapies to promote rotator cuff repair by enabling analysis of these activities.

TNFα-dependent mTOR activity is required for tenotomy-induced ectopic ossification in mice

INTRODUCTION

Ectopic ossifications often occur in skeletal muscles or tendons following local trauma or internal hemorrhage, and occasionally cause severe pain that limits activities of daily living. However, mechanisms underlying their development remain unknown.

MATERIALS AND METHODS

The right Achilles tendon in 8-week-old female or male mice was dissected. Some mice were injected intraperitoneally either with phosphate-buffered saline, dimethyl sulfoxide, cimetidine, rapamycin, celecoxib or loxoprofen for 10 weeks. One week after surgery, immunohistochemical analysis was performed for mTOR, TNFα or F4/80. Ten weeks after surgery, ectopic ossification at the tenotomy site was detected by 3D micro-CT.

RESULTS

Ectopic ossification was seen at dissection sites in all wild-type mice by dissection of the Achilles tendon. mTOR activation was detected at dissection sites, and development of ectopic ossification was significantly inhibited by administration of rapamycin, an mTOR inhibitor, to wild-type mice. Moreover, administration of the histamine 2 blocker cimetidine, which reportedly inhibits ectopic ossification in tendons, was not effective in inhibiting ectopic ossification in our models. TNFα-expressing F4/80-positive macrophages accumulate at dissection sites and that ectopic ossification of the Achilles tendon dissection was significantly inhibited in TNFα-deficient mice in vivo. Ectopic ossification is significantly inhibited by administration of either celecoxib or loxoprofen, both anti-inflammatory agents, in wild-type mice. mTOR activation by Achilles tendon tenotomy is inhibited in TNFα-deficient mice.

CONCLUSION

The TNFα-mTOR axis could be targeted therapeutically to prevent trauma-induced ectopic ossification in tendons.

Role of squalene synthase in prostate cancer risk and the biological aggressiveness of human prostate cancer

BACKGROUND

We previously conducted a genome-wide linkage analysis of Japanese nuclear families affected with prostate cancer and showed that the susceptibility to prostate cancer was closely linked to D8S550 at 8p23. The role of farnesyl diphosphate farnesyltransferase (FDFT1), which is located under the peak marker D8S550 at 8p23, and squalene synthase, the enzyme encoded by FDFT1, in prostate cancer was studied.

METHODS

The association among common variants of FDFT1 with prostate cancer risk, the promoter activities of FDFT1 with different genotypes and the effects of inhibition of squalene synthase were studied, and the FDFT1 transcript levels of human prostate samples were quantified.

RESULTS

The A allele of rs2645429 was significantly associated with prostate cancer risk in a Japanese familial prostate cancer population. Rs2645429 was located in the promoter region of FDFT1, and the AA genotype showed significantly increased promoter activity. The knockdown of FDFT1 mRNA expression or squalene synthase inhibition led to a significant decrease in prostate cancer cell proliferation. Additionally, human prostate cancer specimens expressed significantly higher levels of FDFT1 mRNA compared with noncancerous specimens. Finally, aggressive cancers showed higher transcript levels.

CONCLUSIONS

FDFT1 and its encoded enzyme, squalene synthase, may play an important role in prostate cancer development and its aggressive phenotypes.

Optical detection of spin transport in nonmagnetic metals

We determine the dynamic magnetization induced in nonmagnetic metal wedges composed of silver, copper, and platinum by means of Brillouin light scattering microscopy. The magnetization is transferred from a ferromagnetic Ni80Fe20 layer to the metal wedge via the spin pumping effect. The spin pumping efficiency can be controlled by adding an insulating interlayer between the magnetic and nonmagnetic layer. By comparing the experimental results to a dynamical macroscopic spin-transport model we determine the transverse relaxation time of the pumped spin current which is much smaller than the longitudinal relaxation time.

Benchtop time-resolved magneto-optical Kerr magnetometer

We present here the construction and application of a compact benchtop time-resolved Kerr magnetometer to measure the magnetization precession in magnetic thin films and lithographically patterned elements. As opposed to very expensive femtosecond lasers this system is built upon a picosecond pulsed injection diode laser and electronic pulse and delay generators. The precession is triggered by the electronic pulses of controlled duration and shape, which is launched onto the sample by a microstrip line. We used polarized optical pulses synchronous to the electronic pulses to measure the magneto-optical Kerr rotation. The system is integrated in a conventional upright microscope configuration with separate illumination, imaging, and magneto-optical probe paths. The system offers high stability, relative ease of alignment, sample changing, and a long range of time delay. We demonstrate the measurements of time-resolved dynamics of a Permalloy microwire and microdot using this system, which showed dynamics at two different time scales.

Clinicopathologic correlation and outcome of C1q nephropathy

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES

The number of patients with C1q nephropathy (C1qN) in previous reports is small and the duration of follow-up is short. Our study describes the clinicopathologic correlation and clinical outcome through the mean follow-up period of 7.2 yr in 61 patients.

DESIGN, SETTINGS, PARTICIPANTS, & MEASUREMENTS

Sixty-one patients, 1 to 67 yr of age, with C1qN were enrolled in this study.

RESULTS

According to presentation at onset, patients were divided into two groups: asymptomatic urinary abnormalities (asymptomatic) (n = 36) and nephrotic syndrome (NS) (n = 25). Light microscopy showed minimal change disease (MCD) in 46 patients (75%), mesangial proliferative glomerulonephritis in 7 (12%), and focal segmental glomerulosclerosis (FSGS) in 8 (13%). The prevalence of MCD was higher in the NS group than in the asymptomatic group. Nine patients in the asymptomatic group and all patients in the NS group were treated with prednisolone and/or cyclosporine. Normal urinalysis was found in 10 patients in asymptomatic group and 8 in NS group during the follow-up. Thirteen patients in the NS group were frequent relapsers at the latest follow-up. Three patients with FSGS developed chronic renal failure 8 to 15 yr after the diagnosis. C1q deposits disappeared in 3 of 8 patients receiving repeat biopsy, and 2 of these 3 showed FSGS.

CONCLUSIONS

The prognosis of C1qN is good, associated with MCD in a large number. In some patients, C1q deposits disappear through the follow-up period. FSGS may develop in some patients on repeat biopsies. Further investigation is critically needed to settle this issue.

Clinicopathologic correlation of C1q nephropathy in children

BACKGROUND

Clinicopathologic correlation of C1q nephropathy is clarified poorly. The aim of our study is to clarify clinicopathologic correlation in childhood C1q nephropathy.

METHODS

Thirty children aged 3 to 15 years who met criteria proposed by Jennette and Hipp were enrolled in this study.

RESULTS

According to their presentation at onset, children were divided into 2 groups: the asymptomatic urinary abnormalities (asymptomatic) group (n = 18) and the nephrotic syndrome (NS) group (n = 12). Light microscopy showed minimal change disease (MCD) in 22 children (73%), mesangial proliferative glomerulonephritis in 6 children (20%), and focal segmental glomerulosclerosis (FSGS) in 2 children (7%). Four children in the asymptomatic group and all children in the NS group were administered prednisolone and/or cyclosporine. Normal urinalysis results were found in 8 children in the asymptomatic group and 3 children in the NS group during the follow-up period of 3 to 15 years. Eight children in the NS group were frequent relapsers at the latest follow-up. Two children with FSGS (1 child, asymptomatic group; 1 child, NS group) received dialysis 10 and 15 years after the diagnosis. There were no differences in histological findings and clinical outcomes between the 2 groups. Four children with MCD in the NS group underwent a second biopsy. C1q deposits disappeared in 2 children, and 1 of these 2 children showed FSGS.

CONCLUSION

Childhood C1q nephropathy is found in a wide clinical spectrum. Some children showed disappearance of C1q deposits through the follow-up period. A large number of children with C1q nephropathy showed MCD. However, FSGS may develop in some children on repeated biopsy. Therefore, long-term follow-up is needed in children with C1q nephropathy.

Clinical significance of increased plasma concentration of macrophage colony-stimulating factor in patients with angina pectoris

OBJECTIVES

To determine the effect of macrophage colony-stimulating factor (MCSF) on atherogenesis in patients with coronary artery disease (CAD), we assessed the relation between the plasma concentration of MCSF and the incidence of acute coronary events in patients with CAD.

BACKGROUND

Cytokines such as MCSF play a central role in inflammatory and proliferative responses in patients with acute coronary syndromes. However, the effect of MCSF on the clinical course in patients with CAD is still not known.

METHODS

We measured the plasma MCSF concentration in 142 patients with documented CAD (62 +/- 9 years) and followed up for a mean period of 14 +/- 6 months. The study included 97 patients with stable angina (SA), 45 patients with unstable angina (UA) and 22 age-matched control subjects. The predictors of coronary events were analyzed by using a Cox proportional hazards model.

RESULTS

The mean plasma MCSF concentration in patients with UA was significantly higher than that in patients with SA and in control subjects (981 +/- 277 vs. 693 +/- 223 vs. 680 +/- 158 pg/ml, p < 0.001). The mean plasma MCSF concentration in the 20 patients with coronary events was significantly higher than that in patients without coronary events (1,192 +/- 232 vs. 690 +/- 213 pg/ml, p < 0.001). The predictors of unfavorable outcome were an increased MCSF concentration, the presence of CAD and a low ejection fraction.

CONCLUSIONS

These findings suggest that an increased circulating MCSF concentration reflects atherosclerotic progression in patients with CAD and predicts future cardiac events.

Correlation between atrial natriuretic peptide and baroreflex sensitivity in patients with congestive heart failure

The aim of this study was to investigate the relationship between baroreflex sensitivity (BRS) and humoral factors in patients with congestive heart failure (CHF). BRS was assessed by the phenylephrine method in 16 patients with CHF and in 13 healthy controls. The CHF group was subdivided into 2 groups according to BRS (group A: <6 ms/mmHg, n=9; group B: > or =6 ms/mmHg, n=7). BRS was markedly depressed in CHF than in the controls (4.8+/-2.0 vs 8.3+/-3.6 ms/mmHg, p<0.01), and lower in group A than group B (3.3+/-1.3 vs 6.7+/-0.6 ms/mmHg, p<0.01). The plasma human atrial natriuretic peptide (h-ANP) level in group A was significantly higher than in group B (54.6+/-27.6 vs 18.0+/-7.4 pg/ml, p<0.01), and a significant inverse correlation was observed between plasma h-ANP and BRS (r=-0.635, p<0.01). However, there were no significant differences between the 2 groups in plasma catecholamine concentration, plasma renin activity and cardiac function by echocardiogram. These findings suggest that the elevation of endogenous ANP may also serve to compensate for impaired BRS in patients with CHF, in addition to its principal actions, such as diuresis and vasodilation.

Coronary hyperreactivity to adrenergic stimulation and increased nocturnal vagal tone trigger coronary vasospasm

The relationship between autonomic nervous system activity (ANA) and coronary vasoreactivity during transient myocardial ischemia was determined in patients with vasospastic angina (VA). ANA was measured by power spectral analysis of heart rate variability and humoral factors following intravenous infusion of insulin in 24 patients with VA and 6 control patients. Nine (38%) of the VA patients had significant ST segment depression (STD), and 4 of these patients had symptomatic STD. The frequency of anginal episodes in the 9 patients with VA and STD was significantly greater than that in the 15 VA patients without STD (3.4 +/- 3.1 vs 0.5 +/- 0.8 episodes/week, p < 0.05). The increase in the LF/HF ratio 30 min after insulin injection in patients with STD was significantly greater than that in patients without STD (34 +/- 31% vs 4 +/- 34%, p < 0.05). All of the patients with VA and STD had significant coronary vasospasm in response to the infusion of < or = 20 micrograms of acetylcholine, higher levels of nocturnal parasympathetic activity, and greater norepinephrine production in response to insulin stimulation than the VA patients without STD. These findings suggest that increased vagal tone and hyperreactivity to adrenergic stimulation may trigger vasospasm in patients with VA.

Validity of NRC method for estimating metabolizable energy value of laboratory dry canine diets

An equation to estimate the metabolizable energy (ME) content of practical dry canine diets, [metabolizable energy (MENRC, kcal/g) = 3.50 x crude protein + 8.46 x acid ether extract + 3.50 x nitrogen-free extract] has been recommended by the National Research Council (NRC), which assumes fixed digestibility for each nutrient. This estimation method is much more convenient than that of nitrogen-corrected metabolizable energy (MEn) following the equation MEn = digestible energy-1.25 x digestible crude protein. This study aimed to assess the validity of MENRC through a comparison with MEn determined by using 11 diets with 4 mature male Beagle dogs. The relation between MENRC and MEn was expressed as a quadratic equation (MENRC = 0.83MEn2 - 5.43MEn + 12.36, r2 = 0.956, P < 0.01), suggesting that MEn is overestimated when the NRC method was applied to lower energy diets. It was also suggested that the strict estimation of MEn by means of fixed digestibility coefficients was impossible, because of the relatively wide variation in digestibility among dry canine diets.

[Estimation of nitrogen-corrected metabolizable energy value of laboratory canine diets]

This study evaluates the reliability of the equation, metabolizable energy (ME) = digestible energy (DE) - 1.25 x digestible crude protein (DCP), as a means of estimating the energy value of non-purified diets for laboratory dogs. To do this, five digestion and nitrogen-balance (NB) trials and determination of the energy value of a diet were conducted using five diets and four mature, male Beagles for each experiment. The resulting digestibility of crude protein, acid ether extract, and nitrogen-free extract of these diets were 79.5%, 91.6%, and 84.8%, respectively. The NB in every diet was positive: 1.4-8.6 mg/g dry matter of ingested diet. Of the nitrogen (N) ingested, 21% was excreted into feces, 66% was excreted into urine, and 13% was retained. In terms of dietary gross energy (GE), 18% was lost in feces and 5% was excreted into urine leaving 77% as ME. Retained energy in the body was only 1%, and N-corrected metabolizable energy (MEn) was 76% of GE. The average urinary energy (UE) loss per gram of urinary N was 7.84kcal. The correlation between UE/DCP and NB values is statistically significant: UE/DCP = 1.24-0.03NB, r = 0.798, P < 0.001. Therefore, UE/DCP is 1.24kcal/g at N-equilibrium, almost the same as the factor in the above equation. The ME value calculated by the equation is identical to the MEn value and both are significantly lower (P < 0.05) than the empirically determined ME value.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)

Genetic polymorphism of alpha-2-HS-glycoprotein: four new alleles and allele frequencies in Japanese

alpha 2-HS-glycoprotein (AHSG) phenotyping was done in 655 Japanese from the Goto Islands, western Japan, using isoelectric focusing followed by immunoblotting. Four new AHSG alleles were encountered, AHSG*G1-G4, whose genetic transmissions were established in family studies. The allele frequencies were: AHSG*1 = 0.7221; AHSG*2 = 0.2748, and AHSG*G1-G4 = 0.0008, respectively.

[Screening of drugs and chemicals by wide-bore capillary gas chromatography. II. Detection of drugs and chemicals in the blood]

This paper describes the detection limit for 23 drugs and chemicals in the blood by means of a screening method that uses a gas chromatographic system equipped with a wide-bore capillary column and a nitrogen phosphorus detector. The detection limit by this method was determined as being 1 mm of peak height at the detector's range of 100 and 8 of attenuation. Using this scale, the absolute detection limit was in the range of 1 pg for malathion and sumithion to 1 ng for meprobamate. The detection limit of drugs and chemicals in the blood was 5 ng/ml for sumithion to 8 micrograms/ml for meprobamate. Therefore, this screening method is able to detect the presence of drugs even a therapeutic-level dosages, with the exception of compounds such as haloperidol, which have extremely low therapeutic dosage levels.

An experimental model of death from anaphylactic shock with compound 48/80 and postmortem changes in levels of histamine in blood

The present study was made on an experimental animal model of a death from anaphylaxis, in which postmortem changes in levels of histamine and 1-methylhistamine, in whole blood were measured. Instead of the usual immunological method administering compound 48/80, a degranulating agent of mast cell and the effect closely resembling the immuno-reaction, resulted in reliable death in a short time. The animals that died rapidly after the injection of compound 48/80, were found to have large increases in levels of histamine and 1-methylhistamine soon after the administration. These results were similar to the results of injecting histamine exogenously. On the other hand, the animals that died after a longer time showed no increases in levels of those amines within about 24 h, but 24 hours after death histamine levels were only increased tremendously without rise in 1-MHA levels. These phenomena closely resembled those in the control animals that were treated with overdoses of Nembutal.

Genetic variation of alpha-2-HS-glycoprotein in the Kyushu district of Japan: description of three new rare variants

The genetic polymorphism of alpha 2-HS-glycoprotein (AHSG) was studied in the Kyushu district of Japan using polyacrylamide gel isoelectric focusing, followed by immunoblotting. Three new rare variants were observed and designated AHSG*16, AHSG*17 and AHSG*18, tentatively. The frequencies of the polymorphic genes AHSG*1 and AHSG*2 were similar to those in other areas of Japan.

Two new orosomucoid (ORM2) variants in Japanese

Orosomucoid (ORM) of plasma from 287 Japanese was typed by polyacrylamide gel isoelectric focusing followed by immunoprinting with specific antiserum to ORM. Two new variants were observed and they were designated ORM2 16 and ORM2 17.

[Screening of drugs and chemicals by wide-bore capillary gas chromatography with flame ionization and nitrogen phosphorus detectors]

A method is presented for forensic toxicological screening of drugs and chemicals in blood and urine by wide-bore capillary gas chromatography with flame ionization detectors (FID) and nitrogen phosphorus detectors (NPD). The presence of drugs and chemicals in blood and urine specimens was confirmed by comparing these gas chromatograms with those of typical drug-free specimens. Peak components of drug-free specimens were piperidone, p-cresol, myristic acid, palmitic acid, stearic acid, oleic acid, linoleic acid, n-butylphthalate, bis (2-ethylhexyl) phthalate, squalene, cholesterol and two alcohols (unidentified) on FID chromatograms and were piperidone, indole, nicotine, cotinine, hydroxycotinine, caffeine and several unknown urine constituents on NPD chromatograms. In practical cases, the presence of drugs and chemicals in postmortem specimens was easily ascertained by the present method.