Correlation between donor age and organs transplanted per donor: our experience in Japan

The shortage of available organs for transplantation is a worldwide issue. To maximize the number of transplantations, increasing the number of organs transplanted per donor (OTPD) is widely recognized as an important factor for improving the shortage. In Japan, we have had 211 donors, 1112 organs transplanted, and 924 recipients receiving the transplants, resulting in 4.4 ± 1.4 recipients receiving transplants per donor and 5.3 ± 1.6 OTPD as of February 2013. Because donor age is a well-recognized factor of donor suitability, we analyzed the correlation between donor age group and OTPD. Only the age group 60 to 69 years and the age group 70 to 79 years were significantly different (P < .05) from adjacent age groups. We estimate that a donor under age 70 years has the potential to donate 4.6 to 6.7 organs.

Japanese strategies to maximize heart and lung availabilities: experience from 100 consecutive brain-dead donors

OBJECTIVE

Because the donor shortage is extremely severe in Japan because of a strict organ transplantation law, special strategies have been established to maximize heart and lung transplantations (HTs and LTs, respectively). We reviewed 100 consecutive brain-dead donors to evaluate our strategies to identify and manage heart and lung donors.

METHODS

We retrospectively reviewed all 100 consecutive brain-dead donors procured since the law was issued in 1997. There were 56 mens and the overall mean donor age was 43.5 years. The causes of death were cerebrovascular disease (n = 62), head trauma (n = 20), and asphyxia (n = 16): Since November 2002, special transplant management doctors were sent to donor hospitals to assess cardiac and lung functions, seeking to identify transplant opportunities. They stabilized donor hemodynamics and lung function by administering antidiuretic hormone intravenously and performing bronchofibroscopy for pulmonary toilet.

RESULTS

Seventy-nine HTs, 1 heart-lung transplantations, and 78 LTs (46 single and 32 bilateral) were performed. By applying these strategies organs per donor were increased from 4.5 to 6.8. Among heart donors, 61/80 were marginal: high inotrope requirement (n = 29), cardiopulmonary resuscitation (n = 28), and/or >55 years old (n = 20). None of the 80 HT recipients died of primary graft failure (PGF). Patient survival rate at 10 years after HT was 95.4%. Among lung donors, 48/65 were marginal: pneumonia (n = 41), chest trauma (n = 4), and >55 years old (n = 9). Only 2/78 LT recipients died of PGF. Patient survival rate at 3 years after LT was 72.2%. After inducing frequent pulmonary toilet, lung procurement and patient survival rates increased significantly after LT.

CONCLUSIONS

Although the number of cases was still small, the availability of organs has been greater and the outcomes of HT/LT acceptable.

Donor evaluation and management system (medical consultant system) in Japan: experience from 200 consecutive brain-dead organ donation

PURPOSE

As the donor shortage is extremely severe in Japan because of a strict Organ Transplantation Act, special strategies must be established to maximize organ transplant opportunities. The purpose of this study was to evaluate our strategies to identify and manage 200 consecutive brain-dead organ donors.

METHODS AND MATERIALS

We retrospectively reviewed the 200 donors procured since the Organ Transplantation Act was issued in 1997, including 118 males, a mean overall age of 45.1 years and cause of death being cerebrovascular disease (n = 119), head trauma (n = 37), and asphyxia (n = 44). DONOR EVALUATION AND MANAGEMENT SYSTEM: Since November in 2002, special transplant management doctors ("medical consultants") were sent to donor hospitals to assess organ function and identify transplantable organs. They also provided intensive care to stabilize hemodynamics and improve cardiac and lung functions by administering antidiuretic hormone intravenously and providing bronchofiberscopic pulmonary toilet.

RESULTS

We obtained 146 heart, 1 heart-lung, and 154 lung (87 single and 67 bilateral), 175 liver (28 splitted liver), 142 pancreas (114 pancreas-kidney), 253 kidney and 12 small bowel grafts. Organs procured from 1 donor increased from 4.5 to 6.8 after applying these strategies.

CONCLUSIONS

Although the number of cases was still small, the availability of organs and outcomes of transplantation have been acceptable.

Current status of in-hospital donation coordinators in Japan: nationwide survey

OBJECTIVES

When the Japanese Organ Transplantation Act was issued, the Japanese Organ Transplantation Network (JOT) was established in 1997. JOT lists recipients, assesses and manages organ donors, and educates publics and headquarters for organ donations. JOT procurement transplant coordinators (PTC) play roles in obtaining consent from relatives for organ donation, donor evaluation and management, organ recovery management, organ transport, and care of donor families during and after donation. Every prefecture has at least one PTC who is mainly working in public education and hospital development. They also help the JOT PTC at the time of organ procurement. Most prefectures commission hospital staff in the procurement hospital to be an in-hospital PTC (In-Hp PTC), who make their hospital staff aware of organ donation and support organ procurement. Although the Act was revised in 2010 with brain-dead organ donation increased from 13 to 44 cases yearly, the number was still extremely smaller than other developed countries. In these circumstances, In-Hp PTC may play greater roles to increase donation and smooth procurement procedures Our primary aim was to describe the current status of In-Hp PTC in Japan.

MATERIALS AND METHODS

Between December 15, 2011, and January 31, 2012, we invited 1889 In-Hp PTC to complete a letter survey using a self-designed questionnaire. In all, 56 In-Hp PTC (40%) completed and returned it.

RESULTS

The occupation of the respondents was nurse (66%), physician (18%), or other (16%). Although 52% of respondents belonged to the hospital, which was designated for brain-death organ donation by the government, only 46% had any experience with a cadaveric donor. Only 2% were full-time In-Hp PTC. They mainly played a role in preparing their own manual for organ procurement (57%), providing in-hospital lectures (44%) or their own simulation exercise (29%), as well as coordinating donation cases. Although 77% had attended seminar about organ donation provided by JOT or the prefecture PTC, 93% wanted more professional education. However, it was difficult for them to attend these activities, to manage a rare and sudden donation case, and to find time to learn about organ donation because they had another post. The topics that they wanted to learn were donor family care (72%), overall organ/tissue donation procedures (65%), the role of In-Hp PTC (67%), simulations of donation (65%), legislation and social system of organ donation (61%), medical indications for donation (61%), current status of donation and transplantation in Japan (57%), donor management (56%), and case studies (49%). There were significant variations in the topics of interest among the occupations. As they had another post, they could find only a short period (1 or 2 days) to take professional education, such as lectures. Therefore, it was difficult for them to attend practical on-the-job training.

CONCLUSIONS

To establish an organ procurement system and increase organ donation, In-Hp PTC have important roles in Japan. However, none is a full-time In-Hp PTC. Most In-Hp PTC require more professional education. A systematic education program for each occupation must be established soon.

High frequency region of the snore spectra carry important information on the disease of sleep apnoea

Snoring is the most common symptom of obstructive sleep apnoea (OSA). Several researchers have reported differences between the power spectra of non-OSA and OSA snorers. The traditional approach over the years has been to record snore sounds at a bandwidth of < 5 kHz. Narrowing of the upper airways during OSA events and the resulting upward shift of snore frequencies also lend support to the idea of examining snore sounds beyond 5 kHz. In this paper, we compute the power spectra of snores in three different bands defined as: low-frequency band (LFB: < 5 kHz); middle-frequency band (MFB: 5-10 kHz) and high-frequency band (HFB: 10-20 kHz). We illustrate that there is a significant difference between non-OSA snorers (Apnoea Hypopnoea Index (AHI) < 10) and OSA snorers (AHI > 10) in the region > 5 kHz. We then develop a feature to diagnose OSA based on the spectral differences in the high frequency region and evaluate its performance on a database of 20 subjects. Our results strongly suggest that the high-frequency region of the snore sounds carry information, hitherto disregarded, on the disease of sleep apnoea.

Effects of molecular structure on the stability of a thermotropic liquid crystal. Gas electron diffraction study of the molecular structure of phenyl benzoate

As a model of the core of molecules forming liquid crystals, the molecular structure of phenyl benzoate (Ph-C(=O)-O-Ph) at 409 K was determined by gas electron diffraction, and the relationship between the gas-phase structures of model compounds and the nematic-to-liquid transition temperatures was studied. Structural constraints were obtained from RHF/6-31G ab initio calculations. Vibrational mean amplitudes and shrinkage corrections were calculated from the harmonic force constants given by normal coordinate analysis. Thermal vibrations were treated as small-amplitude motions, except for the phenyl torsion, which was treated as a large-amplitude motion. The potential function for torsion was assumed to be V(phi(1),phi(2)) = V(12)(1 - cos 2phi(1))/2 + V(14)(1 - cos 4phi(1))/2 + V(22)(1 - cos 2phi(2))/2, where phi(1) and phi(2) denote the torsional angles around the C-Ph and O-Ph bonds, respectively. The potential constants (V(ij)()/kcal mol(-)(1)) and the principal structure parameters (r(g)/A, angle(alpha)/deg) with the estimated limits of error (3sigma) are as follows: V(12) = -1.3 (assumed); V(14) = -0.5(9); V(22) = 3.5(15); r(C=O) = 1.208(4); r(C(=O)-O) = 1.362(6); r(C(=O)-O) - r(O-C) = -0.044 (assumed); r(C(=O)-C) = 1.478(10); <r(C-C)> = 1.396(1); angleOCO = 124.2(13); angleO=CC = 127.3(12); angleCOC = 121.4(22); ( angleOCC(cis) - angleOCC(trans))/2 = 3.0(15); ( angleC(=O)CC(cis) - angleC(=O)CC(trans))/2 = 4.8(17), where < > means an average value and C-C(cis) and C-C(trans) bonds are cis and trans to the C(=O)-O bond, respectively. The torsional angle around the O-Ph bond was determined to be 64(+26,-12) degrees. An apparent correlation was found between the contributions of the cores to the clearing point of liquid crystals and the gas-phase structures of model compounds of the cores of mesogens, i.e., phenyl benzoate, trans-azobenzene (t-AB), N-benzylideneaniline, N-benzylideneaniline N-oxide (NBANO), trans-azoxybenzene (t-AXB), and trans-stilbene. The structures of t-AB, NBANO, and t-AXB have been obtained by our research group.

Inhibitory effects of malotilate on in vitro invasion of lung endothelial cell monolayer by human oral squamous cell carcinoma cells

We have previously reported that malotilate (MT) inhibited the invasion and metastasis of rat mammary carcinoma cells through the modification of host endothelial cells. In this study, we examined the inhibitory effects of MT on invasion of human cancer, using five oral squamous cell carcinoma cells (SAS, Ca9-22 and HSC-2, -3 and -4). MT did not affect the growth of these tumor cells and the invasion of reconstituted basement membrane, Matrigel. In an in vitro invasion assay using rat lung endothelial (RLE) cells, invasion of tumor cells which had been treated with MT (10 ng/ml, 24 h) was not affected; however, when RLE cells had been treated with MT, invasion was significantly inhibited in three cell lines (SAS, Ca9-22 and HSC-4) and a tendency to inhibition was also observed in other cell lines. Electron-microscopical examination of the RLE monolayer treated with MT (MT-RLE) showed the development of gap and tight junction-like structures. Subsequently, junction-associated proteins, connexin 43, zonula occludin and desmoglein, were examined by Western blotting. Protein levels of connexin 43 and zonula occludin were elevated dose dependently, and connexin 43 was chronologically enhanced by MT whereas desmoglein was not. The enhanced gap junctional communication of MT-RLE cells was observed in the scrape-loading assay using lucifer yellow CH. These results suggest that MT promotes the development of cell-to-cell adhesion, e. g. gap junction and tight junction in endothelial cells, resulting in the inhibition of invasion by the tumor cells.

Human thyrotropin-releasing hormone-associated peptide 3 (hTAP-3) in serum

Human thyrotropin-releasing hormone (TRH)-associated peptide 3 (hTAP-3), one of the cryptic peptides resulting from the proteolytic processing of preproTRH to produce TRH, was measured in human plasma from normal, hyperthyroid, and hypothyroid subjects. The dilution curve of hTAP-3 immunoreactivity in the serum paralleled the standard curve of the radioimmunoassay. HPLC analysis revealed a single strong immunoreactive peak, which corresponded to the authentic peptide, hTAP-3. The half-life of hTAP-3 in serum was approximately 3.5 min, and the addition of aprotinin and EDTA completely prevented its degradation. In hyperthyroid patients, plasma concentrations of hTAP-3 were significantly higher than those in the control group and hypothyroid patients, but no correlation was found between its level and that of thyroid hormone. These findings indicate the existence of intact hTAP-3 in the human serum and increases in plasma hTAP-3 levels in hyperthyroid patients, suggesting that blood hTAP-3 may be derived from the peripheral organs rather than the hypothalamus.

Inhibitory effects of malotilate on invasion and metastasis of rat mammary carcinoma cells by modifying the functions of vascular endothelial cells

Malotilate (diisopropyl,1,3-dithiol-2-ylidenemalonate, MT) is clinically used as a hepatoprotective agent. Because we noticed that MT induced the differentiation of cultured vascular endothelial cells, we have examined its effects on lung metastasis of the highly metastatic rat mammary carcinoma c-SST-2. MT was orally administered to syngeneic SHR rats from 7 days before or after s.c. inoculation of c-SST-2 cells to the end of the experiments. In the MT-treated rats, pulmonary metastasis was markedly suppressed compared with the non-treated rats. In the rats treated with MT for 19 days after i.v. inoculation of c-SST-2 cells, lung metastasis was also significantly suppressed. An in vitro invasion assay using a rat lung endothelial (RLE) cell monolayer revealed that pretreatment of the RLE cells with MT, but not c-SST-2 cells, significantly reduced the invasion of the RLE monolayer by c-SST-2 cells. An in vitro vascular permeability assay demonstrated that MT prevented the increase in permeability of the RLE monolayer by serum starvation. On the other hand, in vivo and in vitro growth, gelatinase production and adhesion to the RLE cell monolayer of c-SST-2 cells were not affected by MT treatment. These findings suggest that MT suppressed tumour metastasis by intensifying the cell-to-cell contact of endothelial cells, thus preventing tumour cells from invading vascular endothelium.

Stimulation of the preprothyrotropin-releasing hormone gene by epidermal growth factor

Regulation of the expression of the prepro-TRH (ppTRH) gene by epidermal growth factor (EGF) was investigated. The i.p. injection of EGF significantly stimulated hypothalamic ppTRH messenger RNA levels in rats. To clarify whether this stimulatory effect of EGF could be exerted at the level of gene transcription, the 5'-flanking region (-1893/+127) of the mouse ppTRH gene fused to a luciferase reporter gene was transiently transfected into pituitary GH4C1 cells, and the effect of EGF on gene transcription was measured by a luciferase assay. EGF stimulated ppTRH gene promoter activity in a time- and dose-dependent manner. Deletion analysis revealed that two different regions of the promoter, between -254 and -218 [EGF response element-1 (EGFRE1)] and between -130 and -84 (EGFRE2) were required for full stimulation by EGF. The two EGFREs possessed putative binding sequences for the transcription factor Sp1, and they functioned cooperatively in heterologous promoters. Nuclear extracts from GH4C1 cells specifically bound those two EGFREs in gel retardation assays. Two protein-DNA complexes were found on EGFRE1, whereas four complexes were observed on EGFRE2. Although the binding of nuclear extracts to EGFRE1 was competed for by the consensus Sp1 binding sequence, the complexes on EGFRE1 were not supershifted by an Sp1 antibody. Formation of the slower migrating protein complex on EGFRE1 was prevented by EDTA, suggesting that one of the EGFRE1-binding proteins might be an Sp1-related zinc finger protein. Competition and supershift experiments demonstrated that the EGFRE2-binding protein showing that the slowest migration possessed a characteristic similar to that of Sp1. Selective mutations of the Sp1-binding site in EGFRE2 markedly diminished the EGF-induced stimulation. These results suggest that EGF may function as a positive regulator of ppTRH gene expression, and that the stimulatory effect may be mediated through a cooperative interaction between Sp1 or Sp1-related proteins and additional factors that bind to two separate DNA regions.

Expression of thyrotropin-releasing hormone (TRH) receptor mRNA in somatotrophs in the rat anterior pituitary

A response of growth hormone (GH) to thyrotropin-releasing hormone (TRH) is observed in lower mammals and patients with diseases such as a cromegaly, but not in normal subjects. We have previously demonstrated the existence of intact TRH receptor mRNA in GH-secreting adenoma. To examine whether intact somatotrophs in the anterior pituitary also express TRH receptor, we attempted to localize both TRHR mRNA and GH immunoreactivity simultaneously. In situ hybridization analysis revealed TRHR mRNAs specifically in the anterior pituitary, and 61.1% of the anterior pituitary cells expressed this transcript. Staining for GH and PRL on the same samples showed that the somatotrophs apparently expressed TRHR mRNA and approximately 62.3% and 30.9% of hybridization-positive cells were somatotorophs and mammotrophs, respectively. Moreover, TRHR mRNA level in the somatotrophs expressed as the number of silver grains per cell was equivalent to that in the mammotrophs. These findings demonstrated expression of the TRHR mRNA in somatotrophs in the rat anterior pituitary, and also showed that more than 50% of the TRHR mRNA detected in the anterior pituitary was derived from these cells.

Genomic organization and promoter function of the human thyrotropin-releasing hormone receptor gene

We isolated and characterized the gene for the human thyrotropin-releasing hormone receptor. The gene spanned more than 30 kilobases and contained three exons and two introns. Intron 1 exists in the 5'-untranslated region, and intron 2 is more than 25 kilobases in length which interrupts the coding region before the beginning of the putative sixth transmembrane domain. Exon 3 encodes the rest of the coding region and the entire 3'-untranslated region. The 3'-flanking region contains four potential polyadenylation signals, and 3'-rapid amplification of cDNA ends studies showed that only a signal at 2076 base pairs downstream of the stop codon was functional in the anterior pituitary. Primer extension and anchor-polymerase chain reaction studies indicated a transcriptional start site at 344 base pairs upstream of the translational start site. The promoter region does not contain either a TATA box or a CAAT box in the appropriate location. Transient transfection study revealed significant activity of the promoter in GH4C1 cells, and the region between -338 and -933 bp from the transcriptional start site worked as a negative regulator. Knowledge of the genomic organization and the promoter region of thyrotropin-releasing hormone (TRH) receptor gene will allow further studies of possible disorders of the TRH receptor, as well as facilitate elucidation of transcriptional control of the human TRH receptor gene.

[A case of mucoepidermoid carcinoma underwent middle and lower sleeve bi-lobectomies with carinal reconstruction]

A case of mucoepidermoid carcinoma was successfully resected by bronchoplasty with carinal resection. A 36-year-old male complaining cough and sputum was admitted to our hospital. Bronchofiberscopical examination revealed a tumor mass occluding the truncus intermedius. The tumor seemed to invade the carina, but the orifice of the right upper lobe bronchus was intact. The results of the pathological examination of the biopsy specimen showed mucoepidermoid carcinoma. Sleeve middle and lower lobe bi-lobectomies with carinal reconstruction were successfully performed. The postoperative course was uneventful. The patient is alive 5 year and 5 months after operation without recurrent tumor.

Pathological comparison between spontaneously developed and chemically induced liver cancers in LEC rats with hereditary hepatitis

To investigate the pathological differences between spontaneously developed and chemically induced liver cancers in LEC rats with hereditary hepatitis, eight-week-old LEC rats were fed 0.06% or 0.03% of 3'-methyl-4-dimethylaminoazobenzene (3'-Me-DAB) for 12 weeks, and then fed basal diet. Spontaneous liver cancers occurred in 60.4% of the LEC rats, while 3'-Me-DAB induced cancers in all LEC rats. The survival periods of chemically (0.06%) treated LEC rats were significantly shorter than non-treated rats. The chemically-induced cancers were strongly related to Edmondson classification. Metastasis and transplantability of the chemically-induced cancers were higher than spontaneous cancers. LEC rats are highly susceptible to the chemical carcinogen with the initiated status of hepatocarcinogenesis.

Activation of the thyrotropin-releasing hormone (TRH) receptor by a direct precursor of TRH, TRH-Gly

We studied the mechanism by which thyrotropin-releasing hormone (TRH)-Gly stimulated prolactin and thyrotropin (TSH) secretion in pituitary, using a pituitary mammotropic cell line, GH3 cells, and a cell line stably expressing a human TRH receptor (TRH-R). In GH3 cells expressing endogenous TRH-R, an addition of TRH-Gly evoked an immediate rise of intracellular calcium concentration, indicating that TRH-Gly reacted directly without converting from TRH-Gly to TRH. In order to determine whether this reaction might occur through TRH-R, we established a cell line stably expressing a human TRH-R, by transfecting a human TRH-R cDNA into Chinese hamster ovary cells (CHO cells). In this cell line, 10 nM TRH elevated intracellular calcium significantly; the Kd for MeTRH was 1.7 nM. One micromolar and 100 nM TRH-Gly also elevated intracellular concentration of calcium significantly, but not in CHO cells which were not transfected with the TRH-R cDNA. Competition studies further revealed that TRH-Gly displaced MeTRH binding (IC50, 12 microM). These data indicate that at high concentration, TRH-Gly interacts directly with TRH-R to activate signal transduction pathway, and that release of prolactin and TSH induced by TRH-Gly in vitro may be due, at least in part, to the direct effect of TRH-Gly on the TRH-R.

Transcriptional down-regulation by epidermal growth factor of TRH receptor mRNA in rat pituitary cells

To gain insight into the mechanism underlying the epidermal growth factor (EGF)-induced changes in responsiveness to TRH and in the numbers of TRH receptors (TRH-Rs) in the pituitary, we investigated the transcriptional regulation by EGF of the TRH-R gene in GH4C1 cells. Northern blot analyses and binding studies revealed that EGF reduced both TRH binding and TRH-R mRNA levels in a dose- and time-dependent manner, while no significant changes were observed in beta-actin mRNA levels. Addition of actinomycin D caused an acute increase in the basal TRH-R mRNA level, and the rate of decrease of the TRH-R mRNA was identical in control and EGF-treated groups, suggesting that the stability of the TRH-R mRNA was not significantly affected in EGF-treated cells. Incubation with cycloheximide also induced an increase in the basal TRH-R mRNA level and completely reversed the EGF-induced reduction of TRH-R mRNA levels. Furthermore, a nuclear run-on assay demonstrated that the rate of transcription of the TRH-R gene was significantly inhibited in cells treated with EGF. We conclude that (1) EGF decreases the expression of the TRH-R mRNA largely by reducing its rate of transcription, and this action requires the synthesis of new proteins, and (2) inhibitors of protein and RNA synthesis cause a significant increase in the basal TRH-R mRNA level, suggesting that there may be a short-lived protein suppressing the TRH-R mRNA level in the pituitary.

Assignment of human thyrotropin-releasing hormone (TRH) receptor gene to chromosome 8

The human gene encoding thyrotropin-releasing hormone receptor was assigned to chromosome 8, using human-Chinese hamster ovary somatic cell hybrids, analyzed by Southern hybridizations. Hybridization was carried out with a 32P-labeled fragment of the human TRH-R genomic DNA. Hybridization of this probe to a human specific 10.5-kb DNA fragment of EcoRI-digested WBC DNA was used to localize the human TRH-R gene. No hybridization, by contrast, was seen with this probe and hamster DNA after EcoRI treatment. Results from 18 somatic cell hybrids corroborated unequivocally that the human TRH-R gene can be assigned to human chromosome 8.

Antifungal activity of the new agent latoconazole in two tinea models

In vitro and in vivo antifungal activities of the new imidazole derivative latoconazole ((+-)-(E)-[4-(2-chlorophenyl)-1,3-dithiolan-2-ylidene]-1- imidazolylacetonitrile, NND-318; CAS 101530-10-3) were studied in comparison with three major topical agents, clotrimazole, bifonazole and tolnaftate. The in vitro activity of latoconazole against dermatophytes was much stronger than that of any reference agent tested. Both the recently developed tinea pedis model and the conventional tinea model in guinea pigs were employed for evaluation of topical usefulness of latoconazole. The 1% solution or cream preparation of latoconazole was highly effective in both of the two tinea models and its 5 or more doses achieved almost complete mycological cure. However, both tinea models, especially the former, were considerably resistant to the therapeutic treatment of all of the reference drugs. These results suggest that latoconazole is a promising topical antifungal agent, probably applicable to the treatment of tinea pedis as well as other types of dermatomycoses.

Increased expression of c-jun gene during spontaneous hepatocarcinogenesis in LEC rats

We have studied the expressions of nine proto-oncogenes (c-myc, N-myc, c-fos, C-jun, p53, H-ras, N-ras, c-raf, hst) and two other genes (PCNA, GST-P) during the spontaneous development of hepatocellular carcinomas (HCCs) in LEC rats. Expression of c-myc, H-ras, N-ras, C-raf, p53 and PCNA genes was detected, but this did not significantly change during the development of HCCs in LEC rats. Expression of N-myc and hst genes was not detectable. Expression of c-fos gene was detected in one HCC case out of four. Significantly increased expression of c-jun gene was observed in the liver tissues of LEC rats aged 8 months. This high expression was decreased with the development of HCCs. On the other hand, the expression of GST-P gene increased in parallel with the clinical course of the development of HCCs in LEC rats. The pattern of c-jun mRNA augmentation was different from that of GST-P mRNA. These observations suggest that c-jun gene may play a role in the spontaneous development of HCCs in LEC rats.

Activation of mitochondrial functions by malotilate in relation to accelerated liver regeneration in partially hepatectomized rats

Malotilate was orally administered to rats at a dose of 100 mg/kg 2 hr after partial hepatectomy. Mitochondrial state 3 respiration of the liver increased significantly from 23.4 nmol/min/mg protein in the control rats to 29.3 nmol/min/mg protein in the rats administered with malotilate at 3 hr after the hepatectomy (1 hr after the administration). The administration also resulted in higher tendencies in the respiratory control ratio after 3, 6 or 20 hr (1, 4 or 18 hr after the administration) than in the control rats. Although partial hepatectomy made hepatic ATP concentration remarkably low, it gradually increased (from 1.53 mumol/g liver after 3 hr) to a level of 2.03 mumol/g liver after 20 hr in the rats administered with malotilate. No increase in ATP concentration was observed in the control rats. Correspondingly, the adenylate energy charge also showed higher tendencies in the malotilate administered rats. From these result, it is supposed that malotilate activates the mitochondrial functions which results in the increases of ATP concentration and adenylate energy charge. These changes in energy metabolism can be associated with accelerated regeneration of the liver by malotilate.

The appearance of noradrenaline and adrenaline and the developmental changes in the their concentrations in the gut of the chick

1. The times of appearance and the concentrations of noradrenaline and adrenaline were determined fluorimetrically in the gut of the embryonic and developing chick. 2. In the duodenum and jejunum, noradrenaline was detected in embryos on the 12th day of incubation. The concentration continued to increase throughout the embryonic stage and attained a maximum within 3 days of hatching. Afterwards, it decreased to about one-third of the peak level. No adrenaline was detectable in most stages of development. 3. In the rectum, noradrenaline was detected in embryos on the 12th day of incubation; both noradrenaline and adrenaline were invariably found on the 15th day of incubation. The concentrations of both amines fluctuated after hatching, but the amount of adrenaline was always approximately 40% of the amount of noradrenaline, except in the adult.