Glaucoma in a New Zealand White Rabbit Fed High-cholesterol Diet

Goniodysgenesis, malformation of the filtration angle, was observed in a New Zealand white rabbit supplied with 100 g/day rabbit chow containing 0.2% cholesterol for 10 months. Histopathology revealed cupping of the optic disc, atrophy of the retina and hyalinization of the ciliary body in the bilateral eyeballs. These findings corresponded with histopathological features caused by glaucoma. On the basis of these findings, we diagnosed this lesion as glaucoma, and classified it as primary glaucoma because of the presence of developmental defects of the filtration angle. In this case, hypercholesterolemia-induced changes, such as aggregation of lipid-laden macrophages and cholesterin clefts in the sclera or choroid, might cause deterioration of the lesions in glaucoma

Spontaneous Erythroid Leukemia in a 7-Week-Old Crl:CD (SD) Rat

A young male Crl:CD (SD) rat with erythroid leukemia that presented with emaciation, abdominal distension and a pale visible mucosal membrane was euthanized at 7 weeks of age. At necropsy, enlargement of liver, spleen and pancreatic lymph node was noted. Analysis of blood smear samples revealed many mono- or binucleated erythroblasts that had PAS-positive vacuoles in the cytoplasm. Histopathologically, neoplastic proliferation of atypical cells was observed in the hepatic sinusoids, splenic red pulp, bone marrow, pancreatic lymph node, kidney and lung. Neoplastic cells showed a round to spindle shape, and some neoplastic cells had deeply stained small nuclei and small cytoplasms and resembled erythroblasts. Immunohistochemically, many neoplastic cells were positive for hemoglobin. To our knowledge, this is the first report of erythroid leukemia in a rat of this age. The observed features were similar to those of pure erythroid leukemia in humans

Functional Lateralization of Speech Processing in Adults and Children Who Stutter

Developmental stuttering is a speech disorder in fluency characterized by repetitions, prolongations, and silent blocks, especially in the initial parts of utterances. Although their symptoms are motor related, people who stutter show abnormal patterns of cerebral hemispheric dominance in both anterior and posterior language areas. It is unknown whether the abnormal functional lateralization in the posterior language area starts during childhood or emerges as a consequence of many years of stuttering. In order to address this issue, we measured the lateralization of hemodynamic responses in the auditory cortex during auditory speech processing in adults and children who stutter, including preschoolers, with near-infrared spectroscopy. We used the analysis–resynthesis technique to prepare two types of stimuli: (i) a phonemic contrast embedded in Japanese spoken words (/itta/ vs. /itte/) and (ii) a prosodic contrast (/itta/ vs. /itta?/). In the baseline blocks, only /itta/ tokens were presented. In phonemic contrast blocks, /itta/ and /itte/ tokens were presented pseudo-randomly, and /itta/ and /itta?/ tokens in prosodic contrast blocks. In adults and children who do not stutter, there was a clear left-hemispheric advantage for the phonemic contrast compared to the prosodic contrast. Adults and children who stutter, however, showed no significant difference between the two stimulus conditions. A subject-by-subject analysis revealed that not a single subject who stutters showed a left advantage in the phonemic contrast over the prosodic contrast condition. These results indicate that the functional lateralization for auditory speech processing is in disarray among those who stutter, even at preschool age. These results shed light on the neural pathophysiology of developmental stuttering

Curdione Plays an Important Role in the Inhibitory Effect of Curcuma aromatica on CYP3A4 in Caco-2 Cells

Curcuma aromatica is a plant belonging to genus Curcuma of family Zingiberaceae and is widely used as supplements in Japan. Rhizomes of C. aromatica have curcumin as a major yellow pigment and curdione as a main ingredient of essential oils. In this study, we investigated the affect of C. aromatica on CYP3A4 using 1α,25-(OH)2-D3-treated Caco-2 clone cells. Caco-2 cells were treated with methanol extract (0.1 mg ml−1), its hexane soluble fraction (0.1 mg ml−1), curcumin (4 μM) and curdione (20 μM) for 72 hours. Nifedipine was used as a substrate of CYP3A4. Methanol extract, hexane fraction and curdione inhibited the formation of oxidized nifedipine by 50–70%, and curcumin showed no effect. The IC50s of methanol extract, hexane fraction and curdione to oxidized nifedipine formation were 21, 14 and 3.9 μg ml−1 (16.9 μM), respectively. The content of curdione in methanol extract was 11.4%. Moreover, all of methanol extract, hexane fraction and curdione decreased CYP3A4 protein expression but had no affect on CYP3A4 mRNA expression. Our results showed that these drugs further decreased the CYP3A4 protein expression level after the protein synthesis was inhibited by cychroheximide. These findings suggest that curdione plays an important role in the CYP3A4 inhibitory activity of C. aromatica and curdione might inhibit the activity by accelerating the degradation of CYP3A4

Structural basis for improved efficacy of therapeutic antibodies on defucosylation of their Fc glycans

Removal of the fucose residue from the N-glycans of the Fc portion of immunoglobulin G (IgG) results in a dramatic enhancement of antibody-dependent cellular cytotoxicity (ADCC) through improved affinity for Fcγ receptor IIIa (FcγRIIIa). Here, we present the 2.2-Å structure of the complex formed between nonfucosylated IgG1-Fc and a soluble form of FcγRIIIa (sFcγRIIIa) with two N-glycosylation sites. The crystal structure shows that one of the two N-glycans of sFcγRIIIa mediates the interaction with nonfucosylated Fc, thereby stabilizing the complex. However, fucosylation of the Fc N-glycans inhibits this interaction, because of steric hindrance, and furthermore, negatively affects the dynamics of the receptor binding site. Our results offer a structural basis for improvement in ADCC of therapeutic antibodies by defucosylation

ダイ4キュウ アンモニウム エン ニヨル モリブデン 6 チロン サクタイ ノ チュウシュツ オヨビ コレオ リヨウ シタ モリブデン 6 ノ キュウコウ コウド テイリョウ

モリブデン(VI)-チロン錯体のゼフィラミン(tetradecyl dimethyl benzyl ammonium chloride)による抽出吸光光度定量法について検討した.弱酸性領域(pH4.6～7.6)でこの錯体は, 1,2-dichloroethaneに抽出され, 400nmに吸収極大を示す.モリブデン(VI)-チロンとの結合比は水溶液層では1 : 1であるが, 有機層中では1 : 2である.抽出によって, 感度は水溶液のそれよりかなりの増加がみとめられ, 最適条件での分子吸光係数は23.000,モリブデン(VI)濃度0～4.3×10^Mの範囲でベールの法則が成立することをみとめた.また, モリブデン(VI)-チロン-ゼフィラミン錯体の組成比は1 : 2 : 2であった.The extraction of molybdenum (VI)-Tiron complex with quaternary ammonium chloride has beeu investigated for the determination of molybdenum (VI). The complex extracted into 1,2-dichloroethane has an absorption maximum at 400 nm, with a constant absorption in the pH range from 4.6 to 7.6. The molar ratio of molybdenum (VI) to Tiron in the complex is estimated to be 1 to 1 for aqueous phase, and 1 to 2 for organic phase. By extracting into organic phase with tetradecyldimethyl ammonium chloride (Zep), the complex, Mo [(Tiron)_2(Zep)_2], whose molar absorptivity is 23,000 at 400nm is formed. Beer\u27s Law is obeyed within the limits of 0～4.3×10^M

重症心身障害児に対する喉頭気管分離・気管食道吻合術と喉頭気管分離術の臨床的効果

Objective: Outcomes of tracheoesophageal diversion and laryngotracheal separation were evaluated in 15 neurologically impaired children treated for intractable aspiration. Methods: A retrospective analysis of the hospital records was carried out in 15 consecutive pediatric patients who underwent either tracheoesophageal diversion or laryngotracheal separation with trumpet-shaped tracheotomy from 1999 to 2006 in Kagawa Children’s Hospital. Results: The number of hospital admissions for aspiration pneumonia after surgery was significantly decreased in 6 patients who were cared for at home. The parent-reported number of secretion suctioning was decreased after surgery especially in patients with pre-operative tracheotomy or intubation. Four patients fed through naso-gastric tube progressed with oral diet post-operatively, whereas 3 patients who had pre-operative tracheotomy developed temporary post-operative tracheocutaneous fistula that was managed by local wound care. Conclusion: It is suggested that tracheoesophageal diversion and laryngotracheal separation decrease the morbidity of pediatric patients and improve their quality of life and that of their parents. It is suggested that the risk of developing post-operative fistula is higher in pediatric patients with than without pre-operative tracheotomy

日本における統計学の発展 第３６巻

昭和55，56，57年度文部省科学研究費総合（A）研究代表者西平重喜による速記録話し手：伊大知, 良太郎聞き手：江見, 康一1982-5-1