Review of Regulation for the Fas-mediated Apoptotic Pathway in Silicosis Patients

The past several years, we have been investigating immunological aspects of silicosis focusing on Fas-mediated apoptosis. We found elevated serum level of soluble Fas (sFas) molecule, higher gene expression of sFas and decoy receptor 3 (DcR3) genes in peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMC) than healthy volunteers, and various alternatively spliced Fas transcripts in PBMC. The factor analysis using these results indicated that there were a small number of patients who developed immunological diseases without presenting with respiratory disorders. In addition, we discuss the mechanism involved in the development of autoimmune disorders found in silicosis patients

川崎医療短期大学における「日本語プレースメントテスト」の実施結果(第2報)

本稿は,川崎医療短期大学において2009年度に新入生に対して実施した「日本語プレースメントテスト」の実施結果を報告することを目的とする.前回の報告では,川崎医療短期大学で2007年度,2008年度に実施した「日本語プレースメント」の結果から,「日本語プレースメントテスト」の必要性,国語力低下の問題点について示した.本稿で取り上げる2009年度に実施した「日本語プレースメントテスト」の結果から,中学生レベルの語彙力しかない新入生が25%在籍していることが分かった.この背景には,ゆとり教育の弊害,読書量の低下,パソコンやインターネットの利用頻度の増大などがあると考えられる.そのため,導入教育として語彙力の向上を図る必要があり,その方策として語彙力を養う学習環境を整えた上で,継続した教育の必要性について確認できた

Reduced Expression of the Survivin Gene in PBMC from Silicosis Patients

To explore the mechanism involved in immunological disorders associated with silicosis, the expression of IAP family genes in peripheral blood mononuclear cells from silicosis patients was examined. Relative gene expression was assayed using the multiplex RT-PCR for the XIAP and survivin genes. The correlation between those expression levels and various clinical parameters was then analyzed. The relative expression level of the survivin gene was reduced in silicosis patients as compared with that of healthy volunteers. The expression level of survivin positively correlated with PCO_2 values. These results support the existence of two populations of T lymphocytes in silicosis patients, one resistant to Fas-mediated apoptosis (a self-recognizing long-surviving fraction) and the other one sensitive to silica-induced apoptosis and repeatedly undergoing death and recruitment