Fish mesonephric model of polycystic kidney disease in medaka (Oryzias latipes) pc mutant

Fish mesonephric model of polycystic kidney disease in medaka (Oryzias latipes) pc mutant.BackgroundPolycystic kidney disease (PKD) is a common hereditary disease. A number of murine and zebrafish mutants have been generated and used for the study of PKD as metanephric and pronephric models, respectively. Here, we report a medaka (Oryzias latipes) mutant that develops numerous cysts in the kidney in adulthood fish in an autosomal-recessive manner as a mesonephric model of PKD.MethodsThe phenotypes of the medaka pc mutant were described in terms of morphologic, histologic, and ultrastructural features. The pc see-through stock was produced by crossing a pc mutant and a fish from the see-through stock and used for observing the kidney through the transparent body wall of a live fish.ResultsThe mutant developed bilateral massive enlargement of the kidney in adulthood. They sexually matured normally within 2 months of age and died within 6 months of age. The affected kidney was occupied by numerous, fluid-filled cysts, which were lined by attenuated squamous epithelial cells. Developmentally, cystic formation began in the pronephros in 10-day-old fry and in the mesonephros in 20-day-old fry at the microscopic level. The pc see-through stock was useful in observing disease progression in live fish.ConclusionThe kidney disorder that develops in the medaka pc mutant is a mesonephric counterpart of PKD, particularly an autosomal-dominant PKD, based on its morphologic, histologic, and ultrastructural features, and slow progression

Platelets Strongly Induce Hepatocyte Proliferation with IGF-1 and HGF In Vitro

Background. It is well known that platelets have athrombotic effect. However, platelets play an importantrole not only in hemostasis but also in woundhealing and tissue regeneration. Platelets have beenreported to accumulate in the liver and promote liverregeneration after an extended hepatectomy, but themechanism is unclear. The present study was designedto clarify the mechanism by which plateletshave a direct proliferative effect on hepatocytes invitro.Materials and methods. Hepatocytes obtained frommale BALB/c mice by collagenase digestion and immortalizedhepatocytes (TLR2) were used. To elucidatethe mechanism of the proliferative effect of platelets,DNA synthesis of hepatocytes was measuredunder various conditions and the related cellular signalswere analyzed. Chromatographic analysis wasalso performed to clarify which elements of plateletshave mitogenic activity.Results. DNA synthesis significantly increased in thehepatocytes cultured with platelets (P < 0.001). However,when the platelets and hepatocytes were separated,the platelets did not have a proliferative effect.Whole disrupted platelets, the supernatant fraction,and fresh isolated platelets had a similar proliferativeeffect, while the membrane fraction did not. After theaddition of platelets, both Akt and extracellularsignal-regulated kinases ERK1/2 were activated, butextracellular signal-regulated kinase STAT3 was not activated. Some mitogenic fractions were obtainedfrom the platelet extracts by gel exclusion chromatography;the fractions were rich in hepatocyte growthfactor and IGF-1.Conclusions. Direct contact between platelets andhepatocytes was necessary for the proliferative effect.The direct contact initiated signal transduction involvedin growth factor activation. Hepatocyte growthfactor, vascular endothelial growth factor, and insulin-like growth factor-1, rather than platelet-derivedgrowth factor, mainly contributed to hepatocyteproliferation

Solitary Peutz-Jeghers Type Colorectal Polyp with Hamartonia-adenoma-carcinoma Sequence in a Non-Peutz-Jeghers Syndrome Patient

Peutz-Jeghers (P-J) syndrome is an inherited disorder characterized by multiple hamartomatous gastrointestinal polyps, mucocutaneous pigmentation, and an increased risk of both digestive tract and non-digestive tract cancers. P-J type polyps are characteristic of P-J syndrome but rarely present as solitary polyps. Though cancerous lesions frequently develop from polyposis in P-J syndrome, reports of malignancy in solitary colorectal P-J type polyps are rare; our literature search identified only two examples. This report describes a non-Peutz-Jeghers syndrome patient with a solitary P-J type polyp showing the hamartoma-adenoma-carcinoma sequence

キョウセン ヒテイケイテキ カルチノイド ノ 1セツジョレイ

Background. Thymic carcinoids are rare disease to account for ２-４％ of anterior mediastinal tumors. So, the clinicopathologic characters are not known enough. Case. A ６７ years old man was followed up old myocardial infarction, and he was taken chest CT scan for evaluate coronary artery. It revealed three anterior mediastinal tumors and we diagnosed thymoma by needle biopsy. We treated by neoadjuvant chemotherapy（CAMP therapy）, but it was ineffective. We performed thoracoscopic thymothymomectomy, and the pathological diagnosis was thymic atypical carcinoid. He is free of clinically event recurrence one year and a half after treatment. Conclusions. When we found an anterior mediastinal tumor, and if the clinical course is usually different, we should consider the possibility of a thymic carcinoid

X-Ray Analysis Literatures 2010

本総説は，2010年に学術雑誌に掲載されたX線分析関連の論文において，注目すべき論文を厳選し紹介する．調査した学術雑誌は19件（和雑誌2件含む）であり，X線分析の発展に寄与しているものを対象としているが，分析化学の分野だけでなく，分光学や物理学の分野も網羅している．各雑誌に関して，X 線分析手法や測定された試料の傾向，分析技術や要素開発に関するトピックスの他に，特筆すべき論文には論評も記している．日本工業規格（JIS）におけるX線分析関連の規格の制定や改訂についてまとめている．X線関連メーカーのウェブサイトを紹介し，掲載している技術レポートの情報も得られる．　In this article, the interesting X-ray analysis-related literatures, which are published on academic journals during the year 2010, are summarized. The number of the researched journals is 19, including two Japanese journals, which contribute the advance of the X-ray analysis in the field not only of analytical chemistry but also of spectroscopy and physics. In every journal, the trend of the X-ray analysis methods and of the measured specimens, the topics of analytical technique and of the developed components of the X-ray analysis apparatus, and the comments for the nortable articles are mentioned. The constitution and revision of standards of X-ray analysis on Japanease Industrial Standard (JIS) are shown. The websites of the company related with X-ray tools or X-ray apparatus are also shown, and the information on technical reports is available

ACPA-negative RA consists of two genetically distinct subsets based on RF positivity in Japanese.

HLA-DRB1, especially the shared epitope (SE), is strongly associated with rheumatoid arthritis (RA). However, recent studies have shown that SE is at most weakly associated with RA without anti-citrullinated peptide/protein antibody (ACPA). We have recently reported that ACPA-negative RA is associated with specific HLA-DRB1 alleles and diplotypes. Here, we attempted to detect genetically different subsets of ACPA-negative RA by classifying ACPA-negative RA patients into two groups based on their positivity for rheumatoid factor (RF). HLA-DRB1 genotyping data for totally 954 ACPA-negative RA patients and 2,008 healthy individuals in two independent sets were used. HLA-DRB1 allele and diplotype frequencies were compared among the ACPA-negative RF-positive RA patients, ACPA-negative RF-negative RA patients, and controls in each set. Combined results were also analyzed. A similar analysis was performed in 685 ACPA-positive RA patients classified according to their RF positivity. As a result, HLA-DRB1*04:05 and *09:01 showed strong associations with ACPA-negative RF-positive RA in the combined analysis (p = 8.8×10(-6) and 0.0011, OR: 1.57 (1.28-1.91) and 1.37 (1.13-1.65), respectively). We also found that HLA-DR14 and the HLA-DR8 homozygote were associated with ACPA-negative RF-negative RA (p = 0.00022 and 0.00013, OR: 1.52 (1.21-1.89) and 3.08 (1.68-5.64), respectively). These association tendencies were found in each set. On the contrary, we could not detect any significant differences between ACPA-positive RA subsets. As a conclusion, ACPA-negative RA includes two genetically distinct subsets according to RF positivity in Japan, which display different associations with HLA-DRB1. ACPA-negative RF-positive RA is strongly associated with HLA-DRB1*04:05 and *09:01. ACPA-negative RF-negative RA is associated with DR14 and the HLA-DR8 homozygote

Advanced Clinical Usefulness of Ultrasonography for Diseases in Oral and Maxillofacial Regions

Various kinds of diseases may be found in the oral and maxillofacial regions and various modalities may be applied for their diagnosis, including intra-oral radiography, panoramic radiography, ultrasonography, computed tomography, magnetic resonance imaging, and nuclear medicine methods such as positron emission tomography. Of these modalities, ultrasound imaging is easy to use for the detection of noninvasive and soft tissue-related diseases. Doppler ultrasound images taken in the B-mode can provide vascular information associated with the morphology of soft tissues. Thus, ultrasound imaging plays an important role in confirming the diagnosis of many kinds of diseases in such oral and maxillofacial regions as the tongue, lymph nodes, salivary glands, and masticatory muscles. In the present article, we introduce three new applications of ultrasonography: guided fine-needle aspiration, measurement of tongue cancer thickness, and diagnosis of metastasis to cervical lymph nodes

White matter microstructural alterations across four major psychiatric disorders : mega-analysis study in 2937 individuals

Identifying both the commonalities and differences in brain structures among psychiatric disorders is important for understanding the pathophysiology. Recently, the ENIGMA-Schizophrenia DTI Working Group performed a large-scale meta-analysis and reported widespread white matter microstructural alterations in schizophrenia; however, no similar cross-disorder study has been carried out to date. Here, we conducted mega-analyses comparing white matter microstructural differences between healthy comparison subjects (HCS; N = 1506) and patients with schizophrenia (N = 696), bipolar disorder (N = 211), autism spectrum disorder (N = 126), or major depressive disorder (N = 398; total N = 2937 from 12 sites). In comparison with HCS, we found that schizophrenia, bipolar disorder, and autism spectrum disorder share similar white matter microstructural differences in the body of the corpus callosum; schizophrenia and bipolar disorder featured comparable changes in the limbic system, such as the fornix and cingulum. By comparison, alterations in tracts connecting neocortical areas, such as the uncinate fasciculus, were observed only in schizophrenia. No significant difference was found in major depressive disorder. In a direct comparison between schizophrenia and bipolar disorder, there were no significant differences. Significant differences between schizophrenia/bipolar disorder and major depressive disorder were found in the limbic system, which were similar to the differences in schizophrenia and bipolar disorder relative to HCS. While schizophrenia and bipolar disorder may have similar pathological characteristics, the biological characteristics of major depressive disorder may be close to those of HCS. Our findings provide insights into nosology and encourage further investigations of shared and unique pathophysiology of psychiatric disorders

開心術前後における身体組成変動

Lean body mass decreases after a major operation such as open-heart surgery, which leads to postoperative complications, as a drastic loss of muscle mass is related to infections and longer hospital stays. The purpose of this study was to examine changes in lean body mass and muscle mass including body composition the perioperative phase until discharge in patients undergoing open-heart surgery. Body fluids, fat and lean body mass in 17 patients were determined before and 1 week after surgery, and at discharge using bioelectrical impedance analysis. In addition, the levels of hemoglobin, albumin, and C-reactive protein in blood were measured. Cardiac rehabilitation consisted of early mobilization and aerobic bicycle exercise was subsequently performed after confirmation of independent walking for 200 meters. Early mobilization after surgery was assisted by physical therapists experienced in cases of cardiovascular surgery. Early mobilization required no more than 3 delayed days and no major complications until discharge in any of the patients. Weight and body mass index were significantly lower at discharge than before and 1 week after surgery, while lean body mass, muscle mass, total body water, intracellular fluid, body protein, and body cell mass values were significantly lower at discharge than before surgery. The changes in body composition seen after cardiac surgery until discharge indicated continuous catabolic reactions in our patients and some cytokines have been suggested to influence this phenomenon. After receiving open-heart surgery, it is important for patients to receive nutritional therapy and begin resistance exercise as soon as possible. Aerobic exercise should produce muscle protein synthesis and increase muscle mass under adequate nutritional support including specific amino acid supplements. Our findings indicate that muscle mass and nutritional status should be monitored after discharge and followed consistently in patients after open-heart surgery