Synergistic effect of ubiquitin on lipopolysaccharide-induced TNF-α production in murine macrophage cell line RAW 264.7 cells

AbstractUbiquitin synergistically augmented the production of tumor necrosis factor alpha (TNF-α) in the presence of lipopolysaccharide (LPS) in murine macrophage cell line RAW 264.7. To investigate the mechanism of this augmentation, we analyzed the effect of ubiquitin during TNF-α mRNA synthesis and degradation, and TNF-α degradation on RAW 264.7 cells stimulated by LPS. It is found that ubiquitin augmented TNF-α mRNA synthesis. Ubiquitin did not affect the degradation of TNF-α mRNA and TNF-α. In the presence of LPS, extracellular accumulation of TNF-α by ubiquitin was twice than those by LPS, but intracellular accumulation of TNF-α produced by ubiquitin with LPS or by LPS had no difference. These data indicate that ubiquitin might induce TNF-α accumulation mainly by up-regulation of the TNF-α gene transcription. Although extracellular functions of ubiquitin remain largely unknown, we postulate that ubiquitin might be involved in the modulatory mechanisms of immune response

Usefulness of Pure Laparoscopic Hepatectomy for Hepatocellular Carcinoma in a Severely Cirrhotic Patient

The number of patients undergoing laparoscopic hepatectomy has rapidly increased in recent years, and indications for this procedure are gradually expanding. Pure laparoscopic hepatectomy is reportedly useful in cases with severe liver cirrhosis. A 55-year-old woman under observation for liver cirrhosis was found to have hepatocellular carcinoma in liver segment III and was referred to our hospital for surgery. The tumor was located in the edge of liver segment III, where percutaneous ablation therapy was unsuitable. Since her hepatic functional reserve was poor, pure laparoscopic partial hepatectomy was performed. The postoperative course was favorable, with no ascites retention, edema or weight gain. The greatest advantage of pure laparoscopic hepatectomy for hepatocellular carcinoma with concomitant liver cirrhosis is that postoperative ascites retention is minimal, meaning that there is little risk of water-electrolyte imbalance associated with ascites retention or hypoproteinemia. This is believed to be because the abdominal incision is small and mobilization of the liver is minimized, reducing the destruction of the routes of collateral lymph flow and blood flow generated in patients with liver cirrhosis. Pure laparoscopic hepatectomy may be a treatment choice for patients with hepatocellular carcinoma and concomitant severe liver cirrhosis

車椅子周りの流れの可視化に関する検討

Concerning with the environment and welfare, various approaches in many fields are performed. This report is an analysis of information obtained from a questionnaire survey to user or non-user of a wheelchair. In addition, the experiment on flow visualization around a wheelchair is carried out. As a result, by the investigation of welfare consciousness, it was found that the handicapped people were not enough satisfied when they used the wheelchair. Moreover, basic data for the improvements about the problems were obtained by the visualization experiment

Pathological complete response following neoadjuvant chemotherapy for locally advanced intrahepatic cholangiocarcinoma

Abstract Background Intrahepatic cholangiocarcinoma (ICC) is the second most common primary liver cancer. Cases when found are often advanced with vascular invasion, and radical resection is often difficult. Despite curative resection, the postoperative recurrence rate of patients with histological lymph node metastasis is high, and their prognosis is poor. Therefore, there is an urgent need to establish multidisciplinary treatment that combines chemotherapy and surgical resection. The efficacy of neoadjuvant chemotherapy (NAC) for locally advanced ICC is unclear. In this report, a case of locally advanced ICC in which pathological complete response (pCR) was achieved after NAC is described. Case presentation A 79-year-old woman was admitted to a local hospital with appetite loss. Computed tomography showed a 100 × 90 mm low-contrast tumor in the left hepatic lobe and segment 1 with invasion to the inferior vena cava (IVC), and several lymph nodes along the left gastric artery and lesser curvature were enlarged. Therefore, she was treated with a combined chemotherapy regimen of gemcitabine and cisplatin. After four courses, the tumor size decreased to 30 × 60 mm without invasion to the IVC. Left hepatectomy extending to segment 1 with bile duct resection combined with middle hepatic vein resection (H1234-B-MHV), dissection of regional lymph nodes and pyloroplasty were performed. After radical resection, pCR was achieved. She is alive with no evidence of disease, 2 years after surgery. Conclusions In this case, a patient with locally advanced ICC achieved pCR to NAC. NAC may be effective for ICC. Patients who achieve pCR may have a better prognosis

Phorbol ester synergistically increases interferon regulatory factor-1 and inducible nitric oxide synthase induction in interferon-γ-treated RAW 264.7 cells

AbstractThe roles of PKC in iNOS induction by IFN-γ have been shown in some cell types. The effect of a PKC activator, phorbol ester, in iNOS induction is thought to be due to multiple mechanisms, and it is necessary to examine the involvement of phorbol ester on IFN-γ-induced iNOS in detail. In the present study, we investigated the mechanisms of phorbol ester on IFN-γ-induced iNOS in RAW 264.7 cells. PMA synergistically increased iNOS activity, protein and mRNA levels in IFN-γ-treated RAW 264.7 cells. PMA together with IFN-γ increased iNOS mRNA without affecting the iNOS mRNA degradation, suggesting that the synergistic effect of PMA on IFN-γ-induced iNOS mRNA production may depend on the elevation of the transcription rate rather than a prolongation of mRNA stability. The DNA binding proteins that are involved in the regulation of iNOS expression are mainly NF-κB and IRF-1. IRF-1 transcriptionally regulates many IFN-inducible genes such as iNOS whose promoter contains an IRF-1 binding site. PMA might modulate iNOS induction as a cosignal with IFN-γ in RAW 264.7 cells because the synergistic effect of PMA was mediated through IRF-1, rather than NF-κB. Ro 31-8220, a PKC inhibitor, decreased iNOS activity, protein, mRNA levels and IRF-1 activity, indicating that the effect of PMA on iNOS induction might occur via the PKC pathway. It is evidence that PKC plays an important role in IRF-1 activation and that phorbol ester has a synergistic effect on iNOS induction through IRF-1 activation in IFN-γ-treated RAW 264.7 cells. The synergistic effect of PMA on IFN-γ-induced IRF-1 binding activity was observed in macrophage cell line J774 cells as well as RAW 264.7 cells, but not in thioglycollate-elicited peritoneal macrophages

Early anal gland adenocarcinoma with a characteristic submucosal tumor-like appearance: a case report

Abstract Background The clinical findings of early anal gland carcinoma (AGC) have not been well delineated because AGC is a rare malignancy usually diagnosed at an advanced stage. Knowledge of the characteristic findings will be helpful for both diagnosis and determination of the treatment options for early AGC. Case presentation A 62-year-old man was referred to our hospital for treatment of a rectal submucosal tumor (SMT) detected during a medical checkup at another hospital. Trans-sacral resection of the tumor was performed under the diagnosis of a rectal benign cyst. Pathological examination of the resected tumor showed a mucin-producing adenoma. About 14 months later, a new cystic lesion was found by follow-up examination, and trans-sacral resection of the tumor was performed again. The second pathological diagnosis was a mucinous adenocarcinoma with a possible remnant tumor at the local site. After providing sufficient informed consent, the patient underwent intersphincteric resection (ISR) of the rectum to preserve anal function. The final diagnosis was mucinous adenocarcinoma of the anal gland, T1N0M0. The patient remained alive without recurrence or complications for 6 years 7 months postoperatively. Conclusion We have herein reported a case of early AGC with a characteristic SMT-like appearance. Because the anal gland is located within both the submucosal layer and the internal sphincter muscle, ISR may be selected when the tumor is limited to inside the gland

Adjunctive Catheter-Directed Thrombolysis during Primary PCI for ST-Segment Elevation Myocardial Infarction with High Thrombus Burden

Background: High coronary thrombus burden has been associated with unfavorable outcomes in patients with ST-segment elevation myocardial infarction (STEMI), the optimal management of which has not yet been established. Methods: We assessed the adjunctive catheter-directed thrombolysis (CDT) during primary percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) in patients with STEMI and high thrombus burden. CDT was defined as intracoronary infusion of tissue plasminogen activator (t-PA; monteplase). Results: Among the 1849 consecutive patients with STEMI, 263 had high thrombus burden. Moreover, 41 patients received t-PA (CDT group), whereas 222 did not receive it (non-CDT group). No significant differences in bleeding complications and in-hospital and long-term mortalities were observed (9.8% vs. 7.2%, p = 0.53; 7.3% vs. 2.3%, p = 0.11; and 12.6% vs. 17.5%, p = 0.84, CDT vs. non-CDT). In patients who underwent antecedent aspiration thrombectomy during PCI (75.6% CDT group and 87.4% non-CDT group), thrombolysis in myocardial infarction grade 2 or 3 flow rate after thrombectomy was significantly lower in the CDT group than in the non-CDT group (32.2% vs. 61.0%, p < 0.01). However, the final rates improved without significant difference (90.3% vs. 97.4%, p = 0.14). Conclusions: Adjunctive CDT appears to be tolerated and feasible for high thrombus burden. Particularly, it may be an option in cases with failed aspiration thrombectomy

Adjunctive Catheter-Directed Thrombolysis during Primary PCI for ST-Segment Elevation Myocardial Infarction with High Thrombus Burden

博士（医学）乙日本医科大学202