Mesobiliverdin IXα Enhances Rat Pancreatic Islet Yield and Function

The aims of this study were to produce mesobiliverdin IXα, an analog of anti-inflammatory biliverdin IXα, and to test its ability to enhance rat pancreatic islet yield for allograft transplantation into diabetic recipients. Mesobiliverdin IXα was synthesized from phycocyanobilin derived from cyanobacteria, and its identity and purity were analyzed by chromatographic and spectroscopic methods. Mesobiliverdin IXα was a substrate for human NADPH biliverdin reductase. Excised Lewis rat pancreata infused with mesobiliverdin IXα and biliverdin IXα-HCl (1–100 μM) yielded islet equivalents as high as 86.7 and 36.5%, respectively, above those from non-treated controls, and the islets showed a high degree of viability based on dithizone staining. When transplanted into livers of streptozotocin-induced diabetic rats, islets from pancreata infused with mesobiliverdin IXα lowered non-fasting blood glucose (BG) levels in 55.6% of the recipients and in 22.2% of control recipients. In intravenous glucose tolerance tests, fasting BG levels of 56 post-operative day recipients with islets from mesobiliverdin IXα infused pancreata were lower than those for controls and showed responses that indicate recovery of insulin-dependent function. In conclusion, mesobiliverdin IXα infusion of pancreata enhanced yields of functional islets capable of reversing insulin dysfunction in diabetic recipients. Since its production is scalable, mesobiliverdin IXα has clinical potential as a protectant of pancreatic islets for allograft transplantation

Coincident Port-site and Functional End-to-end Anastomotic Recurrences after Laparoscopic Surgery for Colon Cancer : A case report and literature review

Herein, we report coincident recurrences at the port site and functional end-to-end anastomosis after laparoscopic right hemicolectomy for cancer of the ascending colon. The patient was an 83-year-old man who had undergone the aforementioned procedure (Stage IIA) in the referral hospital. At the 10-month follow-up, computed tomography showed two tumours around 3 cm in diameter : one on the right-flank abdominal wall-the surgical port-site-and the other at the functional end-to-end anastomosis. Likewise, a positron emission tomography scan was positive for two tumours. Endoscopic examination showed an ulcerated tumour with a clear margin, and a biopsy confirmed moderately differentiated tubular adenocarcinoma. The patient was diagnosed with coincident recurrences at the port site and functional end-to-end anastomosis after laparoscopic right hemicolectomy for cancer of the ascending colon. We re-operated inMarch 2016. The tumours at the functional end-to-end anastomosisand functional end-to-end anastomosiswere resected. After 7 months, no recurrence was detected

Peritoneal cecal cancer metastasis to a mesh-plug prosthesis : A case report

We report the case of a 77-year-old man who presented to our hospital with cecal cancer, lung metastasis, and liver metastasis in January 2013. After four courses of modified infusional intravenous fluorouracil and levofolinate with oxaliplatin (mFOLFOX 6) + bevacizumab, there was no new metastatic lesion and lung metastasis reduction was observed. Ileocecal resection was performed in May, left lower lung lobectomy in August, and extended right posterior segmentectomy + S8 partial liver resection was performed in December. The tumor marker declined initially ; thereafter, it gradually increased. Computed tomography (CT) performed in April 2014 revealed right inguinal mass around the mesh-plug prosthesis. A positron emission tomography-CT (PET-CT) also revealed a high 2-fluoro-2-deoxy-D-glucose (FDG) uptake at the same site. Right inguinal tumor resection was performed in July. Cancer tissues were confirmed by performing intraoperative rapid pathological diagnosis, and R0 resection could be achieved. Previous studies have reported malignant tumor metastases to the mesh-plug prosthesis, and this was believed to one of the sites that cancer cells can easily engraft. In particular, in patients with a history of advanced malignant tumors, if mass formation around the artifact insertion site is observed, the possibility of peritoneal metastasis should be considered

Combined resection of re-recurrent lateral lymph nodes and external iliac vein : Case Report and Literature

Herein, we describe the operative procedure for combined resection of re-recurrent lateral lymph nodes and the external iliac vein. There is no consensus on the clinical implications of resection of locally re-recurrent colorectal tumors, as the operative procedure is extremely difficult. We present the case of a 52- year-old woman who underwent abdominoperineal resection. About one year later, we excised a recurrent lymph node in the left lateral obturator area through an extraperitoneal approach. About 18 months later, lymph node re-recurrence in the left external iliac area was observed. Re-recurrent lymph nodes directly invade the left external iliac vein.We removed the re-recurrent lymph node with combined, radical segmental resection of the left external iliac vein, left obturator artery and vein, and left obturator nerve

Pancreas transplantation improves the quality of life of Japanese type 1 diabetes patients with diabetic kidney disease

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Analysis of Factors Associated with Charcot Neuroarthropathy following Pancreatic Transplantation

Charcot neuroarthropathy (CN) is a progressive neuropathic complication of diabetes mellitus. Patients undergoing pancreatic transplantation are at risk of developing CN, and CN is known to be a poor prognostic factor for graft loss and patient death. This study aimed to investigate the factors associated with CN in patients who had undergone pancreatic transplantation. We analyzed the data of 61 patients who underwent pancreatic transplantations to investigate the relationship between patient background, nerve conduction velocity tests prior to transplantation, and CN onset. Of these patients, six developed CN. The cumulative incidence rates at 1, 3, and 5 years after transplantation were 3.3, 6.9, and 9.0%, respectively. Sensory neuropathy was severe in six patients with CN, with no sural nerve waveform detected. CN development was not observed when the sural nerve waveforms were visualized. However, when no sural nerve waveforms were observed, the incidence of CN significantly increased due to high-dose corticosteroid administration (p = 0.036). High-dose corticosteroids are associated with the development of CN in the presence of severe neuropathy. Corticosteroid administration is associated with bone metabolism; therefore, appropriate therapeutic intervention is required

p38 MAP kinase の抑制はマウスの圧負荷による病的心肥大を軽減し心機能低下を抑制する

Background: P38 mitogen-activated protein kinase（MAP kinase）plays on important role for progression of pathological cardiac hypertrophy. However, the role of p38 MAP kinase in cardiac hypertrophy induced by pressure overload remains unclear. We investigated the effect of chronic treatment with p38 MAP kinase inhibitor on the development of heart failure induced by transverse aortic constriction（TAC）in mice. Methods and Results: TAC increased left ventricular septal wall thickness（LVSWT）and cross-sectional area（CSA）of cardiomyocyte, and decreased LV fractional shortening（FS）compared with sham operation after 6 weeks. TAC also increased phosphorylation of p38 MAP kinase, whereas other hypertrophic signals were unchanged. In another experiment, TAC mice and sham operated mice were treated with subcutaneous injection of p38 MAP kinase inhibitor SB202190（5mg/kg/day）or placebo five times a week for six weeks. Treatment with p38 MAP kinase inhibitor attenuated the increase in LVSWT and CSA, and the decrease in FS in mice with TAC. Conclusions: Inhibition of p38 MAP kinase attenuated left ventricular hypertrophy and inhibited progression of systolic dysfunction in pressure overload-induced cardiac hypertrophy. These results suggest that inhibition of p38 MAP kinase has a protective effect for development of heart failure induced by pressure overload

Detection of circulating tumor cells in drainage venous blood from colorectal cancer patients using a new filtration and cytology-based automated platform.

Numerous technologies exist to detect circulating tumor cells (CTCs), although reports on cytological detection of CTCs remain limited. We recently developed a cytology-based CTC detection device using glass slides and light microscopy. In this study, we automated this previously manual device to improve its efficiency and cost effectiveness for clinical applications. We conducted a pilot study using this device to compare CTCs in peripheral blood (PB) and draining venous blood (DVB) from patients with colorectal cancer (CRC). The cytology-based automated CTC detection platform consisted of a disposable filtration device with a three-dimensional (3D) metal filter and multichannel automated CTC enrichment device. This platform allowed rapid and gentle filtration of CTCs and their efficient transfer from the filter to glass slides for subsequent Papanicolaou (Pap) and immunocytochemical (ICC) staining. Cytological diagnosis of CTCs was performed by observing permanent glass slide specimens by light microscopy. The current pilot clinical study enrolled CRC patients (n = 26) with stage I-IV tumors, who underwent surgery. PB was collected before surgery, and DVB was obtained from the mesenteric vein immediately after resection. Based on the CTC morphology obtained from PB and DVB samples, we proposed the following cytological criteria for the diagnosis of CTCs: pan-cytokeratin-positive, atypical cells with malignant morphological features identified by Pap staining. The numbers of CTCs defined by these criteria were significantly higher in DVB than PB from CRC patients (p<0.01), and the number of CTCs in DVB was increased significantly with stage progression (p<0.05). These results suggest that DVB may be another potential source of CTCs other than PB for liquid biopsies including downstream analysis. This automated cytology-based CTC detection device therefore provides a unique and powerful tool to investigate the significance of CTCs in CRC patients in a clinical setting