A Case of Myoepithelial Hamartoma: Morphological Variation Supported by OCT4 Expression

In this report, we describe a patient with myoepithelial hamartoma, which is regarded as synonymous with adenomyosis and heterotopic pancreas. Endoscopy revealed a submucosal tumor in the antrum of the stomach. Subsequently, distal gastrectomy with Roux-en-Y reconstruction was performed. Histological findings of adenomyomatous lesion and heterotopic pancreatic tissue were observed in this lesion. The distribution of OCT4, which is a pluripotency marker, varied in each part

Isolation and characterization of tetrachloroethylene- and cis-1,2-dichloroethylene-dechlorinating propionibacteria

Two rapidly growing propionibacteria that could reductively dechlorinate tetrachloroethylene (PCE) and cis-1,2-dichloroethylene (cis-DCE) to ethylene were isolated from environmental sediments. Metabolic characterization and partial sequence analysis of their 16S rRNA genes showed that the new isolates, designated as strains Propionibacterium sp. HK-1 and Propionibacterium sp. HK-3, did not match any known PCE- or cis-DCE-degrading bacteria. Both strains dechlorinated relatively high concentrations of PCE (0.3 mM) and cis-DCE (0.52 mM) under anaerobic conditions without accumulating toxic intermediates during incubation. Cell-free extracts of both strains catalyzed PCE and cis-DCE dechlorination; degradation was accelerated by the addition of various electron donors. PCE dehalogenase from strain HK-1 was mediated by a corrinoid protein, since the dehalogenase was inactivated by propyl iodide only after reduction by titanium citrate. The amounts of chloride ions (0.094 and 0.103 mM) released after PCE (0.026 mM) and cis-DCE (0.05 mM) dehalogenation using the cell-free enzyme extracts of both strains, HK-1 and HK-3, were stoichiometrically similar (91 and 100%), indicating that PCE and cis-DCE were fully dechlorinated. Radiotracer studies with [1,2-¹⁴C] PCE and [1,2-¹⁴C] cis-DCE indicated that ethylene was the terminal product; partial conversion to ethylene was observed. Various chlorinated aliphatic compounds (PCE, trichloroethylene, cis-DCE, trans-1,2-dichloroethylene, 1,1-dichloroethylene, 1,1-dichloroethane, 1,2-dichloroethane, 1,2-dichloropropane, 1,1,2-trichloroethane, and vinyl chloride) were degraded by cell-free extracts of strain HK-1

Beta-glucan reflects liver injury after preservation and transplantation in dogs.

Graft failure and extrahepatic organ complications, which frequently develop after transplantation, may be related to inflammatory mediators stimulated by endotoxin (ET). The role of endotoxemia after liver transplantation is controversial and may depend upon differences in the ET assay method used in the various contradicting studies. While the standard Limulus amebocyte lysate (LAL) is reactive for ET and beta-glucan, a novel turbidimetric assay method enables separate determinations of ET and beta-glucan. Beagle dogs undergoing orthotopic liver transplantation were divided into two groups. In Group I (n = 6) the grafts were transplanted immediately and in Group II (n = 6) grafts were preserved for 48 h in University of Wisconsin (UW) solution. Animals received cyclosporine immunosuppression and were followed for 14 days. Daily measurements of aspartate aminotransferase (AST), alanine aminotransferase (ALT), and lactate dehydrogenase (LDH) were performed. Samples for ET and beta-glucan measurement were collected serially and processed using the turbidimetric assay method. While no graft failure was seen in Group I, three of six Group II animals died from graft failure within 1 day after transplantation. Preservation and reperfusion injury was much more severe in the Group II grafts than in Group I grafts. While endotoxemia could not be detected, postoperative beta-glucan levels (undetectable pretransplant) were seen in both groups. Beta-glucan levels were much higher in Group II grafts than in Group I grafts, and correlated with the severity of liver damage. In conclusion, this study shows that beta-glucan, instead of ET, appears during the early posttransplant period. We believe that posttransplant elevation of beta-glucan is related to liver damage, especially endothelial damage by preservation and reperfusion

Antitumor Activity of Activated Lymphocytes and Macrophages by Liposome-borne Tumor-specific Transplantation Antigens on Postsurgical Tumor Recurrence in Murine

Liposome-borne tumor-specific transplantation antigens (TSTA) potentiated the antitumor activity of cytotoxic lymphocytes and macrophages (Mφ) much more efficiently than empty liposomes in murine. Mφ obtained from peritoneum and lung as well as cytotoxic T-lymphocytes (CTL) such as lymphokine-activat-ed killer (LAIC) cells and tumor infiltrating lymphocytes (TIL) showed higher inhibitory activity on metastatic tumor cell growth in lung. Among the effector lymphocytes in vivo, TIL showed desiable antitumor activity by way of intra-venous injection, while peritoneal Mφ showed high cytotoxicity by intraper-itoneal injection and intraveneously alveolar Mφ also showed high cytotoxic activity. These results suggest that the suitable administrations of liposome-borne TSTA may be useful in potentiating the tumoricidal effect of effector cells in vivo, especially TIL, CTL, and Mφ, and possibly may aid in overcoming tumor metastases

ダガッキオン ニヨル ソッキョウエンソウ ヲ トオシテ ノ カンジョウ コミュニケーション

近年、即興演奏による感情コミュニケーションに関して研究が進みつつある。その中で、スネアドラムを用いた研究では喜び感情が最も伝わりやすいという結果が得られている一方で、ピアノ音を用いた研究では悲しみ感情が伝わりやすいという結果となっていた。これは、打楽器音とピアノとの音色の相違と、楽器の物理的特徴(バチで叩くか、指で弾くか)の相違とのどちらに起因しているのだろうか。そこで本研究では、MIDIキーボードに打楽器音を割り当てて同様の検討を行った。39名の実験参加者に感情の聴取判断を求めた結果、喜び感情が最もよく伝わることが示された。よって、どのような感情が伝わりやすいかには楽器の物理的特徴よりも音色が強く影響することが示唆された。For emotional communication by improvisation, happiness was conveyed most successfully when snare drum was used, but sadness was well conveyed when keyboard was used. Which factor causes the dissonance, the timbre (percussive timbre vs. piano) or physical property of the instruments (played with sticks vs. fingers)? We conducted an experiment using MIDI keyboard with percussive timbre. Thirty-nine participants made an emotion detection task for recorded improvisations, which expressed happiness, sadness, anger, fear, and no emotion. The results showed that happiness was conveyed most successfully. It is suggested that emotional communication by improvisation depended on timbre rather than physical property of instruments

Switching and Emergence of CTL Epitopes in HIV-1 Infection

Background Human Leukocyte Antigen (HLA) class I restricted Cytotoxic T Lymphocytes (CTLs) exert substantial evolutionary pressure on HIV-1, as evidenced by the reproducible selection of HLA-restricted immune escape mutations in the viral genome. An escape mutation from tyrosine to phenylalanine at the 135th amino acid (Y135F) of the HIV-1 nef gene is frequently observed in patients with HLA-A*24:02, an HLA Class I allele expressed in ~70% of Japanese persons. The selection of CTL escape mutations could theoretically result in the de novo creation of novel epitopes, however, the extent to which such dynamic “CTL epitope switching” occurs in HIV-1 remains incompletely known. Results Two overlapping epitopes in HIV-1 nef, Nef126-10 and Nef134-10, elicit the most frequent CTL responses restricted by HLA-A*24:02. Thirty-five of 46 (76%) HLA-A*24:02-positive patients harbored the Y135F mutation in their plasma HIV-1 RNA. Nef codon 135 plays a crucial role in both epitopes, as it represents the C-terminal anchor for Nef126-10 and the N-terminal anchor for Nef134-10. While the majority of patients with 135F exhibited CTL responses to Nef126-10, none harboring the “wild-type” (global HIV-1 subtype B consensus) Y135 did so, suggesting that Nef126-10 is not efficiently presented in persons harboring Y135. Consistent with this, peptide binding and limiting dilution experiments confirmed F, but not Y, as a suitable C-terminal anchor for HLA-A*24:02. Moreover, experiments utilizing antigen specific CTL clones to recognize endogenously-expressed peptides with or without Y135F indicated that this mutation disrupted the antigen expression of Nef134-10. Critically, the selection of Y135F also launched the expression of Nef126-10, indicating that the latter epitope is created as a result of escape within the former. Conclusions Our data represent the first example of the de novo creation of a novel overlapping CTL epitope as a direct result of HLA-driven immune escape in a neighboring epitope. The robust targeting of Nef126-10 following transmission (or in vivo selection) of HIV-1 containing Y135F may explain in part the previously reported stable plasma viral loads over time in the Japanese population, despite the high prevalence of both HLA-A*24:02 and Nef-Y135F in circulating HIV-1 sequences