Biomimetic Mineralization in External Layer of Decalcified Fish Scale

The mineralization process of the osseous layer, which is highly calcified in vivo, was successfully imitated by the immersion process of the decalcified fish scales in simplified simulated body fluid (SSBF). An alkali treatment was used to modify the native collagen in the decalcified Tilapia fish scale. After the alkali treatment, the mineralization was facilitated in SSBF. The XRD patterns and SEM-EDS observation results demonstrated that the externally-mineralized layers by the immersion process were highly similar to the osseous layer containing lower-crystalline hydroxyapatite, suggesting that the simple biomimetic precipitation process was developed

Antitumor Effect of Recombinant Human Lymphotoxin on a Tumor Line of Human Malignant Glioma

We examined the antitumor effect of recombinant human lymphotoxin (rHuLT) on a xenotransplantable human malignant glioma line. Tumor-bearing nude mice were treated with rHuLT for three weeks following four schedules: intratumoral injection of rHuLT 20,000 units once a week, twice a week, intravenous injection once a week and twice a week. The inhibition rate of tumor growth was 98.8%, 99.1 %, 92.1 % and 98.8%, respectively. Histologically, necrotic lesions were observed in the tumors of all treated mice. Thrombo-obstructive changes of tumor vessels were also seen in the tumors of mice after intravenous injection of rHuLT. None of the mice died as a result of this treatment in spite of significant body weight loss. These results indicate that rHuLT has a strong antitumor effect on a xenotransplantable human malignant glioma line

Establishment and Characterization of Human Medulloblastoma Xenograft Line

A new xenotransplantable tumor line, MED-FU, was derived from a 6-year-old female patient with cerebellar medulloblastoma. This tumor was grown in nude mice as serially transplantable subcutaneous xenografts composed of small round cells with hyperchromatic nuclei and scant cytoplasm. Many rosettes and mitoses were observed. Immunohistochemically, glial fibrillary acidic protein (GFAP), S-100 protein, and neuron specific enolase (NSE) were not detected. The doubling time of the subcutaneous tumors was 6.8 days. Highly concentrated polyamines were detected in the tumor tissue and serum of tumor-bearing mice. This xenotransplanted tumor line, MED-FU, is considered to provide an available experimental model for the study of human medulloblastoma