Macromolecular lactate dehydrogenase linked to serum IgG of a patient with liver cirrhosis

An anomalous zymogram of lactate dehydrogenase (LDH) in the serum from a patient with liver cirrhosis was reported. Agar-gel electrophoresis of serum showed an extra LDH band close to the anodic side of LDH5 and a wide band of LDH5. Gel filtration of patient's serum in Sephadex G-200 demonstrated an abnormal LDH fraction eluted between immunoglobulin G (IgG) and macroglobulin in addition to a normal LDH component. Chromatographically abnormal LDH was demonstrated on agar gel as extra and wide LDH5 bands and resembled closely human hepatic LDH in various physico-chemical properties such as inhibition by urea or substrate, stability against heat, and Michaelis-Menten's constant. Immunological analyses demonstrated that abnormal LDH could be in the state combined with IgG. Molecular weight of the complex estimated by gel filtration was approximately 300,000. Mixtures of the heated patient's serum with normal or patient's hepatic LDH showed abnormal LDH fraction by gel filtration, whereas abnormal fraction was not demonstrated when heated normal serum was mixed with normal or the patient's hepatic LDH. These results strongly suggest that the occurrence of anomalous LDH zymogram in patient's serum is due to a formation of LDH-IgG complex, which is based on the binding of essentially normal hepatic LDH and abnormal IgG.</p

Orofacial Pain and Menstrually Related Migraine

PURPOSE: Migraine is a common, debilitating, primary headache disorder that can cause and be affected by odontalgia. CASE REPORT: A 49-year-old woman(Patient 1) presented with pulsating pain in the left maxillary molar area, and a history of unsuccessful root canal treatment. She was ultimately diagnosed with menstrually related migraine without aura and zolmitriptan was prescribed, which reduced her headache and toothache together. A 45-year-old woman (Patient 2) presented with throbbing pain in the right maxillary molar and cheek area. Past repeated endodontic therapy had been unsuccessful. She was then diagnosed with menstrually related migraine without aura, and sumatriptan significantly reduced her headache and toothache. A 40-year-old woman (Patient 3) presented with pulsating pain near the left maxillary molar region. Pulpectomy was performed after she had previously received a diagnosis of pulpitis in the left maxillary second molar, but her pain did not subside. Patient 2 and 3 were misdiagnosed as pulpitis by dental practitioners and the pain did not relive after pulpectomy. All patients were diagnosed as migraine by headache specialists and were treated with triptans, which resulted in satisfactory pain relief. CONCLUSION: A thorough history and examination, as well as an understanding of migraine headaches, is necessary to differentiate odontogenic pain and migraine headaches. Key Words: menstrually related migraine, orofacial pain, ICHD-3, headache

Orofacial Pain and Menstrually Related Migraine

PURPOSE: Migraine is a common, debilitating, primary headache disorder that can cause and be affected by odontalgia. CASE REPORT: A 49-year-old woman(Patient 1) presented with pulsating pain in the left maxillary molar area, and a history of unsuccessful root canal treatment. She was ultimately diagnosed with menstrually related migraine without aura and zolmitriptan was prescribed, which reduced her headache and toothache together. A 45-year-old woman (Patient 2) presented with throbbing pain in the right maxillary molar and cheek area. Past repeated endodontic therapy had been unsuccessful. She was then diagnosed with menstrually related migraine without aura, and sumatriptan significantly reduced her headache and toothache. A 40-year-old woman (Patient 3) presented with pulsating pain near the left maxillary molar region. Pulpectomy was performed after she had previously received a diagnosis of pulpitis in the left maxillary second molar, but her pain did not subside. Patient 2 and 3 were misdiagnosed as pulpitis by dental practitioners and the pain did not relive after pulpectomy. All patients were diagnosed as migraine by headache specialists and were treated with triptans, which resulted in satisfactory pain relief. CONCLUSION: A thorough history and examination, as well as an understanding of migraine headaches, is necessary to differentiate odontogenic pain and migraine headaches. Key Words: menstrually related migraine, orofacial pain, ICHD-3, headache

Difference in interleukin-8 transcriptional activity induced in THP-G8 cells by particulate matter collected in winter and summer in western Japan

Background : Airborne particulate matter (PM) may stimulate production of pro-inflammatory cytokines, and thus exposure to PM affects pulmonary diseases. However, the effects of PM on pulmonary diseases have differed among studies. Methods : PM was collected from February 2 to 28 (winter) and June 1 to 17 (summer) in 2013 in Yurihama, Japan, using filters to separate particles with different aerodynamic diameters (1.1 to< 2.2 μm, 2.2 to< 3.3 μm, 3.3 to< 7.0 μm, and 7.0 to< 10 μm). Interleukin (IL)-8 transcriptional activity in THP-G8 cells was examined in response to winter and summer PM with different diameters. Results : IL-8 transcriptional activity induced by winter PM was significantly higher than that with summer PM for each diameter. For winter PM, IL-8 activity increased with an increased diameter, whereas this activity did not differ between a solvent control and each summer PM diameter. This indicates that summer PM does not stimulate production of IL-8 in THP-G8 cells. Conclusion : The effects of PM on production of pro-inflammatory cytokines differ with the season and PM diameter. This suggests that the compositions of PM differ on season, and the evaluation of compositions of PM is important in understanding the association of health with short-term exposure to PM

Human AK2 links intracellular bioenergetic redistribution to the fate of hematopoietic progenitors

AK2 is an adenylate phosphotransferase that localizes at the intermembrane spaces of the mitochondria, and its mutations cause a severe combined immunodeficiency with neutrophil maturation arrest named reticular dysgenesis (RD). Although the dysfunction of hematopoietic stem cells (HSCs) has been implicated, earlier developmental events that affect the fate of HSCs and/or hematopoietic progenitors have not been reported. Here, we used RD-patient-derived induced pluripotent stem cells (iPSCs) as a model of AK2-deficient human cells. Hematopoietic differentiation from RD-iPSCs was profoundly impaired. RD-iPSC-derived hemoangiogenic progenitor cells (HAPCs) showed decreased ATP distribution in the nucleus and altered global transcriptional profiles. Thus, AK2 has a stage-specific role in maintaining the ATP supply to the nucleus during hematopoietic differentiation, which affects the transcriptional profiles necessary for controlling the fate of multipotential HAPCs. Our data suggest that maintaining the appropriate energy level of each organelle by the intracellular redistribution of ATP is important for controlling the fate of progenitor cells

Clinical Significance of Serum γ-Glutamyl Transpeptidase Activity in Hepatobiliary Diseases

Serum γ-glutamyl transpeptidase (γ-GTP) activities in patients with various hepatobiliary diseases were studied to elucidate the clinical significance of the enzyme. In an early stage of acute hepatitis, an elevation of the enzyme activity was slight or moderate, and the alteration of the activity in the clinical course behaved in a parallel manner with that of serum GPT activity. Estimation of the γ-GTP activity in a convalescent stage of acute hepatitis was useful for predicting the prognosis of the disease. A marked elevation of serum γ-GTP activity was observed in icteric primary hepatoma, especially when the tumor was large and situated at the hilar portion or in the right lobe of the liver, and in secondary carcinoma, the activity higher than that in primary hepatoma was obtained, when the cancer metastasized to the porta hepatis or infiltrated into the liver along the bile ducts even though jaundice was not revealed. In biliary diseases, the level of serum γ-GTP had a close correlation with those of alkaline phosphatase and leucine aminopeptidase

A Study on the Specific Gravity of Blood with Special Reference to Dietary Habitus

The specific gravity of blood was studied with special reference to dietary habitus of the subject. The materials studied were 46 student nurses and 73 housewives. The results were as follows; 1. The specific gravity of blood was in close relation to the quantity and hemoglobin content of the red corpuscles. The protein content of the plasma was proved to be another major factor of the specific gravity. 2. In the group of disqualified subjects, below 1.052 in the specific gravity, the following findings were obtained; (1) Low level of serm iron and dietary iron intake were apparent. (2) Hypoacidity or anacidity was usually present. (3) Daily labor hours and menstrual period had a close relation to the specific gravity of blood. 3. The specific gravity of blood showed seasonable changes. 4. The most effective treatment of the disqualified subjects was the improvement of dietary habits