Experimental study on veno-venous extracorporeal membrane oxygenation for respiratory failure after lung transplantation.

Extracorporeal Membrane Oxygenation (ECMO) has been adopted as a means of strong respiratory support. In lung transplantation, reimplantation response is still a serious problem. It causes severe respiratory failure which is refractory to mechanical ventilation in some cases. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the effects of veno-venous ECMO after lung transplantation using a canine autotransplantation model. The autotransplantation model was created by keeping the left lung in a warm ischemic state for 2 h. After reperfusion, the right pulmonary artery was ligated. The following two groups were studied: Group 1, Control group, (no ECMO group) (n = 6). After reperfusion, both lungs were ventilated without ECMO. Group 2, ECMO group (n = 7). After reperfusion, veno-venous ECMO support was introduced with reduction of mechanical ventilation. In the no ECMO group, four of the animals died within 210 min after reperfusion. In the ECMO group, two of the animals died of severe pulmonary edema. Data of blood gas analyses (PaO2, PaCO2, and SvO2) after reperfusion were significantly better in the ECMO group, whereas there were no significant differences in both shunt fraction and pulmonary vascular resistance index. In this model with severe pulmonary edema induced by warm ischemia, veno-venous ECMO contributed to the improvement of hypoxemia and hypercapnia, but did not improve pulmonary hemodynamics.</p

Biliary reconstruction with right hepatic lobectomy due to delayed management of laparoscopic bile duct injuries: a case report.

We report a case requiring biliary reconstruction with right hepatic lobectomy due to biliary strictures caused by continuous cholangitis after laparoscopic bile duct injury. The patient, a 55-year-old woman, underwent laparoscopic cholecystectomy for cholelithiasis at another hospital. Although a bile leakage from the intraabdominal drain was observed several days after the operation, the patient was not given adequate treatment to stop the leakage. Two months after the initial laparoscopic cholecystectomy, she was referred to our hospital. Endoscopic retrograde cholangiopancreatography (ERCP) showed complete obstruction of the common hepatic duct, which was caused by clipping during laparoscopic cholecystectomy. Cholangiography from percutaneous transhepatic biliary drainage (PTBD) catheters revealed that sections of the secondary branches of the right intrahepatic bile duct had become constricted due to persistent cholangitis. Fortunately, the left hepatic duct was judged to be normal by imaging. Therefore, we elected to perform a right hepatic lobectomy and left hepaticojejunostomy, because we felt that performing a hepaticojejunostomy without hepatic resection would put the patient at risk of continuing to suffer from cholangitis. The patient was discharged on the 55 th postoperative day, and, 5 years after reconstructive surgery, is healthy and has remained free from biliary strictures in the remnant liver. Appropriate decision-making is essential in the treatment of biliary injury after laparoscopic cholecystectomy. Surgeons should not hesitate to perform biliary reconstruction with hepatic resection to reduce the risk of cholangitis or biliary strictures of the remnant liver. More importantly, preoperative clear imaging of the biliary tree and suitable management of any biliary injury which might occur are necessary to avoid having to perform reconstructive surgery.</p

Implantable pneumatically actuated microsystem for renal pressure-mediated transfection in mice.

In vivo transfection is an important technique used in biological research and drug therapy development. Previously, we developed a renal pressure-mediated transfection method performed by pressing a kidney after an intravenous injection of naked nucleic acids. Although this is a useful method because of its safety and wide range of applications, an innovative approach for performing this method without repeatedly cutting open the abdomen is required. In this study, we developed an implantable microsystem fabricated by Micro-Electro-Mechanical Systems (MEMS) technologies for renal pressure-mediated transfection. The system consists of a polydimethylsiloxane pneumatic balloon actuator (PBA) used as an actuator to press the target kidney. The PBA of the implanted microsystem can be actuated without opening the abdomen by applying air pressure from outside the body to the pressure-supplying port via a needle. We successfully performed renal pressure-mediated transfection using the newly developed system when the implanted system was activated at 60kPa for 10s. This is the first report of an implantable MEMS-based microsystem that demonstrates in vivo transfection to a kidney using naked plasmid DNA

Effects of Medium Shape, Fertilization Methods and Plant Density on the Growth of Pansy Grown in Medium Hardened by Heat Fusion Polyester Fiber without Polyethylene Pot

To develop bedding plant production system without polyethylene pots (PP), problems that may be encountered with compacted medium hardened by heat fusion polyester fiber were investigated. Effects of medium shape, fertilization methods and plant density on the growth of pansy in medium without PP were investigated. To improve water usage on compacted medium, a watering space (6×6×depth 3cm) was made on the upper part of the compacted medium (9×9×depth 9cm). In the early stages of the experiment the amount of water supplied per pot (weight after irrigation-weight before irrigation) of medium with water space was 10–25% greater than that of medium without a water space. However, from the mid to late stages of the experiment, the difference gradually declined. The amount of water supplied per pot was similar between with and without water space especially on cloudy or rainy days. The growth of pansies on medium without PP was remarkably greater with water space than without water space. On 10g/liter basal fertilizer treatment, pansies had severe symptoms of fertilizer damage. The growth of pansy on 10g/liter basal fertilizer was inhibited compared to that of 5g/liter basal fertilizer. Spacing treatment was conducted whenever plant density was half. Height of pansy grown with spacing treatment was significantly lower than that without spacing treatment. PP had no effects on growth when pansy was grown without spacing treatment. However, when pansy was grown with spacing treatment, pansy grown without PP had significantly greater growth than with PP. Algal growth on the medium increased with increasing irrigation rate or nutrient rate. Combination of spacing treatment and medium without PP decreased the rate of algal growth on medium.固化培地を利用したポリポットを用いないポットレス栽培において，潅水効率の上昇，施肥の簡易化，藻の発生抑制のため，培地の形状，施肥方法および栽植密度がパンジーの生育に及ぼす影響について検討した．9㎝角のポット型培地に6×6×深さ3㎝のくぼみ（ウォータースペース）を培地上部に作成すると，栽培前期の水供給量（灌水後の重量―灌水前の重量）が約10～25% に多くなった．しかし，栽培中期から後期にかけてはその違いは次第に小さくなり，特に曇雨天時には水供給量に差はみられなくなった．ウォータースペースの有無にかかわらず，ポリポットがあると生育に違いは認めらなかったが，ポットレス区ではウォータースペースによって生育が改善された．元肥量10ｇ/liter 区では生育初期に高濃度障害と思われる症状が見られ，5ｇ/liter 区より生育が抑制された．栽植密度を半分にしたスペーシングによって，草丈はかなり抑制された．スペーシングなしの場合にはポットの有無による差は小さかったが，ポットレス栽培の生育がスペーシング栽培でかなり改善された．ポットレス・スペーシング有・灌水量120ml区の生育が最も旺盛であった．養分量が多いほど灌水量が多いほど，藻の発生が大であったが，スペーシングとポットレスを組み合わせると藻の発生が改善された

Tumor-specific exon creation of the HELLS/SMARCA6 gene in non-small cell lung cancer

In an attempt to identify tumor suppressor genes on chromosome 10 in non-small cell lung cancers, we isolated 10 types of splicing variants of the HELLS/ SMARCA6 gene transcripts. HELLS/SMARCA6 is a novel member of SNF2 family, which is implicated in cellular function like chromatin remodeling. Variant 1 was an alternatively spliced isoform containing an insertion of a 44-ntd intronic sequence between exons 3 and 4, giving rise to a premature termination of translation. The expression of the variant 1 was detected exclusively in the lung cancer specimens (11 of 43 cases, 26%), but was not detected in corresponding normal tissues. D10S520 marker in the proximity of the HELLS/SMARCA6 gene showed prevalent allelic loss (41%) as compared with flanking markers (25-31%). These results suggest that loss of function of HELLS/SMARCA6 by allelic loss and aberrant proteins by tumor-specific exon creation may result in epigenetic deregulation, leading the lung cells to malignancy or its progression

Effects of adenoviral-mediated hepatocyte growth factor on liver regeneration after massive hepatectomy in rats

Resection is the only curative treatment for liver metastasis of colorectal cancers. Despite the supreme regenerative potential of the liver, major hepatectomy sometimes leads to liver failure, and the limitation of resectable liver volumes makes advanced tumors inoperable. This study was attempted to promote liver regeneration using hepatocyte growth factor (HGF) gene transfection by venous-administered adenovirus and to improve the survival of rats after massive hepatectomy. The adenovirus that encodes HGF was administered to rats before 85%-hepatectomy. The administration of HGF gene improved the survival of rats after massive hepatectomy, while the administration of control adenovirus deteriorated their survival. Gene transfection of HGF showed up-regulation of serum HGF, stimulation of hepatocellular proliferation and rapid liver regeneration. Moreover, HGF administration reduced apoptosis of hepatocytes. The administration of HGF gene prevented liver dysfunction after major hepatectomy and may be a new assist for surgery.</p

X box-binding protein１を介した小胞体ストレス応答不全は非アルコール性脂肪肝炎モデルマウスにおける肝部分切除後の肝再生不良の主要な要因である

Background Non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) is the most common chronic liver disease. Poor regeneration after hepatectomy in NAFLD is well recognized, but the mechanism is unclear. Endoplasmic reticulum (ER) stress plays an important role in the development of NAFLD. Here, we show that an impaired ER stress response contributes to poor liver regeneration in partially hepatectomized mice. Methods Non-alcoholic fatty liver (NAFL) or non-alcoholic steatohepatitis (NASH) was induced in mice using our patented feed and 70% partial hepatectomy (PH) was performed. Mice were sacrificed 0, 4, 8, 24, or 48 hours, or 7 days after PH, and liver regeneration and the mRNA expression of ER stress markers were assessed. Results NAFLD activity score was calculated as 4–6 points for NAFL and 7 points for NASH. NASH was characterized by inflammation and high ER stress marker expression before PH. After PH, NASH mice showed poorer liver regeneration than controls. High expression of proinflammatory cytokine genes was present in NASH mice 4 hours after PH. Xbp1-s mRNA expression was high in control and NAFL mice after PH, but no higher in NASH mice. Conclusions Dysfunction of the ER stress response might be a cause of poor liver regeneration in NASH