The nucleoside and nucleotide mixture (OG-VI) rescues intestinal-like epithelial cells from the cytotoxicity of chemotherapeutic agents

Immune cells and cells undergoing rapid turn-over can obtain exogenous nucleotides via salvage synthesis. We evaluated whether or not the balanced nucleoside and nucleotide mixture OG-VI, could rescue intestinal epithelial-like Caco-2 cells from the cytotoxic effects of several chemotherapeutic agents, in the presence and absence of glutamine (Gln). Cells were exposed to 5-fluorouracil (5FU), methotrexate (MTX) or 6-mercaptopurine (6MP), after which proliferation and cell cycle analyses were performed. Following exposure to the chemotherapeutic agents, we observed that cells treated with OG-VI proliferated well, whereas those without the supplement did not proliferate. Furthermore, following treatment with either 5FU or MTX, we observed that the number of cells in the G0/G1 phase decreased and those in the S phases increased. However, these cell cycle alterations were prevented by the addition of OG-VI. With the exception of 6MP-treated cells, we did not observe any effects on proliferation or cell cycle regulation that could be ascribed to the presence of Gln. Thus, we have demonstrated that OG-VI rescues cells from the cytotoxic effects of several chemotherapeutic agents

<症例>Tamoxifen 併用多剤化学療法 (5-Fluorouracil, Epirubicin, Cyclophosphamide) が著効を示した進行男性乳癌の1例

A 79-year old male advanced breast cancer patient with metastases in lymph nodes, bones and anterior chest wall was effectively treated by a combination of chemotherapy (5-fluorouracil, epirubicin and cyclophosphamide), tamoxifen and minor surgery. Two months after five cycles of chemotherapy, all lymph node swellings disappeared. The main breast cancer and the chest wall metastatic nodule were resected under local anesthesia. He was maintained on tamoxifen alone and showed no lymph node recurrence during the follow up period of 20 months, suggesting good control of bone metastatic lesions.多発性鎖骨上寓, 腋窩リンパ節転移, 多発性骨転移, 胸壁転移を有する79歳男性進行乳癌症例に対し, 胸壁転移巣切除生検にて Estrogen 受容体陽性を確認したのち, Tamoxifen 併用多剤化学療法 (5-Fluorouracil, Epirubicin, Cyclophosphamide) を施行した. 化学療法5回終了後約2ヶ月ですべてのリンパ節腫脹の消失をみたため, 外来にて単純乳房切断術をおこなった. 以後 Tamoxifen のみの投与にて外来で追跡し, 化学療法終了後約20ヶ月間リンパ節再発を認めず, 骨転移巣も良好に制御された現在, 患者は全く愁訴なく元気に日常生活を送っている. 小手術と組み合わせた Tamoxifen 併用多剤化学療法が著効を示した男性進行乳癌の1例を報告した

The utility of electron microscopy in detecting asbestos fibers and particles in BALF in diffuse lung diseases

Abstract Background In patients with diffuse lung diseases, differentiating occupational lung diseases from other diseases is clinically important. However, the value of assessing asbestos and particles in bronchoalveolar lavage fluid (BALF) in diffuse lung diseases by electron microscopy (EM) remains unclear. We evaluated the utility of EM in detecting asbestos fibers and particles in patients with diffuse lung diseases. Methods The BALF specimens of 107 patients with diffuse lung diseases were evaluated. First, detection of asbestos by EM and light microscopy (LM) were compared. Second, the detection of asbestos using surgically obtained lung tissues of 8 of 107 patients were compared with the results of EM and LM in BALF. Third, we compared the results of mineralogical components of particles in patients with (n = 48) and without (n = 59) a history of occupational exposure to inorganic dust. Results BALF asbestos were detected in 11 of 48 patients with a history of occupational exposure by EM; whereas asbestos as asbestos bodies (ABs) were detected in BALF in 4 of these 11 patients by LM. Eight of 107 patients in whom lung tissue samples were surgically obtained, EM detected BALF asbestos at a level of >1,000 fibers/ml in all three patients who had ABs in lung tissue samples by LM at a level of >1,000 fibers/g. The BALF asbestos concentration by EM and in lung tissue by LM were positively correlated. The particle fractions of iron and phosphorus were increased in patients with a history of occupational exposure and both correlated with a history of occupational exposure by a multiple regression analysis. Conclusions EM using BALF seemed to be superior to LM using BALF and displayed a similar sensitivity to LM using surgically-obtained lung tissue samples in the detection of asbestos. Our results also suggest that detection of elements, such as iron and phosphorus in particles, is useful for evaluating occupational exposure. We conclude that the detection of asbestos and iron and phosphorus in particles in BALF by EM is very useful for the evaluation of occupational exposure