International Medical Cooperation for the Radiation Exposed Population (Hibakusha) in Semipalatinsk, Kazakhstan : A Challenge from Hiroshima, the City of the World's First Atomic Bombing 【Report】

The main objective of this report is to describe the activities of a non-governmental organization(NGO), the Hiroshima Semipalatinsk Project (hereafter the Hiro-Semi Project or the Project), that sup-ports medical aid to those who were exposed to radiation from the nuclear bomb tests in Kazakhstan.The Project has carried out medical cooperation activities five times and dispatched medical missions ofdoctors, nurses, and medical technicians four times. In this report, we attempt to show the purpose of the foundation of the Hiro-Semi Project. In addition, we show the final goal of the Project. We also reporton the medical activities of the Hiro-Semi Project and touch upon the medical items provided by theHiro-Semi Project and the medical examinations from the medical missions sent by the Project. As isgenerally known, medical cooperation is an important part of international cooperation. For example,the activities of Medecins Sans Frontieres Japonand The Association of Medical Doctors of Asia arewell known. It is possible for those who are not medical doctors to conduct medical cooperation. In fact,the Hiro-Semi Project plans and conducts medical aid and dispatches medical missions. The mostimportant matter is to establish a strong cooperative relationship with specialists or experts in that field.The Hiro-Semi Project endeavors to establish such a relationship. As people concerned with internation-al cooperation, we should pay more attention to the activities of medical cooperation done by grass rootsmovements, keeping in mind that there are many approaches to international cooperation. This reportwill outline one approach and one possibility of international cooperation

Conditional Vascular Cell Adhesion Molecule 1 Deletion in Mice: Impaired Lymphocyte Migration to Bone Marrow

We generated vascular cell adhesion molecule (VCAM)-1 “knock-in” mice and Cre recombinase transgenic mice to delete the VCAM-1 gene (vcam-1) in whole mice, thereby overcoming the embryonic lethality seen with conventional vcam-1–deficient mice. vcam-1 knock-in mice expressed normal levels of VCAM-1 but showed loss of VCAM-1 on endothelial and hematopoietic cells when interbred with a “TIE2Cre” transgene. Analysis of peripheral blood from conditional vcam-1–deficient mice revealed mild leukocytosis, including elevated immature B cell numbers. Conversely, the bone marrow (BM) had reduced immature B cell numbers, but normal numbers of pro-B cells. vcam-1–deficient mice also had reduced mature IgD+ B and T cells in BM and a greatly reduced capacity to support short-term migration of transferred B cells, CD4+ T cells, CD8+ T cells, and preactivated CD4+ T cells to the BM. Thus, we report an until now unappreciated dominant role for VCAM-1 in lymphocyte homing to BM

Gene deletion of P-Selectin and ICAM-1 does not inhibit neutrophil infiltration into peritoneal cavity following cecal ligation-puncture

BACKGROUND: Neutrophil infiltration is one of the critical cellular components of an inflammatory response during peritonitis. The adhesion molecules, P-selectin and intercellular adhesion molecule (ICAM)-1, mediate neutrophil-endothelial cell interactions and the subsequent neutrophil transendothelial migration during the inflammatory response. Despite very strong preclinical data, recent clinical trials failed to show a protective effect of anti-adhesion therapy, suggesting that the length of injury might be a critical factor in neutrophil infiltration. Therefore, the objective of this study was to determine the role of P-selectin and ICAM-1 in neutrophil infiltration into the peritoneal cavity during early and late phases of peritonitis. METHODS: Peritonitis was induced in both male wild-type and P-selectin/ICAM-1 double deficient (P/I null) mice by cecal ligation-puncture (CLP). Peripheral blood and peritoneal lavage were collected at 6 and 24 hours after CLP. The total leukocyte and neutrophil contents were determined, and neutrophils were identified with the aid of in situ immunohistochemical staining. Comparisons between groups were made by applying ANOVA and student t-test analysis. RESULTS: CLP induced a severe inflammatory response associated with a significant leukopenia in both wild-type and P/I null mice. Additionally, CLP caused a significant neutrophil infiltration into the peritoneal cavity that was detected in both groups of mice. However, neutrophil infiltration in the P/I null mice at 6 hours of CLP was significantly lower than the corresponding wild-type mice, which reached a similar magnitude at 24 hours of CLP. In contrast, in peritonitis induced by intraperitoneal inoculation of 2% glycogen, no significant difference in neutrophil infiltration was observed between the P/I null and wild-type mice at 6 hours of peritonitis. CONCLUSIONS: The data suggest that alternative adhesion pathway(s) independent of P-selectin and ICAM-1 can participate in neutrophil migration during peritonitis and that the mode of stimuli and duration of the injury modulate the neutrophil infiltration

ADAM2 Interactions with Mouse Eggs and Cell Lines Expressing α4/α9 (ITGA4/ITGA9) Integrins: Implications for Integrin-Based Adhesion and Fertilization

Integrins are heterodimeric cell adhesion molecules, with 18 α (ITGA) and eight β (ITGB) subunits forming 24 heterodimers classified into five families. Certain integrins, especially the α(4)/α(9) (ITGA4/ITGA9) family, interact with members of the ADAM (a disintegrin and metalloprotease) family. ADAM2 is among the better characterized and also of interest because of its role in sperm function. Having shown that ITGA9 on mouse eggs participates in mouse sperm-egg interactions, we sought to characterize ITGA4/ITGA9-ADAM2 interactions.An anti-β(1)/ITGB1 function-blocking antibody that reduces sperm-egg binding significantly inhibited ADAM2 binding to mouse eggs. Analysis of integrin subunit expression indicates that mouse eggs could express at least ten different integrins, five in the RGD-binding family, two in the laminin-binding family, two in the collagen-binding family, and ITGA9-ITGB1. Adhesion assays to characterize ADAM2 interactions with ITGA4/ITGA9 family members produced the surprising result that RPMI 8866 cell adhesion to ADAM2 was inhibited by an anti-ITGA9 antibody, noteworthy because ITGA9 has only been reported to dimerize with ITGB1, and RPMI 8866 cells lack detectable ITGB1. Antibody and siRNA studies demonstrate that ITGB7 is the β subunit contributing to RPMI 8866 adhesion to ADAM2.These data indicate that a novel integrin α-β combination, ITGA9-ITGB7 (α(9)β(7)), in RPMI 8866 cells functions as a binding partner for ADAM2. ITGA9 had previously only been reported to dimerize with ITGB1. Although ITGA9-ITGB7 is unlikely to be a widely expressed integrin and appears to be the result of "compensatory dimerization" occurring in the context of little/no ITGB1 expression, the data indicate that ITGA9-ITGB7 functions as an ADAM binding partner in certain cellular contexts, with implications for mammalian fertilization and integrin function

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No abstract.Peer Reviewedhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/34298/1/210_ftp.pd

Noninvasive Positive Pressure Ventilation in Treatment of Non-COPD Related Acute Respiratory Failure Cases

We used Noninvasive Positive Pressure Ventilation (NPPV) in nine patients with acute respiratory failure (ARF), not related to chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD). After separating the nine patients into a hypercapnic group (five patients) and a non-hypercapnic group (four patients), we investigated its effectiveness in physiological improvement and avoiding intubation. Dyspnea, physiological findings and ABG improved rapidly in both groups without serious adverse effects. The intubation avoidance rate was 66.7% (6 of 9) in total, and 80% in the hypercapnic group and 50% in the non-hypercapnic group. The ratio of PaO_2 to FiO_2 (P/F ratio) increased during NPPV in most cases where intubation could be avoided. It is worthwhile to use NPPV as a bridging therapy between O_2 therapy and invasive ventilation in patients with non-COPD related ARF, regardless of the existence of hypercapnia. Careful monitoring of the P/F ratio and complications is needed to make an appropriate decision whether avoiding intubation will be possible or not