Effect of Digestibility of Soy Protein Concentrate on Rat Nutrition(1) : Effect of Proteolytic Pretreatment of Soy Protein Concentrate on Amino Acid Pattern in Small Intestine and Activities of Enzymes related with Digestion and Metabolism of Protein

The digestion and metabolism of protein of rats fed soy protein concentrate (SP) pretreated by protease was investigated, and the nutritive value of the pretreated SP was discussed. Glutamate-pyruvate transaminase, arginase and xanthine oxidase activities in liver of rats fed heated SP are lower than those fed SP pretreated by protease and amino acid mixture simulated SP. There is more quantity of peptide in small intestine of rats fed SP pretreated by protease than that fed the amino acid mixture. In free amino acid pattern, however, no difference was shown between SP groups, but the patterns of SP groups, especially on the bases of methionine content, were different with that of amino acid mixture group. No difference is shown in the digestion and the biological values between SP groups. From these results, it was found that the pretreatment of SP by protease, which might improve the digestibility of SP, was effective for raising the availability of SP. It may be considered, furthermore, that methionine in SP is difficult to liberate in small intestine, which causes a wasteful absorption of amino acids for rat

Pancreatectomy in patients with LC

Background : Several reports have shown a high mortality rate in patients with liver cirrhosis (LC) who undergo pancreaticoduodenectomy, however, there are few reports on its long-term prognosis. Methods : Twelve patients with LC who had undergone pancreatic resection were enrolled. To compare clinicopathological variables, 159 non-LC patients who had undergone resection for pancreatic cancer were enrolled. Results : Pancreaticoduodenectomy (PD) was performed in 5 LC patients and distal pancreatectomy (DP) was performed in 7 LC patients. Patients in the LC group had more co-morbidities, lower platelet counts and higher Fib4 index than the non-LC group. The postoperative complication rate was higher in the LC group (83.3% vs 47.8%). While the postoperative hospital stay and 30-day mortality rate were not different, the 90-day mortality rate was higher in the LC group (25.0% vs 2.5% ; p < 0.01). Comparison by operative procedure showed no significant differences of postoperative outcomes in DP cases. However, in PD cases, postoperative complications were more frequent (100% vs 42.3%) and 90-day mortality was higher (40.0% vs 2.9% ; p < 0.01) in the LC group. Conclusions : PD resulted in higher postoperative morbidity and mortality rates in patients with LC compared with non-LC patients. DP could be tolerated in the LC patients

Impact of apparent diffusion coefficient on prognosis of early hepatocellular carcinoma: a case control study

Abstract Background We investigated the usefulness of apparent diffusion coefficients (ADC) from diffusion-weighted images (DWI) obtained using magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) for prognosis of early hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC): Barcelona Clinic Liver Cancer (BCLC) stage 0 and A. Methods We enrolled 102 patients who had undergone surgical resection for early HCC: BCLC stage 0 and A, and calculated their minimum ADC using DWI-MRI. We divided patients into ADCHigh (n = 72) and ADCLow (n = 30) groups, and compared clinicopathological factors between the two groups. Results The ADCLow group showed higher protein induced by vitamin K absence-II (PIVKA-II) levels (p = 0.02) compared with the ADCHigh group. In overall survival, the ADCLow group showed significantly worse prognosis than the ADCHigh group (p < 0.01). Univariate analysis identified multiple tumors, infiltrative growth, high PIVKA-II, and low ADC value as prognostic factors. Multivariate analysis identified infiltrative growth and low ADC value as an independent prognostic factor. Conclusion ADC values can be used to estimate the prognosis of early HCC

Effects of green light‑emitting diode irradiation on hepatic differentiation of hepatocyte‑like cells generated from human adipose‑derived mesenchymal cells

Light-emitting diode (LED) irradiation has been used in the differentiation of mesenchymal stem cells into a variety of cell types. This study investigated the effect of green LED (GLED) irradiation on the differentiation of adipocyte-derived mesenchymal cells into hepatocyte-like cells (HLCs) and the mechanism of its action. HLCs in the hepatocyte maturation phase were irradiated with GLED (520 nm, 21 W/m2, 5 min/day for 10 days). The cells were then assessed for expression of hepatocyte maturity genes and opsin 3 (OPN3), hepatocyte function, viability, apoptosis, and levels of reactive oxygen species (ROS), intracellular adenosine triphosphate (ATP) and calcium ions (Ca2+). GLED irradiation increased Alpha-1 antitrypsin and Ornithine transcarbamylase gene expression, promoted Cytochrome P450 3A4 activity and urea synthesis, and elevated intracellular ROS, ATP and Ca2+ levels. OPN3 expression was significantly more upregulated in GLED-irradiated HLCs than in the non-irradiated HLCs. No significant difference in cell viability or apoptosis was observed between GLED-irradiated and non-irradiated HLCs. GLED irradiation can promote hepatocyte maturation and functions through OPN3. GLED irradiation also stimulated mitochondrial function via Ca2+/ATP/ROS activation. GLED irradiation has potential to support cell-based transplantation in patients

Association between high expression of intratumoral fibroblast activation protein and survival in patients with intrahepatic cholangiocarcinoma

Background Cancer-associated fibroblasts (CAFs) have been reported to exhibit protumorigenic effects. Among the well-known CAF markers such as smooth muscle actin (SMA) and fibroblast activation protein (FAP), high expression of SMA in the peritumoral stroma has been reported to be a prognostic factor in various cancers. However, the effect of high FAP expression in intrahepatic cholangiocarcinoma (IHCC) has not been fully clarified. We evaluated the expression of CAF markers, focusing on FAP expression in the peripheral and intratumoral regions, to clarify the association with survival in patients with IHCC. Methods The study cohort comprised 37 patients who underwent curative resection for IHCC. The FAP expressions were evaluated in the peripheral and intratumoral regions of the resected tissues. Clinicopathological factors and survival outcomes were investigated between patients with high versus low FAP expression. Uni- and multivariate analyses were performed to identify the prognostic factors for overall survival and relapse-free survival. Results The median area percentages of FAP expression in the peripheral and intratumoral regions were 15.5% and 17.8%, respectively. High FAP expression in the intratumoral region was significantly associated with worse overall survival and disease-free survival than low FAP expression in the intratumoral region. Multivariate analysis identified high intratumoral FAP expression as a risk factor for worse overall survival (hazard ratio, 2.450; p = 0.049) and relapse-free survival (hazard ratio, 2.743; p = 0.034). Conclusions High intratumoral FAP expression was associated with worse survival, suggesting that intratumoral FAP expression represents malignant progression in patients with IHCC