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M Kikuchi

Publications and source records attributed to M Kikuchi.

At least 343 records · Page 19Linked to original sources

Effects of rebamipide on production of several cytokines by human peripheral blood mononuclear cells.

Recently, the relative contributions of local T helper cell responses of the Th1-type and Th2-type to the pathogenesis of gastritis and peptic ulcers associated with Helicobacter pylori infection have been examined. However, the results were controversial with respect to whether cellular immunity (Th1-type) or humoral immunity (Th2-type) responses predominate in H. pylori infection and with respect to how these responses may contribute to disease pathogenesis. In this study, we investigated the characteristics of the production of various cytokines induced by H. pylori or lipopolysaccharide (LPS), which was derived from H. pylori or Escherichia coli, in human peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMC). Live H. pylori induced production of many cytokines, such as IL-1beta, IL-10, IL-8, IFN-gamma, and TNF-alpha, whereas we could not detect IL-2 or IL-4. Moreover, we evaluated the effect of rebamipide on the production of several cytokines from PBMC induced by various stimuli. Rebamipide suppressed the production of IL-8, IL-10, TNF-alpha, and IL-1beta induced by H. pylori in a dose-dependent manner. On the other hand, the production of IL-12 induced by H. pylori showed a tendency to increase as a result of treatment of the cells with rebamipide. These results suggested that rebamipide might be effective in regulating cytokine responses in the H. pylori-infected host and maintaining host immunity. Moreover, it might contribute positively to disease progression and bacterial eradication.

Alanine↗

Molecular analysis of suppression of interleukin-8 production by rebamipide in Helicobacter pylori-stimulated gastric cancer cell lines.

Interleukin-8 (IL-8) may play an important role in Helicobacter pylori infection-associated chronic active gastritis and peptic ulcer disease in human. We have recently reported that a gastric cancer cell line, MKN45, produced a massive amount of IL-8 upon coculture with live H. pylori. Moreover, H. pylori induced the activation of NF-kappaB as well as AP-1, leading to IL-8 gene transcription. In this study, we evaluated the effect of rebamipide, an antigastritis and antiulcer agent, on H. pylori-induced IL-8 production. Rebamipide inhibited the production of IL-8 in several gastric cancer cell lines infected with H. pylori. In addition, rebamipide suppressed H. pylori-induced IL-8 gene expression at the transcriptional level as revealed by northern blotting analysis and luciferase activity in cells that were transfected with a luciferase expression vector linked with a 5'-flanking region of the IL-8 gene (bp -133 to +44). Furthermore, rebamipide significantly suppressed the NF-kappaB activation by H. pylori infection. These results suggest that rebamipide may protect against the mucosal inflammation associated with H. pylori infection through inhibition of a proinflammatory cytokine, IL-8.

Alanine↗

[Studies of childhood non-Hodgkin's lymphoma--treatment results with the CCLSG NHL 960 protocol. Children's Cancer and Leukemia Study Group (CCLSG)].

We report here on the preliminary treatment findings of a CCLSG NHL 960 study that was initiated in March 1996. In this study, 37 patients with non-Hodgkin's lymphoma were assigned to 4 different treatment groups according to disease stage and histology: (1) localized disease; (2) advanced disease, lymphoblastic type; (3) advanced disease, large cell type; and (4) advanced disease, Burkitt type. The first three groups received the modified protocols of the NHL 890 study. Groups 1 and 3 received COPADM induction therapy (CPM, VCR, PRD, ADR, and MTX). After achieving remission, Group 1 received only maintenance therapy consisting of alternate administration of 7 drugs, while Group 3 received additional intensification therapy with combination chemotherapy consisting of MTX and Ara-C, followed by a maintenance phase involving the administration of 9 drugs. Group 2 received COPADL induction therapy (CPM, VCR, PRD, ADR, and LASP) and consolidation/intensification therapies followed by a maintenance phase. Group 4 received short-term intensive COPADM polychemotherapy. Twelve patients with localized with localized disease (stage I-II) and 25 patients with advanced disease (stage III-IV) were enrolled in this study. Except for 2 patients in the advanced disease stages who died earlier in the course of the study, all patients remained in remission.

Adolescent↗

Pituitary adenylate cyclase-activating polypeptide (PACAP) is an islet substance serving as an intra-islet amplifier of glucose-induced insulin secretion in rats.

1. We examined whether pituitary adenylate cyclase-activating polypeptide with 38 or 27 residues (PACAP-38 or PACAP-27) serves as an intra-islet regulator of glucose-induced insulin secretion in rats. PACAP antiserum specific for PACAP-38 and PACAP-27 was used to neutralize the effect of endogenous PACAP in islets. PACAP release from islets was bioassayed using the response of cytosolic Ca2+ concentration ([Ca2+]i) in single beta-cells, monitored by dual-wavelength fura-2 microfluorometry. Expression of PACAP mRNA was studied by reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR), while expression of PACAP was studied by metabolic labelling and immunoblotting. Localization of PACAP receptors was studied immunohistochemically. 2. High glucose-stimulated insulin release from isolated islets was attenuated by PACAP antiserum but not by non-immune sera. 3. The islet incubation medium with high glucose (Med) possessed a capacity, which was neutralized by PACAP antiserum, to increase [Ca2+]i in beta-cells. PACAP antiserum also neutralized the [Ca2+]i-increasing action of synthetic PACAP-38 and PACAP-27, but not that of vasoactive intestinal polypeptide (VIP) and glucagon. 4. Both Med and synthetic PACAP increased [Ca2+]i in beta-cells only in the presence of stimulatory, but not basal, glucose concentrations. In contrast, ATP, a substance that is known to be released from beta-cells, increased [Ca2+]i in beta-cells at both and stimulatory glucose concentrations. 5. Expression of PACAP mRNA and biosynthesis of PACAP-38 were detected in islets and a beta-cell line, MIN6. 6. Immunoreactivity for PACAP-selective type-I receptor was observed in islets. 7. [Ca2+]i measurements combined with immunocytochemistry with insulin antiserum revealed a substantial population of glucose-unresponsive beta-cells, many of which were recruited by PACAP-38 into [Ca2+]i responses. 8. These results indicate that PACAP-38 is a novel islet substance that is synthesized and released by islet cells and then, in an autocrine and/or paracrine manner, potentiates and arouses beta-cell responses to glucose, thereby amplifying glucose-induced insulin secretion in islets.

Adenosine Triphosphate↗

14-3-3 protein binds to insulin receptor substrate-1, one of the binding sites of which is in the phosphotyrosine binding domain.

Insulin binding to its receptor induces the phosphorylation of cytosolic substrates, insulin receptor substrate (IRS)-1 and IRS-2, which associate with several Src homology-2 domain-containing proteins. To identify unique IRS-1-binding proteins, we screened a human heart cDNA library with 32P-labeled recombinant IRS-1 and obtained two isoforms (epsilon and zeta) of the 14-3-3 protein family. 14-3-3 protein has been shown to associate with IRS-1 in L6 myotubes, HepG2 hepatoma cells, Chinese hamster ovary cells, and bovine brain tissue. IRS-2, a protein structurally similar to IRS-1, was also shown to form a complex with 14-3-3 protein using a baculovirus expression system. The amount of 14-3-3 protein associated with IRS-1 was not affected by insulin stimulation but was increased significantly by treatment with okadaic acid, a potent serine/threonine phosphatase inhibitor. Peptide inhibition experiments using phosphoserine-containing peptides of IRS-1 revealed that IRS-1 contains three putative binding sites for 14-3-3 protein (Ser-270, Ser-374, and Ser-641). Among these three, the motif around Ser-270 is located in the phosphotyrosine binding domain of IRS-1, which is responsible for the interaction with the insulin receptor. Indeed, a truncated mutant of IRS-1 consisting of only the phosphotyrosine binding domain retained the capacity to bind to 14-3-3 protein in vivo. Finally, the effect of 14-3-3 protein binding on the insulin-induced phosphorylation of IRS-1 was investigated. Phosphoamino acid analysis revealed that IRS-1 coimmunoprecipitated with anti-14-3-3 antibody to be weakly phosphorylated after insulin stimulation, on tyrosine as well as serine residues, compared with IRS-1 immunoprecipitated with anti-IRS-1 antibody. Thus, the association with 14-3-3 protein may play a role in the regulation of insulin sensitivity by interrupting the association between the insulin receptor and IRS-1.

14-3-3 Proteins↗

Differences in the angiogenesis of benign and malignant ovarian tumors, demonstrated by analyses of color Doppler ultrasound, immunohistochemistry, and microvessel density.

BACKGROUND: To clarify the differences in angiogenesis between benign and malignant ovarian tumors, the authors examined the immunohistochemical characteristics and the density of tumor vessels in both tumor groups. Intratumoral vascularization was observed preoperatively by transvaginal color Doppler ultrasound. METHODS: The authors examined 106 patients with ovarian tumors preoperatively for the presence or absence of intratumoral blood flow and evaluated the blood flow waveforms of tumor vessels in patients showing intratumoral vascularization, using a resistance index (RI). The characteristics of both smooth muscle and endothelial cells in the vessels of each tumor were immunohistochemically assessed, using monoclonal antibodies against smooth muscle actin (SMA) and CD34 (an endothelial cell marker). The microvessel density (MVD) identified by CD34 was also evaluated in each tumor. RESULTS: Intratumoral blood flow was found in 64 of 106 patients (60.4%). The tumors in 44 of these 64 patients were histopathologically benign, and the tumors in 20 were malignant. The malignant tumors showed a low RI (mean, 0.39 +/- 0.09) compared with benign tumors (mean, 0.62 +/- 0.12) (P < 0.001). The vessels of malignant tumors significantly demonstrated poor SMA expression and intense CD34 expression compared with the vessels of benign tumors. However, no significant differences were observed in MVD between the benign and malignant tumors. CONCLUSIONS: In this study, immunohistochemical analysis demonstrated that low resistance to blood flow in vessels within malignant ovarian tumors may be associated with a poorly developed muscular coat in the tumor vessels, compared with that observed in benign tumors. The difference in the angiogenic natures of benign and malignant ovarian tumors showing intratumoral blood flow may thus be correlated with the endothelial cell activity of the tumor vessels and not the MVD.

Actins↗

Clonal HTLV-I-infected CD4+ T-lymphocytes and non-clonal non-HTLV-I-infected giant cells in incipient ATLL with Hodgkin-like histologic features.

Lymph nodes from the incipient or early neoplastic phase of adult T-cell leukemia/lymphoma (ATLL) histologically resemble Hodgkin's disease. Integrated proviral human T-lymphotrophic virus type I (HTLV-I) has been demonstrated in such lesions. We studied 18 patients with this disease, and about half of the cases developed typical ATLL within 2 or 3 years. In all cases, either mono- or oligoclonal cell populations with proviral HTLV-I DNA were detected by Southern blot analysis and/or inverse polymerase chain reaction (IPCR). In addition, either a mono- or oligoclonal rearrangement of T-cell receptor genes was demonstrated. Giant cells with Reed-Sternberg-like histological features revealed CD15 and CD30 positivity. The background infiltrating lymphocytes represented either no or only minimal nuclear abnormalities with a CD4+ T-cell phenotype. In less than half of all cases, Epstein-Barr virus (EBV) infected the giant cells. A mixed EBV-A and -B type was found in 3, and a multiple genotype of EBV lymphocyte-determined membrane antigen (LYDMA) was found in 6 cases. These results could have been due to the immunodeficient status of the patients. A single-cell PCR of the giant cell, B cell, CD4+ or CD8+ T cells could be performed after cell sorting in 4 cases. HTLV-I infection was frequently found in the CD4+ T cells, but in neither the giant cells nor the B cells. The CD4+ T cells exhibited clonality. The giant cells showed various PCR products of IgH, and also expressed recombination activating genes (RAG). In summary, the giant cells were reactive cells, which resembled the immature B-lineage cells, while HTLV-I infected the CD4+ T cells, which demonstrated clonality. Based on these above findings, we consider CD4+ cells to play an important role in ATLL tumorigenesis.

Adolescent↗

Interleukin-10 expression and cytotoxic-T-cell response in Epstein-Barr-virus-associated nasopharyngeal carcinoma.

Interleukin-10 (IL-10) is an inhibitory cytokine produced by various cell types. It exhibits strong sequence homology to BCRF-1 (viral IL-10, vIL-10), an open reading frame in the Epstein-Barr-virus (EBV) genome. Using in situ hybridization (ISH), polymerase chain reaction (PCR) and immunohistochemistry, we checked 41 cases of nasopharyngeal carcinoma (NPC), to study the presence of EBV in the tumor cells, as well as to clarify the relationship between IL-10 expression of the tumor cells and the response of cytotoxic T cells. IL-10 expression was studied by immunohistochemistry; as a result, 29 of 41 cases expressed EBER-1 RNA of EBV by ISH. In addition, 19 of the 29 with EBV and 9 of 12 without EBV cases expressed IL-10 in the tumor cells. The number of cytotoxic T cells increased in the tumor tissue, and the increase in the intratumoral stroma was stronger than in the remaining normal epithelia. The number of cytotoxic T cells also significantly increased in the cases with EBV. On the other hand, in the IL-10-positive series, the number of cytotoxic T cells decreased significantly more than in IL-10-negative series. In view of the established inhibitory effects of IL-10, expression of IL-10 may therefore be one of the mechanisms for NPC cells as well as EBV to counter local immune defense. However, we could not conclude whether or not IL-10 expression was directly induced by EBV.

Adolescent↗

Helicobacter pylori lipopolysaccharide inhibits acid secretion in pylorus-ligated conscious rats.

To examine the effect of Helicobacter pylori lipopolysaccharide on gastric secretion, the present study was carried out using pylorus ligated conscious rats. Intraperitoneal administration of Helicobacter pylori lipopolysaccharide significantly inhibited gastric acid secretion (4 hr) in a dose-dependent manner (0.033-1.0 mg/rat). The Helicobacter pylori lipopolysaccharide (1 mg/rat)-induced acid inhibition was still observed 8 hr after injection. Gastric acid secretion (4 hr) was compared in the rats that had received intraperitoneal administration of 1 mg/rat dose of Helicobacter pylori lipopolysaccharide or saline alone 24 hr before. There was no significant difference in gastric acid secretion between the saline- and H. pylori lipopolysaccharide-treated rats. These results suggest for the first time that H. pylori lipopolysaccharide may inhibit acid production, and this acid inhibition may be long-lasting. It is also demonstrated that this anti-secretory action of H. pylori lipopolysaccharide has a reversible effect on gastric secretion. All these results suggest that H. pylori lipopolysaccharide might be involved in the low acid secretory function seen in patients with acute H. pylori infection.

Animals↗

Chronic variant of myocarditis associated with hepatitis C virus infection.

BACKGROUND: Although molecular biological studies suggest a pathogenic link between enterovirus infection and dilated cardiomyopathy (DCM), the frequency of detection of enteroviral RNA is not consistently high in myocardial tissue from patients with DCM. A recent study has suggested that hepatitis C virus (HCV) may also be involved in the development of DCM. METHODS AND RESULTS: We performed genomic analysis for HCV in three patients with chronic active myocarditis. In all three patients, serum aminotransferase activities remained within normal ranges until the terminal stage of heart failure. At necropsy, all three livers showed evidence of tissue damage caused by chronic congestion, and one liver had evidence of chronic hepatitis. Routinely processed, paraffin-embedded tissue blocks of myocardium and liver were analyzed. Renal specimens were also analyzed to exclude the possibility of myocardial contamination with HCV material from the circulating blood. RNA extracted from the heart, liver, and kidney was subjected to strand-specific reverse transcription and amplified by semi-nested polymerase chain reaction. The target nucleotide sequence was a 178-bp fragment of the highly conserved 5'-noncoding region. Both positive- (genomic) and negative-strand RNA (replicative intermediates) were present in myocardial and liver tissue samples from all three patients. However, negative-strand RNA was undetectable in renal tissue from one patient. CONCLUSIONS: These findings suggest that HCV replicated in myocardial tissue of these patients with myocarditis. Thus, HCV infection may contribute to the development of this unusual form of myocarditis.

Chronic Disease↗

Integrated Epstein-Barr virus (EBV) and chromosomal abnormality in chronic active EBV infection.

In order to examine the role of Epstein-Barr virus (EBV) in the pathogenesis of chronic active EBV infection (CAEBV), we investigated whether or not EBV integration into the human genome is associated with any chromosonal abnormality. We therefore analyzed 4 cases of CAEBV: 2 cases showed a normal karyotype, while one had an oligo-clonal 6th chromosomal abnormality and the fourth had a clonal 6th deletion (q15q23). In addition, the case with an oligo-clonal abnormality also had oligo-clonal EBV terminal repeat (TR) bands, while the case with a clonal abnormality showed a clonal TR band. In contrast, the 2 cases with a normal karyotype showed no clonal band. Two-color fluorescence in situ hybridization (FISH) was used to detect the integrated EBV and the 6th chromosomal site. The presence of integrated EBV into the 6th chromosome was not frequent in the 2 cases with a normal karyotype, but it was statistically frequent in the case with an oligo-clonal 6th abnormality. In the case with a clonal 6th deletion, integration in the 6th chromosome was also slightly higher than that in the other chromosomes. In CAEBV, integrated EBV might thus be associated both with chromosomal abnormality and with pathogenesis.

Chromosome Aberrations↗

Insulin receptor substrate (IRS)-2 is dephosphorylated more rapidly than IRS-1 via its association with phosphatidylinositol 3-kinase in skeletal muscle cells.

Insulin receptor substrate (IRS)-2 is structurally and functionally similar to IRS-1. Indeed, stimulation with insulin or insulin-like growth factor I led to the rapid tyrosine phosphorylation of both IRS-1 and IRS-2, which in turn activated phosphatidylinositol (PI) 3-kinase in L6 cells and rat skeletal muscle. However, IRS-2 was rapidly dephosphorylated (3-10 min after the addition of insulin/insulin-like growth factor I), whereas IRS-1 phosphorylation continued for at least 60 min. The time courses of the PI 3-kinase activity associated with IRS-1 and IRS-2 paralleled the tyrosine phosphorylation of these proteins. Preincubation with sodium orthovanadate, an inhibitor of protein tyrosine phosphatase, blocked the rapid dephosphorylation of IRS-2, suggesting the involvement of tyrosine phosphatase. The activation of PI 3-kinase apparently plays an important role in the rapid dephosphorylation of IRS-2, as IRS-2 dephosphorylation was inhibited markedly by suppressing PI 3-kinase activity with wortmannin or overexpression of the dominant negative p85 subunit of PI 3-kinase, which cannot bind the p110 catalytic subunit. In addition, platelet-derived growth factor stimulation prior to insulin stimulation decreased IRS-associated PI 3-kinase and significantly inhibited the dephosphorylation of IRS-2. Taken together, these observations suggest that IRS-2 plays a unique role in mediating the signals from the insulin receptor to downstream molecules and that this effect is more transient than that of IRS-1. Tyrosine phosphatase and IRS-associated PI 3-kinase activity thus contribute to the rapid dephosphorylation of IRS-2.

Androstadienes↗

p85alpha gene generates three isoforms of regulatory subunit for phosphatidylinositol 3-kinase (PI 3-Kinase), p50alpha, p55alpha, and p85alpha, with different PI 3-kinase activity elevating responses to insulin.

Phosphatidylinositol 3-kinase (PI 3-kinase) is stimulated by association with a variety of tyrosine kinase receptors and intracellular tyrosine-phosphorylated substrates. We isolated a cDNA that encodes a 50-kDa regulatory subunit of PI 3-kinase with an expression cloning method using 32P-labeled insulin receptor substrate-1 (IRS-1). This 50-kDa protein contains two SH2 domains and an inter-SH2 domain of p85alpha, but the SH3 and bcr homology domains of p85alpha were replaced by a unique 6-amino acid sequence. Thus, this protein appears to be generated by alternative splicing of the p85alpha gene product. We suggest that this protein be called p50alpha. Northern blotting using a specific DNA probe corresponding to p50alpha revealed 6.0- and 2.8-kb bands in hepatic, brain, and renal tissues. The expression of p50alpha protein and its associated PI 3-kinase were detected in lysates prepared from the liver, brain, and muscle using a specific antibody against p50alpha. Taken together, these observations indicate that the p85alpha gene actually generates three protein products of 85, 55, and 50 kDa. The distributions of the three proteins (p85alpha, p55alpha, and p50alpha), in various rat tissues and also in various brain compartments, were found to be different. Interestingly, p50alpha forms a heterodimer with p110 that can as well as cannot be labeled with wortmannin, whereas p85alpha and p55alpha associate only with p110 that can be wortmannin-labeled. Furthermore, p50alpha exhibits a markedly higher capacity for activation of associated PI 3-kinase via insulin stimulation and has a higher affinity for tyrosine-phosphorylated IRS-1 than the other isoforms. Considering the high level of p50alpha expression in the liver and its marked responsiveness to insulin, p50alpha appears to play an important role in the activation of hepatic PI 3-kinase. Each of the three alpha isoforms has a different function and may have specific roles in various tissues.

Amino Acid Sequence↗

Effects of B vitamins on glutamate-induced neurotoxicity in retinal cultures.

The effects of B vitamins on glutamate-induced neurotoxicity were examined using primary cultures obtained from the rat retina. Cell viability was markedly reduced by a brief exposure to glutamate followed by incubation with glutamate-free media for 1 h. Glutamate cytotoxicity was reduced in the cultures that had been maintained in thiamine-, pyridoxine- or nicotinamide-containing medium before the exposure to glutamate. Glutamate cytotoxicity was also reduced by chronic application of thiamine pyrophosphate and pyridoxal phosphate, which are active coenzyme forms of thiamine and pyridoxine, respectively. By contrast, chronic application of riboflavin, pantothenate, biotin, folic acid and inositol did not affect glutamate cytotoxicity. None of the B vitamins tested had any effect on glutamate cytotoxicity when added only during the exposure to glutamate. These findings suggest that chronically applied thiamine, pyridoxine and nicotinamide protect retinal neurons against glutamate cytotoxicity.

Animals↗

HLA class-I-restricted and tumor-specific CTL in tumor-infiltrating lymphocytes of patients with gastric cancer.

Immune recognition of human cancers except melanoma is not well understood at either the cellular or the molecular level. We demonstrate in this study the existence of HLA class-I-restricted and tumor-specific CTL in IL-2-activated TIL (tumor-infiltrating lymphocytes) of all 4 gastric cancer patients tested. We established HLA A2-restricted and adenocarcinoma-specific CTL in 2 HLA A0201+ patients, and HLA A2402-restricted CTL recognizing both adenocarcinoma and squamous-cell carcinomas (SCC) in the 2 remaining HLA A2402+ patients. Further, HLA A3101-restricted and adenocarcinoma-specific CTL were established in 1 of the 2 HLA A2402+ patients who had HLA A3101 allele. HLA A2-, A2402- and A3101-restricted CD8+ CTL clones were established from these parental CTL lines. The 2 HLA A2-restricted CTL lines lysed 8 of 13 HLA A2+ adenocarcinoma cell lines established from different organs (stomach, colon, lung and breast) with different subtypes (HLA A0201, A0206 and A0207). The HLA A2-restricted CTL line recognized 9 and 6 different HPLC fractions of peptides eluted from the HLA A0201+ breast and HLA A0201+ colon adenocarcinoma cell lines, respectively. Allele-specific deletion of HLA A2 or A24 molecules was observed in some tumor lines that were not susceptible to lysis by the CTL lines. These results suggest that TIL of gastric cancer possess CTL recognizing different peptide antigens binding to different HLA-A alleles that are widely expressed on adenocarcinomas and also, to some extent, on SCC from different organs.

Adenocarcinoma↗

HLA-A locus-restricted and tumor-specific CTLs in tumor-infiltrating lymphocytes of patients with non-small cell lung cancer.

HLA class I restriction and tumor specificity of cytotoxicity in the IL-2-activated tumor-infiltrating lymphocytes from 16 patients with non-small cell lung cancer were investigated. Six HLA class I-restricted and tumor-specific CTL lines were established: (i) HLA A2-restricted and adenocarcinoma-specific CTLs in three (two A0201+ and one A0206+) patients with adenocarcinoma, (ii) HLA A3101- and A3302-restricted and adenocarcinoma-specific CTLs in an HLA A3101/3302+ patient with adenocarcinoma, and (iii) HLA A3302-restricted CTLs and (iv) HLA A2402-restricted CTLs recognizing tumors with different types of histology in an HLA A3302+ patient with adenocarcinoma and an HLA A2402+ patient with squamous cell carcinoma (SCC), respectively. The three HLA A2-restricted CTL lines recognized 4, 4, or 6 of 15 HLA A2+ adenocarcinoma cell lines that originated from lung, stomach, colon, and breast with different subtypes (HLA A0201, A0206, and A0207), respectively. Furthermore, the CTLs of an HLA A0206+ patient recognized five different fractions of peptides eluted from an HLA A0201+ adenocarcinoma cell line. These results showed evidence of the existence of HLA class I-restricted and tumor-specific CTLs recognizing peptide antigens on HLA-A alleles of adenocarcinoma or SCC in tumor sites of a substantial number of patients with non-small cell lung cancer.

Adenocarcinoma↗

Clonal integration and expression of human T-cell lymphotropic virus type I in carriers detected by polymerase chain reaction and inverse PCR.

Adult T-cell leukemia (ATL) is a neoplasm of mature helper (CD4) T lymphocytes, and human T-cell lymphotropic virus type-I (HTLV-I) has been suggested to be the causative virus of ATL. HTLV-I integrates its proviruses into random sites in host chromosomal DNA. Clonal integration has been observed in patients with ATL, including smoldering, chronic, and acute states. However, random and/or polyclonal integration has only been reported in a few asymptomatic HTLV-I carriers. To clarify the clonality of HTLV-I-infected cells in carriers, we used an inverse polymerase chain reaction (IPCR), which is more sensitive than Southern blot analysis. We used the peripheral blood momonuclear cells (PBMC) from 16 asymptomatic carriers and the separated CD4-positive cells. No cases showed either a monoclonal or polyclonal integration of the HTLV-I provirus by Southern blot. But, using IPCR, 7 of 16 cases showed either mono- or oligoclonal integration. In addition, the populations of clonal provirus in the total PBMC were frequently different from those in the CD4-positive cells. Three cases showed expression of HTLV-I tax/rex mRNA in the total PBMC, but no such expression was found in CD4-positive cells. In this study, an unexpected frequency of clonal HTLV-I provirus DNA was observed in HTLV-I carriers. These findings indicate that the clonal but nonmalignant proliferation of HTLV-I-infected cells already occurs even in HTLV-I carriers, and therefore that some other step is necessary to induce malignant proliferation.

Adolescent↗