Biomedical subjects
Publications and source records attributed to N Matsubara.
A dry powder of betel nuts, piper betel leaves and lime was administered to rats. Epidermal thickening was frequently observed in the upper digestive tracts of rats in groups fed the betel nut diet mixed with lime and the betel leaves diet, and a forestomach papilloma was seen in 1 rat given betel leaves diet. These epidermal changes were scarcely seen in rats given either betel nut or normal diet alone.
An autopsy case of a rare primary tumor in a 76-year-old man is described. The tumor is histologically comprised of rhabdomyoblasts massively infiltrating without any epithelial elements referable to be as hepatoma. There was no evidence that regarded the hepatic tumor as metastatic secondary tumor in histological examination of other organs. Furthermore, interesting was the production of alpha-fetoprotein from the tumor cells that was detected by immunofluorescent antibody technique. Review of the literature on primary liver rhabdomyosarcomas or adult hepatoblastomas shows no similar case.
Cefoperazone, a new semisynthetic cephalosporin, has a broad spectrum of antibacterial activity. It is as active as cefazolin and cefamandole against gram-positive bacteria and is more active than cefazolin and cefamandole against such gram-negative bacilli as Escherichia coli, Klebsiella pneumoniae, Proteus species, Pseudomonas aeruginosa, Citrobacter freundii, Enterobacter cloacae, and Serratia marcescens. The superiority of cefoperazone over cefazolin and cefamandole with respect to activity against P. aeruginosa by more than 200-fold was especially remarkable. As with other beta-lactam antibiotics, there was only a small spread between the minimum inhibitory concentrations and the minimum bactericidal concentrations of cefoperazone and a significant decrease in activity with an increase in inoculum size. Activity was not altered significantly by the addition of human serum to the test medium. Cefoperazone is relatively stable to hydrolysis to beta-lactamases produced by gram-negative bacteria. Relative rates of hydrolysis of cefoperazone by cephalosporinases are 7.0 to 0.01, with reference to cephaloridine hydrolysis (base, 100). Cefoperazone is also more stable than penicillin G and cephaloridine to various types of penicillinases.
The carcinogenicity of the pyrrolizidine alkaloids senkirkine and symphytine was studied in male inbred ACI rats. Animals were divided into 3 groups: Group I received ip injections of freshly prepared senkirkine at a dose of 10% of the median lethal dose (LD50) twice weekly for 4 weeks and then once a week for 52 weeks. Group II received ip injections of symphytine at a dose of 10% of the LD50 by the same injection schedule as in group I. The control group was given ip injections of a 0.9% NaCl solution following the same injection schedule as in experimental groups. All group I rats survived for more than 290 days after the start of injections, and 9 of 20 rats developed liver cell adenoma. All group II animals survived for more than 330 days after the start of injections. Of 20 rats, 4 had liver tumors, 3 had hemangioendothelial sarcomas, and 1 had liver cell adenoma. The hemangioendothelial sarcomas showed metastasis in the lungs of 2 rats. The control group had no liver tumors.
The effect of the fecal stream on the induction of intestinal tumors was studied in 3 groups of SD rats. Rats in group 1 were subjected to single-barreled colostomies for the complete exclusion of the fecal stream at the proximal one-third level of the colons and were given consecutive iv injections of methylazoxymethanol acetate. Rats in group 2 were given methylazoxymethanol acetate alone. Rats in group 3 were not treated and served as controls. Tumors were noted in the small and large intestines of almost all rats in both groups 1 and 2. Even animals with single-barreled colostomies frequently developed tumors in the colon distal to the colostomy where the mucosa did not have contact with the fecal stream. These results indicated that carcinogens could probably reach the intestinal mucosa via the vascular system as well as by biliary transport.
Thermostable NADP+ -specific isocitrate dehydrogenase (EC 1.1.1.42) was purified from crude extract of an extremely thermophilic bacterium Thermus flavus AT-62 through DEAE-cellulose column, acetone fractionation, DEAE-Sephadex A-50 column and isoelectric focussing. The enzyme was purified about 500-folds in its specific activity and purity was found to be about 96%. The enzyme was not inactivated after 60 min at 70 degrees C, but 20 and 80% of the activity were lost after 60 min at 80 degrees and 90 degrees C, respectively. Oxalacetate plus glyoxylate (each 1 nM) demonstrated 75% inhibition of the activity in concerted manner. The degree of the inhibition and the affinity of the enzyme for isocitrate and NADP+ decreased with the rise of temperature, especially above 60 degrees C. The activation energy below and above 60 degrees C were 14,500 and 8,000 cal per mole respectively. In CD spectra negative bands at 210 and 220nm were observed and alpha-helix content was calculated to be about 26%. In the course of heating up to 60 degrees practically no change in CD bands are observed, but above 60 degrees the depth of CD bands decreased gradually and remarkably above 80 degrees C. The effect of temperature on kinetic parameters and secondary structures of the enzyme was discussed in relation to the temperature adaptation of the organism.
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A rare adult case of retroperitoneal ganglioneuroma in which magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) clearly demonstrated unusual extension of the tumor across the midline is reported. Dynamic MR imaging was very useful to distinguish benign ganglioneuroma from other retroperitoneal tumors, especially neuroblastoma and pheochromocytoma.
Diffuse intestinal arteriovenous malformation (AVM) is very rare. We describe a case of diffuse AVM involving the jejunum and the total colon in an adult. In addition, mesenteric varices without portal hypertension is demonstrated on angiography of the superior mesenteric artery. The high flow through the AVMs may be a major component in the etiology of the mesenteric varices in our case.
Streptococcal preparation OK-432 is a bacterial immunopotentiator extensively used in Japan for adjuvant cancer therapy. Using C3H/He mice bearing MH-134 tumour cells, cytokine inductions of tumour necrosis factor-alpha, interleukin 1 beta, interleukin 6 and interferon-gamma were determined in spleen and tumour tissues by reverse transcriptase-polymerase chain reaction analysis. No significant induction of cytokine mRNA was observed after subcutaneous administration of OK-432 (OK-432, s.c.) or after intratumoural injection of IFN-gamma (IFN-gamma, i.t.), compared with controls, either in spleen or tumour tissues. In contrast, subcutaneous administration of OK-432 followed by intratumoural OK-432 injection (OK-432, s.c. + i.t.) was found to induce some cytokine mRNAs significantly. The mRNA levels of tumour necrosis factor alpha and interferon-gamma in spleen tissue and those of interleukin 1 beta and interferon-gamma in tumour tissues were significantly elevated in mice with OK-432, s.c. + i.t. treatment compared with controls. These results suggest that treatment with OK-432, s.c. + i.t. effectively induced splenic antitumour immunity as well as local immunity against tumour cells.
We report a successfully treated case accompanied by portal venous gas, which was associated with splenic abscess due to penetration of colon cancer. In June, 1998, a 67-year-old Japanese man was referred to our hospital because of a continuous fever over 40 degrees C and portal venous gas detected by computed tomography (CT). CT revealed low density areas in the spleen and wall thickening of the descending colon next to the spleen. Barium-enema examination demonstrated an extrinsic filling defect in the splenic flexure of the colon. Splenectomy, resection of the pancreatic tail and left hemicolectomy were performed Histopathological studies showed moderately differentiated adenocarcinoma, which made a fistula at the bottom of the ulceration to the spleen. The postoperative course was uneventful. The portal venous gas was likely to have resulted from a bacterial infection in the portal venous systems secondary to the splenic abscess.
BACKGROUND/AIMS: Comparison of conventional abdominal approach and right thoracoabdominal approach for the resection of hepatocellular carcinoma in cirrhotic liver located at right upper lobe was made in accordance with the effect of translocation of right lobe on hepatic venous hemoglobin oxygen saturation. METHODOLOGY: From 1990-1994, 92 initial hepatectomies were performed in patients with hepatocellular carcinoma at our department. Nine patients underwent resections of hepatocellular carcinoma located at the right upper lobe with the right thoracoabdominal approach. On the other hand, 10 patients underwent resections of hepatocellular carcinoma at the same location but with the abdominal approach. We evaluated the effect of translocation of liver by monitoring the hepatic venous hemoglobin oxygen saturation. RESULTS: The outcome was favorable for the right thoracoabdominal approach for those patients with liver cirrhosis considering less reduction in frequency and degree of hepatic venous hemoglobin oxygen saturation during operation. CONCLUSIONS: The right thoracoabdominal approach may cause less damage to the liver with severe cirrhosis and preferable to this type of operation compare to the abdominal approach.
Eight patients undergoing hepatectomy received 15 x 10(4) U of ulinastatin during and after surgery and then twice daily for 4 days, and 11 hepatectomized patients served as untreated controls. Between-group differences in age, duration of surgery, volume of blood loss and transfusion, weight of resected liver, and results of preoperative liver function tests were not significant. On postoperative day 1, mean (+/- SD) polymorphonuclear leukocyte elastase levels were significantly lower in the treated patients than in the controls (310 +/- 69 micrograms/L vs 519 +/- 382 micrograms/L; P < 0.05); interleukin 6 levels also tended to be lower in the treated patients than in controls (42.4 +/- 34.0 pg/mL vs 63.3 +/- 43.1 pg/mL). The results indicate that ulinastatin has beneficial effects on host defenses after surgery.
Cancer spread along the needle tract following fine needle biopsy is reported to be a rare complication. We report a case of subcutaneous implantation of hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) following ultrasonically (US)-guided fine needle liver biopsy. The patient, a 53-year-old male was found to have a HCC at the medial segment of the liver confirmed by fine needle biopsy. Three year and four months after segmentectomy, the patient felt a subcutaneous growing lump at the previous biopsy site. The tumor was resected and confirmed histologically as HCC. We herein document other reports of such an occurrence following fine needle biopsy of HCC in Japan and consider this problem in liver biopsies.