Scanning electron microscopy of vascular casts showed that in the mouse, rat, and guinea pig, the pancreatic endocrine islets were frequently interlobular in position and emitted insulo-venous efferent vessels directly draining into veins. In these animals, the intralobular islets, located within the exocrine lobules, issued insulo-acinar portal vessels continuous with the lobular capillaries in addition to the insulo-venous efferent vessels. In humans, monkeys, cows, pigs, dogs, cats, and rabbits, essentially all islets in the pancreas were intralobular in location and emitted the insulo-acinar portal vessels only. In man and animals examined, especially in the murine species, many lobules lacked an islet, therefore the insular control over the exocrine pancreas seemed to be effected in more or less restricted areas of lobules.

Animals↗

PubMedDate not supplied

Evaluation of effectiveness of mass screening for colorectal cancer.

As the first step in the epidemiological evaluation of the effectiveness of mass screening for colorectal cancer, we compared clinicopathological features and survival rates of patients with cancer detected by mass screening (screened group) with those for patients treated in our outpatient clinic in the same period (outpatient group). The screened group consisted of 53 patients with colorectal cancer detected by 2-day or 3-day screening for fecal occult blood by guaiac slides. Their background factors were comparable to those of 120 patients of the outpatient group in regard to age, sex ratio, location of cancer, and histological type of cancer. In the screened group, 90% of patients had no complaints, and positive occult blood tests led to the detection of cancers. More than 60% of the patients had Dukes' A and B1 early cancers while only about 30% had advanced cancers. In the outpatient group, nearly 90% of patients were symptomatic, most commonly from rectal bleeding. Early-stage cancers made up only 20%, and large, advanced-stage cancers accounted for 80%. The 5-year survival rate of the screened group was 91.5%, being significantly higher than the 60% survival rate for the outpatient group. It is anticipated that mass screening for colorectal cancer by guaiac fecal occult blood testing will significantly reduce the mortality due to this neoplasm.

Aged↗

PubMedDate not supplied

Effect of age and sex on copper-induced toxicity in the macular mutant mouse. An animal model for Menkes' kinky-hair disease.

It was determined if the sensitivity in macular mutant mouse to copper-induced toxicity was affected by sex or age. The sensitivity in 6-8-d-old or 3-4-wk-old macular mutant mouse to copper-induced toxicity was not affected by sex. However, 8-9-wk-old mutant females were more sensitive to copper-induced toxicity than mutant males. Furthermore, 6-8-d-old or 3-4-wk-old mutant males were more sensitive to copper-induced toxicity than 8-9-wk-old mutant males. However, age-related differences in sensitivity to copper-induced toxicity did not occur significantly in mutant females. On the other hand, in the case of normal mice, the sensitivity in 6-8-d-old or 3-4-wk-old mice to copper-induced toxicity was not also affected by sex. In contrast to mutant, however, 8-9-wk-old normal males were more sensitive to copper-induced toxicity than 8-9-wk-old normal females. Adult males were also more sensitive to copper-induced toxicity than 6-8-d-old or 3-4-wk-old males. However, age-related differences in sensitivity to copper-induced toxicity did not occur significantly in normal females. These results indicate that sex- and age-related differences in the copper-induced toxicity exist in macular mutant mice.

Aging↗

PubMedDate not supplied

Intracellular distribution of hepatic copper in macular mutant mice. An animal model of Menkes' kinky-hair disease.

To evaluate the role of lysosomes in copper-mediated hepatocellular injury, copper was administered, sc, to both normal and macular mutant mice at doses of 4.5, 9.0, and 18 mg Cu/kg, and the subcellular distribution of copper has been investigated in the liver of normal and mutant mice 24 h after injection. The amount of copper in all fractions of copper-treated mutant mice was markedly lower than those in copper-treated normal mice, with the exception of microsomal fraction. However, there were no distinct differences in the proportion of copper in subcellular fractions between normal and mutant mice.

Animals↗

PubMedDate not supplied

The effect of a valine-rich diet on intestinal adaptation to massive small bowel resection in the rat.

BACKGROUND/PURPOSE: Recently, valine, which is one of the branched chain amino acids, has been reported to enhance liver regeneration after hepatectomy in the rat. The aim of this study was to investigate the effect of enteral valine supplementation on intestinal adaptation. MATERIALS/METHODS: Seven-week-old male Lewis rats underwent a 90% small bowel resection. The rats were randomly divided into two groups: group V (valine-rich diet) and group S (standard rat chow), according to the diet. The rats were sacrificed at the operation day and on postoperative days (POD) 7, 14, 30, and 60. The metrics were body weight (BW), blood amino acids, urine organic acids, and morphology of the residual small intestine. RESULTS: The BW and the intestinal wet weight, jejunal crypt depth, and proliferating cell nuclear antigen-positive cells in group V at POD 7 were significantly higher than those values in group S, while those in group V at POD 30 and 60 were smaller than those in group S. The urine methylmalonic acid (MMA) level in group V at POD 30 and 60 was much higher than in group S. CONCLUSION: Valine enhanced intestinal adaptation after massive small bowel resection in the acute phase. However, the long-term supplementation disturbed intestinal adaptation, which might be due to the high production of MMA.

Animals↗

PubMedDate not supplied

Relationship between real-time monitoring of the graft motility and mucosal histology in swine intestinal transplantation.

We studied the correlation between the motility and the mucosal histology of the small bowel seeking to detect rejection in an early stage by real-time monitoring using a swine model. Intestinal transplantation (ITx) was performed orthotopically using FK506 immunosuppression. The distal about 20 cm segment of the allograft was exteriorized as a Thiry-Vella stoma for biopsies. Strain gauge (SG) force transducers were attached to the graft for real-time monitoring of graft motility. Pigs without ITx were used as controls (group 1). Rejection was classified into four groups by histologic findings: nonrejection (group 2), mild rejection (group 3), moderate rejection (group 4), and severe rejection (group 5). Migrating motor complex (MMC) phase III was analyzed for the following parameters: duration, amplitude, interval, motility index, velocity, and frequency of propagation. In group 2, all parameters were almost the same as those for group 1. In contrast, groups 4 and 5 showed most parameters significantly lower than those in group 1. In group 3, the contractility of the MMC was not significantly altered, but the frequency of the propagation was decreased significantly. In conclusion, graft motility detected by a real-time SG method correlated with the grade of mucosal histology. This method is useful to detect rejection at an early stage by examining the frequency of MMC propagation.

Animals↗

PubMedDate not supplied

The renal expression of heat shock protein 47 and collagens in acute and chronic experimental diabetes in rats.

Glomerulosclerosis and tubulointerstitial fibrosis are the main structural changes found in the later stages of diabetic nephropathy, which is clinically characterized by proteinuria, and progressive renal insufficiency. Heat shock protein (HSP) 47, a collagen-binding stress protein, has a specific role in the intracellular processing of procollagen molecules during collagen synthesis. It is implicated in the pathogenesis of various fibrotic diseases. However, the expression and significance of HSP47 in acute and chronic phases of diabetic nephropathy is not yet known. In this study, we studied the expression of HSP47 in the kidneys obtained from streptozotocin-induced diabetic rats, in both short- and long-term diabetes. To determine the renal expression of HSP47, and collagens (type III and IV) in acute (days 1, 3 and 14) and chronic (weeks 4, 12 and 24) diabetes, we have performed a time-course study using streptozotocin-induced diabetic rats. The expression pattern of alpha-smooth muscle actin (to identify mesangial cell damage), vimentin (to identify tubular epithelial cell damage), and desmin (to identify glomerular epithelial cell damage) was also determined in kidneys of these diabetic rats. Antibodies specific for HSP47, type III and type IV collagens, alpha-smooth muscle actin, vimentin, and desmin were used to assess the relative expression of their proteins in paraffin-embedded kidney sections by immunohistochemistry. Compared to control rat kidneys, no significant changes in the expression of HSP47 was found in the kidneys of acute diabetic rats. However a significant increase in the expression of HSP47 was noted in the kidneys of chronic diabetic rats; increased expression of HSP47 correlated with an increased renal deposition of types III and IV collagens. Similarly, compared to kidneys of control and acute diabetic rats, an increased expression of alpha-smooth muscle actin (in mesangial cells), vimentin (in tubular epithelial cells), and desmin (in glomerular epithelial cells) was detected in the kidneys of chronic diabetic rats; by dual immunostaining, these phenotypically-altered renal cells in kidneys of chronic diabetic rats were found to be HSP47-producing cells. Importantly, HSP47 up-regulation coincided with the initiation and progression of renal fibrosis, as determined by the expression and deposition of collagens. Our results strongly support a pathological role for HSP47 in the later stages (sclerotic phase) of streptozotocin-induced diabetic nephropathy, which is associated with glomerulosclerosis and tubulointerstitial fibrosis.

Actins↗

PubMedDate not supplied

A case of IgG4-related autoimmune disease with multiple organ involvement.

A 52-year-old male was admitted with autoimmune pancreatitis (AIP), showing mononuclear cell infiltration in both the pancreas and salivary glands with both normal sialography and anti-SS-A/SS-B antibodies. Although the AIP improved with glucocorticoid treatment, subsequent abdominal computed tomography (CT) revealed a nodular shadow in the bilateral kidneys, which was confirmed as interstitial nephritis by renal biopsy. The patient's serum immunoglobulin G4 (IgG4) level was 10 times higher than the upper limit of the normal range. IgG4-positive mononuclear cell infiltration was detected in the salivary gland, pancreas, and kidney. A new entity proposed as 'IgG4-related autoimmune disease' was considered.

Autoimmune Diseases↗

PubMedDate not supplied

Effect of the Slt mutant allele on the production of tissue mast cells in mice.

The effect of the Slt mutant gene on the production of melanocytes, tissue mast cells, and erythrocytes was compared with the effect of the Sl and Sld mutant genes on the same genetic background [(WB X C57BL/6)F1 mice]. Although the rank order of cell numbers was similar in these three types of cells (i.e., +/+ greater than Slt/Slt greater than Sld/Slt greater than Sl/Slt greater than Sl/Sld), the difference in the melanocytes was largest, and the difference in the erythrocytes was smallest. Since male Slt/Slt mice (on both WB and C57BL/6 backgrounds) were fertile, such mice were useful for efficient production of moderately mast-cell-deficient Sl/Slt and Sld/Slt mice.

Alleles↗