OBJECTIVE: We applied glucose loading during PET studies with [18F]2-fluoro-2-deoxy-D-glucose (FDG) to enhance detection of brain tumors by diminution of FDG uptake in normal gray matter. MATERIALS AND METHODS: This study involved three patients with glioblastomas. Two PET scans were performed in all cases within 1 week in control and with glucose loading state. RESULTS: In all patients, tumor was depicted more clearly with glucose loading than in the control study. The FDG uptake ratio of tumor to normal cortical gray matter showed a mean increase of 27% with glucose loading. CONCLUSION: This technique might be useful for detection of recurrent or residual tumors.

Adult↗

PubMedDate not supplied

Visualization of the cervical spinal cord with FDG and high-resolution PET.

PURPOSE: Our aim was to evaluate the visibility of the cervical spinal cord with [18F]2-fluoro-2-deoxyglucose (FDG) and a high-resolution PET scanner and to quantify the glucose utilization by the cervical cord. METHOD: Twenty-one normal subjects and three cervical myelopathy patients were studied. The visibility of the cervical spinal cord in sagittal and coronal sections was evaluated. The metabolic rate of glucose (MRGlu) and standardized uptake value (SUV) of FDG in the cord were calculated. RESULTS: The entire cervical spinal cord was clearly visualized in 57% of the subjects: the upper cord in 81%, the middle cord in 73%, and the lower cord in 57%. The MRGlu of the normal cord was 1.93 +/- 0.37 mg/100 g/min. SUV was constant across all the vertebral levels and negatively correlated with subject age. In the myelopathy patients, the SUV of the entire cervical cord was lower than in the age-matched normal subjects. CONCLUSION: These preliminary results indicate that the cervical spinal cord can be visualized as a normal structure in routine head and neck PET imaging and that FDG-PET may provide quantitative information about spinal cord disorders.

Adult↗

PubMedDate not supplied

Induction of allogeneic tumour- and lymphokine-activated lymphocytes against hepatocellular carcinoma.

For clinical application of adoptive immunotherapy against hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC), it is not easy to prepare tumour specific effector cells such as cytotoxic T lymphocytes (CTL). To induce potent and broad-spectrum effectors, allogeneic cultured hepatoma cell lines (JHH-4 and HuH-6) were used as stimulators of peripheral blood lymphocytes (PBL) instead of autologous HCC cells. Allogeneic tumour- and lymphokine-activated killer cells (ATLAK) were generated by a mixed culture of lymphocytes and allogeneic cultured tumour cells with recombinant interleukin-2 (rIL-2). The tumour-killing activity of ATLAK induced by HuH-6 was confirmed against HuH-6 and other different HCC cell lines (JHH-2, HuH-7 and PLC). These activated lymphocytes were significantly more potent than lymphokine-activated killer cells (LAK) in [51Cr]-releasing assay. The JHH-4 stimulated ATLAK was reactive not only with JHH-4 but also with JHH-2. The lysis of allogeneic targets could be partially inhibited by anti-CD8 and anti-CD3 but not by anti-CD4. Anti-tumour cytotoxicity in these cultures might be mediated by CD3+CD56- and CD3+CD56+ effectors. These results imply that adoptive immunotherapy for HCC with ATLAK may be more feasible than that with LAK.

Antibodies, Monoclonal↗

PubMedDate not supplied

The protective effect of pyrroloquinoline quinone and its derivatives against carbon tetrachloride-induced liver injury of rats.

Pyrroloquinoline quinone (PQQ) and its derivative, oxazo pyrroloquinoline (OPQ-G), protected rats from experimental liver injury induced by carbon tetrachloride (CCl4) in vivo. This effect was observed after an intraperitoneal injection of 5 mg/kg PQQ or OPQ-G, which was given twice, 10 min and 1 h before CCl4 administration. Pyrroloquinoline quinone protected primary cultured rat hepatocytes from CCl4 toxicity in vitro. This protection was most effective at a concentration of 3 mumol/L PQQ. Pyrroloquinoline quinone derivatives (oxazo pyrroloquinoline, methyl-thioethyl oxazo pyrroloquinoline and PQQ-allylester) also protected the hepatocytes from CCl4 toxicity. Pyrroloquinoline quinone and its derivatives inhibited the lucigenin-enhanced chemiluminescence from isolated hepatocytes initiated by CCl4. These results suggest that eliminating free radicals is one of the protective mechanisms of PQQ and its derivatives against CCl4-induced liver injury.

Acridines↗

PubMedDate not supplied

The prevalence of gallstones in gastrectomized patients: a comparative study in a large population.

We investigated the prevalence of gallstones after gastrectomy by abdominal ultrasonography in 289 gastrectomized patients selected from 51,621 Automated Multiphasic Health Testing and Services (AMHTS) examinees after barium meal studies. The results were compared with those of another group of 3,193 AMHTS patients who routinely underwent ultrasonography (control). Among the gastrectomized patients, the overall prevalence of gallstones was 16.6%, and in the control group, 4.7%, showing a statistically significant difference (p less than 0.001). The prevalence of gallstones increased with age in both the control and gastrectomized groups, but was greater in gastrectomized subjects in each (10-yr) age group. The characteristics of the gallstones were compared between gastrectomized patients and the control group according to the ultrasonographic classification proposed by Tsuchiya (Yazawa et al, Jpn J Gastroenterol 85: 708, 1988). In the control group, the percentages of types I, II, III and small stone of Tsuchiya's classification were 30.2, 14.5, 21.9 and 34.3, respectively. On the other hand, in the gastrectomized group, the percentages were 8.3, 6.3, 16.7 and 68.8, respectively. This difference was statistically significant (p less than 0.001). The differences in the prevalence of gallstones between groups with Billroth I and II anastomoses, and between diseases necessitating gastrectomy, were not statistically significant.

Adult↗

PubMedDate not supplied

Observation of psammoma bodies in cultured meningiomas: analysis of three-dimensional structure using scanning and transmission electron microscopy.

In contrast to the inner structure, three-dimensional structure of psammona bodies in meningiomas is not well defined. This study examined three cultured meningiomas, in which surface observation of psammoma bodies might be easier than in the tumor tissues since influence of interposing connective tissue is minimized in tissue culture. Early culture revealed that psammoma bodies with frank calcification were suspended in the tissue culture medium, and so were they collected, centrifuged, and then processed for electron microscopy. Ultrastructurally, psammoma bodies were mostly spherical in shape and composed of a core of dense calcification and surrounding collagen fiber bundles. Apart from psammoma bodies, round bodies with concentric lamination like a transversely cut onion were frequently noted by light microscopy. These bodies were composed mainly of tangles of collagen fibers emerged from surrounding tumor cell processes. The results suggest that psammoma bodies in meningiomas arise in part from meningothelial whorls due to collagen production by tumor cells followed by obliteration and disappearance of tumor cell processes, although some of the alternative pathways for psammoma body formation proposed by other investigators cannot be ruled out by this study.

Aged↗

PubMedDate not supplied

Ultrastructural characterization of central neurocytomas using collagen gel culture.

Central neurocytoma is a rare brain tumor with neuronal differentiation. Cultured central neurocytoma cells are poorly described because of the tumor's scarcity. Two central neurocytomas were cultured using a monolayer culture for first few passages, and then a portion of each specimen was cultured in a collagen gel. Immunostaining for synaptophysin or glial fibrillary acidic protein performed on the primary culture revealed the presence of cells expressing synaptophysin and cells expressing glial fibrillary acidic protein. Cells expressing synaptophysin tended to disappear in passage 2, whereas the cells expressing glial fibrillary acidic protein remained. Ultrastructurally, samples in passage 5 obtained from the collagen gel cultures revealed neuron-like cells with prominent nucleoli, cell processes containing dense core vesicles and clear vesicles, and synapse-like structures. By contrast, samples obtained from passage 5 of monolayer cultures failed to reveal ultrastructural neuronal characteristics. These results suggest that spatial cell growth and the presence of collagen, i.e., extracellular matrix, may be necessary to retain neuronal differentiation in a central neurocytoma.

Adult↗

PubMedDate not supplied

Aberrant isoform of vascular endothelial growth factor 189 expression is correlated with xenotransplantability of human esophageal cancer.

Xenografted neoplastic tissues are often utilized to study biology of human cancer. We studied isoform pattern (VEGF206, VEGF189, VEGF165, VEGF121) of an angiogenic factor VEGF in both esophageal primary cancers and cancer xenografts by RT-PCR analysis. Eighteen of 19 (95%) xenografts showed the cell associated aberrant isoform of VEGF189 at a significantly higher incidence than 19 of 31 (61%) primary cancers (P=0.009, Fisher's exact test). These observations suggested that the aberrant isoform of VEGF189 mRNA affects the xenotransplantability of human esophageal cancer.

Animals↗