Small angiomyolipoma of the liver diagnosed by fine-needle aspiration biopsy under ultrasound guidance

The first reported case of small hepatic angiomyolipoma to be diagnosed by fine-needle aspiration biopsy (FNAB) is described. A 53 year old man presented with a tumour in segment VI of the liver measuring 0.9 x 0.8 cm. The tumour was hyperechoic on ultrasound examination, showed relatively low density (+ 33 Hounsfield units) on computed tomography (CT), and was hypervascular on angiography. Computed tomography during arterial portography demonstrated a perfusion defect. Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) revealed high intensity by both T1- and T2-weighted imaging. Diagnosis could not be obtained by these imaging modalities, but it was established successfully by FNAB under ultrasound guidance. Histologically, the tumour was an angiomyolipoma made up of three components: blood vessels, smooth muscle and fatty tissue. Surgery is unnecessary for this benign condition, and the patient has been followed up. Ten months later, the patient is currently doing well without growth of the hepatic angiomyolipoma.     

Effect of transient cerebral ischaemia on acetylcholine release in the gerbil hippocampus

To clarify the relationship between presynaptic cholinergic dysfunction and postsynaptic cell death in the hippocampus, extracellular levels of acetylcholine (ACh) were assayed and CA1 pyramidal cells were histologically investigated in gerbils which had undergone 2, 5 and 10 min ischaemia. It was found that the KCl- and atropine-induced release of ACh, an index of the functioning cholinergic system at the presynaptic terminals, was significantly lower in the ischaemic groups than in control groups. The hippocampal CA1 pyramidal cell area of the 5 and 10 min ischaemic animals was also significantly decreased, but the 2 min ischaemia caused no cell damage. These findings indicate that the presynaptic terminals of the cholinergic neurone are vulnerable to ischaemic insult and that cholinergic dysfunction precedes postsynaptic CA1 pyramidal cell death in the hippocampus.     

Radiofrequency catheter ablation for idiopathic right ventricular tachycardia with special reference to morphological variation and long-term outcome

We have cloned and sequenced a beta subunit of integrin from a cDNA library of crayfish hemocytes. This beta integrin shows great similarity to beta integrin subunits from other animals; the highest is towards beta pat-3 from Caenorhabditis elegans followed by beta PS from Drosophila melanogaster. By immunoblotting with antibodies raised towards a synthetic peptide corresponding to a part of the cytoplasmic region of the deduced protein sequence, it was shown that the integrin is present in the membrane of the hemocytes. This is the first integrin found in hemocytes of an invertebrate animal and this finding opens the door for further investigations on integrins and their role in the invertebrate immune system.     

Cytokine-secreting cells in relapsing multiple sclerosis patients treated with high-dose intravenous methylprednisolone]

Domon L, a heat-treated component of gram-negative bacterium Achromobacter stenohalis, is used for the treatment of infectious diseases of animals. Here, we investigated the immunopotentiating potential of Domon L. In vitro studies showed that Domon L enhanced nitric oxide (NO) formation from murine macrophage RAW264.7 cells in concert with interferon (IFN)-gamma. The effect of Domon L on NF-kappaB activation was investigated, in order to understand the molecular mechanisms of enhanced NO formation by Domon L. Domon L induced translocation of NF-kappaB to the nucleus in RAW264.7 cells. Induction of NF-kappaB dependent gene expression by Domon L was further confirmed using a transfectant containing an NF-kappaB-luciferase reporter gene. In vivo injection of Domon L elevated both serum IL-6 and mucoprotein, whose gene expression is partly under the control of NF-kappaB. The spleen cells of rats treated with Domon L produced much more NO when stimulated with LPS + IFN gamma than spleen cells of untreated rats. These results suggest that Domon L acts as an anti-infectious agent via NF-kappaB activation.     

A negative regulatory region in the intracellular domain of the human interferon-alpha receptor

Interferon-alpha (IFN-alpha)-mediated intracellular signaling is initiated by ligand-induced receptor dimerization, tyrosine phosphorylation of the Tyk2 and Jak1 tyrosine kinases, and subsequent phosphorylation of the Stat1 and Stat2 proteins. The IFN-alpha receptor consists of at least two distinct subunits. One subunit, IFNAR1, has low affinity binding for interferon yet is required for signal transduction. We introduced mutations in the cytoplasmic domain of human IFNAR1 in order to identify residues involved in the mediation of biological responses. We took advantage of the species specificity of the interferon receptors by analyzing human IFN-alpha-induced major histocompatibility complex class I antigen expression in mouse L929 cells stably transfected with mutant human receptors. The membrane proximal 60-amino acids were insufficient to signal a biological response even though within these residues Tyk2 and Stat2 binding sites have been identified. IFN-alpha-induced receptor tyrosine phosphorylation was not critical for signaling because mutation of Tyr residues to Phe did not prevent the biological response to IFN-alpha. The deletion of a 16-amino acid region highly homologous between species created a receptor which signals an enhanced response. Tyrosine dephosphorylation is a component of this enhanced response as mutation of the Tyr residues within this region to Phe resulted in a receptor with increased sensitivity to IFN. The known signaling molecules that interact with IFNAR1 are positive regulators of IFN-alpha function. The presence of this domain in the COOH-terminal region suggests that the receptor may interact with signaling molecules that negatively regulate interferon responses.     

Use of adriamycin-impregnated methylmethacrylate in the treatment of tumor metastases in the long bones

Internal fixation or endoprosthetic replacement of a long bone metastatic lesion was performed using adriamycin-containing bone cement (methylmethacrylate) after resection or curettage of the lesion in 25 patients (27 limbs). Survival rate, limb function, and local recurrence rate were retrospectively evaluated in this patient cohort. Survival rate was 53% at 12 months and 30% at 24 months, which was better than in previous reports. One patient showed local recurrence radiographically. Postoperatively, none of the patients developed infection, delayed wound healing, myelo-suppression attributed to adriamycin, and 74% of the patients were able to walk outdoors.     

Generation of dendritic cells from fresh and frozen cord blood CD34+ cells

Extracellular recordings obtained from the extrastriate cortex of the California ground squirrel, a diurnal sciurid, show that large receptive fields and a strong direction selectivity are present in the middle lateral area (ML) and the lateral area (L), located laterally to V2 and V3. Direction selectivity was tested by presenting stimuli of varying dimensions, shapes and speeds at different locations in the visual field. Most cells in ML and L (84%) were direction selective, with a preference for fast speeds, indicating that these areas share a role in motion processing. Areas ML and L may be homologous to area MT or may represent a case of homoplasia. A directional anisotropy for motion towards the vertical meridian was found in ML and L cells, suggesting that these areas may be involved in detecting predators and other moving objects coming from the periphery, rather than in processing flow fields caused by forward locomotion, for which a centrifugal bias might be expected.