Bruceine B, A Potent Inhibitor of Leukocyte-Endothelial Cell Adhesion

Leukocyte adhesion to vascular endothelial cells is an essential step in the development of inflammatory diseases. We have searched for inhibitors of leukocyte-endothelial cell adhesion that could be used as anti-inflammatory drugs and found that bruceine B (0.2 g/ml; 0.44 M) inhibited human neutrophil or T cell adhesion to tumor necrosis factor- (TNF) stimulated human umbilical vein endothelial cells (HUVEC). The inhibition of neutrophil adhesion to TNF-stimulated HUVEC by bruceine B was not derived from cytotoxic effects, as determined by measurement of the level of lactate dehydrogenase (LDH) activity in conditioned medium. The effect of bruceine B on neutrophil adhesion to HUVEC was not seen when the neutrophils were preincubated with bruceine B. However, inhibitory effects were evident when the HUVEC were preincubated with bruceine B. Bruceine B also inhibited neutrophil adhesion to lipopolysaccharide-stimulated HUVEC and T cell adhesion to TNF-stimulated HUVEC. These findings suggest that bruceine B may have anti-inflammatory activity.     

Stereoregulating behaviour of organoalkali and organoalkaline earth compounds in polymerization of methyl methacrylate

Stereoregulating behaviour of organoalkali and organoalkaline earth metal compounds in methyl methacrylate (MMA) polymerization has been studied. Low temperature and polar solvents such as tetrahydrofuran (THF) favour formation of syndiotactic polymer when lithium and magnesium ketyls are used as catalysts. Whereas isotactic polymer is obtained with sodium ketyl even in THF at ?70°C. Lithium aluminum hydride (LiAlH₄) gave almost complete isotactic polymer in high conversion in diethyl ether or toluene even at low temperature, and lithium aluminum tetraethyl (LiAlEt₄), on the other hand, gave very highly syndiotactic polymer under the same conditions. The solvent, besides, showed very important role in stereoregulation, that is, LiAlH₄ could give syndiotactic polymer in a polar solvent at low temperature. Polymer structure was analyzed by NMR- and IR-spectroscopy. The electrical conductivities of these catalyst systems were measured and there was found a parallelism between those values and stereoregularities of polymers obtained by the respective catalyst systems.     

Alcohol consumption as a major risk factor for the rise in liver cancer mortality rates in Japanese men

BACKGROUND: Age-adjusted liver cancer mortality rates have been increasing for both men and women in Japan since 1970; however, increases in mortality rates in men are much greater than those in women. Hepatitis C virus infections and heavy alcohol consumption are considered to be the major risk factors of liver cancer deaths in Japanese. The purpose of this study is (1) to examine the pattern of liver cancer mortality by gender and birth year to compare those with the pattern of other alcohol-related mortality and (2) to estimate the attributable risk per cent of heavy alcohol consumption for liver cancer deaths in Japanese men. METHODS: Age-specific liver cancer mortality rates by gender were compared with those of cirrhosis mortality rates. Then male-to-female mortality rate ratios were calculated by birth cohort and compared with cirrhosis mortality rate ratios and oesophageal cancer mortality rate ratios. The attributable risk per cent of alcohol consumption for liver cancer death was calculated, using female liver cancer mortality rates as standard rates. RESULTS: Examination of both gender and birth cohort mortality rates revealed that male-to-female liver cancer mortality rate ratios by birth cohort correspond well with those rate ratios for liver cirrhosis and oesophageal cancer mortality. The attributable risk per cent of alcohol consumption for liver cancer deaths in Japanese men was 70%. CONCLUSION: Alcohol consumption is more important than hepatitis C virus infections as a major cause of liver cancer deaths in Japanese men.     

Successful treatment of hemochromatosis with renal tubular dysgenesis in a preterm infant

We report the first surviving case of neonatal hemochromatosis with renal tubular dysgenesis. Renal failure was treated with peritoneal dialysis. Although hepatic failure from neonatal hemochromatosis was progressive, repeated exchange transfusions improved jaundice and coagulopathy. The patient gained weight and received a liver transplantation from her father.     

Congenital tuberculosis in an extremely preterm infant and prevention of nosocomial infection

Congenital tuberculosis is a rare disease, especially in non-endemic countries. We present a preterm infant who developed congenital tuberculosis in a neonatal intensive care unit (NICU). The male patient, weighing 1140 g was born by cesarean section at 26 weeks gestation. The baby's respiratory condition suddenly deteriorated at 18 days old, and he was diagnosed with congenital tuberculosis after Gram stain revealed “ghost bacilli” in his tracheal aspirate. The mother, who was born in an endemic country, had fever with unknown cause during labor and was diagnosed with miliary tuberculosis after the infant was diagnosed. Both were successfully treated for tuberculosis with a four-drug regimen. The genotyping profiles of Mycobacterium tuberculosis were identical in both mother and baby based on variable number of tandem repeat (VNTR) analysis. The lineage was considered to be East-African Indian. To prevent nosocomial infection in the NICU, 23 potentially exposed infants received isoniazid for 2 months. Two infants showed a transient liver enzyme elevation that seemed to be due to isoniazid. For 10 months after the incident, there were no infants and medical staff who developed tuberculosis. Although the incidence of tuberculosis has steadily decreased in Japan, the percentage of foreign-born individuals has increased yearly, especially those of reproductive age. The evaluation of active tuberculosis should be considered in pregnant women with unexplained fever, history of tuberculosis, or emigration from high-burden areas.     

Cryopreservation of mobilized blood stem cells at a higher cell concentration without the use of a programmed freezer

Cryopreservation of peripheral blood stem cells (PBSC) mobilized by chemotherapy combined with or without granulocyte colony-stimulating factor (G-CSF) is an essential part of procedure for anti-cancer strategies. We evaluated whether a higher cell concentration (2×10⁸/ml) without the use of a programmed freezer was acceptable for the storage of mobilized PBSC in an autologous setting. Mobilized PBSC were enriched to mononuclear cells (MNC) by Percoll separation and then frozen at cell concentrations of 2–5×10⁷/ml (group I, n=20) or 2×10⁸/ml (group II, n=44) without the use of a programmed freezer using 5% DMSO, 6% hydroxy ethyl starch, and 4% autologous serum or human albumin. CD34+ cells purified by ISOLEX300 were frozen at 2×10⁷/ml (group III, n=22) using the same method. The median recovery rates of CD34+ cells and CFU-GM were, respectively, n.d. (not determined) and 88% in group I, 103 and 64% in group II, and 98 and 53% in group III. There was a statistical significance between the recovery rate of CFU-GM in group III and that in group I (p=0.02). The median percentage of cell viability after thawing in each group was 89, 87, and 75%, respectively. The median numbers of days after PBSCT to achieve a WBC of >1.0×10⁹/l, an absolute neutrophil count of >0.5×10⁹/l, and a platelet count of >50×10⁹/l were, respectively, 11, 11 and 15 in group I; 12, 12 and 16 in group II; and 12, 12 and 27 in group III. These results suggest that enriched MNC from mobilized PBSC could be frozen at a higher cell concentration (2×10⁸/ml) without the use of a programmed freezer, leading to reduction of the toxicities associated with infusion of thawed cells and of costly space required for cell storage.     

Erratum to: Predictors of poor sleep quality in patients with systemic lupus erythematosus

Clinical Rheumatology -     

Autoregulation of cochlear blood flow

Summary The cochlear blood flow of healthy adult guinea pigs was measured with a laser Doppler flowmeter and flow dynamics were anaylzed on the basis of autoregulation. Angiotensin Il infusion was used to raise blood pressure, while phlebotomy was done to lower blood pressure. The characteristics of autoregulation of cerebral blood flow and muscular blood flow were also investigated. Cochlear blood flow was considered to have some autoregulation but was less than brain blood flow, which showed significant regulation. Muscular blood flow seemed to have no similar regulatory mechanism.     

Feasibility of pulse oxymetry to measure arterial O2 saturation in studies on cochlear blood circulation.

To understand the characteristics of oxygen transport to the inner ear, the relationship between arterial O2 saturation and cochlear microcirculation was investigated under different respiratory condition in guinea pigs. To monitor arterial O2 saturation a pulse oxymeter instead of an arterial blood gas analyzer was used. When the arterial O2 saturation was measured in the foot pad by a pulse oxymeter under different respiratory conditions, the data showed a close correlation with the results of blood gas analysis. For the measurement of cochlear microcirculation, a pulse oxymeter was found to be a feasible respiratory monitor for animal experiments. With this apparatus our study demonstrated a slower reaction in the decrease of perilymphatic oxygen tension than of cochlear blood flow during stepwise induction of hypoventilation monitored by a pulse oxymeter. Under certain conditions of hyperventilation in which arterial O2 saturation and perilymphatic oxygen tension increased gradually, cochlear blood flow was found to decrease. This decrease of cochlear blood flow could be attributed to chemical controls which are regulated, as in the cerebral blood circulation, by the content of CO2 and H+ in the vascular bed in the cochlea.