The Tohoku Journal of Experimental Medicine
Online ISSN : 1349-3329
Print ISSN : 0040-8727
ISSN-L : 0040-8727
Volume 199, Issue 2
February
Displaying 1-6 of 6 articles from this issue
Regular Contributions
  • Nuran Dariyerli, Gülnur Andican, Alp Burak Çatakoglu, H&uu ...
    2003 Volume 199 Issue 2 Pages 59-68
    Published: 2003
    Released on J-STAGE: October 19, 2004
    JOURNAL FREE ACCESS
    This experimental study was designed to examine whether hyperuricemia in hypothyroidism is associated with insulin resistance. For induction of hypothyroidism, rabbits (n=12) were administered methimazole orally (75 mg/100 g food) for 30 days. T3, T4 and TSH values measured in plasma prior to and at the end of the experimentation period revealed the establishment of hypothyroidism. In the euthyroid and hypothyroid states of rabbits, crystalline porcine insulin was administered (0.1 unit/kg body weight) intraperitoneally and plasma glucose was measured at 0, 15, 30, 45 and 60 minutes. Sum of post insulin infusion glucose values was considered to reflect insulin resistance. Creatinine clearance (GFR) and uric acid clearance (CUA) were determined. Additionally, triglycerides were measured in plasma and Mg2+ both in erythrocytes and in plasma. Due to hypothyroidism: i) The glycemic response to insulin was not altered. ii) GFR and CUA were both decreased but CUA/GFR unchanged. iii) Triglycerides in plasma decreased. iv) Mg2+ concentration increased in plasma whereas decreased in erythrocytes. Several associations were observed between the variables on correlation analysis. On the basis of our data, it could be suggested that insulin resistance does not exist in hypothyroidism. Hyperuricemia observed in hypothyroidism should be considered to be secondary to decreased renal excretion but not as an indicator of insulin resistance.
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  • Atsushi Masamune, Kazuhiro Kikuta, Masahiro Satoh, Kiyoshi Kume, Tooru ...
    2003 Volume 199 Issue 2 Pages 69-84
    Published: 2003
    Released on J-STAGE: October 19, 2004
    JOURNAL FREE ACCESS
    Activated pancreatic stellate cells (PSCs) have recently been implicated in the pathogenesis of pancreatic fibrosis and inflammation. Accumulation of PSCs is a fundamental feature of pancreatic fibrosis, and platelet-derived growth factor (PDGF)-BB is the most potent mitogen for PSCs. But, the molecular mechanisms responsible for PDGF’s actions in PSCs are largely unknown. In hepatic stellate cells, it has been established that activation of both phosphatidylinositol (PI) 3-kinase and extracellular-signal regulated kinase (ERK) pathways is required for PDGF-BB-induced proliferation and migration. The aim of this study was to elucidate the signaling pathways mediating PDGF-BB’s actions in PSCs. PSCs were isolated from rat pancreas tissue and used in their culture-activated, myofibroblast-like phenotype. Culture-activated PSCs expressed PDGF α- and β-receptors. PDGF-BB induced autophosphorylation of its receptor, followed by the activation of PI 3-kinase, Akt, and ERK pathways. Activation of PI 3-kinase was not required for PDGF-BB-induced ERK activation. PDGF-BB induced approximately five-fold increase in proliferation and chemotaxis of PSCs. Inhibition of ERK pathway with PD98059 completely blocked proliferation, whereas PD98059 had a modest inhibitory effect on cell migration (approximately 50%). On the other hand, inhibition of PI 3-kinase pathway with wortmannin or LY294002 almost completely inhibited migration, but did not affect proliferation of PSCs. In conclusion, our results suggest that ERK pathway regulates proliferation and migration in response to PDGF-BB, whereas PI3-kinase mediates cellular migration, but not proliferation of PSCs.
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  • Süleyman Alici, N. Faruk Aykan, Burak Sakar, Gulistan Bulutlar, E ...
    2003 Volume 199 Issue 2 Pages 85-93
    Published: 2003
    Released on J-STAGE: October 19, 2004
    JOURNAL FREE ACCESS
    Colorectal cancer is predominantly a disease of the elderly population, but this disease is unusual in patients 40 years of age or under, and controversy persists as to prognosis in this subset of patients. The aim of this study was to determine the clinicopathologic features and their impact on patients survival of colorectal cancer in patients aged 40 years or younger, and to compare them with those of older patients. The records of 466 patients with non-metastatic colorectal adenocarcinoma who were referred between 1991 and 1999 to the University of Istanbul, Institute of Oncology, following curative surgery were retrospectively analysed. The clinicopathologic features of 84 (18%) colorectal cancers (group A; male:female ratio 48:36) which occurred in patients aged 40 years or younger were compared with 382 colorectal cancers in older patients (group B; male:female ratio 194:188). Patient gender, performance status, T stage, N stage, TNM stage, histologic grade, location of tumor, lymphatic invasion, serum levels of LDH and CEA, and survival rates were compared as prognostic factors. There was no statistically significant difference between group A and group B with respect to patient gender, performance status, T stage, N stage, TNM stage, histologic grade, location of tumor, serum levels of LDH and CEA, and survival rates of colorectal cancers. The proportion of lymphatic invasion was present in 27% of patients in group A vs. 12% in group B. With median follow-up of 69 months, the overall 5-year survival rate was 61% in group A and 56% in group B. In the univariate survival analysis according to age groups (group A and B), advanced TNM stage, location of rectal tumor, presence of lymphatic invasion, and presence of high serum LDH and CEA levels are predictors of poorer survival in young patients with colorectal cancer. In the Cox-Regression analysis, location of tumor and TNM stage were determined as independent prognostic factors for survival. This study revealed no difference in clinicopathologic characteristics in patients with colorectal cancer aged 40 years or younger compared with those aged above 40 years. However, in patients aged 40 years or younger, distal location of tumor and advanced stage should be considered as poor prognostic factors for overall survival.
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  • Mariko Himeno, Takaharu Ishibashi, Shigeru Nakano, Keisuke Furuya, Tos ...
    2003 Volume 199 Issue 2 Pages 95-110
    Published: 2003
    Released on J-STAGE: October 19, 2004
    JOURNAL FREE ACCESS
    To establish a concrete procedure to achieve a steady state plasma NOx concentration with Japanese daily food, NOx contents of about 200 types of food and beverages consumed daily were measured and NOx concentration in plasma was monitored till steady state after various degree of intake of NOx restricted food. The NOx content was found to be high in dark green leaved vegetables and low in grains, processed food, fresh and processed seafood. Tap water and mineral water were found to contain various amounts of NOx that were drastically reduced by treatment with a reverse osmosis column and remained in trace amounts after ion exchange column treatment. NOx content was low in drinks such as cola, but was extremely high in vegetable juice containing dark green leaved vegetables. The intake of high NOx drinks resulted in elevated plasma NOx concentration, but intake of low NOx drinks did not change the plasma NOx concentration. Based on these findings, a steady state could be achieved by 18 hours fasting after the intake of a moderately NOx-restricted diet (about 370 μmoles/day) and by 13 hours fasting after the intake of an extremely NOx-restricted diet (<100 μmoles/day). NOx concentrations in randomly collected blood samples without these conditions were sometimes ten times higher than that at steady state. This procedure can be undertaken under normal Japanese daily life and is expected to be applicable even to outpatients.
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  • Yoshinori Kudo, Masayoshi Minegishi, Naoko Saito, Tsuneo Itoh, Junko F ...
    2003 Volume 199 Issue 2 Pages 111-118
    Published: 2003
    Released on J-STAGE: October 19, 2004
    JOURNAL FREE ACCESS
    Retrospective analysis was conducted in 51 autologous peripheral blood progenitor cell (PBPC) collections using the Spectra AutoPBSCTM System from patients with hematologic malignancies and solid tumors to study the predictive value of CD34+ cell counts in the peripheral blood for the yield of CD34+ cells in the apheresis product. The correlation coefficients for CD34+ cells μL−1 of peripheral blood with CD34+ cell yield (×106 kg−1 of body weight and ×105 kg−1 of body weight L−1 of blood processed) were 0.903 and 0.778 (n=51 collections), respectively. Products collected from patients with CD34+ cell counts below 15 μL−1 in the peripheral blood contained a median of 0.49×106 CD34+ cells kg−1 (range: 0.05-2.55), whereas those with CD34+ cell counts more than 15 μL−1 contained a median of 3.72×106 CD34+ cells kg−1 (range: 1.06-37.57). From these results, a number of at least 15 CD34+ cells μL−1 in the peripheral blood ensured a minimum yield of 1×106 CD34+ cells kg−1 as obtained by a single apheresis procedure. The number of CD34+ cells in the peripheral blood can be used as a good predictor for timing of apheresis and estimating PBPC yield. With regard to our results, apheresis with a possibly poor efficiency should be avoided because the collection procedure is time-consuming and expensive.
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Case Report
  • Li-Hua Pan, Harumasa Ito, Akira Kurose, Kohei Yamauchi, Hiroshi Inoue, ...
    2003 Volume 199 Issue 2 Pages 119-126
    Published: 2003
    Released on J-STAGE: October 19, 2004
    JOURNAL FREE ACCESS
    A 47-year-old woman is presented with pulmonary lymphangioleiomyomatosis (PLAM) involving the bilateral lung and slight pulmonary function abnormality. Computed tomography scan showed bilateral microcyst formation in the lung. Histologically, proliferating spindle shaped cells with centrilobular emphysema were main findings. Immunohistochemically, these proliferating spindle shaped cells were positive for α-smooth muscle actin, desmin, vimentin, HMB45, estrogen receptor and progesterone receptor, but negative for S-100, cytokeratin. Single strand conformation polymorphism (SSCP) and DNA analysis for tuberous sclerosis 1 and 2 showed no significant abnormality.
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