Clinical features of common acute lymphoblastic leukemia antigen (CALLA)-positive myeloma: report of four cases

Four patients with common acute lymphoblastic leukemia antigen (CALLA)-positive myeloma are presented. The subclasses of monoclonal protein were IgD kappa (1 case), IgA lambda (1 case), and IgA kappa (2 cases). Bence Jones proteinuria was seen in all cases. The clinical stages were determined as IIA (2 cases) and IIIA (2 cases). All patients died with a median survival time after diagnosis of 62 days due to rapid development of renal failure (3 cases), and renal insufficiency and pneumonia (1 case). According to light microscopic evaluation, these myelomas corresponded to plasmablastic (1 case), immature (2 cases), and intermediate (1 case) types. Both CALLA and a cytoplasmic immunoglobulin identical with the serum monoclonal protein were simultaneously detected in single cells from all cases using immunofluorescent double labeling. These findings suggest that CALLA-positive and plasma-blastic myelomas constitute clinically a subgroup characterized by extremely poor survival but they represent cytologically different subcategories.     

Hypercalcemia associated with osteolytic lesions in the extramedullary blastic crisis of chronic myelogenous leukemia: report of a case

A 43-year-old male patient with hypercalcemia and osteolytic lesions complicating chronic myelogenous leukemia is presented. Extramedullary myeloid blastic crisis was diagnosed by the histological finding of the specimen biopsied from a osteolytic lesion in the right femur. As the serum levels of parathyroid hormone, 1,25 (OH)2 vitamin D, prostaglandin E2 and interleukin 1, and the urinary excretion of cyclic AMP were all normal, it was considered that the hypercalcemia was attributed to the bone destruction by the invasion of leukemic myeloblasts.     

Molecular characterization of a gene encoding a photolyase from Streptomyces griseus.

By using a synthetic DNA probe derived from an amino acid sequence in the most conserved region of three known photolyases (Escherichia coli, Anacystis nidulans and Saccharomyces cerevisiae), we isolated a DNA fragment containing two long open reading frames (ORFs) from a genomic DNA library of Streptomyces griseus. One ORF encodes a polypeptide of 455 amino acids (Mr 50594), which exhibits substantial similarities with the other three photolyases. Photoreactivation-repair deficient E. coli cells could be converted into photoreactivatable ones by introduction of plasmids harboring this ORF, indicating that this is the photolyase gene of S. griseus. The deduced aa sequence of Streptomyces photolyase was most similar to that of E. coli. The putative DNA binding site as well as cofactor binding regions were proposed.     

A MORPHOLOGICAL CONSIDERATION OF THE RELATIONSHIPS OF PINNIPEDS TO OTHER CARNIVORANS BASED ON THE BONY TENTORIUM AND BONY FALX

The close relationships of pinnipeds to other carnivorans were studied based on morphological characteristics of the bony tentorium (BT) and bony falx (BF) of carnivorans. It appears to be an important characteristic of the Carnivora that the clear BT is present in almost all species including pinnipeds. The BF is present in all species of pinnipeds, and only in the genus Ursus among fissipeds observed.
The parietal bone of all otariids and odobenids observed shows an extremely characteristic form as compared with other carnivorans. The sagittal and squa-mous borders of the parietal bone of these groups are bridged by a thin bony plate which forms large portions of the BT and BF. In phocids, the aspects of the BT and BF vary among species, but are apparently distinct from those of otariids and odobenids.
The BT of carnivorans can be divided into four types which appear to be useful for classification of the Carnivora. On the basis of the BT and BF form, the Otariidae and Odobenidae appear to have a specific sister relationship to the Ursidae, while the Phocidae appears to have dose affinities to the Mustelidae. Morphological differences of the BT and BF among pinnipeds strongly support the diphyletic origin of pinnipeds.     

Neutralization of activity of two different heat-stable enterotoxins (STh and STp) of enterotoxigenic Escherichia coli by homologous and heterologous antisera

Abstract Two distinct heat-stable enterotoxins (ST) produced by enterotoxigenic Escherichia coli , ST_p and ST_h, were purified and antisera against the purified ST_p and ST_h were prepared by immunizing rabbits with the purified ST's coupled with bovine serum albumin. Neutralizing activity of each antiserum was examined and it was found that both antisera neutralized not only homologous ST but also heterologous St. These data indicate that the two anti-ST antisera are raised against the region of common amino acid sequence of the two ST's.     

Chronic effect of TSH on human thyroid tissue in organ culture

The chronic effect of TSH on thyroidal cAMP concentrations and release of thyroid hormones was investigated using human thyroid tissue in organ culture. Normal human thyroid slices were placed in HAM's F-10 synthetic culture medium in Falcon organ tissue culture dishes, and incubated at 37 degrees in a humidified atmosphere of 5% CO2 in air. Medium was changed everyday and daily T3 or T4 release was determined using concentration of T3 or T4 in the medium. After incubation, slices were transferred to the medium containing 10 mM theophylline and incubated without TSH for an additional 30 min to determine thyroidal cAMP concentrations. Thyroidal cAMP concentrations in slices incubated with 10 mU/ml of TSH increased significantly at 2, 6, and 24 hr and even on the 6th day of incubation. Daily T3 release was significantly increased above control from the 3rd day and daily T4 release from the 4th day to the 11th day of incubation with 10 mU/ml of TSH. Histologically, almost all follicles were structurally maintained even on the 11th day of incubation. These results suggest that both thyroidal cAMP concentrations and release of thyroid hormones are stimulated chronically by TSH. This organ culture system is useful for investigating chronic effects of various materials on human thyroid tissue.     

Dihydroconiferyl alcohol as a gibberellin synergist in inducing lettuce hypocotyl elongation. An assessment of structure-activity relationships

Structure-activity relationships of the cotyledon factor wereexamined by testing the effect of various substances structurallyrelated to the cotyledon factor (dihydroconiferyl alcohol) ongibberellin-induced lettuce hypocotyl elongation. The biological activity of the cotyledon factor, 3-(4-hydroxy-3-methoxyphenyl)propan-1-ol, disappeared if the phenolic hydroxy group was maskedwith a methoxy or glucosyl group. Oxidation of the alcoholicgroup in the side chain to a carboxylic group decreased thebiological activity of the cotyledon factor. As to relationshipsbetween the biological activity and length of the alkyl sidechain, the propane type was found to be much more active thanthe methane, ethane or butane type. The presence of a C = Cbond in the alkyl side chain made the cotyledon factor biologicallyinactive. Some antioxidants of indole-3-acetic acid were alsoassayed for cotyledon factor-like activity, since the cotyledonfactor is a polyphenol. However, known antioxidants such asrutin, pyrocatechol, chlorogenic acid, caffeic acid and ferulicacid did not show cotyledon factor-like activity. From these results, structural requirements of the cotyledonfactor as a gibberellin synergist were discussed. (Received June 17, 1975; )     

Lunula corneae in man and primates

Imai (1931) discovered a milk-white crescent on the temporal side of the cornea in Macaca cyclopis. Afterwards he confirmed that such a crescent appears in many kinds of primates, humans and newborn babies in Japan. It was named “Lunula corneae” by Professor S. Adachi. Both workers investigated the nature of the Lunula and considered the meaning of its appearance. Further study on the same problem was carried out by the present authors, when non-transparent tissues as the pactinate ligament and sclera over the ligament. When these tissues situate under the cornea due to the spread of it, they appear as a milk-white crescent. Moreover, the present authors made a statistical investigation on the remains of the Lunula corneae, observed the crescents which were accompanied by the pigmentation in the bulbar conjunctiva and investigated from a hereditary point of view the remains of the Lunula in the Japanese.They established that the Lunula corneae on the temporal side is a sign of the enlargement of the cornea to that side, resulting in a larger visual field on the same side. This is advantageous to primates who live in the open; they exhibit the Lunula throughout life. As concerns humans in Japan, the Lunula always appears in newborn babies, but gradually disappears with age and decreases to 15·7% at 23 years of age. Accordingly, the authors consider the Lunula in man is a kind of rudiment. The Lunula in man is accompanied by the pigmentation in the bulbar conjunctiva in a very high percentage of cases. The authors envisage such a pigmentation in man as a kind of pithecoid mark. Therefore, anthropological investigations on the Lunula corneae and the pigmentation around it would be an interesting subject for study. The authors also gained an insight of the hereditary nature of the Lunula remains. In their opinion such a character is transmittable in man.     

Mutants Defective in Binding Activity for Cyclic Adenosine 3′,5′-Monophosphate in Vibrio parahaemolyticus

Mutants of Vibrio parahaemolyticus defective in binding activity for adenosine 3',5'-cyclic monophosphate are described. They were selected with medium containing the nucleotide together with starch.