Clinical application of recombinant human erythropoietin for treatments in patients with head and neck cancer

Summary The therapeutic effects of intravenous recombinant human erythropoietin (r-hEPO) administration on anemia induced by radiation therapy (3 cases), chemotherapy (18 cases) and combined therapies (5 cases) in patients with head and neck malignancies were examined. The effectiveness was evaluated by the changes in the hemoglobin concentration examined before and after the r-hEPO administration. The r-hEPO administration combined with anticancer therapies improved anemia induced by all three treatments. The therapeutic effectiveness of r-hEPO injection was also noted on anemia induced by all of four different chemotherapeutic regimens that have been ordinarily used for head and neck malignancies. Furthermore, the efficacy of the different dose schedules, 3000 IU (12 cases) or 6000 IU (14 cases), three times a week, was compared. Both of the r-hEPO dose schedules were effective for anemia, but the efficacy of 6000 IU was superior to that of 3000 IU. No significant changes were observed in the number of white blood cells and platelets and the results of biochemical examinations after the r-hEPO injection. There were no objective side-effects related to the r-hEPO administration. These results suggest that anemia induced by chemotherapy and/or radiotherapy could be prevented by r-hEPO administration. The addition of r-hEPO to anticancer therapies would make it possible to pursue the planned therapeutic schedules, prevent the decrease of immunity after allogeneic blood transfusion and bring about an improvement in the prognosis of patients with malignancies.     

Stearoyl-CoA Desaturase-Mediated Monounsaturated Fatty Acid Availability Supports Humoral Immunity

1. Download : Download high-res image (142KB)
2. Download : Download full-size image

     

Transport of Myosin II to the Equatorial Region without Its Own Motor Activity in Mitotic Dictyostelium Cells

Fluorescently labeled myosin moved and accumulated circumferentially in the equatorial region of dividing Dictyostelium cells within a time course of 4 min, followed by contraction of the contractile ring. To investigate the mechanism of this transport process, we have expressed three mutant myosins that cannot hydrolyze ATP in myosin null cells. Immunofluorescence staining showed that these mutant myosins were also correctly transported to the equatorial region, although no contraction followed. The rates of transport, measured using green fluorescent protein-fused myosins, were indistinguishable between wild-type and mutant myosins. These observations demonstrate that myosin is passively transported toward the equatorial region and incorporated into the forming contractile ring without its own motor activity.     

3H]thymidine autoradiographic and alkaline phosphatase histochemical studies of intestinal metaplasia of the human stomach

The relationship between cell proliferation and enzyme activity in intestinal metaplasia of the human stomach was studied using a combined method of [3H]thymidine autoradiography and alkaline phosphatase histochemistry on the same section. Three types of intestinal metaplasia were observed depending on variations in both enzymatic activity and isotope labelling. One type shows alkaline phosphatase-positive cells along the entire length of the glands with [3H]thymidine-labelled cells localized only at the bottom of the glands, resembling the duodenum. In another type of intestinal metaplasia, alkaline phosphatase-positive cells are present on the surface and/or upper half of the glands with mitotically active cells occupying the lower part of the glands. The third variety of intestinal metaplasia is characterized by the absence of alkaline-phosphatase activity and [3H]thymidine-labelled cells present in an extended zone in the lower half of the glands. Differences in labelling patterns of [3H]thymidine and the activity of marker enzyme in various types of intestinal metaplasia seem to reflect variations in cell differentiation during intestinalization of gastric mucosa.     

Ethanol production by encapsulated and immobilized yeast

Summary Immobilized yeast was encapsulated with cell-free calciumalginate gel by two-step preparation procedure. The volume of coated film decreased with increasing cell concentration. The encapsulation did not affect ethanol production and could prevent cell leakage from the gels.     

Novel Fission Yeast Cdc7-Dbf4-Like Kinase Complex Required for the Initiation and Progression of Meiotic Second Division

Cdc7, a conserved serine/threonine protein kinase, controls initiation of DNA replication. A regulatory subunit, Dbf4, stimulates the kinase activity of Cdc7 and recruits it to the replication origins. Schizosaccharomyces pombe has a homologous kinase complex, composed of Hsk1 and Dfp1/Him1. Here, we report a novel protein kinase of S. pombe, Spo4, which shares common structural features with the Cdc7 kinases. In spite of the structural similarities, Spo4 is dispensable for mitotic growth and premeiotic DNA replication. Intriguingly, spo4 null mutants are defective in initiation and progression of the second meiotic division. Spindles for meiosis II are often fragmented. Spo4 kinase activity is markedly enhanced when the enzyme is associated with its regulatory subunit, Spo6, a Dbf4-like protein. Expression of Spo4 is specifically induced during meiosis. Spo4 is preferentially present in nuclei, but this nuclear localization does not require Spo6. These results suggest that Spo4 is a Cdc7 kinase whose primary role is in meiosis, not in DNA replication. This is the first report of an organism which has two Cdc7-related kinase complexes with different biological functions.