Secretory carcinoma of the endometrium

A case of secretory carcinoma of the endometrium in a 21-year-old woman is reported. Endometrial smears were interpreted as showing a differentiated adenocarcinoma. Smears of ascitic fluid obtained during subsequent surgery showed similar findings; periodic acid-Schiff staining of the smears revealed abundant positive material in the cytoplasm. These findings were interpreted as evidence of secretory carcinoma, which was confirmed by histopathologic study of the biopsy and surgical specimens.     

Intravesical treatment of bladder cancer with recombinant human interferon-β

Summary In order to examine its clinical efficacy, recombinant human interferon- (rIFN-) was instilled intravesically into 51 patients with superficial bladder cancer. Ten patients, who received intermittent intravesical instillation at a dose of (3–36) × 10⁶ U rIFN- on days 1–3 every week, showed no response. Thirty-two patients received intravesical instillation at a dose of (3–36) × 10⁶ U every day for 10–20 days. Eight patients showed partial response, indicating an efficacy rate of 25%. Nine patients received divided doses of 18 × 10⁶ U twice a day every day for 10–20 days. Six patients showed partial response, indicating an efficacy rate of 67%. This value was significantly higher than that obtained by administering divided doses. The response to intravesical instillation therapy with rIFN- varies with treatment protocol. Frequent and longer exposure to rIFN- may induce better regression of superficial bladder cancer. Six incidences of side-effects were found in five cases (9.8%): pollakiuria in one, pain on micturition in two, fever in two, and eruption in one case. All of these side-effects were slight and reversible after drug withdrawal. Laboratory tests showed only a few changes with low severity. Thus, rIFN- is potentially a new drug for instillation therapy of superficial bladder cancer, in view of the absence of adverse effects.     

Antimetastatic effect of endogenous tumor necrosis factor induced by the treatment of recombinant interferon γ followed by an analogue (GLA-60) to synthetic lipid A subunit

Summary We have investigated the effect of endogenous production of tumor necrosis factor (TNF) induced by the combination of recombinant interferon (rIFN) as a primer followed by GLA-60 as a trigger (rIFN/GLA-60) on murine lung metastases caused by B16-BL6 melanoma. In order to examine the therapeutic effect of endogenous TNF on tumor metastasis, the ability of multiple administrations of rIFN/GLA-60 to induce TNF production was also tested. The multiple administrations of rIFN/GLA-60 at intervals of 2 days were effective for the induction of endogenous TNF in mice but continuous multiple administrations of them for 2–4 days were not. In tumor-bearing mice, the production of endogenous TNF by rIFN/GLA-60 was less than that of normal mice, but treatment 3 days after the surgical excision of primary tumors showed the endogenous TNF production to be similar to that in normal mice. In the experimental lung metastasis model, intravenous administration of rIFN followed by intravenous or intranasal administration of GLA-60 showed potent inhibition of lung metastases of B16-BL6 melanoma, whereas the reverse sequence of administration (GLA-60/rIFN) or administration of a mixture of rIFN and GLA-60, which cannot induce the production of TNF, caused no inhibition of lung metastases. These results indicated that the regression of tumor metastases by rIFN/GLA-60 was mediated by the production of endogenous TNF in addition to the direct effects of both immunostimulants. Furthermore, the administration of rIFN and GLA-60 significantly inhibited the tumor metastases in spontaneous lung metastasis model. These results may provide a promising approach for the treatment of cancer metastasis as a result of its ability to induce endogenous TNF.     

清香桂碱D和矮陀陀胺碱A,B的结构

本文报道从国产清香桂(Sarcococca ruscifolta)和金丝矮陀陀(Pachysandra axillaria)植物中分得的三个胺碱型新甾体生物碱清香桂碱 D 和矮陀陀胺碱 A、B 的化学结构,并首次归属了它们的~(13)C NMR 数据。     

甘蔗幼叶切段培养中的体细胞胚胎发生

本文从形态学和组织学方面研究了甘蔗幼叶胚性愈伤组织发生及体细胞胚胎的形成过程。甘蔗幼叶片切段培养于含2.4—D1.5mg/1的MS培养基上,4—6天后切段开始形成愈伤组织,约10天后愈伤组织表面出现白色颗粒状结构。将含有白色颗粒状结构的愈伤组织转移至不含激素的培养基中,7—10天后可见有小植株长出。组织学和形态学观察表明,甘蔗离体再生植株是通过体细胞胚胎发生途径。     

Purification and characterization of the active serine: pyruvate aminotransferase of rat liver mitochondria expressed in Escherichia coli

In the previous study (Oda, T., et al. (1985) Eur. J. Biochem. 150, 415-421), we isolated a cDNA clone which expressed in Escherichia coli a specific size of product having the activity of rat liver serine:pyruvate aminotransferase (SPTm). This specific product (SPT10) was purified to homogeneity through three different column chromatographies. The amino acid composition and N-terminal amino acid sequence of the purified enzyme agreed with those predicted from the nucleotide sequence of cDNA and showed that SPT10 consists of the whole amino acid sequence of mature SPTm and several extra amino acid residues at the N-terminus. The catalytic and physical properties of SPT10, such as substrate specificity, Km for alpha-keto acids, electric charge, and quaternary structure, were all very similar to those of SPTm. Using several cDNA clones which lack a 5'-terminal sequence corresponding to a portion of the N-terminal amino acid sequence of SPTm, we examined the expression profile of the specific product in bacteria transformed with each cDNA clone. The products encoded by these cDNAs were segregated into inclusion bodies and were neither catalytically active nor easily solubilized by sonication. In contrast, the inclusion bodies were not formed in the bacteria transformed with the cDNA clone for SPT10.     

Immunogold Localization of Ribulose-1,5-Bisphosphate Carboxylase with Reference to Pyrenoid Morphology in Chloroplasts of Synchronized Euglena gracilis Cells

Euglena gracilis strain (Z) cells were synchronized under photoautotrophic conditions using a 14 hour light:10 hour dark regimen. The cells grew during the light period (growth phase) and divided during the following 10 hour period either in the dark or in the light (division phase). Changes in morphology of the pyrenoid and in the distribution of ribulose-1,5-bisphosphate carboxylase/oxygenase (Rubisco) within the chloroplasts were followed by immunoelectron microscopy during the growth and division phases of Euglena cells. Epon-embedded sections were labeled with an antibody to the holoenzyme followed by protein A-gold. The immunoreactive proteins were concentrated in the pyrenoid, and less densely distributed in the stroma during the growth phase. During the division phase, the pyrenoid could not be detected and the gold particles were dispersed throughout the stroma. Toward the end of the division phase, the pyrenoid began to form in the center of a chloroplast, and the immunoreactive proteins started to concentrate over that rudimentary pyrenoid. During the growth phase, small areas rich in gold particles, called `satellite pyrenoid,' were observed, in addition to the main pyrenoid. From a comparison of photosynthetic CO₂-fixation with the total carboxylase activity of Rubisco extracted from Euglena cells in the growth phase, it is suggested that the carboxylase in the pyrenoid functions in CO₂-fixation in photosynthesis.     

Clonal dental pulp cells (RDP4-1, RPC-C2A) synthesize and secrete osteopontin (SPP1, 2ar).

Dental pulp cells play an important role in maintaining dental mineralized tissue throughout life. Supplementary mineralization such as reparative dentin and pulp stone frequently occurs after primary dentin formation. Dental pulp cells are thought to be closely associated with such mineralization. We found that clonal rat dental pulp cells, RDP4-1 and RPC-C2A, produce and secrete osteopontin, but do not synthesize phosphophoryn which is a major noncollagenous protein found in dentin. The dental pulp osteopontin was highly phosphorylated and identified by thrombin susceptibility and immunoprecipitation with osteopontin/2ar antibody. Osteopontin synthesis markedly increased by 12-O-tetradecanoylphorbol-13-acetate (TPA) as observed in many osteoblastic cells. This study indicates that these cells can produce osteopontin as a major phosphoprotein and suggests that the synthesis of osteopontin could be used as a characteristic marker of dental pulp cells.     

A restriction fragment length polymorphism (RFLP) locus of rat (Rattus norvegicus) linked to theCs-1 locus of rat linkage group XIII

A novel restriction fragment length polymorphism (RFLP) in inbred rats was revealed by Southern blot analysis with a clone arbitrarily chosen from a rat genomic library as a probe. A clone named alpha 403 showed interstrain variations in the length of the EcoRI and HindIII fragments. The EcoRI fragments were either 0.7 or 3 kb, those of HindIII were either 4.5 or 5 kb, and three types were identified as combinations of those fragments in 20 inbred rat strains. These types segregated in backcross progeny as codominant alleles. The locus for the RFLP was thus named A403. Analysis of linkage between the RFLP locus and 13 other loci reveal that the A403 locus was closely linked to the Cs-1 locus (15 +/- 5.2%), which belongs to rat linkage group XIII.     

Differential Regulation of Intracellular Signaling Systems by Sodium Fluoride in Rat Glioma Cells

Abstract: We investigated the rapid and slow effects of NaF on intracellular signaling systems such as Ca²⁺ homeostasis and cyclic GMP (cGMP) generation in rat glioma C6 cells, using the Ca²⁺-sensitive dye fura-2 and cGMP enzyme immunoassay. We found that the following: (a) NaF enhanced cGMP generation in a concentration-dependent manner. This enhancement was abolished by pretreatment with 100 µ M BAPTA tetraacetoxymethyl ester or in the presence of W-7 in a concentration-dependent manner. N ^G-Monomethyl- l -arginine (NMMA), a competitive inhibitor of nitric oxide synthase (NOS), also inhibited the NaF-induced generation of cGMP. These results suggest that NaF-induced cGMP generation occurs via a calcium/calmodulin- and NOS-dependent pathway. (b) The basal intracellular Ca²⁺ concentration ([Ca²⁺]_i) was transiently greater at 1 and 3 h after pretreatment with NaF. W-7 and W-13 antagonized the increase in [Ca²⁺]_i, whereas NMMA had little effect. This suggests that the NaF-induced change in basal [Ca²⁺]_i was mediated by a calmodulin-dependent pathway but was independent of a NOS-sensitive pathway. (c) The serotonin (5-HT)-induced intracellular mobilization of Ca²⁺ was reduced by pretreating the cells with NaF. The reduction in Ca²⁺ mobilization was antagonized by genistein, a tyrosine kinase inhibitor. W-7, W-5, and H-8 had no effect. Results suggest that NaF differentially regulates the cGMP generation, basal [Ca²⁺]_i, and 5-HT_2A receptor function in C6 glioma cells.