Yogurt Containing Lactobacillus gasseri Mitigates Aspirin-Induced Small Bowel Injuries: A Prospective, Randomized, Double-Blind, Placebo-Controlled Trial.

BACKGROUND: Although there is evidence about the beneficial effects of probiotics, their effects on aspirin-induced small bowel injuries have not been well examined. We evaluated the effects of the probiotic Lactobacillus gasseri OLL2716 (LG) on aspirin-induced small intestinal lesions, such as ulcers, erosions, reddened lesions, and bleeding. SUMMARY: This study enrolled 64 patients who received aspirin for more than 1 month and provided written informed consent to be part of the study. The patients received 112 ml of yogurt containing LG or placebo twice daily for 6 weeks. Small bowel injuries were evaluated by capsule endoscopy before and after consuming the yogurt. The effect of LG on patient symptoms was also assessed using the Frequency Scale for the Symptoms of Gastroesophageal Reflux Disease (FSSG) and Gastrointestinal Symptom Rating Scale (GSRS) questionnaires before and after 6 weeks of treatment. There was no significant difference in any baseline characteristics and the number of small bowel mucosal breaks between the 2 groups. In contrast with the placebo group, the LG group had significantly fewer small bowel mucosal breaks and reddened lesions after 6 weeks (p < 0.01). The FSSG and GSRS scores were also significantly improved in the LG group but not in the placebo group. Key Messages: This double-blind, placebo-controlled study found that LG may be useful in reducing aspirin-induced small bowel injuries and in mitigating gastrointestinal symptoms.

[Improvement of the viscosity and the intrahepatic distribution of miriplatin-lipiodol suspension].

The effects of warming or emulsification with the water-soluble contrast medium, Iomeron (IOM), on reducing the viscosity of miriplatin-lipiodol (MPT-LPD) suspension were studied. Reduction in the viscosity of MPT-LPD suspension was ob- served upon increasing the temperature. Although the O/W MPT-LPD emulsion with a low ratio of MPT-LPD to IOM reduced the viscosity, the effect was lesser than that achieved with the warming treatment. Radiographic images of the liver obtained after administration of the emulsion into the rat portal vein showed that warming resulted in improved intrahepatic distribution of the formulation, which was dependent on the reduction of viscosity. Emulsification also led to better intrahepatic distribution, but this distribution did not depend on the viscosity of the formulation. The MPT-LPD emulsion showed different distribution properties from the MPT-LPD suspension, and it was difficult to estimate the intrahepatic distribution property from the viscosity of the emulsion. Thus, we suggest that emulsification and warming of MPT-LPD are effective methods for improving the intrahepatic distribution of the MPT formulation.

[Basic studies on the lipiodolization of miriplatin in combination with CDDP].

Platinum release and initial hepatic toxicity of a formulation containing both miriplatin (MPT) and cisplatin (CDDP), prepared to improve the weak initial effect of MPT-Lipiodol (LPD) suspension, were evaluated. No difference in platinum release from CDDP was found between CDDP-LPD and MPT·CDDP-LPD, which suggested that platinum release was not affected by the viscosity of MPT-LPD. On the day following administration into rat portal vein, drugs suspended in LPD increased liver function values, and these values returned to the previous levels 3 days after administration. Both the CDDP-LPD and MPT· CDDP-LPD groups showed higher liver function values than the MPT-LPD group, and there was little difference in liver function values between the CDDP-LPD and MPT·CDDP-LPD groups. Thus, MPT·CDDP-LPD retains the characteristics of MPTLPD and CDDP-LPD without reducing the effects of either drug or enhancing their side effects.

Growth inhibitory action of cranberry on Helicobacter pylori.

BACKGROUND AND AIM: Cranberry is a fruit that originated in North America, and it has been used by Native Americans for bacterial infections. Recent studies have revealed it to be effective for preventing refractory urinary infections, while also suggesting that it plays a possible role in the eradication of Helicobacter pylori (H. pylori). METHODS: The H. pylori strains used in the present study were NCTC11637 and 11638. Sugar and organic acid-rich, and polyphenol-rich fractions were obtained from cranberry juice concentrate by Amberlite XAD7HP-column chromatography. The H. pylori growth inhibition was estimated by OD(660) and titration in liquid culture, and by an agar dilution plate method. The shapes of the bacteria were analyzed by scanning electron microscopy. RESULTS: Cranberry extract suppressed bacterial proliferation in a dose-dependent manner. In the comparison with other juices, polyphenol-rich fruits (cranberries, blueberries, and red grapes) showed similar growth inhibitory activity, whereas polyphenol-poor fruits (oranges, pineapples, apples, and white grapes) did not show any activity. The polyphenol-rich fraction of cranberry maintained the H. pylori-growth inhibitory activity. More bacteria in a coccoid form were observed after culture with cranberry. CONCLUSION: Cranberry extract inhibited H. pylori proliferation and it is suggested that polyphenols are responsible for this action. The morphological analysis suggested that cranberry induces H. pylori to develop a coccoid form, thereby inhibiting its growth bacteriostatically. Further basic studies to clarify these mechanisms in combination with in vivo studies are needed.

Association of inflammatory cytokine gene polymorphisms with platelet recovery in idiopathic thrombocytopenic purpura patients after the eradication of Helicobacter pylori.

BACKGROUND: Idiopathic thrombocytopenic purpura (ITP) is associated with the cytokine response and dysregulation of the cytokine network. Gene polymorphisms of proinflammatory cytokines are associated with several diseases including ITP. Recently, the successful eradication of Helicobacter pylori has been reported to improve the platelet counts in some patients with ITP. The aim of this study was to elucidate the relationship between cytokine gene polymorphisms and platelet recovery in ITP patients after the eradication of H. pylori. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Gastric H. pylori infection was confirmed using a culture method or specific IgG antibodies against H. pylori in the serum. Thirty-six adult H. pylori-positive ITP patients received antibiotic therapy for H. pylori. The response to treatment was defined as complete response (CR) if the platelet count was above 150 x 10(3)/microl and partial response (PR) if the platelet count increased by more than 50 x 10(3)/mul above the pretreatment count. Genomic DNA was extracted from peripheral blood and polymorphisms in IL-1B (-31, -511), IL-1RN (long or short), TNFA (-308) and TNFB (+252) were analyzed using polymerase chain reaction-restriction fragment length polymorphism (PCR-RFLP). RESULTS: Of the 36 ITP patients, twenty patients (responders) exhibited a platelet response after successful H. pylori eradication therapy, but the other patients (nonresponders) did not. There were no statistical differences in the frequencies of polymorphisms in IL-1B, IL-1RN and TNFA genes between responders and nonresponders. In contrast, the frequency of responders in ITP patients with the TNFB G/G or G/A genotype was significantly higher (69.6%) than that with the TNFB A/A genotype (30.8%). CONCLUSION: The TNFB (+252) G/G or G/A genotype may therefore be a good predictor of platelet recovery in ITP patients after the eradication of H. pylori.

Irsogladine maleate and rabeprazole in non-erosive reflux disease: A double-blind, placebo-controlled study.

AIM: To evaluate the efficacy of adding irsogladine maleate (IM) to proton-pump inhibitor (PPI) therapy in non-erosive reflux disease (NERD) treatment. METHODS: One hundred patients with NERD were recruited and randomized to receive rabeprazole plus IM (group I) or rabeprazole plus placebo (group P). The efficacy of the treatment was assessed using the Frequency Scale for the Symptoms of Gastroesophageal Reflux Disease (FSSG) and the short form (SF)-36 quality of life questionnaires after four weeks of treatment. We also assessed whether patients with NERD with minimal changes (grade M) had different responses to the therapies compared with patients who did not have minimal changes (grade N). RESULTS: Group I and group P showed significant improvements in their FSSG scores after the treatment (from 17.9 ± 7.9 to 9.0 ± 7.6, and from 17.7 ± 7.3 to 11.2 ± 7.9, respectively, P = 0.0001), but there was no statistically significant difference between the FSSG scores in group I and those in group P. Subgroup analysis showed that significant improvements in the FSSG scores occurred in the patients in group I who had NERD grade N (modified Los Angeles classification) (7.8 ± 7.4 vs 12.5 ± 9.8, P = 0.041). The SF-36 scores for patients with NERD grade N who had received IM and rabeprazole were significantly improved in relation to their vitality and mental health scores. CONCLUSION: The addition of IM to rabeprazole significantly improves gastroesophageal reflux disease symptoms and the quality of the lives of patients with NERD grade N.

Human umbilical cord blood NK T cells kill tumors by multiple cytotoxic mechanisms.

Natural killer (NK) T cells are restricted by CD1d and play an important role in the rejection of malignant tumors, but how kill these tumors is unclear. To investigate this, we cultured Valpha24+CD4+ NK T cells in human umbilical cord blood, which was enriched by immunomagnetic beads. In short-term (4 h) cytotoxicity assays, the NK T cells could kill only those targets expressing CD1d. In longer cytotoxicity assays (20 h), however, the NK T cells were able to kill all the tumors, regardless of CD1d expression. When each of the perforin, Fas-FasL, and TNF-alpha cytotoxic mechanisms were blocked, it was apparent that perforin killing dominated in both the short- and long-term assays. In the short-term assay, perforin killing required that the targets expressed CD1d, but killing was more efficient if Fas was present because then the Fas-FasL mechanism was also used. Thus, cells that lacked Fas and CD1d and were not killed in the 4-h assay, were instead lysed in 20-h assay through a combination of perforin and TNF-alpha killing. NK T cells can kill tumor targets by perforin, Fas-FasL, and TNF-alpha mechanisms. TNF-alpha killing requires longer contact between effectors and targets, suggesting that TNF-alpha acts by enhancing perforin killing.

Clinical effects of infusing anti-Epstein-Barr virus (EBV)-specific cytotoxic T-lymphocytes into patients with severe chronic active EBV infection.

Immune cell therapy with autologous Epstein-Barr virus (EBV)-specific cytotoxic T-lymphocytes (CTLs) or lymphokine-activated killer (LAK) cells was performed in 2 adults with severe chronic active EBV infection (SCAEBV). The patient in case 1, who had complications of pancytopenia, high fever, and massive splenomegaly, was treated with 13 doses of LAK cell infusion followed by 4 doses of autologous CTL infusion. The patient in case 2, who had liver dysfunction due to natural killer cell-type infection, was treated with 4 doses of autologous CTL infusion. In case 1, the LAK cell infusions were effective in lowering the viral load and improving several biochemical parameters (lactate dehydrogenase, soluble interleukin 2 receptor) and resulted in complete amelioration of the high fever. Subsequent infusions of autologous CTLs reduced the viral load only temporarily and were accompanied by an increase in frequency of EBV-specific T-cells in the blood. However, the patient's main problem of pancytopenia was not resolved. In case 2, infusion of autologous CTLs did not improve the patient's hepatic dysfunction or viral load but caused a significant increase in autoantibody levels. Thus the effect of auto-CTL treatment was limited or deteriorative in SCAEBV patients.

Tetracycline, metronidazole and amoxicillin-metronidazole combinations in proton pump inhibitor-based triple therapies are equally effective as alternative therapies against Helicobacter pylori infection.

BACKGROUND: A proton pump inhibitor (PPI)-based triple therapy with clarithromycin (CAM) and amoxicillin (AMPC) is now a standard regimen for Helicobacter pylori (HP) eradication in Japan. However, the CAM-resistant rate has increased recently and alternative therapies are sorely needed. Therefore the aim of the present study was to evaluate the effectiveness and safety of the PPI-tetracycline (TC)-metronidazole (MNZ) regimen (the PTM regimen) as an alternative therapy in comparison with the PPI-AMPC-MNZ (PAM) regimen. METHODS: Sixty-four HP-positive patients visiting the HP-eradication clinic in Tokai University Hospital from July 1998 to March 2003 were treated with either PTM or PAM as alternative therapies. The HP eradication was assessed by urea breath test (UBT), HP stool antigen test, or HP culture method more than 2 months after completion of the treatments. The drug resistances against CAM, AMPC, TC, and MNZ were assessed by the agar dilution method. RESULTS: Fifty-six patients (26 PTM and 30 PAM) completed medication and evaluation of the eradication. The eradication rates of PTM were 82.8% (24/29) and 92.3% (24/26), while those of PAM were 74.3% (26/35) and 89.7% (26/29) by intention-to-treat and per-protocol analysis, respectively. The differences between the regimens were not statistically significant. There were no severe adverse effects observed in either of the regimens. The drug-resistance analyses showed 15 CAM- and one MNZ-resistant cases but no TC or AMPC resistance in the available 25 samples. CONCLUSION: The PTM and PAM regimens were equally effective and safe as alternative HP eradication therapies. And PTM would be particularly useful in penicillin allergy cases.

Effect of Helicobacter pylori eradication in patients with chronic idiopathic thrombocytopenic purpura-a randomized controlled trial.

OBJECTIVE: Eradication of Helicobacter pylori was reported to increase the platelet counts in some H. pylori-positive patients with chronic idiopathic thrombocytopenic purpura (cITP). However, the efficacy of the eradication was quite different according to the previous reports. To determine whether H. pylori infection can contribute to cITP, we performed a randomized controlled trial for the first time. In addition, to investigate the possible pathogenic mechanisms and to predict the platelet response after eradication of H. pylori in each cITP patient, several H. pylori virulence factors, the urease activities of the infected H. pylori strains, and the titers of anti-CagA IgG antibodies were analyzed. METHODS: Patients with cITP underwent gastroscopy and gastric H. pylori infection was confirmed by culture. H. pylori-positive cITP patients were randomly assigned to either the eradication or the non-eradication group. The eradication group received a standard antibiotic therapy for H. pylori. Response to treatment was defined as complete (CR) if the platelet count was above 150x10(3)/microl and partial (PR) if the platelet count increased by more than 50x10(3)/microl above the pretreatment count. The virulence factors were investigated by PCR and PCR-based direct sequencing. Anti-CagA IgG antibody titer of each patient's serum was measured by ELISA. RESULTS: Of the 36 ITP patients, 25 (69.4%) were positive for H. pylori and eradication was achieved in 84.6% of these patients. The platelet response was significantly different between the eradication group (46.2%) and the non-eradication group (0%). No significant differences were found in clinical factors between the responders and the nonresponders. H. pylori virulence factors and the urease activity were not associated with the response. The titers of anti-CagA antibodies in the responders were significantly higher than those in the nonresponders (p=0.04). CONCLUSIONS: H. pylori eradication treatment is a favorable therapeutic option for H. pylori-positive patients with cITP. Moreover, an ELISA titer of serum anti-CagA antibody may be a good predictor of platelet recovery, and immunological reaction between platelet and anti-CagA antibodies may have some relation to the pathogenesis of H. pylori-positive patients with cITP.

Killing activity of human umbilical cord blood-derived TCRValpha24(+) NKT cells against normal and malignant hematological cells in vitro: a comparative study with NK cells or OKT3 activated T lymphocytes or with adult peripheral blood NKT cells.

PURPOSE: We aimed to determine the effects of human umbilical cord blood (UCB)-derived natural killer T (NKT) cells as immunological effectors against hematological malignancies, as well as auto- or allo-dendritic cells (DCs) or EB transformed cell lines (EBCLs). MATERIALS: TCRValpha24(+) Vbeta11(+) UCB- or PB-NKT cells were isolated by sorting and activated by alpha-galactosylceramide-pulsed autologous DCs. UCB-NK cells were induced from CD34(+) cells by stem cell factor plus IL-15. UCB-T cells were primarily activated by anti-CD3 monoclonal antibody. All those effectors were cultured with IL-2 (100 U/ml), and their cytotoxic activities were evaluated by (51)Cr-release assay. UCB-NKT cells were cultured with IL-12, IL-18 or higher dose of IL-2 (1000 U/ml), and again tested for the cytotoxicity against selected targets. RESULTS: UCB-NKT cells exhibited a pattern of killing activity against various hematological malignancies similar to that of UCB-NK cells, but could not kill K562, which was a vulnerable target for NK cells. The level of activity was quite similar to that of PB-NKT cells. In contrast, OKT-3-activated UCB-T lymphocytes showed a stronger and wider spectrum of killing compared with UCB-NK or NKT cells. IL-12, IL-18 or a higher dose of IL-2 upregulated the activity; however several targets, including fresh leukemic cells, still remained resistant. NKT cells killed auto- or allo-DCs at a level similar to that of T cells, but could not kill allo-EBCLs, which were efficiently killed by T cells. While NK cells showed only marginal or no killing against DC or EBCLs. DISCUSSION: The anti-cancer activity of human NKT cells depends on the concentrations or the combination of Th1-cytokines. Basically, those cells might not be contributing to the immune surveillance of hematological malignancies, as shown by a relatively low cytotoxicity against malignant cells, together with the quite strong killing against auto-DCs.

The effects of alphaGalCer-induced TCRValpha24 Vbeta11(+) natural killer T cells on NK cell cytotoxicity in umbilical cord blood.

PURPOSE: The first objective of this study was to investigate in vitro effects of alpha-galactosylceramide (alphaGalCer) on the proliferation of umbilical cord blood (UCB) natural killer T (NKT) cells and enhancement of their cytotoxicity. The second one is to examine whether purified NKT cells could affect the cytotoxicity of UCB-NK cells either in the presence or absence of dendritic cells (DCs). METHODS: Mononuclear cells (MNCs) from UCB were cultured for 2 weeks in the presence of IL-2 (100 U/ml), with or without alphaGalCer. The effect of neutralizing monoclonal antibodies (MoAb) against TCRValpha24 and CD1d was also examined. TCRValpha24 Vbeta11 double positive NKT cells were purified by FACS sorter and then cocultured with syngeneic isolated UCB(-)CD56(+)NK cells in either the presence or absence of DCs. The cytotoxicity against various malignant cell targets and cytokine production was determined. RESULTS: The addition of alphaGalCer induced human NKT cells to proliferate in UCB-MNCs to a greater extent than in adult PB-MNCs. However, it suppressed the cytotoxic activity against malignant cell targets. Anti-TCRValpha24 and CD1d MoAb recovered the cytotoxicity by inhibiting the proliferation of UCB-NKT cells. NKT cells cocultured with auto-DCs significantly increased NK cell cytotoxicity against K562, and Raji cells and produced IFN-gamma at much higher levels than UCB-NKT cells alone. CONCLUSION: In UCB samples, alphaGalCer-pulsed DCs and NKT cells acted together to enhance NK cytotoxicity in vitro.