Maternal immunoglobulin G affects brain development of mouse offspring.

Maternal immunoglobulin (Ig)G is present in breast milk and has been shown to contribute to the development of the immune system in infants. In contrast, maternal IgG has no known effect on early childhood brain development. We found maternal IgG immunoreactivity in microglia, which are resident macrophages of the central nervous system of the pup brain, peaking at postnatal one week. Strong IgG immunoreactivity was observed in microglia in the corpus callosum and cerebellar white matter. IgG stimulation of primary cultured microglia activated the type I interferon feedback loop by Syk. Analysis of neonatal Fc receptor knockout (FcRn KO) mice that could not take up IgG from their mothers revealed abnormalities in the proliferation and/or survival of microglia, oligodendrocytes, and some types of interneurons. Moreover, FcRn KO mice also exhibited abnormalities in social behavior and lower locomotor activity in their home cages. Thus, changes in the mother-derived IgG levels affect brain development in offsprings.

[Availability evaluation of closed systems by using practical training kits for preparation of antitumor drugs].

The recent guidelines of the Japanese Society of Hospital Pharmacists on the antitumor drug preparation have recommended the use of closed systems such as the PhaSeal® system for preventing cytotoxicity in health care workers involved in the preparation of these drugs. The PhaSeal® system and Clave® Oncology system were evaluated using a practical training kit for the preparation of antitumor drugs. The two systems were compared in terms of handling time, satisfaction as to availability, leakage of drugs from the connections in the system and area of drug spillage because improvements in convenience or lower cost system were available. With the closed systems, the average handling time increased by 10∼20%. The area of drug spillage did not significantly decrease. Leakage of drugs from the system was detected for all samples prepared with the Clave® Oncology system, and for some samples prepared with the PhaSeal® system. In terms of availability, the PhaSeal® system was better than the Clave® Oncology system. In conclusion, to decrease the exposure of health care workers to antitumor drugs during their preparation in a closed system, it is important to evaluate the handling time, operability, robustness with regard to drug leakage and spillage, and proficiency in handling of the closed system.