The diversity of major histocompatibility complex class II DRB1 gene in sheep breeds from Xinjiang, China.

Exon 2 of the ovine leukocyte antigen OLA-DRB1 locus was examined in sheep from the Xinjiang Karakul Ram and Bashibai populations, and three generations of hybrids were derived from a cross between Bashibai and Altai Argali wild sheep. This identified 12 novel alleles and 30 previously reported alleles. A neighbor-joining tree of the amino acid sequences of these 42 alleles revealed allelic clusters shared across the study populations. There were significant differences in allelic frequency between Karakul Ram and Bashibai sheep. DRB1*K18cC was the most frequent allele in Kararul Ram with a frequency of 21.2%, while DRB1*2F10c8 (13.2%) and DRB1*0803 (13.2%) were the most frequent alleles found in Bashibai sheep; the alleles DRB1*2F16c2, DRB1*1601, and DRB1*0803 occurred most frequently in F1, F2, and F3 populations, with frequencies of 17.6%, 14.3%, and 20%, respectively. Although many alleles were shared by Bashibai and hybrid sheep, some alleles differed between them, especially in the F1 generation of the Bashibai × Altai Argali cross. The hybrid-specific alleles indicated the introgression of Altai Argali alleles into hybrid flocks. A population tree based on the OLA-DRB1 allelic frequency in each population indicated that the Bashibai sheep and three hybrid populations were similar, with Karakul Ram being genetically distinct.

Characterization of bovine MHC class II DRB3 diversity in South American Holstein cattle populations.

Holstein cattle dominate the global milk production industry because of their outstanding milk production, however, this breed is susceptible to tropical endemic pathogens and suffers from heat stress and thus fewer Holstein populations are raised in tropical areas. The bovine major histocompatibility complex (BoLA)-DRB3 class II gene is used as a marker for disease and immunological traits, and its polymorphism has been studied extensively in Holstein cattle from temperate and cold regions. We studied the genetic diversity of the BoLA-DRB3 gene in South American Holstein populations to determine whether tropical populations have diverged from those bred in temperate and cold regions by selection and/or crossbreeding with local native breeds. We specifically studied Exon 2 of this gene from 855 South American Holstein individuals by a polymerase chain reaction (PCR) sequence-based typing method. We found a high degree of gene diversity at the allelic (Na > 20 and He > 0.87) and molecular (π > 0.080) levels, but a low degree of population structure (FST = 0.009215). A principal components analysis and tree showed that the Bolivian subtropical population had the largest genetic divergence compared with Holsteins bred in temperate or cold regions, and that this population was closely related to Bolivian Creole cattle. Our results suggest that Holstein genetic divergence can be explained by selection and/or gene introgression from local germplasms. This is the first examination of BoLA-DRB3 in Holsteins adapted to tropical environments, and contributes to an ongoing effort to catalog bovine MHC allele frequencies by breed and location.

Assessment of biodiversity in Chilean cattle using the distribution of major histocompatibility complex class II BoLA-DRB3 allele.

Bovine leukocyte antigens (BoLAs) are used extensively as markers for bovine disease and immunological traits. In this study, we estimated BoLA-DRB3 allele frequencies using 888 cattle from 10 groups, including seven cattle breeds and three crossbreeds: 99 Red Angus, 100 Black Angus, 81 Chilean Wagyu, 49 Hereford, 95 Hereford × Angus, 71 Hereford × Jersey, 20 Hereford × Overo Colorado, 113 Holstein, 136 Overo Colorado, and 124 Overo Negro cattle. Forty-six BoLA-DRB3 alleles were identified, and each group had between 12 and 29 different BoLA-DRB3 alleles. Overo Negro had the highest number of alleles (29); this breed is considered in Chile to be an 'Old type' European Holstein Friesian descendant. By contrast, we detected 21 alleles in Holstein cattle, which are considered to be a 'Present type' Holstein Friesian cattle. Chilean cattle groups and four Japanese breeds were compared by neighbor-joining trees and a principal component analysis (PCA). The phylogenetic tree showed that Red Angus and Black Angus cattle were in the same clade, crossbreeds were closely related to their parent breeds, and Holstein cattle from Chile were closely related to Holstein cattle in Japan. Overall, the tree provided a thorough description of breed history. It also showed that the Overo Negro breed was closely related to the Holstein breed, consistent with historical data indicating that Overo Negro is an 'Old type' Holstein Friesian cattle. This allelic information will be important for investigating the relationship between major histocompatibility complex (MHC) and disease.

Haplotype determination of the upstream regulatory region and the second exon of the BoLA-DRB3 gene in Holstein cattle.

Polymorphisms of the BoLA-DRB3 gene are located primarily in the second exon [antigen binding site (ABS)] and, to a lesser extent, in the upstream regulatory region (URR). It can be hypothesised that exon 2 and the URR are under different types of natural selection. The aim of this work was to determine the URR-exon 2 haplotypes; 34 Holstein samples were genotyped by direct sequencing. A total of 7 URR alleles and 23 exon 2 alleles were detected, and 3 of the URR alleles were novel. Our results may suggest that no relationship exists between the URR and exon 2 of the BoLA-DRB3 gene (linkage disequilibrium P value > 0.05), most likely due to recombination over time. Our results also suggest that both regions of class II genes may be included in the development of new genotyping methods based on next-generation DNA sequencing technologies.

Identification of bovine leukocyte antigen class II haplotypes associated with variations in bovine leukemia virus proviral load in Japanese Black cattle.

Bovine leukemia virus (BLV) is the etiological agent of enzootic bovine leukosis, which is the most common neoplastic disease of cattle. Bovine leukocyte antigen (BoLA) is strongly involved in the subclinical progression of BLV infections. Recent studies show that the BoLA-DRB3 gene might play a direct role in controlling the number of BLV-infected peripheral B lymphocytes in vivo in Holstein cattle. However, the specific BoLA class II allele and DRB3-DQA1 haplotypes determining the BLV proviral load in Japanese Black cattle are yet to be identified. In this study, we focused on the association of BLV proviral load and polymorphism of BoLA class II in Japanese Black cattle. We genotyped 186 BLV-infected, clinically normal cattle for BoLA-DRB3 and BoLA-DQA1 using a polymerase chain reaction-sequence-based typing method. BoLA-DRB3*0902 and BoLA-DRB3*1101 were associated with a low proviral load (LPVL), and BoLA-DRB3*1601 was associated with a high proviral load (HPVL). Furthermore, BoLA-DQA1*0204 and BoLA-DQA1*10012 were related to LPVL and HPVL, respectively. Furthermore, we confirmed the correlation between the DRB3-DQA1 haplotype and BLV proviral load. Two haplotypes, namely 0902B or C (DRB3*0902-DQA1*0204) and 1101A (DRB3*1101-DQA1*10011), were associated with a low BLV proviral load, whereas one haplotype 1601B (DRB3*1601-DQA1*10012) was associated with a high BLV proviral load. We conclude that resistance is a dominant trait and susceptibility is a recessive trait. Additionally, resistant alleles were common between Japanese Black and Holstein cattle, and susceptible alleles differed. This is the first report to identify an association between the DRB3-DQA1 haplotype and variations in BLV proviral load.

Association between BoLA-DRB3 and somatic cell count in Holstein cattle from Argentina.

Different studies have proved that the resistance/susceptibility to mastitis is genetically determined. The major histocompatibility complex in cows is known as bovine lymphocyte antigen (BoLA). Genes from the BoLA have been associated with the occurrence of infectious diseases such as mastitis and leukosis, especially the BoLA-DRB gene. The object of the present study was to detect associations between BoLA-DRB3 alleles and somatic cell count (SCC), as an indicator of resistance/susceptibility to mastitis in Holstein cattle (N = 123) from La Pampa, Argentina. Fisher's exact test and Woolf-Haldane odds ratio were applied to study the association between SCC and BoLA-DRB3 allele frequencies. Significant association was noted between BoLA-DRB3.2*23 and *27 alleles (p < 0.05) and protective or susceptibility effects, respectively. In addition, alleles BoLA-DRB3.2*20 and *25 exhibit suggestive association with high SCC (p < 0.1). These results were partially in agreement with data reported from Japanese Holstein cattle, but differed from those published by other authors. A possible explanation for the contrasting results could be that the mastitis is a multifactor disease caused by different pathogens. Moreover, most of the studies were carried out using PCR-RFLP method, which has less resolution than PCR-SBT because PCR-RFLP defined alleles included more than one sequenced alleles.

Identification and diversity of bovine major histocompatibility complex class II haplotypes in Japanese Black and Holstein cattle in Japan.

Bovine leukocyte antigen (BoLA), the major histocompatibility complex of cattle, is one of the most polymorphic gene clusters. We genotyped a population of 109 Japanese Black and 39 Holstein cattle to analyze their BoLA class II haplotypes, BoLA-DRB3 locus, 5 BoLA-DQA loci, and 5 BoLA-DQB loci. We identified 26 previously reported DRB3 alleles, 22 previously reported and 3 new DQA alleles, and 24 previously reported and 6 new DQB alleles. A dendrogram was constructed based on the predicted amino acid sequences of the α1 or ß1 domains encoded by BoLA-DQA or -DQB alleles, which revealed that DQA alleles were clustered into 5 loci, whereas DQB alleles could not be clearly assigned to specific DQB loci. The BoLA-DRB3-DQA-DQB haplotypes were sorted by sequential analytical processes, and 42 distinct haplotypes, including 11 previously published haplotypes and 31 novel haplotypes, were defined. Strong linkage disequilibrium was present in the BoLA genes. We also compared DRB3-DQA1 haplotype frequencies between 507 Japanese Black and 143 Holstein cattle. Thirty-nine DRB3-DQA1 haplotypes were identified, including 29 haplotypes from Japanese Black and 22 haplotypes from Holstein cattle. The majority of the haplotypes could be identified in both breeds, although several haplotypes were identified in only a single breed. This is the first report presenting a detailed study of the BoLA class II haplotype in Japanese Black and Holstein cattle in Japan.

A new method for typing bovine major histocompatibility complex class II DRB3 alleles by combining two established PCR sequence-based techniques.

Recently, two polymerase chain reaction sequence-based typing (PCR-SBT) methods were reported for the genotyping of the bovine leukocyte antigen (BoLA)-DRB3. One technique is a single PCR-SBT (sPCR-SBT) method that generates heterozygous sequences that are subsequently analyzed by the haplofinder program, while the other technique is a nested PCR-SBT (nPCR-SBT) method that allows the analysis of heterozygous sequences using the assign 400ATF software. In this study, these techniques were compared and then integrated to produce an improved genotyping method. The primer set used for sPCR-SBT was more accurate than those used for nPCR-SBT. Combining sPCR-SBT with the assign 400ATF software previously reported for nPCR-SBT enables rapid and accurate genotyping of a large number of DNA samples.

Short communication: Establishment of a new polymerase chain reaction-sequence-based typing method for genotyping cattle major histocompatibility complex class II DRB3.

Sequence-based typing (SBT) is the most comprehensive method for characterizing major histocompatibility complex (MHC) gene polymorphisms. We report here a new PCR-SBT method for genotyping cattle MHC (BoLA) class II DRB3 using the Assign 400ATF ver. 1.0.2.41 software (Conexio Genomics, Fremantle, Australia), which detects alleles in a semiautomated manner. We examined 12 sets of PCR reactions for their ability to amplify BoLA-DRB3 exon 2 and selected an optimal primer set, which used ERB3N-HL031 for first-round PCR and ALL-DRB3B for second-round PCR. Next, we constructed a BoLA-DRB3 allele database using the reference sequences of the Assign 400ATF software and successfully assigned heterozygous samples (including those with deletion alleles) using bidirectional sequencing, unlike our previously described method, which used unidirectional sequencing for detecting of deletion alleles. Next, blood samples of 128 Holstein cattle were used to correlate the results of our modified PCR-SBT method with those of our previously described PCR-SBT method. Each new PCR-SBT result corresponded completely with the DRB3 allele that was genotyped by our previously described PCR-SBT method. Moreover, we confirmed the accuracy of our modified PCR-SBT method by genotyping 7 sire cattle and their 22 calves using Japanese Black cattle. This new method will contribute to high-throughput genotyping of BoLA-DRB3 by sequence-based typing.

Distribution and origin of bovine major histocompatibility complex class II DQA1 genes in Japan.

We sequenced the major histocompatibility complex (MHC) class II DQA1 gene in 352 Japanese cattle (95 Japanese Black, 91 Holstein, 102 Japanese Shorthorn and 64 Jersey cattle) using a new sequence-based typing method. In total, 19 bovine MHC (BoLA)-DQA1 alleles, of which two were novel alleles, were detected. The Holstein, Jersey, Japanese Shorthorn and Japanese Black breeds had 13, 12, 10 and 15 alleles, respectively. The dendrogram that was constructed by the neighbor-joining method on the basis of the DQA1 gene allele frequencies of the four Japanese cattle breeds showed that the Holstein and Japanese Black breeds were closest to each other, with Jersey being farther from these two breeds than Japanese Shorthorn. In addition, Wu-Kabat analysis showed that the DQA1 alleles of the Holstein and Japanese Black were the most and least polymorphic, respectively. Phylogenetic analyses indicated that the DQA1 gene of Bovidae such as cattle, sheep, bison and goat were more similar to pig SLA-DQA genes than to human HLA-DQA1 and dog DLA-DQA genes. The cattle, goat, bison, sheep, human and pig DQA1 molecules had similar rates of amino acid sequence polymorphism, but the distribution of their polymorphic residues differed from that in the dog DQA1 protein. However, the Bovidae DQA1 molecule had more polymorphic residues than the human, pig and dog DQA molecules at two regions, namely positions 52-53 and 65-66. This indicates that the Bovidae DQA1 locus is more polymorphic than the DQA loci of other species.

Evidence for cattle major histocompatibility complex (BoLA) class II DQA1 gene heterozygote advantage against clinical mastitis caused by Streptococci and Escherichia species.

Mastitis is an inflammatory response of the mammary gland to irritation, injury, or infectious agents and is a major problem in the dairy industry. We genotyped bovine major histocompatibility complex (BoLA)-DRB3 and BoLA-DQA1 genes in 120 Holstein cattle with clinical mastitis and 85 randomly selected Holstein cattle in Japan by polymerase chain reaction-sequence-based typing. The mastitis cattle were divided into four groups according to the bacterial species that caused the mastitis (Staphylococcus aureus, Streptococci, Escherichia, and coagulase-negative staphylococci). The BoLA-DRB3 and BoLA-DQA1 heterozygosity of each group was compared with that of the control cattle, while the expected heterozygosities based on Hardy-Weinberg proportions and the observed heterozygosities for each locus were compared for each group. The Escherichia-induced and Streptococci-induced mastitis groups showed significant differences between their expected and observed heterozygosities with regard to their BoLA-DQA1 genes. No differences were observed for any group with regard to the BoLA-DRB3 genes. We then found that two BoLA-DQA1 alleles promoted susceptibility to Streptococci-induced mastitis, namely BoLA-DQA1*0101 and BoLA-DQA1*10012 and that the homozygous BoLA-DQA1*0101/0101 and BoLA-DQA1*10011/10011 genotypes promoted susceptibility to mastitis caused by Streptococci and Escherichia, respectively. This is the first report showing that heterozygosity of the BoLA-DQA1 gene is associated with resistance to mastitis progression.

[Peripheral small squamous cell carcinoma (9 mm) of the lung with metastasis to mediastinal lymph nodes].

A 61-year-old man was pointed out a small peripheral lung nodule and mediastinal lymph node swelling on the chest computed tomography (CT). At the operation, it was diagnosed squamous cell carcinoma and right upper lobectomy and nodal dissection were done. The tumor was 9 mm in size and diagnosed as well differentiated squamous cell carcinoma with metastasis to mediastinal lymph nodes. Postoperative radiotherapy was done (50 Gy). The patient is doing well without apparent recurrence 33 months after surgery. We reported a case of peripheral small squamous cell carcinoma (9 mm) of the lung with metastasis to mediastinal lymph nodes.

The diversity of bovine MHC class II DRB3 genes in Japanese Black, Japanese Shorthorn, Jersey and Holstein cattle in Japan.

We sequenced exon 2 of the major histocompatibility complex (MHC) class II DRB3 gene from 471 individuals in four different Japanese populations of cattle (201 Japanese Black, 101 Holstein, 100 Japanese Shorthorn, and 69 Jersey cattle) using a new method for sequence-based typing (SBT). We identified the 34 previously reported alleles and four novel alleles. These alleles were 80.0-100.0% identical at the nucleotide level and 77.9-100.0% identical at the amino acid level to the bovine MHC (BoLA)-DRB3 cDNA clone NR1. Among the 38 alleles, eight alleles were found in only one breed in this study. However, these alleles did not form specific clusters on a phylogenetic tree of 236-base pairs (bp) nucleotide sequences. Furthermore, these breeds exhibited similar variations with respect to average frequencies of nucleotides and amino acids, as well as synonymous and non-synonymous substitutions, in all pairwise comparisons of the alleles found in this study. By contrast, analysis of the frequencies of the various BoLA-DRB3 alleles in each breed indicated that DRB3*1101 was the most frequent allele in Holstein cattle (16.8%), DRB3*4501 was the most frequent allele in Jersey cattle (18.1%), DRB3*1201 was the most frequent allele in Japanese Shorthorn cattle (16.0%) and DRB3*1001 was the most frequent allele in Japanese Black cattle (17.4%), indicating that the frequencies of alleles were differed in each breed. In addition, a population tree based on the frequency of BoLA-DRB3 alleles in each breed suggested that Holstein and Japanese Black cattle were the most closely related, and that Jersey cattle were more different from both these breeds than Japanese Shorthorns.

Simultaneous antegrade and retrograde delivery of continuous warm blood cardioplegia after global ischemia.

OBJECTIVE: Simultaneous delivery of antegrade and retrograde cardioplegia may provide a more homogeneous distribution of cardioplegic solution. It may, however, increase myocardial edema and postcardioplegic myocardial injury. The purpose of this study was to compare simultaneous antegrade-retrograde cardioplegia with antegrade cardioplegia. METHODS: After 30 minutes of warm, "unprotected," global ischemia, pigs were given warm, continuous blood cardioplegia for 45 minutes (antegrade group, n = 8 and simultaneous antegrade-retrograde group, n = 9). All pigs were weaned from cardiopulmonary bypass 45 to 60 minutes after aortic unclamping. Indices of left ventricular function were measured after another 30 minutes with the conductance catheter technique and pressure-volume loops. RESULTS: Global left ventricular function, evaluated by preload recruitable stroke work, decreased from baseline values of 126 (102 to 150) (mean [90% confidence limits]) (antegrade) and 122 (116 to 127) erg/ml x 10(3) (simultaneous) to 75 (61 to 89) (p = 0.004) and 95 (79 to 112) erg/ml x 10(3) (p = 0.02), respectively. End-diastolic pressure-volume relation increased from 0.25 (0.21 to 0.28) (antegrade) and 0.30 (0.25 to 0.35) mm Hg/ml (simultaneous) to 0.60 (0.41 to 0.79) (p = 0.009) and 0.53 (0.35 to 0.71) mm Hg/ml (p = 0.02), respectively. The time constant of left ventricular pressure relaxation was unchanged. No intergroup difference was observed in preload recruitable stroke work, preload recruitable stroke work area, end-diastolic pressure volume relation, or stiffness constant. Plasma levels of troponin T increased without any difference between groups. Myocardial water content was increased in the simultaneous group (81.1% [80.7% to 81.5%]) versus the antegrade group (80.1% [79.6% to 80.7%], p = 0.01). CONCLUSION: Despite a small increase in myocardial water content induced by simultaneous blood cardioplegia, no impairment of postcardioplegic cardiac function was observed compared with antegrade cardioplegia.

Preconditioning improves cardiac function after global ischemia, but not after cold cardioplegia.

BACKGROUND: Ischemic preconditioning reduces infarct size and cardiac dysfunction during reperfusion. Preconditioning may offer myocardial protection in open heart operations. METHODS: The effect of preconditioning before ischemia and cardioplegia was investigated in Langendorff-perfused rat hearts in the following groups. First, group 1 received two episodes of 3-minute ischemia and 5-minute reperfusion before 25 minutes of global (37 degrees C) ischemia and 60 minutes of reperfusion. Group 2 served as ischemic controls to group 1. Groups 3, 5, and 7 were preconditioned as described, before 3.5, 4, or 5 hours of cold (6 degrees to 8 degrees C) St. Thomas' II cardioplegia and 1 hour of reperfusion (37 degrees C). Groups 4, 6, and 8 were cardioplegic controls to groups 3, 5, and 7 (n = 17 in groups 1 and 2, and n = 10 in groups 3 to 8). RESULTS: Preconditioning before warm ischemia attenuated the ischemia-induced increase of left ventricular end-diastolic pressure (3 +/- 1 versus 17 +/- 4 mm Hg; p < 0.01) (mean +/- standard error of the mean), the reduction of coronary flow (14 +/- 1 versus 9 +/- 0.5 mL/min; p < 0.001) and heart rate (252 +/- 19 versus 198 +/- 18 beats/min; p < 0.04), and the incidence of ventricular fibrillation (2 of 17 versus 10 of 17 hearts; p < 0.04) at the start of reperfusion. However, preconditioning did not influence postischemic cardiac function or the release of lactate dehydrogenase in any of the cardioplegia groups. CONCLUSIONS: Ischemic preconditioning improved post-ischemic cardiac function after warm global ischemia, but did not protect cold cardioplegic hearts, perhaps because of the time span used.

Warm or cold continuous blood cardioplegia provides similar myocardial protection.

BACKGROUND: This study was performed to investigate the effect of temperature of blood cardioplegia on the recovery of postischemic cardiac function. METHODS: Pigs on cardiopulmonary bypass were subjected to global ischemia (30 minutes), followed by cold (n = 10) or warm (n = 11) continuous antegrade blood cardioplegia (45 minutes) delivered at 55-60 mm Hg. RESULTS: Global left ventricular function, evaluated by preload recruitable stroke work, decreased with cold cardioplegia from 91 (85-103) [mean (quartile interval)], at baseline, to 73 (55-87) erg x 10(3)/mL postbypass (p = 0.03), but was unchanged after warm cardioplegia; 110 (80-132) to 109 (71-175) erg x 10(3)/mL (p > 0.5). However, the difference between treatment effects was not significant (p = 0.25). Diastolic function, evaluated by end-diastolic pressure-volume relation, deteriorated without any difference between groups. Mean cardioplegic flow was similar between groups. Coronary vascular resistance increased at constant rate during warm cardioplegic delivery, but remained unchanged with cold cardioplegia (p = 0.001 between regression coefficients). CONCLUSIONS: No significant difference was found in postischemic functional recovery comparing cold and warm continuous blood cardioplegia. Cold cardioplegia is therefore preferred due to added safety of hypothermia.

Preconditioning with hydrogen peroxide (H2O2) or ischemia in H2O2-induced cardiac dysfunction.

The possible cardioprotective effects of preconditioning by ischaemia (IPC) or a low dose of H2O2 (HPC) prior to a high dose of H2O2 was investigated. Langendorff-perfused rat hearts (n = 10 in each group) were subjected to 10 min of 140 micromol/L H2O2 and 30 min recovery after either (1) control perfusion, (2) 20 micromol/L H2O2 for 10 min, recovery 10 min, or (3) 2 x 2 min global ischaemia and 5 min reperfusion. 140 micromol/L H2O2 increased left ventricular end-diastolic pressure from 0 to 68+/-8 mmHg in controls (mean+/-SEM), which was attenuated by IPC (46+/-9 mmHg, p<0.001) and HPC (18+/-4 mmHg, p < 0.001 compared to controls, p < 0.01 compared to IPC). HPC, but not IPC, improved coronary flow (p < 0.02) and left ventricular developed pressure (p < 0.001) during recovery. Troponin T release was similar in all groups. Tissue thiobarbituric acid reactive substances, antioxidant capacity, catalase, and glutathione peroxidase were not influenced by 140 micromol/L H2O2. H2O2 decreased the level of tissue glutathione. This reduction was augmented by HPC (p <0.02) and attenuated by IPC (p < 0.02). H2O2 increased superoxide dismutase (p < 0.04). The increase was attenuated by IPC (p < 0.05), but not influenced by HPC. HPC efficiently protected cardiac function in H2O2-induced cardiac injury, while IPC had only a small protective effect. The functional protection cannot be explained by reduction of irreversible injury, attenuation of lipid peroxidation, or modification of tissue antioxidant parameters.

Gastric duplication cyst: evaluation by endoscopic ultrasonography and magnetic resonance imaging.

Endoscopic ultrasonography (EUS) and magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) are becoming popular methods for examining tumorous lesions along the upper gastrointestinal tract. Though duplication cysts are uncommon, EUS findings from gastric duplication cysts have accumulated and proven very useful for preoperative diagnosis. There have been few reports, however, concerning MRI findings from these cysts. We report herein the case of a 25-year-old man with a gastric duplication cyst. EUS demonstrated a cystic mass adjacent to the fourth layer of the stomach wall. MRI revealed a cyst containing low signal-intensity fluid and high signal-intensity fluid separated by levels. In addition to the characteristic findings from preoperative examinations, the unique histological findings from the cyst are also described.

Acid dissociation of 2-mercaptohistamine and its related compounds.

The acid dissociation constants of 2-mercaptohistamine hydrochloride (2-MH) and its related compounds ergothioneine (Erg), 2-mercaptoimidazole (MI), N-methyl-2-mercaptoimidazole (MMI) and histamine dihydrochloride were determined by potentiometry at 15 degrees , 25 degrees and 35 degrees and mu = 0.1 (NaClO(4)). The values of DeltaH and DeltaS for the ionization equilibria were calculated. The magnitude of DeltaH (9.5 kcal/mole) for pk(a1) of 2-MH is similar to the value DeltaH = 9-10 kcal/mole found for the ionization of a number of amino groups. The value DeltaH = 7.4 kcal/mole for pk(a2) of 2-MH is similar to the values for the ionization of a variety of thiols (DeltaH = 5-7 kcal/mole). Such values were not obtained for Erg, MI and MMI, which suggests that 2-MH exists mainly in the thiol form, whereas Erg, MI and MMI are in the thione form.

Effectiveness of prostaglandin E1 on pulmonary hypertension and right cardiac function induced by single-lung ventilation and hypoventilation.

It is known that prostaglandin E1 (PGE1) is a potent vasodilator and improves red cell deformability. Single lung-ventilation sometimes occurs under lung transplantation, lung cancer surgery and traumatic pneumonectomy, and may result in increased pulmonary resistance, right heart failure and severe hypoxemia. The present experimental study was undertaken to examine the effects of PGE1 on these states induced by single-lung ventilation and hypoventilation. Fourteen pigs weighing 32-33 kg were anesthetized, intubated and ventilated using a respirator and then randomly assigned to two groups, the control group and the PGE1 treated group, 7 pigs each. After median sternotomy to induce severe hypoxemia hypoventilation was induced and then the right hilus pulmonis was cross clamped. Mean blood pressure, mean pulmonary arterial pressure (PAP), pulmonary vessel resistance (PVR), right ventricular stroke work (RVSW) and arterial blood gases (PaO2 and SatO2) were measured at baseline, in the hypoventilation state, and 15 min, 1 hour, and 2 hours after the right hilus pulmonis clamping with hypoventilation. PGE1 (250 microg/20 ml saline) was administered via the central vein starting 15 min after right hilus cross clamping for 1 hour and 45 min in the PGE1 group. PGE1 significantly reduced PAP and PVR, normalized RVSW, and improved PaO2. PGE1 may be useful for the condition of increased pulmonary hypertension during single-lung ventilation and hypoventilation.