Forensic toxicological implication of acute fatal poisoning cases due to benfuracarb ingestion.

We describe here three cases involving acute fatalities due to benfuracarb ingestion and the forensic toxicological implications. Benfuracarb, a carbamate insecticide and its main metabolite carbofuran, were detected using thin layer chromatography (TLC) and gas chromatography/mass spectrophotometry (GC/MS) after extraction with ethyl acetate and then quantified using gas chromatography (GC) equipped with NPD. The blood levels of benfuracarb and carbofuran were in the range of 0.30-2.32 microg/ml and 1.45-1.47 microg/ml, respectively. Benfuracarb was not detected in urine, but carbofuran was detected in the range of 0.53-2.66 microg/ml.

Identification of two distinct tumor-suppressor loci on the long arm of chromosome 10 in small cell lung cancer.

Recent cytogenetic studies indicated that loss of the long arm of chromosome 10 is a frequent event in small cell lung cancer (SCLC) and that a common region of the deletion is at 10q24-qter, which suggests the presence of a tumor-suppressor gene there. To map precise tumor-suppressor loci on the chromosome arm for further positional cloning efforts, we tested 46 primary SCLCs using microsatellite analysis. By analysing 11 highly polymorphic microsatellite markers located in 10q23-q26, we found that at least 78% (36/46) of the tumors exhibited loss of heterozygosity (LOH) at 10q with at least two distinct minimally deleted regions. LOH at one region (10q24) was found in at least 74% (32/43) of informative cases with a minimally deleted region between D10S198 and D1OS192 (about 2 cM); LOH at another region (10q24-q25) was observed in at least 66% (29/44) of informative tumors with a minimally deleted region between D10S221 and D10S587 (about 11 cM). LOH at both regions or across both regions was observed in at least 52% (24/46) of the tumors tested. However, no mutations or homozygous deletions were found in the coding region of MXI1, a candidate tumor suppressor gene at 10q24-q25, in a panel of SCLC cell lines. Our data demonstrate that at least two tumor-suppressor loci exist on 10q and that they may play an important role in SCLC tumorigenesis.

Identification of three distinct tumor suppressor loci on the short arm of chromosome 9 in small cell lung cancer.

Deletion at 9p21 is frequent in many tumor types. A candidate tumor suppressor gene, p16INK4a, was mapped to this region and is frequently inactivated by several different mechanisms in many tumor types, including non-small cell lung cancer, but not in small cell lung cancer (SCLC). p16 functions as a cyclin/CDK inhibitor to prevent phosphorylation of pRB. It has been demonstrated that most SCLCs have lost pRB but retained p16, and the inactivation of pRB excludes the inactivation of p16 and vice versa. To determine the potential existence of other tumor suppressor genes on the short arm of chromosome 9 in SCLC, we tested 46 primary SCLCs by microsatellite analysis. We found that more than 89% of the tumors exhibited loss of heterozygosity (LOH) at 9p with three distinct minimal deleted areas. Among those areas, LOH at 9p21 was most frequent (86%), with a peak at a marker 150 kb telomeric to p16INK4a. LOH was also observed in more than 50% of the tumors at two other regions, 9p22 and 9p13. Our data strongly suggest the presence of at least three novel tumor suppressor loci on 9p in SCLC, and further investigations to clone candidate tumor suppressor genes are warranted.

Clear-cell carcinoma: an ultrastructural study of 57 tumors from various sites.

Clear-cell carcinoma is a convenient and frequently used descriptive term for a malignant epithelial neoplasm that is entirely or largely composed of cells with optically clear cytoplasm in hematoxylin-eosin-stained sections. Transmission electron microscopy was performed on 57 tumors from various sites to investigate the fine structural basis for the clarity of the cytoplasm. The clear appearance resulted from the presence of one or several of the following features, as the sole or predominant cause or in combination: glycogen, lipid droplets, mucin vacuoles or diffuse mucosubstances, dilated cisternae, swollen or unusually large mitochondria, large solitary membrane-limited vacuoles or numerous smaller vacuoles, intracytoplasmic lumens, expanded intercellular spaces, cytoplasmic pseudoinclusions, and a paucity of organelles. Degenerative changes contributed to the clear appearance by inducing swelling of mitochondria and creating lucent cytosol. The factors responsible for the clear cytoplasm were not always consistent with regard to tumor type or site of origin, but glycogen was the commonest reason among the 57 tumors studied and the principal cause in tumors of the female genital tract, skin, and salivary glands, while renal cell carcinomas tended to possess an admixture of glycogen and lipid droplets. Because of the heterogeneity of the subcellular changes that can produce optically clear cytoplasm, electron microscopy has a limited role in determining the primary site of a metastatic clear-cell carcinoma.

Reduplicated basal lamina in clear-cell carcinoma of the ovary: an immunohistochemical and electron microscopic study.

Clear-cell carcinomas of the female genital tract are uncommon tumors that usually arise in the ovary, cervix, or vagina. The objectives of the present study were to examine the immunohistochemical and ultrastructural characteristics of 18 of these tumors and to determine whether any distinctive features were present at the different locations. The fine structure of the neoplastic cells was similar at the several sites but there was a striking difference in the appearance of the basal lamina. Prominent reduplication of the basal lamina was seen in all 7 ovarian carcinomas, whereas it was mild in 3 and absent in 7 of the cervico-vaginal tumors. The distribution of eosinophilic hyaline material in hematoxylin/eosin sections and of immunohistochemical staining for type IV collagen and larminin correlated with the ultrastructural observations. Reduplication of the basal lamina has been observed in a number of epithelial neoplasms and viewed as a criterion of differentiation, but there is currently no evidence that its presence influences the prognosis of clear-cell carcinomas of the ovary.

Selection of peptides that bind to the HLA-A2.1 molecule by molecular modelling.

Cytotoxic T lymphocytes recognize antigenic peptides in association with major histocompatibility complex class I proteins. Although a large set of class I binding peptides has been described, it is not yet easy to search for potentially antigenic peptides without synthesis of a panel of peptides, and subsequent binding assays. In order to predict HLA-A2.1-restricted antigenic epitopes, a computer model of the HLA-A2.1 molecule was established using X-ray crystallography data. In this model nonameric peptide sequences were aligned. In a molecular dynamics (MD) simulation with two sets of peptides known to be presented by HLA-A2.1, it was important to know the anchor amino acid residue preference and the distance between the anchor residues. We show here that the peptides bound to the HLA-A2.1 model structure possess a side chain of C-terminal anchor residue oriented into the binding groove with different distances between the two anchor residues from 15 to 21A. We also synthesized a set of nonamer peptides containing amino acid sequences of Hepatitis B virus protein that were selected on the basis of previously described HLA-A2.1 specific motifs. When results obtained from the MD simulation were compared with functional binding assays using the TAP-deficient cell line T2, it was evident that the MD simulation method improves prediction of the HLA-A2.1 binding epitope sequence. These results suggest that this approach can provide a way to predict peptide epitopes and search for antigenic regions in sequences in a variety of antigens without screening a large number of synthetic peptides.

Pancreatoblastoma--histopathological and ultrastructural analysis of two cases.

Pancreatoblastoma has been described in children and characterized by unique histologic features and excellent clinical course. Ultrastructural and immunohistochemical studies of pancreatoblastoma reveal either exocrine alone or both endocrine and exocrine differentiation. We present two cases of pancreatoblastoma in children in which immunohistochemical and ultrastructural examination failed to demonstrate features of either enzyme or hormone production and which became worse in clinical course. We assume that pancreatoblastomas are tumors which differentiate more toward acinar or ductal elements than toward islet cell.

Malignant rhabdoid tumor of the kidney--a case report.

Malignant rhabdoid tumor is a distinct renal tumor in children. It had been regarded as a rhabdomyosarcomatoid variant of Wilms' tumor, but it is now thought as a separate entity. We report a case of malignant rhabdoid tumor of the kidney in a 26-month-old girl who presented with a left abdominal mass. Grossly, a large mass in the lower pole of the left kidney was well encapsulated and measured 4 x 4 x 3.5cm. On cross section, it was soft and yellowish white and showed multifocal necroses. The mass was mainly located in the medial medullary portion and compressed the renal pelvis laterally. Microscopically, the tumor masses were hypercellular and anaplastic without definite blastematous elements. In larger portion, the tumor cells had abundant eosinophilic cytoplasm and hyaline globules. In addition to the classic "rhabdoid" feature, alveolar, sclerosing, and lymphomatous patterns were seen. Ultrastructurally, tumor cells with abundant cytoplasm contained tangles of intermediate filament corresponding to vimentin in immunostaining.

Protective effect of Aucuba japonica against carbon tetrachloride-induced liver damage in rats.

Pretreatment of rats with ethanol extract from leaves of Aucuba japonica (600 mg/kg/day, po) for two days protected against CCl4-induced depression in plasma disappearance and biliary excretion of injected sulfobromophthalein (BSP) determined 24 hr after the CCl4 challenge (0.5 ml/kg, ip). Percent recovery of BSP in bile in 60 min for control, CCl4, extract + CCl4 treated rats was 66.8 +/- 1.9, 56.2 +/- 1.4, and 68.9 +/- 2.2, respectively. Pretreatment of the extract also protected CCl4-induced increased serum glutamic-pyruvic transaminase activity and liver necrosis as demonstrated by histological evaluations. However, pretreatment of the extract did not modify the intensity of CCl4-induced lipid peroxidation process or cytochrome P-450 destruction. The results suggest that ethanol extract of Aucuba japonica protects CCl4 hepatotoxicity at a site in the chain events leading to necrosis but not the activation step of CCl4 to X CCl3 and X C1 free radicals.