Comparison of skin mucus lectins among longtooth grouper Epinephelus bruneus and giant grouper E. lanceolatus as well as the hybrid, Kue-Tama, and their binding abilities to the skin fluke Benedeniaepinepheli.

Interspecific hybrids of farm-raised fish are becoming popular in aquaculture owing to their advantages over pure species, including improved growth and higher resistance to infectious diseases. Kue-Tama is a recently established hybrid grouper derived from the longtooth grouper Epinephelus bruneus (♀) × giant grouper E. lanceolatus (♂). In our previous study, this hybrid showed significantly higher resistance against the skin fluke Benedenia epinepheli, a problematic parasite in grouper farming, than the longtooth grouper. In the present study, we explored lectins in the skin mucus of hybrids and their parent species. While C-type lectins of approximately 15 kDa were obtained from longtooth groupers, additional C-type lectins with molecular masses of approximately 20 and 30 kDa, as well as 45-kDa F-type lectin, were also detected in Kue-Tama and giant groupers. Semi-quantitative reverse transcript-polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) demonstrated that the gene expression levels of both C-type and F-type lectins were significantly higher in the skin of the hybrid and giant groupers than that of the longtooth grouper. In addition, some skin mucus lectins of the hybrid and giant groupers were bound to the fluke, suggesting that these lectins conferred resistance to parasitic infections.

Preoperative Portal Vein Embolization before Major Hepatectomy in Patients with Excess Bilirubin does not Affect Hypertrophy of Remnant Liver and Postoperative Outcomes.

BACKGROUND/AIMS: Preoperative portal vein embolization (PVE) has commonly used in patients who were planned major hepatectomy for avoiding the postoperative liver failure. However, the influence of serum bilirubin concentration at the time of PVE on liver regeneration and subsequent surgical outcomes have not been clarified. METHODOLOGY: We retrospectively analyzed 36 patients who scheduled major hepatectomy for hepatobiliary malignancies after PVE. All patients had obstructive jaundice and underwent biliary drainage before PVE. Factors related to hypertrophy ratio of remnant liver volume (RLV) following PVE and postoperative morbidity and mortality were analysed. RESULTS: Hypertrophy ratio of RLV at 2 weeks after PVE correlated positively with emboli zed liver volume/entire liver volume (ELV) ratio and mean computed tomography attenuation of the liver. RLV/ELV ratio <40% represented the only significant risk factor for postoperative hyperbilirubinemia and mortality after major hepatectomy. Serum bilirubin concentration at the time of PVE did not affect hypertrophy ratio of RLV and postoperative outcomes after major hepatectomy. CONCLUSIONS: PVE in patients with elevated bilirubin levels dose not affect in hypertrophy of remnant liver and postoperative outcomes of subsequent major hepatectomy. Therefore, PVE can perform safely and effectively in patients with obstructive jaundice regardless of serum bilirubin concentration.