Successful wound closure using fibrin glue for intractable neobladder-urethral anastomosis leakage after radical cystectomy and neobladder reconstruction.

Introduction: Complications of cystectomy and neobladder reconstruction such as anastomotic leakage have been reported. It is a common complication; however, most cases improve conservatively. The use of fibrin glue for fistulas has been reported, but no reports have shown its effectiveness for urinary tract anastomotic leakage. We experienced a case of intractable neobladder-urethral anastomosis leakage after radical cystectomy and neobladder reconstruction, which was effectively managed using fibrin glue. Case presentation: A 70-year-old man underwent radical cystectomy and ileal neobladder reconstruction for invasive bladder cancer with urothelial carcinoma. After surgery, the urethral catheter fell off and the anastomotic leakage did not improve by adjusting the position of the urethral catheter and percutaneous nephrostomy. We closed the intractable neobladder-urethral anastomotic leakage by injecting fibrin glue and the leakage completely disappeared. Conclusion: Injecting fibrin glue into anastomotic site can be effective in severe neobladder-urethral anastomosis leakage.

Cysteine Sulfoxides Enhance Steroid Hormone Production via Activation of the Protein Kinase A Pathway in Testis-Derived I-10 Tumor Cells.

Testosterone plays an important role in male sexual characteristics and maturation, and decreased testosterone levels increase the risk of several diseases. Recently, onion extract rich in cysteine sulfoxides, which are amino acids unique to onions, has been reported to alleviate age-related symptoms resulting from decreased testosterone levels in males. However, the mechanism underlying the suppression of low testosterone levels by cysteine sulfoxides has not been elucidated. In this study, we found that onion extract containing cysteine sulfoxides enhanced progesterone, a precursor of testosterone, in mouse testis-derived I-10 tumor cells. Furthermore, cysteine sulfoxides activated protein kinase A (PKA) and cyclic adenosine monophosphate response element-binding protein, which are key factors in steroidogenesis. These results suggest that cysteine sulfoxides enhance steroid hormone production via activation of the PKA signaling pathway.

Pancreatic-type Acinar Cell Carcinoma of the Stomach Included in Multiple Primary Carcinomas.

BACKGROUND/AIM: Pancreatic-type acinar cell carcinoma (ACC) in the stomach is extraordinarily rare. We pathologically examined two cases with multiple primary carcinomas, including gastric tumors. PATIENTS AND METHODS: Gastric cancer specimens were examined by immunostaining and electron microscopy. RESULTS: Both cases had cancer cells with acinar patterns, resembling pancreatic ACC. The cancer cells in the first case were positive for exocrine markers, including chymotrypsin, lipase and alpha-1 antichymotrypsin (ACT), as well as neuroendocrine markers, including chromogranin A and synaptophysin. The cancer cells in the second case were positive for chymotrypsin and alpha-1 ACT, while being slightly positive for chromogranin A and synaptophysin. Ultrastructurally, cancer cells contained zymogen granules in both cases. The final diagnosis was pancreatic mixed acinar-neuroendocrine carcinoma and pure pancreatic ACC, respectively. CONCLUSION: We confirmed two cases with gastric pancreatic-type ACC included in multiple primary carcinomas. This type of double cancer has not been reported previously.

Target innervation is necessary for neuronal polyploidization in the terrestrial slug Limax.

The brain of gastropod mollusks contains many giant neurons with polyploid genomic DNAs. Such DNAs are generated through repeated DNA endoreplication during body growth. However, it is not known what triggers DNA endoreplication in neurons. There are two possibilities: (1) DNAs are replicated in response to some unknown molecules in the hemolymph that reflect the nutritive status of the animal; or (2) DNAs are replicated in response to some unknown factors that are retrogradely transported through axons from the innervated target organs. We first tested whether hemolymph with rich nutrition could induce DNA endoreplication. We tested whether the transplanted brain exhibits enhanced DNA endoreplication like an endogenous brain does when transplanted into the homocoel of the body of a slug whose body growth is promoted by an increased food supply. However, no enhancement was observed in the frequency of DNA endoreplication when we compared the transplanted brains in the growth-promoted and growth-suppressed host slugs, suggesting that the humoral environment is irrelevant to triggering the body growth-dependent DNA endoreplication. Next, we tested the requirement of target innervation by surgically dissecting a unilateral posterior pedal nerve of an endogenous brain. Substantially lower number of neurons exhibited DNA endoreplication in the pedal ganglion ipsilateral to the dissected nerve. These results support the view that enhanced DNA endoreplication is mediated by target innervation and is not brought about through the direct effect of humoral factors in the hemolymph during body growth. © 2013 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Develop Neurobiol, 2013.

Target innervation is necessary for neuronal polyploidization in the terrestrial slug Limax.

The brain of gastropod mollusks contains many giant neurons with polyploid genomic DNAs. Such DNAs are generated through repeated DNA endoreplication during body growth. However, it is not known what triggers DNA endoreplication in neurons. There are two possibilities: (1) DNAs are replicated in response to some unknown molecules in the hemolymph that reflect the nutritive status of the animal; or (2) DNAs are replicated in response to some unknown factors that are retrogradely transported through axons from the innervated target organs. We first tested whether hemolymph with rich nutrition could induce DNA endoreplication. We tested whether the transplanted brain exhibits enhanced DNA endoreplication like an endogenous brain does when transplanted into the homocoel of the body of a slug whose body growth is promoted by an increased food supply. However, no enhancement was observed in the frequency of DNA endoreplication when we compared the transplanted brains in the growth-promoted and growth-suppressed host slugs, suggesting that the humoral environment is irrelevant to triggering the body growth-dependent DNA endoreplication. Next, we tested the requirement of target innervation by surgically dissecting a unilateral posterior pedal nerve of an endogenous brain. Substantially lower number of neurons exhibited DNA endoreplication in the pedal ganglion ipsilateral to the dissected nerve. These results support the view that enhanced DNA endoreplication is mediated by target innervation and is not brought about through the direct effect of humoral factors in the hemolymph during body growth.

Analysis of DNA endoreplication in the brain neurons in the terrestrial slug, Limax valentianus.

DNA endoreplication is the DNA synthesis without cell division, resulting in the generation of a nucleus containing a larger amount of genomic DNA compared to a normal diploid genome. There are many such giant neurons in the molluscan brain that are generated as a result of repeated endoreplication. However, it has been controversial whether the endoreplication is the whole genome replication (polyploidy) or the local amplification of the genes that are necessary for the neuron's function (polyteny/polysomy). Here in this study, we investigated these two possibilities by (1) immunohistochemical analysis of the distribution of 5'-bromodeoxyuridine incorporated into the nuclei of the brain neurons, and by (2) quantitative genomic PCR directed to two different genes expressed in specific brain regions. Our data supported the view that the DNA endoreplication is the whole genome replication rather than the local amplification of a specific genomic region.

Whole genome amplification in large neurons of the terrestrial slug Limax.

The brain of gastropod mollusks contains giant neurons whose nuclei are enlarged with a large amount of genomic DNA. Such DNA is produced by repeated endoreplication. We have previously demonstrated that the frequency of the neuronal DNA endoreplication is correlative to the body growth of the adult land slug and to the increase in the amount of transcripts within the neuron. However, it has long been controversial whether the neuronal DNA endoreplication entails whole genome amplification (polyploidy), or whether only the necessary genomic loci are amplified (polyteny, polysomy, or cis-amplification by unequal recombination). In the present study, we adopted two modern techniques - quantitative genomic PCR and 5'-bromodeoxyuridine labeling - to distinguish between these two possibilities. Our results demonstrated that multiple genomic loci were amplified to the same extent irrespective of the transcriptional activities at these loci. Moreover, the visceral giant cell, the biggest neuron in the slug's brain, was estimated to contain approximately 10 000-times as much genomic DNA as the haploid amount. The 5'-bromodeoxyuridine-labeling experiments also revealed a uniform DNA synthesis within the nucleus. These results strongly support the idea that the giant neurons contain a polyploid genome rather than a locus-specific amplified genome.