A case of spontaneous rete testis adenoma in a Sprague-Dawley rat.

A 104-week-old male CD (SD) rat exhibited enlargement of the left testis. Microscopically, this mass was demarcated from the testis by fibrous connective tissue and characterized by cystic dilatation with single-layered columnar cells and papillary proliferation connected to the solid growth area without clear boundaries. In the solid growth area, cells were dissected into irregular alveolar nests by scant fibrous tissue with small blood vessels. The nuclei of proliferating cells were variable in size and round- to oval-shaped, and their cytoplasm was pale or eosinophilic and sometimes contained vacuoles or eosinophilic granules. Immunohistochemically, the tumor cells were positive for vimentin and cytokeratin (CK) 7. Since CK7 was exclusively positive in the rete testis epithelium of the naïve rat, it was valuable to diagnose this tumor as rete testis-originated. Based on these results and the lack of apparent pleomorphism, mitotic figures, and metastasis, the present case was diagnosed as rete testis adenoma.

Inflammation of the cardiac coronary artery in ICR mice.

Inflammation of the cardiac coronary artery in ICR mice is occasionally observed in toxicity studies; however, this has not been well explored histologically. Herein, we investigated the detailed histology of the associated lesions in 6-8-week-old ICR mice. Coronary artery inflammation in the right ventricular wall was observed in 10 of 142 mice (7.0%). Histopathological examination revealed hypertrophy of the vascular smooth muscle cells and perivascular infiltration of macrophages in mild cases. In moderate to marked cases, single-cell necrosis of vascular smooth muscle cells, hemorrhage of the tunica media, and fibrinoid necrosis of the vessel wall were observed, in addition to the changes seen in mild cases. Electron microscopic examination of moderate cases revealed a discontinuous internal elastic lamina suggestive of rupture, and vascular smooth muscle cells beneath the elastic lamina showed degeneration and necrosis. These findings suggest that the lesions developed as a rupture of the internal elastic lamina and necrosis of vascular smooth muscle cells, while leaked plasma components caused vascular and perivascular inflammation. In ICR mice, dystrophic calcinosis (DCC) is known to occur rarely in the right ventricle. DCC is defined as focal calcification in necrotic myocardial fibers, the pathogenesis of which is considered to involve ectopic calcification. Since calcification was not observed in any part of the heart, including the inflammation region, the pathophysiology of cardiac arterial inflammation seen in our ICR mice was considered to differ from that of DCC.

The Impact of the Timing of Dosing on the Severity of UNC569-Induced Ultrastructural Changes in the Mouse Retina.

Mer proto-oncogene tyrosine kinase (MerTK), expressed in the retinal pigment epithelium (RPE), regulates the phagocytosis of shed photoreceptor outer segments. To investigate the influence of dosing time on MerTK inhibitor UNC569-induced retinal toxicity, UNC569 at 100 mg/kg was orally administered to male mice at 2 different Zeitgeber times (ZT5.5 or ZT22) for 28 days. Electron microscopy was conducted at ZT2 after the final dosing. Additionally, the visual cycle components (11-cis-retinal, all-trans-retinal, all-trans-retinol, and 11-cis-retinol), which play an important role in maintaining retinal homeostasis, were quantified by liquid chromatography/mass spectrometry/mass spectrometry. Under electron microscopic examination, the number of phagosomes and phagolysosomes in the RPE increased in both the ZT5.5 and ZT22 administered groups, while endoplasmic reticulum dilatation in the RPE and chromatin aggregation of photoreceptor nuclei were observed only in the ZT22 administered group. No change was observed in any of the visual cycle components. These results suggest that the timing of the dosing in relation to the physiological MerTK phosphorylation affected the severity of changes in the RPE, leading to the apoptosis of the photoreceptor cells.

Macrophage migration inhibitory factor-CD74 interaction regulates the expression of programmed cell death ligand 1 in melanoma cells.

Expression of programmed cell death ligand 1 (PD-L1) on tumor cells contributes to cancer immune evasion by interacting with programmed cell death 1 on immune cells. γ-Interferon (IFN-γ) has been reported as a key extrinsic stimulator of PD-L1 expression, yet its mechanism of expression is poorly understood. This study analyzed the role of CD74 and its ligand macrophage migration inhibitory factor (MIF) on PD-L1 expression, by immunohistochemical analysis of melanoma tissue samples and in vitro analyses of melanoma cell lines treated with IFN-γ and inhibitors of the MIF-CD74 interaction. Immunohistochemical analyses of 97 melanoma tissue samples showed significant correlations between CD74 and the expression status of PD-L1 (P < .01). In vitro analysis of 2 melanoma cell lines, which are known to secrete MIF constitutively and express cell surface CD74 following IFN-γ stimulation, showed upregulation of PD-L1 levels by IFN-γ stimulation. This was suppressed by further treatment with the MIF-CD74 interaction inhibitor, 4-iodo-6-phenylpyrimidine. In the analysis of melanoma cell line WM1361A, which constitutively expresses PD-L1, CD74, and MIF in its non-treated state, treatment with 4-iodo-6-phenylpyrimidine and transfection of siRNAs targeting MIF and CD74 significantly suppressed the expression of PD-L1. Together, the results indicated that MIF-CD74 interaction directly regulated the expression of PD-L1 and helps tumor cells escape from antitumorigenic immune responses. In conclusion, the MIF-CD74 interaction could be a therapeutic target in the treatment of melanoma patients.

Pathological examination of spontaneous vacuolation of pancreatic acinar cells in mice.

Pancreatic acinar cell vacuolation is spontaneously observed in mice; however, the lesion is rare and has not been well documented. Herein, we present a detailed pathological examination of this lesion. Vacuoles in pancreatic acinar cells were present in 2/15 X gene knockout mice with a C57BL/6J mouse background, 4/298 ICR(CD-1) mice, 1/110 B6C3F1 mice, and 3/399 CByB6F1-Tg(HRAS)2Jic mice. The vacuoles were usually observed in a unit of the acinus, and the lesions were spread throughout the pancreas. These vacuoles contained weakly basophilic material that was positive for the periodic acid-Schiff reaction. Immunohistochemically, the vacuoles were positive for calreticulin antibody. Electron microscopy revealed globular dilatation of the rough endoplasmic reticulum (rER). According to these findings, vacuolation of pancreatic acinar cells is caused by the accumulation of misfolded proteins and enlargement of the rER.

(+)-Usnic acid-induced myocardial toxicity in rats.

(+)-Usnic acid (UA) has been known to be a strong uncoupler, and mitochondrial and endoplasmic reticulum (ER)-related stresses are suggested to be involved in the mechanism of hepatotoxicity. However, it has not been clarified whether UA causes toxicity in other mitochondria-rich organs such as the heart. We elucidated whether UA induces cardiotoxicity and its mechanism. UA was orally administered to rats for 14 days, and laboratory and histopathological examinations were performed in conjunction with toxicogenomic analysis. As a result, there was no alteration in blood chemistry, whereas cytoplasmic rarefaction of myocardium was observed microscopically. This finding corresponded to the swollen mitochondria observed ultrastructurally. Immunohistochemically, expression of prohibitin, indicating mitochondrial imbalance, increased in the sarcoplasmic area. Toxicogenomic analysis highlighted the upregulation of gene groups consisting of oxidative stress, ER stress, and amino acid limitation. Interestingly, the number of upregulated genes was larger in the amino acid limitation-related gene group than that in other groups, implying that amino acid limitation might be one of the sources of oxidative stress, not only mitochondria and ER-originated stresses. In conclusion, the heart was manifested to be one of the target organs of UA. Mitochondrial imbalance with complex stresses may be involved in the toxic mechanism.

Subcutaneous soft tissue sarcoma with rhabdoid features in a dog.

A nine-year-old male beagle dog had a white spherical mass in the subcutis of the left lumbar region. Microscopically, spindle to oval cells diffusely proliferated in the fibrous and myxoid stroma. Many neoplastic cells showed rhabdoid features or vacuolated cytoplasm. Immunohistochemically, the neoplastic cells were positive for vimentin and S100 and partly positive for neuron-specific enolase and glial fibrillary acidic protein but were negative for von Willebrand factor, desmin and α-smooth muscle actin. Ultrastructurally, the neoplastic cells had abundant cytoplasmic processes and desmosome-like structures. Cytoplasmic inclusions of rhabdoid-featured cells in HE sections were composed of aggregates of intermediate filaments, and cytoplasmic vacuoles were identified as an invagination of cytoplasm. Although malignant peripheral nerve sheath tumor was suggested according to these results, the present case was diagnosed as a soft tissue sarcoma with rhabdoid features due to a lack of identification of the basal lamina under electron microscopy.

Inflammatory fibroid polyp in the duodenum of a common marmoset (Callithrix jacchus).

A 32-month-old male common marmoset had a firm and white-colored mass in the duodenal wall. The cut surface was smooth and grayish white in color. Histologically, the mass consisted of a proliferation of spindle cells with an oval to spindle-shaped nucleus and scant eosinophilic cytoplasm in a loose myxoid or fibrotic background. Most of the lesion displayed no specific growth pattern whereas some of the cells concentrated around the vessels and created an onion-bulb structure. Additionally, marked inflammatory cellular infiltration, mainly eosinophils, was observed throughout the lesion. Immunohistochemically, the spindle cells were positive for vimentin, α-smooth muscle actin, fascin, and cyclin D1, and negative for S-100, factor VIII-related antigen, and c-kit. These histological and immunohistochemical features did not meet any differential diagnoses such as gastrointestinal stromal tumor, inflammatory myofibroblastic tumor, solitary fibrous tumor/hemangiopericytoma, smooth muscle tumor, schwannoma, and hemangiosarcoma. Collectively, the authors diagnosed the mass as a lesion that corresponded to an inflammatory fibroid polyp (IFP) in humans. IFP is defined as a mesenchymal proliferation composed of spindle stromal cells, small blood vessels, and inflammatory cells, particularly eosinophils, and is currently classified as a nonneoplastic lesion. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first case of spontaneous IFP in nonhuman primates.

The Process and Development Mechanism of Age-related Fibrosis in the Pancreatic Islets of Sprague-Dawley Rats: Immunohistochemical Detection of Myofibroblasts and Suppression Effect by Estrogen Treatment.

The mechanism of spontaneous islet fibrosis in Sprague-Dawley rats was investigated. Using sections of the pancreas in naive males aged 26 to 102 weeks old and 26-week-old males injected with ß-estradiol 3-benzoate (EB), the incidence of lesions and histological scores of fibrosis were examined in conjunction with immunohistochemistry for α-smooth muscle actin (α-SMA), platelet-derived growth factor receptor-α (PDGFRα) and estrogen receptor-α (ERα). The incidence of islet fibrosis increased in 78-week-old animals compared to the 26-week-old animals, and the incidence of atrophy in the fibrotic islet increased in animals over 52 weeks old. α-SMA and PDGFRα were positively stained mainly in fibrotic/inflammatory islets, and the histological score of α-SMA in the fibrotic islet decreased age-dependently. Notably, α-SMA and PDGFRα were co-expressed in inflammatory islets with a high score at all ages. The positive index of ERα in the EB-treated group increased when compared with that of the naive group. However, it was independent of the existence of fibrosis. In contrast, the score of α-SMA and PDGFRα decreased in the EB-treated group. In conclusion, it was clarified that a part of age-related fibrosis in islets became atrophy with age, and α-SMA-positive myofibroblasts were considered to contribute to the development of fibrosis. Strong PDGFRα stainability in fibrotic/inflammatory islets may imply that myofibroblasts were stimulated by PDGF to produce an extracellular matrix. Although estradiol has been known to suppress fibrosis/inflammation in the islet, nuclear-located ER-dependent signaling was considered not to be involved in the suppression mechanism. EB possibly affected the inhibition of the appearance of myofibroblasts.

Relationship between CYP1A induction by indole-3-carbinol or flutamide and liver tumor-promoting potential in rats.

To investigate liver tumor-promoting potentials of indole-3-carbinol (I3C) and flutamide (FLU), changes in mRNA expression of Cyp1a and genes encoding antioxidant/detoxifying enzymes in the liver, 6-week-old male F344 rats were subjected to medium-term liver bioassay. ß-Naphthoflavone (BNF), a strong CYP1A inducer, was also used for comparison. Two weeks after initiation with N-diethylnitrosamine (DEN), animals were fed a basal diet (untreated controls) or a diet containing 0.5% I3C, 0.1% FLU, or 0.5% BNF for 6 weeks. Each animal was subjected to a two-third partial hepatectomy 1 week after the start of promoter treatments. Histopathologically, I3C and BNF increased altered liver cell foci with the incidence (3.7- and 7.3-fold) and multiplicity (8.3- and 13.8-fold) compared with the DEN-alone group, respectively. Immunohistochemically, I3C significantly increased the number (3.1-fold; P < 0.01) and area (2.4-fold; P < 0.05) of foci positive for glutathione-S-transferase placental form (GST-P) compared with the DEN-alone group; FLU induced a slight but significant increase in the number of GST-P-positive foci (2.8-fold; P < 0.05) whereas BNF showed marked induction of the number and area of GST-P-positive foci (20- and 14-fold, respectively; P < 0.01). In parallel, I3C, FLU, and BNF markedly increased mRNA levels of Cyp1a1 (50-, 23-, 299-fold) and antioxidant/detoxifying enzymes such as Gpx2 and Nqo1 as shown by real-time reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction analysis. These results suggest that I3C and FLU could promote hepatocellular tumors in parallel with that of CYP1A's potential to cause subsequent oxidative stress responses in rats.

Suppressive effect of enzymatically modified isoquercitrin on phenobarbital-induced liver tumor promotion in rats.

To investigate the effect of enzymatically modified isoquercitrin (EMIQ) on hepatocellular tumor promotion induced by phenobarbital (PB), male rats were administered a single intraperitoneal injection of 200 mg/kg N-diethylnitrosamine (DEN) and then fed with a diet containing PB (500 ppm) for 8 weeks, with or without EMIQ (2,000 ppm) in the drinking water. One week after PB administration, rats underwent a two-thirds partial hepatectomy. The PB-induced increase in the number and area of glutathione S-transferase placental form-positive foci and the proliferating cell nuclear antigen-positive ratio was significantly suppressed by EMIQ. Real-time reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction analysis revealed increases in mRNA expression levels of Cyp2b2 and Mrp2 in the DEN-PB and DEN-PB-EMIQ groups compared with the DEN-alone group, while the level of Mrp2 decreased in the DEN-PB-EMIQ group compared with the DEN-PB group. There were no significant changes in microsomal reactive oxygen species (ROS) production and oxidative stress markers between the DEN-PB and DEN-PB-EMIQ groups. Immunohistochemically, the constitutive active/androstane receptor (CAR) in the DEN-PB group was clearly localized in the nuclei, but its immunoreactive intensity was decreased in the DEN-PB-EMIQ group. These results indicate that EMIQ suppressed the liver tumor-promoting activity of PB by inhibiting nuclear translocation of CAR, and not by suppression of oxidative stress.

Ectopic Splenic Adenocarcinoma in a Dog.

A 10-year-old spayed female Border Collie developed a ductal adenocarcinoma in the spleen. Clinically, the spleen was enlarged and a small liver nodule was present but there were no other abnormalities. Most of the splenic parenchyma was diffusely infiltrated by variably shaped atypical neoplastic cells that formed small clusters or larger nests, arranged as duct or duct-like structures within a fibrous matrix. There was acinar differentiation in a few portions of the tumour with a sheet-like solid growth pattern and occasional squamous metaplasia or exocrine acinus-like structures. Mitotic figures were frequent. Neoplastic cells with ductal differentiation were diffusely immunoreactive for AE1/AE3, CAM5.2 and CK7 cytokeratins but negative for CK20, while cells with acinar differentiation were immunolabelled only for AE1/AE3 cytokeratins and were also immunopositive for mucin-1 and trypsin. A few regions of tumour with ductal or acinar differentiation were immunopositive for pancreatic lipase. All neoplastic cells were negative for mucin-2, vimentin, smooth muscle actin, chromogranin A, CD31, hepatocyte paraffin 1 and thyroglobulin antigens. Because of the formation of exocrine acinus-like structures and an immunolabelling pattern consistent with exocrine pancreas tissue, an adenocarcinoma of ectopic exocrine pancreas within the spleen was diagnosed.

Discovery of Pancreatic Ductal Adenocarcinoma-Related Aberrant Glycosylations: A Multilateral Approach of Lectin Microarray-Based Tissue Glycomic Profiling With Public Transcriptomic Datasets.

Aberrant protein glycosylation is one of the most notable features in cancerous tissues, and thereby glycoproteins with disease-relevant glycosylation alterations are fascinating targets for the development of biomarkers and therapeutic agents. For this purpose, a reliable strategy is needed for the analysis of glycosylation alterations occurring on specific glycoproteins during the progression of cancer. Here, we propose a bilateral approach combining lectin microarray-based tissue glycomic profiling and database-derived transcriptomic datasets. First, lectin microarray was used to perform differential glycomic profiling of crude extracts derived from non-tumor and tumor regions of frozen tissue sections from pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma (PDAC). This analysis revealed two notable tissue glycome alterations in PDAC samples: increases in sialylated glycans and bisecting N-acetylglucosamine and a decrease in ABO blood group antigens. To examine aberrations in the glycosylation machinery related to these glycomic alterations, we next employed public datasets of gene expression profiles in cancerous and normal pancreases provided by The Cancer Genome Atlas and the Genotype-Tissue Expression projects, respectively. In this analysis, glycosyltransferases responsible for the glycosylation alterations showed aberrant gene expression in the cancerous tissues, consistent with the tissue glycomic profiles. The correlated alterations in glycosyltransferase expression and tissue glycomics were then evaluated by differential glycan profiling of a membrane N-glycoprotein, basigin, expressed in tumor and non-tumor pancreatic cells. The focused differential glycomic profiling for endogenous basigin derived from non-tumor and cancerous regions of PDAC tissue sections demonstrated that PDAC-relevant glycan alterations of basigin closely reflected the notable features in the disease-specific alterations in the tissue glycomes. In conclusion, the present multi-omics strategy using public transcriptomic datasets and experimental glycomic profiling using a tiny amount of clinical specimens successfully demonstrated that basigin is a representative N-glycoprotein that reflects PDAC-related aberrant glycosylations. This study indicates the usefulness of large public data sets such as the gene expression profiles of glycosylation-related genes for evaluation of the highly sensitive tissue glycomic profiling results. This strategy is expected to be useful for the discovery of novel glyco-biomarkers and glyco-therapeutic targets.

Host cell proteins induce inflammation and immunogenicity as adjuvants in an integrated analysis of in vivo and in vitro assay systems.

INTRODUCTION: Host cell proteins (HCPs) are contaminated proteins remaining after purification of biopharmaceuticals. Recent reports revealed clinical implications of HCPs in anti-drug antibody (ADA) development in patients without any inflammatory effects. Therefore, we evaluated the inflammatory effects and immunogenicity of HCPs in an in vivo study by intravitreal administration to rabbits and an in vitro THP-1 cells assay. METHODS: Escherichia coli-derived HCPs at 200 ng/eye with or without ranibizumab at 0.25 mg/eye were administrated intravitreally to rabbits. For in vitro examination, differentiated THP-1 cells were stimulated with HCPs at 0.17 to 10.88 µg/mL with or without ranibizumab at 0.2 mg/mL. RESULTS: Co-administration of HCPs with ranibizumab, but not HCPs alone, induced ocular inflammation. Presence of ADA (anti-ranibizumab) was detected in the vitreous fluid of rabbits in which HCPs and ranibizumab were co-administered. HCPs increased cytokine release and upregulated cell surface markers involved in the antigen presentation in the THP-1 cell assay, which was enhanced by co-stimulation with ranibizumab. DISCUSSION: These finding suggests that HCPs may induce inflammation and immunogenicity as an adjuvant. Furthermore, integrated analyses by an in vivo rabbit model and in vitro assay system using THP-1 cells would be useful to evaluate the immunological risk of HCPs.

Effects of estradiol treatment and/or ovariectomy on spontaneous hemorrhagic lesions in the pancreatic islets of Sprague-Dawley rats.

The present study was conducted to investigate the effect of estradiol treatment and/or ovariectomy (OVX) on non-neoplastic lesions in the pancreatic islets of Sprague-Dawley rats. Males were divided into non-treatment (naïve) and beta-estradiol 3-benzoate (EB) treatment groups and females into naïve, sham-operation, OVX, and OVX plus EB treatment groups. EB was subcutaneously administered once a week from seven to twenty-six weeks of age. The animals were euthanized at twelve, eighteen, and twenty-six weeks of age, and the serum estradiol concentrations were measured in conjunction with the pancreatic islet histopathology. The histological stages of pancreatic findings were classified into three groups, hemorrhagic, fibrotic, and inflammatory lesions, and the incidence of each type of lesion was enumerated. In males, both the total and individual incidence of pancreatic lesions increased age dependently in the naïve group. EB treatment significantly decreased the total incidence at twenty-six weeks. This alteration consisted of fibrotic and inflammatory lesions, but not hemorrhagic lesions. Additionally, the incidence of hemorrhagic lesions was at the same level between male naïve and male EB groups at twelve weeks, despite a markedly higher concentration of serum estradiol in the EB group. In females, a similar tendency was seen, and the total incidence was generally low in the naïve group, whereas it was increased by OVX. OVX plus EB treatment tended to decrease the incidence accompanied by a marked increase in estradiol concentrations. In conclusion, estrogen was shown to inhibit the development of pancreatic islet lesions toward inflammation and fibrosis but did not inhibit the occurrence of hemorrhagic lesions.

Response Characteristics and Retinal Origin of the Photopic Negative Response of the Electroretinogram in Dogs.

PURPOSE: To investigate the response characteristics and retinal origin of the photopic negative response (PhNR) of the electroretinograms (ERGs) in dogs. METHODS: Photopic ERGs were elicited by white flash stimuli of different intensities under a steady white background illumination in four anesthetized dogs. These ERGs were also recorded in the same manner after intravitreal injection of tetrodotoxin (TTX). Additionally, retinal localization of voltage-gated sodium channel Nav 1.6 was assessed by immunohistochemistry. RESULTS: The amplitude of the a-wave and the PhNR was increased as the stimulus intensity was raised, while the amplitude of the b-wave was peaked at the moderate stimulus intensity of 3.09 cd·s/m2. TTX greatly attenuated the PhNR, while the reduction in the b-waves and a-wave was mild or insignificant. Nav 1.6-expression was specifically detected on the retinal ganglion cells (RGCs). CONCLUSIONS: Our results are consistent with the PhNR primarily derived from the inner retina including RGCs in dogs, suggesting that the PhNR can be used to monitor function of these retinal components in dogs.

Evaluation of drug-induced hematotoxicity using novel in vitro monkey CFU-GM and BFU-E colony assays.

In order to evaluate drug-induced hematotoxicity in monkey cells in vitro, colony-forming unit-granulocyte, macrophage (CFU-GM), and burst-forming unit-erythroid (BFU-E) colony assays were established using mononuclear cells in the bone marrow collected from male cynomolgus monkeys. Furthermore, the effects of doxorubicin, chloramphenicol, and linezolid on CFU-GM and BFU-E colony formation were investigated using established monkey CFU-GM and BFU-E colony assays in comparison with those on human CFU-GM and BFU-E colonies acquired from human umbilical cord blood cells. Bone marrow mononuclear cells were collected from the ischial or iliac bone of male cynomolgus monkeys. The cells were subsequently processed by density gradient separation at 1.067, 1.070, or 1.077 g/mL for CFU-GM or 1.077 g/mL for BFU-E, and then cultured in methylcellulose medium for 9 or 13 days, respectively. A sufficient number of CFU-GM colonies were formed from mononuclear cells processed at a density of 1.070 g/mL. Moreover, the number of BFU-E colonies from the cells processed at a density of 1.077 g/mL was sufficient for the colony assay. The number of CFU-GM or BFU-E colonies decreased after treatment with the drugs of interest in a concentration-dependent manner. Compared with human CFU-GM, monkey CFU-GM were more sensitive to chloramphenicol and resistant to doxorubicin, whereas monkey BFU-E were more sensitive to all compounds in comparison to the sensitivity of human BFU-E. In conclusion, monkey CFU-GM and BFU-E colony assays were established and considered useful tools to evaluate the differences in drug-induced hematotoxicity between species.

Promising toxicological biomarkers for the diagnosis of liver injury types: Bile acid metabolic profiles and oxidative stress marker as screening tools in drug development.

Promising biomarkers were identified in adult male Crl:CD (SD) rats for the screening of new chemical entities for their potential to cause liver injury. We examined the serum biochemistry, liver histopathology, and bile acid profiles by LC-MS/MS, and the mRNA expression of transporters and CYPs by an RT-PCR after the following treatments to male Crl:CD (SD) rats: (a) bile duct ligation (BDL); (b) a single oral dose of 150 mg/kg α-naphthylisothiocyanate (ANIT); and (c) repeated oral doses of a novel pyrrolidinecarboxylic acid derivative (abbreviated as PCA) at 30, 300, and 1000 mg/kg. The serum total bile acid levels and bilirubin concentrations were found to be elevated in all of the groups. However, the bile acid component profiles of the PCA group differed significantly from BDL and ANIT models: deoxycholic acid, lithocholic acid, and sulfated bile acids were upregulated in a dose-dependent manner only in the PCA group. In addition, the PCA group demonstrated high levels of hepatic heme oxygenase-1 expression, whereas the profiles of the mRNA levels of the hepatic transporters and CYPs of all groups were found to be similar. The histopathological findings, for both the BDL and ANIT groups, were of bile duct hyperplasia, hepatocyte degeneration and necrosis. In contrast, only bile duct hyperplasia and hepatocyte degeneration were observed in the PCA group, even at a lethal dose. These results indicated that PCA induced a cholestatic condition and the increase of oxidative stress markers implies that this will also lead hepatocellular injury. In conclusion, the serum bile acid components and sulfated bile acid levels, and the expression of oxidative stress markers could provide information that aids in the diagnosis of liver injury type and helps to elucidate the mechanisms of hepatotoxicity. These findings can be extrapolated into our clinical investigation. The analysis of these crucial biomarkers is likely to be a useful screening tool in the lead optimization phase of drug discovery.

N-Methyl-N-Nitrosourea-Induced Acute Alteration of Retinal Function and Morphology in Monkeys.

PURPOSE: The purpose of this study was to investigate both functional and morphologic alteration of the retina acutely induced by N-methyl-N-nitrosourea (MNU) in monkeys. METHODS: The MNU was administered intravenously at a single dose of 40 mg/kg to six cynomolgus monkeys, and standard full-field electroretinograms (ERGs) were recorded 1, 3, and 7 days after dosing. In addition, the rod and cone a-waves in response to high-intensity flashes were analyzed by the a-wave fitting model (a-wave analysis). The photopic negative response (PhNR) was also recorded at the same time points. Furthermore, the retinas of two animals each were examined histopathologically 1, 3, or 7 days after dosing. RESULTS: The MNU attenuated all the standard full-field ERGs including the rod-driven and cone-driven responses; in the combined rod-cone response, the b-wave was more affected than the a-wave. In the a-wave analysis, the sensitivity parameters (S) of the rod and cone a-waves had decreased on the day after dosing and remained unchanged thereafter. The maximum response parameter (Rmax) of the rod a-wave gradually decreased. On the other hand, the Rmax in the cone a-wave transiently increased on the day after dosing and decreased thereafter; the PhNR amplitude showed a similar time course change. Histopathologically, the retinal lesion on the day after dosing mainly consisted of pyknosis and karyorrhexis in the photoreceptor nucleus. Depletion of some photoreceptor nuclei, and shortening and disorientation of the photoreceptor segments became prominent at 3 and 7 days after dosing. Localization of degenerated photoreceptors was consistent with that of rhodopsin-positive photoreceptors, resulting in a well-preserved central fovea. CONCLUSIONS: Our results indicated that MNU acutely induced rod-dominant photoreceptor degeneration in monkey retinas, but the photoreceptor function was impaired in both the rods and cones. Functional involvement of the postreceptoral components was also indicated.

Tumor promoting effect of phenolphthalein on development of lung tumors induced by N-ethyl-N-nitrosourea in transgenic mice carrying human prototype c-Ha-ras gene.

In order to examine tumor modifying effects of phenolphthalein (PhP), female transgenic mice carrying human prototype c-Ha-ras gene (rasH2 mice) were given a single intraperitoneal injection of 60 mg/kg body weight of N-ethyl-N-nitrosourea (ENU), followed by the diet containing 12,000 ppm PhP for 26-week. Histopathologically, alveolar hyperplasias, adenomas and adenocarcinomas were observed in the ENU + PhP group, but only hyperplasias and adenomas were observed in the ENU alone group. The incidence and multiplicity of adenocarcinomas in the ENU + PhP group was significantly increased as compared to that in the ENU alone group. The combined multiplicity of adenomas and adenocarcinomas in this group was also significantly higher than that of the ENU alone group. In addition, the ratio of area of adenomas in the ENU + PhP group was significantly higher than that in the ENU alone group. The result of our study suggests that PhP has a clear tumor promoting effect in the lung of rasH2 mice.