Therapy for nifedipine-induced gingival overgrowth by Saireito in rats.

OBJECTIVE: A calcium antagonist, nifedipine, causes gingival overgrowth as a side effect. It has been confirmed that the Japanese traditional medicine, Saireito, inhibits the nifedipine-induced proliferation of gingival fibroblasts in vitro. We performed an in vivo experiment to determine whether Saireito has a therapeutic use in the treatment of nifedipine-induced gingival overgrowth. METHODS: The rats had significant gingival overgrowth induced by the administration of nifedipine. The space between the submandibular incisors and the width of buccal gingiva of maxillary left first molar were macroscopically measured. The buccal gingiva was microscopically examined. RESULTS: Eight weeks after Saireito was administrated together with nifedipine, Saireito decreased both the incisor space and the gingiva width which had been enlarged by nifedipine and furthermore, the area of connective tissue of nifedipine + Saireito group was significantly smaller than that of nifedipine alone. CONCLUSION: In conclusion, Saireito may be clinically effective in therapy for calcium antagonist-induced gingival overgrowth.

Anti-malarial activity of leaf-extract of hydrangea macrophylla, a common Japanese plant.

To find a new anti-malarial medicine derived from natural resources, we examined the leaves of 13 common Japanese plants in vitro. Among them, a leaf-extract of Hydrangea macrophylla, a common Japanese flower, inhibited the parasitic growth of Plasmodium falciparum. The IC50 of Hydrangea macrophylla leaf extract to Plasmodium falciparum was 0.18 microg/ml. The IC50 to NIH 3T3-3 cells, from a normal mouse cell line, was 7.2 microg/ml. Thus, selective toxicity was 40. For the in vivo test, we inoculated Plasmodium berghei, a rodent malaria parasite, to ddY mice and administered the leaf-extract of Hydrangea macrophylla (3.6 mg/0.2 ml) orally 3 times a day for 3 days. Malaria parasites did not appear in the blood of in the treated mice, but they did appear in the control group on day 3 or 4 after inoculation with the parasites. When leaf extract was administered to 5 mice 2 times a day for 3 days, malaria parasites did not appear in 4 of the mice but did appear in 1 mouse. In addition, the leaf-extract was administered orally 3 times a day for 3 days to Plasmodium berghei infected mice with a parasitemia of 2.7%. In the latter group, malaria parasites disappeared on day 3 after initiating the treatment, but they appeared again after day 5 or 6. Although we could not cure the mice entirely, we confirmed that the Hydrangea macrophylla leaf extract did contain an anti-malarial substance that can be administered orally.

Intermittent warm blood cardioplegia does not provide adequate myocardial resuscitation after global ischaemia.

OBJECTIVE: Intermittent warm blood cardioplegia is controversial, and many surgeons consider it inadequate for myocardial protection. The purpose of this study was to compare intermittent and continuous warm blood cardioplegia as resuscitation in hearts exposed to global ischaemia. METHODS: Pigs were put on cardiopulmonary bypass (CPB) and subjected to 30 min of warm, "unprotected", global ischaemia, followed by continuous (n = 7) or intermittent (n = 10, 12 ml/kg every 10 min) warm (34 degrees C) antegrade blood cardioplegia for 45 min (delivery pressure 75-80 mmHg) and weaned from CPB 45 to 60 min later. Indices of left ventricular function were acquired with the conductance catheter technique and pressure-volume loops at baseline and after 90 min of reperfusion. RESULTS: Cardioplegia was delivered during 17% of the cross-clamp time. Global left ventricular function, evaluated by preload recruitable stroke work (PRSW), was unchanged after continuous cardioplegia; 95 (76-130) (median (quartile interval)) to 91 (90-104) erg/ml x 10(3), but decreased after intermittent cardioplegia; 122 (100-128) to 64 (23-93) erg/ml x 10(3). Two pigs in the intermittent group weaned from CPB, but died before post-bypass measurement. A 95% confidence interval for the difference in post-bypass mean PRSW was estimated as 32 +/- 30 erg/ml x 10(3) (corresponding to P = 0.04 for comparison between treatments). The end-diastolic pressure-volume relation (EDPVR) increased from 0.17 (0.14-0.20) (continuous) and 0.15 (0.12-0.22) (intermittent) mmHg/ml to 0.27 (0.22-0.33) (P = 0.018) and 0.39 (0.25-0.66) (P = 0.005) mmHg/ml, respectively, indicating deterioration in diastolic function. No difference between groups was found in EDPVR, stiffness constant, troponin T release or myocardial water content. CONCLUSION: Following acute global ischaemia left ventricular global function was, in this model, less preserved using warm intermittent compared to warm continuous cardioplegia.

Effects of tea infusions of various varieties or different manufacturing types on inhibition of mouse mast cell activation.

We investigated effects of various tea infusions on mast cell activation using mouse mast cells. Among various tea extracts, infusions from cultivar 'Benihomare' and Taiwan lineage strongly inhibited histamine release after Fc epsilon RI cross-linking. Among three types of tea (from cultivar 'Benihomare'), extract from oolong tea or black tea inhibited histamine release more strongly than green tea extract. Furthermore, 'Benihomare' oolong tea extract suppressed tyrosine phosphorylation of cellular proteins after Fc epsilon RI cross-linking, but polyvinyl polypyrrolidone treatment of the extract to remove phenolic compounds, weakened the suppressive effect.

Effect of dibutyryl cyclic AMP on axoplasmic transport in the hippocampus.

The effect of dibutyryl cyclic AMP (dbcAMP) on axoplasmic transport of cultured hippocampal neuron cells from postnatal 1-day mice was analyzed with a computer-assisted video-enhanced differential interference contrast microscope system. Dibutyryl cyclic AMP increased the axoplasmic transport in both anterograde and retrograde directions. The number of particles flowing in the neurites was increased by 0.5 mM dbcAMP. The peak reached about 160% of the initial value. The instantaneous velocity of axoplasmic transport was also increased by 0.5 mM dbcAMP. The average velocity of anterograde and retrograde direction changed respectively from 1.95 +/- 1.01 microm/s (n = 55) to 2.66 +/- 1.26 microm/s (n = 58) and from 1.94 +/- 0.85 (n = 57) to 2.39 +/- 0.93 (n = 57). Rates were 136.1 and 123.1%, respectively. Previously, we have found that acetylcholine suppressed and adrenaline increased the axoplasmic transport in superior cervical ganglion cells. These effects are related to the amount of endogeneous cAMP. The results of the present report suggest that endogeneous cAMP is also related to hippocampal axoplasmic transport.

Development of a de novo tumorous necrotic lesion in the liver after transcatheter arterial embolization combined with iodized oil infusion: report of a case.

We report herein the case of a 69-year-old woman in whom a hepatic tumorous necrotic lesion was discovered following transcatheter arterial embolization combined with iodized oil infusion (Lp-TAE) for a hepatoma. The lesion, which had not been evident prior to the Lp-TAE, was resected and analyzed pathologically. The portal area distribution in the necrotic lesion was the same as that in the surrounding hepatic tissue, suggesting that the lesion was derived from the nonneoplastic hepatic tissue. Moreover, extensive wall thickening and obstruction were observed in the intrahepatic portal vein and hepatic artery. These findings suggest that the lesion was a focus of hepatic infarction triggered by Lp-TAE.

Inhibitors of DNA topoisomerase I and II isolated from the Coptis rhizomes.

A water extract of Coptis chinensis was found to have the ability to stabilize the cleavable complex with mammalian DNA topoisomerase I. As the result of bioassay-guided fractionation, two protoberberine alkaloids, epiberberine and groenlandicine, were identified as active principles with topoisomerase I-mediated DNA cleavage activity in vitro. These two alkaloids did not induce topoisomerase II-mediated DNA cleavage. During further examination of the structurally related protoberberine alkaloids, berberrubine which is produced during the processing of Coptis rhizome as traditional medicine, was identified as a specific inducer of topoisomerase II-mediated DNA cleavage in vitro. These results indicated that protoberberine alkaloids are a chemical family which can induce cleavable complexes with topoisomerases I and II.