[Stimulating effect of dietary fiber on fecal excretion of polychlorinated dibenzofurans (PCDF) and polychlorinated dibenzo-p-dioxins (PCDD) in rats].

We investigated the stimulating effect of dietary fiber on fecal excretion of PCDF and PCDD stored in the rat body. Twenty-eight male rats (71-74g body weight) were orally administered with 1ml of the causal rice oil of Yusho desease. The rice oil was contaminated with 2, 3, 4, 7, 8-pentaCDF (691.4ng), 1, 2, 3, 4, 7, 8-hexaCDF (708.6ng), 1, 2, 3, 6, 7, 8-hexaCDF (128.4ng), 1, 2, 3, 7, 8-pentaCDD (7.2ng), 1, 2, 3, 6, 7, 8-hexaCDD (34.1ng), 1, 2, 3, 7, 8, 9-hexaCDD (20.1ng) and 1, 2, 3, 4, 6, 7, 8-heptaCDD (115.9ng). The animals were fed a control diet containing 10% cellulose for seven days. Twenty-eight rats consisting of four rats a group were housed and rats of each group were given a treatment diet containing 10% rice-bran-fiber (RBF), 5% cholestyramine, 10% RBF + 5% cholestyramine, 10% RBF + 5% cholestyramine + 1% squalane, 10% burdock-fiber, 10% corn-fiber and 10% soybean-fiber during a period from eight to twenty-one days. The remaining four rats served as controls. PCDF and PCDD in feces, liver, small intestine and gastrointestinal tract were analyzed by high resolution gas chromatography-mass spectrometry. PCDF level in small intestine of rats administered with RBF + cholestyramine showed a decrease of 40% over the level of control rats.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)

[Concentration of PCDDs, PCDFs and coplanar PCBs in breast milk of Yusho patients and normal subjects].

Levels of PCDDs, PCDFs and coplanar PCBs were measured in human breast milk obtained from two Yusho patients and nine healthy subjects. The concentrations of PCDDs, PCDFs and coplanar PCBs in the breast milk of respective Yusho patients were 18.2 and 28.9, 168.8 and 418.3, and 23.8 and 55.1 pg Toxic Equivalents (TEQs)/g fat, respectively, and their mean concentrations in normal controls were 8.2, 5.1 and 21.8 pg TEQ/g fat, respectively. The results also indicated that there was a significant difference between Yusho patients and normal subjects in the concentrations of certain isomers of PCDDs, PCDFs and coplanar PCBs in the breast milk. For example, the levels of 1, 2, 3, 6, 7, 8-HxCDD were 4 and 8 times higher than the mean concentration in the normal subjects, and 2, 3, 4, 7, 8-PeCDF, 1, 2, 3, 4, 7, 8-HxCDF and 1, 2, 3, 6, 7, 8-HxCDF, so-called 'Yusho isomers' were 15 to 98 times higher than those in the normal subjects. Daily intakes of TEQ values were estimated to be 506 and 2200 pg TEQs/kg/day for breast-feeding babies of Yusho patients, and to be from 97 to 197 pg TEQs/kg/day for healthy subjects. These TEQ values were much greater than the ADI of 1-10 pg/kg/day, therefore, we should give due attention to the possible health effects due to PCDDs, PCDFs and coplanar PCBs in the breast milk of healthy mothers, as well as Yusho mothers.

[Therapeutic trial for promotion of fecal excretion of PCDFs and PCBs by the administration of cholestyramine in Yusho patients].

Any effective therapy for elimination of causal agents remaining in Yusho patients was not found until now. To know the profile of fecal excretion of polychlorinated dibenzofurans (PCDFs) and polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs), the amounts of PCDFs and PCBs in the stool of six Yusho patients with the typical symptoms were determined. The stool samples of Yusho patients were collected in 1989. PCDFs, i.e., 2,3,7,8-tetrachlorodibenzofuran (TCDF), 2,3,4,7,8-pentachlorodibenzofuran (PnCDF), 1,2,3,4,7,8- and 1,2,3,6,7,8-hexachlorodibenzofurans (HxCDFs), 1,2,3,4,6,7,8-heptachlorodibenzofuran (HpCDF) and octachlorodibenzofuran (OCDF) were detected in all of the samples. PCDFs found in the stool samples were mostly PnCDF and HxCDFs. Of PCDFs detected, PnCDF and HxCDFs contributed to 42 +/- 4.7% and 43 +/- 5.5% as mean +/- SE, respectively. The fecal excretion of PnCDF and HxCDFs in Yusho patients was 720 +/- 490 pg/day and 790 +/- 620 pg/day as mean +/- SE, respectively. On the other hand, the fecal excretion of PnCDF and HxCDFs in normal controls was 32 +/- 13 pg/day and 47 +/- 5.2 pg/day as mean +/- SE, respectively. The fecal excretion of PnCDF and HxCDFs in Yusho patients was about 23 times and 17 times each higher than that in normal controls. The fecal excretion of PCBs in Yusho patients and normal controls was 400 +/- 430 ng/day and 150 +/- 39 ng/day, respectively, as mean +/- SE. In order to promote the excretion of these toxic chemicals in the stool of Yusho patients, the patients were continuously administered with cholestyramine, an anion exchange resin, at a dose of 4 g, 3 times a day, for 6 months.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)

Clinical trial of a combination of rice bran fiber and cholestyramine for promotion of fecal excretion of retained polychlorinated dibenzofuran and polychlorinated biphenyl in Yu-Cheng patients.

A clinical trial using the combination of rice bran fiber (RBF) and cholestyramine (CHO) was carried out on Yu-Cheng patients in 1993-1994. By the analysis of blood and stool samples collected from the patients before and after (or during in the case of stool), it was verified that the administration of RBF and CHO is effective for excretion of polychlorinated biphenyl (PCB) (p < 0.05) and polychlorinated dibenzofuran (PCDF), especially 2, 3, 4, 7, 8-pentachlorodibenzofuran (p < 0.05). However, the degree of effectiveness varied upon individual patients from 60 to 160% for 2, 3, 4, 7, 8-pentachlorodibenzofuran, from 30 to 110% for 1, 2, 3, 4, 7, 8-hexachlorodibenzofuran and from 50 to 190% for PCB, respectively.

[Therapeutic trials for promotion of faecal excretion of PCDFs by the administration of rice bran fiber and cholestyramine in Yusho patients].

It is well-known that Yusho disease was caused by polychlorinated dibenzofurans (PCDFs), and that 2, 3, 4, 7, 8-Pentachlorodibenzofuran (PnCDF), 1, 2, 3, 4, 7, 8- and 1, 2, 3, 6, 7, 8-Hexachlorodibenzofurans (HxCDFs) still retain in the patient bodies. As patients usually suffer from various chronic syndrome, an effective treatment is extremely needed. In order to assess the rice bran fiber (RBF) and cholestyramine on stimulating faecal excretion of PCDFs, two clinical trials were carried out in 1990 and 1991. In the first trial in 1990, 10 g of RBF (dietary fiber content was 50%) and 4 g of cholestyramine were administered to four Yusho patients three times a day for a week. The stool from patients were collected a week before and during the administration. These were pooled respectively, and then two samples for measurement. In the second trial in 1991, 10 g of dietary fiber rich RBF (refined-RBF, dietary fiber content was 85%) and 4 g of cholestyramine were administered to four Yusho patients three times a day for two weeks. In this trial, three stool samples were obtained from each patient, ie., a week before administration, and first and second week during administration. Level of PCDFs was determined by high resorption GC/MS and the following results were obtained. 1) In the first trial (1990) the faecal excretion of PnCDF and HxCDFs increased at the rates of 42-88% and 7-47%, respectively, in three out of four patients.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)

Nondenaturing two-dimensional electrophoretic analysis of loop-sheet polymerization of serpin, squamous cell carcinoma antigen-2.

Two homologous serine proteinase inhibitors (serpins), squamous cell carcinoma (SCC) antigen-1 and -2 were separated by nondenaturing two-dimensional electrophoresis combined with immunostaining to acquire further information on these proteins under physiological conditions. Polymers of SCC antigen-2 were detected in cytosolic extracts prepared from tumor tissues. The polymer formation of SCC antigen-2 was apparently decreased and the SCC antigen-2-synthetic peptide binary complexes were newly formed by the addition of synthetic peptide with sequences corresponding to residues from P14 to P2 in the reactive center loop of SCC antigen-2. On the other hand, the incubation with synthetic peptides having the sequence of the reactive center loop of SCC antigen-1 or antithrombin had no effect on polymerization of SCC antigen-2. These data suggest that the polymerization of SCC antigen-2 may occur spontaneously in vivo by the loop-sheet mechanism of serpin.