Monoclonal antibodies to human squamous cell carcinoma of the lung and their application to tumor diagnosis.

Three immunoglobulin G1 monoclonal antibodies, LuCa2, LuCa3, and LuCa4, were produced by fusing murine myeloma NS1 cells with splenocytes obtained from a BALB/c mouse immunized with SK-MES1 cells derived from human squamous cell carcinoma of the lung. These three monoclonal antibodies were shown to recognize different protein antigens on SK-MES1 cells by indirect immunoprecipitation and sodium dodecyl sulfate-polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis analysis. While the pattern of cell line distribution of antigens recognized by these antibodies was not tumor type specific, their reactivity with tissue and pleural effusion was much more informative than with cell lines. The presence of target antigens in vivo was analyzed by immunoperoxidase staining of frozen tissue sections and immunofluorescence staining of tumor cells in pleural effusions. LuCa2 antibody was reactive with lung squamous carcinoma and adenocarcinoma tumor tissues and pleural effusions, but only infrequently with those of small cell carcinoma. This antibody was also reactive with many tumor tissues from other organs as well as with various normal tissues, including alveoli and bronchus. LuCa3 and LuCa4 antibodies reacted with lung squamous carcinoma in tissues and pleural effusions, but not with lung adenocarcinoma nor with small cell carcinoma. These two antibodies reacted only weakly with normal squamous tissues of the esophagus, skin, and cervix uteri, but not with various other normal tissues. Moreover, LuCa3 had weak reactivity with squamous cell carcinoma tissue of tongue and esophagus, whereas LuCa4 had no reactivity with nonpulmonary tumor tissues. LuCa3 and LuCa4 antibodies should be of clinical interest, because our data suggest that these antibodies may be potentially useful for the diagnosis of the histological type of lung tumor cells in both cancer tissue and pleural effusions.

[Clinical effect of arbekacin on MRSA infections after gastrointestinal surgery].

From January 1991 to July 1993, 58 patients with MRSA infections in our clinic at Wakayama Medical College and six affiliated hospitals were administered with arbekacin (ABK). The clinical results were as follows: 1. The clinical efficacy rates of ABK were 84% in pneumonia, 100% in both wound infections and hepatobiliary tract infections, and 85% in total. The bacteriological efficacy rate was 83%. 2. Regarding the administration route, the clinical efficacy rates were 60-79% by the intravenous treatment and inhalation therapy. Especially by the local administration with ABK, MRSA was eradicated in all cases. 3. The sufficient efficacy was obtained by the treatment of ABK alone (89%) and by the combined treatment with ABK (82%) and another antibiotics. From these results, it is concluded that ABK is useful for the treatment of MRSA infections after gastrointestinal surgery.

[Primary hemangiopericytoma of the chest wall: a case report].

We describe a rare male case of malignant hemangiopericytoma of the chest wall. An extrapleural chest wall mass about 1.5 x 4 cm in size was detected along the right 3rd rib on a chest roentgenogram when the patient was 58 years old. The tumor did not enlarge for over 12 years thereafter. At the age of 73 years, the patient came to our hospital for chest pain after a traffic accident. A roentgenogram revealed the extrapleural tumor of the chest, which was enlarged to 8 x 12 x 7 cm, and right hemothorax. The tumor was resected together with the 3rd and 4th ribs. Light and electron microscopy and immunostaining studies led to a diagnosis of malignant hemangiopericytoma. The postoperative course was uneventful, and radiotherapy and chemotherapy were performed. The patient has been well without recurrence for 18 months after the operation. We also reviewed 9 cases of this tumor reported in Japan.

[Relationship between signal intensity of blood flow in the pulmonary artery obtained by magnetic resonance imaging and results of right cardiac catheterization in patients with pulmonary disease].

Electrocardiogram-gated spin-echo magnetic resonance (MR) images of the chest were obtained in five normal controls and 35 patients with pulmonary disease (11 chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, 6 pulmonary thromboembolism, 5 primary pulmonary hypertension, 4 interstitial pulmonary disease, 4 pulmonary hypertension with disturbance of portal circulation, and 5 other diseases) who underwent right cardiac catheterization. In transverse images at the level of the right main pulmonary artery (rPA) and sagittal images at the level through the midsternal line and the spinal chord, the signal intensity of blood flow in the rPA was quantitatively evaluated, and the correlations with the MR signal intensity of intravascular flow and the parameters of hemodynamics were studied. In diastole MR images of both normal controls and patients mostly showed a significant signal intensity of flowing blood, but in systole some patients demonstrated significant signals and visible flow images. In systolic MR images, the mean values of hemodynamic parameters (mean pulmonary arterial pressure (mPAP), pulmonary arteriolar resistance (PAR), and cardiac index (CI)) were abnormal in patients with significant signal intensity of flow compared with those in patients without sufficient MR signal. The signal intensity was not correlated with mPAP; however, it significantly increased as PAR increased, and it increased as CI decreased both in diastole and in systole. Especially in systole, there was good correlation between the signal intensity in transverse MR images and CI (r = -0.85, P less than 0.01) and between signal intensity in sagittal MR images and PAR (r = 0.90, P less than 0.01). These results suggest that significant flow signal in the rPA in systole has pathophysiological significance, and signal intensity is considered to be significantly affected by changes of PAR and CI. The signal intensity of blood flow in the rPA on MR images can be used as an index of the severity of right heart failure associated with pulmonary disease. MR imaging is a useful modality to evaluate pulmonary circulation disturbance because of its ability to assess blood flow in the pulmonary artery noninvasively without interference from other structures such as bone and normal lung.