Comparison of dinophysistoxin-1 and esterified dinophysistoxin-1 (dinophysistoxin-3) contents in the scallop Patinopecten yessoensis and the mussel Mytilus galloprovincialis.

Okadaic acid (OA) homologues in toxic dinoflagellate Dinophysis fortii, scallops Patinopecten yessoensis and mussels Mytilus galloprovincialis collected at the same site in Mutsu Bay, Japan were determined by high-performance liquid chromatography fluorescence detection (HPLC-FLD) as their 9-anthryldiazomethane (ADAM) derivatives. Prominent toxin in the scallops and the mussels was esterified dinophysistoxin-1 (DTX3) and dinophysistoxin-1 (DTX1), respectively, although only DTX1 was detected in D. fortii. Toxin contents in the mussels were significantly higher than those in the scallops, indicating that mussels have higher potential to accumulate OA homologues than scallops.

A novel mutation of desert hedgehog in a patient with 46,XY partial gonadal dysgenesis accompanied by minifascicular neuropathy.

We describe a patient with 46,XY partial gonadal dysgenesis (PGD) who presented with polyneuropathy. Sural nerve pathology revealed peculiar findings characterized by extensive minifascicular formation within the endoneurium and with a decreased density of myelinated fibers. We found, in the patient, a homozygous missense mutation (ATG-->ACG) at the initiating codon in exon 1 of the desert hedgehog (DHH) gene, which predicts a failure of translation of the gene. The same heterozygous mutation was found in the patient's father. This is the first report of a human DHH gene mutation, and the findings demonstrate that mutation of the DHH gene may cause 46, XY PGD associated with minifascicular neuropathy.

Sleeve lobectomy of the middle lobe for hilar lung cancer with accompanying cardiomyopathy and actinomycosis.

The indication for sleeve lobectomy of the middle lobe is limited, because the frequency of cancer occupying both the middle lobe and its bifurcation is low and the more commonly used middle and lower lobectomy is an alternate procedure. However, if a patient has accompanying cardiopulmonary restriction, lung preservation is paramount. We present a patient with hilar lung cancer (TisN0M0) associated with progressive cardiomyopathy, who underwent sleeve lobectomy of the middle lobe; the cancer took a favorable course.

Angiosarcoma of the chest wall.

A 50-year-old man sustaining bilateral chest wall angiosarcomas at intervals of several months underwent lesion resection. Angiosarcoma is so rare that we found no case in the literature who had undergone bilateral chest wall surgery for such tumors. His second tumor was thought to be metastatic rather than primary. Despite the 2 surgeries, irradiation, and chemotherapy, however, his prognosis was grave, as in other reports on angiosarcoma.

Primary tracheal mucosa-associated lymphoid tissue lymphoma accompanying lung cancer. Common tumorigenesis or coincidental coexistence?

We report a 67-year-old patient with coexistent tracheal non-Hodgkin's lymphoma and lung cancer the first case, to our knowledge, of this concomitant incidence in the literature. Chest radiography showed a mass in the right lung and pulmonary fibrosis. Biopsy of the unanticipated tracheal irregularity revealed non-Hodgkin's lymphoma, compatible with mucosa-associated lymphoid tissue lymphoma. After right upper lobectomy, chemotherapy for non-Hodgkin's lymphoma was conducted, but the patient died 11 months postoperatively of pulmonary fibrosis. Pulmonary fibrosis was suspected of having progressed from drug-induced pneumonitis caused by anticancer drugs. A common tumorigenetic factor may thus exist between tracheobronchial mucosa-associated lymphoid tissue lymphoma and lung cancer.

Characterization of Japanese eel immunoglobulin M and its level in serum.

Japanese eel immunoglobulin M (IgM) was purified from the sera of Anguilla japonica immunized with Edwardsiella tarda FPU 347 and characterized. Analysis of the purified IgM on sodium dodecyl sulfate-polyacrylamide gels (SDS-PAGE) under reducing and non-reducing conditions revealed that the eel IgM was a tetrameric protein with a molecular weight of 790,000; it contained an equimolar heavy chain and light chain with molecular weights of 72,000 and 25,000, respectively. While the N-terminal sequence of the heavy chain, VELTQPGSMVLKPGQSLTI, showed similarity to the variable regions of those of teleost fishes Igs, the N-terminal sequence of the light chain, DIVLTQSPAVQSVQLGDT, was similar to the variable regions of chondrostei and mammalian kappa chains. Lectin-binding assays showed that the binding of concanavalin A (Con A) to the Japanese eel IgM heavy chain was competitively inhibited by D-mannose and could be abolished by alpha-mannosidase treatment indicating the presence on the heavy chain of oligosaccharides, whose terminal were a bound mannoses. The average IgM concentration in the sera of the healthy eels was 3.4 mg ml(-1); it amounted to 10.3% of the total serum protein.

Epstein-Barr virus (EBV)-infected cells were frequently but dispersely detected in T-cell lymphomas of various types by in situ hybridization with an RNA probe specific to EBV-specific nuclear antigen 1.

Association of Epstein-Barr virus (EBV) with T-cell lymphomas was examined by in situ hybridization (ISH) with an antisense probe specific to abundantly expressed EBV-encoded small RNA-1 (EBER1). In addition to EBER1, EBV-specific nuclear antigen-1 (EBNA-1) is commonly expressed in EBV-associated tumors and latently infected B-lymphocytes. We examined paraffin sections of T-cell lymphomas except those of nasal origin for expression of latent viral transcripts by ISH. Using ISH with improved antisense RNA probe specific to EBNA-1 mRNA, the virus was detected in 19 (59%) of 32 cases, whereas the EBER1 transcript was found in only 15 (47%) of 32 cases by conventional EBER-ISH, resulting in 21 EBV-positive cases (66%) by combining the two methods. Latent membrane protein 1 (LMP1) mRNA of EBV was detected in 15 of 32 cases (47%), while no EBNA2 expression was observed in any these tumors. Patients with these lymphomas positive for LMP1 expression showed lower survival rates than those without expression of the viral mRNA. These results indicate that, in addition to EBER-ISH, RNA-RNA ISH with EBNA1 probes could be useful for detection of EBV-infected cells in paraffin sections, and detection of LMP1 mRNA expression in tumor cells could be a useful prognostic factor for T-cell lymphoma.

Metastatic lung choriocarcinoma resected nine years after hydatidiform mole.

A 38-year-old woman with metastatic choriocarcinoma of the lung had been treated for a hydatidiform mole nine years previously. During the interval she had conceived and given birth to a child. Following lobectomy she has been metastasis-free for five years.

Immunoblastic lymphadenopathy-like T cell lymphoma evolving into a massive plasma cell proliferation with biclonal paraproteinemia.

We present a case of immunoblastic lymphadenopathy-like T cell lymphoma (IBL-T) who subsequently developed a massive proliferation of plasma cells. At diagnosis of IBL-T, the patient had polyclonal hypergammaglobulinemia and subsequently, while on chemotherapy, developed paraproteinemia with biclonal peaks and the IBL-T lesion was replaced with a massive proliferation of CD38-positive plasma cells. The evolution was not likely to be attributed to a new neoplastic proliferation of B cells. It appeared that two B cell clones possibly had a growth advantage among the polyclonal B cells due to a depletion of suppressor T cells or to a disturbance in the immune system.

Effective treatment of thymic carcinoma with operation and combination chemotherapy against acute monocyte leukemia: case report and review of the literature.

Thymic carcinoma associated with acute monocyte leukemia (AMoL) and a history of choriocarcinoma was diagnosed in a 58-year-old female. We found no other such case in a literature search. She was first treated with DCMP therapy: daunorubicin, cytosine arabinoside, 6MP-riboside, and prednisolone against AMoL. After induction chemotherapy, complete AMoL remission was attained. Chest CT scan after chemotherapy revealed regression of the mediastinal tumor. Resection of the tumor included the left upper lobe of the lung, phrenic nerve and pericardium. Pathological diagnosis showed poorly or moderately differentiated squamous cell carcinoma. Although the patient died of pneumonia during chemotherapy for relapsed AMoL, chest X-ray and CT revealed no recurrence of the mediastinal tumor after the original operation. Judging from this case and other successful cases of chemotherapy, we feel that intensive chemotherapy may be a beneficial strategy against thymic carcinoma.

Determination of pectenotoxin-2 after solid-phase extraction from seawater and from the dinoflagellate Dinophysis fortii by liquid chromatography with electrospray mass spectrometry and ultraviolet detection. Evidence of oxidation of pectenotoxin-2 to pectenotoxin-6 in scallops.

Solid-phase extraction of pectenotoxin-2 (PTX2) and pectenotoxin-6 (PTX6) from seawater samples using a nonpolar cartridge column Sep-Pak C18 was investigated for determination of PTXs in toxic phytoplankton. PTX2 and PTX6 were almost completely recovered from the seawater samples. Determinations of PTX2 from the toxic phytoplankton and scallops were carried out by liquid chromatography (LC) on UV trace equipped with an atmospheric pressure electrospray ionization mass spectrometry (ESI-MS). PTX2 obtained from the toxic phytoplankton and scallops yielded a mass spectra exhibiting abundant [M+H]+, [M+NH4]+ and [M+Na]+ indicating that ESI-MS is useful for the identification of PTX2. Determinations of PTX6 from the toxic phytoplankton and scallops were carried out by LC fluorescence detection. A significantly higher content of PTX6 compared to PTX2 in scallops was observed, suggesting that a transformation of PTX2 to PTX6 in tissues of the scallops occurs rapidly.

Comparison of egg-yolk protein hydrolysate and soyabean protein hydrolysate in terms of nitrogen utilization.

Egg-yolk protein hydrolysate (YPp) is an alternative protein source in formulas for infants with intolerance to cow's milk or soyabean protein, or for patients with intestinal disorders. However, the nutritional value of YPp has never been investigated. YPp was prepared by enzymic hydrolysis of delipidated yolk protein, which led to an average peptide length of 2.6 residues. Three experiments were performed. In Expt 1, we compared the intestinal absorption rate of YPp and soyabean protein hydrolysate (SPp) in rats. YPp and SPp solutions were injected into the duodenum of anaesthetized rats and blood samples were taken from the portal vein at 7, 15, 30, 60, and 120 min. A higher amino acid concentration in the serum of the YPp group demonstrated that YPp was absorbed faster than SPp. In Expt 2, the effects of dietary YPp and SPp on body-weight gain, protein efficiency ratio (PER) and feed efficiency ratio (FER) were determined. At the end of the experiment, body weight had increased in both groups, while PER and FER were significantly higher in rats fed on YPp. In Expt 3, to investigate the effects of dietary YPp and SPp on N metabolism, we determined the biological value and net protein utilization. Yolk protein was the reference protein. Biological value and net protein utilization values were very similar between animals fed on yolk protein and YPp diets, and significantly higher than in rats fed on the SPp diet. The present findings demonstrate that there is no adverse effect of hydrolysis of yolk protein on N utilization, and that the nutritive value of YPp is similar to that of yolk protein and superior to that of SPp.

[Efficiency of segmental SMANCS/Lip-TAE for hepatocellular carcinoma--comparative studies in the efficacy of segmental SMANCS/Lip-TAI].

We compared the segmental SMANCS/Lip-TAI and the segmental SMANCS/Lip-TAE and studied the effectiveness of both treatments and the influence and/or the side effects on liver function. In resected cases, we studied histopathologic examination. The response rate of the group treated by TAI was 28.6%, and that of the group treated by TAE was 76.5%. In the group treated by TAE, the therapeutic effects were good in nodular type HCC, using small doses of SMANCS. In both groups, the incidence and degree of side effects showed no significant difference. Hepatic insufficiency occurred in a few cases of the group treated by TAI. In resected cases, viable areas remained below the tumor capsule. In conclusion, segmental SMANCS/Lip-TAE seemed to be an effective treatment without any serious complications.

A case of malignant Triton tumor of the lung.

The present paper reports a 28-year-old male with an asymptomaticmalignant Triton tumor of the lung. Chest radiographs revealed a mass in the left hilum. The left lower lobe including the tumor and the mediastinal lymph node was resected. There was no metastasis or tumor recurrence during the one-year period following the surgical procedure. To our knowledge, this is the first case report of a primary pulmonary malignant Triton tumor.

Angiosarcoma of the chest wall.

Angiosarcoma is a rare but highly malignant disease. This report presents a 22-year-old male who has survived a primary angiosarcoma arising from the chest wall. The patient had been complaining of anterior chest pain for 3 years. CT and MRI revealed a tumor protruding into the right thoracic cavity from the anterior chest wall but no further findings. First, the tumor was resected using video-assisted thoracoscopy. The pathological diagnosis established from a frozen section was of a benign mesothelioma, but this was changed to angiosarcoma based on findings from a paraffin-embedded specimen. As a consequence, the third rib and intercostal muscles were resected in a second operation. Three years following surgery there was no evidence of tumor recurrence or metastasis. This case supports a suggestion that not all patients with angiosarcomas experience the same level of malignancy.

Intrathoracic malignant peripheral nerve-sheath tumour associated with lipoma.

A 76-year-old woman presented with an intrathoracic malignant peripheral nerve-sheath tumour accompanied by mediastinal lipomas. The tumours were resected, but the schwannoma recurred 4 months later. The patient died of pneumonia after a second operation. To our knowledge, this is the first published case of malignant intrathoracic tumour of nerve-sheath origin associated with lipomas.

Localization of the human IL-2-inducible T-cell kinase gene (ITK) to chromosome band 5q34 and the mouse gene (Itk) to chromosome 15 by fluorescence in situ hybridization.

ITK, predominantly expressed on T cells and myeloid cells, is a member of the Tec nonreceptor tyrosine kinase family. Both human ITK and mouse Itk genomic clones were isolated to assign the chromosome location. The human ITK gene was mapped to chromosome band 5q34 and the mouse gene to chromosome 15 by fluorescence in situ hybridization.