A case of tongue carcinoma associated with chronic graft-versus-host disease after allogeneic haematopoietic stem cell transplantation.

Graft-versus-host disease (GVHD) can occur at various sites, including the oral mucosa, where it is associated with a high risk of head and neck cancer. We report the case of a 46-year-old woman with tongue cancer that developed following Hodgkin's lymphoma and chronic GVHD, and we discuss the possible causes of cancer development.

Clinicostatistical study of carotid calcification on panoramic radiographs.

OBJECTIVE: The purpose was to evaluate carotid calcifications on panoramic radiographs, and relate to risk factors for vascular diseases. METHOD: Between 1997 and 2001, 2568 radiographs were retrospectively collected from new patients at Mie University Hospital whose ages ranged from 50 to 70 years. The mean age of the subjects was 62.2 years (men 61.9 years, women 62.3 years). Medical and social data were collected from case notes, and body weight, height, and age of menopause confirmed by telephone interviews. RESULT: About 106 carotid calcifications were found on the panoramic radiographs of 26 males and 80 females. The ratio of males to females was 1:3.07. The subjects with carotid calcifications had medical histories that included hypertension (27.6%), obesity (21.1%), hyperlipidemia (14.5%), and cardiovascular diseases (13.2%), all with recognized risk factors for atheromas. Of 76 patients who responded to follow up interviews, two (2.63%) died from cardiovascular stroke during an average follow up of 2.43 years. CONCLUSIONS: The results show carotid calcifications detected on panoramic radiographs can be used to help predict vascular strokes in patients. In cases where calcified carotid artery atheromas are detected, the dentist or oral and maxillofacial surgeon should refer the patient to a specialized physician.

Effects of near-infrared irradiation to stellate ganglion in glossodynia.

OBJECTIVE: This study was designed to assess the effect of stellate ganglion near-infrared irradiation (SGR) on glossodynia and the mechanism of action. STUDY DESIGN: Thirty-seven patients with glossodynia received SGR once weekly for 4 weeks. The response to treatment was evaluated on the basis of the change in pain intensity, assessed with a visual analogue scale (VAS) before and after 4 weeks of treatment. The temperature and blood flow of the tongue were also measured before and after first SGR. As control, eight healthy subjects were studied. RESULTS: Tongue pain as assessed by the VAS decreased in 28 of the 37 patients (75.7%). Mean pain intensity decreased significantly from 5.1 +/- 2.2 to 1.9 +/- 2.1 (P < 0.05). Tongue blood flow at rest in the patients with glossodynia [7.2 +/- 1.6 ml min(-1) (100 g)(-1)] was significantly lower than that in the healthy subjects [7.8 +/- 0.23 ml min(-1) (100 g)(-1)]. Five minutes after SGR, the temperature of the tongue rose 1.5 +/- 0.21 degrees C, and blood flow increased to 8.5 +/- 1.2 ml min(-1) (100 g)(-1). Tongue blood flow (at rest) after 4 weeks of SGR had increased to 7.7 +/- 1.1 ml min(-1) (100 g)(-1). CONCLUSION: SGR is an effective treatment for glossodynia. The mechanism by which SGR improves symptoms associated with glossodynia is thought to be as follows: SGR inhibits abnormally increased sympathetic activity associated with glossodynia. This is followed by normalization of decreased tongue blood flow, thereby alleviating pain.

Clostridial deep neck infection developed after extraction of a tooth: a case report and review of the literature in Japan.

A rare case of severe deep neck infection caused by clostridia after extraction of the left lower canine is presented. The patient was a 63-year-old Japanese woman who had a history of diabetes. The pertinent literature in Japan is reviewed and discussed.

A 33-kDa allergen from rice (Oryza sativa L. Japonica). cDNA cloning, expression, and identification as a novel glyoxalase I.

Cereal proteins are known to cause allergic reactions such as Baker's asthma and severe atopic dermatitis to certain populations. In rice allergy, proteins with molecular masses of 14-16, 26, 33, and 56 kDa have been demonstrated to be potentially allergenic. In this study, to identify and characterize the 33-kDa allergen, designated Glb33, this protein was first purified to homogeneity, and its cDNA clone was isolated. When expressed in Escherichia coli, the recombinant Glb33 was shown to be as reactive as the native Glb33 with mouse IgG and patients' IgE antibodies to Glb33. The Glb33 cDNA coded for a protein of 291 amino acids with two 120-amino acid residue repeats, and the amino acid sequence showed similarity to glyoxalase I from various organisms, including human, plant, yeast, and bacterium. As expected, both native Glb33 purified from rice seeds and the recombinant protein had glyoxalase I activity that catalyzes condensation of methylglyoxal and glutathione into S-lactoylglutathione. However, Glb33 had a higher sequence identity to the bacterial glyoxalase I rather than to known plant and yeast enzymes. Both the Glb33 transcript and the protein were detected not only in maturing seeds of rice but also in its stem and leaf. Taken all together, the rice allergen, Glb33, was identified to be a novel type of plant glyoxalase I that is expressed in various plant tissues, including maturing seeds.

Characterization of a novel rice bZIP protein which binds to the alpha-globulin promoter.

Many plant basic leucine-zipper (bZIP) proteins have been isolated several of which have been shown to play a role in seed-specific gene expression. We isolated a novel bZIP protein (REB) gene encoding 425 amino acid residues from rice endosperm, which is similar to Opaque-2 heterodimerizing protein (OHP) of maize. The gene product, termed REB, contains Pro- and Gly-rich regions at its N terminus, followed by the typical basic and leucine-repeat regions. Recombinant REB binds to the region from -754 to -562 in the alpha-globulin gene promoter, but not to promoters of other major storage genes such as glutelin, prolamin and albumin. The 5' region of the alpha-globulin gene possesses three binding sites for REB, which were determined as GCCACGT(A/C)AG, by using synthetic oligonucleotides. A Super-shift assay using anti-REB antibody suggested that REB is a major DNA-binding protein for the alpha-globulin gene promoter in rice endosperm.

The same nuclear proteins bind to the 5'-flanking regions of genes for the rice seed storage protein: 16 kDa albumin, 13 kDa prolamin and type II glutelin.

Expression of rice seed storage-protein genes is dramatically regulated over a short period of seed maturation. To characterize the expression mechanism of the rice seed storage protein genes, their expression of major storage protein genes (16 kDa albumin, 13 kDa prolamin and type II glutelin) were compared by RNA blot analysis. Their coordinate expression suggests that the transcriptional regulatory machinery is shared among the glutelin, prolamin and albumin-genes. We isolated two novel genomic genes for prolamins (PG5a and PG5b) and obtained the promoter region of the glutelin gene by PCR. The 5'-flanking regions of these three rice seed storage protein genes were found to contain some similar conserved sequences. Nuclear extract partially purified from maturing rice seeds was used for the gel shift assay of the 5' region of the RA gene. We identified two DNA sequences of RA gene which were recognized by independent DNA-binding proteins. The complexes of these DNA sequences and DNA-binding proteins were inhibited by the fragments containing the 5' regions of the prolamin and glutelin genes, suggesting that these three genes share transcription factors.

Reduction of 14-16 kDa allergenic proteins in transgenic rice plants by antisense gene.

An antisense gene strategy was applied to suppress the 14-16 kDa allergen gene expression in maturing rice seeds. Gene constructs producing antisense RNAs of the 16 kDa allergen under the control of some rice seed-specific promoters were introduced into rice by electroporation. Immunoblot and RNA blot analyses of the seeds from the transgenic rice plants using the allergen-specific monoclonal antibody and a sequence-specific antisense RNA probe demonstrated that the 14-16 kDa allergen proteins and their transcripts of the seeds from several transgenic lines were present in much lower in amounts than those of the seeds from parental wild-type rice. The high levels of reduction observed were stably inherited in at least three generations.

Immunochemical and biochemical identification of the rice seed protein encoded by cDNA clone A3-12.

Previously isolated cDNA clone A3-12 that was expressed in E. coli as the fusion protein with Trp E showed immunoreactivity with the mouse antibody raised against isolated alpha-globulin from rice seed. The N-terminal amino acid sequences determined for the purified alpha-globulin and its tryptic peptides were identical with the deduced amino acid sequence reported, except for two residues at the protein N terminus. An error in the reported sequence was confirmed by re-sequencing the cDNA, the nucleotide sequence for the two N-terminal residues being shown to be CAGCTG and not CACGTG. Thus, the protein encoded by cDNA clone A3-12 was identified to be the major rice seed globulin, alpha-globulin, with an apparent molecular mass of 26kDa.

Cloning of the rice seed alpha-globulin-encoding gene: sequence similarity of the 5'-flanking region to those of the genes encoding wheat high-molecular-weight glutenin and barley D hordein.

A genomic clone encoding the rice endosperm major globulin (alpha-globulin) with an apparent molecular mass of 26 kDa was isolated, and its nucleotide (nt) sequence and transcription start point (tsp) were determined. The tsp was identical to that of the gene encoding the wheat high-molecular-weight (HMW) glutenin subunit. The consensus '-300 element' and an A + T-rich sequence exist upstream from the TATA box in the 5'-flanking region. A nt sequence of about 130 bp in the 5'-flanking region was found to be markedly homologous to those of the genes encoding the wheat HMW glutenin subunit and barley D hordein.

Classification of rice allergenic protein cDNAs belonging to the alpha-amylase/trypsin inhibitor gene family.

Seven cDNA clones encoding rice allergenic proteins were newly isolated. Comparison of the sequences of ten cDNA clones, including the previously isolated three clones results in their classification into four subfamilies. Homologies in the nucleotide sequences among and within subfamilies are 70-85% and above 95%, respectively. A sequence of twenty five amino-acid residues at the C-terminal proximal region is highly conserved among all clones and resembles that of plant lipid transfer proteins.

Four rice seed cDNA clones belonging to the alpha-amylase/trypsin inhibitor gene family encode potential rice allergens.

Four rice seed proteins encoded by cDNAs belonging to the alpha-amylase/trypsin inhibitor gene family were overexpressed as TrpE-fusion proteins in E. coli. The expressed rice proteins were detected by SDS-PAGE as major proteins in bacterial cell lysates. Western blot analyses showed that all the recombinant proteins were immunologically reactive to rabbit polyclonal antibodies and to a mouse monoclonal antibody (25B9) specific for a previously isolated rice allergen of 16 kDa. Some truncated proteins from deletion mutants of the cDNAs retained their reactivity to the specific antibodies. These results suggest that the cDNAs encode potential rice allergens and that some epitopes of the recombinant proteins are still immunoreactive when they are expressed as their fragments.

Histochemical and ultrastructural pathology of skeletal muscle in a patient with abetalipoproteinemia.

Pathological examination was carried out of the skeletal muscle of an 8-year-old boy with abetalipoproteinemia. The patient complained of diarrhea, and showed a deficiency of betalipoprotein, decreased fat-soluble vitamins, acanthocytosis and a mild increase in serum creatine kinase. The prominent histochemical finding was punctate deposits of acid phosphatase activity in most fibers. Ultrastructural lesions revealed a number of giant lysosomes. Although these pathological findings seemed to be related to vitamin E deficiency, other pathological findings such as concentric laminated bodies or filamentous bodies were also observed. The clinical course and the changes in the pathological findings in our patient after long-term vitamin E therapy need to be observed.

Direct observation of motion of single F-actin filaments in the presence of myosin.

Actin is found in almost all kinds of non-muscle cells where it is thought to have an important role in cell motility. A proper understanding of that role will only be possible when reliable in vitro systems are available for investigating the interaction of cellular actin and myosin. A start has been made on several systems, most recently by Sheetz and Spudich who demonstrated unidirectional movement of HMM-coated beads along F-actin cables on arrays of chloroplasts exposed by dissection of a Nitella cell. As an alternative approach, we report here the direct observation by fluorescence microscopy of the movements of single F-actin filaments interacting with soluble myosin fragments energized by Mg2+-ATP.