Immunostimulatory in vitro and in vivo effects of a water-soluble extract from kale.

The water-soluble fraction of kale (Brassica oleracea L. var. acephala DC.) had immunoglobulin (Ig) production stimulating activity in human hybridoma HB4C5 cells and human peripheral blood lymphocytes. The biochemical and physical properties of the main active substance in kale were found to be a heat-stable protein with a molecular weight higher than 50 kDa. The Ig production-stimulating factors were assumed to act on the translational and/or secreting processes of Igs. This Ig production-stimulating effect was also observed in lymphocytes from the mesenteric lymph node and Peyer's patches of mice that had been administered with the kale extract for 14 d. The partially purified kale extract was analyzed by LC-ESI-MS/MS, the result indicating ribulose-1,5-bisphosphate carboxylase/oxygenase (rubisco) as an active substance. Rubisco from spinach indeed exhibited Ig production-stimulating activity in HB4C5 cells. These findings provide another beneficial aspect of kale as a health-promoting foodstuff.

KL-6 is another useful marker in assessing a micropapillary pattern in carcinomas of the breast and urinary bladder, but not the colon.

To evaluate the peculiar "inside-out" pattern in micropapillary (MP) carcinoma, we investigated the usefulness of KL-6 antibody in the assessment of the MP pattern of cancers, in comparison with antibodies to epithelial membrane antigen (EMA), MUC1 (CD227), and CD 10. Immunohistochemical investigation was performed on specimens exhibiting an MP pattern obtained from 12 persons with cancer: 4 with breast carcinoma, 3 with carcinoma of the urinary bladder, and 5 with colonic carcinoma. Immunohistochemical study with KL-6, EMA, and MUC1 antibodies revealed similar continuous linear positive patterns restricted to the surface of the MP pattern in both breast and urinary bladder cancers, revealing the peculiar "inside-out" morphology. However, EMA also gave cytoplasmic positivity in most of the cases tested, and MUC1 was also present in the cytoplasm of some cases. In sharp contrast, immune reactions of colon carcinomas with these antibodies were negative, except for focal positivity for KL-6 and MUC1 antibodies in some cases. CD10 was only focally positive in an MP pattern in 4 of the 5 cases of colon carcinoma and in 1 case with carcinoma of the urinary bladder. These findings suggest that KL-6 is a useful marker to assess the MP character of breast and urinary bladder carcinomas; that MUC1 was similarly positive, with the addition of cytoplasmic positivity in some cases; and that the MP pattern of colon cancer, positive for CD 10, was different in character from both breast and urinary bladder carcinomas, although all these cancers seemingly exhibit similar MP patterns on histopathology. This heterogeneity of the MP pattern in various cancers needs to be investigated when more cases have been accumulated.

Characterization of water/supercritical CO2 microemulsion by UV-visible spectroscopy and dynamic light scattering.

A water/supercritical CO(2) microemulsion (W/scCO(2) microE) with methyl orange (MO) and sodium bis(1H,1H,2H,2H-heptadecafluorodecyl)-2-sulfosuccinate, 8FS(EO)(2), was characterized by means of UV-visible absorption spectral and dynamic light scattering (DLS) measurements. Visual observation of the scCO(2) mixtures revealed transparent and reddish scCO(2) phases with and without separated excess water; they were identified as Winsor-II and Winsor-IV W/scCO(2) microE, respectively. The polarities of the aqueous cores in the Winsor-IV W/scCO(2) microE were examined by observing the spectral shift of the absorbance maximum of MO. It was observed that with an increase in the water-to-surfactant molar ratio (W(0)(c)), the measured absorbance maximum shifted from 418 to 423 nm, which suggests that the polarity of the environment surrounding the MO molecules was methanol-like, and the polarity increased with W(0)(c). The hydrodynamic diameter of Winsor-IV W/scCO(2) microE increased drastically with W(0)(c) but gradually with a decrease in the CO(2) density. The increase in the diameter was a result of the aggregation of the microE droplets and the fusion promoted by the increase in W(0)(c) and the decrease in the CO(2) density, in addition to the swelling of reversed micelles.

Micropapillary component of urothelial carcinoma detected in transurethral resection of bladder tumor (TUR-BT) tissues: a case report.

A case of urothelial carcinoma (UC) containing a micropapillary carcinoma (MPC) component in the urinary bladder of an 83-year-old man is reported. The MPC component of UC has been reported to be a variant featuring poor prognosis and rapid progression. In the present case, a characteristic MPC component with micropapillary growth, in association with a fine meshwork-like stroma, was observed in less than 10% of fragmented cancer tissues of UC, G3, obtained by transurethral resection of a bladder tumor (TUR-BT). Lymphatic invasion was also detected. UC cancer cells had invaded the prostatic glands and replaced the original epithelial cells. The unique "insideout" feature of the MPC component was immunohistochemically obvious on staining with antibody to epithelial membrane antigen (EMA). On immunohistochemical study, cancer cells of both UC and MPC components were positive for pancytokeratin AE1/AE3 and cytokeratins 7 and 20. Carcinoembryonic antigen (CEA) and CAM5.2 were only focally positive in UC cells. MIB-1(Ki-67) labeling index was high, at 80%-90%, in cancer cells of UC. This was a case of UC, G3 with invasion to the muscularis propria layer of the urinary bladder and also to the prostate. MPC and MPC components in cancers should be recognized as a marker of poor prognosis, even when detected in less than 10% of UC within TUR-BT tissues, as in the present case.

Multiple minute nests of incidentally detected paraganglionic cells associated with urothelial carcinoma of the urinary bladder in a 73-year-old woman.

A 73-year-old woman who had undergone resection of urothelial carcinoma (UC) (G3 > G2) of the ureter was also found to have UC (G3) in the urinary bladder, spread throughout the urinary bladder with multiple foci of carcinoma in situ and small papillary cancers. Total cystectomy was therefore performed. On detailed microscopic examination of the extirpated urinary bladder, multiple minute cell nests, 14 in number and less than 2 mm in diameter each, consisting of cells harboring small nuclei and clear cytoplasm, were incidentally detected within the sub-mucosal layer and the proper muscle layer, mainly in the posterior wall of the urinary bladder. Some cell nests were clearly associated with ganglion cells. The cells in minute nests were positive on Grimelius staining and also strongly positive on staining with antibodies to chromogranin A, neuron-specific enolase (NSE), synaptophysin, and vimentin on immunohistochemical staining. In addition, sustentacular cells in the minute cell nests were positive for S100 protein. Staining with antibodies to pancytokeratin AE1/AE3, glial fibrillary acidic protein, and p53 was negative in the cell nests. Based on these findings, the multiple minute foci were diagnosed as paraganglionic cells (PGCs) incidentally detected in the urinary bladder of an elderly woman, in association with UC. Although PGCs are rarely detected in adult human urinary bladder on routine histopathological examination, the possibility of their existence should be kept in mind by pathologists, especially in coexistence with UC. This is the first case of PGCs associated with UC in the human urinary bladder in the English literature.

Eosinophil infiltration in post-transurethral resection prostatitis and cystitis with special reference to sequential changes of eosinophilia.

Post-transurethral resection (TUR) status in the prostate and urinary bladder has been infrequently documented. Furthermore, sequential changes in eosinophil count in peripheral blood (PB) after TUR have not been investigated in detail. In the present study, eosinophil counts and changes in eosinophils in PB were examined before to after TUR of the prostate (P) in 20 patients with benign prostatic hyperplasia. Among them, 14 patients exhibited increased numbers of eosinophils, the greatest increase being 17%. After TUR to treat bladder tumor (BT), massive infiltration of eosinophils into the resected areas, peaking 1 month later, was also detected in 8 of 15 cases of post-TUR cystitis. The PB eosinophil counts increased by more than 5% in two of five cases of post-TUR cystitis in which eosinophil counts were obtained before and after surgery. Most infiltrating eosinophils reacted positively to antibodies to eosinophil cationic proteins. These results indicated that, in patients with post-TUR prostatitis, the number of eosinophils in PB increased, and peaked 1 month later, with infiltration by eosinophils observed. Pathologists and urologists should be aware of the potential for increase in eosinophils not only in regions of TUR but also in PB.