Correction to: Lower grip strength and dynamic body balance in women with distal radial fractures.

The article Lower grip strength and dynamic body balance in women with distal radial fractures, written by. K. Fujita, H. Kaburagi, A. Nimura, T. Miyamoto, Y. Wakabayashi, Y. Seki, H. Aoyama, H. Shimura, R. Kato, A. Okawa was originally published electronically on the publisher's internet portal.

Lower grip strength and dynamic body balance in women with distal radial fractures.

In this case-control study, we concluded that women with distal radial fractures who were surgically treated showed lower grip strength and dynamic body balancing than those of controls. These results suggest that measurements of grip strength and dynamic body balance may be useful screening tools to assess future fracture risk. INTRODUCTION: Patients with distal radial fractures (DRFs) are at risk of future fragility fractures. However, their physical characteristics and tendencies for falls remain unclear. We aimed to compare the physical characteristics of women with and without distal radial fractures. METHODS: We included 128 women with a DRF as their first fragility fracture (fracture group) who underwent surgical treatment. Concurrently, 128 age- and sex-matched participants without a history of fragility fractures were selected as controls (control group). The participants underwent assessments of grip strength and the body balancing ability test. Measurements were taken twice in the fracture group, at 2 weeks and 6 months postoperatively, and once in the control group. The body balancing ability test included the Functional Reach Test, Timed Up and Go test (TUG), 2-Step test (2ST), and Timed Uni-pedal Stance test. The participants also completed questionnaires about their health. RESULTS: There were no significant differences (p > 0.05) in patient characteristics between the groups. The fracture group showed lower grip strength across all age groups. In the DRF group, prolonged TUG time was observed at 2 weeks postoperatively in all age groups and at 6 months in participants aged 55-74 years; the 2ST score was significantly lower in participants aged between 65 and 74 years. CONCLUSIONS: Women with DRF demonstrated lower grip strength and dynamic body balancing ability. Lower grip strength and dynamic body balancing ability were identified as significant risk factors in women with DRF, suggesting that these may be useful screening tools to assess fracture risk.

Reappraisal of classification of distal cholangiocarcinoma based on tumour depth.

BACKGROUND: In the eighth edition of the AJCC cancer staging classification, the T system for distal cholangiocarcinoma (DCC) has been revised from a layer-based to a depth-based approach. The aim of this study was to propose an optimal T classification using a measured depth in resectable DCC. METHODS: Patients who underwent pancreatoduodenectomy for DCC at 32 hospitals between 2001 and 2010 were included. The distance between the level of the naive bile duct and the deepest cancer cells was measured as depth of invasion (DOI). Invasive cancer foci were measured as invasive tumour thickness (ITT). Log rank χ2 scores were used to determine the cut-off points, and concordance index (C-index) to assess the survival discrimination of each T system. RESULTS: Among 404 patients, DOI was measurable in 182 (45·0 per cent) and ITT was measurable in all patients, with median values of 2·3 and 5·6 mm respectively. ITT showed a positive correlation with DOI (rS = 0·854, P < 0·001), and the cut-off points for prognosis were 1, 5 and 10 mm. Median survival time was shorter with increased ITT: 12·4 years for ITT below 1 mm, 5·2 years for ITT at least 1 mm but less than 5 mm, 3·0 years for ITT at least 5 mm but less than 10 mm, and 1·5 years for ITT 10 mm or more (P < 0·001). This classification exhibited more favourable prognostic discrimination than the T systems of the seventh and eighth editions of the AJCC (C-index 0·646, 0·622 and 0·624 respectively). CONCLUSION: ITT is an accurate approach for depth assessment in DCC. The four-tier ITT classification with cut-off points of 1, 5 and 10 mm seems to be a better T system than those in the seventh and eighth editions of the AJCC classification.

Relationship between CT features and high preoperative serum carcinoembryonic antigen levels in early-stage lung adenocarcinoma.

AIM: To assess the relationship between thin-section computed tomography (CT) features of primary tumour and high preoperative serum carcinoembryonic antigen (CEA) levels that reportedly suggest poor prognoses in early-stage lung adenocarcinoma. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Two hundred and seventy-five consecutive patients who underwent resection of pathological stage I (T1-2aN0M0) adenocarcinomas with a maximum diameter of ≤ 3 cm (144 men, 131 women; mean age 67.8 years) were enrolled. CT features of the primary tumours and clinical characteristics of these patients were statistically evaluated to identify the factors associated with high serum CEA levels (>5 ng/ml). RESULTS: Eighty-one patients (29.5%) had high serum CEA levels. In univariate analysis, lower ground-glass opacity ratio (p < 0.001), lower tumour shadow disappearance rate (TDR: the ratio of tumour area in mediastinal window to that of lung window, p < 0.001), presence of notch (p = 0.015), and coexistence with bullae or honeycomb cysts (p < 0.001) were observed more frequently in the group with high serum CEA levels than that of the group with normal levels. TDR [odds ratio (OR) 0.984; 95% confidence interval (CI): 0.976-0.993; p < 0.001] and coexistence with bullae or honeycomb cysts (OR = 3.08; 95% CI: 1.55-6.12; p = 0.001) remained significant, even after adjusting patients' age, gender, and smoking status. CONCLUSIONS: Adenocarcinomas with lower TDR and coexisting with bullae or honeycomb cysts are associated with high preoperative serum CEA levels. Although some CEA elevations may be due to benign pulmonary diseases, such tumours are suspected to have poor prognoses, even for early-stage diseases.

Biologically active synthetic peptides as probes of embryonic development: a competitive peptide inhibitor of fibronectin function inhibits gastrulation in amphibian embryos and neural crest cell migration in avian embryos.

We describe a new method for analyzing embryonic events dependent on a specific peptide recognition signal. A short, specific amino acid sequence in fibronectin has been implicated as a recognition site in fibronectin-mediated interactions. Fibroblast adhesion to fibronectin is competitively inhibited by certain synthetic peptides, including the decapeptide Arg-Gly-Asp-Ser-Pro-Ala-Ser-Ser-Lys-Pro, which appears to contain the cell recognition sequence. We found that this peptide inhibited both amphibian gastrulation and avian neural crest cell migration in vivo, as well as the attachment and migration of neural crest cells in vitro. These processes are major cell migratory events previously suggested to involve fibronectin. Negative controls included another conserved fibronectin peptide from the collagen-binding region containing the sequence Cys-Gln-Asp-Ser-Glu-Thr-Arg-Thr-Phe-Tyr and another peptide. Our results demonstrate the feasibility of using synthetic peptides directed at recognition sites in extracellular proteins as probes of morphogenetic processes, and they provide further support for the hypothesis that fibronectin is involved in gastrulation and neural crest cell migration.

Structures of metal sites of oxidized bovine heart cytochrome c oxidase at 2.8 A.

The high resolution three-dimensional x-ray structure of the metal sites of bovine heart cytochrome c oxidase is reported. Cytochrome c oxidase is the largest membrane protein yet crystallized and analyzed at atomic resolution. Electron density distribution of the oxidized bovine cytochrome c oxidase at 2.8 A resolution indicates a dinuclear copper center with an unexpected structure similar to a [2Fe-2S]-type iron-sulfur center. Previously predicted zinc and magnesium sites have been located, the former bound by a nuclear encoded subunit on the matrix side of the membrane, and the latter situated between heme a3 and CuA, at the interface of subunits I and II. The O2 binding site contains heme a3 iron and copper atoms (CuB) with an interatomic distance of 4.5 A; there is no detectable bridging ligand between iron and copper atoms in spite of a strong antiferromagnetic coupling between them. A hydrogen bond is present between a hydroxyl group of the hydroxyfarnesylethyl side chain of heme a3 and an OH of a tyrosine. The tyrosine phenol plane is immediately adjacent and perpendicular to an imidazole group bonded to CuB, suggesting a possible role in intramolecular electron transfer or conformational control, the latter of which could induce the redox-coupled proton pumping. A phenyl group located halfway between a pyrrole plane of the heme a3 and an imidazole plane liganded to the other heme (heme a) could also influence electron transfer or conformational control.

The whole structure of the 13-subunit oxidized cytochrome c oxidase at 2.8 A.

The crystal structure of bovine heart cytochrome c oxidase at 2.8 A resolution with an R value of 19.9 percent reveals 13 subunits, each different from the other, five phosphatidyl ethanolamines, three phosphatidyl glycerols and two cholates, two hemes A, and three copper, one magnesium, and one zinc. Of 3606 amino acid residues in the dimer, 3560 have been converged to a reasonable structure by refinement. A hydrogen-bonded system, including a propionate of a heme A (heme a), part of peptide backbone, and an imidazole ligand of CuA, could provide an electron transfer pathway between CuA and heme a. Two possible proton pathways for pumping, each spanning from the matrix to the cytosolic surfaces, were identified, including hydrogen bonds, internal cavities likely to contain water molecules, and structures that could form hydrogen bonds with small possible conformational change of amino acid side chains. Possible channels for chemical protons to produce H2O, for removing the produced water, and for O2, respectively, were identified.

A feasibility study of novel plastic scintillation dosimetry with pulse-counting mode.

The purpose of this study was to develop a novel scintillation dosimeter for in vivo dosimetry in Ir-192 brachytherapy via the pulse-counting mode. The new dosimeter was made from a plastic scintillator shaped into a hemisphere of diameter 1 mm and connected to the tip of a plastic optical fiber. The relationship between pulse counts and absorbed dose was derived based on the assumption that scintillation photons from the incident gamma ray are proportional to the absorbed dose. An equation for the conversion of pulse counts to water-equivalent dose was deduced wherein the pulse height spectrum from scintillation photons was assumed to be exponential. To confirm its accuracy, the dose rate distribution in a water phantom was measured by the present dosimeter and this was compared with Monte Carlo simulations, resulting in a discrepancy of less than 1.97%. It was found that the dosimeter has a wide dynamic range of linearity up to an order of magnitude of almost 10(3), including corrections for loss of counts due to pile-up.

Relationships between patient characteristics and reasons for tooth extraction in Japan.

OBJECTIVES: The purpose of this study was to examine the relationships between patient characteristics and reasons for extraction of permanent teeth. METHODS: 5131 dentists were selected from the list of the membership directory of the Japan Dental Association by systematic random selection. The dentists were asked to record the reason for each extraction of permanent teeth during a period from February 1 to 7, 2005. Reasons for tooth extraction were assigned to five groups: caries, fracture of teeth weakened by caries or endodontics, periodontal diseases, orthodontics and other reasons. We used cross tabulation and multiple logistic regression analysis to estimate the relationships between patient characteristics and reasons for tooth extraction. RESULTS: 2001 dentists (response rate of 39.0%) returned the forms, and complete information on 7333 patients was obtained. A total of 3,196 (43.6%) patients underwent tooth extraction due to caries and its sequela, and 2721 (37.1%) patients underwent tooth extraction due to periodontal disease. Multiple logistic regression analysis showed that denture wearers were more likely to undergo tooth extraction due to periodontal disease in all age groups (p < 0.05). Males tended to undergo tooth extraction due to periodontal disease than did females in all age groups (p < 0.05) except for age group 30-49. Subjects with 19 or less teeth were more likely to undergo tooth extraction due to periodontal disease in the age groups 30-49 (p < 0.001) and 50-69 (p < 0.001). In the age group of 50 years or older, female (p<0.01) and the possession of 20 or more natural teeth (p < 0.05) were related to caries extraction. However, there was no clear relationship between caries extraction and patient characteristics under 50 years old. CONCLUSION: There was a significant relationship between denture wearing and periodontal extraction. In the middle aged population, patients with 19 or less teeth lost their teeth mainly due to periodontal disease.

Long-term outcomes of an extracorporeal irradiated autograft for limb salvage operations in musculoskeletal tumours: over ten years' observation.

AIMS: We analyzed the long-term outcomes of patients observed over ten years after resection en bloc and reconstruction with extracorporeal irradiated autografts. PATIENTS AND METHODS: This retrospective study included 27 patients who underwent resection en bloc and reimplantation of an extracorporeal irradiated autograft. The mean patient age and follow-up period were 31.7 years (9 to 59) and 16.6 years (10.3 to 24.3), respectively. The most common diagnosis was osteosarcoma (n = 10), followed by chondrosarcoma (n = 6). The femur (n = 13) was the most frequently involved site, followed by the tibia (n = 7). There were inlay grafts in five patients, intercalary grafts in 15 patients, and osteoarticular grafts in seven patients. Functional outcome was evaluated with the Musculoskeletal Tumor Society (MSTS) scoring system. RESULTS: There were no recurrences in the irradiated autograft and the autograft survived in 24 patients (88.9%). Major complications included nonunion (n = 9), subchondral bone collapse (n = 4), and deep infection (n = 4). Although 34 revision procedures were performed, 25 (73.5%) and four (11.8%) of these were performed less than five years and ten years after the initial surgery, respectively. The mean MSTS score at the last follow-up was 84.3% (33% to 100%). CONCLUSION: Considering long-term outcomes, extracorporeal irradiated autograft is an effective method of reconstruction for malignant musculoskeletal tumours Cite this article: Bone Joint J 2019;101-B:1151-1159.

Low-Dose-Rate and High-Dose-Rate Brachytherapy for Localized Prostate Cancer in ABO-Incompatible Renal Transplant Recipients.

BACKGROUND: Brachytherapy is one of the standard treatments for localized prostate cancer (CaP). However, the feasibility of brachytherapy for renal transplant recipients (RTRs) is still uncertain. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Between August 2007 and March 2018, all patients who had undergone low-dose-rate (LDR) brachytherapy or high-dose-rate (HDR) brachytherapy for clinically localized CaP at our institution were retrospectively identified (n = 394). Of these patients, 3 had a history of renal transplantation. We reviewed all available clinical data retrospectively. RESULTS: All of the RTRs received ABO-incompatible renal grafts from their spouses and had stable renal graft function before the diagnosis of CaP. The median age at diagnosis of CaP was 65 years (range, 60-67 years). The median time between transplantation and brachytherapy was 7 years (range, 4-10 years). In all of the patients, clinical stage was cT1cN0M0. Two patients received 125I LDR-brachytherapy (dose, 145 Gy) and 1 patient was treated by 192Ir HDR brachytherapy (dose, 19 Gy in 2 fractions) combined with external beam radiation therapy of 39 Gy in 13 fractions. The median follow-up period after brachytherapy was 44 months (range, 34-50 months). During the follow-up period, none of the patients developed disease progression including biochemical recurrence or clinically significant adverse events associated with radiation therapy. CONCLUSIONS: LDR brachytherapy and HDR brachytherapy are safe and technically feasible in RTRs with CaP, and oncological outcomes in RTRs do not appear to be inferior to those of patients who did not receive renal transplant.

Inhibition of reverse transcriptase activity of HIV by polysaccharides of brown algae.

Brown algae have two kinds of acid polysaccharides present in the extracellular matrix: sulfated fucan and alginic acid. We have previously isolated and characterized fucans from several species of brown seaweed. The characterized fucans from Dictyotaceae are heterofucans containing mainly fucose, galactose, glucose, xylose, and/or uronic acid. The fucan from Fucus vesiculosus is a homofucan containing only sulfated fucose. We assessed the activity of these fucans as inhibitors of HIV from reverse transcriptase (RT). Using activated DNA and template primers poly(rA)-oligo(dT), we found that fucans at a concentration of 0.5-1.0 microg/mL had a pronounced inhibitory effect in vitro on the avian reverse transcriptase, with the exception of xylogalactofucan isolated from Spatoglossum schröederi, which had no inhibitory activity. The alginic acid (1.0 microg/mL) inhibited the reverse transcriptase activity by 51.1% using activated DNA. The inhibitory effect of fucans was eliminated by their desulfation. Furthermore, only xylofucoglucuronan from S. schröederi lost its activity after carboxyreduction. We suggest that fucan activity is not only dependent on the ionic changes but also on the sugar rings that act to spatially orientate the charges in a configuration that recognizes the enzyme, thus determining the specificity of the binding.

Genetics of susceptibility of rats to trigeminal schwannomas induced by neonatal administration of N-ethyl-N-nitrosourea.

A genetic analysis was done on the induction of trigeminal schwannomas by N-ethyl-N-nitrosourea [(ENU) CAS: 759-73-9] in susceptible LE rats, resistant WF rats, and their F1, F2, and reciprocal backcross hybrids. Both sexes of all strains were given a neonatal sc injection of 40 mg ENU/kg body weight and were sacrificed at 6 months after treatment. Many neurogenic tumors were induced in the central nervous system of all strains of rats. However, the incidence of trigeminal schwannomas in LE rats was 93% in males and 86% in females, whereas in WF rats the incidence was 24% in males and 20% in females. F1 and F2 hybrids showed an intermediate susceptibility (62 and 82% in F1 males, 79 and 86% in F2 males, 26 and 38% in F1 females, and 65 and 77% in F2 females). The incidence in hybrids backcrossed to LE was high (90 and 100% in males and 77 and 83% in females), and the incidence in hybrids backcrossed to WF was low (35 and 38% in males and 11 and 7% in females). The findings suggest that susceptibility to the induction of trigeminal schwannomas by ENU does not result from the expression of genes that are simple dominant or recessive genes. A genetic model involving three independently segregating loci may explain the experimental results. In all strains of rats, particularly the F1 hybrids, males were more susceptible than females to the induction of trigeminal schwannomas by ENU.

Inhibitory effect of phenobarbital on the development of gliomas in WF rats treated neonatally with N-ethyl-N-nitrosourea.

The present study was undertaken to evaluate the effect of phenobarbital (PB) on the development of neurogenic tumors induced in WF rats by neonatal administration of N-ethyl-N-nitrosourea (ENU; CAS: 759-73-9). Group I rats were given a single sc injection in the backs of 5 mg ENU/kg body weight within 24 hours after birth. In group II, continuous oral administration of 0.05% PB in the drinking water was commenced 4 weeks after birth. Following neonatal injection of ENU, administration of PB was commenced 4 weeks after birth in group III. Rats in group IV served as untreated controls. All groups consisted of about an equal number of both sexes of rats. The experiment was terminated when the rats were 52 weeks old. The incidence of all neurogenic tumors in both sexes combined was 11 of 26 (42%) in group I and 3 of 22 (14%) in group III (P greater than .05). The incidence of gliomas alone was 10 of 26 (38%) in group I and 2 of 22 (9%) in group III (P less than .05). When females and males were evaluated separately, the incidence of gliomas in females was 7 of 13 (54%) in group I and 1 of 12 (8.3%) in group III (P greater than .05), whereas in males, 3 of 13 (23%) in group I and 1 of 10 (10%) in group III (P greater than .05), the difference was not statistically significant. At the end of the experiment the mean serum level of PB in females (33.0 micrograms/ml) was significantly higher than that in males (19.8 micrograms/ml) (P less than .05). These data suggest an inhibitory effect of PB on the development of ENU-induced gliomas in female rats.

Induction of gliomas in Mongolian gerbils (Meriones unguiculatus) following neonatal administration of N-ethyl-N-nitrosourea.

Mongolian gerbils (Meriones unguiculatus) were given an sc injection (40 mg/kg body wt) of N-ethyl-N-nitrosourea [(ENU) CAS: 759-73-9] on postnatal day 1 (group I) or day 29 (group II). Untreated gerbils served as controls (group III). Of 32 gerbils in group I, 10 (31%) developed a total of 14 gliomas after an observation period of 12 months, whereas no gliomas were observed in groups II and III. Seven gliomas were located in the spinal cord, 6 were in the cerebrum, and 1 was in the cerebellum. Histologically, all were oligodendrogliomas. In group II, 1 meningeal tumor (4%) was observed among 27 gerbils. ENU also induced cutaneous melanomas (22% in group I, 15% in group II, and 0% in group III), kidney hemangiomas (6% in group I, 26% in group II, and 0% in group III), and ameloblastomas of the lower jaw (6% in group I and 0% in groups II and III).

Induction of thyroid tumors in (C57BL/6N x C3H/N)F1 mice by oral administration of 9-3',4',5',6'-tetrachloro-o-carboxy phenyl-6-hydroxy-2,4,5,7-tetraiodo-3-isoxanthone sodium (Food Red 105, rose bengal B).

The tumorigenicity of 9-3',4',5',6'-tetrachloro-o-carboxy phenyl-6-hydroxy-2,4,5,7-tetraiodo-3-isoxanthone sodium (CAS: 632-68-8) [also called Food Red 105 (FR 105) or Rose Bengal B], which is widely used for food or cosmetic coloring in Japan, was examined in (C57BL/6N X C3H/N)F1 mice. Animals were divided into 6 groups with 50 mice in each group, and they were given solutions of 0, 0.125, and 0.5% FR 105 in the drinking water starting at 6 weeks of age and ending at 101 weeks. The mean relative thyroid weights in both sexes of mice given 0.125 and 0.5% FR 105 were significantly increased compared to those of controls. Enlarged thyroid glands were composed exclusively of colloid goiters characterized by distended follicles lined with flattened follicular cells. The male mice given 0.5% FR 105 had follicular adenomas in the thyroid gland at an incidence of 22.9%, which was significantly higher than the incidence in controls (P less than .005). Radioactive 131I uptake in colloid goiters was markedly decreased compared to that in intact thyroid glands. The results indicate that FR 105 can induce colloid goiters and thyroid adenomas in a dose-dependent manner.

Carcinogenicity of o-ethoxybenzamide in (C57BL/6N X C3H/HeN)F1 mice.

The carcinogenicity of o-ethoxybenzamide (CAS: 938-73-8), which is also called ethenzamide and which is widely used as an antipyretic anodyne in Japan, was examined in 298 (C57BL/6N X C3H/HeN)F1 mice. Groups of males and females were fed a diet containing 0 (control), 0.4, or 1.2% o-ethoxybenzamide for 96 weeks and sacrificed at the 100th week. Among the male mice fed the higher dose of the drug, the total incidence of liver cell tumors was 68%, with 18% of the mice developing hepatocellular carcinomas; both yields were significantly higher than those in the controls. In o-ethoxybenzamide-treated male mice the multiplicities of the hepatic cell tumors were also significantly higher than the multiplicity of the hepatic tumor in male control mice. A dose-response relationship with regard to both incidence and multiplicities of hepatic cell tumors in male mice was observed. In female mice fed o-ethoxybenzamide the incidence and multiplicities of the liver cell tumors were increased compared to those of the controls, but statistical significance was observed only in the multiplicity of tumors in mice given the lower dose. In both sexes hepatic cell tumors developed earlier than in the controls. These results show that o-ethoxybenzamide enhances the development of hepatic cell tumors in male (C57BL/6N X C3H/HeN)F1 mice.

Morphological and immunohistochemical evidence for the presence of subcortical target cells of N-ethyl-N-nitrosourea-induced cerebellar tumors in rats.

Morphological and immunohistochemical studies of cerebellar tumor induction with neonatal administration of N-ethyl-N-nitrosourea (ENU) were conducted in four strains of rats and their hybrids, i.e., noninbred Wistar, Fischer (F344), Long-Evans, Wistar/Furth, and hybrids of Long-Evans and Wistar/Furth. Neonatal s.c. injection of 40 mg ENU/kg body weight produced 53 cerebellar tumors in 46 (8.4%) rats among 550 animals. There was no sex difference in the incidence (male = 9.6%; female = 7.0%). Histological examination showed that most of the tumors (83%) were oligodendrogliomas and the neoplastic cells were positively stained immunohistochemically with anti-Leu-7 monoclonal antibody. In examining the location of cerebellar tumors, 22 (42%) were located in the vermis, 11 (21%) in the hemisphere, 9 (17%) in the flocculus, 6 (11%) in the peduncle, and 5 (9%) in other sites. When their origins were examined in relation to their location to the internal granular layer of the cerebellum, 40 (75%) tumors were found just under the internal granular layer (subcortical region) and 9 (17%) in the white matter or cerebellar nuclei. Only 2 (4%) subependymal tumors were observed. Ontogenic study of the rat cerebellum revealed the presence of an aggregation of primitive glial cells in the subcortical region during the neonatal period, and the [3H]thymidine pulse-labeling index of these cells was 13.7%. Electron microscopic study showed the primitive nature of these cells and they reacted positively with anti-Leu-7 monoclonal antibody. These results indicate that cerebellar tumors are induced in an appreciable incidence with neonatal injection of ENU in rats and that cerebellar target cells in the subcortical region are present after ENU carcinogenesis.

Positron Emission Tomography and Autoradiography of (18)F-Fluorodeoxyglucose Labeled Islets With or Without Warm Ischemic Stress in Portal Transplanted Rats.

OBJECTIVE: The use of positron-emission tomography (PET) with (18)F-fluorodeoxyglucose (FDG) -labeled islets has been considered to be a potential modality to visualize and quantify early engraftment of islet transplantation. The objective of this study was to evaluate the early islets' survival of the FDG-labeled islets with or without warm ischemic stress in portal transplanted rats using PET and autoradiography. METHODS: Islets were isolated from Lewis rat pancreata with or without 30-minute warm ischemia times (WITs). For islets' labeling, 300 islets were incubated with 3 MBq FDG for 60 minutes. FDG-labeled islets were transplanted into the liver via portal vein. In in vivo study, a PET study was scanned for 90 minutes and the FDG uptake was expressed as percentage of liver injection dose (ID). In ex vivo study, the liver was exposed for 30 minutes with single fluorescence autoradiography. RESULTS: In the PET study, the percentage of liver ID of the islets without WIT was 27.8 and that of the WIT islets was 20.1 at the end of islet transplantation. At 90 minutes after transplantation, the percentage of liver ID was decreased to 14.7 in the islets without WIT and 10.1 in the WIT islets. In the autoradiogram, the number of hot spots was more obviously visualized in the liver transplanted without WIT islets than in the liver transplanted with WIT islets. CONCLUSION: Almost 50% of the islets were immediately lost in both the islets without WIT and those with WIT transplantation in the early period. However, islet survival was 1.4 times higher in the islets without WIT than that in those with WIT in the early engraftment phase.

Presence of free D-glutamate and D-aspartate in rat tissues.

The presence of free D-glutamate was demonstrated for the first time in rat liver, kidney and brain. This is based on the findings that the D-glutamate as well as D-aspartate in the tissue extracts co-chromatographed exactly with the authentic standards on HPLC, and that the treatment of the extracts with D-aspartate oxidase mostly abolished the HPLC peaks of these compounds. Contents of these acidic D-amino acids in the liver and kidney, as well as the percentages of D/(D + L), were lower in female than in male, while D-aspartate oxidase activities in the same tissues were inversely lower in male than in female, in agreement with a probable role of the enzyme. A significant correlation was observed between D-aspartate and D-glutamate contents in the liver, kidney and brain of individual animals, with the D-glutamate contents always higher than the D-aspartate contents.