A functionally inactive plasminogen (PLG) variant designated as PLG M5 is polymorphic in the Japanese population and has a feature common to PLG with type-I mutation that has a codon 601 missense mutation in exon 15 (GCT for Ala-->ACT for Thr). This study was conducted to clarify whether the type-I mutation of PLG is present in PLG M5 and polymorphic in the Japanese population. Direct sequencing of the amplified DNA from the PLG gene in a heterozygote for PLG M5 revealed that the sequence of the exon 15 in the gene for PLG M5 is identical with that in the PLG gene with type-I mutation. In addition, the amplified DNA from the PLG gene in 12 heterozygotes for PLG M5 reacted with the probe for the type-I mutation in dot blot hybridization with an allele-specific oligonucleotide probe. The heterozygote for PLG with type-I mutation was found in 2.2% of 360 unrelated healthy subjects. These data indicate that the type-I mutation of PLG is present in PLG M5 and polymorphic in the Japanese population. The data also suggest that the PLG M5 is identical with PLG Tochigi and Kagoshima.

Asian People↗

PubMedDate not supplied

Control of molecular weight cut-off for immunoisolation by multilayering glycol chitosan-alginate polyion complex on alginate-based microcapsules.

Glycol chitosan is a positively charged polysaccharide which is water-soluble at pH 7.4, and is able to form a polyion complex (PIC) with anionic polymers, such as alginate. The authors attempt to develop a novel type of alginate-based microcapsule using this glycol chitosan for a islets-encapsulated bioartificial pancreas. The number of layers composed of glycol chitosan-alginate (GC-Alg) PIC were optimized, in order to cut off immunoglobulin transport and to protect encapsulated islets from the host immune reaction, and the transport characteristics were evaluated of glucose, bovine serum albumin (BSA) and gamma-globulin. To add mechanical stability to the microcapsule, calcium ions, which crosslinked the alginate polymers close to the interface between core Ca-alginate and multilayered membrane, were partially substituted with barium ions after the formation of multilayered Ca-alginate gel beads. The partition coefficients of BSA and gamma-globulin were decreased with the increasing number of layers. The immunoisolation was achieved against gamma-globulin with four layers of the GC-Alg PIC membrane, while BSA could permeate the membrane. The four-layered Ba-alginate gel bead had a good permeability for glucose, giving a diffusion coefficient corresponding to 80% of that in pure water. Insulin secretion from the islets in the four-layered Ba-alginate microcapsule was satisfactorily observed with the fractional stimulation ratio of 2.17. This result indicates that the encapsulated islets maintained their viability even after encapsulation. It was, thus, shown that the Ba-alginate microcapsule with four layers of the GC-Alg PIC membrane is promising as the microencapsulation material for a bioartificial pancreas.

Alginates↗

PubMedDate not supplied

Modulation of immunologic reactions between cultured porcine hepatocytes and human sera.

In the clinical application of a hybrid artificial liver system using porcine hepatocytes, some immunologic reactions occur between human serum and porcine hepatocytes. In this study, we investigated the immunologic mechanisms of the cytotoxic reactions, and we tried to inactivate the human serum cytotoxicity by heating the serum or the addition of nafamostat mesilate (NM). Immunologic reaction between human serum and porcine hepatocytes by evaluating the immunochemical response against human IgM, IgG, and C3 was investigated. The immunochemical analysis of inactivation by heated human serum (56 degrees C, 30 min) and adding NM were performed. The evaluation of serum cytotoxicity was as follows: when porcine hepatocytes were cultured with heating the human serum or the addition of NM, the survival ratio was observed. Immunochemical reactions against human C3 were all positive, but positive reaction against human IgM occurred in only one case (5%); those against human IgG were all negative. Both heating the serum and adding NM inhibited the immunochemical reaction of human C3. The inhibition of human C3 with NM was dependent on that concentration. Both heating of the serum and adding NM to the medium decreased damage of porcine hepatocytes. An immunologic reaction between human serum and porcine hepatocytes in a porcine bioartificial liver clearly occurred, and this reaction was controlled by heating the serum and adding NM. We believe that NM is useful in the clinical application of our hybrid artificial liver system.

Adult↗

PubMedDate not supplied

Invasive aspergillosis in leukemic children.

Two cases of invasive aspergillosis are reported. Case 1, a 3-year-old boy with leukemic transformation of myelodysplastic syndrome, had an aspergillus infection in the hand, resulting in necrosis of the thumb. Case 2, an 18-year-old girl with acute megakaryoblastic leukemia, had an aspergillus skin infection on the wrist, accompanied by swelling and discoloration of the arm. In Case 2, angiography revealed a hypovascular lesion and vascular irregularity, suggesting that vessels were involved. Intraarterial infusion of urokinase and amphotericin B led to improvement of these symptoms in this patient. The combination of urokinase and an antifungal drug should be considered for intractable aspergillus infections involving the extremities.

Adolescent↗

PubMedDate not supplied

Probable poststreptococcal anterior uveitis in a 3-year-old boy.

Explore the source record for details and available documents.

Anti-Bacterial Agents↗

PubMedDate not supplied

Left ventricular hypertrophy due to aortic bypass grafting with a long prosthesis.

Progressive left ventricular hypertrophy was observed following operations in which long bypasses were inserted from the ascending aorta to the abdominal aorta for aneurysm exclusion in cases of thoracic aortic aneurysm. This effect was not observed after operations in which there was grafting with a short prosthesis for abdominal aortic aneurysm, wrapping and trans-section of the dissecing aneurysm. Clinical and experimental studies of the hemodynamic aspects suggest that the left ventricular hypertrophy was caused by an increase in systolic blood pressure at the aortic root due to the low distensibility of the long graft, a decrease in the Windkessel effect by exclusion of the proximal aorta and energy loss by turbulence formation of the proximal anastomotic area. Therefore, the distensibility or compliance at the long prosthesis seems to be very important in cases with long grafts of the aorta.

Animals↗

PubMedDate not supplied

Temporary arteriovenous fistula for venous reconstruction using synthetic graft: a clinical and experimental investigation.

This report discusses venous reconstructive surgery combined with a temporary distal arteriovenous fistula creation for ilio-femoral vein obstruction. One patient who had long standing, high degree edema of the left lower extremity due to postphlebitic syndrome and four patients who had acute occlusion of the iliac vein were treated by means of extra-anatomical femoro-femoral vein bypass grafting combined with temporary distal femoro-saphenous arteriovenous (a-v) fistula creation. An expanded polytetrafluoroethylene (EPTFE) graft was selected for this procedure instead of a cross-over saphenous vein. The surgically created a-v fistula was effective in keeping the implanted grafts patent for a long time in three out of the five patients. In animal experiments, the bilateral iliac veins of mongrel dogs were replaced with several kinds of synthetic graft. Femoro-femoral a-v fistulae were made only on the left side. In 26 animals, 84.6% of the synthetic grafts on the a-v fistula side were patent, whereas only 11.5% of the grafts on the control side were patent. This investigation clearly demonstrates that the increased blood flow velocity through the created distal a-v fistula preserved the patency of synthetic vein grafts.

Adult↗