Primary focal segmental glomerulosclerosis is associated with increased intraglomerular type IV collagen synthesis.
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To understand the role of estrogen in the pathogenesis of benign prostatic hyperplasia, expressions of estrogen receptor (ER) mRNA and ER protein by in situ hybridization and by immunohistochemistry, respectively, were investigated in human prostatic tissues. In non-malignant region, ER mRNA and ER protein were found in cytoplasm and nucleus, respectively, of stromal cells, but not in glandular epithelial and basal cells. In benign regions, ER mRNA/ER protein positive cells were found in fibromyoadenomatous and myoadenomatous hyperplasia, but not in adenomatous hyperplasia. A striking feature was periacinar arrangement of ER mRNA/ER protein positive stromal cells in all prostate carcinoma treated with androgen withdrawal. The ER mRNA/ER protein positive cells were immunohistochemically identified as fibroblasts, myoblasts, and smooth muscle cells. These results indicate that stromal cells are the primary target of estrogen in prostate, and that androgen withdrawal upregulates the expression of ER gene.
No consensus as to the involvement of the epidermal growth factor receptor (EGF-R) in colorectal carcinomas has yet been attained, although they are assumed to play a role in the metastasis to lymph nodes and recurrence of breast carcinoma and bladder carcinoma invasion. Knowing that Dukes' classification of colorectal carcinoma is closely related to prognosis, we examined whether there is a correlation between Dukes' classification and the expression of EGF-R in colorectal carcinoma. If there is a positive correlation, the involvement of EGF-R in the processes may be assumed and the expression of EGF-R may be used as a marker of their prognosis. To this end, the expression of EGF-R mRNA and protein by non-radioactive in-situ hybridization and immunohistochemistry, respectively, were determined on histological preparations of formalin-fixed paraffin-embedded colorectal surgical specimens. In 30 cases of colorectal carcinoma examined, mRNA and/or protein was detected in 33% (two of six) of Dukes' A, in 40% (four of 10) of Dukes' B, in 36% (four of 11) of Dukes' C, in 33% (one of three) of Dukes' D and in 0% of normal colon epithelial cells. Thus, there was no positive correlation between the Dukes' classification and the expression of EGF-R. It is concluded that the expression of EGF-R in colorectal carcinoma is not a promising marker of prognosis. However, the role of EGF-R in EGF-R positive tumours remains to be examined.
Assessments of RNA integrity and its hybridizability are essential for successful implementation of in situ hybridization (ISH) for mRNA or viral RNA, particularly when paraffin-embedded specimens from surgical, biopsy, and autopsy cases are used. In this study, we examined the suitability of ISH of 28S ribosomal RNA (rRNA) for this purpose. Oligo-DNA with nucleotide sequences complementary to a well-conserved segment of 28S rRNA with auxiliary adenine-thymine-thymine (ATT) repeats at the 3' and 5' ends was synthesized. The oligo-DNA was made antigenic by converting the adjacent thymines to T-T dimers by UV irradiation and was used as a probe for ISH of 28S rRNA. The T-T dimers were detected by enzyme immunohistochemistry. When the results of ISH rRNA staining and that of total RNA staining by methyl green/pyronin Y were compared for various types of sections prepared from rat and human tissues, the staining intensities of total RNA did not always match those of ISH rRNA staining. In paraffin sections of formalin-fixed tissues, the degree of proteinase digestion influenced the ISH rRNA staining intensity, whereas it had no effect on the total RNA staining intensity. The intensities of ISH rRNA staining agreed well with those of various types of mRNA staining by ISH in 10 cases of paraffin-embedded pathological specimens. We therefore believe that ISH rRNA staining is a convenient parameter for evaluation of levels of hybridizable RNAs in tissue sections.
We have found that microwave (MW) stabilization greatly improves detection of the estrogen receptor (ER) in frozen sections of rhesus monkey oviduct by immunocytochemistry (ICC). Fresh samples of fimbriae were MW-irradiated, frozen, and then cryosectioned. The frozen sections were also MW-treated and then fixed in a paraformaldehyde-based fixative before ICC processing. A parallel set of samples from each monkey were frozen, sectioned and processed for ICC without any MW treatment. MW stabilization clearly increased immunostaining intensity with either of two ER-specific monoclonal antibodies, namely, H222 and 1D5. The greatest increase was noted in tissues collected from spayed or progesterone-treated animals. An antibody dilution series indicated that MW stabilization increased the sensitivity approximately 20- to 40-fold. In addition, we incubated spayed macaque fimbriae at 4 C in the presence of 10 nM [3H]Moxestrol and then either froze the tissues immediately (non-MW) or treated them with MW. Slide-mounted cryosections of non-MW and MW-treated tissue were then incubated with either a Tris-EDTA buffer (low salt) or the same buffer containing 4 M KCl (high salt). The quantity of [3H]Moxestrol-occupied ER extracted from the frozen sections by each buffer was determined by a sucrose gradient shift assay. The low salt buffer extracted significantly more radiolabeled ER from non-MW sections than from MW-treated sections (P < 0.01), whereas the high salt buffer extracted equal amounts of ER from both the MW-treated and non-MW sections. MW-irradiation enhanced ICC detectability of ER in frozen sections by greatly reducing the amount of ER extracted during the various washes used during normal ICC processing.
Various lines of evidence indicate the involvement of DNA strand breaks (DSB) in the regulation of physiological states of cells, especially in cell death. Currently, cell death is divided into two categories, apoptosis and necrosis. As lysosomal integrity is maintained in apoptosis, while disrupted in necrosis, it is possible to assume that necrotic chromatin is exposed to digestion by various lysosomal enzymes. We have therefore investigated whether apoptotic DSB and necrotic DSB can be discriminated by in situ nick translation (INT) under various conditions of protease pretreatment. Used models of apoptosis and necrosis were the rat thymus with an intraperitoneal injection of hydrocortisone (10 mg/100 g body weight (b.w.)) and rat liver with an intraperitoneal injection of CCl4 (100 microliters/g b.w.), respectively. As results, we found that necrotic DSB was readily detected by INT without protein digestion, whereas apoptotic ones were not. These results indicate that the environment around DSB and/or the nature of DSB in apoptosis differs from that of necrosis, and that INT is a convenient molecular histochemical tool to discriminate both types of cell death in frozen sections.
Increased mesangial expansion is one of the most characteristic histological changes in diabetic nephropathy (DN). Although the pathogenesis of DN remains unclear, recent studies associate interleukin (IL) 6 with mesangial proliferative glomerulonephritis. To elucidate the expression and localization of IL-6 mRNA in renal tissues of patients with DN, a high-resolution in situ hybridization using digoxigenin-labeled oligonucleotide was performed. Patients were divided into three groups based on light microscopy findings: mild (group 1), moderate (group 2), and severe (group 3) mesangial expansion. The relationship between the expression of IL-6 mRNA and the degree of glomerular mesangial expansion in DN was examined. Individual cells positive for IL-6 mRNA were observed in glomeruli. These cells were mesangial cells, glomerular epithelial cells, and Bowman's capsule. The signal intensity was strongest in tissues from group 2 but was weak in those from groups 1 and 3. Most cells in the area of mesangial proliferation were strongly stained for IL-6 mRNA, and few positive cells were found in the Kimmelstiel-Wilson nodular lesion. In the interstitium, some tubules, particularly atrophic tubules, and some infiltrating cells were positively stained for IL-6 mRNA. The interstitial expression of IL-6 mRNA correlated significantly with the degree of interstitial injury and was remarkable in tissues from groups 2 and 3. We conclude that IL-6 mRNA is expressed by glomerular resident cells and interstitial cells in the renal tissue of patients with DN and that its expression may be associated with mesangial proliferation and may be involved in the tissue injury of DN.
Nodular intercapillary glomerulosclerosis is the most typical lesion of diabetic nephropathy (DN) and is characterized by increased extracellular matrix (ECM) and amorphous masses of mesangial matrix. The local exaggeration of these deposits results in the formation of the typical diabetic nodule. To clarify the composition of the ECM of sclerotic lesions in DN, we investigated the distribution of type III and type IV collagens and their mRNAs by immunohistochemistry and in situ hybridization, respectively. In normal renal tissues, there was no intraglomerular immunostaining for type III collagen, while strongly positive staining was found in the extraglomerular interstitium. Positive immunostaining for type IV collagen was also present in the mesangium, glomerular basement membrane (GBM), Bowman's capsule, and the vascular pole of the normal glomerulus. In DN, the nodular lesions were negative for type III collagen and strongly positive for type IV collagen. On the other hand, in the late stage of global sclerosis, both type III and type IV collagens were diffusely present in the sclerotic matrix. To determine the origins of these type III and type IV collagens in the sclerotic matrix, in situ hybridization was performed, utilizing thymine-thymine (T-T) dimerized synthetic oligonucleotides complementary to either pro alpha 1(III) chain or pro alpha 1(IV) chain mRNAs as probes. The signals were detected by enzyme immunohistochemistry using an anti-T-T antibody. Intraglomerular cells (glomerular epithelial and mesangial cells) containing type III collagen mRNA were found in DN with sclerotic lesions, but not in normal glomeruli.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)
The development of glomerular sclerosis in benign nephrosclerosis (BNS) was studied. We investigated the intraglomerular expression of type III and IV collagens and their mRNAs by immunohistochemistry and by the in situ hybridization method. Formalin-fixed paraffin sections from 28 patients with BNS and 10 control cases were stained by the avidin-biotin complex (ABC) method using monoclonal antibodies for human type III and IV collagens. In the course of the sclerotic process of the glomerulus in BNS, the glomerular staining intensity of type IV collagen increased. The strongest staining was observed in the glomerulus at the early sclerotic stage, and intensity decreased slightly at the later stages. Although type III collagen was absent in normal and nonsclerotic glomeruli, peripheral regions of the sclerotic glomeruli were positive at the early sclerotic stage. Later, type III collagen was diffusely observed in the completely hyalinized glomeruli. The expression of type III and type IV collagen mRNAs was detected in the glomeruli of BNS by the non-radioactive in situ hybridization method using thymine-thymine (T-T) dimerized synthetic oligonucleotides. The number of mRNA positive cells for type III and type IV collagens increased at the presclerotic and early sclerotic stages. But these cells gradually decreased in number as glomerular sclerosis developed. We concluded that type III collagen was presumably synthesized by the intraglomerular cells and may contribute to the development of glomerular sclerosis in BNS along with type IV collagen.
In vitro studies have shown that keratinocyte growth factor (KGF, also known as FGF-7) is secreted by fibroblasts and is mitogenic specifically for epithelial cells. Therefore, KGF may be an important paracrine mediator of epithelial cell proliferation in vivo. Because stromal cells are thought to influence glandular proliferation in the primate endometrium, we investigated the hormonal regulation and cellular localization of KGF mRNA expression in the rhesus monkey uterus. Tissues were obtained both from naturally cycling monkeys in the follicular and luteal phases of the cycle, and from spayed monkeys that were either untreated or treated with estradiol (E2) alone, E2 followed by progesterone (P), E2 plus P, or E2 plus P plus an antiprogestin (RU 486). Northern blot analysis of total RNA with 32P-labeled probes revealed that the level of KGF mRNA in the endometrium was 70-100-fold greater in the luteal phase or after P treatment than in untreated, E2-treated, or follicular phase animals. Northern analysis also showed that KGF mRNA was present in the myometrium but was unaffected by hormonal state. RU 486 treatment prevented the P-induced elevation of endometrial KGF mRNA. P-dependent elevation of endometrial KGF expression was confirmed by measurement of KGF protein in tissue extracts using a two-site enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay. In situ hybridization with nonradioactive digoxigenin-labeled cDNA probes revealed that the KGF mRNA signal, which was present only in stromal and smooth muscle cells, was substantially increased by P primarily in the stromal cells located in the basalis region. Smooth muscle cells in the myometrium and the walls of the spiral arteries also expressed KGF mRNA, but the degree of this expression did not differ with hormonal state. P treatment led to increased proliferation in the glandular epithelium of the basalis region and to extensive growth of the spiral arteries. We conclude that the P-dependent increase in endometrial KGF resulted from a dual action of P: (a) a P-dependent induction of KGF expression in stromal cells, especially those in the basalis (zones III and IV), and (b) a P-dependent increase in the number of KGF-positive vascular smooth muscle cells caused by the proliferation of the spiral arteries. KGF is one of the first examples in primates of a P-induced, stromally derived growth factor that might function as a progestomedin.
Regulation of gene transcription requires an interaction between specific segments of nuclear DNA and specific proteins. We describe a method to localize the specific DNA-binding proteins using haptenized double-stranded (ds) DNAs. To demonstrate this method, an oligodeoxynucleotide (oligo-DNA) with a consensus base sequence of cyclic adenosine monophosphate-responsive element (CRE) (TGACGTCA) with three TTA repeats at the 5' end was synthesized. Since the CRE sequence is palindromic, the oligo-DNA was allowed to self-anneal and form ds DNA with three TTA repeats at both ends. The CRE ds-oligo-DNA was irradiated with UV light to form haptenic thymine-thymine (T-T) dimers. The haptenized CRE ds-oligo-DNA reacted by Southwestern analysis with a distinct set of proteins, previously identified as CRE-binding proteins, ranging from 40-90 KD. When the haptenized CRE ds-oligo-DNA reacted with frozen sections fixed with 4% paraformaldehyde in PBS (pH 7.4) followed by enzyme immunohistochemical localization of the T-T dimers, nuclei of intestinal epithelial cells and brain cells were heavily stained. Nuclear staining was blocked when the sections were reacted with the haptenized CRE ds-oligo-DNA in the presence of an excess amount of non-haptenized CRE ds-oligo-DNA. This method, henceforth referred as Southwestern histochemistry, should be a useful tool to localize proteins that bind to a specific DNA sequence and regulate the transcriptional activity of genes.
A sensitive method of non-radioactive in situ hybridization using digoxigenin-labeled oligonucleotides is described for the detection of mRNA within human renal biopsy specimens. Although non-radioactive in situ hybridization typically has the drawback of low sensitivity, we increased the sensitivity of this method, providing a practical alternative to the use of radiolabelled probes. The four main points are: 1) assessment of the efficiency of labeling, 2) optimization of the probe concentration for hybridization, 3) requirement of deproteinization of tissues with HCl and proteinase K, and 4) the use of a four-layer immunoperoxidase staining system. This technique was found to clearly localize individual mRNA positive cells within cryostat tissue sections. A variety of controls including sense probes, excess unlabeled anti-sense probes, and RNase-treatment demonstrated the specificity of the technique. This improved method is a powerful technique for detecting mRNA within human renal tissue and will be most useful in the study of gene expression in the pathogenesis of renal diseases.
Lectin-affinity electrophoretic separation of serum alpha-fetoprotein (AFP) was carried out using AFP Differentiation Kits, which used Lens culinaris agglutinin-A (Kit L) and erythroagglutinating phytohemagglutinin (Kit P). Separated AFP bands were detected with a sensitive antibody-affinity blotting technique and determined quantitatively by densitometry, and the results were expressed as percentages of the intensity of total AFP bands. Sera from 424 patients with acute hepatitis, chronic hepatitis, liver cirrhosis, hepatocellular carcinoma, and extrahepatic tumors were assayed for proportion of AFP present as Lens culinaris agglutinin-A-reactive AFP (AFP-L3) and erythroagglutinating phytohemagglutinin-reactive AFPs (AFP-P4+P5). From the maximum Youden indices determined, cutoff levels were set at 15% for both AFP-L3 and AFP-P4+P5 to discriminate between patients with chronic hepatitis and liver cirrhosis and patients with hepatocellular carcinoma. AFP-L3 and AFP-P4+P5 showed sensitivities of 55.3 and 61.0% at specificities of 93.9% and 82.3%, respectively. Thirty-eight % of tumors that measured less than 20 mm in diameter were positive for AFP-L3 and AFP-P4+P5. AFP-L3 exceeded the cutoff level of 15% 4.0 +/- 4.9 months before detection of hepatocellular carcinomas by imaging techniques with a sensitivity of 48% and a specificity of 81%. Thus, these tests are useful for the early detection of hepatocellular carcinomas in patients with hepatitis or liver cirrhosis.
BACKGROUND: The sugar-chain structures of circulating alpha-fetoprotein in patients with hepatocellular carcinomas differ from those in patients with cirrhosis. We studied the reactivity of alpha-fetoprotein with two lectins, Lens culinaris agglutinin A and erythroagglutinating phytohemagglutinin, to monitor the evolution of hepatocellular carcinoma in patients with cirrhosis. METHODS: Among 361 patients with cirrhosis caused mainly by chronic hepatitis B or hepatitis C virus infection, 33 with base-line serum alpha-fetoprotein concentrations > or = 30 ng per milliliter or more were found to have hepatocellular carcinomas during a mean follow-up of 35 months. The lectin-reactive profiles of the alpha-fetoprotein in the serum of these 33 patients were analyzed and compared with those in the serum of 32 patients with cirrhosis who had increased base-line serum alpha-fetoprotein concentrations and were followed for at least 24 months but in whom hepatocellular carcinoma did not develop. RESULTS: At the time of tumor detection, 24 (73 percent) of the 33 patients with cirrhosis and hepatocellular carcinoma had higher percentages of L. culinaris agglutinin A-reactive alpha-fetoprotein (alpha-fetoprotein L3), erythroagglutinating phytohemagglutinin-reactive alpha-fetoprotein (alpha-fetoprotein P4+P5), or both than the 32 patients with cirrhosis but no hepatocellular carcinoma. Among the 24 patients, one or both of the markers were first elevated 3 to 18 months before the hepatocellular carcinoma was detected by imaging techniques. CONCLUSIONS: Measurements of the alpha-fetoprotein L3 and alpha-fetoprotein P4+P5 fractions of serum alpha-fetoprotein allow the differentiation of hepatocellular carcinoma from cirrhosis in some cases and serve as predictive markers for the development of hepatocellular carcinoma during the follow-up of patients with cirrhosis.
We analyzed the serial changes in serum pancreatic enzyme activities by transcatheter arterial embolization (TAE) in 20 hepatoma patients with liver cirrhosis in an attempt to evaluate the incidence of the pancreatic tissue damage by TAE. Serum amylase activities increased in two (10%) cases, elastase 1 levels in six (30%) cases, and trypsin and pancreatic secretory trypsin inhibitor (PSTI) levels in each of five (25%) cases. Consequently, TAE resulted in the elevation of at least more than one serum pancreatic enzyme in eight (40%) of 20 cases, although none had clinical symptoms related to pancreatitis. When the adverse effect on the pancreatic tissue was compared among 6 cases of the superselective TAE and 14 cases of the nonsuperselective TAE, which were performed from the segmental and the nonsegmental hepatic arteries, respectively, the elevation of serum pancreatic enzymes was caused only by nonsuperselective TAE, not by superselective TAE. The volumes of Spongel and Lipiodol used or the injected doses of the anticancer agent mitomycin C were not different between the two groups. These results indicate that TAE for the treatment of hepatoma frequently causes pancreatic tissue damage, and the position of the inserted catheter tip is very important to avoid the pancreatic tissue damage by TAE.
The effects of tumor necrosis factor-alpha (TNF-alpha) on DNA synthesis in AH66 rat hepatoma cells and rat hepatocytes were analysed by means of [3H]thymidine incorporation. DNA synthesis in AH66 cells was suppressed when AH66 cells were directly incubated with TNF-alpha. When primary culture of rat Kupffer cells was incubated with hepatocyte conditioned media pretreated with TNF-alpha (0-200 U/ml), and AH66 cells were then treated with these hepatocyte/Kupffer cell-conditioned media, TNF-alpha used in the pretreatment caused a dose-dependent increase in DNA synthesis in AH66 cells with a maximum effect amounting to a more than 10-fold increase. In contrast, DNA synthesis in primary culture of rat hepatocytes was not stimulated by the TNF-alpha-pretreated hepatocyte/Kupffer cell conditioned media. These results suggest that TNF-alpha-mediated hepatocyte-Kupffer cell interaction selectively promotes proliferation of rat hepatoma cells.
Biochemical analysis of the male germ cell-associated kinase (mak) gene, which was isolated recently by using weak cross-hybridization with the v-ros tyrosine kinase gene, revealed that the gene was highly expressed in mammalian testicular germ cells, but not in ovarian cells. In order to identify the cells which express the mak gene in more detail, we localized mak mRNA in frozen sections of mouse testis by non-radioactive in situ hybridization. In this study, we utilized thymine-thymine (T-T) dimerized mak cDNA as a haptenic, non-radioactive probe, and the signal was detected enzyme-immunohistochemically by using an anti-T-T antibody. As a result, mak mRNA was localized intensely in late pachytene (stage X) and diplotene (stage XI) spermatocytes, and faintly in dividing spermatocytes (stage XII) and early round spermatids (stage I-II), suggesting that the gene may play an important role in the phase around meiotic cell division, but not throughout the entire meiosis.
Localization of hepatitis C virus (HCV) RNA was investigated by non-radioactive in situ hybridization in human liver specimens of chronic non-A, non-B (NANB) hepatitis patients who were seropositive for antibodies to HCV (anti-HCV). For in situ hybridization, T-T dimerized synthetic oligodeoxynucleotide probes were used and DNAs hybridized in situ were detected immunohistochemically using specific antibodies against T-T dimer. The data demonstrates that HCV-RNA was localized in the cytoplasm of hepatocytes in human liver biopsies obtained from the patients with chronic NANB hepatitis seropositive for anti-HCV.