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Notes: The redistribution behavior of metalloid atoms in the amorphous alloy Ni75B15Si10 was studied by means of a scanning Auger microprobe. Si atoms were found to be segregated beneath the surface of samples annealed above 470 K, but B atoms formed no segregated region in the temperature range employed (400–800 K). The periphery of samples annealed around 640 K was rich in Si, and metastable crystals growing along the edge were detected by transmission electron microscopy. It is supposed that Si atoms segregated in the edge area played a role in nucleating the crystals.

Notes: Paratropomyosin is a minor myofibrillar protein which in freshly prepared myofibrils is exclusively localized at the A-I junction region of sarcomeres. We investigated the ultrastructural localization of paratropomyosin in intact and postrigor myofibrils by immunoelectron microscopy. Paratropomyosin was localized as two distinct stripes at the A-I junction in intact myofibrils. It also was localized at the position corresponding to the original A-I junction in thick filament-free myofibrils (I-Z-I brushes). However, following postmortem storage, paratropomyosin was found broadly distributed in thin filaments of myofibrils.

Notes: A case of squamous cell carcinoma (SCC) with regional lymph node metastasis in a 69-year-old Japanese man is reported. The tumor was characterized by the proliferation of peripheral basaloid, inner squamoid, and glycogen-rich cells, the presence of trichilemmal keratinization, and the presence of ladder-like, membrane-coating granules. These findings suggested that this tumor differentiates toward a hair-follicle structure. The most interesting feature of this tumor was the presence of medusa head-like granules in the cytoplasm of the clear squamoid cells adjacent to the keratinized cells. We have been unable to find any other studies of these granules in squamous cell carcinoma.

Notes: DNA damage generated by reactive oxygen species (ROS) has been implicated in ageing and in the pathogenesis of cardiovascular disease. Reactive oxygen species have also been demonstrated to play a crucial role in the pathophysiology of various renal diseases. They are extremely vulnerable to oxidative stress because mitochondria are the major intracellular source of ROS and have limited protection from oxidative stress. We have found increased accumulation of 8-hydroxy-2′-deoxyguanosine (8-OH-dG), which is a product and bio-marker of oxidative DNA damage, in the mitochondria of glomeruli and tubules in patients with IgA GN. The hOGG1 gene encodes a DNA glycosylase that excises 8-OH-dG from damaged DNA. Recently, genetic polymorphism of Ser(S)326Cys(C) has been reported. In addition, the enzymatic activity of hOGG1 in the repair of 8-OH-dG has been reported to be greater with S than with C.In this study, we investigated the correlation between hOGG1 polymorphism and the clinical phenotypes in Japanese patients with IgA GN. A total of 100 patients with IgAGN with a clinical course of over 7 years duration whose diagnosis was made by renal biopsy were divided into the ‘CRF group’ and the ‘fair group’. The CRF group consisted of 30 patients whose creatinine clearance (Ccr) had fallen to less than 50% of that during the initial period or they had developed end stage renal failure (ESRF). The fair group consisted of 62 patients whose Ccr had been kept at over 80% of that during the initial period, even 7 years after the diagnosis. The patients were genotyped and their clinical findings were compared. One hundred healthy Japanese subjects with normal urinalysis and renal function were analysed. The patients and controls were informed of the ethical approval of this study before entry into the study. The genotype of the hOGG1 gene was determined using the PCR-SSCP method followed by direct sequencing analysis. The details of PCR-SSCP methods have been previously described.1 Clinical and biochemical data were extracted from case records. Blood pressure was evaluated as the average during 1 week of the patient’s hospitalization for a first renal biopsy. Proteinuria was also evaluated as the average data obtained from 24 h collected urine samples for a week. Significant differences in allele frequency and genotype between groups were tested by χ2 test. Biochemical and clinical data were tested by ANOVA and the t-test.We found a high frequency of the C allele in the CRF group compared to the fair group and controls (P 〈 0.05, 〈link href="#t1"〉Table 1). The frequency of ESRF patients was significantly higher among the patients with the CC genotype than in those woth the CS and SS genotype (CC, CS, SS = 50%, 27%, 16%; CC vs CS, P 〈 0.05; CC vs SS, P 〈 0.01; 〈link href="#f1"〉Fig. 1).〈tabular xml:id="t1"〉1〈title type="main"〉 Genotype and allele frequencies in each group 〈mediaResource alt="image" href="urn:x-wiley:13205358:NEP7:NEP_7_t1"/〉〈figure xml:id="f1"〉1〈mediaResource alt="image" href="urn:x-wiley:13205358:NEP7:NEP_7_f1"/〉Frequency of ESRF patients in each group.The creatinine increase rate CC, CS, SS = 0.6090 ± 0.924, 0.1998 ± 0.561, 0.0766 ± 0.2558 mg/dL per year, P 〈 0.05, 〈link href="#t2"〉Table 2) and proteinuria (CC, CS, SS = 1.89 ± 2.24, 1.02 ± 1.07, 1.17 ± 1.57 (g/24 h), P 〈 0.05) were significantly higher in the patients with the C allele than in those with the S allele.〈tabular xml:id="t2"〉2〈title type="main"〉 Creatinine increase rate and proteinuria in each group 〈table frame="topbot"〉〈tgroup cols="5" align="left"〉〈colspec colnum="1" colname="col1" align="left"/〉〈colspec colnum="2" colname="col2" align="center"/〉〈colspec colnum="3" colname="col3" align="center"/〉〈colspec colnum="4" colname="col4" align="center"/〉〈colspec colnum="5" colname="col5" align="left"/〉〈thead valign="bottom"〉〈row rowsep="1"〉CCCSSS〈tbody valign="top"〉Crn increase rate0.6090 ± 0.9240.1998 ± 0.5610.0766 ± 0.2558(mg/dL per year)Proteinuria1.89 ± 2.241.02 ± 1.071.17 ± 1.57(g/24 h)〈note xml:id="t2_note4" numbered="no"〉 P 〈 0.05These findings indicate that the polymorphism of the hOGG1 gene is associated with progression of IgA GN. hOGG1 polymorphism correlates with the amount of proteinuria and a decreasing speed of renal function. In this study, the patients with the CC genotype tended to fall into ESRF. A previous study disclosed that the ability to excise 8-OH-dG is greater with the S allele than with the C allele.2 These facts suggest that accumulation of oxidative DNA damage might be an important factor in the progression of IgA GN. Excision oxidative DNA damage, which is genetically decided, may play an important role in IgA GN.

Notes: 1. This study was undertaken to determine which (α1-adrenoceptor (AR) subtypes were involved in the activation of the femoral artery and the aorta by norepinephrine (NE) in spontaneously hypertensive rats (SHR).2. Negative log EC50 values and maximum responses of NE-induced contraction of the SHR femoral artery were unchanged and increased, respectively, compared with those of Wistar-Kyoto (WKY) rats.3. Contractile responses of the SHR aortas to NE were similar to those of the normotensive tissues.4. Schild plot data for cut-AR antagonists indicated that α1-AR in the aorta were predominantly α1H subtype. In the femoral artery, because Schild plots for bunazosin had slopes of less than 1.0, there were α1H (or α1C) and α1L subtypes.5. The α1-AR subtype in the aorta was essentially identical to the α1H subtype in the femoral artery. α1-AR subtypes mediating contraction in the SHR blood vessels were identical to those in the WKY tissues.