The characteristics of soluble interleukin-6 receptor (sIL-6R) in murine sera were examined. To investigate a relationship between serum sIL-6R level and autoimmune diseases, quantitative analysis of ...serum sIL-6R in MRL/lpr mice was performed by an enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay. The serum sIL-6R level in MRL/lpr mice of both sexes was below the detection limit (< 1.0 ng/ml) at 8 weeks of age, but it increased in accordance with age and reached 42 +/- 9.3 ng/ml in female and 31 +/- 13 ng/ml in male mice at 30 weeks of age. In MRL/+ mice, although an age-associated increase in serum sIL-6R level was observed, it was much less extensive than that in MRL/lpr mice. Elevated serum sIL-6R level at the age of 30 weeks was observed in female and male (NZB x NZW)F1 mice (32 +/- 10 ng/ml and 17 +/- 5.0 ng/ml, respectively), and male BXSB/Mpj Yaa mice (42 +/- 18 ng/ml), suggesting that elevated serum sIL-6R in aged mice is one of the characteristics of autoimmune-prone mice. Quantitative analysis of serum IL-6 in MRL/lpr revealed that the serum sIL-6R level correlated well with the serum IL-6 level. We also showed that sIL-6R in the sera from MRL/lpr mice could mediate the IL-6 functions through the IL-6 signal-transducing receptor component gp130, suggesting that elevated production of sIL-6R may partly contribute to development of autoimmune disease in MRL/lpr mice.
The prognosis of 13,526 radiation therapy patients in one institution over the past 26 years was analyzed. The study population consisted of 7,463 male patients and 6,063 female patients, breaking ...down to 2,593 head and neck cancer patients, 1,863 breast cancer patients, 1,829 esophageal cancer patients, and 1,277 brain tumor patients. In recent years, the numbers of patients with breast cancer and with prostate cancer have increased. The follow-up rate was 93.2%. The 5-and 10-year overall survival rates of all cases were 41.6% and 31.4%, respectively. The 5-and 10-year overall survival rates of the curative radiation therapy group and the postoperative radiation therapy group were 39.5% and 29.0%, and 59.6% and 46.6%, respectively. Late complications developed in 522 patients (3.9%), and in10.2% patients followed up ten years or more. (Article in Japanese)
PDF
