Autoantibodies against inflammatory cytokines may be used for the prevention of atherosclerosis. Preclinical studies consider colony-stimulating factor 2 (CSF2) as an essential cytokine with a causal ...relationship to atherosclerosis and cancer. We examined the serum anti-CSF2 antibody levels in patients with atherosclerosis or solid cancer.
We measured the serum anti-CSF2 antibody levels
amplified luminescent proximity homogeneous assay-linked immunosorbent assay based on the recognition of recombinant glutathione S-transferase-fused CSF2 protein or a CSF2-derived peptide as the antigen.
The serum anti-CSF2 antibody (s-CSF2-Ab) levels were significantly higher in patients with acute ischemic stroke (AIS), acute myocardial infarction (AMI), diabetes mellitus (DM), and chronic kidney disease (CKD) compared with healthy donors (HDs). In addition, the s-CSF2-Ab levels were associated with intima-media thickness and hypertension. The analyzes of samples obtained from a Japan Public Health Center-based prospective study suggested the utility of s-CSF2-Ab as a risk factor for AIS. Furthermore, the s-CSF2-Ab levels were higher in patients with esophageal, colorectal, gastric, and lung cancer than in HDs but not in those with mammary cancer. In addition, the s-CSF2-Ab levels were associated with unfavorable postoperative prognosis in colorectal cancer (CRC). In CRC, the s-CSF2-Ab levels were more closely associated with poor prognosis in patients with p53-Ab-negative CRC despite the lack of significant association of the anti-p53 antibody (p53-Ab) levels with the overall survival.
S-CSF2-Ab was useful for the diagnosis of atherosclerosis-related AIS, AMI, DM, and CKD and could discriminate poor prognosis, especially in p53-Ab-negative CRC.
There is a concern on the part of public health community that adverse health consequences by thimerosal, a preservative in vaccines for infants, may occur among infants during immunization schedule. ...Therefore, the effect of thimerosal on cellular content of glutathione was examined on thymocytes obtained from 4-week-old rats using a flow cytometer and 5-chloromethylfluorescein diacetate. Thimerosal at concentrations ranging from 1 to 10 μM reduced the cellular content of glutathione in a concentration-dependent manner, and the complete depletion of cellular glutathione was observed when the cells were treated with 30 μM thimerosal. L-Cysteine significantly attenuated the actions of thimerosal to reduce the glutathione content and to increase the intracellular Ca
2+ concentration. Prolonged incubation (24 h) with 1–3 μM thimerosal induced the apoptosis. The cytotoxic action of thimerosal was greatly augmented when the cells suffered oxidative stress induced by H
2O
2. It may be unlikely that thimerosal exerts potent cytotoxic action under the in vivo condition because the blood concentration of thimerosal after receiving vaccines does not seem to reach micromolar range and nonprotein thiols at micromolar concentrations are present in the blood.
Novel 1-trifluoromethyl-4-quinolone derivatives (8a,b) were synthesized, and the antibacterial activity of each was evaluated. An oxidative desulfurization−fluorination reaction was employed to ...introduce a trifluoromethyl group at the N-1 position as a key step. Among the derivatives, 8a was found to exhibit antibacterial activity comparable to that of norfloxacin (1) against Staphylococcus aureus Smith, Streptococcus pneumoniae IID1210, and Escherichia coli NIHJ JC-2.
The involvement of the nm23 gene, initially documented as a putative metastasis-suppressor gene, in normal development and differentiation has been supported by several investigations. To date, ...however, localization and expression pattern of nm23 in the human placenta has not been determined. In the present study, the expression of nm23-H1 was examined by Northern blot and immunohistochemical analyses in human placentas from various stages of gestation. In first trimester placenta, the villous cytotrophoblast and the extravillous trophoblast exhibited strong cytoplasmic staining for nm23-H1. In second trimester and term placentas, the few cytotrophoblasts present showed less intense staining than those in first trimester placenta. Northern blot analysis demonstrated a progressive decrease in nm23-H1 gene expression with advancing gestational age, which is consistent with the results obtained by immunohistochemistry. These findings suggest that nm23-H1 is involved in the differentiation process of the trophoblast, and high levels of nm23-H1 expression seem to reflect the proliferating, less differentiated state of that reserve.
Recently, the retraction method has been used to reduce intraabdominal pressure (IAP) during laparoscopic surgery. The purpose of this study was to determine the serial changes in renal function ...during laparoscopic cholecystectomy (LC) using the retraction method.
Urine output, effective renal plasma flow (ERPF), and glomerular filtration rate (GFR) were measured serially in seven patients who underwent LC with 12 mmHg pneumoperitoneum (High-IAP group) and five who underwent LC using the retraction method with 4 mmHg pneumoperitoneum (Low-IAP group).
Urine output, ERPF, and GFR were decreased during pneumoperitoneum in the High-IAP group, whereas no significant changes in any of these parameters were observed in the Low-IAP group.
Our findings demonstrate that reduction of IAP to 4 mmHg using the retraction method prevents the transient renal dysfunction caused by prolonged 12 mmHg pneumoperitoneum during LC, suggesting that the retraction method reduces the risk of perioperative renal dysfunction during laparoscopic surgery.
To clarify whether the changes of free radicals and its scavengers are induced by thyroid disorders, we measured levels of free radical scavengers and checked O2 radical generating systems in the ...human thyroid gland. Thyroid specimens from patients with Graves' disease, follicular adenoma, and papillary and follicular carcinomas contained significantly higher concentrations of xanthine oxidase (XOD) and gluthathione peroxidase (GSH-PX), compared to those in the normal thyroid tissue. Catalase concentration was significantly lower in thyroid specimens from patients with Graves' disease and significantly lower in thyroid specimens from patients with follicular adenoma, compared to those in the normal thyroid tissue. Cu/Zn superoxide dismutase (Cu/Zn SOD) concentration was significantly lower in the specimens from follicular adenoma and papillary carcinoma and Mn SOD concentration was significantly higher in the specimens from papillary carcinoma than those in the normal thyroid tissue. The lipid peroxide concentration, expressed as malondialdehyde (MDA) concentration, was significantly higher in the specimens from papillary carcinoma than those in the normal thyroid tissue. These findings suggest that the levels of free radicals are increased and are scavenged and catalyzed in the thyroid of Graves' disease, whereas free radicals and lipid peroxide are not completely scavenged in papillary carcinoma tissues, suggesting that these substances affect some role in cell function of thyroid tumors.
This study characterizes the developmental expression of NADPH-diaphorase from embryo to adulthood in the forebrain, midbrain and cerebellum of rat brain via histochemical staining. On embryonic day ...12 no neurons stained. Labeling was observed in certain nuclei from E15 through the postnatal period to adulthood. Labeling in neurons increased or maintained a constant level with increased age. The embryo demonstrated substantial labeling in neurons of the caudate putamen, bed nucleus of the stria terminalis, preoptic area, lateral hypothalamic area, paraventricular thalamic nucleus, ventromedial hypothalamic nucleus, magnocellular nucleus posterior commissure, and periaqueductal central gray. Additional neuronal labeling was observed postnatally in the olfactory bulb, cerebral cortex, amygdala, various nuclei of the thalamus, interpeduncular nucleus, linear nucleus of the raphe, pretectal area and superior colliculus. In the cerebellum, labeling appeared only after P14 in cells of the molecular cell layer and granular cell layer. The sizes of labeled neurons developed significantly from P4 to P14 in several nuclei. The distinctive temporal and spatial expression pattern of NADPH-diaphorase implies that the NO/cGMP system may play an important role in physiological and developmental functions.
