Etsuro Hashimura

Production of rabbit antibody specific for amino-terminal residues of cholecystokinin octapeptide (CCK-8) by selective suppression of cross-reactive antibody response

Antibody specific for the amino-terminal region of cholecystokinin octapeptide (CCK-8) was generated in a highly reproducible way in New Zealand white rabbits by a novel immunization procedure which involves immunization with CCK-8 peptide conjugate coupled with keyhole limpet hemocyanin (KLH) and inhibiting cross-reacting antibody formation by treatment of the animals with a potent tolerogenic conjugate of beta-alanyl-tetragastrin and a copolymer of D-glutamic acid and D-lysine (D-GL). The antisera thus produced specifically react with an amino-terminal region of CCK-8 but not with the non-sulfate form of CCK-8, nor with the carboxy-terminal region which shares a cross-reactive determinant among gastrin and cholecystokinin-related peptides (caerulein, CCK-4, CCK-8, CCK-33 and CCK-39). The antisera produced by this method allowed us to measure specifically CCK in extracts from tissue such as duodenum containing gastrin and CCK at comparable levels.

The location of LH-RH neurons in the rat hypothalamus and their pathways to the median eminence

SummaryThe location of the perikarya of LH-RH neurons in the rat hypothalamus and their pathways to the median eminence were studied by immunohistochemistry and radioimmunoassay after placing stereotaxic electrolytic lesions in several parts of the hypothalamus. The principal location of the cell somata was found to be in the ventral part of the medial preoptic area; their pathways were classified into a main baso-lateral pathway and an accessory descending pathway branching off from the former. The main pathway was found to cross in the vicinity of the corresponding neuronal perikarya. The central median eminence and the dorsal and ventral walls of the tubero-infundibular sulcus of the caudal part of the median eminence are innervated mainly by the baso-lateral pathway. On the other hand, the rostral and most caudal portions of the median eminence are innervated principally by the descending pathway and have a subsidiary dual innervation. The projection of LH-RH neurons to the OVLT is believed to originate from perikarya adjacent to this circumventricular organ.

5-fluorouracil arterial infusion + interferon therapy for highly advanced hepatocellular carcinoma: A multicenter, randomized, phase II study.

Aim:  The efficacy and safety of 5‐fluorouracil arterial infusion + interferon therapy (FAIT) was evaluated in patients with hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) with a high degree of vascular invasion associated with poor prognosis, using best salvage therapy (BST) as a reference group.

Detection of catecholamine and luteinizing hormone-releasing hormone (LH-RH) containing nerve endings in the median eminence and the organon vasculosum laminae terminalis by fluorescence histochemistry and immunohistochemistry on the same microscopic sections ☆

Distribution of catecholamine (CA) and LH-RH nerve endings in the median eminence (ME) and the organon vasculosum laminae terminalis (OVLT) of the rat was investigated by application of fluorescence histochemistry and immunohistochemistry on the same sections of the tissue. In the ME, those two kinds of endings coexisted in the lateral portion of the middle part of ME, and in the wall of tuberoinfundibular sulcus, where they might be considered to have functional correlation. In the OVLT they were also distributed in fairly near distance, but they were not so closely associated as observed in the ME.

Correlative ontogenetic development of catecholamine- and LHRH-containing nerve endings in the median eminence of the rat

SummaryThe ontogenetic development of catecholamine (CA)-and LHRH-containing nerve endings in the median eminence of the rat was investigated by combining fluorescence histochemistry and immunohistochemistry in the same tissue section. LHRH-terminals appeared earlier than CA-terminals and were already detectable in the lateral part of the external layer of the central ME on the first day after birth. CA-nerve endings were first seen in a corresponding region of the ME on the seventh postnatal day. At this stage both types of terminals showed the earliest manifestation of a correlative pattern of their distribution. Subsequently the development of both types of nerve endings proceeded rapidly, and at 14 days their distribution pattern corresponded to that in adult animals. The authors conclude that at this stage the CA-neurons play a constant and significant role in the release of LHRH into the portal capillaries. The correlation between both types of nerve endings and the ontogenetic development of the capillary plexuses of the hypophysial portal system is discussed.

The LH-RH Neuron System of the Japanese Monkey (Macaca fuscata) by Immunohistochemistry

LH-RH synthesizing neurons in the hypothalamus of the Japanese monkey (Macaca fuscata) were revealed by immunohistochemistry. Their cell somata, neuronal processes and terminals showed a dark brown colored reaction by the peroxidase-antiperoxidase (PAP) method. Their cell somata which synthesize LH-RH were classified into four groups. The neurons of the first group were located mainly in the preoptic area and the anterior wall of the third ventricle and also extended to the nucleus of the diagonal bundle of Broca and the medial septal nucleus. Those of the second group were distributed in the dorsomedial and the ventromedial hypothalamic nuclei and in the area round the suprachiasmatic nucleus. Those of the third group were found in the area from the arcuate nucleus to the infundibular stalk. Those of the fourth group located in the area round the mammillary body. The nerve projection from all of the neurons in these four groups was observed in the median eminence (ME). Furthermore, the pathways to the ME were also classified into four groups by way of the projection. The first group of fibers originated from the whole cell groups of the first group, and the neurons round the suprachiasmatic nucleus of the second group ran through the medial part of the floor of the third ventricle and terminated in the ME. The second group of fibers from the neurons in the first group diverged laterally in the dorsal part of the optic chiasma and projected to the ME. The