Kiyoshi Yokokawa

Interleukin-6 (IL-6) functions as an in vitro autocrine growth factor in renal cell carcinomas.

Interleukin‐6 (IL‐6) was found to be a growth factor of renal cell carcinomas. Furthermore, renal cell carcinomas freshly isolated from the patients expressed mRNA of IL‐6 and secreted biologically active IL‐6 under the culture conditions where the tumor cells could grow, but they did not produce IL‐6 nor proliferate in the absence of fetal calf serum. The production of IL‐6 by the tumor cells was also demonstrated by immunostaining of the IL‐6‐producing cells utilizing anti‐IL‐6 antiserum. Moreover, anti‐IL‐6 antiserum specifically inhibited the in vitro tumor growth. All data indicated that IL‐6 functions as an in vitro autocrine growth factor of renal cell carcinomas.

Distribution of calcitonin gene-related peptide-containing fibers in the urinary bladder of the rat and their origin

SummaryBy use of indirect immunofluorescence, this study demonstrated the presence of calcitonin gene-related peptide-like immunoreactive (CGRPI) fibers in the bladder of the rat. These fibers were abundant in the muscle layer, in which they ran parallel to the muscles, submucosa, and epithelium. No immunoreactive cells were detected. We also examined the origins of these fibers, using a method that combined biotinized retrograde tracer (biotin-wheat germ agglutinin) (B-WGA) and immunocytochemistry. Injection of the tracer into the bladder resulted in the demonstration of small to medium-sized labeled cells that contain CGRPI structures in single dorsal root ganglion cells mostly at the level of L6 and S1, but also a few at L2.Double-staining for CGRPI and immunoreactive P-like substance (SPI) indicated that there are cells in the dorsal root ganglia at the level of L6 and S1 that react to both, but that there are many CGRPI-positive cells that contain no demonstrable SPI; most of the latter are large.

Interleukin-6 Activity in Urine and Serum in Patients with Bladder Carcinoma

To investigate the correlation between interleukin-6 and urothelial neoplasms, interleukin-6 activities in blood and urine samples of patients with bladder carcinoma were measured with a proliferation assay using an interleukin-6 dependent murine hybridoma clone, MH60.BSF2. A total of 43 patients and 15 normal volunteers were entered into this study. All of the patients were examined preoperatively and 26 were reexamined more than 6 days postoperatively to eliminate the effect of surgical injury on interleukin-6 secretion. The interleukin-6 titers in urine and serum increased in accordance with the progression of the tumor stage, and tumor removal induced a remarkable decrease in the titer of urinary interleukin-6. Although the interleukin-6-producing site has not been elucidated yet, our study suggests that interleukin-6 activity in bladder carcinoma patients may reflect the immunoreaction against the tumor in local urothelium.

Three-dimensional distribution of substance P-like immunoreactivity in the urinary bladder of rat

The overall distribution of substance P-like immunoreactive (SPI) fibers in the rat urinary bladder was examined by means of frozen sections and whole mount preparations. Two types of SPI fibers entered the urinary bladder from the neck; one forming thick fiber bundles and the other around the blood vessels. These SPI fiber bundles branched into several thinner segments which often project many collaterals to the smooth muscle and submucosal layers. In the smooth muscle layer, single SPI fibers were seen running parallel to both longitudinal and circular muscle bundles. They appeared to be evenly distributed in the smooth muscle layer. SPI fiber bundles located in the circular muscle layer dissociated SPI fibers which entered the submucosal layer, where they directed to the epithelium and formed a meshwork just beneath it. SPI fibers often left the meshwork to enter the epithelium where abundant arborization of fine SPI fibers was seen. The density of SPI fibers in the submucosal layer and epithelium was not even. The highest density was identified in the neck and the trigonum area.

Age-Dependent Increase in Neuropeptide Y Gene Expression in Rat Adrenal Gland and Specific Brain Areas

Age‐dependent changes in the expression of neuropeptide Y (NPY) peptides and prepro‐NPY mRNA (NPY mRNA) were studied in rat adrenal gland and brain areas by means of radioimmunoassay, immunohistochemistry, and northern blot analysis. In the adrenal gland, NPY immunoreactívity (NPY‐I) increased by 80‐fold, mainly in the chromaffin cells, during aging (from 7 to 33 weeks old). The increase in NPY‐I was accompanied by a concomitant increase in the content of NPY mRNA (800 bases in size, by 16‐fold) and putative NPY pre‐mRNA, a result suggesting that this increase results from that in NPY gene expression, probably at the level of transcription. In contrast, in some brain areas, such as striatum and medulla oblongata plus pons, NPY‐I decreased in an age‐dependent manner, whereas NPY mRNA abundances in these areas increased by twofold with age (from 7 to 33 weeks old). The opposite changes between NPY and NPY mRNA content in specific brain areas suggested the accelerated turnover/degradation of NPY peptide in the brain areas. Furthermore, β‐actin mRNA abundance did not change in rat adrenal gland and brain areas during aging. Thus, the characteristic age‐related increase in NPY gene expression in rat adrenal gland and some brain areas seems to be important for physiological regulation of some neuronal functions, such as blood pressure, in aged animals.

EVIDENCE FOR THE PRESENCE OF ANDROGEN RECEPTORS IN HUMAN LEYDIG CELLS

Localization of androgen receptors (ARs) in the human testis Leydig cells was examined with an AR assay and Northern blot analysis. Leydig cells, highly purified on a Percoll gradient, were used for the experiments. AR concentration in the total cell extract containing both the cytosol and nuclear fractions in Leydig cells was measured using [3H]methyltrienolone. ARs in Leydig cells showed a high affinity for [3H]methyltrienolone and the Kd and Bmax of the receptors were 1.24 nM and 11.7 fmol/mg protein, respectively. Northern blot analysis, using a 32P-labeled full-length human AR complementary DNA (cDNA) detected a 9.5-kb hybridizing band in the total RNA extracted from Leydig cells. These data can be interpreted as evidence of the existence of ARs in human Leydig cells.

Perineal epidermal cyst

This paper presents a case of perineal epidermal cyst. Diagnostic imagings by ultrasonography, CT scanning and MR imaging described the mass as a cystic tumor on the perineal median raphe. It was excised for the histological diagnosis. The removed mass was shown microscopically to be filled with laminated keratin and to be lined with differentiated cornified squamous epithelium. The pathological diagnosis was benign perineal epidermal cyst.

Accessory Scrotum: A Case Report

Abstract We report a case of an accessory scrotum on the left side of the perineum. The literature is reviewed and the etiology of this anomaly is discussed.

HIGH LEVELS OF EXPRESSION OF NEUROPEPTIDE Y mRNA IN HUMAN PHAEOCHROMOCYTOMAS

1. Neuropeptide Y (NPY) gene expression in human phaeochromocytomas was investigated by measuring the levels of NPY mRNA and NPY‐immunoreactivity (NPY‐IR) in human phaeochromocytoma tissues in comparison with those in normal human adrenal tissues.

Inferior Vena Cava Thrombus after Retroperitoneal Lymphadenectomy for Testicular Tumor

A rare case of a thrombus in the inferior vena cava (IVC) after retroperitoneal lymphadenectomy for a testicular tumor is reported. A computed tomograph performed after the operation incidentally showed a filling defect in the IVC. However, it was impossible to decide whether the defect was due to an ordinary or a neoplastic thrombus. For this reason, a thrombectomy was performed, and postoperatively it was diagnosed as an ordinary thrombus. The cause of thrombi found only in the IVC is reviewed and the indication for thrombectomy is discussed.