Takumi Sakakibara

Plasminogen activator inhibitor-1 as a potential marker for the malignancy of colorectal cancer

To test the hypothesis that plasminogen activator inhibitor-1 (PAI-1) may serve as a candidate marker for the malignancy of colorectal cancer (CRC), we performed a quantitative RT–PCR for PAI-1 gene and evaluated the possible relationship between PAI-1 gene expression levels and clinicopathological findings in CRC. A significant increase in PAI-1 expression scores was observed in lymph node metastasis-positive CRCs (2.19±0.43) compared to negative ones (0.35±0.42) (P=0.0037) as well as in distant metastasis-positive CRCs (3.50±1.18) compared to negative ones (0.99±0.30). The PAI-1 expression score markedly increased with the tumour stage (P=0.0063; ANOVA test). Moreover, multivariate analysis revealed the PAI-1 expression score to be a strong and independent prognostic factor for CRC (P=0.0432). These results suggested that PAI-1 might serve as a new parameter for the prediction of prognoses in CRC.

Plasminogen Activator Inhibitor-1 as a Potential Marker for the Malignancy of Esophageal Squamous Cell Carcinoma

Purpose and Experimental Design: To test whether plasminogen activator inhibitor-1 (PAI-1) can serve as a candidate marker for the malignancy of esophageal squamous cell carcinoma (SCC), we performed a quantitative reverse transcription-PCR for PAI-1 gene and evaluated the possible relationship between PAI-1 gene expression levels and clinicopathological findings in esophageal SCC. Results: Significant increases in PAI-1 scores were observed in metastasis-positive esophageal SCCs (3.08 ± 0.80) compared with metastasis-negative ones (−0.31 ± 0.62; P = 0.0042). PAI-1 expression scores significantly increased with tumor stage (P = 0.05, ANOVA). Conclusions: These results suggested that PAI-1 might serve as a new parameter for prediction of prognosis in esophageal SCC.

Plasminogen activator inhibitor-1 as a potential marker for the malignancy of gastric cancer

To test the hypothesis that plasminogen activator inhibitor‐1 (PAI‐1) may serve as a candidate marker for the malignancy of gastric cancer, we carried out quantitative reverse transcription–polymerase chain reaction for the PAI‐1 gene and evaluated the possible relationship between PAI‐1 gene expression levels and clinicopathological findings in gastric cancer. A significant increase in PAI‐1 expression scores was observed in lymph node metastasis‐positive gastric cancers (2.11 ± 0.35) compared to metastasis‐negative cancers (0.33 ± 0.49) (P = 0.0048), as well as in distant metastasis‐positive gastric cancers (3.68 ± 0.58) compared to metastasis‐negative cancers (1.20 ± 0.32). The PAI‐1 expression score markedly increased with tumor stage (P < 0.0001; ANOVA test). Moreover, multivariate analysis revealed the PAI‐1 expression score to be a strong and independent prognostic factor for gastric cancer (P = 0.0450). These results suggested that PAI‐1 might serve as a new and promising parameter for the prediction of prognosis in gastric cancer. (Cancer Sci 2006; 97)

A successful surgical repair of the hepatic hydrothorax using pneumoperitoneum: Report of a case

A successful surgical repair of a right hepatic hydrothorax in the absence of ascites is reported. A technetium-99m scintigram that was injected intraperitoneally provided evidence of a one-way flow of fluid from the peritoneal to pleural cavity. To identify and possible minute defects in the diaphragm, carbon dioxide was insufflated into the peritoneal cavity during the operation. We performed a direct suture of the defect observed on the diaphragm. The pleural effusion subsequently vanished after the operation.

Hetero‐Selective DNA‐Like Duplex Stabilized by Donor–Acceptor Interactions

We report on the characterization of a novel hetero-selective DNA-like duplex of pyrene and anthraquinone pseudo base pairs. The pyrene/anthraquinone pairs showed excellent selectivity in hetero-recognition and even trimers were found to form a hetero-duplex. Pyrene and anthraquinone moieties were tethered on acyclic D-threoninol linkers and linked to adjacent residues by using standard phosphoramidite chemistry. When pyrene and anthraquinone were incorporated at pairing positions in complementary strands of natural DNA oligonucleotides, the duplex was stabilized significantly. Moreover, a pyrene hexamer and an anthraquinone hexamer formed a stable artificial hetero-duplex without the assistance of natural base pairs. The pyrene/anthraquinone pair was so stable that even trimers formed a hetero-duplex under conditions in which natural DNA strands of three residues do not.

Parameter Predicting the Recurrence of Adhesive Small Bowel Obstruction in Patients Managed with a Long Tube

Some of our patients showed a recurrence of adhesive small bowel obstruction (ASBO) with nonoperative management. The aim of this study was to evaluate the parameters predicting the recurrence of ASBO in patients managed with a long tube. Of 234 patients with ASBO admitted from April 1998 to September 2002, a total of 91 who recovered with nonoperative management after long tube placement were enrolled in this retrospective clinical study. We divided them into two groups for follow-up: the recurrence group and the no-recurrence group. We compared baseline characteristics, the number of previous ASBO admissions, the number of abdominal operations, the interval from the onset of symptoms to long-tube insertion, the duration of long-tube placement, the type of the contrasted intestine through the long tube, the location of the long-tube tip, and the drainage volume through the long tube between the two groups. We then examined the cumulative recurrence rate. A significant difference was found in the number of previous ASBO admissions, the duration of long-tube placement (77 hours vs. 43 hours), the contrasted intestine through the long tube, and the location of the long-tube tip. By multivariate analysis, the duration of long-tube placement was an independent parameter predicting the recurrence of ASBO. These results suggest that the duration of long-tube placement might serve as a parameter for predicting recurrence of ASBO in patients managed with a long tube.

Frontispiece: Hetero‐Selective DNA‐Like Duplex Stabilized by Donor–Acceptor Interactions

DNA Structure Mimics In their Full Paper on page 15974 ff., H. Asanuma, H. Kashida et al. report the characterization of a novel hetero-selective DNA-like duplex of pyrene and anthraquinone pseudo base pairs. Pyrene and anthraquinone moieties were tethered on acyclic D-threoninol linkers and linked to adjacent residues using standard phosphoramidite chemistry. A pyrene hexamer and an anthraquinone hexamer formed a stable artificial hetero-duplex without the assistance of natural base pairs.