Yasuo Bunai

A rare case of serous cystadenocarcinoma of the pancreas.

Serous cystadenocarcinoma of the pancreas, a rare disease, developed in a 63‐year‐old Japanese woman. Pathologic examinations of the pancreatic tumor at the subtotal pancreatectomy showed it to be serous cystadenoma with focal atypical lesions. Three years after the operation, however, metastatic liver nodules were found, and the histologic characteristics of these lesions were quite similar to those of the pancreatic neoplasm. Both primary and metastatic tumors were composed of multiple cysts separated by fibrous septa. The epithelium of cysts was cuboidal and had clear cytoplasm, which had positive results for periodic acid‐Schiff (PAS) and negative results for PAS with diastase, Alcian blue, and mucicar‐mine. To the knowledge of the authors, serous cystic neoplasms of the pancreas have been uniformly benign in biologic behavior. Recently, however, serous cystadenocarcinoma of the pancreas has been reported as a new entity. The current case is the second reported case and might support the existence of serous cystadenocarcinoma of the pancreas. Cancer 1992; 69:2449‐2453.

Neuronal apoptosis studied by a sequential TUNEL technique: a method for tract-tracing

A novel tract-tracing procedure by using a sequential in situ terminal deoxynucleotidyl transferase-mediated dUTP-biotin nick end-labeling of DNA fragments (TUNEL) is described. This method identifies fragmented DNA transported into neuronal fibers in tissue sections of gerbil hippocampal CA1 neurons following transient forebrain ischemia. The transported DNA has been confirmed by another method, fluorescence DNA detection technique by DAPI. Many methods have been developed to study the neuroanatomical connections in the central nervous system. Principally, these techniques are based on tract-tracing studies using xenobiotics into the central nervous system. Our tract-tracing method is originated from an intrinsic marker that is produced during the apoptotic process of neurons. Furthermore, the advantage of this method is that only the selected cells undergoing apoptosis are recognized and traced to the end of the related neuronal fiber. Usually, apoptotic cells possess intact intracellular metabolic mechanisms until completion of cell death. Thus, apoptotic neurons retain the axonal transport mechanisms which enables us to detect fragmented DNA moving from nuclei to distal terminals of neuronal fibers. Since TUNEL-positive DNA movement within neuronal fibers occurs only during a limited period, it is essential that a time-course of the TUNEL technique is used to study tract-tracing of apoptotic neurons. Although this method can identify only the apical dendrites of cells that are undergoing apoptosis during the limited period, some projections of the gerbil hippocampal CA1 neurons undergoing apoptosis are clearly demonstrated.

Purification and characterization of pig lung carbonyl reductase

A pyrazole-sensitive carbonyl reductase from pig lung was purified to homogeneity by electrophoretic criteria. Chemical cross-linking study suggested that the native enzyme is a tetramer with a Mr of 103,000, consisting of apparent identical subunits of Mr 24,000. The enzyme reduced aliphatic and aromatic carbonyl compounds with NADPH as a preferable cofactor to NADH and catalyzed the oxidation of secondary alcohols and the aldehyde dismutation in the presence of NAD(P)+. Immunohistochemical study with the antibodies against the enzyme revealed that the enzyme was localized in the ciliated cells, nonciliated bronchiolar cells, Type II alveolar pneumocytes, and the epithelial cells of the ducts of the bronchial glands in the pig lung. In addition to the properties and distribution, the pig lung enzyme was immunochemically similar to the pulmonary enzymes in the guinea pig and mouse. However, the pig enzyme showed the following unusual features. (1) The enzyme exhibited an equatorial specificity in the reduction of 3-ketosteroids; the 4-pro-S hydrogen of NADPH was transferred to the carbonyl carbon atom of 5 alpha- and 5 beta-androstanes, and the respective reduced products were identified as 3 beta- and 3 alpha-hydroxysteroids. (2) Although the NADPH-linked reduction of carbonyl compounds apparently obeyed the Michaelis-Menten kinetics at pH 6.0, the double-reciprocal plots of the velocity vs concentrations of the carbonyl substrates were convex at pH higher than 6.5. The Hill coefficients and [S]0.5 values for the substrates decreased as the pH for reaction increased. The results suggest that the pig enzyme exhibits negative cooperativity with respect to the carbonyl substrates and that the hydrogen ion acts as an allosteric effector abolishing the negative interaction.

Elder abuse and neglect: social problems revealed from 15 autopsy cases

This study examined the elder abuse cases that occurred in Gifu Prefecture, Japan between 1990 and 2000. We conducted a retrospective study of all the cases in which the victim was 65 years or older and autopsied in the Department of Legal Medicine, Gifu University School of Medicine. Fifteen victims were classified as elder abuse victims: five men and ten women. The victims ranged in age from 66 to 87 years (mean age, 74.5 years). The types of abuse were as follows: physical abuse, 13 cases; emotional abuse, five cases; neglect, four cases; and financial abuse, three cases. In eight cases, the victims were subjected to two or more types of abuse. The cause of death of the victims varied with the type of abuse. In the physical abuse cases, subdural hemorrhage was the most common cause, followed by other violence-related deaths and hypothermia. In the neglect cases, the victims died of either starvation or suffocation after the aspiration of food into the airway. In the domestic abuse cases, one of the victims sons was the most common perpetrator, and little or no income was considered to be a risk factor for perpetrators. In the neglect cases, dementia and difficulty in performing activities of daily living were considered to be risk factors for victims, in addition to living in social isolation.

Analysis of the STR loci HUMF13A01, HUMFXIIIB, HUMLIPOL, HUMTH01, HUMTPOX and HUMVWFA31 in a Japanese population

Population studies on six short tandem repeat loci, HUMF13A01, HUMFXIIIB, HUMLIPOL, HUMTH01, HUMTPOX and HUMVWFA31 were carried out in a sample of unrelated Japanese individuals (n = 337–545) living in Gifu Prefecture (central region of Japan). Five alleles could be identified for HUMFXIIIB, six for HUMF13A01, HUMLIPOL, HUMTH01 and HUMTPOX, and eight for HUMVWFA31. For all/six loci no deviations from the Hardy-Weinberg equilibrium hypothesis were detected. The mean exclusion chance ranged from 0.22 to 0.60, the power of discrimination from 0.63 to 0.93, and the expected heterozygosity from 0.43 to 0.80. Allele frequency distributions for the loci in the Japanese sample were not similar to those in samples from other racial or ethnic groups except for the Chinese (for HUMTPOX). The results demonstrate that HUMTH01, HUMTPOX and HUMVWFA31 are more useful for forensic investigations in the Japanese population than the other three loci.

DNA typing from cigarette butts

We performed DNA typing for D1S80, HLADQA1, TH01 and PM using the butts of 100 cigarettes that were smoked by ten different individuals (ten cigarettes per individual). The results obtained from DNA typing for D1S80 agreed with the results obtained using bloodstains in 76 cigarette butt samples. Sixteen samples produced false results, showing the loss of the longer allelic hetero-band. When examined using agarose gel electrophoresis, high-molecular weight DNA was not observed in these samples. The same results were also observed for buccal swab samples and saliva stains obtained from the same individuals. In the remaining eight cigarette butt samples, PCR products were not detected. The results obtained from DNA typing for TH01, HLADQA1 and PM agreed with the results obtained using bloodstains in 90 samples. In the remaining ten samples of a specific kind of cigarette (Marlboro), the PCR products were not detected. The extracts from the ends of the Marlboro cigarettes were stained yellow. When the DNA extracted from Marlboro cigarette butts was treated with Microcon-100 (amicon) or SizeSep 400 Span Columns (Amersham Pharmacia Biotech), PCR products could be detected. When PCR amplification was performed after adding extracts from the ends of unsmoked Marlboro cigarettes to DNA extracted from bloodstains, PCR products could not be detected. The present data indicate that the degradation of high-molecular weight DNA and the inhibition of PCR by dyes of the cigarette end should be kept in mind when performing DNA typing using cigarette ends.

Fatal hyperthermia associated with excited delirium during an arrest

An autopsy case of fatal hyperthermia in a state of excited delirium is reported. On a hot summer night a 39-year-old man was suspected of being a rapist, and police officers and several men attempted to arrest him. He vigorously resisted, but after a 20-min struggle he was ultimately forced into a prone position on the ground with his arms and legs restrained by police officers. He collapsed shortly after being arrested and was taken to a hospital, but was pronounced dead on arrival. His rectal temperature measured 2.5 h after death was 40 degrees C. At autopsy the body showed a severer degree of postmortem change than after death at a normal body temperature and a similar postmortem interval. Autopsy revealed abrasions and subcutaneous hemorrhages of the head, face, arms, and legs. The heart was dilated and exhibited subendocardial hemorrhages in the left ventricle. The brain and both lungs were congested. Microscopic examination of the lungs revealed intraalveolar edema and hemorrhages. The skeletal muscles showed contraction band necrosis and hyaline degeneration. The liver showed diffuse coarse-droplet fatty infiltration of hepatocytes. Neither addictive drugs nor alcohol were detected from the blood or urine. The suspect was concluded to have died of fatal hyperthermia in a state of excited delirium.

Localization of Pulmonary Carbonyl Reductase in Guinea Pig and Mouse: Enzyme Histochemical and Immunohistochemical Studies'

We studied the localization of carbonyl reductase (E.C. 1.1.1.184) in guinea pig and mouse lung by enzyme histochemistry and immunohistochemistry, using antibodies against the guinea pig lung enzyme which crossreacted with the lung enzymes of both animals. Carbonyl reductase activity was detectable in the bronchiolar epithelial cells of small airways and in alveolar cells. In the immunohistochemical staining for carbonyl reductase, the reaction was strongest in the non-ciliated bronchiolar cells (Clara cells) and was weak in the ciliated cells and type II alveolar pneumocytes. Injection of a single dose of naphthalene led to significant impairment of carbonyl reductase activity and of microsomal mixed-function oxidase activities in mouse lung, with a marked decrease in both activity and immunoreactive staining in the bronchiolar epithelial cells. The results indicate that carbonyl reductase is localized primarily in the Clara cells, which are known to be sites of pulmonary drug metabolism.

Extra-adrenal pheochromocytoma-ganglioneuroma. A case report.

A case of rare extra-adrenal tumor composed of pheochromocytoma-ganglioneuroma which developed in a 48-year-old Japanese male is reported. Histologically, the tumor contained equal proportion of two distinct patterns, pheochromocytoma and ganglioneuroma. Immunohistochemical examination revealed that pheochromocytoma cells were positive for Leu-7 and ganglion cells in ganglioneuroma were positive for vasoactive intestinal peptide (VIP), respectively. Neuron specific enolase (NSE) was positive in the neoplastic cells of both components, and S-100 protein was also positive in fibers around ganglion cells. Ultrastructural examination revealed that neurosecretory granules were present in the neoplastic cells.

Fetal death from abruptio placentae associated with incorrect use of a seatbelt

A female driver, 24 weeks pregnant, was wearing a three-point seatbelt in the manner usual for nonpregnant women, when her automobile collided head-on with another vehicle. A cardiotocographic examination after the accident revealed the fetus to be alive. Five days after the accident, however, a cardiotocographic examination showed fetal death. At that time, a transverse ecchymotic band on the lower abdominal wall that had not been observed at the first examination was noticed. Eight days after the accident, the mother delivered a macerated female fetus. At autopsy, the baby showed no abnormality, but there was a hematoma on the placental surface toward the uterus. These results suggest that the fetus died of abruptio placentae associated with incorrect placement of the lap belt.