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Resection is the only curative treatment for liver metastasis of colorectal cancers. Despite the supreme regenerative potential of the liver, major hepatectomy sometimes leads to liver failure, and the limitation of resectable liver volumes makes advanced tumors inoperable. This study was attempted to promote liver regeneration using hepatocyte growth factor (HGF) gene transfection by venous-administered adenovirus and to improve the survival of rats after massive hepatectomy. The adenovirus that encodes HGF was administered to rats before 85%-hepatectomy. The administration of HGF gene improved the survival of rats after massive hepatectomy, while the administration of control adenovirus deteriorated their survival. Gene transfection of HGF showed up-regulation of serum HGF, stimulation of hepatocellular proliferation and rapid liver regeneration. Moreover, HGF administration reduced apoptosis of hepatocytes. The administration of HGF gene prevented liver dysfunction after major hepatectomy and may be a new assist for surgery.

The purpose of the study was to investigate the over-time effects of physical, psychological and social resources on the incidence of depression in family caregivers of the disabled elderly. Data were collected twice at a one-year interval from 1,141 primary caregivers of a disabled older person in an urban area of Japan using a self-reported questionnaire survey. The questionnaire included physical health as an indicator of physical resources, caregiving satisfaction and intention to care as indicators of psychological resources, and instrumental and emotional support network and formal home care service utilization as indicators of social resources. The mental health outcome measure was the General Health Questionnaire 12-item version (GHQ-12). Complete data on 235 non-depressed female caregivers were separated into 3 groups according to the relationship type (wife, daughter and daughter-in-law) and analyzed separately. Multivariate logistic regression models controlling for duration of caregiving, care-recipient's gender, ADL dependency and behavioral problems demonstrated that significant predictors of depression were caregiving satisfaction and intention to care in wives, caregiving satisfaction in daughters, and physical health and emotional support network in daughters-in-law. Noteworthy, intention to care increased the risk of depression in wives, while decreasing the risk of depression in daughters-in-law. The findings indicate that the effects of caregivers' resources on mental health may differ by relationship type.

The aim of this study was to reveal the clinical features of anterior urethral recurrence in patients with superficial bladder cancer, and to determine the appropriate treatment. Three hundred and three patients with superficial bladder cancer, who were newly diagnosed and initially treated conservatively in our hospital between 1965 and 1990, were followed for at least 5 years and their clinical outcomes were analyzed. Clinical factors, including anterior urethral recurrence, were evaluated statistically regarding tumor progression. Eight patients (2.6%) had anterior urethral recurrence following superficial bladder cancer. Twenty-four patients (7.9%) had tumor progression and 149 (49.2%) had tumor recurrence. In a multivariate analysis using a logistic model, anterior urethral recurrence was the most important factor, followed by histological grade. Four of 5 patients who were treated for anterior urethral recurrent tumors by transurethral resection showed progression and died of the cancer within one year. Two of the remaining three patients who underwent radical cysto-urethrectomy at the time of anterior urethral recurrence survived. Anterior urethral recurrence following superficial bladder cancer is a predictor for rapid subsequent malignant progression. Once there is anterior urethral recurrence, radical intensive therapy, including radical cysto-urethrectomy, should be carried out immediately.

The effect of thioinosine on antibody response of immunized rabbits has been studied. When given simultaneously with the antigen, thioinosine profoundly suppresses the formation of humoral antibody.

For the purpose to reveal the relation between cell death and nuclear stainability by supravital staining with basic dyes observations have been made on the cells of bone marrow, peripheral blood and lymph node from anemic and non-anemic rabbit, rat, mouse and chicken, and thymus from young mouse. The cells were stained supravitally in blood serum, isotonic saline, calcium chloride and sucrose solutions with the dyes; brilliant cresyl blue (B. C. B), Nile blue (N. B.), neutral red (N. R.), Janus green (J.G.) and eosin (E.). The following results were obtained: 1. In the presence of blood serum all the living cell nuclei observed were not stained supravitally, except some mature erythroblasts and nucleated red cells. 2. In isotonic saline, CaCl2 and MgCl2 solutions all the erythroid cell nuclei were stained deep by B. C. B., N. B., N. R., slightly by J. G. but not by E. In stainability the younger the cell is the deeper in its nuclear staining. The nuclei of other cell strains were not stained. 3. In isotonic sucrose the nuclei of mature granulocyte were also stained by B. C. B. and N. B. but not by other dyes. The nuclei of lymphoid cells and myeloid cells appeared pale without being stained by any dyes. The nuclei of erythroblasts in sucrose solution were stained deeper with B. C. B. and N. B. than those in isotonic saline. The differences between supravital stainability of the nuclei among the cells belonging to different strain and among those of the same strain but in different maturation stage and the nuclear staining after cell death have been discussed from the possible dissociation of DNA from histone.

As a step in the elucidation of immunity of human cancer from the standpoint of homotransplantation immunity, we conducted mixed cultures of regional lymph node cells from C3H mouse isotransplanted with methylcholanthrene-induced sarcoma (MC-tumor) together with the primary culture MC-tumor cells, and observed the behaviors of these lymph node cells to the MC-tumor cells and compared the effects of these lymph node cells with lhose of normal mouse lymph node cells by counting the growth number of tumor cells and also by cinematography. As a result, it has been demonstrated that the regional lymph node cells from the mouse isotransplanted with the MC-tumor (2mm3 in size) acquire a strong antitumor activity by 14 days after the transplantation, but such antitumor activity diminishes and disappears in the terminal stage of cancer. When the number of these lymphocytes is increased, there can be observed some dosage effect, but no complete inhibition of the tumor growth can be attained. The cinematographic observations of these regional lymph node cells in the mixed culture with tumor cells reveal that lymphocytes of small to intermediate size aggregate onto the tumor cells and inhibit the movement of the latter.

For the purpose to clarify the relationship between production of humoral antibodies and cellular reactions of the lymphoid system to allogeneic-transplanted cells in mice, a study on cross sensitization was carried out between inbred A(H-2a) and C3H(H-2k) strain mice. The median survival time of skin of C3H transplanted to A (C3H-to-A) was 14.1 ± 1. 4 days, and of A transplanted to C3H(A-to-C3H) was 11.8± 1. 6 days. Repeated A cell injections to C3H induced the formation of humoral antibodies, whereas the C3H cell injections into A did not. In A-to-C3H and C3H-to-A combinations, the immunization induced an increase in white blood cell number in circulating blood successively with the repetition of the antigen injection, and organ weights increased in thymus, spleen, and liver but not in kidney. Weight increases in the organs of A treated with C3H cell injection were less in extent, comparing to those of C3H treated with A cells. Histologic observations revealed that the cellular proliferation in the lymphoid system including plasmocytic responses were obviously predominant in the C3H treated with A cells comparing to those in the A treated with C3H cells. Hemocytoblasts also increased during the immunization in both cases showing no significant differences between the two series of experiments. These cellular reactions were observed not only in the draining lymph nodes but also in the generalized lymphoid tissues. The results of the present study suggest that the definitive factor for producing humoral antibodies is in the differences of the homologous antigenicity between the donor and the recipient but not in the degree of sensitization, and the Dk in H-2 loci is not so strong in antigenicity as to elicit sufficient plasmocytic responses for the formation of humoral antibodies in C3H strain mouse.