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The appearance of sideroblasts in hypoplastic anemia (HAl and acute myelocytic leukemia (AML), together with their sideroblastograms, was studied. Hematological studies on cases with type III sideroblast dominance by sideroblastograms produced the following results. Type III sideroblast dominant HA was observed in three of 63 cases. Two of the above three cases had what we call "atypical factor", while the remaining one became AML in its clinical course and could be considered to be leukemia in a hypoplastic preleukemic stage. Type III sideroblast dominant AML was noted in five of 32 cases. Three of these five cases are compatible with low percentage leukemia, and one of the above three cases showed ringed sideroblasts exhibiting erythroleukemia in the terminal stage. In HA and AML, type III sideroblast dominant cases have to be examined in relation to atypical HA and atypical leukemia. Changes of iron meta. bolism in erythroblasts with preleukemic stage will be attributable to disturbance of erythropoiesis such as erythroid hyperplasia in bone marrow and also, in part, to disturbance of hemoglobin synthesis.

Hematological changes and serum iron, vitamin B12 and folate levels after administration of iron plus folic acid were com· pared with changes and levels after supplement of iron alone in 100 pregnant women. No hematological benefits by adding folic acid was revealed. It is concluded that folic acid deficiency in pregnant women is mild and routine supplementation of folic acid is not necessary except for proved cases of folate deficiency. As to the reason why folic acid deficiency is so mild and megaloblastic anemia is so rare in Japan, uniformity of dietary habits, i. e. boiled rice as basic food, was discussed.

For the purpose to define the mechanism of heavy metal intoxication by inhalation, morphologic observations were made on rat lungs after nasal instillation of iron colloid particles of positive and negative electric charges. Histochemical observation was also made on the liver and spleen of these animals. The instilled iron colloid particles reach the alveolar cavity easily, as can be seen in the tissue sections stained by Prussian blue reaction. Alveolar macrophages do take up them avidly both of positive and negative charges, though much less the positive particles than negative ones. In contrast, the alveolar epithelial cells take up solely positive particles by phagocytosis but not negative ones. Electron microscope observation revealed that the positive particles are ingested by Type I epithelial cells by pinocytosis and by Type II cells by phagocytosis as well. Then the iron colloid particles are transferred into the basement membrane by exocytosis. Travelling through the basement membrane they are again taken up by capillary endothelial cells by phagocytosis. Some particles were found in the intercellular clefts of capillary endothelial cells but not any iron colloid particles in the intercellular spaces of epithelial cells and in the capillary lumen. However, the liver and spleen tissues of the animals given iron colloid showed a strong positive iron reaction. On the basis of these observations, the mechanism of acute intoxication by inhaling heavy metal dusts like lead fume is discussed from the view point of selective uptake of alveolar epithelial and capillary endothelial cells for the particles of the positive electric cha'rge.

Constitutional lipid peroxidation in randomly selected 32 cases of clinically advanced carcinoma from human gastrointestinal tract (20 cases), breast (8 cases) and kidney (4 cases) was examined histochemically in frozen sections using cold Schiff's reagent. Only two cases of gastrointestinal carcinoma were positive by the reagent. Non-cancerous parenchymal cells were negative. These findings suggest that detectable constitutional lipid peroxidation seldom occurs in either cancerous or normal tissues. The capacity for normal and neoplastic tissues to undergo lipid peroxidation was also studied by incubation with an iron-NADPH pro-oxidant system. Normal parenchymal cells showed, to various degrees, a positive reactivity. In gastrointestinal carcinoma, 6 out of 7 cases of well differentiated adenocarcinoma reacted positively, whereas 2 out of 8 cases of moderately to poorly differentiated adenocarcinoma disclosed weakly positive reactions. Mucinous adenocarcinomas (4 cases) were all negative. Signet-ring cell carcinoma (1 case) was positive. One out of 8 cases of breast cancer also showed positive reaction. Four renal cell carcinomas were all negative. Cancer cells have lower capacity to undergo lipid peroxidation than normal cells, when the iron-NADPH pro-oxidant system was employed. In gastrointestinal carcinoma, the ability to undergo lipid peroxidation by the iron-NADPH pro-oxidant seems to be correlated with their histological differentiation. This fact may suggest that differences in lipid composition or the NADPH enzyme system exist between well differentiated and poorly differentiated gastrointestinal malignancies.

1. In an attempt to see how fatty acid iron will be absorbed from the intestine, a single administration of fatty acid iron was given and when histological observations were done with lapse of time, it was found that the iron compound was first split into iron and fatty acid and each of them was then absorbed by the intestines by a different mechanism as described in the first report. The present experiment further confirmed these findings. 2. Following the first experiment, another attempt was made to determine how iron was absorbed in the animals given successive oral administration under various conditions or a single intravenous injection of colloidal fatty acid iron, and it was demonstrated that under a certain condition the presence of fat in the feed accelerates the iron absorption from the intestine but its mechanism remains unclarified.

It has been indicated that, when fatty acid iron is administered orally, the iron compound is split into iron and fatty acid and absorbed by different mechanisms.

Based on our original concept, a fibroblast-inhibiting agent, chloroquine, was used against various animal tumors. Among transplanted animal tumors, the drug was most effective on relatively connective tissue-rich Bashford and Brown-Pearce tumors, as reflected by prolongation of life span, inhibition of tumor growth, inhibition of lowering of liver catalase activity, improvement of iron metabolism, increase of tumor necrosis, inhibition of connective tissue formation, and decrease of acid mucopolysaccharide. On the other hand, it was of little advantage in Ehrlich, Yoshida and MH134 tumors which contain little connective tissue, except for a decrease of the amount of ascites and ascites tumor cells in the former two tumors. These results indicate that chloroquine suppress the growth of the tumors relatively rich in connective tissue. This effect of chloroquine appears to be due to the primary attack of the stromal connective tissue of tumors being followed by the degeneration of tumor cells, though its probable anti-tumor activity by the indirect effects through its anti-inflammatory and systemic humoral activities should be taken into consideration.

A granuloma pouch was formed on the back of rats by the original method of SELYE. Seven days when granuloma tissue reached its maximum, 35S labeled ChS, 59Fe labeled ChS-Fe, labeled ferric ammoninum citrate and colloidal 198Au were injected into the pouch and their absorption and organ distribution examined and compared with the results in the case where 59Fe labeled ferric ammoninum citrate and colloidal 198Au were injected into the gluteal muscle. 1. When 35S labeled ChS was injected into the granuloma pouch, radioactivity of the organs per gram tissue was high in the kidney, liver, bone marrow and spleen, in descending order. The maximum activity was seen 12 to 24 hours after injection, which is slow compared to the results obtained by KISHIDA in intraperitoneal and oral administration. 2. The absorption of Ch S-Fe by pouch where the iron is enveloped by the large ChS molecule, is slower than that of ferric ammonium citrate, an inorganic compound. 3. The uptake of Fe from the blood by bone marrow is larger when the increase of blood Fe ion concentration is slow, rater than when the increase is rapid. 4. When conoidal 198Au is injected into the pouch and injected into the" gluteal muscle, the 198Au is phargocytozed by the reticuloendothelial system organs, the liver showing the largest uptake among all organs. 5. In the intramuscular injection of colloidal 198Au and 59Fe labeled ferric ammonium citrate, radioactivity of pouch fluid is lower than that of blood. However, the difference between the two is less in the case of colloidal 198Au. 6. In the granuloma ponch, radioactivity of the abdominal wall proves to be greater than that of the dorsal wall.

Following Fibrin Plate Method of SZOLLOSY and RENGEI² , and ASTRUP and MULLERTZ³, the author conducted a series of experiments in an attempt to identify human blood by detecting the proactivator believed to be one of the enzyme proteins contained abundantly in human blood. As the results it has been found that with 0.1 mg. % SK-solution human blood alone responds to the reaction, showing almost absolute species-specificity within 4 hours but not with blood of monkey. In addition, the sensitivity is so high that it responds positively up to the dilution of 1: 8,000 to 1: 10,000 (human blood: physiological saline solution). By means of this method using 0.1 mg% SK-solution it has been clearly demonstated that the identification of human blood is possible in a variety of conditions and states as may be encountered in practical legal medicine such as with blood stains in cloth, wood, stone, leaves of tree even with a trace of blood stain, old human blood stain left standing for 20 to 30 years, old blood mixed with iron rust, blood stains soaked in various oils, and even the blood stained cloth washed thoroughly and left standing in room temperature for 6 months. Therefore, this Fibrin Plate Method seems to be the excellent one for the identification of human blood.

For the purpose of revealing the role of the reticuloendothelial system (RES) for the antibody formation, the rats which received the repeated intraperitoneal and subcutaneous injections of a vast amount of PVP were challenged by bovine serum albumin (BSA) introducing through 2 routes of intramuscular and intravenous, and then antibody formation was observed. Blood cell count and clearance rate of radiogold were observed for the purpose of obtaining the information of blockade grade of the RES by PVP. Phagocytic activity of macrophages ingesting PVP against iron colloid were also observed in vitro. 1. A severe anemia was induced by the administration of a vast amount of PVP, 15 ml of 3% solution daily or every other day for 63 days. Histological picture indicated the suppressed erythropoiesis probably by iron deficiency or the lowered iron transporting activity of the RES, as the anemia recovered after intraperitoneal iron injections. 2. With the generalized and marked swelling of the RES, the cells in germinal center of spleen and lymph nodes were extremely swollen and lymphocytes disappeared completely, suggesting that the macrophages in germinal center play an important role in reproduction and differentiation of lymphocytes. 3. The phagocytic activity of the RES as understood from the clearance rate of radiogold was suppressed only slightly even by a heavy deposition of PVP after the repeated injections. The state of blockade or the suppressed phagocytic activity persisted for 48 hours or more after the several PVP injections. However, complete blockade of the RES or inactivation of the phagocytic activity by PVP injection was not attained. 4. A prolonged treatment of animals with PVP caused delay in the appearance of circulating antibody but the final titration reached the same level as that of control. The data suggest that the blockade of the RES by PVP induces the delay in the transmittance of the information for the antibody formation from the macrophages to the immunologically competent cells but no delay in the ingesting antigen by the macrophages.

The rats which received the repeated intra peritoneal or intravenous　injections of methyl palmitate showed a marked depressed phagocytic activity　of the RES as shown by the clearance test with radioactive iron as　well as by histological observations and a significantly suppressed antibody　formation against the challenge by BSA.　Differing from the cases of the blockade of the RES made by PVP or　radiogold, the injection of methyl palmitate did not result in any injurious　effect on the lymph follicles of lymph nodes and spleen and the plasma　cells proliferation as revealed by the histological observation. Histochemical observations of iron phagocytosis of the RES done by　Perls stain revealed that methyl palmitate　suppressed the phagocytic activity　of the Kupffer cells of the liver dramatically and also suppressed the　phagocytic activity of the sinus-lining cells in spleen to a lesser degree.　The result indicates that the injection of methyl palmitate attacks the phagocytic　function of the RES selectively and induces the reduced immune　response of the organism without giving any damages to the proliferation of immunologically com petent cells.　The fact suggests that the RES lowered in their phagocytic activity　fails to produce the informational substance for immune　response, showing　a lower level in the antibody formation even in the presence of antigen　and proliferating immunologically competent cells.

For the purpose to clarify the mechanism of phagocytosis or pinocytosis, the observations on the tumor ascites, including the macrophages as well as the tumor cells, were carried out by incubating with the iron colloid with or without pretreatment by several inhibibitors of glycolysis, oxidative phosphorylation and respiration, or under hypotonic or cold environments. The results have demonstrated that there are three steps in the phagocytosis. The first step is the adhesion of the substance to the cell surface, which is not an energy-requiring process. The second step is the engulfing which proceeds by using the energy supplied by glycolysis. The third is the accumulation of the substance into the vesicles through the canaliculi connecting the cell surface with the vesicles. The discussion was made on the existence of the active site on the cell surface to which the substance can be adhered, and the accumulation mechanism of the material into the phagocytic vesicles by the membrane flow, the flowing movement of the outer lipid layer of a unit membrane through the canaliculi which connect the cell surface to the phagocytic vesicles.