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In guinea pigs the lumen of an excised jejunal segment was perfused to study the effect of intraluminal pressure on the frequency of rhythmic contraction waves. Within the range of 0 to 40 mmH2O, increases in intraluminal pressure caused increases in the frequency of contraction waves. At pressures of 10, 15, 20, 30 and 40 mmH2O the frequency was 7.9, 9.0, 10.9, 12.5 and 13.3 per min (mean of ten preparations), respectively. An exponential relationship was proved to exist between the pressure and the frequency.

Ki-67 is a commercially available mouse monoclonal antibody (MoAb), which reacts with a nucleolar antigen (the Ki-67 antigen) expressed in proliferating eukaryotic cells. The author examined the precise localization of the Ki-67 antigen in C-6 cells using immunohistochemical and immunoelectron microscopic methods and estimated the proliferative activity of human brain tumors in situ. Positive nucleoplasmic reactions (early G1 phase) and nucleolar staining (late G1 phase) were observed. The cells showed very weak positive reactions in only one or two nucleoli (S phase) and multiple spicule reactions in the nucleoplasm (G2 phase). During the mitotic phase, the Ki-67 antigen was stained on the surfaces of all chromosomes and finely dispersed in the cytoplasm. By immunoelectron microscopic study, positive reactions were observed on the granular and dense fibrillar components. Therefore, the Ki-67 antigen seems to participate in the processing and assembly of preribosomal particles. In human brain tumors, the Ki-67 score (positive cells/total neoplastic cells), ranging 0 to 36.7%, correlated well with the histopathological grade of malignancy of the tumor. These findings suggest that immunohistochemical staining with the MoAb Ki-67 can be used as a convenient procedure for the simple evaluation of the proliferative activity of brain tumors.

A persistent problem in orthotopic liver transplantation is primary nonfunction (PNF) of the hepatic allograft. In an attempt to reduce the incidence of graft failure, the feasibility of pretransplant assessment of graft viability was investigated by 31P nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) spectroscopy. The level of adenosine triphosphate (ATP) was measured as an indicator of liver function by 31P NMR spectroscopy after a 30 min normothermic reperfusion following cold-storage in University of Wisconsin (UW) solution. The mean +/- SD beta-ATP/Pi ratio after preservation for 0, 12, 24 or 48 h was 1.40 +/- 0.34, 0.85 +/- 0.27, 0.64 +/- 0.14 and 0.38 +/- 0.09, respectively. Significance was observed between 12h and 24h and between 12h and 48h of preservation. These results correlated well with the morphological changes in endothelial cells and sinusoidal lining cells examined by transmission electron microscopy. It is suggested strongly that microcirculatory disturbances due to endothelial cell injury impairs the recovery of ATP levels after reperfusion, and that ATP determination by 31P NMR spectroscopy, as a non-invasive modality, may help in the prediction of PNF after liver transplantation.

A progesterone receptor (PR) in human uterine cervical nuclei was demonstrated by a nuclear exchange assay using a synthetic progestin, promegestone (R5020) as a radio-labeled ligand. Total exchange of previously bound progesterone with R5020 was achieved by incubation at 0 degree C for 3 h. A 0.6 M KCl solution was used to extract the nuclear PR in uterine cervical tissue, and the dextran coated charcoal (DCC) method was used to separate the free [3H] R5020 from the bound form. Scatchard plots of nuclear PR binding showed two components with dissociation constants of Kd = 2.3 X 10(-10) and 4.6 X 10(-9) M. Three histological regions of the uterine cervix was studied as to their nuclear PR contents throughout the menstrual cycle. In the follicular phase, the connective tissue (CT) had the highest PR concentration (658.9 fmole/mg DNA), followed by the columnar epithelium (CE) (253.6 fmole/mg DNA), and the squamous epithelium (SE) (184.7 fmole/mg DNA). In the luteal phase, there was no significant difference among the three regions. Comparing these phases of cycle revealed that the CT had higher PR contents in the follicular phase than in the luteal phase, but no such difference was found in the CE or SE. These three regions had the same Kd value in both phases.

Anti-IgE-induced histamine release from basophils was examined in 46 asthmatic subjects using a whole blood method. Basophils from subjects less than 30 years old released more histamine than those from subjects aged 41 to 50. The age at onset of the disease also affected the reactivity of basophils to anti-IgE: basophils showed a high response in subjects whose age at onset was between 0 and 10 years, and low response in the subjects whose age at onset was between 41 and 50 years. There was a correlation between histamine release and serum IgE levels. However, individual dose-response curves of histamine release varied greatly in whom serum IgE levels were low.

The correlation between blood eosinophilia and anti-IgE-mediated histamine release was investigated in 22 bronchial asthma patients with peripheral eosinophilia (over 8%). In the cases (Group A-1 and Group A-2) in which house dust was the specific antigen, significant histamine release from basophils was induced by anti-IgE and house dust. The result indicates a relationship between eosinophilia and the IgE-mediated mechanism of disease onset. In the cases (Group A-3) with RAST scores of 0+ and 1+ to house dust, the anti-IgE-induced histamine release varied from low to high percentages, and the participation of the IgE-mediated pathway was indicated in some cases. In the cases (Group B) with negative skin reactions, few patients had a family history of allergic disease. Their ages at onset were higher, and they demonstrated lower total IgE levels. These cases showed an extremely low percent of histamine release from basophils, which indicated the absence of a correlation between eosinophilia and IgE-mediated mechanisms.