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Byline: H. Satoh (1), H. Ishikawa (1), H. Kamma (2), Y. T. Yamashita (3), K. Sekizawa (1) Keywords: Heterogeneous nuclear ribonucleoprotein; A2/B1; Alveolar cells; Alveolar macrophage; Western blotting Abstract: The overexpression of heterogeneous nuclear ribonucleoprotein (hnRNP) A2/B1, especially of B1, had been reported to detect preclinical lung cancer for early detection. In order to examine whether the expression of the protein is specific for lung cancer, we investigated the expression of the protein in human nonmalignant alveolar cells. Human airway cells obtained by bronchoalveolar lavage (BAL) were analyzed by immunostaining and Western blotting using monoclonal antibodies 4G8 (specifically reacts to A2) and 2B2 (specific to B1). In alveolar cells obtained by BAL, hnRNP A2/B1 proteins were localized primarily in the nucleus, excluding the nucleolus, although the expression of A2 protein was weaker than that of B1 protein. Staining pattern of these cells was similar to those observed in cancer cells. Western blotting with 4G8 and 2B2 demonstrated expression of A2 and B1 proteins in the airway cells. HnRNP A2/B1 proteins were apparently expressed in nonmalignant alveolar cells as well as cancer cells, although the expression in alveolar cells was weaker than that of cancer cells. More quantitative determination of A2/B1 is required to elucidate their significance in early lung cancer detection. Author Affiliation: (1) Division of Respiratory Medicine, Institute of Clinical Medicine, University of Tsukuba, Tsukuba City, Ibaraki, Japan (2) Department of Pathology, Institute of Basic Medical Sciences, University of Tsukuba, Ibaraki, Japan (3) Center for General Medicine, Ryukyu University Hospital, Japan Article History: Accepted Date: 03/05/2003

Byline: C.-C. Lin (), C.-T. Chang (), T.-C. Li (), A. Kao () Abstract: The alveolar integrity (AI) in 60 patients of noninsulin-dependent diabetes mellitus (NIDDM) who had normal chest X-ray findings and pulmonary function test was measured by technetium-99m (Tc-99m) diethyltriamine pentaacetic acid (DTPA) and Tc-99m hexamethylpropylen amine (HMPAO) radioaerosol inhalation lung scan (lung scan). The degree of AI damage in NIDDM was presented as the clearance rate (%/min) of hydrophilic Tc-99m DTPA and lipophilic Tc-99m HMPAO radioaerosols from the lungs. The AI of NIDDM patients was compared with the AI of 40 normal controls. The results show that (1) the clearance rate of Tc-99m DTPA radioaerosols was faster than those of Tc-99m HMPAO radioareosols in either NIDDM patients or normal controls over any portion of the lungs, (2) the clearance rates of both Tc-99m DTPA and Tc-99m HMPAO radioaerosols were faster in NIDDM patients than those in normal controls over any portion of the lungs. Our findings concluded that (1) at least two different clearance mechanisms of radioaerosols in the lungs are working and (2) the AI damage in NIDDM patients happened in both hydrophilic and lipophilic parts of the alveoli. In addition, the AI damage found by faster clearance rates of both Tc-99m DTPA and HMPAO radioaerosols may provide the other objective evidence of lung complications in NIDDM patients, which are different from the traditional studies such as chest X-ray or pulmonary function test. Author Affiliation: () Department of Family Medicine, China Medical College, No. 2, Yuh-Der Road, Taichung 404, Taiwan, TW () Division of Endocrinology and Metabolism, China Medical College, Taichung, Taiwan, TW () Institute of Chinese Medicine, China Medical College, Taichung, Taiwan, TW () Department of Nuclear Medicine, China Medical College Hospital, Taichung, Taiwan, TW Article History: Accepted Date: 16/05/2002