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Focuses on surgical repair of primary infundibular stenosis in elderly patients. Details of a case report on a 72-year-old patient with infundibular stenosis at the Kyoto Prefectural University of Medicine for an emergency surgery; Use of percutaneous cardiopulmonary support; Cardiac catheterization of the patient.

Receptor cells of the olfactory epithelium (OE) and vomeronasal organ (VNO) project axons to glomeruli in the main olfactory bulb (MOB) and accessory olfactory bulb (AOB), respectively and undergo continuous turnover throughout life. Alpha1-2 fucose (α1-2Fuc) glycan mediates neurite outgrowth and synaptic plasticity and plays important roles in the formation of the olfactory system during development. We previously confirmed the localization of α1-2Fuc glycan in the olfactory system of 3- to 4-month-old mice but whether such localization persists throughout life remains unknown. Here, the MOB, AOB, OE and VNO of 1-, 3- and 8-month-old mice were histochemically examined using Ulex europaeus agglutinin-I (UEA-I) that specifically binds to α1-2Fuc glycan. Binding sites for UEA-I in the MOB were similar among all age groups but the ratio of UEA-I-positive glomeruli significantly decreased with aging. The frequency of UEA-I-positive receptor cells in the OE of the two older groups was also significantly lower than that of 1-month-old mice. On the other hand, UEA-I binding in the AOB and VNO did not significantly differ among all three groups. These findings suggest that the primary pathway of the main olfactory system requires the role of α1-2Fuc glycan in young mice rather than old mice, while the vomeronasal pathway equally requires this glycan in both young and old mice. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: Post-weaning mice fed exclusively milk display low-frequency exploratory behavior [Ishii, T., Itou, T., and Nishimura, M. (2005) Life Sci. 78, 174–179] compared to mice fed a food pellet diet. This low-frequency exploratory behavior switched to high-frequency exploration after a switch from exclusively milk formula to a food pellet diet. Acquisition of the high-frequency exploratory behavior was irreversible. Recently, we demonstrated that the mesencephalic trigeminal nucleus (Me5) is involved in the control of feeding and exploratory behavior in mice without modulating the emotional state [Ishii, T., Furuoka, H., Itou, T., Kitamura, N., and Nishimura, M. (2005) Brain Res. 1048, 80–86]. We therefore investigated whether the Me5 is involved in acquisition of high-frequency exploratory behavior induced by the switch in diet from an exclusively milk formula to food pellets. Mouse feeding and exploratory behaviors were analyzed using a food search compulsion apparatus, which was designed to distinguish between the two behaviors under standard living conditions. Immunohistochemical analysis of immediate early genes indicated that the Me5, which receives signals from oral proprioceptors, is transiently activated after the diet change. The change from low-frequency to high-frequency exploratory behavior was prevented in milk-fed mice by bilateral lesion of the Me5. These results suggest that the Me5 is activated by signals associated with mastication-induced proprioception and contributes to the acquisition of active exploratory behavior. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

The olfactory system of mammals comprises a main olfactory system that detects hundreds of odorants and a vomeronasal system that detects specific chemicals such as pheromones. The main (MOB) and accessory (AOB) olfactory bulbs are the respective primary centers of the main olfactory and vomeronasal systems. Most mammals including artiodactyls possess a large MOB and a comparatively small AOB, whereas most cetaceans lack olfactory bulbs. The common hippopotamus (Hippopotamus amphibius) is semiaquatic and belongs to the order Cetartiodactyla, family Hippopotamidae, which seems to be the closest extant family to cetaceans. The present study evaluates the significance of the olfactory system in the hippopotamus by histologically analyzing the MOB and AOB of a male common hippopotamus. The MOB comprised six layers (olfactory nerve, glomerular, external plexiform, mitral cell, internal plexiform, and granule cell), and the AOB comprised vomeronasal nerve, glomerular, plexiform, and granule cell layers. The MOB contained mitral cells and tufted cells, and the AOB possessed mitral/tufted cells. These histological features of the MOB and the AOB were similar to those in most artiodactyls. All glomeruli in the AOB were positive for anti-Gαi2, but weakly positive for anti-Gαo, suggesting that the hippopotamus vomeronasal system expresses vomeronasal type 1 receptors with a high affinity for volatile compounds. These findings suggest that the olfactory system of the hippopotamus is as well developed as that of other artiodactyl species and that the hippopotamus might depend on its olfactory system for terrestrial social communication. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The vomeronasal organ ( VNO) is a peripheral receptor structure that is involved in reproductive behavior and is part of the vomeronasal system. Male bears exhibit flehmen behavior that is regarded as the uptake of pheromones into the VNO to detect estrus in females. However, the morphological and histological features of the VNO in bears have not been comprehensively studied. The present study investigated the properties and degree of development of the VNO of the brown bear by histological, histochemical and ultrastructural methods. The VNO of bears was located at the same position as that of many other mammals, and it opened to the mouth like the VNO of most carnivores. The shape of the vomeronasal cartilages and the histological features of the sensory epithelium in the bear VNO were essentially similar to those of dogs. Receptor cells in the VNO of the bear possessed both cilia and microvilli like those of dogs. The dendritic knobs of receptor cells were positive for anti-G protein alpha-i2 subunit (Gαi2) but negative for anti-G protein alpha-o subunit, indicating preferential use of the V1R-Gαi2 pathway in the vomeronasal system of bears, as in other carnivores. The VNO of the bear possessed three types of secretory cells (secretory cells of the vomeronasal gland, multicellular intraepithelial gland cells and goblet cells), and the present findings showed that the secretory granules in these cells also had various properties. The vomeronasal lumen at the middle region of the VNO invaginated toward the ventral region, and this invagination contained tightly packed multicellular intraepithelial gland cells. To our knowledge, this invagination and intraepithelial gland masses in the VNO are unique features of brown bears. The VNO in the brown bear, especially the secretory system, is morphologically well-developed, suggesting that this organ is significant for information transmission in this species. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Glycoconjugates in the olfactory system play critical roles in neuronal formation, and a1-2 fucose (a1-2Fuc) glycan mediates neurite outgrowth and synaptic plasticity. Histochemical findings of a1-2Fuc glycan in the mouse olfactory system detected using Ulex europaeus agglutinin-I (UEA-I) vary. This study histochemically assessed the main olfactory and vomeronasal pathways in male and female ICR and C57BL/6J mice aged 3-4 months using UEA-I. Ulex europaeus agglutinin-I reacted with most receptor cells arranged mainly at the basal region of the olfactory epithelium. The olfactory nerve layer and glomerular layer of the main olfactory bulb were speckled with positive UEA-I staining, and positive fibers were scattered from the glomerular to the internal plexiform layer. The lateral olfactory tract and rostral migratory stream were also positive for UEA-I. We identified superficial shortaxon cells, interneurons of the external plexiform layer, external, middle and internal tufted cells, mitral cells and granule cells as the origins of the UEA-I-positive fibers in the main olfactory bulb. The anterior olfactory nucleus, anterior piriform cortex and olfactory tubercle were negative for UEA-I. Most receptor cells in the vomeronasal epithelium and most glomeruli of the accessory olfactory bulb were positive for UEA-I. Our findings indicated that a1-2Fuc glycan is located within the primary and secondary, but not the ternary, pathways of the main olfactory system, in local circuits of the main olfactory bulb and within the primary, but not secondary, pathway of the vomeronasal system. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: The regional distribution and relative frequency of peptide YY (PYY)-, pancreatic polypeptide (PP)-, and glucagon-like peptide 1 (GLP-1)-immunoreactive (IR) cells were determined immunohistochemically in the gastrointestinal tract at seven ontogenetic stages in pre- and postnatal cattle. Different frequencies of PYY-, PP-, and GLP-1-IR cells were found in the intestines at all stages; they were not found in the esophagus and stomach. The frequencies varied depending on the intestinal segment and the developmental stage. The frequencies of PYY- and PP-IR cells were lower in the small intestine and increased from ileum to rectum, whereas GLP-1-IR cells were more numerous in duodenum and jejunum, decreased in ileum and cecum, and increased again in colon and rectum. The frequencies also varied according to pre- and postnatal stages. All three cell types were most numerous in fetus, and decreased in calf and adult groups, indicating that the frequencies of these three types of endocrine cells decrease with postnatal development. The results suggest that these changes vary depending on feeding habits and adaptation of growth, secretion, and motility of intestine at different ontogenetic stages of cattle. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Four cases of double-orifice left atrioventricular (AV) valve are reported. Three of the four patients with double-orifice left AV valve had other associated congenital heart diseases, and the fourth had double-orifice left AV valve alone. A patient with associated ventricular septal defect, who presented with pulmonary congestion and hypertension, suffered from severe heart failure. However, these symptoms improved with the spontaneous closure of the ventricular septal defect. The patient with double-orifice left AV valve alone showed no cardiac symptoms. Two-dimensional and Doppler echocardiography did not detect the double-orifice left AV valve in two of the four patients. More recently, the echocardiographic technique has allowed a noninvasive and more frequent detection of this abnormality. But both of these patients had left-to-right atrial shunt and subsequent reduced transmitral flow and left ventricular volume, which may have made it difficult to detect the morphological and hemodynamic characteristics of double-orifice left AV valve. Careful and repeated echocardiographic observation of mitral configuration is required to determine the presence of double-orifice left AV valve when heart disease is associated with a left-to-right atrial shunt. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: The mesencephalic trigeminal nucleus (Me5), which receives input from oral proprioceptors and projects to higher brain regions, is involved in mastication-induced modulation of satiation. To investigate how the Me5 is involved in the control of feeding and exploratory behavior, we examined the effect of bilateral electrolytic lesions of the Me5 on feeding and exploratory behavior in mice. Mouse feeding and exploratory behaviors were analyzed using a food-search-compulsion-apparatus (FSCA), which was designed to distinguish between the two behaviors under standard living conditions. To assess anxiety in mice in an unfamiliar environment, exploratory activity was analyzed in an automated hole-board apparatus. Mice with bilateral Me5 lesions had unique feeding and exploratory behavior profiles in the FSCA compared with sham-operated mice. Me5-lesioned mice spent more time in the food chamber during each trial in the FSCA, but the number of entries into the food chamber was decreased by 40% compared to sham-operated mice. Moreover, Me5 lesions markedly inhibited exploratory behavior, manifested as low-frequency exploration. In spite of the low-frequency exploration in the FSCA, Me5 lesions had no effect on various exploratory activities analyzed in the hole-board apparatus, i.e., total locomotor activity, frequency and duration of rearing and head-dipping, and latency to the first head-dipping. These results suggest that the Me5 is involved in the control of feeding and exploratory behavior through its ascending neuronal pathways in mice without modulating the emotional state. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Isoliquiritigenin is a natural flavonoid isolated from licorice, shallot and bean sprouts. The effect of isoliquiritigenin on cell proliferation and cell cycle progression was examined in the A549 human lung cancer cell line. Isoliquiritigenin significantly inhibited the proliferation of lung cancer cells in a dose- and time-dependent manner. Flow cytometric analysis demonstrated that isoliquiritigenin restrained the cell cycle progression at G2/M phase. Further examinations using cDNA arrays and real-time quantitative RT-PCR revealed that isoliquiritigenin enhanced the expression of p21CIP1/WAF1, a universal inhibitor of cyclin-dependent kinases. These results suggest that isoliquiritigenin will be a promising agent for use in chemopreventive or therapeutics against lung cancer. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Objectives: Lung injury induced by ischemia-reperfusion is the main cause of early graft failure after lung transplantation, which may result from oxygen-free radicals, inflammatory cytokine production, and polymorphonuclear leukocyte accumulation into the interstitium, resulting in severe lung edema. Peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor-γ (PPAR-γ) belongs to the nuclear receptor superfamily and has an anti-inflammatory effect by preventing the activation of transcription factors such as nuclear factor-κB (NF-κB). NF-κB regulates the expression of many genes of early response products in the development of acute inflammation. We examined the effects of pioglitazone, a synthetic ligand of PPAR-γ, against lung ischemia-reperfusion injury in rats. Methods: The left lungs of male Wistar rats were rendered ischemic for 90 min and then reperfused for 2 h. Treated animals received pioglitazone (10 mg/kg) 2 h before induction of ischemia. Lung injury was quantified in terms of lung microvascular permeability (Evans blue dye extravasation), tissue lipid peroxidation (thiobarbituric acid reactive substances), and tissue polymorphonuclear leukocyte accumulation (myeloperoxidase activity). The tissue concentrations of tumor necrosis factor-α (TNF-α) and cytokine-induced neutrophil chemoattractant-1 (CINC-1) were also measured. Statistical analyses were performed by one-way analysis of variance, followed by Sheffe''s multiple comparison test. Results: The lung vascular permeability in pioglitazone-treated animals was reduced by 55% of the increase of Evans blue dye extravasation relative to control animals (P=0.003). The protective effects of pioglitazone treatment were correlated with the reduction by 79% of the increase of thiobarbituric acid reactive substances (P=0.045) and the reduction by 58% of myeloperoxidase activity increase (P<0.001). The production of TNF-α was reduced by 63% of the increase (P<0.001) and the reduction of CINC-1 was 45% (P<0.001). Pioglitazone did not affect the lung in the sham animals. Conclusions: Pioglitazone treatment before ischemia attenuated lung ischemia-reperfusion injury in rats. The mechanism of these protective effects involves inhibition of the production of proinflammatory cytokines, polymorphonuclear leukocyte accumulation, and tissue lipid peroxidation, resulting in reduced lung edema. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]