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We report a case of an asymptomatic sclerosing odontogenic carcinoma in a 68-year-old woman. A bulge was noted in the anterior mandibular region, and it increased rapidly without clinical symptoms. On computed tomography, a radiolucent osteolytic lesion was identified in the central incisor apex of the mandible, and the labial cortical bone disappeared. Magnetic resonance imaging showed an internal heterogeneous circular mass outside the alveolar region. Pathological assessment of a biopsy specimen did not lead to a definitive diagnosis, but a benign odontogenic tumor was suspected. The tumor was resected en bloc with 4 incisors. The stem of the tumor was attached to the alveolar bone, but it was mainly outside the bone. Histopathological examination of the surgical specimen showed a capsule under the epithelium and no cellular atypia with bland cytoplasmic cuboidal or polygonal epithelial cells forming a small circle or polygon in the sclerosing stroma. A similar tumor was scattered in the alveolar bone. Immunohistologically, the tumor was positive for cytokeratin (AE1/AE3) and p63, and only a small number of Ki-67-positive cells were noted (approximately 1%). The tumor in our case was not consistent with odontogenic tumors in previous classifications. Based on previous findings, clinical behavior and immunohistological findings, the final diagnosis was a sclerosing odontogenic carcinoma. There has been no recurrence or metastasis 5 years after surgery.

Objective To evaluate the background factors related to the occurrence of complications in the early stages after dental implant placement. Materials and methods A total of 289 outpatients who received dental implants were retrospectively evaluated for the presence or absence of complications. Background factors, including age, sex, implant width, implant length, implant site, number of implants placed, Periotest values at the time of implant placement, presence/absence of systemic disease (particularly diabetes), and the use of anticoagulation therapy, were compared between patients with and without complications. Logistic regression analysis was performed to identify significant risk factors for the occurrence of complications after dental implant placement. Results Complications in the early stages after dental implant placement occurred in 25 (8.65%) patients. The patients with complications were older than those without complications (P = 0.003). In addition, the incidence of complications was significantly higher in patients with systemic diseases (P = 0.004) and in those receiving anticoagulation therapy (P = 0.005). Logistic regression analysis revealed that age was a significant risk factor (P = 0.025) for early-stage complications, whereas the number of implants, presence of diabetes, and the use of anticoagulation therapy were not significant risk factors. Conclusions Our results show that age is a significant factor influencing the occurrence of complications in the early stages after dental implant placement. Therefore, clinicians should consider this factor when developing their treatment strategies.

We report a case of a 78-year-old woman with chondrosarcoma in the temporomandibular joint. On examination, swelling of the right preauricular region and pain when opening the mouth was observed. Imaging revealed an irregular-shaped radiopaque mass in the right mandibular condyle with bone resorption. After performing tumorectomy under general anesthesia, histopathological examination revealed that tumor cells had slightly hyperchromatic nuclei that lacked significant pleomorphism, displayed polygonal or stellate profiles of the soma, and formed nodular nests in the homogeneous fibrous cartilage matrix. The pathological diagnosis was chondrosarcoma, Grade II of the right temporomandibular joint.

本研究は下刈りと落ち葉掻きは続いているが, 上層木を伐採しない雑木林において林床草本の開花に影響している要因を明らかにし, 適切な植生管理のための基礎的知見を得ることを目的としている. 調査対象地は下刈りと落ち葉掻きが50年以上継続している雑木林であり, 調査対象種はシラヤマギク, ハエドクソウ, タチツボスミレ, ジャノヒゲ, ヤブランの林床草本5種である. 調査は2000年と2006年に行い, 開花はシラヤマギクではみられず, 残りの4種はみられた。シラヤマギクが開花しなかったのは, 林床の光環境が暗く, 開花する体サイズに到達できなかったためであると考えられた, このことから, 下刈りと落ち葉掻きだけでは, 林床草本を開花させるのに不十分であり, 林床草本の保全には上層木の伐採が必要であると示唆された.

We previously reported that Vbeta3+ CD4+ T cells maintained a protracted expansion, with the phenotypes of memory Th2 cells, for 30 days in C57BL/6 (B6) mice implanted with SEA-containing mini-osmotic pumps. In the present study, we followed the fate of Vbeta3+ CD4+ T cells in CD28-/- mice. Vbeta3+ CD4+ T cells increased to a degree similar to that of B6 Vbeta3+ CD4+ T cells until day 10 after implantation, then declined rapidly reaching the control level by 28 days. Remaining Vbeta3+ CD4+ T cells at that time did not exhibit memory phenotypes nor Th2-deviated responses. The rapid drop in Vbeta3+ CD4+ T cells in CD28-/- mice was attributable to upregulated induction of apoptosis owing to marginal inductions of Bcl-2 and Bcl-xL. Collectively, these data indicate CD28 to play critical roles in the generation and maintenance of SEA-reactive CD4+ T cells in vivo.

雑木林における上層木の伐採が林床草本の種組成と開花に及ぼす影響を明らかにし、適切な植生管理を行うための基礎的知見を得るために、東京都日野市において上層木を伐採してからの経過年数が異なる4つの調査対象地で草本層の植被率、林床草本の出現種と開花種の調査を行った。上層木の伐採後の経過年数は0年、5年、14年、48年である。調査は3年間行い、各調査対象地のデータを時系列的に配置して扱った。調査対象種は (1) 1, 2年草、(2) 草原性多年草、(3) 人里性多年草、(4) 森林性多年草に分類した。草本層の植被率は上層木を伐採すると急速に増加した。林床草本の出現種数と開花種数は上層木を伐採すると急速に増加し、林冠が閉鎖すると減少する傾向がみられ、(1) ～ (4) のタイプによって変化パターンに違いがみられた。上層木の伐採は草本層の植被率や草本種の出現種数と開花種数の増加を促し、生物多様性の保全に有効であると考えられた。

Objective: To evaluate the ability of magnetic resonance imaging to identify temporomandibular joint involvement in patients with rheumatoid disease. Patients and Methods: Eight patients with temporomandibular joint symptoms of pain and impaired function, who satisfied the 1987 criteria of the American College of Rheumatology for rheumatoid arthritis were enrolled. Clinical findings in the masticatory system were recorded. Open and closed mouth sagittal protondensity and T2-weighted sequences were performed for all patients, and the images were examined for Condylar configuration, presence of erosion, disc position, and disc abnormality. Results: Four of the 8 patients had mild rheumatoid arthritis activity, 2 had moderate activity and rheumatoid arthritis was inactive in the other 2 patients. Six of the 8 patients had Steinbrocker's class II disease and the others had class III disease. Seven of the 8 patients had temporomandibular joint tenderness or jaw opening pain. Coarse crepitus on opening (5 temporomandibular joints) was the commonest joint sound abnormality. Anterior disc displacement without reduction was present in 6 patients and pannus in 2 patients. Condylar deformity was present in all patients. Four patients showed joint effusion. Conclusion: The results of this study clearly demonstrated the ability of magnetic resonance imaging to detect and define abnormalities in the temporomandibular joint of patients with rheumatoid arthritis.

The condylar cartilage, an important growth site in the mandible, shows characteristic modes of growth and differentiation, unlike the limb bud cartilage. To elucidate the mechanism of chondrogenesis at the condylar cartilage, we analyzed the effects of basic fibroblast growth factor (bFGF) on the growth and development of mouse mandibular condyle using serum-free organ culture and on the expression of genes related to the chondrogenesis. Further, we investigated the localization of bFGF in cultured condyle by immunohistochemistry. The present immunohistochemical observations showed that bFGF is localized in the extracellular matrix of the mesenchymal condylar anlage, the perichondrium and the proliferative cell zone, and that immunostaining was diminished in the metachromatically stained area. In the condyle culture with added recombinant human bFGF (rhbFGF) for 5 days, the area occupied by hypertrophic chondrocytes in the mandibular condylar cartilage was reduced. A reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) assay also showed that the mRNA levels of aggrecan and type X collagen were reduced compared with nontreated tissues. Treatment with rhbFGF for 2 days decreased cell proliferation in the perichondrium, and bFGF downregulated the Indian hedgehog (Ihh), parathyroid hormone-related protein (PTHrP), bone morphogenetic protein 4 (BMP4), and core-binding factor alpha1 (Cbfa1) expression in the RT-PCR assay. These findings suggest that bFGF has the ability for inhibitory regulation of condylar growth, via the inhibition of proliferation and differentiation of chondrocytes, and that this inhibitory regulation is related to the downregulation of growth factors and transcription factors.

The object of our study is to explain the relationship between felling and the growth condition of 7 forest herbs in a mixed forest, and to consider an appropriate means for vegetation management. We set four study sites, for which different periods had passed since felling. These periods were respectively 0 years, 5-6 years, 14 years and over 30 years in 1999. We researched individual sizes of 7 species for 3 years, and the total number of individuals and the number of adult individuals of 7 species for 2 years. The results are as follows: Sex reproduction of all species depends on individual size. The degree of dependence is different for each species. It tends to be impossible for a close dependent species to achieve vegetative reproduction. 6 summer green species whose individual sizes, number of individuals and number of adult individuals tended to increase at the site where 0 years had passed since felling, and tended to decrease at the sites where 5-6 years, 14 years and over 30 years had passed since felling. However, 1 evergreen species did not have this tendency. These results suggest that felling improved the growth condition of 6 summer green forest herbs.

雑木林の上層木の伐採が林床植物に及ぼす影響と, 林床植物の生活史戦略との関係を明らかにすることを研究目的とした。生活史戦略を明らかにするために, (1) リーフフェノロジー (2) 草丈, (3) 二次成長の有無, (4) 草丈/基部直径の4項目に着目して, 伐採後の経過年数が異なる調査地において, 林床植物の個体にマーキングして, サイズの測定と開花の有無を調査した。上層木を伐採すると, 多くの種が開花した。また, 調査区間の林床植物のサイズの差異は, (1)～(4) の特徴で説明できた、以上のことから, 上層木の伐採は, 多くの林床植物にとって, 重要な役割をもっていることと, 林床植物の生活史戦略によってその影響に対する反応に明確な差があることが明らかになった。

本研究では都市近郊の雑木林のもつ植物の生育場所としての機能に着目し, 林床管理の有無によって生じた上層木の生育状態の違いおよび, 林床植生の種組成と各種の優占度合の違いについて調べた。その結果から, (1) 林床管理の有無によって林内の樹木の生育個体数に違いが生じて, 葉面積指数にも違いが生じること.(2) 林床植生は, 林床管理が行われなくなると多年生草本の出現種数と被度が減少して, 木本の出現種数と被度が増加し, 放棄が長年に渡った場合には全出現種数と被度が減少すること.などが明らかとなった。都市近郊林は, 林床管理として冬場の下刈りと落葉掻きが毎年なされることで, 林床に多様な植物種が生育できる環境が整えられることが示唆された。

都市化による環境悪化が激しくなるにつれて, 都市近郊林は多様な効用機能を保持するための管理手法が求められている。そこで, 都市近郊二次林において管理の有無が環境条件 (光, 温湿度, 土壌など) にどのような影響を及ぼしているかについて研究を行った。管理された冬期の下刈りなどによって, 林床への光の透過量が高まったが, 晴天日の林内気温は昼間, 管理の有無に関わらず同様な値であった。しかし, 夜間は長期間放置された林の気温が管理された林や短期の放置林よりも低い値であった。地温は長期間放置された林で一日中低い値であった。土壌の硬度, 体積含水率は管理された林の方が放置林より高い値であり, 孔隙率は低かった。長期間の放置林ではこれらの値は短期の放置林よりも大きく変化した。以上のことから, 冬期における林床の下刈りや落ち葉掻きなどの管理は, 林床への光の透過による種の多様性や景観を維持し, 微気象や土壌に影響を与えていることが示唆された。

伝統的な植生管理手法によって維持されてきた二次林の雑木林や草原などの半自然生態系には、固有の種が生育しているが、近年、管理の放棄によって多くの種が絶滅、または激減している。それらの種の保全には、伝統的な植生管理の持っていた生態学的な意味やその種の生活史戦略を把握することが重要であると考えられる。本研究では、二次林において、林床の光環境を操作することによって、林床植物の生活史戦略タイプごとの光環境に対する反応の傾向を明らかにすることを目的とした。

A 61-year-old man with untreated diabetes mellitus had submandibular cellulitis caused by an odontogenic infection concomitant with endophthalmitis and a lung abscess. Computed tomography showed masses in the right submandibular and lung regions. A biopsy of the anterior chamber aqueous indicated endophthalmitis. The masses in the submandibular and lung regions improved following systemic antibiotic therapy and extraction of the right mandibular molars, the initial symptom in this episode. Although the patient's right eye pain improved, visual acuity did not recover. Cultures from the aqueous and blood were negative. There were no signs of spread of infection to the maxillary sinus, pterygopalatine fossa, and orbit. As there was no inflammatory pathway, it was suggested that haematogenous spread of bacteria had caused inflammatory spread.

We have defined 10 linear immunogenic regions encoded by the putative hepatitis C virus (HCV) structural proteins (core and envelope) by employing an enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) and by using 17 sequential synthetic peptides covering the N-terminal 330 amino acids of the structural polyproteins as antigens. These peptides correspond to amino acids 1 to 24, 21 to 44, 42 to 68, 64 to 91, and 100 to 120 of the putative core protein and amino acids 192 to 212, 223 to 238, 236 to 258, 250 to 266, and 307 to 330 of the putative envelope protein. In particular, the peptide covering amino acids 21 to 44 of the core protein was reactive with all but one (40 of 41) of the serum samples giving a positive signal in the passive hemagglutination assay (PHA) using the core and nonstructural proteins (NS 3/4) of the virus as antigens. We detected the HCV genome in 25 (61%) of 41 PHA-positive serum samples by the polymerase chain reaction (PCR) test. Of 25 PCR-positive serum samples, 17 serum samples had reactivity to the peptides derived from the envelope protein. On the other hand, only 1 of the 16 PCR-negative serum samples had reactivity to the peptides derived from the envelope protein. Interestingly, we often observed high serum alanine aminotransferase levels in PCR-positive individuals bearing antibodies to the envelope protein.

The significant difference observed between the seroprevalence of HTLV-I in adults and in children is as yet unexplained. To evaluate a hypothetical explanation of the existence of seroconversion cases of „seronegative carriers” for this phenomenon, 21 of 55 children who had been born to seropositive mothers and who remained seronegative until the age of 18 years were further followed up at the ages of 22 and/or 24 years. None of the 21 seronegative children born to seropositive mothers seroconverted, either at 22 years or at 24 years. In addition, the polymerase-chain-reaction (PCR) technique could not prove the existence of the HTLV-I provirus genome in peripheral mononuclear cells (PBMC) of 10 of these children. Our results fail to prove the possibility of viral latency of HTLV-I in mother-to-child transmission. Therefore, the hypothetical seroconversion of „seronegative carriers” after adulthood can not be an explanation.

In diabetic patients, the microcirculation is impaired in oral mucosal capillaries as well as in the retina. Consequently, the concentration of drug transferred to the oral mucosa is expected to be lower than in healthy persons. Therefore, we orally administered an antimicrobial drug before oral surgery and evaluated its transfer to oral tissue. The study group comprised 30 diabetic patients who visited our department and underwent tooth extraction. Differences between the diabetic patients and a control group were statistically analyzed. Before tooth extraction, an antimicrobial drug was orally administered. Immediately after operation, we obtained samples of peripheral blood, blood retained in the extraction cavity, and gingival tissue of the surrounding area. The concentrations of antimicrobial drug in the serum and gingiva were determined by bioassay. There was no significant difference between the diabetic patients and the control group. Therefore, more detailed studies of additional patients are necessary. Our results suggest that an increase in the dose of antimicrobial drugs is not necessary in patients with relatively well controlled diabetic mellitus.

We examined mortality from adult T-cell leukemia/lymphoma (ATL/ATLL) and other diseases alleged to be associated with human T-lymphotropic virus type I (HTLV-I) among anti-HTLV-I antibody-positive blood donors in Kyushu, Japan. During 1984-87, a total of 3,991 blood donors aged 40 years or over were followed from the date of donation to the date of death or the end of the study. Crude mortality rates from ATL (with 95 percent confidence intervals) were 68 per 100,000 (13-202) for males and 36 per 100,000 (3-132) for females. The rates were underestimated by approximately 50 percent because of self-selection and short observation periods. Neither death rates from other cancers nor death rates from all cancers were elevated.

The long-term exposure of mice to superantigen SEA using a mini-osmotic pump (SEA pump) induced a long-lasting expansion of Vβ3 + CD4 + T cells with T helper (Th) 2 cell-type properties. Removal of the SEA pump 10 days after pump implantation did not significantly alter the level of Vβ3 + CD4 + T cell expansion/maintenance. Furthermore, CFSE-labeled CD4 + T cells failed to divide when transferred to post-implantation day 15 mice. Thus, CD4 + T cells appeared to survive for at least 30 days in the absence of a sufficient amount of antigen to trigger cell division. STAT6 deficient mice, in which Th2 cell development is largely impaired, also exhibited a protracted cell expansion, similar to that observed in normal mice, suggesting that the Th2 cell property is dispensable for the maintenance of Vβ3 + CD4 + T cell expansion. The expanded CD4 + T cells on post-implantation day 26 were arrested in the G 0 /G 1 phase of the cell cycle and showed a lower level of cell division upon restimulation. The Cdk inhibitor p27 Kip1 was highly expressed, and Cdk2 was downregulated. Moreover, the CD4 + T cells were resistant to in vitro apoptosis induction in parallel with their level of Bcl-2 expression. Collectively, the Vβ3 + CD4 + T cells appeared to develop into long-lived memory T cells with cell cycle arrest upon long-term exposure to SEA.

A pigmented nevus is defined as a hamartomatous proliferation of nevus cells. It is a very common skin lesion. Pigmented nevi of the oral mucosa are considered a rare lesion and only a few cases have been reported in Japan.We recently encountered 2 cases of pigmented nevus. The first case was in a 26-year-old man. The nevus was located on the buccal mucosa and measured 4×5mm. The other case was in a 23-year-old woman. She had a nevus on the palatal mucosa for about 15 years. The nevus had grown slowly and measured 40×18×5mm at the time of presentation. She had no symptoms. The nevus was resected in both patients. There has been no recurence in either patient as of 2 year after the operation.

We isolated and identified microbes obtained by needle aspiration of closed abscesses in 72 patients with oral infections treated at this department of oral surgery. One hundred seventy-one strains were isolated, of which 92 strains (53.8%) were Gram-positive aerobes, 40 strains (23.4%) Gram-negative anaerobes, 31 strains (18.1%) Gram-positive anaerobes, and 8 strains (4.7%) Gram negative aerobes. The most common type of infection involved a combination of Gram-positive aerobes and anaerobes, with 63.9% of all infections involving anaerobes. Furthermore, when the minimum inhibitory concentrations of antibiotics commonly used in this department, including ampicillin (ABPC), cefaclor (CCL), and cefzinir (CFDN), were tested against the isolated organisms, all three drugs showed satisfactory results, although CCL was less active against aerophobic organisms. Very few highly resistant strains were found.

MMP-13 appears to be one of the most important MMPs in cartilage remodeling and mineralization, because it exhibits a substrate preference for the cartilage-specific type II collagen. The condylar process is constructed by rapid accumulation of hypertrophic chondrocytes during development, but its mechanism is still unclear. To investigate the role of MMP-13 in developing condylar cartilage, we immunohistochemically examined the localization of MMP-13 in the endochondral ossification of the mandibular condyle and tibiae of newborn mice. In the tibiae, the MMP-13 expression was detected only in the deepest layer of the terminal hypertrophic chondrocytes through every examined stage (day 1 to day 10 after birth). On the other hand, in the condylar cartilage at days 1 and 5, MMP-13 was expressed throughout the proliferating and the hypertrophic chondrocytes, and at day 10, MMP-13 was mainly localized in the deepest edge of the hypertrophic layer. A zymographical study showed that the activity of MMP-13 in the condyle was observed at day 1, earlier than in the tibia, and increased until day 7. The time-dependent and cell-specific expression of MMP-13 and its enzymatic property suggest that in the mandibular condylar cartilage, MMP-13 plays a role in making the space for cell enlargement by degradation of the cartilage matrix and in onset of mineralization during the early stage of development.

We investigated the expression pattern of versican, aggrecan, link protein and hyaluronan in the developing limb bud cartilage of the fetal mouse using in situ hybridization and/or immunohistochemistry. Versican mRNA and immunostaining were detected in the mesenchymal cell condensation of the future digital bone at E13. Versican mRNA expression rapidly disappeared from the tibial cartilage, as cartilage formation progressed during E13–15, but the immunostaining was gradually replaced by aggrecan immunostaining from the diaphysis. Immunostaining for both molecules thus had a ‘nega-posi’ pattern and consequently versican immunostaining was still detected at the epiphyseal end at E15. This result indicated that versican functions as a temporary framework in newly formed cartilage matrix. An aggrecan-positive region within the cartilage invariably had intense hyaluronan staining, whereas a versican-positive region also had affinity for hyaluronan within the cartilage, but not in the mesenchymal cell condensation. Therefore, the presence of versican aggregates was not confirmed in the developing limb bud cartilage. Furthermore, although link protein was more closely related with aggrecan than versican during limb bud cartilage formation, there was a discrepancy between the expression of aggrecan and link protein in tibial cartilage at E15. In particular, only a link protein-positive region was present in the marginal area of the metaphysis and the epiphysis at this stage. This finding may indicate a novel role for link protein.

Penetrating injuries in the oral cavity are common in children. However, penetrating injuries with retained foreign bodies are rare. We report a case of a toothbrush impalement injury of the floor of the mouth in a child with autism. A 5-year-old boy with autism presented with an accidentally impaled toothbrush in the oral cavity. He was taken to the operation room and examined under general anesthesia. The handle of the toothbrush was cut off using rib scissors for mask ventilation, and intra-oral intubation was performed. The toothbrush was located approximately 2.5 cm into the floor of the mouth. The toothbrush was removed uneventfully. Intravenous antibiotic therapy was instituted during hospitalization, and discharge from the hospital occurred 4 days after the operation. Language: en

We analyzed the responses of several T cell fractions reactive with superantigenic toxins (SAGTs), staphylococcal enterotoxin A (SEA), or Yersinia pseudotuberculosis-derived mitogen (YPM) in mice implanted with mini-osmotic pumps filled with SEA or YPM. In mice implanted with the SEA pump, SEA-reactive Vβ3+CD4+ T cells exhibited a high-level protracted expansion for 30 days, and SEA-reactive Vβ11+CD4+ T cells exhibited a low-level protracted expansion. SEA-reactive CD8+ counterparts exhibited only a transient expansion. A similar difference in T cell expansion was also observed in YPM-reactive T cell fractions in mice implanted with the YPM pump. Vβ3+CD4+ and Vβ11+CD4+ T cells from mice implanted with the SEA pump exhibited cell divisions upon in vitro restimulation with SEA and expressed surface phenotypes as memory T cells. CD4+ T cells from mice implanted with the SEA pump exhibited high IL-4 production upon in vitro restimulation with SEA, which was due to the enhanced capacity of the SEA-reactive CD4+ T cells to produce IL-4. The findings in the present study indicate that, in mice implanted with a specific SAGT, the level of expansion of the SAGT-reactive CD4+ T cell fractions varies widely depending on the TCR Vβ elements expressed and that the reactive CD4+ T cells acquire a capacity to raise a memory response. CD8+ T cells are low responders to SAGTs.

Chemotherapy using CDGP plus 5-FU was evaluated in patients with oral cancer. The subjects were patients with squamous cell carcinoma of the oral cavity who had not received any therapy, comprising 7 patients with carcinoma of the tongue, 2 with buccal carcinoma, 2 with maxillary gingival carcinoma, and 1 with carcinoma of the oral floor. There were 4 patients in Stage II, 3 patients in Stage III and 5 patients in Stage IV. Patients with a PSor = 1, WBCor = 4,000/mm3, Hbor = 10 g/dl, platelet countor = 10 x 10/mm3, and normal liver, kidney, and heart function at baseline were selected for this study. In all patients, 5-FU was administered at a dose of 600 mg/m2/day for 5 days (day 1 to day 5) by continuous infusion, for a total dose of 3,000 mg/m2. CDGP was administered on day 1 at a dose of 80 mg/m2 in 8 patients and at 100 mg/m2 in 4 patients. This treatment was one course of therapy, and patients received 1 or 2 courses. Of 12 patients who were evaluable, there were 9 partial responses and 3 no changes, for a major response rate of 75%. Toxicities experienced by patients were mild (grade 2 or lower) gastrointestinal disorders (including nausea/vomiting) and renal impairment, while grade 3 leukopenia and thrombocytopenia developed in 1 patient each and grade 4 thrombocytopenia occurred in another patient. Thus, patients receiving CDGP + 5-FU therapy should be closely monitored for hematologic toxicity. Since CDGP + 5-FU therapy achieved a good response rate (75%) in the treatment of squamous cell carcinoma of the oral cavity, we plan to use this therapy in the future and assess its benefit in a larger number of patients.

We investigated the histochemical localisation of versican, aggrecan and hyaluronan in the developing condylar cartilage of the fetal rat mandible at d 15–17 of gestation. At d 15 of gestation, immunostaining for versican was detected in the anlage of the future condylar process (condylar anlage), although the staining intensity showed a considerable regional variation. At d 16 of gestation, a metachromatically stained matrix firstly appeared in the condylar anlage. Aggrecan, hyaluronan and versican were simultaneously detected in this newly formed condylar cartilage. At d 17 of gestation, immunostaining for versican became restricted to the perichondrium and was barely detected in the cartilage. Colocalisation of versican and aggrecan was also seen in the cranial base cartilage at d 14 of gestation. These results indicate that although versican is replaced by aggrecan during the transition from prechondrogenic tissue to cartilage, both molecules were temporally colocalised in the newly formed cartilage. A hyaluronan-rich, low-versican area was identified in the posterior end of the condylar anlage during d 15–17 of gestation. The existence of this area is a unique structural feature of the developing condylar cartilage.

Orientador : Marcelo Menossi Teixeira Dissertação (mestrado) - Universidade Estadual de Campinas, Instituto de Biologia Mestrado

The nucleotide sequence of 10 isolates of human parvovirus B19 (B19) were determined and compared throughout 96.3% of the open reading frames (4145 nucleotides from nt. 509-4653). In the 4145 nucleotides, 122 mutation sites were found, of which 24 were accompanied by amino acid displacement. Furthermore, the polymorphism of the amino acids was seen in about 110 bases near the carboxy terminal of the non-structural protein, ranging from nt. 2011 to 2123, where four amino acid mutation points were found to exist. Based on the amino acid polymorphism of these four mutation sites in this area, 10 isolates of the B19 parvovirus could be divided into 4 subtypes (subtypes A, B, C, and D). The frequency of isolation of the subtypes depended on the time and location of collection of the B19 viremic blood specimens.

We investigated the immunohistochemical localisation of types II and X collagen as well as the cytochemical localisation of alkaline phosphatase in the developing condylar cartilage of the fetal mouse mandible on d 14–16 of pregnancy. On d 14 of pregnancy, although no immunostaining for types II and X collagen was observed, alkaline phosphatase activity was detected in all cells in the anlage of the future condylar process. On d 15 of pregnancy, immunostaining for both collagen types was simultaneously detected in the primarily formed condylar cartilage. Alkaline phosphatase activity was also detected in chondrocytes at this stage. By d 16 of pregnancy, the hypertrophic cell zone rapidly increased in size. These findings strongly support a periosteal origin for the condylar cartilage of the fetal mouse mandible, and show that progenitor cells for condylar cartilage rapidly or directly differentiate into hypertrophic chondrocytes.

Thirteen linear immunogenic regions have been defined in the putative HCV structural proteins (amino acids 1–24, 21–44, 42–68, 64–91, and 100–120 of the C protein; amino acids 192–212, 223–238, 236–258, 250–266, and 307–330 of the El protein; and amino acids 398–419, 470–492, and 522–551 of the E2/NS1 protein). Of these immunogenic regions, the 91 amino acids of the N-terminal half of the C protein corresponded to the most immunogenic region of the virus. In particular, the peptide with amino acids 21–44 of the core protein reacted with antibodies in nearly all anti-HCV positive sera (40 of 41) from blood donors, and the antibody titer to this region was significantly greater in sera with HCV-RNA (1107 ± 587 units) than those without HCV-RNA (58 ± 138 units) (P < 0.001). Furthermore, we frequently detected antibodies to the peptides derived from the El and E2/NS1 proteins in sera with HCV-RNA. Our results indicate that antibodies to the structural proteins are not only useful markers for diagnosis of HCV infection, but also good indicators for infectivity.

A supersensitive polymerase chain reaction procedure was developed to detect human T-lymphotropic virus type II (HTLV-II) proviral genome. Six primer pairs covering the various regions of HTLV-II were compared and selected on the basis of specificity and sensitivity. Among them, one primer pair of the pol region of HTLV-II (II pol) was able to amplify and detect even 0.1 fg of the cloned plasmid HTLV-II DNA (seven copies) by regular ethidium bromide staining on polyacrylamide gel. By using this procedure, we screened 189 HTLV-I seropositive blood donors from Yamaguchi and Fukuoka Red Cross Blood Centers, Japan. There were four positive samples detectable with the HTLV-II-specific pol primer pair, as well as with the HTLV-I tax primer pair. The amplified DNAs of two specimens were cloned and sequenced. The sequences of the HTLV-I tax region from both specimens were identical to that of HTLV-I. On the other hand, those of the HTLV-II pol region were identical to that of HTLV-II, except for one base substitution in a clone from one subject. These results indicate that dual infection of HTLV-I and HTLV-II in the same persons occurs among Japanese blood donors.

The Blood Collection Centers of the Japanese Red Cross has alerady begun anti-HIV antibody screening of blood donor samples since Noverver 1986.The ELISA methods have been mainly used, however, these methods do not have enough sensitivity, specificity and usefulness for screening.Therefore, a new test method which is more reliable and standaridized was required by every Blood Collection Center.In the present paper, the authors report the results showing that the gelatin particle agglutination test for anti-HIV antibody detection is more useful than ELISA tests.

The cellular basis of the pathogenesis of selective IgA deficiency (SIgAD) was investigated by examining surface immunoglobulin (SmIg) and in vitro pokeweed mitogen (PWM)-stimulated immunoglobulin (Ig) synthesis and by assaying in combination the counterpart lymphocytes from individuals with SIgAD and healthy donors. Peripheral blood lymphocytes (PBL) from 14 individuals with SIgAD synthesized normal amounts of IgG and IgM but did not synthesize normal amounts of IgA. Functional defects of lymphocytes for IgA synthesis were classified into four types: (i) B-lymphocyte dysfunction, (ii) increased function of suppressor T lymphocytes (Ts), (iii) decreased function of helper T lymphocytes (Th), and (iv) B-lymphocyte dysfunction and increased Ts function. The cells bearing SmIgG, SmIgM, and SmIgD were demonstrated at normal percentage ratios in all cases by immunofluorescent staining. The cells bearing SmIgA were at normal percentage ratios in the cases of T-lymphocyte dysfunction, while in the cases of B-lymphocyte defect SmIgA-bearing cells were reduced.