Search

Background Somatic and germline variants are not distinguishable by circulating tumor DNA (ctDNA) testing without analyzing non-tumor samples. Although confirmatory germline testing is clinically relevant, the criteria for selecting presumed germline variants have not been established in ctDNA testing. In the present study, we aimed to evaluate the prevalence of pathogenic germline variants in clinical ctDNA testing through their variant allele fractions (VAFs). Methods A total of consecutive 106 patients with advanced solid tumors who underwent ctDNA testing (Guardant360®) between January 2018 and March 2020 were eligible for this study. To verify the origin of pathogenic variants reported in ctDNA testing, germline sequencing was performed using peripheral blood DNA samples archived in the Clinical Bioresource Center in Kyoto University Hospital (Kyoto, Japan) under clinical research settings. Results Among 223 pathogenic variants reported in ctDNA testing, the median VAF was 0.9% (0.02–81.8%), and 88 variants with ≥ 1% VAFs were analyzed in germline sequencing. Among 25 variants with ≥ 30% VAFs, seven were found in peripheral blood DNA (BRCA2: n = 6, JAK2: n = 1). In contrast, among the 63 variants with VAFs ranging from 1 to TP53: n = 1). Eventually, this variant with 15.6% VAF was defined to be an acquired variant, because its allelic distribution did not completely link to those of neighboring germline polymorphisms. Conclusion Our current study demonstrated that VAFs values are helpful for selecting presumed germline variants in clinical ctDNA testing.

Human induced pluripotent stem cell-derived cardiomyocytes (hiPSC-CMs) are a valuable tool to characterize the pharmacology and toxic effects of drugs on heart cells. In particular, hiPSC-CMs can be used to identify drugs that generate arrhythmias. However, it is unclear whether the expression of genes related to generation of CM action potentials differs between hiPSC-CM cell lines and the mature human heart. To address this, we obtained accurate gene expression profiles of commercially available hiPSC-CM cell lines with quantitative real time RT-PCR analysis. Expression analysis of ten cardiac proteins important for generation of action potentials and three cardiac proteins important for muscle contractility was performed using GAPDH for normalization. Comparison revealed large variations in expression levels among hiPSC-CM cell lines and between hiPSC-CMs and normal human heart. In general, gene expression in hiPSC-CM cell lines was more similar to an immature, stem-like cell than a mature cardiomyocyte from human heart samples. These results provide quantitative information about differences in gene expression between hiPSC-CM cell lines, essential for interpreting pharmacology experiments. Our approach can be used as an experimental guideline for future research on gene expression in hiPSC-CMs. Keywords: iPS cells, Quantitative real time-PCR, Reference gene, Cardiac ion channels, Action potential

Lenvatinib is an oral tyrosine kinase inhibitor of vascular endothelial growth factor receptors 1, 2, and 3, fibroblast growth factor receptors 1 through 4, as well as platelet-derived growth factor receptor α, RET, and KIT. At present, lenvatinib is used in the treatment of thyroid cancer and renal cell carcinoma. We herein report a case of a 67-year-old patient with squamous cell carcinoma of unknown primary who was effectively treated with lenvatinib. The patient was initially diagnosed as having undifferentiated thyroid cancer, and after total thyroidectomy and bilateral lymph node dissection, lenvatinib was administered for the treatment of residual lymph node metastasis. A computed tomography scan after 1 month of lenvatinib administration showed marked regression of the lymph nodes, but interstitial pneumonia was also detected. Because the drug lymphocyte stimulation test for lenvatinib was strongly positive, we concluded that the interstitial pneumonia was induced by lenvatinib. The interstitial pneumonia only improved by the withdrawal of lenvatinib. Finally, his thyroid tumor was diagnosed as a metastasis of squamous cell carcinoma; however, we were unable to identify the primary lesion. This is the first reported case of interstitial pneumonia induced by lenvatinib.

Blue laser imaging (BLI) is a new image-enhanced endoscopy technique that utilizes a laser light source developed for narrow-band light observation. The aim of this study was to evaluate the usefulness of BLI for the diagnosis of early gastric cancer. This single center prospective study analyzed 530 patients. The patients were examined with both conventional endoscopy with white-light imaging (C-WLI) and magnifying endoscopy with BLI (M-BLI) at Kyoto Prefectural University of Medicine between November 2012 and March 2015. The diagnostic criteria for gastric cancer using M-BLI included an irregular microvascular pattern and/or irregular microsurface pattern, with a demarcation line according to the vessel plus surface classification system. Biopsies of the lesions were taken after C-WLI and M-BLI observation. The primary end point of this study was to compare the diagnostic performance between C-WLI and M-BLI. We analyzed 127 detected lesions (32 cancers and 95 non-cancers). The accuracy, sensitivity, and specificity of M-BLI diagnoses were 92.1, 93.8, and 91.6 %, respectively. On the other hand, the accuracy, sensitivity, and specificity of C-WLI diagnoses were 71.7, 46.9, and 80.0 %, respectively. M-BLI had improved diagnostic performance for early gastric cancer compared with C-WLI. These results suggested that the diagnostic effectiveness of M-BLI is similar to that of magnifying endoscopy with narrow-band imaging (M-NBI).

Background/Aims. The aim of this study was to evaluate the endoscopic recognition of esophageal squamous cell carcinoma (ESCC) using four different methods (Olympus white light imaging (O-WLI), Fujifilm white light imaging (F-WLI), narrow band imaging (NBI), and blue laser imaging- (BLI-) bright).Methods.We retrospectively analyzed 25 superficial ESCCs that had been examined using the four different methods. Subjective evaluation was provided by three endoscopists as a ranking score (RS) of each image based on the ease of detection of the cancerous area. For the objective evaluation we calculated the color difference scores (CDS) between the cancerous and noncancerous areas with each of the four methods.Results. There was no difference between the mean RS of O-WLI and F-WLI. The mean RS of NBI was significantly higher than that of O-WLI and that of BLI-bright was significantly higher than that of F-WLI. Moreover, the mean RS of BLI-bright was significantly higher than that of NBI. Furthermore, in the objective evaluation, the mean CDS of BLI-bright was significantly higher than that of O-WLI, F-WLI, and NBI.Conclusion. The recognition of superficial ESCC using BLI-bright was more efficacious than the other methods tested both subjectively and objectively.

The phenotype and severity of cancer cachexia differ among tumor types and metastatic site in individual patients. In this study, we evaluated if differences in tumor microenvironment would affect the development of cancer cachexia in a murine model, and demonstrated that body weight, adipose tissue and gastrocnemius muscle decreased in tumor-bearing mice. Interestingly, a reduction in heart weight was observed in the intraperitoneal tumor group but not in the subcutaneous group. We evaluated 23 circulating cytokines and members of the TGF-β family, and found that levels of IL-6, TNF-α and activin A increased in both groups of tumor-bearing mice. Eotaxin and G-CSF levels in the intraperitoneal tumor group were higher than in the subcutaneous group. Atrogin 1 and MuRF1 mRNA expressions in the gastrocnemius muscle increased significantly in both groups of tumor-bearing mice, however, in the myocardium, expression of these mRNAs increased in the intraperitoneal group but not in subcutaneous group. Based on these results, we believe that differences in microenvironment where tumor cells develop can affect the progression and phenotype of cancer cachexia through alterations in various circulating factors derived from the tumor microenvironment.

Overcoming resistance to endocrine therapy is the most intensive research area in estrogen receptor (ER)-positive breast cancer. A strategy to restore endocrine sensitivity using molecular-targeted drugs such as mammalian target of rapamycin inhibitor everolimus along with endocrine therapy has already been used as a treatment option after the progression of previous aromatase inhibitor therapy. Phase II/III clinical trials of several signal pathway inhibitors and cyclin-dependent kinase 4/6 inhibitors are underway. In addition, a randomized phase II trial of the histone deacetylase inhibitor entinostat showed interesting findings. In this review, we summarize the mechanistic principles of combination therapy of molecular-targeted drugs with endocrine therapy by using a hybrid car model.

Endoscopic findings have now become nearly as detailed as histopathological findings. Thus, one-to-one correspondence and precise feedback of histopathological findings is very desirable but may be very difficult to accomplish. We describe a systematic process called the Kyoto One-to-One Correspondence Method (the KOTO Method) that allows detailed adjustments of endoscopic findings to match histopathological findings. By comparing endoscopic and stereoscopic images of the gastric mucosa, we could obtain one-to-one correspondence between endoscopic images and equivalent histology in 44 of 47 fields. The histological structure of gastric cancers of the same histological subtype may not be similar. One-to-one correspondence between endoscopic images and gastric mucosal histology (histopathology-oriented correspondence) will improve endoscopic diagnosis and provide more useful information for pathological diagnosis.

Backgrounds. Magnifying endoscopy with blue laser imaging (ME-BLI) for diagnosis of early gastric cancer (EGC) is as effective as magnifying endoscopy with narrow-band imaging (ME-NBI). However, there are different EGCs in microstructure visualization between ME-BLI and ME-NBI. This study aimed to clarify the pathological features of the EGCs, in which microstructure visualization was different between ME-NBI and ME-BLI. Methods. EGCs were classified into groups A (irregular microsurface pattern (MSP) in ME-BLI and absent MSP in ME-NBI), B (irregular MSP in two modalities), or C (absent MSP in two modalities), according to the vessel plus surface classification. We compared the pathological features of EGCs between the three groups. Results. 17, four, and five lesions could be evaluated in detail in groups A, B and C, respectively. Well-differentiated adenocarcinomas with shallow crypts were more frequent in group A than in group B (58.8 and 0%, resp.). The mean crypt depth of group A was significantly shallower than that of group B (56 ± 20, 265 ± 64 μm, resp., P=0.0002). Conclusions. ME-BLI could better visualize the microstructures of the EGCs with shallow crypts compared with ME-NBI. Therefore, ME-BLI could enable a more accurate diagnosis of EGC with shallow crypts.

Mowat-Wilson syndrome (MWS) is a multiple congenital anomaly syndrome characterized by moderate or severe intellectual disability, a characteristic facial appearance, microcephaly, epilepsy, agenesis or hypoplasia of the corpus callosum, congenital heart defects, Hirschsprung disease, and urogenital/renal anomalies. It is caused by de novo heterozygous loss of function mutations including nonsense mutations, frameshift mutations, and deletions in ZEB2 at 2q22. ZEB2 encodes the zinc finger E-box binding homeobox 2 protein consisting of 1,214 amino acids. Herein, we report 13 nonsense and 27 frameshift mutations from 40 newly identified MWS patients in Japan. Although the clinical findings of all the Japanese MWS patients with nonsense and frameshift mutations were quite similar to the previous review reports of MWS caused by nonsense mutations, frameshift mutations and deletions of ZEB2, the frequencies of microcephaly, Hirschsprung disease, and urogenital/renal anomalies were small. Patients harbored mutations spanning the region between the amino acids 55 and 1,204 in wild-type ZEB2. There was no obvious genotype-phenotype correlation among the patients. A transfection study demonstrated that the cellular level of the longest form of the mutant ZEB2 protein harboring the p.D1204Rfs*29 mutation was remarkably low. The results showed that the 3'-end frameshift mutation of ZEB2 causes MWS due to ZEB2 instability.

Mutation of hypoxanthine guanine phosphoribosyltransferase (HPRT) gives rise to Lesch–Nyhan syndrome, which is characterized by hyperuricemia, severe motor disability, and self-injurious behavior, or HPRT-related gout with hyperuricemia. Four mutations were detected in two Lesch–Nyhan families and two families with partial deficiency since our last report. A new mutation of G to TT (c.456delGinsTT) resulting in a frameshift (p.Q152Hfs*3) in exon 3 has been identified in one Lesch–Nyhan family. In the other Lesch–Nyhan family, a new point mutation in intron 7 (c.532 + 5G > T) causing splicing error (exon 7 excluded, p.L163Cfs*4) was detected. In the two partial deficiency cases with hyperuricemia, two missense mutations of p.D20V (c.59A > T) and p.H60R (c.179A >G) were found. An increase of erythrocyte PRPP concentration was observed in the respective phenotypes and seems to be correlated with disease severity.

Epithelial-mesenchymal transition (EMT) plays a crucial role in cancer metastasis. In this study, we evaluated the effect of heat treatment on tumor growth factor-β1 (TGF-β1)-induced EMT in pancreatic cancer cells and tried to ascertain the mechanism related to any observed effects. Human pancreatic cancer cell lines (BxPC-3, PANC-1 and MIAPaCa-2) were stimulated by TGF-β1, and evaluated for morphological changes using immunofluorescence and EMT-related factors (i.e., E-cadherin, Vimentin, Snail or ZEB-1) using RT-PCR. To examine the effect of heat on EMT, the cancer cells were heat-treated at 43°C for 1 h then stimulated with TGF-β1. We then evaluated whether or not heat treatment changed the expression of EMT-related factors and cell migration and also whether Smad activation was inhibited in TGF-β signaling. After being treated with TGF-β1, pancreatic cancer cells resulted in EMT and cell migration was enhanced. Heat treatment inhibited TGF-β1-induced changes in morphology, inhibited the expression of EMT-related factors, and attenuated TGF-β1-induced migration in pancreatic cancer cells. Additionally, we observed that heat treatment blocked TGF-β1-induced phosphorylation of Smad2 in PANC-1 cells. Our results suggest that heat treatment can suppress TGF-β1-induced EMT and opens the possibility of a new therapeutic use of hyperthermia as a potential treatment for cancer metastasis.

Personalized medicine or precision medicine is one of the most interesting topics in current clinical cancer research. When compared to other types of solid cancer, breast cancer has been utilized sub-personalized (subtyping) treatment strategy for a very long time. In the 1980s, the presence of estrogen receptor (ER) was evaluated by a dextran-coated charcoal assay (ligand binding assay) and endocrine therapy was administered to specific patients with ER-positive breast cancer [1]. LHRH analog for premenopausal patients is another subtyping approach. However, recent technological advances in multi-gene assay and whole genome sequencing have made it possible to divide breast cancer subtyping into more detailed categories. In addition, classical RT-PCR technique for mRNA expression analysis was developed to digital PCR assay with high sensitivity. Based on these technological advances, we are trying to administer the right drug at the right time to the right patient. The development of molecular diagnostic tools is a key element for realizing precision and personalized medicine in clinical practice. These tools should be industrialized and approved by a regulatory agency. This special feature issue of Breast Cancer includes five review articles related to molecular diagnostics. Figure 1 shows the application of each molecular diagnostic in clinical breast cancer time course. For instance, multi-gene classifiers are used for prediction of risk of recurrence, and companion diagnostics are applied for choosing a specific drug for each patient. Sato et al. cover the basic knowledge of ‘‘genomic tumor evolution’’. Recent progress of comprehensive genome-wide analysis has revealed information regarding genomic mutations and rearrangements in each individual tumor [2]; however, during the process of tumor invasion, metastasis and treatment exposure, cancer genomes are dynamically changing and evolving. At this moment, no established technique exists for tracking this genomic tumor evolution in the living tumor of a patient, although liquid biopsy to detect circulating tumor cells and circulating cell-free DNA could be a promising approach. Naoi et al. reported multi-gene classifiers for predicting recurrence risk for early breast cancer patients [3]. In contrast to conventional biomarkers such as ER, PgR and HER2, multi-gene assay evaluates multiple target mRNA expressions at one time, providing a significant amount of information for treatment decision. Although many multigene assays have been developed to date, most success case is the Oncotype DX assay which calculates the recurrence score (RS) based on the expression of 21 genes using RNA extracted from FFPE tumor tissues. Very recently, the first survival data of the TAILORx study with Oncotype DX has been reported [4]. Early breast cancer patients with ERpositive HER2-negative node-negative tumors and those whose tumors were classified as low RS (equal or less than 10) showed remarkable good prognosis without adjuvant chemotherapy. This is the first prospective evidence for treatment decision to have been made using multi-gene assay. Tazawa reported on the development of companion diagnostics for indication of molecular targeting drugs [5]. Though many molecular targeting drugs for breast cancer have been developed to date, the most scene-changing drug has been trastuzumab for HER2-positive tumor. Trastuzumab was developed through clinical trials that & Shigehira Saji ssaji@fmu.ac.jp

The purpose of the study was to compare observer performance in the detection of cerebral infarction on a brain CT using medical-grade liquid crystal display (LCD) monitors calibrated with the gray-scale standard display function and with γ 2.2 and using an iPad with a simulated screen setting.We amassed 97 sample sets, from 47 patients with proven cerebral infarction and 50 healthy control subjects. Nine radiologists independently assessed brain CT on a gray-scale standard display function LCD, a γ 2.2 LCD, and an iPad in random order over 4-week intervals. Receiver operating characteristic (ROC) analysis was performed by using the continuous scale, and the area under the ROC curve (A(z)) was calculated for each monitor.The A(z) values for gray-scale standard display function LCD, γ 2.2 LCD, and iPad were 0.875, 0.884, and 0.839, respectively. The difference among the three monitors was very small. There was no significant difference between gray-scale standard display function LCD and γ 2.2 LCD. However, the A(z) value was statistically significantly smaller for the iPad than the γ 2.2 LCD (p0.05).Observer performance for detecting cerebral infarction on the LCD with γ 2.2 calibration was found to be similar to the LCD with gray-scale standard display function calibration. Although observer performance using the iPad was poorer than that using the other LCDs, the difference was small. Therefore, the iPad could not substitute for other LCD monitors. However, owing to the promising potential advantages of tablet PCs, such as portability, further examination is needed into the clinical use of tablet PCs.

Background and study aims: Linked color imaging (LCI) is a new image-enhanced endoscopy technique using a laser light source to enhance slight differences in mucosal color. The aim of this study was to compare the usefulness of LCI and conventional white light imaging (WLI) endoscopy for diagnosing Helicobacter pylori (H. pylori). Patients and methods: We retrospectively analyzed images from 60 patients examined with WLI and LCI endoscopy between October 2013 and May 2014. Thirty patients had H. pylori infections, and other thirty patients tested negative for H. pylori after eradication therapy. Four endoscopists evaluated the 2 types of images to determine which was better at facilitating a diagnosis of H. pylori infection. Results: H. pylori infection was identified with LCI by enhancing the red appearance of the fundic gland mucosa. The accuracy, sensitivity, and specificity for diagnosing H. pylori infection using WLI were 74.2 %, 81.7 %, and 66.7 %, respectively, while those for LCI were 85.8 %, 93.3 %, and 78.3 %, respectively. Thus, the accuracy and sensitivity for LCI were significantly higher than those for WLI (P = 0.002 and P = 0.011, respectively). The kappa values for the inter- and intraobserver variability among the 4 endoscopists were higher for LCI than for WLI. Conclusions: H. pylori infection can be identified by enhancing endoscopic images of the diffuse redness of the fundic gland using LCI. LCI is a novel image-enhanced endoscopy and is more useful for diagnosing H. pylori infection than is WLI.

BRESEK/BRESHECK syndrome is a multiple congenital malformation characterized by brain anomalies, intellectual disability, ectodermal dysplasia, skeletal deformities, ear or eye anomalies, and renal anomalies or small kidneys, with or without Hirschsprung disease and cleft palate or cryptorchidism. This syndrome has only been reported in three male patients. Here, we report on the fourth male patient presenting with brain anomaly, intellectual disability, growth retardation, ectodermal dysplasia, vertebral (skeletal) anomaly, Hirschsprung disease, low-set and large ears, cryptorchidism, and small kidneys. These manifestations fulfill the clinical diagnostic criteria of BRESHECK syndrome. Since all patients with BRESEK/BRESHECK syndrome are male, and X-linked syndrome of ichthyosis follicularis with atrichia and photophobia is sometimes associated with several features of BRESEK/BRESHECK syndrome such as intellectual disability, vertebral and renal anomalies, and Hirschsprung disease, we analyzed the causal gene of ichthyosis follicularis with atrichia and photophobia syndrome, MBTPS2, in the present patient and identified an p.Arg429His mutation. This mutation has been reported to cause the most severe type of ichthyosis follicularis with atrichia and photophobia syndrome, including neonatal and infantile death. These results demonstrate that the p.Arg429His mutation in MBTPS2 causes BRESEK/BRESHECK syndrome.

Objective: It is suggested that thalami, basal ganglia, putamina and caudate heads play a crucial role in strong emotion such as the fear of serious earthquake. The aim of this study was to elucidate the radiographic findings (mainly the lacunae) in these regions, mental abilities and the extent of the activities of daily livings (ADL) of moderately demented patients who could recognize the Niigata Ken (prefecture) Chuetsu earthquake 2004 Japan. Methods: In patients with moderate dementia, mainly Alzheimer’s disease, who could recognize the Niigata Ken (prefecture) Chuetsu earthquake 2004 in Niigata prefecture in Japan, their radiographic findings regarding thalami, basal ganglia, putamina and caudate heads were investigated by counting the numbers of lacunae using magnetic resonance imaging. In addition, their mental abilities were examined by Mini-Mental Examination Score and Hasegawa Dementia Scale–Revised. Their activities of daily living were also assessed. Results: The patients who could recognize the earthquake have statistically fewer lacunae in the thalami, basal ganglia, putamina and caudate heads, than those who could not (P

This retrospective study assessed the effects of menopausal status and menstrual cycle on background parenchymal enhancement (BPE) of breast magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), and investigated whether the degree of BPE can be predicted by findings of mammography, ultrasonography (US), and diffusion-weighted MR imaging (DWI). There were 160 study patients (80 premenopausal, 80 postmenopausal). Degree of BPE was classified into minimal, mild, moderate, or marked. Mammographic density was classified into fatty, scattered, heterogeneously dense, and extremely dense. BP echotexture on US and BP intensity on DWI were visually classified as homogeneous or heterogeneous. Apparent diffusion coefficient (ADC) values of normal breast tissue were measured. Associations of the degree of BPE with menopausal status, menstrual cycle, or imaging features were evaluated by univariate and multivariate analyses. No significant correlation was found between mammographic density and BPE (p=0.085), whereas menopausal status (p=0.000), BP echotexture (p=0.000), and BP intensity on DWI (p= 0.000), and ADC values (p=0.000) showed significant correlations with BPE. Multivariate analysis showed that postmenopausal status was an independent predictor of minimal BPE (p=0.002, OR=3.743). In premenopausal women, there was no significant correlation between menstrual cycle and BPE, whereas BP echotexture was an independent predictor of whether BPE was less than mild or greater than moderate (p=0.001, OR=26.575). BPE on breast MRI is associated with menopausal status and the findings of US and DWI. Because premenopausal women with heterogeneous BP echotexture may be predicted to show moderate or marked BPE, scheduling of breast MRI should preferentially be adjusted to the menstrual cycle.

Well-defined poly(methyl methacrylate) (PMMA) brush layers were prepared onto silicon wafers by surface-initiated atom transfer radical polymerization using 2-(4-chlorosulfonylphenyl)-ethyltrichlorosilane as an initiator. Based on molecular weight and layer thickness measurements, it was deduced that the apparent graft density was 0.6–0.8 chains nm-2 depending on the polymerization time and that the conformation of tethered chains was highly extended. Surface relaxation behavior of the PMMA brush layer and the spin-coated PMMA film was examined by lateral force microscopy. The αa- and β-relaxation processes were discernibly observed at both surfaces. Although surface molecular motion of the brush layer and the spin-coated film was markedly different from the bulk one, both were hardly distinguishable in terms of relaxation phenomena.

(高分子/液晶) 複合系は高分子の三次元網目構造の中に低分子の液晶が安定に保持された相分離構造を有し, 電界無印加-印加による光散乱-光透過の光スイッチング機能を有する. (高分子/液晶) 複合系の電気光学特性は高分子ネットワークの凝集構造に強く依存する. 本研究では (一官能性モノマー/二官能性モノマー) の混合モノマーにおいて, 単独では重合しにくいがアクリル酸エステルなどのモノマーとは容易に共重合するビニルエーテルを二官能性モノマーとして導入し, 複合系の調製を行った. 高分子ネットワークの網目のサイズは重合速度の増加に伴い減少する傾向があることが知られている. しかしながら, 本研究では重合速度と高分子ネットワークの三次元網目構造に明確な相関は認められず, 重合の動力学以外の要因が作用していることが示唆された. (一官能性アクリル酸エステル/二官能性ビニルエーテル/液晶) 系から調製される (高分子/液晶) 複合系は, (一官能性アクリル酸エステル/二官能性アクリル酸エステル/液晶) 系や (一官能性フマル酸エステル/二官能性ビニルエーテル/液晶) 系により調製される (高分子/液晶) 複合系と比較して, 網目サイズの大きな高分子ネットワークの形成と顕著な低電圧駆動を示した. さらに (一官能性アクリル酸エステル/二官能性ビニルエーテル/液晶) 系から調製される (高分子/液晶) 複合系において, 低電圧駆動を示す複合系の調製が10Kにわたる広い重合温度範囲で可能となった.

The phenotype and severity of cancer cachexia differ among tumor types and metastatic site in individual patients. In this study, we evaluated if differences in tumor microenvironment would affect the development of cancer cachexia in a murine model, and demonstrated that body weight, adipose tissue and gastrocnemius muscle decreased in tumor-bearing mice. Interestingly, a reduction in heart weight was observed in the intraperitoneal tumor group but not in the subcutaneous group. We evaluated 23 circulating cytokines and members of the TGF-β family, and found that levels of IL-6, TNF-α and activin A increased in both groups of tumor-bearing mice. Eotaxin and G-CSF levels in the intraperitoneal tumor group were higher than in the subcutaneous group. Atrogin 1 and MuRF1 mRNA expressions in the gastrocnemius muscle increased significantly in both groups of tumor-bearing mice, however, in the myocardium, expression of these mRNAs increased in the intraperitoneal group but not in subcutaneous group. Based on these results, we believe that differences in microenvironment where tumor cells develop can affect the progression and phenotype of cancer cachexia through alterations in various circulating factors derived from the tumor microenvironment.

Frequency doubling technology (FDT)はfrequency doubling illusionを応用した視標を用いてコントラスト感度を測定する新しい視野計であるが、その視野の再現性についてよく知られていない。今回、同一被験者にFDTの計測を2回行い、視野の再現性について検討した。対象は正常者7例7眼、緑内障患者32例32眼である。全症例に対してFDTのC-20プログラムを施行し、3ヶ月後に再検した。2回の計測におけるmean deviation (MD)、pattern standard deviation (PSD)の比較では強い正の相関性を認め(r=0.90、0.96)、2回の計測におけるMDおよびPSDの平均には差がなかった。また、各測定点における網膜感度の相関性も良好で(r=0.91)、2回の計測による網膜感度差の平均は正常者と緑内障患者で差がなかった。正常者と緑内障患者における長期変動の平均はそれぞれ0.62dB、1.50dBで、両群に有意差はなかった。FDTによる視野測定では視野指標および各測定点の網膜感度において良好な再現性が得られた。

Xq28 duplication syndrome including MECP2 is a neurodevelopmental disorder characterized by axial hypotonia at infancy, severe intellectual disability, developmental delay, mild characteristic facial appearance, epilepsy, regression, and recurrent infections in males. We identified a Japanese family of Xq28 duplications, in which the patients presented with cerebellar ataxia, severe constipation, and small feet, in addition to the common clinical features. The 488-kb duplication spanned from L1CAM to EMD and contained 17 genes, two pseudo genes, and three microRNA-coding genes. FISH and nucleotide sequence analyses demonstrated that the duplication was tandem and in a forward orientation, and the duplication breakpoints were located in AluSc at the EMD side, with a 32-bp deletion, and LTR50 at the L1CAM side, with "tc" and "gc" microhomologies at the duplication breakpoints, respectively. The duplicated segment was completely segregated from the grandmother to the patients. These results suggest that the duplication was generated by fork-stalling and template-switching at the AluSc and LTR50 sites. This is the first report to determine the size and nucleotide sequences of the duplicated segments at Xq28 of three generations of a family and provides the genotype-phenotype correlation of the patients harboring the specific duplicated segment.

Aneuploidy is the presence of an abnormal number of chromosomes in cells. The gain or loss of a chromosome in germ cells is the most common cause of chromosomal aneuploidy. Trisomy 21, trisomy 18, and trisomy 13 are characterized by congenital anomalies with intellectual disability (ID) or short lives. Recently, mosaic variegated aneuploidy (the presence of a different number of chromosomes in some cells) has been reported to be associated with ID and growth retardation, with or without microcephaly and tumors. In the cell cycle, the alignment of sister chromatids at metaphase plates is essential for the equational separation of chromatids. Misaligned chromosomes at metaphase plates, and/or aberration of the mitotic checkpoint, cause a disproportionate separation of chromatids, resulting in aneuploidy. To evaluate the association between aneuploidy and ID, we analyzed the chromosome numbers of over 200 metaphase plates of lymphoblastoid cells in patients with moderate or severe ID, with or without microcephaly. In this chapter, we summarize the previously reported cases and our own cases of patients with ID associated with aneuploidy or severely misaligned chromosomes at metaphase, and discuss the molecular mechanism underlying ID in cases in which aneuploidy is observed.

Mutations of two enzyme genes, HPRT1 encoding hypoxanthine guanine phosphoribosyltransferase (HPRT) and PRPS1 encoding a catalytic subunit (PRS-I) of phosphoribosylpyrophosphate synthetase, cause X-linked inborn errors of purine metabolism. Analyzing these two genes, we have identified three HPRT1 mutations in Lesch–Nyhan families following our last report. One of them, a new mutation involving the deletion of 4224 bp from intron 4 to intron 5 and the insertion of an unknown 28 bp, has been identified. This mutation resulted in an enzyme polypeptide with six amino acids deleted due to abnormal mRNA skipping exon 5. The other HPRT1 mutations, a single base deletion (548delT, 183fs189X), and a point mutation causing a splicing error (532+1G>A, 163fs165X) were detected first in Japanese patients but have been reported in European families. On the other hand, in the analysis of PRPS1, no mutation was identified in any patient.

CHD6 is an ATP-dependent chromatin-remodeling enzyme, which has been implicated as a crucial component for maintaining and regulating chromatin structure. CHD6 belongs to the largest subfamily, subfamily III (CHD6-9), of the chromodomain helicase DNA (CHD-binding protein) family of enzymes (CHD1-9). Here we report on a female patient with a balanced translocation t(4;20)(q33;q12) presenting with severe mental retardation and brachydactyly of the toes. We identified the translocation breakpoint in intron 27 of CHD6 at 20q12, while the 4q33 breakpoint was intergenic. Northern blot analysis demonstrated the CHD6 mRNA in the patient's lymphoblastoid cells was decreased to ∼50% of the control cells. To investigate the cellular mechanism of diseases resulting from decreased CHD subfamily III proteins, we knocked down CHD6 or CHD7 by RNA interference in HeLa cells and analyzed chromosome alignment. The both CHD6- and CHD7-knockdown cells showed increased frequency of misaligned chromosomes on metaphase plates. Moreover, an elevated frequency of aneuploidy, the major cause of miscarriages and mental retardation, was observed in patients with CHD6 and CHD7 haploinsufficiency. These results suggest that CHD6 and CHD7 play important roles in chromatin assembly during mitosis and that mitotic delay and/or impaired cell proliferation may be associated with pathogenesis of the diseases caused by CHD6 or CHD7 mutations.

We report herein on two female siblings exhibiting mild intellectual disability, hypotonia in infancy, postnatal growth retardation, characteristic appearance of the face, fingers, and toes. Their healthy mother had a translocation between 9q34.1 and the 13pter. FISH and array CGH analysis demonstrated that the two children had an additional 8.5 Mb segment of the 9q34.1-qter at 13pter. The clinical features of the present cases were similar to those of previously reported 9q34 duplication cases; however, the present cases did not exhibit other abnormal behaviors, such as autistic features or attention deficit disorders, those are reportedly associated with 9q34 duplications. A 3.0 Mb region (9q34.1-q34.3) within 9q34 duplication in our patients are overlapped with duplication region of previously reported cases and is proposed to be critical for the presentation of several phenotypes associated with 9q34 duplications.

Inherited mutation of hypoxanthine guanine phosphoribosyltransferase (HPRT) gives rise to Lesch-Nyhan syndrome or HPRT-related gout. On the other hand, PRPS1 mutations cause PRPP synthetase superactivity associated with hyperuricemia and gout, sometimes including neurodevelopmental abnormalities. We have identified two mutations in two Lesch-Nyhan families after our last report. One of them, a new single nucleotide substitution (130GT) resulting in a missense mutation D44Y was detected in exon 2 of HPRT1. RT-PCR amplification showed not only a cDNA fragment with normal size, but also a small amount of shorter fragment skipping exons 2 and 3. The other missense mutation F74L (222CA) was detected in a Japanese patient but has been reported previously in European families. In four hyperuricemic patients with mild neurological abnormality, no mutations responsible for partial HPRT deficiency were identified in HPRT1. In these four patients, we also performed molecular analysis of PRPS1, but no mutations in PRPP synthetase were found.

Based on a variety of degradative reactions and spectroscopic analyses of the four pseudoaglycones, which were obtained by treatment of N-acetylsporaviridins (N-Ac-SVD) with DBU, the total structures of N-Ac-SVD were deduced as shown in Fig.1.