A nonparasitic lamprey in Japan, Lethenteron reissneri, stops feeding prior to the commencement of metamorphosis. Resumption of feeding cannot take place due to major alterations in the digestive system, including loss of the gall bladder (GB) and biliary tree in the liver. This degeneration of bile ducts is considered to depend on programmed cell death or apoptosis, but molecular evidence of apoptosis remains lacking. Using terminal deoxynucleotidyl transferase dUTP nick-end labeling (TUNEL) staining and immunohistochemistry with an antibody against active caspase-3, we showed that epithelial cells of the cystic duct (CD) and GB became TUNELpositive by the early metamorphosing stage. Immunohistochemical staining of active caspase-3, a key mediator in the apoptotic cascade, showed that the apoptotic signal was initiated in the region around the CD in the late larval phase. In later stages, active caspase-3-positive epithelial cells were also observed in the large intrahepatic bile duct (IHBD) and peripheral small IHBDs. At the early metamorphosing stage, bile canaliculi between hepatocytes were dilated and displayed features resembling canaliculi in cholestasis. Onset of apoptosis around the CD, which is the pathway for the storage of bile juice, and progression of apoptosis towards the large IHBD, which is the pathway for the secretion of bile juice, may lead to temporary intrahepatic cholestasis. The present study represents the first precise spatial and temporal analysis of apoptosis in epithelial cells of the biliary tract system during metamorphosis of any lamprey species. Anat Rec, 293:1155Rec, 293: -1166

No abstract

No abstract

One hundred and twenty-one patients with gastric cancer of Borrman IV (type 4) were classified into two types according to the macroscopic appearance of their tumors, namely, those tumors with giant folds (type G, n = 84) and those without giant folds (type P, n = 37). A large percentage of the cases in both type groups had advanced stage carcinoma. Type G was found to be predominant in young women and the incidence of high-grade lymph node metastasis was higher in type G than in type P. Histochemically, it was shown that the tumor interstitium of type G contained obviously many more acid mucopolysaccharides (AMPS) than the localized Borrman II (type 2) gastric cancer, which was used as a control. The results of enzymatic digestion tests suggested that the amounts of hyaluronic acid, chondroitin sulfate, and sialic acid were greater in type G than in type P or the localized type, the differences involved being marked between type G and the localized type.

The physiopathology of idiopathic chronic constipation is complex and yet to be investigated. In the manometric studies of the patients with severe chronic constipation, we noticed that some patients with megacolon show very slow periodical (< 2/min) pressure change in the anal canal, namely ultra slow waves (USWs). USWs are considered to represent the hyperactivity of the internal anal sphincter; however, USWrelated clinical presentations have yet to be investigated. We retrospectively re-evaluated the patient records and manometric studies of 85 cases, 51 subjects without defecatory problems and 34 patients with constipation, to elucidate USW-related clinical presentations. USWs were seen in 10 patients, including eight patients with chronic constipation and two subjects without defecatory problems. Out of the eight patients with constipation, one had no organic change in the anorectum, three had hemorrhoids and four exhibited megacolon. Manometric and pathological studies proved that none of the four patients with magacolon was suffering from Hirschsprung's disease. Among the 51 subjects without defecatory problems, only two had USWs. Anal pressure in the USW-positive group (106.0 ± 37.0 cmH 2 O) was significantly higher than that in the group without defecatory problems (56.0 ± 27.0 cmH 2 O) or constipated patients without USWs (55.0 ± 26.0 cmH 2 O). Megacolon and high anal pressure, as well as chronic constipation and hemorrhoids, were the clinical presentations related to USWs. This is the first report to show the clinical relevance of USWs to megacolon. USWs should be recognized as an important manometric finding indicating a possible new clinical entity in chronic constipation. ultra slow wave; manometry; constipation; megacolon; high anal pressure