T cell receptor α  mutant (TCRα –/–) mice, which spontaneously develop colitis under conventional conditions, did not show any signs of colitis under germ‐free conditions, leaving TCRα –β + cells (β dim cells) and TCRγ δ + cells much reduced. Moreover, TCRα –/– mice with alymphoplastic mutation (aly/aly TCRα –/– mice), which lack Peyer's patches and peripheral lymph nodes, did not suffer from colitis. While both β dim cells and TCRγ δ + cells were present in the colons of aly/aly TCRα –/– mice and aly/+ TCRα –/– mice, cytotoxicity of colonic TCRγ δ + cells in aly/aly TCRα –/– mice was almost abolished. Transfer of TCRγ δ + cells from TCRα –/– mice into scid/scid mice or aly/aly TCRα –/– mice could not induce colitis, but injection of anti‐TCRδ  mAb into TCRα –/– mice prevented colitis from developing. Finally, TCRα –/– mice expressing transgenic (Tg) KN6‐TCRγ δ  hardly developed colitis, accompanied by colonization of non‐cytotoxic Tg TCRγ δ + cells in their colonic mucosa. These results demonstrate that intestinal resident TCRγ δ + cells may be involved in the exacerbation of inflammatory bowel disease in TCRα –/– mice.

Objective The current study evaluated the performance of psoas muscle mass measurement for detecting low skeletal muscle mass quantity. Methods A sample of 82 consecutive patients with gynecological cancers was examined using computed tomography and dual energy X-ray absorptiometric scan before treatment. Skeletal muscle mass index was measured by dual energy X-ray absorptiometric scan and its cut-off value was set at 5.40 kg/m2 for detecting low skeletal muscle mass. Psoas muscle mass index was manually measured with cross-sectional computed tomography imaging at the level of L3 by six evaluators. Results Low skeletal muscle mass index was identified in 23 (28.0%) patients. Two-way analysis of variance confirmed a significant main effect of skeletal muscle mass index on mean psoas muscle mass index values (P < 0.0001). A receiver operating characteristic curve obtained from a total of 492 psoas muscle mass index data points gathered from six evaluators produced an area under the curve value of 0.697 (95% confidence interval 0.649–0.744) and a cut-off value of 3.52 cm2/m2, with sensitivity of 79.0% and specificity of 59.6%. Using the cut-off value, the kappa coefficient for evaluating diagnostic agreement between skeletal muscle mass index (low vs. normal) and psoas muscle mass index (low vs. normal) was 0.308 (95% confidence interval 0.225–0.392), suggesting poor agreement. Fleiss’ kappa produced a coefficient of 0.418 (95% confidence interval 0.362–0.473), suggesting moderate agreement. Conclusions Although relevance between skeletal muscle mass index and psoas muscle mass index was confirmed, intensity of relevance between them was weak. Psoas muscle mass index measurement should be subordinated to skeletal muscle mass index measurement for detection of low skeletal muscle mass.

Objective In patients with endometrial cancer, obesity is associated with favorable prognostic characteristics but not with prolonged survival. The aim of this study was to elucidate the reason for this clinical paradox. Methods We retrospectively reviewed 1173 patients with endometrial cancer. Patients were divided into a non-obese group [body mass index (BMI) < 30 kg/m2], class I obesity group (BMI 30–35 kg/m2) and class II obesity group (BMI ≥ 35 kg/m2). The relationship between clinicopathological factors and disease-specific survival (DSS) was analyzed by Cox regression analysis. To correct for three-time significance testing, we used the Bonferroni method, giving the level of probability at which findings were considered significant as P < 0.0167. Results Three disease-intrinsic variables—older age, advanced stage and high-risk histology—and three treatment-related variables—no hysterectomy, no lymphadenectomy and no chemotherapy—were independently associated with poor DSS. DSS was similar among the three groups of patients even though the proportion of patients with plural pretreatment-related unfavorable risk factors significantly decreased with increment of BMI category (40.1 vs. 27.5 vs. 17.6%, P = 0.0003). The proportion of patients with plural treatment-related unfavorable prognostic factors significantly increased with increment of BMI category (21.3 vs. 26.7 vs. 39.3%, P = 0.0072). Conclusions Poor-quality surgical staging in obese women may result in worse than expected survival outcomes.