Focal infiltration of lymphocytes with parenchymal destruction was noted in both salivary and lacrimal glands of IQI/Jic mice. The sialadenitis was found in more than 80% of female mice at all ages examined. The lesion progressed after 6 months and became more prominent with age. In contrast, male mice had slight and stable salivary lesions independent of age, though the incidence increased with age. Infiltrating lymphocytes consisted of both T and B cells. The dominant lymphocytes in small foci were CD4+ cells, but the majority of infiltrating cells were B cells (B220+), followed by CD4+ T cells in larger lesions. The ductual epithelium in the foci aberrantly expressed MHC class II antigen. Eight of 24 15-month-old female mice with sialadenitis produced speckled-type IgG antinuclear autoantibody. These findings are similar to those in patients with Sjögren's syndrome. IQI/Jic mice could be a novel animal model of Sjören's syndrome.

No abstract

High basal protein levels of GRP94 were correlated with a modest decrease in sensitivity to X-ray cell death in some cervical cancer cell lines. These results suggest that higher GRP94 protein expression is one of the molecular mechanisms causing resistance to radiation, and therefore GRP94 siRNA might be useful in tumor-specific gene therapy by reversing radio-resistance prior to radiation in cervical cancer.

The potential for health effects on humans with exposure to bisphenol A (BPA) has raised concerns, and the adverse effects of low-dose exposure to BPA on reproduction have been controversial. The purpose of the present study was to investigate the effects of low-dose exposure to BPA on reproductive development in F(1) rat offspring. Pregnant female Sprague-Dawley rats (F(0)) were fed a diet containing low doses of BPA (0, 0.33, 3.3, or 33 ppm) from gestational day (GD) 6 through postnatal day (PND) 21. The weanlings (F(1)) from all dose groups were fed a normal diet ad libitum after weaning and then were subjected to necropsy at 5 weeks or 3 months of age. No BPA-related changes were observed in body weight or weight of any of the major reproductive organs in F(1) males and females. Epididymis weight was significantly lower only in 3-month-old F(1) males exposed to 33 ppm BPA. Anogenital distance (AGD), the ratio of AGD to the cube root of body weight, and relative ovary weight were significantly lower in 5-week-old F(1) females exposed to 3.3 and 33 ppm BPA, but significant differences were not observed in 3-month-old females. There were no BPA-related effects on cauda epididymal sperm motility in 3-month-old F(1) males. Plasma reproductive steroid hormone concentrations were not altered among groups in either sex. These outcomes indicate that low-dose exposure to BPA in the diet does not adversely affect reproductive development in F(1) rat offspring.

Intratracheal instillation is widely used for respiratory toxicity tests in experimental animals. However, there are wide variations in the techniques used for instillation, and it is thus difficult to compare the results obtained using different techniques. To examine the effect of instillation methods, we compared the distribution of a test substance in the lungs of rats after intratracheal instillations under various conditions. Rats received an intratracheal instillation of 0.3 mL of india ink suspension under different conditions as follows: 3 different angles of body restraint, 0° (supine horizontal), 45° (supine head up) and 90° (vertical head up); 2 instillation speeds, high (40 mL/min) and low (4 mL/min); and 2 different devices, a standard bulb-tipped gavage needle and an aerosolizing microsprayer designed for intratracheal instillation. One hour after treatment under these various conditions, rats were sacrificed, and the local distribution of the suspension in the lungs was observed. No animal restrained in the supine head-up or vertical head-up position died from the treatment; however, fatalities were observed when rats were restrained in the supine horizontal position except under high-speed dosing conditions with a microsprayer. Better distribution of the suspension in the lungs was observed in the rats restrained in the supine head-up position after instillation at high speed when compared with other conditions. These results indicated that high-speed instillation to the subject restrained in the supine head-up position is an appropriate condition for performing intratracheal instillation.