No abstract

An indolylfulgide having a 1-(1,2-dimethyl-3-indolyl)-2,2,2-trifluoroethylidene group on the succinic anhydride showed an excellent resistivity towards the repetition of photochromic transformation between the photostationary states of UV- and visible-light irradiation both in toluene and in a PMMA film under the atmospheric environment. The colored form also showed the remarkable thermal stability.

Previous studies from our laboratory showed that human amnion epithelial cells (AECs) have multiple functions, such as synthesis and release of catecholamines, acetylcholine, neurotrophic factors, activin, and noggin. In this study, we investigated the identity of neural progenitor cells in human amnion mesenchyme cells (AMCs), which lie immediately adjacent to the AECs. Cryostat sections revealed that vimentin expression was detected in the AMCs and CK19 in AECs. Vimentin-positive cells made up 97.5% of total cells tested in cultured AMCs. Interestingly, 3.6% of total AMCs expressed the phenotype CK19+/vimentin+, indicating coexpression of epithelial and mesenchyme cell markers. In culturing with bromodeoxyuridine (BrdU) for 24 hr, 66-82% of cells were found to be BrdU positive, suggesting that they have proliferating potency. By using RT-PCR, AMCs express mRNA of nestin and Musashi1. With a neural cell differentiating protocol, cell bodies extended long bipolar or complex multipolar processes. Nestin (87.7% of total cells tested) and Musashi1 (93.1%) were expressed in undifferentiated cells, and their positively stained cells increased in number slightly after induction. Undifferentiated cells were stained by anti-Tuj1 and NF-M, and their positively stained cells increased significantly in number after induction, to 72.8% and 46.0%, respectively. Meanwhile, glial fibrillary acidic protein-positive cells increased from 25.4% to 43.2% after induction. These studies demonstrate that AMCs have phenotypes of neuroglial progenitor cells and can be differentiated into neuroglial phenotypes by optimal differentiation protocol. Eventually, AMC-derived stem cells may be a favorable cell vehicle in regenerative medicine.

ABSTRACT. To investigate the clinical utility of C-reactive protein (CRP) in idiopathic polyarthritis (IPA), its concentration was measured in dogs with IPA. The CRP concentration was markedly increased in all the IPA dogs at the time of diagnosis and decreased significantly in response to the initial corticosteroid treatment; this indicated that CRP can be used as an index for therapeutic response in IPA cases. Furthermore, at 6 months after the diagnosis, a significant association was observed between the CRP concentration at follow-up (6-13 days after the treatment was started) and the frequency of medication ("no or seldom-medicated (NSM)" groups or "continuing medication (CM)" groups). These results suggest that the initial response of CRP to corticosteroid treatment may be a prognostic factor of canine IPA. KEY WORDS: canine, C-reactive protein, idiopathic polyarthritis.

The t(16;21)(q24;q22) translocation is a rare but recurrent chromosomal abnormality associated with therapy-related myeloid malignancies and a variant of the t(8;21) translocation in which theAML1 gene on chromosome 21 is rearranged. Here we report the molecular definition of this chromosomal aberration in four patients. We cloned cDNAs from the leukemic cells of a patient carrying t(16;21) by the reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction using anAML1-specific primer. The structural analysis of the cDNAs showed that AML1 was fused to a novel gene named MTG16(Myeloid Translocation Gene on chromosome16) which shows high homology to MTG8(ETO/CDR) and MTGR1. Northern blot analysis usingMTG16 probes mainly detected 4.5 kb and 4.2 kb RNAs, along with several other minor RNAs in various human tissues. As in t(8;21), the t(16;21) breakpoints occurred between the exons 5 and 6 ofAML1, and between the exons 1 and 2 or the exons 3 and 4 ofMTG16. The two genes are fused in-frame, resulting in the characteristic chimeric transcripts of this translocation. Although the reciprocal chimeric product, MTG16-AML1, was also detected in one of the t(16;21) patients, its protein product was predicted to be truncated. Thus, the AML1-MTG16 gene fusion in t(16;21) leukemia results in the production of a protein that is very similar to the AML1-MTG8 chimeric protein.

No abstract

A cycloreversion (ring-opening) process of one of the photochromic fulgide derivatives, 2-[1-(2,5-dimethyl-3-fulyl)-2-methylpropylidene]-3-isopropylidenesuccinic anhydride, was investigated by means of picosecond and femtosecond laser photolysis methods. The drastic enhancement of the reaction yield was observed by the picosecond laser irradiation. On the other hand, the cycloreversion reaction yield under femtosecond laser exposure was almost consistent with the steady-state light irradiation. The excitation intensity effect of the reaction profiles revealed that the successive multiphoton absorption process leading to higher excited states opened the efficient cycloreversion process. The multiphoton-gated reaction for photochromic compounds as diarylethene derivatives was confirmed also for a fulgide derivative. The similarities and differences of the reaction profiles in higher excited states between fulgides and diarylethenes were discussed from the viewpoints of selection rule of optical transition and its dependence on molecular structures.

Summary. A cell line designated SKM‐1 was newly established from leukaemic cells of a 76‐year‐old Japanese male patient with monoblastic leukaemia following myelodysplastic syndrome (MDS). The cells were obtained from peripheral blood of the patient when he lost multiple point mutations of ras genes with acquisition of chromosomal abnormalities during disease progression in MDS. The cells grew as a single floating cell, and have been continuously growing with the morphological characteristics of immature monoblasts by serial passages during the past 42 months with a doubling time of about 48 h. By cytochemical analysis. the cloned cells were positive for butyrate esterase, but negative for the Epstein‐Barr virus associated nuclear antigen. Phenotypic analysis revealed the expression of myelomonocyte specific antigens such as CD4, CD13, CD33 and HLA‐DR. Cells from the primary peripheral blood and those from SO passages of the SKM‐1 cell line both possessed no activated ras genes but showed karyotype abnormalities with 46.XY, del(9)(q13;q22), der(17) t(17:?)(p13:?). The SKM‐1 cells have two mutations in p53 gene and overexpress the pS3 products. This cell line may contribute to a better understanding of molecular mechanisms in the progression from MDS to myelogenous leukaemia.