L-10 has been recognized as an irnmune suppressive cytokine which inhibits Ag-specific activation and proliferation of T cells. It also inhibits Ag presenting capacity of monocyte/macrophage and down-regulates monokine production. However it has also shown that IL-10 has stimulatory effect on immune effector cells in recent studies. This report shows that IL-10 has direct stimulatory effect on antitumor cytolytic activity suppressed by TGF-B. To assess the effect of IL-10 on cytolytic activity against tumor, spleen cells prepared from tumor-bearing mice were cultured with mitomycin C-treated MOPC-315 cells in the presence of IL-10. Unexpectedly, IL-10 was able to reverse the cytolytic activity suppressed with TGF-B. The stimulatory effect of IL-10 was dependent on the addition time of IL-10. At day 0, 4, those effects were shown higher than those of the other days. Also, the stimulatory effect of IL-10 showed specificity against MOPC-315 tumor cells. To elucidate the role of endogenous IL-10, TGF-B in MLTC cultures, anti-IL-10 and anti-TGF-B mAb were used. The inhibition of IL-10 release in MLTC cultures by using anti-IL-10 mAb resulted in the suppression of cytolytic activity against MOPC-315 tumor cells. Taken together, although IL- 10 has been recognized as a strong immunosuppressive cytokine derived of tumor cells, IL-10 showed the direct stimulatory effect on the antitumor cytolytic activity of spleen cells.
Animals ; Interleukin-10* ; Mice ; Mitomycin ; Sensitivity and Specificity ; Spleen* ; T-Lymphocytes ; Transforming Growth Factor beta

Gastric cancer cells express large amounts of galectin-3 on the cell surface. This fact may provide the possibility to use galectin-3 protein as a surface target for delivering cytotoxic anticancer agents. To investigate the possibility of application of galectin-3 protein as a target protein in delivering cytotoxic anticancer agents, we synthesized doxorubicin immunoconjugate by using maleimidocaproic acid and conjugated doxorubicin immunoconjugate to anti-galectin-3 mAb. The anticancer effect of immunotoxin was assayed on NIH3T3, AGS and KATO III cell lines. The anticancer effect of immunotoxin on AGS cell line is highest and that of KATO III is higher than that of NIH3T3. This results relate to that of flow cytometry analysis previously shown and indicate that galectin-3 protein can be used as a target protein on the surface of gastric cancer cell for delivering cytotoxic anticancer agents.
Antineoplastic Agents* ; Cell Line ; Doxorubicin ; Flow Cytometry ; Galectin 3 ; Galectins* ; Immunoconjugates ; Immunotoxins ; Staphylococcal Protein A ; Stomach Neoplasms

The authors analyzed data from 15 patients with idiopathic dilated cardiomyopathy to evaluate the hemodynamic changes and left ventricular cineangiogram as compared with normal control. Mean right atrial pressure, right ventricular systolic pressure, mean pulmonary artery pressure and mean pulmonary wedge pressure were signigicantly elevated in patients with dilated cardiomyopathy. Left ventricular enddiastolic volume was increased in idiopathic dilated cardiomyopathy(139.9+/-58.73 ml/m2). Cardiac index, left ventricular ejection fraction and circumferential fiber shortening were significantly reduced in patients with dilated cardiomyopathy as compared with normal control(p<0.001). Hypokinetic, diffuse wall motion abnormalities of left ventricle were common in idiopathic dilated cardiomyopathy. A few cases of akinetic or dyskinetic segmental wall motion abnormalities were present. Left ventricular configurations in patients with idiopathic dilated cardiomyopathy were globe shape(53.4%) as compared with pear core shape(90%) of normal control. Associated mitral regurgitations in patients with idiopathic dilated cardiomyopathy confirmed by left ventricular cineangiogram were 53.3 percent. Mild to moderate mitral regurgitations were often present(46.6%).
Atrial Pressure ; Blood Pressure ; Cardiomyopathy, Dilated* ; Heart Ventricles ; Hemodynamics* ; Humans ; Pulmonary Artery ; Pulmonary Wedge Pressure ; Pyrus ; Stroke Volume

No abstract available.
Temporomandibular Joint*

No abstract available.
Temporomandibular Joint*

The coronary artery cross sectional area (CSA) is proportional to LV mass. We have measured the cross sectional area of the left and right coronary arteries in patients with ischemic heart disease to see whether it is related to the change in the LV mass. The following results were obtained ; 1) There were no significant difference in mean CSA of coronary arteries and LV mass determined by echocardiography and cineangiography between control and ischemic heart disease. 2) There were significantly increased ratio of left ventricular mass by cineangiogram to CSA of left anterior descending coronary artery in patients with myocardial infarction as compared with control group. 3) A linear relation between LV mass by cineangiogram and CSA of left coronary artery was noted in control group (r=0.53, P<0.05) and ischemic heart disease group (r=0.51, P<0.05). 4) A linear relation between LV mass determined by echocardiography and CSA of left coronary artery was noted in control group (r=0.55, P<0.05).
Cineangiography ; Coronary Vessels* ; Echocardiography ; Humans ; Myocardial Infarction ; Myocardial Ischemia

No abstract available.

Taxol is a clinically useful anticancer drug against a variety of cancers. Although it has been known that taxol induces the apoptosis of cancer cells through cytochrome C release and the activation of caspases, the effect of taxol on dendritic cells (DCs) has not been studied. In this study, taxol enhanced the expression of MHC class II on DCs, compared to medium-treated immature DCs. Surprisingly, the viability of DCs was not decreased by taxol, whereas that of cancer cells was. It was confirmed that taxol did not induce the apoptosis of DCs based on annexin V-FITC/propidium iodide (PI) staining assay. Since previous study demonstrated that taxol induced the production of nitric oxide (NO) related to the viability of DCs, the level of NO from taxol-treated DCs was determined. Any significant amount of NO was not detected. Although taxol enhanced the expression of a maturation marker, MHC class II molecules, it strikingly inhibited the proliferation of splenic T lymphocytes activated by DCs. Taken together, this study demonstrated that taxol induced an altered maturation of DCs, the increase of MHC class II molecule but the inhibition of proliferation of splenic T lymphocytes. It is suggested that taxol may induce the immunosuppression in patients with cancer by the inhibition of DC-activated T cell proliferation, but not by the direct killing of DCs.
Animals ; Antineoplastic Agents, Phytogenic/*pharmacology ; Apoptosis/drug effects ; Coloring Agents/metabolism ; Dendritic Cells/cytology/*drug effects/immunology ; Female ; Flow Cytometry ; Formazans/metabolism ; Histocompatibility Antigens Class II/biosynthesis ; Lymphocyte Activation/drug effects ; Mice ; Mice, Inbred BALB C ; Mice, Inbred C57BL ; Nitric Oxide/metabolism ; Paclitaxel/*pharmacology ; T-Lymphocytes/cytology/immunology/metabolism ; Tetrazolium Salts/metabolism

Biosilica is a silica-based substance derived from the cell walls (frustules) of diatoms and has various biological activities. Recently, research into biosilica’s biological functions are underway, but little has been reported on the effects of biosilica on immune cells. In this study, we investigated the effect of ionized biosilica water (iBW) on dendritic cells (DCs), which play crucial roles as antigen (Ag)-presenting cells. Treatment with iBW increased the expression of immune response-related markers, closely connected to the maturation of DCs, and the production of tumor necrosis factor-alpha. In addition, iBW-treated DCs (iBW-DCs) had a lower uptake of fluorescein isothiocyanate-dextran than that of control DCs. Mixed leukocyte response analysis, used for measuring the Ag-presenting capability of DCs, showed iBW-DCs had a higher capability than that of control DCs. Interestingly, DCs treated with lipopolysaccharide (LPS) and iBW had a lower level of Ag-presenting capability than that of LPS-treated DCs. Taken together, the results indicate that iBW alone can mature DCs, but it decreases the Ag-presenting capability of DCs in the presence of LPS, a representative agent of inflammation. This study may provide valuable information regarding the effect of iBW on immune cells. Further research is needed to investigate how iBW induces the observed biphasic immunomodulatory activity.

Biosilica is a silica-based substance derived from the cell walls (frustules) of diatoms and has various biological activities. Recently, research into biosilica’s biological functions are underway, but little has been reported on the effects of biosilica on immune cells. In this study, we investigated the effect of ionized biosilica water (iBW) on dendritic cells (DCs), which play crucial roles as antigen (Ag)-presenting cells. Treatment with iBW increased the expression of immune response-related markers, closely connected to the maturation of DCs, and the production of tumor necrosis factor-alpha. In addition, iBW-treated DCs (iBW-DCs) had a lower uptake of fluorescein isothiocyanate-dextran than that of control DCs. Mixed leukocyte response analysis, used for measuring the Ag-presenting capability of DCs, showed iBW-DCs had a higher capability than that of control DCs. Interestingly, DCs treated with lipopolysaccharide (LPS) and iBW had a lower level of Ag-presenting capability than that of LPS-treated DCs. Taken together, the results indicate that iBW alone can mature DCs, but it decreases the Ag-presenting capability of DCs in the presence of LPS, a representative agent of inflammation. This study may provide valuable information regarding the effect of iBW on immune cells. Further research is needed to investigate how iBW induces the observed biphasic immunomodulatory activity.