Vascular rejection injures the vascular endothelium in cardiac allografts in the absence of significant intramyocardial lymphocytic infiltration. When compared with cellular rejection, acute vascular rejection occurs earlier after transplantation, and is associated with high frequency of allograft loss. We describe a case of acute vascular rejection that occurred 11 months after heart transplantation. Graft failure was associated with active vasculitis in the coronary arteries and pericardial arteries, and extensive coagulation necrosis of myocardium. The extreme rarity of late onset of acute vascular rejection in a cardiac allograft prompted us to write this report.
Allografts ; Arteries ; Coronary Vessels ; Endothelium, Vascular ; Heart Transplantation* ; Heart* ; Myocardium ; Necrosis ; Transplantation ; Transplants ; Vasculitis

BACKGROUND/AIMS: Intraductal papillary mucinous neoplasm (IPMN) of the pancreas has a favorable prognosis, but seems to be associated with a high incidence of extrapancreatic tumors. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the incidence and clinicopathological features of extrapancreatic tumors associated with IPMN. METHODS: Thirty-seven patients with IPMN of the pancreas, confirmed by surgical resection and typical findings of endoscopic ultrasonography and CT imaging between October 1, 1998 and August 31, 2006 were included. Seventeen patients were diagnosed with surgical resection and biopsy, and others by typical imaging findings of IPMN. These patients were examined for the development of extrapancreatic tumors. RESULTS: Of 37 patients with IPMN, 14 (38%) had 18 extrapancreatic tumors, and 10 (27%) had 13 extrapancreatic malignancies. Five, six, and two extrapancreatic malignancies had diagnosed before during, and after the diagnosis of IPMN. Gastric adenocarcinoma (3 patients, 23%) and colorectal carcinoma (3 patients, 23%) were the most common neoplasms. Other extrapancreatic tumors included lung cancer (n=2), prostatic cancer (n=1), renal cell carcinoma (n=1), cholangiocelluar carcinoma (n=1), urinary bladder cancer (n=1), and gallbladder cancer (n=1), respectively. As benign tumor, there were two gallbladder adenoma, one gastric adenoma, one colonic adenoma and one benign ovarian cystic neoplasm, respectively. CONCLUSIONS: IPMN is associated with high incidence of extrapancreatic tumors, particularly gastric and colorectal neoplasms. Upper gastrointestinal endoscopy and colonoscopy should be done, and systemic surveillance for the possible occurrence of other tumors may allow early detection of extrapancreatic tumor in patients with IPMN.
Adenocarcinoma, Mucinous/*diagnosis/pathology/ultrasonography ; Adult ; Aged ; Aged, 80 and over ; Carcinoma, Pancreatic Ductal/*diagnosis/pathology/ultrasonography ; Carcinoma, Papillary/*diagnosis/pathology/ultrasonography ; Female ; Humans ; Incidence ; Male ; Middle Aged ; Neoplasms, Multiple Primary/diagnosis/*epidemiology ; Neoplasms, Second Primary/diagnosis/*epidemiology ; Pancreatectomy ; Pancreatic Neoplasms/*diagnosis/pathology/ultrasonography ; Retrospective Studies ; Tomography, X-Ray Computed

OBJECTIVE: MTA1 has been identified as a metastasis-promiting gene, and its gene expression is correlated with invasion and metastasis in several cancers. We examined MTA1 expression levels in epithelial ovarian neoplasm. METHODS: Expression of MTA1 was evaluated by immunohistochemistry and tissue array in 53 benign tumors, 27 borderline tumors and 68 malignant tumors. The data was analyzed in reference to various clinicopathological parameters. RESULTS: Increased expression of MTA1 was significantly correlated with histologic grade and FIGO stage. There was no relationship between MTA1 expression and age, histologic type, tumor size. CONCLUSION: These results suggest that MTA1 is closely related to invasiveness and progression in epithelial ovarian neoplasm. The MTA1 could thus potentially provide information on the mechanism of cancer invasion and metastasis.
Gene Expression ; Immunohistochemistry ; Neoplasm Metastasis ; Ovarian Neoplasms*

Microorganisms play important roles in obesity; however, the role of the gut microbiomes in obesity is controversial because of the inconsistent findings. This study investigated the gut microbiome communities in obese and lean groups of captive healthy cynomolgus monkeys reared under strict identical environmental conditions, including their diet. No significant differences in the relative abundance of Firmicutes, Bacteroidetes and Prevotella were observed between the obese and lean groups, but a significant difference in Spirochetes (p < 0.05) was noted. Microbial diversity and richness were similar, but highly variable results in microbial composition, diversity, and richness were observed in individuals, irrespective of their state of obesity. Distinct clustering between the groups was not observed by principal coordinate analysis using an unweighted pair group method. Higher sharedness values (95.81% ± 2.28% at the genus level, and 79.54% ± 5.88% at the species level) were identified among individual monkeys. This paper reports the association between the gut microbiome and obesity in captive non-human primate models reared under controlled environments. The relative proportion of Firmicutes and Bacteroidetes as well as the microbial diversity known to affect obesity were similar in the obese and lean groups of monkeys reared under identical conditions. Therefore, obesity-associated microbial changes reported previously appear to be associated directly with environmental factors, particularly diet, rather than obesity.
Bacteroidetes ; Diet ; Environment, Controlled ; Firmicutes ; Gastrointestinal Microbiome ; Haplorhini ; Macaca fascicularis ; Methods ; Microbiota ; Obesity ; Prevotella ; Primates ; Spirochaetales

Mitochondria continuously fuse and divide to maintain homeostasis. An impairment in the balance between the fusion and fission processes can trigger mitochondrial dysfunction. Accumulating evidence suggests that mitochondrial dysfunction is related to neurodegenerative diseases such as Parkinson's disease (PD), with excessive mitochondrial fission in dopaminergic neurons being one of the pathological mechanisms of PD. Here, we investigated the balance between mitochondrial fusion and fission in the substantia nigra of a non-human primate model of 1-methyl-4-phenyl-1,2,3,6-tetrahydropyridine (MPTP)-induced PD. We found that MPTP induced shorter and abnormally distributed mitochondria. This phenomenon was accompanied by the activation of dynamin-related protein 1 (Drp1), a mitochondrial fission protein, through increased phosphorylation at S616. Thereafter, we assessed for activation of the components of the cyclin-dependent kinase 5 (CDK5) and extracellular signal-regulated kinase (ERK) signaling cascades, which are known regulators of Drp1(S616) phosphorylation. MPTP induced an increase in p25 and p35, which are required for CDK5 activation. Together, these findings suggest that the phosphorylation of Drp1(S616) by CDK5 is involved in mitochondrial fission in the substantia nigra of a non-human primate model of MPTP-induced PD.
1-Methyl-4-phenyl-1,2,3,6-tetrahydropyridine ; Cyclin-Dependent Kinase 5 ; Cyclin-Dependent Kinases ; Dopaminergic Neurons ; Homeostasis ; Mitochondria ; Mitochondrial Dynamics ; Neurodegenerative Diseases ; Parkinson Disease ; Phosphorylation ; Phosphotransferases ; Primates ; Substantia Nigra

ymptoms of Parkinson’s disease (PD) caused by loss of dopaminergic neurons are accompanied by movement disorders, including tremors, rigidity, bradykinesia, and akinesia. Non-human primate (NHP) models with PD play an essential role in the analysis of PD pathophysiology and behavior symptoms. As impairments of hand dexterity function can affect activities of daily living in patients with PD, research on hand dexterity function in NHP models with chronic PD is essential. Traditional rating scales previously used in the evaluation of animal spontaneous behavior were insufficient due to factors related to subjectivity and passivity. Thus, experimentally designed applications for an appropriate apparatus are necessary. In this study, we aimed to longitudinally assess hand dexterity function using hand dexterity task (HDT) in NHP-PD models. To validate this assessment, we analyzed the alteration in Parkinsonian tremor signs and the functionality of presynaptic dopaminergic neuron using positron emission tomography imaging of dopamine transporters in these models. In addition, a significant inverse correlation between HDT and DAT level was identified, but no local bias was found. The correlation with intention tremor signs was lower than the resting tremor. In conclusion, the evaluation of HDT may reflect behavioral symptoms of NHP-PD models. Furthermore, HDT was effectively used to experimentally distinguish intention tremors from other tremors.