OBJECTIVE: This study was carried out to evaluate the effect of the isolation methods of inner cell mass from mouse blastocyst, types of feeder cells and treatment time of mitomycin C on the formation rate of ICM colony. METHODS: The inner cells were isolated by conventional immunosurgery, partial trophoblast dissection with syringe needles and whole blastocyst co-culture method. Commercially available STO and primary cultured mouse embryonic fibroblast (pMEF) feeder cells were used, and mitomycin C was treated for 1, 2 or 3 hours, respectively. The formation rate of ICM colony was observed after isolation of ICM and culture of ICM on the feeder cells for 7 days. RESULT: The ICM colony formation rate on STO were significantly higher in partial trophoblast dissection group (58%) than that in immunosurgery (12%) or whole blastocyst culture (16%) group (p<0.05). The formation rate on pMEF feeder layer was higher in partial trophoblast dissection (88%) and whole blastocyst culture (82%) group than that in immunosurgery (16%) group (p<0.05). When mitomycin C treated to pMEF for 2 hours, the formation rate of 88% was significantly higher than those of other conditions. CONCLUSIONS: Above results showed that the efficient isolation method of ICM from blastocyst was the partial trophoblast dissection and the appropriate treatment time of mitomycin C was 2 hours. However, the subculture of ICM colony and characterization of stem cells should be carried out to confirm the efficacy of the partial trophoblast dissection method.
Animals ; Blastocyst ; Coculture Techniques ; Feeder Cells* ; Fibroblasts ; Mice* ; Mitomycin* ; Needles ; Stem Cells ; Syringes ; Trophoblasts

No abstract available.
Hepatitis*

PURPOSE: This study was carried out to clarify the histological characteristics of the interface of the corneal stroma and Descemet's membrane of the human eye. METHODS: Nighteen donor eyes without corneal pathology were examined by scanning and transmission electron microscopy. The Descemet's membrane including the corneal endothelium was cheked for scanning electron microscopy. The junctional characteristics of the posterior corneal stroma and Descemet's membrane was examined by transmission electron microscopy. RESULTS: The scanning electron microscopy showed that collagen sheet faced each other at the right angle near the Descemet's membrane and penetrated the Descemet's membrane with the irregular arrangement. The transmission electron microscopy showed that the electron-dense collagen filaments extended to the posterior stroma from Descemet's membrane. The arrangement of electron-dense collagen filaments paralleled with the arrangement of the collagen fibrils of the posterior stroma. CONCLUSIONS: The interface of the corneal stroma and Descemet's membrane was composed of two-typed extracellular materials without the intercellular specificatons.
Collagen ; Corneal Stroma* ; Descemet Membrane* ; Endothelium, Corneal ; Humans ; Microscopy, Electron ; Microscopy, Electron, Scanning ; Microscopy, Electron, Transmission ; Pathology ; Tissue Donors

PURPOSE: To report a case of bilateral peripheral ulcerative keratitis after cataract extraction with a clear corneal incision in a patient with rheumatoid arthritis. CASE SUMMARY: A 67-year-old woman was referred to our clinic with bilateral ocular pain and visual disturbances, 10 days after a cataract extraction in her right eye. The patient had undergone a cataract extraction with clear corneal incision in the left eye and the same procedure was performed in the right eye after 1 week. During the surgery, hyphema occurred because of the iris damage by the phacoemulsification tip. Slit lamp examination showed bilateral peripheral ulcerative keratitis around the incision site and diffused corneal edema. Topical instillation and systemic administration of antibiotic agents were given as treatment but the patient showed no improvement. Corneal culture and smear were performed and showed a negative result. Because the patient was previously diagnosed with rheumatoid arthritis and showed the characteristic finger deformity, she was diagnosed with a sterile peripheral ulcerative keratitis and was treated with oral steroid, sulfasalazine, and steroid eye drop. After 1 month of treatment, epithelial thinning of the cornea and peripheral corneal ulcer stopped progressing and showed corneal re-epithelization. CONCLUSIONS: Because peripheral ulcerative keratitis after cataract extraction with clear corneal incision can occur in a patient with rheumatoid arthritis, caution is necessary to minimize damage by careful manipulation during the operation and requires special attention in preoperative and postoperative management.
Arthritis, Rheumatoid ; Cataract ; Cataract Extraction ; Congenital Abnormalities ; Cornea ; Corneal Edema ; Corneal Ulcer ; Eye ; Female ; Fingers ; Humans ; Hyphema ; Iris ; Phacoemulsification ; Sulfasalazine ; Ulcer

Tuberous sclerosis is reported rarely and is associated with systemic lesions including central nervous system, skin, heart, eye and kidney. Approximately 5-15% of individuals with tuberous sclerosis will develop brain neoplasia, almost invariably subependymal giant-cell astrocytoma (SGCA). We experienced a case of SGCA with tuberous sclerosis operated by the transcallosal approach and report with literature review.
Astrocytoma* ; Brain ; Central Nervous System ; Heart ; Kidney ; Skin ; Tuberous Sclerosis*

Brain Computerized Tomography(CT) and cerebral angiography were reviewed in thirty-six patients with multiple intracranial aneurysms(22.5%) among the 160 consecutive surgical cases of intracranial aneurysms. The prevalent sites of multiple aneurysms were the middle cerebral artery(37.0%), posterior communicating artery(22.2%), and internal carotid artery(14.8%) in sequence. However, the vertebrobasilar system(83.3%), anterior communicating artery(63.6%), and posterior communicating artery(50.0%) had higher probability of rupture than internal carotid artery(8.3%) or middle cerebral artery(33.3%). Based on CT and angiographic information, the site of rupture can be predicted with a high degree of reliability. These factors were the presence of localized hemorrhage on CT, focal vasospasm, size and irregularity of aneurysms, and relative hyperplasia of parent artery.
Aneurysm ; Arteries ; Brain ; Cerebral Angiography ; Hemorrhage ; Humans ; Hyperplasia ; Intracranial Aneurysm ; Parents ; Rupture

BACKGROUND: The emergence of multidrug-resistant Acinetobacter baumannii as a nosocomial pathogen is one of the major public health problems. The aim of this study was to evaluate the role of an efflux pump gene adeJ for the multidrug resistance of A. baumannii clinical isolates. METHODS: Two groups (MDRAB and SAB) of A. baumannii clinical isolates were studied. The SAB group consisted of strains that did not meet the criteria of MDRAB and were susceptible to more categories of antibiotics than MDRAB. Antimicrobial susceptibility results obtained by VITEKII system were used in data analysis and bacterial group allocation. We performed real-time reverse transcription PCR to determine relative expression of adeJ. We compared relative expression of adeJ in comparison groups by considering two viewpoints: i) MDRAB and SAB groups and ii) susceptible and non-susceptible groups for each antibiotic used in this study. RESULTS: The mean value of relative expression of adeJ of MDRAB and SAB groups was 1.4 and 0.92, respectively, and showed significant difference (P=0.002). The mean values of relative expression of adeJ of susceptible and non-susceptible groups to the antibiotics cefepime, ceftazidime, ciprofloxacin, imipenem, meropenem, tigecycline, piperacillin/tazobactam, ticarcillin/clavulanic acid, trimethoprim/sulfamethoxazole, piperacillin, and gentamicin showed statistically significant differences. CONCLUSION The overexpression of adeIJK might contribute to the multi-drug resistance in A. baumannii clinical isolates. Further, the overexpression of adeIJK might be one of the factors contributing to the resistance to numerous antibiotics.

BACKGROUND: Acute tumor lysis syndrome(TLS) has been defined as the metabolic abnormalities that occur after rapid tumor breakdown. In this study, we have evaluated the types or degrees of metabolic abnormalities and clinical characteristics in patients with non-Hodgkin's lymphoma(NHL) who developed TLS. METHODS: Patients were considered to have 'laboratory TLS(LTLS)' if any two of the following metabolic abnormalities occurred spontaneously or within 4 days of treatment: hyperphosphatemia, hyperkalemia, hyperuricemia, azotemia, and hypocalcemia. 'Clinical TLS(CTLS)' was defined as LTLS plus one of the following: a serum potassium level greater than 6.0mEq/L, a creatinine level greater than 2.5mg/dL, a calcium level less than 6.0mg/dL, the development of a life-threatening arrhythmia, or sudden death. RESULTS: Of 111 cases with NHL, TLS occurred in 16(14.4%), LTLS in 11(9.9%), and CTLS in 5(4.5%). There was a significant difference of gender, histologic type, clinical stage, performance status, extranodal involvement, serum lactate dehydrogenase(LDH), LDH index, beta2-microglobulin, uric acid, and blood urea nitrogen(BUN) level in the TLS versus control group. In multiple regression analysis, TLS occurred more frequently in patients with pre-treatment azotemia, aggressive histologic type, and elevated serum LDH level(p< 0.05, respectively). Pre-treatment and post-treatment TLS occurred in 8 cases(50%) respectively. The common metabolic abnormalities included hyperphosphatemia(87.5%), azotemia(81.3%), and hypocalcemia(75%). Of 11 cases with conservative care, 8 cases recovered within several days, but 3 cases died with multi-organ failure from disease progression. All 5 cases after hemodialysis for TLS recovered without any significant complications. CONCLUSION: The current study suggests that all patients with high-grade lymphomas and pre-treatment azotemia or a high serum LDH level be carefully monitored for at least 4 days after chemotherapy.
Arrhythmias, Cardiac ; Azotemia ; Calcium ; Creatinine ; Death, Sudden ; Disease Progression ; Drug Therapy ; Humans ; Hyperkalemia ; Hyperphosphatemia ; Hyperuricemia ; Hypocalcemia ; Lactic Acid ; Lymphoma, Non-Hodgkin* ; Potassium ; Renal Dialysis ; Tumor Lysis Syndrome* ; Urea ; Uric Acid

PURPOSE: To evaluate the CT findings of bronchial abnormalities in patients with endobronchial metastasis from extrapulmonary tumors, and to correlate these with the bronchoscopic findings. MATERIALS AND METHODS: The authors retrospectively reviewed the CT and bronchoscopic findings of 17 patients (M:F=9:8; mean age, 56 years) with histologically proven endobronchial metastasis from extrapulmonary primary tumors. Carcinoma of the uterine cervix (n = 5) was the most common primary site for endo-bronchial metastasis. CT findings of bronchial abnormalities with associated peribronchial and lung parenchymal lesions were analyzed and compared with the bronchoscopic findings. RESULTS: Among the 17 patients, 20 sites of bronchial abnormalities were visualized bronchoscopically. CT findings of bronchial abnormalities were smooth narrowing (n = 11), occlusion (n = 3), intraluminal mass (n= 4), and normal (n = 2). Peribronchial lesions(lymph node enlargement or parenchymal mass) were found in 12 cases. Bronchoscopy revealed bronchial narrowing due to a mucosal nodule or intraluminal polypoid mass in 16 cases, and total obstruction of the bronchus in four. With regard to the identification of bronchial abnormalities, the findings of CT and of bronchoscopy agreed in 17 cases and disagreed in three. While bronchoscopy was advantageous for detecting early mucosal abnormality, CT effectively evaluated the extent of a lesion beyond the stenosis or bronchial obstruction. CT was also useful for predicting the causes of bronchial abnormalities. CONCLUSION: CT is relatively accurate in evaluating bronchial abnormalities, and in patients with endo-bronchial metastases may be used as a complementary procedure to bronchoscopy for evaluating the extent of the lesion.
Bronchi ; Bronchoscopy ; Cervix Uteri ; Constriction, Pathologic ; Female ; Humans ; Lung ; Neoplasm Metastasis* ; Retrospective Studies

PURPOSE: This study was performed to investigate the cellular characteristics of the secondary pupillary membrane. METHODS: The secondary pupillary membrane was removed from the anterior lens surface during cataract extraction from 2 patients with cataract associated with uveitis. Specimen from one patient was stained with hematoxylin-eosin with flat preparation method. Specimen from the other patient cultured for 1 and 2 weeks was observed with transmission electron microscopy. RESULTS: The flat preparation showed the neovascular membrane with pigment-laden cells. The cultured cells consisted of the well preserved vascular components which had the vascular endothelial cells and pericyte and pigment-laden cells lined by basement membrane on first week of culture. The iris pigment epithelial cell which contained the pigment granules within cytoplasm and lined by basement membrane were observed on second week of culture. CONCLUSIONS: These results suggest that the secondary pupillary membrane consists of vascular membrane and pigment epithelial cell of iris which is a major component of secondary pupillary membrane and secrets extracellular matrix.
Basement Membrane ; Cataract ; Cataract Extraction ; Cells, Cultured ; Cytoplasm ; Endothelial Cells ; Epithelial Cells ; Extracellular Matrix ; Humans ; Iris ; Membranes* ; Microscopy, Electron, Transmission ; Pericytes ; Uveitis