Purpose: As integrated medicine has been receiving more attention, therapeutic effect of plants has become more evident in recent years. However, many hospitals in Japan have not taken advantage of horticultural therapy in their palliative care unit yet. In the present study, we examined the role and the experience of horticulture as an individual therapy for patients in palliative care unit. Results and Discussion: More smiles were observed on the patients as evident from their Face scale score changes on days horticultural therapy was conducted. Coming into contact with the vital force of plants, through germination, flowering, and seed setting seemed to act as an effective care for the patients. Comparison of the nurses' daily journal and horticultural therapists' logbook showed difference in the nature of conversations recorded, indicating a specific role of horticultural therapists in palliative care. Conclusion: The study suggested a potential for individual therapy of patients with horticulture in palliative care as a part of integrated medicine that requires involvement of multiple medical disciplines.

AIMTo isolate and transplant germ cells from adult mouse testes for transplantation.

METHODSIn order to distinguish transplanted cells from endogenous cells of recipients, donor transgenic mice expressing green fluorescent protein (GFP) were used. Germ cells were collected from the donors at 10-12 weeks of age and spermatogonia were concentrated by percoll fractionation and transplanted into recipient seminiferous tubules that had been previously treated with busulfan at 5 weeks of age to remove the endogenous spermatogenic cells.

RESULTSTwenty weeks after the transplantation, a wide spread GFP signal was observed in the recipient seminiferous tubules. The presence of spermatogenesis and spermatozoa was confirmed in sections of 12 out of 14 testes transplanted (86 %). However, when germ cells were transplanted without concentration the success rate was zero (0/9).

CONCLUSIONGerm cells from adult mouse testes can be successfully transplanted into recipient seminiferous tubules if the cell population is rich in spermatogonia and the percoll fractionation is useful in obtaining such a cell population.

Animals ; Cell Fractionation ; Green Fluorescent Proteins ; Luminescent Proteins ; genetics ; Male ; Mice ; Mice, Inbred C57BL ; Seminiferous Tubules ; cytology ; physiology ; Spermatogenesis ; physiology ; Spermatogonia ; physiology ; transplantation ; Testis ; cytology