BACKGROUND: Recent reports suggest that Epstein-Barr virus (EBV) may play an important role in such a wide spectrum of human neoplasia. Recently, peripheral T cell lymphomas and particularly, angiocentric lymphomas (ACL), increasingly are reported to be associated with EBV.Nasal-type and nasal T/NK cell lymphoma (TNKL) have recently been reported to comprise most of ACLs. The prognosis of these tumors has been extremely poor. OBJECTIVE: The purpose of this study was to investigate EBV association in primary or secondary cutaneous T-cell lymphoproliferative disorders and to identify any prognostic association. METHODS: Thirty six patients with primary or secondary cutaneous T-cell lymphoproliferative (CTCL) disorders were examined to evaluate the presence of Epstein-Barr virus using in situ hybridization for EBV-encoded RNA (EBER). RESULTS: EBER was detected in tumor cells in one third of the total cases (13/36); 4/4 secondary skin lymphoma from nasal TNKL, 8/8 primary cutaneous nasal type TNKLs and 1/5 mycosis fungoides (MF).EBER was not detected in the following disease: 6 cases of anaplastic large cell lymphomas (ALCL) including 2 cases of probable NK-like T cell lineage, 3 lymphomatoid papulosis, 2 CD56 (-) T cell ACLs and 7 subcutaneous panniculitic T-cell lymphomas (SPTL) by Revised European-American Lymphoma (REAL) classification and recent concept of further classification into NK-cell lineage. One case of T-cell pseudolymphoma as a negative control was also negative in EBER. CONCLUSION: High incidence of EBV was observed in primary or secondary CTCLs in Koreans, with predilection for nasal and nasal type TNKL. In MFs, an erythrodermic MF with fatal outcome was associated with EBV and the EBV detection might reflect worse prognosis in MFs as seen in an aggressive course of nasal and nasal type TNKLs.
Cell Lineage ; Classification ; Fatal Outcome ; Herpesvirus 4, Human* ; Humans ; In Situ Hybridization ; Incidence ; Lymphoma ; Lymphoma, Large-Cell, Anaplastic ; Lymphoma, T-Cell ; Lymphoma, T-Cell, Peripheral ; Lymphomatoid Papulosis ; Lymphoproliferative Disorders* ; Mycosis Fungoides ; Prognosis ; Pseudolymphoma ; RNA* ; Skin ; T-Lymphocytes*

Id (Inhibitor of Differentiation) proteins belong to a family of transcriptional modulators that are characterized by a helix loop helix (HLH) region but lack the basic amino acid domain. Id proteins are known to interact with basic helix-loop-helix (bHLH) transcription factors and function as their negative regulators. The negative role of Id proteins has been well demonstrated in muscle development and some in neuronal cells. In this study, we investigated the effect of Id on the function of BETA2/NeuroD, a bHLH transcription factor responsible for neuron and endocrine cell specific gene expression. cDNAs of several Id isoforms were isolated by yeast two-hybrid system using the bHLH domain of E47, a ubiquitous bHLH partner as a bait. Id proteins expressed in COS M6 cells, were found in both cytosolic and nuclear fractions. Electrophoretic mobility shift assay showed that coexpression of Id2 proteins inhibited BETA2/ NeuroD binding to its target sequence, E-box. Id2 inhibited E-box mediated gene expression in a dose dependent manner in BETA2/NeuroD expressing HIT cells. Id coexpressed with BETA2/NeuroD in HeLa cells, inhibited the stimulatory activity of BETA2/NeuroD. These results suggest that Id proteins may negatively regulate tissue specific gene expression induced by BETA2/NeuroD in neuroendocrine cells and the inhibitory role of Id proteins during differentiation may be conserved in various tissues.
Amino Acid Sequence ; Animals ; Base Sequence ; Binding Sites ; Cells, Cultured ; DNA-Binding Proteins/genetics/*metabolism ; E-Box Elements ; Gene Expression Regulation/physiology ; Helix-Loop-Helix Motifs ; Human ; Islets of Langerhans/cytology/metabolism ; Mice ; Molecular Sequence Data ; Nerve Tissue Proteins/genetics/*metabolism ; Neurons/cytology/metabolism ; Organ Specificity ; Transcription Factors/genetics/*metabolism ; Two-Hybrid System Techniques

Heterotrimeric G proteins mediate signals generated by neurotransmitters and hormones. Among G proteins, Go is found in a large quantity in brain and growth cone membranes of neurons. In spite of its abundance in neurons, the role of Go is not fully understood. In the previous study, we showed that transient expression of the alpha subunit of Go (alpha o) modulated neurite outgrowth in F11 cells. It is possible that transient transfection may cause transient accumulation of the protein, which itself may alter differentiation process in non-specific manner. In this study, we determined that modulation of neurite outgrowth by alpha o was specific by evaluating the effect of alpha o in stably transformed F11 cells. F11 cells stably expressing the wild type alpha o (alphao(wt)) and a constitutively active form of alpha o (alpha oQ205L) were established. In normal F11 cells and alpha o-stable cell lines, the neurite length was measured in the presence of dibutyryl cAMP. In normal F11 cells, the average length of neurites was 57.9+/-7.0 microgram. In alpha o(wt)- and alpha o(Q205L)-expressing cells, the average length were 34.4+/-5.1 microgram 30.5+/-3.6 microgram, respectively. Thus, stable expression of alpha o(wt) and alpha o(Q205L) caused a decrease in neurite outgrowth by 40.6%, 47.3% respectively. This result indicates that modulation of neurite by alpha o was specific to the function of alpha o but not due to accumulation of exogenous proteins.
Brain ; Cell Line ; Growth Cones ; GTP-Binding Proteins ; Heterotrimeric GTP-Binding Proteins ; Membranes ; Neurites* ; Neurons ; Neurotransmitter Agents ; Transfection

PURPOSE: This study attempted to characterize the muscle derived stem cells isolated from the primary cultured skeletal muscle of the rat gastrocnemius muscle; in addition, we modified the preplate method and then compared this to the original preplate method. MATERIALS AND METHODS: The hind limbs (gastrocnemius muscles) were removed from a 3-6 week olds SD-rat and the bone was dissected away. The muscle mass was finely minced and chopped using razor blades. In an original preplate method, the cells were dissociated using a triple enzyme mixture (collagenase XI, dipase and trypsin) for 1 hour at 37degreesC. The muscle cell extract was preplated on culture flasks as described by Dr. Qu (Qu et al., 1998). The pp1-pp4 cells were referred to as the early plate (EP) cells, and the pp5-pp6 cells were referred to as the late plate (LP) cells. When we modified the preplate method, the pp1-pp2 cells were called the early plate (EP) cells and the pp3-pp4 cells were called to late plate (LP) cells. The phenotypical characteristics of EP and LP cells were compared by immunostaining and FACS. RESULTS: In the original preplate methods, the early plate (EP) cells were mixed with myogenic cells (mostly fibroblasts, <15% desmin + cells) and the LP cells were highly purified muscle derived cells that contain pure myogenic cells (>90% desmin + cells). Yet in the modified preplate method, the muscle derived stem cells were determined to be CD34 (+ or -), CD45- and desmin- cells by immunohistochemical staining and FACS. CONCLUSIONS: In original methods, the LP cells exhibited stem cell properties (CD34+, less than 30%), and they were not from a hematogeous origin (CD45-), but rather, they were from a myogenic origin (desmin+). Yet in the modified preplate method, we purified the LP cells much earlier than the original method. The LP cells displayed CD34+(more than 50%), and CD45-; thus, we isolated more primitive (desmin-) cells.
Animals ; Desmin ; Extremities ; Fibroblasts ; Muscle Cells ; Muscle, Skeletal* ; Rats* ; Stem Cells*

PURPOSE: This study attempted to characterize the muscle derived stem cells isolated from the primary cultured skeletal muscle of the rat gastrocnemius muscle; in addition, we modified the preplate method and then compared this to the original preplate method. MATERIALS AND METHODS: The hind limbs (gastrocnemius muscles) were removed from a 3-6 week olds SD-rat and the bone was dissected away. The muscle mass was finely minced and chopped using razor blades. In an original preplate method, the cells were dissociated using a triple enzyme mixture (collagenase XI, dipase and trypsin) for 1 hour at 37degreesC. The muscle cell extract was preplated on culture flasks as described by Dr. Qu (Qu et al., 1998). The pp1-pp4 cells were referred to as the early plate (EP) cells, and the pp5-pp6 cells were referred to as the late plate (LP) cells. When we modified the preplate method, the pp1-pp2 cells were called the early plate (EP) cells and the pp3-pp4 cells were called to late plate (LP) cells. The phenotypical characteristics of EP and LP cells were compared by immunostaining and FACS. RESULTS: In the original preplate methods, the early plate (EP) cells were mixed with myogenic cells (mostly fibroblasts, <15% desmin + cells) and the LP cells were highly purified muscle derived cells that contain pure myogenic cells (>90% desmin + cells). Yet in the modified preplate method, the muscle derived stem cells were determined to be CD34 (+ or -), CD45- and desmin- cells by immunohistochemical staining and FACS. CONCLUSIONS: In original methods, the LP cells exhibited stem cell properties (CD34+, less than 30%), and they were not from a hematogeous origin (CD45-), but rather, they were from a myogenic origin (desmin+). Yet in the modified preplate method, we purified the LP cells much earlier than the original method. The LP cells displayed CD34+(more than 50%), and CD45-; thus, we isolated more primitive (desmin-) cells.
Animals ; Desmin ; Extremities ; Fibroblasts ; Muscle Cells ; Muscle, Skeletal* ; Rats* ; Stem Cells*

Skeletal muscle contains several precursor cells that generate muscle, bone, cartilage and blood cells. Although there are reports that skeletal muscle-derived cells can trans-differentiate into neural-lineage cells, methods for isolating precursor cells, and procedures for successful neural induction have not been fully established. Here, we show that the preplate cell isolation method, which separates cells based on their adhesion characteristics, permits separation of cells possessing neural precursor characteristics from other cells of skeletal muscle tissues. We term these isolated cells skeletal muscle-derived neural precursor cells (SMNPs). The isolated SMNPs constitutively expressed neural stem cell markers. In addition, we describe effective neural induction materials permitting the neuron-like cell differentiation of SMNPs. Treatment with retinoic acid or forskolin facilitated morphological changes in SMNPs; they differentiated into neuron-like cells that possessed specific neuronal markers. These results suggest that the preplate isolation method, and treatment with retinoic acid or forskolin, may provide vital assistance in the use of SMNPs in cell-based therapy of neuronal disease.
Animals ; Antigens, Differentiation/metabolism ; Cell Adhesion ; *Cell Differentiation ; Cell Lineage ; Cell Separation ; Cells, Cultured ; Forskolin/pharmacology ; Mice ; Mice, Inbred ICR ; Muscle, Skeletal/*cytology/metabolism ; Neurons/*cytology/metabolism ; Stem Cells/*cytology/metabolism ; Tretinoin/pharmacology

G proteins mediate signal transductions generated by neurotransmitters and hormones. Among G proteins, Go is found in a large quantity in brain, but its precise role in the nervous tissue is not fully understood. In addition, Go is one of the major proteins in growth cone membranes, which implies an important role of Go in the regulation of axon outgrowth. In this study, we attempted to determine the role of Go in axon outgrowth. We overexpressed the a subunit of Go (ao) in F11 neuroblatoma cells and examined the effect of ao on the neurite outgrowth. In F11 cells, dibutyryl cAMP increased neurite outgrowth remarkably upto 0.1 mM in a concentration dependent manner, but in a less degree at higher concentration. In the presence of 0.5 mM dibutyryl cAMP, the differentiation of F11 cells was almost saturated and the cells exhibited a typical neuronal morphology. Overexpression of ao caused a reduction of neurite outgrowth by 77.4% in length while increasing the number of neurites by 2.2 fold. The average neurite length was 38.9+/-12.5 mm in the ao-overexpressing F11 cells but 172.3+/-25.9 mm in the untransfected cells The total number of nurites per cell was 5.6+/-0.4 in the ao-overexpressing cells but 2.5 0.2 in the untransfected cells. This result suggests that Go may play an important role in growth cone collapse during neuronal cell differentiation.
Axons ; Brain ; Cell Differentiation ; Growth Cones ; GTP-Binding Proteins ; Membranes ; Neurites* ; Neurons ; Neurotransmitter Agents ; Signal Transduction

Neurogenin1 (Ngn1) is a basic helix-loop-helix (bHLH) transcription factor expressed in neuronal precursors in the developing nervous system. The function of Ngn1 in neurogenesis has been shown in various aspects. In this study, we investigated the neurogenic potential of Ngn1 using neuroblastoma cell line, F11, which could be induced to differentiate into neurons in the presence of cAMP. To investigate the expression of Ngn1, expression vectors for the full-length and the C- terminal deletion mutant of Ngn1 were constructed and their transactivation potential was verified using reporter gene containing the E-box sequence. Overexpression of the full-length Ngn1 induced neurite outgrowth in F11 cells in the absence of cAMP. A C-terminal deletion mutant, Ngn1(1-197), inhibited neurite outgrowth induced by cAMP in F11 cells. These results indicate that the Ngn1 plays an important role in differentiation of neuroblastoma cells and the C terminus of Ngn1 is essential for the efficient differentiation.
Blotting, Western ; Cell Differentiation ; Cell Line, Tumor ; Cloning, Molecular ; Cyclic AMP/metabolism ; DNA, Complementary/genetics ; Gene Expression Regulation, Neoplastic ; Helix-Loop-Helix Motifs ; Human ; Nerve Tissue Proteins/chemistry/*genetics/*metabolism ; Neurites/*metabolism ; Neuroblastoma/genetics/*metabolism/*pathology ; Trans-Activation (Genetics) ; Transcription Factors/chemistry/*genetics/*metabolism

PURPOSE: We tried to find out an adequate sol-gel transition temperature of female urethra for the injection of thermosensitive polymer in incontinent patients. We measured the temperatures of three portions of female urethra and bladder. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Total of 53 female incontinent patients participated, excluding those with any kind of infection which could lead to an elevation of body temperature. The basal body temperatures were checked at the axilla, tympanic membrane and mouth. Temperatures of the proximal(U1), middle(U2), distal(U3) urethra and bladder(B) were measured by a digital thermometer under a lithotomy position. We divided our patients into 3 groups which were patients in follicular phase(F), luteal phase(L) and menopause(M). The temperature difference between the 4 portions of the urethra(D1; between U1 and U2, D2; between U2 and U3, D3: between U3 and B), was also analyzed. Statistics was done by the ANOVA of repeated measures, one-way ANOVA and Pearson correlation coefficient. RESULTS: The mean age of the patients was 48.1+/-10.7 years. The mean temperature of B, U1, U2, and U3 groups were 37.1+/-0.25 degreesC, 37.0+/-0.25 degreesC, 36.9+/-0.24 degreesC, and 36.7+/-0.25 degreesC. The mean temperature difference of D1, D2, and D3 were 0.2471+/-0.089 degreesC, 0.079+/-0.066 degreesC and 0.066+/-0.058 degreesC. The Pearson correlation coefficient of D1, D2 and D3 were 0.938, 0.965 and 0.970. This showed there was a constant temperature increase from distal urethra to bladder step by step. The number of patients in F, L and M groups were 25(47.2%), 10(18.9%) and 18(33.9%). There was no significant urethral temperature difference at each point(U1, U2, U3 and B) among these three groups. CONCLUSION: There was a constant temperature increase from distal urethra to bladder step by step. This is a baseline study for female urethra for future clinical study. We suggest that our data can be used as deciding the sol-gel transition temperature for thermosensitive polymer injection into incontinent female urethra.
Axilla ; Basal Bodies ; Body Temperature ; Female ; Humans ; Mouth ; Polymers ; Thermometers ; Transition Temperature ; Tympanic Membrane ; Urethra ; Urinary Bladder*

Cimetidine is a well-tolerated H2-receptor antagonist widely used in the treatment of gastroduodenal diseases and allergic reactions such as urticaria. Numerous adverse reactions have been attributed to cimetidine, which is understandable in view of the attention and scrutiny the drug has received, its widespread use, and its systemic effects. The incidence of general side effects is less than 2%. The drug has caused an array of central nervous system disturbances, gynecomastia, and rarely hepatotoxicity, interstitial nephritis, bradycardia, hypotension, and even cardiac arrest. Cardiovascular side effects are extremely rare and have occurred during rapid intravenous injection. We report a case of anaphylactic shock after rapid intravenous injection of cimetidine.
Anaphylaxis* ; Bradycardia ; Central Nervous System ; Cimetidine* ; Gynecomastia ; Heart Arrest ; Hypersensitivity ; Hypotension ; Incidence ; Injections, Intravenous* ; Male ; Nephritis, Interstitial ; Urticaria