OBJECTIVES: Our objective was to investigate the effect of coculture system on in vitro fertilization and development of mice embryos. METHODS: F1 hybrid mice were superovulated with PMSG/hCG. Recruited oocytes were divided into three subgroups which are control(subgroup a), Vero cell coculture(subgroup b) and human amniocyte coculture subgroup (subgroup c) respectively. For 3 subgroups, we observed fertilization after 24 hours of incubation. In vitro fertilized early 2-cell stage embryos were allocated to Group I and in vivo fertilized early 2-cell stage embryos were allocated to Group II. Also, each group was divided into control (subgroup a), Vero cell coculture(subgroup b) and human amniocyte coculture subgroup(subgroup c) respectively. For 6 subgroups, we observed in vitro development to blastocyst and that to hatching blastocyst after 120 hours of incubation. RESULTS: As to recruited oocytes, the in vitro fatilization rate of subgroup a was significantly higher than that of subgroup b and subgroup c (P<0.05). In Group I, the developmental rates were not significantly different between the three subgroups. But in Group II, the developmental rates to hatching blastocysts of subgroup b and c were significantly higher than that of subgroup a (p<0.05). CONCLUSION: The development of the in vitro fertilized mouse embryos seemed to be independent of physiologic condition which we think coculture system may give to the embryos. The independent developmental capability of the in vitro fertilized embryos might be obtained through a certain intracellular mechanism for which there should be the need of many more investigations to be verified.
Animals ; Blastocyst ; Coculture Techniques* ; Embryonic Structures* ; Fertilization ; Fertilization in Vitro* ; Humans ; Mice* ; Oocytes* ; Vero Cells

Pulmonary blastoma is a rare lung tumor composed of epithelial and mesenchymal element : the latter element may show various pattern of differentiation toward mature tissue, such as cartilage, smooth muscle, and bone. Rhabdomyoblastic differentiation in pulmonary blastoma is quire rare. In th literature, only seven cases have been reported. We report a case of pulmonary blastoma with rhabdomyoblastic differentiation which occured in a 3 year old girl. Microscopically, cytoplasmic cross-striation was present. Immunohistochemically, strong positivity for vimentin and desmin was observed. Electron microscopy demonstrated A and I bands which documented rhabdomyoblastic differentiation.

Tumor angiogenesis has been shown to be associated with metastatic potentials in breast, lung and prostatic carcinomas. The relation between tumor angiogenesis and metastatic potentials in colorectal cancer has not been established to date. We analysed 66 selected patients with colorectal carcinomas (37 with and 29 without nodal metastases) for the microvessel density, tumor proliferation activity, and the clinicopathologic parameters including size, stage, histologic grade, growth pattern, presence of angioinvasion, perineural invasion and lymph node metastasis. For evaluation of microvessel density and tumor proliferative activity, the primary tumors were immunohistochemically stained for CD31 and PCNA. The mean microvessel counts (MVC) per 200X field were 99.27+/-23.28 and 131.35+/-31.48 in node-negative and node-positive patients, respectively. The PCNA index was 39.41+/-5.63% and 56.60+/-7.09% in node-negative and node-positive patients, respectively. MVC and PCNA index were higher in tumors with nodal metastasis (p=0.002, p<0.001), and also correlated each other (sr=0.33, p=0.007). Higher microvessel counts were seen in tumors with advanced stage (p=0.016). Tumor proliferation activity assessed by PCNA immunostaining was significantly higher in tumors with advanced stage, perineural invasion, angioinvasion, poor differentiation and larger size. From these results, MVC and PCNA index in colorectal carcinomas are assumed to be valuable prognostic parameters. Thus assessment of tumor angiogenesis and tumor cell proliferation in colorectal carcinomas may be helpful for the patients in need of aggressive therapy.
Breast ; Cell Proliferation* ; Colorectal Neoplasms* ; Humans ; Lung ; Lymph Nodes ; Microvessels ; Neoplasm Metastasis* ; Proliferating Cell Nuclear Antigen

No abstract available.
Biopsy, Fine-Needle* ; Carotid Body*

No abstract available.
Biopsy, Fine-Needle* ; Neuroblastoma*

No abstract available.
Blood Group Antigens* ; Humans

No abstract available.
Blood Group Antigens* ; Humans

Pheochromocytoma is originated from chromaffin cell of sympathetic nervous system and associated with other disease, such as neurofibromatosis, duodenal carcinoid, medullary thyroid cancer and parathyroid adenoma. Especially, pheochromocytoma is developed more than 50% in neurofibromatosis associated with hypertension. In such cases, several clinical features documented as more frequent bilateral phochromocytoma, more associated with other neuroendocrine tumors and thus more poor prognosis. We can observe the sustained hypertension despite of surgical resection of tumors in pheochromocytoma cases. One of the possible reason of post operative sustained hypertension is the pheochromocytoma originated from minor organ of Zukerkandl that was not resected during operation. Untreated or delayed treated cases with pheochromocytoma were often expired by complication of hypertension such as cerebrovascular hemorrhage, myocardial infarction, etc. Thus, in neurofibromatosis with hypertension, screening of pheochromocytorna is very important for the early detection of tumor and more favorable prognosis. Recently, We experienced a case of neurofibromatosis associated with bilateral pheochromocy-toma expired by cerebral hemorrhage during operation, so we report the case with literature review.
Carcinoid Tumor ; Cerebral Hemorrhage ; Chromaffin Cells ; Hemorrhage ; Hypertension ; Mass Screening ; Myocardial Infarction ; Neuroendocrine Tumors ; Neurofibromatoses* ; Parathyroid Neoplasms ; Pheochromocytoma* ; Prognosis ; Sympathetic Nervous System ; Thyroid Neoplasms

Even though the nonketotic hyperglycemia is a metabolic disorder, it complicates hemic- horea-hemiballism rarely. Moreover, generalized chorea-ballism associated with nonketotic hyperglycemia in diabetes mellitus is very rare, so it has not been reported in Korean literature. Although the precise pathophysiologic mechanisms of these disorders are still poorly understood, deficiency of gamma aminobutyric acid (GABA) in nonketotic hyperglycemia or reduced GABAnergic inhibition by striatal lesion may increase inhibitory output to subthalamic nucleus. These result loss of pallidal inhibition and produce contralateral hemichorea-hemiballism. The striatal lesions, such as transient ischemia with reactive astrocytosis or small amount of petechial hemorrhage, are related with changes of magnetic resonance image (MRI) findings presumably. We report a diabetic old woman who developed generalized chorea-ballismus as a very rare complication of nonketotic hyperglycemia. Her brain MRI showed high signal intensity in left lentiform nucleus and right pallidum on T1 weighted images and low signal intensity in bilateral putamen on T2 weighted images with highly enhanced corresponding lesions on T1 weighted enhancement images.
Brain ; Corpus Striatum ; Diabetes Mellitus* ; Female ; gamma-Aminobutyric Acid ; Gliosis ; Hemorrhage ; Humans ; Hyperglycemia* ; Ischemia ; Magnetic Resonance Imaging ; Putamen ; Subthalamic Nucleus

Although there have been many reports about the importance of the spleen's role in hepatic fibrogenesis, the exact mechanism is still uncertain. The author designed this study to evaluate splenic function on hepatic fibrogenesis. The degree of hepatic fibrosis and the population of splenocyte subsets were studied in the experimental animal model with fibrosis produced by injecting normal swine serum intra-peritoneally into Sprague-Dawley rats. The animals were divided into three groups; group A was subjected to injection of swine serum only, group B swine serum and complete Freund's adjuvant and group C swine serum and cyclosporin A. The experimental hepatic fibrogenesis by swine serum was augumented by coinjection with the adjuvant and inhibited by cyclosporin A. The study of the splenocyte subset revealed increased percentages of spienic B cell and CD4+ cell and a decreased percentage of CD8+ cell, and these changes of splenocyte subset were also augumented by the adjuvant and inhibited by cyclosporin A. The percent of monocytes was not significantly altered, although a tendancy of early decrease by the adjuvant was noted.
Rats ; Animals