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A spontaneous form of renal cell carcinoma occurs in rats that arises as the result of the inheritance of a mutation in a single autosomal gene. Cytogenetic analysis was performed on seven cell lines and four primary tumor cell preparations derived from this hereditary form of renal cell carcinoma. Banded karyotypes prepared from these seven lines exhibited loss and/or partial deletion of both chromosomes 5 and 6. Translocations involving chromosome 4, resulting in a net loss of genetic material located near the centromere (4q11), were observed in three of the cell lines. Monosomy, translocation, and breakage of chromosome 5 involving band 5q31 and monosomy and partial deletion of chromosome 6 involving band 6q22-q24 were independently observed in primary tumor cells from three of four tumors examined. Monosomy of chromosome 4 was observed in cells from a single tumor. The smallest region of deletion of chromosome 6 common to all the cell lines and tumor cells was 6q24, suggesting the presence of a tumor suppressor gene at this locus. These results indicate that loss of genes located on chromosomes 4, 5, and 6, possibly tumor suppressor gene(s), may be important for tumor development and/or progression in rat renal cell carcinoma and is consistent with the hypothesis that a gene locus on one of these chromosomes may be the site of the original predisposing mutation.

Identification of specific chromosomal aberrations in transformed mesothelial cells is an important step in elucidating the mechanism of transformation of these cells which are targets for occupational and environmental carcinogens, such as asbestos fibers. Cytogenetic analysis of normal rat mesothelial cell lines revealed that at late passage (p20-p34), trisomy of chromosome 1 was present in greater than 80% of the cells in four spontaneously immortalized lines examined, whereas at early passage (p8-p10), only 15-44% of the cells had trisomy 1. Trisomy of chromosome 1 had increased in the population as a function of passage, suggesting that cells with trisomy 1 had a selective growth advantage under in vitro culture conditions and that this alteration was associated with transformation. A commercially available rat mesothelial cell line (4/4 RM4, ATCC), was also found to have a duplication of a portion of the long arm of chromosome 1. To determine if chromosome 1 alterations have relevance to the transformed phenotype in vivo, a neoplastic cell line was established from a spontaneous rat mesothelioma. At passage 15, trisomy of chromosome 1 was observed in 26% of the metaphases in this line. However, when these cells were injected into nude mice, 99% of the cells from the resulting tumor contained an additional copy of chromosome 1. Therefore, trisomy 1 also conferred a selective growth advantage in vivo and/or was associated with the malignant subpopulation in the tumor derived cell line. These studies suggest that chromosome 1 contains a gene(s) involved in transformation of rat mesothelial cells.

Cancer of the gallbladder is radioresistant. When a case of such was found inoperable, she was subjected to radiotherapy combined with aclarubicin and neocarzinostatin. Therapeutic effectiveness was confirmed at autopsy as she later succumbed to uterine cervical cancer. Thus, the present radiochemotherapeutic regimen would probably provide a means of overcoming those radioresistant inoperable malignancies. Intravenous administrations of appropriate antibiotics such as azthreonam and reniran may probably be helpful in the prevent ion and treatment of septic peritonitis possible during the course of reinforced radiotherapy of the abdomen.

Cancer of the gallbladder is radioresistant. When a 59-year-old woman was found to have an inoperable cancer of the gallbladder, she was subjected to radiotherapy combined with aclarubicin and neocarzinostatin. Therapeutic effectiveness was confirmed at autopsy as she later succumbed to uterine cervical cancer. Thus, the present radiochemotherapeutic regimen would probably provide a means of overcoming those radioresistant inoperable malignancies.

Aztreonam (AZT) was evaluated for its clinical efficacy in 6 patients with pelvic peritonitis. In all the cases, AZT was administered by intravenous injection, and the duration of treatment ranged from 4 to 12 days. Daily dose was 2 g in 4 cases, and 4 g in the remaining 2 cases. Surgical treatment was necessary in 2 cases, whereas in another 2 cases, either LMOX or ABPC was administered in addition to AZT. The clinical results was excellent or good in 5 out of 6 cases. Side effects possibly attributed to AZT were diarrhea in 2 cases and slight increase of GOT and GPT in 1 case, although they disappeared promptly afterward.

With an improved N-banding technique, the location of nucleolar organizing region was determined in 27 kinds of material including mammals, a marsupial, birds, amphibians, fishes, an insect and plants. In most cases the N-bands were clearly located on certain specific regions of chromosomes, such as the secondary constriction, satellite, centromere, telomere and heterochromatic segment, while in some species they were detected as very minute bodies distributed over many chromosomes. From the available cytological and biochemical data it was suggested that the N-bands represent certain structural non-histone proteins specifically linked to nucleolar organizers in various eukaryotic chromosomes.

Pregnancy and delivery of two patients with Wilson's disease are reported. Case 1 was a 20-year-old housewife who had been taking D-penicillamine fore more than 10 years and had remained asymptomatic except an episode of dissociative reaction. She apparently survived longer than any of her three sisters who died of the same disease. She discontinued the use of D-penicillamine by herself when she was at the 22nd week of pregnancy. Case 2 was a 32-year-old housewife who developed an episode of mental disorder of short circuit reaction type with mild neurological symptoms and Kayser-Fleischer rings after the prolonged interval of medication since the first pregnancy and delivery. Three months after the complete recovery of neuropsychiatric symptoms she was at the 12th week of pregnancy and withheld penicillamine from herself. During the pregnancy they had not revealed any exacerbation in terms of clinical and laboratory findings. Each of them was delivered of a healthy baby. Although the pregnancy and delivery of both patients were successful, the authors recommended that they should not prolong the interval of medication to protect themselves against the onset or relapse of the illness.