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The antibacterial activity of acyl derivatives of tylosin were examined in vitro and in vivo. The 4"-acyl group in the acylated tylosins enhanced the antibacterial activity and antimycoplasmal activity against some macrolide-resistant strains. The orally administered 3-acetyl-4" -isovaleryltylosin produced a higher blood level in mice and rabbits than tylosin and a good therapeutic effect on the infection of Staphylococcus aureus Smith in mice.

Plasma pancreastatin (PST)-like immunoreactivity in normal subjects and patients with various diseases was estimated by a RIA, using antiserum raised against a synthetic C-terminal peptide of human PST deduced from the sequence of human chromogranin-A. The mean level +/- SEM was 13.2 +/- 0.6 pmol/L in normal subjects, but was significantly higher in patients with chronic renal failure (526.7 +/- 48.5). An immunoreactive form corresponding to a human PST-like sequence [human chromogranin-A-(250-301)] and a larger form were detected by gel filtration of plasma from these patients, suggesting accumulation of the larger molecular form in these patients. A significant increase in PST-like immunoreactivity was also found in patients with liver cirrhosis (20.8 +/- 3.0 pmol/L), but not in patients with noninsulin-dependent diabetes mellitus, chronic pancreatitis, or pancreatic cancer. Elevated levels were found in 16 of the 21 patients with small cell lung carcinoma examined. High levels were also found in 3 of 11 patients with islet cell tumor.

We observed the presence of the novel pituitary protein "7B2" and its release in the bovine adrenal medulla. The 7B2 concentration (mean +/- SEM) in extracts of the bovine adrenal medulla was 952 +/- 155 pg/mg tissue (n = 6). 7B2 was distributed in the chromaffin granule fraction prepared from the bovine adrenal medulla and was released by high K+ and/or nicotine from cultured cells of the bovine adrenal medulla. Co-release of 7B2 with catecholamine induced by nicotine from the cultured bovine chromaffin cells was also observed. In an analysis of the bovine adrenal medulla chromaffin granule fraction on gel permeation chromatography, there was a major peak with an apparent molecular weight of 45,000, whereas a major peak with an apparent molecular weight of 20,000 was found in that on sodium dodecyl sulfate-polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis. On reverse-phase HPLC, a major peak with a retention time of 35 min was observed in the bovine chromaffin granule fraction and in the bovine anterior pituitary extract. These findings indicate that 7B2 is a secretory protein in the bovine adrenal medulla. The possibility that 7B2 might be released with catecholamine, possibly in response to stress, warrants investigation.

Lysyl oxidase was purified to about 3,000- to 5,000-fold from epiphyseal cartilages of chick embryos. Purification was accomplished by sequential column chromatographies of collagen-sepharose, DEAE-Cellulose and Sephacryl S-200. The molecular weight of the most purified enzyme from 4 different isomers as determined by gel-filtration technique using Sephacryl S-200 column was 32,000 and the purified enzyme contained one copper atom per mole. When the enzyme (copper content: 1.12 g-atom per mole) was incubated with 1 X 10(-4)M cadmium, followed by gel-filtration, 0.12 g-atom of cadmium was incorporated into the enzyme per mole and consequently 0.23 g-atom of prosthetic copper was released from the enzyme (loss of 21%) with a substantial decrease of the enzyme activity by 22.8%, but 50% loss of copper caused by treatment with 1 X 10(-3)M cadmium did not further decrease the activity. When the enzyme was incubated with 1 X 10(-4)M zinc, 0.38 g-atom of zinc bound to the enzyme and 65% copper was lost, resulting in 34% loss of the activity. Loss of 84% copper (experiment with 1 X 10(-3)M zinc), however, led to 47% inhibition. These findings indicate the existence of metal-metal interaction in the enzyme that can significantly influence the activity, though inhibition of the enzyme was not strictly proportional to either the amount of copper released or the amount of cadmium or zinc bound to the enzyme.

A case of hyperthyroidism associated with pancytopenia has been reported. A 51-year-old woman was hospitalized for the investigation of struma, peripheral edema and fatigue. Hormonal studies revealed hyperfunction of the thyroid gland. Hematological examinations showed normocytic normochromic anemia, leukopenia and thrombocytopenia with hyperplastic bone marrow and increased serum iron levels. Elevations of the anti-thyroidal antibody and anti-microsomal antibody, and a decrease in CH50 titer were observed. A Coombs' test and anti-leukocytic antibody and anti-thrombocytic antibody tests were negative. The numbers of erythrocyte and thrombocyte were normalized after the administration of methimazole for three months as were the findings of the bone marrow and the serum iron level. However, leukopenia was maintained due to the effect of methimazole. It should be suggested that the etiology of pancytopenia might be due to hyperthyroidism. Although the mechanism of pancytopenia in a patient with hyperthyroidism is unclear, it might be related to the reduced life-span of whole blood components and/or partially to the autoimmune mechanism.

We studied the response of plasma 7B2 to LHRH and ovine corticotropin releasing hormone (o-CRH) in healthy young subjects. The plasma 7B2 concentration significantly increased from 78.3 +/- 7.5 (mean +/- SEM) to 102.0 +/- 6.0 ng/L (142.7 +/- 12.7% of the basal value; P less than 0.01) following iv administration of LHRH in seven young subjects. On the other hand, no increase in plasma 7B2 was found after iv administration of o-CRH in six young subjects. These results, together with our previous report of no increase in plasma 7B2 after administration of TRH and GHRH in young subjects, suggest that pituitary 7B2 may be present in gonadotrophs and be released only by LHRH in physiological conditions.

Sialyl stage-specific mouse embryonic antigen (SSEA-1) levels were measured in pleural effusions obtained from patients with lung cancer and benign pulmonary disease, using a solid-phase immunoradiometric sandwich assay. The mean (+/- SEM) levels (unit/ml) of pleural fluid sialyl SSEA-1 were 3620 +/- 1419 in adenocarcinoma (n = 25), 123 +/- 30 in nonadenocarcinoma (n = 13) and 95 +/- 19 in benign pulmonary disease (n = 13), respectively. The positive rate was 64% in adenocarcinoma, 7.7% in nonadenocarcinoma, and 0% in benign pulmonary disease, respectively, when a cutoff level was defined as the mean + 3 SD value (300 unit/ml) based on pleural fluid sialyl SSEA-1 levels in benign pulmonary disease. There was a significant positive correlation between pleural fluid levels of sialyl SSEA-1 and those of carcinoembryonic antigen in adenocarcinoma patients (r = 0.8246, P less than 0.01). Pleural fluid sialyl SSEA-1 levels correlated with cytologic findings in adenocarcinoma patients. These observations suggest that sialyl SSEA-1 in pleural effusion is a useful marker to discriminate malignant from nonmalignant and adenocarcinoma from nonadenocarcinoma of the lung.

A sensitive and specific radioimmunoassay (RIA) was developed for a novel pituitary protein that we recently isolated from human and porcine pituitary gland and designated 7B2. By employing this RIA, we were able to detect and assay this novel protein in different rat tissue extracts. The concentrations of 7B2 in rat anterior pituitary lobe, neurointermediate lobe, hypothalamus, adrenal medulla and thyroid gland were 10,400 +/- 804; 6,190 +/- 908; 773 +/- 50; 697 +/- 83 and 1,368 +/- 116 pg/mg tissue (wet weight, n = 10, mean +/- SEM), respectively. However, the concentrations of 7B2 were lower than 30 pg/mg tissue in extracts of pancreas, ileum and colon, and were below the sensitivity of the RIA in extracts of liver, kidney, spleen, lung, adrenal cortex and testis. Gel permeation chromatography of extracts of anterior pituitary lobe, neurointermediate lobe, hypothalamus, adrenal medulla and thyroid gland on Sephadex G-100 revealed that most of the immunoreactive (Ir)-7B2 has an apparent molecular weight of 45,000-50,000. Subsequent dissociation of this Ir-7B2 by polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis containing sodium dodecyl sulfate (SDS) yielded an Ir-7B2 with an apparent molecular weight of around 19,000. In addition, high K+ concentration (50 mM) induced the release of Ir-7B2 from cultured cells of both rat anterior pituitary and neurointermediate lobe. Finally, Ir-7B2 was detected in the neurosecretory granule fraction prepared from porcine neurointermediate lobe. These results indicate that 7B2 may be a novel secretory protein in the pituitary gland.

Chromogranin B 420-493 (GAWK)-like immunoreactivity (chromogranin B (420-493)-LI) was determined by radioimmunoassay using two different rabbit antisera, one raised against chromogranin B (420-436) (GAWK 1-17) (Ab420-436) and the other against chromogranin B 439-457 (GAWK 20-38) (Ab439-457), in bovine and human tissues. Chromogranin B (420-493)-LI was present in the bovine adrenal medulla chromaffin granules as well as in the anterior pituitary gland and was released from the cultured bovine chromaffin cells by stimulation with high K+ or nicotine. Chromogranin B (420-493)-LI present in the bovine tissues was detected using Ab420-436 but was not detected using Ab439-457. In the human tissues, chromogranin B (420-493)-LI was detected using Ab420-436 as well as Ab439-457. This suggests that the amino acid sequence of this region (chromogranin B 439-457) is different between human and bovine. On the gel permeation chromatography, chromogranin B (420-493)-LI was eluted at the void volume in the bovine adrenal medulla and at an apparent molecular weight of 4000 in the anterior pituitary gland. On the reverse-phase high-performance liquid chromatography, multiple peaks of chromogranin B (420-493)-LI was detected in the bovine adrenal medulla while one component of chromogranin B (420-493)-LI was found in the anterior pituitary gland. These results suggest that chromogranin B is processed into small fragments of chromogranin B (420-493)-LIs and that this processing is tissue-specific.

Using a specific radioimmunoassay, we measured concentrations of plasma 7B2 (a novel pituitary polypeptide) immunoreactivity (7B2-IR) in normal human subjects, patients with chronic renal failure and those with liver cirrhosis. Mean (+/- SEM) values of plasma 7B2-IR in normal healthy men and women were 55.8 +/- 1.2 pg/ml (n = 266) and 56.1 +/- 0.9 pg/ml (n = 408), respectively. The elevation of plasma 7B2-IR showed a relationship with age of the subjects, in both men (r = 0.39, t = 6.86, p less than 0.001) and women (r = 0.35, t = 7.44, p less than 0.001). Plasma 7B2-IR concentrations were elevated in patients with chronic renal failure (536 +/- 45 pg/ml, Mean +/- SEM, n = 10) as well as those in liver cirrhosis (95 +/- 10 pg/ml, Mean +/- SEM, n = 15) compared to values in normal subjects, suggesting that 7B2 is mainly eliminated through the kidney and is partly metabolized in the liver.

The accumulation of (2''R)-4'-O-tetrahydropyranyladriamycin (THP) was studied in rats received intravenous administration of 14C-THP at a dose of 0.5 mg/kg/day for 14 consecutive days by determining blood and tissue levels and the excretion of the radioactivity. The radioactivity levels in plasma and blood cells after the multiple administration were higher than those after single administration. The half-life of the radioactivity after the multiple administration was longer in the blood cells but not in the plasma than the half-life after a single administration. Tissue levels of the radioactivity after the multiple injection were 2 to 4 times as high as the levels after a single injection except for the brain and testes in which a large accumulation of the radioactivity was observed. However, little accumulation of unlabeled THP was found in most tissues when determined by HPLC. The accumulation of radioactivity in tissues, therefore, was due to metabolites of THP. The disposition of 14C-THP was also examined in rats which had previously received unlabeled THP (0.5 mg/kg/day) for 13 days. The pretreatment did not affect the disposition of 14C-THP seriously, although the pretreatment raised tissue levels slightly and a rebound of plasma level of 14C-THP, and lowered the fecal excretion ratio. No induction of hepatic drug metabolizing enzymes was observed in rats after repeated administrations of THP for consecutive 14 days.

A method for measuring 4'-O-tetrahydropyranyladriamycin (THP) and its metabolites in biological samples are described. By reversed-phase high performance liquid chromatography using fluorescence detection, THP and its metabolites were all separated on a single chromatogram within 18 minutes. A linear calibration curve was obtained up to 2,000 ng/ml of THP in plasma. The recovery of THP in the analysis was more than 95% above 5 ng/ml and 87.1% even at 1.25 ng/ml. Thus the lower limit was 1.25 ng/ml in biological samples. Blood levels and urinary excretion in mice and dogs were satisfactory measured by this analytical method.

Recently large amounts of Wallemia sebi, a species of osmophilic fungi, have been detected in house dust by low water activity media. The allergenic activity of W. sebi was examined by skin prick tests and radioallergosorbent tests (RAST) in 74 asthmatic patients (mean age 11.7, range 6-32). Aspergillus fumigatus and house dust were used for comparison. In the skin prick tests, W. sebi extract, A. fumigatus extract and house dust extract elicited positive reactions in 4 (5.4%), 4 (5.4%) and 51 (68.9%) patients, respectively. RAST showed positive results in 14 subjects (18.9%) for W. sebi extract, in 8 (10.8%) for A. fumigatus extract and in 59 (79.7%) for house dust extract. These results indicated that some asthmatic individuals showed immediate type hypersensitivity to W. sebi, which means this fungal species may be important as a causative agent in atopic diseases. Additionally, the authors measured W. sebi-specific IgG by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay in asthmatic (n = 28) and non-atopic patients (n = 28). W. sebi-specific IgG was found in sera from all subjects in each group. W. sebi-specific IgG in asthmatics (mean +/- SD = 0.686 +/- 0.160) was significantly higher than that in non-atopics (mean +/- SD = 0.572 +/- 0.188) (p less than 0.01).

The pharmacokinetics and physiological disposition of a novel anthracyclines, (2''R)-4'-O-tetrahydropyranyladriamycin (THP) were studied in dogs by an HPLC analysis. The THP administered intravenously (1.5 mg/kg) disappeared rapidly from the plasma immediately after an injection of the drug. The plasma level of THP was lowered in a triphasic pattern up to 24 hours and was simulated by a three-compartment open model in which the half-lives of alpha-, beta- and gamma-phase were calculated to be 0.0116 hour, 0.152 hour and 7.02 hours, respectively. The blood cell level of THP was about 10 times as high as the plasma level during the observation. In the study of tissue distribution of THP 2 and 8 hours after the administration, the highest concentration of THP was found in the spleen and lung and these concentrations were diminished quickly. However, in the lymph nodes and bone marrow concentrations of THP increased with a lapse of time. THP and its metabolites were excreted in the bile by 2.7% of dose during 8 hours in the bile-cannulated dogs. Urinary recovery of THP and its metabolites was about 1.3% of the dose up to 72 hours. In these experiment, THP was metabolized to THP-OH and ADM, and to aglycones which were excreted in conjugated forms. The results obtained from a similar study on ADM were compared and discussed.

Useful cell lines actively producing hormone (s) have been rare, especially those of human origin. A C-cell tumor human cell line abundantly producing calcitonin and related hormones, TT-cell, has proved remarkably useful for the study of endocrine tumors as their representative model. We proved intracellular presence of translation and transcript products of calcitonin and calcitonin gene related peptide gene by immunostain, radioimmunoassay, immunoelectron microscopy, Northern blot and in situ hybridization. We also demonstrated remarkably enhanced secretion of the hormones and chromogranins by the stimulation of protein kinase activators such as phorbol ester, forskolin, and calcium-ionophore.