Correlated evolution of phenotypic plasticity in metamorphic timing.

Phenotypic plasticity has long been a focus of research, but the mechanisms of its evolution remain controversial. Many amphibian species exhibit a similar plastic response in metamorphic timing in response to multiple environmental factors; therefore, more than one environmental factor has likely influenced the evolution of plasticity. However, it is unclear whether the plastic responses to different factors have evolved independently. In this study, we examined the relationship between the plastic responses to two experimental factors (water level and food type) in larvae of the salamander Hynobius retardatus, using a cause-specific Cox proportional hazards model on the time to completion of metamorphosis. Larvae from ephemeral ponds metamorphosed earlier than those from permanent ponds when kept at a low water level or fed conspecific larvae instead of larval Chironomidae. This acceleration of metamorphosis depended only on the permanency of the larvae's pond of origin, but not on the conspecific larval density (an indicator of the frequency of cannibalism) in the ponds. The two plastic responses were significantly correlated, indicating that they may evolve correlatively. Once plasticity evolved as an adaptation to habitat desiccation, it might have relatively easily become a response to other ecological factors, such as food type via the pre-existing developmental pathway.

Different mechanisms of acquired resistance to fluorinated pyrimidines in human colorectal cancer cells.

5-Fluorouracil (5-FU), 5-fluoro-2'-deoxyuridine (FdUrd) and 5-trifluorothymidine (F3(d)Thd) are antimetabolites which are metabolized to their corresponding active forms which inhibit DNA synthesis via inhibition of thymidylate synthase (TS). To investigate ways of overcoming 5-FU-resistance, we established acquired-resistant colorectal cancer cell lines against these three drugs by continuous and step-wise escalation of drugs, and analyzed the cytotoxicity and the mechanism of resistance to the drugs. When cells were incubated with the 3 drugs for 72 h, the resistance ratio to parental DLD-1 human colorectal tumor cells was 65.2 for DLD-1/5-FU, 9.7 for DLD-1/FdUrd and 448.6 for DLD-1/F3(d)Thd cells. DLD-1/5-FU cells did not show any cross-resistance against FdUrd and F(3)dThd. However, DLD-1/FdUrd cells showed 3- and 9-fold increased resistance to 5-FU and F3(d)Thd, respectively, and DLD-1/F3(d)Thd cells also showed about 90-fold resistance to FdUrd. Analysis of enzyme activities and gene expression associated with pyrimidine metabolism indicated that a significant decrease in orotate phosphoribosyltransferase activity in DLD-1/5-FU cells, a 7-fold increase of TS mRNA in DLD-1/FdUrd cells, and a 37-fold decrease in thymidine kinase activity of DLD-1/F3(d)Thd cells were the major mechanisms of drug resistance. These findings were closely associated with the cytotoxicity of 5-FU, FdUrd and F3(d)Thd against the established 5-FU-, FdUrd- or F3(d)Thd-resistant cells. When DLD-1/FdUrd cells expressing increased TS mRNA were treated with FdUrd and F3(d)Thd for only 4 h, the resistance ratios of DLD-1/FdUrd cells to parental DLD-1 cells were markedly different for FdUrd and F3(d)Thd, suggesting that the cytotoxicity with short-time exposure to F3(d)Thd is due to a mechanism other than TS inhibition, although the cytotoxicity of F3(d)Thd in the short-time is low compared to that of long-time exposure. In conclusion, F3(d)Thd, an antimetabolite that inhibits TS activity, may be effective against 5-FU and/or FdUrd-resistance in colorectal cancer cells caused by amplification of TS and/or deletion of orotate phosphoribosyltransferase.

Structure and activity of specific inhibitors of thymidine phosphorylase to potentiate the function of antitumor 2'-deoxyribonucleosides.

A new class of 5-halogenated pyrimidine analogs substituted at the 6-position was evaluated as competitive inhibitors of thymidine phosphorylase (TPase). The most potent member of the series was 5-chloro-6-(2-iminopyrrolidin-1-yl)methyl-2,4(1H,3H)-pyrimidine dio ne hydrochloride (TPI), which has an apparent K(i) value of 1.7 x 10(-8) M. TPI selectively inhibited the activity of TPase, but not that of uridine phosphorylase, thymidine kinase, orotate phosphoribosyltransferase, or dihydropyrimidine dehydrogenase. In vitro inhibition studies of TPI using a thymidine analogue, 5-trifluoromethyl-2'-deoxyuridine (F(3)dThd), as the substrate demonstrated that F(3)dThd phosphorolytic activity was inhibited markedly by TPI (1 x 10(-6) M) in extracts from the liver, small intestine, and tumors of humans, from the liver and small intestine of cynomolgus monkeys, and from the liver of rodents, but not from the liver or small intestine of dogs or the small intestine of rodents, suggesting that the distribution of TPase differs between humans and animal species, and that TPI could contribute to the modulation of TPase in humans. When F(3)dThd or 5-iodo-2'-deoxyuridine (IdUrd) was coadministered to mice with TPI at a molar ratio of 1:1, the blood levels of F(3)dThd (or IdUrd) were about 2-fold higher than when F(3)dThd (or IdUrd) was administered alone. In monkeys, the maximum concentration (C(max)) and the area under the concentration-time curve (AUC) after oral F(3)dThd alone were 0.23 microg/mL and 0.28 microg. hr/mL, respectively, but markedly increased to 15.18 microg/mL (approximately 70-fold) and 28.47 microg. hr/mL (approximately 100-fold), respectively, when combined with equimolar TPI. Combined oral administration of TPI significantly potentiated the antitumor activity of F(3)dThd on AZ-521 human stomach cancer xenografts in nude mice. In conclusion, TPI may contribute not only to inhibition of TPase-mediated biological functions but also to potentiation of the biological activity of various 2'-deoxyuridine and thymidine derivatives by combining with them.

An experimental animal model of split cord malformation.

In this study, we examined an experimental animal model of split cord malformation (SCM) produced by the surgical induction of a fistula. In Cynopus pyrrhogaster neurulae (stage 18.5 +/- 0.5), the neural plate was incised and divided to construct a fistula that mimicked a neurenteric canal. After the procedure, the development of these embryos was examined morphologically and histologically. Following incubation, hemicords, hemicords with their own heminotochords, and dermal sinus were observed in histological sections of embryos with an induced fistula. These abnormalities varied with the length and duration of the fistula, and the induction of this fistula apparently caused the development of this anomaly. The histological findings resembled the findings in human cases. The results of this study support the hypothesis that SCM may originate from an accessory neurenteric canal.

Nuclear S1 proteins from the starfish Asterina pectinifera.

Nuclear S1 proteins are a group of proteins apparently ubiquitous in vertebrate cell nuclei. They were originally isolated at pH 4.9 from the supernatant of rat liver nuclei mildly digested with DNase I. In the present study, under the conditions identical to those employed for vertebrate cells, we identified two S1 proteins in the starfish Asterina Pectinifera. Their molecular weights are 47,200 and 39,000. This finding suggests widespread occurrence of S1 proteins in eukaryotes and their basic function in the cell nucleus.

[A four-year follow-up study of hepatocellular carcinoma with bone metastasis].

A 68-year-old male was admitted to hospital for treatment of a hepatocellular carcinoma with a bone metastasis. By TAE and the administration of PSK, the tumor was necrotized and the AFP level returned to normal range. We presume that this combination therapy of TAE and PSK was able to maintain normal cellular immunity and bring about this good result.