[Cimetidine inhibits the adhesion of cancer cells with sialyl Lewis epitope onto the vascular endothelium].

The attachment of circulating cancer cells to vascular endothelium is considered an important initial step in hematogenous metastasis. We believe that hematogenous metastasis can be inhibited by blocking the adhesion of cancer cells to vascular endothelium. We demonstrated that cimetidine suppressed the expression of E-selectin on the surface of HUVECs, which was a ligand to the sialyl Lewis (sLe) epitope. Thereby, adhesion of HT-29 cells to HUVECs was inhibited by cimetidine pretreatment. In this study, adhesion between cancer cells and HUVECs was observed by a high-speed video recording system. We examined whether or not cimetidine inhibited the adhesion of cancer cells with the sLe epitope, such as gastric, esophageal and breast cancers, to HUVECs. Cimetidine was able to block the adhesion of gastric, esophageal and breast cancer cells with the sLe epitope. We conclude that cimetidine would be effective for inhibiting hematogenous metastasis on gastric, esophageal and breast cancer cells with the expression of sLe epitope.

[Ultrastructural changes of collagen fibrils in mouse dermal connective tissue after moxibustion treatment].

Morphological changes in mouse back skin, especially dermal connective tissue, were observed after moxibustion treatment. Various amounts of direct moxibustion and indirect moxibustion (column) were performed and the exact skin area was processed for light and electron microscopy. Just after treatment, epidermal cell layer was degenerated and increased amounts of mast cells were observed. Many unwinding collagen fibrils were prominent. Twenty-four hours after treatment, the number of unwinding fibrils decreased. Instead, tightly winding fibrils, sometimes thicker, were observed in a similar area. D-period of collagen fibrils did not change in any situation. Physical reaction to moxibustion varies depending on stimulation rate and/or approach, which includes the change of interstitial connective tissues as well as cellular profiles. It is also important to survey the time-dependent changes in moxibustion treatment.