Pancreatico-renal fistula associated with pancreatic cysts caused by type 1 autoimmune pancreatitis.

To our best knowledge, the formation of a pancreatico-renal fistula and the presence of pancreatic fluid collection in the renal subcapsular space have not been reported as autoimmune pancreatitis (AIP) complications. We describe a case of a pancreatico-renal fistula associated with type 1 AIP. The patient presented with abdominal and back pain accompanied by pancreatic cystic lesions during an untreated course of AIP. The diagnosis of pancreatico-renal fistula was based on the presence of a left renal subcapsular fluid collection containing pancreatic amylase, disappearance of pancreatic cysts, and a defect in the partial anterior renal fascia observed on imaging studies. Treatment with steroids and percutaneous drainage resulted in improvement. Pancreatic pseudocysts can affect other organs owing to their digestive action. Similar symptoms may occur in patients with AIP.

Identification of bleeding points after bile duct biopsy using red dichromatic imaging during peroral cholangioscopy: A case report.

Red dichromatic imaging is a new image-enhancement technology that clarifies the differences in blood concentrations and improves the visibility of the bleeding point. A 71-year-old man was presented with a common bile duct stone, which was completely removed using electrohydraulic shock wave lithotripsy with peroral cholangioscopy. During peroral cholangioscopy, a nodular lesion was found at the confluence of the cystic duct, and a forceps biopsy was performed. It was difficult to confirm the bleeding point using white-light imaging because of the pooling of blood. After switching to red dichromatic imaging mode 2 and washing the bile duct with saline solution, the bleeding point was observed in darker yellow than the surrounding blood, allowing the identification of the bleeding point. Red dichromatic imaging can be used in the future to maintain hemostasis during peroral cholangioscopy.

Application of fluorescence correlation spectroscopy to investigate the dynamics of a ribosome-associated trigger factor in Escherichia coli.

Co-translational protein folding is one of the central topics in molecular biology. In Escherichia coli, trigger factor (TF) is a primary chaperone that facilitates co-translational folding by directly interacting with nascent polypeptide chains on translating ribosomes. In this study, we applied fluorescence correlation spectroscopy (FCS), which can analyze the diffusion properties of fluorescent molecules by measuring the fluctuations of the fluorescent intensity, to investigate the interaction between TF and a nascent chain on translating ribosomes both in vitro and in vivo. The FCS analysis with a reconstituted cell-free translation system revealed that the interaction of fluorescently labeled TF with a nascent chain depended on the emergence of the nascent chain from the ribosome exit tunnel, and this interaction was not inhibited by excess amounts of other chaperones. Furthermore, the translation-dependent interaction between GFP-fused TFs and nascent chains was also observed in living E. coli cells. The FCS-based approach established here could be an effective method to investigate the dynamics of other ribosome-associated chaperones besides TF.