A novel approach for preparing disulfide-rich peptide-KLH conjugate applicable to the antibody production.

To produce the antiserum against a small peptide, the target peptide-keyhole limpet hemocyanine (KLH) conjugate is generally used as an antigen, although the disulfide-rich peptide-KLH conjugate is still difficult to prepare. In our previous study, we have developed a preparation method of the disulfide-rich peptide-KLH conjugate, and this method was applied to produce the antiserum against a relaxin-like peptide. However, this method is limited to the synthetic peptide antigen, and is not applicable to a native or a recombinant peptide. In this study, to expand the applicability of this method to wide variety of peptides, we newly designed a novel thiol probe enabling the conjugation between various peptides and KLH, and applied it to produce the antiserum against relaxin-like peptide of a starfish Asterias amurensis. The antiserum obtained here showed high antibody-titer and good specificity, strongly suggesting that the method developed in this study is applicable to various peptides.

Anaplastic pancreatic cancer diagnosed with endoscopic ultrasound guided fine needle aspiration showing hypervascular tumor: A case report.

RATIONALE: Pancreatic ductal carcinoma is a hypovascular tumor, and characteristic findings are observed on imaging modalities, such as computed tomography (CT) and magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), in most cases. PATIENT CONCERNS: Here we report a case of anaplastic carcinoma of the pancreas (ACP) with characteristics of hypervascular tumor diagnosed by endoscopic ultrasound guided fine needle aspiration (EUS-FNA). A 70-year-old woman was admitted to hospital because of exacerbation of diabetes. Contrast-enhanced CT revealed a hypervascular tumor at the head of the pancreas. DIAGNOSIS: EUS-FNA was performed. Osteoclast-like giant cells and tumor cells with polymorphic nuclei were found on pathological examination and she was diagnosed with ACP. INTERVENTIONS: Although it was a surgical indication at the time of diagnosis, the tumor rapidly worsened. Oral administration of TS-1 (tegafur/gimeracil/oteracil) was initiated. Chemotherapy was discontinued after the end of 2 courses because the tumor had increased prominently on CT. OUTCOMES: She died approximately a year since the onset of the illness. LESSONS: ACP occasionally exhibits the characteristics of a hypervascular tumor and may require differentiation from other pancreatic tumors, such as neuroendocrine tumor. Therefore, pathological diagnosis by EUS-FNA at an early stage is important to determine treatment strategies.