[The characterization of Vibrio cholerae non-O1 strain causing perforative pan-peritonitis].

We report a case of a 53-year-old male with Vibrio cholerae non-O1 (serotype O19) infection, resulting in perforative pan-peritonitis. The patient had a history of gastric cancer and a gastrectomy was performed one year prior. The patient had previously been admitted with nausea and vomiting and was diagnosed with a sub-ileus condition. He was provisionally discharged when his condition improved and during that period he ate raw fish caught locally in Nagasaki Prefecture, and several hours later he experienced a sudden onset of severe abdominal pain and nausea and on diagnosis of pan-peritonitis an emergency resection of the transverse colon was performed. We subsequently isolated Vibrio cholerae non-O1 from the patient's peritoneal fluid and stool. He died of multiple organ failure three weeks later despite intensive chemotherapeutic care and treatment for shock and disseminated intravascular coagulation. The strain of Vibrio cholerae non-O1 isolated was non-toxigenic but hemolytic with hyper-producing of metalloprotease.

Purification and characterization of hepatic inorganic pyrophosphatase hydrolyzing imidodiphosphate.

A 56-kDa inorganic pyrophosphatase consisting of 33-kDa subunits was purified from bovine liver almost to homogeneity. This hydrolase required divalent cations such as MgCl2, CoCl2, and MnCl2 to hydrolyze PPi and was insensitive to 2 mM sodium fluoride. The purified hydrolase released 2.1 mumol Pi from PPi per minute per milligram of protein in the presence of 1 mM MgCl2, and the Km for PPi was 0.14 mM. It also hydrolyzed imidodiphosphate to yield Pi and ammonia even in the absence of a divalent cation. The purified hydrolase liberated 2.2 mumol Pi from imidodiphosphate per minute per milligram of protein and the Km for imidodiphosphate was 0.12 mM. Addition of 80 microM MgCl2, CoCl2, or MnCl2 to the reaction mixture increased the hydrolysis rate of imidodiphosphate by 1.5-, 2.0-, and 3.4-fold, respectively. In the absence of divalent cations, the enzymatic hydrolysis of imidodiphosphate was inhibited competitively by PPi (Ki = 0.13 mM). Moreover, one-half of the maximal hydrolysis of imidodiphosphate was inhibited by 10 microM trans-1,2-diaminocyclohexane N,N,N',N'-tetraacetic acid or 45 microM p-chloromercuriphenyl sulfonate. When the hydrolase was treated with heat or SDS, two activities capable of hydrolyzing PPi and imidodiphosphate gave similar inactivation profiles, indicating that one hydrolase participated in the hydrolysis of both substrates.

Early gastric cancer arising from localized Ménétrier's disease.

A case of early gastric cancer arising from Ménétrier's disease in the stomach is described. The patient was a 53-year-old man, who suffered from epigastralgia. Radiological and endoscopic examination demonstrated giant mucosal folds along the greater curvature of the stomach. On the distal margin, signet-ring cell carcinoma was demonstrated by biopsy. The coexistence of Ménétrier's disease and early gastric cancer has rarely been reported. Cases reported in the literature were reviewed and the increased malignant potential of Ménétrier's disease was discussed.