ABSTRACT
BACKGROUND: [D-Ala(2), D-Leu(5)] enkephalin (DADLE) is a synthetic delta class of opioid and is reported to induce hibernation as well as hibernation induction trigger (HIT) in the serum of hibernating mammals. DADLE and HIT have been demonstrated to protect the heart, lung, and jejunum against ischemia-reperfusion (I-R) injury. In the present study, we examined the effect of DADLE on I-R injury of the liver in rats. METHODS: After administration of DADLE (DADLE group) or normal saline as a vehicle (Control group), partial hepatic ischemia was induced by occluding the vessels supplying 92% of the liver for 45 min, followed by declamping the vessels and resection of the non-ischemic lobe. After 120 min of reperfusion, serum glutamic-pyruvic transaminase (GPT), hyaluronic acid (HA) levels, and concentrations of malondialdehyde (MDA) of the liver tissue were measured. Additionally, bile output from the ischemic lobes was measured after reperfusion. RESULTS: GPT levels were significantly lower in the DADLE group as compared to those of the Control group (P < 0.05), but the serum levels of HA were not different between the two groups. The concentrations of MDA of the liver tissue were significantly lower in the DADLE group than in the Control group (P < 0.01). The bile output after reperfusion was not significantly different between the two groups. CONCLUSIONS: DADLE protects against I-R injury in hepatocytes, but not in the sinusoidal endothelial cells of the liver in rats. An anti-oxidative effect is suggested to be responsible for this effect.
Subject(s)
Analgesics, Opioid/pharmacology , Cytoprotection/drug effects , Enkephalin, Leucine-2-Alanine/pharmacology , Liver Diseases/prevention & control , Liver/drug effects , Reperfusion Injury/prevention & control , Alanine Transaminase/blood , Alanine Transaminase/metabolism , Animals , Bile/physiology , Hibernation/physiology , Hyaluronic Acid/blood , Hyaluronic Acid/metabolism , Liver/blood supply , Liver/metabolism , Liver Diseases/blood , Liver Diseases/metabolism , Male , Malondialdehyde/blood , Malondialdehyde/metabolism , Rats , Rats, Wistar , Reperfusion Injury/blood , Reperfusion Injury/metabolismABSTRACT
BACKGROUND/AIMS: Several authors have reported the presence of H. pylori in the human biliary tract. The aim of this study was to investigate the influence of the presence of H. pylori on the epithelial cell proliferation activity in the biliary tract with hepatolithiasis. METHODOLOGY: A histopathological examination and polymerase chain reaction were used to detect the presence of H. pylori from fourteen patients with hepatolithiasis. The cell proliferation activity in the biliary epithelia was determined using proliferating cell nuclear antigen staining. RESULTS: A histopathological examination and polymerase chain reaction analysis demonstrated H. pylori to be detected in 5 (37%) and 4 (29%) out of 14 patients, respectively. The proliferating cell nuclear antigen labeling index was significantly higher in the H. pylori-positive patients (28.3%) than in the H. pylori-negative individuals (4.9%). CONCLUSIONS: H. pylori is present in the biliary tract of patients with hepatolithiasis, while H. pylori promotes the formation of stones in the biliary tract. The development of intrahepatic cholangiocarcinoma might therefore be linked to the presence of H. pylori because of the accelerated activity of cell kinetics in the epithelium of the biliary tract.
Subject(s)
Bile Ducts, Intrahepatic , Bile/microbiology , Cholelithiasis/microbiology , Helicobacter pylori/physiology , Adult , Aged , Aged, 80 and over , Coloring Agents , Female , Helicobacter pylori/isolation & purification , Humans , Male , Middle Aged , Proliferating Cell Nuclear AntigenABSTRACT
We report a rare case of metachronous and solitary metastasis to the spleen from gastric cancer. A 69-year-old man who had undergone a distal gastrectomy for gastric cancer 48 months earlier was found to have a solitary lesion in the spleen, and an increased serum carcinoembryonic antigen (CEA) level. The patient underwent a laparotomy for suspected metastasis to the spleen. At laparotomy, a tumor was found in the upper pole of the spleen without involvement of other organs, and a splenectomy was performed. Histological examination confirmed that the splenic tumor was a well-differentiated adenocarcinoma similar to the primary gastric cancer. The postoperative course was uneventful and his serum CEA decreased to within normal levels. The patient died of multiple metastases to the liver and peritoneal dissemination 40 months after the splenectomy.
