[Clinical significance of the deep learning algorithm based on contrast-enhanced CT in the differential diagnosis of gastric gastrointestinal stromal tumors with a diameter ≤ 5 cm].

Objective: Contrast-enhanced CT is an important method of preoperative diagnosis and evaluation for the malignant potential of gastric submucosal tumor (SMT). It has a high diagnostic accuracy rate in differentiating gastric gastrointestinal stromal tumor (GIST) with a diameter greater than 5 cm from gastric benign SMT. This study aimed to use deep learning algorithms to establish a diagnosis model (GISTNet) based on contrast-enhanced CT and evaluate its diagnostic value in distinguishing gastric GIST with a diameter ≤ 5 cm and other gastric SMT before surgery. Methods: A diagnostic test study was carried out. Clinicopathological data of 181 patients undergoing resection with postoperative pathological diagnosis of gastric SMT with a diameter ≤ 5 cm at Department of Gastrointestinal Surgery of Renji Hospital from September 2016 to April 2021 were retrospectively collected. After excluding 13 patients without preoperative CT or with poor CT imaging quality, a total of 168 patients were enrolled in this study, of whom, 107 were GIST while 61 were benign SMT (non-GIST), including 27 leiomyomas, 24 schwannomas, 6 heterotopic pancreas and 4 lipomas. Inclusion criteria were as follows: (1) gastric SMT was diagnosed by contrast-enhanced CT before surgery; (2) preoperative gastroscopic examination and biopsy showed no abnormal cells; (3) complete clinical and pathological data. Exclusion criteria were as follows: (1) patients received anti-tumor therapy before surgery; (2) without preoperative CT or with poor CT imaging quality due to any reason; (3) except GIST, other gastric malignant tumors were pathologically diagnosed after surgery. Based on the hold-out method, 148 patients were randomly selected as the training set and 20 patients as the test set of the GISTNet diagnosis model. After the GISTNet model was established, 5 indicators were used for evaluation in the test set, including sensitivity, specificity, positive predictive value, negative predictive value and the area under the receiver operating curve (AUC). Then GISTNet diagnosis model was compared with the GIST-risk scoring model based on traditional CT features. Besides, in order to compare the accuracy of the GISTNet diagnosis model and the imaging doctors in the diagnosis of gastric SMT imaging, 3 radiologists with 3, 9 and 19 years of work experience, respectively, blinded to clinical and pathological information, tested and judged the samples. The accuracy rate between the three doctors and the GISTNet model was compared. Results: The GISTNet model yielded an AUC of 0.900 (95% CI: 0.827-0.973) in the test set. When the threshold value was 0.345, the sensitivity specificity, positive and negative predictive values of the GISTNet diagnosis model was 100%, 67%, 75% and 100%, respectively. The accuracy rate of the GISTNet diagnosis model was better than that of the GIST-risk model and the manual readings from two radiologists with 3 years and 9 years of work experience (83% vs. 75%, 60%, 65%), and was close to the manual reading of the radiologist with 19 years of work experience (83% vs. 80%). Conclusion: The deep learning algorithm based on contrast-enhanced CT has favorable and reliable diagnostic accuracy in distinguishing gastric GIST with a diameter ≤ 5 cm and other gastric SMT before operation.

[The efficacy analysis of allogeneic hematopoietic stem cell transplantation in 48 leukemia patients with central nervous system leukemia].

Objective: To investigate the efficacy of allogeneic hematopoietic stem cell transplantation (allo-HSCT) in the treatment of leukemia patients also suffering from central nervous system leukemia (CNSL) . Methods: A total of 48 leukemia patients with central nervous system leukemia admitted to our hospital from May 2012 to December 2017 were retrospectively analyzed. Results: ① Including 22 cases of acute lymphocytic leukemia (ALL) , 21 cases of acute myeloid leukemia (AML) , and 5 cases of chronic myelogenous leukemia (CML) . Before transplantation, 19 patients achieved complete remission (CR) , and the rest 29 ones without remission. ②The conditioning regimen used TBI as the main protocol, and 6 patients were combined with whole brain and total spinal cord radiotherapy, 2 with Cyber knife treatment, and children with modified IDA combined with BUCY. ③All 48 patients were successfully transplanted, the median time for leukocyte engraftment was 14 (10-23) days, the median time for platelet transplant 16 (6-78) days. ④Bone marrow was evaluated 28 days after transplantation, all 48 patients reached CR, and DNA testing confirmed that they were all full donor chimerism. ⑤The median follow-up was 14 (2-69) months. Of them, 28 cases survived, 10 relapsed and the rest 3 had recurrence of CNSL after transplantation. One year after allo-HSCT, the overall survival (OS) of CR and non-CR groups were (77.3±10.0) % and (57.6±9.3) % (P=0.409) , respectively, the disease-free survival rates (DFS) were (71.2±11.0) % and (53.9±9.5) % (P=0.386) , respectively. The 1-year OS rates of ALL and AML groups after transplantation were (54.2±10.7) %, (80.1±8.9) %, respectively (P=0.200) , and DFS rates were (49.2±10.8) %, (75.0±9.7) % (P=0.190) , respectively. Conclusion: Allo-HSCT was safe and effective for leukemia patients with CNSL.

[Case series and clinical analysis of 14 cases of catastrophic antiphospholipid syndrome].

OBJECTIVE: Catastrophic antiphospholipid syndrome (CAPS), also known as Asherson's syndrome, is a special subtype of antiphospholipid syndrome (APS) characterized by multiple intravascular thrombosis involving multiple organs systems or tissues simultaneously or continuously, high titer antiphospholipid antibodies and high mortality rate. This article's aims was to analyze the clinical manifestation, laboratory examination and treatment therapy of CAPS for the purpose of improving the understanding, diagnosis and treatment of the disease in clinical practice. METHODS: Retrospective analysis and descriptive statistics were applied to the clinical manifestations and laboratory findings of 14 CAPS cases from APS Shanghai Database (APS-SH) with catastrophic antiphospholipid. RESULTS: Of the 14 CAPS patients, 12 cases satisfied the 2003 CAPS Classification Criteria accepted in the 10th International Congress on Antiphospholipid Antibody, and were diagnosed as definite APS and 2 cases were diagnosed as probable CAPS. Three cases were categorized as primary APS and 11 as APS secondary to systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE). Infection was mostly commonly seen before the onset of CAPS, followed by SLE activity and surgery. Among the involved organs, systems and tissues, brain and lung were most commonly affected sites of arterial thrombosis while peripheral vein was most commonly affected in venous thrombosis events among the clinical events. Triple positivity of anticardiolipin antibody (aCL), anti-ß2 glyeoprotein I antibody (aß2GPI), lupus anticoagulant (LA) were detected in 54.55% of the patients. Thrombocytopenia and decreased hemoglobin were frequently seen in the CAPS patients, and the majority proved to be hemolytic anemia. Of all the cases, 6 ended with death. The triple therapy strategy (anticoagulants, glucocorticoid, intravenous immunoglobulin and/or plasma exchange) could help to improve prognosis, cyclophosphamide and rituximab might benefit the patients with other comorbidities such as SLE and micro-angiopathic hemolytic anemia (MHA). CONCLUSION: CAPS patients suffer from life-threatening acute multiple small vessel thrombosis with high titer of antiphospholipid antibody, potentially leading to multiple organ failure and a poor prognosis, thus early diagnosis and sufficient treatment are critical to prevent the progression of disease and improve the prognosis.

[Study of antioxidant effect of cannabinoid receptor type 2 agonist on rat hepatic stellate cell line].

Objective: To investigate the action and antioxidant effects of CB2 agonist AM-1241 on rat hepatic stellate cell line (HSC-T6). Methods: HSC-T6 was randomly divided into four groups: control group, oxidative stress group, AM-1241 intervention group and AM-1241+AM-630 antagonist group. Survival rate of HSC-T6 was detected by thiazolyl blue assay under 24 h interventions with 0, 20, 50, 80 µmol/L AM-1241 and 0, 10, 20, 30, 40 µmol/L AM-630, respectively. Besides control group, the remaining groups were well cultured in low-glucose DMEM containing 100 mU/L glucose oxidase (GO) for 12 h to prepare the oxidative stress model. Then, AM-1241 intervention group was treated with 50 µmol/L low-glucose DMEM medium. After incubation for 12 h, the AM-1241+AM-630 antagonist group was treated with CB2 antagonist AM-630 (20 µmol/L) for 2 h, and cultured with 50 µmol/L AM-1241 in complete low-glucose medium for 12 h. The optimal drug concentration was selected according to the cell viability considered by the experiment results. Type III collagen (C III) content in the HSC-T6 supernatant was detected by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay. Glutathione (GSH) content in HSC-T6 was detected by spectrophotometry. CB2 and heme oxygenase-1(HO-1) in each group of HSC-T6 were detected by western blotting. Results: HSC-T6 proliferation was inhibited in each group of AM-1241 in a concentration-dependent manner (P < 0.05). The inhibition was highest at 80µmol/L, and the cell survival rate was (41.61% ± 3.13%) (P < 0.05). AM-630 concentration group had no significant inhibitory effect on the proliferation of HSC-T6 (P > 0.05). HSC-T6 expressed CB2 receptor in each group. The expression level of CB2 in the AM-1241 intervention group was higher compare with control group (P < 0.05).The expression of Col III were significantly higher in oxidative stress group (P < 0.05) than in control group, and the expression of Col III of AM-1241 intervention group was significantly lower than that in oxidative stress group (P < 0.05). Col III level in AM-1241+AM-630 antagonistic group was significantly higher than that in AM-1241 intervention group (P < 0.05). There was no significant difference between AM-1241+AM-630 antagonistic group and oxidative stress group (P > 0.05). The content of GSH and HO-1 in oxidative stress group was higher (P < 0.05) than control group. The content of GSH and HO-1 in the AM-1241 intervention group was higher compared with oxidative stress group, while content of AM-1241 + AM-630 antagonist group was lower compared to AM-1241 intervention group (P < 0.05), and the differences were not statistically significant for oxidative stress group. Conclusion: CB2 agonist AM-1241 can inhibit the proliferation and activation of HSC-T6 and its mechanism may activate the nuclear translocation of Nrf2 binding to HSC-T6, initiating the up-regulation of antioxidant enzymes HO-1 and GSH protein expression, and thus increase the antioxidant effect of HSC-T6.

Evaluation of Circulating Markers of Neutrophil Extracellular Trap (NET) Formation as Risk Factors for Diabetic Retinopathy in a Case-Control Association Study.

Background: Inflammatory stimuli can induce neutrophils to release nuclear DNA combined with histones into the extracellular space, forming neutrophil extracellular traps. Because inflammation contributes to diabetic retinopathy, it is plausible that neutrophil extracellular trap formation actively occurs in diabetic retinopathy. This case-control study investigated the clinical relevance of circulating levels of neutrophil extracellular trap components as risk factors of diabetic retinopathy, and further evaluated whether glucose induced neutrophil extracellular trap formation in vitro using whole blood from healthy volunteers. Methods: Circulating levels of DNA-histone complexes, cell free double-stranded DNA, and polymorphonuclear neutrophil elastase, considered to be markers of neutrophil extracellular trap formation, were measured in patients with diabetic retinopathy (n=28) and without (n=62) and in 28 healthy controls. Results: Circulating DNA-histone complex and polymorphonuclear neutrophil elastase levels were significantly increased in patients with diabetic retinopathy compared with those without retinopathy. Multivariable logistic regression analysis, adjusted for glycated hemoglobin levels and fasting blood glucose, revealed that DNA-histone complex and polymorphonuclear neutrophil elastase levels were significant independent risk factors of retinopathy. In vitro experiments also showed that glucose significantly increased markers of neutrophil extracellular trap formation in a dose-dependent manner. Conclusions: Markers of neutrophil extracellular trap formation were independent risk factors of diabetic retinopathy. This finding provides a new insight into the potential therapeutic and preventive approaches to dampen neutrophil extracellular trap formation.

Investigating the role of polymorphisms in miR-146a, -149, and -196a2 in the development of gastric cancer.

Here, we performed a case-control study to investigate the role of miR-146a, miR-149, and miR-196a2 polymorphisms in the development of gastric cancer using a hospital-based case-control design. A total of 186 gastric cancer patients and 186 control subjects were enrolled from Ren Ji Hospital between January 2012 and October 2014. MicroRNAs miR-146a, miR-149, and miR-196a2 were genotyped by polymerase chain reaction coupled with restriction fragment length polymorphism. Univariate logistic regression analysis revealed that patients with gastric cancer were more likely to be infected with Helicobacter pylori [odds ratio (OR) = 1.68, 95% confidence interval (CI) = 1.07-1.96]. Conditional multiple logistic regression analysis revealed that the TT genotype of miR-196a2 was associated with an increased risk of gastric cancer compared to the CC genotype (OR = 2.40; 95%CI = 1.26-4.61). Moreover, patients carrying both the TC and TT genotypes of miR-196a2 were correlated with an elevated risk of gastric cancer compared to those expressing the CC genotype alone (OR = 1.67, 95%CI = 1.01-2.75; P = 0.03). In conclusion, the results of our study indicated that the miR-196a2 polymorphism was associated with gastric cancer development.

The characteristics of placental transfer and tissue concentrations of nickel in late gestational rats and fetuses.

The dynamics of nickel (Ni) uptake, transfer, retention and clearance in fetuses and late gestational rats were investigated by assessing its distributions in placenta, maternal and fetal organs and tissues during the 24 h period after a single dose of (63)Ni intraperitoneal injection on gestational day 20. Peak (63)Ni radioactivity was detected at 0.5 h in maternal blood, at 3 h in placenta, fetal membranes, fetal blood, fetal heart, maternal kidney, lung, stomach, liver and brain, at 9 h in fetal kidney, stomach, liver and brain, and lastly at 24 h in fetal lung and amniotic fluid. The maximal (63)Ni radioactivity among all samples was detected consistently in the fetal membranes and placenta. The (63)Ni radioactivity in fetal blood was higher than that in maternal blood from 3 to 24 h. The fetal liver, heart, stomach and brain exhibited higher (63)Ni radioactivity than the corresponding maternal organs from 6 to 24 h. However, maternal kidney consistently exhibited significantly higher (63)Ni radioactivity than the fetal kidney. The (63)Ni in fetal lung and amniotic fluid increased throughout the period of experimental observation. These observations corroborated previous finding that nickel is actively transferred across the blood-placenta-barrier into fetus, but hardly from fetus to mother. Moreover, these results suggest that the placenta has a high affinity for nickel and its barrier does not protect the fetus from nickel exposure. The fact that nickel concentrations are higher in most fetal organs and tissues than in corresponding maternal organs and tissues in late gestation indicates that, unlike the dam, fetuses lack effective means for getting rid of excessive nickel due to its confined environment and relatively weak kidney functions. The situation is exacerbated by mother-to-fetus unidirectional transfer. Consequently, the fetuses are particularly vulnerable to the damaging effects of nickel.

Gestational age and dose influence on placental transfer of 63Ni in rats.

The effects of gestational age and dose of nickel exposure on regulating and influencing placental transfer were investigated. Pregnant rats on gestational day (GD) 12, 15 or 20 were injected intraperitoneally with saline, 64,320 or 640 kBq/kg body weight of (63)Ni. Twenty-four hours after administration, samples were harvested from each for measurement of radioactivity by liquid scintillation counting and for autoradiography. In placenta, amniotic fluid and fetal membrane, (63)Ni concentrations increased with increasing doses and gestational age. In fetus, (63)Ni concentrations reached a maximum on GD 15 and then declined on GD 20 although they maintained a dose-dependency for each GD group. In fetal blood on GD 20, (63)Ni concentration increased dose-dependently and was higher than in maternal blood. The autoradiographs demonstrated that (63)Ni radioactivity was located within placental basal lamina, fetal bones and most organs. These findings suggest that the nickel uptake, retention and transport in placenta increase dose- and gestation age-dependently, and nickel transfer through placental barrier is primarily from mother into the fetus, but hardly from fetus to mother.

Polychlorinated biphenyls affect thyroid function and induce autoimmunity in Sprague-Dawley rats.

Polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) have been reported to cause a variety of toxic effects. In order to assess the thyroid function after exposure to PCBs and investigate whether PCBs induce autoimmune process in the thyroid gland, we determined the levels of serum thyroid hormones (FT3, FT4, and T4), thyroid-stimulating hormone (TSH), and thyroid peroxidase antibody (TPOAb) in Sprague-Dawley rats treated with a commercial mixture of PCBs, Aroclor 1,254 (PCBs group), or the antithyroid drug, propylthiouracil (PTU group). The histopathology of the thyroid was also examined. Serum FT3, FT4, and T4 concentrations were significantly reduced, while TSH values were dramatically increased in PCBs group and PTU group compared with control rats (p < 0.05). TPOAb levels were significantly elevated in PCBs-treated rats (p < 0.05) but not in PTU group (p > 0.05). In contrast to the controls, treatment with PCBs lead to distinct histopathological changes in the thyroid gland, such as hyperplasia of the epithelia in follicles, colloid content reduction, vascularization, and lymphocytic infiltration in the perifollicular areas, whereas the major changes in the thyroid in PTU-treated rats were follicles shrinkage or collapse and colloid content reduction compatible with induced hypothyroidism. The results indicate that PCBs affect thyroid function via the induction of autoimmunity, which is a mechanism different from the effect of antithyroid drug on the thyroid gland.

Amine-controlled assembly of metal-sulfite architecture from 1D chains to 3D framework.

Whereas open-framework materials have been made in a variety of chemical compositions, few are known in which 3-connected SO3(2)- anions serve as basic building units. Here, we report four new metal-sulfite polymeric structures, (ZnSO3)Py (1, py = pyridine), (ZnSO3)2(2,2'-bipy)H2O (2, 2,2'-bipy = 2,2'-bipyridine), (ZnSO3)2(TMDPy) (3, TMDPy = 4,4'-trimethylenedipyridine), and (MnSO3)2en (4, en = ethylenediamine) that have been synthesized hydrothermally and structurally characterized. In these compounds, low-dimensional 1D and 2D inorganic subunits are assembled into higher 2D or 3D covalent frameworks by organic ligands. In addition to the structure-directing effect of organic ligands, the flexible coordination chemistry of Zn2+ and SO3(2)- also contributes to the observed structural diversity. In compounds 1-3, Zn2+ sites alternate with trigonal pyramidal SO3(2)- anions to form three types of [ZnSO3]n chains, whereas in compound 4, a 2D-corrugated [MnSO3]n layer is present. Compound 1 features a rail-like chain with pendant pyridine rings. The pi-pi interaction between 2,2'-bipy ligands is found between adjacent chains in compound 2, resulting in 2D sheets that are further stacked through interlayer hydrogen bonds. Compound 3 exhibits a very interesting inorganic [(ZnSO3)2]n chain constructed from two chairlike subunits, and such chains are bridged by TMDPy ligands into a 2D sheet. In compound 4, side-by-side helical chains permeate through 2D-corrugated [MnSO3]n layers, which are pillared by neutral ethylenediamine molecules into a 3D framework that can be topologically represented as a (3,6)-connected net. The results presented here illustrate the rich structural chemistry of metal-sulfites and the potential of sulfite anions as a unique structural building block for the construction of novel open-framework materials, in particular, those containing polymeric inorganic subunits that may have interesting physical properties such as low-dimensional magnetism or electronic properties.

Echinosporins as new cell cycle inhibitors and apoptosis inducers from marine-derived Streptomyces albogriseolus.

Bioassay-guided fractionation of the ethyl acetate extract from the fermentation broth of marine-derived Streptomyces albogriseolus A2002 led to the isolation of echinosporin (1) and 7-deoxyechinosporin (2). Compound 1 inhibited the proliferation of tsFT210, K562 and HCT-15 cancer cells (IC(50) 91.5 microM, 25.1 microM and 247 microM respectively) and 2 showed the same effect on K562 cells (IC(50) 143 microM). Flow cytometric analysis suggested that 1 and 2 exert their anti-proliferative effects on those cells through inhibiting cell cycle at the G(2)/M phase and inducing apoptosis.

Magnetization-orientation dependence of the superconducting transition temperature in the ferromagnet-superconductor-ferromagnet system: CuNi/Nb/CuNi.

The superconducting critical temperature (T(c)) of ferromagnet-superconductor-ferromagnet systems has been predicted to exhibit a dependence on the magnetization orientation of the ferromagnetic layers such that T(AP)(c)>T(P)(c) for parallel (P) and antiparallel (AP) configurations of the two ferromagnetic layers. We have grown CuNi/Nb/CuNi films via magnetron sputtering and confirmed the theoretical prediction by measuring the resistance of the system as a function of temperature and magnetic field. We find an approximately 25% resistance drop occurs near T(c) in Cu0.47Ni0.53(5 nm)/Nb(18)/CuNi(5) when the two CuNi layers change their magnetization directions from parallel to antiparallel, whereas there is no corresponding resistance change in the normal state.

Dietary effects of eicosapentaenoic and docosahexaenoic acid esters on lipid metabolism and immune parameters in Sprague-Dawley rats.

Sprague-Dawley rats were fed eicosapentaenoic (EPA) and docosahexaenoic acid (DHA) ethyl esters at the 2% level for 3 weeks to clarify their effects on immune functions. In the rats fed EPA or DHA, serum cholesterol, triglyceride, and phospholipid (PL) levels were significantly lower than those in the rats fed safflower oil. In PL fractions of serum, liver, lung, splenocytes, and peritoneal exudate cells (PEC), increases in linoleic and dihomo-gamma-linolenic acid contents and a decrease in arachidonic acid (AA) content were observed in the rats fed EPA or DHA. In addition, the EPA content increased in the rats fed EPA and DHA. In the rats fed EPA or DHA, a decrease of LTB4 productivity and an increase of LTBs productivity were observed in the PEC, in response to the treatment with 5 microM calcium ionophore A23187 for 20 min. The changes in leukotriene production were more marked in EPA-fed rats than in DHA-fed rats. These results suggest that dietary EPA affects lipid metabolism and leukotriene synthesis more strongly than DHA.

Dietary effect of tocopherols and tocotrienols on the immune function of spleen and mesenteric lymph node lymphocytes in Brown Norway rats.

The immunoregulatory effects of dietary alpha-tocopherol (Toc) and tocotrienols (T-3) on humoral and cell-mediated immunity and cytokine productions were examined in Brown Norway rats. We found that the IgA and IgG productivity of spleen and mesenteric lymph node (MLN) lymphocytes was significantly enhanced in the rats fed on Toc or T-3, irrespective of concanavalin A (Con A) stimulation of the lymphocytes. On the contrary, the IgE productivity of lymphocytes from the rats fed on Toc or T-3 was less without Con A stimulation, but was greater in the presence of Con A, especially in the T-3 group. Toc or T-3 feeding significantly decreased the proportion of CD4+ T cells and the ratio of CD4+/CD8+ in both spleen and MLN lymphocytes of the rats fed on Toc or T-3. The interferon-gamma productivity of MLN lymphocytes was higher in the rats fed on Toc or T-3 than in those fed on a control diet in the presence of Con A, while that of spleen lymphocytes was lower in the rats fed on Toc or T-3. In addition, T-3 feeding decreased the productivity of tumor necrosis factor-alpha of spleen lymphocytes, while it enhanced the productivity of MLN lymphocytes. These results suggest that oral administration of Toc and T-3 affects the proliferation and function of spleen and MLN lymphocytes.

Dietary effect of EPA-rich and DHA-rich fish oils on the immune function of Sprague-Dawley rats.

The dietary effect of fish oils (FOs) rich in eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA) or docosahexaenoic acid (DHA) on the immune function of Sprague-Dawley rats was compared with that of safflower oil. After 3 weeks of feeding at the 10% level of a dietary fat, the IgG and IgM production by splenocytes and IgG production by mesenteric lymph node (MLN) lymphocytes were significantly higher in the FO-fed rats, while no significant difference was found in IgA or IgE productivity by both the spleen and MLN lymphocytes. In the FO-fed rats, peritoneal exudate cells released a lower amount of LTB4, reflecting their lower arachidonic acid level, and a higher amount of LTB5, reflecting their higher EPA level in phospholipids. On these EPA-rich FO exerted a stronger effect than DHA-rich FO immune functions.

Effect of dietary fats and sesamin on the lipid metabolism and immune function of Sprague-Dawley rats.

We examined the effect of three dietary fats, safflower oil (SAF) rich in linoleic acid, borage oil (BOR) rich in gamma-linolenic acid, and perilla oil (PER) rich in alpha-linolenic acid, on the lipid metabolism, and chemical mediator and immunoglobulin levels in Sprague-Dawley rats, as well as the dietary effect of sesame-derived antioxidative sesamin. The serum cholesterol, phospholipid, triglyceride, prostaglandin E2 level and splenic leukotriene B4 level were lower in the rats fed on BOR or PER than in those fed on SAF. SES feeding suppressed the expression of the lipid-decreasing effect of BOR, but not in the rats fed on PER. In respect of the fatty acid composition of the liver and spleen, PER feeding gave a lower arachidonic acid level, and higher eicosapentaenoic and docosahexaenoic acid levels than SAF feeding did, while the effect of BOR feeding was marginal. The effect of SES feeding on fatty acid composition was much smaller than that of dietary fats. In respect of immunoglobulin production, PER + SES feeding gave the lowest IgE productivity in the mesenteric lymph node lymphocytes. These results suggest that PER feeding regulated lipid metabolism and exerted an anti-allergic effect by a different mechanism from that with BOR feeding.