Arabino-mycolates derived from cell-wall skeleton of Mycobacterium bovis BCG as a prominent structure for recognition by host immunity.

Arabino-mycolates are components of the cell-wall skeleton of Mycobacterium bovis BCG (BCG-CWS). It is known that synthesized arabinomycolates induce the production of tumor necrosis factor alpha (TNF-α) in murine macrophage cell lines at an intensity similar to that of BCG-CWS. However the immunological activity of natural arabino-mycolates isolated from BCG has not been investigated, probably due to the complexity of the molecule. In this paper, we investigated the immunostimulatory activity of arabino-mycolates isolated from BCG-CWS by acid hydrolysis. Arabino-mycolates obtained by acid hydrolysis from the originally prepared CWS (SMP-105) of M. bovis BCG Tokyo 172 strain consisted mainly of mono-arabinose mono-mycolate, penta-arabinose tetra-mycolate and hexa-arabinose tetramycolate fractions. Arabino-mycolates significantly induced TNF-α production with an intensity comparable to that of CWS and enhanced delayed type hypersensitivity (DTH) reactions against inactivated tumor cells. Arabino-mycolates-induced TNF-α production was completely dependent on TLR2 and MyD88 pathways. These findings indicate that isolated natural arabino-mycolates possess potent adjuvant immunostimulatory activity.

Hypertrophic pulmonary osteoarthropathy associated with non-small cell lung cancer demonstrated growth hormone-releasing hormone by immunohistochemical analysis.

Hypertrophic pulmonary osteoarthropathy (HPO) associated with non-small cell lung cancer in a 58-year-old man was accompanied by an elevated serum level of growth hormone (GH). HPO rapidly disappeared after resection of the primary tumor and the elevation of serum GH was resolved. Immunohistochemically the tumor contained growth hormone-releasing hormone (GHRH) but not GH. These findings suggest that the high serum GH level due to ectopic GHRH production in the tumor, was a contributing factor in HPO. This is the second reported case of non-small cell lung cancer which was immunohistochemically positive for GHRH associated with HPO.

[A case of primary pleural leiomyosarcoma].

A 70-year-old man was admitted to our hospital with complaints of chest pain and exertional dyspnea. Chest radiography and computed tomography (CT) revealed right pleural effusion and pleural thickening on admission. The pleural fluid was bloody. Microbiological and cytologic examinations of the fluid were negative. The chest CT revealed progress of pleural thickening after hospitalization. A thoracoscopic pleural biopsy was performed, and the histological finding of the excised specimen was leiomyosarcoma. Because no organ of origin of the leiomyosarcoma, other than the pleura, was detected, this case was diagnosed as a primary pleural leiomyosarcoma. It is thought that leiomyosarcoma originating from the pleura is rare.

[A case of ankylosing spondylitis associated with pulmonary aspergillosis and amyloidosis].

A 56-year-old man was admitted because of diarrhea, cough, weight loss, and disturbance of consciousness. He had been diagnosed as having ankylosing spondylitis at 18-years old. The spondylitis progressed until there was complete rigidity of the spine including the neck, hip and knee joints. Human leukocyte antigen (HLA) B27, which has been characteristic of ankylosing spondylitis, was also present in this case. A chest radiograph showed pleural thickness and a cavity in the right upper lobe; and a soft tissue mass and fluid level was found in the cavity. Aspergillus fumigatus was detected in the sputum and pulmonary aspergillosis was diagnosed. Biopsy of the colon revealed that a large interstitial amyloidosis. Despite the treatment of the patient's malnutrition and lung aspergillosis using amphotericin B, the clinical course was rapidly progressive and the patient died of respiratory failure due to lung aspergillosis. It is important to be aware of these rare complications, which are correlated with the prognosis in cases of ankylosing spondylitis.

[Primary pulmonary cryptococcosis with endobronchial lesion].

A 19-year old man was admitted to our hospital with fever and productive cough. Chest X-ray films revealed multiple nodular shadows accompanied by a fusing tendency in the right middle field. A diagnosis of bacterial pneumonia was indicated, and the patient was treated with antibiotics. However, because this failed to resolve the nodular shadows, bronchofibroscopy was performed. Examination with a fiberoptic bronchoscope revealed an elevated lesion in the truncus intermedius. Histopathologic examination of a specimen obtained by transbronchial biopsy revealed cryptococcal organisms with the infiltration of monocytes. These findings yielded a diagnosis of pulmonary cryptococcosis with endobronchial lesion. After 6 months of treatment with fluconazole, the multiple nodular shadows disappeared. Comparison of bronchoscopic findings before and after fluconazole treatment clearly demonstrated the efficacy of the therapy.

[A small cell lung cancer shadow resembling beads on chest radiographs].

We present a case of small cell lung cancer whose shadow resembles bead son chest radiographs. An 81-year-old woman who had been receiving treatment from her doctor for pulmonary emphysema and chronic respiratory failure consulted our department because a small nodular shadow had been detected radiographically in the right lower lung field. The bead-like shadows in the radiographs and tomograms extended from the periphery of the right lower lobe to the pulmonary hilum. This case of small cell lung cancer appeared in chest radiographs to have an unusual shape.

Applications of an extremely short strong-feedback configuration of an external-cavity laser diode system fabricated with GaAs-based integration technology.

A composite-cavity laser diode is used to monitor the reflectivity or the displacement of the external-cavity mirror for micromechanical photonics devices. Optical disk bits are read out in the near field from the difference in medium reflectivity with an antireflection-coated laser diode and a photodiode. Microbeam vibration is also detected in the near field from the phase difference with an uncoated laser diode and a photodiode. In both cases the carrier-to-noise ratio is very high (more than 45 dB) because of the lack of mode-hopping noise resulting from the extremely short (less than 3 µm) external-cavity length and strong light feedback. These composite-cavity laser diode microdevices are fabricated on a gallium arsenide substrate to eliminate the need for optical alignment.

A photomicrodynamic system with a mechanical resonator monolithically integrated with laser diodes on gallium arsenide.

A cantilever resonant microbeam, laser diodes, and a photodiode have been fabricated on the surface of a gallium arsenide substrate. The microbeam is excited photothermally by light from a laser diode. The vibration is detected with a photodiode as the variation in light output caused by the difference in optical length between the microbeam and another laser diode. A high carrier-to-noise ratio (45 decibels) is achieved with a short (3 micrometers) external cavity length. Such a small distance allows a lensless system, which increases the ease of fabrication. This work could lead to applications in which photomicrodynamic systems are monolithically integrated on a gallium arsenide substrate with surface micromachining technology.