Specific localization of the basigin protein in human testes from normal adults, normal juveniles, and patients with azoospermia.

Basigin is a transmembrane protein belonging to the immunoglobulin superfamily. Specific localization of the protein in normal human testes, from those of a 2-year-old boy to those of a 50-year-old man, and in testes with Sertoli cell only syndrome and germ cell arrest, is reported. Basigin localization was determined using an immunohistochemical technique with an antibody against human basigin. In the normal adult testes, basigin was detected at the periphery of both spermatocytes older than zygotene and round spermatids. In the juvenile testes, it was expressed in accordance with the appearance of pachytene spermatocytes. In this study, pachytene spermatocytes were detected in an 11-year-old boy. Basigin was not expressed in immature testes with germ cells younger than pachytene spermatocytes, namely in testes from boys aged 2-9 years. In testes from adult patients with Sertoli cell only syndrome, basigin was expressed at the periphery of Sertoli cells, but localization was confined to the adluminal compartment of the seminiferous tubule. In testes with germ cell arrest, the protein was expressed on germ cells from pachytene spermatocytes to step 2 spermatids, where present. The results show that in the normal human testes basigin is expressed with the onset of spermatocyte differentiation. Because human basigin is expressed in adult testes with Sertoli cell only syndrome, the protein seems to be synthesized in Sertoli cells and expression continues after these cells dedifferentiate in the seminiferous epithelium.

Postnatal development of the testis in Japanese children based on observations of undescended testes.

BACKGROUND: Little is known about the morphological aspects of the postnatal development of the testis in Japanese children. By investigating the normal development of the testis, clinicians in urology can give better strategies to their patients. In addition, the pattern of development will improve the understanding of the effect of xenoestrogens. METHODS: Biopsied testis samples of 68 patients with undescended testes aged between 2 and 21 years were examined by light microscopy. Nineteen patients with normal histology of the bilateral testes were selected for this study. For light microscopy, paraffin sections were stained with hematoxylin and eosin. In addition, using electron microscope, Epon sections stained with lead citrate and uranyl acetate were observed. Semi-thin sections stained with toluidine blue were also used for light microscopy. RESULTS: Gonocytes were observed in the testis of the 2-year-old boys. Spermatocytes developed by 4 years of age and spermatids developed by 11 years of age. The immature Sertoli-Sertoli ectoplasmic junction was observed as early as 4 years of age, and it was completed by 9 years of age. Mature myoid cells were observed by the age of 13 years. Immature Leydig cells were found at 7 years of age and the cells matured by 13 years of age. CONCLUSION: A pattern of postnatal development of the testis in Japanese children was presented.

Effects of low-level occupational exposure to styrene on color vision: dose relation with a urinary metabolite.

To investigate the threshold effects of chronic low-level occupational exposure to styrene on color vision, we examined color discrimination in 105 male workers exposed to styrene (mean age 37.7 years; mean length of exposure 6.2 years; mean urinary concentration of mandelic acid 0.21 g/L) and in 117 referents (mean age 37.7 years). We also assessed the effects of styrene by examination of the nature of the relation between disorders of nervous function and age, alcohol consumption, and other variables. A standardized questionnaire was adopted to collect information about work history, occupational or nonoccupational solvent exposure, alcohol consumption, and drug use. Color vision was evaluated by the Lanthony desaturated panel D-15 test. The results of the test were expressed as the color confusion index (CCI). There was a dose-dependent relationship between the urinary concentration of mandelic acid and color vision loss. The CCIs of the subgroups whose urinary mandelic acid levels were 0.1-0.2 and >0.2 g/L were significantly higher than those of each referent group (P<0.05 and P<0.01, respectively), but not in the subgroup whose urinary mandelic acid level was lower than 0.1 g/L. Our study suggests that a low level of styrene, presumably 0.1-0.2 g/L, involves the risk of inducing adverse effects on color vision. After confounding factors were adjusted for, the urinary mandelic acid level had a significant positive relationship with color vision.

[Clinical experiences of endotoxin removal columns in septic shock due to urosepsis: report of three cases].

Clinical experiences of endotoxin removal using polymyxin B immobilized fiber column (PMX) in three septic shock patients are reported. The patients were referred to our hospital with complaints of high fever and severe pain during urination. Physical examination and laboratory data revealed severe hypotension, tachycardia, and pyuria. Diagnoses of septic shock due to urosepsis were made. After antibiotic therapy and anti-shock therapy, direct hemoperfusion using polymyxin B immobilized fiber column (PMX) was carried out. Thereafter, cardiovascular instabilities were improved without increasing the supply of catecholamines. PMX therapy for systemic inflammatory response due to infection was effective in treatment of cardiovascular instabilities.

[Sertoli cell tumor of the testis: a case report].

A case of Sertoli cell tumor of the testicle is reported. A 33-year-old man visited the Chiba University Hospital with the chief complaint of a painless right testicular swelling on May 1990. The right testis was hard and swollen on palpation. Gynecomastia was not present. Serum levels of tumor markers and hormones including alphafetoprotein, human chorionic gonadotropin-beta, carcinoembryonic antigen, testosterone, prolactin, estradiol, luteinizing hormone, and follicle stimulating hormone were within normal limits. Ultrasonic examination showed a high echoic lesion in the right testis. Computerized tomography and magnetic resonance imaging showed no evidence of retroperitoneal lymph node enlargement. A high right orchiectomy was performed under a diagnosis of right testicular tumor. The right testis was elastic hard and measured 9 x 10 x 7 cm, weighing 450 g. The cut surface was light yellowish white and was completely displaced by the tumor. No normal tissue was seen. Histological examination showed a Sertoli cell tumor. No adjuvant therapy was performed. Neither recurrence nor evidence of metastasis has been detected for 8 years postoperatively.

[Case report of a long-term home parenteral nutrition patient].

We experienced a patient who received long-term home parenteral nutrition. A 55-year-old woman underwent left adrenalectomy in June, 1992. The histopathological diagnosis was aldosteronism. Abdominal pain and ileus appeared in July, 1993, and an adhesiotomy was conducted. Due to poor appetite and weight loss, fluid was sometimes injected peripherally. After abdominal pain in November, 1996 and April, 1997, the ileus reappeared in July, 1997. A Groshong catheter with a port was then inserted through the subclavian vein to the superior vena cava/right atrial junction. Using this catheter, home parenteral nutrition started. Some time later oral nutrition became possible, but now high calorie parenteral nutrition is continued. The only complications were pain and red skin at the port. A Groshong catheter with port is thus useful for home parenteral nutrition.

Visual projection map specified by topographic expression of transcription factors in the retina.

Topographical maps of neuronal connectivity occur in various brain regions. In the visual system of birds, retinal ganglion-cell axons from the anterior retina connect to a posterior part of the optic tectum, and posterior retinal axons connect to the anterior part, thereby establishing a point-to-point projection map. The chemoaffinity theory predicts that the orderly retinotectal projection is generated by a topographical arrangement of molecules. We report here that we have found several genes topographically expressed along the nasotemporal (anterior-posterior) axis in the embryonic chicken retina. Among these, two transcriptional regulators, belonging to the winged-helix family are expressed in a mutually exclusive manner in either the nasal or temporal part of the retina. Misexpression of each factor causes misprojection on the tectum along the rostrocaudal axis, showing that topographical expression of these transcription factors controls formation of the retinotectal map.

Study of urinary mandelic acid concentration and peripheral nerve conduction among styrene workers.

The relationship between exposure to styrene and nerve conduction velocities was investigated in 32 workers occupationally exposed to styrene. There was a dose-dependent relationship between urinary mandelic acid and ulnar and peroneal motor distal latencies (MDLs). The ulnar and peroneal MDLs of subgroup B (urinary mandelic acid > or = 250 mg/l) were significantly longer than those of subgroup A (urinary mandelic acid < 250 mg/l)(p < 0.05), and the referent group (p < 0.03). After adjusting confounding factors, urinary mandelic acid had a significant positive relationship with ulnar and peroneal MDL. Our study suggests that a low level of styrene, below the 50 ppm exposure limit of the American Conference of Governmental Industrial Hygienists (ACGIH), involves the risk of inducing adverse effects on the peripheral nervous system. The study also indicated that motor distal latency is a sensitive parameter of toxic peripheral neuropathy.

[Effects of age and skin temperature on peripheral nerve conduction velocity--a basic study for nerve conduction velocity measurement in worksite].

The purpose of this study was to investigate the relation between nerve conduction velocity (NCV) and some factors which affect the measurement, such as age, skin temperature, body build and alcohol consumption. Neurophysiological parameters of healthy volunteers (28 males and 27 females, aged 20-57 years) who were free from occupational exposure inducing neuropathy were determined by monitoring skin temperature. A questionnaire survey on height, alcohol and tobacco consumption was also performed. The following results were obtained: 1) Analysis of covariance to examine the relation between age groups and NCVs adjusting for skin temperature showed significant differences only in peroneal motor distal latency (MDL) and duration of sural sensory nerve action potential (SNAP) between age groups. However, there was no constant relation between these parameters and age. Multiple regression analysis showed the significant relationships between age and ulnar MDL and the duration of sural sensory nerve action potential, adjusting for sex, height, weight, BMI, alcohol intake (frequency/week, ethanol equivalent ml/week), tobacco consumption (/day), skin temperature and education years. 2) The skin temperature had significant effects on ulnar MDL, ulnar sensory NCV, duration of ulnar SNAP, sural sensory NCV and amplitude and duration of sural SNAP according to the results of multiple regression analysis and analysis of variance. 3) The body mass index had an independent effect on the ulnar nerve conduction, shortening MDL and the duration of the sensory nerve action potential. 4) Consumption of alcohol and tobacco had no significant relation to nerve conduction velocity in our study. These results show that skin temperature is a major covariate of peripheral nerve conduction and that it is very important to control skin temperature in studies on nerve conduction measurements.

Investigation on neurotoxicity of occupational exposure to cyclohexane: a neurophysiological study.

OBJECTIVES: To examine the effect of occupational exposure to cyclohexane on the peripheral nervous system. METHODS: A nerve conduction study was performed on 18 workers exposed to cyclohexane in a luggage factory and on age and sex matched occupationally unexposed controls. 12 workers had been exposed to n-hexane (median 2.8 years) before the start of exposure to cyclohexane. To confirm the effect of exposure, a follow up study was performed on nine workers one year after the first study. The mean exposure to cyclohexane was 1.2 years in the first study. A symptom survey was performed. The exposure was measured by air sampling of the breathing zone of each worker. The urinary metabolite cyclohexanol was also monitored. RESULTS: The concentration of airborne cyclohexane ranged from 5 to 211 ppm. The urinary concentration of cyclohexanol ranged from 0.12 to 1.51 mg/l. There was a strong correlation between the cyclohexane exposure in personal air and urinary cyclohexanol. No differences were found in nerve conduction velocities (NCV) between workers exposed to cyclohexane and age and sex matched controls. The results of the follow up study showed significant improvements in peroneal motor NCV (P < 0.01) and sural sensory NCV (P < 0.05) and in ulnar motor distal latency (MDL, P < 0.05) and peroneal MDL (P < 0.05) compared with the first study. Although the past n-hexane exposure affected the first neurophysiological study, the effect had disappeared in the second study, one year later. CONCLUSION: Occupational exposure to the concentrations of cyclohexane experienced in this study had no adverse effects on the peripheral nervous system.

Impaired colour discrimination among workers exposed to styrene: relevance of a urinary metabolite.

OBJECTIVES: To survey the loss of colour vision among Japanese workers who have been exposed to styrene concentrations currently considered low (about 20 ppm). Also to assess the effects of styrene by examination of the nature of the relation between disorder of colour vision and age, alcohol consumption, and other variables. METHODS: Colour discrimination was examined in 64 male workers exposed to styrene (mean age; 38.0, mean exposed years; 7.0) and in 69 controls (mean age; 38.0). A standardised questionnaire was adopted to collect work history, occupational or non-occupational solvent exposure, alcohol consumption, and drug use. Colour vision was evaluated by the Lanthony desaturated panel D-15 test. The results of the test were expressed as the colour confusion index (CCI). RESULTS: The mean atmospheric styrene concentration was about 20 ppm. The mean urinary concentration of mandelic acid was 0.22 g/l. There was a significant difference in CCI between exposed workers and age matched controls. Colour vision of workers whose concentration of urinary mandelic acid was > or = 0.42 g/l was significantly impaired when compared with workers whose concentration was < 0.42 g/l. Multiple linear regression analysis that controlled confounding variables such as age, alcohol consumption, smoking, and educational attainment showed that the CCI was significantly related to the concentration of urinary mandelic acid. In both exposed workers and controls, the types of defects were mostly blue-yellow loss, although a few subjects showed complex loss. No one showed only red-green loss. CONCLUSIONS: These findings suggest that exposure to moderate styrene concentrations can lead to impairment of colour vision, and that there is a significant correlation with the urinary metabolite of styrene.

Functional expression of Ca(2+)-mobilizing opioid receptors in Xenopus oocytes injected with rat brain mRNA.

Functional expression of opioid receptors was detected in the Xenopus oocyte translation system by a voltage-clamp recording. After injection of poly(A)+ RNA isolated from 3-week-old rat striatum or whole brain, the oocytes often demonstrated intracellular Ca(2+)-mediated oscillatory responsiveness to [D-Ala2, N-methyl-Phe4, Gly5-ol]enkephalin (DAMGO), [D-Pen2, D-Pen5]enkephalin (DPDPE) and U50488H at a concentration of 1 microM. These responses were very transiently expressed after injection of the mRNA, however, water-injected oocytes never responded to any of these opioid agonists. After fractionation by a sucrose-density gradient, an RNA size of about 3-4 kb encoded these opioid receptors. In the oocytes injected with size-selected striatal mRNA, DPDPE evoked the fluctuating current with higher probability and larger amplitude than other agonists, whereas oocytes injected with size-selected whole brain mRNA produced DAMGO and U50488H responses predominantly. The DPDPE response of striatal mRNA-injected oocytes was antagonized by naloxone as well as the delta-specific antagonist ICI 174864. The DAMGO and U50488H responses have not been characterized yet because of a strong desensitizing property making repeated recordings impossible. These observations suggest that putative mu, delta and kappa subtypes of opioid receptors mobilizing intracellular Ca2+ are expressed in Xenopus oocytes by rat brain mRNA.

Exposure monitoring and health effect studies of workers occupationally exposed to cyclohexane vapor.

A survey was conducted in the second half of a working week on 33 women who either applied glue (with cyclohexane as an almost exclusive solvent component) or worked in the vicinity of glue application. Carbon cloth-equipped diffusive samplers were used for personal measurement of time-weighted average intensity of exposure to the solvent. The geometric mean and the highest cyclohexane concentration observed in air were 27 ppm and 274 ppm, respectively. Concentrations of cyclohexanol in urine samples and cyclohexane in whole blood and serum collected at the end of a shift showed significant correlations with the solvent exposure levels. Urinary cyclohexanone also correlated, but with a smaller correlation coefficient. The observation suggests that cyclohexanol in urine and cyclohexane in blood or serum collected at the end of a shift are useful indicators of occupational exposure to cyclohexane vapor. Quantitative estimation of balance at the end of the shift suggested that only a minute portion (< 1%) of cyclohexane absorbed is excreted in the urine as cyclohexanol, almost exclusively as a glucuronide. A survey of subjective symptoms revealed an increase in the prevalence of "dimmed vision " and "unusual smell", but hematology and serum biochemistry testing did not indicate any specific signs.

[Association of parents' occupational exposure to cancer in children. A case-control study of acute lymphoblastic leukemia].

The objectives of the present study were to evaluate the preconceptual, prenatal, and postnatal environmental factors as possible etiologic agents of childhood neoplasms. An exploratory case-control study was conducted on parents of children less than 15 yr of age with acute lymphocytic leukemia (ALL). Data were obtained on 147 identified cases by interview from their mothers and by mail questionnaire from their fathers. Hospital control cases were matched by sex and age, while population control cases were matched by place of residence, and sex. The following results were obtained. 1) As for the occupation of the parents, more fathers of the cases were engaged in occupations related to agriculture, medicine, and science than those of the controls, and more mothers of the cases were engaged in agriculture than those of the controls. 2) No significant relation could be demonstrated between ALL and occupations related to hydrocarbon and ionizing radiation. 3) The results of multivariate analysis showed that in comparison with the hospital control cases the preconceptual exposure to chemicals and the prenatal exposure to pesticides of the fathers and the prenatal exposure to benzine and spray pesticides of the mothers were risks of high significance. In comparison with population control cases, the prenatal exposure of benzine and exposure to paints of the mothers prior to disease onset were risks of high significance. The foregoing results suggest that exposure to occupational and environmental factors of the parents may play an etiologic role in childhood leukemia.