Inflammatory bowel disease (IBD), including Crohn's disease and ulcerative colitis, is a chronic intestinal inflammation of unknown etiology. The diagnosis of IBD is based on endoscopic, radiologic and histopathologic criteria. Recently, the search for a noninvasive marker that could augment or replace part of this diagnostic process has become a focus of IBD research. In this review, antibody markers, including microbial antibodies, autoantibodies and peptide antibodies, will be described, focusing on their common features. At present, no single marker with qualities that are satisfactory for the diagnosis and treatment of IBD has been identified, although panels of some antibodies are being evaluated with keen interest. The discovery of novel IBD-specific and sensitive markers is anticipated. Such markers could minimize the use of endoscopic and radiologic examinations and could enable clinicians to implement individualized treatment plans designed to improve the long-term prognosis of patients with IBD.

BACKGROUND The authors investigated whether the presence of matrix metalloproteinase‐2 (MMP‐2) and its inducer, CD147, in cancerous esophageal lesions and surrounding tissue might help to predict patient prognosis. METHODS Tissue samples from 101 patients with esophageal squamous cell carcinoma were stained with anti‐CD147 and anti–MMP‐2 antibodies for immunohistochemical analysis. RESULTS CD147 was expressed in cancerous and dysplastic lesions, but not in normal tissue. In contrast, MMP‐2 was detected mainly in normal interstitial tissue adjacent to cancerous lesions, but it was detected also in cancerous lesions in some patients. Pathologic findings demonstrated that the intensity of MMP‐2 staining in normal tissue was associated positively with the depth of tumor infiltration and the stage of disease, whereas MMP‐2 staining in cancerous tissue was associated positively with vascular and lymphatic vessel invasion as well as with immature differentiation of cancer cells. Using a proportional hazard model, including information on CD147 staining patterns within cancerous lesions along with clinical cancer staging, improved the accuracy of predicting patient prognosis. CONCLUSIONS These results suggested that measurement of CD147 and MMP‐2 expression with simple immunohistochemical staining may enhance further the understanding of the pathophysiology of invading tumor cells and, when used in combination with cancer staging, may increase the ability of investigators to predict prognosis in patients with esophageal squamous cell carcinoma. Cancer 2004. © 2004 American Cancer Society.

The object of this study was to develop a highly porous scaffold to be used in regeneration of blood vessels, nerves, and other hollow tissues with small openings. Using the phase-inversion method and a mixture of water and methanol as a coagulating agent, we prepared highly porous flat membranes from poly(L: -lactic acid) (PLLA) with numerous pores both on the surface and in the interior of the membranes. Chinese hamster ovary (CHO) cells were cultured on the membranes to evaluate initial cell adhesion, cell proliferation, and cell morphology. Adhesion of CHO cells to PLLA was poor: the cells adhered at approximately half the rate observed with a tissue culture polystyrene dish (TCPS). In contrast, adhesion of cells to PLLA treated with a low-temperature oxygen plasma was good; the adhesion rate was the same as that on TCPS. The rate of cell proliferation on the treated membranes was no different from that on the nontreated membranes, but cell morphologies were quite different. The cells on the nontreated membranes were small and round and proliferated separately from one another. In contrast, the cells on the plasma-treated membranes proliferated in close contact with other cells, spreading out extensively in sheet-like formations. Since the plasma treatment not only accelerated cell adhesion but also enabled cells to proliferate in the form of sheets resembling biological tissue, we believe that oxygen-plasma treatment is extremely effective for modifying surfaces of materials used for tissue regeneration.

A thermo-acidophilic gram-positive bacterium, strain CP-1T, which grows aerobically at 35-65 degrees C (optimum 55-60 degrees C) and at pH 3.5-6.0 (optimum pH 4.5-5.0), was isolated from a herbal tea made from the dried flowers of hibiscus. Phylogenetic analysis of the 16S rRNA gene sequences showed that this bacterium was clearly distinguishable from previously described species of the genera Alicyclobacillus and Sulfobacillus. Strain CP-1T had unique omega-cycloheptane fatty acids as the major membrane lipid component, a characteristic which is peculiar to Alicyclobacillus cycloheptanicus. However, phenotypic and chemotaxonomic characteristics of strain CP-1T were different from those of the type strain of A. cycloheptanicus. DNA-DNA hybridization between the type strains of Alicyclobacillus species and Sulfobacillus disulfidooxidans was <20%, indicating that strain CP-1T represents a distinct species. On the basis of these results, the name Alicyclobacillus herbarius is proposed for this organism. The type strain is strain CP-1T (= DSM 13609T = IAM 14883T = NRIC 0477T).

A novel asymmetric polyimide membrane with an oriented surface skin layer was prepared by a dry−wet phase inversion process at different shear stresses. The surface morphology and the structure of the membranes were characterized by scanning electron microscopy and atomic force microscopy. Molecular orientation in the membranes was investigated using polarized ATR-FTIR spectroscopy. We found that the shear rate controlled by a doctor blade affects the thickness and morphology of the surface skin layer and the structure of the membrane. The gas permeances of a novel asymmetric polyimide membrane with an oriented surface skin layer were measured using a high-vacuum apparatus with a Baratron absolute pressure gauge at 76 cmHg. Both the gas permeance and selectivity of the asymmetric polyimide membranes increased with an increase in the shear rate. This may be due to the fact that the molecular orientation induced in the membrane influenced the diffusion of gas molecules through the oriented skin layer and that the gas diffusivity selectivity increased with decreasing skin layer thickness. Finally, the gas selectivity in the asymmetric polyimide membrane was enhanced. Discussions were carried out on the correlation between the shear rate and the membrane formation or the gas permeability.