DPG-3-2, a component of ginseng radix, which lowers the blood glucose level and stimulates insulin release in diabetic animals, was studied for its effects on insulin biosynthesis in different preparations of pancreas from animals with normoglycemia and with hyperglycemia (alloxan diabetic rats and genetically diabetic mice, KK-CAy). We measured incorporation of radioactive leucine into insulin and other protein fractions during a 2-h perfusion of rat pancreas, and into insulin during a 3-h incubation of mouse islets. Biosynthesis of insulin during a long-term culture of islets from KK-CAy mice was also measured. DPG-3-2 was found practically not to increase the incorporation into insulin in the pancreatic preparations from animals with normoglycemia, but in such preparations from animals with hyperglycemia DPG-3-2 (0.2-1.0 mg/ml) caused 1.5-1.8-fold incorporation into insulin. In addition, a long-term treatment of DPG-3-2 (0.5 mg/ml) was shown to stimulate insulin biosynthesis in islets from KK-CAy mice. Ginsenoside-Rb1 and -Rg1 decreased the insulin content of islet to the undetectable level. Thus, DPG-3-2 was shown to stimulate insulin biosynthesis in different preparations of pancreas from animals with hyperglycemia.

Background: Patients with chronic kidney disease (CKD) are at risk for bone loss and sarcopenia because of associated mineral and bone disorders (MBD), malnutrition, and chronic inflammation. Both osteoporosis and sarcopenia are associated with a poor prognosis; however, few studies have evaluated the relationship between muscle mass and bone mineral density (BMD) in hemodialysis (HD) patients. The present study examined the association between skeletal muscle mass index (SMI) and BMD in the lumbar spine and femoral neck in HD patients. Methods: Fifty HD patients (mean age, 69 ± 10 years; mean HD duration, 9.0 ± 8.8 years) in Minami-Uonuma City Hospital were evaluated. BMD was measured by dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry, and SMI was measured by bioelectrical impedance analysis (InBody TM) after HD. The factors affecting lumbar spine and femoral neck BMD were investigated, and multivariate analysis was performed. Results: In simple linear regression analysis, the factors that significantly affected the lumbar spine BMD were sex, presence of hypertension, presence of diabetes mellitus, body mass index, triglyceride level, grip strength, and SMI; the factors that significantly affected the femoral neck BMD were sex, HD duration, serum creatinine level, tartrate-resistant acid phosphatase 5b level, undercarboxylated osteocalcin (ucOC) level, N-terminal propeptide of type I procollagen level, grip strength, and SMI. In multivariate analysis, SMI (standardized coefficient: 0.578) was the only independent factor that affected the lumbar spine BMD; the independent factors that affected the femoral neck BMD were SMI (standardized coefficient: 0.468), ucOC (standardized coefficient: −0.366) and sex (standardized coefficient: 0.231).

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We report a case of ileal metastasis of renal cell carcinoma (RCC) in a 58-year-old male. The patient had a history of radical nephrectomy for a right RCC, and 2 years later underwent bilateral partial pneumonectomy for metastatic disease of the lung. A period of 1 year after the partial pneumonectomy, he developed bloody stools. Colonoscopy revealed an ileocolic intussusception caused by a polypoid tumor in the ileum, and the tumor was observed to be protruding into the ascending colon. The histological features of the tumor biopsy specimen confirmed the diagnosis of metastatic RCC. Metastasis of RCC in the small bowel is a rare disease clinically. To our knowledge, this is the first reported case with ileal metastasis of RCC, which has been definitively diagnosed by colonoscopy.

Heat-capacity changes (deltaC(p)0) were determined for the complexation of 1-alkanecarboxylates with protonated hexakis(6-amino-6-deoxy)-alpha-cyclodextrin (per-NH3(+)-alpha-CD) and heptakis(6-amino-6-deoxy)-beta-cyclodextrin (per-NH3(+)-beta-CD). DeltaC(p)0 decreased with an increase in the binding constant (K) and plateaued at K = 4000 M(-1). The complexes of 1-pentanoate, 1-hexanoate, and 1-heptanoate with per-NH3(+)-alpha-CD are classified as the host-guest system in which the size of the guest fits the CD cavity well. In such a system, van der Waals interaction is the major force for complexation, leading to a negative deltaH0 value. Simultaneously, the water molecules around the hydrophobic alkyl chain of the guest and inside the CD cavity are released to the aqueous bulk phase, leading to a positive deltaS0 value. The negative deltaC(p)0 value in such complexation is ascribed to dehydration of the hydrophobic alkyl chain of the guest and extrusion of the water molecules inside the CD cavity. Meanwhile, the complexes that show positive deltaC(p)0 values are characterized by complexation in which the guest molecules are significantly smaller than the CD cavities. In such a case, the complexation is endothermic and driven by the entropy gain. When the guest is much smaller than the CD cavity, the main binding force should be Coulomb interaction. To form an ionic bond, dehydration of the charged groups must occur. This process is endothermic and leads to positive deltaH0 and deltaS0 values. As the top of the CD cavity is capped by a small but hydrophobic alkyl chain, the water molecules inside the CD cavity may form the iceberg structure. This process must be accompanied by a positive deltaC(p)0 value. Hence, the complexation of a small guest with the CD with a large cavity through Coulomb interactions shows positive and large deltaC(p)0 values. These conclusions were applied to the electrostatic binding of proteins with an anionic ligand.