Background: A few studies have reported that the quantity of selected cytokines/chemokines in breast milk might be associated with atopic dermatitis (AD). Using the multiplex cytokine assay system, we examined cytokines/chemokines in human milk in order to identify new biomarkers related to AD. Methods: We recruited 49 infants with or without AD who participated in a birth cohort and measured the concentrations of cytokines/chemokines in the colostrum (collected within 4–5 days after birth) and mature milk (collected at 1 month postpartum) received by the infants. Results: There were significant differences in the concentrations of interleukin (IL)-1β and IL-12p40 in the colostrum, and in those of IL-4, eotaxin, granulocyte colony-stimulating factor (G-CSF), granulocyte macrophage colony-stimulating factor (GM-CSF), interferon (IFN)-α2 and MIP-1α in the mature milk between the milk received by infants who developed AD at the age of 6 months and that received by the control infants. There was weak to moderate correlation between those 6 cytokines/chemokines in mature milk. Atopic history and IgE levels of mothers were not related to cytokine/chemokine concentrations in breast milk. Logistic regression analyses showed that high levels of eotaxin in the mature milk were a risk for the development of AD at 6 months of age. Conclusion: These results suggest that several cytokines/chemokines, especially eotaxin, are potential biomarkers for development of AD in early infancy.

Red blood cells (RBC) from 69 patients with advanced cancer and 37 healthy controls were subjected to polyamine determination by using high-performance liquid chromatography. The polyamine contents in normal human RBC were spermidine 15.04 +/- 3.63 nmol and spermine 8.82 +/- 3.12 nmol per 10(10) RBC. Spermidine and spermine levels in RBC were elevated in patients with cancer (p less than 0.005). Serial studies in seven patients with cancer indicated that both polyamines in RBC were reduced after successful surgery. Our data indicate that the determination of polyamine levels in RBC is clinically useful as a marker of disease activity in patients with cancer.

The transport and reduction of dimesna (NA‐2‐mercaptoethane sulfonate disulfide) was studied in vitro using isolated, perfused rat kidney, and isolated renal epithelial cells. Cellular uptake of dimesna was found to be dependent on an active transport mechanism working across the luminal brush border, with an app. K m of ∼22 μM and V max ∼1.4 nmol. 106 cells−1.min−1. Among other low molecular thiols or disulfides reduced glutathione was the only one to exert competitive inhibition. γ‐GT‐activity or cellular GSH status had no influence on renal uptake of dimesna, but the intracellular reduction rate was dependent on access to reduced glutathione as a cofactor.

The reactivity of transition-metal cluster complexes has recently been attracted considerable attention because of their potential applicability to organic synthesis. [1] There have been a number of examples of unique reaction modes, such as successive cleavage of the carbon±hydrogen bond of alkanes, [2] the cleavage of the carbon±carbon double bond of 1,1'-disubstituted alkenes, [3] and the catalytic hydrogenation of aromatic compounds in aqueous media, [4] originating from the cooperative action of the metal centers. The advantageous properties of a multimetallic system over a monometallic one in the substrate activation step are its ability to multiply coordinate the substrate and the multielectron transfer between the substrate and the cluster. Such unique reactivity of the cluster likely comes from these two remarkable properties. The reactivity is most probably affected by the nuclearity of the cluster because the reactivity strongly depends on the number of transferable electrons: the more nuclei in the cluster, the more effectively electrons are transferred. [5] It is well established for mononuclear transition-metal complexes that the auxiliary ligand allows control over the reactivity of the complex through electronic and steric perturbation of the reaction site. Thus, the development of a rational method for the synthesis of clusters with higher nuclearity and a variety of auxiliary ligands seems to be essential for the application of such clusters to organic synthesis.Recently, we have established the high and unique reactivity of the di-and trinuclear ruthenium polyhydride com- plexes [{(h 5 -C 5 Me 5 )Ru} 2 (m-H) 4 ] (1) and [{(h 5 -C 5 Me 5 )Ru} 3 -(m-H) 3 (m 3 -H) 2 ](2). [6] As an extension of the chemistry of ™trimetallic activation∫, we tackled the development of a rational method for the synthesis of a tetranuclear ruthenium polyhydride cluster. We report herein, to the best of our knowledge, the first example of a rational synthesis of a series of tetranuclear polyhydride complexes having several combinations of the auxiliary cyclopentadienyl ligands.Treatment of [CpRuCl 2 (h 3 -C 3 H 5 )] (3 a) [7] (Cp ¼ h 5 -C 5 H 5 ) with LiAlH 4 in tetrahydrofuran followed by workup with ethanol [Eq. (1)] gave a new complex which was identified as the tetranuclear ruthenium hexahydride [(CpRu) 4 H 6 ] (4 a) by 1 H and 13 C NMR spectroscopy and an X-ray diffraction study. In a similar manner, tetranuclear clusters [{(h 5 -C 5 H 4 Me)Ru} 4 H 6 ] (4 b) and [{(h 5 -1,3-Me 2 C 5 H 3 )Ru} 4 H 6 ] (4 c) were derived from the corresponding Ru IV precursors, [(h 5 -C 5 H 4 Me)RuCl 2 (h 3 -C 3 H 5 )] (3 b) and [(h 5 -1,3-Me 2 -C 5 H 3 )RuCl 2 (h 3 -C 3 H 5 )] (3 c), [8] respectively. Although the yields of 4 a and 4 c were not high (ca. 40 %), the 1 H NMR spectra of the crude products obtained after removal of the aluminum salt showed that the tetranuclear hydride complexes 4 a and 4 c were formed exclusively. In the reaction of 3 b with LiAlH 4 , however, the formation of 4 b was accompanied by a significant ...

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