lsoaspartyl protein carboxyl methyltransferase (PIMT) is widely distributed in mammalian tissues. Using a polymerase chain reaction-generated 124-bp DNA fragment from brain cDNA as a probe, four different sizes (-4.0, 2.5, 1.7, and 1.1 kb) of transcripts were detected with northern blot analysis. They were expressed predominantly in rat brain and testis. The major transcripts were 2.5 and 1.7 kb in the brain and 2.5 and 1.1 kb in the testis. One of the major transcripts specific to the testis (1.1 kb) was determined to study the structural difference of major transcripts in the two tissues. This testicular cDNA had neither the 5 (94 nucleotides) nor the 3 (594 nucleotides) end of previously reported brain cDNA corresponding to 1.7 kb. The mRNA levels and enzyme activities of different regions and developmental changes were examined in the brain. The mRNA levels and enzyme activities were concomitantly high in cerebral cortex and hippocampus. Although they increased rapidly -30 days after birth in the testis and decreased in aged rats, they increased gradually after birth and remained high during the aging of the brain. Both structural and developmental studies show that the expression of the PIMT gene in brain and testis is regulated in a tissue-specific manner. Key Words: Isoaspartyl protein carboxyl methyltransferase-mRNA-Postnatal development-Rat brain and testis-cDNA sequence-Polymerase chain reaction.

HighlightsA retrocecal hernia is a rare type of pericecal hernia.The genesis of retrocecal hernias is explained based on the minimal error in rotation with incarceration behind the cecum.Abdominal computed tomography scan is useful for preoperative diagnosis of retrocecal hernia.

We report a case of solitary pelvic kidney encountered during laparoscopic colectomy. A 55-year-old man was admitted to undergo laparoscopic colectomy for an early sigmoid colon cancer, which had been detected after a polypectomy. The kidneys were not clearly visualized in their normal position by ultrasonography. During the operation, anomalous vessels in the presacral space and a mass covered with fatty tissue were identified. We converted the operation to a mini-laparotomy, and on performing intraoperative ultrasonography a solitary pelvic kidney was detected. An anterior resection was performed without operative complications. Laparoscopic ultrasonography (LUS) and hand-assisted laparoscopic surgery (HALS) should be considered as feasible adjuvants, when difficult situations arise during laparoscopic colectomy. In case of uncertainty about anatomical orientation or identification, it is prudent to convert to open surgery thereby preventing intraoperative complications such as injury to anomalous vessels or the ureter.

HighlightsAn accessory liver lobe is a rare anomaly of the liver.An accessory liver lobe is usually asymptomatic and incidentally detected during surgery or autopsy in most cases.An accessory liver lobe should be resected in order to prevent complications and malignant transformation.Ultrasonography is useful in case of accessory liver lobe for preoperative diagnosis.

Two different sizes (approximately 1.0 and 1.6 kb) of transcripts of an isoaspartyl protein carboxyl methyltransferase (PIMT) were detected in eight cell lines derived from human hemopoietic cells on Northern blot analysis. We found three different sizes of cDNAs (907, 1,553, and 1,600 bp) in human erythroid leukemia cells (HEL) and a unique cDNA sequence corresponding to the 1.0 kb transcript was identified. These three cDNA sequences encoded two isozymes consisting of 226 (isozyme I) and 227 (isozyme II) amino acids. The 1.6 kb transcript was translated into two isozymes (isozyme I and II), while the 1.0 kb transcript was only translated into isozyme I. These results suggest that the two isozymes deduced from the cDNAs of the human erythroid leukemia cells may exist in normal human erythrocytes.