We previously reported the neurotrophic effects of talaumidin (1) from Aristolochia arcuata MASTERS. In the present study, we compared the neurotrophic and neuroprotective effects of six other 2,5-diaryl-3,4-dimethyltetrahydrofuran neolignans isolated from the same plant, veraguensin (2), galgravin (3), aristolignin (4), nectandrin A (5), isonectandrin B (6), and nectandrin B (7), with compound 1 in primary cultured rat neurons. Compounds 3-7 promoted neuronal survival and neurite outgrowth, among which compounds 6 and 7 showed neurotrophic activity comparable with that of 1.

Reactions of illudin S with cysteine derivatives (cysteine methyl ester, glutathione and a peptide, Cys-Asp-Pro-Gly-Tyr-Ile-Gly-Ser-Arg) were investigated. In the reaction with cysteine methyl ester, four products (P1, P2, P3, P4) were obtained and their structures were determined, on the basis of MS and NMR data, to be adducts of the mercapto group of cysteine methyl ester with the alpha,beta-unsaturated carbonyl group of illudin S. In the reactions with glutathione and the peptide, two addition products in each case were identified by liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry (LC-MS/MS) and NMR analyses. The structures of these adducts also indicated that the alpha,beta-unsaturated carbonyl group in illudin S behaves as a Michael acceptor for the mercapto group in cysteine.

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To investigate the feasibility of using salivary urea nitrogen as an index of renal glomerular filtration rate, we developed and applied a new analytical system consisting of a urease-containing test strip and an automatic reflectance spectrometer. The concentrations of urea nitrogen so determined correlate well (r = 0.93) with concentrations in serum. These preliminary data suggest that our method can be used routinely as a simple and reliable means of detecting abnormalities of renal function.

A 68-year-old man was admitted to our hospital for cough and dyspnea. Laboratory data showed positive human T-lymphotropic virus type 1 (HTLV-1) antibody and elevated level of soluble interleukin-2 receptor (4225 U/ml). Thoracic computed tomography showed emphysema, reticular shadow, ground-glass attenuation, and subpleural consolidation (Figure 1). Bronchofiberscopy was carried out and cytologic examination of bronchoalveolar lavage fluid revealed atypical lymphocytes. These cells showed positive reaction for CD2, CD3, CD4, CD5, and CD25 and negative for CD8 in flow cytometry. Specimens of transbronchial lung biopsy showed massive infiltration of malignant lymphocytes, which were