To elucidate the pathophysiological role of serine proteinase in the degeneration of joint tissue in osteoarthritis (OA) and rheumatoid arthritis (RA), proteinase activity and trypsin inhibitor activity in the articular cartilage and its underneath subchondral bone marrow as well as synovial fluid were determined. Both proteinase and inhibitor extracted from minced test tissues with 2 M guanidine hydrochloride were fractionated by Sephadex G-75 chromatography. The proteinase thus extracted was identified to be leukocyte elastase with My 25,000, based on the complete inhibition with antibody to human leukocyte elastase, and its activity in OA and RA articular cartilage were 55 times and 100 times higher than that in control femoral heads, respectively. Analysis of serine proteinase and trypsin inhibitor levels in OA articular cartilage, its underneath subchondral bone marrow and synovial fluid of the te-st joint cavity revealed that the serine proteinase is most likely to be derived from its underneath subchondral bone marrow, while that in RA cartilage from both synovial fluid and subchondral bone marrow.

Fourteen cases of inflammatory fibroid polyp of the stomach were studied in terms of immunohistochemistry and ultrastructure. They occurred as polypoid lesions in the antrum, except for two found in the body of the stomach. Out of the 14 cases, two were found to be multiple and the remainder solitary. In all but one lesion, the mucosal layer was involved and six lesions were entirely localized within the mucosal layer, suggesting that inflammatory fibroid polyps of the stomach originate in the mucosal layer. Neither SlOO protein, factor VIII-related antigen, alpha 1-antitrypsin nor lysozymes were found in the cytoplasm of the proliferating cells. The ultrastructures of the proliferating cells were fibroblastic rather than neurogenic, angiogenic, or myofibroblastic. These findings suggest that the cells are fibroblasts, though the possibility that they are facultative fibroblasts remains. An interesting observation made with electron microscope was the infection of micro-organisms similar to mycoplasma. This seems to deserve further investigation a s a possible etiologic factor of the disease. ACTA PATHOL. JPN. 36: 327-335, 1986. with the stomach being the common site.'O

Human dihydrodiol dehydrogenase (DD) catalyses the oxidation of trans-dihydrodiols of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons and the reduction of several ketone-containing drugs. About 40-fold interindividual difference in DD activities has been noted. Recently, we found that transcriptional factors, hepatocyte nuclear factor (HNF)-1 alpha, HNF-4 alpha and HNF-4 gamma were essential for the expression of DD4 mRNA, which is a major form of DDs. Thus, to clarify a possible mechanism(s) underlying the interindividual difference in DD activities, we investigated the sequences of genes and the expression levels of mRNA for DD4 and HNFs in human livers. We found no clear relationship between the genotypes of DD4 and HNF genes and the expression levels of DD4 mRNA in the subjects. The expression level of DD4 mRNA significantly correlated with that of HNF-1 alpha, HNF-4 alpha or HNF-4 gamma. These results suggest that the expression level of DD4 mRNA is cooperatively regulated by the amounts of HNF-1 alpha, HNF-4 alpha and HNF-4 gamma.

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An unusual case of glioblastoma with adenoid structures arising in a 30-year-old Japanese woman with neurofibromatosis type-1 (NF1) is reported. The patient was admitted to University of Miyazaki Hospital, complaining of headache, nausea and vomiting. From the neuroradiological findings the patient was diagnosed as having glioblastoma, and the tumor was surgically resected. Histologically, the tumor consisted mainly of dark basophilic cells showing prominent tubular or glandular structures surrounded by large eosinophilic cells, in addition to the typical glioblastoma features in the periphery of the tumor. Both cells showed strong stainability with glial fibrillary acidic protein (GFAP) and S-100 protein immunohistochemically, so that the tumor was classified as adenoid glioblastoma. Several cases of glioblastoma have been reported to reveal the adenoid or epithelioid differentiation. The patients with NF1 are prone to develop malignant tumors including glioblastoma, but no cases representing adenoid glioblastoma associated with NF1 have been reported. This report is considered to be the first case of adenoid glioblastoma arising in a patient with NF1. The recognition of the existence of epithelial features of glioblastoma would be important in differential diagnosis of epithelioid tumors of the brain including metastatic carcinomas.