In addition to its procoagulant properties, the serine protease thrombin increases endothelial permeability, stimulates granulocyte adherence, and serves as a fibroblast mitogen. We demonstrate that thrombin is mitogenic for human lung fibroblasts in vitro. The mitogenic effect of thrombin is associated with an increase in the expression of the ligand PDGF-AA and up-regulation of PDGF alpha-receptor. Since scleroderma (systemic sclerosis; SSc) is characterized by widespread microvascular injury and is frequently complicated by pulmonary fibrosis, we sought to determine the level of thrombin activity in bronchoalveolar lavage (BAL) fluid from SSc patients and normal controls. We report a significantly higher level of thrombin activity in BAL fluid from SSc patients compared with normal controls (P < 0.001). Taken together, the high levels of thrombin in BAL fluid and its demonstrated mitogenicity for lung fibroblasts suggest an important role for thrombin in the pathogenesis of SSc and perhaps other fibrotic lung diseases.

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Dentists should recognize the existence of morphological variation in calcified stylohyoid complexes, especially in length, apparent on panoramic radiographs of 80-year-old patients. In addition, the longer length of the calcified stylohyoid complexes in 80-year-old patients may be a predictor of bone density and high serum calcium concentration level. The findings from the present study may provide potentially life-saving information about elderly people.

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Our initial experience showed that virtual MR endoscopy could be performed to observe the endoluminal tracts of parotid and submandibular glands. The clinical use of the virtual MR endoscopy for salivary gland ducts has not been established yet. Future applications of the 3D-reconstruction images and virtual endoscopic views using MR sialography data sets of 3D-FASE sequences are very attractive and further expansion of this field is expected.