The ultrastructural distribution of glycosaminoglycans (GAGs) in the extracellular matrix of capillary endothelial cells during angiogenesis was studied using chick chorio-allantoic membrane (CAM), histochemically in vivo and in vitro. For in vitro study, a simple model of angiogenesis was provided by the collagen gel culture method. The newly formed endothelial tubular structures in vitro were similar to the vascular channels in vivo. The observed in vitro and in vivo vascular tubes were stained with periodic acid hexamethylenetetramine silver, ruthenium red, and alcian blue, and digested in four enzymes (testicular hyaluronidase, streptmyces hyaluronidase, chondroitinase ABC and chondroitinase AC) to idetify specific GAGs. Consequently, it was suggested that hyaluronic acid accumulated on the fine non-striated collagen fibrils of extracellular matrlx components in the early stage of angiogenesis and was replaced by sulfated GAGs, especially dermatan sulfate during the vascular development.

The effect of slime protease obtained from Staphylococcus epidermidis on human serum protease inhibitors, which are related to host-defence, was examined. The activities of antitrypsin and anti-elastase of α₁-antitrypsin and the affinity of α₁-antitrypsin and trypsin were inhibited by S. epidermidis slime protease. The binding of α₁-antitrypsin and trypsin was also inhibited by S. epidermidis slime protease. On the other hand, by using SDS-polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis, α_1-antitrypsin and antithrombin Ⅲ were degraded by the treatment of S. epidermidis slime protease. As the result, S. epidermidis slime protease had the potential of both inactivation and cleavage of serum protease inhibitor, causing the destruction of the host-defence and prolongation of S. epidermidis infection.

During a 10-year period from February 1979 through December 1988, 1,602 strains of beta-hemolytic streptococci were isolated from 5,011 pharyngeal cultures obtained from children with acute upper respiratory tract infections. The beta-hemolytic streptococci were serologically grouped and then group A streptococci determined as T-pattern and the minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC), to penicillin, ampicillin, cephaloridine, cephalexin, tetracycline, chloramphenicol, erythromycin, oleandomycin and lincomycin, was evaluated. The results obtained were as follows:

1. Of these isolates, 1,546 were serologically classified as group A (96.5%), the remaining 56 were in groups B, C and G.

2. T-12 type was the dominant type during the 9-year period between 1979 and 1987, but in 1988T-1 type, which was isolated at a high level in 1979 and 1983, was the most dominant.

3. These strains had high susceptibility to penicillin, ampicillin, cephaloridine and cephalexin with the MIC range of 0.0031~6.25μg/ml. The drug-resistance (MIC≧25μg/ml) and chronological change in MIC were not observed.

In 1979, the incidences of highly resistant strains (MIC≧200μg/ml) to macrolides amounted to 44.7~61.7%, but in 1980 markedly decreased (14.8~24.55%), and since then these resistances decreased chronologically.

4. In T-3, T-4, and T-12 type among the T-type, the incidence of drug-resistant strains were high. T-4 type resistance was mainly in tetracycline resistance, and T-12 type resistance distributed more in multiple drug-resistance than in single drug-resistance.

To investigate the effects of 1α-OH-D₃ (ALFAROL) on the condylar cartilage of mouse mandibles, 3-day-old mice (ddY) were used in this experiment. 1α-OH-D₃ increased serum Ca level and decreased condylar cartilage. With administration of 1α-OH-D₃ it was difficult to distinguish the proliferating zone from mature cell zone in condylar cartilage by morphology.

Furthermore, the cells in proliferating and maturecell zones were electron microscopically exposed to morphological changes compared with the control. The labeling indexes of ³H-thymidine on the cells in proliferating and mature cell zones were reduced by one-third of control level. Moreover, the positive reaction was stained with alcian blue and PAS reduced with the administration of 1α-OH-D_3. From the above results, it is suggested that 1α-OH-D₃ inhibited the proliferation and glycosaminoglycan synthesis of condylar chondrocytes.

In order to clarify the influence of orthodontic therapy on patients with diabetes, the effect of experimental tooth movement on the levels of 3-methoxy-4-hydroxy- phenylglycol (MHPG), blood suger and brain amino acid neurotransmitters, was examined using normal and streptozotocin (STZ)-induced diabetes mice of the male ddY strain, weighing about 30g. On the 18th day after administration of STZ (160mg/kg, i.p.) or vehicle to the mice of each group, a plastic chip, 0.5mm in diameter, was put between the upper incisors and fixed with resin for the purpose of tooth movement. When the fluctuation in their blood sugar levels became stable, a plastic chip, 1.0mm in diameter, was put between the teeth by the same procedure. A blood sugar sample collected from the tail vein was measured, using the glucose oxidase-hexokinase method. On the 2nd day after treatment for tooth movement, MHPG in the corpus striatum and hypothalamus, and amino acid neurotrans mitters (aspartate, glutamate, glutamine, glycine, taurine, gamma-aminobutyric acid) in the corpus striatum, hypothalamus, hippocampus and cerebral cortex of the normal and STZ-induced diabetes mice were measured, using the HPLC-electrochemical detection method. The MHPG levels in the hypothalamus of the STZ-induced diabetes mice, with the treatment for tooth movement, significantly increased, but did not increase in normal mice with the above treatment. The blood sugar levels also showed the same patterns. The treatment for tooth movement exerted an influence on the levels of amino acid neurotransmitters in the hypothalamus and hippocampus but not in the corpus striatum and cerebral cortex of the STZ-induced diabetes mice.

These results indicate that the treatment for tooth movement in the STZ-induced diabetes mice produces an increase in the levels of MHPG, blood sugar and brain amino acid neurotransmitters, and suggest that in patients with diabetes, orthodontic therapy may exert some stress.

The effects of Ca deficiency in bone repair of dogs were evaluated by ¹²⁵I-photon absorptiometry (¹²⁵I-PA) and the histological findings (H-E stain, contact microradiogram, labeling method). A bone defect at the experimental site was produced in the mandibular premolar region of dogs. The dogs were then divided into the normal diets group (ND group) and low Ca diets group (LCD group) after operation. The control site with a bone defect was equal to the experimental site on the contralateral region before sacrificing on the 1st, 2nd, 4th, 8th,16th and 24th week. Bone mineral content (BMC) of excised mandibles and the radius were measured using ¹²⁵I-PA. BMC in the control site slightly decreased from the 4th week, and then showed an obvious decrease from the 16th to 24th week in the LCD group. BMC in the experimental site decreased from the 16th to 24th week in the LCD group. During the 1st week after surgery, the BMC tended to decrease in the experimental site but then increased from the 2nd to 24th week in the LCD group. However, the amount of BMC between the experiment and control sites was different in the LCD group, because the amount was higher than the ND group during the 16th to 24th week. This observation indicated bone formation of bone repair continued in the LCD group from the 16th to 24th week, although BMC of bone defect at the experimental site decreased equally throughout the other bones.

This study was undertaken to investigate the effect of the direct current stimulation on surrounding tissue of the intra-osseous implant in dogs. The implant material was composed of a peripheral hydroxyapatite layer and a center metal core used as an electrode. After embedding the implant on the mandibular edentulous ridge of the dog, a constant direct current, 10μA and 1.55V, was applied for a successive 14 days and 28 days.

Histopathologic findings were as follows:

1. When the bone marrow was stimulated electrically with a constant direct current for 14 days or more, bone formation around the implant accelerated.

2. There was a different histological reaction surrounding tissues between the cathode and anode sites. Around the cathode, bone formation on the surface of the implant was remarkable, but around the anode, bone formation on the surface of the implant was poor.

3. The electrical stimulation, with a newly developed power unit and electrode, accelerated new bone formation in the surrounding tissue of the intra-osseous implant.

Previously, we reported the contribution of the sympathetic nerve system in the maintenance of blood pressure. We studied changes in blood pressure and pulse rate, after the intraperitoneal (i.p.) administration of 5-hydroxydopamine (5-OHDA) at a dose 240mg/kg body weight, in normotensive rats.

In the present study, after i.p. administration of 5-OHDA to normotensive rats, 80mg of red ginseng having vasodilati on and sympathetic nerve exciting effects was given daily for 10 days. During the course of this study, the effects on blood pressure and pulse rate of rats treated with 5-OHDA, as well as concentration of catecholamine in plasma and adrenal glands, were studied. After administration of 5-OHDA, in both red ginseng treated and non-treated groups, biphasic change in blood pressure was observed. That is, transient sharp elevation of blood pressure was followed by rapid lowering to far lower values than the pressure before administration. Subsequently, the pressure rose gradually to the initial level. In this process we found that the recovery time to the initial blood pressure was significantly shorter in the red ginseng-treated group. Administration of red ginseng may accelerate functional recovery of the sympathetic nerve system. On the other hand, pulse rate decreased remarkably after 5-OHDA administration in both groups, but thereafter recovered quickly to the level before administration. Recovery time was also significantly shorter in the red ginseng-treated group than the untreated group. The concentration of plasma catecholamine, measured 11 days after the start of red ginseng administration, was significantly higher than in the untreated group. In contrast, catecholamine in adrenal glands was rather decreased in the red ginseng treated group. These observations suggest the possibility that red ginseng recovers the function of the sympathetic nerve system deranged by 5-OHDA administration.

In spite of irradiation of 185Gy for squamous cell carcinoma in floor of the mouth, during the past 6 years, a 74-year-old man still had a recurrent tumor and was referred to our clinic. He was administered 20mg Peplomycin (5mg/day; i.v.) prior to surgery. Afterwards, marginal resection to preserve the buccal cortical bone for the right mandible, with hemi-resection of the floor of his mouth and tongue, was carried out. A defect of the soft tissue was immediately reconstructed using a pectoralis major myocutaneous flap. A fracture of the mandible in the middle site of marginal resection occurred about 1.5 months later. A mandibular osteosynthesis using a titanium plate and reconstruction of the mandible due to graft of the iliac cancellous bone chips, was achieved. As a result he almost feels a cosmetic and functional satisfaction in his daily life.