Shinichiro Tada

PURPOSE: A 3-dimensional finite element analysis was performed to evaluate the influence of implant type and length, as well as that of bone quality, on the stress/strain in bone and implant. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Two types (screw and cylinder) and 4 lengths (9.2, 10.8, 12.4, and 14.0 mm) of titanium implants were buried in 4 types of bone modeled by varying the elastic modulus for cancellous bone. Axial and buccolingual forces were applied to the occlusal node at the center of the abutment. RESULTS: Regardless of load direction, maximum equivalent stress/strain in bone increased with a decrease in cancellous bone density. Under axial load, especially in the low-density bone models, maximum equivalent strain in cancellous bone was lower with the screw-type implant than with the cylinder-type implant. It was also lower with the longer implants than with the shorter implants. Under buccolingual load, equivalent stress/strain was influenced mainly by bone density. DISCUSSION: This study confirms the importance of bone quality and its presurgical diagnosis for implant long-term prognosis. Implant length and type can also influence bone strain, especially in low-density bone. CONCLUSIONS: The results of this study suggest that cancellous bone of higher rather than lower density might ensure a better biomechanical environment for implants. Moreover, longer screw-type implants could be a better choice in a jaw with cancellous bone of low density.

During animal development, regions of the embryo become committed to position-specific identities, which are determined by spatially restricted expression of Hox/homeotic genes. This expression pattern is initially established by the activity of the segmentation genes and is subsequently maintained during the proliferative stage through the action of transcription factors encoded by the trithorax (trx) and Polycomb (Pc) groups of genes. trithorax (trx)and ash1 (absent, small, or homeotic 1) are members of the Drosophila trx group. Their products are associated with chromosomes and are believed to activate transcription of target genes through chromatin remodeling. Recently, we reported molecular studies indicating that TRX and ASH1 proteins act in concert to bind simultaneously to response elements located at close proximity within the same set of target genes. Extension of these and other studies to mammalian systems required identification and cloning of the mammalian homologue of ash1 (the mammalian homologue of trx, ALL-1, was previously cloned). We have identified a human expressed sequence tag (EST) clone with similarity to the SET domain of Drosophila ASH1, and used it to clone the human gene. huASH1 resides at chromosomal band 1q21. The gene is expressed in multiple tissues as an approximately 10.5-kb transcript and encodes a protein of 2962 residues. The protein contains a SET domain, a PHD finger, four AT hooks, and a region with homology to the bromodomain. The last region is not present in Drosophila ASH1, and as such might confer to the human protein a unique additional function. Using several anti-huASH1 Ab for immunostaining of cultured cells, we found that the protein is distributed in intranuclear speckles, and unexpectedly also in intercellular junctions. Double-immunofluorescence labeling of huASH1 and several junctional proteins localized the huASH1 protein into tight junctions. The significance of huASH1 dual location is discussed. In particular, we consider the possibility that translocation of the protein between the junctional membrane and the nucleus may be involved in adhesion-mediated signaling.

The metabolic changes in rat hepatoma cell line, AH70 cells, after coculturing with Kupffer cells were visualized using a silicon-intensified target camera and subsequent processing with a computer-assisted digital imaging processor. In cocultured tumor cells, nonactivated Kupffer cells reduced mitochondrial energization as indicated by the decrease in the fluorescence intensity of rhodamine 123 (Rh123) and induced lipid peroxidation as shown by the dichlorofluorescein (DCF) activation. The reduction in Rh123 could be eliminated by addition of an analogue of L-arginine (NG-monomethyl-L-arginine), suggesting the involvement of nitric oxide (NO.) in the decrease in mitochondrial energization. Superoxide dismutase did not inhibit the reduction in Rh123 but significantly inhibited DCF activation. These findings indicate that the latter reaction was mediated by superoxide anion. Two h after the cells were cocultured, propidium iodide-positive, severely injured tumor cells significantly increased in number. This increase was significantly attenuated by addition of NG-monomethyl-L-arginine but not by superoxide dismutase, suggesting that NO. may be greatly involved in Kupffer cell-mediated injury of AH70 cells. In another set of experiments, the culture medium of Kupffer cells caused no significant alteration of Rh123, DCF, and propidium iodide-associated fluorescences in AH70 cells. In addition, ultrastructural observation revealed that the membrane-to-membrane attachment between Kupffer cells and tumor cells occurred within 30 min after coculturing. These results suggest that Kupffer cell-derived NO. release, triggered by the close contact with tumor cells, may induce damage to tumor cells via inhibition of mitochondrial energization.