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Biomedical subjects

A Fukuda

Publications and source records attributed to A Fukuda.

At least 181 records · Page 10Linked to original sources
PubMed1988

Idiopathic hydrops fetalis successfully treated in utero.

Using ultrasound, nonimmunologic hydrops fetalis can be diagnosed antenatally, but the antenatal management remains debatable. To treat a fetus with idiopathic hydrops fetalis, we injected albumin into the fetal abdomen in utero. After this treatment, the hourly fetal urine production rate increased significantly, and edema and ascites disappeared subsequently at two weeks and three weeks, respectively. Edema and ascites were absent at birth. The child remains well at 18 months of age.

Abdominal Muscles↗
PubMed1988

Influence of alcohol intake, cigarette smoking, and occupational status on idiopathic osteonecrosis of the femoral head.

An epidemiologic study compared 112 patients with idiopathic osteonecrosis (ON) of the femoral head having no history of systemic corticosteroid use and 168 hospital controls. Patients and controls were matched for gender, age, ethnicity, hospital, and time of initial diagnosis. The role of alcohol intake, cigarette smoking, and occupational status was assessed in relation to the development of ON. The relative risk (RR), the measure of association between ON and the risk factors, was statistically adjusted for the potential confounding effects of other factors by the conditional logistic regression model. An elevated risk for regular drinkers (RR = 7.8, p less than 0.001) and a clear dose-response relationship was noted (test for trend; p less than 0.001): the RRs were 3.3, 9.8, and 17.9 for current consumers of less than 400, 400-1000, and greater than or equal to 1000 ml/week of alcohol, respectively. A significantly increased risk was found for current smokers (RR = 3.9; p less than 0.05). However, the cumulative effect of smoking was not evident. No increased risk was found for obesity or for heavy physical work. Regarding causation of ON, this study confirmed the consistent association with excessive alcohol intake and suggested the immediate untoward effects of smoking. The role of heavy physical work as a form of mechanical stress was not correlated with ON.

Adult↗
PubMed1988

Long-term effects of hyperthermia combined with chemotherapy and irradiation for the treatment of patients with carcinoma of the esophagus.

Hyperthermia combined with irradiation and chemotherapy was prescribed for patients with resectable or unresectable squamous cell carcinoma of the esophagus. The long term results were compared between two groups of patients; one group was treated with chemotherapy, radiotherapy and hyperthermia (HCR), and the other was treated with chemotherapy and radiotherapy, but not hyperthermia (CR). The five year survival rates of patients with resectable carcinoma, given preoperative HCR or CR, were 43.2 and 14.7 per cent, respectively; the difference was statistically significant (p less than 0.05). The two year survival rates of those with unresectable carcinoma and receiving HCR or CR were 15.5 and 1.2 per cent, respectively. In particular, for the patients classified as TNM Stages I and II, a significantly longer survival period was obtained with HCR. As severe side effects in patients given hyperthermia were nil, this treatment deserves serious consideration when treating patients with a malignant lesion of the esophagus.

Adenocarcinoma↗
PubMed1987

Antibodies against synthetic carboxy-terminal peptides distinguish H-ras and K-ras oncogene products p21.

Synthetic peptides corresponding to the carboxy-terminal region of H-ras, K-ras, and N-ras oncogene product p21 proteins are used to obtain antibodies specific to each ras oncogene product. The synthetic peptides of 32 amino acids are immunogenic in rabbits without being coupled to carriers. Specific antibodies are purified by absorption of the antisera with the other peptides coupled to CH-Sepharose 4B, and antibodies reacting with all three peptides are obtained by affinity chromatography. These findings imply that antibodies specific to each peptide recognize the variable carboxy-terminal region while antibodies reacting with all three peptides recognize the constant region of the carboxy-terminal amino acid sequence of p21 proteins. The affinity-purified antibodies against H-ras and K-ras peptides are shown to react specifically with c-H-ras and v-K-ras p21 proteins expressed in E. coli and eukaryotic cells, respectively. These antibodies may be useful tools to study the functional roles of p21 carboxy-terminal domain and to detect differential expression of the family of ras oncogenes in cancerous tissues. The affinity-purified anti-N-ras peptide antibody, however, fails to react with N-ras p21 in spite of its positive reactivity with the N-ras peptide.

Amino Acid Sequence↗
PubMed1987

Coagulation disorders following acute head injury.

Coagulation disorders following acute head injury were investigated in 100 patients: 81 patients survived and 19 patients died. Disseminated intravascular coagulation (DIC) was seen in 24%, and occurred most frequently in acute subdural haematoma, followed by contusional haematoma and contusion. Mortality rate of the patients with DIC was 58%. Level of serum fibrin-fibrinogen degradation product (FDP) was correlated with the amount of damaged tissue. The factors which influenced the prognosis for life were evaluated by multivariate analysis: in 100 patients, activated partial thromboplastin time (APTT) was most closely correlated with the prognosis for life, but in 24 patients with DIC, level of serum fibrinogen was most closely correlated with it.

Brain Injuries↗
PubMed1987

Influence of water quality on in vitro fertilization and embryo development for the mouse.

Mouse in vitro fertilization and embryo culture were performed in media prepared with five different water preparations. The results of the experiments improved with the frequency of distillation. Each water preparation was analyzed by the measurement of the electrical conductivities and inorganic ion concentrations and by high-performance liquid chromatography to examine the mutual relation between water quality and the method of water purification. The best results were obtained with Milli-Q water, which had the lowest concentration of inorganic ions and organic compounds. On the contrary, unexpected contamination by organic compounds and zinc ions occurred after multiple distillation, possibly leached from the glassware and silicon tube. The hatching rate seemed to be an appropriate indicator to assess the biological qualities of media for the development of embryos cultured in vitro.

Animals↗
PubMed1987

Immunocytochemical focus assay for potency determination of measles-mumps-rubella trivalent vaccine.

The immunocytochemically stained focus assay for the determination of potency of individual components in measles-mumps-rubella trivalent vaccine is described. The method involves the reaction of infected cultures maintained under the agar overlay medium sequentially with rabbit antiserum specific to each component, biotinylated anti-rabbit IgG serum, avidin-biotinylated-peroxidase complex, and substrate mixture. The potency of one component determined by the method was not influenced by the presence of two other components and was comparable to that determined by either dilution end point titration or plaque assay. The method offers a number of advantages over the current method based on neutralization of components other than the one to be titrated.

Antibodies, Viral↗
PubMed1987

The effects of noradrenaline on neurones in the rat dorsal motor nucleus of the vagus, in vitro.

1. Intracellular recordings were made from vagal motoneurones identified by antidromic stimulation in the dorsal motor nucleus of the vagus (d.m.v.) in slice preparations of rat medulla oblongata. 2. Noradrenaline (NA) applied by perfusion (0.01 microM to 1 mM) depolarized 55%, hyperpolarized 32% and produced a biphasic response (hyperpolarization followed by depolarization) in 9% of the d.m.v. neurones tested. 3. The NA effects persisted after complete elimination of synaptic inputs during perfusion with Ca2+-free high-Mg2+ solution, and therefore probably resulted from a direct action on the postsynaptic membranes. 4. The NA depolarization was blocked by prazosin and the NA hyperpolarization by yohimbine, but neither was blocked by propranolol or timolol. Phenoxybenzamine blocked both responses. The results indicate that NA depolarization is mediated by alpha 1-adrenoceptors and hyperpolarization by alpha 2-adrenoceptors. 5. The neurones which were depolarized by NA were also hyperpolarized by NA when the alpha 1-adrenoceptors were blocked by prazosin (all of seven neurones tested). This result suggests that most vagal motoneurones in the d.m.v. have both alpha 1-and alpha 2-adrenoceptors. 6. The NA depolarization was accompanied by a decrease in membrane conductance and the hyperpolarization by an increase in membrane conductance, both of which were measured under manual-clamp conditions. 7. The reversal potentials for the NA responses were around -85 mV in normal Ringer solution, and shifted as predicted by the Nernst equation when the extracellular K+ concentration was changed. 8. The inhibitory postsynaptic potentials evoked by focal electrical stimulation on the slice surface of the commissural part of the nucleus of the tractus solitarius (n.t.s.), which contains an A2 catecholaminergic cell group, were abolished by yohimbine. 9. The results suggest that NA modulates vagal output by decreasing or increasing the K+ conductance of d.m.v. neurones through alpha 1- or alpha 2-adrenoceptors. In addition, the A2 noradrenergic cell group within the n.t.s. may send inhibitory inputs to the d.m.v.

Action Potentials↗
PubMed1987

Risks for malignancies in patients with chronic thyroiditis: a long-term follow-up study.

As a typical autoimmune disease, chronic thyroiditis may impose unusual risks for malignancies. A long-term follow-up study of a large number of patients (4,531) with chronic thyroiditis at the Noguchi Hospital in Ooita Prefecture was conducted for 0-24 years, the objective being to assess risks for various sites of neoplasms by comparing the observed numbers of deaths with the expected numbers computed from the mortality rates in Japan. There was no increase in risk for overall malignancies (90 observed vs. 104.1 expected) or breast cancer (4 observed vs. 5.7 expected). The patients had an increased risk for myelo- and lympho-proliferative neoplasms (13 observed vs. 4.9 expected, P less than 0.01), as found in a few previous follow-up studies. A new and unexpected finding was that the patients showed decreased risk for cancers of digestive tract (24 observed vs. 44.3 expected, P less than 0.01). The reason for this decline could not be elucidated in this study, so that further epidemiological studies and animal experiments in this respect are needed.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1987

Cytostatic activity of naturally isolated isomers of secalonic acids and their chemically rearranged dimers.

Six different secalonic acids were tested for cytostatic activity against cultured mouse leukaemia L1210 cells. Secalonic acids B and E showed rather weak activity but the other four isomers showed quite strong activity, especially secalonic acids A and D which were slightly more active than adriamycin. The chemically rearranged 2,4'-dimer of secalonic acid A showed almost the same activity as the naturally isolated 2,2'-dimer, but the activity of the 4,4'-dimer was much stronger than that of both the 2,2'-dimer and adriamycin. Interestingly, in a mouse bone marrow stem cell assay, secalonic acids F and G showed almost the same toxicity as adriamycin, but secalonic acids A and D showed rather weak toxicity. Similarly, the 2,2'-dimer of secalonic acid A showed almost the same toxicity as adriamycin, but the toxicity of the 2,4'- and 4,4'-dimers was weaker than that of the 2,2'-dimer and also that of adriamycin.

Animals↗
PubMed1986

Mechanism of the rapid effect of 17 beta-estradiol on medial amygdala neurons.

The mechanism by which sex steroids rapidly modulate the excitability of neurons was investigated by intracellular recording of neurons in rat medial amygdala brain slices. Brief hyperpolarization and increased potassium conductance were produced by 17 beta-estradiol. This effect persisted after elimination of synaptic input and after suppression of protein synthesis. Thus, 17 beta-estradiol directly changes the ionic conductance of the postsynaptic membrane of medial amygdala neurons. In addition, a greater proportion of the neurons from females than from males responded to 17 beta-estradiol.

Amygdala↗
PubMed1986

Effect of carboxylic ionophores on measles virus hemagglutinin protein.

We have studied the effect of two carboxylic ionophores, monensin and laidlomycin, on the replication of measles virus in KB cells. The yield of infectious virus was markedly depressed at the concentrations of the ionophores which had no effect on overall viral protein synthesis. The ionophores selectively blocked the migration of hemagglutinin (H) glycoprotein from Golgi apparatus to the cell surface. As a result, H glycoprotein is prevented from being converted from incompletely glycosylated form to the mature form. The inhibitory effect on the transport and glycosylation of H was reversed, although gradually, upon the removal of the ionophores.

Anti-Bacterial Agents↗
PubMed1986

Improved vector, pHSG664, for direct streptomycin-resistance selection: cDNA cloning with G:C-tailing procedure and subcloning of double-digest DNA fragments.

A plasmid cloning vector, pHSG664, has been constructed which is suitable for the direct-selection of transformed cells with recombinant DNAs. The plasmid contains the replicon and ApR-gene region of pUC9 ligated to the strA+ (rpsL+) gene derived from pNO1523 [Dean, Gene 15 (1981) 99-102]. The vector contains ten unique restriction sites: EcoRI, HpaI, PvuII, SphI, PstI, SmaI(XmaI), BamHI, SalI(AccI, HincII), XbaI and HindIII. Five sites (bold-face lettering) are located within the coding region of the strA+ gene. Any insertion at the five bold-faced sites or any nucleotide replacement involving the strA+ gene region and the other unique sites can be selected by Ap and Sm double selection in a strA- (SmR) strain such as E. coli HB101. Thus, this vector is useful for cDNA cloning at either the SphI or the PstI site with the G:C-tailing procedure, as well as for the cloning of double-digest DNA segments.

Base Sequence↗
PubMed1986

Common epitopes in human isoferritins characterized by murine monoclonal antibodies.

Three monoclonal antibodies against human liver ferritin were selected to study antigenic determinants (epitopes) of human isoferritins. These monoclonal antibodies were found to form immunoprecipitin lines with ferritin in double diffusion tests (Ouchterlony), indicating multiple epitopes on a single ferritin molecule. The antibodies revealed high species specificity as well. Monoclonal antibodies MA301 and MA311 appeared to recognize different epitopes, since they did not inhibit each other in competitive enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA). However, MA309 recognized both epitopes for MA301 and MA311 with similar competitive inhibition. These epitopes were not detectable when ferritin was treated with 8M urea (pH 2.5) and were detectable upon reconstruction by dialysis against 2 M urea (pH 7.2), suggesting that these monoclonals recognize epitopes in the tertiary structure of the ferritin molecule. As a matter of fact, these monoclonals react preferentially with intact ferritin molecule and only negligibly with subunits. Isoelectric focusing patterns of human ferritins demonstrated that liver, spleen, placenta, and hepatoma cells (Li-7) transplanted in nude mice contained basic isoferritins, whereas HeLa cells (carcinoma), Wa cells (EB virus-transformed B cells), and Raji cells (Burkitt's lymphoma) contained acidic isoferritins. Human heart ferritin displayed a somewhat intermediate pattern between liver and HeLa ferritins. In spite of the heterogeneous population of human isoferritins, the dissociation constants (Kd) of the three monoclonal antibodies to liver, HeLa, and heart isoferritins were quite similar.

Animals↗
PubMed1986

Human interferon-gamma (IFN-gamma) containing cells bear various surface phenotypic markers.

We explored the population of Interferon-gamma (IFN-gamma) containing cells in order to clarify their cell surface phenotypic markers. Here we define gamma-IFN containing cells as gamma-IFN plaque forming cells (PFC). By this method, it was found that IFN-gamma containing cells consist of two cell fractions, i.e., OKT3+, OKT4+, and OKT8- cells and OKM1+ cells. Effective IFN-gamma production seems to require participation of plastic-adherent cells (presumably monocytes), while the addition of cyclosporin A (CyA) almost completely blocked generation of human IFN-gamma. To characterize Con A-stimulated IFN-gamma containing cells, we performed two-color flow cytometry using FACS IV. Most of the IFN-gamma containing cells have surface phenotypic markers for Leu3, Leu8, Leu15, HLA-DR, and IL-2 receptors, but most lack markers for Leu2 and Leu7. Interestingly, most of Leu3+ and IL-2 receptor+ cells belong to the dimly illuminating cell fractions of the IFN-gamma containing cell population. Our results indicate that IFN-gamma containing cells are heterogeneous with respect to surface phenotypic markers but the predominant IFN-gamma containing cell type is the helper T cell (OKT4+). Lastly, OK432, glycyrrhizin, and CCA (lobenzarit disodium) increase the number of IFN-gamma containing cells and are thought to be immunomodulators.

Antibodies, Monoclonal↗