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Biomedical subjects

A Kawabe

Publications and source records attributed to A Kawabe.

34 records · Page 2Linked to original sources
PubMed1998

Intra- and interspecific DNA variation and codon bias of the alcohol dehydrogenase (Adh) locus in Arabis and Arabidopsis species.

Sequence variation at the alcohol dehydrogenase (Adh) locus was analyzed for six species each of the genera Arabis and Arabidopsis. Phylogenetic analysis showed that investigated species were grouped into three clusters, and the generic classification did not correspond to the clusterings. The results indicated that the genera could not be distinguished on the basis of the Adh variation. A significant difference in the ratio of silent to replacement sites was detected by MK test in two comparisons, with Arabidopsis thaliana polymorphism due to excess silent divergence. Silent changes were predominant in the evolution of the Adh locus in Arabis and Arabidopsis. To infer evolutionary significance of silent substitutions, codon bias was studied. The degree of codon bias of the Adh region was relatively constant over Arabis and Arabidopsis species. "Preferred" codons of A. thaliana were determined. No evidence of natural selection on codon change was detected in the Adh regions of A. thaliana and Arabis gemmifera.

Alcohol Dehydrogenase↗
PubMed1998

Laparoscopic inguinal hernia repair using fine-caliber instruments and polyester mesh.

Laparoscopic inguinal hernia repair (LH) requires similar scar size to traditional open repair. To perform LH with minimal access, finer instruments were used. A 5-mm laparoscope was inserted from the umbilicus, and surgical instruments were inserted through 5- and 3-mm trocars to perform LH by the transabdominal preperitoneal approach. Polyester mesh was placed over the hernia orifice and the peritoneum was closed with 3-0 silk sutures. Sixteen patients underwent smaller access LH and 24 had standard LH. Although smaller access LH took longer (105.7 versus 83.9 min), significantly fewer patients required analgesia after smaller access LH than after standard LH (12.5 versus 70.8%), and the postoperative hospital stay was shorter (4.6 versus 5.6 days). In addition, a better cosmetic outcome was obtained with smaller access LH. In conclusion, access was minimized by using fine-caliber instruments and polyester mesh, making LH less invasive and improving the cosmetic outcome.

Adult↗
PubMed1997

Selective depression of the spinal polysynaptic reflex by the NMDA receptor antagonists in an isolated spinal cord in vitro.

1. The effects of N-methyl-D-aspartate (NMDA) receptor glycine-binding site antagonists 7-chlorokynurenate (7-Clkyn) and (+/-)-3-amino-1-hydroxy-2-pyrrolidone (HA-966) on spinal reflexes in an isolated spinal cord that was maintained in Mg(2+)-free medium in vitro were examined. The actions of 7-Clkyn and HA-966 were compared with those of the channel-site antagonist (i.e., dizocilpine) and NMDA-binding site antagonists--that is, 3-[(+/-)-2-carboxypiperazin-4-yl]-propyl-1-phosphonate (CPP) and DL-2-amino-5-phosphonovalerate (APV). 2. 7-Clkyn and HA-966 produced a selective depression of the polysynaptic reflex (PSR) while negligibly affecting the activity of the monosynaptic reflex (MSR). The PSR was also differentially suppressed by dizocilpine, CPP and APV. The PSR inhibitory activity of the NMDA antagonists was in the following order: dizocilpine > CPP > APV = 7-Clkyn > HA-966. 3. The inhibitory effects of 7-Clkyn on PSR were markedly antagonized by the simultaneous application of D-serine, an agonist for the NMDA receptor glycine-binding sites. However, PSR inhibition by dizocilpine and CPP was unaffected. 4. Inhibition of the PSR by 7-Clkyn persisted in the presence of strychnine, which markedly increased the PSR activity by itself. 5. These findings suggest that the NMDA receptor glycine-binding sites play a role in generating the NMDA receptor-mediated PSR in the spinal cord in vitro.

Animals↗
PubMed1997

Nucleotide polymorphism in the acidic chitinase locus (ChiA) region of the wild plant Arabidopsis thaliana.

To investigate DNA variation in natural plant populations, a 1.8-kb region of the acidic chitinase locus (ChiA)was analyzed for 17 ecotypes of Arabidopsis thaliana sampled worldwide and 3 Arabis species in Japan. As in the Adh region, dimorphism was detected throughout the investigated ChiA region, suggesting the possibility that dimorphic DNA variation exists in the entire nuclear genome of A. thaliana. The ChiA region was divided into two blocks by an intragenic recombination between two parental sequence types, which diverged 7.4 MYA under the assumption that nucleotide mutation rate per site per year is mu = 10(-9). Nucleotide diversity in the entire ChiA region was 0.0104. Tajima's test was significantly negative for both nucleotide and indel variations, which was manifested as an excess of unique polymorphisms. However, the level and pattern of polymorphism in the ChiA region were inconsistent with simple theoretical explanations. The HKA test detected no difference in the levels of intra- and interspecific variations between the ChiA and Adh regions. In the ChiA coding region, no difference in the patterns of synonymous and replacement variation was found in intra- and interspecific comparisons by the MK test. Although it was difficult to determine the exact genetic mechanism acting on the ChA locus, these results suggested that the ChA locus region was under the same genetic mechanism before and after the establishment of A. thaliana as a species.

Alcohol Dehydrogenase↗
PubMed1997

Potential role of 5-HT2 and D2 receptor interaction in the atypical antipsychotic action of the novel succimide derivative, perospirone.

The pharmacological profile of the novel serotonin-dopamine antagonists (SDA)-type antipsychotic, perospirone, was compared with other SDA and typical antipsychotics, and a potential role of 5-HT2 and D2 receptor interaction in the atypical antipsychotic property of SDA was discussed based on the findings with selective 5-HT2 antagonists. Our study revealed that perospirone, like other SDA, differed from the typical antipsychotics by exhibiting 1) putative anxiolytic and/or antidepressant actions in some animal models (e.g., conditioned fear stress-induced freezing model and rat social interaction), 2) reduced extrapyramidal side effects (EPS) liability (catalepsy and bradykinesia induction), 3) weaker blocking actions at striatal D2 receptors as revealed by c-fos expression and dopamine turnover and 4) lower propensity to induce supersensitivity of dopamine receptors after repeated treatments (e.g., dopamine agonist-induced stereotyped behavior and vacuous chewing movement). The 5-HT2 antagonists mimicked the action of SDA antipsychotics in the animal models of mood disorder. In addition, combined treatments of 5-HT2 antagonists with typical antipsychotic could attenuate EPS induction and striatal c-fos expression associated with D2 receptor blockade, and could prevent the sensitization of D1 receptor function after repeated treatments. These findings suggest that the blockage of 5-HT2 receptors contributes to the broad efficacy profile of SDA (i.e., antipsychotic and mood stabilizing actions) and may counteract the D2 (and/or D1) blocking activities of antipsychotics in the striatum to reduce EPS.

Animals↗
PubMedDate not supplied

Macrocystic serous cystadenoma of the pancreas: case report.

We report a case of macrocystic serous cystadenoma of the pancreas. The lesion consisted of a large main cyst and several small cysts, and each cyst showed high intensity on T1-weighted and very high intensity on T2-weighted magnetic resonance images. High-intensity cyst contents may be a characteristic, if not a specific, finding of macrocystic serous cystadenoma of the pancreas.

Cystadenoma, Serous↗