Prominent prolongation of islet xenograft survival in combination therapy with FK 506 and 15-deoxyspergualin.
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Biomedical subjects
Publications and source records attributed to A Yoshimura.
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This study was conducted with the purpose of elucidating the ventilatory effect of percutaneous magnetic stimulation of the phrenic nerve and investigating the possibility of clinically utilizing this effect as the mechanism of an artificial respirator. A magnetic stimulator consisting of a flat circular coil generating strong magnetic fields up to a maximum of 1.3 Tesla was developed. Formed from 1.8 mm diameter copper wire, this coil is 40 mm in diameter, 14 mm in thickness and has an inductance of 24 microH. The appurtenant current generator can deliver more than 5000 A to the coil. The capacitor terminal voltage (Vc) of the generator was used as a parameter of the intensity of the stimulus. Ventilatory effects were assessed mainly by diaphragmatic electromyogram and by transdiaphragmatic pressure, ventilation flow and tidal volume measurements. Magnetic stimulation was applied percutaneously to a unilateral phrenic nerve in dogs as well as human subjects and also to a median nerve of the forearm in human subjects. The range of stimulatory intensity Vc necessary to obtain ventilatory effects was 400-500 V, and the tidal volume thus obtained corresponded to normal breathing at rest for both dogs and humans. No pain was felt in the vicinity of point of application of the stimulator and there were no significant adverse effects such as changes in the ECG or heart rate. These results indicated that percutaneous magnetic stimulation of the phrenic nerve could produce adequate ventilatory effects in control applications.
The receptors for erythropoietin and other cytokines constitute a new superfamily. They have no tyrosine-kinase or other enzyme motif and their signal-transducing mechanism is unclear. Here we describe two classes of activating mutations in the erythropoietin receptor (EPOR). A single point mutation in the exoplasmic domain enables it to induce hormone-independent cell growth and tumorigenesis after expression in nontumorigenic, interleukin-3-dependent haematopoietic cells. A C-terminal truncation in the cytoplasmic domain of the EPOR renders the receptor hyperresponsive to erythropoietin, but is insufficient to induce hormone-independent growth or tumorigenicity. The activating point mutation retards intracellular transport and turnover of the receptor. These alterations in metabolism and tumorigenicity caused by the EPOR with activating point mutations are similar to those observed in erythropoietin-independent activation of the wild type EPOR by association with gp55, the Friend spleen focus-forming virus glycoprotein.
We have examined the expression of P-glycoprotein (P-gp) in adult T-cell leukemia (ATL) samples from 25 patients. Based on immunoblotting with a monoclonal antibody against P-gp, C219, 8 of 20 ATL patients were P-gp positive at the initial presentation. All 6 patients at the relapsed stage were P-gp positive, and refractory to chemotherapy. The expression of MDR1 mRNA in P-gp-positive ATL cells was increased at the relapsed stage of one patient. P-gp of this patient was photolabeled with [3H]azidopine and the labeling was inhibited with nimodipine, vinblastine and progesterone. These results suggest that P-gp expressed in ATL cells from patients at relapsed stage has the same binding site(s) for the drugs as that in multidrug resistant cells, and is correlated with the refractory nature of the cells to chemotherapy.
The overexpression of a cell-surface glycoprotein termed P-glycoprotein (P-gp) is frequently associated with multi-drug resistance (MDR) in cell lines in vitro. To evaluate the implications of P-gp expression in clinical drug resistance, the authors examined the expression of P-gp in leukemia cells from patients with acute myelogenous leukemia (AML) and those with acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL) at initial presentation and relapse, using immunoblotting with a monoclonal antibody against P-gp, C219. Nine of 17 patients with AML and four of 11 patients with ALL had P-gp-positive results at the initial presentation, and most P-gp-positive patients did not respond to chemotherapy. Four of seven patients at the relapsed stage and all three patients with preceding myelodysplastic syndrome had P-gp-positive results. The expression of P-gp and clinical refractoriness to chemotherapy were highly correlated. These data indicate that the expression of P-gp is closely related to clinical drug resistance in acute leukemia.
Four pyridine analogues and their dihydropyridine counterparts were examined for their ability to reverse drug resistance in a multidrug-resistant human carcinoma cell line, KB-C2. Two pyridine analogues were more able to reverse drug resistance than their dihydropyridine counterparts. The other two pyridine analogues had an effect on drug resistance similar to their dihydropyridine counterparts. The calcium channel-blocking activity of all the pyridine analogues was considerably lower than that of the dihydropyridine analogues. Of the pyridine analogues, 2-[4-(diphenylmethyl)-1-piperazinyl]ethyl 5-(trans-4,6-dimethyl-1,3,2-dioxaphosphorinan-2-yl)-2,6-dimethyl-4 -(3- nitrophenyl)-3-pyridinecarboxylate P-oxide (PAK-104P) was the most effective in reversing multidrug resistance. PAK-104P (1 and 5 microM) completely reversed the drug resistance in KB-8-5 and KB-C2 cells, respectively. The reversing effect of PAK-104P was greater than that of other multidrug resistance-reversing agents, cepharanthine, verapamil, nimodipine, and nicardipine. PAK-104P at 1 microM increased about 10-fold the accumulation of vinblastine in KB-C2 cells, whereas verapamil at the same concentration increased the accumulation about 2-fold. The inhibition of [3H]azidopine photolabeling of P-glycoprotein by the pyridine and dihydropyridine analogues except 2-[methyl(phenyl-methyl)amino]ethyl 4-(2-chlorophenyl)-5-(4-methyl-1,3,2-dioxaphosphorinan-2-yl)-1,4-d ihydro-2,6- dimethyl-3-pyridinecarboxylate P-oxide correlated with the reversing of drug resistance by the analogues. Some newly synthesized pyridine analogues seemed to have lower calcium channel-blocking activity and more potent resistance-reversing ability than verapamil and other calcium channel blockers.
Thymidine phosphorylase (dThdPase) is an enzyme involved in pyrimidine nucleoside metabolism, but little is known about its physiological functions. We purified dThdPase from human placenta and used it for antibody preparation. The purified material appears as a single band at 55,000 dalton on sodium dodecylsulfate-polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis. We obtained a specific antibody raised in rabbits that detected a single polypeptide with a molecular weight of 55,000 dalton in the post nuclear homogenates of several human tissues, on immunoblotting. Using the same technique, dThdPase was highly expressed in the liver, lung, spleen, lymph nodes and peripheral lymphocytes. Immunohistochemical staining revealed that macrophage-like cells contained a much higher amount of dThdPase than parenchymal cells in the liver and lung. dThdPase was found to be highly expressed in T- and B-cell-type malignant lymphoma cells, but low in lymphoblastic and myeloblastic leukemia cells. We also found that carcinomas in the stomach, colon and ovary contained higher amounts of this enzyme than non-neoplastic regions of the tissues. These data suggest that dThdPase plays a role in proliferation and/or differentiation of leukocytes and in cancer proliferation.
P-glycoprotein (P-gp) is involved in the transport of a wide variety of organic compounds including a fluorescent dye, rhodamine 6G (RG), as well as anti-cancer drugs. Agents that overcome classical multidrug-resistance (MDR) increased the accumulation of RG in a MDR cell line, KB-C1. The effect of agents on RG-accumulation in KB-C1 cells was highly correlated with their effect on the reversion of vincristine-resistance in KB-C1 cells. RG was detected on a fluorescence microplate reader with a rhodamine channel. This assay may become a useful method for the screening of agents that overcome classical MBR, since it is quick and simple.
One thousand fungi and Actinomycetes were investigated to see whether they produced compounds that reverse multi-drug resistance in KB cells. Only one Aspergillus strain M39 produced agents with resistance-reversing activity and these compounds were identified to be rubrofusarin B and dianhydro-aurasperone C. Rubrofusarin B only slightly reversed the resistance of KB-C2 cells to Adriamycin and daunomycin, partially reversed the resistance to chromomycin A3, and almost completely reversed the resistance to vincristine and mitomycin C. Purified dianhydro-aurasperone C and rubrofusarin B had similar effects on drug resistance in KB-8-5 cells. Dianhydro-aurasperone C enhanced the accumulation of vinblastine in KB-8-5 cells and inhibited the efflux of vinblastine from the cells. Dianhydro-aurasperone C and rubrofusarin B at 10 microM completely inhibited 3H-azidopine photolabelling of P-glycoprotein. The two products of Aspergillus strain M39 appear to reverse multi-drug resistance by interacting with P-glycoprotein and inhibiting its role as an active efflux pump.
P-glycoprotein (P-gp) is thought to mediate the transport of anticancer drugs and to be responsible for the multidrug-resistant (MDR) phenotype. P-gp is also expressed in normal human tissues, such as the adrenal gland, kidney, liver, colon and capillary endothelium of the brain. However, the function and transporting substrates of P-gp in normal tissues are still not understood. This paper explains that some compounds in the human plasma can modulate the transporting activity of P-gp. A partially purified fraction from the human plasma enhanced the accumulation of anti-cancer agents in MDR cells. This fraction inhibited the efflux of vinblastine from MDR cells, and also inhibited the photoaffinity labeling of P-gp with azidopine as effectively as vinblastine, quinidine and cepharanthine. The compounds in this purified fraction may be physiological substrates of P-gp and can probably overcome MDR.
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The Friend spleen focus-forming virus envelope glycoprotein, gp55, binds to the murine erythropoietin receptor (EPO-R) and triggers growth activation in the absence of EPO. Interleukin 3-dependent lymphoid cell lines that have been stably transfected with the EPO-R cDNA grow in the presence of EPO or interleukin 3. In these cells, the EPO-R is synthesized as a minor 62-kDa unglycosylated form and a major 64-kDa form carrying one high-mannose N-linked oligosaccharide. A fraction of the 64-kDa form is processed to a 66-kDa species with complex-type sugars. Very little of the EPO-R is expressed on the cell surface and all three forms of EPO-R are degraded rapidly. Cells transfected with both EPO-R and gp55 cDNAs grow in the absence of EPO. Most of the EPO-R associated with gp55 is endoglycosidase H-sensitive, suggesting that the interactions between these proteins occur in the endoplasmic reticulum. Furthermore, the endoglycosidase H-sensitive EPO-R is more stable than in the absence of gp55, a result suggesting that interaction of gp55 with the EPO-R causes it to remain within the rough endoplasmic reticulum. It is possible that gp55 EPO-R complexes within this compartment send a growth-promoting signal to the cell.
The overexpression of a cell-surface glycoprotein termed P-glycoprotein (P-gp) is frequently associated with multidrug resistance (MDR) in cell lines in vitro. To evaluate the implications of P-gp expression in clinical drug-resistance, we examined the expression of P-gp in fresh leukaemia cells from chronic myelogenous leukaemia (CML) patients in blast crisis. By using immunoblotting with a monoclonal antibody against P-gp, C219, we showed that leukaemia cells from three CML patients in blast crisis were P-gp negative at the stage when these patients were in complete remission, and that the cells showed high levels of P-gp expression at times when the same patients had relapsed and had not responded to chemotherapy. Six out of 11 patients (nine in the refractory state) were P-gp positive and they rarely responded to chemotherapy. These data suggest that the expression of P-gp is closely associated with drug-resistance in CML.
The photosensitized monomerization of the cyclobutane dimers of 1,3-dimethylthymine by p-chloranil was investigated by means of steady-state irradiation and laser-flash photolysis. Quantum yields for the monomerization are 0.34 for the cis,syn dimer, 0.39 for the trans,syn dimer, and much less than 10(-2) for the cis,anti isomer. Formation of the chloranil anion radical associated with quenching of triplet chloranil by the dimers demonstrates that electron transfer from dimers to triplet chloranil occurs to initiate the monomerization. Kinetic analysis suggested that the syn-dimer cation radicals undergo the ring cleavage at greater than or equal to 10(9) s-1 before escaping from the solvent cage, while the reactivity of the anti-dimer cation radical is very low. The different reactivities of the syn and anti dimer cation radicals are discussed in terms of through-bond coupling between the n orbitals of N(1) and N(1') involving the cyclobutane-ring sigma orbitals. In the cases of the syn-dimers, the sensitizer-dimer ion-radical pairs undergo the rapid geminate recombination that works as a major energy dissipating channel responsible for the lower-than-unity quantum yields. It has been found that the presence of Mg(ClO4)2 at 0.1 M enhances approximately 1.5 times either the monomerization of the syn dimers or the formation of the chloranil anion radical. A laser-flash photolysis study shows that Mg2+ forms a complex with either the triplet or the anion radical of chloranil. The net salt effects are attributed to the retardation of the rapid geminate recombination by the participation of Mg2+ in the sensitizer-dimer ion-radical pairs.
In the treatment of human cancer, the efficacy of the adoptive transfer of lymphokine-activated killer (LAK) cells combined with interleukin 2 (IL2) has been emphasized. However, administration of large doses of IL2 may cause significant adverse effects, such as "capillary leak syndrome". Moreover, the administration of corticosteroid may reduce the toxicity of IL2. However the efficacy of adoptive immunotherapy is abrogated by the administration of corticosteroid. In this context, the effect of corticosteroid on LAK activity and the change of membrane antigen phenotype on PBMC (peripheral blood mononuclear cells) was studied in vitro by using methylprednisolone (M-PSL). LAK cells were induced from PBMC, which had been separated from the peripheral blood of normal donors, and incubated with IL2 for 4 days. LAK activity was measured in a 4 h chromium release assay against K-562 cell and Daudi cell. The suppression of LAK activity by M-PSL depended on both concentration and working period of M-PSL. This inhibition was recognized even at rather low densities, such as 0.5 nmol/ml M-PSL. And the proliferation of PBMC after IL2 incubation, which was measured by incorporation of [3H]TdR, was reduced dose-dependently by M-PSL. In contrast, pretreatment within 24 hours of PBMC with M-PSL resulted in no effect on LAK activity. Furthermore M-PSL had no effect when added directly to a 4 h chromium release assay. The analysis of membrane antigen phenotype on PBMC was performed by the direct immunofluorescence method using FITC-labeled monoclonal antibodies. The proportions of T cells and NK cells, which were justified as precursors of LAK cells, increased after IL2 incubation both with and without M-PSL. Therefore no effect of M-PSL was confirmed in those circumstances. The ratio of HLA-DR (+) cells increased after IL2 incubation without M-PSL, while M-PSL reduced expression of this antigen. In contrast, IL2 receptor (CD25)(+) cells, markers of T cell and NK cell activation, significantly increased after IL2 incubation with or without M-PSL. These results suggest that the inhibitory effect of M-PSL on LAK activation was caused not by preventing a triggering process of activation of precursor cells, but by a possible inhibition of proliferation, though other effects of corticosteroid remain to be elucidated. Also, it is emphasized that caution should be exercised in the administration of corticosteroid in adoptive immunotherapy because of the inhibitory effect induced by M-PSL.
Intrafusal muscle fibres from bull-frog semitendinosus, iliofibularis and sartorius muscles were classified into three types using the histochemical, immunofluorescent and morphological characteristics, with reference to the extrafusal muscle fibres, which were classified into five types in accordance with Rowlerson & Spurway (1988). Immunofluorescent reactions with antibodies against slow or fast myosins obtained from anterior or posterior latissimus dorsi muscles (ALD or PLD), respectively, of chicken were used as the primary criterion. Histochemical profiles of muscle fibres were classified into nine types of myosin ATPase activity as the secondary criterion. Anti-PLD intrafusal fibres (polar zone) with ATPase profiles of moderate to high acid and alkaline stabilities correspond to large nuclear bag fibres in the classification of Diwan & Ito (1989), whereas anti-ALD fibres (polar zone) with alkaline-labile ATPase profiles correspond to medium nuclear bag fibres. On the basis of diameter, anti-PLD fibres (polar zone) with ATPase profiles of moderate to low acid stability and moderate to high alkaline stability seem to correspond to two types of small nuclear chain fibre. Variations between muscles, between intra- and extrafusal fibres and also between zones along intrafusal fibres are discussed.
Aluminum (Al) accumulation in bone is a serious problem in patients on hemodialysis. We studied deferoxamine infusion test (DFO test) in 14 diabetic patients on hemodialysis (HDDM) and 23 hemodialysis patients originated from glomerulo nephritis (HDCGN) to determine whether Al accumulation is different between the two groups or not. There was no difference in hemodialysis duration and total oral intake of Al containing drugs between two groups. Serum C-terminal parathyroid hormone (C-PTH) in HDDM was lower than that in HDCGN group (1.82 +/- 1.30 vs. 3.80 +/- 1.82 ng/ml; P less than 0.01). However serum Al (s-Al) levels were comparable (61.9 +/- 53.0 vs, 45.0 +/- 32.3 micrograms/l). A significant correlation was observed between duration of dialysis period and s-Al in HDDM (r = 0.806, p less than 0.01), but in HDCGN, the relation was not significant. The patients in HDDM whose cumulative aluminum intake was less than 2.0 kg showed the higher serum A1 concentrations before DFO and greater increases in s-Al after DFO test, as compared with those in HDCGN with matched aluminum intake (93.8 +/- 67.6 vs. 35.9 +/- 23.6 micrograms/l; p less than 0.001 and 141.2 +/- 81.8 vs. 70.3 +/- 41.1 micrograms/l; p = 0.035). These results indicate that in uremic diabetic patients with lower intake of Al containing drugs, an early accumulation of Al in the whole body occurs possibly because of the enhanced absorption rate of Al at an intestine and/or the low PTH level.