Eosinophilic gastroenteritis associated with Epstein-Barr virus infection in a young boy.
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Biomedical subjects
Publications and source records attributed to E Suzuki.
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Using confocal microscopy, MEST-1-positive immunofluorescence was observed within various Trypanosoma cruzi forms, except in cell-derived trypomastigotes. Glycosylinositol phosphorylceramides were identified by thin-layer chromatography immunostaining as the antigens recognized by MEST-1 in these parasites. In epimastigotes, labeling of MEST-1 coincided with acidic vesicles, indicating an internal localization of these glycoconjugates.
To investigate the functional domains of the coat protein (CP; 189 amino acids) of Brome mosaic virus, a plant RNA virus, 19 alanine-scanning mutants were constructed and tested for their infectivity in barley and Nicotiana benthamiana. Despite its apparent normal replicative competence and CP production, the C-terminal mutant F184A produced no virions. Furthermore, virion-forming C-terminal mutants P178A and D182A failed to move from cell to cell in both plant species, and mutants D181A and V187A showed host-specific movement. These results indicate that the C-terminal region of CP plays some important roles in virus movement and encapsidation. The specificity of certain mutations for viral movement in two different plant species is evidence for the involvement of host-specific factors.
The effects of a large ascorbic acid dose on cytochrome P4501A1 gene expression induced by cigarette smoke exposure was studied in Osteogenic Disorder Shionogi rats, which lack ascorbic acid biosynthesis. The rats were divided into four groups and were administered either a minimal amount (4 mg/day, 4S and 4C) or a large amount (40 mg/day, 40S and 40C) of ascorbic acid. The 4S group and 40S group were daily exposed to cigarette smoke for 2 hours, while the 4C group and 40C group were not. At the end of the 25-day experiment, the rats were killed. The cytochrome P4501A1 mRNA level both in the liver and lung was measured by a competitive reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction method. When a minimal amount of ascorbic acid was administered, the cytochrome P4501A1 mRNA increased in the liver of the cigarette smoke-exposed group (4S) compared with the control group (4C). On the other hand, when a large amount of ascorbic acid was administered, this increase was not observed in the cigarette smoke-induced group (40S) in liver. On the other hand, in lung, an increased mRNA level in 4S group was not decreased by large ascorbic acid administration (40S). This is the first direct mRNA-level evidence of the effects of a large ascorbic acid dose on the gene expression stimulated by cigarette smoke.
2,3-Diketo-L-gulonic acid (DKG) is an important intermediate product of oxidative degradation of L-ascorbic acid (AsA) in both biological and food systems, but the physiological function of DKG is still unclear. In this study, it was found that DKG had a strong antioxidative effect on copper-dependent oxidative modification of yolk lipoprotein (YLP), on the basis of both the decreased electrophoretic mobility and longer lag time of conjugated diene formation in a concentration-dependent manner. DKG is known to be very unstable and easily converts into two delta-lactones of DKG, the 3,4-enediol form of DKG delta-lactone (3,4-DKGL) and 2,3-enediol form of DKG delta-lactone (2,3-DKGL) depending on both pH and temperature. 3,4-DKGL was thought to be the first degradation product of DKG and could play an antioxidative role in the oxidation of lipoproteins induced by copper ion or peroxyl radicals in neutral aqueous solution.
OBJECTIVE: To document an association between arterial wall stiffness and reduced flow volume in the lower-extremity arteries of diabetic patients. RESEARCH DESIGN AND METHODS: We recruited 60 consecutive type 2 diabetic patients who had no history or symptoms of peripheral arterial disease (PAD) in the lower extremities and normal ankle/brachial systolic blood pressure index at the time of the study (non-PAD group) and 20 age-matched nondiabetic subjects (control group). We used an automatic device to measure pulse wave velocity (PWV) in the lower extremities as an index of arterial wall stiffness. At the popliteal artery, we evaluated flow volume and the resistive index as an index of arterial resistance to blood flow using gated two-dimensional cine-mode phase-contrast magnetic resonance imaging. RESULTS: Consistent with previous reports, we confirmed that the non-PAD group had an abnormally higher PWV compared with that of the control group (P < 0.001). To further demonstrate decreased flow volume and abnormal flow pattern at the popliteal artery in patients with a higher degree of arterial wall stiffness, we assigned the 60 non-PAD patients to tertiles based on their levels of PWV. In the highest group, magnetic resonance angiograms of the calf and foot arteries showed decreased intravascular signal intensity, indicating the decreased arterial inflow in those arteries. The highest group was also characterized by the lowest late diastolic and total flow volumes as well as the highest resistive index among the groups. From stepwise multiple regression analysis, PWV and autonomic function were identified as independent determinants for late diastolic flow volume (r(2) = 0.300; P < 0.001). CONCLUSIONS: Arterial wall stiffness was associated with reduced arterial flow volume in the lower extremities of diabetic patients.
The 1990s saw the introduction of significantly new types of paint binder chemistries into the automotive finish coat market. Considering the pronounced changes in the binders that can now be found in automotive paints and their potential use in a wide variety of finishes worldwide, the Paint Subgroup of the Scientific Working Group for Materials (SWGMAT) initiated a validation study to investigate the ability of commonly accepted methods of forensic paint examination to differentiate between these newer types of paints. Nine automotive paint systems typical of original equipment applications were acquired from General Motors Corporation in 1992. They consisted of steel panels coated with typical electrocoat primers and/or primer surfacers followed by a black nonmetallic base coat and clear coat. The primary purpose of this study was to evaluate the discrimination power of common forensic techniques when applied to the newer generation original automotive finishes. The second purpose was to evaluate interlaboratory reproducibility of automotive paint spectra collected on a variety of Fourier transform infrared (FT-IR) spectrometers and accessories normally used for forensic paint examinations. The results demonstrate that infrared spectroscopy is an effective tool for discriminating between the major automotive paint manufacturers' formulation types which are currently used in original finishes. Furthermore, and equally important, the results illustrate that the mid-infrared spectra of these finishes are generally quite reproducible even when comparing data from different laboratories, commercial FT-IR instruments, and accessories in a "real world," mostly uncontrolled, environment.
The purpose of this study is to evaluate pulmonary involvement in rapidly progressive glomerulonephritis (RPGN). Of 71 patients in whom RPGN was diagnosed, 32 (45.1%) had pulmonary involvement: 12, alveolar hemorrhage (AH) (16.9%); 10, interstitial pneumonia (IP) (14.1%); four, chronic bronchial lesions (5.6%); two, consolidation (2.8%), and four, old inflammatory lesions (5.6%). Investigation of which organ of the twelve AH patients, the kidney or the lung, was the first to be involved, showed that the lung preceded in one patient, the kidney was first in three, and the lung and kidney occurred at the same time in the other eight. Of the ten IP patients, the lung preceded in eight, the kidney was ahead in two, and lung and kidney were simultaneous in one. Three patients had a history of pneumoconiosis, and two had acute progressive IP. Seventeen (45.9%) of 37 patients who tested positive for antineutrophil cytoplasmic autoantibodies (MPO-ANCA) had lung involvement, and three (30.0%) of the ten patients who tested negative for MPO-ANCA, PR 3-ANCA and anti-GBM antibody also had lung involvement.
A 63-year-old woman had complained of a persistent dry cough. Comparison of chest roentgenograms obtained 3 months earlier and at hospital admission, revealed progressive infiltrative shadows in bilateral middle and lower lung fields and mild volume loss. Hematologic study showed polyclonal hyper-gamma-globulinemia, positive anti-nuclear antibodies, and positive antibodies to Ro (SS-A) antigens. Ophthalmologic study demonstrated keratoconjunctivitis sicca. Parotid sialography showed an apple tree sign. Histopathologic features of labial salivary gland biopsy revealed agglomeration of at least 50 mononuclear cells. Chest CT showed non-segmental dense opacity in outer zones of middle and lower lung fields. Lung function test revealed a restrictive pattern with low diffusion capacity. Blood gas analysis showed hypoxemia (PaO2: 74 Torr, PaCO2: 32 Torr). Bronchoalveolar lavage fluid disclosed increased lymphocytes, and histologic features of a transbronchial lung biopsy included thickening of alveolar walls, infiltration of lymphocytes in the interstitium, and foamy cells in alveolar spaces. Therefore, the patient was diagnosed with primary Sjögren syndrome with interstitial lung disease. Bakumondo-to (Mai men dong tang) was started for the troublesome dry cough. The cough was subjectively relieved, cough scores were decreased, QOL scores improved, and sensitivity of the cough reflex measured by inhalation of capsaicin improved, but the chest roentgenogram was unchanged. Steroid hormone therapy was added, and radiographic abnormalities improved subsequently. Bakumondo-to, a traditional Chinese blended medicine, has notable antitussive activity in bronchitic guinea-pigs and in patients with postinfectious cough. It was concluded that Bakunondo-to may provide effective antitussive activity in some cases of interstitial lung disease with increased sensitivity of the cough reflex.
PURPOSE: To develop a new detection and typing method of oculopathogenic strains of subgenus D adenoviruses directly from conjunctival scrapings by a combination of polymerase chain reaction (PCR) and restriction enzyme analysis (REA). METHODS: A new PCR method using primer pairs of AF2/AR2, which are specific for the fiber genes, were developed to amplify 1150-bp products from nine oculopathogenic prototypes of subgenus D adenoviruses. Amplicons were cleaved with three restriction enzymes: DdeI, HinfI, and RsaI. Clinical specimens of 102 conjunctival scrapings were also evaluated by this PCR method. Restriction patterns of prototypes were used for the typing of clinical samples. Detection limit was determined by the PCR amplification of a known amount of purified adenovirus serotype 8 DNA. RESULTS: A novel PCR method based on the fiber genes allowed the amplification of nine oculopathogenic serotypes of subgenus D (Ad8, Ad9, Ad15, Ad17, Ad19, Ad22, Ad28, Ad37, and Ad39). As little as 38.4 fg of adenovirus type 8 could be detected by this method. Positive results were obtained from 48 of 102 samples (47%) by both hexon- and fiber-based PCR, whereas only 29 of 102 (28.4%) yielded positive results by culture isolation/neutralization test (NT). All positive specimens (29 samples) of culture isolation and PCR-RFLP methods showed positive results by our new fiber-based PCR method, and no positive products were detected from other subgenus of adenovirus or nonadenoviral DNA. CONCLUSIONS: A newly developed fiber-based PCR-REA method for the detection and typing of adenoviruses is faster than any former PCR methods. This all-in-1-day detection and typing method will be quite useful to the rapid diagnosis of subgenus D adenovirus infection.
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A 67-year-old man with a four-year history of mixed connective tissue disease (MCTD) associated with interstitial pneumonia was admitted to our hospital with a complaint of dyspnea and moist cough. Because the interstitial pneumonia was exacerbated, he was given high-dose steroid treatment (pulse therapy and sequential oral treatment of PSL 50 mg/day). After treatment his general condition showed some improvement, but then he suddenly died of acute respiratory failure. Autopsy disclosed fat emboli in the lungs, kidneys, liver and myocardium. The fat embolism may have been a consequence of the steroid treatment. Fat embolism should be taken into account as one of the causes of the acute respiratory failure in collagen vascular disease patients receiving steroid treatment.
A 63-year-old man presented with a chronic myeloproliferative disorder complicated with left pneumonia. His pneumonia was cured with antibiotics, but a nodular lesion remained in his chest radiographs together with hypergammaglobulinemia, a high titer of anti-nuclear antigen, and uveitis with secondary glaucoma. Specimens obtained by transbronchial lung biopsy showed a mixed accumulation of plasma cells, lymphocytes, and histiocytes as well as a spindle cell proliferation diagnosed as pulmonary inflammatory pseudotumor. The specimen did not show any recombination indicative of a heavy or a light chain of immunoglobulin in Southern blotting analysis. Oral prednisolone treatment improved the pulmonary nodular lesion, the abnormal laboratory data, and the uveitis. These findings suggest that much of the gammaglobulin produced by plasma cells in the inflammatory pseudotumor caused a variety of clinical symptoms.
We report on two cases of alveolar hemorrhage after inhalation of detergent aerosol. Case 1: A 54-year-old woman was referred to our hospital with a complaint of hemoptysis. She used a spray type detergent for ventilation fan cleaning, and recognized hemoptysis later for eight hours. She had mild anemia and severe hypoxemia, and chest radiographs and CT films infiltrative shadows were recognized predominantly in the right middle, left lingual lower lobes. Case 2: A 22-year-old woman was admitted to our hospital complaining of bloody sputum and dyspnea. She had used a spray-type detergent for bathroom cleaning intermittently for one week. Between the beginning of this activity and the seventh day, cough and dyspnea developed. Chest radiographs and CT films disclosed diffuse infiltrative shadows in both lung fields. In both cases, the condition was diagnosed by bronchoalveolar lavage as alveolar hemorrhage. In case 2, a transbronchial lung biopsy specimen revealed alveolitis without vasculitis or capillaritis. Both the clinical symptoms and the CT images were improved by steroid administration. The steroid dosage was decreased gradually and stopped, but there was no relapse of the hemoptysis. Neither patient was positive for antinuclear antibodies or antibodies against the cytoplasm of granulocytes. Urinalysis showed no pathological findings. Since the hemoptysis appeared after inhalation of a detergent aerosol, it was possible that inhalation was the cause of the hemorrhage.
Three-step synthesis of enantiomerically pure thalidomide is described. D-Ornithine (2) reacted with thionyl chloride in methanol followed by treatment with triethylamine to give the (R)-3-amino-piperidin-2-one hydrochloride (3) in good yield. Protection of amino moiety by the use of N-carboethoxyphtalimide in DMSO furnished (R)-N-phtaloylpiperidin-2-one (4) as colorless crystals. Finally, the oxidation using a catalytic amount of RuO2 in the presence of excess sodium metaperiodate in a two-phase system gave (R)-thalidomide (1) in good yield without racemization. (S)-Thalidomide (1) was also synthesized from L-ornithine (2) in good overall yield. Since all the intermediates to thalidomide are easily recrystallized, the present method can be performed on a large scale without purification by column chromatography.
A 39-year-old man was admitted to our hospital for examination of multiple nodules and infiltrates on a chest radiograph. His chest HRCT revealed multiple nodules with or without thick- or thin-walled cavities. Specimens obtained by video-assisted thoracoscopic biopsy showed bundles of hyalinized collagen fibers, some of which contained accumulated plasma cells in the center. The nodules were surrounded by massive lymphoid cells which formed germinal centers. These findings are compatible with pulmonary hyalinizing granuloma. The lymphoid cells looked uniform in some areas and had infiltrated along the bronchioles and small vessels and into the intralobular septa in a manner resembling pulmonary lymphoma or pseudolymphoma. The findings suggested that pulmonary hyalinizing granuloma may overlap pulmonary lymphoma. The disease has shown no progression for four years although no treatment has been given.
We experienced a patient of CIDP who was twice complicated with aseptic meningitis following high-dose intravenous gammaglobulin therapy. The patient was a 29-year-old woman who first developed gait disturbance in September 1998. Neurological examination revealed muscle weakness and sensory disturbance in the distal parts of four extremities and decrease of deep tendon reflexes. Cerebrospinal fluid analysis revealed an elevated protein content and a normal cell count. Steroid therapy was effective in early stage, however, this effectiveness had been reduced gradually. She received high-dose intravenous gammaglobulin administrations in September 1999. On the fourth day after start of this therapy, she developed severe headache, nausea and nuchal rigidity without fever. Cerebrospinal fluid analysis revealed an increased cell count of mononuclear predominance and an elevated protein content. As bacterial culture remained negative and viral titers were not elevated, aseptic meningitis was diagnosed. The therapy was stopped, and thereafter her headache continued for 7 days. The muscle weakness and sensory disturbance were remarkably improved, but 9 months later, her symptoms became worse again. She received high-dose gammaglobulin administrations for 2 days in June 2000 and developed aseptic meningitis again. Over again, 9 months later, she received the same medication for only 1 day in March 2001 and she developed mild headache but not meningitis. Aseptic meningitis with CIDP following high-dose gammaglobulin therapy was rare, however, we should pay attention to this therapy in patients with CIDP and may prevent the occurrence of aseptic meningitis by reducing the total dose and shortening the administration periods of gammaglobulin.
The crystal structure of the tissue-type transglutaminase from red sea bream liver (fish-derived transglutaminase, FTG) has been determined at 2.5-A resolution using the molecular replacement method, based on the crystal structure of human blood coagulation factor XIII, which is a transglutaminase zymogen. The model contains 666 residues of a total of 695 residues, 382 water molecules, and 1 sulfate ion. FTG consists of four domains, and its overall and active site structures are similar to those of human factor XIII. However, significant structural differences are observed in both the acyl donor and acyl acceptor binding sites, which account for the difference in substrate preferences. The active site of the enzyme is inaccessible to the solvent, because the catalytic Cys-272 hydrogen-bonds to Tyr-515, which is thought to be displaced upon acyl donor binding to FTG. It is postulated that the binding of an inappropriate substrate to FTG would lead to inactivation of the enzyme because of the formation of a new disulfide bridge between Cys-272 and the adjacent Cys-333 immediately after the displacement of Tyr-515. Considering the mutational studies previously reported on the tissue-type transglutaminases, we propose that Cys-333 and Tyr-515 are important in strictly controlling the enzymatic activity of FTG.