[STS-95 space experiment: analysis of mutations induced in human tumor cells].
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Publications and source records attributed to F Suzuki.
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The rat AIM-1 gene encoding an Aurora- and Ipl1-like midbody-associated protein serine/threonine kinase has a mitotic regulator function playing a key role in the onset of cytokinesis during mitosis. This report presents a cDNA sequence and megakaryocytic differentiation-dependent expression profile of the human AIM-1 gene. The nucleotide sequences of the human AIM-1 were identified from cDNAs of three cell lines, including cervical carcinoma HeLa cells, colorectal tumor SW480 cells, and normal human diploid skin fibroblast NHDF cells, and no mutation was found. The expression levels of AIM-1 transcript were markedly reduced during differentiation into megakaryocytic cell lineage in human leukemia cells induced by 12-o-tetradecanoyl-phorbol-13-acetate (TPA), suggesting that the downregulation of AIM-1 contributes to the differentiation by repeated duplication of DNA without cytokinesis (endomitosis).
OBJECTIVES: This study sought to define the electrophysiologic and electrocardiographic characteristics of fast-slow atrioventricular nodal reentrant tachycardia (AVNRT). BACKGROUND: In fast-slow AVNRT the retrograde slow pathway (SP) is located in the posterior septum, whereas the anterograde fast pathway (FP) is located in the anterior septum; however, exceptions may occur. METHODS: Twelve patients with fast-slow AVNRT were studied. To determine the location of the retrograde SP, atrial activation during AVNRT was examined while recording the electrograms from the low septal right atrium (LSRA) on the His bundle electrogram and the orifice of the coronary sinus (CS). Further, to investigate the location of the anterograde FP, single extrastimuli were delivered during AVNRT both from the high right atrium and the CS. RESULTS: The CS activation during AVNRT preceded the LSRA in six patients (posterior type); LSRA activation preceded the CS in three patients (anterior type), and in the remaining three both sites were activated simultaneously (middle type). In the anterior type, CS stimulation preexcited the His and the ventricle without capturing the LSRA electrogram (atrial dissociation between the CS and the LSRA), suggesting that the anterograde FP was located posterior to the retrograde SP. In the posterior and middle types, high right atrial stimulation demonstrated atrial dissociation, suggesting that the anterograde FP was located anterior to the SP. In the posterior and middle types, retrograde P waves in the inferior leads were deeply negative, whereas they were shallow in the anterior type. CONCLUSIONS: Fast-slow AVNRT was able to be categorized into posterior, middle and anterior types according to the site of the retrograde SP. The anterior type AVNRT, where an anteriorly located SP is used in the retrograde direction and a posteriorly located FP in the anterograde direction, appears to represent an anatomical reversal of the posterior type which uses a posterior SP for retrograde and an anterior FP for anterograde conduction. Anterior type AVNRT should be considered in the differential diagnosis of long RP (RP > PR intervals) tachycardias with shallow negative P waves in the inferior leads.
The transcription factor human GA-binding protein (hGABP) is composed of two subunits, the Ets-related hGABPalpha, which binds to a specific DNA sequence, and either one of two hGABPalpha-associated subunits, hGABPbeta or hGABPgamma. The DNA-binding protein hGABPalpha cannot affect transcription by itself, but can modify hGABP-dependent transcription in vitro and in vivo in the presence of its associated subunits. In this study, co-transfection assays showed that the ratio of hGABPbeta to hGABPgamma affected transcription from a promoter containing hGABP binding sites. Biochemical analysis showed that they bind to hGABPalpha competitively, indicating that the ratio of hGABPbeta to hGABPgamma is important for hGABP complex formation. Kinetic analysis of the protein-protein interaction using the surface plasmon resonance system showed that hGABPalpha binds to hGABPbeta or hGABPgamma with similar equilibrium constants. Kinetic analysis of the DNA-hGABP interaction showed that the binding of hGABPgamma to hGABPalpha stabilized the interaction of hGABPalpha with its DNA binding site. In addition, the kinetic analysis revealed that this was due to a slower dissociation of the protein complex from the DNA. These results suggest that hGABPalpha-associated subunits influence the DNA binding stability of hGABPalpha and regulate hGABP-mediated transcription by competing with each other.
Aurora- and Ipl1-like midbody-associated protein (AIM-1) is a serine/ threonine kinase that is structurally related to Drosophila aurora and Saccharomyces cerevisiae Ipl1, both of which are required for chromosome segregation. A kinase-negative form of AIM-1 inhibits the formation of cleavage furrow without affecting nuclear division, indicating that the gene controls entry into cytokinesis during M phase in mammalian cells. A human gene that encodes the protein AIM-1 was overexpressed in colorectal and other tumor cell lines. The regulation of AIM-1 expression was cell cycle dependent in normal and tumor cells, and the maximum accumulation was observed at G2-M. Exogenous overexpression of wild-type AIM-1 produced multinuclearity in human cells, suggesting that the excess amount of AIM-1 had a dominant-negative effect on the overexpressing cells. In long-term culture of AIM-1-overexpressing cells, multiple nuclei in a cell were occasionally fused, and then an increased ploidy and aneuploidy were induced. Thus, the overexpression of AIM-1 in colorectal tumor cell lines is thought to have a causal relationship with multinuclearity and increased ploidy. Cytokinesis error caused by AIM-1 overexpression is a major factor in the predisposition of tumor cells to the perturbation of chromosomal integrity that is commonly observed in human neoplasia. Thus, defects of pathways essential for mitotic regulation are important during human cancer development.
Casein kinase II (CKII) is thought to regulate a broad range of transcription factors, but its mode of action is not well characterized. We previously showed that CKII is co-purified with the ATF family of transcription factors using DNA-affinity latex beads. Here we report a functional and physical interaction between CKII and transcription factors. We demonstrate that CKII binds through its catalytic alpha and alpha' subunits to the basic leucine zipper (bZIP) DNA-binding domains of many transcription factors, including ATF1. Kinetic analysis using a surface plasmon resonance sensor suggests that CKII loosely associates with ATF1 in vivo . Deletion of the bZIP domain of ATF1 markedly reduces its phosphorylation by CKII, suggesting that the bZIP recruits CKII to the vicinity of the target site. ATF1-CKII complex is also formed on DNA. Using CKIIalpha fusedto a heterologous DNA-binding domain, we also demonstrate that CKII, when bound to DNA, efficiently phosphorylates its substrate, which is bound to the same DNA molecule. Taken together, CKII may regulate transcription (and possibly other events) by phosphorylating proteins on DNA.
The role of Th2 cells and the cytokines produced by these cells on experimental pulmonary metastasis of B16 melanoma was investigated in a murine model implanted with high metastatic (B16F10) or low metastatic (B16F1) melanoma cells. An average of 250 colonies of metastasis in the lungs was counted in mice (BF10 mice) at 14 days after the inoculation of 2 x 10(5) B16F10 cells/mouse, while <20 colonies were detected in mice (BF1 mice) inoculated with the same number of B16F1 cells. CD4+ CD11b+ TCR-alphabeta+ T cells (BF10-Th2 cells) were produced in the spleens of BF10 mice, while these cells were not detected in BF1 mice. The BF10-Th2 cells produced IL-4 and IL-10 into culture fluids when stimulated in vitro with anti-CD3 mAb. However, IL-2 and IFN-gamma were not produced. The level of a pulmonary metastasis in BF1 mice increased to the level observed in BF10 mice, when BF10-Th2 cells were adoptively transferred to BF1 mice. Also, an increase in the number of pulmonary melanoma was demonstrated in BF1 mice treated with 10 microg/kg murine rIL-4. The level of pulmonary metastasis in BF10 mice or in BF1 mice inoculated with BF10-Th2 cells decreased to the level observed in BF1 mice when mice were treated with an anti-IL-4 mAb at a dose of 250 microg/kg on days 1, 3, and 5 after tumor inoculation. These results suggest that the severity of pulmonary metastasis in mice receiving B16 melanoma cells is strongly influenced by the IL-4 released from tumor-associated Th2 cells.
Recently, the marked decline in renal carnitine reabsorption has been thought to account fotr the systemic carnitine deficiency in juvenile visceral steatosis (JVS) mice. We have conducted a kinetic analysis using embryonic fibroblasts derived from normal, heterozygous, and homozygous jvs mice and found that the high-affinity carnitine transporter (Km = 5.5 microM), which shows Na+ and temperature dependency and stereospecificity, is defective in homozygous jvs mice. Moreover, a gene dose-dependent decrease of carnitine transport activity, which was due to a decrease in the number of the transporter molecules, was found in heterozygous jvs mice. Similar phenomena have been observed in human primary carnitine deficiency. Therefore, JVS mice may be useful for understanding this extremely rare human hereditary disorder.
Mitosis is a highly coordinated process that assures the fidelity of chromosome segregation. Errors in this process result in aneuploidy which can lead to cell death or oncogenesis. In this paper we describe a putative mammalian protein kinase, AIM-1 (Aurora and Ipl1-like midbody-associated protein), related to Drosophila Aurora and Saccharomyces cerevisiae Ipl1, both of which are required for chromosome segregation. AIM-1 message and protein accumulate at G2/M phase. The protein localizes at the equator of central spindles during late anaphase and at the midbody during telophase and cytokinesis. Overexpression of kinase-inactive AIM-1 disrupts cleavage furrow formation without affecting nuclear division. Furthermore, cytokinesis frequently fails, resulting in cell polyploidy and subsequent cell death. These results strongly suggest that AIM-1 is required for proper progression of cytokinesis in mammalian cells.
Burn injury is associated with the greatly increased susceptibility of thermally injured patients to infection from a variety of pathogens. In this study we investigated the role of burn-associated type 2 T cells on the increased susceptibility of burned patients to Candida albicans infection using SCID mice and peripheral blood lymphocytes (PBL) from thermally injured patients. When SCID mice that were inoculated with PBL from healthy donors were resistant to C. albicans infection, the SCID mice that were inoculated with PBL from burned patients did not show any resistance to the infection. All SCID mice exposed to the pathogen, however, survived after inoculation with patient PBL that were previously depleted of CD30+ cells. The predominance of type 2 T cell responses was demonstrated in PBLs of thermally injured patients. As burn-associated type 2 T cells, CD3+ CD8+ CD30+ IL-4 and IL-10-producing cells were demonstrated in burned patient PBL. These results suggest that burn-associated CD30+ type 2 T cells may play a role on the increased susceptibility of burned patients to C. albicans infection.
Recent reports suggest the hepatic iron concentration (HIC) may influence the activity of hepatitis and the response to interferon (IFN) therapy in patients with chronic hepatitis C (CH-C). We have evaluated iron status in 28 patients with CH-C and determined if pretreatment iron status can predict the response to IFN-alpha therapy in these patients. Increased serum iron, transferrin saturation, and ferritin levels were observed in 3 (11%), 11 (39%), and 5 (18%) patients, respectively. Hepatic iron deposits were histologically detected in 17 (61%) patients, and 14 of them had stainable hepatocytic iron. However, all HIC values were within the normal range (203-1279 microg/g). Seven of 17 patients treated with IFN-alpha for 6 mo had normalization of serum transaminases and disappearance of serum HCV-RNA (responders). Nonresponders had a significantly higher median HIC compared with responders (710 vs 343 microg/g, respectively; p < 0.05). There was no significant difference in other pretreatment iron parameters, serum HCV-RNA level, or HCV-genotype between responders and nonresponders. In conclusion, mild hepatic iron accumulation occurs in patients with CH-C. Increased hepatic iron stores are associated with poor response to IFN therapy. Pretreatment HIC may be an additional host-specific parameter with a predictive value for responsiveness to IFN therapy, in addition to well-known predictive viral factors.
INTRODUCTION: Rapid atrial pacing in sinus rhythm may directly induce atrial flutter without provoking intervening atrial fibrillation, or initiate atrial flutter indirectly, by a conversion from an episode of transient atrial fibrillation provoked by rapid atrial pacing. The present study was performed to examine whether or not the direct induction of clockwise or counterclockwise atrial flutter was pacing-site (right or left atrium) dependent. METHODS AND RESULTS: We analyzed the mode of direct induction of atrial flutter by rapid atrial pacing. In 46 patients with a history of atrial flutter, rapid atrial pacing with 3 to 20 stimuli (cycle length = 500 - 170 ms) was performed in sinus rhythm to induce atrial flutter from 3 atrial sites, including the high right atrium, the low lateral right atrium, and the proximal coronary sinus, while recording multiple intracardiac electrograms of the atria. Direct induction of atrial flutter by rapid atrial pacing was a rare phenomenon and was documented only 22 times in 15 patients: 3, 11, and 8 times during stimulation, respectively, from the high right atrium, low lateral right atrium, and the proximal coronary sinus. Counterclockwise atrial flutter (12 times) was more frequently induced with stimulation from the proximal coronary sinus than from the low lateral right atrium (8 vs 1, P = .0001); clockwise atrial flutter (10 times) was induced exclusively from the low lateral right atrium (P = .0001 for low lateral right atrium vs proximal coronary sinus, P = .011 for low lateral right atrium vs high right atrium). CONCLUSIONS: Direct induction of either counterclockwise or clockwise atrial flutter was definitively pacing-site dependent; low lateral right atrial pacing induced clockwise, while proximal coronary sinus pacing induced counterclockwise atrial flutter. Anatomic correlation between the flutter circuit and the atrial pacing site may play an important role in the inducibility of counterclockwise or clockwise atrial flutter.
The subtypes of alpha1-adrenoceptor are coexpressed in many tissues. We examined the relationship between coexpressed alpha1-adrenoceptor subtypes and their functions in blood vessels. Rat and rabbit aortas coexpressed three subtypes (alpha1A, alpha1B, alpha1D) and four subtypes (alpha1A, alpha1B, alpha1D, alpha1L), respectively. In rat aorta however, noradrenaline-induced contraction was mediated predominantly through the alpha1D subtype, and oxymetazoline produced alpha1B-mediated contraction. In rabbit aorta, concentration-response curves for noradrenaline were composed of two components (alpha1B and alpha1L-mediated), while oxymetazoline produced alpha1L-mediated contraction. Therefore, the inhibitory actions of some antagonists varied markedly among tissues and agonists. These results demonstrate diversity of the two receptor systems and suggest that the heterogeneity of physiological responses reflects the differences in functional subtypes among tissues and in their sensitivities to agonists and antagonists.
We have studied the induction of morphological transformation of Syrian hamster embryo cells by low doses of heavy ions with different linear energy transfer (LET), ranging from 13 to 400 keV/micrometer. Exponentially growing cells were irradiated with 12C or 28Si ion beams generated by the Heavy Ion Medical Accelerator in Chiba (HIMAC), inoculated to culture dishes, and transformed colonies were identified when the cells were densely stacked and showed a crisscross pattern. Over the LET range examined, the frequency of transformation induced by the heavy ions increased sharply at very low doses no greater than 5 cGy. The relative biological effectiveness (RBE) of the heavy ions relative to 250 kVp X-rays showed an initial increase with LET, reaching a maximum value of about 7 at 100 keV/micrometer, and then decreased with the further increase in LET. Thus, we confirmed that high LET heavy ions are significantly more effective than X-rays for the induction of in vitro cell transformation.
Our previous studies have shown that a single injection of kainic acid into the dorsal hippocampus of adult mice resulted in hypertrophy of the dentate gyrus granule cells. This hypertrophy was correlated with a long-lasting increase of brain-derived neurotrophic factor messenger RNA, and prevented by anti-sense brain-derived neurotrophic factor oligonucleotide treatment. These results suggest that an increase of brain-derived neurotrophic factor messenger RNA may be a major trigger of granule cells enlargement. However, the level of messenger RNA of Trk B, the high-affinity receptor of brain-derived neurotrophic factor, was not increased significantly, raising the question of whether increased brain-derived neurotrophic factor messenger RNA level leads actually to an increased protein production. The objective of the present study was to examine this; changes in contents of brain-derived neurotrophic factor and TrkB protein were monitored by immunohistochemistry during kainic acid-induced hypertrophy. Results show that immunoreactivities of brain-derived neurotrophic factor and Trk B were present in enlarged granule cells. These immunoreactivities increased from two to 16 weeks after kainic acid injection and were maintained up to 12 months. Simultaneous increases of brain-derived neurotrophic factor messenger RNA and protein, and of TrkB protein were coupled tightly to the chronology of granule cell enlargement, suggesting that the action of brain-derived neurotrophic factor in the induction and maintenance of kainic acid-induced granule cells enlargement is likely to be mediated by TrkB. The discrepancy between the previously described lack of increase of TrkB messenger RNA and the herein observed increase of the protein further reveals the existence of translational regulations of the receptor messenger RNA.
As compared with normal unburned mice, thermally injured mice have been shown to be 50-100 times more susceptible to HSV type 1 (HSV-1) or Candida albicans infection. Benzoylmesaconine (BEN) improved the resistance of thermally injured mice against infection with HSV-1 or C. albicans to the level observed in normal mice. Mortality rates of normal mice exposed to lethal amounts of these pathogens were not affected by the BEN treatment, while significant survival effects were produced in these mice after treatment with acyclovir (against HSV-1) or amphotericin B (against C. albicans). Benzoylmesaconine did not inhibit the growth of these pathogens in vitro and did not directly reduce the viability of the pathogens. However, burned mice inoculated with CD4+ T cells from BEN-treated mice resisted infections from these pathogens. These results suggested that, through the generation of CD4+ T cells, BEN recovered the impaired resistance of thermally injured mice to infection by HSV-1 or C. albicans.
In the accompanying paper, the resistance to infections with HSV type 1 (HSV-1) and Candida albicans was improved in thermally injured mice treated with benzoylmesaconine (BEN), an aconitine-hydrolysate isolated from heated Aconiti tuber, or inoculated with splenic CD4+ T cells from BEN-treated mice (BEN T cells). In this paper, therefore, the antiviral mechanism of BEN T cells (or BEN) on the improved resistance of burned mice to the HSV-1 infection was studied. Burn-associated CD + CD11b+ TCRgamma/delta+ type-2 T cells have been shown to be a key on the increased susceptibility of thermally injured mice to infection with HSV-1 or C. albicans. The susceptibility of T6S-mice, mice inoculated with 1 x 10(6) cells/mouse of T6S cells (a clone of burn-associated type-2 T cells), to HSV-1 infection was similar to that of thermally injured mice. The adoptive transfer of BEN T cells to T6S-mice restores their impaired resistance to HSV-1 infection. The type-2 cytokine levels in sera of T6S-mice were decreased after inoculation of BEN T cells. BEN T cells inhibited the type-2 cytokine production by T6S cells when they were cocultured in vitro. BEN T cells, characterized as CD4+ CD28+ TCRalpha/beta+ Vicia villosa (VV) lectin-adherent T cells, showed non-specific ability to inhibit the cytokine production by various type-2 T cells. From the results of the cytokine-producing profile, BEN T cells were shown to be a different subset of CD4+ T cells from Th1 and Th2 cells, although these three CD4+ T cells had similar properties phenotypically. BEN T cells were induced in normal mice 1-4 days after the oral treatment of BEN (1 microg/kg or more). These results suggest that, through the induction of antagonistic CD4+ T cells against burn-associated type-2 T cells, BEN may improve the resistance of T6S-mice (or thermally injured mice) to the infection of HSV-1.
OBJECTIVE: To determine whether growth hormone (GH) influences the production of type 1 T-helper (Th1) and type 2 T-helper (Th2) cytokine responses after burn. SUMMARY BACKGROUND DATA: GH has been shown to influence immunoregulation. The authors previously reported improved mortality in burned mice treated with GH after infection with herpesvirus. Other work has shown that impaired immunity after burn was characterized by conversion of Th cell populations from Th1 cells to Th2 cells, suggesting an increased susceptibility of patients with burns to infection. METHODS: The production of Th1 and Th2 cytokine from isolated splenic lymphocytes taken from GH-treated burned mice was measured. RESULTS: At 1 and 11 days after burn, Th1 cytokine production by splenic lymphocytes from burned mice treated with GH was greater than in mice receiving saline. In fact, Th1 cytokine production was greater than that of nonburned mice. In addition, the production of Th2 cytokines was decreased. CONCLUSIONS: Results suggest that the Th1/Th2 response is altered after burn, and this can be reversed with GH. GH, therefore, may improve resistance to infection in patients with burns.