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Biomedical subjects

H Hamada

Publications and source records attributed to H Hamada.

At least 91 records · Page 5Linked to original sources

Bystander effect in uracil phosphoribosyltransferase/5-fluorouracil-mediated suicide gene therapy is correlated with the level of intercellular communication.

We examined whether a suicide gene/prodrug system using the uracil phosphoribosyltransferase (UPRT) of E. coli origin and 5-fluorouracil (5-FU) could achieve a bystander effect in two rodent tumor cell lines, murine colon carcinoma (Colon 26) and rat gliosarcoma (9L) cells. Cytotoxicity tests of mixed populations consisting of parent and transduced cells showed that the bystander effect was not produced in Colon 26 cells in either the UPRT/5-FU system or the herpes simplex virus-thymidine kinase/ganciclovir system but a strong bystander effect was evidenced by both suicide gene systems in 9L cells. The expression level of connexin 43, a protein that constitutes gap junctions, was high in 9L but low in Colon 26 cells. A gap junction-permeable fluorescein dye could be transferred among 9L cells but hardly at all among Colon 26 cells. Taken together, the efficacy of the bystander effect in the UPRT/5-FU system can be affected by gap junction-mediated intercellular communication.

Animals↗

Decreased E-cadherin augments beta-catenin nuclear localization: studies in breast cancer cell lines.

We showed that the YMB-1-derived breast cancer cell line YMB-S, which proliferates in suspension without aggregation, exhibits complete loss of cell-cell adhesion despite the presence of E-cadherin-catenin complex and expression of free beta-catenin in the cytoplasm. Here, we describe beta-catenin gene regulation, interaction with E-cadherin, immunocytochemical localization, and their relation to growth rate in the YMB-1-derived cell line YMB-A, which forms tight junctions and displays anchorage-dependent growth. YMB-A cells proliferated more slowly than YMB-S cells. E-cadherin and APC gene product expression in YMB-A cells was significantly higher than that in YMB-S cells, whereas expression of beta-catenin, MUC1, and c-myc was lower in YMB-A cells than in YMB-S cells. According to immunocytochemical analysis, beta-catenin in YMB-A cells displayed membranous or submembranous localization, indicating that beta-catenin is mostly tethered to E-cadherin. Inhibition of E-cadherin expression in YMB-A cells by an antisense oligonucleotide did not change expression of whole cell beta-catenin protein, but increased nuclear beta-catenin protein level, c-myc expression, and cell growth rate. These results suggest that decreased expression of E-cadherin and APC and increased amount of beta-catenin in YMB-S cells lead to accumulation of beta-catenin in the nucleus, activate beta-catenin-LEF/TCF signaling pathway, and trigger c-myc proto-oncogene expression. c-Myc overexpression in breast cancer may be related to activated Wnt independent beta-catenin-LEF/TCF signaling.

Blotting, Southern↗

[The effects of intravenous nicardipine on jugular venous oxygen saturation].

We investigated the effects of intravenous nicardipine on jugular venous oxygen saturation (SjO2) in patients undergoing superficial temporal artery-middle cerebral artery anastomosis. Anesthesia was induced with intravenous thiamylal and fentanyl, and maintained by isoflurane and nitrous oxide in oxygen. In the presence of stable condition after the induction, nicardipine 0.5 microgram.kg-1.min-1 was administered intravenously for 180 minutes. Mean arterial pressure, heart rate, SjO2 and bladder temperature were recorded. Three hours after continuous infusion of nicardipine, plasma levels of nicardipine in artery and jugular vein were measured by liquid chromatography. The arterial concentration of nicardipine reached 23.9 +/- 8.06 ng.ml-1. The area under the curve between the arterial and jugular venous nicardipine during infusion was significantly different. Mean arterial pressure was reduced in response to administration of nicardipine. There were no significant changes in heart rate, bladder temperature and SjO2. We concluded that the current dose of nicardipine reached effective concentration for systemic hypotension without influencing SjO2.

Adult↗

[Dural arteriovenous fistula of the anterior cranial fossa associated with occlusion of the internal carotid artery: a case report].

We reported a case with dural arteriovenous fistula (dAVF) of the anterior cranial fossa associated with occlusion of the left cervical internal carotid artery. A 73-year-old man was admitted with total aphasia and right hemiparesis. Computed tomography showed an ischemic lesion of the left cerebral hemisphere and old infarction of the left occipital lobe. Angiography revealed occlusion of the left cervical internal carotid artery and dAVF of the anterior cranial fossa, fed by the left middle meningeal and the right anterior ethmoidal artery. Follow-up angiography revealed spontaneous recanalization and severe arteriosclerosis of the left internal carotid artery. After marked improvement of neurological deficits, the patient underwent surgical clipping of the draining veins to occlude the dAVF of the anterior cranial fossa. We speculated that marked development of the collateral circulation from the external carotid system might result in the occurrence of dAVF of the anterior cranial fossa.

Aged↗

[Blood concentration of propofol during cardiopulmonary bypass--comparison between arterial and internal jugular venous blood].

Twelve adult patients for cardiac surgery were divided into 2 groups, normothermia (6 patients) and mild hypothermia (6 patients), based on their body temperature during cardiopulmonary bypass (CPB). Propofol was continuously administered throughout each operation at a dose of 2 mg.kg-1.h-1. Arterial and internal jugular venous bulb blood samples were drawn simultaneously before CPB, at 5, 30, 60, and 90 minutes after the start of CPB, 30 minutes after the end of CPB, and at the conclusion of the operation, to measure propofol concentrations. In the normothermia group, propofol concentration in the arterial blood decreased significantly 5 minutes after the start of CPB, and then recovered immediately to the pre-CPB value. In the mild hypothermia group, however, no significant change in propofol concentration was observed. In both groups, there was no significant difference in propofol concentration between arterial and internal jugular venous bulb blood throughout the study period. Our results suggest that there are no significant differences between the effect of normothermic and that of mild hypothermic CPB on the pharmacokinetics of propofol in the brain.

Adult↗

[Consideration of surgical treatment for recurrence after the resection of hepatic metastases from colorectal cancer].

We considered treatment for recurrence following the resection of hepatic metastases from colorectal cancer. The subjects of this study were 15 of 29 patients who had undergone WHF arterial infusion following resection of hepatic metastases from colorectal cancer, in whom there was a recurrence. Of these 15 cases, 6 involved recurrence in a single organ (residual liver, 4; lung, 1; local area, 1), 7 involved two organs (residual liver and lung, 2; residual liver and local area, 2; residual liver and bone, 1; spleen and intra-abdominal lymph node, 1; intra-abdominal lymph node and peritoneum, 1) and 2 involved three organs (lung, bone and abdominal wall, 1; lung, peritoneum and distal lymph node, 1). Reresection was performed in all cases in which recurrence occurred in a single organ. For those cases in which recurrence occurred in two or more organs, reresection and infusion were performed in the 4 cases of recurrence in the residual liver and reresection was performed in the case of recurrence in the spleen and intra-abdominal lymph node (No. 16), the case of local recurrence and the case involving the abdominal wall. The 5-year survival rate of the 29 cases who underwent initial hepatic resection was 61.9%. Five years following resection, the recurrence rate in the residual liver was 38.3%. The survival rates following treatment for recurrence were 76.9, 51.3 and 25.6% for 1, 3 and 5 years, respectively. Of the 8 deaths which have occurred to date, only one was directly related to an increase in hepatic metastases. Following resection of hepatic metastases from colorectal cancer, WHF provides a high rate of prevention as well as a high survival rate. Furthermore, with regard to recurrence following WHF treatment, if the recurrence is in only one organ, there is the possibility of achieving effective treatment by reresection (WHF = 5-FU 1,000 mg/m2 5 hrs qw).

Colorectal Neoplasms↗

[Evaluation of peripheral facial nerve palsy with R 2 wave latency in blink reflex].

Electrically elicited blink reflexes were investigated in 60 patients with peripheral facial nerve palsy. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the utility of analysis of R 2 wave in blink reflex as a prognostic indicator for the patients with facial palsy. The patients treated by stellate ganglion block were classified into three groups: Group I scored more than 90 points (full score is 100 points) within 2 weeks, Group II scored more than 90 points over 2 weeks, and Group III scored less than 90 points. The examinations were performed at the first visit, and 2, 4, 6 weeks after the onset of facial palsy. Latencies of ipsilateral and contralateral R 2 wave were measured by electrical stimulation on both side. There were significant differences of R 2 latency between ipsilateral and contralateral side in each of the three groups at the first visit. In Group II, contralateral R 2 latency obtained by stimulation of the paralytic side was prolonged significantly. In Group III, the ipsilateral R 2 wave was not observed. The results of this study indicate that measurement of the R 2 latency of blink reflex is useful in judging the severity of the peripheral facial nerve palsy. The R 2 latencies obtained by stimulation of ipsilateral and contralateral side should be used as one of the parameters for evaluation of the prognosis of patients with peripheral facial nerve palsy.

Adult↗

Degree of apoptosis induced by adenovirus-mediated transduction of p53 or p73alpha depends on the p53 status of glioma cells.

It has been reported that U-87MG glioma cells with wild-type p53 are resistant to p53 replacement gene therapy. As some gliomas harbor wild-type p53, it would be important to override the resistance mechanism due to wild-type p53 in glioma gene therapy. In this study, we transduced U-87MG cells or U251 glioma cells harboring mutated p53 with the p53 or p73alpha gene (a homologue of p53, that differently induces some p53-responsive genes) via adenovirus vectors (Advs) at same multiplicities of infection (MOIs) into respective cells (U-87MG: MOI 1000, U251: MOI 100), and evaluated the degree of apoptosis. The results demonstrate that the degree of apoptosis induced by Adv-mediated transduction of p53 in U-87MG cells was lower than that in U251 cells, whereas that induced by Adv-mediated transduction of p73alpha in U-87MG cells was higher than that in U251 cells. Bax expression in U-87MG and U251 cells induced by Adv-mediated transduction of p53 was almost the same as that of p73alpha. On the other hand, Adv-mediated transduction of p73alpha induced caspase-9 at higher levels than that of p53 in both cells. The results indicate that Adv-mediated transduction of p73alpha might be beneficial to overcome the resistance mechanism of glioma cells harboring wild-type p53.

Adenoviridae↗

Transduction of the human deoxycytidine kinase gene in rodent tumor cells induces in vivo growth retardation in syngeneic hosts.

Deoxycytidine kinase (dCK) mediates the phosphorylation of nucleoside analogues that can be used as anti-cancer agents. We examined whether susceptibility of mouse colon carcinoma (Colon 26) and rat gliosarcoma (9L) cells to 1-beta-D-arabiofuranosylcytonsine (AraC), a chemotherapeutic agent, can be increased after the tumor cells were transduced with the human dCK gene. Expression of the dCK gene in both cell lines conferred increased sensitivity in vitro to AraC. Although their proliferation rates in vitro remained the same as those of parental cells, tumor growth of the transduced cells in syngeneic host animals was unexpectedly retarded compared with that of respective parental cells. In contrast, the growth of the transduced cells was not different from that of parental cells, when they were inoculated in T cell-defective nude mice. A histological examination revealed infiltration of eosinophils into the dCK gene-transduced but not into parental Colon 26 tumor. These data suggest that a therapeutic gene, when expressed in xenogenic animals, can be a tumor antigen which is recognized by a host defense system.

Animals↗

Cigarette smoking, CYP1A1 MspI and GSTM1 genotypes, and colorectal adenomas.

Cigarette smoking has been related to increased risk of colorectal adenomas, but the underlying mechanisms are unknown. Genetic polymorphisms are known for enzymes involved in the activation of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons and other tobacco-related carcinogens. Polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons are activated by cytochrome P4501A1 (CYP1A1) and detoxified by glutathione S-transferases. We investigated the relation of CYP1A1 MspI and GSTM1 genotypes to the risk of colorectal adenomas with special reference to interaction with cigarette smoking among 205 cases of colorectal adenomas and 220 controls with normal total colonoscopy in a male Japanese population. Cigarette smoking was strongly associated with increased risk of colorectal adenomas. Overall, neither the CYP1A1 MspI genotype nor the GSTM1 genotype was related to colorectal adenomas. A significant trend for increased risk of colorectal adenomas associated with smoking was observed for each of the CYP1A1 MspI genotypes, and the increasing trends did not differ by MspI genotype. The positive association between smoking and colorectal adenomas did not vary much with GSTM1 genotypes. Among former and current smokers, adenoma risk did not differ according to the combination of CYP1A1 MspI and GSTM1 genotypes. CYP1A1 MspI and GSTM1 genotypes do not seem to modify the risk of colorectal adenomas associated with cigarette smoking.

Adenoma↗

Adenovirus-mediated gene transfer of basic fibroblast growth factor promotes the survival of primary-cultured rat neuronal cells.

We constructed two replication-deficient recombinant adenovirus vectors coding human basic fibroblast growth factor (bFGF), one with and one without the interleukin-2 (IL-2) secretory signal sequence and examined their neurotrophic effects on primary neuronal cells in vitro. The primary neuronal cells were successfully infected at a high efficiency with the adenovirus vectors. bFGF protein was detected in the culture medium of the neurons infected with both these vectors. The cells infected with the bFGF-expressing adenovirus containing the IL-2 signal sequence showed 2- to 10-fold higher levels of secretion levels than cells infected with the native bFGF-expressing adenovirus alone. Both bFGF-expressing vectors augmented the survival of primary neuronal cells in an in vitro culture, compared with a mock infection or control virus infection. Notably, the cells infected with the bFGF-expressing adenovirus containing the IL-2 signal sequence were markedly enhanced cell survival in the early phase of the culture, compared with the control cells and even those infected with the bFGF-expressing adenovirus without the IL-2 signal sequence. However, in the late phase of neuronal culture, neither viral vector could support the cell survival. In contrast the co-infection of the bFGF-expressing vector with a Bcl-xL-expressing vector was extremely effective on neuronal survival.

Adenoviridae↗

Transduction of Apaf-1 or caspase-9 induces apoptosis in A-172 cells that are resistant to p53-mediated apoptosis.

p53 replacement gene therapy has been carried out clinically for cancers with p53 mutations; however, some cancers are resistant to p53 gene therapy. In this study, we transduced A-172 and U251 cells harboring p53 mutations with wild-type p53 using adenovirus vectors to induce wild-type p53 protein at similar expression levels. A-172 cells did not undergo apoptosis after p53 transduction, whereas U251 cells were markedly sensitive to p53-mediated apoptosis. A-172 cells showed higher endogenous expression of Bcl-X(L) than U251, and transduction of Bcl-X(L) repressed p53-mediated apoptosis in U251 cells, suggesting that high endogenous expression of Bcl-X(L) renders A-172 cells, at least in part, resistant to p53-mediated apoptosis. We transduced A-172 cells and U251 cells with the Apaf-1 or caspase-9 genes; both are downstream components of p53-mediated apoptosis. We found that A-172 cells were highly sensitive to Apaf-1- and caspase-9-mediated apoptosis. The results indicate that A-172 cells harboring mutant p53 were not susceptible to p53-mediated apoptosis, possibly due to high endogenous expression of Bcl-X(L). Transduction of Apaf-1 or caspase-9 would override the resistance mechanism of apoptosis in A-172 cells. These findings provide potentially a novel approach in killing cancers that are resistant to p53 replacement gene therapy.

Adenoviridae↗

Adenovirus-mediated transfer of caspase-8 augments cell death in gliomas: implication for gene therapy.

Caspase-8 is a member of the family of caspases, which are involved in the execution of apoptosis. To investigate whether caspase-8 can be used for gene therapy of gliomas, we transduced A-172 and U251 glioma cells with the caspase-8 gene via an adenoviral vector (Adv) controlled by the chicken beta-actin (CA) promoter (Advcaspase-8), and found that a similar level of caspase-8 protein induced A-172 cells to undergo necrotic cell death and U251 cells to undergo apoptotic cell death. Neither Bcl-XL nor Bcl-2, which play important roles in antiapoptotic mechanisms in gliomas, protected glioma cells from apoptosis induced by overexpression of caspase-8. Injection of Adv-caspase-8 suppressed the in vivo growth of U251 xenografts, in which apoptotic cell death remarkably increased as revealed by TUNEL analysis. Finally, we assessed whether gene therapy with a tissue-specific promoter, the myelin basic protein (MBP) promoter, is applicable to gliomas. Adv for caspase-8 controlled by the MBP promoter induced drastic apoptosis in U251 and U-373MG glioma cells, whereas it did not induce apoptosis in human endothelial cells, fibroblasts, and nerve growth factor-treated PC12 cells. These results indicate that Adv for caspase-8 effectively induced cell death in gliomas, and that this approach may be a useful modality for gene therapy of gliomas.

Actins↗

Adenovirus-mediated transfer of caspase-8 in combination with superrepressor of NF-kappaB drastically induced apoptosis in gliomas.

Inhibition of NF-kappaB in the presence of tumor necrosis factor-alpha (TNF) is supposed to be a promising cancer therapeutic approach, since it disrupts the protective mechanism of NF-kappaB activated by TNF. To test this approach in gliomas, we introduced a superrepressor of NF-kappaB, an N-terminal deleted form of inhibitor kappa B alpha (IkappaBdN) gene, to human glioma cells (U251 and U-373MG) via adenoviral vector (Adv) in the presence of TNF. U-373MG cells were refractory to TNF-induced apoptosis even when they were transduced with the IkappaBdN gene. On the other hand, transduction of IkappaBdN drastically augmented caspase-8-mediated apoptosis in U-373MG cells. Similar results were obtained in U251 cells. Cotransduction of IkappaBdN and caspase-8 induced cleavage of PARP. Taken together, Adv-mediated transfer of IkappaBdN plus caspase-8 may be a promising therapeutic approach to treat gliomas.

Adenoviridae↗

Adenovirus-mediated transfer of caspase-3 with Fas ligand induces drastic apoptosis in U-373MG glioma cells.

Impaired function of apoptosis-related genes is deeply involved in oncogenesis and the progression of cancers, and caspase-3 plays a critical role as an executioner of apoptosis. We introduced the caspase-3 gene via an adenovirus (Adv) vector into Alexander hepatoma cells, MCF-7 breast cancer cells, and U251 and U-373MG glioma cells which have different endogenous levels of caspase-3 expression. None of the cell lines underwent apoptosis by overexpression of caspase-3, indicating that induction of caspase-3 alone is not applicable for cancer gene therapy. Next, we investigated whether overexpression of caspase-3 could enhance Fas ligand-mediated apoptosis in these four cell lines. In U-373MG cells, which showed the highest level of expression of surface Fas among the four cell lines, coinfection of the Adv for caspase-3 (Adv-caspase-3) and the Adv for Fas ligand (Adv-FL) induced a remarkably increased degree of apoptosis compared with that induced by the single infection of either Adv-caspase-3 or Adv-FL. Similar results were obtained by cotreatment with anti-Fas antibody in U-373MG cells. These data suggest that when strong proapoptotic upstream stimuli are induced, the level of caspase-3 expression determines the degree of apoptosis in cancer cell lines. In conclusion, overexpression of caspase-3 alone did not induce apoptosis in cancer cells. Both a strong proapoptotic signal and a high expression of caspase-3 were required to induce drastic apoptosis in cancers. This strategy would be highly beneficial for selected cancer patients.

Adenoviridae↗

Methylenetetrahydrofolate reductase polymorphism and risk of colorectal adenomas.

A homozygous mutation at bp 677 in the gene for the methylenetetrahydrofolate reductase (MTHFR) was previously shown to be associated with a decreased risk of colorectal cancer. We examined the relation between the MTHFR genetic polymorphism and risk of colorectal adenoma in Japanese men using 205 cases of colorectal adenomas and 220 controls of normal total colonoscopy. The homozygous mutation was not measurably associated with colorectal adenomas. The findings corroborate the lack of an association between the MTHFR genotype and colorectal adenomas, but do not deny the possibility that the genotype may be involved in the late stage of colorectal carcinogenesis.

Adenoma↗