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Biomedical subjects

H Iijima

Publications and source records attributed to H Iijima.

At least 91 records · Page 5Linked to original sources
PubMed1998

Expression and characterization of a very low density lipoprotein receptor variant lacking the O-linked sugar region generated by alternative splicing.

The very low density lipoprotein receptor (VLDLR) gene contains an exon encoding a region of clustered serine and threonine residues immediately outside the membrane-spanning sequence, and this region has been proposed to be the site of clustered O-linked carbohydrate chains. Two forms of VLDLR transcripts, with and without the O-linked sugar region, are generated through alternative splicing. Reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction with RNAs from various rabbit tissues revealed that the VLDLR transcript with the O-linked sugar region (type-1 VLDLR) is the major transcript in heart and muscle, while the VLDLR transcript without the O-linked sugar region (type-2 VLDLR) predominates in non-muscle tissues, including cerebrum, cerebellum, kidney, spleen, adrenal gland, testis, ovary, and uterus. Hamster fibroblasts expressing type-2 VLDLR bound with relatively low affinity to beta-migrating very low density lipoprotein compared with type-1 VLDLR-transfected cells. In contrast, the internalization, dissociation, and degradation of the ligand were not significantly impaired in either type of VLDLR-transfected cell. The receptor proteins in type-2 VLDLR-transfected cells underwent rapid degradation and accumulated in the culture medium, while those in type-1 VLDLR-transfected cells were stable and resistant to proteolytic cleavage. Analysis of the O-linked sugars of both types of transfected cells suggested that the O-linked sugar region is the major site for O-glycosylation.

Alternative Splicing↗
PubMed1998

Nd:YAG laser photodisruption for preretinal hemorrhage due to retinal macroaneurysm.

PURPOSE: To document the clinical course of Nd:YAG laser photodisruption for eyes with preretinal hemorrhage following rupture of a retinal macroaneurysm. METHODS: We reviewed six eyes of five patients with preretinal hemorrhage due to retinal macroaneurysm that received Nd:YAG laser photodisruption. Nd:YAG laser created a focal opening in the anterior surface of the preretinal hemorrhage, permitting the blood to enter the vitreous cavity where it would be absorbed more rapidly. RESULTS: Three eyes showed both subhyaloid hemorrhage, which was resorbed without treatment within 2 months, and hemorrhagic detachment of the internal limiting membrane (ILM), which required Nd:YAG laser photodisruption. All eyes showed disappearance of the preretinal hemorrhage and improvement of vision within 1 week of Nd:YAG laser photodisruption. Visual recovery was less prominent in eyes associated with subretinal macular hemorrhage. CONCLUSION: Preretinal hemorrhage due to a ruptured retinal macroaneurysm could be dispersed into the vitreous cavity with Nd:YAG laser photodisruption. It should be considered in the decision of Nd:YAG laser photodisruption that the visual increment may be limited in eyes that also have subretinal hemorrhage in the macula and that the hemorrhage beneath the ILM tends to remain longer than the subhyaloid hemorrhage.

Aged↗
PubMed1998

Evaluation of the PyloriTek test for detection of Helicobacter pylori infection in cases with and without eradication therapy.

OBJECTIVE: The accuracy of the PyloriTek test (a 1-h rapid urease test) used after eradication therapy of Helicobacter pylori (H. pylori) has not been well clarified. This study was done to evaluate the accuracy of the PyloriTek test results for cases with and without eradication therapy, using culture and histology as gold standard methods, and to establish the suitable timing of the PyloriTek test after eradication treatment. METHODS: One hundred sixty-three patients undergoing upper endoscopy were randomly selected; 100 patients had not received eradication therapy and 63 had. Three biopsy specimens each were obtained from the gastric antrum and the body for examination by PyloriTek, culture, and histology. The absence of H. pylori was established with negative results from both culture and histology. RESULTS: In cases without eradication therapy, PyloriTek, correctly identified 66 of 67 H. pylori-positive cases and 30 of 33 H. pylori-negative cases, yielding 98.5% sensitivity and 90.9% specificity. In cases with eradication therapy, PyloriTek gave correct diagnoses in 10 of 17 H. pylori-positive cases and in 45 of 46 H. pylori-negative cases, for 58.8% sensitivity and 97.8% specificity. However, when PyloriTek was used more than 4 months after the end of eradication therapy, both the sensitivity and the specificity increased to 100%. CONCLUSION: Considering time and cost, the use of PyloriTek alone may be satisfactory for detecting H. pylori infection in cases without eradication therapy. When patients are examined more than 4 months after intervention, the use of PyloriTek alone may be sufficient for correctly diagnosing H. pylori infections.

Amoxicillin↗
PubMed1998

Effects of airway inflammation on cough response in the guinea pig.

We have developed a guinea pig model for cough related to allergic airway inflammation. Unanesthetized animals were exposed to capsaicin aerosols for 10 min, and cough frequency was counted during this period. The cough evaluation was performed by the following three methods: visual observation, acoustic analysis, and monitoring of pressure changes in the body chamber. These analyses clearly differentiated a cough from a sneeze. To elucidate the relationship between cough response and airway inflammation, animals were immunosensitized and multiple challenged. Sensitized guinea pigs presented no specific changes microscopically, but multiple-challenged animals showed an increased infiltration of inflammatory cells into the airway. Cough number in response to capsaicin increased significantly from 4.7 +/- 1.4 coughs/10 min in normal animals to 10.6 +/- 2.0 coughs/10 min in sensitized animals and further to 22.8 +/- 1.3 coughs/10 min in multiple-challenged animals. This augmented cough frequency was significantly inhibited by the inhalation of tachykinin-receptor antagonists and by oral ingestion, but not inhalation, of codeine phosphate. The results suggest that airway inflammation potentiates an elevation of cough sensitivity in this model.

Animals↗
PubMed1998

Methacholine bronchial hyperresponsiveness in chronic sinusitis.

The coexistence of chronic sinusitis (CS) may deteriorate the clinical condition of lower airway diseases such as bronchial asthma (BA) or chronic bronchitis (CB). However, the bronchial hyperresponsiveness (BH) in CS without any apparent lower airway disease is not fully understood nor are the effects of treatment. We examined lower airway hyperresponsiveness to methacholine (MCh) in 42 subjects with CS but without allergic rhinitis (AR) who had normal lung functions without any pulmonary symptoms, comparing it with that of 50 subjects with stable BA, 50 subjects with simple CB and 40 subjects with AR, and further examined the effect of endoscopic sinus surgery in 7 CS subjects with BH. The BH to MCh was measured in terms of the minimum dose (Dmin), defined as the cumulative dose at the point where respiratory conductance began to decrease. A Dmin <50 units was defined as BH. Seventy-one percent of CS subjects showed BH without relation to the severity or duration of CS, or atopic status. BH in CS subjects, which was less than that in BA subjects, was similar to that in simple CB or AR in both its prevalence and degree. After the surgical treatment of CS, BH significantly decreased (p < 0.01) with improvements in both nasal symptoms and sinus lesions. These findings suggest that CS itself induces BH to a degree similar to simple CB and AR without any relationship to the clinical background, and that adequate treatment of CS reduces BH.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1998

Tazanolast inhibits ozone-induced airway hyperresponsiveness in guinea pigs.

We studied the inhibitory effect of tazanolast, a selective mast-cell-stabilizing drug, on ozone-induced airway hyperresponsiveness in guinea pigs. Airway responsiveness to methacholine peaked at 2 h after ozone exposure (2.0 ppm for 2 h) and the number of neutrophils in bronchoalveolar lavage (BAL) fluid continued to increase until 6 h. Tazanolast administered before ozone exposure at doses of 30, 100, or 300 mg/kg inhibited ozone-induced airway hyperresponsiveness in a dose-dependent manner. However, tazanolast administered after ozone exposure did not inhibit the airway hyperresponsiveness. Tazanolast did not significantly change the cell distribution of BAL cells at 2 h after the exposure. We conclude that tazanolast significantly inhibits ozone-induced airway hyperresponsiveness in guinea pigs. This result suggests that mast cells may play an important role in its development.

Airway Resistance↗
PubMed1998

Tandem lesions and other products in X-irradiated DNA oligomers.

Free radicals interact with DNA bases to produce secondary radicals. The secondary radicals are reactive species and tend to interact with neighboring bases, resulting in DNA lesions with two adjacent modified bases. In this study the DNA oligomers d(CpApTpG) and d(CpGpTpA) were exposed to free radicals generated in anoxic aqueous solution by X irradiation. Four new lesions were identified in which adjacent guanine and pyrimidine bases are covalently bonded. One of the tandem lesions formed in d(CpGpTpA) has the C5 carbon atom of cytosine covalently bonded to the C8 carbon atom of guanine. Interestingly, the same bond is formed between the terminal bases in d(CpApTpG), resulting in a cyclized molecule.

Biopolymers↗
PubMed1998

[Antigen-induced airway hyperresponsiveness in infantile guinea pigs].

To investigate the development of airway hyperresponsiveness in infantile guinea pigs, animals (10 days old) were immunized twice and challenged by inhalation of 1% ovalbumin for 10 min with 7 days intervals. Similar to adult guinea pigs, infantile ones developed an increased airway responsiveness to acetylcholine 24 hr after antigen challenge. There was a marked increase in the number of total leukocytes, eosinophils and lymphocytes in bronchoalveolar lavage fluid (BALF). Suplatast tosilate (suplatast) and pemirolast potassium (pemirolast) given orally throughout the experiments suppressed the development of airway hyperresponsiveness in infantile animals. They showed similar potency in the suppression of eosinophil accumulation in BALF and lung tissue, while suplatast inhibited lymphocyte accumulation stronger than pemirolast. Collectively, the present model of airway hyperresponsiveness in infantile guinea pigs may be useful in predicting the efficacy of antiallergic agents in the treatment of asthmatic children.

Animals↗
PubMed1997

A novel arachidonate-preferring acyl-CoA synthetase is present in steroidogenic cells of the rat adrenal, ovary, and testis.

We report herein the cDNA cloning of a novel rat acyl-CoA synthetase (ACS) that preferentially uses arachidonate and eicosapentaenoate. This newly identified ACS (designated ACS4) contains 670 amino acids and is 68% identical to rat ACS3, a previously characterized ACS that is highly expressed in brain. ACS4 was overproduced in Escherichia coli and the resulting enzyme was purified to homogeneity. The purified enzyme utilizes arachidonate and eicosapentaenoate most preferentially among C8-C22 saturated fatty acids and C14-C22 unsaturated fatty acids. Kinetic analyses revealed that the enzyme has a high affinity for arachidonate and eicosapentaenoate and low affinity for palmitate. ACS4 transcripts are detectable in a wide range of tissues, with the highest level in adrenal gland. Immunoreactivity to ACS4 was detected in the zona fasciculata and reticularis of adrenal gland, in the corpus luteum and stromal luteinized cells in ovary, and in the Leydig cells of testis.

Adrenal Glands↗
PubMed1997

Oral administration of PSK can improve the impaired anti-tumor CD4+ T-cell response in gut-associated lymphoid tissue (GALT) of specific-pathogen-free mice.

We investigated both the effect and the mechanism of oral (p.o.) administration of PSK, a protein-bound polysaccharide derived from Basidiomycetes, on the anti-tumor T-cell response in gut-associated lymphoid tissue (GALT). The p.o. administration of PSK significantly suppressed the growth of colon 26 carcinoma (C-26) inoculated into the subserosal space of the cecum (i.c.), and augmented the tumor-neutralizing activity of the draining mesenteric lymph node (LN) cells. PSK treatment also significantly decreased the levels of immunosuppressive factors such as plasma transforming growth factor (TGF)-beta in the i.c. C-26-inoculated mice. We also evaluated the improving effect of PSK on the anti-tumor T-cell response in GALT by utilizing B7-transfected P815 mastocytoma (B7/P815). The PSK treatment promoted the rejection of i.c.-inoculated B7/P815 and restored the CD4+ T-cell-dependent proliferative response of the draining mesenteric LN cells against in vitro restimulation. Furthermore, the treatment also decreased the TGF-beta production but increased the IFN-gamma production of these cells. The p.o. administration of PSK, however, showed no effect in the CD8+ T-cell-dependent cytolytic activity of the draining mesenteric LN cells after in vitro restimulation. Overall, these results indicate that the p.o. administration of PSK can improve the impaired anti-tumor CD4+ T-cell response in GALT, mainly through a suppression of TGF-beta production and a restoration of IFN-gamma production.

Administration, Oral↗
PubMed1997

High-level expression of a sweet protein, monellin, in the food yeast Candida utilis.

We describe the heterologous expression of monellin in the yeast Candida utilis. A single-chain monellin gene was expressed under the control of the glyceraldehyde-3-phosphate dehydrogenase [correction of decarboxylase] gene promoter from C. utilis. A promoter-deficient marker gene allowed high-copy-number integration of vectors into either the rDNA locus or the URA3 gene locus. Monellin was produced at a high level, accounting for > 50% of the soluble protein. No significant decrease in the production level of monellin was detected in transformants after 50 generations of nonselective growth.

Amino Acid Sequence↗
PubMed1997

Analysis of amyloid deposition in a transgenic mouse model of homozygous familial amyloidotic polyneuropathy.

Amyloid fibrils derived from the Japanese, Portuguese, and Swedish types of familial amyloidotic polyneuropathy all consist of a variant transthyretin (TTR) with a substitution of methionine for valine at position 30 (TTR Met 30). In an attempt to establish an animal model of TTR Met-30-associated homozygous familial amyloidotic polyneuropathy and to study the structural and functional properties of human TTR Met 30, we generated a mouse line carrying a null mutation at the endogenous ttr locus (ttr-/-) and the human mutant ttr gene (6.0-hMet 30) as a transgene. In these mice, human TTR Met-30-derived amyloid deposits were first observed in the esophagus and stomach when the mice were 11 months of age. With advancing age, amyloid deposits extended to various other tissues. Because no significant difference was detected in the onset, progression, and tissue distribution of amyloid deposition between the ttr-/- and ttr+/+ transgenic mice expressing 6.0-hMet 30, endogenous normal mouse TTR probably does not affect the deposition of human TTR Met-30-derived amyloid in mice. TTR is a tetramer composed of four identical subunits that binds thyroxine (T4) and plasma retinol-binding protein. The introduction of 6.0-hMet 30 into the ttr-/- mice significantly increased their depressed serum levels of T4 and retinol-binding protein, suggesting that human TTR Met 30 binds T4 and retinol-binding protein in vivo. The T4-binding ability of human TTR Met 30 was confirmed by the analysis of T4-binding proteins in the sera of ttr-/- transgenic mice expressing 6.0-hMet 30. The T4-binding studies also demonstrated the presence of hybrid tetramers between mouse and human TTR subunits in the ttr+/+ transgenic mice expressing 6.0-hMet 30.

Amyloid↗
PubMed1997

[Visual prognosis and macular pathology in eyes with retinal macroaneurysms].

We studied retrospectively the visual outcome of 20 eyes of 19 patients with symptomatic retinal arterial macroaneurysm. The macular pathology responsible for the acute visual loss was categorized as macular edema (5 eyes), preretinal hemorrhages alone (3 eyes), subretinal hemorrhages with or without preretinal hemorrhages (10 eyes) and vitreous hemorrhage (2 eyes). Thirteen eyes were treated with argon or dye laser photocoagulation. Five eyes with preretinal hemorrhage underwent YAG laser photodisruption of the posterior hyaloid membrane to release the preretinal hemorrhage into the vitreous space. Five eyes with macular edema, 3 eyes with preretinal hemorrhage without subretinal hemorrhage and 2 eyes with vitreous hemorrhage showed final vision of 0.5 or better, but of the other 10 eyes with subretinal hemorrhage with or without preretinal hemorrhage, 9 showed final visual acuity of 0.2 or worse. Visual prognosis of submacular hemorrhage due to ruptured retinal macroaneurysm is poor, but that of macular edema, preretinal hemorrhage or vitreous hemorrhage is relatively good.

Aged↗
PubMed1997

[Visual field defect in eyes with branch retinal artery occlusion].

There have been few clinical studies that analyzed quantitatively the visual field defects observed in eyes with branch retinal artery occlusion. In the current report we retrospectively studied Humphrey static perimetric results in 7 eyes and Goldmann kinetic perimetric results in 8 eyes with branch retinal occlusion. All but one eye showed altitudinal-like field defects. The static perimetric results demonstrated large difference between sensitivities in each pair of upper and lower measured points adjacent to the horizontal line nasal to Mariott's scotoma, which indicated a steep slope between the defective field and the normal area. The defective field showed either absolute scotoma or sensitivity loss of 20 dB or larger.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1996

Biochemical studies of two rat acyl-CoA synthetases, ACS1 and ACS2.

Two types of acyl-CoA synthetase (ACS), designated ACS1 and ACS2, are structurally similar isozymes with different tissue distributions. The two enzymes are organized into the following five regions: an NH2 terminus; two luciferase-like regions; a linker connecting the luciferase-like regions; a COOH terminus. Under the control of a lac promoter, rat ACS1 and ACS2 were overproduced in Escherichia coli and purified to homogeneity. The specific activities of the purified ACS1 and ACS2 were 26.2 mumol.min-1.mg-1 and 7.4 mumol.min-1.mg-1, respectively, and the most efficiently utilized saturated fatty acids were those with 10-18 carbon atoms. Among unsaturated fatty acids with 16-22 carbon atoms, the most preferred substrates were palmitoleate, oleate and linoleate for ACS1, and, for ACS2, oleate, arachidonate, eicosapentaenoate and docosahexaenoate. To determine the functionally important regions in the ACS isozymes, we constructed five ACS1 mutants lacking each of the five regions. Introduction of these mutants into E. coli revealed that all five regions in ACS1 are required for functional expression of the enzyme in E. coli; deletion of any one of the five regions almost completely abolished the enzyme activity.

Amino Acid Sequence↗
PubMed1996

Molecular characterization and expression of rat acyl-CoA synthetase 3.

Isolation and characterization of a rat brain cDNA identified a third acyl-CoA synthetase (ACS) designated ACS3. The deduced amino acid sequence of the cDNA revealed that ACS3 consists of 720 amino acids and exhibits a structural architecture common to ACSs from various origins. ACS3 expressed in COS cells was purified to near homogeneity. The purified ACS3 resolved by SDS-polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis into two major proteins of 79 and 80 kDa. Cell-free translation of a synthetic mRNA encoding the entire region of ACS3 revealed that the two isoforms were derived from the same mRNA. The purified ACS3 utilizes laurate and myristate most efficiently among C8-C22 saturated fatty acids and arachidonate and eicosapentaenoate among C16-C20 unsaturated fatty acids. Northern blot analysis revealed that ACS3 mRNA is most abundant in brain and, to a much lesser extent, in lung, adrenal gland, kidney, and small intestine. During the development of the rat brain, expression of ACS3 mRNA reached a maximum level at 15 days after birth and then declined gradually to 10% of the maximum in the adult brain.

Amino Acid Sequence↗