Biomedical subjects

H Kamiya

Publications and source records attributed to H Kamiya.

553 records · Page 31Linked to original sources

PubMedDate not supplied

Effects of tumor necrosis factor alpha on replication of varicella-zoster virus.

Replication of varicella-zoster virus (VZV) and expression of VZV nuclear antigen are inhibited in human embryonic lung fibroblast (HEL) cells pretreated with recombinant tumor necrosis factor (TNF) alpha for 24 h. This antiviral activity is completely blocked by the addition of monoclonal antibodies against TNF. TNF acts synergistically with interferons alpha and gamma. When TNF is added to HEL cells after VZV adsorption, virus replication is still inhibited. When VZV-infected HEL cells are co-cultured with HEL cells which have been pretreated with TNF or grown in the presence of TNF, spread of VZV from VZV-infected HEL cells to uninfected cells is unaffected. No interferon is detected in the supernatants or cell lysates of HEL cells cultured with TNF and antibodies to alpha-, beta- and gamma-interferon have no effect on the antiviral action of TNF.

Antibodies, Monoclonal↗

PubMedDate not supplied

Galectin containing cells in the skin and mucosal tissues in Japanese conger eel, Conger myriaster: an immunohistochemical study.

Congerin is a beta-galactoside binding lectin (galectin) purified from the skin mucus of the Japanese conger, Conger myriaster. To clarify its tissue distribution and productive cells, several tissue samples including skin, buccal cavity wall, tang, pharynx, gills, esophagus, stomach, intestine, liver, kidney, spleen and ovary of conger were stained immunohistochemically using polyclonal rabbit anti-congerin serum. In the epidermis, a number of club cells were strongly stained. Because no agglutinating activity was detected in plasma, it appears evident that congerin is produced and secreted into mucus by those cells. In addition, congerin-positive club cells were distributed in the mucosal epithelium lining the digestive tract preceding the stomach and in the gills. These findings suggest that congerin participates in innate immunity on the intra- and the extra-body surface of the conger. The putative functions of club cells in fish and their contained lectin are discussed.

Animals↗

PubMedDate not supplied

Marine biopolymers with cell specificity--III--Agglutinins in the red alga Cystoclonium purpureum: isolation and characterization.

The red alga, Cystoclonium purpurcum, contains agglutinins which selectively agglutinate mouse leukemia cells L5178Y but not L1210. It also agglutinated erythrocytes, lymphocytes, and a marine bacterium. The major component was a glycoprotein having a molecular weight of 12,500 daltons. It contained 5.6% carbohydrates and consisted of two subunits.

Agglutinins↗

PubMedDate not supplied

Lipofibromatous hamartoma of the median nerve associated with macrodactyly and port-wine stains.

Lipofibromatous hamartoma of the nerve is a very uncommon congenital tumor. An association between this condition and vascular malformations is not well known. We present an 11-year-old girl with a lipofibromatous hamartoma of the right median nerve with macrodactyly. She had small red macules on her right neck, chest, and arm, which were diagnosed clinically as port-wine stains. The specimens of the enlarged nerves showed fibrous and fatty growth surrounding the nerve bundles and proliferation of the small veins. We suggest that this disorder can be accompanied by a vascular malformation.

Child↗

PubMedDate not supplied

Successful immunization following cord blood transplantation in a child with Diamond-Blackfan anemia.

Cord blood transplantation (CBT) has been increasingly used to treat patients with hematological diseases, but active immunizations for patients have not been described. Patients certainly need immunizations following CBT, since transplanted cord blood is naive. The authors previously reported successful hematopoietic reconstitution following cord blood transplantation from an HLA-matched sibling in a transfusion-dependent child with Diamond-Blackfan anemia. No graft-versus-host disease, either acute or chronic, has been observed so far. Here, the authors report that immunological recovery of the patient has been rapid shortly after CBT and immunization has been done successfully. Vaccines (diphtheria, pertussis, tetanus, rubella, measles, and BCG) were administered during 22-34 months post-transplant. Seroconversion to these vaccines was excellent without significant adverse effects. These results indicate that both toxoid and live vaccines have been safely administered in the patient who underwent related cord blood transplantation.

Antibody Formation↗

PubMedDate not supplied

Negative chronotropic effect of catecholamines on adrenergic receptors in cardiac ganglia in the spinal dog.

The effects of catecholamines (CAs) on cardiac chronotropism were investigated in the spinal dog. The CAs were administered through the right subclavian artery (i.a.) to reach the cardiac sympathetic ganglia. Without preganglionic stimulation. CAs administered intra-arterially induced a slight negative chronotropic effect, which was reversed to a positive chronotropic effect after neostigmine (200 microgram, i.a.) in many cases. With preganglionic stimulation, intra-arterial injection of norepinephrine (0.5-25 microgram), epinephrine (0.1-10 microgram), or dopamine (0.1-500 microgram) caused dose-dependent bradycardia. The negative chronotropic effect of dopamine was significantly inhibited intra-arterial phentolamine (2 mg), dihydroergotamine (0.4 mg), apomorphine (0.5 mg), haloperidol (0.5 mg), or chlorpromazine (5 mg) but not by propranolol (0.1 mg) or bulbocapnine (1 mg), whereas the same effect of epinephrine was significantly reduced by alpha-blockade but not by propranolol or the dopamine antagonists. These results suggest that CAs exert a negative chronotropic action by inhibiting cardiac ganglionic transmission and that the receptors for dopamine are alpha-adrenergic and dopamine-specific and those for epinephrine are alpha-adrenergic specific.

Adrenergic alpha-Antagonists↗

PubMedDate not supplied

Hair follicle nevi and accessory tragi: variable quantity of adipose tissue in connective tissue framework.

Controversy exists about the histologic differences between hair follicle nevi and accessory tragi. We examined 10 congenital lesions histologically, possible diagnoses of which were hair follicle nevi or accessory tragi. Two specimens out of the 10 had tiny, mature hair follicles surrounded by thick fibrous root sheaths, a few fat cells, and no cartilage. The subcutaneous fat cells of their bases were segmented by a connective tissue framework. They had histologic features of hair follicle nevi. One specimen had cartilage and abundant fat cells with a connective tissue framework in the nodule, as well as a conglomeration of numerous well-differentiated hair follicles. It possessed both elements of a hair follicle nevus and an accessory tragus. Seven specimens had abundant subcutaneous fat and showed a prominent connective tissue framework. These were typical accessory tragi. The present study suggests that the number of fat cells in the nodule or papule differs between these two conditions. All the lesions studied revealed a connective tissue framework in the subcutaneous fat. Histologic features of both hair follicle nevi and accessory tragi can coexist in a single lesion. Hair follicle nevi may represent incomplete accessory tragi with scant fat cells.

Adipose Tissue↗

PubMedDate not supplied

Leukotoxin, 9, 10-epoxy-12-octadecenoate: a possible responsible factor in circulatory shock and disseminated intravascular coagulation.

We previously demonstrated that neutrophils biosynthesize the Iinoleate epoxide, 9,10-epoxy-12-octadecenoate, from linoleate and hydroxyl radical. This epoxide is highly cytotoxic, and has been termed leukotoxin. We detected leukotoxin in plasma from two patients with infectious endocarditis and circulatory shock. Maximal leukotoxin levels were 580 nmol/ml and 880 nmol/ml, respectively. The leukotoxin levels were affected by hemodialysis or hemofiltration. Disseminated intravascular coagulation was confirmed by blood coagulation studies in these two patients. Leukocytosis was also observed in these patients. In contrast, leukotoxin was not detected in plasma of normal volunteers. Accordingly, leukotoxin synthesized by recruited neutrophils might be a contributory factor in circulatory shock.

Adult↗

PubMedDate not supplied

A case of primary hypoparathyroidism complicated by heart failure.

We report a case of hypocalcemic heart failure without underlying myocardial disease. Two-dimensional and Doppler echocardiography revealed dilatation and impaired contraction of the left ventricle, but did not show any valvular dysfunction. Cardiac catheterization showed a normal coronary artery, and cardiac muscle biopsy showed morphological changes in mitochondoria and endoplasmic reticulum, which may be due to metabolic changes. This patient was asymptomatic after the serum calcium concentration was normalized.

Aged↗

PubMedDate not supplied

A methylenetetrahydrofolate reductase polymorphism is associated with expression of p16 in human lung cancer.

Methylenetetrahydrofolate reductase (MTHFR) is a critical enzyme in the folate cycle. Reduced MTHFR activity induces DNA hypomethylation and stability, which may protect the tumor suppressor gene p16INK4. We examined the association between MTHFR polymorphism and expression of p16INK4. The frequency of the MTHFR genotypes were 21 Ala/Ala, 29 Ala/Aal, and 7 Val/Val. Expression of p16INK4 was 26.2 +/- 26.8% in the Val/Val genotype and 11.2 +/- 16.6% in the other genotypes (p=0.46) as examined by immunostaining, and excluding four specimens that were overstained. These results suggest that folate metabolism can affect carcinogenesis through the expression of p16INK4.

Adult↗

PubMedDate not supplied

An experience for ELISA for desmoglein 1, suggesting a possible diagnostic help to determine the initial therapy for pemphigus foliaceus.

Pemphigus foliaceus (PF) is an autoimmune skin disease in which loss of adhesion between keratinocytes (i.e., acantholysis) in the granular cell layers appears to be mediated by the binding of autoantibodies against desmoglein (Dsg) 1. Although it has been suggested that the activity of the disease is rather correlated with the titer of the antibody, there are still no precise studies on the relationships between the disease activity and the titers of autoantibody against Dsg1 by using ELISA. In this study, we performed ELISA using recombinant Dsg1 (rDsg1) as antigen on 8 patients with pemphigus foliaceus in order to examine the reliability of this test for monitoring disease severity. The resultant index values of ELISA, which were defined by the formula: (OD of tested serum - OD of negative control)/(OD of positive control - OD of negative control) X 100, ranged from 16 to 264 compared with 6.41 of cutoff index value for normal sera. A patient with an index value of 213 had severe widespread erosions with erythema and required pulse therapy of methylpredonisolone (1,000 mg/day for 3 days). A patient with an index value of 111 had a moderate severity and was successfully treated with an initial dose of 30 mg/day (0.64 mg/kg) of predonisolone. The mildest patient with an index value of 16 was controlled with only topical application of 0.05% betamethasone ointment twice a day. These results suggest that ELISA index values for rDsg1 will provide a promising tool for monitoring the disease severity and for determining the initial therapy for pemphigus foliaceus.

Adult↗

PubMedDate not supplied

Design and synthesis of dimeric analogs of neurokinin A and B: effect of dimerization of COOH-terminal heptapeptides on receptor selection.

Dimeric analogs of neurokinin A and neurokinin B COOH-terminal heptapeptides were synthesized in order to examine the effect of ligand dimerization on the receptor selection. Dimerization was carried out at the NH2-terminus of peptides with succinic acid, yielding succinyl bis[Asp-Ser-Phe-Val-Gly-Leu-Met-NH2] (D-NKA4-10) and succinyl bis[Asp-Phe-Phe-Val-Gly-Leu-Met-NH2] (D-NKB4-10). In the assay using rat vas deferens (RVD), it was found that the deletion of the NH2-terminal tripeptide from native neurokinin A or B enhances the activity 1.5- to 8-fold, resulting in formation of NK-2 receptor specific ligands NKA4-10 and NKB4-10. When dimeric analogs of these shortened peptides, namely D-NKA4-10 and D-NKB4-10, were examined in RVD and guinea pig ileum (GPI), they were fairly potent in GPI, but not in RVD. Under conditions in which the NK-1 receptors in GPI were desensitized with NK-1 specific substance P methyl ester, dimers reduced the activity drastically, while the corresponding monomers exhibited unchanged activity. These results suggest that dimerization of the COOH-terminal heptapeptide of neurokinins changes the receptor selection of peptides from NK-2 to NK-1, and that the NK-1 receptor has a structure favorable to a dimeric peptide ligand.

Amino Acid Sequence↗

PubMedDate not supplied

[Two cases of polymyositis with cardiac involvement].

Cardiac involvement in polymyositis is more prevalent than previously assumed. A 59-year-old and a 58-year-old man presented with cardiac involvement preceding skeletal muscular lesions, admitted because of increased levels of muscle-derived enzymes and left ventricular dysfunction with ECG abnormalities. Coronary angiography revealed no stenotic lesions. Right ventricular endomyocardial biopsy disclosed myocarditis. Left ventriculography showed local asynergy of cardiac wall motion. After admission the weakness and atrophy of skeletal muscles progressed gradually and high levels of muscle-derived enzymes persisted. Electromyography and skeletal muscle biopsy confirmed the clinical diagnosis of polymyositis. Both patients were diagnosed as having polymyositis with cardiac involvement, and treatment with steroids was started. Symptoms improved significantly, and the CK enzyme level was reduced effectively. The condition of one patient was well controlled, but the other suffered from repeated heart failure due to severe left ventricular dysfunction. The clinical spectrum of polymyositis is wide and variable. Further studies are needed to evaluate the detection, management, and prognosis of the disease as well as the pathogenesis and to prevent progression of cardiac involvement.

Electrocardiography↗