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Biomedical subjects

H Matsunaga

Publications and source records attributed to H Matsunaga.

At least 73 records · Page 4Linked to original sources

Beta-galactosidase histochemistry and telomere loss in senescent retinal pigment epithelial cells.

PURPOSE: To investigate the relation of senescence-related beta-galactosidase activity and telomere shortening to replicative senescence in cultured human retinal pigment epithelial (RPE) cells. METHODS: A human RPE cell line was serially passaged until 80% of cells were nondividing in a 72-hour 5-bromo-2'-deoxyuridine (BrdU) labeling study. Early- and late-passage cells were double-stained for BrdU and senescence-related beta-galactosidase activity (pH 6). The average chromosomal telomere length at several population doublings was estimated by Southern blot analysis after double digestion of DNA with RsaI and HinfI and using a telomere-specific probe. RESULTS: BrdU-beta-galactosidase double-staining revealed an inverse correlation between the number of BrdU-labeled nuclei and beta-galactosidase-labeled cells as a function of population doubling level (PDL). At PDL 58, only 20% of all cells labeled for BrdU, whereas 57% stained for beta-galactosidase. The mean terminal restriction fragment length (TRF) was reduced from 10 kb in early (PDL 12) cultures to 4 kb in late (PDL 57) cultures. CONCLUSIONS: Senescence-related beta-galactosidase activity and mean TRF length may prove useful in studying the senescence of RPE cells in vitro. These techniques may be valuable in determining senescence of the retinal pigment epithelium in vivo, where senescent RPE cells could be involved in the development of age-related maculopathy and age-related macular degeneration.

Blotting, Southern↗

Amino acid sequence and D/L-configuration determination of peptides utilizing liberated N-terminus phenylthiohydantoin amino acids.

In this paper, we examined the possibility of using conventional Edman degradation with phenyl isothiocyanate for the simultaneous determination of both the sequence and the D/L-configuration of amino acids in peptides. Boron trifluoride and HCl-methanol (1:10, v/v) were adopted as the cyclization/cleavage and conversion reagents instead of the respective use of anhydrous trifluoroacetic acid (TFA) and 20% aqueous TFA to suppress the amino acid residue racemization. The enantiomeric separation of 18 phenylthiohydantoin amino acids was achieved on two types of chiral stationary phases bonded with beta-cyclodextrin. The proposed Edman procedure was applied to a synthetic beta-amyloid 1-16 with all L-forms as a model peptide, affording the amino acid sequence and configuration determination up to 12 residues.

Chromatography, High Pressure Liquid↗

High-performance liquid chromatographic analysis of aminoglycoside antibiotics.

A simple precolumn derivatisation method for the determination of aminoglycoside antibiotics (AGs) is described. The stability of the o-phthalaldehyde (OPA) derivatives of the AGs obtain using beta-mercaptopropionic acid (beta-MP) was investigated by reversed-phase HPLC. One of the fluorescent derivatives of sisomicin was stable at least for 6 h in 50% methanol under the optimal conditions used (OPA concentration, pH and temperature). When plasma samples spiked with sisomicin were analysed the response was linear in the calibration range of 136-900 micrograms of sisomicin per injected volume (40 microliters). As little as 0.06 micrograms of sisomicin per 1 ml of plasma could be detected with a signal-to-noise ratio > or = 2. The method was also applied to whole blood samples from rabbit after a subcutaneous injection of 1 mg/kg of the AGs using dried blood spots (DBS) on the filter-paper punched discs. The detection of sisomicin and netilmicin in the DBSs on punched discs (10.1 micrograms of whole blood) were 0.053 and 0.50 micrograms per ml of whole blood, respectively (signal-to-noise ratio > or = 2). The method permits a simple collection of blood at the microlitre level and should prove particularly useful for monitoring the AGs in blood at therapeutic levels in geriatric and paediatric patients and could be also used for the preclinical study of the AGs blood levels of a number of mice or rats without killing. An RP-HPLC method using an on-line clean-up procedure for large sample-volume analysis of serum AGs is also described.

Aminoglycosides↗

Novel antiproliferative falcarindiol furanocoumarin ethers from the root of Angelica japonica.

Four novel antiproliferative furanocoumarin ethers of falcarindiol, named japoangelols A (8.5), B (7.2), C (7.4), and D (8.4), were isolated from the root of Angelica japonica together with panaxynol (0.3), falcarindiol (3.2), (9Z)-1,9-heptadecadiene-4,6-diyne-3,8,11-triol (2.2), and 8-acetoxyfalcarinol (3.2). Structures were established from the spectroscopic evidence, and the inhibitory activities (ED50, microgram/ml, shown in the parentheses) were evaluated using the MTT assay.

Antineoplastic Agents, Phytogenic↗

Expression of interleukin (IL)-12 mRNA in gastric carcinoma specimens: cellular antitumor immune responses.

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES: Several tumor-related antigen peptides that are recognized by autologous cytolytic T cells (CTL) have been reported. However, most human solid tumors, including gastric carcinoma, are only weakly immunogenic. In this study, we focused on interleukin (IL)-12 and interferon-gamma (IFN-gamma) as key cytokines for estimating positive cellular immune responses. METHODS: To estimate the immunogenicity of gastric carcinomas, we examined IL-12 and IFN-gamma at mRNA levels by reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction assay (RT-PCR) in tumor specimens and adjacent nontumor specimens from 36 gastric carcinoma patients. RESULTS: IL-12 expression was detected in 12 tumor specimens and in only two adjacent nontumor specimens (P = .003). The frequency of IFN-gamma gene expression was higher in the IL-12 mRNA-positive tumor specimens than in the IL-12 mRNA-negative tumor specimens (P = .015). In the IL-12 mRNA-positive tumors, IFN-gamma expression was higher in the tumor specimens than in the adjacent nontumor specimens (P = .007). Conversely, in the IL-12 mRNA-negative tumors, IFN-gamma expression was lower in the tumor specimens than in the nontumor specimens (P = .03). Many tumor-infiltrating mononuclear cells, predominantly T cells, were found in four of the 12 IL-12-mRNA-positive tumor specimens and in none of the 24 IL-12-mRNA-negative tumor specimens (P = .008). CONCLUSIONS: These data suggest that possible immune responses against a tumor may occur at the mRNA level in approximately one-third of gastric carcinomas.

Blotting, Southern↗

Personality disorders in patients with eating disorders in Japan.

We assessed the prevalence of personality disorders (PD) using the Structured Clinical Interview for DSM-III-R Personality Disorders (SCID-II) in 36 patients with restricting anorexia nervosa, 30 patients with anorexia nervosa and bulimia nervosa, and 42 patients with bulimia nervosa. Of the 108 patients, 51% met the criteria for at least one PD. The patients with PD had more severe clinical features in terms of bulimic behaviors, concurrent depressive, anxious, and obsessive-compulsive symptoms, and psychopathology related to eating disorders compared to the patients without any PD. The patients with PD, especially borderline PD, also had more severe global functioning and greater numbers of suicidal attempts and hospital admissions. We compare these results with those reported in the Western world and discuss them cross-culturally.

Adolescent↗

Characteristics of selective polymerase chain reaction (PCR) using two-base anchored primers and improvement of its specificity.

We have developed a reliable method for eliminating base-mispair amplification in selective polymerase chain reaction (PCR), which is utilized for amplifying unknown sequence fragments produced by restriction enzyme reaction. The proposed procedure applies amplified fragment length polymorphism (AFLP) with high fidelity. Selective PCR utilizes the known polymerase reaction characteristic that the complementary strand extension is strongly affected by matching a template with the 3'-terminus of the primers. However, false positive amplification is frequently observed because the specificity of terminal bases for discrimination of fragments (usually, 1-3 anchor sequences) is not enough to separate each fragment. A protocol for the selective PCR separation of every fragment was therefore investigated. A single-base mismatch was artificially introduced on the 4th base position from the 3' end of the primers to improve the hybridization specificity of anchored 2-bases at the 3' termini of primers. PCR reaction was carried out at 66 degrees C to prevent false positive amplification. The concentration of the primers having anchored-base sequences of AA, AT, TA, and TT must be three times larger than that of other primers because the Tm values for these sequences are lower than the others. As all the fragments can be separated into groups with high fidelity, the improved selective PCR will be applied to gene finding and analyzing differences on genome sequences based on AFLP.

DNA Primers↗

The advanced glycation endproduct pentosidine induces the expression of PDGF-B in human retinal pigment epithelial cells.

Advanced glycation endproducts have been implicated in a number of diabetic and aging changes. Some of these effects occur in part through induction of cytokines such as platelet-derived growth factor (PDGF), which is expressed by the retinal pigment epithelium (RPE). In this study, cultures of RPE were evaluated for PDGF expression after treatment with pentosidine, a well characterized advanced glycation endproduct. Northern analysis provided evidence for the increased expression of a 3.7 kb PDGF-B transcript over unstimulated controls in the established ARPE-19 cell line. Western analysis demonstrated increased PDGF-BB protein in conditioned medium compared to controls of ARPE-19 cells. In addition, two different early passage cultures of RPE showed increased PDGF-BB protein after pentosidine treatment compared to unstimulated controls. The enhanced production of PDGF-BB could play a role in the maintenance of the RPE-Bruch's membrane complex and influence changes associated with diabetes and aging.

Anticoagulants↗

Long-term consequence of endoscopic sphincterotomy for bile duct stones.

BACKGROUND: There are many reports of early- and intermediate-term results of endoscopic sphincterotomy. However, few data are available on long-term clinical outcome of endoscopic sphincterotomy for removal of common bile duct stones. METHODS: Of 419 patients who underwent endoscopic sphincterotomy, follow-up data were obtained in 410 patients (98%). The period ranged from 1 month to 20 years (average 122 months). RESULTS: Late complications included recurrence of stones (12.3%), acute cholangitis, acute cholecystitis (22% of 32 patients with gallstones, 0% of 88 patients without gallstones), new gallstone formation (6 patients), liver abscess (5 patients), and biliary carcinoma (8 patients). All of the recurrent stones were bilirubinate irrespective of the type of stone at sphincterotomy. Cholangitis and liver abscess occurred in 31% and 11%, respectively, of patients with residual intrahepatic stones but not in patients with complete intrahepatic stone clearance. CONCLUSIONS: Late complications occur in a considerable proportion of patients after endoscopic sphincterotomy for the treatment of common bile duct stones, including stone recurrence, acute cholecystitis (which occurs only in patients with gallstones), liver abscess in patients with residual intrahepatic stones, and biliary carcinoma. The fact that the recurrent stones are invariably of the bilirubinate type, irrespective of the type of stones at initial treatment, suggests that bacterial infestation due to ablation of the sphincter mechanism may have a causative role.

Adult↗

Event-related potentials in patients with obsessive-compulsive disorder.

Twenty-three unmedicated patients with obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) were compared with 12 unmedicated patients with social phobia (SP) and 18 age-matched normal controls (C) using a two-tone auditory oddball event-related potentials (ERP) paradigm. The OCD group showed significantly shorter P300 latencies and shorter N200 latencies for target stimuli than the SP and the C groups. The OCD patients also tended to have greater N200 negativity compared with normal controls. However, there were no significant relationships between these ERP abnormalities in OCD patients and the type or severity of their OCD symptoms. In the mean ERP waveforms, increased N200 negativity for target stimuli, as well as the provocation in the later part of N200 for non-target stimuli, were more commonly observed in the OCD and the SP groups compared with the C group. These results raise the possibility that the shorter N200 and P300 latencies in OCD patients may be an OCD-specific phenomenon that is more closely related to the biological basis for OCD, rather than the characteristics of their OCD symptoms. On the other hand, increased negativity in the N200 region, even for non-target stimuli, may represent the common abnormalities among anxiety disorders.

Adolescent↗

Effect of leucine 13-motilin (KW5139) on early gastric stasis after pylorus-preserving pancreatoduodenectomy.

OBJECTIVE: To test a hypothesis that exogenously administered motilin would improve early gastric stasis after pylorus-preserving pancreatoduodenectomy (PPPD). SUMMARY BACKGROUND DATA: Prolonged gastric stasis is a frequent complication after PPPD. We demonstrated that this might at least in part be attributable to delayed recovery of phase III activity of the gastric migrating motor complex due to low concentrations of plasma motilin caused by resection of the duodenum. METHODS: Ten patients with a mean age of 54 years (range, 33-70) who underwent PPPD were studied. An assembly of manometric tubes was placed in the gastric antrum and jejunum (neoduodenum) at surgery. A gastrostomy tube was added for drainage and volume measurements of the gastric juice. After baseline recording, saline as a placebo was given intravenously on day 14 and 0.5 microg/kg of KW5139 (leucine-13 motilin) was given on days 17 and 18 every 2 hours, 6 times a day. The daily volume of gastric juice output and a gastric motility index were measured. RESULTS: The mean period until the first appearance of phase III activity in the stomach was 41 +/- 2 days. The injection of saline did not change the gastric motility index (7.3 +/- 1.1 to 7.1 +/- 1.3 mmHg; p = 0.72). In contrast, motilin resulted in a significant increase in the gastric motility index (7.5 +/- 1.0 to 17.7 +/- 2.0 mmHg; p < 0.001). The saline injection produced no change in the daily gastric juice output (1175 +/- 140 to 1393 +/- 193 mL; p = 0.09). Motilin significantly decreased the gastric juice output (1387 +/- 157 to 934 +/- 142 mL; p = 0.01). CONCLUSIONS: These data indicate that KW5139 is a safe and effective prokinetic drug for the treatment of early gastric stasis after PPPD.

Adult↗

Single and married patients with eating disorders.

Forty married and 22 unmarried female patients with eating disorders were studied to elucidate the relationship between eating disorders and marriage. Eating disorders developed in 14 patients before marriage (premarital onset) and in 26 patients at or after marriage (postmarital onset). The postmarital onset group was a significantly higher age at onset, but similar in age and duration of illness compared with the group of 22 unmarried patients. However, the various clinical features of the three groups did not differ. Four premarital onset patients showed exaggerated clinical features after marriage, but the other patients showed no change in clinical features after marriage. In the postmarital onset group, eating disorders were triggered in 18 (69%) patients by marital problems, separation or divorce. In contrast, eating disorders were triggered by dieting to be slim in eight (57%) patients of the premarital onset group and 12 (55%) patients of the unmarried group. These results suggest that marital discord plays an important role in the development and maintenance of eating disorders among married women.

Adult↗

Adenosquamous carcinoma of the pancreas: report of two cases.

Adenosquamous carcinoma of the pancreas is a rare variant of pancreatic exocrine carcinoma. We herein report two patients with this entity. One patient was a 60-yr-old Japanese man complaining of a palpable mass, 5.5 cm in the greatest diameter, in the epigastrium. Serum CA 19-9 was increased (2010 U/ml). Ultrasonography and computed tomography showed a mass in the pancreatic tail with central necrosis and invading the posterior wall of the stomach. Angiography showed an encasement of the splenic artery and complete obstruction of the splenic vein. Distal pancreatectomy, splenectomy, and partial resection of the stomach were done. The patient died of uncontrolled bleeding from the duodenal ulcer four months after operation. The other patient was a 73-yr-old man who presented with jaundice. The CA 19-9 was also elevated (354.8 U/ml). Ultrasonography showed a pancreatic head mass of heterogeneous echogeneity and computed tomography demonstrated a cystic mass with an enhanced rim, indicating necrosis in the tumor center. Angiography showed a hypervascular mass in the head of the pancreas. Pylorus-preserving pancreatoduodenectomy was done, but the patient died of multiple liver metastases 10 months after the operation. From our experience with the two patients, the presence of central necrosis in an infiltrative huge pancreatic tumor seems to be suggestive of the diagnosis of adenosquamous carcinoma of the pancreas.

Aged↗

Personality disorders in patients with obsessive-compulsive disorder in Japan.

A total of 75 patients with obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) were studied in order to investigate the characteristics of OCD symptoms and the comorbidity of personality disorders (PD). Contamination obsessions and checking compulsions were most commonly found in patients, of whom 53% met the criteria for at least one PD. Among comorbid PD, the anxious-fearful (cluster C) PDs, such as avoidant, obsessive-compulsive and dependent PD, were most prevalent, followed by the odd-eccentric (cluster A) PDs, such as paranoid and schizotypal PD. The patients with PD had more severe social maladaptation and concurrent depressive and anxious symptoms than the patients without any PD, despite the similar severity of OCD symptoms. These results are consistent with those reported in the Western world, and are considered to be relatively stable cross-culturally.

Adolescent↗

Antiproliferative constituents in Umbelliferae plants II. Screening for polyacetylenes in some Umbelliferae plants, and isolation of panaxynol and falcarindiol from the root of Heracleum moellendorffii.

Methanol extracts of 36 samples of 21 Umbelliferae plants were screened for polyacetylenic compounds using the ELISA for panaxytriol, and their antiproliferative activity was checked by MTT assay using the tumor cell lines MK-1, HeLa and B16F10. The presence of antiproliferative polyacetylenes was suggested in Angelica acutiloba (fruit), Anethum graveolens (root), Bupleurum rotundifolium (fruit), Carum carvi (fruit and root), Coriandrum sativum (fruit), Cryptotaenia japonica (leaf), Glehnia littoralis (fruit), Heracleum moellendorffii (root) and Torilis japonica (fruit). Panaxynol and falcarindiol were successfully isolated from the root of Heracleum moellendorffii as antiproliferative polyacetylenes.

Acetylene↗

Antiproliferative constituents in umbelliferae plants. III. Constituents in the root and the ground part of Anthriscus sylvestris Hoffm.

The MeOH extract of the root and the ground part of Anthriscus sylvestris Hoffm. showed a high inhibitory activity against MK-1, HeLa, and B16F10 cell growth in vitro. The activity was found only in the CHCI3-soluble fractions. From the CHCI3-soluble fraction of the root, falcarindiol, 1-(3'-methoxy-4',5'-methylenedioxyphenyl)-1 xi-methoxy-2-propene, elemicin, and nemerosin were newly isolated in addition to deoxypodophyllotoxin (anthricin), anthriscusin, (-)-deoxypodorhizone, and anthriscinol methyl ether which were reported earlier as constituents of the root of this plant. From the CHCI3-soluble fraction of the ground part, deoxypodophyllotoxin, (-)-deoxypodorhizone, nemerosin, and falcarindiol were isolated. In vitro antiproliferative activities of the isolates against MK-1, HeLa, and B16F10 cells are reported.

Antineoplastic Agents, Phytogenic↗

Antiproliferative constituents in umbelliferae plants. IV. Constituents in the fruits of Anthriscus sylvestris Hoffm.

The constituents in the fruit of Anthriscus sylvestris Hoffm. were investigated, and four lignans [deoxypodophyllotoxin, morelensin, (-)-deoxypodorhizone, and (-)-hinokinin], one phenylpropanoid [1-(3',4'-dimethoxyphenyl)-1 xi-hydroxy-2-propene], two phenylpropanoid esters [3',4'-dimethoxycinnamyl (Z)-2-angeloyloxymethyl-2-butenoate and 3',4'-dimethoxycinnamyl (Z)-2-tigloyloxymethyl-2-butenoate], and one polyacetylenic compound (falcarindiol) were isolated. Their antiproliferative activity against MK-1, HeLa and B16F10 cell lines is reported.

Antineoplastic Agents, Phytogenic↗