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Biomedical subjects

H Mori

Publications and source records attributed to H Mori.

At least 289 records · Page 16Linked to original sources

Chemopreventive effect of dietary flavonoid morin on chemically induced rat tongue carcinogenesis.

The modifying effects of dietary exposure of the flavonoid morin on 4-nitroquinoline 1-oxide (4-NQO)-induced tongue tumorigenesis, the activities of phase II detoxifying enzymes glutathione S-transferase (GST) and quinone reductase (QR) in liver and tongue, and cell proliferation activity in tongue were investigated in male F344 rats. At 7 weeks of age, all animals except those treated with morin alone and control group were given 4-NQO (20 ppm) in drinking water for 8 weeks to induce oral neoplasms. Starting 7 days before 4-NQO exposure, experimental groups were fed experimental diets containing morin (100 and 500 ppm) for 10 weeks ("initiation feeding"). Starting 1 week after the cessation of exposure to 4-NQO, other experimental groups given 4-NQO and a basal diet were given experimental diets for 22 weeks ("post-initiation feeding"). At week 32 week, "initiation feeding" of morin caused a significant reduction in the incidence of tongue carcinoma (by 44-100%). "Post-initiation feeding" with morin also significantly decreased the frequency of tongue carcinoma (by 44%). Morin feeding elevated liver GST and QR activities and GST activity in the anterior portion of tongue. Feeding with morin significantly lowered QR activity of the posterior part of the tongue. Dietary exposure to morin significantly decreased the proliferating cell nuclear antigen-positive index in the posterior portion. Also, morin feeding lowered tongue polyamine levels, especially in the "post-initiation feeding" group. Our results indicate that morin acts as a chemopreventive agent against tongue carcinogenesis induced by 4-NQO through modification of detoxifying enzyme activities and/or cell proliferation activities.

4-Nitroquinoline-1-oxide↗

Phylogenetic analysis of the third hsp70 homolog in Escherichia coli; a novel member of the Hsc66 subfamily and its possible co-chaperone.

Novel members of the highly conserved protein family, Hsp70, have been found in the complete sequences of several genomes. To elucidate a phylogenetic relationship among Hsp70 proteins of Escherichia coli, we searched all open reading frames derived from 13 complete genomes for Hsp70/actin-related proteins by the single-linkage clustering method. Phylogenetic analysis of this superfamily revealed that E. coli possesses at least three Hsp70 homologs (DnaK, Hsc66 and Hsc62). We found that Hsc62, which is the product of hscC, is a new member of the Hsc66 subfamily, and is specific to E. coli. The analysis also suggested that YegD of E. coli is closely related to the actin family, which consists of the actin, FtsA and MreB subfamilies. A further database search revealed that two dnaJ homologs, ybeS and ybeV, were located on the opposite strand near hscC. Consequently, E. coli seems to have three gene clusters composed of DnaK and DnaJ homologs.

Actins↗

Molecular pathogenesis of apolipoprotein E-mediated amyloidosis in late-onset Alzheimer's disease.

Apolipoprotein E (apoE) epsilon4 allele is a genetic risk factor for late-onset familial and sporadic Alzheimer's disease (AD). In the central nervous system, apoE is secreted mainly by astrocytes as a constituent of high-density lipoproteins. A recent study using apoE knockout mice provided strong evidence that apoE promotes cerebral deposition of amyloid beta protein (Abeta). However, no clear explanation of the pathogenesis of apoE-induced AD has been provided. Here we discuss two possible mechanisms by which apoE might enhance Abeta deposition. One is the intracellular pathway in which apoE is internalized by neurons and induces lysosomal accumulation of Abeta and amyloidogenic APP (amyloid precursor protein) fragments, leading to neuronal death. The other is the extracellular pathway in which apoE-containing lipoproteins are trapped by Abeta1-42 deposits mobilizing soluble Abeta peptides and consequently enlarge amyloid plaques. These two mechanisms may operate at different stages of AD pathogenesis and suggest a chaperone-like function for the apoE molecule

Age of Onset↗

Failure of preventive effects of 2-deoxy-D-glucose on ischemia-induced gerbil hippocampal neuronal damage by induced hyperthermia.

Post-ischemic administration of 2-deoxy-D-glucose (2-DG), a glucose antimetabolite, markedly reduces the occurrence of ischemia-induced delayed neuronal death (DND) in the gerbil hippocampus. This means that the reduction of energy dependent metabolism after ischemia prevents ischemia-induced damages of hippocampal neurons. In the present study, we demonstrated hyperthermia during ischemia fails to preserve neurons in hippocampal CA1 of 2-DG treated gerbil following transient forebrain ischemia.

Animals↗

Chemoprevention of 2-amino-1-methyl-6-phenylimidazo [4,5-b]pyridine-induced mammary carcinogenesis in rats.

Modifying effects of dietary exposure of diallyl disulfide (DAD), aspirin, DL-alpha-difluoromethylomithine (DFMO), beta-naphthoflavone (beta-NF), alpha-naphthoflavone (alpha-NF), indole-3-carbinol (I3C) and protocatechuic acid (PCA) on 2-amino-1-methyl-6-phenylimidazo[4,5-b]pyridine (PhIP)-induced mammary carcinogenesis were examined in two experiments with female rats. For both experiments, PhIP in corn oil at a concentration of 85 mg/kg was given to animals via an intragastric tube for eight doses for an initial 4 weeks, and test chemicals were given in the diet (Experiment 1: DAD, 200 ppm; aspirin, 400 ppm; DFMO, 400 ppm; beta-NF, 1000 ppm; Experiment 2: alpha-NF, 1000 ppm; I3C, 1000 ppm; PCA, 2000 ppm) for an initial 4 weeks. The experiments were terminated after 25 weeks. In Experiment 1, exposure of beta-NF decreased the incidence and multiplicity of total mammary tumors (fibroadenoma, intraductal carcinoma and invasive ductal carcinoma) (P < 0.001 and P < 0.0001), and lowered the incidence of ductal carcinoma (P < 0.0001). DAD lowered the incidence of ductal carcinoma and decreased the multiplicity of the total tumors (P < 0.01 and P < 0.005). Furthermore, aspirin decreased the total tumors (P < 0.05). In Experiment 2, alpha-NF decreased the multiplicity of ductal carcinoma (P < 0.05). These results suggest that alpha-NF, beta-NF, DAD or aspirin could be chemopreventing agents for mammary neoplasia.

Allyl Compounds↗

Control of cell proliferation in cancer prevention.

Control of cell proliferation is important for cancer prevention since cell proliferation has essential roles in carcinogenesis including the process of initiation and promotion. In rodent models for carcinogenesis, especially those for the carcinogenesis in digestive organs such as colon, liver or oral cavity, chemopreventive agents suppress carcinogen-induced hyperproliferation of cells in the target organs during the initiation as well as the postinitiation phases. Therefore, effective agents usually suppress cell proliferation and inhibit the occurrence of malignant lesions. Availability of new biomarkers for cell proliferation, apoptosis or telomerase activity could be promising. By combining the use of intermediate biomarkers including premalignant lesions such as aberrant crypt foci in the colon or enzyme-altered foci in the liver and cell proliferation, short-term screening of effective chemopreventive agents will be possible.

Animals↗

Component specificity for the thylakoidal Sec and Delta pH-dependent protein transport pathways.

Prokaryotes and prokaryote-derived thylakoid membranes of chloroplasts share multiple, evolutionarily conserved pathways for protein export. These include the Sec, signal recognition particle (SRP), and Delta pH/Tat systems. Little is known regarding the thylakoid membrane components involved in these pathways. We isolated a cDNA clone to a novel component of the Delta pH pathway, Tha4, and prepared antibodies against pea Tha4, against maize Hcf106, a protein implicated in Delta pH pathway transport by genetic studies, and against cpSecY, the thylakoid homologue of the bacterial SecY translocon protein. These components were localized to the nonappressed thylakoid membranes. Tha4 and Hcf106 were present in approximately 10-fold excess over active translocation sites. Antibodies to either Tha4 or Hcf106 inhibited translocation of four known Delta pH pathway substrate proteins, but not of Sec pathway or SRP pathway substrates. This suggests that Tha4 and Hcf106 operate either in series or as subunits of a heteromultimeric complex. cpSecY antibodies inhibited translocation of Sec pathway substrates but not of Delta pH or SRP pathway substrates. These studies provide the first biochemical evidence that Tha4 and Hcf106 are specific components of the Delta pH pathway and provide one line of evidence that cpSecY is used specifically by the Sec pathway.

Amino Acid Sequence↗

Presenilin-1 exists in the axoplasm fraction in the brains of aged Down's syndrome subjects and non-demented individuals.

Missense mutations in the presenilin-1 (PS-1) gene are known to be responsible for early-onset familial Alzheimer's disease (AD). The normal physiological functions of PS-1 are still incompletely understood, although data on the intracellular localization of PS-1 are accumulating, indicating that it exists mainly in endoplasmic reticulum and Golgi compartments. To investigate the localization and functions of PS-1 in the human brain, we separated axoplasm fractions from the cerebral white matter of Down's syndrome (DS) subjects with AD pathology and non-demented individuals using the axonal flotation method, and analyzed them immunocytochemically. All axoplasm fractions contained the 28-34 kDa amino-terminal fragment and the 18 kDa carboxy-terminal fragment of PS-1, although there was no specific abnormality of this protein in the DS brains with AD pathology. This finding indicates that there is intracellular trafficking of PS-1 through the axons in the human brain, and thus provides new information about the physiology of PS-1.

Adult↗

Centrosomal kinase AIK1 is overexpressed in invasive ductal carcinoma of the breast.

A centrosomal serine/threonine kinase, AIK1(3)/breast tumor amplified kinase/aurora2, which was recently identified as an oncogene, shows high amino acid identity with chromosome segregation kinases, fly Aurora, and yeast Ipl1. Immunohistochemical analyses of invasive ductal adenocarcinomas of the breast revealed that overexpression of AIK1 was observed in 94% of the cases, irrespective of the histopathological type, whereas the protein was not detected in normal ductal and lobular cells. Benign breast lesions including fibrocystic disease and fibroadenoma (epithelial components) displayed weakly detectable AIK1 expression in part of the lesions. This is the first immunohistochemical report of AIK1 expression in primary human breast carcinomas. Although the physiological function(s) of AIK1 kinase during cell division remains to be determined, the markedly high positivity of AIK1 staining in the cancer lesions suggested a possible involvement of its overexpression in the tumorigenesis of some of breast cancer cells.

Anaphase↗

A low rate of nucleotide changes in Escherichia coli K-12 estimated from a comparison of the genome sequences between two different substrains.

Two genome sequences of Escherichia coli K-12 substrains, one partial W3110 and one complete MG1655, have been determined by Japanese and American genome projects, respectively. In order to estimate the rate of nucleotide changes, we directly compared 2 Mb of the nucleotide sequences from these closely-related E. coli substrains. Given that the two substrains separated about 40 years ago, the rate of nucleotide changes was estimated to be less than 10(-7) per site per year. This rate was supported by a further comparison between partial genome sequences of E. coli and Shigella flexneri.

Escherichia coli↗

Inhibition of tumor necrosis factor-alpha induced neutrophil apoptosis by cyclic AMP: involvement of caspase cascade.

Treatment of neutrophils with tumor necrosis factor-alpha (TNF-alpha) in the presence of cycloheximide induced apoptosis within 3 h, as evaluated by the occurrence of morphological nuclear changes characteristic of apoptosis. Pretreatment of neutrophils with dibutyryl cyclic AMP (dbcAMP) suppressed the TNF-alpha/cycloheximide-induced apoptosis in neutrophils in a concentration-dependent manner, while dbcAMP by itself did not induce any morphological changes. Forskolin, or a phosphodiesterase inhibitor, also produced a concentration-dependent inhibition on apoptosis. This inhibition by dbcAMP was completely reversed by pretreatment with the protein kinase A inhibitor, N-[2-(p-bromocinnamylamino) ethyl]-5-isoquinoline sulphonamide (H-89). DbcAMP also inhibited the TNF-alpha/cycloheximide-induced activation of caspase-3, but it had no effect on the activation of caspase-8 in human neutrophils. Furthermore, dbcAMP did not directly inhibit activated caspase-3 activity. Inhibitor of protein kinase C, phosphatidylcholine-specific phospholipase C, tyrosine kinase, nitric oxide synthase, or granulocyte colony-stimulating factor or granulocyte monocyte colony-stimulating factor did not affect apoptosis. These results indicate that the elevation of levels of endogenous intracellular cyclic AMP and subsequent activation of protein kinase A play a crucial role in the prevention of apoptosis triggered by TNF-alpha/cycloheximide in human neutrophils, and that the possible target of cyclic AMP is a product in the metabolic pathway between caspase-8 and caspase-3.

4-(3-Butoxy-4-methoxybenzyl)-2-imidazolidinone↗

The tau mutation (val337met) disrupts cytoskeletal networks of microtubules.

The missense point mutation found in the tau gene, which was segregated in a family with frontotemporal dementia with parkinsonism linked to chromosome 17 (FTDP-17), has proved to be the causal molecule for widely spread dementia diseases. Here we examined the effects of the tau mutation using confocal analysis. When wild-type tau cDNA was introduced into cells, extensive cell processes and well-developed thick bundles of microtubules were induced. On the other hand, when altered tau cDNA with the mutation (valine337-methionine) was introduced, cell lost processes and microtubule networks resulted in more round cell shape but showed intact mitochondria or endoplasmic reticulum. We conclude that the tau mutation primarily affects the microtubules and resultantly causes the loss of cellular organization and function due to microtubule disruption.

Amino Acid Sequence↗

Synthesis, aggregation, and neurotoxicity of the Alzheimer's Abeta1-42 amyloid peptide and its isoaspartyl isomers.

Amyloid Abeta1-42 peptide (Abeta1-42) and its isomers with an isoaspartyl residue at position 7 or 23 [Abeta1-42(isoAsp7) and Abeta1-42(isoAsp23)] were synthesized in high purity by the Fmoc-solid phase technique, followed by HPLC on a silica-based reversed-phase column under the basic conditions. Importantly, Abeta1-42(isoAsp23) aggregated more strongly than native Abeta1-42 and showed significant neurotoxicity, while the aggregation ability and neurotoxicity of Abeta1-42(isoAsp7) was weak. This suggests that the isomerization of the aspartyl residues plays an important role in fibril formation in Alzheimer's disease.

Alzheimer Disease↗

Immunohistochemical localization of amyloid beta-protein with amino-terminal aspartate in the cerebral cortex of patients with Alzheimer's disease.

We investigated immunohistochemically the localization of amyloid beta-protein (Abeta) with amino-terminal aspartate (N1[D]) in brains of patients with Alzheimer's disease, diffuse Lewy body disease and Down's syndrome. A monoclonal antibody, 4G8, which recognizes the middle portion of Abeta, was used as a reference antibody to label the total Abeta deposits. Double staining with anti-Abeta(N1[D]) and 4G8 revealed that Abeta deposits in the subiculum and the neocortical deep layers often lacked N1[D] immunoreactivity, indicating N-terminal truncation of Abeta in these deposits. Abeta deposits in the neocortical superficial layers and the presubicular parvopyramidal layer always contained Abeta with N1[D]. Such regional as well as laminar differences in the distribution of Abeta beginning at N1[D] suggest that some local factors influence N-terminal processing of Abeta deposited in the brain.

Aged↗

Gene targeting in the silkworm by use of a baculovirus.

The Bombyx mori fibroin light (L)-chain gene was cloned and the green fluorescent protein (GFP) gene inserted into exon 7. The chimeric L-chain-GFP gene was used to replace the polyhedrin gene of Autographa californica nucleopolyhedrovirus (AcNPV). This recombinant virus was used to target the L-chain-GFP gene to the L-chain region of the silkworm genome. Female moths were infected with the recombinant virus and then mated with normal male moths. Genomic DNA from their progenies was screened for the desired targeting event. This analysis showed that the chimeric gene had integrated into the L-chain gene on the genome by homologous recombination and was stably transmitted through generations. The chimeric gene was expressed in the posterior silk gland, and the gene product was spun into the cocoon layer.

Animals↗

Occurrence of the diffuse amyloid beta-protein (Abeta) deposits with numerous Abeta-containing glial cells in the cerebral cortex of patients with Alzheimer's disease.

Diffuse amyloid beta-protein (Abeta) deposits with numerous glial cells containing C-terminal Abeta fragments occur in the cerebral cortex of patients with Alzheimer's disease. By using a panel of antibodies specific for various epitopes in the Abeta peptide, we have investigated the immunohistochemical nature of the diffuse Abeta deposits. The extracellular material contains Abeta with a C-terminus at residue valine40 (Abeta40) as well as residues alanine42/threonine43 (Abeta42). The N-termini include aspartate1, pyroglutamate3, and pyroglutamate11, with pyroglutamate3 being dominant. Microglia and astrocytes in and around these deposits contain intensely staining granules. Most of these granules are negative for antibodies to the N-terminally located sequences of Abeta. These include 6E10 (Abeta1-17), 6F/3D (Abeta8-17), and the N-terminal antibodies specific to aspartate1, pyroglutamate3, and pyroglutamate11. The C-termini of intraglial Abeta are comparable with those of the extracellular deposits. The microglia and astrocytes have quiescent morphology compared with those associated with senile plaques and other lesions such as ischemia. Complement activation in these deposits is not prominent and often below the sensitivity of immunohistochemical detection. Although factors which may cause this type of deposit remain unclear, lack of strong tissue responses suggests that these deposits are a very early stage of Abeta deposition. They were found only inconsistently and were absent in a number of cases examined in this study. Further analysis of these deposits might provide important clues regarding the accumulation and clearance of Abeta in Alzheimer's disease brain.

Aged↗

Effects of protocatechuic acid, S-methylmethanethiosulfonate or 5-hydroxy-4-(2-phenyl-(E)ethenyl)-2(5H)-furanone(KYN-54) on 4-(methylnitrosamino)-1-(3-pyridyl)-1-butanone-induced pulmonary carcinogenesis in mice.

Modifying effects of dietary exposure of protocatechuic acid (PCA), a natural monophenolic compound, S-methylmethanethiosulfonate (MMTS), an organosulfur compound newly isolated from cauliflower, and 5-hydroxy-4-(2-phenyl-(E)ethenyl)-2(5H)-furanone (KYN-54), a novel retinoidal butenolide compound, on 4-(methylnitrosamino)-1-(3-pyridyl)-1-butanone (NNK) (10 micromol, [corrected] single i.p. injection)-induced pulmonary carcinogenesis were examined in female A/J mice. Each of the test chemicals was given in diets during initiation or post-initiation phases (PCA, 1000 ppm; MMTS, 100 ppm; KYN-54, 200 ppm). All of these which had been proved to be chemopreventive mainly in digestive-organs carcinogenesis did not exert any preventive effect in this model when the incidence or multiplicity of pulmonary tumors (adenomas) of mice given NNK and the test chemical at the termination of the experiment (4 months) was compared to that of mice exposed to the carcinogen alone. In contrast, the multiplicity of lung tumors of mice receiving KYN-54 during the post-initiation phase was significantly larger than of the animals with NNK alone (P < 0.05), showing that KYN-54 has a promoting effect on pulmonary carcinogenesis in mice. These data indicate an organotropic activity of these compounds and suggest that candidate compounds for cancer chemoprevention need to be carefully examined for effectiveness in multiple organs by different models.

4-Butyrolactone↗