Biomedical subjects
Publications and source records attributed to H Murakami.
Explore the source record for details and available documents.
Explore the source record for details and available documents.
Explore the source record for details and available documents.
The effects of niceritrol, a nicotinic acid derivative, on the levels of HDL-cholesterol (HDL-Ch) and a mixture of VLDL- and LDL-Ch (VLDL- + LDL-Ch) were studied in hyperlipidemic patients. Serum total cholesterol (sTC) and serum triglyceride (sTG) were significantly reduced during niceritrol administration. Lipoprotein electrophoresis showed that niceritrol increased the alpha:beta ratio. HDL-Ch showed a significant increase of 12.5% by the 16th week of therapy. This increase was more marked in patients with lower pre-treatment HDL-Ch levels and significant in patients whose pre-treatment sTG levels were in excess of 200 mg/dl. Females displayed higher pre-treatment HDL-Ch levels (38.5 mg/dl) than males (30.6 mg/dl). However, niceritrol increased HDL-Ch significantly in both groups. At 16 weeks, the VLDL- + LDL-Ch level showed a significant decrease of 9.2%; the HDL-Ch:VLDL + LDL-Ch and HDL-CH:sTC ratios were significantly increased throughout niceritrol administration. Niceritrol is thought to be effective in preventing the development and progression of atherosclerosis because it raises the level of anti-atherogenic HDL-Ch and lowers the level of atherogenic VLDL- + LDL-Ch.
We have developed a serum-free, chemically defined growth medium containing casein, insulin, transferrin, testosterone, and linoleic acid in Dulbecco's modified Eagle's medium/Ham's F12 medium, 1:1 (vol/vol), for growing murine T lymphomas. This medium supports the growth in suspension of all murine T lymphomas tested, including S49, WEHI 7, EL4, BW5147, and R1.1. Growth of these cell lines was maintained indefinitely with doubling times approaching those of cells grown in 10% (vol/vol) horse serum. This medium also supports the growth of several of the S49 variants of the beta-adrenergic receptor/adenylate cyclase/cyclic AMP/protein kinase pathway, suggeting little or no involvement of this pathway in the routine growth of S49 cells or in the mechanism of action of the factors in this defined medium. This serum-free medium should prove useful for studies of a variety of metabolic pathways and of differentiated functions of T-lymphoma cells.
A human colon carcinoma cell line, HC84S, was established in serum-supplemented medium from a colon tumor line T84 transplanted in nude mice. These cells also grew in a serum-free, synthetic medium supplement with insulin, glucagon, epidermal growth factor, transferrin, hydrocortisone, triiodothyronine, selenium, and ascorbic acid. HC84S cells grew 3 times faster in this medium than in serum-containing medium and formed gland-like structures closely resembling the original tumor morphologically. In serum-containing medium, the cells grew as a monolayer and did not form such structures. Primary cultures from transplantable human colon tumor lines maintained in nude mice and a primary tumor from a patient were established directly in this hormone-supplemented medium in collagen-treated plastic dishes without fibroblast overgrowth. The hormone-supplemented medium may be generally useful for the establishment of human colon carcinoma cell lines.
Treatment of Bacillus cereus T spores with trichloroacetic acid delayed their germination. The extent of retardation depended on the concentration of trichloroacetic acid, and the temperature, pH and duration of treatment. The effect was completely reversed by subsequent heating, and this restoration of germination also depended on the temperature and duration of heat treatment. Fourteen compounds were examined for their ability to suppress germination of spores. The halogenated fatty acids tested, such as trifluoro-, tribromo-, and dichloroacetic acid, caused suppression of germination, whereas other compounds, i.e., free fatty acids and amino acids, did not. It is concluded that the charge distribution of fatty acid molecules is important for their effect in suppressing germination of spores.
Explore the source record for details and available documents.
Explore the source record for details and available documents.
Explore the source record for details and available documents.
Explore the source record for details and available documents.
Preflight acclimatization to the rhythm of destination and postflight daytime activity are assumed to be effective countermeasures against the jet lag syndrome. Regarding this idea, resynchronization of motor activity rhythm was investigated in mice subjected to daytime exercises on a driven belt before or after the reversal of lighting regimen. In addition, the effect of prior daytime feeding was studied. No evidence was manifested that the forced exercises or feeding schedule would hasten synchronization. This result indicates that the central control system of motor activity rhythm could not be manipulated favorably by such method in mice. On the basis of the result obtained, the applicability of countermeasures to human beings was discussed.
Explore the source record for details and available documents.
Explore the source record for details and available documents.
Hemodynamic response of nifedipine in 11 patients with congestive heart failure was examined. Thirty minutes after sublingual administration of nifedipine, CI and SVI were increased together with a decrease in PAEDP and TSVRI. The increase in CI was proportional to the decrease in TSVRI. Twenty-four hours after continuous administration of nifedipine, however, six of 11 patients did not show the improvement of left ventricular function. These results indicate that sublingual administration of nifedipine is effective in the short-term therapy of the patients with a markedly decreased cardiac output and an increased systemic vascular resistance.
Explore the source record for details and available documents.
The long term survival rate of gastric cancer has been much improved, and the 5-year survival rate in our institute was 42% with a significant difference between 29% in the advanced stage and 94% in the early stage. This result means that gastric cancer must be detected and treated early as possible. However, the diagnosis of early gastric cancer may remain extremely difficult even for an excellent endoscopist. Therefore, in order to clearly recognize early gastric cancer, an endoscopic staining method with methylene blue has been studied. In this method, one capsule of 150 mg methylene blue is swallowed with a small amount of proteinase solution 3 hours before endoscopy. Gastroscopy is performed routinely after this preparation. This procedure was performed on 153 gastric cancers and 137 of them (89.5%) have been successfully dyed in dark blue. In several cases, with this method, the actual borderline between the normal mucosa and the malignant extent was clearly recognized and resection line was decided. Introduction of methylene blue into the stomach could also stain the intestinalized epithelium of the gastric mucosa. Differential diagnosis of the dyed intestinal metaplasia and the dyed carcinoma seems to be very easy, because both gastric lesions have the characteristic dyed patterns. Mechanism of this phenomenon has been considered to be due to an absorption of the dye in the intestinal metaplasia, and in the gastric cancer, many factors may be involved, among which are the infiltration or diffusion of the dye into the cancerous tissue, the absorption from the abnormal epithelium, and the staining of the necrotic tissue.
Administration of an analgesic dose of morphine increased the concentration of the metabolite of 5-hydroxytryptamine (5HT), 5-hydroxyindoleacetic acid (5HIAA), in the spinal cord of rats. The time course of the change in 5HIAA concentration in the dorsal half of the spinal cord corresponded to that of the morphine analgesia, while such was not the case in the ventral half. When the spinal cord was transected at C1, the effect of morphine on 5HIAA concentration disappeared. After transection at the inter-collicular level, this effect remained. The possible relationship between morphine analgesia and descending serotonergic neurons in the spinal cord is discussed.