Minimal change nephrotic syndrome associated with rifampicin treatment.
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Adult↗
Biomedical subjects
H Nishida
Publications and source records attributed to H Nishida.
Effect on the incidence of SIDS due to amendment of the death certificate form in Japan.
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Death Certificates↗
Symbiobacterium thermophilum gen. nov., sp. nov., a symbiotic thermophile that depends on co-culture with a Bacillus strain for growth.
A Gram-negative and tryptophanase-positive thermophile, whose growth is dependent on co-culture with an associating Bacillus strain, had been reported and tentatively named Symbiobacterium thermophilum strain T(T). Axenic culture of strain T(T) was recently established by dialysing cultures with the supporting bacterial strains or adding their culture broth. Phylogenetic analysis of strain T(T), based on the 16S rDNA sequence, was conducted for the validation of S. thermophilum. The sequence of strain T(T) was located at the outermost position in the high-G+C Gram-positive group distinctly isolated from any other branches hitherto known. Ten sequences identical to that of strain T(T), and one sequence closely related to it, were identified for the first time from soil and compost samples. The outer membrane of strain T(T) had a three-layered structure, outside the cytoplasmic membrane, which is similar to the S-layer in the cells of members of the Bacillaceae. Chemical analysis of the cells revealed that menaquinone-6 is a major component of the quinone system. According to these results, along with several previous observations (i.e. a G+C DNA content of 65 mol% and the identification of iso-C15:0 and iso-C17:0 acids as major cellular fatty acids), the new taxon Symbiobacterium thermophilum gen. nov., sp. nov. is proposed. The type strain is S. thermophilum strain T(T) (= IAM 14863T).
Bacillus↗
Immunopathophysiological aspects of an emerging neonatal infectious disease induced by a bacterial superantigen.
We recently discovered an emerging neonatal infectious disease, neonatal toxic shock syndrome-like (TSS-like) exanthematous disease (NTED), which is induced by a superantigen, TSS toxin-1 (TSST-1), produced by methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA). Here, we analyzed the activation and the response of TSST-1-reactive Vss2(+) T cells in NTED patients during the acute and recovery phases and in asymptomatic infants exposed to MRSA. In the acute phase, Vss2(+) T cells were anergic to stimulation with TSST-1 and underwent marked expansion, but by 2 months after disease onset, their numbers had declined to about 10% of the control level. Although the percentage of Vss2(+) T cells in the ten asymptomatic neonatal MRSA carriers was within the control range, these individuals could be divided into two groups on the basis of Vss2(+) T-cell activation. Vss2(+)CD4(+) T cells from three of these infants (Group 1) highly expressed CD45RO and were anergic to TSST-1, whereas in the other seven asymptomatic neonatal MRSA carriers (Group 2), these cells expressed CD45RO at the control level and were highly responsive to stimulation with TSST-1. The serum anti-TSST-1 IgG Ab titer was negligible in the four NTED patients in the acute phase and the three asymptomatic neonatal MRSA carriers in Group 1, but it was high in the seven asymptomatic carriers in Group 2. We suggest that maternally derived anti-TSST-1 IgGs helps to suppress T-cell activation by TSST-1 and protects infants from developing NTED.
CD4 Antigens↗
An FGF signal from endoderm and localized factors in the posterior-vegetal egg cytoplasm pattern the mesodermal tissues in the ascidian embryo.
The major mesodermal tissues of ascidian larvae are muscle, notochord and mesenchyme. They are derived from the marginal zone surrounding the endoderm area in the vegetal hemisphere. Muscle fate is specified by localized ooplasmic determinants, whereas specification of notochord and mesenchyme requires inducing signals from endoderm at the 32-cell stage. In the present study, we demonstrated that all endoderm precursors were able to induce formation of notochord and mesenchyme cells in presumptive notochord and mesenchyme blastomeres, respectively, indicating that the type of tissue induced depends on differences in the responsiveness of the signal-receiving blastomeres. Basic fibroblast growth factor (bFGF), but not activin A, induced formation of mesenchyme cells as well as notochord cells. Treatment of mesenchyme-muscle precursors isolated from early 32-cell embryos with bFGF promoted mesenchyme fate and suppressed muscle fate, which is a default fate assigned by the posterior-vegetal cytoplasm (PVC) of the eggs. The sensitivity of the mesenchyme precursors to bFGF reached a maximum at the 32-cell stage, and the time required for effective induction of mesenchyme cells was only 10 minutes, features similar to those of notochord induction. These results support the idea that the distinct tissue types, notochord and mesenchyme, are induced by the same signaling molecule originating from endoderm precursors. We also demonstrated that the PVC causes the difference in the responsiveness of notochord and mesenchyme precursor blastomeres. Removal of the PVC resulted in loss of mesenchyme and in ectopic notochord formation. In contrast, transplantation of the PVC led to ectopic formation of mesenchyme cells and loss of notochord. Thus, in normal development, notochord is induced by an FGF-like signal in the anterior margin of the vegetal hemisphere, where PVC is absent, and mesenchyme is induced by an FGF-like signal in the posterior margin, where PVC is present. The whole picture of mesodermal patterning in ascidian embryos is now known. We also discuss the importance of FGF induced asymmetric divisions, of notochord and mesenchyme precursor blastomeres at the 64-cell stage.
Actins↗
Group I intron located in PR protein homologue gene in Youngia japonica.
A Youngia japonica strain had a group I intron that was suggested to have been transferred from Protomyces inouyei, a pathogenic fungus of Y. japonica. It was located in the miraculin homologue coding gene by reverse complementation. The deduced amino acid sequence of this miraculin homologue of Y. japonica was similar to the amino acid sequences of tobacco and tomato pathogenesis-related proteins.
Amino Acid Sequence↗
Technetium-99m tetrofosmin parathyroid imaging in patients with primary hyperparathyroidism.
OBJECTIVE: To confirm the clinical significance of 99mTc-tetrofosmin imaging for the localization of hyperfunctioning parathyroid glands in patients with primary hyperparathyroidism. METHODS: All patients were imaged with 99mTc-tetrofosmin at 10 minutes and 2 hours after radiotracer injection, and with ultrasonography (US), computed tomography (CT), and magnetic resonance imaging (MRI). The parathyroid/thyroid uptake ratio of 99mTc-tetrofosmin (P/T uptake ratio) was calculated. PATIENTS: Twenty patients with primary hyperparathyroidism were referred to our clinic, underwent surgical neck exploration or mediastinotomy and were diagnosed as having parathyroid adenoma. These patients were investigated for the preoperative localization by 99mTc-tetrofosmin scintigraphy. RESULTS: 99mTc-tetrofosmin imaging demonstrated focal uptake in 19 out of 20 patients with parathyroid adenoma. Two of the lesions were ectopic. US identified 17 parathyroid glands. CT and MRI initially detected 17 parathyroid glands. However, two additional parathyroid glands were localized on repeated CT and MRI in tandem with the results of the 99mTc-tetrofosmin imaging. Thus, the sensitivity and specificity of tetrofosmin imaging were 95% (19/20) and 95% (19/20); US, 85% (17/20) and 94% (16/17); initial CT, 85% (17/20) and 94% (16/17); and initial MRI, 88% (17/20) and 94% (16/17), respectively. The P/T uptake ratio at 2 hours after tetrofosmin injection was correlated with the serum concentration of intact PTH (rs=0.47, p<0.05) and the resected tumor weight (rs=0.53, p<0.05). CONCLUSION: 99mTc-tetrofosmin scintigraphy is useful for localization of parathyroid adenoma. Tetrofosmin uptake depends on the tumor weight and serum intact PTH levels.
Adenoma↗
Cardiac sympathetic denervation from the early stage of Parkinson's disease: clinical and experimental studies with radiolabeled MIBG.
UNLABELLED: Autonomic disorder is not infrequent in patients with akinetic-rigid syndromes, including idiopathic Parkinson's disease. In the advanced stage of Parkinson's disease, abnormal blood pressure responses, such as orthostatic hypotension and abnormal circadian blood pressure rhythm, may occur. Few cases of reduced 123I-metaiodobenzylguanidine (MIBG) accumulation in the heart or limbs of Parkinson's disease patients have been reported. However, whether reduced accumulation is caused by damage to the postganglionic sympathetic nervous system or by central autonomic failure corresponding to abnormalities in blood pressure regulation is unknown. METHODS: We evaluated sympathetic denervation in 32 Parkinson's disease patients using 123I-MIBG cardiac scintigraphy and compared the findings with those for autonomic dysfunction detected by orthostatic hypotension and diurnal blood pressure variation. Cardiac 125I-MIBG accumulation was also determined in an experimental model of Parkinson's disease using mice pretreated with 1-methyl-4-phenyl-1,2,3,6-tetrahydropyridine (MPTP). RESULTS: Cardiac 123I-MIBG accumulation 15 min after injection and 4 h after injection was markedly reduced in the Parkinson's disease patients (heart-to-mediastinum ratio: 1.58 +/- 0.37 and 1.33 +/- 0.28, respectively) compared with 7 healthy volunteers (2.42 +/- 0.27 and 2.60 +/- 0.15, respectively). This reduction was observed even at the earlier stages of physical activity or disease duration and also in patients with normal blood pressure response and variation, indicating that the marked decrease in cardiac 123I-MIBG accumulation may be a special feature of Parkinson's disease. Pretreatment with a total dose of 100 mg/kg MPTP, which is the standard dose used to destroy the dopaminergic neurons in models of Parkinson's disease, significantly reduced cardiac 125I-MIBG accumulation in C57BL/6 mice. Interestingly, the reduction of 125I-MIBG accumulation was still significant when MPTP was reduced to 5 mg/kg. These findings indicated that the postganglionic sympathetic nerves may be damaged by MPTP or unknown toxic substrates in experimental or human Parkinson's disease during the early stage, because dopaminergic neurons and sympathetic nerves are substantially similar in their plasma membrane transporters. CONCLUSION: Cardiac scintigraphy with 123I-MIBG may be used as a new imaging approach in the diagnosis and characterization of akinetic-rigid syndromes, especially Parkinson's disease.
1-Methyl-4-phenyl-1,2,3,6-tetrahydropyridine↗
[Open heart surgery in three patients receiving dialysis for more than 20 years].
In Japan, the number of chronic hemodialysis (HD) patients is increasing, and there are 7,000 cases with a more than 20 year history of HD. At our institute, we have experienced 135 cases of open heart surgery in patients on HD, including 92 isolated CABG cases and 43 other open heart surgery cases. However, open heart surgery for patients with a more than 20 year history on HD is rare. Open heart surgery on HD patients is rather difficult, since perioperative management can be complicated and special care must be taken for prophylaxis of infection, fluid and electrolyte management and anticoagulation therapy. Many complications have been published in HD patients. At our institute, 3 cases of open heart surgery in patients with more than a 20 year history of HD have been performed. These included triple CABG, double CABG + AVR and double CABG in a post-kidney transplantation patient. They were discharged uneventfully with angiographically patent grafts. It is concluded that for CABG in patients on HD, aggressive use of arterial conduits for revascularization is recommended. For patients with a transplanted kidney, careful management against dysfunction and rejection is necessary.
Angina, Unstable↗
A case of normotensive scleroderma renal crisis after high-dose methylprednisolone treatment.
A 68-year-old male was admitted for interstitial pneumonia associated with scleroderma. High-dose methylprednisolone was administered for treatment of the pneumonitis. Two weeks later, anemia, thrombocytopenia and progressive increase in BUN, creatinine and LDH were observed. Although the blood pressure remained normotensive, renal biopsy showed thrombosis of the polar arterioles and glomerular capillaries. The affected interlobular artery included concentric intimal thickening and thrombosis in the lumen. Our findings suggested that the antecedent use of high-dose corticosteroids is involved in precipitating normotensive renal crisis. Corticosteroids should be used in low doses and with great caution in scleroderma patients.
Aged↗
[Four cases of third time operation of coronary artery bypass grafting].
Reoperative coronary artery bypass operations are increasing in frequency. Consequently, an ever-increasing pool of patients now is being seen with need of coronary revascularization for repeated time. Four cases of second reoperation were retrospectively investigated. Until March 1999, 2,563 cases of isolated coronary artery bypass grafting were done at the Heart Institute of Japan, Tokyo Women's Medical University, Tokyo, Japan. Within those cases, 124 cases (4.8%) were reoperated. And among those 124 cases, 4 cases (3.2%) were secondly reoperated. There were one hospital death and two had a perioperative myocardial infarction. All of them needed intraaortic balloon pump support after operation. Three were discharged with relief of the symptoms. The average age at the primary operation was 51.1 years. All these cases, at the primary operation, no ITA graft was used. Two cases were incompletely revascularized, because of coronary arteries were ungraftable. Both at reoperation and at second reoperation, we are trying to make a complete revascularization by all arterial grafts. But because of limited number of arterial graft at repeated operation, all arterial complete revascularization is not done without difficulty. Therefore it is concluded that saphenous vein graft is still needed at repeated operation.
Aged↗
[Early and late results of combined valvular and coronary artery operations].
A total of 122 patients with ischemic heart disease underwent valvular surgery. Thirty-nine had combined CABG and aortic valve surgery (included Bentall method), 72 had CABG and mitral valve operations, and 8 patients had CABG and double or triple valve operations. Only 3 patients for ruptured papillary muscle due to acute myocardial infarction had isolated mitral valve replacement. Early mortality was 5.1% AV, 2.8% MV and 12.5% DTV in the combined groups and 0% in the valve only group. The grafts patency rate was 93.5%. Univariate analysis of risk factors selected in the dialysis patients and the patients age older than 65 years as the strongest predictors for early death. At the mean follow up period of 5.4 +/- 4.8 year after surgery, the 5-year all death free rates were 57.9 +/- 9.6% AV, 69.6 +/- 5.8% MV and 75.0 +/- 15.3% DTV. The 5-year cardiac death free rates were 73.8 +/- 9.0% AV, 77.5 +/- 5.4% MD and 75.0 +/- 15.3% DTV.
Adolescent↗
[A case of myasthenia gravis following sarcoidosis and Hashimoto's thyroiditis].
Here, we report on an elderly woman with sarcoidosis and Hashimoto's disease who later developed myasthenia gravis. She was 68-year-old with a long history of Hashimoto's disease who had a clinical diagnosis of sarcoidosis with uveritis at the age of 66 years. On laboratory examination, angiotensin-converting enzyme, lysozyme and gamma-globulin were elevated and there was bilateral hilar lymphoadenopathy. She was admitted to our hospital because of left blepharoptosis and mild fatigability in the proximal muscles at the age of 68 years. Myasthenia gravis, type IIa, was confirmed by elevated titer of anti-acetylcholine receptor antibody in serum (0.8 nmol/l, normal < 0.6), positive edrophonium test and decremental EMG response. Oral prednisolone therapy was effective. Her muscle biopsy revealed HLA ABC-positive fibers in all fascicles, and HLA-DR positive fibers in the perifascicular areas. Myasthenia gravis complicated by sarcoidosis and Hashimoto's thyroiditis is extremely rare, suggesting that the common underlying immunological abnormalities for the three disorders such as a certain defective cellular immunity are responsible for the pathomechanism to induce the patient condition.
Aged↗
Suppression of muscle fate by cellular interaction is required for mesenchyme formation during ascidian embryogenesis.
The tadpole larva of the ascidian Halocynthia roretzi has several hundred mesenchyme cells in its trunk. Mesenchyme cells are exclusively derived from the B8.5 and B7.7 blastomere pairs of the 110-cell embryo. It has been believed that specification of mesenchyme cells is an autonomous process. In the present study, we have demonstrated that presumptive-mesenchyme blastomeres isolated from early 32-cell embryos did not express mesenchyme-specific features, whereas those isolated after the late 64-cell stage developed mesenchyme markers autonomously. Results of experiments involving coisolation and recombination of blastomeres showed that cellular interaction with adjacent presumptive-endoderm blastomeres during the late 32- and early 64-cell stages is required for mesenchyme formation. When such interaction was absent, the presumptive-mesenchyme blastomeres developed into muscle cells. Therefore, a signal from endoderm precursor blastomeres promotes mesenchyme fate, suppressing the muscle fate that is specified by ooplasmic muscle determinants. In Halocynthia, the muscle actin gene was precociously activated in mesenchyme-muscle precursor blastomeres at the 32-cell stage, and the mesenchyme and muscle fates were separated into two daughter blastomeres at the next cleavage. In presumptive-mesenchyme blastomeres at the 64-cell stage, expression of the muscle actin gene was immediately down-regulated by the signal from the neighboring endoderm precursor blastomeres. Thus, mesenchyme formation involves a novel mechanism of fate specification in ascidians, where formation of mesenchyme cells requires cellular interaction that suppresses muscle fate in the mesenchyme precursor blastomeres.
Actins↗
Distinct parameters are involved in controlling the number of rounds of cell division in each tissue during ascidian embryogenesis.
We counted cell numbers during embryogenesis of the ascidian, Halocynthia roretzi, every hour. Cell numbers were determined by counting the numbers of nuclei in squashed embryos. The cell number of a larva just after hatching was approximately 3000. Our study addresses the question of what factors control the number of rounds of cell division during development. Three kinds of egg fragments were prepared by cutting unfertilized eggs to alter the volume of cytoplasm and the amount of DNA. After the egg fragments were fertilized, the cell numbers were estimated at the hatching stage. The cell numbers of the resulting larvae differed from those of normal larvae. Precursor blastomeres of various tissues were then isolated from normal and manipulated embryos, and cultured as partial embryos. The cell numbers of the resulting partial embryos were counted to estimate the number of cell divisions in each larval tissue. The results suggested that the number of cell divisions is controlled by a distinct mechanism in each tissue. We propose that the number of rounds of cell division during ascidian embryogenesis is controlled by three mechanisms: the first depending on the volume of cytoplasm; the second on the nucleo-cytoplasmic ratio; and the third depending on neither of these parameters. J. Exp. Zool. 284:379-391, 1999.
Animals↗
Effects of Secondary Polymer Covalently Attached to Monodisperse, Poly(maleic anhydride-styrene)-Modified Colloidal Silica on Dispersibility in Organic Solvent.
Effects of surface-grafted polymer on the dispersibility of polymer-silica composite particles in ethyl acetate-methanol cosolvent were investigated. The composite particles were prepared by a two-step modification of monodisperse colloidal silica (120 nm in diameter). Modifications were carried out by first reacting the surface silanol of the colloidal silica with maleic anhydride-styrene copolymer silane coupling agent to prevent aggregation and then grafting, in acetone or tetrahydrofuran, amino group-terminated poly(methyl acrylate), poly(methyl methacrylate), or polystyrene to the maleic anhydride moiety on the surface. For poly(methyl acrylate) and poly(methyl methacrylate) graftings, composite particles with long polymer chains aggregated in methanol-rich cosolvent due to insoluble secondary polymer chain interaction among the particles. Particles with a small amount of relatively low-molecular-weight secondary polymer were dispersible in the methanol content range from 0 to 90 vol%. Polystyrene-modified particles never aggregated, even in 90 vol% methanol solution. An ESR study of the suspension in ethyl acetate-hexane cosolvent suggested that the dispersibility of these composite particles in ethyl acetate-rich solution is attributable to steric repulsion between solvated and expanded secondary polymer chains among the particles. The dispersibility of the composite particles in methanol-rich solution was controlled by a delicate balance between the electrostatic repulsion and the interparticle attraction due to the desolvated and insoluble polymer chain interaction among the particles. Copyright 1999 Academic Press.
Journal Article↗
The centrosome-attracting body, microtubule system, and posterior egg cytoplasm are involved in positioning of cleavage planes in the ascidian embryo.
Many kinds of animal embryos exhibit stereotyped cleavage patterns during early embryogenesis. In the ascidian Halocynthia roretzi, cleavage patterns are invariant but they are complicated by successive unequal cleavages that occur in the posterior region. Here we report the essential roles of a novel structure, called the centrosome-attracting body (CAB), which exists in the posterior pole cortex of cleaving embryos, in generating unequal cleavages. By removing and transplanting posterior egg cytoplasm and by treatment with sodium dodecyl sulfate, we demonstrated that loss of the CAB resulted in abolishment of unequal cleavage, while ectopic formation of the CAB caused ectopic unequal cleavages to occur. Experiments with a microtubule inhibitor demonstrated that the centrosome and nucleus were attracted toward the posterior cortex, where the CAB is located, by shortening of microtubule bundles formed between the centrosome and the CAB. Consequently, the mitotic apparatus was positioned asymmetrically, resulting in unequal cleavage. Immunohistochemistry provided evidence that a microtubule motor protein, a kinesin or kinesin-like molecule, may be associated with the CAB. Formation of the CAB during the early cleavage stage was resistant to treatment with the microtubule inhibitor. In contrast, the integrity of the CAB was lost upon treatment with a microfilament inhibitor. We propose that the CAB plays key roles in the orientation and positioning of cleavage planes during unequal cell division.
Actins↗
Use of arterial grafts for coronary revascularization. Experience of 2987 anastomoses.
OBJECTIVES: The aim of this study was to evaluate the performance and the quality of arterial grafts for coronary artery bypass grafting at The Heart Institute of Japan, Tokyo Women's Medical University. PATIENTS AND METHODS: From January 1970 to March 1998, 2987 arterial grafts, including left and right internal thoracic arteries, gastroepiploic artery, radial artery and inferior epigastric artery, were used in 1673 patients. In the same period, 1225 saphenous vein grafts were used. Early graft patency was angiographically determined. Also, histological evaluation of operative specimens and preoperative angiographic evaluation of arterial grafts were performed. RESULTS: The total number of hospital deaths was 38 (2.3%). Of 4212 grafts, 3919 grafts (93%) were evaluated angiographically and 3714 of 3919 grafts were patent (94.8%). The patency rate of internal thoracic artery was better than that of gastroepiploic artery (p < 0.0001), radial artery (p = 0.0005) and saphenous vein grafts (p < 0.0001). However, the patency rate of gastroepiploic artery was better than that of saphenous vein grafts (p = 0.04), while no significant difference was detected between gastroepiploic artery and rdial artery. Only one internal thoracic artery specimen obtained at surgery showed atherosclerotic change, but all gastroepiploic artery specimens had moderate to severe atherosclerotic changes with CD68-positive cell infiltration. Only one patient's left internal thoracic artery out of 200 was not angiographically useable as a conduit, while multiple stenotic lesions in gastroepiploic artery were observed. CONCLUSIONS: In the graft selection for CABG, the primary choice is internal thoracic artery and the secondary choice is right internal thoracic artery, from the standpoint of histological and angiographic evaluation, gastroepiploic artery and/or radial artery, depending on the target anastomotic site, degree of stenosis, and in situ or free use is the third choice.
Aged↗