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Biomedical subjects

H Otani

Publications and source records attributed to H Otani.

At least 181 records · Page 10Linked to original sources

Histochemically demonstrable phosphotyrosine protein phosphatase in the rat hippocampal formation.

Using o-phospho-L-tyrosine as substrate, a possible localization of phosphotyrosine protein phosphatase (PTPPase) activity was histochemically demonstrated in the rat hippocampal formation. The PTPPase activity was found in almost all layers of the hippocampal formation, with a high activity in the stratum moleculare. The activity was inhibited by vanadate and molybdate, but not by NaF and Zn2+. The activity was localized in the dendritic cytoplasm, particularly on the postsynaptic density, of hippocampal neurons.

Animals↗

Effect of cardioplegic preservation on intracellular calcium transients.

Intracellular Ca2+ ([Ca2+]i) plays a pivotal role in the regulation of cardiac function. We investigated the effect of cardioplegic preservation on [Ca2+]i transients in the isolated and perfused guinea pig heart loaded with a fluorescent Ca2+ indicator (fura-2). The measurements of [Ca2+]i transients and isovolumetric left ventricular pressure revealed that [Ca2+]i transients and mechanical responses to [Ca2+]i were markedly altered during 15 minutes of normothermic global ischemia and after reperfusion. First, [Ca2+]i transients remained during ischemia without generation of active force of contraction. Such a manifestation of depressed sensitivity of the myofilaments to Ca2+ persisted for the first 5 minutes after reperfusion. Second, the amplitude of [Ca2+]i was diminished during ischemia and reperfusion. Third, diastolic [Ca2+]i was increased during ischemia and especially at the onset of reperfusion. Bolus infusion of cold St. Thomas' Hospital solution abolished [Ca2+]i transients and left ventricular pressure development at an end-diastolic level. Moreover, improved recovery of left ventricular function during reperfusion afforded by the hypothermic cardioplegia was intimately related to its ability to modulate impaired [Ca2+]i transients and mechanical responses to [Ca2+]i; improvement of systolic left ventricular function appears to be produced by restoration of Ca2+ sensitivity of the myofilaments and the amplitude of [Ca2+]i transients, whereas better diastolic compliance of the left ventricle is ascribed to significantly lower diastolic [Ca2+]i. These results may provide new insight into the mechanism of cardioplegic preservation on the basis of [Ca2+]i transients.

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Chromosome analysis of postimplantation stage embryos for studying possible causes of developmental abnormalities in nonobese diabetic mice.

The chromosomes of postimplantation stage embryos of nonobese diabetic (NOD) mice were analyzed to investigate the causal mechanism of congenital anomalies in diabetic pregnancies. Postimplantation stage embryos (day 12 of gestation) in diabetic (NOD-DM) and nondiabetic (NOD-N) NOD mice had either a high or low incidence of chromosomal abnormalities. A large majority of externally normal embryos from NOD-DM and NOD-N mice had low incidences. A high incidence of chromosomal abnormalities was found in externally abnormal embryos of NOD-DM and NOD-N mice, and in a smaller number of externally normal NOD-N and NOD-DM embryos. No control ICR embryo manifested a high incidence of chromosomal abnormalities. In the NOD-DM embryos, the chromosomes appeared to be influenced by long-term maternal diabetic conditions, while high incidences of chromosomal abnormalities in the NOD-N embryos suggested a probable cause by other factor(s) (e.g. a genetic predisposition) or by a very mild diabetic condition because the NOD-N mice were prediabetic.

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Effects of amiloride and an analogue on ventricular arrhythmias, contracture and cellular injury during reperfusion in isolated and perfused guinea pig heart.

The present study was designed to examine whether activation of Na+/H+ exchange and subsequent massive Ca2+ influx via Na+/Ca2+ exchange are involved in the pathogenesis of myocardial reperfusion injury. We tested the effects of 1 mM amiloride, which is known to inhibit both Na+/H+ and Na+/Ca2+ exchange, and 3 microM 5-(N-ethyl-N-isopropyl) amiloride (EIPA), which is known to act as a specific inhibitor against Na+/H+ exchange, on the incidence of ventricular arrhythmias, isovolumic left ventricular function and creatine kinase (CK) release during reperfusion after 15 or 30 min of global ischemia in the isolated and perfused guinea pig heart. Treatment of a normally perfused heart with amiloride decreased heart rate significantly and tended to increase coronary flow and left ventricular developed pressure (LVDP), whereas treatment with EIPA decreased all of these 3 measurements significantly. Treatment with amiloride or EIPA for 15 min before ischemia, and during reperfusion after 15 min of ischemia, under electrical pacing at 240 rpm to eliminate a negative chronotropic effect abolished ventricular tachycardia (VT) and ventricular fibrillation (VF) during reperfusion associated with highly significant inhibition of increases in left ventricular end-diastolic pressure (LVEDP) and CK release. Amiloride or EIPA pretreatment also inhibited the incidence of VF and increases in LVEDP and CK release significantly during reperfusion after 30 min of ischemia. However, amiloride was more effective in preventing these events than EIPA. The treatment with amiloride or EIPA only during reperfusion after 15 or 30 min of ischemia also decreased the incidence of VF and inhibited the increases in LVEDP and CK release significantly, though less effectively than the pretreatment modality. These results suggest that EIPA prevents ventricular arrhythmias, contracture and myocardial cellular injury during reperfusion after 15 min of ischemia by inhibiting Na+/H+ exchange, while amiloride exerts more powerful protection against these events than EIPA during reperfusion after 30 min of ischemia by inhibiting both Na+/H+ and Na+/Ca2+ exchange.

Amiloride↗

Diabetic environment and genetic predisposition as causes of congenital malformations in NOD mouse embryos.

Congenital malformations such as neural tube defects and a kinky or waved vertebral column were observed at higher incidence in embryos from nonobese diabetic (NOD) female mice with overt diabetes (NOD-D; 40.3%, P less than 0.005) or without overt diabetes (NOD-N; 8.4%, P less than 0.05) than in control Institute of Cancer Research (ICR) mouse embryos (1%) at day 13 of gestation. In vivo and in vitro preimplantation development of NOD-N, NOD-D, and ICR embryos did not differ in rate of development, size, or morphology. Embryos cultured from one-cell to early blastocyst stage were mutually transferred to uterine horns of pseudopregnant females between NOD-D and ICR mice and examined at day 13 of gestation. There were significant decreases in ratios of implantation and of viable embryos in ICR embryos transferred to NOD-D recipients (52%, P less than 0.001 and 14%, P less than 0.001, respectively) compared with those ratios in ICR embryos transferred to ICR uteri (79.2 and 56.2%) or those in NOD-D embryos transferred to ICR uteri (70.3 and 33.1%). Furthermore, 18 of 45 viable ICR embryos transferred to NOD-D dams had malformations, whereas there were no malformations in 73 viable ICR embryos transferred to ICR recipients, suggesting deleterious effects of maternal diabetic environment to embryos. On the other hand, 8 of 58 viable NOD-D embryos that were cultured in vitro and transferred to ICR uteri had malformations such as neural tube defects.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)

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Surface condition of primary teeth after approximal grinding and polishing.

Mesiodistal reduction of primary teeth is necessary in cases with mild or moderate primary crowding, in patients treated with Fränkel appliance type I or II or in those who need to keep a primary molar as long as possible due to congenitally missing premolars. In order to minimize the risks of periodontal destruction and caries, the tooth surface should be polished after grinding. A technique for stripping permanent teeth, recently proven successful in achieving smoother enamel than untreated tooth surfaces, was slightly varied and applied to primary teeth. By means of scanning electron micrographs, it could be shown that application of this technique produces smooth surfaces on primary teeth as well. The procedure is described in detail and cases in which it should be used are presented.

Child↗

Microtia as an autosomal dominant mutation in a transgenic mouse line: a possible animal model of branchial arch anomalies.

Microtia was found in a transgenic mouse 643 and all offspring with microtia had the transgene. No anomalies, other than occasional low set ear and abnormal biting, were identified in other tissues and organs. In the developmental analysis, on the 9th and 10th days of gestation, hypoplasia of the second branchial arch was observed, while various kinds of malformed hillocks were noted on the 12th day. All of these anomalous embryos were transgenic. Histologically, hemorrhage and subsequent phagocytosis were noted at the second branchial arch. Left sided anomalies were predominant and in bilaterally defective ones asymmetry existed. These findings closely resembled to those in experimental animals with a phenocopy of the first and second branchial arch syndrome in humans. Since all other transgenic mouse lines with the same transgene as 643 appeared normal, this dysmorphic phenotype may be caused by an insertional mutation of a host gene, although inappropriate expression of the transgene should be examined further as a possible cause. These results suggest that this transgenic mouse line 643 may be useful as an animal model of branchial arch anomalies in humans.

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Human interleukin 2 receptor beta-chain gene: chromosomal localization and identification of 5' regulatory sequences.

Interleukin 2 (IL-2) binds to and stimulates activated T cells through high-affinity IL-2 receptors (IL-2Rs). Such receptors represent a complex consisting of at least two proteins, the 55-kDa IL-2R alpha chain and the 70-kDa IL-2R beta chain. The low-affinity, IL-2R alpha chain cannot by itself transduce a mitogenic signal, whereas IL-2 stimulates resting lymphocytes through the intermediate-affinity, IL-2R beta receptor. We report here identification of the genomic locus for IL-2R beta. The exons are contained on four EcoRI fragments of 1.1, 9.2, 7.2, and 13.7 kilobases. The 1.1-kilobase EcoRI fragment lies at the 5'-most end of the genomic locus and contains promoter sequences. The promoter contains no TATA box-like elements but does contain the d(GT)n class of middle repetitive elements, which may play an interesting regulatory role. The IL-2R beta gene is localized to chromosome 22q11.2-q12, a region that is the locus for several lymphoid neoplasias.

Base Sequence↗

Effects of inhibitors of protein kinase C and Na+/H+ exchange on alpha 1-adrenoceptor-mediated inotropic responses in the rat left ventricular papillary muscle.

1. Alpha 1-adrenoceptor stimulation of rat left ventricular papillary muscle produced a triphasic inotropic response: an initial transient positive inotropic effect (PIE) followed by a transient negative inotropic effect (NIE) and a sustained PIE. 2. The protein kinase C inhibitor, staurosporine, at concentrations ranging from 30 nM to 100 nM inhibited the sustained PIE, but had no significant effect on the transient PIE and NIE. 3. H-7, 1-(5-isoquinoline sulphonyl)-2-methylpiperazine, a less specific inhibitor of protein kinase C than staurosporine, at a concentration of 100 microM inhibited both the transient NIE and the sustained PIE without affecting the transient PIE. 4. Amiloride, an inhibitor of Na+/H+ exchange, at concentrations ranging from 0.1 mM to 1 mM inhibited the sustained PIE and, at higher concentrations, also inhibited the transient NIE. 5. An amiloride analogue, 5-(N-methyl-N-isobutyl)amiloride (MIBA), inhibited only the sustained PIE with an IC50 of 0.3 microM which is approximately two orders of magnitude lower than amiloride. 6. The receptor-linked stimulation of Na+/H+ exchange through protein kinase C activation may be a mechanism for alpha 1-adrenoceptor-mediated sustained PIE.

1-(5-Isoquinolinesulfonyl)-2-Methylpiperazine↗

Genetic study on the mandibular molar size of rats.

Tooth size is determined by genetic and environmental factors like other quantitative characters such as body weight and body height. However, the degree of the relative contribution of both factors to the determination of tooth size has not been well clarified. In order to study the genetic and environmental factors affecting tooth size, we carried out a diallel cross mating by the cohabitation of pairs of males and females among 10 strains of rats. The bucco-lingual widths of the first, second, and third molars of the right mandible were measured in each offspring of F1 population. The body weight was also measured as a parameter that might indicate systemic growth factor in connection with tooth development. The quantitative genetic analysis was performed based on Wearden's model (Heredity 19:669-680, 1964). As a result, the size of the first and the second molars was more significantly controlled by genetic effect than maternal effect, while maternal effect could not be ignored for the size of the third molar in addition to genetic effect. The genetic effect on body weight became greater with age, while the maternal effect showed its maximum influence upon the body weight around the weaning. It is concluded that the size of the molar teeth beginning to develop in the uterus and to be calcified just after birth was mainly controlled by genetic factor, and that the size of the molar teeth beginning to develop approximately after birth was mainly controlled by maternal effect affecting body weight at the same period.

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Effect of calcium overload on the phosphoinositide breakdown in the rat left ventricular papillary muscle.

We investigated the effect of Ca2+ overload on the phospholipase C-catalyzed hydrolysis of phosphoinositides in the rat left ventricular papillary muscle. Ca2+ overload on the papillary muscle was induced by treatment with 0.3 mM ouabain in Ca2+-containing medium following either Ca2+-containing or Ca2+-free superfusion. The phosphoinositide breakdown was evaluated by determining accumulations of [3H]inositol phosphates ([3H]IPs) in the tissues prelabeled with [3H]inositol. Ca2+ repletion following Ca2+-free superfusion resulted in a rapid but small increase in resting tension that was not followed by contracture, nor was it associated with a significant increase in [3H]IPs accumulations. Treatment with ouabain following Ca2+-containing superfusion increased resting tension after a lag period of several minutes and produced contracture associated with an increase in [3H]IPs accumulations. The ouabain induced increases in resting tension, and accumulations of [3H]IPs were significantly potentiated by prior Ca2+-free superfusion instead of Ca2+-containing superfusion. There was a significant positive correlation between increases in resting tension and the phosphoinositide breakdown. The increased resting tension and the accumulations of [3H]IPs were not antagonized by treatments with prazosin plus atropine or indomethacin, but were abolished by superfusion with Ca2+-free buffer solution. Although the enhanced phospholipase C-catalyzed hydrolysis of phosphoinositides appears to be a consequence rather than a cause of increased intracellular Ca2+, such a biochemical change may provoke a positive feedback mechanism to develop the muscle contracture through the putative intracellular messenger action of inositol triphosphate and diacylglycerol.

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Intracerebroventricular injection of ethacrynic acid induces status epilepticus.

The intracerebroventricular (i.c.v.) injection of ethacrynic acid to mice at a dose of more than 25 micrograms induced repeated tonic-clonic convulsions with subsequent death. Ethacrynic acid was more potent than other loop diuretics such as furosemide and bumetanide. Diazepam and 2-amino-5-phosphonovaleric acid notably reduced both the incidence of convulsion and the lethality seen after ethacrynic acid administration. Both phenobarbital and ketamine suppressed the incidence of convulsions but not the lethality. Without effects on the incidence of convulsions or lethality, dextromethorphan prolonged, while phenytoin or atropine shortened, the time to the onset of convulsion. Neither ethosuximide, carbamazepine, nor muscimol had a significant effect on the responses to ethacrynic acid. The present findings indicate that i.c.v. injected ethacrynic acid shows strong convulsive activity, probably due to impairment of Cl- transport processes, concomitant with enhancement of excitatory amino acid activity in the brain.

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Lymphocyte infiltration into cerebellum in transgenic mice carrying human IL-2 gene.

We created transgenic mice with an intact human genomic interleukin-2 gene (gIL-2) or a mouse metallothionein-I promoter-human IL-2 chimeric gene (MTgIL-2). Nine (2 gIL-2 and 7 MTgIL-2 transgenics) out of 12 transgenic mice which were obtained independently had motor ataxic symptoms. All transgenic offspring of the symptomatic founders showed the same symptoms as their transgenic parents. Morphological examination demonstrated perivascular lymphocyte accumulation in the cerebellar meninx which was followed by increased cell infiltration of neutrophils and monocytes in the destructive cerebellum of all transgenic mice. These findings suggest that the lymphocyte infiltration in the cerebellum is caused by the specific effect of the exogenously introduced human IL-2 gene.

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Host-Specific Effects of Toxin from the Rough Lemon Pathotype of Alternaria alternata on Mitochondria.

Host-specific toxin from the rough lemon (Citrus jambhiri Lush) pathotype of Alternaria alternata (ACR toxin) was tested for effects on mitochondria isolated from several citrus species. The toxin caused uncoupling of oxidative phosphorylation and changes in membrane potential in mitochondria from leaves of the susceptible host (rough lemon); the effects differed from those of carbonylcyanide-m-chlorophenylhydrazone, a typical protonophore. ACR toxin also inhibited malate oxidation, apparently because of lack of NAD(+) in the matrix. In contrast, the toxin had no effect on mitochondria from citrus species (Dancy tangerine and Emperor mandarin [Citrus reticulata Blanco], and grapefruit [Citrus paradisi Macf.]) that are not hosts of the fungus. The effects of the toxin on mitochondria from rough lemon are similar to the effects of a host-specific toxin from Helminthosporium maydis (HMT) on mitochondria from T-cytoplasm maize. Both ACR and HMT toxins are highly selective for the respective host plants. HMT toxin and methomyl had no effect (toxic or protective) on the activity of ACR toxin against mitochondria from rough lemon.

Journal Article↗

Mechanism of membrane phospholipid degradation in ischemic-reperfused rat hearts.

We investigated the mechanism of membrane phospholipid degradation during reperfusion of ischemic myocardium using isolated and perfused rat hearts. Thirty min of myocardial reperfusion after 30 min of normothermic global ischemia resulted in a significant decrease of phosphatidylcholine (PC) content associated with a small but significant increase in lysophosphatidylcholine (LPC) content. Myocardial ischemia for up to 60 min caused no significant loss of any of the major phospholipids. Isotopic incorporation of [14C]arachidonic acid (AA) as well as [3H]-glycerol into PC was significantly attenuated in the ischemic-reperfused heart compared with the normally perfused heart, suggesting that both reacylation and de novo pathways for PC synthesis were inactivated during reperfusion. In the heart prelabeled with [14C]AA, the radiolabeled PC was decreased significantly during reperfusion, associated with a small but significant increase in [14C]AA accumulation. The decreases of PC content and incorporation of [14C]AA into PC, as well as the increases of LPC content and the [14C]AA during reperfusion, were prevented by reperfusion with low Ca2+ (50 microM) buffer or by pretreatment with trifluoperazine (10 microM) or mepacrine (50 microM), but not with verapamil (1 microM). The inhibition of loss of PC was associated with significant diminution of creatine kinase release from the reperfused hearts. The present study indicates that the net loss of membrane phospholipids, especially with respect to PC during reperfusion, may result from 1) inhibition of reacylation of AA, 2) inhibition of de novo synthesis, and 3) stimulation of phospholipase activity. These results are consistent with an influx of Ca2+, although other interpretations are also possible.

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A morphological study on the reproductive organs as a possible cause of developmental abnormalities in diabetic NOD mice.

The reproductive organs in non-obese diabetic (NOD) mice were histopathologically studied, in order to elucidate the relationships between developmental abnormalities, such as diminished rates of implantation and viable embryos, and structural changes in the reproductive organs. NOD mice with (NOD-DM) and without (NOD-N) diabetes mellitus and ICR mice were compared. The severity of histopathological changes in the pancreas and in the liver were used as parameters which indicated the severity of diabetes itself and of the secondary metabolic disorder. NOD-DM mice exhibited uterine weight loss, accumulation of lipids in luminal and glandular epithelium, atrophies of the endometrium and myometrium and a decrease in the number of muscle cell layers. They also showed a high concentration of lipid droplets in ovarian granulosa cells, atretic follicles and atrophy and lack of lipids in ovarian stroma cells. The severity of these structural changes in the reproductive organs corresponded to those of the changes in the pancreas and the liver. The structural alterations in the ovary suggested disorder in oocyte maturation. The structural changes in the uterus appeared to be related to the decrease in the ratios of implantation and of viable embryos at post-implantation stage. The present studies suggest that the impaired structural environment together with the metabolic environment caused the abnormal development seen, for example, in the oocyte maturation, and at the implantation and post-implantation stage of diabetic mice. It also caused alterations in their hormonal environment.

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