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Biomedical subjects

H Watanabe

Publications and source records attributed to H Watanabe.

At least 217 records · Page 12Linked to original sources
PubMed2001

The severity of hyperdynamic circulation may predict the effects of direct hemoperfusion with the adsorbent column using polymyxin B-immobilized fiber in patients with gram-negative septic shock.

It has been reported that direct hemoperfusion with the adsorbent column using polymyxin B-immobilized fiber (DHP with PMX-F column) ameliorates hyperdynamic circulation in septic shock and improves survival rate. However, the clinical characteristics of patients with an improvement of septic shock after DHP with PMX-F column have not been evaluated. To clarify this issue, the clinical profiles of 46 patients who were suggested to have gram-negative septic shock and treated using DHP with PMX-F column were analyzed retrospectively. Of 46 patients, 31 were diagnosed with gram-negative septic shock (G group). Mean arterial pressure (MAP) just before DHP with PMX-F column was not different between the G and the non-G group. As compared with the non-G group, the G group had a higher cardiac index (CI) and a lower systemic vascular resistance (SVR). Significant increases in MAP and SVR with a significant decrease in CI were observed after DHP with PMX-F column in the G group. In the non-G group, MAP was significantly increased after the DHP therapy, but systemic hemodynamics were unchanged. Patients in the G group who fulfilled the following criteria were considered as the effective group: MAP was elevated more than 10 mm Hg or 125% of the basal MAP and/or the dose of vasopressors was reduced after DHP with PMX-F column. Twenty-one patients (67.8%) were in the effective group. In comparison with the effective group, the noneffective group was characterized by a significant increase in CI before DHP with PMX-F column. All patients with a CI less than 6 L/min/m2 were in the effective group. These data suggest that DHP with PMX-F column was useful for patients with gram-negative septic shock who did not have severe hyperdynamic circulation.

Adult↗
PubMed2001

Glomerulocystic kidney associated with subacute necrotizing-encephalomyelopathy.

A 22-year-old man with subacute necrotizing-encephalomyelopathy (SNE; Leigh's disease) was diagnosed as having progressive renal dysfunction. The clinical diagnosis of Leigh's disease was obtained by the typical central nervous lesions, abnormalities in other organs, and increased lactate concentrations in blood and cerebrospinal fluid. We performed an open biopsy of the right kidney. Light microscopic studies of the renal specimen showed diffuse glomerulocystic kidney (GCK) with tubulointerstitial damage. Electron microscopic examination showed marked swelling and increase in the number of mitochondria of the renal tubular epithelial cells. Therefore, it is suggested that mitochondrial disease seems to play an important role in developing GCK.

Adult↗
PubMed2001

The natural history of disappearing bone tumours and tumour-like conditions.

We describe 27 cases of bone tumours or tumour-like lesions where there was spontaneous regression. The follow-up period was 2.8-16.7 years (average, 7.0 years). Fourteen of these cases were no longer visible on plain radiographs. Histological diagnosis included exostosis, eosinophilic granuloma, fibrous dysplasia, fibrous cortical defect, non-ossifying fibroma, osteoid osteoma and bone island. Most cases began to reduce in adolescence or earlier, although sclerotic type lesions showed their regression in older patients. All lesions thought to be eosinophilic granuloma began to regress after periods of less than 3 months, while the duration of the other lesions showed wide variation (1-74 months). As resolution of the lesions took between 2 and 79 months (mean, 25.0 +/- 20.3 months) we consider that the most likely mechanism was recovery of normal skeletal growth control. In exostosis with fracture, alteration of vascular supply may contribute to growth arrest, but not to subsequent remodelling stage. In inflammatory-related lesions such as eosinophilic granuloma, cessation of inflammation may be the mechanism of growth arrest, whilst temporary inflammation may stimulate osteogenic cells engaged in remodeling. In the sclerotic type, growth arrest is a less probable mechanism. Necrosis within the tumour and/or local changes in hormonal control, plus remodelling of the sclerotic area takes longer. Knowledge of the potential for spontaneous resolution may help in management of these tumour and tumour-like lesions of bone.

Adolescent↗
PubMed2001

Autocrine motility factor enhances hepatoma cell invasion across the basement membrane through activation of beta1 integrins.

Autocrine motility factor/phosphohexose isomerase (AMF/PHI) is a cytokine that is linked to tumor invasion and metastasis. In hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) tissues, hepatoma cells produce AMF/PHI and its receptor, Mr 78,000 glycoprotein (gp78), is strongly detected in hepatoma cells invading into the stroma and tumor thrombi in the portal vein. Here, we investigated the mechanism of hepatoma cell invasion through Matrigel induced by AMF/PHI using 3 hepatoma cell lines. Production of AMF/PHI, phosphorylation of MEK1/2, and Rho activity were investigated by immunoblotting. Expression of AMF/PHI and gp78 was observed by confocal fluorescence microscopy. The influence of AMF/PHI on activated integrin beta1 subunit expression was evaluated by flow cytometry. Changes in invasion, adhesion, and motility induced by AMF/PHI were evaluated using chemoinvasion, adhesion, and phagokinetic track motility assays. The effect of AMF/PHI on matrix metalloproteinase (MMP) secretion was evaluated by gelatin zymography. Hepatoma cells produced AMF/PHI and expressed gp78. Although AMF/PHI was ubiquitously detected, gp78 was strongly expressed in migrating cells. AMF/PHI induced up-regulation of activated integrin beta1 subunit expression. AMF/PHI stimulated hepatoma cell invasion through Matrigel, and stimulated the adhesion, motility, and MMP-2 secretion of hepatoma cells. The latter effects were suppressed by the function-blocking antibody for integrin beta1 subunit. AMF/PHI also enhanced Rho activity and the phosphorylation of MEK1 and MEK 2. Our results indicate that AMF/PHI enhances hepatoma cell invasion through Matrigel in an autocrine manner by stimulating the adhesion, motility, and MMP-2 secretion of these cells through activation of beta1 integrins.

Basement Membrane↗
PubMed2001

Geographic distribution of hepatitis B virus (HBV) genotype in patients with chronic HBV infection in Japan.

The geographic distribution of hepatitis B virus (HBV) genotypes in Japan and its clinical relevance are poorly understood. We studied 731 Japanese patients with chronic HBV infection. HBV genotype was determined by the restriction fragment length polymorphism (RFLP) method after polymerase chain reaction (PCR). Of the 720 patients with positive PCR, 12 (1.7%) were HBV genotype A, 88 (12.2%) were genotype B, 610 (84.7%) were genotype C, 3 (0.4%) were genotype D, and 7 (1.0%) were of mixed genotype. Over 94% of patients on the Japanese mainland had genotype C, while 60% of the patients on Okinawa, the most southern islands, and 22.9% in the Tohoku area, the northern part of the mainland, harbored genotype B. Compared with genotype C patients, genotype B patients were older (53.6 to 42.2 years; P <.01), had a lower rate of positive hepatitis B e antigen (HBeAg) (18.4% to 50.6%; P <.01), and a lower level of serum HBV DNA (5.02 to 5.87 log genome equivalents (LGE)/mL; P <.01). The mean age of the genotype B patients with hepatocellular carcinoma was 70.1 +/- 9.2 years, compared with 55.2 +/- 9.7 of genotype C patients (P <.01). These results indicate that genotypes C and B are predominant in Japan, and there are significant differences in geographic distribution and clinical characteristics among the patients with the different genotypes.

Adult↗
PubMed2001

Emergence and spread of low-level mupirocin resistance in methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus isolated from a community hospital in Japan.

The objective of this study was to investigate the state of mupirocin resistance in methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) in a community hospital in Japan. Ninety strains of MRSA were isolated from the respiratory tract of 56 patients (group I, Jun 1990-Aug 1996) before introduction of mupirocin in Japan, which were compared with 168 strains from 48 patients (group II, Sept 1996-Jan 1998) and 146 strains from 85 patients (group III, Feb 1999-Dec 1999) isolated after introduction of mupirocin. Comparisons were made by determining the minimum inhibitory concentrations (MIC) against nine antibiotics. Fifty-five MRSA isolates from 27 patients [13 (27.1%) of 48 in group II and 14 (16.5%) of 85 in group III] after introduction of mupirocin showed low-level resistance to mupirocin (MIC, 6.25 to 50 microg/ml) but the remaining isolates were sensitive to mupirocin (MIC < or =3.13 microg/ml). Most patients colonized with low-level mupirocin-resistant MRSA were elderly (> or =65 years of age), on total parenteral nutrition or nasal feeding and had other underlying diseases. The proportion of patients colonized with low-level mupirocin-resistant MRSA following repeated use of mupirocin was higher in patients of group II than those of group III. Molecular typing by pulsed-field gel electrophoresis (PFGE) demonstrated that the pattern of 13 MRSA isolates from 13 patients of group II consisted of three patterns (A, B, C) with predominance of pattern A, while the pattern of 13 MRSA isolates from 13 patients of group III consisted of three patterns (A, C, D) with predominance of patterns A and D. Our results indicated that resistance of MRSA to mupirocin remains at a low level at present in Japan. However, we should be aware of the possible emergence of MRSA highly resistant to mupirocin in the future.

Anti-Bacterial Agents↗
PubMed2001

Nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drug-associated colitis with a histology of collagenous colitis.

Here we report a case of nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drug (NSAID)-associated colitis with a histology of collagenous colitis in a 77-year-old woman. The patient had taken aspirin since 1993 after being diagnosed at another hospital, as having multiple cerebral infarctions. She began to suffer from intermittent diarrhea in April 1999. Serological examination showed hypoproteinemia, which indicated that she had protein-losing enteropathy. By July 1999, she had undergone colonoscopic examination four times. Biopsy specimens taken during the fourth colonoscopy revealed collagenous colitis. As the patient had been taking aspirin for 6 years, she was diagnosed as having NSAID-associated colitis with a histology of collagenous colitis. When she stopped taking aspirin, the diarrhea ceased. Three months later, the patient underwent a fifth colonoscopy. A histological examination of the biopsy specimen revealed that the collagen band had vanished. NSAID-associated colitis sometimes shows collagenous colitis histologically and is cured by withdrawing the drug. It is important to differentiate NSAID-associated colitis, even if it shows a histology of collagenous colitis, from collagenous colitis as the two diseases differ in etiology and therapy.

Aged↗
PubMed2001

Nuclear imaging of bone tumors: FDG-PET.

Positron emission tomography (PET) has become a very useful adjunct to anatomic imaging techniques, because it can provide an in vivo method for quantifying functional metabolism in normal and diseased tissues. Clinical trials with [(18)F] 2-deoxy-2-fluoro-D-glucose (FDG), the most commonly used radiolabeled tracer for PET imaging, has demonstrated increased accumulation of FDG in cancer tissue. FDG-PET is now widely used for the detection, differentiation, grading, staging, and monitoring of various neoplasms. However, the significance of FDG-PET in such evaluations of primary bone tumors and tumor-like lesions has not been extensively elucidated. In this article, we present recent advances in FDG-PET studies for evaluating primary bone tumors and tumor-like lesions.

Bone Neoplasms↗
PubMed2001

Autofluorescence endoscopy: feasibility of detection of GI neoplasms unapparent to white light endoscopy with an evolving technology.

BACKGROUND: Case studies are presented of fluorescence endoscopy in the upper and lower GI tract to illustrate the ability to detect early-stage lesions that were not observable with white light endoscopy or those in which the assessment of the stage or extension of the lesion were equivocal. METHODS: A new fluorescence imaging system was used in which blue light excites the naturally-occurring fluorescence of tissues (autofluorescence). The system produces real-time, false-color images that combine green and red fluorescence intensities. In general, abnormal lesions are seen to have an increase in the red-to-green fluorescence intensity compared with surrounding tissue. This system was evaluated in patients at 4 participating institutions, concurrently with standard white light endoscopy, with or without dye staining. RESULTS: Selected cases are presented in which fluorescence imaging identified specific lesions including focal high-grade dysplasia in Barrett's mucosa, signet ring carcinoma of the stomach, and flat adenoma in the colon. CONCLUSIONS: The capability of autofluorescence endoscopy to detect the presence and extent of occult malignant and premalignant GI lesions has been demonstrated. The future development and evaluation of this technology are discussed.

Adenocarcinoma↗
PubMed2001

Rearrangements of the DNA in carbon ion-induced mutants of Arabidopsis thaliana.

To elucidate the nature of structural alterations in plants, three carbon ion-induced mutations in Arabidopsis thaliana, gl1-3, tt4(C1), and ttg1-21, were analyzed. The gl1-3 mutation was found to be generated by an inversion of a fragment that contained GL1 and Atpk7 loci on chromosome 3. The size of the inverted fragment was a few hundred kilobase pairs. The inversion was found to accompany an insertion of a 107-bp fragment derived from chromosome 2. The tt4(C1) mutation was also found to be due to an inversion. The size of the intervening region between the breakpoints was also estimated to be a few hundred kilobase pairs. In the case of ttg1-21, it was found that a break occurred at the TTG1 locus on chromosome 5, and reciprocal translocation took place between it and chromosome 3. From the sequences flanking the breakpoints, the DNA strand breaks induced by carbon ions were found to be rejoined using, if present, only short homologous sequences. Small deletions were also observed around the breakpoints. These results suggest that the nonhomologous end-joining (NHEJ) pathway operates after plant cells are exposed to ion particles.

Arabidopsis↗
PubMed2001

Phase II evaluation of protracted infusion of cisplatin and 5-fluorouracil in advanced squamous cell carcinoma of the esophagus: a Japan Esophageal Oncology Group (JEOG) Trial (JCOG9407).

BACKGROUND: Surgery for advanced esophageal carcinoma has its limits as regards aggressiveness and therapeutic effect, therefore effective multimodality treatment is required to obtain better survival. The objective of this study was to evaluate whether daily continuous infusion of CDDP could achieve a higher clinical response rate with less toxicity than its drip infusion in the previous phase II study that we had conducted. METHODS: Patients with primary extensive or relapsed esophageal carcinoma after esophagectomy, which had distant organ metastasis and histologically proven SCC, were eligible for this study. A dose of 20 mg/m(2) of cisplatin and 800 mg/m(2) of 5-fluorouracil was given by continuous infusion for 24 h on days 1-5. This treatment was repeated every 4 weeks for up to four cycles. A total of 36 men and six women with a median age of 64 (range 39-75) years were registered and 36 patients were eligible. RESULTS: The overall response rate of the registered patients was 33.3% (12/36) and the median response duration was 175 days. Median survival time was 201.5 days and the 1-year survival rate was 27.8%. Change from bolus to continuous infusion of cisplatin affected neither the type nor the degree of toxicity. CONCLUSION: Daily continuous infusion of cisplatin was not associated with higher response or lower toxicity than those seen with the high-dose bolus or multibolus treatment regimens. We conclude that this regimen in this setting is not worthy of further phase III trials. JEOG is now evaluating other drug combination regimens.

Adult↗
PubMed2001

A phase I/II study of cisplatin and vinorelbine chemotherapy in patients with advanced non-small cell lung cancer.

BACKGROUND: A combination of cisplatin and vinorelbine chemotherapy is effective in cases of advanced non-small cell lung cancer, but the optimum administration schedule for both drugs has not yet been defined. The aim of this study was to determine the maximum dose of vinorelbine that can be tolerated while receiving a fixed dose of cisplatin every 3 weeks and to observe the response in Japanese patients with advanced non-small cell lung cancer who had not previously received chemotherapy. METHODS: Cisplatin was given at a dose of 80 mg/m2 on day 1. Vinorelbine was administered on days 1 and 8 at a starting dose of 25 mg/m2 that was then increased by 5 mg/m2 increments. This treatment was repeated every 3 weeks. RESULTS: Twenty-one patients received a total of 54 chemotherapy cycles consisting of three different vinorelbine dosages. Toxicity and efficacy were evaluated in all of the patients. The main dose-limiting toxicity was neutropenia. Grades 3-4 leukopenia and neutropenia were observed in 57% and 86% of all cycles, respectively. These conditions were reversible and did not result in death from toxicity. The most severe non-hematological toxicity symptom was a grade 3 infection and reaction at the site of injection. The maximum tolerated dose of vinorelbine was 35 mg/m2. The objective response was noted in one of six patients at dose level 1, in four of 12 patients at dose level 2 and in two of three patients at dose level 3. CONCLUSION: The recommended doses were 80 mg/m2 for cisplatin and 30 mg/m2 for vinorelbine. The combination of cisplatin and vinorelbine repeated every 3 weeks is well tolerated and has shown promising anti-tumor activity against non-small cell lung cancer.

Adult↗
PubMed2001

Long-term ingestion of dietary diacylglycerol lowers serum triacylglycerol in type II diabetic patients with hypertriglyceridemia.

We examined the effect of daily consumption of dietary diacylglycerol (DG) oil on serum lipid concentrations in patients with diabetes whose serum triacylglycerol (TG) levels were persistently increased despite continuous nutritional counseling at the outpatient clinic. Patients (n = 16) were divided into DG and control groups (n = 8 each). DG was incorporated (target dose 10 g/d) by substituting DG oil (80 g DG/100 g oil) for the ordinary TG cooking oil used at home for 12 wk. The control group continued consuming ordinary TG cooking oil. Dietary records indicated that there were no differences between groups in total energy intake or percentage of energy from fat. In the DG group, TG intake decreased from 26.8 +/- 9.3 to 15.7 +/- 8.9 g/d, whereas DG intake increased from 0.3 +/- 0.1 to 10.6 +/- 3.9 g/d. No differences between groups were observed in body weight, total fat intake or total oil consumption throughout the study period. In the DG group, serum TG levels decreased 39.4% from 2.51 +/- 0.75 mmol/L to 1.52 +/- 0.28 mmol/L. Serum glycohemoglobin A(1c) (HbA(1c)) concentration also decreased 9.7%. In contrast, there were no changes in these variables in the control group. Serum total and HDL cholesterol were not affected in either group. These results indicate that DG oil may be useful as an adjunct to the standard diet therapy of fat restriction in the management of diabetics with hypertriglyceridemia.

Blood Glucose↗
PubMed2001

A buckwheat protein product suppresses 1,2-dimethylhydrazine-induced colon carcinogenesis in rats by reducing cell proliferation.

This study was conducted to examine the effect of consumption of buckwheat protein product (BWP) on 1,2-dimethylhydrazine (DMH)-induced colon tumor in rats. Male growing Sprague-Dawley rats were fed diets containing either casein or BWP (net protein level, 200 g/kg; n = 20/group) for 124 d. The rats were gavaged weekly with DMH (20 mg/kg body) for the first 8 wk. Food intake and growth were unaffected by dietary manipulation. Dietary BWP caused a 47% reduction in the incidence of colonic adenocarcinoma (P < 0.05), but did not affect the incidence of colonic adenomas. BWP intake tended to reduce the number of colon adenocarcinomas (P = 0.16). Consumption of BWP significantly reduced cell proliferation and expression of c-myc and c-fos proteins in colonic epithelium. The results suggest that dietary BWP has a protective effect against DMH-induced colon carcinogenesis in rats by reducing cell proliferation.

1,2-Dimethylhydrazine↗
PubMed2001

Vitamin B-6-supplemented diets compared with a low vitamin B-6 diet suppress azoxymethane-induced colon tumorigenesis in mice by reducing cell proliferation.

Male ICR mice were examined for the effect of vitamin B-6 [pyridoxine (PN) HCl] on azoxymethane-induced colon tumorigenesis. Mice were fed the diets containing 1, 7, 14 or 35 mg PN HCl/kg for 22 wk, and given a weekly injection of azoxymethane (5 mg/kg body) for the initial 10 wk. Compared with the 1 mg PN HCl/kg diet, 7, 14 and 35 mg PN HCl/kg diets significantly suppressed the incidence and number of colon tumors, colon cell proliferation and expressions of c-myc and c-fos proteins. For some variables, 14 and 35 mg PN HCl/kg diets were more effective than the 7 mg/kg diet. Supplemental vitamin B-6 had no influence on the number of colon apoptotic cells. The results suggest that elevating dietary vitamin B-6 suppresses colon tumorigenesis by reducing cell proliferation.

Animals↗
PubMed2001

Panning of a phage VH library using nitrocellulose membranes: application to selection of a human VH library.

We have established a method for selecting binding phages from a phage immunoglobulin heavy chain variable region (VH) library by panning with nitrocellulose membranes (membrane panning). To evaluate the concentrating ability of membrane panning for binding phages, a phage VH library containing clones that bind to hen egg white lysozyme (HEL) was used for panning against HEL. The efficiency of our method was as high as that of panning with magnetic beads. In addition, we performed membrane panning against target proteins and isolated the binding phages. The human VH genes of these phages were cloned and expressed as VH-bacterial alkaline phosphatase (PhoA) conjugates (VH-PhoA) in Escherichia coli. The dose-dependent binding of VH-PhoA to target proteins was confirmed by dot blotting. When applied to disease-associated antibodies, these methods will likely benefit clinical research. In addition, these techniques may be applicable to systematic analysis in proteome studies.

Alkaline Phosphatase↗
PubMed2001

Codon and base biases after the initiation codon of the open reading frames in the Escherichia coli genome and their influence on the translation efficiency.

Nucleotide sequences around the boundaries of all open reading frames in the Escherichia coli whole genome were analyzed. Characteristic base biases were observed after the initiation codon and before the termination codon. We examined the effect of the base sequence after the initiation codon on the translation efficiency, by introducing mutations after the initiation codon of the E. coli dihydrofolate reductase (DHFR) gene, considering codon and base biases, and using in vitro and in vivo translation systems. In both assay systems, the two most frequent second codons, AAA and AAU, enhanced the translation efficiency compared with the wild type, whereas the effects of lower frequency codons were not significant. Experiments using 16S rRNA variants with mutations in the putative complementary sequence to the region downstream of the initiation codon showed that the translation efficiency of none of the DHFR mutants was affected. These results demonstrate that the statistically most frequent sequences for the second codon enhance translation efficiency, and this effect seems to be independent of base pairing between mRNA and 16S rRNA.

Bacterial Proteins↗