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Haruo Ito

Publications and source records attributed to Haruo Ito.

54 records · Page 3Linked to original sources
PubMed2003

[Detection of Oxalobacter formigenes in human feces and study of related genes in a new oxalate-degrading bacterium].

The first objective of the present study was to examine the presence of Oxalobacter formigenes (an oxalate-degrading bacterium in the human intestine) according to sex in a large number of Japanese. The second objective was to study the presence of three related genes in Bifidobacterium breve, which is considered to be a new oxalate-degrading bacterim. Fecal samples were collected from 55 male and 37 female healthy volunteers. O. formigenes was detected by a polymerase chain reaction (PCR) and a culture-based method. DNA was amplified by the PCR method including the site of important base sequences of each gene in order to detect oxc, frc, and OxlT. O. formigenes was present in 80% of 54 male and 62% of 34 female subjects in the PCR-based assay, while it was present in 62% of 40 male and 50% of 24 female subjects in the culture-based assay. The partial base sequences of the three related genes in B. breve were determined. The RNA polymerase-binding site in promoters and the rho-independent termination sequence were preserved in oxc and frc. In conclusion, the rate of the presence of O. formigenes was the same as in previous reports. Female subjects showed a 15% lower rate than males. B. breve is considered to be an oxalate-degrading bacterium since it was found to have oxalic acid-degrading ability and three genes involved in oxalate degradation.

Adult↗
PubMed2002

Loss of heterozygosity at 7q31.1 and 12p13-12 in advanced prostate cancer.

BACKGROUND: Allelic losses on chromosome arms 2q, 3p, 5q, 6q, 7q, 8p, 9p, 10p, 10q, 11p, 11q, 12p, 13q, 16q, 17p, 17q, 18q, and 21q are reportedly associated with progression and/or initiation of prostate cancer. In the present study, we performed a polymerase chain reaction (PCR) analysis of polymorphic microsatellite loci on the human chromosomes 7 and 12p13-12 in prostate cancer tissue to investigate the extent of involvement of these regions, which may contain putative tumor suppressor genes. METHODS: Tissue samples were obtained at autopsy from 17 men who died of hormone-refractory prostate cancer at Chiba University, Japan, and affiliated hospitals between June of 1992 and June of 1995. DNA from normal tumor or metastatic tissue was used as the template for PCR amplification of a set of 16 polymorphic microsatellite loci on human chromosome 7 and 6 loci on the human chromosome region 12p13-12. RESULTS: The frequencies of cases with loss of heterozygosity (LOH) at 7q31.1 were 8% in primary tumor tissue and 11% in metastatic tissue. The frequencies of cases with LOH at 12p13-12 were 12% in primary tumor tissue and 25% in metastatic tumor tissue. CONCLUSIONS: In the present study, the frequencies of LOH at 7q31.1 were lower than in Western patients, suggesting that LOH in this region is not related to progression of prostate cancer in Japanese patients. The frequency of LOH at 12p13-12 was similar to that reported in Western countries, indicating that 12p13-12 may contain a tumor suppressor gene of prostate cancer.

Autopsy↗
PubMed2002

CAG polymorphic repeat lengths in androgen receptor gene among Japanese prostate cancer patients: potential predictor of prognosis after endocrine therapy.

BACKGROUND: Several investigators have examined the clinical significance of the length of the CAG repeat at the N-terminal region of the androgen receptor in the pathogenesis of prostate cancer. Because the clinical significance of CAG repeat length during the course of prostate cancer in Japanese patients is unknown, the present study analyzed CAG repeat length in relation to several potential clinical factors. MATERIALS AND METHODS: A total of 88 Japanese patients with prostate cancer and a control group of 53 patients with benign prostatic disease were enrolled in this study. The length of the CAG repeat was determined by PCR sequencing and analyzed in relation to several clinical factors. RESULTS: The length of the CAG repeat did not significantly differ between prostate cancer and benign prostatic disease. Although not statistically different with regard to clinical stage and serum PSA level, the CAG repeat length was associated with histological grade and age at diagnosis. In addition, the CAG repeat length in CR and in non CR patients significantly differed at 22.1 +/- 2.4 and 24.4 +/- 3.0, respectively (P = 0.0264), suggesting that the CAG repeat length can act as a molecular marker with which to predict response to endocrine therapy in stage D prostate cancer patients. CONCLUSIONS: A shorter CAG repeat length appears to predict a response to endocrine therapy, showing a positive prognostic value and indicating good prognosis in the metastatic stage of prostate cancer patients.

Aged↗
PubMed2002

Chromogranin a concentration as a serum marker to predict prognosis after endocrine therapy for prostate cancer.

PURPOSE: Chromogranin A is gaining acceptance as a serum marker of neuroendocrine tumors and the concentration is thought to be elevated in relation to neuroendocrine differentiation of prostate cancer. We examined the significance of the chromogranin A level as a serum marker for prostate cancer. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Serum chromogranin A values were determined by monoclonal immunoradiometric assay in 108 patients with prostate cancer before treatment and in 66 with benign prostatic hyperplasia. In those with prostate cancer clinicopathological parameters, the response to endocrine therapy and the prognosis were evaluated in relation to serum chromogranin A. RESULTS: Mean serum chromogranin A plus or minus standard deviation in prostate cancer and benign prostatic hyperplasia cases was 59.4 +/- 52.5 and 59.3 +/- 44.3 ng./ml., respectively (not significant). Poorly differentiated adenocarcinoma was associated with higher chromogranin A than well differentiated disease (p = 0.044). Of the stage D cases with a median prostate specific antigen (PSA) of 172.1 ng./ml. or less those with higher chromogranin A had a poorer prognosis than those with lower chromogranin A. In contrast, in stage D cases with a PSA of greater than 172.1 ng./ml. there was no difference in the prognosis between the higher and lower chromogranin A groups. CONCLUSIONS: Serum chromogranin A tends to be elevated in patients with high grade prostate cancer. When combined with PSA, this marker may effectively predict a poor prognosis after endocrine therapy.

Adenocarcinoma↗
PubMed2002

Distinct patterns of chromosomal losses in clinically synchronous and asynchronous bilateral renal cell carcinoma.

PURPOSE: Bilateral renal cell carcinoma has been reported to occur in 1% to 4% of patients with renal cancer. However, whether bilateral renal cell carcinoma involves metastatic lesions of the contralateral kidney or develops as simultaneous primary tumors remains unclear to date. Thus, we investigated chromosomal losses and von Hippel-Lindau (VHL) gene abnormalities in bilateral tumors from patients with nonfamilial bilateral renal cell carcinoma. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Genomic DNA was exacted from 2 tumors in 8 patients each with nonfamilial bilateral renal cell carcinoma, including clinically asynchronous and synchronous disease in 5 and 3, respectively. The DNA was then subjected to microsatellite analysis on 13 chromosomal loci. In addition, polymerase chain reaction-single nucleotide specific conformation polymorphism analysis and direct sequencing of 3 exons of the VHL gene were performed. RESULTS: All 5 asynchronous cases showed loss of the same allele in bilateral tumors, indicating a common clonal origin. In contrast, 2 of the 3 synchronous cases showed different patterns of chromosomal loss in the right and left renal tumors, suggesting bilateral primary origins. The other synchronous case with loss of the same allele in each tumor involved right stage T3b and left stage T1a neoplasms. No VHL gene mutations were detected in any case. CONCLUSIONS: Except for a small number of cases synchronous and asynchronous bilateral renal cell carcinoma may represent the simultaneous appearance of separate primary tumors and metastatic progression from the contralateral kidney, respectively.

Adult↗
PubMed2002

Clinical characteristics of prostate cancer in elderly Japanese patients 80 years of age or older.

OBJECTIVE: Prostate adenocarcinoma is predominantly a disease of elderly men. This study retrospectively examined prostate adenocarcinoma in Japanese patients 80 years of age or older to determine the natural history and prognosis of this malignancy in the elderly population. METHODS: The medical records of 593 patients were reviewed, with respect to age, histologic grade, clinical and pathological stage, treatment modality and clinical outcome. A variety of possible clinical factors were compared between patient groups > or = 80 and < 80 years old. RESULTS: No significant difference in clinical stage, tumor grade, and performance status (PS) was found between two age groups of patients with prostate cancer. A significant stage migration between pre-PSA era and PSA era was found only in the group < 80 years old. In the series of stage D2 cancer patients, while there was no significant difference in cause-specific and progression-free survival rates between the two groups, the younger group < 80 years old had a better marker response at 3 months from the start of endocrine therapy compared with the older group (P = 0.0048, chi2 analysis). CONCLUSION: These data suggest that patients > or = 80 years with prostate cancer present with similar histologic grade and disease stage as younger patients, although the younger group with stage D2 had a better marker response to endocrine therapy.

Adenocarcinoma↗
PubMed2002

Perivesical abscess caused by migration of a fish bone from the intestinal tract.

A 55-year-old woman was admitted to the Department of Urology at Chiba University Hospital. The patient's chief complaint was frequent urination and micturition pain. Computed tomography of the abdomen demonstrated a mass lesion in contact with the anterior wall of the bladder. Mass extirpation was performed transperitoneally. On dissection of the mass, a thin foreign body shaped like a skewer was detected. A specimen of the mass revealed non-specific inflammation. Elemental analysis with an electron probe microanalyser (EPMA) revealed that the composition of the foreign body was consistent with bone. The perivesical mass was diagnosed as an abscess caused by a fish bone that migrated from the intestinal tract.

Abdominal Abscess↗
PubMed2002

Detection and identification of oxalate-degrading bacteria in human feces.

BACKGROUND: Oxalate is detoxified (catabolized) via the action of two enzymatic proteins, formyl coenzyme A transferase (encoded by the frc gene) and oxalyl coenzyme A decarboxylase (encoded by the oxc gene), contained in the cytosol of Oxalobacter formigenes that colonizes the human intestinal tract. It is speculated that oxalate-degrading bacteria decrease oxalate absorption from the intestines and their absence in the gastrointestinal tract correlates with the formation of calcium-oxalate urolithiasis. METHODS: Two methods of detection and identification of this bacterial strain were studied in human fecal samples collected from Japanese subjects. Genomic DNA was isolated from bacterial culture, and specific 16S rDNA was amplified by polymerase chain reaction (PCR) followed by sequencing. The oxc gene was amplified directly from human feces by PCR using the specific primers. RESULTS: Oxalate-degrading bacteria were identified by comparing the sequences of 16S rDNA. The oxc gene was directly detected from human feces by PCR. It was ascertained that a combined PCR detection method using both 16S rDNA and the oxc gene allows for identification of O. formigenes in human fecal samples. CONCLUSION: This detection and identification method of oxalate-degrading bacteria using 16S rDNA and oxc gene should be applied in examination of clinical samples.

DNA, Bacterial↗
PubMed2002

Expression of thymidine phosphorylase in primary human renal cell carcinoma by ELISA method.

Thymidine phosphorylase (TP) expression in 100 paired samples of renal cell carcinoma (RCC) and normal adjacent tissue was analyzed by an ELISA method. We also investigated whether TP expression correlates with clinicopathological findings and clinical outcomes of these patients. Median TP expression was 9-fold (range, 0.5-56) higher in primary tumor than in non-cancerous renal tissue (P < 0.0001). There was a significant difference with respect to tumor venous invasion. TP expression was significantly higher in patients with such venous invasion than in those without (P = 0.018). However, there was no correlation between TP level and other clinicopathological findings and the survival curves. These results suggest that ELISA is useful for evaluating TP expression of human RCC and may provide a novel approach to therapy for patients with RCC.

Adult↗
PubMed2002

Cystine transport activity of heterozygous rBAT mutants expressed in Xenopus oocytes.

The rBAT gene encodes a transport protein for cystine and dibasic amino acids. It is a candidate gene for type I cystinuria, a genetic disorder inherited as an autosomal-recessive trait. Recently, several mutations in rBAT from Japanese patients with cystinuria have been reported from our laboratory. Some of these patients were heterozygous, which appears to be inconsistent with the previous concept that mutations in rBAT are recessive. To investigate the function of heterozygous mutants, we introduced these mutations into rBAT gene and analyzed the transport activity of cystine associated with the mutants in Xenopus oocytes. Co-injection of the mutant T1037C (L346P) and the polymorphism G1854A (M6181) into Xenopus oocytes produced a transport activity of 67.9% of the wild type. Oocytes co-injected with T2017C (C673R) and wild type had a transport activity of 70.3% of the wild type. These findings indicate that the heterozygous mutants show decreased transport activity compared to wild-type rBAT. Further, some mutants in rBAT may show decreased cystine transport activity even in heterozygous condition, which may contribute to stone-forming cystinuria.

Amino Acid Transport Systems, Basic↗
PubMed2002

Effect of tumor-infiltrating lymphocyte subsets on prognosis and susceptibility to interferon therapy in patients with renal cell carcinoma.

INTRODUCTION: Immunotherapy effectively treats advanced renal cell carcinoma in only a limited number of patients. However, the predicted prognosis for each patient in relation to immune status and response to immunotherapy remains problematic. We analyzed tumor-infiltrating lymphocyte (TIL) subsets to determine whether these correlated with the prognoses for the patients and the response to alpha-interferon therapy. MATERIALS AND METHODS: TIL subsets from resected specimens of 79 patients were analyzed by two-color flow cytometry and then compared with the patients' long-term clinical courses and responses to interferon therapy. RESULTS: In patients with stages III and IV, an increased infiltration of CD4+ cells and decreased CD8+ cells constituted a fair prognostic factor. In 17 patients with metastatic lesions, 8 of 10 patients who had disease progression after interferon therapy showed an increase in CD8+ cells above 25%, whereas 2 responders and 5 patients who had stable disease showed infiltration of CD8+ cells below 25%. CONCLUSIONS: The TIL subset is a prognostic factor for advanced renal cell carcinoma, and its analysis provides a method to predict the susceptibility to interferon therapy.

Adult↗
PubMed2002

Embryonic myosin heavy chain and troponin T isoforms remain in the cremaster muscle of adult rat cryptorchidism induced with flutamide.

We examined the immunolocalization of isoforms of muscle proteins, myosin and troponin, in the cremaster muscle of the undescended testis (cryptorchidism). In cryptorchid rats induced by a nonsteroidal androgen antagonist, flutamide, the cremaster muscle contained embryonic myosin and embryonic/cardiac troponin T in both immunofluorescence microscopy and Western blotting using antibodies against myosin and troponin T specific for embryonic, cardiac and fast skeletal muscles. However, in muscles other than the cremaster muscle, i. e., the masseter, pectoral and abdominal muscles, embryonic isoforms of these proteins were undetectable by immunohistochemistry with these antibodies, even in the muscles from cryptorchid rats. Our results showing that high levels of embryonic isoforms of muscle proteins were specifically present in the cremaster muscle of cryptorchid rats induced by flutamide suggest that flutamide treatment of pregnant rats might affect genes controlling the development of the lumbar region of the fetus body resulting in the presence of embryonic protein isoforms in the cremaster muscles which are closely associated with undescended testes.

Age Factors↗
PubMed2002

Microdeletions in the Y chromosome of patients with idiopathic azoospermia.

AIM: To evaluate the occurrence and prevalence of microdeletions in the gamma chromosome of patients with azoospermia. METHODS: DNA from 29 men with idiopathic azoospermia was screened by polymerase chain reaction (PCR) analysis with a set of gamma chromosome specific sequence-tagged sites (STSs) to determine microdeletions in the gamma chromosome. RESULTS: Deletions in the DAZ (deleted in azoospermia) loci sgamma254 and sgamma255 were found in three patients with idiopathic azoospermia, resulting in an estimated frequency of deletions of 10.7% in idiopathic azoospermia men. CONCLUSION: We conclude that PCR analysis is useful for the diagnosis of microdeletions in the Y chromosome, which is important when deciding the suitability of a patient for assisted reproductive technology such as testicular sperm extracion-intracytoplasmic sperm injection (TESE-ICSI).

Adult↗
PubMed2002

Mechanisms of metastasis suppression by introduction of human chromosome 10 into rat prostate cancer.

AIM: The metastatic ability of a Dunning R-3327 rat prostate cancer subline (AT6.3) was suppressed by the introduction of human chromosome 10, when these hybrid cancer cells were injected subcutaneously into nude mice (Nihei et al., Genes Chromosomes Cancer 14:112-119, 1995). The present study was undertaken to clarify which step of metastasis was suppressed in the human chromosome 10-containing microcell hybrids (AT 6.3-10 clones). METHODS: Gelatin zymography, an in vitro invasion assay using a Boyden chamber and an intravenous metastasis assay involving the injection of hybrid cells into nude mice were performed. RESULTS: Gelatin zymography revealed that AT6.3-10 microcell hybrid clones expressed the 72 kD type IV collagenase (MMP-2) at an almost equal level as control microcell hybrid clones. Both the invasiveness as measured by the invasion assay and the number of lung metastases as measured by the intravenous metastasis assay of AT6.3-10 hybrid clones were significantly less than those of the AT6.3 parental clone. CONCLUSION: The human chromosome 10 suppresses both the local invasion and the metastatic process after entry into the blood circulation of rat prostate cancer. This decrease in local-invasive ability does not seem to require a decrease in MMP-2 activity.

Animals↗
PubMed2002

Suppression of metastasis of rat prostate cancer by introduction of human chromosome 13.

AIM: Chromosome 13 is one of the most frequently altered chromosomes in prostate cancer. The present study was undertaken to examine the role of human chromosome 13 in the progression of prostate cancer. METHODS: Human chromosome 13 was introduced into highly metastatic rat prostate cancer cells via microcell-mediated chromosome transfer. RESULTS: Microcell hybrid clones containing human chromosome 13 showed suppression of metastasis to the lung without any suppression of tumorigenicity, except for one clone, which contained the smallest sized human chromosome 13 and did not show any suppression on lung metastasis. Expression of two known tumor suppressor genes, BRCA2 and RB1, which map to chromosome 13, was examined by reverse transcription- polymerase chain reaction analysis. BRCA2 was expressed only in the metastasis-suppressed microcell-hybrid clones, whereas RB1 was expressed in all clones. CONCLUSION: Human chromosome 13 contains metastasis suppressor gene(s) for prostate cancer derived from rat. Furthermore, the RB1 gene is unlikely to be involved in the suppression of metastasis evident in this system.

Animals↗
PubMed2002

[Recent advances in nephron-sparing surgery for renal cell carcinoma].

Although radical nephrectomy is a "standard" surgery for management of renal cell carcinoma, nephron-sparing surgery has become accepted for selected patients: those with solitary kidney, bilateral renal cell carcinoma or small renal cell carcinoma. Recently laparoscopic surgery has gradually come to include nephron-sparing surgery with minimum invasiveness. Furthermore, new methodologies such as cryoablation and radiowave ablation enable percutaneous management of nephron-sparing surgery. Thus, nephron-sparing surgery is becoming less invasive. However, its efficacy in controlling cancer needs to be discussed further.

Carcinoma, Renal Cell↗