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I Furuta

Publications and source records attributed to I Furuta.

At least 37 records · Page 2Linked to original sources
PubMed1999

Telomerase activity correlates with histo-pathological factors in uterine endometrial carcinoma.

Telomerase activity has been implicated in the progression of various human tumors. Our aim was to evaluate telomerase activity and to compare it with histo-pathological factors in uterine endometrial carcinoma, to look for possible correlations. Telomerase activity was measured by dilution analysis using a PCR-based telomeric repeat amplification method and detected in 31 of 35 primary endometrial carcinoma tumor specimens. High telomerase activity, detected after 100-fold dilution of extracts, was identified in 15 specimens. There was no significant correlation between the positive telomerase activity and tumor surgical stage or histo-pathological factors. However, high telomerase activity was significantly correlated with advanced surgical stage and with pelvic lymph node metastasis. Our findings suggest that an increase in telomerase activity may be associated with tumor progression and that its level may have a prognostic value in endometrial carcinoma.

Adult↗
PubMed1999

Occurrence of heavy chain of 7S IgM half-molecule whose NH2-terminal sequence is identical with that of kappa light chain sequence in patients with Waldenstrom macroglobulinemia.

We report a rare case of a half molecule 7S IgM (HM 7SIgM) consisting of a unique mu heavy chain and kappa light chain found in blood and urine samples from a patient with primary Waldenstrom macroglobulinemia. A 64kDa abnormal immunoglobulin was detected in serum and urine by immunoblot method, and purified by a two-dimensional SDS-PAGE after separation from IgG and albumin fractions on gel filtration. NH2-terminal amino acid sequence analysis of the heavy chain revealed that residues 1-20 were identical to those of the NH2-terminal region of kappa light chain derived from the same patient. This sequence was then followed by a sequence that could not be identified by a computer homology search on the protein database. Using polypeptide segments obtained from the unique mu chain by digestion with endopeptidase, we identified a sequence spanning from residue 127 in the variable region of the known mu chain to residue 19 in the known CH1 domain and a sequence spanning from residues 67-82 in the heavy chain variable region class II. From these results, we concluded that the 64 kDa protein was an abnormal half molecule 7S IgM consisting of a kappa light chain and a unique mu heavy chain of 35 kDa polypeptide in which the NH2-terminal 20 amino acids were replaced by 20 amino acids derived from the sequence of kappa light chain in the NH2-terminal region.

Amino Acid Sequence↗
PubMed1999

Correlations of bcl-2 and p53 expression with the clinicopathological features in tongue squamous cell carcinomas.

bcl-2 oncogene prolongs cell survival by inhibition of apoptosis. p53 tumor suppressor gene participates not only in cell proliferation control but also in induction of apoptosis. The expression of both bcl-2 and p53 proteins in 52 primary tongue squamous cell carcinomas (SCCs) was immunohistochemically explored in correlations with clinico-pathological features, patient's prognosis and apoptosis index (AI) of this tumor type. bcl-2 and p53 expression were identified in 26/52 (50%) cases and 31/52 (60%) cases, respectively. The frequency of bcl-2 expression was associated with tumor histologic grade (P = 0.0128) and marginally with mode of tumor invasion (P = 0.0671) but not with lymph nodal involvement. The frequency of p53 expression was associated with mode of tumor invasion (P = 0.0458) and pN status (P = 0.0224) but not with tumor histologic grade. Moreover, the three combined bcl-2/p53 staining patterns of bcl-2-/p53-, bcl-2+/p53- and bcl-2-/p53+, and bcl-2+/p53+ were significantly correlated with tumor histologic grade (P = 0.0299), mode of tumor invasion (P = 0.0022) and pN status (P = 0.0024). In addition, the frequent appearance of bcl-2 protein expression was associated with a decrease in AI (P = 0.0290). Our results suggest that the combined investigation on the two biological markers may have value in assessment of tumor aggressiveness, and that the suppressing mechanism of bcl-2 oncogene in regulation of apoptosis preserves in tongue SCC.

Apoptosis↗
PubMed1999

Evaluation of argyrophilic nucleolar organizer regions in tongue squamous cell carcinomas.

Using a silver staining technique, argyrophilic nucleolar organizer regions (AgNORs) were studied on the biopsy specimens taken from 67 tongue squamous cell carcinomas (SCCs), and the relations of the results of AgNORs to the clinicopathological findings, to the labelling indices of proliferating cell nuclear antigen (PCNA LI), and to the outcomes of the disease were investigated. The mean numbers of AgNORs per cell were 1.67 +/- 0.19 (n = 27) in the control squamous epithelia and 3.58 +/- 1.15 (n = 67) in the tongue SCCs, respectively, and a significant difference was found between the two groups (P < 0.0001). Concerning the clinicopathological findings, the mean numbers of AgNORs in the progressive cases (T3, T4), in the factor N-positive groups (N1, N2), and in the advanced stages (stages III, IV) were statistically higher than those in T1, T2, N0, and earlier stage (stages I, II) tumours, respectively. Similarly, a higher value of the AgNOR count was present in the histological grade III or diffuse invasive tumour. There was also a directly significant correlation between the AgNOR counts and the labelling indices of PCNA (r = 0.53, P < 0.0001). Concerning the outcome of the disease, the mean numbers of AgNORs were higher in the group with local recurrence or with lymph-node metastasis. A lower rate of 5 years' survival was found in the high value group (63.5%) of AgNORs compared with that of the low value group (86.0%), with a significant difference between the two groups (P < 0.05). The results suggest that AgNORs may reflect the degree of malignancy and cellular proliferation in tongue SCCs.

Adult↗
PubMed1999

Fetal treatment of congenital heart block ascribed to anti-SSA antibody: case reports with observation of cardiohemodynamics and review of the literature.

PROBLEM: Maternal anti-SSA(B) antibody crosses the placenta and causes fetal myocarditis, congenital heart block (CHB), hydrops fetalis, and intrauterine fetal death. The aim of this study was to evaluate corticosteroids' efficacy as a treatment for CHB. METHOD OF STUDY: One fetus with complete CHB and one fetus with incomplete CHB due to anti-SSA(B) antibody received maternal prednisolone (PSL) and dexamethasone (DEXA) treatments. Heart rate, cardiothoracic ratio (CTR), left ventricular fractional shortening (FS), and preload index (PLI) were longitudinally measured by serial fetal echocardiograms. RESULTS: In the former case, after maternal PSL/DEXA administration, improvement of cardiohemodynamics, i.e., the reduction of PLI from 1.7 to 0.4, CTR from 70 to 52%, and FS from 63 to 54% were observed. In the latter case, second degree 2:1 block was converted to 3:2 block/sinus rhythm, resulting in the increase of the fetal heart rate from 65 to 116 beats per minute (bpm). CONCLUSIONS: We disclosed for the first time the beneficial effects of corticosteroids in the fetal cardiohemodynamics and conduction system of affected fetuses with the presence of maternal anti-SSA(B) antibodies.

Adult↗
PubMed1999

A sensitive, nonradioactive method for the detection of a low level of apoptosis in rat ovary and human placenta. Technical note.

Apoptosis is often characterized by internucleosomal DNA fragmentation, which is classically visualized in standard agarose gel electrophoresis. However, this technique is not sufficiently sensitive for the detection of a modest apoptotic level in intact tissues. We developed a sensitive, nonradioactive method for the qualitative and quantitative analyses of apoptotic DNA fragmentation in intact tissues. An ultrasensitive chemiluminescent substrate, CDP-Star, was used for the visualization of digoxigenin (DIG)-labeled DNA fragments, and banding patterns were densitometrically quantified. Serially diluted DNA samples from rat ovaries were labeled with DIG. As a result, only 1.56 ng of DNA could be analyzed for the presence of apoptotic DNA cleavage. The sum intensity of these bands increased almost linearly by increasing the amount of labeled DNA. In human placental tissues, clear apoptotic DNA ladders were visualized by this method, and the quantification of apoptotic DNA fragmentation was also possible. This new method provides a nonradioactive, highly sensitive and semiquantitative analysis of apoptotic DNA fragmentation and may be highly useful for the study of a low, physiological level of apoptosis.

Animals↗
PubMed1999

[A trial of rapid assay of identification and susceptibility test of bacteria detected from blood culture by using VITEK AMS].

For rapid identification and susceptibility test of bacteria detected from bottles of blood culture, we tried a direct method that adjusted bacterial fluid by one time centrifugalization. Identification and susceptibility test were done using VITEK AMS. A result of having compared direct method with a standard method inspected from a colony of medium, an agreement rate was 82.1% of gram negative bacilli, 64.0% of gram positive cocci, 100% of yeast in identification test. In the same way, an agreement rate was 98.0% of gram negative bacilli, 97.2% of gram positive cocci in susceptibility test. The appearance rate of very major error was 0. 7% in gram negative bacilli, and 2.8% in gram positive cocci. As for this method, operation is simple, but it is necessary for confirmed examination in a kind of bacteria. But agreement rate with a standard method is high, direct method is useful to select an appropriate antibiotic until reporting of the last test result of bacteria.

Bacteria↗
PubMed1999

Induction of apoptosis by the p53-273L (Arg --> Leu) mutant in HSC3 cells without transactivation of p21Waf1/Cip1/Sdi1 and bax.

Codon 273 is one of the hot spots of missense mutation of the p53 tumor suppressor gene found in human cancers. We have previously reported that a mutation at codon 273, p53-273L (Arg --> Leu), suppresses cell growth despite its having no p53-specific transactivation activity. To further elucidate the mechanism of growth suppression caused by p53-273L, we used squamous cell carcinoma cell line HSC3 to isolate subclones containing Zn2+-inducible wild-type (wt) p53, p53-175H, and p53-273L. Northern blot hybridization of the HSC3 cells possessing an inducible function of p53 as well as a luciferase assay for the p21Waf1/Cip1/Sdi1 promoter showed that only wt p53 could induce p21Waf1/Cip1/Sdi1 transcription. Meanwhile, the expression of bax remained unchanged between, before, and after the induction of any analyzed p53s. When wt p53 was induced in HSC3 cells cultured in medium containing 5% fetal bovine serum, cell growth was suppressed through G1 arrest. On the other hand, in medium with 0.1% fetal bovine serum, the growth of HSC3 cells expressing p53-273L was suppressed to a greater degree than that of cells expressing wt p53. Flow cytometric analysis and DNA ladder formation revealed that, unlike wt p53-SN3- and p53-175H-expressing HSC3 cells, p53-273L-expressing cells contained a larger sub-G1 fraction under this culture condition. These findings suggest that p53-273L can induce apoptosis in HSC3 cells without transactivation of p21Waf1/Cip1/Sdi1 and bax.

Amino Acid Substitution↗
PubMed1999

[A case of glomangioma of the stomach].

Glomus tumor of the stomach is still a rare disease. In Japan, till now, only 78 cases have been reported as far as we look over the literatures. We report a case of glomangioma of the stomach. The patient is a 44-years old female who underwent a medical examination and pointed out a gastric submucosal tumor, but she had no symptoms and admitted for operation. The endoscopical finding was a submucosal tumor as large as 4 cm, and the result of biopsy was chronic atrophic gastritis. So typical gastrectomy was performed without a definite diagnosis. In the cross section, the tumor was clearly bounded gastric mucosa by a white membrane, and the center of the tumor was spongy. By patho-histological and electro-microscopic study, we diagnosed that the tumor was glomangioma in the classification of Weiss & Enzinger. The patient was getting on well after the operation and left the hospital on the 29th day.

Adult↗
PubMed1999

[Widal test].

Explore the source record for details and available documents.

Agglutination Tests↗
PubMed1998

Studies on Methicillin-Resistant Staphylococcus aureus Bacteremia Due to Laboratory Medical Analysis.

We encountered 64 patients with methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) bacteremia between April 1993 and March 1994. Mean patient age was 54 years. There were 46 males and 18 females. Underlying diseases mainly consisted of traffic accident (10 patients), valvular heart disease (5 patients), chronic renal failure (5 patients), leukemia (5 patients), pneumonia (3 patients), and malignant lymphoma (3 patients). The common clinical laboratory findings of MRSA bacteremia included decreses in total protein, albumin and hemoglobin as well as increases in white blood cells (neutrophils) and C reactive protein. In particular, an increase in C reactive protein by 10 mg/dl or more may be useful for diagnosing bacteremia. Laboratory findings were compared between surviving and non-surviving patients. There were significant differences in albumin, cholesterol, bilirubin, creatinine, and CRP. In 18 patients (28.1%), bacteremia was caused by infection due to contamination of central venous catheters. Since medical treatment with intra-vascular devices may cause bacteremia, sufficient caution is needed.

Journal Article↗
PubMed1998

Gestational transient hyperthyroxinaemia (GTH): screening for thyroid function in 23,163 pregnant women using dried blood spots.

OBJECTIVE: Transient elevation of serum free T4 (gestational transient hyperthyroxinaemia; GTH) occurs occasionally during normal pregnancy, especially in early gestation. However, the frequency of GTH and its clinical features remain unclear to date. The aim of this study was to determine the occurrence rate of GTH and the relation between serum levels of hCG, free T4 (fT4), and TSH in a large number of pregnant women. DESIGN: The four criteria of GTH were as follows: (1) no past history of thyroid disease, (2) negative tests for MCHA and TGHA, (3) no multiple pregnancies or trophoblastic disease and (4) transient hyperthyroxinaemia at less than 16 weeks of gestation. Thyroid function and hCG levels in 23,163 pregnant women were evaluated by mass sreening. If individual fT4 levels were more than the upper limit, blood re-sampling and the clinical and laboratory analysis of thyroid function were performed to exclude women with thyroid disease. The concentrations of hCG, fT4, and TSH in women with GTH and normal pregnant controls (n = 218) were compared. Regression analysis was performed for the comparison between hCG, fT4, and TSH levels in women with GTH. MEASUREMENTS: Blood samples were obtained using dried blood spots. Blood levels of fT4 was measured by radioimmunoassay, TSH and hCG were measured by fluoroimmunoassay. Anti-microsome antibody (MCHA) and anti-thyroglobulin antibody (TGHA) were measured by indirect agglutination reaction. RESULTS: GTH was observed in 66 of 23,163 women. The overall occurrence rate of GTH was 0.285%. In 22 of the 66 GTH women, serum TSH was undetectable. Using regression analyses, the concentration of fT4 was correlated with hCG levels in women with GTH (P < 0.05, r = 0.269), whereas the concentration of TSH was not correlated with hCG or fT4 level. The concentrations (M +/- SD) of fT4, TSH, and hCG in women with GTH were 42.5 +/- 12.3 pmol/l, 0.20 +/- 0.31 mU/l and 190.2 +/- 98.8 x 10(3) IU/l, whereas those of controls were 14.6 +/- 3.8 pmol/l, 1.43 +/- 1.25 mU/l and 60.1 +/- 45.1 x 10(3) IU/l. The concentrations of fT4 and hCG were significantly (P < 0.0001) higher than those of normal controls, and TSH was significantly (P < 0.0001) lower than those of normal controls. CONCLUSION: The occurrence rate of gestational transient hyperthyroxinaemia was 0.285%, and could possibly be attributed to increased levels of circulating hCG. Based on the data obtained from a large number of pregnant women, we propose gestational transient hyperthyroxinaemia as a definite clinical entity.

Blood Specimen Collection↗
PubMed1998

Hematopoietic cytokine levels and in vitro colony formation assay in fetal anemia.

Fetal anemia causes hydrops fetalis and fetal ascites/hydrothorax, and in severe cases the prognosis is poor. Little other than alloimmunity and viral infections are known as mechanisms causing fetal anemia. The aim of this study was to elucidate any pathogenesis in fetal anemia due to otherwise idiopathic etiology. The levels of three hematopoietic cytokines, IL-3, erythropoietin (EPO), and granulocyte colony-stimulating factor (G-CSF) were measured in blood samples obtained by cordocentesis from six fetuses with anemia (Hb <10.0 g/dl) and 34 fetuses without anemia. Cordocentesis was performed prior to the onset of labor or uterine contractions in all pregnant women. The concentration of IL-3 in fetuses with anemia [M+/-(SD), 8.3 (10.1) pg/ml] was significantly lower than that in fetuses without anemia [59.9 (71.0) pg/ml]. EPO and G-CSF levels were not different between the two groups. In addition, through in vitro colony formation assay, using blood stem cells from two fetuses with severe anemia and three fetuses without anemia, it was found that colony forming unit-erythroid, burst forming unit-erythroid and granulocyte macrophage-colony forming unit were significantly suppressed in blood stem cells from the two fetuses with severe anemia. Thus, the malfunction of differentiation and proliferation of blood stem cells and the decrease of hematopoietic cytokine levels in the fetal circulation may be responsible for the occurrence of fetal anemia.

Colony-Forming Units Assay↗
PubMed1998

In vitro production of progesterone and estradiol by rat granulosa cells regulated by cabergoline and prolactin.

Cabergoline (CG), a dopamine agonist, and prolactin (PRL) added in vitro to isolated granulosa cells from immature rats cultured in serum-free medium inhibited FSH-stimulated production of progesterone. The lowest effective concentrations of CG and PRL were 10(-8)M and 1 ng/mL, respectively. In combination, the inhibitory activities were additive. CG at 10(-8) M also suppressed estradiol production by isolated rat granulosa cells; whereas PRL did not. In conclusion, CG inhibits FSH-stimulated progesterone and estradiol production by rat granulosa cells.

Animals↗
PubMed1998

[Antifungal susceptibility of clinically isolated Candida albicans by broth microdilution method].

In this study we investigated the antifungal susceptibility of 285 strains of Candida albicans isolates at Kinki University Hospital from March 1995 to December 1996. The antifungal agents tested were fluconazole, miconazole, intraconazole, amphotericin B and flucytosine. The susceptibility testing were performed according to the broth microdilution method standardized by National Committee for Clinical Laboratory Standards (M27-T). Most isolates of C. albicans showed relatively a low MIC value and the MIC90S were calculated at 1 microgram/ml; fluconazole, 0.125 microgram/mg; miconazole, 0.06 microgram/ml; itraconazole, 1 microgram/ml; amphotericin B, 0.25 microgram/ml; flucytosine. There was only one strain that showed high resistance against fluconazole and it showed cross-resistance against miconazole and itraconazole. There were two flucytosine resistant strains. The MICs of amphotericin B were tightly clustered and resistant strain were not observed.

Amphotericin B↗
PubMed1998

Low in vitro thyrotropic activity of a human chorionic gonadotropin molecule in the first trimester during pregnancy.

Rat thyroid cell strain FRTL-5 is widely used to analyze thyroid stimulators, and responds to purified hCG with increased cyclic AMP production. The aim of this study was to determine the in vitro thyrotropic activity of an immunological hCG molecule according to gestational age during normal pregnancy using the FRTL-5 cell culture system. Sera were collected from 7 normal nonpregnant control and a total of 72 normal pregnant women. Seventy-two pregnant women consisted of 40 women in the first trimester (7-14 weeks' gestational age (GW) (group I)), 16 women in the second trimester (15-28 GW, group II), and 16 women in the third trimester (29-40 GW, group III). Concentrations of serum hCG and FT4 of group I were higher than those of groups II and III (p < 0.001). In the in vitro assay, the supernatants were subjected to radioimmunoassay for cAMP. In order to analyze in vitro thyrotropic activity of an immunological hCG molecule, cAMP accumulation rate expressed as cAMP accumulation (nM) divided by maternal serum concentration of hCG (IU/ml) was determined in all three groups. By regression analyses, a statistically significant positive correlation was observed between serum hCG concentration and cAMP accumulation in group I (r = 0.399; p < 0.05), group II (r = 0.915; p < 0.0001) and group III (r = 0.671; p < 0.01). cAMP accumulation rate in group I (0.355 +/- 0.022, mean +/- SE) was significantly low when compared with group II (0.508 +/- 0.051) (p < 0.01) and group III (0.556 +/- 0.063) (p < 0.001). Thus, it was found for the first time that the in vitro thyrotropic activity of an immunological hCG molecule in the first trimester was lower than those of the second and the third trimesters. In terms of the in vitro thyrotropic activity, an immunological hCG molecule in the first trimester differs from that of the later trimesters.

Animals↗