Search PubMed⌕ Search

Biomedical subjects

I Ichikawa

Publications and source records attributed to I Ichikawa.

At least 73 records · Page 4Linked to original sources
PubMed1995

Role of the deletion of polymorphism of the angiotensin converting enzyme gene in the progression and therapeutic responsiveness of IgA nephropathy.

Studies conducted over the last decade demonstrated variable therapeutic efficacy of angiotensin converting enzyme (ACE) inhibitor on the progression of glomerular diseases, including IgA nephropathy. In this study, among patients with biopsy-proven IgA nephropathy, 53 patients in whom creatinine clearance had been monitored over 5 yr were recruited for study. These patients were classified into two groups according to whether or not renal function had declined as determined by the slope of creatinine clearance against time: group 1 had stable renal function; group 2 had declining renal function (average: -6.7 +/- 1.3 ml/min/yr). 21 of 53 patients were treated with ACE inhibitor and followed for 48 wk. Gene polymorphism consisting of insertion (I) or deletion (D) of a 287-bp DNA fragment (presumed to be a silencer element) of the ACE gene was determined by PCR. 46 age-matched individuals without history of proteinuria were analyzed as controls. The DD genotype was significantly more frequent in group 2 (43%) than in controls (7%) or group 1 patients with stable renal function (16%). 48 wk after ACE inhibitor administration, proteinuria significantly decreased in patients with DD genotype but not in those with ID or II genotypes. The results indicate that deletion polymorphism in the ACE gene, particularly the homozygote DD, is a risk factor for progression to chronic renal failure in IgA nephropathy. Moreover, this deletion polymorphism predicts the therapeutic efficacy of ACE inhibition on proteinuria and, potentially, on progressive deterioration of renal function.

Adult↗
PubMed1994

Induction of manganese superoxide dismutase by glucocorticoids in glomerular cells.

Our previous in vivo study demonstrated that methylprednisolone (MP) activates glomerular antioxidant enzymes and attenuates glomerular oxidant injuries, including those in experimental nephrosis. The present study investigates the cellular mechanism of the MP-induced activation of antioxidant enzymes and their contribution to the attenuation of cellular oxidant toxicity. When bovine glomerular endothelial cells (GECs) were treated with 10 microM MP, cellular manganese superoxide dismutase (Mn-SOD, 3.95 +/- 0.33 mu/mg protein, M +/- SE) and catalase (1.64 +/- 0.06 k/mg protein) activities were significantly (P < 0.05) elevated above control GECs (2.23 +/- 0.43 mu/mg protein and 1.06 +/- 0.09 k/mg protein, respectively). When GECs pretreated with MP (10 microM 24 hrs) were exposed to xanthine (0.1 mM)+xanthine oxidase (5 mU/ml) for four hours, levels of specific membrane lipid peroxidation products, that is, phosphatidylcholine- and phosphatidylethanolamine-hydroperoxides, remained at levels 10 to 25% of those measured in non-MP-treated (xanthine/xanthine oxidase-exposed) control cells. Moreover, the degree of cell damage following exposure to the superoxide generating system, assessed by 51Cr release, was significantly attenuated in MP-treated cells (approximately 50% of MP-non-treated controls, N = 6). Thus, MP-treated GECs with elevated antioxidant enzyme activities by MP were more resistant to the toxic effect of reactive oxygen metabolites. The mechanism of antioxidant enzyme induction by MP was studied for Mn-SOD. MP was shown to enhance Mn-SOD mRNA in bovine GECs and rat glomerular mesangial cells (GMCs) in dose-dependent manners.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)

Animals↗
PubMed1994

Oxidants induce transcriptional activation of manganese superoxide dismutase in glomerular cells.

Cultured rat glomerular mesangial and epithelial cells and bovine glomerular endothelial cells were exposed to various concentrations of hydrogen peroxide (H2O2). Mesangial cells treated with 10 to 100 microM H2O2 for 24 hours showed a two- to ninefold increase in Mn-SOD mRNA expression associated with significantly (P < 0.005) increased Mn-SOD activity (22.2 +/- 1.2 and 12.2 +/- 0.7 mu/mg protein for H2O2 100 microM treated and untreated cells, respectively). In contrast, expression of Cu-Zn SOD and beta-actin mRNA was not affected by H2O2. Induction of Mn-SOD mRNA by H2O2 was inhibited by actinomycin-D (4 microM) treatment. Glomerular endothelial cells also showed an increase in Mn-SOD mRNA expression following 100 microM H2O2 treatment, as did glomerular epithelial cells following treatment with 500 and 1000 microM H2O2 but not with 100 microM. Transcriptional activity of the Mn-SOD gene was assessed with a fusion reporter gene consisting of a luciferase gene (pGL2P) and a 1.2 kb fragment from the rat Mn-SOD genomic DNA (-806 to +408 bp of the transcription initiation site, -806:+408). The construct was transfected into rat glomerular mesangial and epithelial cells. Mesangial and epithelial cells transfected with pGL2P (-806:+408) and treated with H2O2 (100 microM and 1 mM for mesangial and epithelial cells, respectively) demonstrated some threefold increase in luciferase activity, whereas cells transfected with pGL2P lacking the Mn-SOD fragment did not show changes in luciferase activity following H2O2 treatment.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)

Animals↗
PubMed1994

Angiotensin II type 1 receptor gene abnormality in a patient with Bartter's syndrome.

Administration of a selective angiotensin I type 1 receptor (AT1) antagonist in animals not only nullifies the vasopressor action of angiotensin II, but also induces chloriduria and kaliuria, juxtoglomerular apparatus (JGA) hypertrophy and hyperreninemia, features characteristic of human Bartter's syndrome. We, therefore, explored the possibility that Bartter's syndrome may involve an AT1 abnormality. Using a pair of AT1-specific oligonucleotide primers and two different DNA polymerases (Taq and Pfu), we amplified the approximately 1 kb AT1 coding region of genomic DNA isolated from leukocytes of five patients with Bartter's syndrome by PCR and analyzed the sequence of the product. While the sequence of all clones from four patients were identical to that already reported for the normal human AT1 DNA sequence, 50% of the clones from one patient with Bartter's syndrome were found to have A-->G transition at nucleotide 931 which causes an amino acid substitution (arg-->gly) on the carboxy-terminal cytosolic tail of AT1. This mutation was not found in DNA from 50 normal controls which were screened by restriction enzyme digestion pattern of the PCR products of this region. As PCR-amplified AT1 DNA clones from four other individuals with Bartter's syndrome did not display any abnormality in the coding region, the possibility exists that Bartter's syndrome consists of multiple disease entities, where an AT1 gene abnormality represents a specific subgroup of the syndrome and/or some abnormality includes mutations outside of the coding region.

Animals↗
PubMed1994

Angiotensin converting enzyme inhibitor modulates glomerular function and structure by distinct mechanisms.

Rats with puromycin aminonucleoside (PAN) nephrosis were given either angiotensin I converting enzyme inhibitor (ACEI), angiotensin II type 1 receptor antagonist (Ang IIRA), or no treatment for four weeks and were then monitored for an additional 12 weeks. In untreated PAN rats, proteinuria reached a maximum at two weeks (271 +/- 38 mg/day). Proteinuria in this early phase was markedly attenuated by ACEI (96 +/- 35 mg/day, P < 0.01), but unaffected by Ang IIRA (306 +/- 34 mg/day). Acute administration of a bradykinin antagonist substantially dampened the antiproteinuric effect of ACEI in PAN rats, resulting in an average increase in proteinuria of 41 +/- 14% in ACEI-treated rats (P < 0.05, ACEI vs. ACEI+bradykinin antagonist). Acute phase therapy for four weeks with ACEI or Ang IIRA did not attenuate subsequent glomerulosclerosis. Separate groups of PAN rats with similar degree of glomerulosclerosis, assessed at 16 weeks after PAN by renal biopsy, were then treated as follows: ACEI [50 mg/liter drinking water (DW), or 200 mg/liter DW], Ang IIRA (20 mg/liter DW, or 80 mg/liter DW) or no treatment, starting after renal biopsy. Whereas glomerulosclerosis increased from biopsy to autopsy at 28 weeks with emergence of low grade proteinuria in untreated PAN rats, proteinuria was absent and glomerulosclerosis was ameliorated or reversed in ACEI and Ang IIRA groups. The results indicate that the early phase proteinuria of PAN nephropathy is independent of Ang II, and that the antiproteinuric effect of ACEI is, at least in part, channeled through activation of bradykinin, whereas the subsequent progression of glomerulosclerosis is caused by a mechanism involving endogenous Ang II actions.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)

Angiotensin Receptor Antagonists↗
PubMed1994

Alterations in renal function in experimental congestive heart failure.

The delicate interplay between vasoconstrictors and vasodilators preserves glomerular filtration in CHF despite marked hypoperfusion. Activation of vasoconstrictive systems seems to depend on the severity and the chronicity of the disease. The importance of renin-angiotensin, sympathetic nerves, vasopressin and counterregulatory ANP, and prostaglandins in CHF has been elucidated. Possible roles of newly identified substances, such as endothelin and EDRF, deserve investigation.

Animals↗
PubMed1994

The molecular basis of increased glomerulosclerosis after blockade of the renin angiotensin system in growth hormone transgenic mice.

BACKGROUND: Angiotensin converting enzyme inhibitor (ACEi) therapy delays the onset of renal failure in diabetic nephropathy and inhibits or delays the onset of proteinuria in several animal models. MATERIALS AND METHODS: We examined this question using a transgenic model of chronic glomerulosclerosis caused by an excess production of growth hormone (GH) in which there is progressive glomerular scarring leading to uremia. In addition, since GH mice do not have systemic hypertension or an elevated glomerular filtration rate, we could address the question of whether ACEi or angiotensin II receptor antagonists (AII RA) had an effect on the development of glomerulosclerosis under these conditions. Since excess matrix accumulates in glomerulosclerosis because of alterations in the balance between its synthesis and degradation, we examined the effect of ACEi and AII RA on these parameters. RESULTS: Systemic blood pressure was unaffected by ACEi treatment, but the glomerular filtration rate decreased 85%. ACEi-treated mice had increased mesangial deposition of type I collagen and decreased 105 kD complex collagenase activity. In addition, ACEi-treated GH mice had increased glomerular alpha 1 type I collagen, alpha 1 type IV collagen, and alpha-smooth muscle cell actin mRNAs. No changes were noted in beta actin, or 72 kD metalloproteinase mRNAs. The result of these changes was a net increase in sclerosis. Surprisingly, GH mice treated with ACEi or AngII RA developed marked renal arteriolar lesions. CONCLUSIONS: In some forms of glomerulosclerosis, the lesions develop independently of angiotensin II. Pharmacological inhibition of angiotensin II, in this circumstance, may aggravate the lesions through disregulation of the levels and the balance between glomerular matrix synthesis and degradation.

Actins↗
PubMed1993

Intrarenal localization of angiotensin II type 1 receptor mRNA in the rat.

We examined intrarenal localization of angiotensin II type 1 receptor (AT1) mRNA in kidneys of normal adult male Munich Wistar rats using the methods of reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) and in situ hybridization. For RT-PCR, we used a rat AT1 subtype A (AT1A)-specific oligonucleotide primer pair. To semi-quantitatively assess the expression level of AT1 mRNA among several regions of kidney, AT1 cDNA was coamplified with beta-actin cDNA. When compared to the level in the adrenal gland (expressed as 100%), the level of AT1 mRNA was markedly higher in glomeruli (273 +/- 69%), followed in intensity by the renal papilla (151 +/- 57%), renal cortex (139 +/- 19%), and renal medulla (114 +/- 35%). In situ hybridization studies, using a 479 bp nucleotide fragment from AT1A-coding exon as a probe, also revealed a glomerular preponderant pattern of AT1 mRNA localization. Thus, within the glomerulus, AT1 mRNA localized in mesangial areas, predominantly at the vascular pole. In the vascular components of the juxtaglomerular apparatus (JGA), namely the terminal portion of the afferent arteriole (that is, immunohistochemically renin-positive site) and extraglomerular mesangial cells, the latter showed AT1 mRNA localization in the non-manipulated kidney, while AT1 mRNA was undetectable in the arteriole outside the JGA. The kidneys of rats treated with an angiotensin I converting enzyme inhibitor (ACEI) showed extension of the AT1 mRNA localization on the afferent arteriole toward the interlobular artery.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)

Angiotensin II↗
PubMed1993

Bradykinin causes selective efferent arteriolar dilation during angiotensin I converting enzyme inhibition.

We studied the effects of interruption of the renin-angiotensin system (RAS) in rats that were volume depleted by water deprivation for 48 hours (AWD) with/without furosemide (AWD + F), a condition known to activate RAS. Following baseline micropuncture, AWD rats (N = 6) were treated with a specific angiotensin II type 1 receptor antagonist (AIIRA; 4 mg/kg body wt bolus i.v. and then continuous infusion) and glomerular hemodynamics compared to those obtained during angiotensin I converting enzyme inhibitor treatment (ACEI; 24 mg/kg bolus i.v. and then continuous infusion). Systemic blood pressure decreased equally following AIIRA and ACEI. Single nephron glomerular filtration rate (SNGFR) increased from baseline following AIIRA (24 nl/min vs. 30, P < 0.025). While a decrease in efferent arteriolar resistance (RE) reduced glomerular capillary pressure (PGC; 67 mm Hg vs. 60, P < 0.05), this change in RE together with decrease in afferent arteriolar resistance (RA), enhanced glomerular plasma flow rate (QA; 80 nl/min vs. 111). Antagonizing angiotensin II receptor increased QA which, together with the tendency to increase glomerular capillary ultrafiltration coefficient, Kf, served to improve glomerular filtration. By contrast, although inhibition of the angiotensin I converting enzyme caused greater vasodilatation, no increase in SNGFR occurred. The lack of response in filtration after ACEI was due to a further fall in PGC to 52 mm Hg (P < 0.01 vs. AIIRA), reflecting profound reduction in RE. Since ACEI but not AIIRA potentiates bradykinin activity we examined effects of a specific bradykinin antagonist (Hoe).(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)

Angiotensin Receptor Antagonists↗
PubMed1993

Volume and agonist-induced regulation of myosin light-chain phosphorylation in glomerular mesangial cells.

We investigated whether cell volume decrease per se can activate intracellular mechanisms leading to mesangial cell contraction. For this purpose, we applied hyperosmotic stress to cultured glomerular mesangial cells and examined the effects on phosphorylation of myosin light chain (MLCP). Compared with control cells, hyperosmotic stress (390 mosmol/kg) attained by either NaCl or raffinose significantly increased MLCP to 140.7 +/- 7.0% (n = 5) and 134.8 +/- 7.7% (n = 4), respectively, in parallel with a decrease in the cell volume. This increase was comparable to that achieved by the following agonists: arginine vasopressin (AVP, 100 nM; n = 5) and endothelin-1 (ET, 10 nM; n = 5). By using two-dimensional tryptic phosphopeptide mapping, contribution of myosin light-chain kinase (MLCK) and protein kinase C (PKC) to the observed phosphorylation was examined by identifying phosphorylation at serine-19 (by MLCK) and at serine-1 or serine-2 (by PKC). Under resting conditions, relative distribution of phosphorylation between MLCK and PKC sites was 60.1 +/- 8.4 and 39.9 +/- 8.4%. The relative contribution by these enzymes remained similar during hyperosmotic stress or agonist stimulation. Since cytosolic Ca2+ concentration ([Ca2+]i) is an important determinant of MLCP, we also examined [Ca2+]i in these settings. While AVP and ET-induced a characteristic transient spike in [Ca2+]i, hyperosmotic stress caused a gradual and modest increase in [Ca2+]i. These studies show that, in mesangial cells, reduction in cell volume induces MLCP through mechanisms distinct from those involved in agonist-induced events.

Animals↗
PubMed1993

Biological significance of atrial natriuretic peptide in the kidney.

In summary, ANP exerts its action in the kidney directly and indirectly. Its qualitative importance in body fluid regulation remains unsettled. It appears that its role is more important in pathophysiological conditions such as CHF in which plasma ANP is elevated. Paradoxically, kidneys in heart failure, nephrosis and diabetes are characterized by diminished responsiveness to exogenous ANP. Further studies are needed to ascertain whether this involves an alteration at the receptor or postreceptor site. The cellular mechanisms for receptor regulation and postreceptor signalling in physiology and pathophysiology need further investigation. Finally, a paracrine mode for the action of ANP and other natriuretic peptides has been proposed. Whether they act locally to facilitate sodium excretion and how much importance they have compared to circulating ANP remain to be clarified. The potential role of ANP as a growth inhibitor is also intriguing.

Atrial Natriuretic Factor↗
PubMed1993

[Short-term memory functioning in schizophrenics--late components (P3) of the event-related potential recorded from schizophrenics during a memory retrieval task].

Event-related potentials were measured in 14 schizophrenic patients and age-matched 14 normal control subjects during a Sternberg's memory-scanning paradigm. The stimuli used were digits presented visually. In this paradigm each set of stimuli was presented for memorization (memory set), while varying the number of items (1, 2, 4) in each set, and following the mask stimulus, a probe item (test stimulus) appeared and was identified by the subject as belonging or not belonging to the memory set. Reaction times (RT) and performance accuracy were computed and ERPs to the test stimuli were recorded for each memory set size and response type. As P3 peaks in some schizophrenic patients were rather ambiguous, instead of using the conventional peak-picking method, P3 latency was determined from single trials using an adaptive correlating filter (ACF) technique, and P3 amplitude was measured from the latency-adjusted averages to reduce the jittering effect. For the behavioral measures, significant difference was not obtained between the groups. Though P3 latency increased and amplitude decreased as a function of memory set size for the normal controls, by contrast, neither latency nor amplitude of P3 was not influenced by memory set size for schizophrenics. Moreover, schizophrenic patients had smaller single trial P3 latency/RT correlations compared to normal controls. Applying the two memory-load dependent processes by Lewine, which are memory strength-evaluation and serial search stage, impaired ability of rehearsing or allocating attentional resource to each item, producing an increase in the strengths of their representations in the working memory, was suggested for schizophrenics. Accordingly, serial search process was hardly undertaken by schizophrenics, at least before response determination.

Adult↗
PubMed1992

Analysis of the evolution of angiotensin II type 1 receptor gene in mammals (mouse, rat, bovine and human).

The nucleotide and amino acid sequences for mouse angiotensin II (AII) type 1A and 1B receptors were deduced from their complementary and genomic DNAs. Evolutionary analyses based on the nucleotide sequences of the coding region of AII type 1 receptor genes indicated that the duplication event of the type 1 gene occurred 24 +/- 2 million years ago before the divergence between the rat and mouse but after the divergence between rodents and the human/artiodactyls couple. This conclusion was consistent with the results of genomic Southern blot analyses, which revealed that the mouse and rat possess 2 similar but separate genes, whereas the bovine and human have only a single class gene.

Amino Acid Sequence↗
PubMed1992

Blood pressure-independent effect of angiotensin inhibition on vascular lesions of chronic renal failure.

Previous studies in experimental models of progressive renal failure have shown that the capacity of antihypertensive drugs to protect glomeruli from sclerosis is often unpredictable from their effect on systemic blood pressure. The present study was undertaken to ascertain whether this systemic blood pressure-independent structure-preserving effect of antihypertensives, particularly angiotensin II converting enzyme inhibitors (ACEI), is confined to the glomerulus or not, as well as whether this effect is mediated via angiotensin II (Ang II). The following experimental drug regimens were used in the rat model of subtotal nephrectomy (sNPX): so-called triple therapy [TRX; a combination of reserpine 5 mg/liter drinking water (DW), hydralazine 80 mg/liter DW and hydrochlorothiazide 25 mg/liter DW], or ACEI (either captopril, CPL, 600 mg/liter DW, enalapril, ENL, 400 mg/liter DW or lisinopril, LSL, 200 mg/liter DW), or a novel Ang II receptor antagonist (Ang IIR, L-158,809, 20 mg/liter DW). These dosages were identified in pilot studies to be the minimum required to control systemic blood pressure in the early phase up to 12 weeks. In addition, a separate group was treated with a higher dose of L-158,809 (80 mg/liter DW) with equipotent systemic pressor effect. Treatment was initiated eight weeks after subtotal nephrectomy following renal biopsy, and animals were sacrificed at 16 weeks. In ACEI treated rats, carotid arterial wall thickening (WT), defined as ratio of media thickening to radius of outer vessel wall, was similar to normal age-matched control (0.073 in all ACEI treated rats, vs. 0.074 in normal control) and significantly less than with TRX (ratio 0.118) or untreated sNPX (0.130). Even more remarkably, coronary arteriole WT in ACEI-treated rats averaged 0.139, a value less than one half and one third of TRX (0.298) and untreated sNPX control (0.388), respectively. Similar results were obtained for mesenteric artery WT. These findings were closely paralleled by changes of glomerular sclerosis. In untreated sNPX control rats, glomerular sclerosis increased from biopsy to autopsy specimens by an average of 458%. Although TRX dampened the degree of increase in sclerosis to on average 212%, this protective effect was far less than that achieved by ACEI. In the latter, sclerosis increased on average only 65% from biopsy to autopsy. Although all ACEIs were more effective than TRX, captopril and lisinopril groups showed greatest benefit at these doses. Ang IIR also protected renal and extrarenal structures with 34% increase of sclerosis index in low dose and WT 0.088, 0.117 and 0.112, respectively in carotid, mesenteric and coronary arteries.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 400 WORDS)

Angiotensin Receptor Antagonists↗
PubMed1992

Dietary fatty acid modulates glomerular atrial natriuretic peptide receptor.

Modification of dietary fatty acid (FA) has been shown to affect the incidence of hypertension and coronary artery disease. We studied whether these effects involve changes in the receptor characteristics of vasoactive substance. Characteristics of atrial natriuretic peptide (ANP) receptors were examined in glomeruli isolated from rats fed a diet containing 5% in weight omega 6, 5% omega 3, 20% omega 6, 20% omega 3 polyunsaturated FA or 20% saturated FA (SFA) for greater than 4 weeks. The FA composition of phospholipids in isolated glomeruli showed an elevation in 20:4 omega 6 (arachidonic acid, AA) in 5% omega 6, 20% omega 6 and 20% SFA, and elevations in 20:5 omega 3 (eicosapentaenoic acid, EPA) in 5% omega 3 and 20% omega 3 groups. The radioligand binding study revealed: (1) in 20% FA group, receptor density (Ro, fmol/mg prot) of ANP was significantly decreased compared to 5% group (262 +/- 13, n = 8 to 120 +/- 13, n = 12) without changes in equilibrium dissociation constant (KD), (2) among high FA (20%) groups, type of FA was essential for determining Ro; higher omega 6 was associated with a lower ANP Ro (177 +/- 11 vs. 103 +/- 3 fmol/mg prot, P less than 0.05) and KD (0.43 +/- .04 vs. 0.27 +/- .02 nM, P less than 0.05). To examine whether the alteration in receptor characteristics is mediated by FA, effects of FA were examined in vitro. In cultured mesangial cells, AA, but not EPA, decreased Ro of ANP receptors (48.7 +/- 4.8% of control, P less than 0.05) without affecting KD.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)

Animals↗
PubMed1991

Evidence for a pathogenic linkage between glomerular hypertrophy and sclerosis.

Primary renal disease of immunologic or nonimmunologic mechanisms induces loss of substantial nephron population. It is presumed that the initial loss of functioning nephrons causes alterations of function and metabolism in remnant nephrons, which per se are self-inflictive, leading to further loss of nephrons. The ultimate outcome of this vicious cycle is the end-stage kidney. The potential role of various pathophysiologic mechanisms has been explored. These studies have shown a tight link between glomerular hypertrophy and sclerosis. Analysis of individual glomeruli show a biphasic pattern of these two parameters. Early development of glomerular sclerosis takes place along with the hypertrophy of the glomerulus, and further advancement of sclerosis occurs with shrinkage in glomerular size. Thus, we propose that, after initial nephron loss, the remnant glomeruli are exposed to increased growth-promoting factors, which are self-inflictive in nature due to their capacity to produce excessive amounts of extracellular matrix in the mesangial area. When the excessive matrix obliterates the glomerular capillary lumen, a typical sclerotic lesion appears. This is a vicious and accelerating process, since sclerosis induces further reduction in the nephron population, thereby imposing greater influence of growth-promoting factors even on glomeruli that are initially resistant.

Aging↗