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Biomedical subjects

I Kato

Publications and source records attributed to I Kato.

At least 325 records · Page 18Linked to original sources
PubMed1993

Alpha-amylase from the hyperthermophilic archaebacterium Pyrococcus furiosus. Cloning and sequencing of the gene and expression in Escherichia coli.

A gene encoding a highly thermostable alpha-amylase from the hyperthermophilic archaebacterium Pyrococcus furiosus was cloned and expressed in Escherichia coli. The nucleotide sequence of the gene predicts a 649-amino acid protein with a calculated molecular mass of 76.3 kDa, which corresponds well with the value obtained from purified enzyme using denaturing polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis. The NH2 terminus of the deduced amino acid sequence corresponds precisely to that obtained from the purified enzyme, excluding the NH2-terminal methionine. The amylase expressed in E. coli exhibits temperature-dependent activation characteristic of of the original enzyme from P. furiosus, but has a higher apparent molecular weight which is attributed to the improper formation of the native quaternary structure. No homology was found with previously characterized promotor or termination sequences. The deduced amino acid sequence displayed strong homology to the alpha-amylase A of Dictyoglomus thermophilum, an obligately anaerobic, extremely thermophilic bacterium. Evolutionary implications of this homology are discussed.

Amino Acid Sequence↗
PubMed1993

Purification and characterization of an enzyme releasing lacto-N-biose from oligosaccharides with type 1 chain.

An enzyme specific for oligosaccharides with type 1 chain was purified 7,000-fold from the culture broth of Streptomyces sp. 142. The enzyme, lacto-N-biosidase, was induced and secreted into culture medium when the strain was cultured in the presence of porcine stomach mucin. The enzyme was purified by anion-exchange chromatography on Q Sepharose, cation-exchange chromatography on S Sepharose, fast protein liquid chromatography on a Mono S column, and gel filtration chromatography on TSK gel HW55S. To remove contaminating alpha-1,3/4-fucosidase and beta-N-acetylglucosaminidase, final purification was done by fast protein liquid chromatography on a Mono S column and affinity chromatography on N-acetylglucosamine agarose. The purified enzyme gave only one major protein band with an apparent M(r) of 60,000 on sodium dodesyl sulfate-polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis. The enzyme had maximum activity at pH 5.5 and was stable at the pH range of 4.0-10.0. Substrate specificity studies with oligosaccharides labeled with 2-aminopyridine showed that the enzyme specifically hydrolyzed lacto-N-tetraose and the N-acetyllactosamine type of triantennary sugar chain with the type 1 chain, but did not hydrolyze type 2 chain oligosaccharides or the type 1 chain oligosaccharides with fucose or sialic acid including lacto-N-fucopentaose I and II and alpha-2,3-sialyl lacto-N-tetraose. The enzyme released lacto-N-biose from asialofetuin, and almost all oligosaccharides in asialofetuin were found to have only type 2 chains. Sequential digestion of extended type 1 chain oligosaccharides with alpha-1,3/4-fucosidase and lacto-N-biosidase was possible.

Asialoglycoproteins↗
PubMed1993

Increased fragmentation of urinary fibronectin in cancer patients detected by immunoenzymometric assay using domain-specific monoclonal antibodies.

Monoclonal antibodies (MoAbs) recognizing the distinct domains of human fibronectin had previously been established and they were used to construct several sandwich immunoenzymometric assays (IEMAs) for the structural analysis of fibronectin found in the urine of cancer patients. Urinary fibronectin (UFN) was immunodetectable only with FN12-8 and FN30-8 MoAbs against cell-binding domains and was less reactive with other IEMAs using MoAbs directed to terminal domains, indicating that UFN was almost completely fragmented and consisted mainly of cell-binding regions. The IEMA using MoAbs against cell-binding domains had sufficient immunoreactivities with the antigen fragmented by artificial proteolysis, but these fragments could hardly be detected by other IEMAs. UFN levels were significantly elevated in various cancer patients and extremely elevated in some patients with distant metastasis. It is presumed that UFN fragments which increase in cancer patients are generated by extracellular matrix destruction. Thus UFN levels and the ratio of the fragmented UFN level to the non-fragmented UFN level appear to be informative clinical indicators of tumor malignancy or metastatic ability in cancer patients.

Animals↗
PubMed1993

The nucleotide sequence of human aminoacylase-1.

The nucleotide sequence of a cDNA coding for human aminoacylase-1 (N-acylamino acid aminohydrolase, ACY-1, EC 3.5.1.14) subunit has been determined. The amino acid sequence of human ACY-1 subunit deduced from its cDNA nucleotide sequence showed a high degree of identity (87.7%) with the corresponding protein from porcine [1], although the former is one amino acid residue longer than the latter. Of 12 histidine and 3 cysteine residues, conserved between the proteins from two species, some are anticipated to form the active site of ACY-1 as either catalytic residues or ligands for an essential Zn2+ atom.

Amidohydrolases↗
PubMed1993

Asparaginyl endopeptidase of jack bean seeds. Purification, characterization, and high utility in protein sequence analysis.

Asparaginyl endopeptidase was highly purified from mature seeds of the jack bean (Canavalia ensiformis). The final enzyme preparation showed a single peak in high-performance liquid chromatography on a reversed-phase column, and the material in the peak gave the following NH2-terminal amino acid sequence on Edman degradation for 25 cycles: H-Glu-Val-Gly-Thr-Arg-Trp-Ala-Val-Leu-Val-Ala-Gly-Ser-Asn-Gly-Tyr-Gly-Asn-Tyr- Arg-His-Gln-Ala-Asp-Val-. Behavior of the enzyme toward various protease inhibitors suggested that it belongs to a family of cysteine proteases. Strict substrate specificity of this enzyme was verified by the use of 14 polypeptide substrates including those derived from proteins. Almost all the peptide bonds on the carboxyl side of Asn residues were susceptible to the enzyme. The exceptions were cases where the residue was at the NH2 terminus or the second position from the NH2 terminus of substrates and where it was N-glycosylated Asn. Peptide bonds on the carboxyl side of any other amino acid residues were not cleaved. These properties promise the high utility of this novel endopeptidase in protein sequence analysis. Identity of jack bean asparaginyl endopeptidase with a processing enzyme responsible for maturation of concanavalin A from its precursor is also discussed.

Amino Acid Sequence↗
PubMed1993

Organization and nucleotide sequence of the DNA polymerase gene from the archaeon Pyrococcus furiosus.

We cloned the gene encoding the thermostable DNA polymerase from the archaeon Pyrococcus furiosus. The DNA fragment of 2785 base pair (bp) containing the structural gene for DNA polymerase was sequenced. DNA polymerase (Pfu polymerase), as deduced from the DNA sequence, consisted of 775 amino acids, had a molecular weight of 90, 109, and was structurally homologous to the alpha-like DNA polymerases (family B) represented by human DNA polymerase alpha and Escherichia coli DNA polymerase II. An unrooted phylogenetic tree of the alpha-like DNA polymerases based on the amino acid sequence alignment was constructed. Pfu polymerase, with two other archaeon polymerases, constitutes a group with some animal viruses. The transcription initiation sites of the pol gene were identified by analysis of in vivo transcripts of both from P. furiosus and E. coli, and the promoters were assigned upstream of the pol coding region. A typical promoter sequence for the archaeon was found at a reasonable distance from the transcription initiation site in P. furiosus.

Amino Acid Sequence↗
PubMed1993

Prevalence of type 2 (non-insulin-dependent) diabetes mellitus and impaired glucose tolerance in the Japanese general population: the Hisayama Study.

We determined the population-based prevalence of diabetes mellitus in members of the Japanese community, Hisayama aged 40-79 years old by a 75-g oral glucose tolerance test. The basic population used to calculate diabetic prevalence was 1,077 men (72.8% of the whole population in the same age range) and 1,413 women (80.8%) including ten diabetic patients on insulin therapy. In addition, we compared the prevalence of history of diabetes which was acquired by interview or questionnaire, between participants and non-participants in the 75-g oral glucose tolerance test, but they were not statistically different. The age-adjusted prevalence of diabetes to world population was 12.7% for men and 8.4% for women, and that of impaired glucose tolerance was 19.6% for men and 18.4% for women. These figures were much higher than those previously reported from several Japanese communities. The results obtained from the present study could reveal true prevalence of diabetes among the Japanese population. In addition, the reasons for the increasing prevalence of diabetes among the recent Japanese population are also discussed.

Adult↗
PubMed1993

Direct projection from the nucleus of the optic tract to the medial vestibular nucleus in the cat.

The nucleus of the optic tract (NOT) serves as an important visuo-motor relay between the retina and preoculomotor structures that mediate optokinetic nystagmus. In the present study, the efferent targets of NOT were investigated using biocytin as an anterograde tracer. Following biocytin injections into NOT, labeled fibers were observed in each of the following efferent pathways: (1) those that project to the contralateral NOT via the posterior commissure; (2) those that course through the nucleus reticularis pontis oralis to terminate in the nucleus reticularis tegmenti pontis; and (3) those that descend via the medial lemniscus to the level of the medulla to terminate in the dorsolateral pontine nucleus, nucleus prepositus hypoglossi, medial vestibular nucleus and the inferior olive. Direct projections from the NOT to the medial vestibular nucleus may contribute to the residual optokinetic responses of the vestibular nucleus neurons following cerebellar or inferior olivary lesions.

Animals↗
PubMed1993

Cholera toxin directly stimulates pregnenolone generation with increasing Ca2+ efflux in bovine adrenocortical mitochondria.

The present experiments demonstrated that the holotoxin as well as the A- and B-subunits of cholera toxin were able to directly enhance pregnenolone synthesis when isolated intact mitochondria, prepared from bovine adrenocortical tissue, were incubated; they were not, however, able to enhance pregnenolone synthesis when the inner mitochondrial fraction was similarly incubated, suggesting that the conformational structure of mitochondria is very important for activation of cholesterol side-chain cleavage by cholera toxin. Data are also presented demonstrating that cholera toxin can enhance Ca2+ release from isolated mitochondria, while pertussis toxin could activate neither pregnenolone generation nor increase Ca2+ efflux from mitochondria. Thus it is suggested that cholera toxin may activate pregnenolone synthesis by regulating Ca2+ movement in mitochondria.

Adrenal Cortex↗
PubMed1993

Cloning of the DNA polymerase gene of Bacillus caldotenax and characterization of the gene product.

The pol gene of the thermophilic eubacterium Bacillus caldotenax was cloned in a plasmid and expressed in Escherichia coli. The PCR method was used to clone the gene with no previous knowledge of the gene or protein sequence. The 3,329-bp DNA fragment containing the structural gene for DNA polymerase was sequenced. DNA polymerase, as deduced from the DNA sequence, consisted of 877 amino acids, had a molecular weight of 99,452, and was structurally homologous to the DNA polymerases of the Pol I family (family A), which includes E. coli DNA polymerase I and T7 DNA polymerase. B. caldotenax DNA polymerase (Bca polymerase) purified from the recombinant E. coli strain was characterized. Like E. coli Pol I, Bca polymerase had 5'-->3' exonuclease activity. The degraded product with the molecular weight of 65,000 was also purified and found to have polymerase activity. To overproduce this Klenow-type fragment of Bca polymerase, a recombinant expression plasmid pUI205 with a deletion in the 5'-region of the pol structural gene was constructed. The DNA polymerase produced by pUI205 is more suitable for use in the dideoxy sequencing method than the other DNA polymerases that have been used for sequencing.

Amino Acid Sequence↗
PubMed1993

Improved method for expression of Kunitz-type serine proteinase inhibitor domain of beta-amyloid protein precursor in Escherichia coli and characterization of disulfide bonds of the product.

Kunitz-type serine proteinase inhibitor (KPI) domain of Alzheimer's disease-related beta-amyloid protein precursor (APP) was expressed in Escherichia coli as a fusion protein with a truncated form of Staphylococcus protein A. The fusion protein was purified from the cell culture medium using an IgG Sepharose column. The KPI domain was separated from the protein A portion by cleavage with human alpha-thrombin at the engineered recognition sequence, followed by purification on IgG Sepharose and reversed-phase HPLC columns. The recombinant KPI domain strongly inhibited trypsin; the inhibition constant (Ki) for bovine trypsin was 2.5 x 10(-11) M, comparable to those of the secreted forms of APP with the KPI domain. The recombinant protein contained three intramolecular disulfide bonds, which were determined to be located between Cys-6 (C1) and Cys-56 (C6), Cys-15 (C2) and Cys-39 (C4), and Cys-31 (C3) and Cys-52 (C5) of the recombinant KPI domain, respectively. These positions are highly homologous to those of disulfide bonds in bovine pancreatic trypsin inhibitor. The trypsin-inhibitory activity of the recombinant protein was abolished by preincubation with 0.4 mM dithiothreitol under non-denaturing conditions. By this mild reduction, all the disulfide bonds were completely cleaved. These results clearly indicate that the disulfide bonds play an important role in the function of the KPI domain of APP.

Alzheimer Disease↗
PubMed1993

Practical application of fluorescence-based image analyzer for PCR single-stranded conformation polymorphism analysis used in detection of multiple point mutations.

We present a practical application of polymerase chain reaction single-strand conformational polymorphism (PCR-SSCP) using a fluorescence-based image analyzer. Fluorescence-labeled primers were used to amplify target sequences. After nondenaturing polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis using a conventional sequencing gel apparatus, the glass plate was directly transferred from the gel box to the image analyzer. High-quality computer storage of the imaging data allowed the image intensity to be quantified over a wide range. Various data bases can be constructed on the basis of this imaging data. This system is suitable for use in clinical examination settings, and its application, to detect ras gene mutations in human pancreatic cancer specimens, is presented.

Base Sequence↗
PubMed1993

Changes in the susceptibility of 12-O-tetradecanoylphorbol 13-acetate (TPA)-treated HL-60 cells to staphylococcal leukocidin.

Susceptibility of human promyelocytic leukemia HL-60 cells to staphylococcal leukocidin following treatment of cells with 12-O-tetradecanoylphorbol 13-acetate (TPA) was examined. TPA treatment for 6 hr rendered the cells very resistant transiently to leukocidin. There was no change in binding of leukocidin to the cells, but leukocidin-induced 45CaCl2 influx, phospholipase A2 and C activities were inhibited. Further incubation with TPA rendered the cells sensitive again and then more sensitive than original HL-60 cells following increase of the binding, and leukocidin-induced activities described above appeared again. Those cells treated with TPA for more than 18 hr started to differentiate to macrophages morphologically and functionally. These data suggest that the differentiated cells were more sensitive than original HL-60 cells because of increased binding of leukocidin and that treatment of TPA for 6 hr may transiently impair the signal transduction system of leukocidin after binding of leukocidin to the specific receptor of the cell membrane. Using these TPA-treated cells, it was shown in this report that calcium influx, phospholipase A2 and C activities were important to induce cytotoxic action of leukocidin after binding of leukocidin to specific receptors on the cells.

Calcium Chloride↗
PubMed1993

Antimetastatic effect by anti-adhesion therapy with cell-adhesive peptide of fibronectin in combination with anticancer drugs.

We have investigated the therapeutic effect of CH-271 fusion polypeptide containing both cell-binding domain (C-274) and heparin-binding domain (H-271) of fibronectin in combination with anticancer drugs such as doxorubicin (DOX) or mitomycin C (MMC) on tumor metastasis of different types of tumors. CH-271 fusion polypeptide alone significantly inhibited both liver and lung metastasis when it was co-injected with L5178Y-ML25 T-lymphoma, RAW117-H10 B-lymphoma or B16-BL6 melanoma cells, and spontaneous lung metastasis of B16-BL6 melanoma cells when administered i.v. seven times before or after surgical excision of the primary tumors. Combined treatments with CH-271 and either DOX or MMC significantly inhibited liver and lung metastasis of lymphoma or melanoma cells respectively, as compared with either treatment alone or the untreated control. Administrations of CH-271 and DOX in combination substantially prolonged the survival time of mice injected i.v. with L5178Y-ML25 cells. CH-271 or DOX was effective for inhibiting the invasion of L5178Y-ML25 cells into Matrigel in a concentration-dependent manner. Our previous study has shown that CH-271-mediated inhibition of tumor invasion may be due in part to the anti-cell adhesive property without affecting the cell growth, whereas the anti-invasive effect of DOX was established to have resulted from the growth inhibition of tumor cells. Moreover, the combination of CH-271 with DOX provided a more effective inhibition of tumor invasion into Matrigel than did either alone. Thus, we have demonstrated that the combination of anti-cell adhesive CH-271 and anticancer drugs such as DOX or MMC, i.e. anti-adhesion therapy and chemotherapy, is a new approach that offers enhanced (additive) inhibitory effects on tumor metastasis and invasion.

Amino Acid Sequence↗
PubMed1993

NADP(+)-dependent D-threonine dehydrogenase from Pseudomonas cruciviae IFO 12047.

NADP(+)-dependent D-threonine dehydrogenase (EC 1.1.1.-), which catalyzes the oxidation of the 3-hydroxyl group of D-threonine, was purified to homogeneity from a crude extract of Pseudomonas cruciviae IFO 12047. The enzyme had a molecular mass of about 60,000 Da and consisted of two identical subunits. In addition to D-threonine, D-threo-3-phenylserine, D-threo-3-thienylserine, and D-threo-3-hydroxynorvaline were also substrates. However, the other isomers of threonine and 3-phenylserine were inert. The enzyme showed maximal activity at pH 10.5 for the oxidation of D-threonine. The enzyme required NADP+. NAD+ showed only slight activity. The enzyme was not inhibited by EDTA, o-phenanthroline, alpha,alpha'-dipyridyl, HgCl2, or p-chloromercuribenzoate but was inhibited by tartronate, malonate, pyruvate, and DL-2-hydroxybutyrate. The inhibition by these organic acids was competitive against D-threonine. Initial-velocity and product inhibition studies suggested that the oxidation proceeded through a sequential ordered Bi Bi mechanism. The Michaelis constants for D-threonine and NADP+ were 13 and 0.12 mM, respectively.

Alcohol Oxidoreductases↗