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Biomedical subjects

J Fujii

Publications and source records attributed to J Fujii.

At least 235 records · Page 13Linked to original sources
PubMed1986

Thrombocytosis in patients with malignant pleural mesothelioma.

Thrombocytosis above 40.0 X 10(4)/mm3 occurred in five of six (83%) patients with malignant mesothelioma. In contrast, the incidence of thrombocytosis was 7.5% in patients with lung adenocarcinoma, 12.5% in squamous cell carcinoma, 5.1% in small cell carcinoma, and 41.7% in large cell carcinoma, respectively. The platelet count in large cell carcinoma was significantly higher than that in other cell types of lung cancer; however, the platelet count in malignant mesothelioma was much higher than that in large cell carcinoma. These results show that the incidence of thrombocytosis seems to be high in malignant mesothelioma, although the mechanism is thus far unknown.

Adenocarcinoma↗
PubMed1986

Characterization of structural unit of phospholamban by amino acid sequencing and electrophoretic analysis.

The partial amino acid sequence of phospholamban from canine cardiac sarcoplasmic reticulum was determined by sequence analysis of the peptides obtained from the protein cleaved by cyanogen bromide and with TPCK-trypsin. The sequence determined initiated with N alpha-acetylated methionine followed by 44 amino acid residues intervening two unidentified residues. This polypeptide would represent a structural unit (protomer) of phospholamban. Analysis of temperature-dependent conversion of phospholamban from 26 kDa to lower molecular weight form (6 kDa) suggested that phospholamban holoprotein is composed of five identical protomers.

Amino Acid Sequence↗
PubMed1986

Urinary excretion of pseudouridine in patients with hepatocellular carcinoma.

The urinary concentration of pseudouridine, primarily a degradation product of transfer ribonucleic acid, was determined by high-performance liquid chromatography in 23 patients with primary hepatocellular carcinoma, 13 patients with liver cirrhosis, and 24 healthy controls. The urinary concentration of pseudouridine in the patients with hepatocellular carcinoma was significantly higher than that in the patients with liver cirrhosis or the healthy controls. Sixteen (70%) of the 23 patients with hepatocellular carcinoma had urinary pseudouridine levels higher than the mean value for the healthy controls plus 2 standard deviations. Nine of the 13 patients (69%) who had a serum alpha-fetoprotein level below 400 ng/ml, had elevated urinary pseudouridine levels. Thus, the two markers, urinary pseudouridine and serum alpha-fetoprotein in combination, which were detected in a total of 19 of the 23 patients (83%) with hepatocellular carcinoma, are considered to serve as complementary markers for the diagnosis of this disease.

Aged↗
PubMed1986

Urinary pseudouridine as a tumor marker in patients with small cell lung cancer.

The urinary concentration of pseudouridine, primarily a degradation product of transfer ribonucleic acid, was determined by high-performance liquid chromatography in 22 patients with small cell lung cancer, 30 patients with non-small cell lung cancer, 13 patients with pulmonary infectious diseases and 24 healthy controls. The concentration of pseudouridine in both groups of patients with lung cancer was on the average significantly higher than that in the patients with pulmonary infectious diseases or in healthy controls. Thirteen (59%) of the patients with small cell lung cancer and 8 (27%) of those with non-small cell lung cancer had a urinary pseudouridine level above the mean value plus 2 for the healthy controls. In 11 patients followed up during chemotherapy, urinary pseudouridine levels changed almost in parallel with the changes in the clinical responses.

Aged↗
PubMed1986

Glycosaminoglycan in malignant pleural mesothelioma.

The quantitative analysis on glycosaminoglycan (GAG) in the tumor tissues of five patients with malignant pleural mesothelioma and in the pleural fluid of two patients was performed with the use of biochemical methods. In the tumor tissues, it was found that the average of the total amount of GAG was more than 7.9 times as high as that in adenocarcinoma of the lung, and that hyaluronic acid and chondroitin sulfate were main constituents of mesothelioma GAG. However, there was no significant difference in the content of dermatan sulfate and heparan sulfate between this neoplasm and adenocarcinoma. In the pleural fluid, the amount of hyaluronic acid was about 40 to 230 times higher than that in adenocarcinoma of the lung with the increment of chondroitin sulfate (11-87 times). These findings suggest that a marked increase in the total amount of GAG and the elevation of either the hyaluronic acid or the chondroitin sulfate level, or both, are characteristic abnormalities in malignant pleural mesothelioma.

Adult↗
PubMed1986

Beta-thromboglobulin release within coronary circulation--a potential role of platelets in ergonovine-induced coronary vasospasm.

The role of platelets in the pathogenesis of acute myocardial ischemia is not yet agreed upon. In this study, the gradient of plasma beta-thromboglobulin concentration between coronary sinus and aorta was used as an indicator of platelet activation within the coronary circulation. Blood samples were drawn before and after injection of ergonovine maleate in patients without fixed coronary stenosis in whom significant coronary spasm was induced by ergonovine (n = 8, Group 1), patients with significant stenosis (greater than or equal to 75%) of the left anterior descending artery and positive ergonovine test (n = 7, Group 2) and patients with significant stenosis of left anterior descending coronary artery and negative ergonovine test (n = 11, Group 3). Fifteen patients with normal coronary arteries who were negative in the ergonovine test served as controls (Group 4). After the ergonovine test, all Group 1 patients revealed a significant increase of beta-thromboglobulin gradient (P less than 0.001), while those in other groups did not. Additionally, the gradient after the ergonovine test of Group 1 patients was larger than those of the other groups (P less than 0.01). All blood samples after the ergonovine test were collected before or at the onset of angina attacks. These results suggest that platelet activation within the coronary circulation has some pathogenic role, probably as an aggravating factor, in coronary artery spasm.

Adult↗
PubMed1986

Sarcoplasmic reticulum Ca-ATPase: distinction of phosphoenzymes formed from MgATP and CaATP as substrates and interconversion of the phosphoenzymes by Mg2+ and Ca2+.

In order to characterize the phosphoenzymes (EPs) formed from MgATP and CaATP as substrates, the effects of Mg2+ and Ca2+ outside SR vesicles on the hydrolysis rates of EPs were examined by using purified and unpurified Ca-ATPases of sarcoplasmic reticulum (SR) at low [gamma-32P]ATP (4-10 microM), 0.1 M KCl, pH 7.0, and 0 degrees C. When the phosphorylation reaction was stopped by adding an excess of EDTA over Ca and Mg, two components of EP, EPfast (rate constant, kfast = 15-20 min-1), and EPslow (kslow = 0.3-0.4 min-1), were recognized in the time course of EP decomposition. These two rates did not depend on the Ca2+ or Mg2+ concentration in the medium during the phosphorylation reaction, although the proportions of EPfast and EPslow essentially depended on the concentrations of MgATP and CaATP in the phosphorylation reaction medium. The proportion of EPfast increased with increasing [MgATP]/[CaATP] in the medium, whereas that of EPslow decreased. The rate of EPslow hydrolysis in the presence of excess EDTA was basically the same as that of EP formed from CaATP. These results suggest that EPfast and EPslow are derived from MgATP and CaATP, respectively, and EPfast is a reaction intermediate with Mg bound at the substrate site (MgEP), while the main EPslow is a reaction intermediate with Ca bound at the substrate site (CaEP) which is readily converted to metal-free EP by EDTA addition (Shigekawa et al., (1983) J. Biol. Chem. 258, 8698-8707). Mg2+ added outside SR vesicles stimulated the conversion of CaEP to MgEP and inhibited the hydrolysis of MgEP in the relatively high concentration range (K(Mg) = 7.9 mM). Ca2+ added outside SR vesicles stimulated the conversion of MgEP to CaEP and inhibited the conversion of CaEP to MgEP by Mg2+ addition. The Ca2+ outside SR vesicles did not essentially affect the hydrolysis of MgEP. These results suggest that the interconversion between MgEP and CaEP takes place during the reaction by exchange of the divalent cation on the substrate site. The following scheme is proposed. (formula: see text)

Adenosine Triphosphate↗
PubMed1986

Plasma levels of atrial natriuretic peptide in primary aldosteronism and essential hypertension.

Plasma levels of atrial natriuretic peptide (ANP) were measured in 9 patients with primary aldosteronism and 41 patients with essential hypertension (class I or II by WHO classification) using a specific and sensitive RIA. The mean plasma ANP concentration in patients with primary aldosteronism (mean +/- SEM, 67.1 +/- 10.8 pg/ml; n = 9) was significantly higher than that in healthy normotensive subjects (37.9 +/- 1.4 pg/ml; n = 108) or patients with essential hypertension (38.5 +/- 2.8 pg/ml; n = 41). During treatment with spironolactone, plasma levels of ANP declined in 6 of the 7 patients with primary aldosteronism, but no change occurred in the remaining patient who had cardiac enlargement of unknown etiology. The mean plasma ANP concentration in patients with essential hypertension, on the other hand, was not significantly different from that in normal subjects. These results indicate that plasma ANP levels are elevated in patients with primary aldosteronism, probably due to volume expansion, whereas no abnormality in ANP secretion exists in patients with uncomplicated essential hypertension.

Adult↗
PubMed1986

Exercise-induced QRS axis shift and its clinical significance.

Exercise tests occasionally induce a QRS axis shift. Reviewing single Master's two-step test electrocardiograms of 1810 patients, we examined the incidence of the QRS axis shift and the relations of the QRS axis shifts to ischemic heart disease. The QRS axis shift was 30 degrees or more to the right in 38 (2.1%), 15 to 29 degrees to the right in 304 (16.8%), less than 15 degrees to the right or to the left in 1375 (75.9%), 15 to 29 degrees to the left in 81 (4.5%), and 30 degrees or more to the left in 12 patients (0.7%). The frequency of positive Master's tests and clinical ischemic heart disease were both significantly greater in the patients with QRS axis shifts of 30 degrees or more to the right (15.8% and 26.3%, respectively) and the patients with those of 30 degrees or more to the left (33.3% and 50.0%, respectively) than in the patients with shifts less than 15 degrees (6.5% and 8.5%, respectively). These results indicate that the exercise-induced QRS axis shift is a useful clue for the diagnosis of ischemic heart disease.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1986

Peculiar mitral valve and papillary muscle lesions induced by vagus manipulations in rabbits. An experimental model for nonrheumatic mitral regurgitation.

Peculiar lesions of mitral valves and papillary muscles developed in 50 to 80% of rabbits after clipping (N = 38), crushing (N = 15) or electrical stimulation (N = 44) of their cervical vagi. Both right and left vagus manipulations induced similar cardiac lesions. The earliest manifestation was bleeding of the mitral leaflets, which was followed by swelling and fibrosis of the papillary muscles. Ventricular arrhythmias and systolic murmurs were frequently associated with the vagus manipulations. During or just after electrical stimulation of the vagus, ventricular premature contractions (VPCs) were observed in 30 of 44 animals. Twenty-nine of these 30 animals with VPCs (96.7%) were found to have mitral valve and/or papillary muscle lesions at autopsy, whereas only 5 of 14 animals without VPCs (35.7%) had the cardiac lesions. These results indicate that the occurrence of these ventricular arrhythmias during vagus manipulations was closely related with the mitral valve and papillary muscle lesions.

Animals↗
PubMed1986

[Quantitation of regional left ventricular wall motion by curvature: two-dimensional echocardiographic analysis].

Echocardiographically abnormal regional configuration of the left ventricle is one of the clues in detecting asynergy of the left ventricular wall. For the quantitative assessment, regional left ventricular configuration was expressed quantitatively using a new index, relative curvature. To obtain the end-systolic curvature, end-systolic echocardiograms were digitized and divided into eight segments. Then end-systolic curvature was determined as the reciprocal of the circumradius of a triangle determined by three consecutive dividing points. Relative curvature was defined as the product of end-systolic curvature multiplied by end-diastolic circumference. To assess the accuracy of quantitative analysis of regional left ventricular wall motion by relative curvature, short-axis images of the left ventricle at the level of the chordae tendineae were analyzed in 20 patients with myocardial infarction and 20 normal subjects by three different indices: segmental area change using a fixed reference system, segmental wall thickness change, and relative curvature. Groups of 10 patients with anteroseptal infarction, 10 patients with inferoposterior infarction, and 10 normal subjects could be differentiated from each other by these three indices. With the 95 per cent confidence intervals obtained from 10 other normal subjects, asynergic segments were detected objectively. By segmental area change, the sensitivity was 100 per cent and the specificity was 90 per cent on the anterior wall; the sensitivity was 90 per cent and the specificity was 95 per cent on the posterior wall. By segmental wall thickness change, the sensitivity was 70 per cent and the specificity was 75 per cent on the anterior wall; and those were 80 per cent and 90 per cent, respectively, on the posterior wall. By relative curvature, the sensitivity was 100 per cent and the specificity was 85 per cent on the anterior wall; and those were 90 per cent and 90 per cent, respectively, on the posterior wall. It was concluded that left ventricular regional contraction could be assessed quantitatively by relative curvature which quantitatively expresses regional left ventricular configuration. This index is independent of any reference systems, so it is expected to be used for quantitative analysis of regional wall motion, even though the cardiac motion within the thorax is not disregarded.

Adult↗
PubMed1986

Characterization of recombinant cDNA clones for canine cardiac phospholamban.

Complementary DNA clones specific for phospholamban have been isolated from a canine cardiac cDNA library. The amino acid sequence deduced from the cDNA sequence showed that phospholamban consisted of 52 amino acid residues and was synthesized without an amino-terminal signal sequence. The RNA blot analysis revealed that phospholamban mRNAs were represented by two main species of approximately 1.2kb and approximately 2.8kb. These mRNAs appeared to differ primarily in the length of the 3' untranslated region.

Amino Acid Sequence↗
PubMed1986

[The effects of medical treatment on the long-term prognosis of variant angina pectoris].

To investigate the changing aspect of the long-term prognosis of patients with medically-treated variant angina, we studied 253 consecutive patients treated from January 1963 to August 1984. The patients were categorized into two groups according to the year of first admission to our hospital; 88 patients hospitalized before January 1975 and mainly treated with nitrates (group I), and 165 patients admitted thereafter and treated with calcium antagonists (group II). The average follow-up period was 63.1 months (ranged from one to 136) in the group I, and 32.4 months (ranged from one to 116) in the group II. Coronary arteriography was performed in 146 patients of the group II. In 82 patients (56%), no fixed coronary artery stenosis of greater than or equal to 75% of the luminal diameter was present; 47 patients (32%) had one-vessel disease, and 17 (12%) had multi-vessel involvement. Seventy-eight patients having both rest and effort angina showed a higher prevalence of fixed coronary artery stenoses (50 of 78 patients) compared with the patients without effort angina (14 of 68 patients) (p less than 0.001). The group II showed a significantly good long-term efficacy of medical treatment for anginal attacks (124 of 165 patients compared with 54 of 88 group I patients: p less than 0.05). Complete remission over three months or more occurred in 56% of the group II compared with 45% of the group I. Fourteen patients (16%) of the group I suffered from myocardial infarction (10 were within six months of onset of angina); whereas, only five (3%) of the group II developed myocardial infarction (two were within six months of initial anginal attack) (p less than 0.001). Cardiac death occurred in five patients (6%) of the group I in contrast to four patients (2%) of the group II. The patients having significantly effective medical treatment for anginal attack were 80%, 62% and 64% in those without significant stenosis, with one-vessel disease, and with multi-vessel disease, respectively. Myocardial infarction occurred in two of 17 patients with multi-vessel disease. Spontaneous remission of angina over at least three years without medical treatment occurred in seven of 32 patients who were followed for more than 10 years. It was concluded that the long-term prognosis of patients with variant angina who received calcium antagonists was reasonably improved compared with patients treated with nitrates.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 400 WORDS)

Adult↗
PubMed1986

[Clinical problems in mitral valve prolapse: an electrocardiographic review].

Electrocardiographic signs of mitral valve prolapse are essentially non-specific. Diagnosis must be based on the other methods, but whenever the diagnosis was established, the electrocardiographic abnormalities may have a certain significance to predict the natural course and prognosis. The reported results and those of our series of 111 cases were compared in detail. Resting and exercise electrocardiography of our series revealed no definite tendency of ST-T changes, arrhythmias and other abnormalities in cases with prolapse except a few signs. When the abnormalities were present, they were not related to the severity of prolapse, but premature ventricular contractions were more frequently observed in severe cases. Atrial fibrillation was observed in higher frequency in cases with mitral regurgitation. The other abnormalities were not conclusive to verify previous studies. When compared to 19 cases with neurocirculatory asthenia comfirmed by clinical tests including angiography, the similarity of electrocardiographic abnormalities was observed in many aspects, but arrhythmias were much more common in cases with mitral valve prolapse. On the other hand, exercise test was positive more frequently in cases with neurocirculatory asthenia. No conclusion was established as to the sites of prolapse and electrocardiographic abnormalities.

Adolescent↗