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Biomedical subjects

J Suzuki

Publications and source records attributed to J Suzuki.

At least 343 records · Page 19Linked to original sources
PubMed1994

A quantitative analysis of the glomeruli in focal segmental glomerulosclerosis.

Quantitative analysis of the glomerular area, mesangial matrix and mesangial cells was performed using renal biopsy specimens from 22 children with focal segmental glomerulosclerosis (FSGS) and 20 with minimal change nephrotic syndrome (MCNS). Non-sclerotic glomeruli were examined. All children in both groups showed nephrotic syndrome at the time of biopsy. Children with benign haematuria were examined as controls. Glomerular area increased with age in the FSGS, MCNS and control groups. The glomerular area was significantly greater in FSGS (1.5 +/- 0.4 x 10(4) microns 2) than in MCNS (1.2 +/- 0.2 x 10(4) microns 2) or in controls (1.2 +/- 0.3 x 10(4) microns 2) (P < 0.05). Mesangial matrix was increased with age in the three groups. The mesangial matrix was significantly increased in FSGS (28.3 +/- 4.0%; mesangial matrix area/glomerular area) compared with MCNS (24.9 +/- 4.1%) and controls (23.0 +/- 3.0%) (P < 0.01). These findings suggest that both glomerular hypertrophy and mesangial matrix increase in non-sclerotic glomeruli in FSGS may lead to glomerular sclerosis.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1994

Degradations of urobilin and stercobilin during activated sludge treatment of night soil.

This paper deals with the degradation of urobilin and stercobilin in the sewage treatment plant or domestic septic tank and elucidates the factors contributing to their decomposition. The quantities of urobolin or stercobilin in the effluents from the sewage treatment plants were low and these substances were degraded by treatment with activated sludge. The efficacies of aeration, bacterial decomposition and free chlorine treatment in degrading urobilin or stercobilin were examined. Urobilin and stercobilin were decomposed by aeration and the decomposition rate was accelerated under alkaline conditions. Both compounds were decomposed by activated sludge, isolated bacteria and free chlorine treatments. These results show the decomposition of urobilin and stercobilin at sewage treatment plants.

Journal Article↗
PubMed1994

Evaluation of fecal pollution of river sediment by detection of urobilin.

In this study, we attempted to establish a new indicator for fecal pollution of river sediment using a sensitive detection method for urobilin. Urobilin contained in sediment was extracted with an alkaline buffer solution. The suitable buffer solution for extraction of urobilin consisted of 0.1 M Tris-HCl buffer (pH 10.0) containing 0.1 m sodium chloride. The ratio of sediment to buffer was 1:10. The distribution of urobilin in river sediment was studied by this method. The amount of urobilin in the river sediment of Tokyo (urban) and the Miura peninsula (rural) area was surveyed. Large quantities of urobilin were detected in the sediments of the urban rivers, but it was scarce in the rural rivers. Urobilin showed a higher content in sediment than in water. Urobilin in river sediment is distributed in large amounts in the lower reaches, where the water is polluted with domestic sewage and industrial waste, but is scarce in the upper streams. The amount of urobilin decreases to the lower layers.

Journal Article↗
PubMed1994

Estimation of faecal pollution based on the amounts of urobilins in urban rivers.

An attempt was made to establish a new indicator for faecal pollution in aquatic environments using a sensitive determination method for urobilins, which are only present in mammalian faeces and urine. Assessment of urobilin stability was followed by determination of the amount of urobilins in river water. When river water containing urobilins was shaken at room temperature, the number of total and faecal coliforms increased, while urobilins decreased only in small amounts, indicating that urobilin is relatively stable in river water and hence can serve as a useful indicator for the estimation of faecal pollution of river water. The amount of urobilins in the river waters increased steeply from the mid-point of a stream near a sewage treatment plant, while amounts in the upper stream were very low. The amount of urobilins in river water increased after rainfall. Findings suggested that urobilin, i.e. sewage, originated from the output of the sewage treatment plant and raw sewage.

Journal Article↗
PubMed1994

Effect of combination of oxacillin and non-beta-lactam antibiotics on methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus.

The in-vitro activity of oxacillin combined with non-beta-lactam antibiotics, bacitracin, vancomycin, enduracidin, tunicamycin, flavomycin, fosfomycin, and cycloserine, was investigated in 23 methicillin-resistant and 15 methicillin-susceptible Staphylococcus aureus strains. In the presence of a non-beta-lactam antibiotic (0.25 MIC), the MICs of oxacillin for methicillin-resistant S. aureus (MRSA) strains and methicillin-susceptible S. aureus (MSSA) strains were lowered. This effect was most marked with MRSA strains, and bacitracin, flavomycin, and tunicamycin increased the susceptibility of MRSA to oxacillin by greater than 200-fold. More than 87% and 77% of MRSA and MSSA strains, respectively, were synergically inhibited by a combination of oxacillin with bacitracin, tunicamycin, flavomycin or cycloserine (fractional inhibitory concentration < or = 0.5). Polyanetholesulfonic acid prevented the lysis of MRSA cells treated with a combination of oxacillin and 0.25 MIC of bacitracin, but did not prevent cell death. The penicillin binding protein (PBP) profile of MRSA was not affected by incubation with 0.25 MIC of non-beta-lactam antibiotics. These results suggest that the increased antibacterial activity of oxacillin in the presence of non-beta-lactam antibiotic is not the consequence of activation of autolysis or of a decrease in bulk PBP synthesis.

Anti-Bacterial Agents↗
PubMed1994

The effect of Triton X-100 on the in-vitro susceptibility of methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus to oxacillin.

The effect of the non-ionic detergent, Triton X-100, on the in-vitro activity of oxacillin against methicillin-resistant (MRSA) and methicillin-susceptible (MSSA) strains of Staphylococcus aureus was investigated. In the presence of Triton X-100, the MICs of oxacillin for both MRSA and MSSA isolates were reduced; this enhancing effect was particularly marked for the MRSA strains. Triton X-100 therefore counteracted the resistance to methicillin encoded by mecA. In the presence of oxacillin at subinhibitory concentrations, Triton X-100 induced the bacteriolysis of MRSA and potentiated the autolysis of these organisms. However, the detergent had no effect on the bacteriolytic enzyme profile or the susceptibility of the bacterial cell wall to bacteriolytic enzymes, nor did it promote the binding of oxacillin to the penicillin-binding protein (PBP) 2A. On the other hand, it stimulated the release from the bacteria of acylated lipoteichoic acid (LTA), a putative endogenous regulator of autolysins. Autolytic enzyme-deficient MRSA mutants were equally as sensitive as the parent strain to the effect of Triton X-100 on susceptibility to oxacillin. These results indicate that the enhanced in-vitro activity of oxacillin against MRSA in the presence of Triton X-100 cannot be accounted for simply by the induction of bacteriolysis following activation of autolytic enzymes by the detergent-stimulated release of LTA.

Autolysis↗
PubMed1994

Electron microscopic filament lengths of connection and its fragments.

Connectin (titin) is an extraordinarily long filamentous protein of striated muscle. The particle lengths of alpha-connectin (titin 1) and its proteolytic products, beta-connectin (titin 2) and 1,200 kDa fragment, were measured with rotary-shadowed images of the filaments after orientation by centrifugation. It was observed that the 1,200 kDa fragment was frequently folded into a double strand, beta-connectin was partly folded, and alpha-connectin was easily split into beta-connectin and 1,200 kDa fragment. Taking these features into consideration, the average lengths of alpha- and beta-connectin and 1,200 kDa fragment were estimated to be approximately 1,250, 920, and 360 nm, respectively.

Animals↗
PubMed1994

Long-term effects of bone marrow transplantation for inborn errors of metabolism: a study of four patients with lysosomal storage diseases.

Long-term effects of bone marrow transplantation (BMT) were evaluated in patients with I-cell disease, metachromatic leukodystrophy (MLD), Maroteaux-Lamy syndrome or Hunter syndrome (mild form). Donors were human leukocyte antigen (HLA)-matched siblings, and the follow-up periods were 24-71 months after BMT. The enzyme activities were increased in leukocytes, plasma or liver tissues compared with pre-BMT levels. A patient with I-cell disease acquired development of 4-8 month old infants and showed no further progression in cardiac dysfunctions. A patient with MLD showed a decelerated disease progression and an improved peripheral neuropathy, but progressive brain atrophy was not prevented. Patients with Maroteaux-Lamy syndrome or Hunter syndrome showed improvements in hepatomegaly, joint contractures, short stature and tight skin, and this greatly increased their quality of life. These results indicated that the long-term therapeutic effects achieved by BMT were subject to multiple factors including biochemical improvements, a reversibility of affected tissues, or advanced states of disease and central nervous system impairments in inborn errors of metabolism.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1994

Purification of two types of TNF inhibitors in the urine of the patient with chronic glomerulonephritis.

In order to clarify whether TNF inhibitory activity in the urine of glomerulonephritis (GN) patients depends on the existence of TNF inhibitors/soluble TNF receptors, we purified two types of TNF inhibitors from the urine of chronic renal failure (CRF) with GN patient. Using four steps of chromatography (anion exchange chromatography, preparative reverse phase chromatography, TNF affinity chromatography, analytical reverse phase chromatography), two types of 99% pure TNF inhibitors were purified. Amino terminal amino acid sequence revealed that one inhibitor was identical to soluble TNF receptor, p55, however, the other was homologous but not identical to soluble TNF receptor, p75. Our experiments demonstrated that TNF inhibitory activity in the urine of CRF patients depended partly on the existence of soluble TNF receptors in the urine.

Amino Acid Sequence↗
PubMed1994

Detection of coxsackie B4 virus RNA in infected mouse kidneys by in situ hybridization.

We describe a method for detecting virus-specific RNA sequences using a nonradioactive enzyme system, and analyze coxsackie B4 virus (cox.B4) RNA sequences in infected mouse kidney with pathological changes. Diffuse mesangial proliferation was observed transiently 24 h after inoculation of cox.B4 virus in glomeruli. OCT-treated thin sections of the same tissue were hybridized in situ using a digoxigenin-labeled oligonucleotide probe. The strongest signal was observed in the mesangial sample. These findings suggest that the transient proliferative mesangial changes were caused by direct injury following virus infection without immune complex.

Animals↗
PubMed1994

Prolonged survival in a patient with a single ventricle without pulmonary stenosis.

Prolonged survival of the patient with a single ventricle is rare. We report the case of a 57-year-old man who has type A3 of Van Praagh's classification of single ventricle with pulmonary hypertension without pulmonary stenosis. Favorable streaming, a large bulboventricular foramen, and intact atrioventricular valves may have contributed to his long-term survival.

Echocardiography, Transesophageal↗
PubMed1994

Analysis of microvascular responses in the finger to changes in arm position during cold water stimulation.

We evaluated the extent to which the myogenic autoregulatory response was affected by sympathetic vasoconstriction in humans. The stimulus used to produce sympathetic vasoconstriction was the cold water immersion of a contralateral finger. The stimulus used to elicit myogenic response was gravitational potential energy change (GPEC), that is, arm position change, i.e., the raising and lowering of the upper extremity 40 cm above and below the heart level. The response was observed in terms of the changes in amplitude on a differential digital photoplethysmogram (delta DPG) during this maneuver with and without cold stimulation. The subjects were seven healthy males. During non-immersion, the delta DPG amplitude increased to 55.7 +/- 7.6% (SE) at the elevated position and decreased to -56.3 +/- 4.0% at the lowered position. Mean finger arterial blood pressure (MBP) decreased by 34.0 +/- 1.8% at the elevated position and increased by 39.9 +/- 3.3% at the lowered position. During immersion, the delta DPG amplitude was significantly (p < 0.05) decreased by 25-40, 33-57, and 33-38% at the heart, elevated, and lowered position, respectively. MBP increased by 5-9%, but heart rate was unchanged throughout immersion. These results indicate that the myogenic response of arterioles is not entirely abolished by the present sympathetic vasoconstrictor effect. Thus interactions between these two effects may maintain both systemic and local circulatory homeostasis.

Adult↗
PubMed1994

Temporal bone pathology in patients without caloric response.

Pathologies of serial sections of 9 temporal bones from 6 patients without caloric response were studied. The patients died of epipharyngeal cancer, middle ear cancer, chronic renal failure with DIC, pancreatic cancer with DIC, multiple brain metastasis of pancreatic cancer, and leukemia. Under light microscopy, 8 ears showed pathologies in the vestibular end organs and the nerves. Possible causes of the lack of caloric responses in the 8 ears were endolymphatic hemorrhage, labyrinthitis, leukemic infiltration in the labyrinth, degeneration or disappearance of the vestibular sensory cells, reduction in the number of vestibular nerve fibers, and/or brainstem lesions. The remaining one ear did not show abnormal findings in the vestibular end organs or the nerves, but the patient had brainstem lesions. Four types of temporal bone pathologies were observed according to the lesion site responsible for the lack of caloric response; i) sensory type, ii) neural type, iii) mixed type and iv) central type.

Adult↗