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Biomedical subjects

J Watanabe

Publications and source records attributed to J Watanabe.

At least 199 records · Page 11Linked to original sources

[Asynchronous metastases solely to the bilateral adrenal glands from bladder cancer: a case report].

We report a case of transitional cell carcinoma of the bladder metastasizing to bilateral adrenal glands without other metastasis. A 47-year-old male underwent total cystectomy due to bladder cancer (TCC, G2, pT2) in 1992. One year later, CT scan showed a large tumor in the right adrenal gland. Right adrenalectomy revealed metastatic transitional cell carcinoma. He underwent 3 courses of M-VAC postoperatively. However, one year after the second operation, left adrenal tumor was detected by CT. Because there was no apparent metastasis other than the adrenal gland, left adrenalectomy was performed and the tumor was transitional cell carcinoma of grade 3. He was discharged from the hospital after 2 courses of CISCA chemotherapy, and has been doing well without evidence of recurrence for two years, being supported by the adrenocortical steroids.

Adrenal Gland Neoplasms↗

[Two patients with acute promyelocytic leukemia whose relapse was noted by cytodiagnosis of middle ear discharge].

Patient 1 was a 36-year-old male and diagnosed as APL in April 1989, and treated with BHAC-DMP and BHAC-AMP. In January 1990, a diagnosis of exudative otitis media was made, but intractable. In June, left facial paralysis appeared and cytodiagnosis of the discharge from the middle ear confirmed leukemic cells. Otitis media and facial paralysis improved after high dose Ara-C, but developed again 5 months later. The condition improved after high dose Ara-C and irradiation of the temporal bones. In September 1992, he died of recurrence but no aggravation in facial paralysis or otitis media. Patient 2 was a 24-year-old female and diagnosed as APL in July 1989, and treated with BHAC-DMP. In May 1990, exudative otitis media was appeared. In July, recurrence was observed but improved by high dose Ara-C. In October, otitis media was aggravated again, and cytodiagnosis confirmed leukemic cell infiltration. She was treated with high dose Ara-C and irradiation of the temporal bones, then achieved complete remission. Maintenance therapy was continued until August 1992, she has been alive. When exudative otitis media developed during the course of leukemia, cytodiagnosis of the discharge from the middle ear should be performed. High dose Ara-C and irradiation of the temporal bone were effective.

Adult↗

[Nephrotic syndrome related to chronic graft versus host disease after allogeneic bone marrow transplantation in a patient with malignant lymphoma].

A 13-yr-old boy was diagnosed as T cell lymphoma. After the second remission, he underwent BMT from an HLA-identical, MLC negative sibling donor. After BMT, he developed grade II acute GVHD. GVHD was improved by pulsed steroid therapy using prednisolone. About 12 months after BMT, he developed bronchiolitis obliterans, sicca syndrome, and leukoderma, which were related to chronic GVHD. Pulsed steroid therapy was carried out twice, and his condition improved. Twenty-seven months after BMT, he developed nephrotic syndrome. A renal biopsy was performed, and the diagnosis was histologically membranous nephropathy and focal glomerular sclerosis. The response to steroids was not satisfactory. After 5 weeks, dipyridamole was added, but proteinuria persisted. Proteinuria disappeared 8 weeks after the addition of cyclosporine. The second biopsy after 5 months of treatment revealed an improvement in the renal lesions. The patient showed a low T4 to T8 ratio of T-lymphocytes at the onset of nephrotic syndrome. However after treatment with cyclosporine, the ratio gradually increased. These findings suggested the nephrotic syndrome in this patient was related to renal involvement in the course of chronic GVHD.

Adolescent↗

Effect of dosing volume on gastrointestinal absorption in rats: analysis of the gastrointestinal disposition of L-glucose and estimation of in vivo intestinal membrane permeability.

The effect of the oral dosing volume (DV) on both gastric emptying and intestinal absorption was examined by analyzing the gastrointestinal disposition of a model solute, L-glucose, in rats. The amount of 14C-labeled L-glucose in the gastric and intestinal contents of sacrificed rats was measured at various times after administration, and the data were analyzed with a linear model, assuming first-order gastric emptying followed by first-order intestinal absorption. The gastric emptying rate constant (kg) rose from 0.025 to 0.072 min-1 by increasing DV from 0.1 to 3 mL/rat, whereas the intestinal absorption rate constant (ka) decreased from 0.031 to 0.015 min-1. This decrease in ka was attributed to an increase in the average intestinal lumen volume (Vav) from 24 to 39 microL/cm, assuming that the relationship ka = CLa,app/Vav holds (where CLa,app is the apparent intestinal membrane permeability clearance or the product of the apparent membrane permeability coefficient and surface area). The CLa,app (= kaVav), a measure of the in vivo intestinal membrane permeability, was 0.74 microL/cm/min for a DV value of 0.1 mL/rat and decreased only marginally by 20% for larger values of DV, suggesting an insignificant effect of DV on CLa,app. These results suggest that the accelerating effect of the increased kg, produced by the increased DV on the gastrointestinal absorption, may be canceled by the decrease in ka. A decrease in ka may lead to a decrease in the fraction absorbed. Finally, this study also provides a means for carrying out physiological modeling of drug absorption following oral administration.

Animals↗

Factor VIII inhibitor developed in a 60-year-old patient with mild hemophilia A after surgery for colon cancer.

Most factor VIII inhibitors are developed at an early age and in patients with severe type of hemophilia A. We report a case of newly developed factor VIII inhibitor in a 60-year-old patient with mild hemophilia A who had been treated with several kinds of factor VIII concentrates. The patient was treated with a total of 103,580 units of recombinant factor VIII concentrate by continuous and bolus infusions for the open surgery of sigmoid colon cancer. On the 95th postoperative day, the patient had right low limb muscle bleeding and was infused with 1,000 units of recombinant factor VIII concentrate for three days. Subsequently, the level of factor VIII inhibitor in the patient's plasma was 2 Bethesda units (BU)/ml. Since then numerous subcutaneous hemorrhages developed, but an adequate hemostatic effect was not obtained even with the administration of a high dose of recombinant factor VIII concentrate. The patient was switched to bypass therapy using human plasma-derived factor VIIa concentrate, which showed a favorable hemostatic effect.

Adenocarcinoma↗

Enhancement of prostacyclin production in cultured bovine aortic endothelial cells by oxidized glycated low-density lipoprotein.

Oxidized low-density lipoprotein (oLDL) is implicated in the pathogenesis of atherosclerosis. The serum concentration of glycated LDL (gLDL) is increased in diabetics, and it is possible that oxidative modification of gLDL contributes to the increased incidence of atherosclerosis associated with diabetes. The mechanism and effect on prostacyclin (PGI2) production by cultured bovine aortic endothelial cells of oxidized glycated LDL (ogLDL) prepared in vitro have now been examined. Glycation of LDL was performed by incubating LDL with 20 mM glucose for 3 days. ogLDL was then prepared by incubation of gLDL with 1 microM CuSO4 for 12 h. Both the electrophoretic mobility and the thiobarbituric acid reactive substance content of ogLDL were greater than those of native LDL (nLDL) or gLDL. Binding, cell-association, and degradation of ogLDL in endothelial cells were significantly greater than those of nLDL and gLDL. The stimulatory effect of ogLDL on PGI2 production was significantly greater than that of nLDL or gLDL; this effect was dose dependent. Both cell-association and the stimulatory effect on PGI2 production of oLDL were dependent on the extent of oxidation in a biphasic manner. Endothelial cells thus appear to protect against atherosclerosis by removing atherogenic lipoproteins and by producing PGI2.

Animals↗

Uptake of fractionated 3H-heparin by isolated rat Kupffer cells.

PURPOSE AND METHODS: The uptake of fractionated 3H-heparin by isolated rat Kupffer cells was examined to determine the uptake mechanism. RESULTS: The association of fractionated 3H-heparin was concentration-dependent with a dissociation constant of 3.4 nM and a maximum association capacity of 1.3 pmol/10(6) cells, suggesting the involvement of a specialized mechanism. Although 2,4-dinitrophenol inhibited neither the association nor internalization of fractionated 3H-heparin, lowering the temperature from 37 degrees C to 4 degrees C reduced the internalization of fractionated 3H-heparin by 70% without affecting the association. CONCLUSIONS: It is suggested that the uptake mechanism may differ from receptor-mediated endocytosis of polypeptides and be mediated by scavenger receptors, because organic anions, and several ligands of scavenger receptors, as well as several heparin analogs, inhibit the binding of fractionated 3H-heparin to Kupffer cells, while phenylarsine oxide, which is known to inhibit the receptor-mediated or absorptive endocytosis of polypeptides, inhibits neither the association nor internalization of fractionated 3H-heparin.

2,4-Dinitrophenol↗

Expression of nm23-H1 and nm23-H2 protein in endometrial carcinoma.

nm23 gene expression has been shown to be inversely correlated with tumour metastatic potential in some cancers but not in others. Examination was made of the expression of nm23-H1 and nm23-H2 gene products by immunohistochemistry and immunoblotting in 28 endometrial carcinomas. Immunohistochemistry indicated the cytoplasm of cancer cells to be positive, and myometrium and endometrial stromal cells negative, for nm23-H1 and -H2 protein. The staining intensity for these proteins was significantly stronger in well-differentiated adenocarcinomas (G1) than in those moderately differentiated (G2) (P < 0.05). nm23-H1 and -H2 proteins were shown by immunoblotting to be present at significantly higher levels in G1 than in G2 tumours (P < 0.05). Two of eight cases expressed high nm23-H1 and -H2 protein in poorly differentiated adenocarcinomas (G3). In G3 tumours, nm23 expression may be diverse. In this study, the expression of nm23-H1 and -H2 was not correlated with stage, metastasis, tumour size, myometrial invasion, oestrogen receptor, progesterone receptor or menopause. It follows from the findings presented above that the high expression of nm23-H1 and -H2 is positively correlated with histological differentiation.

Adult↗

Metabolism of oxidized glycated low-density lipoprotein in cultured bovine aortic endothelial cells.

The serum concentration of glycated low-density lipoprotein (gLDL) is increased in individuals with diabetes mellitus, which may be a contributing factor to the increased incidence of atherosclerosis in this population. Given the importance of oxidized LDL (oLDL) in atherosclerosis and that vascular endothelial cells express receptors for oLDL, oxidized glycated LDL (ogLDL) was prepared in vitro and its binding and degradation by cultured bovine aortic endothelial cells were examined. Glycation of native LDL (nLDL) isolated from normal human subjects was performed by incubation with 20 mM glucose at 37 degrees C for 3 days, and ogLDL was prepared by oxidation of gLDL with 1 microM CuSO4 at 37 degrees C for 12 hours. The electrophoretic mobility and thiobarbituric acid reactive substance (TBARS) value of ogLDL were greater than those of nLDL and gLDL. Both binding and degradation of ogLDL by cultured endothelial cells also were significantly greater than for nLDL and gLDL. Degradation of nLDL by endothelial cells was completely inhibited by ogLDL, whereas degradation of acetylated LDL was not inhibited by nLDL or ogLDL. Thus, the binding and degradation of ogLDL by endothelial cells do not appear to be mediated by the scavenger receptor. Although the exact mechanism is not clear, it appears that vascular endothelial cells may play a protective role against atherosclerosis by removing potential atherogenic lipoproteins.

Animals↗

Polymorphisms of human Ah receptor gene are not involved in lung cancer.

The Ah receptor (Ahr) is a ligand-dependent transcription factor that positively regulates inducible expression of the CYP1A1 gene. Based on the sequence information of the human Ahr and the intron-exon junctions of the mouse counterpart, an analysis of single-strand conformational polymorphism (SSCP) was carried out to detect subtle base differences in the coding region of the gene among individuals. We found that the Ahr protein has at least two forms of variants in a Japanese gene pool, and that these variants can be ascribed to one amino acid replacement of Arg by Lys at codon 554. The frequencies of Arg-coded and Lys-coded alleles were 0.57 and 0.43, respectively. We found, however, that this germ line polymorphism of the Ahr gene did not show a significant association with aryl hydrocarbon hydroxylase (AHH) inducibility nor with lung cancer incidence.

Animals↗

Genetic polymorphisms of drug-metabolizing enzymes and lung cancer susceptibility.

A close association of smoking-associated lung cancer incidence with the Msp 1 and 1le-Val polymorphisms of CYP1A1 gene was found in a Japanese population in terms of genotype frequency comparison and cigarette dose response. A synergistic increase in susceptibility to lung cancer was observed when the susceptible genotypes of CYP1A1 were combined with a deficient GSTM1 genotype. Individual difference in expression levels of Ahr and Arnt mRNAs was observed, and the expression levels of CYP1A1 appeared to associate with those of transcriptional factors. The Ahr protein has two different structures, ascribed to one amino acid replacement at codon 554 of Arg by Lys. However, this germ line polymorphism did not show a significant association with AHH inducibility nor lung cancer incidence. The p53 gene alterations in lung cancer tissues were more frequently observed among the patients with a susceptible allele of CYP1A1 gene.

Chromosome Aberrations↗

An Rsa I polymorphism in the CYP2E1 gene does not affect lung cancer risk in a Japanese population.

CYP2E1 catalyzes the metabolic activation of tobacco-specific N-nitrosamines, including 4-(methylnitrosamino)-1-(3-pyridyl)-1-butanone. An Rsa I polymorphism, which is located in the 5'-flanking region of the CYP2E1 gene, has been found to affect the transcriptional regulation of the gene, resulting in different expression levels of the mRNA among individuals. In order to investigate an association between the Rsa I polymorphism and lung cancer susceptibility, the genotype distribution among 316 lung cancer patients was compared with that in 503 healthy controls. No statistically significant association was found between the Rsa I polymorphism and an increased risk of lung cancer, even though histological types of lung cancer, cigarette smoking and alcohol consumption were taken into account.

Cytochrome P-450 CYP2E1↗

Effects of ageing on the oral absorption of D-xylose in rats.

The effects of ageing on the oral absorption of D-xylose were investigated in rats. The pharmacokinetic analysis of D-xylose concentration in plasma after oral administration showed that the fraction absorbed was increased to 0.998 +/- 0.002 and 0.950 +/- 0.049, respectively, in old (52 weeks) and very old (102 weeks) rats, compared with 0.768 +/- 0.052 in young (9 weeks) rats, while the absorption rate constant was not significantly changed: 0.944 +/- 0.233, 0.844 +/- 0.143 and 0.725 +/- 0.004 h-1, respectively, in young, old and very old rats. The absorbed fractions estimated from faecal and urinary excretion were in agreement with those by the pharmacokinetic analysis. Thus, the present study demonstrated an increase in the extent of the oral absorption of D-xylose with ageing. The increase in the extent of absorption might be caused by a delay in the intestinal transit, because the absorption rate constant was unchanged. These results suggest potential increases with ageing in the fractions absorbed of hydrophilic drugs such as D-xylose where oral absorption is incomplete.

Administration, Oral↗

Effects of ageing on the oral absorption of D-xylose in rats: analysis of gastrointestinal disposition.

The effects of ageing on the oral (gastrointestinal) absorption of D-xylose were investigated by analysing the gastrointestinal disposition after oral administration to young (9 weeks) and old (53 weeks) rats. A linear model assuming first-order gastric emptying followed by first-order intestinal absorption was fitted to remaining fraction vs time profiles for the stomach and small intestine to estimate the gastric emptying rate constant (kg) and the intestinal absorption rate constant (ka). In young and old rats, Kg values were 0.087 +/- 0.008 and 0.070 +/- 0.007 min-1, respectively, and ka values were 0.020 +/- 0.002 and 0.018 +/- 0.002 min-1, suggesting an insignificant effect on ageing on the rate of oral absorption. The average intestinal lumen volume (Vav) was unchanged with ageing, and so was the apparent intestinal membrane permeability clearance (CLapp) as the product of Ka and Vav. However, the small intestinal transit time (Tsi) was suggested to be twice that in older rats (171 min) than in young rats (78 min) by the analysis of gastrointestinal disposition of inulin, a non-absorbable marker. It was also shown that our preceding finding of an increase in the fraction absorbed of D-xylose with ageing can be solely ascribable to the delay in intestinal transit. Thus, among various determinants of oral absorption, only Tsi was found to be altered with ageing. The CLa,app and ka of passively absorbed drugs such as D-xylose may be generally unchanged, and the fraction absorbed may increase with ageing by the delay in intestinal transit.

Administration, Oral↗