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Biomedical subjects

K Fujii

Publications and source records attributed to K Fujii.

At least 181 records · Page 10Linked to original sources
PubMed2000

Natriuretic effect of barnidipine, a long-acting dihydropyridine calcium channel blocker, in patients with essential hypertension.

OBJECTIVE: To evaluate the effect of barnidipine hydrochloride, a long-acting dihydropyridine calcium channel blocker on urinary sodium excretion in patients with essential hypertension. PATIENTS: Twelve patients (2 males, 10 females) with mild to moderate essential hypertension. METHODS: A single-blinded study. After the control (placebo) period, 10 to 15 mg barnidipine hydrochloride was administered for 7 days, followed by a post-treatment (placebo) period. Daily changes in blood pressure, urinary volume, and urinary electrolyte excretions were evaluated. Plasma levels of atrial natriuretic peptide (ANP) and aldosterone were also determined in each period. Daily sodium intake was kept at 120 mEq. RESULTS: Blood pressure decreased from 161 +/- 4/92 +/- 2 mmHg to 146 +/- 4/85 +/- 2 mmHg (p<0.05) after 7-day-treatment with barnidipine. Barnidipine significantly increased urinary sodium excretion; the change was evident on the first day of administration (control period 41 +/- 3 mEq/day, and first day 59 +/- 3 mEq/day, p < 0.05). Drug discontinuation transiently decreased sodium excretion to 35 +/- 3 mEq/day. Cumulative sodium balance after 7-day-treatment reached 47 +/- 19 mEq. Urine volume, potassium excretion, and creatinine excretion did not change during the treatment period. The plasma levels of ANP tended to increase, but those of aldosterone did not change with barnidipine. CONCLUSION: Barnidipine administration for a week decreased the blood pressure and made the sodium balance negative by increasing the urinary sodium excretion in patients with essential hypertension. The natriuretic effect of this drug could contribute at least in part to its antihypertensive effect.

Adult↗
PubMed2000

Arisostatins A and B, new members of tetrocarcin class of antibiotics from Micromonospora sp. TP-A0316. II. Structure determination.

Structures of arisostatins A and B were determined by spectroscopic analyses. Arisostatins were found to be new analogs of tetrocarcin A and possess an iso-butanoyldigitoxose unit instead of the acetyldigitoxose one. NMR analyses of arisostatins and tetrocarcin A led to the revision of the anomeric configurations in the tetrasaccharide moiety of tetrocarcin A.

Aminoglycosides↗
PubMed2000

Albumin permeability across endothelial cell monolayer exposed to reactive oxygen intermediates: involvement of reversible functional alteration of the cell membrane Ca2+ channels.

This study was designed to test the idea that the redox state of sulfhydryl (SH)-groups in cell-membrane Ca2+ channels plays a pivotal role in Ca2+ influx, which in turn causes an increase in albumin permeability across the cultured monolayer of porcine pulmonary artery endothelial (PPAE) cells exposed to xanthine/xanthine oxidase (X/XO). Albumin permeability as well as the concentration of intracellular Ca2+ ([Ca2+]i) was increased by X/XO. A H2O2 scavenger (catalase), an iron chelator (o-phenanthroline), and a hydroxyl radical scavenger (dimethyl sulfoxide) inhibited these changes provoked by X/XO, in which intracellular iron-catalyzed hydroxyl radical generation was suggested to be involved. The increase in albumin permeability and [Ca2+]i continued once the PPAE cells were exposed to X/XO. The [Ca2+]i was decreased by a Ca2+ channel blocker, Ni2+, while the removal of Ni2+ increased [Ca2+]i again, suggesting the sustained Ca2+ influx through cell-membrane Ca2+ channels was responsible for the [Ca2+]i elevation. Ni2+ failed to inhibit albumin permeability sustained after the removal of X/XO. In contrast, SH-reducing agents (dithiothreitol and glutathione) inhibited the sustained permeability as well as Ca2+ influx. We concluded that the redox alteration of SH-groups in cell-membrane Ca2+ channels was involved in the increase in albumin permeability after exposure of the endothelial cells to oxidative stress.

Albumins↗
PubMed2000

Recurrent follicular and lichenoid papules of sarcoidosis.

We describe a 62-year-old Japanese woman who exhibited recurrent follicular lichenoid lesions of sarcoidosis. The skin lesions appeared all over the surface of the body without any other organ involvement, and spontaneously regressed within 1 year. Two years later, the lesions recurred on the trunk, especially in the intertriginous areas such as the submammary areas and in fatty folds of the abdomen, and on the thighs and upper arms, with the appearance of uveitis of the right eye. Histological examinations showed that small epithelioid cell granulomas were localized in the perifollicular areas. The present case was characterized by a unique distribution of follicular lichenoid eruptions, which are rare manifestations of sarcoidosis and recurrence of the lesions.

Biopsy↗
PubMed2000

Cerebral ischemia as a causative mechanism for rapid progression of brain atrophy in chronic hemodialysis patients.

BACKGROUND: It has been found that brain atrophy develops more rapidly in patients with end-stage renal failure after initiation of dialysis therapy. The present study was designed to analyze the relationship between brain atrophy and asymptomatic ischemic brain lesions. PATIENTS AND METHODS: Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) was performed for the evaluation of brain atrophy and ischemic lesions. Brain atrophy was assessed by the ventricular-brain ratio (VBR), calculated as the ratio of the ventricular area to the whole brain area on the maximum MRI slice. The severity of periventricular hyperintensity (PVH) and the number of lacunae were also regarded as ischemic brain lesions. Fifty-five patients undergoing maintenance hemodialysis (HD) without clinically overt neurological signs and symptoms, with a mean age of 52 +/- 11 (SD) years and a mean HD duration of 7 +/- 6 (SD) years were subjected. VBR and its relationship to ischemic brain lesion data were compared to those in 35 non-HD patients (controls), with a mean age of 42 +/- 14 (SD) years. RESULTS: The VBR, the number of lacunae and the severity of PVH tended to increase with age in HD. The VBRs at all age groups were significantly higher in HD than in controls (7.0 vs 3.7% at the 4th decade, p < 0.05; 8.4 vs 5. 9% at the 5th decade, p < 0.05; 9.6 vs 5.4% at the 6th decade, p < 0.05; and 11.6 vs 6.3% at the 7th decade, p < 0.05). HD patients had significantly higher number of lacunae and had more advanced PVH than did controls. Both the number of lacunae and the severity of PVH were significantly correlated to VBR in HD. CONCLUSION: In conclusion, the rapid progression of brain atrophy was related to the asymptomatic ischemic brain lesions in our HD patients. Such data indicated that cerebral ischemia might be a causative mechanism of brain atrophy in chronic hemodialysis patients.

Atrophy↗
PubMed2000

The possible role of c-fos expression in rheumatoid cartilage destruction.

OBJECTIVE: To determine the effect of c-fos on human chondrocytes and to examine the role of c-fos in cartilage destruction in rheumatoid arthritis (RA). METHODS: We examined changes in collagen synthesis by transfecting human c-fos into cultured human chondrocytes and evaluated expression of c-fos mRNA and localization of Type II collagen, matrix metalloproteinases-1 (MMP-1), and tissue inhibitor of metalloproteinases-1 (TIMP-1) in articular cartilage samples from patients with RA or osteoarthritis (OA) by in situ hybridization and immunohistochemistry. RESULTS: Introduction of c-fos in the chondrocytes decreased endogenous transcription of Type II collagen and TIMP-1, and increased that of MMP-1. The effect of the activating protein-1 protein on the MMP-1 and TIMP-1 promoters in human articular chondrocytes was analyzed by chloramphenicol acetyltransferase activity assay. MMP-1 promoter was clearly activated by Jun related proteins as well as Fos/Jun related protein heterocomplex. On the other hand, c-fos combined with any of the Jun related proteins failed to stimulate the TIMP-1 promoter, although it was activated by Fra-1 or Fra-2/Jun related protein heterocomplexes. Expression of c-fos mRNA was detected in chondrocytes in the mid and deep layers of cartilage in 11/15 patients (73%) with RA, but only in the superficial layer of cartilage from 2/10 patients (20%) with OA. Although TIMP-1 staining exceeded that of MMP-1 in OA cartilage, it appeared to be less intense than MMP-1 staining in RA cartilage. CONCLUSION: These results suggest that activation of c-fos may be involved in cartilage metabolism and hence play a crucial role in the pathogenesis of arthritic destruction in RA.

Adult↗
PubMed2000

[A case of systemic lupus erythematosus with pulmonary hypertension].

A 15 year-old girl was admitted to the hospital because of fever, polyarthlargia, dry cough, dyspnea, butterfly rash and multiple oral aphthas. The diagnosis of systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) was made based on renal disorders, pancytopenia, positive antinuclear antibody and positive for antibodies to double-stranded DNA. On admission, she developed progressive dyspnea with highly active SLE. The patient was complicated with both pulmonary hypertension (PH) and interstitial pneumonitis (IP), judging from increased pulmonary sound by an auscultation, interstitial shadows especially at bilateral lower lung and enlarged shadow of right atrium in a chest rentgenogram, ground glass pattern of bilateral middle to lower lung in a chest computed tomographic scan, increased pulmonary artery pressure, 53 mmHg, by an ultrasound cardiograph (UCG). Combination of methylprednisolone pulse therapy, cyclosporin A and plasma exchanges was effectively administered, which resulted in improvement of disease activity of SLE, IP and PH. However, two months later, although disease activity of SLE was completely reduced, recurrence of PH by UCG and multiple pulmonary embolism (PE) which was observed by a chest rentgenogram and a pulmonary blood flow scintigraphy was further complicated. Administration of cyclophosphamide pulse therapy and warfarin therapy improved both PE and PH. The patient had PH at the different clinical course of SLE; 1) PH maybe induced by severe IP at the active phase of SLE and 2) PH brought about from multiple PE at the inactive phase of SLE. Thus, the case is thought to be suggestive of elucidating the pathogenesis of PH of several systemic autoimmune diseases including SLE.

Adolescent↗
PubMed2000

[The effect of DPT and BCG vaccinations on atopic disorders].

METHODS: To examine the relationship between DPT and BCG vaccinations and development of atopic diseases, we studied on 143 children resident of the island of Kodushima, Tokyo Japan. This study dealt with the entire population of 0-3 years old (82), all of the first graders of the elementary school (31) and all of the first graders of the junior high school (30) on the Island. RESULTS: Among the 82 children aged 0-3, out of the 39 who received DPT vaccination, 10 (25.6%) suffered from bronchial asthma and this ratio was significantly higher than among the children who have not received DPT vaccination (1 in 43, 2.3%), (p < 0.01). This was also the case concerning atopic dermatitis (7 in 39, 18.0% vs 1 in 43, 2.3%) (p < 0.05). The same trend was also observed if three diseases (bronchial asthma, allergic rhinitis and atopic dermatitis) were combined (22 in 39, 56.4% vs 4 in 43, 9.3%) (p < 0.01). As to the context of BCG vaccination, there were no cases with atopic disorders among the tuberculin positive first graders of the elementary school. No such relations, however, were observed among the first graders of the junior high school at all. FINDINGS: From these results, we conclude that DPT vaccination has some effect in the promotion of atopic disorders, while successful BCG vaccination inhibits the development of atopic disorders, although the preventive effect of BCG may not last for many years.

Adolescent↗
PubMed2000

[A case of acute urticaria from hydroxyzine hydrochloride used for preanesthetic medication].

We report a case of acute urticaria probably caused by hydroxyzine hydrochloride. A 66-year-old male was scheduled for cardiac cystectomy by thoracic endoscopy. The patient was premedicated with atropine and hydroxyzine intramuscularly 30 min before arrival in the operating room. Abrupt general exanthema was observed when intravenous infusion was started. Although his general condition was stable, the operation was postponed. Three days later, the skin test was performed using several drugs. Only hydroxyzine hydrochloride gave positive result. It is assumed that hydroxyzine hydrochloride may have caused his urticaria.

Acute Disease↗
PubMed2000

Long-term results of anterior cruciate ligament reconstruction using semitendinosus and gracilis tendons with Kennedy ligament augmentation device compared with patellar tendon autografts.

ACL reconstructions were postoperatively evaluated in 102 patients who underwent surgery using an arthroscopically assisted double-incision technique. Augmentation of the distally based semitendinosus and gracilis tendons was done either with the Kennedy ligament augmentation device (LAD) (Group 1 patients, mean follow-up of 108 months) or bone-patellar-tendon-bone graft (Group 2 patients, mean follow-up of 109 months). At follow-up, serial KT-1000 measurements showed < or = 5 mm side-to-side differences in 70% of Group 1 and 90% of Group 2 patients. No differences were found among patients regarding postreconstruction complications such as loss in motion range, patellofemoral crepitus, osteoarthritis, and muscle disfunction.

Activities of Daily Living↗
PubMed1999

H-Ras signals to cytoskeletal machinery in induction of integrin-mediated adhesion of T cells.

The adhesive function of integrins is regulated through cytoplasmic signaling. The present study was performed to investigate the relevance of cytoplasmic signaling and cytoskeletal assembly to integrin-mediated adhesion induced by chemokines. Adhesion of T cells induced by chemokines macrophage inflammatory protein (MIP)-1alpha and MIP-1beta was inhibited by pertussis toxin, wortmannin, and cytochalasin B, suggesting that both G protein-sensitive phosphatidylinositol (PI) 3-kinase activation and cytoskeletal assemblies are involved. The chemokine-induced T cell adhesion could be mimicked by expression of small G proteins, fully activated H-RasV12, or H-RasV12Y40C mutant, which selectively binds to PI 3-kinase, in T cells, inducing activated form of LFA-1alpha and LFA-1-dependent adhesion to ICAM-1. H-Ras expression also induced F-actin polymerization which colocalized with profilin in T cells. Adult T cell leukemia (ATL) cells spontaneously adhered to ICAM-1, which depended on endogenous MIP-1alpha and MIP-1beta through activation of G protein-sensitive PI 3-kinase. H-Ras signal pathway, leading to PI 3-kinase activation, also induced active configuration of LFA-1 and LFA-1-mediated adhesion of ATL cells, whereas expression of a dominant-negative H-Ras mutant failed to do. Profilin-dependent spontaneous polymerization of F-actin in ATL cells was reduced by PI 3-kinase inhibitors. In this paper we propose that H-Ras-mediated activation of PI 3-kinase can be involved in induction of LFA-1-dependent adhesion of T cells, which is relevant to chemokine-mediated signaling, and that profilin may form an important link between chemokine- and/or H-Ras-mediated signals and F-actin polymerization, which results in triggering of LFA-1 on T cells or leukemic T cells.

Actins↗
PubMed1999

Rapid determination of Epstein-Barr virus-specific CD8(+) T-cell frequencies by flow cytometry.

We have developed an efficient and rapid method for detection of Epstein-Barr virus (EBV)-specific CD8(+) T-cell frequencies both in freshly isolated peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMCs) and in vitro established cytotoxic T lymphocyte (CTL) lines. Responder cells are thereby stimulated with an autologous lymphoblastoid cell line for 5 hours and intracellular accumulation of interferon gamma (IFNgamma) is detected by multiparameter flow cytometric analysis. EBV-specific CD8(+) T-cell frequencies ranged between 0.63% and 1. 29% in PBMCs of 5 healthy long-term EBV carriers. Using EBV-specific T-cell lines, it was shown that flow cytometric analysis is more sensitive than limiting dilution analysis for CTL precursors and enzyme-linked immunospot assay detecting IFNgamma-producing T cells. The class I restriction of IFNgamma production was confirmed using an anti-class I monoclonal antibody (MoAb). Information on other cytokine production of EBV-specific CTLs could be obtained using combinations of anti-cytokine MoAbs. The sensitive and rapid nature of the flow cytometric assay for EBV-specific CD8(+) T-cell frequency has significant advantages for evaluation of EBV-specific CD8(+) T-cell responses in PBMCs of patients with EBV-related diseases.

Antigens, Viral↗
PubMed1999

CD44 stimulation induces integrin-mediated adhesion of colon cancer cell lines to endothelial cells by up-regulation of integrins and c-Met and activation of integrins.

For cancer metastasis, tumor cells present in the circulation must first adhere to the endothelium. Integrins lymphocyte function-associated antigen (LFA) 1 and very late antigen 4 play a central role in leukocyte adhesion to the endothelium and subsequent migration into tissues. The majority of tumor cells derived from solid cancers including colorectal cancer do not express suitable adhesion receptors, LFA-1 and very late antigen 4. We investigated the mechanisms of adhesion and transendothelial migration of cancer cells using colorectal carcinoma cell lines. Our results showed the following novel features of CD44 on the cells: (a) colon cancer cells express high levels of CD44; (b) stimulation of cancer cells by CD44 cross-linking or fragmented hyaluronan markedly induces the expression of LFA-1s, some of which reveal an activation epitope on the cells; (c) CD44 cross-linking induces F-actin polymerization in the cell cortex; (d) fragmented hyaluronan induces up-regulation of the activation epitope of LFA-1, which is mediated through protein kinase C; (e) stimulation of CD44 augments the LFA-1-mediated adhesion of cancer cells to endothelial cells and intercellular adhesion molecule 1-transfected cells and facilitates transendothelial migration; (f) stimulation of CD44 also induces expression of the hepatocyte growth factor (HGF) receptor c-Met on cancer cells; and (g) HGF further amplifies the LFA-1-mediated adhesion of cells prestimulated by CD44-derived signaling. Our results indicated that stimulation by CD44 induces "outside-in signaling," which consists of a direct pathway via CD44 and an alternate pathway through the induction of c-Met expression via HGF. Such stimuli augment the expression and trigger the function of integrins via "inside-out signaling" in colon cancer cells, which leads to amplification of integrin-mediated adhesion to the vessel wall and subsequent transendothelial migration.

Actins↗
PubMed1999

Early temporal changes in coronary flow velocity patterns in patients with acute myocardial infarction demonstrating the "no-reflow" phenomenon.

Coronary flow velocity pattern in patients with acute myocardial infarction demonstrating no-reflow phenomenon is characterized with early systolic retrograde flow and rapid deceleration of diastolic flow velocity. In this study, we investigated the early temporal changes in microvascular function in patients with the no-reflow phenomenon. Among 144 patients with a first acute myocardial infarction, 33 exhibited sizable no-reflow phenomenon after coronary reperfusion with myocardial contrast echocardiography. We assessed temporal changes in coronary flow velocity patterns with the Doppler guidewire. The early systolic retrograde flow was observed < or = 10 seconds after reperfusion in 16 patients (group A) or later in 17 patients (331 +/- 327 seconds, group B). Diastolic deceleration rate was higher in group A than in group B at 1 minute after reperfusion. It gradually increased in group B and showed comparable value to group A 10 minutes later. Group A had longer elapsed time from symptom onset to reperfusion and a greater number of infarct Q waves before reperfusion than group B (14 +/- 13 vs 5 +/- 2 hours, p <0.01; and 3 +/- 2 vs 2 +/- 1, p <0.02). In contrast, the incidence of transient ST reelevation shortly after reperfusion was higher in group B (76% vs 25%, p <0.01). Thus, the characteristic coronary flow velocity pattern is either established at the moment of coronary reperfusion or progresses thereafter in patients with no-reflow phenomenon. This suggests different mechanisms of developing ischemic microvascular injury.

Adult↗