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Biomedical subjects

K Fukuda

Publications and source records attributed to K Fukuda.

At least 235 records · Page 13Linked to original sources
PubMed1999

Inhibition of Df-protease associated with allergic diseases by polyphenol.

It was reported that Df-protease from house dust mite (Dermatophagoides farinae) catalyzes the activation of the kallikrein-kinin system in human plasma and is closely associated with mite-induced allergy. Therefore, to prevent the release of kinin by Df-protease, the inhibitory activity of polyphenols including catechins and flavonols was tested in vitro and in vivo. Among them, myricetin and epigallocatechin gallate (EGCg) effectively inhibited the amidase activity of Df-protease with K(i) values of 1 x 10(-)(8) and 6 x 10(-)(4) M, respectively. The kinin release in human plasma was extensively inhibited by the addition of EGCg in comparison with myricetin. Enhancement of vascular permeability in guinea pigs caused by Df-protease was markedly suppressed by EGCg.

Animals↗
PubMed1999

Cerebral blood flow threshold and regional heterogeneity of heat shock protein 72 induction following transient forebrain ischemia in rats.

Heat shock proteins (HSPs) induced by brain ischemia may play an important role in neuroprotection from neuronal degeneration. In this study, we examined the cerebral blood flow (CBF) threshold to produce regional differences in HSP72 induction after transient forebrain ischemia in spontaneously hypertensive rats (SHRs). Female SHRs were subjected to 20 min of cerebral ischemia induced by bilateral carotid artery occlusion. The CBF was measured by laser Doppler flowmetry. At forty-eight hours after cerebral ischemia and reperfusion, the rats were decapitated and the brains were removed. Specific areas (hippocampal CA1, CA2-3, dentate gyrus, dorsolateral and ventromedial striatum, and parietal cortex) were thereafter dissected from the brain. The amounts of HSP72 in these samples were determined using Western blot analysis. In the hippocampus, HSP72 was induced when the CBF decreased to less than 18-25% of the resting level. The mean values of HSP72 produced in the CA1 area, CA2-3 area, and the dentate gyrus following ischemia and reperfusion treatment were 4.44 +/- 1.43 (+/-SD) ng/microg protein, 3.51 +/- 0.72 ng/microg protein and 3.77 +/- 1.05 ng/microg protein, respectively. In the parietal cortex, the amount of HSP72 induction was less pronounced (2.55 +/- 0.40 ng/microg protein), while HSP72 was hardly detected at all in the striatum, even under conditions of very severe CBF reduction and reperfusion. We demonstrated the existence of both a CBF threshold (i.e., approximately 20% of the resting level) for HSP72 induction and regional heterogeneity for the induction of HSP72 protein.

Animals↗
PubMed1999

Acquisition of resistance to apoptosis and necrosis by Bcl-xL over-expression in rat hepatoma McA-RH8994 cells.

BACKGROUND: Bcl-xL is the predominant anti-apoptotic Bcl-2 family member in the liver. Suppression of cell death promotes carcinogenesis and contributes to resistance to radiation and chemotherapeutic agents. METHODS: Direct effects of Bcl-xL protein on apoptosis and necrosis were investigated in rat hepatoma cells. Rat hepatoma cell line McA-RH8994 cells were transfected with expression plasmids containing a whole coding sequence of rat bcl-xL cDNA of sense orientation. Stable transfectant cell lines expressing bcl-xL cDNA (designated as RH8994/Bcl-xL-S), or control plasmid DNA (designated as RH8994/pT) were established. RESULTS: Cellular amounts of Bcl-xL in RH8994/Bcl-xL-S cells were demonstrated to be more than 20-fold that of RH8994/pT and parental cells. Three independent clones of RH8994/Bcl-xL-S were isolated and their susceptibility to various cell death stimuli was compared with that of the control cells. Transforming growth factor-beta1 and tumour necrosis factor-alpha induced apoptosis dose dependently in these cells, but the 50% cytotoxicity concentrations of these factors in RH8994/Bcl-xL-S cells were more than 10-fold higher than those in RH8994/pT and parental cells. Similarly, RH8994/Bcl-xL-S cells were shown to be significantly less susceptible to necrotic cell death induced by a calcium ionophore, A23187; a mutagen, N-methyl-N'-nitro-N-nitrosoguanidine; and UV-irradiation when compared with the control cells. CONCLUSIONS: Over-expression of Bcl-xL was shown to provide protection against apoptotic and necrotic cell death in rat hepatoma cells.

Animals↗
PubMed1999

Classification of the sleeping pattern of normal adults.

A questionnaire concerning their sleep-related lifestyle and mental health was mailed to people aged in their twenties to fifties living in the Fukushima (North East), Tokyo (Central, Metropolitan) and Okayama (West) areas of Japan. We classified the sleeping pattern of 3642 people (1702 men, 1940 women; mean age 41.3+/-10.67) by multivariational analyses (factor analysis and cluster analysis). They were classified into six groups and defined as 'poor sleeper group' (30.0%), 'good sleeper group' (28.3%), 'long sleeper group' (8.2%), 'short sleeper group' (18.5%), 'irregular sleeper group' (11.3%), and 'Delayed Sleep Phase Syndrome group' (3.7%) based on their characteristics of the factor pattern.

Adult↗
PubMed1999

Aldehyde dehydrogenase genotypes and male alcohol use disorders: a case-control study in Khon Kaen, north-east Thailand.

A genetic epidemiological case-control study on aldehyde dehydrogenase 2 (ALDH2) genotype and male probable alcohol use disorders (AUD) was performed in Khon Kaen province, northeast Thailand. One hundred and twenty-four of cases (probable AUD) were obtained from male villagers aged 18-65 years using the modified Michigan Alcoholism Screening Test-Thai version. The same number of controls were selected, being matched with the cases in terms of age (+/-4 years) within the same village. Marital status, education history and past or present histories of physical illnesses were essentially the same for the cases and the controls. All of the cases and 85.5% of the controls were current drinkers, and the cases tended to drink significantly more often than the controls. Genomic DNA was extracted from fingernails and ALDH2 genotypes were determined by polymerase chain reaction technique and digested by Ksp 632I. The ALDH2 genotypes of the cases and the controls were not significantly different: 90.3% versus 91.1% normal homozygote; 8.1% versus 8.9% heterozygote; and 1.6% versus 0.0% mutant homozygote, respectively. Among the normal homozygote, the daily amount of alcohol intakes of the cases were significantly larger than that of the controls (56.2+/-40.6g vs. 8.1+/-14.1 g), the same was found among the ALDH2 deficient (55.9+/-43.4 vs. 2.2+/-5.8 g). Multivariate analysis based on the conditional logistic regression model showed no significant association of AUD with ALDH2 genotype, marital status, education history, or past history of injury, however, occupation and daily amount of alcohol intake were found to be significantly associated with AUD (OR = 10.72, 95% CI = 1.15-99.99, P = 0.037, and OR = 1.12, 95% CI = 1.06-1.18, P = 0.000, respectively). Non-farmers showed 10.7 times larger risk of developing AUD compared to farmers, and the subjects had three times more chance of developing AUD for each increase of 10 g of the daily amount of alcohol intake.

Adult↗
PubMed1999

Hepatocellular carcinoma with spontaneous regression of multiple lung metastases.

Spontaneously regressed lung metastasis of hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) in a 82-year-old Japanese man with liver cirrhosis was recorded. Multiple nodular lesions of both lungs, up to 1 cm across, were shown on chest X-ray when the clinical diagnosis of HCC was made because of the presence of a liver mass on abdominal computed tomography (CT) scan and high serum alpha-fetoprotein (AFP) value. The lung lesions which were regarded clinically as metastasis of HCC decreased in number and size 7 months later, and subsequently disappeared a further 7 months radiographically. However, the liver mass revealed no reduction on abdominal CT, despite normalization of the serum AFP value, and the patient died 7 months after the disappearance of the lung lesions. The patient refused biopsy for the liver mass and anticancerous treatment during the course of the disease. At autopsy, the liver mass, 13 cm in diameter, histologically featured moderately differentiated HCC. Only one metastasis, 0.5 cm across, was obvious in the left lower lung lobe. In addition, there were 14 minute lesions in both lungs, up to 0.2 cm across, including three with complete necrosis and 11 with histocytic reaction and fibrosis. The necrotic tissue was filled with large ghostly cells that appeared to be debris from a neoplastic tissue, regardless of no viable tumor cells among them. The clinical and autopsy findings highly suggested that the patient developed spontaneous regression of multiple lung metastases of HCC and subsequently left the very small lesions as the vestige. Thus, the histology of these lesions may exhibit a process of the regression as the sequence of events, i.e., a transition from necrosis of the metastatic HCC to its fibrosis. Presence of an effective factor(s) in relation to the regression was unclarified. There has been no reported cases with regression of the only metastasis of HCC in the literature to date.

Aged↗
PubMed1999

The role of cysteinyl leukotrienes in the pathogenesis of asthma: clinical study of leukotriene antagonist pranlukast for 1 year in moderate and severe asthma.

Clinical studies have shown that pranlukast (Ono Pharmaceutical Co., Osaka, Japan) is effective for mild and moderate asthma. However, it is not well known that pranlukast is also effective on moderate and severe persistent asthma in the long term. We studied the effect of pranlukast on moderate and severe asthmatics by evaluating the change of peak expiratory flow (PEF) and therapeutic scores for 1 year before and during pranlukast therapy. We gave pranlukast 225 mg twice daily orally to 25 patients who were receiving more than 400 micrograms/day beclomethasone inhalation and beta 2 stimulant inhalation with or without oral corticosteroid. Pranlukast increased PEF more than 10 L/min in 14 patients in the first 4 weeks. In these 14 patients, 10 patients continued to monitor PEF and kept asthma diaries for 1 year. We compared the data for 1 year before and during the pranlukast therapy. During the pranlukast therapy, PEF significantly increased, puffs of beta 2 stimulant inhalation significantly decreased. The incidence of oral corticosteroid rescue therapy reduced, and the mean daily dose of oral corticosteroid decreased; however, they were not statistically significant. During treatment with pranlukast, no side effect was observed. From these results, we suggest that pranlukast is effective for more than half of the moderate and severe persistent asthmatics, and that the effectiveness continues for more than 1 year.

Adult↗
PubMed1999

Inhibition of activator protein 1 activity by berberine in human hepatoma cells.

Activator protein 1 (AP-1) is a transcription factor which plays a critical role in inflammation and carcinogenesis. The present study was conducted to investigate the effect of berberine, an isoquinoline alkaloid present in plants of the genera Berberis and Coptis, on the activity of AP-1 using a reporter gene assay in human hepatoma cells. Berberine was shown to inhibit AP-1 activity in a dose- and time-dependent manner at concentrations higher than 0.3 microM. Berberine inhibited AP-1 activity almost completely as low as 10 microM after 48 h treatment. The inhibitory effect on AP-1 activity in cancer cells may further explain the anti-tumor promoting activity of berberine.

Berberine↗
PubMed1999

Aminoguanidine has both an anti-inflammatory effect on experimental colitis and a proliferative effect on colonic mucosal cells.

BACKGROUND: The aim of this study was to assess the effect of aminoguanidine (AG) on developed colitis and cell proliferation. METHODS: Colitis was induced by means of trinitrobenzene sulphonic acid (TNB) in male Wistar rats weighing about 250 g. Seven days after induction of TNB colitis the rats were divided into two groups at random, and one group was orally treated with 1.5 micromol/kg AG each day. We assessed the effect of AG by measuring the mucosal damage, the ulcer area, myeloperoxidase (MPO) activity, inducible nitric oxide synthase (iNOs) activity, and nitrogen oxide in serum 7 days after the beginning of treatment. RESULTS: AG significantly ameliorated the macroscopic damage score (AG versus control, 5.25 +/- 0.80 versus 7.50 +/- 0.50), the microscopic damage score (5.88 +/- 1.13 versus 9.25 +/- 0.31), ulcer area (0.57 +/- 0.14 versus 1.24 +/- 0.17 cm2), decreased MPO activity (51.5 +/- 9.4 versus 192.2 +/- 60 units/g tissue), and nitrogen oxide in serum (27.2 +/- 1.4 versus 32.3 +/- 1.8 microM) but did not decrease iNOs activity (8732 +/- 435 versus 8672 +/- 357 cpm/g tissue). Moreover, AG accelerated T84 cell proliferation in a dose-dependent manner. CONCLUSIONS: These results suggest that AG ameliorates TNB colitis not only by its anti-inflammatory effect but also by accelerating the proliferation of colonic mucosal cells. AG, accordingly, might well be a useful new medicine to ameliorate inflammatory bowel disease.

Analysis of Variance↗
PubMed1999

Case-control study of risk factors for avian influenza A (H5N1) disease, Hong Kong, 1997.

In May 1997, a 3-year-old boy in Hong Kong died of a respiratory illness related to influenza A (H5N1) virus infection, the first known human case of disease from this virus. An additional 17 cases followed in November and December. A case-control study of 15 of these patients hospitalized for influenza A (H5N1) disease was conducted using controls matched by age, sex, and neighborhood to determine risk factors for disease. Exposure to live poultry (by visiting either a retail poultry stall or a market selling live poultry) in the week before illness began was significantly associated with H5N1 disease (64% of cases vs. 29% of controls, odds ratio, 4.5, P=.045). By contrast, travel, eating or preparing poultry products, recent exposure to persons with respiratory illness, including persons with known influenza A (H5N1) infection, were not associated with H5N1 disease.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1999

Antibody response in individuals infected with avian influenza A (H5N1) viruses and detection of anti-H5 antibody among household and social contacts.

The first documented outbreak of human respiratory disease caused by avian influenza A (H5N1) viruses occurred in Hong Kong in 1997. The kinetics of the antibody response to the avian virus in H5N1-infected persons was similar to that of a primary response to human influenza A viruses; serum neutralizing antibody was detected, in general, >/=14 days after symptom onset. Cohort studies were conducted to assess the risk of human-to-human transmission of the virus. By use of a combination of serologic assays, 6 of 51 household contacts, 1 of 26 tour group members, and none of 47 coworkers exposed to H5N1-infected persons were positive for H5 antibody. One H5 antibody-positive household contact, with no history of poultry exposure, provided evidence that human-to-human transmission of the avian virus may have occurred through close physical contact with H5N1-infected patients. In contrast, social exposure to case patients was not associated with H5N1 infection.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1999

Anovulations in an ovary during two menstrual cycles enhance the pregnancy potential of oocytes matured in that ovary during the following third cycle.

The aim of this study was to test whether ovulation from an ovary affects the health of oocytes from dominant follicles in that ovary two cycles later. A total of 80 women each with two intact ovaries underwent 270 treatment cycles (155 natural cycles and 115 clomiphene citrate cycles) all showing unilateral ovulation. The results from the in-vitro fertilization (IVF) treatment were grouped according to whether ovulation (O) or anovulation (A) (no ovulation) was observed in the ovary with dominant follicle during the treatment cycle in the previous two cycles: O-O, A-O, O-A and A-A (previous second cycle-previous first cycle). The rate of pre-embryo formation in A-A was significantly higher than that of O-A. The pregnancy rate in A-A (29%) was also higher than those of O-A (13%), A-O (9%) and O-O (5%). These rates increased from O-O to A-A as the number of previous ovulations in an ovary decreased. The presence of a corpus luteum and/or a dominant follicle is likely to exert local negative effects on the health of the oocyte contained in the follicle selected to ovulate up to two cycles later. Anovulations in an ovary for two menstrual cycles may therefore provide improved conditions for the development of a healthier oocyte with an increased pregnancy potential.

Adult↗
PubMed1999

Induction of apoptosis by gallic acid in lung cancer cells.

The apoptosis-inducing effect of gallic acid (3,4,5-trihydroxybenzoic acid) was investigated in four human lung cancer cell lines, SBC-3 (small cell carcinoma), EBC-1 (squamous cell carcinoma), A549 (adenocarcinoma) and SBC-3/CDDP (cisplatin-resistant subclone of SBC-3). Gallic acid induced apoptosis in a dose-dependent manner as evidenced by analyses of DNA fragmentation, changes in cell morphology and loss of viability. Fifty percent inhibitory concentration (IC50) values of gallic acid on the cell viability of SBC-3, EBC-1 and A549 were around 10, 20 and 60 microg/ml, respectively. The IC50 value for SBC-3/CDDP cells was almost the same as that of SBC-3, suggesting that susceptibility of cells to gallic acid-induced apoptosis is not altered by the acquisition of cisplatin resistance. The apoptotic process was effectively triggered by 30 min exposure to gallic acid. A caspase inhibitor and alpha-tocopherol effectively prevented the gallic acid-induced apoptosis, indicating the involvememt of caspase activation and oxidative processes during the course of apoptosis in gallic acid-treated cancer cells. These findings suggest the possible applicability of gallic acid in lung cancer therapy, especially to circumvent resistance to anti-cancer drugs.

Adenocarcinoma↗
PubMed1999

Crystallization and preliminary x-ray studies of flavocetin-A, a platelet glycoprotein Ib-binding protein from the habu snake venom.

Flavocetin-A (FL-A) is a platelet glycoprotein Ib-binding protein, a high molecular mass oligomer (149 kDa) of C-type lectin-like subunits alpha and beta isolated from the habu snake venom. Purified FL-A crystallized in the tetragonal space group I4 with unit-cell dimensions a = b = 121.0, c = 63.2 A. The crystals diffract to at least 2.4 A resolution. The structure has been solved by molecular replacement using the crystal structure of factors IX/X-binding protein (PDB code 1ixx) as a search model. The asymmetric unit contains one heterodimer, showing that FL-A is a novel tetradimer (alphabeta)(4) composed of four heterodimers related by a crystallographic fourfold axis.

Animals↗
PubMed1999

Effects of a soybean isoflavone mixture on carcinogenesis in prostate and seminal vesicles of F344 rats.

Several epidemiological studies have suggested an inverse association between the risk of prostate cancer and intake of soybeans and their products. In vitro data pointing to possible anti-carcinogenic properties of the soybean isoflavone, genistein, led us to investigate the chemopreventive potential of soybean isoflavones in a rat carcinogenesis model induced by 3,2'-dimethyl-4-aminobiphenyl (DMAB) and testosterone propionate (TP). Animals received DMAB s.c. injections at 2-week intervals for the first 20 weeks and implanted silicon tubes containing 40 mg of TP, replaced at 6-week intervals throughout the experiment. The soybean isoflavone mixture consisting of 74% genistein and 21% daidzein was mixed in basal diet (AIN-76A) at concentrations of 100 and 400 ppm and fed to F344 male rats throughout the experiment. Rats treated with carcinogens and administered isoflavone mixture at 100 and 400 ppm developed adenocarcinomas at incidences of 35% and 29%, respectively, in the prostate and seminal vesicles, whereas the figure was 60% for those maintained on control diet. Feeding of the isoflavone mixture at 100 and 400 ppm significantly inhibited the number of argyrophilic nucleolar organizer regions (AgNORs) in adenocarcinomas of the accessory sex glands as compared to those of rats fed control diet. No influence on the development of neoplastic lesions originating in other organs was noted. The results of this study provide evidence that soybean isoflavones may have potential as chemopreventive agents against carcinogenesis in the prostate.

Aminobiphenyl Compounds↗