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Biomedical subjects

K Imagawa

Publications and source records attributed to K Imagawa.

At least 37 records · Page 2Linked to original sources

[MRI of traumatic anosmia].

On MRI, the authors were able to demonstrate the contused lesions of bilateral rectal gyri near the crista galli in all of five cases of traumatic anosmia. Thin slice coronal and sagittal images of MRI were very useful for detecting the lesions. Conventional CT scans failed to demonstrate the lesions in 3 out of the 5 cases, but, even in these cases, MRI was able to clearly depict the contused lesions of bilateral rectal gyri. Therefore, the depicted lesions of bilateral rectal gyri on MRI can be evidence of traumatic anosmia and this may be very significant in medico-legal cases.

Adolescent↗

Dural sinus thrombosis in Behçet's disease--a case report.

Sinus thrombosis, which causes pseudotumor cerebri, is difficult to diagnose with conventional imaging apparatus, CT and MRI. We report a case of sinus thrombosis due to Behçet's disease diagnosed by magnetic resonance angiography (MRA). A forty-five-year old man with severe headache and ocular pain was examined. Since he had a history of oral ulcers, genital ulcers, and erythema nodosum venous thrombosis, he had been diagnosed as having Behçet's disease previously. He showed marked papilledema bilaterally but no obvious intracranial lesion was observed by CT and MRI. On MRA, an obstruction was apparent at the sagittal sinus. Anticoagulant and steroid therapy were effective to relieve the headache, and to improve the constricted visual field temporarily. By MRA, blood flow was confirmed in the sagittal sinus. However, mild papilledema persisted and finally vision was lost because of optic atrophy.

Behcet Syndrome↗

In vitro anti-tumor activity of anti-c-erbB-2 x anti-CD3 epsilon bifunctional monoclonal antibody.

With the aim of developing an effective cancer immunotherapy for common epithelial cancer, a new class of bifunctional antibody (BFA) was developed; one arm of this BFA recognized c-erbB-2 gene product, and the other arm recognized CD3 epsilon, a T-cell specific surface antigen. Application of this BFA with human peripheral blood lymphocytes exhibited specific anti-tumor activity in vitro on a breast tumor cell line, ZR-75-1, which expressed abundant c-erbB-2 gene product on its cell surface. These results indicate that BFA recognizing an oncogene product on cell surface is a potential new agent for cancer immunotherapy.

Antibodies, Monoclonal↗

Glucose as regulator of glucose transport activity and glucose-transporter mRNA in hamster beta-cell line.

To investigate the role of glucose in regulating glucose transporters in pancreatic beta-cells, we studied the hamster clonal beta-cell line HIT-T15, which retains responsiveness to glucose. Northern blot analysis demonstrates that GLUT2 and GLUT1 mRNA are abundant in HIT cells. After a 24-h culture with various concentrations of glucose (0-22.2 mM [0-400 mg/dl]), the GLUT2 mRNA level in HIT cells increased by 40% at 22.2 mM (400 mg/dl) glucose compared with 11.1 mM (200 mg/dl) without a change in mRNA stability. It also decreased proportionally to the reduction of glucose concentration. Glucose deprivation resulted in a decrease of GLUT2 mRNA to an almost undetectable level, with a marked increase in the degradation rate of mRNA. In contrast, the GLUT1 mRNA was not affected by glucose. We show that glucose uptake is highest in HIT cells incubated at 2.8-5.5 mM (50-99 mg/dl) glucose for 24 h, and that levels in cells cultured at 0 mM (0 mg/dl) and 22.2 mM (400 mg/dl) glucose decrease to approximately 20% of the maximum level. This decrease is consistent with the effects of glucose on glucose-stimulated insulin secretion in HIT cells. Our results indicate that glucose is involved in regulating GLUT2 mRNA and glucose uptake activity and that the glucose responsiveness of the insulin secretion correlates with the glucose-induced change in glucose uptake activity in HIT cells.

Animals↗

Electrical Potentials during Gravitropism in Bean Epicotyls.

An apparatus for measuring simultaneously the surface electrical potentials along epicotyl was developed to study the largely bending situation by gravity. Potentials increased on the upper side and decreased on the lower side after the horizontal placement. The time course of electrical changes consisted of two components which correspond to growth movements observed during gravitropism.

Journal Article↗

A retinoic acid responsive gene, MK, produces a secreted protein with heparin binding activity.

MK is a gene whose expression increases transiently during retinoic acid-induced differentiation of embryonal carcinoma cells. MK polypeptide was secreted by differentiating HM-1 embryonal carcinoma cells and by L-cells transfected with an MK cDNA under the control of the beta-actin promoter and Rous sarcoma virus enhancer. MK polypeptide was found to have heparin binding activity. Conditioned medium of the transfected L-cells promoted growth of PC-12 pheochromocytoma cells. These findings support the view that MK polypeptide is a secreted factor involved in regulation of growth and differentiation.

Animals↗

Glucagon and glucagon-like immunoreactive cells in mid- and hindgut carcinoids.

The occurrence of glucagon/glucagon-like immunoreactivity in 31 small intestinal, 34 rectal and 18 appendiceal carcinoids were investigated immunocytochemically using, sequence specific antisera. Glucagon/GLI immunoreactive cells were found in five small-intestinal and five rectal carcinoids, but none were observed in any of the appendiceal carcinoids examined. Glucagon/GLI immunoreactive cells constituted a minor cell population, except in one rectal carcinoid, where most of the tumour cells were of this type. Glucagon/GLI immunoreactive cells were detected with only some sequence-specific antisera, and not with antisera directed against the rest of the glucagon/glicentin molecule. This might indicate that these cells contain a molecule which shares some antigenic binding sites with glucagon/glicentin rather than genuine glucagon/glicentin. It is concluded that this finding contributes to explain why hindgut carcinoids rarely give rise to symptoms related to neuro-endocrine product(s).

Appendiceal Neoplasms↗

Identification and some biochemical properties of the major XBL gene product of bovine leukemia virus.

Using a rabbit antiserum directed against a synthetic oligopeptide whose sequence was deduced from the nucleotide sequence of the XBL gene of bovine leukemia virus, we detected a 38-kDa protein in virus-producing cell lines. In vitro translation of hybrid-selected RNA unequivocally demonstrates that this protein, designated p38(XBL), is indeed encoded by the XBL gene. Unlike the other virus-encoded proteins, however, p38(XBL) resides within the cells without being incorporated into virions. It undergoes no gross post-translational modifications and has a relatively short half-life (5-6 hr) in vivo. Furthermore, cell fractionation combined with pulse-chase experiment reveals that a significant fraction (more than half) of the p38(XBL) localizes to the nucleus of the infected cell after synthesis. We conclude that the XBL gene of bovine leukemia virus is a functional gene encoding a nonvirion protein p38(XBL), which possibly functions within the nucleus of the infected cell to regulate viral or cellular gene expression. p38(XBL) is presumably translated from a doubly spliced, bicistronic mRNA that has the capability to encode another small polypeptide in a different reading frame.

Antibodies, Viral↗

p27x-III and p21x-III, proteins encoded by the pX sequence of human T-cell leukemia virus type I.

Human T-cell leukemia virus type I (HTLV-I) is an etiological agent of adult T-cell leukemia and has a unique sequence, pX, that contains four possible open reading frames, I-IV. p40x was previously identified as the gene product of frame IV (x-lor) and was suggested to mediate transcriptional trans-activation of the viral long terminal repeats. We have identified two pX gene products, p27x-III and p21x-III, encoded by frame III, which mostly overlapped frame IV. These proteins were detected with rabbit antiserum against the synthetic peptide predicted from the 3' end of frame III. p27x-III is phosphorylated in cultured cells, and the phosphoprotein (pp27x-III) is localized in nuclei; some pp27x-III was tightly bound to nuclear components. p27x-III was detected in a number of cell lines that express other viral antigens, including a cell line previously reported to express only p40x as a viral protein. The function(s) of p27x-III and p21x-III is not known, but the tight binding of pp27x-III to nuclear components suggests that it is associated with regulation of viral gene expression.

Amino Acid Sequence↗

Identification of gag and env gene products of human T-cell leukemia virus (HTLV).

The gag and env gene products of human T-cell leukemia virus (HTLV) were identified with rabbit antisera against the synthetic peptides and a polypeptide produced in Escherichia coli, which corresponded to parts of the proteins predicted from the nucleotide sequence of HTLV [M. Seiki, S. Hattori, Y. Hirayama, and M. Yoshida (1983). Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. USA 80, 3618-3622]. Viral proteins were detected by immunoprecipitation in two HTLV-producing cell lines. The precursor of gag products was a protein with an apparent molecular weight of 53,000 (Pr53), and was shown to be processed into three mature gag proteins, p19, p24, and p15, in this order, from the 5' end of the gag gene. The processing sites were confirmed to be the same as those predicted from the nucleotide sequence. The env gene product was identified as a glycoprotein of 62,000 Da (gp62), which was processed into gp46 and p20E. All the viral antigens described above were also detected with sera from ATL patients, indicating that all these proteins are expressed in the patients.

Amino Acid Sequence↗

[Hypothalamic-pituitary function in women after abortion or premature labor].

Hypothalamic function during pregnancy and hypothalamic-pituitary function during the first month after abortion or premature labor have been studied. The plasma LH-RH level in pregnant women was significantly lower between 18 and 23 weeks' gestation than that in eumenorrheic women on day 8 or 9 of the normal cycle, and thereafter decreased until term. Serum FSH showed normal response to LH-RH on day 10 after pregnancy termination between 5 and 23 weeks' gestation, but no FSH response to LH-RH was found on day 10 after premature labor at 33 weeks' gestation. Serum FSH responded normally to LH-RH on day 30 after pregnancy termination at 18 weeks' gestation, but serum FSH responded excessively to LH-RH on day 30 after premature labor at 30 weeks' gestation. The positive feedback effect of estrogen on LH release was not operative on day 30 after pregnancy termination beyond 18 weeks' gestation, though it was operative on day 30 after pregnancy termination between 6 and 11 weeks' gestation. These results indicate that the duration of pregnancy has an influence on the recovery of hypothalamic-pituitary function after pregnancy termination and that the recovery of hypothalamic-pituitary function during the first month after premature labor beyond 30 weeks' gestation is similar to that after normal labor.

Abortion, Induced↗