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Biomedical subjects

K Kitamura

Publications and source records attributed to K Kitamura.

At least 37 records · Page 2Linked to original sources

Synergistic effects of intratumor administration of cis-diamminedichloroplatinum(II) combined with local hyperthermia in melanoma bearing mice.

The synergistic effect of local hyperthermia (LHT) with intratumor injection (i.t.) of cis-diamminedichloroplatinum (II) (DDP) was studied using a rodent model with implanted B16 melanoma tumors. The hindfoot of the C57BL/6 mouse bearing the tumor was placed in a water bath at 42.5 +/- 0.2 degrees C (intratumor temperature was at 42.3 +/- 0.1 degrees C) for 30 minutes just after local (i.t.) or systemic (intraperitoneal;i.p.) administration of DDP (1-3 mg/kg once in experiment I and 1-3 mg/kg three times in experiment II). The tumor growth ratio (TGR) at 7 days after treatment in the group given DDP 3 mg/kg (i.t.) with LHT was 1.1 in experiment I and 0.5 in experiment II, and there was a statistically significant difference in both experiments compared to findings in other groups (P < 0.01). The mean survival time was 42.1 days in experiment I and 50.2 days in experiment II, with a significant difference in the latter (P < 0.001). Thus regional injection chemotherapy given concomitantly with local hyperthermia promotes the anticancer effects and improves the prognosis without either severe renal injury or the promotion of hematogenic metastasis.

Animals

A case of localized peritonitis caused by obstructive colitis proximal to rectal carcinoma: a rare manifestation of obstructive colitis.

A case of obstructive colitis associated with rectal carcinoma in a 56 year old Japanese man is reported herein. He presented to Shinkokura Hospital with severe abdominal pain following a one month history of anal bleeding and mild abdominal pain. On palpation, muscle guarding was observed in the left lower quadrant and the white blood cell count was 14,200/mm3. An exploratory laparotomy was performed under the provisional diagnosis of acute abdomen, which revealed localized peritonitis 8 cm oral to an area of rectal carcinoma. An anterior resection of the lesion was therefore performed together with a descendo-proctostomy. The histopathologic diagnosis revealed adenocarcinoma and obstructive colitis involving the entire thickness of the sigmoid colon and resultant fibrino-purulent peritonitis. His post-operative course was uneventful and he was continuing to do well on the 30th postoperative day, at the time of writing. The clinical significance of this combination of obstructive colitis with rectal carcinoma is briefly discussed following the presentation of this case.

Adenocarcinoma

Roles of inositol trisphosphate and protein kinase C in the spontaneous outward current modulated by calcium release in rabbit portal vein.

We examined the effects of heparin, guanosine nucleotides, protein kinase C (PKC) modulators, such as phorbol 12,13-dibutyrate (PDBu) and H-7 on Ca(2+)-dependent K+ currents in smooth muscle cells of the rabbit portal vein using the whole-cell patch-clamp technique, to explore the effects of PKC on the oscillatory outward current (Ioo). Neomycin (30 microM), an inhibitor of phospholipase C, and intracellular applications of heparin (10 micrograms/ml) and guanosine 5'-O-(2-thiodiphosphate) (GDP[beta S]; 1 mM) partly but consistently inhibited the generation of Ioo, whereas a higher concentration of heparin (100 micrograms/ml) transiently enhanced then suppressed the generation of Ioo. Inhibition of Ioo generation by heparin was more powerful at the holding potential of +20 mV than at -20 mV. Inositol 1,4,5-trisphosphate (InsP3; 30 microM) continuously generated Ioo at holding potentials more positive than -60 mV. Noradrenaline (10 microM) and caffeine (3-20 mM) transiently augmented, then reduced the generation of Ioo. Heparin (10 micrograms/ml) completely inhibited responses induced by InsP3 and noradrenaline, but not those induced by caffeine. Intracellular application of guanosine 5'-triphosphate (GTP; 200 microM) or low concentrations of guanosine 5'-O-(3-thiotriphosphate) (GTP[gamma S]; < or = 3 microM) continuously augmented the generation of Ioo. High concentrations of GTP[gamma S] (> or = 10 microM) transiently augmented, then inhibited Ioo. Neither GTP[gamma S] nor noradrenaline induced the transient augmentation or the subsequent inhibition of Ioo when applied in the presence of GDP[beta S] (1 mM), neomycin (30 microM) or heparin (10 micrograms/ml). PDBu (0.1 microM) reduced the generation of Ioo but failed to produce an outward current following application of caffeine (3-5 mM). This action of PDBu was inhibited by pretreatment with H-7 (20 microM). In the presence of H-7, GTP[gamma S] continuously enhanced the generation of Ioo. The suppression of the generation of Ioo during application of noradrenaline (10 microM) was reduced by pretreatment with H-7. Thus both InsP3 and protein kinase C contribute to the generation of Ioo in smooth muscle cells of the rabbit portal vein and heparin is not a specific InsP3 antagonist on the InsP3-induced Ca(2+)-release channel (PIRC). InsP3 opens PIRC and protein kinase C may deplete the stored Ca2+ by either inhibiting the reuptake of Ca2+ or by enhancement of the releasing actions of InsP3.

1-(5-Isoquinolinesulfonyl)-2-Methylpiperazine

Evidence for contribution of Ca2+ storage sites on unitary K+ channel currents in inside-out membrane of rabbit portal vein.

While making use of the inside-out membrane patch, we examined the effects of caffeine and heparin on unitary currents of the large conductance Ca(2+)-dependent K+ (maxi-K+) channel in the rabbit portal vein. About half of the inside-out membranes we used contained a functional Ca(2+)-store site which facilitated modification of the maxi-K+ channel. When high-K+ solution containing 0.05mM EGTA was superfused in the bath, simultaneous openings of more than 20 maxi-K+ channels were observed in 39 of 83 patch membranes, and multi-channel opening appeared periodically or continuously at the holding potential of -10mV. Most channel activities of these patch membranes were inhibited by caffeine or heparin, and some heparin-insensitive channel activities were inhibited by caffeine. The remaining patch membranes (44 out of 83) showed low activity of the maxi-K+ channel, and neither caffeine nor heparin modified channel activity. Therefore, in our experimental set-up, half the number of excised patch membranes contained a Ca2+ store site. Most Ca2+ store sites have inositol 1,4,5-trisphosphate (InsP3)-activated Ca2+ release (IACR) and caffeine-activated Ca2+ release (CACR) channels and few lack the IACR channel. The mechanisms of activation of the maxi-K+ channel in relation to release of Ca2+ from the store sites can be examined in detail using the approaches we have described.

Animals

Immunoglobulin idiotype expression in reactive lymphoid tissues and B-cell lymphomas.

In an investigation of the immunoglobulin idiotypic expression of non-tumour and neoplastic B lymphocytes in situ, fresh-frozen specimens of reactive tonsils, lymph nodes and B-cell malignant lymphomas (B-MLs) from Japanese patients were studied immunohistochemically with 39 different anti-idiotype antibodies. In reactive lymphoid tissues, while idiotype-bearing cells were largely distributed sparsely in follicles and perifollicular areas, some were heavily crowded in particular germinal centres (GCs), suggesting the presence of oligoclonal proliferations of B-cells in GCs. Forty-eight out of 100 B-MLs reacted with anti-idiotype antibodies. This proportion was significantly higher than those reported in Western cases (27-36%), indicating that Japanese B-MLs share public idiotypes much frequently than western cases. The idiotypes demonstrated in these lymphomas, in contrast to those not expressed in any B-ML, were found much commonly in non-tumour lymphocytes, suggesting that such public idiotypes as were common in B-MLs were frequently shared by normal B-lymphocytes.

Antibodies

Auditory brain-stem response in zitter rats with genetic spongiform encephalopathy.

Zitter rats with genetic spongiform encephalopathy and hypomyelination developed an abnormal auditory brain-stem response (ABR) before the appearance of spongy lesions in the central nervous system (CNS). The ABR abnormalities were characterized by a dual peak of wave I, with a longer latency than in normal rats, and decreased or absent waves III and IV. Hypomyelination in both peripheral and central nerves may have been responsible for these abnormalities. The slow negative wave became wide and obscure with aging. These changes accompanied age-dependent progression of spongy changes in the CNS. These findings suggest that at least two mechanisms, one involving hypomyelination and the other causing spongy lesions, are responsible for the brain-stem auditory pathway dysfunction in zitter rats.

Action Potentials

Pathology of chemically induced chronic active hepatitis in mice.

Female Swiss mice were treated for 24 weeks, with 3-hydroxy-4-pyrone (Py) added to their powdered diet at 0.5% (wt/wt), and the effects of this agent on the liver were examined. Serum transaminases (especially GPT) rose continuously, while the GOT/GPT ratio remained at approximately 1.0 throughout the study period. The characteristic changes found from 8 weeks onward were piecemeal necrosis and bridging necrosis of the hepatocytes with dense lymphocytic infiltration. Proliferation of collagen fibers in the portal tracts and formation of narrow fibrous septa dividing the lobules into pseudolobules were also noted from 12 weeks onward. A large number of the infiltrating lymphocytes were identified as T cells by immunohistochemical and electron microscopic studies. These lymphocytes often surrounded or were closely attached to degenerating hepatocytes. Focal apoptosis and necrosis accompanied by a granulomatous reaction of the centrilobular hepatocytes were noted as early changes in the liver. Our findings indicate that the hepatic changes produced in mice by long-term Py administration have characteristics in common with those of human chronic active hepatitis. Immunological cytotoxic mechanisms, especially T cell-mediated ones, appear to play an essential role in the development of hepatic lesions in this murine model of chronic active hepatitis.

Alanine Transaminase

Flow cytometric analysis of effects of cytokines on the expression of varicella-zoster virus glycoproteins.

Varicella-zoster virus (VZV)-infected human embryonic fibroblast (HEF) cells were stained with monoclonal antibodies directed against VZV glycoprotein I, II and IV, and then labeled with fluorescein isothiocyanate (FITC)-conjugated goat anti-mouse IgG. The cells were analyzed by flow cytometry. VZV-infected cells expressing VZV glycoproteins were clearly distinguished from uninfected cells. This method was useful for analyzing expression of VZV glycoproteins in different experimental conditions. Interferon alpha, beta, and gamma and tumor necrosis factor (TNF)-alpha reduced the percentage of positive cells and the mean fluorescence intensity of the cells expressing VZV glycoproteins. Interleukin(IL)-1 beta, IL-6 and TNF-beta had little effect on the expression of VZV glycoproteins.

Cells, Cultured

Production of a monoclonal antibody that defines the alpha-subunit of the feline IL-2 receptor.

A mAb, termed 9F23, to feline Con A-stimulated PBMC was prepared to characterize feline IL-2R. 9F23 was identified by FACS studies, which showed that the antigen was expressed at a high density on Con A-induced feline T cell blasts while 9F23 binding was not detected on nonactivated PBMC or the Crandell feline kidney cell line CRFK. Chemical crosslinking of 125I-IL-2 to membrane IL-2Rs on Con A-stimulated feline PBMC under the low-affinity condition resulted in detection of a major 65-kDa band. 9F23 specifically immunoprecipitated the IL-2.IL-2R alpha complex in a cell extract; in contrast, neither anti-human IL-2R alpha H48 nor anti-mouse IL-2R alpha 7D4 reacted with the complex. Moreover, immunoprecipitation with 9F23 of the extract from surface-iodinated Con A-stimulated PBMC showed a major 50-55 kDa band. Furthermore, 9F23 had no effect on either IL-2-driven proliferation of the Con A-stimulated PBMC or IL-2 binding. Finally, the expression of feline IL-2R alpha on Con A-stimulated PBMC was up-regulated by addition of exogenous IL-2. Thus, 9F23 defines an epitope different from the IL-2 binding site on the alpha-subunit of feline IL-2R.

Animals

Activation of lymphocytes by varicella-zoster virus (VZV): expression of interleukin-2 receptors on lymphocytes cultured with VZV antigen.

The expression of human leukocyte antigen (HLA-DR) and interleukin-2 receptor (IL-2R; alpha and beta subunits) was significantly increased in peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMC) from varicella-zoster virus (VZV)-seropositive donors when PBMC were cultured with VZV antigen for 6 days. The increased expression of HLA-DR and IL-2R was observed in both CD4+ and CD8+ lymphocytes, which suggests that both types of lymphocytes from VZV-seropositive donors were activated when PBMC were cultured with VZV antigen. Adding anti-IL-2R alpha did not inhibit lymphocyte proliferation in response to VZV antigen, although marked inhibition was obtained by adding anti-IL-2R beta. No IL-2 was detected in the supernatant of PBMC cultured with VZV antigen; however, antibody to IL-2 inhibited lymphocyte proliferation on exposure to VZV antigen. These results indicate that IL-2 and expression of IL-2R beta are essential to lymphocyte activation by VZV antigen.

Adult

Purification and properties of extracellular mutacin, a bacteriocin from Streptococcus sobrinus.

Mutacin MT6223, a cell-free bacteriocin produced by Streptococcus sobrinus MT6223, was purified by ammonium sulphate precipitation, chromatofocusing with PBE 94 and column chromatography on SP Sephadex C-25. The specific activity of the purified mutacin was increased 1950-fold with a recovery of 9.7%. The molecular mass of the purified mutacin preparation was estimated to be 6.5 kDa. The mutacin activity was stable from pH 2-7, and was resistant to treatment at 100 degrees C for 20 min. It was inactivated by papain or ficin digestion, and was partially inhibited by alpha-chymotrypsin. The mutacin was found to be active against strains of serotypes c, e and f of Streptococcus mutans and the addition of purified mutacin MT6223 to growing cells of S. mutans MT8148 resulted in a rapid inhibition of incorporation of [3H]thymidine, [3H]uracil or L-[3H]glutamic acid into DNA, RNA or protein, respectively. Specific pathogen-free Fischer rats fed diet 2000 and infected with S. mutans MT8148R showed significantly fewer caries and lower plaque scores when mutacin was administered through drinking water. The present study demonstrates that mutacin MT6223 inhibited the growth of mutans streptococci. Thus, mutacin MT6223 may be a candidate for use in dental caries prevention.

Animals

Photosensitivity to piroxicam is induced by sensitization to thimerosal and thiosalicylate.

Piroxicam (PXM), a nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drug, has been well known to often induce photosensitive eruptions within a few days after its administration. It has been reported that this photosensitivity correlates well with a positive patch-test reaction to thimerosal (TMS) and also to thiosalicylate (TOS), which is an active hapten of TMS. But it has not yet been concluded whether this correlation is caused by a cross-reaction among the drugs or not. In our experiments, animals contact-sensitized with TMS or TOS developed positive photopatch-test reactions to PXM, and those photocontact-sensitized with PXM had positive patch-test reactions to TMS and TOS. Photosensitive reactions were also induced by UVA irradiation (photo test) performed 90 min after perioral administration of PXM in the animals contact-sensitized with TMS or TOS. Analysis of the UVA-treated PXM by nuclear magnetic resonance spectrography and thin-layer chromatography revealed that the high dose of UVA induced photodecomposition of PXM, and generated several other chemicals different from PXM. But the PXM treated with the high dose of UVA could not induce positive patch-test reactions in many of the animals contact-sensitized with TMS or TOS. The cross-reacting hapten generated from PXM by UVA treatment may not be stable in the absence of carrier proteins. These results taken together indicate that the PXM photosensitivity in man is induced by contact-sensitization with TMS, as shown in our animal model, and then is photoallergic in nature. But the identity of the cross-reacting substance remains unknown.

Animals

Anti-tumor effects of interleukin-4 and interleukin-5 against mouse B cell lymphoma and possible mechanisms of their action.

We investigated the anti-tumor effects of recombinant mouse interleukin (IL)-4 and IL-5 by using a transplantable B cell lymphoma 38C13 cell line as a model. Daily local administration of either IL-4 or IL-5 produced moderate but significant inhibition of the rate of local tumor growth and prolongation of mean survival time (MST) in syngeneic C3H/HeJ mice; these anti-tumor effects appeared to plateau at low doses. Histopathologic and immuno-histochemical examination revealed necrotic changes in the cytokine-treated tumors, associated with infiltration of inflammatory cells such as eosinophils, macrophages, and lymphocytes. The infiltrating lymphocytes were found to be Thy-1.2+ T cells. To elucidate the importance of T cells, the rate of tumor growth and the MSTs were compared between athymic T cell-deficient BALB/c nude mice and immunocompetent C3H/HeJ mice. In the nude mice the transplanted tumor grew more rapidly and the MST was shorter than in the normal mice, suggesting a significant contribution of infiltrating T cells in the anti-tumor effects of the interleukins. Lastly, in vitro, growth inhibition of the 38C13 cells was observed in a dose-dependent manner at relatively high concentrations of either cytokine. Therefore, we conclude that both IL-4 and IL-5 have moderate anti-tumor effects against 38C13 B cell lymphoma both in vivo and in vitro, and that the observed in vivo anti-tumor effects are probably mediated both by tumoristatic action of infiltrating cells, such as eosinophils, macrophages and T lymphocytes, and by direct anti-proliferative action of the recombinant cytokines.

Animals

Enhanced tumor localization of monoclonal antibody by treatment with kininase II inhibitor and angiotensin II.

The effect of kininase II inhibitor, enalapril, on the delivery of monoclonal antibody A7 to the targeted tumor was investigated using athymic mice bearing human colon cancer, SW1116. Enalapril alone, which enhances tumor vascular permeability through the kinin-generating cascade, did not increase the uptake of 125I-labeled A7 (125I-A7) in SW1116 due to the systemic hypotension induced by its inhibitory effect on angiotensin converting enzyme. However, with combined angiotensin II (AT-II) and enalapril treatment, a 2-fold increase in the accumulation of 125I-A7 was seen when compared to A7 alone. This marked increase was presumably due to increased tumor vascular permeability induced by enalapril combined with the absence of hypotension due to the actions of AT-II. This approach might be useful in radioimmunodetection and immunotargeting chemotherapy using monoclonal antibody.

Angiotensin II

Efficacy and specificity of a monoclonal antibody-drug conjugate in chemotherapy by intratumoral injection.

The murine monoclonal antibody (Mab) A7 conjugated to neocarzinostatin (A7-NCS) was injected intratumorally (IT) into tumor bearing nude mice. Its pharmacokinetics and tumoricidal effects were compared in the high, moderate and low antigen expressing xenograft for SW1116, WiDr and KB tumor-bearing nude mice, respectively. When injected IT into nude mice, [125I]A7-NCS was retained in the tumors according to the degree of antigen expression; it was also disseminated into the blood inverse proportion to the antigen expression. Addition of an excess amount of Mab A7 reduced [125I]-A7-NCS accumulation in SW1116 xenograft and elevated the [125I]A7-NCS concentration in the circulation. Complete tumor reduction was found in all 5 mice with SW1116 tumor, and 2 of 5 mice with WiDr tumor. However, only incomplete tumor suppression was observed in mice with the KB tumor. The significant tumor reduction in SW1116 bearing nude mice was attenuated when excess of Mab A7 was simultaneously administered with A7-NCS. These findings indicate that A7-NCS was localized in the target tumors and exerted its tumoricidal effects depending on the degree of antigen-antibody interaction when administered IT. Thus, A7-NCS can be used successfully in vivo for local therapy, auguring new and promising applications for local cancer therapy.

Animals

mRNA levels of catalytic subunits of protein phosphatases 1, 2A, and 2C in hepatocarcinogenesis.

The mRNA levels of three phosphoseryl/phosphothreonyl protein phosphatases, PP1, PP2A and PP2C, in rat liver have been determined by Northern blot analysis in various stages of rat chemical hepatocarcinogenesis using a Solt-Farber model. Five weeks after administration of diethylnitrosamine, the mRNA levels of PP1 alpha, PP2A and PP2C were elevated 8, 29 and 11 times, respectively, as compared to those of the control livers. However, in primary hepatoma induced according to the Solt-Farber model, the mRNA levels of all three protein phosphatases were dramatically decreased to normal levels or even to much lower levels, whereas the mRNA level of glutathione S-transferase placental form, a tumor marker protein, was greatly elevated as compared with that of the control livers. In a poorly differentiated hepatoma AH13, a line of rat ascites hepatoma, the mRNA level of PP1 alpha was 5.6 times higher than that of the control livers, whereas the mRNA lever of PP2C was almost the same as that of the control livers and the level of PP2A mRNA was distinctly lower than that of the control livers. These data appear to suggest some involvement of protein phosphatases in hepatocarcinogenesis.

Animals

Histamine H3-receptor activation augments voltage-dependent Ca2+ current via GTP hydrolysis in rabbit saphenous artery.

1. Actions of histamine on the voltage-dependent Ba2+(Ca2+) currents (IBa, ICa) were investigated using the whole-cell patch-clamp technique on dispersed smooth muscle cells from the rabbit saphenous artery. 2. Histamine (half-maximal dose, EC50 = 530 nM) augmented the IBa evoked by a brief depolarizing pulse (100 ms duration; to +10 mV from a holding potential of -80 mV) in a concentration-dependent manner. The maximum augmentation was obtained with 30 microM-histamine (1.29 times control). This augmentation of IBa was inhibited by the H3-antagonist, thioperamide (Ki = 30 nM, slope of the Schild plot = 1.0), but not by H1- or H2-antagonists (mepyramine or diphenhydramine, or cimetidine, respectively). 3. An H3-agonist, R alpha-methylhistamine (EC50 = 93 nM), also augmented IBa in a concentration-dependent manner at a holding potential of -80 mV and the maximum augmentation (1.25 times control) was obtained with 10 microM. This augmentation was also inhibited by thioperamide, but not by the above H1- and H2- antagonists. 4. Intracellularly applied 500 microM-guanosine 5'-triphosphate (GTP) enhanced, but 1 mM-guanosine 5'-O-(2-thiodiphosphate) (GDP beta S) abolished, the histamine-induced augmentation of IBa. When one of the non-hydrolysable GTP analogues, guanosine 5'-O-(3-thiotriphosphate) (GTP gamma S; greater than 5 microM), guanylyl-imidodiphosphate (GMP-PNP; 200 microM) or guanylyl (beta, gamma-methylene)-diphosphonate (GMP-PCP; 1 mM) was intracellularly applied, the IBa amplitude evoked without the application of histamine was not affected, but the excitatory effect of histamine on IBa was reversed to an inhibition. Pre-treatment with pertussis toxin (PTX: 300 ng/ml and 3 micrograms/ml) did not modify the histamine-induced responses in the absence or presence of GTP gamma S. 5. 4 beta-Phorbol 12,13-dibutylate (PDBu) increased the amplitude of IBa. However, this action of PDBu was not enhanced by the application of GTP (500 microM) in the pipette, but additional application of histamine further increased the amplitude of IBa. Pre-treatment with a potent non-selective protein kinase inhibitor, 1-(5-isoquinolinesulphonyl)-2-methylpiperazine dihydrochloride (H-7; 100 microM), did not modify the histamine-induced current augmentation or inhibition observed in the presence or absence of intracellular GTP gamma S.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 400 WORDS)

Animals