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Biomedical subjects

K Namba

Publications and source records attributed to K Namba.

At least 127 records · Page 7Linked to original sources
PubMed1990

[Serum immunosuppressive acidic protein (IAP) in inflammatory ocular disease].

The titer of serum immunosuppressive acidic protein (IAP) was determined by the method of single radial immunodiffusion (Matsuda et al) in Behçet's disease, sarcoidosis, tuberculosis, toxoplasmosis, etiology-unknown anterior uveitis (granulomatous, non-granulomatous), allergic conjunctivitis and scleritis. The titer of IAP in these diseases except allergic conjunctivitis was significantly higher than in normal controls. In all the diseases studied, the titer during the active stage was significantly higher than that during the inactive stage. The titer in Behçet's disease was significantly higher than that in sarcoidosis, particularly during the active stage. In three cases of Behcet's disease, the titer was increased markedly a few days before the ocular attacks. There was no difference in the titer between etiology-unknown granulomatous and non-granulomatous anterior uveitis. IAP may be useful as a clinical index in inflammatory ocular diseases.

Behcet Syndrome↗
PubMed1990

[Study of breast cancers during pregnancy and lactation].

From breast cancer cases that were mastectomized between 1970 and 1987 at the Cancer Institute Hospital, 43 breast cancers during phases of pregnancy and lactation (pregnancy 11 cases, lactation 32 cases) have been analyzed. Taking the patient's age and the calendar-year at the time of diagnosis into account, we collected 43 cases as controls and compared the result. It was found that breast cancers during pregnancy and lactation metastasized to the lymph nodes at the same frequency as in the control cases, in lymph node-positive cases and in tumors of the same size the metastases involved more lymph nodes than in the control cases. Further, the survival rate of breast cancers during pregnancy and lactation was poorer in the lymph node-positive cases than in the controls. Therefore, we have concluded that pregnancy and lactation promote the progress of a metastatic cancer.

Adult↗
PubMed1990

[The antibody titer to streptococcal and staphylococcal L-form in Behçet's disease].

The antibody titer to streptococcal and staphylococcal L-form was determined in the serum of Behçet's disease by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay. These L-form bacteria were induced by the penicillin disk method. In 12 patients with Behçet's disease, the antibody titer to streptococcal L-form was significantly lower than that in the 14 normal controls by Student's t-test (p less than 0.025). The antibody titer to staphylococcal L-form, however, showed no statistical difference between the patients and the controls. In Behçet's disease, antibody formation to streptococcus pyogenes, as well as its L-form, may be specifically disturbed.

Adult↗
PubMed1989

Structure of the core and central channel of bacterial flagella.

X-ray fibre diffraction analysis of bacterial flagellar filaments has allowed the subunit packing and secondary structure arrangement in the filament core to be determined. The central hole, presumably a channel for flagellin transport, is large enough to accommodate the folded elongated flagellin molecules during their transport to the distal end for filament growth.

Amino Acid Sequence↗
PubMed1989

Terminal regions of flagellin are disordered in solution.

Limited proteolysis of flagellin from Salmonella typhimurium SJW1103 by subtilisin, trypsin and thermolysin results in homologous degradation patterns. The terminal regions of flagellin are very sensitive to proteolysis. These parts are degraded into small oligopeptides at the very early stage of a mild digestion that yields a relatively stable fragment with a molecular weight of 40,000. Further proteolytic degradation results in a stable 27,000 Mr fragment. The 40,000 Mr tryptic fragment has been identified as residues 67 to 446 of the flagellin sequence, while the 27,000 Mr fragment involves the 179 to 418 segment. The NH2-terminal sequence positions for the corresponding fragments produced by subtilisin are 60 and 174 for the 40,000 Mr and 27,000 Mr fragments, respectively. The fragments lost their polymerizing ability. Structural properties of flagellin and its 40,000 Mr tryptic fragment were compared by circular dichroism spectroscopy and differential scanning calorimetry. Analysis of the calorimetric melting profiles suggests that terminal parts of flagellin have no significant internal stability and they are in extensive contact with water. However, these regions contain some secondary structure, probably alpha-helices, as revealed by comparison of the circular dichroic spectra in the far-ultraviolet region. Our results indicate that, although the terminal regions of flagellin may contain some alpha-helical secondary structure of marginal stability, they have no compact ordered tertiary structure in solution. On the contrary, the central region of the molecule involves at least two compact structural units.

Bacterial Proteins↗
PubMed1989

Visualization of protein-nucleic acid interactions in a virus. Refined structure of intact tobacco mosaic virus at 2.9 A resolution by X-ray fiber diffraction.

The structure of tobacco mosaic virus (TMV) has been determined by fiber diffraction methods at 2.9 A resolution, and refined by restrained least-squares to an R-factor of 0.096. Protein-nucleic acid interactions are clearly visible. The final model contains all of the non-hydrogen atoms of the RNA and the protein, 71 water molecules, and two calcium-binding sites. Viral disassembly is driven by electrostatic repulsions between the charges in two carboxyl-carboxylate pairs and a phosphate-carboxylate pair. The phosphate-carboxylate pair and at least one of the carboxyl-carboxylate pairs appear to be calcium-binding sites. Nucleotide specificity, enabling TMV to recognize its own RNA by a repeating pattern of guanine residues, is provided by two guanine-specific hydrogen bonds in one of the three base-binding sites.

Amino Acids↗
PubMed1989

Specific [125I]Bolton-Hunter substance P binding sites in human and rat skin.

[125I]Bolton-Hunter substance P [( 125I]BH-SP) binding sites in rat and human skin were investigated, using quantitative receptor autoradiographic and emulsion autoradiographic methods. [125I]BH-SP binding sites were discretely localized in skin areas anatomically corresponding to dermal papillae, sweat glands, and hair follicles. The highest density of the binding sites was in the dermal papilla of the finger, followed by the sweat gland. [125I]BH-SP binding to the dermal papillae of the human finger pad skin and rat paw pad skin was displaced by unlabeled SP, with a high affinity, and Kd values were calculated to be 744 pM and 297 pM, respectively. The existence of [125I]BH-SP binding sites supports the idea of the neurotransmitter role of substance P in skin dermal papilla.

Adult↗
PubMed1989

Hereditary factors in Takayasu disease. III. Polymorphism of human complements.

Genetic polymorphisms in C2, C4, C6, C7 and BF alleles of human complement were studied in 80 Japanese patients with Takayasu disease, and compared with those of 433 normal Japanese. Statistically significant high frequencies of C4A2 (chi 2: 27.2; p less than 0.01) and C4BQ0 allotype (chi 2: 8.7; p less than 0.01) were found in patients with Takayasu disease. Furthermore, all patients carrying C4A2 were found to be associated with C4BQ0. In addition, patients with HLA Bw52 were strongly associated with C4A2BQ0. In 5 patients homozygous C4BQ0 was found. These data suggest that some genetic factor(s) may contribute to the pathophysiological condition of Takayasu disease, which is strongly associated with the complotype of HLA Bw52-C4A2BQ0.

Adult↗
PubMed1988

Cleft hand in Silver-Russell syndrome.

A case of Silver-Russell Syndrome with a typical cleft hand is presented. The association of cleft hand with this syndrome has never been reported before.

Child↗
PubMed1988

Enhancement and simplification of macromolecular images.

Computer graphics programs have been devised to display selected atomic features and to simplify images of complex macromolecular structures. By using boundary outlines, adjustment of size and shape of the molecular components, color coding, shading, and selective omission of obscuring detail, attention can be focused on specific interactions which determine higher levels of organization. A balanced color table has been constructed in which different hues have equal steps in brightness; this table has facilitated distinction of atom types and sequence coding together with representation of an optimum range of depth cueing and surface shading. The graphics system has been used with the atomic coordinates of the tobacco mosaic virus structure to simplify images of the protein subunit, to illustrate intermolecular interactions, and to relate subunit packing arrangements in different assemblies to the underlying atomic structure. The system has also been used to construct a schematic representation of the polyomavirus capsid, based on low resolution data. Application of artistic methods contributes to the effective presentation and interpretation of detailed scientific information about complex macromolecular structures.

Computer Graphics↗
PubMed1988

A synthetic single-stranded DNA, poly(dG,dC), induces interferon-alpha/beta and -gamma, augments natural killer activity, and suppresses tumor growth.

When various synthetic double- or single-stranded DNAs were incubated with spleen cells from mice (BALB/c or CDF1) at 37 degrees for 20 hr, it was found that some of the DNAs augmented NK activity and produced factors in the culture supernatants which showed antiviral activity and activity to render mouse macrophages cytotoxic toward tumor cells. Poly(dG,dC) showed the strongest activities, when incubated with spleen cells from lipopolysaccharide-nonresponsive mice, C3H/HeJ. The activity of the culture supernatant to activate macrophages was completely abolished by a small amount of anti-IFN gamma antibody. On the other hand, the virus-inhibitory activity of the supernatant was mostly neutralized by anti-IFN alpha/beta. When IMC tumor cells (5 x 10(5) cells) were mixed with poly(dG,dC) (100 micrograms) and then inoculated intradermally into CDF1 mice, the tumor did not take, while tumors grew progressively and killed the mice in a control group inoculated with tumor cells alone. Direct cytotoxicity of poly(dG,dC) at a concentration of 1,000 micrograms/ml against IMC cells was not observed in vitro.

Animals↗