Biomedical subjects

K Shimokata

Publications and source records attributed to K Shimokata.

At least 199 records · Page 11Linked to original sources

PubMed1989

Pleural fluid neuron-specific enolase. A useful diagnostic marker for small cell lung cancer pleurisy.

We studied the value of pleural fluid neuron-specific enolase as a possible diagnostic marker for pleurisy of small cell lung cancer by using enzyme immunoassay. Pleural fluid NSE levels in 12 patients with carcinomatous pleurisy due to small cell lung cancer were compared with those in 37 patients with carcinomatous pleurisy due to non-small cell lung cancer and 39 patients with tuberculous pleurisy. The pleural fluid NSE level was elevated in nine of 12 (75 percent) patients with SCLC. However, only two of 37 (5 percent) patients with NSCLC and two of 39 (5 percent) patients with tuberculous pleurisy had an elevated pleural fluid NSE level. Moreover, none of ten SCLC patients with cytology-negative pleural effusions showed elevated pleural fluid NSE level. Thus, determination of pleural fluid NSE levels seems to be an effective means to differentiate carcinomatous pleurisy due to SCLC from that due to NSCLC, tuberculous pleurisy and cytology-negative pleural effusion in SCLC.

Carcinoma, Non-Small-Cell Lung↗

PubMed1989

Removal of broken fragment of biopsy forceps with magnetic extractor.

Transbronchial lung biopsy performed on a 51-year-old woman for the evaluation of nodular densities with cavities in the bilateral apical areas was complicated by the breakage of the biopsy forceps. The broken fragment of the forceps was successfully retrieved by use of the magnetic extractor through a fiberoptic bronchoscope under fluoroscopic guidance.

Biopsy↗

PubMed1989

[Simultaneously diagnosed triple primary neoplasms--a case report].

Reported is a case of 71-year-old man who had triple primary neoplasms that were diagnosed simultaneously on admission. He visited our hospital for examination of an abnormal mass shadow seen in the right lower lobe of his chest in a roentgenogram. That was determined as being a small cell lung cancer. We simultaneously detected that a moderately differentiated tubular gastric adenocarcinoma and an olfactory groove meningioma were overlapped as well. Attention must be paid to multiple primary neoplasms, since some of these malignancies are predicted to overlap and the percentage of overlapped neoplasms is increasing. Care must be taken to avoid mistaking an overlapped tumor for a metastatic one. In 1986, according to the Annuals of Pathological Autopsy Cases in Japan, 2196 cases that represented 9.4% of all malignancies had overlapped tumors and triple or more overlapped cases amounted to 225 a year. Malignancies in the digestive system, the respiratory system, the urinary tract and in the endocrine system seem to be greatly affected with multiple neoplasms.

Adenocarcinoma↗

PubMed1989

[A case report of small cell lung cancer with extrahepatic biliary obstruction and intramedullary spinal cord metastasis].

A 62-year-old man was admitted to our hospital because of high serum amylase and neck swelling. His chest radiography revealed a mass lesion in the right upper lung. Open lung biopsy specimen established the pathological diagnosis as intermediate type small cell lung cancer. In his clinical course, obstructive jaundice recurred several times with response to combination chemotherapy. The findings of abdominal echogram, computed tomography and endoscopic retrograde cholangiopancreatography suggested that the jaundice was caused by extrahepatic biliary obstruction with parapancreatic lymph node metastasis. He died of spinal bleeding which spread from the medulla oblongata to the thoracic spinal cord. Bleeding was caused by intramedullary spinal cord metastasis. Both extrahepatic biliary obstruction and intramedullary spinal cord metastasis are rare and their symptoms were more prominent than those of the pulmonary lesion.

Carcinoma, Small Cell↗

PubMed1989

[Strongyloidiasis following long-term corticosteroid therapy].

A 64-year-old man who was born and raised in Fukuoka Prefecture was admitted because of dyspnea. The chest X-ray film showed multiple pulmonary cysts. Corticosteroid therapy was given because of repeated episodes of dyspnea and wheezing. He complained of epigastric pain 20 months after administration of corticosteroid therapy. Gastro-endoscopic examination showed inflammatory changes of the gastric mucosa and the biopsy specimens revealed the filariform larvae of Strongyloides stercoralis. Furthermore, the larvae were frequently detected in both sputum specimens and stools. Pyrvinium pamoate was initially administered and was switched to thiabendazole because of the presence of hyperinfection. Although two cycles of thiabendazole treatment were given, the larvae were not eradicated. This case report suggests that long term corticosteroid therapy caused the hyperinfection syndrome of Strongyloides stercoralis in a patient who was auto-infected with this nematode.

Adrenal Cortex Hormones↗

PubMed1989

[Tuberculosis epidemic in a technical center].

A tuberculosis epidemic occurred in a class at a technical center in a large furniture company. An index case was a male student who had a severe family history of tuberculosis and his sputum smear was Guffky 3. PPD skin test and routine chest X-ray examination were immediately done on the forty-two classmates. As the result of these examinations, the distribution of maximum diameter of erythema in PPD skin test showed bimodal distribution, and tuberculosis was discovered in five patients by chest X-ray examination. During follow up for eighteen months another three new patients were found. In this company, routine chest X-ray examination had been carried out. The patient's delay and insufficient ventilation in the dormitory were considered to be the main causes of the tuberculosis epidemic.

Adolescent↗

PubMed1989

[Clinical characteristics of tuberculosis in the aged].

We prospectively studied the clinical characteristics of tuberculosis in the aged from July 1988 to March 1989. Twenty-five of 101 tubercle-bacilli positive patients were 70 years old or more. In these aged patients, decrease of body weight and of serum albumin was predominant. These findings suggest that undernutrition is remarkable in aged patients with tuberculosis, and it may influence their cellular immunity. In fact, the tuberculin reaction was significantly attenuated in the aged patients compared with patients less than 70 years old. Twelve percent of the aged patients showed a negative tuberculin reaction. In clinical diagnosis, it should be kept in mind that tuberculin reaction is sometimes negative in active tuberculosis patients particularly in the aged. The time required for negative conversion of tubercle bacilli was not retarded in the aged patients due to the use of potent chemotherapy regimens containing isoniazid and rifampicin.

Age Factors↗

PubMed1988

An immunohistochemical study on phenotypic heterogeneity of human pulmonary vascular endothelial cells.

The existence of a subpopulation of human vascular endothelial cells (EC) has been demonstrated in the liver with the aid of immunohistochemical techniques. In this study, we investigated the antigenic and functional properties of the vascular EC in human lung. Alveolar capillary EC shared antigens with a peripheral blood monocyte/macrophage subset capable of presenting soluble antigens and triggering autologous mixed lymphocyte reactions. That is to say that the alveolar capillary EC were HLA-DR+, OKM1-, and OKM5+. In addition, these EC frequently expressed interleukin-1. These facts suggest that alveolar capillary EC may play an important role in immunological responses in the lung. The antigens were, however, absent or only faintly visible on the vascular EC of medium and small vessels. In contrast, Factor VIII/von Willebrand factor antigen (FVIIIRAg), which is produced in vascular EC was heavily stained in the EC of medium and small vessels, but only weakly stained in the alveolar capillary EC. These immunohistochemical findings suggest that in different anatomical compartments in the lung vascular EC express phenotypic properties heterogeneously. They may play differing biological roles or serve different immunological functions in normal and pathological states in the lung.

Endothelium, Vascular↗

PubMed1988

Natural killer, lymphokine-activated killer and interferon-gamma producing activities of peripheral blood- and regional lymph node-mononuclear cells in 23 cases of colorectal cancer.

Natural killer (NK) activity, lymphokine-activated killer (LAK) activity and interferon-gamma (IFN-gamma) producing activity of peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMC) and regional lymph node mononuclear cells (LNMC) were studied in 23 previously untreated cases of colorectal cancer. NK and LAK activities were significantly lower in LNMC than in PBMC. Patients showed depressed NK and LAK activities in PBMC. In the Dukes C group, especially, both NK activity and LAK activity decreased compared to control patients. NK and LAK activities of PBMC decreased as the grade of invasion to lymphatic channels progressed. LAK activity positively correlated with NK activity in PBMC. Patients with high LAK activity showed high IFN-gamma production in both controls and Dukes A . B patients. However, in Dukes C patients, no relationship between LAK activity and IFN-gamma production was observed. We conclude that the depressed NK and LAK activities of PBMC reflect the local lymphatic invasion and that IFN-gamma involvement in LAK cell generation is impaired in advanced cancer patients. More fundamental studies should be carried out before clinical trials of adoptive immunotherapy using LAK cells, because LAK activity is not induced sufficiently in advanced cancer.

Aged↗

PubMed1988

Changes of the biotype of Mycobacterium avium-Mycobacterium intracellulare complex causing lung disease in Japan.

A survey was carried out on the biological and biochemical characteristics of 661 strains of Mycobacterium avium-M. intracellulare complex that caused lung disease in the period 1976 to 1986. The results showed that the proportion of strains which showed 2-week-arylsulphatase activity and that of those which were able to utilize glucose as sole carbon source in the presence of glutamate-nitrogen decreased markedly, and that the proportion of those which utilized neither n-butanol nor iso-butanol as sole carbon sources in the presence of ammoniacal nitrogen increased markedly over these 11 years. These findings indicate that the predominant biotype changed from M. intracellulare to M. avium during the period under study. This postulate is supported by a limited study of the serovars present among the isolates.

Arylsulfatases↗

PubMed1988

Further evidence for H-2-unrestricted induction of minor histocompatibility antigens-specific T cell immunity in vivo.

Antigenic requirements for inducing minor histocompatibility antigens (MIHA)-specific T cell immunity for second set rejection (SSR) of a MIHA-allogeneic tumor were studied. An intravenous injection of surprisingly small numbers (10(4)-10(5] of live allogenetic spleen cells (SC) effectively primed mice for SSR of the allogeneic tumor, and this immunity was developed as early as 2-3 days after injection of the SC. In contrast, sonication-disrupted allogeneic SC, which should be readily processed by host antigen presenting cells (APC), were not active as immunogens, even at a dose 1000 times higher than the minimum effective dose of live SC. The possibility that host APC preferentially receive MIHA antigens shed by live allogeneic SC for T cell activation was ruled out. These results demonstrated that antigen processing via conventional pathways is very little involved in the mechanism of T cell activation. Under such restricted experimental conditions, the induction phase but not the effector phase of the MIHA-specific T cell immunity was shown to be H-2-unrestricted.

Animals↗

PubMed1988

Biphasic radiation-sensitivity of the transplantation immunity for rejection of an allogeneic ascites tumor.

Transplantation immunity for second-set rejection of an allogeneic ascites tumor was induced by sensitizing mice with H-2-identical allogeneic spleen cells, and radiation-sensitivity of this immunity was studied. The immunity was not severely affected by 400 rads whole-body X-ray irradiation given at one day before the initial antigenic stimulation. In contrast, it was totally inactivated by 300-400 rads irradiation that was given one day before tumor challenge. An adoptive cell transfer experiment showed that alloreactive memory cells responsible for the immunity were unexpectedly highly radiosensitive. The immunity (memory), however, became resistant to 400 rads irradiation soon (one day) after challenge with the allogeneic tumor, and was resistant to 1500 rads for rejection of the tumor that was challenged at the second time when the initially challenged tumor was rejected. Corresponding to these observations, cells for allospecific CTL responses in peritoneal cavity of mice showed corresponding biphasic radiation-sensitivity.

Animals↗

PubMed1988

Relationship between mycobacterial species and their carotenoid pigments.

A study of the relationship between mycobacterial species and their carotenoid pigments was carried out. According to the carotenoid pigments contained, the mycobacterial species tested were divided into four groups: the first group of Mycobacterium kansasii and M. marinum, which formed principally only beta-carotene; the second group of M. gordonae, M. scrofulaceum, M. szulgai, M. xenopi, M. flavescens, M. phlei, M. rhodesiae, M. neoaurum, and M. aichiense, which formed beta-carotene and a zeaxanthin-like substance; the third group of M. aurum and M. obuense, which formed beta-carotene and an eschscholtzxanthin-like substance; and the fourth group of M. chubuense and M. tokaiense, which formed beta-carotene and zeaxanthin- and eschscholtzxanthin-like substances. The common carotenoid pigment throughout the genus Mycobacterium was beta-carotene and the hypophasic carotenoids differed according to the species.

Carotenoids↗

PubMed1988

The isolation of Mycobacterium avium complex from soil, water, and dusts.

Previously, it was difficult to isolate the Mycobacterium avium complex from soil, water, and dusts, because rapidly growing mycobacteria always overgrew slowly growing ones. We used Ogawa egg medium containing both ethambutol and ofloxacin, which inhibit the nonpathogenic slowly growing mycobacteria and most rapidly growing mycobacteria, respectively, as an aid to screen for pathogenic slowly growing mycobacteria; we could thereby isolate a number of the M. avium complex and M. scrofulaceum strains from soil, water, and dusts in this country.

Bacteriological Techniques↗

PubMed1988

Establishment and characterization of resistant cells to etoposide (VP16) from a mouse breast cancer cell line, FM3A.

We established 4 cell lines resistant to VP16 from a mouse breast cancer cell line, FM3A. The IC50 values of all 4 resistant strains were approximately 2 micrograms/ml as measured by colony formation in soft agar; about 40 times higher than that of parent cell (0.05 microgram/ml). These cells showed a cross-resistance to VM26, a compound related to VP16, but not to a variety of other antitumor drugs including adriamycin, mitomycin C, cis-platinum, 5-fluorouracil, bleomycin, vincristine, 4-hydroperoxycyclophosphamide, methotrexate and cytosine arabinoside. Topoisomerase II, the putative target of VP16, was partially purified from cells, and was assayed using knotted P4 phage DNA as a substrate. However, no significant difference was observed between enzymes from resistant cells and from the parent cells in either activity per cell or sensitivity to VP16. On the other hand, the resistance of these cell lines to VP16 was greatly reduced by adding a calcium antagonist, verapamil, to the soft agar at a concentration as low as 5 microM, at which the viability of cells was hardly affected. A similar verapamil-induced reduction in the resistance of the cells to VM26 was also observed. These results suggest that the acquired resistance may be largely due to an altered membrane permeability to drugs, which may be overcome by verapamil, rather than to an altered topoisomerase II.

Animals↗

PubMed1988

Dynamics of cytotoxic T lymphocyte precursors in vivo assessed by change in the radiation sensitivity. Evidence for development of radiation-sensitive memory cells without clonal expansion.

The dynamics of cytotoxic T lymphocyte precursors (CTL-p) in mice injected with allogeneic spleen cells (SC) was studied with special reference to changes in their radiation sensitivity. Whole-body 400 rad X-ray irradiation of allo-SC-primed and unprimed mice virtually abolished the capacity of their SC to proliferate and to generate CTL in primary or secondary mixed leucocyte culture (MLC). However, the impaired ability of SC to generate CTL in the primary MLC was restored by interleukin 2 (IL-2). This showed that helper cells whose activity was replaceable with IL-2 (IL-2-producing cells) were functionally more radiation-sensitive than CTL-p in unprimed mice. In contrast, the radiation-impaired activity in secondary MLC was not restored by IL-2, suggesting that memory CTL-p in allo-SC-primed mice were unexpectedly sensitive to radiation. The D37 values determined from the percentage of residual CTL-p activity of SC in bulk cultures 1 day after irradiation were 525 rad for virgin CTL-p and 75 rad for memory CTL-p. Further studies demonstrated that the radiation-sensitive memory CTL-p were generated from relatively radiation-resistant precursors, largely independent of radiation-sensitive IL-2-producing cells and of cellular proliferation. The mean frequency of CTL-p in SC measured by limiting dilution assay was not significantly increased by the priming. This supports our conclusion that the development of the memory CTL-p activity in allo-SC-primed mice did not depend on clonal expansion. Whole-body 400 rad-irradiation reduced the frequency of CTL-p in SC from unprimed mice to 1/2-1/3 and that in SC from allo-SC-primed mice to 1/8-1/15. This supports the view that the majority of radiation-resistant virgin CTL-p functionally mature to radiation-sensitive memory CTL-p without cellular proliferation in allo-SC-primed mice.

Animals↗

PubMed1988

Successful resection of alpha-fetoprotein-producing lung cancer.

We present a case of successfully resected alpha-fetoprotein (AFP)-producing primary lung cancer. AFP in the serum decreased from 289 ng/ml to an undetectable level after a curative operation. The resected tumor was stained positively by the immunohistochemical study for AFP. The histologic appearance of the tumor was well-differentiated adenocarcinoma similar to that of fetal gut epithelium and apparently different from extragonadal germ cell tumor. This case provides evidence that lung cancer cells possess the potential to produce AFP.

Adenocarcinoma↗

PubMed1988

Serologic study of febrile upper respiratory tract infections in adults.

We prospectively studied serum antiviral antibody response in adult patients with febrile upper respiratory tract infections. Paired sera were obtained in 158 patients from January 1982 to December 1983. Eighteen patients (11.4 percent) showed a significant antibody rise in the convalescent phase of the disease compared to the acute phase. Significant antibody rise was observed against all viruses examined: influenza viruses type A and B, adenovirus type 3, respiratory syncytial virus, and parainfluenza viruses type 1, 2 and 3. Two patients responded simultaneously to two viruses. Serum interferon was detected in acute phase of the disease in 4 of 8 patients examined in whom viral infections were proved. Detected interferon was alpha type.

Adenovirus Infections, Human↗