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Biomedical subjects

K Shimokawa

Publications and source records attributed to K Shimokawa.

At least 73 records · Page 4Linked to original sources
PubMed1995

Comparative study of fibrinogen degradation by four arginine ester hydrolases from the venom of Agkistrodon caliginosus (Kankoku-Mamushi).

When purified capillary permeability-increasing (CPI)-enzyme-1, CPI-enzyme-2, kininogenase-1 or kininogenase-2 was incubated with human fibrinogen at a ratio of 1:100 by weight, a loss of fibrinogen coagulability was seen at prolonged incubation times. CPI-enzyme-2 and kininogenase-1 caused a rapid loss of coagulability, while CPI-enzyme-1 and kininogenase-2 acted more slowly. When human fibrinogen and each enzyme were incubated at 37 degrees C, CPI-enzyme-2 first cleaved the A alpha-chain then the B beta-chain. The action of CPI-enzyme-1 was similar, but slower. Kininogenase-1 initially caused slow degradation of the B beta-chain than the A alpha-chain, while kininogenase-2 only caused slow cleavage of the A alpha-chain. Although these enzymes did not show thrombin-like activity, CPI-enzyme-2 was able to release fibrinopeptide B faster than fibrinopeptide A, while kininogenase-1 only released fibrinopeptide A. These results indicate that these enzymes differ in their ability to degrade human fibrinogen.

Amino Acids↗
PubMed1995

Changes in the number of silver-stained nucleolar organizer regions in the normal, preneoplastic, and neoplastic endometrium.

The number of silver-stained nucleolar proteins (AgNORs) were counted in preneoplastic and neoplastic endometrial lesions and compared with those of the normal endometrium in the menstrual cycle. In glandular cells in the normal menstrual cycle, the mean number of AgNORs in the proliferative phase endometrium (3.4) was significantly higher than that in the secretory phase endometrium (2.5, p < 0.01). The mean number of AgNORs in well-differentiated endometrioid type adenocarcinoma (4.2) was significantly greater than that in simple hyperplasia (3.0, p < 0.001) and complex hyperplasia without cytological atypia (3.6, p < 0.05). The average number of AgNORs showed an increased tendency according to the neoplastic changes in the endometrium. These findings suggest that the one-step colloid method for AgNORs may therefore be a simple and partially useful technique for examining the proliferative activity in neoplastic and preneoplastic endometrial cells, but no clear distinction in each preneoplastic and neoplastic endometrial lesion can be drawn so far from our measurements.

Endometrial Neoplasms↗
PubMed1995

[Pharyngeal metastasis and arteriovenous fistula of renal cell carcinoma--report of a case].

A 76-year-old Japanese male consulted our hospital complaining of dysphagia. He also complained of dyspnea, and a cardiovascular disorder was detected. Otolaryngological examination revealed dysphagia due to pharyngeal tumor. Further examination detected left renal cell carcinoma with multiple pulmonary metastasis, and selective angiography revealed arteriovenous fistula in the primary tumor. After resection of the pharyngeal tumor and left nephrectomy, pharyngeal tumor was pathologically confirmed as metastasis of renal cell carcinoma. Furthermore, after left nephrectomy, the cardiovascular disorder gradually improved. Thus, the cardiovascular disorder was considered to have developed based upon the arteriovenous fistulae. Pharyngeal metastasis of renal cell carcinoma is extremely rare, and the cardiovascular disorder in this case was also an extrarenal manifestation.

Aged↗
PubMed1994

Molecular scanning of the glycogen synthase and insulin receptor substrate-1 genes in Japanese subjects with non-insulin-dependent diabetes mellitus.

We studied a simple tandem repeat DNA polymorphism in the glycogen synthase gene and polymorphisms at codon 513 (Ala-->Pro) and 972 (Gly-->Arg) in the insulin receptor substrate-1 (IRS-1) gene in 197 non-insulin-dependent diabetes mellitus (NIDDM) and 178 control subjects in Japan. Eight alleles (-3G, -2G, -1G, 0G, 1G, 2G, 3G, and 4G) were identified in the tandem repeat polymorphism in the glycogen synthase gene. No difference in the frequencies of these alleles was found between diabetics and controls. The codon 972 polymorphism of IRS-1 gene was observed in 7 diabetics (3.6%) and 8 controls (4.5%), whereas the codon 513 polymorphism was not found in either of the two groups. We conclude that the tandem repeat polymorphism in the glycogen synthase gene and the polymorphisms at codons 513 and 972 of the IRS-1 gene are not associated with a higher risk for the development of NIDDM in Japanese subjects.

Alanine↗
PubMed1994

Successful pregnancy in a patient with endometrial carcinoma treated with medroxyprogesterone acetate.

A 32-year infertile Japanese woman suffered from endometrial cancer, which was treated with repeated endometrial curettage and medroxyprogesterone acetate for 6 months. The patient then became pregnant and was delivered of a live-born male infant at 37 weeks gestation by cesarean section for placenta previa. At cesarean section there were no abnormal findings in the uterine cavity or other pelvic organs.

Adenocarcinoma↗
PubMed1994

Lp(a): an acute-phase reactant?

The present study was designed to confirm the transient increases of plasma Lp(a) levels as an acute-phase reactant and to clarify the significance of these increases with the use of patients with acute myocardial infarction and patients subjected to surgical operations. Although interleukin 6, C-reactive protein and alpha 1 antitrypsin reached the maximal levels 1-2 days, 3 days and 4-5 days, respectively, after the episodes, the peak time of Lp(a) levels was delayed some extent in both patient groups. Studying the transient increases of Lp(a) levels as a function of apo(a) isoforms analyzed by density-gradient ultracentrifugation and SDS-PAGE, the higher-density Lp(a) particles preferentially containing high-molecular-weight apo(a) isoforms increased more than the lower-density Lp(a) particles containing low-molecular-weight apo(a) after the episodes. The immunohistochemical findings suggest that Lp(a) may play an important role as an acute-phase reactant in the repair of tissue injury, especially in the process of angiogenesis.

Acute-Phase Reaction↗
PubMed1994

The high prevalence of the diabetic patients with a mutation in the mitochondrial gene in Japan.

Recently, an A to G transition at position 3243 in transfer ribonucleic acidLeu(UUR) [the 3243 base-pair (bp) mutation] originally found in patients with mitochondrial myopathy, encephalopathy, lactic acidosis, and stroke-like episodes has been identified in patients with diabetes and deafness. To determine the prevalence of the diabetic patients with this mutation in Japan, we screened 550 randomly selected cohorts of diabetic patients without prior information about clinical features such as type of diabetes, family history of diabetes, age of onset, and mode of therapy. We have identified 5 patients with this mutation, suggesting that approximately 0.9% of diabetic patients have the 3243 bp mutation. However, there were no subjects with this mutation in 250 controls with normal glucose tolerance. The percentage of mutant DNA in whole mitochondrial DNA did not correlate to the degree of symptoms. We conclude that the 3243 bp mutation in the mitochondrial gene plays an important part as a cause of diabetes in Japan.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1994

Analysis of the glucokinase gene promoter in Japanese subjects with noninsulin-dependent diabetes mellitus.

Glucokinase plays an important role in glucose metabolism in pancreatic beta-cells and liver. Recently, several mutations responsible for noninsulin-dependent diabetes mellitus (NIDDM) have been identified within the coding regions of the glucokinase gene. We screened the promoter regions using polymerase chain reaction followed by single strand conformation polymorphisms in 240 Japanese NIDDM and 111 control subjects. In the beta-cell promoter, two kinds of sequence variations were detected. One variation, in which 2 nucleotides at position -282 (C-->T) plus -194 (A-->G) were changed simultaneously, was found in 23 NIDDM (9.6%) and 12 control (10.8%) subjects. The other variation [e.g. -30 (G-->A)] was identified in 87 NIDDM (36.3%) and 40 control (36.0%) subjects. In the liver promoter, in addition to the -603 (G-->T) substitution in 1 NIDDM (0.4%) and 2 control (1.8%) subjects, the -120 (G-->T) substitution in 1 control (0.9%) subject was found. However, there were no differences in these allele frequencies between NIDDM and control subjects. We conclude that the prevalence of mutations in the promoter of the glucokinase gene responsible for NIDDM is rare among Japanese patients.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1994

Amino acids and peptides. XXIII. Leu-enkephalin analogs containing a fluorinated amino acid at position 2, 4 or 5.

Fluorinated analogs of Leu-enkephalin were synthesized by the solution method and the solid-phase method. The synthetic peptides were examined for opioid activities on mouse vas deferens and guinea pig ileum. Among the synthetic peptides,[D-Ala2,Leu(F3)(2R,4S)5]enkephalin and [D-Ala2,Leu(F3)(2S,4R)5]enkephalin exhibited potent opioid activity, and [Leu(F3)(2S,4R)5]enkephalin exhibited high delta-receptor selectivity.

Amino Acid Sequence↗
PubMed1993

Endodermal sinus tumor of the vagina in an infant: magnetic resonance imaging evaluation.

Endodermal sinus tumor is a rare and highly malignant lesion. This report documents the clinical findings and magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) of an uncommon case of the endodermal sinus tumor arising in the vagina of a 6-month-old infant. MRI was extremely accurate in delineating the possible extent and location of the vaginal lesion. This is the first report to demonstrate MRI of vaginal endodermal sinus tumor.

Antineoplastic Combined Chemotherapy Protocols↗
PubMed1993

Expression of the placental form of glutathione S-transferase in pediatric gliomas.

Expression of the human placental form of glutathione S-transferase (GST-pi) in pediatric gliomas, consisting of three pilocytic astrocytomas (grade 1), two fibrillary astrocytomas (grade 2), three anaplastic astrocytomas (grade 3), and one glioblastoma multiforme (grade 4), were investigated by immunohistochemical methods. Western blot analysis for GST-pi using proteins extracted from formalin-fixed and paraffin-embedded glioma specimens was performed and compared with the results of immunohistochemistry. Both the immunohistochemical examination and the Western blot analysis of pediatric gliomas revealed that malignant gliomas such as anaplastic astrocytoma and glioblastoma had strong expression of GST-pi while benign gliomas showed weak GST-pi expression.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1993

Histochemistry with Helix pomatia agglutinin in human germ cell tumors: detection of nongerminomatous components and correlation between HPA reactivity and radiosensitivity in germinomas.

Binding sites of Helix pomatia agglutinin (HPA) were examined in 32 patients with intracranial human germ cell tumors. HPA reactivity was found in vascular endothelial cells and erythrocytes of patients with blood type A or AB. HPA-positive neoplastic cells were seen in one yolk sac carcinoma in a patient with blood group A, and in embryonal carcinomas and teratomas irrespective of blood group type. Although in 10 out of 18 germinomas neoplastic cells were totally negative for HPA, another 8 germinomas showed HPA-positive neoplastic cells which were distributed sporadically or in an area and independent of blood group types. HPA-negative germinoma patients showed a very good response to radiotherapy, whereas 4 out of 8 HPA-positive tumors showed poor radiosensitivity, with a residual lesion seen on computed tomography even after the total radiation dose of 40-50 Gy. These findings suggest that HPA-positive neoplastic cells in germinomas indicate components of differentiation of non-germinomatous germ cells. HPA-positive germinomas might be less radiosensitive than HPA-negative germinomas.

ABO Blood-Group System↗
PubMed1993

Purification of a capillary permeability-increasing enzyme-2 from the venom of Agkistrodon caliginosus (Kankoku-Mamushi).

A capillary permeability-increasing enzyme-2 was purified from the venom of A. caliginosus by ion-exchange chromatography and gel filtration on Sephadex G-100. By this procedure, 3.1 mg of purified enzyme was obtained from 4 g of the venom. The mol. wt of the purified enzyme was estimated to be approximately 44,000 by sodium dodecyl sulfate-polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis. The enzyme hydrolyzed N-alpha-tosyl-L-arginine methylester with a specific activity of 56.5 units/mg of protein, and did not show any caseinolytic, clotting or bradykinin-releasing activity. When 13.9 micrograms of the enzyme was injected into the depilated skin on the back of a rabbit, capillary permeability was increased.

Agkistrodon↗