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Biomedical subjects

K Yoshimura

Publications and source records attributed to K Yoshimura.

At least 487 records · Page 27Linked to original sources
PubMed1985

[Clinical study on tissue polypeptide antigen (TPA) in gastric cancer].

We evaluated whether assay of tissue polypeptide antigen (TPA) in the serum ia valuable for the determination of cancer stages compared to other tumor markers such as CEA, AFP, and ferritin. The study population consisted of 79 gastric cancer patients and 212 patients with benign gastroenteric disease. The percentage of positive cases for TPA (higher than 200u/l) was 41% in gastric cancer and 20% in active peptic ulcer. Serum TPA levels in well differentiated carcinoma and signet ring cell carcinoma were higher than that in other histological types. Serum TPA levels correlated well with the stage of the gastric cancer.

Adenocarcinoma↗
PubMed1985

[The distribution of cefotaxime in serum, lung lymph and lung tissue of sheep].

The levels of cefotaxime (CTX) in serum and lung lymph were compared in awake sheep which were prepared for collection of lung lymph. A single dose of 50 mg/kg of CTX was administered intravenously to sheep. The CTX level in serum or lung lymph reached a peak within 15 minutes after administration and decreased rapidly. The measurable concentration persisted for 240 minutes after administration. Ratios of lung lymph to serum concentration of CTX ranged from 1.0 to 1.2. In addition, the CTX levels in serum, lung lymph and tissue of right lower lobe were compared in anesthetized sheep to which CTX 50 mg/kg were given. Ratios of lung lymph and tissue in right lower lobe to serum concentration of CTX were 0.81 +/- 0.14, 0.06 +/- 0.02, respectively. From above results, CTX was well distributed in lung lymph. The levels of CTX in tissue of right lower lobe were markedly lower than those of lung lymph.

Animals↗
PubMed1985

Effect of organic and inorganic mercury compounds on the growth of incisor and tibia in rats.

The pharmacological effects of methyl mercury chloride (MMC) and mercuric chloride (HgCl2) (2-16 mg/Kg per day subcutaneously, for 6 d) upon the growth were studied in the incisors and proximal tibiae of immature rats histologically. Lead acetate was used as a time marker. 1. Mercury compounds slightly affected the body weight gains of the rats but apparently inhibited the longitudinal growth of proximal tibia and the effect increased with higher dosages. 2. Mercury compounds definitely inhibited not only the longitudinal growth (incisor growth) but also the appositional growth (dentin formation) of incisal dentin. 3. The inhibitory effect on the growth was ranked as follows: bone growth greater than dentin formation greater than incisor growth. 4. The actions of MMC on the growth of incisors and proximal tibiae appeared gradually and the response was biphasic; stimulatory and then inhibitory. The inhibitory effect appeared even after the injection was discontinued and appeared more extremely than during the injections. 5. In HgCl2 groups the inhibitory effect on the growth appeared rapidly. The effect increased with higher dosages and became stronger as the injections were repeated. However, this effect was weakened promptly after the injection was discontinued. 6. The repeated injections of mercury compounds hardly affected the level of serum calcium but disturbed the calcification of incisal dentin. From the above-mentioned results a possible mechanism was discussed. It is suggestive that MMC acts directly upon a cell and is transported into it. Once MMC was introduced into a cell it is slowly demethylated to inorganic Hg and acts as the demethylated mercury. When accumulated mercury is slight in volume, it stimulates and then inhibits the cell function with increasing mercury. However HgCl2 binds directly with an effector cell membrane in loose fashion. This may cause the ready reversibility of the effect.

Animals↗
PubMed1984

Prevalence of possible adult T-cell leukemia virus-carriers among volunteer blood donors in Japan: a nation-wide study.

A nation-wide survey of carriers of adult T-cell leukemia virus (ATLV) detected as anti-ATLA (ATLV-associated antigens) in volunteer blood donors was made in Japan. A total of 200 sera from donors between 40 and 64 years of age, collected in each of 64 blood centers located in eight districts, were tested for anti-ATLA by an indirect immunofluorescence test. The highest rate (8%) of seropositive donors was found in Kyushu and lower rates of 0.3 to 1.2% in other districts. However, the positive rate varied considerably in different localities even within districts with a high or low seropositive incidence. Further studies of all the donors (16 to 64 years old) in eight centers in Kyushu demonstrated two facts: (1) that the frequency of seropositive donors increased with age, and (2) that four centers in this district showed distinctly high incidences of seropositive donors, while the other four centers showed low incidences. The seropositive rate among all donors was estimated to be about 3% in Kyushu and 0.08 to 0.3% in all other districts.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1984

Lipid binding activities of the P2 protein in peripheral nerve myelin.

Lipid binding activities of the P2 protein in peripheral nerve myelin were examined using retinoic acid, retinol and oleic acid as ligands. The P2 protein showed the specific binding affinity to both of retinoic acid and retinol. The binding site of these ligands was suggested to be similar. In addition, the high binding activity of the P2 protein with oleic acid was also observed. The ligands specificities of the P2 protein are clearly different from those of cellular retinoic acid binding protein (CRABP), cellular retinol binding protein (CRBP), and Z protein. In amino terminal sequence, however, the P2 protein contained considerable homologous structure to these lipid binding proteins. Therefore, the P2 protein and these lipid binding proteins may belong to a family of structurally related proteins evolved from a common ancestral gene.

Amino Acid Sequence↗
PubMed1984

Determination of trace levels of fatty acid metal salts by high-performance liquid chromatography with fluorescence prelabeling.

A simple method is described for picomole determinations of fatty acid metal salts. Fatty acid salts are directly labeled with 4-bromomethyl-7-methoxycoumarin in the presence of excess ethylenediaminetetraacetic acid tripotassium salt without any solvent extractions. The fluorescence derivatives of fatty acids are separated by reverse-phase high-performance liquid chromatography followed by fluorometric detection. The response of each fatty acid (C8-C18) calcium salt is linear from 1 to 50 micrograms/ml of samples. The detection limit is about 7 pmol. Good recoveries are obtained for the calcium salts of myrystic acid and soap (C8-C18, C18:1,2). The new method is successfully applied to the study on biodegradation of fatty acids in river water.

Biodegradation, Environmental↗
PubMed1984

The prevalence of mental retardation (MR) in Kurume City.

For the purpose of early detection and intervention in mentally handicapped children, the mental retardation (MR) Monitoring Research Committee in Japan initiated a survey in 1981 to determine the prevalence rate and etiology of MR children who had been born between 1969 and 1974, that's those currently from 7 to 12 years of age, living in Kurume City. We found 154 MR children, and that the prevalence ratios in each year group ranged from 5.7/1,000 to 8.1/1,000. The mean prevalence of MR out of all children in each age year group was 7.1/1,000. Of the 154 MR children, 109 were males (9.8/1,000) and 45 females (4.3/1,000), giving a male excess ratio of 2.4:1. The sex difference was significant (p less than 0.005).

Adult↗
PubMed1984

Studies of Angiostrongylus cantonensis in two experimental hosts.

Lung infection with Angiostrongylus cantonensis was established in experimentally infected Indian soft-furred rats (Millardia meltada) and Indian spiny mice (Mus platythrix). Pulmonary arterial migration occurred earlier (at day 20 after infection) in M. meltada than in Wistar rats. M. meltada and M. platythrix could serve as useful animal models for comparative studies of mechanisms determining host specificity of A. cantonensis.

Angiostrongylus↗
PubMed1984

Ultrastructural evidence for eosinophil-mediated destruction of Angiostrongylus cantonensis transferred into the pulmonary artery of non-permissive hosts.

Ultrastructural and cytochemical analyses were carried out on cellular reactions to the young adult worms of Angiostrongylus cantonensis surgically transferred into the pulmonary arteries of permissive (rat) and non-permissive (rabbit and guinea-pig) hosts. In permissive hosts, no appreciable cellular reactions could be found around worms throughout the course of the observations. By contrast, the infiltration of neutrophils along with eosinophils was observed around worms in non-permissive hosts even at early stages (days 2 to 4). At day 7 and later, the prominent degranulation (solubilization of the whole granule or the matrix alone with preserved crystalloid, tubulovesicular structure formation, and vacuole formation containing lysosomal contents, etc.) of eosinophils, and subsequent release of the lysosomal contents on to the worm surface were noted. Discharge of large amounts of peroxidase on to the worm surface was also demonstrated. The worms were thus damaged and their cuticular fragments were frequently found removed. In addition to this, degenerative changes, such as lipid-droplet and vacuole formations, were detectable in the hypodermis, somatic musculature and intestine of the parasites transferred into the non-permissive hosts, as early as day 4 after transfer. These data suggest that eosinophils would serve as a potential effector cell for killing of pulmonary arterial A. cantonensis in non-permissive hosts.

Angiostrongylus↗
PubMed1984

Construction of a promoter-probe vector for a Bacillus subtilis host by using the trpD+ gene of Bacillus amyloliquefaciens.

The trp gene cluster of Bacillus amyloliquefaciens was found to be structurally similar to that of the Enterobacteriaceae. The translation termination codon of the putative trpE gene and the initiation codon for the putative trpD gene overlap at the trpE-trpD junction, and a promoter for the putative trpC gene is suggested to exist. A promoter-probe vector of Bacillus subtilis, pFTB281, was constructed with a DNA fragment of B. amyloliquefaciens, complementing the trpC and trpD mutations of B. subtilis, a 42-base-pair DNA fragment of M13mp7, and the larger EcoRI-PvuII fragment of pUB110, which confers an autonomous replication function and the kanamycin-resistance phenotype to the chimeric plasmid. pFTB281 has BamHI, EcoRI, and SalI cloning sites in the 5'-upstream portion of the protein-coding region of the putative trpD gene, and the insertion of a certain DNA fragment at any of these sites allowed the plasmid to transform a trpD mutant of B. subtilis to the TrpD+ phenotype. DNA fragments showing the promoter function for the trpD gene were obtained from B. amyloliquefaciens and Saccharomyces cerevisiae chromosomes and rho 11 and lambda phage DNAs, but rarely from the DNAs of Escherichia coli and pBR322.

Amino Acid Sequence↗
PubMed1984

Mechanism of regulation of amylase release by alpha- and beta-adrenergic agonists in rat parotid tissue.

The effect of forskolin and isobutyl-methylxanthine on amylase release and cyclic AMP accumulation by alpha- and beta-adrenergic agonists was studied in rat parotid slices. A small increase in cyclic AMP by beta-adrenergic agonists was sufficient for maximum stimulation of amylase release (Yoshimura et al., 1982a), but a similar increase in cyclic AMP by forskolin did not stimulate the maximum amount of amylase release. The amount of amylase release and cyclic AMP changed in parallel when lower doses of isobutyl-methylxanthine were used, but higher doses of isobutyl-methylxanthine further increased cyclic AMP without causing a significant increase in amylase release. Amylase release stimulated to its maximum by isobutyl-methylxanthine was much lower than that by isoproterenol. These results suggest that cyclic AMP is not the only chemical correlate for the activation of amylase release by beta-adrenergic agonists. The effect of phenylephrine and methoxamine on amylase release was augmented by either forskolin or isobutyl-methylxanthine, but the effect of methacholine was not. Phenylephrine increased the cyclic AMP concentration under the same conditions, but methoxamine did not. The inhibition of the effect of phenylephrine plus forskolin on cyclic AMP accumulation by propranolol was almost complete and stereospecific, but the inhibition of their effects on amylase release was incomplete and not stereospecific. Synergism of amylase release was observed in the effect between methoxamine and dibutyryl-cyclic AMP. These results suggest that the augmentation of the effect of alpha-adrenergic agonists on amylase release by forskolin or isobutyl-methylxanthine cannot be explained only on changes in cyclic AMP and that some other factor in collaboration with cyclic AMP may participate in the regulation of amylase release by alpha-adrenergic agonists.

1-Methyl-3-isobutylxanthine↗
PubMed1984

Effects of elevated-hematocrit levels on pulmonary circulation in conscious sheep.

We investigated the effects of stepwise hematocrit (Ht) increase on pulmonary circulation in conscious sheep (n = 7). The Ht was increased by an isovolumic exchange transfusion of blood with centrifuged red cells. By increasing the Ht-values, both systemic (PSA) and pulmonary artery pressures (PPA) were increased, with the degree of PPA increment greater than that of PSA. Cardiac output (CO) was slightly decreased by increasing the Ht. Also, A-V difference values of blood oxygen tension were reduced with elevation of the Ht values. The ratio of the right ventricular work rate (RVW) to the left one (LVW), RVW/LVW, was shown to increase remarkably with increased Ht. This increase was considered to be supporting evidence for the right ventricular hypertrophy in high altitude acclimatization. A strong positive correlation was observed between Ht and blood viscosity. It was thus confirmed that Ht effect was greater in pulmonary circulation than in systemic circulation.

Altitude↗