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Biomedical subjects

M Abe

Publications and source records attributed to M Abe.

At least 487 records · Page 27Linked to original sources
PubMed1997

[The in vitro antifungal activities of fluconazole against pathogenic yeasts recently isolated from clinical specimens].

The emergence of Candida albicans resistance to azole antifungal agents have been reported in the U. S. and Europe. We examined the in vitro antifungal activities of fluconazole against clinical isolates collected by seven investigators in three years to examine if a tendency existed toward the development of azole-resistance among fungal isolates in Japan. The following results were obtained: 1. Sensitivities to fluconazole (FLCZ) were determined for yeast-like fungi, including 113 strains isolated in 1993, 149 strains isolated in 1994 and 205 strains isolated in 1995. No significant differences in sensitivities in the three years were detected. 2. Minimum inhibitory concentrations of FLCZ were 0.1-0.78 microgram/ml for C. albicans and 3.13-25 micrograms/ml for C. glabrata. Strains with 25 micrograms/ml of FLCZ's MIC were detected; two strains of C. krusei and one strain each of C. krusei, Trichospron beigelii and Hansenula anomala. No strains with higher than 50 micrograms/ml MIC of FLCZ were detected. 3. In vitro activities of FLCZ were compared between clinical strains isolated between 1993 and 1995 and clinical strains isolated before the marketing of FLCZ (up to December 1987) or clinical yeasts isolated between 1991 and 1992. No significant differences were observed, suggesting that no tendency existed toward azole resistance among fungal strains examined.

Antifungal Agents↗
PubMed1997

[An autopsy case of amyotrophic lateral screlosis (ALS): magnetic resonance imaging and pathological findings of the pyramidal tract].

A 59-year-old woman was diagnosed as amyotrophic lateral screlosis (ALS) on the basis of neurological and electromyographical findings, and died after about 4 years course. Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) on coronal planes through the internal capsule revealed high signal area almost limited to the pyramidal tract; the high signal area was more restricted in proton weighted imaging than in T2 weighted imaging. Histological lesion of the precentral gyrus was slight, while loss of myelinated fibers in the posterior limb of the internal capsule was remarkable. Extent of the pathological lesion in the posterior limb of the internal capsule well corresponded to the high signal area in proton weighted imaging. Comparison of the pyramidal tract pathology in the corona radiata and the internal capsule in Klüver-Barrera preparations with the MRI findings obtained 2 years and 8 months before the autopsy suggests us that the T2 weighted imaging of ALS brains may detect involvement of the pyramidal tract as early as or even earlier than histological changes become manifest.

Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis↗
PubMed1997

[A case report of chronic dissecting aortic aneurysm (Stanford type A) with circumferential detachment of the intima].

A 57-year-old man underwent Bentall's procedure (Piehler's modification) and partial aortic arch replacement for Stanford type A chronic aortic dissection. Circumferential detachment of intima with intimal intussusception into the aortic arch was found at the time of operation. Preoperative findings did not show the intimal tear involving entire circumference of the ascending aorta. He was asymptomatic but coughing before consulting our hospital. He was discharged from the hospital 26 days after operation.

Aortic Dissection↗
PubMed1997

[Estimation of respiratory muscle endurance using an inspiratory threshold loading device in patients with chronic pulmonary emphysema and in elderly subjects].

We studied respiratory muscle endurance with an inspiratory threshold loading (ITL) device using Martyn's method (2-min incremental loading test) in 9 patients with chronic pulmonary emphysema (CPE patients) and in 9 elderly subjects with no lung disease (NE subjects), and their endurance was compared with that of 9 normal young subjects (NY subjects). In 11 cases (8 CPE patients and 3 NE subjects) a treadmill exercise test was performed and cardiopulmonary parameters obtained from the ITL and treadmill tests were compared. The maximum weight tolerated for 2 minutes (Wmax) and the mean peak inspiratory mouth pressure/maximum inspiratory mouth pressure ratio at the maximum load (Ppk/MIP at Max Load) were used as indices of respiratory muscle endurance. CPE patients had significantly decreased Wmax compared with those of NE and NY subjects. Wmax in all cases positively correlated with Ppk/MIP at Max Load, and endurance time of both the ITL and treadmill tests. During both tests, SaO2 significantly decreased, and heart rate and mean blood pressure significantly increased. There was less change in SaO2 and heart rate during the ITL test than during the treadmill test, and neither arrhythmias nor ST changes on ECG were observed during the ITL test. These results indicate that the ITL test can be easily and safely employed in CPE patients and elderly subjects to estimate respiratory muscle endurance.

Adult↗
PubMed1997

Intranuclear expression of cyclin D1 protein as a useful prognostic marker for mantle cell lymphoma.

Mantle cell lymphoma (MCL) has a characteristic chromosomal translocation, t(11:14) (q13;q32) involving rearrangement of bcl-1 locus, and the key oncogene of bcl-1 locus in PRAD1/cyclin D1 gene that encodes the protein regarding cell cycle. Recently, several studies using immunohistochemical and molecular methods have demonstrated the overexpression of cyclin D1 mRNA/protein in cases of MCL. We have studied immunohistochemical expression of cyclin D1 protein on frozen sections of 27 cases of MCLs and evaluated the relationship between the expression of cyclin D1 and prognosis. Sixteen (59.3%) cases showed intranuclear staining of cyclin D1 protein and 6 of 7 cases examined using RT-PCR methods showed the overexpression of PRAD1/cyclin D1 mRNA. The data indicate that intranuclear staining of cyclin D1 protein is associated with the overexpression of PRAD1/cyclin D1 mRNA. The survival time of cyclin-D1 positive group was shorter than that of cyclin D1-negative group, and there was a significant difference in survival time between the two groups (p < 0.05; log-rank test). These data suggest that the MCLs with overexpression of PRAD1/cyclin D1 protein has poor prognosis, and intranuclear expression of cyclin D1 protein is a useful prognostic marker for MCL.

Adult↗
PubMed1996

A phase I and II clinical trial of a newly developed ultrasound hyperthermia system with an improved planar transducer.

PURPOSE: The clinical usefulness of a newly developed ultrasound hyperthermia system was evaluated. METHODS AND MATERIALS: The hyperthermia system uses a modified planer transducer operated at frequencies of 0.5, 1.0, and 1.5 MHz. The transducer has a nonvibrating part at the center to reduce the central hot spot. Frequency sweeping technique is also used to eliminate the annular hot spot around the center. Thirty-eight tumors in 29 patients were examined in this study. In 35 tumors, hyperthermia was given in conjunction with irradiation and/or chemotherapy, and in the remaining 3 tumors, hyperthermia alone was given. In all, a total of 153 hyperthermia sessions were performed. RESULTS: The number of hyperthermia sessions per tumor ranged from 1 to 7 (mean, 4.0 +/- 1.3). The number of intratumor thermometry points per session ranged from 1 to 8 (mean, 4.3 +/- 1.5). The average intratumor temperature for tumors with a maximum depth of <3 cm, 3-6 cm, and >6 cm was 42.1 +/- 1.2, 41.7 +/- 1.4, and 39.9 +/- 2.0 degrees C, respectively. The percentage of monitored intratumor points with temperature exceeding 42 degrees C was 56 +/- 31%, 43 +/- 34%, and 21 +/- 24%, respectively. Of the 30 evaluable tumors treated with combined irradiation, 12 showed complete response, 14 partial response, and 4 no change. Observed complications included pain at the treatment site in 13 of the 153 treatment sessions and vesicle formation in 3 of the 38 treatment sites. No serious complication was seen. CONCLUSIONS: These results indicate that the newly developed ultrasound hyperthermia system is clinically useful for the treatment of localized superficial and subsurface tumors with a maximum tumor depth of no more than 6 cm.

Adult↗
PubMed1996

Cross-linking of intercellular adhesion molecule 1 (CD54) induces AP-1 activation and IL-1beta transcription.

Leukocytes adhere to target cells through their integrins and play a crucial role in self-defense, inflammation, and differentiation. Intercellular adhesion molecule-1 (ICAM-1; CD54) is a representative ligand for integrins and is expressed on many cell types, some of which are targets for leukocyte adhesion. Recent studies suggest that adhesion molecules function not only as a cellular glue, but also as a signal transducer. However, it remains to be clearly defined whether engagement of ICAM-1 is able to induce activation signals in target cells. In rheumatoid synovium, synovial cells are known to express abundant ICAM-1 and produce multiple inflammatory cytokines, such as IL-1beta. In this study, we provide the first evidence that ICAM-1 engagement induces activation of the transcription factor AP-1 and transcription of the IL-1beta gene using a specific Ab to cross-link ICAM-1 on a rheumatoid synovial cell line (E11 cells). This evidence includes ICAM-1 cross-linking-dependent induction of 1) in situ IL-1beta transcription and protein synthesis, 2) transiently transfected chloramphenicol acetyltransferase (CAT) reporter plasmids containing both the IL-1beta LPS-responsive enhancer (between -3134 and -2729) as well as multiple copies of an AP-1 site from this enhancer (between -3117 and -3111), and 3) the binding of a Jun/Fos family complex to this AP-1 site. Thus, ICAM-1 not only functions as a glue for integrin binding, but also as a transducer for AP-1 activation signals important for IL-1beta gene transcription.

Animals↗
PubMed1996

Expression of neurofilament proteins in proliferating C2C12 mouse skeletal muscle cells.

Expression of neurofilament proteins, NF140K, NF68K, and NF200K, in C2C12 mouse skeletal muscle cells was studied. Immunofluorescence and immunoblot analyses revealed that NF140K was expressed in proliferating C2C12 cells and its localization was similar to desmin, a muscle-specific intermediate filament protein. NF140K became undetectable in C2C12 cells as muscle cell differentiation proceeded. Reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) and Northern blot analyses confirmed the expression of NF140K, NF68K, and NF200K in proliferating C2C12 cells. Sequences of the RT-PCR products of NF140K and NF68K were identical to that of authentic mouse NF140K and NF68K, respectively. The NF140K and NF68K mRNA were down-regulated during myogenesis in contrast to the up-regulation of mRNA encoding troponin-T. Furthermore, subcloned C2C12 cells, which express NF140K at a higher level, exhibited retarded myogenesis, i.e., delayed onset of myosin heavy chain synthesis and myoblast fusion. These results suggest that neurofilament proteins may play an inhibitory role in commitment of muscle cell differentiation. The presence of neurofilament proteins in skeletal muscle cells indicates that desmin, vimentin, and neurofilament proteins can be expressed in a single muscle cell.

Animals↗
PubMed1996

A genetic analysis system of Burkholderia cepacia: construction of mobilizable transposons and a cloning vector.

A genetic analysis system of Burkholderia cepacia (Bc) was developed which included transposon mutagenesis and complementation of mutation with the cloned genes of interest. To deliver the transposon in this multidrug-resistant microorganism, two plasmids, pKN30 and pKN31, were constructed which contained Tn5 derivatives, Tn5-30Tp and Tn5-31Tp, respectively, carrying KmR and TpR genes. The plasmids have the origin of ColE1 replication and the mobilization gene of RP4. Tn5-31Tp was mobilized to Bc KF1, a strain isolated from a pneumonia patient, by the transfer system of RP4 integrated in the chromosome of Escherichia coli (Ec). Selection with trimethoprim resulted in generation of a number of transposants of Bc KF1. Fourteen protease-deficient mutants were isolated, all of which contained a single transposon marker in the chromosome. Thirteen protease-deficient mutants were also lipase deficient. An Ec-Bc shuttle plasmid, pTS1209, was constructed that consists of oriColE1, oripSa, ApR and CmR genes, and several unique restriction sites for cloning. Plasmid pTS1209 was successfully employed for cloning genes of Bc involved in protease production.

Burkholderia cepacia↗
PubMed1996

Construction of high-resolution physical maps from yeast artificial chromosomes using restriction landmark genomic scanning (RLGS).

We have established a new system for chromosome-specific yeast artificial chromosome (YAC) contig construction using restriction landmark genomic scanning (RLGS-based YAC contig mapper). RLGS is a powerful tool for detecting more than 1000 restriction landmarks distributed on an entire genome in one procedure. In this system, RLGS is applied to sorted chromosomes to cover the target chromosome. Using these landmarks as guideposts, chromosome-specific YAC clones are then ordered. In this paper, we report the construction of a map for a human chromosome 21 YAC contig spanning q22.1 using this new approach. Applying RLGS to sorted chromosomes 21 enables detection of approximately 1400 spots (equivalent of 1050 PacI landmarks), covering the entire region of this chromosome. We constructed the 2.5-Mb YAC contig encompassing 21q22.1 with 66 spots (equivalent of 50 PacI landmarks). With this contig map, we could detect two deleted regions and chimerism in the YAC insert DNA. Our results demonstrated the usefulness of this approach for finding DNA alterations of YACs, such as deletions and chimerism.

Chimera↗
PubMed1996

Light-sensitive response in melanophores of Xenopus laevis: I. Spectral characteristics of melanophore response in isolated tail fin of Xenopus tadpole.

Melanophores in the isolated tail from the amphibian larvae Xenopus laevis, Hyla japonicus, Rana pirica, and Hynobius retardatus aggregated melanin granules in response to light and dispersed them when placed in darkness. The spectral characteristics for the melanin-aggregation response were examined by irradiating the Xenopus tail-fin locally (diameter, 2.1 mm) with monochromatic light (380-1,020 nm). The spectral region of wave length which induced melanosome aggregation depended on the light intensity but was limited to the visible spectrum. At low light intensity (1.59 microW/cm2, delta lambda = 5 nm), the aggregation response occurred in the spectral region between 400 and 600 nm and the maximum response was observed at 500 nm. This range is very close to the absorption spectrum of rhodopsin in the visual rod cell. Hypodermic injection of cGMP into isolated tail-fin induced a marked melanin-dispersion in spite of light-stimuli. When the tail-fin was treated with isobutylmethylxanthine (IBMX; phosophodiesterase inhibitor) in darkness and then was re-exposed to light, the aggregation response was inhibited. The photo-sensitive melanin aggregation was independent of a requirement for Ca2+ ions but melanosome dispersion in darkness was Ca(2+)-dependent. K(+)-rich Hanks' solution, ouabain (inhibitor of Na(+)-K(+)-ATPase) or nonactin (cation ionophore), which induced a change of the membrane potential of melanophores, inhibited the aggregation response when the melanophores were re-exposed to light after a period in darkness. These results suggest that the molecular mechanism of photoreception in melanophores of amphibian tadpoles is similar to that in visual cells.

1-Methyl-3-isobutylxanthine↗
PubMed1996

Non-neurogenic periodic fluctuations in heart rate and vasomotion appearing in familial amyloid polyneuropathy (FAP) Type I (Met30).

In order to evaluate the function of the autonomic nervous system, power spectral analysis of heart rate fluctuation and waveform observation of cutaneous vasomotion were conducted in 3 patients with familial amyloid polyneuropathy Type 1 (FAP) (Met30) with autonomic disorders. In 2 FAP patients in the early stage, both high (HFC: 0.12-0.4 Hz) and low frequency components (LFC: 0.04-0.12 Hz) in the heart rate spectrum, and basic (BW) and reflex waves (RW) in the vasomotion were all markedly suppressed. However, in an FAP patient in the advanced stage, prominent spectral peaks were recognized in both the spectral bands of LFC and HFC. HFCs were neither correspondent with the respiratory frequency nor depressed by atropine, and BW was not affected by acute denervation using a local anesthetic. RW was absent irrespective of the denervation. These results suggest that the denervated heart and vascular smooth muscles might have newly acquired periodic fluctuations, although the physiological mechanism and meanings remain to be investigated.

Adult↗
PubMed1996

A prospective study on the reliability and cost effectiveness of preoperative ultrasound screening of the "marginal" liver donor.

With the growing shortage of available liver donors, many donors with risk factors that would have traditionally precluded liver procurement are now being considered. In this prospective study, we evaluated 50 "marginal" liver donors with pre-procurement abdominal ultrasounds and correlated results with findings at procurement and with subsequent allograft function. The results show that the ultrasounds have a specificity of 96% and a sensitivity of 68% in predicting abnormalities in donor livers that precluded transplantation. In addition, using ultrasound to screen marginal donors would result in significant savings in manpower and hospital resource utilization without "missing" any normal liver organs. Our results also show that, when properly selected, livers from donors with one or more high-risk factors function well with acceptable primary nonfunction rates.

Costs and Cost Analysis↗
PubMed1996

Development of an integrated radiotherapy network system.

PURPOSE: To introduce the process of developing an integrated radiotherapy network. METHODS AND MATERIALS: We developed a new radiotherapy treatment-planning system in 1987 that we named the Computer Tomography (CT) simulator. CT images were immediately transported to multiimage monitors and to a planning computer, and treatment planning could be performed with the patient lying on the CT couch. The results of planning were used to guide a laser projector, and radiation fields were projected onto the skin of the patient. Since 1991, an integrated radiotherapy network system has been developed, which consists of a picture archiving and communicating system (PACS), a radiotherapy information database, a CT simulator, and a linear accelerator with a multileaf collimator. RESULTS: Clinical experience has been accumulated in more than 1,000 patients. Based on our 7 years of experience, we have modified several components of our original CT simulator and have developed a second generation CT simulator. A standard protocol has been developed for communication between the CT scanner, treatment planning computer, and radiotherapy apparatus using the Ethernet network. As a result, treatment planning data can be transported to the linear accelerator within 1 min after completion of treatment planning. CONCLUSION: This system enables us to make optimal use of CT information and to devise accurate three-dimensional (3D) treatment-planning programs. Our network also allows for the performance of fully computer-controlled dynamic arc conformal therapy.

Computer Communication Networks↗