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Biomedical subjects

M Fukushima

Publications and source records attributed to M Fukushima.

At least 145 records · Page 8Linked to original sources
PubMed2000

Clinical implications of immunoreactivity of thymidylate synthase and dihydropyrimidine dehydrogenase in gastric cancer treated with oral fluoropyrimidine (S-1). Study Group of S-1 for Gastric Cancer.

Many reports have demonstrated that thymidylate synthase (TS) and dihydropyrimidine dehydrogenase (DPD) are biomarkers for the response and prognosis of patients treated with 5-fluorouracil (5-FU)-based chemotherapy. A newly developed orally administered drug, fluoropyrimidine (S-1), has been developed with clinical efficacy when combined with an inhibitor of DPD. In this study, the relationship between immunoreactivity to TS and DPD in biopsy specimens and the effects of chemotherapy was investigated in 41 patients treated with S-1 therapy for advanced gastric cancer. Response rates were 54% (13/24) in TS(+) and 53% (9/17) in TS(-) patients (p=0.938), and those of DPD(+) and (-) patients were 61% (11/18) and 48% (11/23) (p=0.397), respectively. The median survival time of all the subjects was 253 days. There was no significant difference in median survival time between TS(+) patients (284 days) and (-) patients (189 days: p=0.670). The 18 DPD(+) patients had median survival times slightly longer (338 days) than the 23 patients with DPD(-) (207 days: p=0.206). This study indicates that S-1 may be effective in the treatment of gastric cancer patients, regardless of intratumoral TS and DPD immunoreactivity status. Further studies are needed to confirm these results with larger numbers of patients.

Adult↗
PubMed2000

Dihydropyrimidine dehydrogenase activity and mRNA expression in advanced gastric cancer analyzed in relation to effectiveness of preoperative 5-fluorouracil-based chemotherapy.

Dihydroxypyrimidine dehydrogenase (DPD) is an enzyme involved in degradation and inactivation of 5-fluorouracil (5-FU). The amount of its expression in a tumor is thought to be a factor determining the response of the tumor to 5-FU therapy. We compared DPD activity and DPD mRNA expression in resected tumors between two groups of patients, i.e., a group of 14 patients with advanced gastric cancer who received preoperative chemotherapy (neoadjuvant chemotherapy; NAC) and surgery and a group of 24 patients with advanced gastric cancer who underwent surgery without preoperative chemotherapy. Tumor DPD activity was found to correlate well with tumor DPD mRNA expression. In the surgery alone group, DPD activity decreased significantly as the tumor stage advanced. This change was not observed in the NAC plus surgery group. Neither tumor depth (T factor) nor lymph node metastasis was found to correlate with DPD activity. Patients who responded to preoperative chemotherapy had lower DPD mRNA levels. Based on these results, we anticipate that measurement of DPD expression in clinical specimens may be clinically useful in managing advanced gastric cancer.

Adenocarcinoma↗
PubMed2000

Intratumoral expression of thymidylate synthase and dihydropyrimidine dehydrogenase in non-small cell lung cancer patients treated with 5-FU-based chemotherapy.

5-fluorouracil (5-FU) has been used widely, including in gastrointestinal cancer, breast cancer, and non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC), and its efficacy has been reported to be associated with intratumoral expression of thymidylate synthase (TS) and dihydropyrimidine dehydrogenase (DPD). In order to clarify the clinical value of their expression in NSCLC patients treated with 5-FU, we investigated intratumoral expression of TS and DPD immunohistochemically. Of the 68 tumors studied, 40 carcinomas (58. 8%) had high TS expression, and 33 carcinomas (48.5%) had high DPD expression. The 5-year survival rate of the patients with high-TS tumors was significantly lower than that of the patients with low-TS tumors (P=0.0267), and the 5-year survival rate of the patients with high-DPD tumors was significantly lower than that of the patients with low-DPD tumors (P=0.0268). The Cox regression analysis of prognostic variables for NSCLC patients treated with 5-FU demonstrated that the simultaneous evaluation for both TS and DPD expression was found to be a significant indicator of a poor prognosis (P=0.0043). Our results demonstrated that the evaluation of intratumoral TS and DPD activity can be used to accurately predict responsiveness to 5-FU-based chemotherapy in NSCLC patients.

Adult↗
PubMed2000

[Expression of recombinant human dihydropyrimidine dehydrogenase and its application to the preparation of anti-DPD antibodies for immunochemical detection].

Dihydropyrimidine dehydrogenase (DPD) is a key enzyme in the catabolism of 5-fluorouracil (5-FU), and its expression in a tumor is thought to reduce the efficacy of 5-FU against the tumor. To detect a DPD molecule by immunoblotting and/or immunohistochemical methods, we attempted to prepare highly specific antibodies against recombinant human DPD (rhDPD) expressed in the baculovirus-expression system using hDPD cDNA. The expressed rhDPD protein was found to retain its entire molecular form and to show a high 5-FU-degrading activity equivalent to that of human liver DPD. Using this recombinant protein, both monoclonal and polyclonal antibodies to ehDPD were generated and their specificities, relationship to enzyme activity and the possibility of immunohistochemical measurement of tumoral DPD expression were investigated. The results revealed that anti-rhDPD monoclonal antibodies recognized only human DPD, while anti-rhDPD polyclonal antibodies reacted with both human and rodent DPD. The DPD content in 26 tumor cells, estimated by immunoblotting, was closely related to the 5-FU-degrading activities in those cells (r = 0.874). Moreover, immunohistochemical evaluation of tumor cellular DPD expression using our anti-rhDPD antibodies revealed that tumor cells expressing high levels of DPD showed strongly positive staining, but not those expressing low level or no DPD. These results suggest that immunochemical detection of tumoral DPD expression using our anti-rhDPD antibodies may be a means to predict the clinical response to 5-FU-based chemotherapy.

Animals↗
PubMed2000

Elastosis in lung carcinoma: Immunohistochemical, ultrastructural and clinical studies.

Elastosis is the pathological finding of focal deposits of elastic fibers in abnormal amounts within tissue. It is well described in the case of infiltrating carcinoma of the breast, but elastosis in lung carcinoma has not been previously documented in detail. We investigated the characteristics of elastosis in lung carcinoma with light and electron microscopies, and immunohistochemistry for alpha-1-antitrypsin. A total of 184 surgically resected primary lung carcinomas were studied. Elastosis was detected in adenocarcinomas (85/106), squamous cell carcinomas (11/60) and adenosquamous carcinomas (5/7), but not in small-cell carcinomas (n = 4) or large-cell carcinomas (n = 5). The degree of elastosis in each case was divided into one of five grades, graded as 3+ to 1-. The score of elastosis was significantly higher in adenocarcinoma than that in squamous-cell carcinoma (P < 0.01). In the cases of adenocarcinoma, the mean score of elastosis in the well-differentiated type (WD n = 43) was higher than that in the moderately differentiated (MD) (n = 39; P = 0.012) and poorly differentiated (PD) types (n = 24; P < 0.01). The mean score of elastosis in MD adenocarcinoma was also higher than that in the PD type (P < 0.01). Light- and electron-microscopic analyses revealed that these elastic fibers in elastosis were composed of aggregates of thick mature and fine immature elastic fibers, and were positive for alpha-1-antitrypsin. It is suggested that both degraded elastic fibers and newly synthesized fibers are contained in the elastosis of lung carcinoma. Although no significant evidence was detected to suggest any correlation between elastosis and the degree of tumor invasion, the survival curves of adenocarcinomas with elastosis showed a significantly improved prognosis than of those without elastosis in the cases of stages IA and IB (n = 52; P = 0.026).

Adenocarcinoma↗
PubMed1999

Structure based development of novel specific inhibitors for cathepsin L and cathepsin S in vitro and in vivo.

Specific inhibitors for cathepsin L and cathepsin S have been developed with the help of computer-graphic modeling based on the stereo-structure. The common fragment, N-(L-trans-carbamoyloxyrane-2-carbonyl)-phenylalanine-dimethyla mide, is required for specific inhibition of cathepsin L. Seven novel inhibitors of the cathepsin L inhibitor Katunuma (CLIK) specifically inhibited cathepsin L at a concentration of 10(-7) M in vitro, while almost no inhibition of cathepsins B, C, S and K was observed. Four of the CLIKs are stable, and showed highly selective inhibition for hepatic cathepsin L in vivo. One of the CLIK inhibitors contains an aldehyde group, and specifically inhibits cathepsin S at 10(-7) M in vitro.

Animals↗
PubMed1999

Antitumor activity of 13,14-dihydro-15-deoxy-delta7-prostaglandin-A1-methyl ester integrated into lipid microspheres against human ovarian carcinoma cells resistant to cisplatin in vivo.

One of the delta7-prostaglandin A1 derivatives with unique antitumor activities, 13,14-dihydro-15-deoxy-delta7-prostaglandin-A1-methyl ester, was integrated into lipid microspheres (Lipo-TEI9826) and examined for its antitumor effect in vitro and in vivo. The in vitro relative resistance of human ovarian cancer, A2780CP, to cisplatin (CDDP) and Lipo-TEI9826 was 27.3 and 2.0, respectively, compared with A2780, the parent cell line of A2780CP. In in vivo experiments, when A2780CP and the parent cell line A2780 were inoculated into nude mice, A2780CP grew two times more rapidly than did A2780. The growth of A2780CP tumor was not suppressed by CDDP, whereas that of the A2780 tumor was significantly suppressed. Nevertheless, the growth of both the A2780 and the A2780CP inoculated tumors was significantly inhibited by treatment with Lipo-TEI9826 at any time after the initial treatment, compared with the lipid microspheres only. These results show that Lipo-TEI9826 may be an effective antitumor agent and capable of overcoming CDDP resistance.

Animals↗
PubMed1999

The effect of a thymidine phosphorylase inhibitor on angiogenesis and apoptosis in tumors.

Thymidine phosphorylase (TP) is an enzyme involved in the reversible conversion of thymidine to thymine and is identical to an angiogenic factor, platelet-derived endothelial cell growth factor. TP is expressed at higher levels in a wide variety of solid tumors than in the adjacent nonneoplastic tissues. Patients with TP-positive colon and esophageal tumors have a poorer prognosis than those with TP-negative tumors. We have recently synthesized a new TP inhibitor (TPI), 5-chloro-6-[1-(2-iminopyrrolidinyl) methyl] uracil hydrochloride. We investigated the effect of TPI on angiogenesis in KB cells transfected with platelet-derived endothelial cell growth factor cDNA, KB/TP, and a mock transfectant, KB/CV, using the mouse dorsal air sac assay model. We found that KB/TP cells had a higher angiogenic ability than KB/CV cells and that TPI completely suppressed angiogenesis by KB/TP. Furthermore, at a dose of 50 mg/kg/day, TPI considerably decreased the growth rate of KB/TP cells xenografted into nude mice. Microvessel density in KB/TP tumors was higher than that in KB/CV tumors, and TPI did not significantly change the density in either of the tumors. The apoptotic index in KB/TP tumors was significantly lower than that in KB/CV tumors, and TPI significantly increased the apoptotic index in KB/TP tumors but not in KB/CV tumors. These findings, taken together with previous reports, suggest that the expression of TP plays an important role in tumor growth and that TPI suppresses tumor growth by increasing the proportion of apoptotic cells and probably inhibiting angiogenesis.

Animals↗
PubMed1999

Intrathecal 5-fluoro-2'-deoxyuridine (FdUrd) for the treatment of solid tumor neoplastic meningitis: an in vivo study.

To evaluate the possible intrathecal use of 5-fluoro-2'-deoxyuridine (FdUrd) for neoplastic meningitis, its antitumor activity and neurotoxicity in vivo were assessed. FdUrd at doses in the range 5-100 microg/animal was effective against meningeal carcinomatosis using Walker 256 carcinoma cells in rats and MM46 mammary cancer cells in mice and against meningeal gliomatosis using 203 glioma cells in mice. After four intrathecal injections, FdUrd at these doses also showed minimal neurotoxicity in the C57BL/6 mouse brain. To estimate the mechanism of FdUrd efficacy, thymidine phosphorylase (TPase) and thymidine kinase (TK), key enzymes in the metabolism of FdUrd, were measured in rat, mouse and normal human brain tissue, and in human brain tumor tissues and cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) from patients with malignant brain tumors including meningeal carcinomatosis. TPase levels were lower in brain and malignant brain tumors than in other organs and their tumors. Moreover, the activity of TPase in the gray matter of human brain, which faces the cerebrospinal fluid across the cortical surface and into which malignant cells invade in meningeal carcinomatosis, was lower than that in the white matter. TK was undetectable, and TPase was detected (at very low concentrations) in only 4 of 56 patients with brain tumors or meningeal carcinomatosis. These findings indicate that brain tissue and CSF are favorable sites for FdUrd chemotherapy because the rate of conversion of FdUrd to 5-FU would be minimal. In conclusion, FdUrd is potentially useful for intrathecal treatment of neoplastic meningitis from primary brain tumors and systemic cancer.

Animals↗
PubMed1999

Antitumor mechanisms and metabolism of the novel antitumor nucleoside analogues, 1-(3-C-ethynyl-beta-D-ribo-pentofuranosyl)cytosine and 1-(3-C-ethynyl-beta-D-ribo-pentofuranosyl)uracil.

The antitumor ribonucleoside analogues 1-(3-C-ethynyl-beta-D-ribo-pentofuranosyl)cytosine (ECyd) and 1-(3-C-ethynyl-beta-D-ribo-pentofuranosyl)uracil (EUrd), first synthesized in 1995, have strong antitumor activity against human cancer xenografts without severe side effects. Here, we studied the antitumor mechanisms of ECyd and EUrd using mouse mammary tumor FM3A cells in vitro and the mechanism of selective cytotoxicity of ECyd using human tumor xenografts in nude rats in vivo. In FM3A cells, ECyd and EUrd were rapidly phosphorylated to ECyd 5'-triphosphate (ECTP) and EUrd 5'-triphosphate (EUTP), which strongly inhibiting RNA synthesis. Cells treated with EUrd were later found to contain both EUTP and ECTP, and ECTP accumulated as the final product. Probably the uracil moieties of EUrd derivatives were efficiently converted to cytosine moieties in the cells. EUrd and its derivatives were minor metabolites in the cells treated with ECyd, so cytidine forms probably were not converted to uridine forms at the nucleoside or nucleotide stage. The ultimate metabolite of ECyd and EUrd, ECTP, is stable in cultured cells with a half-life of at least 3 days, so ECyd and EUrd are on a "closed" metabolic pathway to ECTP. These characteristics of ECyd and EUrd may be important for their antitumor activity. ECyd had strong and selective antitumor activity against the human tumor xenografts. ECyd-phosphorylating activity (uridine/cytidine kinase) in the xenografts was higher than that in the organs of the rats. This finding may account for the strong activity with mild side effects. ECyd and EUrd may be a new kind of antitumor nucleoside analogue for clinical use.

Animals↗
PubMed1999

CEPU-1, an immunoglobulin superfamily molecule, has cell adhesion activity and shows dynamic expression patterns in chick embryonic spinal cord.

In an attempt to isolate novel molecules involved in motoneuron differentiation and target muscle innervation during embryogenesis, we performed mRNA differential display analysis by comparing cDNAs of motoneurons purified by immunopanning from different portions along the rostro-caudal axis of chick embryonic spinal cord, and cloned an immunoglobulin superfamily protein named C30. By sequence comparison, C30 was shown to be an alternatively spliced isoform of CEPU-1, which was formerly reported as a member of the immunoglobulin superfamily specifically expressed in cerebellar Purkinje cells (Spaltmann and Brummendorf, 1996, J. Neurosci. 16, 1770-1779). We analyzed the expression pattern of CEPU-1 both at the mRNA and protein levels in the spinal cord of the chick embryo. Until stage 23, CEPU-1 was expressed faintly in the ventral part of the neural tube but gradually it became localized to a specific group of cells. In the motor column, CEPU-1 was expressed transiently in many columnar layers. A C30-transfected cell line showed Ca(2+)-independent cell-cell binding activity. These results suggest a role for CEPU-1 in specific axon guidance and/or fasciculation of motoneurons during development.

Animals↗
PubMed1999

Effects of a mixture of organisms, Lactobacillus acidophilus or Streptococcus faecalis on delta6-desaturase activity in the livers of rats fed a fat- and cholesterol-enriched diet.

The effect of a mixture of organisms (a probiotic mixture) comprising Bacillus, Lactobacillus, Streptococcus, Clostridium, Saccharomyces, and Candida (10(7-8) colony-forming units/g rice bran of each component) on delta6-desaturase activity in liver microsomes was compared with those of Lactobacillus acidophilus and Streptococcus faecalis. There were four treatment groups. Each group of these rats received rice bran (control), the mixture of organisms, L. acidophilus, or S. faecalis (30 g/kg) along with a fat- and cholesterol-enriched diet for 4 wk. The serum total cholesterol concentration of the group fed the mixture of organisms was reduced by 15-33% compared with the other groups at the end of the 4-wk feeding period (P<0.05). The proportion of palmitic acid in the serum phosphatidylcholine (PC) for the control group was significantly higher than those of the other groups. The proportion of arachidonic acid in the serum PC for the mixed-organism group was also significantly higher than those of the other groups. The proportion of arachidonic acid in the liver PC for the mixed-organism group was significantly higher than those of the control and S. faecalis groups. The ratio of arachidonic acid/linoleic acid was significantly higher in the liver PC of rats fed the mixed organisms compared with the control group (P<0.05). The delta6-desaturase activity in the liver microsomal fraction of the mixed-organism group was significantly higher than those of the other groups. The delta6-desaturase activity correlated positively with the ratio of arachidonic acid/linoleic acid of liver PC, the correlation coefficient (r) being 0.819 (P<0.001). The results indicate that the effect of the mixture of organisms was to increase delta6-desaturase activity and serum arachidonic acid and decrease cholesterol compared to the other organisms and control, but the mechanism whereby the enzyme activity was related to serum cholesterol does not appear to have been explored.

Animals↗
PubMed1999

Dorsoventral differential distribution of collagen type XIV around the spinal cord is regulated by the ectoderm.

Regional specification in the nervous system is a critical issue in nervous system morphogenesis. Along the dorsoventral axis of the spinal cord, ventral inductive signals of the notochord and floor plate, and dorsal ones of the epidermal ectoderm are essential. Collagen type XIV is uniquely distributed around the spinal cord with a gradient of dorsal high and ventral low at the early developmental stages of the chick embryo. In the present study it was found that collagen type XIV expression around the spinal cord was entirely regulated by the ectoderm and that even the ventralizing tissues, the notochord and floor plate, themselves could be influenced to express this molecule by the ectoderm.

Animals↗