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Biomedical subjects

M Furue

Publications and source records attributed to M Furue.

At least 37 records · Page 2Linked to original sources

Interleukin-8-positive neutrophils in psoriasis.

We performed an immunohistochemical study to try to determine the cellular source of interleukin-8 (IL-8) in psoriatic skin lesions. IL-8 was positively stained in the vast majority of neutrophils but not in the mononuclear cells, macrophages, or keratinocytes. IL-8-positive neutrophils were seen both in Munro's microabcesses in cases of psoriasis vulgaris and in a small spongiform pustule and much larger macropustules of Kogoj in cases of pustular psoriasis. Some IL-8-positive neutrophils were observed in the upper dermis of pustular psoriasis. The staining was considered to be specific because it could be completely blocked by preabsorption with recombinant IL-8. In addition, stimulation of human neutrophils with lipopolysaccharide (LPS) or tumor necrosis factor-alpha (TNF-alpha) for 18 h induced IL-8 production in vitro. In our study, IL-8 was expressed in the neutrophils of psoriasis, suggesting that neutrophils are one of the sources of IL-8 in psoriasis. The expression of IL-8 and the influx of neutrophils led us to speculate that the IL-8 autocrine and/or paracrine system functions in the formation of the microabcesses and pustules in proriasis.

Humans↗

Subcellular distribution of cytokeratin and vimentin in malignant rhabdoid tumor: three-dimensional imaging with confocal laser scanning microscopy and double immunofluorescence.

Malignant rhabdoid tumor (MRT) is a highly aggressive neoplasm that mostly occurs in childhood, characterized histologically by rhabdoid cells as shown by eosinophilic intracytoplasmic inclusions. Although it is known that rhabdoid cells co-express cytokeratin (CK) and vimentin, the distribution patterns of these two kinds of intermediate filaments and structural relationship between them are still not known. We investigated the subcellular distribution of CKs 8 and 18 and vimentin in MRT cell lines (Tm87-16, STM91-01, TTC549, and TC289) using confocal laser scanning microscopy and double immunofluorescence, in addition to ultrastructural examination. Vimentin was diffusely expressed in the cytoplasm of MRT cells, focally forming a filamentous network. In contrast, CKs 8 and 18 were partially expressed in the cytoplasm of MRT cells, forming globules or a few vague agglomerates. Three-dimensional images in TC289 cells revealed distinct distribution patterns of cytokeratin and vimentin, showing agglomerates of cytokeratins within the vimentin filament network. We conclude that these globules and agglomerates of CKs 8 and 18 correspond with the characteristic ultrastructural finding, showing cytoplasmic bundles of intermediate filaments concentrated in whorled arrays.

Female↗

Inhibitory effects of brefeldin A, a membrane transport blocker, on the bradykinin-induced hyperpolarization-mediated relaxation in the porcine coronary artery.

1. To elucidate the mechanism of the relaxation mediated by endothelium-derived hyperpolarizing factors (EDHFs), the effect of brefeldin A, a membrane transport blocker, on cytosolic Ca(2+) concentration ([Ca(2+)]i) and tension was determined in the porcine coronary arterial strips. We also examined the effect of brefeldin A on [Ca(2+)]i in the endothelial cells of the porcine aortic valve. 2. In the presence of 10 microM indomethacin and 30 microM N(G)-nitro-L-arginine (L-NOARG), both bradykinin and substance P induced a transient decrease in [Ca(2+)]i and tension in arterial strips contracted with 100 nM U46619 (thromboxane A2 analogue). A 6 h pre-treatment with 20 microg ml(-1) brefeldin A abolished the bradykinin-induced relaxation, while it had no effect on the substance P-induced relaxation. 3. In the absence of indomethacin and L-NOARG, brefeldin A had no effect on the bradykinin-induced relaxation during the contraction induced by U46619 or 118 mM K(+). 4. The indomethacin/L-NOARG-resistant relaxation induced by bradykinin was completely inhibited by 3 mM tetrabutylammonium (non-specific Ca(2+)-activated K(+) channel blocker), while that induced by substance P was not inhibited by 3 mM tetrabutylammonium or 1 mM 4-aminopyridine (voltage-dependent K(+) channels blocker) alone, but completely inhibited by their combination. 5. Brefeldin A had no effect on the [Ca(2+)]i elevation in endothelial cells induced by bradykinin or substance P. 6. In conclusion, bradykinin produce EDHF in a brefeldin A-sensitive mechanism in the porcine coronary artery. However, this mechanism is not active in a substance P-induced production of EDHF, which thus suggests EDHF to be more than a single entity.

15-Hydroxy-11 alpha,9 alpha-(epoxymethano)prosta-5↗

Spontaneous regression of multiple seborrheic keratoses associated with nasal carcinoma.

Seborrheic keratoses are very common epidermal neoplasms. We describe a patient with seborrheic keratoses presenting multifocal spontaneous regression. The patient had a concurrent nasal adenoid cystic carcinoma. The simultaneous regression of seborrheic keratoses ceased after total resection of the nasal carcinoma. Histological examination revealed marked infiltration of mononuclear cells, including CD4+, CD8+, CD68+ and cutaneous lymphocyte-associated antigen-positive cells, with profound accumulation of CD1a+ dendritic cells. Although apoptotic keratinocytes were not found in the lesional epidermis by histology, the majority of keratinocytes in the regressing seborrheic keratosis were positively stained by the TUNEL method. We postulate that the internal malignancy may induce spontaneous regression of seborrheic keratoses.

Aged↗

Cutaneous angiomyolipoma.

We report a rare case of angiomyolipoma located in the subcutis on the nose. A 54-year-old female first noticed a small, asymptomatic mass on her nose in 1994 and underwent tumor excision in April 1999. Histopathological examination revealed a typical form of angiomyolipoma, showing a proliferation of mature adipocytes, smooth muscle fascicles, and small- to medium-sized blood vessels.

Angiomyolipoma↗

Myelitis associated with atopic disorders in Japan: a retrospective clinical study of the past 20 years.

OBJECTIVE: To clarify the clinical features of myelitis associated with atopic disorders in Japanese patients. SUBJECTS AND METHODS: We retrospectively studied the clinical, immunological and electrophysiological features of 68 consecutive patients with myelitis of acute or subacute onset diagnosed at Kyushu University Hospital during the past 20 years. RESULTS: While only 2 of 28 (7%) patients with myelitis diagnosed between 1979 and 1993 had either atopic dermatitis (AD) or bronchial asthma (BA), 19 of 40 (48%) patients with myelitis diagnosed between 1994 and 1998 did. Among the 40 patients with myelitis diagnosed between 1994 and 1998, 19 patients with either AD or BA as well as 21 patients without either disease showed a significantly higher level of serum total IgE, higher frequency of hyperIgEaemia and higher frequency of mite antigen-specific IgE than 82 healthy controls. Myelitis patients with AD presenting as persistent paresthesia/dysesthesia in all four limbs showed cervical cord lesions on MRI and abnormalities in upper limb motor evoked potentials but no abnormalities in the cerebrospinal fluid (CSF), while myelitis patients with BA showed preferential involvement of the lower motor neurons clinically and electromyographically. In addition, 12 patients with myelitis who had hyperIgEaemia and mite antigen-specific IgE but neither AD nor BA showed incomplete transverse myelitis with mild motor disability and few CSF abnormalities. CONCLUSION: The clinical features of myelitis associated with atopic disorders were in part distinguished by the type of preceding atopic disorder, and also were different from those of hyperIgEaemic myelitis with no preceding atopic disorders.

Adult↗

[Evaluation of dermatological symptoms of Yusho patients in the annual examination in 1999-2000].

We analyzed the severity grades of the skin symptoms of Yusho patients who visited the annual examinations in 1999 and 2000. The severity grades of the skin symptoms clearly improved. The patients graded as 0 increased and those graded as II.III-III or III.IV-IV decreased as compared to the data in 1993. The pattern of the skin severity scores did not change much, although the patients who showed 0.1 reached 68% in 2000. The blood PCB concentration of Yusho patients also clearly decreased, especially in the patients who showed "A" pattern. Furthermore, the skin changes of the aged patients should be analyzed in detail in the future.

Female↗

Protonation studies of reduced ruthenium(II) complexes with polypyridyl ligands.

The pKa values associated with protonation of the one-electron reduced forms of series of [L'2Ru(II)L]2+ complexes [L' = bidentate polypyridyl ligand; L = bidentate polypyridyl ligand with additional uncoordinated N atoms in the aromatic ring system: e.g., dpp = 2,3-bis(2-pyridyl)pyrazine, bpz = 2,2'-bipyrazine] were assessed using pulse radiolysis techniques by the measurement of spectral variations as a function of pH. A linear correlation was observed between pKa and E (RuL'2L2+/+) for complexes in which the protonatable ligand was at the same time the site of reduction. In complexes where one or more of the nonprotonatable ligands (L') had very low pi* energy levels [e.g. (CF3)4bpy], reduction occurs on a nonprotonatable ligand and a dramatic decrease in the pKa values was observed for the reduced species. In complexes where the energies of the protonatable and nonprotonatable ligands were comparable, the protonation behavior was consistent with some orbital mixing/ delocalization of the electronic charge.

Journal Article↗

Macrophage infiltration correlates with tumor stage and angiogenesis in human malignant melanoma: possible involvement of TNFalpha and IL-1alpha.

We examined whether macrophage infiltration is associated with angiogenesis in cutaneous melanoma. The numbers of macrophages and microvessels increased significantly with increasing depth of tumor and with tumor angiogenesis. Macrophage infiltration thus appeared to provide a useful diagnostic marker for the progression of cutaneous melanoma. We further examined whether human melanoma cells produce angiogenic factors in response to macrophage-derived cytokines, tumor necrosis factor alpha (TNFalpha) and interleukin-1 alpha (IL-1alpha). Treatment of melanoma cells with TNFalpha and IL-1alpha in vitro enhanced the production of interleukin-8 (IL-8) and vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF), and of basic fibroblast growth factor (bFGF) to a lesser degree, in human melanoma cells. Lipopolysaccharide (LPS)-activated human monocytes enhanced production of IL-8, VEGF, TNF alpha, as well as IL-1alpha, but not bFGF. Co-culture of human monocytes and human melanoma cells was also found to significantly enhance production of IL-8 and VEGF in the absence and presence of LPS, compared with either monocytes or melanoma cells alone. The production of IL-8 and VEGF from co-cultured melanoma cells and LPS-activated monocytes was blocked when anti-TNF-alpha antibody or anti-IL-1alpha antibody was co-administrated. This is direct evidence that production of the potent angiogenic factors IL-8 and VEGF from melanoma cells is up-regulated through TNFalpha and/or IL-1alpha secreted by activated monocytes/macrophages, influencing both tumor growth and angiogenesis in melanomas.

Adult↗

Th1 dominance in HAM/TSP and the optico-spinal form of multiple sclerosis versus Th2 dominance in mite antigen-specific IgE myelitis.

To clarify the Th1/Th2 balance in spinal cord inflammation, we used ELISA to measure the total and allergen-specific IgE in 69 patients with clinically definite multiple sclerosis (MS), including 24 patients with the optico-spinal form of MS, 45 with HAM/TSP, 30 HTLV-I carriers without HAM/TSP, 40 patients with acute myelitis, 43 with neurodegenerative disorders, and 42 healthy subjects, and flow cytometry to study the intracellular IFNgamma-positive versus IL-4-positive cell ratio (intracellular IFNgamma/IL-4 ratio) in peripheral blood CD4(+) T cells in 40 patients with MS, including 17 patients with the optico-spinal form of MS, 23 with HAM/TSP, 22 with acute myelitis, 23 with neurodegenerative disorders, and 36 healthy subjects. Patients with HAM/TSP showed a significantly higher intracellular IFNgamma/IL-4 ratio, lower IL-4(+)/IFN-gamma(-) cell percentages, lower total IgE level, and lower frequency of cedar pollen-specific IgE than did the controls. The patients with optico-spinal MS showed a significantly higher intracellular IFNgamma/IL-4 ratio and higher IL-4(-)/IFN-gamma(+) cell percentages than the controls even at remission or in the convalescence phase. In contrast, in the patients with acute myelitis, the total serum IgE level and the frequency of mite antigen-specific IgE were significantly elevated in comparison to the controls, while those having mite antigen-specific IgE myelitis showed a significantly lower IFNgamma/IL-4 ratio in the CD4(+) T cells in comparison to the controls. These findings suggest that the Th1 cell response is predominant in HAM/TSP and optico-spinal MS, whereas the Th2 cell response is predominant in mite antigen-specific IgE myelitis.

Adult↗

Subcutaneous panniculitis by Epstein-Barr virus-infected natural killer (NK) cell proliferation terminating in aggressive subcutaneous NK cell lymphoma.

We describe here a case involving a patient presenting initially with subcutaneous panniculitis, which developed after 12 years into aggressive subcutaneous natural killer (NK) cell lymphoma with peripheral blood involvement and hemophagocytosis. The surface marker of lymphoid cells in peripheral blood was CD2+3-7+8-16+56+. Skin biopsies were taken in May 1986 and June 1998. The initial biopsy revealed a diffuse proliferation of atypical lymphoid cells in the subcutaneous tissue with panniculitis, while the second biopsy revealed the presence of large lymphoid cells in the subcutaneous tissue with necrotic changes, consistent with a diagnosis of malignant lymphoma (diffuse pleomorphic type). The lymphoid cells from these two specimens were positive for CD56 and such cytotoxic molecules as T-cell intracellular antigen-1 (TIA-1), granzyme B, and, interestingly, also positive for Epstein-Barr (EB) virus by in situ hybridization. This suggests that chronic EB virus infections play an important role in the early stages of tumorigenesis and in the progression of NK cell lymphoproliferative disorders.

Adaptor Proteins, Signal Transducing↗

Cytokines and chemokines in the epidermis.

Keratinocytes (KC) produce a vast repertoire of cytokines, including interleukins, growth factors, colony stimulating factors, and chemokines. Under normal conditions, most of them are not synthesized or remain in the cytoplasm, but external stimuli, such as trauma, bacterial infections, chemical substances, or ultraviolet irradiation induce the production and release of these cytokines from KC. KC-derived cytokines regulate the immune and inflammatory responses through their receptors on KC, Langerhans cells, dermal fibroblasts and endothelial cells, and infiltrating T-cells.

Animals↗

Encapsulated fat necrosis--a clinicopathological study of 8 cases and a literature review.

Eight cases of encapsulated fat necrosis are described. The patients were two males and six females from 10 to 77 years of age. The majority of the lesions clinically presented as asymptomatic, multiple, mobile, small nodules. All patients were treated by simple excisions of the nodules. Grossly, the lesions were whitish-yellow in color, smoothly-surfaced, round nodules measuring 3 to 20 mm in the greatest diameter. Histopathologically, the nodules were basically composed of variably degenerated and necrotic fatty tissue covered by fibrous connective tissue capsule associated with occasional calcification and inflammatory cell infiltrates. Among several terms proposed for this disease, encapsulated fat necrosis is considered most preferable term based on the clinical and histological findings of the present and reported cases.

Adipose Tissue↗

Elevated levels of eotaxin and interleukin-5 in blister fluid of bullous pemphigoid: correlation with tissue eosinophilia.

BACKGROUND: Bullous pemphigoid (BP) often provokes blood and tissue eosinophilia, which suggests that some chemoattractants modulate the eosinophil infiltration in BP. Eotaxin, a CC chemokine, strongly attracts eosinophils, and interleukin (IL)-5 induces eosinophil differentiation, proliferation and colony formation in vitro. OBJECTIVES: To examine the correlation between levels of eotaxin and IL-5 and the number of lesional eosinophils, and the expression of eotaxin in BP lesions. PATIENTS/METHODS: In this study we measured eotaxin and IL-5 levels in blister fluid of BP by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay. We also examined the expression of eotaxin in BP lesions by immunohistochemistry. RESULTS: Both eotaxin and IL-5 were detected at high levels in BP blister fluid. Blister fluid eotaxin, but not IL-5 levels, correlated significantly with the number of dermal infiltrating eosinophils. By immunohistochemistry, eotaxin was strongly expressed in epidermal keratinocytes around BP blisters. CONCLUSIONS: These findings suggest that eotaxin and IL-5 are strongly associated with the tissue eosinophilia of BP. Therapies which aim to inhibit production of eotaxin and IL-5 may improve the inflammation and blister formation in BP.

Adult↗

CD1a+, CD3+, CD4+, CD8+, CD68+ and cutaneous lymphocyte-associated antigen-positive cells in Bowen's disease.

BACKGROUND: Bowen's disease (BD) is a squamous cell carcinoma in situ that rarely invades into the underlying dermis. However, little is known about its immunohistology. Objectives To evaluate the relationship between the cytological properties of the tumour cells in BD and the host immune response. METHODS: We examined the expression of p53, proliferating cell nuclear antigen (PCNA) and Ki67 antigen, and the number of mitotic cells, together with the number of intratumoral and dermal infiltrating CD1a+, CD3+, CD4+, CD8+, CD68+ and cutaneous lymphocyte-associated antigen (CLA)+ cells in 18 cases of genital BD. RESULTS: When compared with normal genital skin (n = 10), there was a significantly higher number of mitotic cells as well as higher expression of p53+, PCNA+ and Ki67+ cells in BD. There was significant mutual correlation between CD3+, CD4+ and CD68+ cells in the tumoral epidermis. The number of CD1a+ Langerhans cells significantly decreased in BD epidermis; however, dermal CD1a+ cells were increased. Interestingly, numbers of dermal CD1a+ cells significantly correlated with those of intratumoral CD3+, CD4+ and CD68+ cells. In situ hybridization for human papillomavirus (HPV) demonstrated that HPV-infected BD had significantly less infiltration of intratumoral CD3+ cells and CLA+ cells. CONCLUSIONS: The present data suggest that dermal CD1a+ cells may participate in the immune surveillance and that HPV infection may interfere with the intratumoral infiltration of CLA+ cells in BD.

Antibody Formation↗

Cutaneous CD30 (Ki-1)-positive anaplastic large cell lymphoma preceded by Hodgkin's disease.

A 38-year-old female was diagnosed as Hodgkin's disease of the axillar lymph nodes, nodular sclerosis type, as evidenced by the presence of Reed-Sternberg cells positive for CD30 and CD15 and negative for CD3, CD20, and CD45. She achieved complete remission after combination chemotherapy. Two years later, she noticed a red papule on her public area without any lymph node involvement. The biopsy specimens showed diffuse proliferation of large-sized atypical lymphoid cells positive for CD30 and CD45, and negative for CD3, CD20 and CD15. These findings were mostly compatible with CD30 (Ki-1)-positive anaplastic large cell lymphoma (Ki-1 lymphoma). Our case is considered to be cutaneous Ki-1 lymphoma preceded by Hodgkin's disease.

Adult↗