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Biomedical subjects

M Furuya

Publications and source records attributed to M Furuya.

At least 55 records · Page 3Linked to original sources
PubMed1998

A preliminary study aimed at the detection of Leishmania parasites in subjects with cutaneous leishmaniasis using polymerase chain reaction.

As a basic study for future diagnosis of cutaneous leishmaniasis, we tried to detect Leishmania parasites representing different species in the subgenera Leishmania and Viannia from subject patients with cutaneous leishmaniasis by using the polymerase chain reaction (PCR) with the subgenus Viannia specific primer. Four out of the 14 specimens revealed an amplified DNA of 70 bp specific for the subgenus Viannia (L. braziliensis complex). No bands were detected in the rest of the specimens belonging to the subgenus Leishmania and unclassified groups. The base sequences of the amplified DNA corresponded with those of the L. (V). braziliensis kinetoplast minicircle. We concluded that PCR using the present primer specific for the subgenus Viannia would be useful in detecting Leishmania parasites in lesions of cutaneous leishmaniasis caused by the L. braziliensis complex.

Animals↗
PubMed1998

Comparative studies of the detection rates of Leishmania parasites from formalin, ethanol-fixed, frozen human skin specimens by polymerase chain reaction and Southern blotting.

In this study, detection rates of Leishmania parasites from human skin were compared among three different types of specimens, formalin-fixed, ethanol-fixed, and frozen, by polymerase chain reaction (PCR) and Southern blotting. For this purpose, we used biopsy specimens collected from 19 leishmaniasis patients and performed PCR and Southern hybridization with the probe specific for Leishmania (Viannia) braziliensis complex. Among these 19, 16 specimens were from cutaneous leishmaniasis (CL), one, diffuse cutaneous leishmaniasis (DCL) and 2, mucocutaneous leishmaniasis (MCL) and were formalin-fixed and paraffin-embedded. The causative agents for one case of CL and one case of DCL were already identified as L. (Leishmania) complex. Six specimens of CL were preserved in 100% ethanol. Two specimens of MCL were frozen tissues. PCR using the formalin-fixed and paraffin-embedded specimens revealed positive bands at 70 bp in 9 (47.4%) out of 19 specimens of CL, MCL and DCL. Southern blotting detected the signals in 12 (63.2%) out of the 19. PCR using the 100% ethanol-fixed specimens revealed positive bands in 4 (66.7%) out of 6, and Southern blotting also detected the signals in 4 (66.7%) out of the 6. PCR and Southern blotting using 2 frozen specimens of MCL were always positive (100%). Although we failed to detect significant differences by Chi-square test between the results from the formalin-fixed, paraffin-embedded specimens and those from 100% ethanol-fixed ones, we concluded that ethanol-fixed specimens, convenient for transportation and storage, would be more useful for diagnosis of leishmaniasis by PCR in a developing country.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1998

Induction of tumor necrosis factor-alpha mRNA in the kidney of the mouse chronic hepatitis model.

Previously we reported the induction of tumor necrosis factor (TNF)-alpha mRNA in the liver of interferon (IFN)-gamma transgenic mouse, which might be the result of IFN-gamma gene expression. In the present study, IFN-gamma mRNA was induced in the liver, kidney and lung. TNF-alpha mRNA was, however, induced in the liver and kidney, but not in the lung. Induction of interleukin (IL)-2 and IL-1beta mRNA was lacking in any of these organs. The present result showed the induction of TNF-alpha mRNA expression in the kidney of transgenic mouse.

Animals↗
PubMed1998

Squamous odontogenic tumor of the maxilla: report of a case.

A case of squamous odontogenic tumor (SOT) of the maxilla related to an embedded tooth in a 42-year-old Japanese woman is described. The patient felt a slight pain of her left maxilla 2 months before visiting our dental hospital. Histologically, the tumor consisted of a proliferation of round and elongated epithelial islands of well-differentiated squamous epithelium separated by a fibrous stroma. The epithelial nests varied in size, and were composed of cuboidal or squamous cells of basal layer and matured intermediate cells with prominent intercellular bridges. Although no calcified materials were found, microcystic degeneration was occasionally observed in the epithelial islands. These findings indicated that this tumor is a SOT of the maxilla.

Adult↗
PubMed1998

Intraoperative spasm of coronary and peripheral artery--a case occurring after tourniquet deflation during sevoflurane anesthesia.

A 68-yr-old man with a 9-yr history of hypertension presented for hemiglossectomy, segmental resection of the mandible, and the radial forearm free flap grafting. Intraoperatively, facial artery spasm was observed during microvascular suturing of the radial artery to the facial artery. Simultaneously, systolic blood pressure decreased from 100 to 80 torr and the ST segment elevated to 15 mm from the base line. The possible mechanisms responsible for vasospasm in coronary as well as in peripheral arteries under sevoflurane anesthesia are discussed.

Aged↗
PubMed1998

Prevalence of herpes B virus antibody in nonhuman primates reared at the National University of Japan.

A serological investigation by means of an enzyme immuno assay test for herpes B virus (cercopithecine herpesvirus 1) was performed on 961 sera of healthy nonhuman primates reared in laboratory animal facilities which belong to the Association of Laboratory Animal Facilities of the National University of Japan. An antibody prevalence of 40% (384/ 961) was demonstrated. The antibody titer was shown to be higher among macaques (60% of cynomolgus monkeys, 53% of rhesus monkeys, and 34% of Japanese monkeys) than among non-macaque species (21%). These data indicate that nonhuman primates reared in animal facilities may present an occupational health problem and a potential zoonotic biohazard as demonstrated in limited cases in the United States.

Animals↗
PubMed1997

Local expression of C-type natriuretic peptide markedly suppresses neointimal formation in rat injured arteries through an autocrine/paracrine loop.

BACKGROUND: In vivo gene transfer into injured arteries may provide a new means to facilitate molecular understanding of and to treat the intractable fibroproliferative arterial diseases. Selection of an optimal molecule to be transferred will be a key to successful gene therapy in the future. We tested the hypothesis that a secreted multifactorial molecule should act more efficiently through an autocrine/paracrine loop to suppress neointimal formation elicited in injured arteries than a simple growth-inhibiting molecule that might be expressed inside cells. METHODS AND RESULTS: We constructed an adenoviral vector (AdCACNP) expressing C-type natriuretic peptide (CNP), a secreted stimulator of membrane-bound guanyl cyclase. AdCACNP directs cells to secrete large quantities of biologically active CNP. Serum-stimulated DNA synthesis and cell proliferation were only moderately suppressed in arterial smooth muscle cells infected with AdCACNP in vitro. However, when AdCACNP was applied to balloon-injured rat carotid arteries in vivo, neointimal formation was markedly reduced (90% reduction) in an infection-site-specific manner without an increase in plasma CNP level. CONCLUSIONS: Our results showed that CNP, a secreted multifactorial molecule, was indeed effective in suppressing fibroproliferative response in injured arteries and suggest that the potent antiproliferation effect may not be the most critical factor for the effective suppression of neointimal formation. An adenovirus-mediated expression of CNP could be an effective and site-specific form of molecular intervention in proliferative arterial diseases.

Adenoviridae↗
PubMed1997

Genetic and physical delineation of the region of the mouse deafness mutation shaker-2.

A total of 951 backcross progeny have been obtained from a backcross segregating for the mouse deafness mutation, shaker-2(sh-2). Linkage analysis provides a detailed genetic map in the vicinity of sh-2 which comprises 40 backcross mice identified as recombinant within a 4 cM region. This allows construction of a contig consisting of 21 BAC clones across an approximately 700-kb region of sh-2. This covers the entire nonrecombinant region of sh-2 and is therefore useful to facilitate the identification of genes in the sh-2 region.

Animals↗
PubMed1997

Saxitoxin as a toxic principle of a freshwater puffer, Tetraodon fangi, in Thailand.

Saxitoxin was identified in a freshwater puffer, Tetraodon fangi, which caused food poisoning in Thailand. Tetrodotoxin, a puffer toxin, was not detected in the species by the HPLC-fluorometric analysis, showing that tetrodotoxin is absent or under any detectable level. The result of this study shows that saxitoxin can be a major toxin in puffer.

Animals↗
PubMed1997

Fluence and wavelength requirements for Arabidopsis CAB gene induction by different phytochromes.

The roles of different phytochromes have been investigated in the photoinduction of several chlorophyll a/b-binding protein genes (CAB) of Arabidopsis thaliana. Etiolated seedlings of the wild type, a phytochrome A (PhyA) null mutant (phyA), a phytochrome B (PhyB) null mutant (phyB), and phyA/phyB double mutant were exposed to monochromatic light to address the questions of the fluence and wavelength requirements for CAB induction by different phytochromes. In the wild type and the phyB mutant, PhyA photoirreversibly induced CAB expression upon irradiation with very-low-fluence light of 350 to 750 nm. In contrast, using the phyA mutant, PhyB photoreversibly induced CAB expression with low-fluence red light. The threshold fluences of red light for PhyA- and PhyB-specific induction were about 10 nmol m-2 and 10 mumol m-2, respectively. In addition, CAB expression was photoreversibly induced with low-fluence red light in the phyA/phyB double mutant, revealing that another phytochrome(s) (PhyX) regulated CAB expression in a manner similar to PhyB. These data suggest that plants utilize different phytochromes to perceive light of varying wave-lengths and fluence, and begin to explain how plants respond so exquisitely to changing light in their environment.

Arabidopsis↗
PubMed1996

Stimulation by retinoids of the natriuretic peptide system of osteoblastic MC3T3-E1 cells.

The effects were examined of treatment with retinoids of osteoblastic MC3T3-E1 cells on the natriuretic peptide system that promotes the differentiation of osteoblastic cells. Northern blot analysis revealed high levels of mRNA for the retinoid X receptor beta (RXR beta) and moderate levels of mRNAs for retinoic acid receptors alpha (RAR alpha) and gamma (RAR gamma). Exposure of MC3T3-E1 cells to 1 microM retinoid caused increases in the levels of C-type natriuretic peptide (CNP) and natriuretic peptide receptor-C (NPR-C). The activity of natriuretic peptide receptor-B (NPR-B) was unchanged after the addition of retinoid to the culture system. These results suggest that retinoids might influence the metabolism of osteoblastic cells through regulation of the natriuretic peptide system.

Animals↗
PubMed1996

TNF-alpha gene expression in the liver of the IFN-gamma transgenic mouse with chronic active hepatitis.

Cytokine gene expression in the liver of transgenic mouse which specifically expresses interferon-gamma gene (IFN-gamma) was measured using polymerase chain reaction analysis. IFN-gamma mRNA was found to be expressed in the transgenic mouse liver along with TNF-alpha mRNA. Messenger RNAs of CD4 and CD8, maturation markers of T cells, were expressed in both normal and transgenic mouse livers, indicating the presence of resident T cells. The level of CD4 and CD8 expression was slightly elevated in the transgenic mouse case, indicating an increased number of CD4+ and/or CD8+ T cells, but the lack of the activation marker IL-2 mRNA suggested a nonactivated state. TGF-beta 1 mRNA was expressed in both normal and transgenic mouse livers without any increase in the latter, and therefore does not appear to be involved in the development of chronic active hepatitis in this transgenic mouse. Since TNF-alpha is a terminal mediator of liver injury in several animal liver injury models, its high expression, presumably a result of the IFN-gamma which is transcribed from the introduced gene, might be involved in the development of chronic active hepatitis in this transgenic mouse.

Alanine Transaminase↗
PubMed1996

Action spectra for phytochrome A- and B-specific photoinduction of seed germination in Arabidopsis thaliana.

We have examined the seed germination in Arabidopsis thaliana of wild type (wt), and phytochrome A (PhyA)- and B (PhyB)-mutants in terms of incubation time and environmental light effects. Seed germination of the wt and PhyA-null mutant (phyA) was photoreversibly regulated by red and far-red lights of 10-1,000 micromol m-2 when incubated in darkness for 1-14 hr, but no germination occurred in PhyB-null mutant (phyB). When wt seeds and the phyB mutant seeds were incubated in darkness for 48 hr, they synthesized PhyA during dark incubation and germinated upon exposure to red light of 1-100 nmol m-2 and far-red light of 0.5-10 micromol m-2, whereas the phyA mutant showed no such response. The results indicate that the seed germination is regulated by PhyA and PhyB but not by other phytochromes, and the effects of PhyA and PhyB are separable in this assay. We determined action spectra separately for PhyA- and PhyB-specific induction of seed germination at Okazaki large spectrograph. Action spectra for the PhyA response show that monochromatic 300-780 nm lights of very low fluence induced the germination, and this induction was not photoreversible in the range examined. Action spectra for the PhyB response show that germination was photoreversibly regulated by alternate irradiations with light of 0.01-1 mmol m-2 at wavelengths of 540-690 nm and 695-780 nm. The present work clearly demonstrated that PhyA photoirreversibly triggers the germination upon irradiations with ultraviolet, visible and far-red light of very low fluence, while PhyB controls the photoreversible effects of low fluence.

Antibodies, Monoclonal↗
PubMed1996

Stimulation by C-type natriuretic peptide of the differentiation of clonal osteoblastic MC3T3-E1 cells.

We examined the effects of C-type natriuretic peptide (CNP) and B-type natriuretic peptide receptor (NPR-B) system, which stimulates the intracellular production of cGMP, on osteoblastic differentiation using clonal murine calvarial MC3T3-E1 cells. CNP-like immunoreactivity was detected in the conditioned medium and in lysates of MC3T3-E1 cells. Exposure of cells to CNP caused an increase in the intracellular production of cGMP and the increase was dose-dependent, while ANP had no effect. These results imply that CNP regulates osteoblastic metabolism via NPR-B in an autocrine manner. Northern blot analysis revealed that treatment of MC3T3-E1 cells with CNP increased the steady-state levels of mRNAs for type-I collagen, cellular alkaline phosphatase (ALPase), and osteocalcin, which are well known as markers of osteoblastic differentiation. Our observations suggest the possibility that CNP functions as a local regulator of osteoblastic differentiation, acting via a cGMP-mediated pathway.

3T3 Cells↗
PubMed1996

Two dominant photomorphogenic mutations of Arabidopsis thaliana identified as suppressor mutations of hy2.

By screening suppressor mutants of the hy2 mutation of Arabidopsis thaliana, two dominant photomorphogenic mutants, shy1-1D and shy2-1D, for two genetic loci designated as SHY1 and SHY2 (suppressor of hy2 mutation) have been isolated. Both of these non-allelic, extragenic suppressor mutations of hy2 are located on chromosome 1 of the Arabidopsis genome. Both mutations suppress the elongated hypocotyl phenotype of hy2 by light-independent inhibition of hypocotyl growth as well as by increasing the effectiveness of light inhibition of hypocotyl elongation. The shy1-1D mutation is partially photomorphogenic in darkness with apical hook opening and reduced hypocotyl elongation. The shy2-1D mutant displays highly photomorphogenic characteristics in darkness such as true leaf development, cotyledon expansion and extremely reduced hypocotyl growth. In regard to hypocotyl elongation, however, the shy2-1D mutation is still light sensitive. Examination of red-far-red light responses shows that the shy1-1D mutation suppresses the hypocotyl elongation of the hy2 mutation effectively in red light but not effectively in far-red light. The shy2-1D suppresses hypocotyl elongation of the hy2 mutation effectively in both red and far-red light. Both mutations can also suppress the early-flowering phenotype of hy2 and have a distinct pleiotropic effect on leaf development such as upward leaf rolling. The data obtained suggest that SHY1 and SHY2 represent a novel class of components involved in the photomorphogenic pathways of Arabidopsis. This is the first report on the identification of dominant mutations in the light signal transduction pathway of plants.

Arabidopsis↗
PubMed1996

Change in the expression of C-type natriuretic peptide and its receptor, B-type natriuretic peptide receptor, during dedifferentiation of chondrocytes into fibroblast-like cells.

Chondrocytes derived from rat xiphoid cartilage dedifferentiated into fibroblast-like cells as the number of passages of the cells in culture increased. During in vitro dedifferentiation the growth of the cells was markedly suppressed. We had proposed previously that C-type natriuretic peptide (CNP) might be a potent antimitogenic factor for chondrocytes, and TGF-beta 1 induced a marked increase in CNP secretion of chondrocytes. Therefore, we investigated the expression of CNP, B-type natriuretic peptide receptor (NPR-B or GC-B), and TGF-beta 1 in this process. Radioimmunoassay and RNase protection analyses revealed passage-associated increase in CNP-like immunoreactivity and in levels of NPR-B mRNA, respectively. Northern blot analyses showed that the level of TGF-beta 1 mRNA decreased with increasing passage number. These results suggest that the expression of CNP and NPR-B might be involved in in vitro dedifferentiation of chondrocytes and TGF-beta 1 does not affect the increasing level of CNP during in vitro dedifferentiation.

Animals↗