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Biomedical subjects

M Hirai

Publications and source records attributed to M Hirai.

At least 289 records · Page 16Linked to original sources

[Extramedullary blastic crisis of chronic myelogenous leukemia--a case with various additional chromosomal appearance].

We describe a characteristic case of chromosomal abnormalities in a 47-year-old man with chronic myelogenous leukemia (CML). He had been diagnosed with the chronic phase of CML on May 1990, but he refused treatment. He was readmitted in October 1991 because of peripheral lymphadenopathy. Hematologic studies showed that he remained in the chronic phase of CML. There were no additional chromosomal findings in the bone marrow, but cervical lymph node biopsy revealed complete replacement with blastoid cells. The blasts were positive for CD13 and CD33. DNA analysis for the breakpoint cluster region gene showed rearrangement pattern, but immunoglobulin heavy chain joining region genes and T-cell antigen receptor gene rearrangement were not observed. The karyotype of lymph node cells showed various additional chromosomal abnormalities. Therefore, we concluded that the patient had an extramedullary blastic crisis in his peripheral lymph nodes. Abnormal clones were composed of one main clone and three subclones, with the latter occupying more than 10% of the volume each other. Considering the types of the additional chromosomal abnormalities, all four types of clones were thought to have evolved through independent pathways.

Blast Crisis↗

The HOX complex neighbored by the EVX gene, as well as two other homeobox-containing genes, the GBX-class and the EN-class, are located on the same chromosomes 2 and 7 in humans.

Two newly identified human homeobox-containing genes, GBX1 and GBX2, are closely related genes, as are members of the other homeobox genes, EN-1 and EN-2. GBX1 and EN-2 have been mapped to chromosome 7q36. The present study shows that GBX2 was mapped to chromosome 2q37. EN-1 was mapped to chromosome 2q14. Moreover, two HOX complexes neighbored by the EVX gene, HOXA and HOXD, are located at chromosome 7p15-p14 and 2q31-q37, respectively. Thus, it is possible that these homeobox genes were linked to each other on an ancestral genome and that the ancestral chromosome segment was duplicated during evolution.

Amino Acid Sequence↗

[The effects of short and long duration of hypothyroidism on prolactin secretion in rats].

The aim of the present study was to evaluate the time-dependent effect of an experimentally induced hypothyroid state on prolactin (PRL) secretion in rats. Treatment with radioactive iodine and propylthiouracil (PTU) resulted in reduced serum concentrations of total thyroxine and triiodothyronine, and increased serum TSH concentrations in rats one week after the start of the treatment. Basal serum PRL concentrations were not significantly altered in 1-, 2- and 4-week hypothyroid rats, whereas in 8-week hypothyroid rats, serum PRL concentrations were significantly reduced and remained depressed throughout 24 weeks of PTU ingestion. The PRL response to i.p. administration of haloperidol (0.5mg/kg) was significantly reduced after one week of PTU ingestion. When the duration of hypothyroidism was increased, there was a progressive fall in the PRL response to haloperidol that reached the lowest value after 12 weeks of PTU ingestion. The PRL response to an i.v. bolus injection of vasoactive intestinal peptide (VIP, 150 mu g/kg) was markedly reduced in hypothyroid rats after one week of PTU ingestion and reached the lowest value after two weeks. The PRL response to VIP was progressively recovered after treatment for 4 weeks with PTU, and reached the highest value in 24-week hypothyroid rats. However, the PRL response to VIP in 24-week hypothyroid rats was significantly lower than that in euthyroid rats. Serum PRL response to an i.v. bolus injection of beta -endorphin (450 mu g/kg) was significantly reduced in 8-week hypothyroid rats. Dopamine (DA) concentrations in the pituitary and the hypothalamus were not significantly altered in 2-week hypothyroid rats. In contrast, DA concentrations were significantly increased in both the pituitary and hypothalamus in 8- and 24-week hypothyroid rats. These findings observed in hypothyroid rats were reversed by the administration of thyroxine and triiodothyronine for 9 days. The present results support a modulatory role for thyroid status in regulating the concentration of DA in the pituitary and the hypothalamus, and consequently on PRL secretion by the pituitary. This suggests that PRL releasing factors do not appear to play a major role in PRL secretion in hypothyroid rats. These data also indicate that alterations in PRL secretion and DA concentrations in the pituitary and the hypothalamus in the hypothyroid state become more prominent as the duration of hypothyroidism increases.

Animals↗

Hepatic gastrinoma.

A solitary hepatic tumor in a 50-year-old woman, which was observed as a hemangioma, ultimately was resected because it increased in size. The tumor volume doubling time was 28.8 months over the observed period of 30 months. The histologic diagnosis was carcinoid tumor. Immunohistochemical staining showed strong focal reactivity for gastrin and diffuse reactivity for pancreatic polypeptide, vasointestinal polypeptide, calcitonin, and parathormone. Preoperative gastric hyperacidity with diarrhea and a body weight loss of 7 kg, moderately controlled by cimetidine on admission, suggested high serum gastrin levels produced by the tumor. Her symptoms resolved after surgery, and she had a normal serum gastrin level with negative secretin stimulation test results. A review of six cases of hepatic gastrinoma suggests that surgical resection, if feasible, would be the treatment of choice.

Carcinoid Tumor↗

Structural change of jack bean urease induced by addition of surfactants studied with synchrotron-radiation small-angle X-ray scattering.

Both the quaternary and subunit structures of jack bean urease in solutions with ionic and nonionic surfactants have been studied by small-angle X-ray scattering using a synchrotron-radiation source. The effects of those surfactants on the enzyme activity of urease have also been investigated in the same kind of solvent systems as those used for the scattering experiments. The present results show that the quaternary structure of urease in solution is fairly elongate and that by the relatively minor binding of SDS (SDS/protein = 0.23/1) the native urease molecule is dissociated into six identical subunits with nearly spherical structures. In addition the enzyme activity of urease was mostly retained under every solvent condition investigated, indicating that the subunit found in the present scattering experiments is the fundamental monomeric unit for both the quaternary-structure formation and enzyme function of urease.

Fabaceae↗

Expression of a novel human homeobox-containing gene that maps to chromosome 7q36.1 in hematopoietic cells.

A homeobox is a DNA sequence of 180 base pairs that encodes a DNA-binding domain known as a homeodomain. The polymerase chain reaction (PCR) has been used to prepare probes of homeobox-containing genes. We cloned and sequenced the amplified products of PCR that was performed with human genomic DNA and two primers that correspond to well-conserved regions in homeoboxes. Fifteen kinds of homeobox gene were identified and 13 of them were assigned to HOX genes that have already been reported. Two others represented novel homeobox genes and one of them, GBX1, was mapped to chromosome 7q36.1 by fluorescence in situ hybridization. Northern hybridization of mRNA for various kinds of hematopoietic cell showed that the newly identified GBX1 gene is expressed in K562 cells and Daudi cells.

Amino Acid Sequence↗

Chromosome abnormalities in peripheral lymphocytes from patients with progressive systemic sclerosis.

Chromosomal abnormalities in cultured peripheral lymphocytes from 14 progressive systemic sclerosis (PSS) patients and 15 normal subjects were examined. No increase was observed in the frequency of chromosome aberrations in PSS patients who had not received any medical treatment. Those who had received medication showed an increased frequency of dicentrics (0.3%) although the frequency was not significantly higher than that for normal subjects. It is not clear, however, whether the increase was due to the hypersensitivity of PSS patients to agents used for therapeutic purposes.

Adult↗

The presence of a common antigen between human gastric cancer cells and OK-432.

Twenty two surgical specimens of gastric cancer resected after administration of OK-432 for the skin reaction test were examined to determine whether the cancer cells had the same antigens as OK-432, a product of hemolytic streptococcus cells. When the tissues were stained by the PAP method with anti-Su streptococcus antibody used as the primary antibodies, the common antigens were demonstrated in 10 (45.5%) of the 22. The presence or absence of the common antigens was independent of the degree of skin reaction to OK-432, and the relations of the common antigens to other host responses were not clear in this study. This is the first report for the presence of such common antigens between human gastric cancer and OK-432.

Adult↗

Estimation of anterior infarct size with body surface QRST integral maps in the presence of abnormal ventricular activation sequence in dogs.

The possibility of estimating infarct size with body surface QRST integral (IQRST) maps was investigated in dogs. IQRST maps were constructed from 87-lead body surface ECGs, which were recorded 1 week after the production of anterior myocardial infarction during artificial pacing that simulated normal conduction, left bundle branch block, and Wolff-Parkinson-White syndrome in 11 dogs. Small differences were observed between the IQRST maps of the normal conduction and left bundle branch block models (r = 0.93, root mean square difference = 8.71 mVmsec) and between the normal conduction and Wolff-Parkinson-White models (r = 0.96, root mean square difference = 6.03 mVmsec). Summation of the QRST integral values over the body surface leads (QRST index) inversely correlated with infarct size in all three conductions models: r = 0.91 (p < 0.001) in the normal conduction model; r = -0.81 (p < 0.001) in the left bundle branch block model; and r = -0.86 (p < 0.001) in the Wolff-Parkinson-White model. These results show that IQRST maps permit noninvasive estimation of infarct size, even in the presence of abnormal activation sequences.

Animals↗

Diagnostic value of postexercise systolic blood pressure response for detecting coronary artery disease in patients with or without hypertension.

To evaluate the diagnostic value of the postexercise systolic blood pressure (SBP) response for detecting and evaluating the presence of coronary artery disease (CAD), treadmill testing was conducted in 130 subjects with normal blood pressure and 51 patients with hypertension, each of whom underwent selective coronary angiography. A total of 48 subjects with normal blood pressure and 27 patients with hypertension had no significant narrowing of the coronary artery (control subjects), whereas 82 subjects with normal blood pressure and 24 patients with hypertension had significant narrowing (patients with CAD). The postexercise SBP response was defined on the basis of the SBP ratio (i.e., the SBP at 3 minutes of recovery divided by that at peak exercise). An SBP ratio that exceeded 0.90 (cutoff point for discriminating control subjects from patients with CAD) was considered to be an abnormal SBP response. In the subjects with normal blood pressure, the abnormal SBP response identified CAD as accurately as did ST-segment depression. In the patients with hypertension, the diagnostic accuracy was increased significantly by combining the abnormal SBP response and ST-segment depression (p < 0.01). The SBP ratio increased with the number of diseased coronary arteries. Ten of the 14 patients with a narrowing of the left main coronary artery had an SBP ratio higher than 1.00. The postexercise SBP response may be useful for detecting CAD in patients with and without hypertension and for evaluating the severity of CAD.

Blood Pressure↗

Correlation between various parameters derived from body surface maps and ejection fraction in patients with anterior myocardial infarction.

To determine the best map parameter to predict cardiac function, various map parameters were correlated with the left ventricular ejection fraction (EF) in patients with a previous (between 3 months and 1 year) anterior myocardial infarction, but without overt congestive heart failure or ventricular dyssynergy. From 300 consecutive patients with a previous myocardial infarction, 82 patients with only an anterior infarction and who underwent cardiac catheterization and body surface mapping were selected for this study. The maps from 100 healthy subjects were used as normal controls. Body surface maps using 87 unipolar electrodes were recorded and various parameters were derived from the Q map, the QRS departure maps, the QRS isointegral (IQRS) map, and the QRST isointegral (IQRST) maps. They were compared with the angiographically determined EF. The EF was correlated with nQ (r = -0.72), four parameters derived from the QRS departure map (r ranged from -0.73 to -0.79), two parameters derived from the IQRS map (r = -0.90 and -0.86), and two parameters derived from the IQRST map (r = -0.84 and -0.85). Some parameters derived from body surface maps were found to have a very high correlation with the EF in patients who had a previous anterior myocardial infarction.

Electrocardiography↗

Bombesin stimulates intracellular Ca2+ mobilization but not proliferation on human colon cancer cells.

Increases in intracellular Ca2+ ([Ca2+]i) levels mediated by bombesin (BBS) are believed to be important signals leading to stimulation of DNA synthesis and an increase in cellular proliferative rate. Since the role of BBS on growth of normal or malignant cells in the GI tract is still unclear, we examined whether BBS affects in vitro growth of human colon cancer cells (COLO 320, HCT116 and LoVo). We also examined the effect of BBS on intracellular Ca2+ levels to determine if the growth-regulatory effect of BBS is mediated through increases in [Ca2+]i. Levels of [Ca2+]i in response to BBS were measured by single cell fluorescence after loading with fura-2. BBS stimulated the mobilization of [Ca2+]i in COLO 320, LoVo, and HCT116 cells in a dose-dependent fashion, but did not affect in vitro growth. These findings suggest that the BBS-mediated increase in [Ca2+]i does not always correlate with the growth-regulatory effect of BBS.

Bombesin↗

The ability of QRST isointegral maps to detect myocardial infarction in the presence of simulated left bundle branch block.

The clinical value of QRST isointegral maps (I-maps) for the detection of myocardial infarction (MI) in the presence of left bundle branch block (LBBB) was investigated. We recorded I-maps during sinus rhythm and right ventricular (RV) pacing, which simulated LBBB, in 62 patients with MI (42 patients had at least one akinetic segment and the remaining 20 patients had only hypokinesis or normal contraction) and 26 patients without MI. An abnormal decrease in the QRST value of the I-map was assessed by the difference map (D-map), which indicated a '-2SD area', where the QRST integral value was less than the lower limit of the normal range (mean -2SD) calculated from 608 normal individuals. The I-maps recorded during the two activation sequences were similar to each other in patients with and without MI (r = 0.87 and 0.92, respectively). The '-2SD area' was located over the left anterior chest in patients with an anterior MI and over the lower torso in patients with an inferior MI during each activation sequence. We were able to diagnose MI during simulated LBBB with a sensitivity of 84%, a specificity of 81% and a diagnostic accuracy of 83% when we used the criterion that MI is present if the sum of QRST integral values below the normal range (sigma DM) exceeds 100 mV.ms. We were able to diagnose an akinesis with a sensitivity of 81%, a specificity of 85% and a diagnostic accuracy of 83% when we used the criterion that akinesis is present if sigma DM exceeds 500 mV.ms during simulated LBBB.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)

Adult↗

Effects of right ventricular pacing on QRST isointegral maps in patients with and without myocardial infarction: body surface distribution of significant changes in QRST area compared to supraventricular complex.

To assess the effects of right ventricular (RV) pacing on body surface QRST distributions, we recorded QRST isointegral maps (I-maps) during sinus rhythm and RV pacing in 25 patients with anterior myocardial infarction (MI), 19 with inferior MI, and 14 without MI. The QRST values at each lead point recorded during sinus rhythm and RV pacing with an 87-lead system were analyzed with a paired t-test in each patient. An abnormal decrease in the QRST value of the I-map was assessed by the difference map, which indicated a "-2SD area," where the QRST integral value was less than the normal range (mean - 2SD) calculated from 608 normal individuals. The I-maps were similar during the two activation sequences in patients with and without MI. However, during RV pacing, QRST values significantly decreased over the upper right anterior chest and increased over the lower left anterior chest and back. The sigma DMs (sum of QRST integral values below the normal range) for both activation sequences were strongly correlated in patients with anterior MI and with inferior MI (r = 0.91 and r = 0.92, respectively; P < 0.001). Although small but significant changes in QRST values were detected, the distribution of the "-2SD area" and the sigma DM were similar during both activation sequences in patients with prior MI. Thus, these findings demonstrate that an altered activation sequence produces small but significant changes in QRST values but that I-maps still provide information that is useful for the diagnosis of MI during RV pacing.

Adult↗

Atrial natriuretic peptide and arginine vasopressin secretion in schizophrenic patients.

Plasma levels of arginine vasopressin (AVP) and atrial natriuretic peptide (ANP) were measured in 15 patients with schizophrenic or schizoaffective disorders and 15 healthy volunteers during oral water loading at 20 ml/kg. In the patient group, plasma AVP was secreted even when plasma osmolality was below 270 mosmol/kg, although the sensitivity of AVP secretion response to osmolality was lower than in the controls. The ANP level was higher in the group of patients than in the controls. There was a negative correlation between plasma ANP and osmolality in the patients. We speculate that the volume expansion caused by inappropriate AVP secretion stimulated plasma ANP release and that the natriuresis resulting from the elevated plasma ANP level might contribute to hyponatremia.

Adult↗