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Biomedical subjects

M Kondo

Publications and source records attributed to M Kondo.

At least 991 records · Page 55Linked to original sources
PubMed1988

Immunoelectron microscopic studies on spore coat proteins of Bacillus megaterium.

An immunochemical staining technique for the spore coat proteins of Bacillus megaterium ATCC 12872 was developed using colloidal gold as a second antibody. For reducing the non-specific immunogold binding and increasing the specific binding, the affinity-purified IgG was used as a first antibody. In sporulating cells at t10, gold particles were found not only in the spore coat but also in the mother cell cytoplasm, suggesting that some coat proteins were synthesized in the cytoplasm. Use of the specific affinity-purified antibody to 48K-protein demonstrated that this protein was one of the components of the outer coat.

Bacillus megaterium↗
PubMed1988

Synthesis and receptor binding characteristics of [D-Ala2, cysteamine 5] enkephalin, a thiol-containing probe for structural elements of opiate receptors.

For the elucidation of structural elements in the opiate receptors, a thiol-containing enkephalin analog [D-Ala2, cysteamine 5]enkephalin, and its dimeric analog were synthesized and evaluated in the radio-ligand receptor binding assays using rat brain membranes. The dimeric analog was very potent in both delta and mu assays. Comparison of receptor affinities of the thiol-containing enkephalin with those of standard mu or delta receptor specific ligands suggested that the mu receptor contains an essential thiol group which may interact with the thiol group at the C-terminus of the enkephalin analog. It also appears that no metal-ion site, postulated for the delta receptors, is present in the delta binding site.

Animals↗
PubMed1988

Effect of recombinant human interleukin-2 on the course of experimental chronic respiratory tract infection caused by Klebsiella pneumoniae in mice.

The effect of recombinant human interleukin-2 (rIL-2) on the course of experimental chronic respiratory tract infection caused by Klebsiella pneumoniae in mice was examined. rIL-2 was administered subcutaneously once a day for 7 or 14 days, starting 2 weeks after the mice were infected. Administration of 2 or 20 micrograms of rIL-2 per mouse daily for 7 days reduced bacterial counts in the lungs dose dependently. At a dose of 0.2 microgram per day, proliferation of bacteria in the lungs was suppressed after 14 days of administration. Agglutinin titers in serum were not affected by rIL-2 treatment. Monocyte and lymphocyte counts in peripheral blood were increased by administration of 20 micrograms of rIL-2 daily for 14 days but not by treatment for 7 days. In addition, clearance of bacteria from the lungs after aerosol exposure was enhanced by treatment for 7 days before infection. Thus, rIL-2 acted therapeutically or prophylactically in the presence or absence, respectively, of a specific antigen. These effects were not abolished by anti-asialo GM1 antibody. This suggests that activation of natural killer cells does not play a critical role in the therapeutic and prophylactic effects of rIL-2.

Aerosols↗
PubMed1988

Stimulation of ciliary activity by indomethacin in rabbit tracheal epithelial organ culture.

Inflammatory mediators influence mucociliary transport function in the lung, which may be dependent on the beating of the underlying cilia. To determine whether a nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drug affects this function, and, if so, what is the mechanism action, we examined the effect of indomethacin on ciliary beat frequency (CBF) of cultured rabbit tracheal epithelial cells by a photoelectric technique. Addition of indomethacin dose-dependently enhanced CBF without any ciliary discoordination, the maximal increase and Km being 26.5 +/- 4.8% (mean +/- SE, p less than 0.001) and 6.8 X 10(-7) M, respectively. Pretreatment of tissues with nordihydroguaretic acid (10(-5) M), an inhibitor of the lipoxygenase pathway, did not change the baseline CBF, but inhibited the response of CBF to 3 X 10(-6) M indomethacin (p less than 0.01). These results suggest that indomethacin may accelerate mucociliary clearance through the augmentation of ciliary motility and that this ciliostimulation may be mediated by leukotrienes produced by activation of the lipoxygenase pathway of arachidonic acid metabolism.

Animals↗
PubMed1988

Concentration and localization of carbohydrate antigen 19-9 in tissues of pancreatic cancer.

Carbohydrate antigen (CA) 19-9 concentration in the tissue-extracts of cancerous and noncancerous pancreatic tissues were determined by radioimmunoassay. Pancreatic cancer tissues revealed significantly elevated CA 19-9 concentrations, when compared with chronic pancreatitis, normal adult pancreas, or fetal pancreas tissues. Metastatic liver tumors from pancreatic cancer also showed extremely high CA 19-9 concentrations, and there was no significant correlation between tissue CA 19-9 concentration and serum CA 19-9 level in patients with pancreatic cancer. In addition, positive localization of CA 19-9 was clearly observed in cancer cells of pancreatic cancerous tissues by immunohistochemical study, confirming the remarkable increase of CA 19-9 concentration in tissues of pancreatic cancer, although CA 19-9 was also partially found in non-malignant pancreatic tissues. The results indicated that CA 19-9 would be produced in great quantities by cancer cells in tissues of pancreatic cancer, and thus could be a valuable tumor associated antigen suggesting its clinical use as a tumor marker for cancer of the pancreas.

Animals↗
PubMed1988

Reduced brown adipose tissue thermogenesis of obese rats after ovariectomy.

Brown adipose tissue (BAT) thermogenesis was assessed by measuring mitochondrial guanosine diphosphate (GDP) binding, cytochrome oxidase activity and oxygen consumption in ovariectomized (OVX) and sham-operated rats. The food intake and body weight of OVX rats increased more than those of controls and OVX rats became obese. Mitochondrial GDP binding, as an indicator of thermogenic activity, cytochrome oxidase activity, as a marker of mitochondrial abundance, and mitochondrial respiration of BAT in OVX rats were significantly reduced compared with those in controls. And, also, even when OVX rats were restricted in food intake (pair-gained) to produce comparable changes in body weight with sham-controls, or matched in food intake (pair-fed) with sham-controls, these parameters in both pair-gained and pair-fed OVX groups were decreased markedly compared to those in sham-controls. As expected, body weight in pair-fed OVX rats increased significantly more than that in sham-controls. In response to cold exposure, these parameters of OVX rats increased as much as those of controls did. These results suggest that reduced brown adipose tissue thermogenesis might be one of the important factors that are responsible for the development of obesity after OVX.

Adipose Tissue, Brown↗
PubMed1988

Use of in vitro DNA amplification to screen family members for an insulin gene mutation.

The DNA polymerase chain reaction can be a powerful tool for amplifying selected segments of genomic DNA for investigation of point mutations that are inaccessible via classic restriction-fragment-length polymorphism analysis. We have applied this method to an analysis of the incidence of heterozygosity for the mutant insulin allele insulin Wakayama (A3 Val----Leu) in two unrelated Japanese families having the hyperinsulinemic mutant insulin syndrome. The results indicate that this method is simple, sensitive, and accurate and should be useful for screening larger (diabetic) populations to detect single-base substitutions in the insulin gene that lead to either altered (pro)insulin structure and/or insulin production.

Amino Acid Sequence↗
PubMed1988

Morphological studies on the paraneuron in spontaneously hypertensive rats.

Some of the paraneuronic cells in SHR in the prehypertensive stage were studied and compared to cells of the control. In the adrenal medulla, the area of the norepinephrine storing cell islets of SHR was about twice the size. The number of both the norepinephrine storing granules and vesicles in the cytoplasm was increased. In the anterior pituitary, percentage of the ACTH producing cell of SHR was increased. In the enterochromaffin cell, the average number of argyrophilic cells through the gut was larger in SHR. In the mast cells, an increased number of intrathyroidal mast cells was observed. These paraneuronic cells in SHR were considered to be hyperplastic and/or overactive from early stage after birth.

Adrenal Medulla↗
PubMed1988

Effects of capsaicin and isothiocyanate on thermogenesis of interscapular brown adipose tissue in rats.

To clarify whether capsaicin or isothiocyanate, which are found in common spices, activate brown adipose tissue (BAT) function, BAT temperature, mitochondrial guanosine diphosphate (GDP) binding (a thermogenic indicator), and mitochondrial oxygen consumption were measured in interscapular brown adipose tissue (IBAT) of rats. Intramuscular injection of capsaicin (0.7 mg/kg) or isothiocyanate (3.0 mg/kg) increased significantly IBAT temperature without affecting the rectal temperature, a possible side effect, and increased significantly GDP binding and mitochondrial oxygen consumption in IBAT, as did administration of ephedrine (0.375 mg/kg). Therefore, the administration of capsaicin or isothiocyanate activates BAT function in rats.

Adipose Tissue, Brown↗
PubMed1988

[The double-nail illusion revisited: commonality with the wallpaper phenomenon].

The double-nail illusion occurs when the images of two nails located at different distances from the observer fall on the corresponding retinal points, giving rise to the impression that the two nails are placed side by side at an equal distance from him. Experiment 1 showed that when two stimuli located on the mid-sagittal plane and at different distances were viewed in such a way that their images fall on the corresponding points, the perceived distance of the stimuli corresponded to the convergence distance. In Experiment 2, the convergence distance was changed gradually to get the measure of the distances at which the double-nail illusion appeared or disappeared. The results indicated the same kind of hysteresis as that previously observed in the 'dynamic' wallpaper phenomenon. Experiment 3 demonstrated the "double" wallpaper illusion, in which two wallpaper stimuli located in two different frontal-parallel planes appeared in a plane between the two and parallel to them. It showed moreover that the perceived distance of the wallpaper stimuli corresponded to the perceived distance obtained in the case of the double-nail illusion. The results of the three experiments indicated the commonality of the double-nail illusion with the wallpaper phenomenon and suggested that they share the same underlying perceptual processes. The principles of egocentric visual direction and distance were discussed with respect to the results.

Adult↗
PubMed1988

[Effects of hyperthermia combined with chemoembolization using degradable starch microspheres in the treatment of hepatocellular carcinoma].

Twenty-eight cases with non-resectable hepatocellular carcinoma were examined. Chemoembolization using degradable starch microspheres (DSM) was performed in 19 cases. DSM, 40-45 micron in diameter, which are degraded by serum amylase, temporarily obstruct arterial blood flow at capillary bed. Adriamycin mixed with DSM was injected into patients through the proper hepatic artery. Hyperthermia (8 MHz radiofrequency) combined with chemoembolization was performed in 9 cases. In all cases treated by hyperthermia combined with chemoembolization, the intratumoral temperature was measured by a thermocouple thermometer during heating alone and heating after injection of DSM. The therapeutic effect was evaluated by the change in tumor size measured by angiography or computed tomography. The efficacy of hyperthermia combined with chemoembolization was compared with that of chemoembolization alone. Intratumoral temperature was 1.0 degree C higher by heating after injection of DSM than by heating alone. Partial response (tumor regression of over 50%) was observed in 8 of 19 cases (42%) with chemoembolization alone. Partial response was observed in 6 of 9 cases (67%) with hyperthermia combined with chemoembolization. One-year survival rate was 58% in chemoembolization alone, against 83% in hyperthermia combined with chemoembolization. Our results suggest that hyperthermia combined with chemoembolization using DSM is effective in the treatment of hepatocellular carcinoma.

Adult↗