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Biomedical subjects

M Mori

Publications and source records attributed to M Mori.

At least 91 records · Page 5Linked to original sources

Split chimerism after allogeneic bone marrow transplantation in Chediak-Higashi syndrome.

Chediak-Higashi Syndrome (CHS) is a hereditary multiorgan disease associated with a lymphoproliferative disorder termed 'accelerated phase' (AP). As AP is often life-threatening, hematopoietic stem cell transplantation has been proposed as the only curative treatment for CHS. Here, we report a 1-year-old Japanese boy with CHS who received an HLA-matched unrelated BMT at the AP stage, which resulted in split chimerism. We evaluated the chimerism status of isolated leukocytes and found that only a limited population of T and NK cells was of donor origin and the majority of these and other hematopoietic cells was of host origin. Clinical outcome was successful, and the patient is currently alive and well, free of AP and serious infections more than 18 months after BMT.

Anemia↗

Sodium channels SCN1A, SCN2A and SCN3A in familial autism.

Autism is a psychiatric disorder with estimated heritability of 90%. One-third of autistic individuals experience seizures. A susceptibility locus for autism was mapped near a cluster of voltage-gated sodium channel genes on chromosome 2. Mutations in two of these genes, SCN1A and SCN2A, result in the seizure disorder GEFS+. To evaluate these sodium channel genes as candidates for the autism susceptibility locus, we screened for variation in coding exons and splice sites in 117 multiplex autism families. A total of 27 kb of coding sequence and 3 kb of intron sequence were screened. Only six families carried variants with potential effects on sodium channel function. Five coding variants and one lariat branchpoint mutation were each observed in a single family, but were not present in controls. The variant R1902C in SCN2A is located in the calmodulin binding site and was found to reduce binding affinity for calcium-bound calmodulin. R542Q in SCN1A was observed in one autism family and had previously been identified in a patient with juvenile myoclonic epilepsy. The effect of the lariat branchpoint mutation was tested in cultured lymphoblasts. Additional population studies and functional tests will be required to evaluate pathogenicity of the coding and lariat site variants. SNP density was 1/kb in the genomic sequence screened. We report 38 sodium channel SNPs that will be useful in future association and linkage studies.

Autistic Disorder↗

Specific immune therapy-related cutaneous B-cell pseudolymphoma with following dissemination.

We report two cases of cutaneous B-cell pseudolymphoma (PCBCL) induced by intradermal antigen injections for specific immune therapy (SIT). In both cases, the lesions had first developed on the area of injection; years later, new lesions appeared far from the original site. The histological, immunohistochemical, and molecular findings of the lesions showed features consistent with the diagnosis of PCBCL in both cases. In particular, the staining for sIg light chains showed a polyclonal pattern, and the molecular analysis by reverse transcriptase-polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) and Southern blot showed a germ-line configuration of the Ig heavy chain genes. While the development of PCBCL related to a specific stimulus is well known and widely reported, the development of histologically and immunohistologically identical lesions far from the injection site is definitely worthy of note. This behaviour might be due to the presence of retained antigens in the injection site. This chronic antigenic stimulation could induce the progressive selection--and subsequent dissemination--of antigen-specific B cell clones.

Adult↗

Morphologic and histopathologic changes in the bowel after super-selective transcatheter embolization for focal lower gastrointestinal hemorrhage.

PURPOSE: To evaluate the safety of superselective arterial embolization therapy in the lower gastrointestinal tract. The sequelae on normal enteric tissue in lower gastrointestinal arterial embolization were retrospectively reviewed. MATERIAL AND METHODS: To control hemorrhage and tumor blood supply, 14 patients were treated by superselective transcatheter embolization at different levels of the colonic and small intestine vessels via the superior and inferior mesenteric arteries using microcoils and/or gelatin sponge. Normal enteric tissues in the embolized areas were analyzed for the occurrence of ischemic changes by clinical follow-up, colonoscopy, and surgery. RESULTS: Normal bowel function was preserved in 13 patients. In 1 patient treated with numerous gelatin sponge particles delivered from the proximal arcade of the superior mesenteric artery, significant muscular fibrosis occurred. CONCLUSION: Superselective arterial embolization for lower gastrointestinal hemorrhage can be safely performed by minimizing the amount of embolic materials and delivering them as distally as possible.

Colon↗

Gene expression induced by X-ray irradiation in human blood cell lines.

The response to X-ray irradiation of three different human hematopoietic cell lines originating from T (Jurkat), B (Raji), and promyelocytic (HL60) leukemia was analyzed. The survival after irradiation differed among the three cell lines, with Jurkat cells being the most vulnerable and HL60 being the least sensitive. The profile of gene expression was studied with the microarray technique in both Jurkat and HL60 cell lines. Out of the 13,800 different genes spotted on microarrays, very few genes (<0.5%) appeared to be induced more than 2-fold or repressed more than 2.5-fold in both cell lines.

Cell Line↗

High frequency of mutations in the HNF-1alpha gene in non-obese patients with diabetes of youth in Japanese and identification of a case of digenic inheritance.

AIMS/HYPOTHESIS: There is an emerging epidemic of Type II (non-insulin-dependent) diabetes mellitus of youth in Japan and in many other developed countries. The aim of this study was to determine the prevalence of mutations in the hepatocyte nuclear factor (HNF)-1alpha gene (TCF1) in a large group of Japanese patients with early-onset non-Type I (insulin-dependent) diabetes mellitus. Since approximately 20% of Caucasian patients with HNF-1alpha mutations have been shown to be obese or overweight, we also examined the association of genetic variations in TCF1 with body weight in Japanese subjects. METHODS: We examined 203 patients with non-Type 1 diabetes who had been diagnosed before they reached 15 years of age. Ten exons and flanking introns of TCF1 of these patients were directly sequenced for mutations. RESULTS: We found 14 different mutations in 18 patients (8.9%), including one that was found to be de novo. The patients with the mutations had lower BMI (20.1+/-3.0 kg/m(2)) at diagnosis than the patients without them (24.5+/-6.0 kg/m(2)) (p=0.0024). All of the patients with the mutations, except for one, Y120, had normal body weight (BMI<25 kg/m(2)); the frequency of HNF-1alpha mutations in the non-obese patients of this study was 17% (17/101). Patient Y120, who had atypical symptoms of mild obesity and insulin resistance at diagnosis, was found to have inherited an additional mutation in an obesity-related gene. CONCLUSION/INTERPRETATION: A considerable number of non-obese Japanese patients with non-Type 1 diabetes of youth have HNF-1alpha-deficient diabetes. Lack of obesity could well be a characteristic feature of this form of diabetes.

Asian People↗

The acceleration of cosmic-ray protons in the supernova remnant RX J1713.7-3946.

Protons with energies up to approximately 10(15) eV are the main component of cosmic rays, but evidence for the specific locations where they could have been accelerated to these energies has been lacking. Electrons are known to be accelerated to cosmic-ray energies in supernova remnants, and the shock waves associated with such remnants, when they hit the surrounding interstellar medium, could also provide the energy to accelerate protons. The signature of such a process would be the decay of pions (pi(0)), which are generated when the protons collide with atoms and molecules in an interstellar cloud: pion decay results in gamma-rays with a particular spectral-energy distribution. Here we report the observation of cascade showers of optical photons resulting from gamma-rays at energies of approximately 10(12) eV hitting Earth's upper atmosphere, in the direction of the supernova remnant RX J1713.7-3946. The spectrum is a good match to that predicted by pion decay, and cannot be explained by other mechanisms.

Journal Article↗

Sex-role orientation, marital status and mental health in working women.

The objectives of this study were to make a men-women comparison as to the effects of job stress and sex-role orientation on mental health and to determine if marital status modifies effects of job stress and sex-role orientation on mental health in women. Subjects were 644 men and 301 women who were working at two private companies and one national agency. Job contents, sex-role orientation and mental health were measured by the Job Content Questionnaire, the Bem Sex-Role Inventory and the 30-item General Health Questionnaire, respectively. High job demands and femininity in men, masculinity in women predicted poor mental health. The best predictor of poor mental health was consciousness of being a woman in unmarried women, and stress outside the job in married women.

Adolescent↗

Endoplasmic reticulum stress-mediated apoptosis in pancreatic beta-cells.

Apoptotic cell death in pancreatic beta-cells is involved in the pathogenesis of diabetes. Signals from death receptors and DNA damage have been widely accepted as being triggers of apoptosis in beta-cells. Recent studies indicated that the endoplasmic reticulum (ER) can sense and transduce apoptotic signals. Various genetic and environmental stresses interfere with protein folding in the ER and induce ER stress. In mammals, ER stress transducer proteins IRE1, PERK and ATF6 activate both survival and apoptotic pathways. The former includes transcriptional induction of ER chaperones, translational attenuation, and ER-associated degradation (ERAD) while the latter includes transcriptional induction of CHOP/GADD153, the activation of cJUN NH(2)-terminal kinase, and the activation of caspase-12. A characteristic feature of beta-cells is the highly developed ER apparently due to a heavy engagement in insulin secretion. beta-cells are most susceptible to ER stress. The recent studies reviewed in this article revealed that ER stress-mediated apoptosis in beta-cells plays an important role in the development of diabetes.

Animals↗

Characterization of 'adult-type' mast cells derived from human bone marrow CD34(+) cells cultured in the presence of stem cell factor and interleukin-6. Interleukin-4 is not required for constitutive expression of CD54, Fc epsilon RI alpha and chymase, and CD13 expression is reduced during differentiation.

BACKGROUND: In vitro-derived human mast cells exhibit different properties, depending in part on the source of progenitor cells. Most investigations have used fetal liver, cord blood or peripheral blood. Few have used adult bone marrow. OBJECTIVE: Human mast cells derived in vitro from the CD34(+) progenitors in bone marrow and cord blood that had been cultured with recombinant human stem cell factor (rhSCF) and recombinant human interleukin-6 (rhIL-6) were compared. METHODS AND RESULTS: After 12 weeks of culture, nearly all of the cells were mast cells, and nearly all of these had cytoplasmic granules containing both tryptase and chymase (MCTC type), stained metachromatically with acidic toluidine blue, and expressed CD117 on the cell surface. Both tryptase protein and mRNA were detected by two weeks of culture. Chymase mRNA and protein were detected at 4 weeks but not at 2 weeks of culture. By 12 weeks, chymase content per cell, measured by ELISA, was significantly higher (P < 0.05) in human bone marrow-derived mast cells (HBMMC) (5.6 +/- 0.9 pg) than in cord blood-derived mast cells (CBMC) (2.4 +/- 0.9 pg), whereas histamine and tryptase levels were not significantly different. Of the cluster designations tested, CD29, CD49d, CD51 and CD61 were strongly expressed on HBMMC. CD54 and Fc epsilon RI alpha also were expressed constitutively. Approximately half of CD34-sorted cells at day 0 were CD13(+) and this diminished as mast cell maturation occurred. Electron microscopy revealed that 12-week-old HBMMC had many secretory granules that contained spherical electron dense cores surrounded by electron lucent space, consistent with previous reports of immature MCTC cells developing in vivo. CONCLUSIONS: CD34(+) progenitors of human bone marrow are a rich source of mast cell progenitors capable of expressing granule and surface markers of mature mast cells in the presence of rhSCF and rhIL-6.

Antigens, CD↗

Correlation between the cell number and diameter in bovine embryos produced in vitro.

This study was designed to examine the effects of age and developmental stage of in vitro-produced bovine embryos on the cell number of the embryos and to investigate the correlation between the cell number and diameter in the embryos. The diameter and cell number in blastocysts and expanded blastocysts collected on days 7-9 after in vitro fertilization (IVF) were examined. Although the diameters of the blastocysts collected on days 7 and 8 after IVF were smaller than those of the expanded blastocysts collected on day 9, the cell number in both types of embryos was similar. The cell numbers of the blastocysts and expanded blastocysts decreased with increasing embryo age. There were positive correlations between the cell number and diameter in bovine embryos at each stage collected on each day after IVF. However, the value of the correlation coefficient in the day-9 expanded blastocyst group tended to be higher than that in the other groups. These results indicate that the cell number of in vitro-produced embryos is affected by the embryonic stage and age. The diameter of the embryo may be potentially used for the viability testing of the expanded blastocysts collected on day 9 after IVF.

Age Factors↗

Effect of recombinant human bone morphogenetic protein-2 on bone formation in alveolar ridge defects in dogs.

This study was designed to evaluate the effect of recombinant human bone morphogenetic protein-2 (rhBMP-2) combined with poly D, L lactic-co-glycolic acid (PLGA)/gelatin sponge complex (PGS) on the formation of bone in critically sized marginal defects of the mandible in dogs. Three months after extraction of the pre-molar teeth, rectangular bone defects (10 x 8 x 7 mm) were made in both sides of the mandible. A PGS block soaked in rhBMP-2 (400 microgram/ml) was implanted into one defect (BMP (+) group). As control, an untreated PGS block was implanted into the contralateral defect (BMP (-) group). 2, 4, 8, and 12 weeks after implantation, the defects were examined. In the BMP (+) group, newly formed bone was found in all defects from 4 weeks onward and was marked at 12 weeks. In contrast, the BMP (-) group showed no appreciable new bone formation, even at 12 weeks. Moreover, density of newly formed bone in the BMP (+) group was similar to that of the surrounding cortical bone at 12 weeks. These findings suggest that rhBMP-2/PGS is an effective bone substitute for reconstructive surgery of the dog mandible.

Absorbable Implants↗

Influences of a dietary fatty acid composition on the emergence of glutathione S-transferase-P (GST-P) positive foci in the liver of carcinogen-treated rats.

The rats treated with a single i.p. injection of diethylnitrosoamine (DEN) and percial hepatectomy were fed for 11 weeks with a high fat diet mixed with 10% lard, eicosapentaenoic-acid-rich oil (EPA-oil) or arachidonic-acid-rich oil (AA-oil) and the emergence of glutathione S-transferase placental form (GST-P) in the liver was evaluated. There were no significant differences in the serum aminotransferase activities. The molar ratio of n-6 and n-3 fatty acid in the liver phospholipids was significantly low in the EPA-oil group compared with the other groups. In the EPA-oil group, the area percent and the unit area of GST-P positive foci were significantly smaller than the other groups. In the AA-oil group, no significant differences were recognized in the quantitative values for GST-P positive foci compared with the control and lard groups. In conclusion, a hepatic neoplasmic lesion induced by DEN was suppressed with EPA-rich fish oil, and arachidonic-acid-rich oil showed no effect of suppression or acceleration.

Administration, Oral↗

Cytogenetic and cellular events during radiation-induced thymic lymphomagenesis in the p53 heterozygous (+/-) B10 mouse.

PURPOSE: Cellular and cytogenetic events in radiation-induced thymic lymphomagenesis were investigated in the p53 heterozygous (+/-) mouse following a single dose of whole-body irradiation. MATERIALS AND METHODS: The loss of the wild-type p53 allele and microsatellite markers of chromosome 11 in thymic lymphomas that developed in the p53 heterozygous (+/-) mouse after irradiation, and the stage at which prelymphoma cells appeared were analysed. RESULTS: The p53 heterozygous mouse developed thymic lymphomas in a dose-dependent manner. The loss of the wild-type p53 allele (loss of heterozygosity; LOH) occurred in almost all thymic lymphomas induced in the irradiated p53 heterozygous mouse. Cytogenetic analysis for the mechanism of LOH strongly suggested that the loss of the wild-type p53 gene in the lymphomas was caused by duplication of the disrupted allele through either homologous recombination or non-disjunctional chromosome duplication. The assay for prelymphoma cells suggested that a critical event in the development of prelymphoma cells occurred at least 3 weeks after irradiation. CONCLUSIONS: The loss of the wild-type p53 gene in thymocytes of the p53 heterozygous mouse may precede the development of prelymphoma cells after irradiation and be a valuable marker of radiation-induced leukemogenesis.

Animals↗

Retinal topography and thickness mapping in atrophic age related macular degeneration.

AIM: To determine the relation between alterations in the retinal topography and thickness, visual acuity, and retinal pigment epithelium hypopigmentation in atrophic age related macular degeneration (AMD). METHODS: 22 patients, mean age 74 (SD 8) years, with atrophic AMD were recruited. An optical imaging system based on the retinal thickness analyser (RTA) was applied to generate a series of 20 optical section images that encompass 2 mm x 2 mm retinal areas. The optical section images were digitised and analysed to provide topographic maps of the vitreoretinal and chorioretinal surfaces and the retinal thickness. Vitreoretinal and chorioretinal surface elevations and retinal thickness were determined. RESULTS: Variation in the vitreoretinal surface height was moderately correlated with visual acuity (r = -0.4; p = 0.03; n = 22). Increase in variation of chorioretinal surface height was correlated with decrease in visual acuity (r = -0.5; p = 0.01; n = 22). The retinal thickness was not associated with visual acuity (r = 0.2; p = 0.2; n=22). Relative height of the vitreoretinal surface in eyes with retinal pigment epithelium (RPE) hypopigmentation was significantly less than eyes without RPE hypopigmentation (p = 0.005). Eyes with and without RPE hypopigmentation had a similar relative height of the chorioretinal surface (p = 0.4). Retinal thickness in eyes with RPE hypopigmentation was less than in eyes without RPE hypopigmentation (p = 0.04). CONCLUSION: Mapping of chorioretinal and vitreoretinal topography and retinal thickness provides objective and quantitative measurements of retinal structural abnormalities and shows promise as an adjunct for the evaluation of retinal structural changes due to AMD.

Aged↗