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Biomedical subjects

M Mune

Publications and source records attributed to M Mune.

At least 19 recordsLinked to original sources

Effects of coffee consumption on oxidative susceptibility of low-density lipoproteins and serum lipid levels in humans.

Since little is known about how coffee intake affects low-density lipoprotein (LDL) oxidative susceptibility and serum lipid levels, we conducted an in vivo study in 11 healthy male students of Wakayama Medical University aged between 20 and 31 years fed an average Japanese diet. On days 1-7 of the study, the subjects drank mineral water. On day 7, the subjects began drinking coffee, 24 g total per day, for one week. This was followed by a one week "washout period" during which mineral water was consumed. Fasting peripheral venous blood samples were taken at the end of each one-week period. LDL oxidation lag time was approximately 8% greater (p < 0.01) after the coffee drinking period than the other periods. Serum levels of total cholesterol and LDL-cholesterol (LDL-C) and malondialdehyde (MDA) as thiobarbituric acid reactive substances (TBARS) were significantly decreased after the coffee drinking period. Finally, regular coffee ingestion may favorably affect cardiovascular risk status by modestly reducing LDL oxidation susceptibility and decreasing LDL-cholesterol and MDA levels.

Adult↗

A case of systemic lupus erythematosus with giant hepatic cavernous hemangioma.

A 39-year old woman with antiphospholipid antibody positive systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) was admitted to our department because of high fever, liver dysfunction and high level of C-reactive protein. At hospitalization, there was no anemia or jaundice. A tumor was palpable in the epigastric region, and there was tenderness in this region, but no muscular defense. There were no findings which indicated disease activity of SLE. The result of abdominal ultrasonography showed that there was a giant tumor, which occupied the majority of the left lobule of the liver, and a nonuniform ultrasound image was observed inside the tumor. The result of dynamic computed tomography (CT) showed peripheral globular enhancement, and enhancement then extended to the tumor center with time. Consequently, the patient was diagnosed with multiple hepatic hemangiomas. After admission, anemia rapidly deteriorated, and platelet count tended to decline. Therefore, intratumor hemorrhage was suspected, and emergent angiography was performed. For hemostatic purposes, transcatheter arterial embolization (TAE) and extended left hepatic lobectomy were performed. In patients with autoimmune diseases such as SLE and antiphospholipid syndromes, when thrombocytopenia is observed, care should be paid to identifying its cause, considering thrombocytopenia may be induced by hemangioma, although these cases are extremely rare.

Adult↗

The pilot trial of the prevention of the increase in electrical taste thresholds by zinc containing fluid infusion during chemotherapy to treat primary lung cancer.

It is well known that there are various adverse effects during chemotherapy for cancer treatment. A taste disorder is also seen in 35-70% of patients. It has been reported that a zinc deficiency is associated with the development of these alterations in taste sensation. The purpose of this pilot study was to determine whether the zinc including infusion had the effect on taste disorder in patients with lung cancer. Taste disorder was evaluated as the increase in electrical taste thresholds using an electrogustometer. The plasma zinc concentration was also measured. Although there was no significant correlation, the increase in taste thresholds was detected in many patients who had a low zinc concentration even before receiving chemotherapy. Moreover, after 2 weeks of chemotherapy, almost all patients who did not have a zinc containing infusion showed development of taste disorder (5/5, 100% at chorda tympani area; 4/5, 80% at glossopharyngeal area), whereas no development of taste disorder was observed in those patients receiving a zinc containing infusion. These results suggest the possibility that the administration of zinc during chemotherapy could be a useful supportive therapy for preventing taste disorder and to help maintain a better quality of life.

Aged↗

Significantly rapid relief from steroid-resistant nephrotic syndrome by LDL apheresis compared with steroid monotherapy.

Rapid amelioration of hypercholesterolemia by LDL apheresis (LDL-A) was performed for long-standing nephrotic syndrome (NS) with hyperlipidemia due to focal segmental glomerulosclerosis (FGS) and the clinical data and prognosis were compared between LDL-A-treated and nontreated groups. Seventeen steroid-resistant NS patients treated with LDL-A (LDL-A group) and 10 NS patients treated with steroids only (steroid-monotherapy (SM) group) were compared. Serum cholesterol and phospholipid levels were significantly lowered only in the LDL-A group (p < 0.01, respectively). The LDL-A group showed a significant decrease of urinary protein (UP, p < 0.01) and increase of serum albumin (p < 0.05). Average time needed to achieve a decrease of UP to less than nephrotic range (< 3.5 g/day) was significantly shorter in the LDL-A group than in the SM group (p < 0.01). Although this is not a prospective study, it is highly expected that a rapid improvement of hypercholesterolemia by LDL-A in steroid-resistant NS will provide more rapid relief from NS than steroid therapy alone.

Adolescent↗

Lipid abnormality.

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Diabetes Mellitus, Type 1↗

Effect of dietary fish oil, vitamin E, and probucol on renal injury in the rat.

Dietary fish oil, vitamin E, and probucol have been considered in a variety of human and experimental models of kidney disease. Using subtotal nephrectomized cholesterol-fed rats as a model for progressive kidney disease, we examined the effect of 5% dietary fish oil, or a combination of 5% dietary fish oil with 500 IU vitamin E/kg diet or 1% probucol on renal injury. Three-month-old Sprague Dawley rats were fed a control diet (C group) or a cholesterol supplemented (2%) diet (Ch group) containing either fish oil (FO group) or fish oil plus vitamin E (FO+E group) or fish oil plus probucol (FO+P group). After 4 weeks of dietary treatment, the right kidney was electrocoagulated and the left kidney nephrectomized. After 8 weeks, 24-hour urine was collected before sacrifice. No effect of the dietary treatments was noted on serum creatinine, blood urea nitrogen, or proteinuria, except that proteinuria was highest in FO+P group. Rats receiving the cholesterol diets had higher serum low density lipoprotein (LDL) + very low density lipoprotein (VLDL) cholesterol (P < 0.05). In contrast, rats in the FO+P group had the lowest serum total cholesterol and LDL+VLDL cholesterol among all groups. The FO group had 26% lower kidney alpha-tocopherol concentrations than the C group. However, inclusion of vitamin E in the diet (FO+E group) increased the kidney alpha-tocopherol status to a level comparable to that in the C group, whereas inclusion of probucol in fish oil diet (FO+P group) did not improve the kidney alpha-tocopherol status. Rats fed the cholesterol diet had a 2.5-fold higher glomerular segmental sclerosis (GSS) score and 1.5-fold higher glomerular macrophage (GM) subpopulation than the C group. These effects of the cholesterol diet were ameliorated by a fish oil diet (FO group: GSS by 30%, GM by 24%). The inclusion of vitamin E in the fish oil diet (FO+E group) did not further improve the GSS score or GM subpopulation. However, inclusion of probucol in fish oil diet (FO+P group) lowered the GSS score by 73% and reduced GM subpopulation by 83% compared with the Ch group. These remarkable changes can be attributed to the powerful hypocholesterolemic activity of probucol. Our findings indicate that progression of glomerular sclerosis in the rat remnant kidney model of progressive kidney disease can be significantly modulated with fish oil treatment.

Journal Article↗

Vitamin E treatment of experimental glomerular disease in rats.

BACKGROUND: Kidney mesangial cells (MCs) and vascular smooth muscle cells (VSMCs) are closely related in terms of origin, microscopic anatomy, histochemistry, and contractility. This relationship suggests a similarity between kidney glomerular sclerosis and atherosclerosis. Vitamin E appears beneficial in the prevention and treatment of coronary heart disease and it also inhibits the proliferation of VSMCs in vitro. Thus, we investigated the effect of vitamin E on glomerular sclerosis and MC-proliferative glomerulonephritis (GN) in two rat models of glomerular disease. METHODS: A remnant kidney rat model accelerated with hyperlipidemia was used to examine progressive glomerular sclerosis leading to chronic renal failure. A rat model of MC-proliferative GN was induced by the intravenous administration of absorbed rabbit anti-rat thymocyte serum (ATS). RESULTS: In the remnant kidney rat model, dietary supplementation with vitamin E (500 IU dl-alpha-tocopheryl acetate/kg) and cholesterol (2%) significantly inhibited glomerular sclerosis and macrophage infiltration in glomeruli relative to controls receiving basal and cholesterol-supplemented diets. In the ATS-induced GN model, glomerular cell proliferation (principally MCs) was lower in rats fed diets supplemented with vitamin E (1000 IU dl-alpha-tocopheryl acetate/kg) compared with controls fed the basal diet only. Although the degree of glomerular macrophage infiltration was similar in both groups, fewer proliferative cell nuclear antigen (PCNA)-positive cells were observed in the vitamin E group, suggesting that MC proliferation was suppressed via the inhibition of intracellular transduction. CONCLUSIONS: Supplemental dietary vitamin E suppresses MC proliferation and glomerular sclerosis in models of glomerular disease in rats. This action of vitamin E in experimental nephritis suggests the value of clinical trials testing the potential benefit of vitamin E in chronic GN patients.

Animals↗

Low density lipoprotein apheresis therapy for steroid-resistant nephrotic syndrome. Kansai-FGS-Apheresis Treatment (K-FLAT) Study Group.

BACKGROUND: The pathogenic role of hyperlipidemia in long-standing nephrotic syndrome (NS) is known to be responsible for both the progression of glomerulosclerosis and tubulointerstitial injury, especially in focal segmental glomerulosclerosis (FGS). METHODS: Aggressive lipid lowering treatment by low density lipoprotein (LDL) apheresis (LDL-A) using a dextran sulfate cellulose column to treat patients with steroid-resistant or frequently recurrent severe NS was performed first without fixing the protocol in eight patients with FGS and one with minimal change nephrotic syndrome (MCNS). The period of NS before LDL-A, number and average intervals of LDL-A until the end of the therapy, and the prognosis were investigated. Next, a multicenter study with a fixed protocol of LDL-A treatment was designed in combination with steroid therapy for treatment twice a week for three weeks and weekly for six weeks, and was performed in 17 patients with FGS. The effects on the state of NS in addition to the change of urinary eicosanoid metabolites and remission rates were evaluated. RESULTS: In the preliminary study, along with a rapid improvement of hyperlipidemia, a high incidence of remission was achieved by LDL-A performed at relatively short intervals. In the multicenter study with a fixed protocol, there was a significant decrease of urinary protein (P < 0.001) and increase of serum albumin (P < 0.02) as well as a decrease of thromboxane B2 (TXB2) excretion (P < 0.05) after the treatment. Urinary excretion of TXB2 was significantly reduced after LDL-A (P < 0.05). The rate of entering into complete or incomplete remission was 71% with a relatively short duration of nephrotic-range proteinuria using the LDL-A therapy in comparison with steroid therapy alone. CONCLUSION: The rapid improvement of hypercholesterolemia with LDL-A treatment may provide a new approach for a high rate of improvement in the degree of NS in steroid-resistant NS of FGS and MCNS.

Adolescent↗

Ongoing clinical trials of lipid reduction therapy in patients with renal disease.

BACKGROUND: Lipid abnormalities in renal disease are associated with both a progressive decline in renal function and cardiovascular complications. Whether or not lipid anomalies are causal is not yet clear. Experimental studies have demonstrated that potentially atherogenic lipoproteins, such as low density lipoproteins (LDL), are associated with renal pathophysiological changes that result in progressive glomerular and interstitial damage and an ultimate reduction in renal function. These findings indicate that hyperlipidemia accelerates glomerular and interstitial damage in renal disease. Clinical studies also show that renal function declines more rapidly among patients with primary renal disease or diabetic nephropathy who have hyperlipidemia. However, few reports have demonstrated the effect of hypolipidemic agents on the progression of renal function among patients with renal disease, and those renal patients who were treated with lipid-lowering agents have not been clinically studied under large-scale controlled conditions. In addition, although cardiovascular complications are the most important factors associated with mortality in dialysis patients, randomized, large-scale trials studying the relationship between therapeutic intervention by lipid-lowering agents and prevention of cardiovascular complications have not been implemented. METHODS: We reviewed controlled and uncontrolled reported studies that examined the effects of lipid-lowering therapy in patients with renal disease. RESULTS: Most studies showed that 3-hydroxy-3-methylglutaryl coenzyme A (HMG-CoA) reductase inhibitors reduce cholesterol-rich apolipoprotein (apo)B-containing lipoproteins with no effects on renal function or proteinuria among patients with progressive renal disease. Small uncontrolled studies show that simvastatin and probucol moderately reduce proteinuria among patients with membranous nephropathy. One small retrospective study showed that long-term vitamin E therapy reduces aortic calcification in dialysis patients. CONCLUSIONS: Prospective, randomized large-scale trials including ongoing clinical trials of lipid reduction therapy and therapeutic interventions such as the use of the combination therapy with hypolipidemic agents and angiotensin converting enzyme (ACE) inhibitors, vitamins, or LDL apheresis are urgently required. Such trials will clarify the effect of treating dyslipidemia on the progression of renal insufficiency and dialysis-related cardiovascular complications.

Blood Component Removal↗

Evaluation of serum lipid abnormalities in chronic nephritis.

BACKGROUND: In glomerular disease, disorders of lipid metabolism are suspected as factors exacerbating glomerular dysfunction. Although many reports have been published regarding metabolic disorders of lipids in renal disease, including nephrotic syndrome and chronic renal failure, there have been few published reports describing metabolic disorders of lipids in chronic nephritis. Therefore, in patients with IgA nephritis, we evaluated correlations between serum lipid levels and renal function and proteinuria. METHODS: In 191 patients with IgA nephritis, we evaluated the correlations between serum lipid levels and renal function [creatinine clearance (CCr)] and proteinuria (UP). Serum lipids examined included total cholesterol (TC), triglycerides (TG), high-density lipoprotein cholesterol (HDL-C), low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL-C), apolipoproteins, phospholipids (PL), lipoprotein(a) [Lp(a)], and malondialdehyde (MDA). RESULTS: Significant correlations were observed between serum lipid levels and CCr, UP, and age. There were no abnormalities in the mean values of respective serum lipids examined. Although TC levels increased with age, HDL-C levels were not correlated with age. Hyperlipidemia was observed in 39.8% of subjects. Significant correlations were observed between levels of TC, TG, PL, LDL-C, apoB, apoC-II, and apoC-III and Ccr, UP, and age. Significant correlations were also observed between levels of MDA, apoB/apoA-I, apoE/apoC-III, and Ccr and age, as well as between apoE levels and UP and age. The levels of apoA-I and apoA-I/apoA-II ratio were significantly correlated with UP alone, whereas the apoC-II/apoC-III ratio was significantly correlated with Ccr alone. There were no significant correlations between levels of HDL-C, apoA-II, and Lp(a) and Ccr, UP, and age. CONCLUSIONS: Age, proteinuria, and renal function were related with changes in serum lipid levels in IgA nephritis. There were correlations between proteinuria and levels of apoA, as well as between renal function and apoC levels.

Adult↗

Lysophosphatidylcholine up-regulates IL-1 beta-induced iNOS expression in rat mesangial cells.

BACKGROUND: Nitric oxide (NO), a simple molecule synthesized from L-arginine by NO synthases (NOS), has been identified to play an important role in cell communication, cell defense and cell injury. Several studies have shown that glomeruli from rats with immune-mediated glomerular inflammation have increased production of NO. Recently, it was also reported that inducible NOS (iNOS) is localized in mesangial cells, glomerular epithelial cells and infiltrating cells in the diseased human glomeruli. On the other hand, while oxidized low density lipoprotein (ox-LDL) has been suggested to be related to progression of glomerular disease, the mechanism remains unknown. We investigated the effect of lysophosphatidylcholine (LPC), a modified phospholipid produced during LDL oxidation, on iNOS expression in rat mesangial cells. METHODS AND RESULTS: Treatment of mesangial cells with interleukin-1 beta (IL-1 beta) induced iNOS activity measured as nitrite levels in cell culture supernatants. Treatment with LPC had no effect. In contrast, coincubation with LPC and IL-1 beta resulted in a markedly higher nitrite content compared to that after incubation with IL-1 beta alone. Western blot analysis revealed that LPC caused a significant increase in the formation of iNOS protein in the presence of IL-1 beta. CONCLUSION: These findings suggest that LPC may contribute to progression of glomerular inflammation by augmenting IL-1 beta-induced iNOS expression.

Animals↗

Phospholipase A2 activity in ox-LDL-stimulated mesangial cells and modulation by alpha-tocopherol.

BACKGROUND: Oxidized LDL increases the production of both prostaglandin E2 (PGE2) and thromboxane B2 (TXB2) in rat mesangial cells. These increases were suppressed by antioxidants such as alpha-tocopherol (alpha-Toc) or probucol. METHODS: We investigated the mechanism by which oxidized LDL leads to an increase in PGE2 production using rat mesangial cells in culture. We also examined how alpha-Toc supresses this augmentation, by measuring intracellular Ca2- and phospholipase A2 (PLA2) activity. RESULTS: In rat mesangial cells, oxidized LDL increased PLA2 activity by increasing the intracellular calcium ion content, which resulted in the induction of PGE2 production. On the other hand, pretreatment of cells with alpha-Toc, which resulted in a large uptake of alpha-Toc in cell membranes, markedly suppressed the augmentation of PGE2 production and PLA2 activity by oxidized LDL in a dose dependent manner. However, cytosolic PLA2 partially purified from mesangial cells was not inhibited by alpha-Toc despite an increase of alpha-Toc. CONCLUSION: These results suggest that the augmentation of PLA2 activity in mesangial cells by oxidized LDL in a result of oxidative stresses, and that the antioxidant action of alpha-Toc is responsible for the suppression of augmentation of PLA2 activity observed in mesangial cells exposed to oxidized LDL.

Animals↗