Biomedical subjects
Publications and source records attributed to M Nishida.
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2,6-Dideoxy-7-O-(beta-D-glucopyranosyl) 2,6-imino-D-glycero-L-gulo- heptitol (7-O-beta-D-glucopyranosyl-alpha-homonojirimycin, 1) was isolated from the 50% methanol extract of the whole plant of Lobelia sessilifolia (Campanulaceae), which was found to potently inhibit rice alpha-glucosidase. Adenophorae radix, roots of Adenophora spp. (Campanulaceae), yielded new homonojirimycin derivatives, adenophorine (2), 1-deoxyadenophorine (3), 5-deoxyadenophorine (4), 1-C-(5-amino-5-deoxy-beta-D-galactopyranosyl)butane (beta-1-C-butyl-deoxygalactonojirimycin, 5), and the 1-O-beta-D-glucosides of 2 (6) and 4 (7), in addition to the recently discovered alpha-1-C-ethylfagomine (8) and the known 1-deoxymannojirimycin (9) and 2R,5R-bis(hydroxymethyl)-3R,4R- dihydroxypyrrolidine (DMDP, 10). Compound 4 is a potent inhibitor of coffee bean alpha-galactosidase (IC50 = 6.4 microM) and a reasonably good inhibitor of bovine liver beta-galactosidase (IC50 = 34 microM). Compound 5 is a very specific and potent inhibitor of coffee bean alpha-galactosidase (IC50 = 0.71 microM). The glucosides 1 and 7 were potent inhibitors of various alpha-glucosidases, with IC50 values ranging from 1 to 0.1 microM. Furthermore, 1 potently inhibited porcine kidney trehalase (IC50 = 0.013 microM) but failed to inhibit alpha-galactosidase, whereas 7 was a potent inhibitor of alpha-galactosidase (IC50 = 1.7 microM) without trehalase inhibitory activity.
BACKGROUND: Metachronous carcinoma of the vulva and fallopian tube is an unusual co-occurrence of gynecological malignancies. A report of such a case that developed and recurred over a 7-year period is presented. CASE: A 53-year-old G3P3 female presented with a verrucous carcinoma of the vulva and a serous papillary adenocarcinoma of the left fallopian tube metachronously. To investigate a possible association between the co-occurrence of the rare neoplasms and factors associated with multiple gynecological malignancies, we analyzed the status of human papillomavirus infection and DNA mismatch repair deficiency as indicated by microsatellite instability. All samples analyzed were negative for these factors. CONCLUSION: The present results support the possibility that metachronous carcinomas of the vulva and fallopian tube involve unknown etiological factors or arise independently.
Larvae of the deep-sea lanternfish genus Hygophum (Myctophidae) exhibit a remarkable morphological diversity that is quite unexpected, considering their homogeneous adult morphology. In an attempt to elucidate the evolutionary patterns of such larval morphological diversity, nucleotide sequences of a portion of the mitochondrially encoded 16S ribosomal RNA gene were determined for seven Hygophum species and three outgroup taxa. Secondary structure-based alignment resulted in a character matrix consisting of 1172 bp of unambiguously aligned sequences, which were subjected to phylogenetic analyses using maximum-parsimony, maximum-likelihood, and neighbor-joining methods. The resultant tree topologies from the three methods were congruent, with most nodes, including that of the genus Hygophum, being strongly supported by various tree statistics. The most parsimonious reconstruction of the three previously recognized, distinct larval morphs onto the molecular phylogeny revealed that one of the morphs had originated as the common ancestor of the genus, the other two having diversified separately in two subsequent major clades. The patterns of such diversification are discussed in terms of the unusual larval eye morphology and geographic distribution.
We explored the phylogenetic utility and limits of the individual and concatenated mitochondrial genes for reconstructing the higher-level relationships of teleosts, using the complete (or nearly complete) mitochondrial DNA sequences of eight teleosts (including three newly determined sequences), whose relative phylogenetic positions were noncontroversial. Maximum-parsimony analyses of the nucleotide and amino acid sequences of 13 protein-coding genes from the above eight teleosts, plus two outgroups (bichir and shark), indicated that all of the individual protein-coding genes, with the exception of ND5, failed to recover the expected phylogeny, although unambiguously aligned sequences from 22 concatenated transfer RNA (tRNA) genes (stem regions only) recovered the expected phylogeny successfully with moderate statistical support. The phylogenetic performance of the 13 protein-coding genes in recovering the expected phylogeny was roughly classified into five groups, viz. very good (ND5, ND4, COIII, COI), good (COII, cyt b), medium (ND3, ND2), poor (ND1, ATPase 6), and very poor (ND4L, ND6, ATPase 8). Although the universality of this observation was unclear, analysis of successive concatenation of the 13 protein-coding genes in the same ranking order revealed that the combined data sets comprising nucleotide sequences from the several top-ranked protein-coding genes (no 3rd codon positions) plus the 22 concatenated tRNA genes (stem regions only) best recovered the expected phylogeny, with all internal branches being supported by bootstrap values >90%. We conclude that judicious choice of mitochondrial genes and appropriate data weighting, in conjunction with purposeful taxonomic sampling, are prerequisites for resolving higher-level relationships in teleosts under the maximum-parsimony optimality criterion.
BACKGROUND: Uterine myxoid leiomyosarcoma is rare, has a poor prognosis, and must be distinguished from a uterine myoma with myxomatous change. CASE: A 56-year-old woman with a history of epigastric pain and generalized abdominal swelling had a peritoneal cavity filled with tumor that originated from the posterior uterine wall. Chemotherapy and two operations for recurrence could not prevent fatal metastases to the vascular system. Histopathology showed a typical myxoid leiomyosarcoma. CONCLUSION: Although the patient's prognosis was poor, no mitoses were observed, and the nuclear abnormalities were not sufficient to diagnose the tumor as malignant at the initial surgery. Whenever a uterine myoma with myxomatous change is found, the patient should be monitored carefully.
Adenophora triphylla var. japonica (Campanulaceae) yielded two new alkaloids, the 6-C-butyl derivative of 2R,5R-bis(hydroxymethyl)-3R,4R-dihydroxypyrrolidine (DMDP) and alpha-1-C-ethyl-fagomine, together with the known alkaloids 1,4-dideoxy-1,4-imino-D-arabinitol, 1-deoxynojirimycin, and 1-deoxymannojirimycin. 6-C-Butyl-DMDP showed inhibitory activity toward almond beta-glucosidase (IC50 = 68 microM), whereas alpha-1-C-ethyl-fagomine inhibited bovine liver beta-galactosidase (IC50 = 29 microM).
A 17-year-old girl showed mild proteinuria accompanied by hematuria and mild hypocomplementemia. A light microscopic study of the first renal biopsy specimen showed diffuse mild to moderate mesangial proliferation and thickening of the glomerular basement membrane (GBM). An immunofluorescence study showed dominant positive staining (3+) of IgG and C1q in the glomerular mesangium and capillary loop. Staining for C3 and fibrinogen was weak or 1+. Staining for IgA and IgM was negative. Electron-dense deposits were present in the mesangial area and also in the subepithelial, subendothelial, and intramembranous space. Urinary findings improved after dipyridamole treatment. The second renal biopsy, which was performed 5 years later, showed histological improvements, and various pictures of washing-out of deposits were also noted in an electron microscopic study. However, dominant positive staining for IgG and C1q was persistent in an immunofluorescence study. The glomerulopathy of this case belongs in the criteria of neither membranoproliferative glomerulonephritis nor lupus nephritis but could be designated as C1q nephropathy. This is the first report of a histological improvement in C1q nephropathy.
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A high-performance liquid chromatographic (HPLC) method for simultaneous determination of naproxen (NAP), nabumetone (NAB) and its major metabolite, 6-methoxy-2-naphthylacetic acid (6-MNA), was developed for the application to pharmaceuticals and human urine. Isocratic reversed-phase HPLC was employed for quantitative analysis using triethylamine and 1-heptanesulfonic acid sodium salt (HSA) as ion-pair reagents. Urine samples were purified by solid-phase extraction using Bond-Elut Certify II cartridges containing reversed-phase and anion exchange functionalities. The HPLC assay was carried out using a Wakosil ODS 5C18 column (5 microm, 150 x 4.6 mm, i.d.). The mobile phase consisted of 0.5 g of HSA dissolved in 1,000 ml of a mixture of acetonitrile, water and triethylamine (500:500:1, v/v) adjusted with phosphoric acid to pH 3. The calibration curves of NAP and NAB showed good linearity in the concentration range 32-160 microg/ml with UV detection (270 nm) for pharmaceuticals. In the low concentration ranges (8-96 ng of NAP per ml, 24-288 ng of NAB per ml and 5.6-67.2 ng of 6-MNA per ml), the calibration curves were also obtained with fluorimetric detection (excitation 280 nm, emission 350 nm) for biological fluids. The correlation coefficients were better than 0.999 in all cases. The lower limits of detection (defined as a signal-to-noise ratio of about 3) were approximately 0.3 ng for NAP, 1.5 ng for NAB and 0.2 ng for 6-MNA. The procedure described here is rapid, simple, selective, and is suitable for routine analysis of pharmaceuticals and pharmacokinetic studies in human urine samples.
Mice exhibited a marked suppression of motility (conditioned fear stress) when placed in an environment in which they had previously received an electric footshock. This conditioned fear stress response was dose-dependently attenuated by neurosteroids such as dehydroepiandrosterone sulfate (DHEAS; 25 and 50 mg/kg, s.c.) and pregnenolone sulfate (PREGS; 10-50 mg/kg, s.c.), and by a putative sigma(1) receptor agonist, (+)-N-allylnormetazocine ((+)-SKF-10,047; 3 and 6 mg/kg, s.c.). However, progesterone (PROG; 10-50 mg/kg, s.c. ) and allopregnanolone (5 and 20 mg/kg, s.c.) had no effect on this stress response. The attenuating effects of DHEAS (50 mg/kg, s.c.), PREGS (50 mg/kg, s.c.), and (+)-SKF-10,047 (6 mg/kg, s.c.) were reversed by NE-100 (5 mg/kg, i.p.), a sigma(1) receptor antagonist and PROG (5 or 10 mg/kg, i.p.). When DHEAS (25 mg/kg) was co-administered with (+)-SKF-10,047 (3 mg/kg) at doses that do not affect the conditioned fear stress response by themselves, motor suppression was significantly attenuated. In mice showing the conditioned fear stress response, the serum concentration of DHEAS was lower than that in non-shocked mice. These results suggest that the attenuating effects of DHEAS and PREGS on the conditioned fear stress response are mediated via sigma(1) receptors and that PROG has a sigma(1) receptor antagonistic property. Further, the endogenous DHEAS may be involved in the expression of conditioned fear stress response in mice.
Cadherins, calcium-dependent cell adhesion molecules, play crucial roles, not only in the maintenance of tissue integrity, but also in the regulation of many aspects of cell behavior. We investigated the expression of "classic" E-, N- and P-cadherins in bone marrow-derived cultured mast cells (BMMC) and peritoneal mast cells (PMC) from mice. Flow cytometric analysis and immunocytochemical staining indicated that E-cadherin was expressed on the cell surface of BMMC and also at lower levels on PMC. N-cadherin was also expressed on the surface of BMMC, but not of PMC, whereas P-cadherin expression was seen in neither cell type. Significant expression of E- and N-cadherin mRNA was observed in BMMC by reverse transcriptase-polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR), but PMC expressed only E-cadherin mRNA. Western blotting analysis indicated expression of alpha- and beta-catenins and p120-catenin (or p120 cas) in BMMC, whereas PMC showed less intense expression of alpha- and beta-catenins with high levels of p120 expression. Analyses of beta-catenin or E-cadherin immunoprecipitates from BMMC lysate revealed that alpha-catenin, beta-catenin, and E-cadherin were co-precipitated, suggesting that E-cadherin and catenins form a complex in mast cells. Addition of a blocking antibody of homophilic E-cadherin interactions, or a synthetic E-cadherin-binding decapeptide containing the histidine-alanine-valine (HAV) sequence in methylcellulose cultures of gut intraepithelial mononuclear cells or BMMC, significantly suppressed the clonal growth of mast cells. Furthermore, the blocking antibody or synthetic decapeptide significantly suppressed BMMC adhesion to E-cadherin-expressing F9 cell monolayers. These results indicated that E-cadherin and associated cytoplasmic proteins in mast cells might be involved in the regulation of certain stages of mast cell differentiation and cell-cell interactions.
In order to investigate the prevalence of a disordered condition due to shift work (DCSW) and the influence of sleep disorders on the performance of working and driving, a preliminary questionnaire was conducted on industrial workers. Among 332 shift workers, 110 (33.1%) were found to suffer from DCSW. Subjects with DCSW were found to be working shorter periods in shift work than were subjects without DCSW. The rate of sleepiness-related troubles while driving and working were highest in the subjects with probable hypersomnia. This finding encourages the need for early diagnosis and treatment of sleep disorders among industrial workers.
The authors studied avoidance of coagulation occurrence using computational fluid dynamics (CFD) analysis from the fluid dynamical point of view. Concerning centrifugal pumps, blood coagulation sometimes occurs at the region behind the impeller where the flow is generally stagnant. Therefore, we conducted a thorough study with the specimen pump with and without washout holes, mocking up the Nikkiso HPM-15. As the result, the model with washout holes indicated that the fluid rotates rapidly at the vicinity of the shaft and generates washout effects near the stationary rear casing. On the other hand, the model without washout holes showed that fluid cannot be quickly shipped out of the area behind the impeller and rotates mildly around the shaft. To clarify the moving relations between the impeller and the fluid, validation studies by comparing the results of CFD analysis and flow visualization experiments are ongoing; thus far, the studies show that CFD results are similar to the results from flow visualization experiments.
Differential diagnosis of gynaecological masses is sometimes difficult, as there are so many histological types. However, magnetic resonance characteristics of some gynaecological tumours have been reported past several years. On the basis of the recent literature, we have made a decision tree for differential diagnosis of solid gynaecological tumours, in which there are some important divergences. Bilateral disease and invasive growth are malignant signs in most cases. Specific findings for different tumour types include: fibrovascular septa in dysgerminomas; preserving ovarian follicles in round cell tumours; pseudolobular patterns in young patients in sclerosing stromal tumours; and extremely hypointense masses on T2WI in Brenner tumours. Distinguishing between sex-cord stromal tumours, Brenner tumours and metastatic tumours may be hard, however, especially in middle age, because they all tend to show well-demarcated, hypointense masses on T2WI. Disproportionately clear zonal anatomy of the uterus, enlarged uterus and thickened endometrium, which are indirect findings of oestrogen-producing tumours, are useful diagnostic findings in children and postmenopausals.
A large mixed pial-dural arteriovenous malformation was successfully treated by surgical resection and occlusion of the draining veins. Treatment of this type of malformation is discussed.
Bombesin receptor subtype-3 (BRS-3) is one of the candidate genes of obesity. The mice lacking BRS-3 have been shown to develop mild obesity. These mice also showed hypertension and impaired glucose metabolism, supporting these mice as a good model for human obesity. We screened 104 Japanese obese men (BMI > 26.4, 26.5-44.1) to investigate whether there is any genetic defect in BRS-3 gene. The DNA fragments containing each exon of BRS-3 gene were amplified by polymerase chain reaction (PCR) and were directly sequenced. No mutation, nor polymorphism was found in the coding region of BRS-3, suggesting that mutation of this gene is not a major cause of obesity in humans.
Adipose tissue secretes a variety of proteins into the bloodstream. We have previously reported a novel cDNA, apM1 (adipose most abundant gene transcript 1), which is specifically and abundantly expressed in adipose tissue [1]. Primary structure analysis predicted that the apM1 gene product possesses significant homology to collagens VIII, X and complement factor C1q, and we named it adiponectin. In the current study, we analyzed characteristics of adiponectin in vitro and in vivo. Adiponectin protein was proved to be secreted into the medium when the cDNA was transfected to COS cells. Anti-adiponectin cross-reactivities were abundantly detected in the human plasma. In solid-phase binding assays, adiponectin specifically bound to collagen types I, III and V, which are present in vascular intima. Immunohistochemical analysis revealed that adiponectin was detected in the walls of the catheter-injured vessels but not in the intact vascular walls. These data suggest that adiponectin is a plasma protein produced by adipose tissue and accumulates in vascular walls when the endothelial barrier is injured.