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Biomedical subjects

M Noda

Publications and source records attributed to M Noda.

At least 91 records · Page 5Linked to original sources

Optimal starting time for flutamide to prevent disease flare in prostate cancer patients treated with a gonadotropin-releasing hormone agonist.

OBJECTIVE: Flare-up phenomena, such as an increase in prostate-specific antigen (PSA) and/or deterioration of symptoms, are observed in some patients undergoing gonadotropin-releasing hormone (GnRH) agonist therapy. This study was carried out to determine the optimal time for starting the administration of flutamide to prevent flare-up phenomena. PATIENTS AND METHODS: Twenty-six patients with prostate cancer and elevated serum levels of PSA were randomly assigned to 5 groups. Group A patients (n = 6) were treated with a subcutaneous injection of 3.75 mg leuprorelin acetate depot alone. Group B, C, D and E patients (5 patients in each group) were treated with 375 mg/day of orally administered flutamide combined with leuprorelin. Flutamide was initiated on the day of leuprorelin injection in group B, and at 1, 2 and 4 weeks before leuprorelin injection in groups C, D and E, respectively. Serum PSA and testosterone levels were measured in each patient. RESULTS: Pretreatment with flutamide increased the serum testosterone level, but the testosterone surge after leuprorelin administration was almost the same in all 5 treatment groups. In patients who had been treated with flutamide in combination with leuprorelin, the mean PSA level did not exceed the pretreatment levels after leuprorelin administration. The rate of decrease in PSA in the group receiving simultaneous administration of flutamide with leuprorelin showed a decline comparable to that during the period before leuprorelin administration in the flutamide pretreatment groups. CONCLUSION: Simultaneous administration of flutamide with a GnRH agonist is sufficient to prevent flare-up phenomena.

Adenocarcinoma↗

Organ-specific autoimmunity in mice whose T cell repertoire is shaped by a single antigenic peptide.

Organ-specific autoimmune diseases have been postulated to be the result of T cell response against organ-specific self-peptides bound to MHC molecules. Contrary to this paradigm, we report here that transgenic mice lacking MHC class I expression and expressing an MHC class II I-A(b) molecule that presents only a single peptide (E alpha 52-68) spontaneously develops peripheral nervous system-specific autoimmune disease with many of the histopathological features found in experimental allergic neuritis. Reciprocal bone marrow chimeras produced using susceptible and resistant lines revealed that bone marrow-derived cells determined disease susceptibility. While the expression of the I-A(b)-E alpha 52-68 complex in the periphery was readily detectable in both lines, its expression on thymic dendritic cells responsible for tolerance induction was markedly lower in the susceptible line than in the resistant line. Consistent with this, CD4(+) T cells that can be activated by the I-A(b)-E alpha 52-68 complex were found in the susceptible line, but not in the resistant line. Such CD4(+) T cells conferred the disease to the resistant line by adoptive transfer, and administration of Ab specific for the I-A(b)-E alpha 52-68 complex inhibited disease manifestation in the susceptible line. These results indicate that disease development involves systemic T cell reactivity to I-A(b)-E alpha 52-68 complex, probably caused by incomplete negative thymocyte selection.

Animals↗

Acute encephalopathy associated with nontyphoidal salmonellosis.

The importance of an acute encephalopathy associated with nontyphoidal salmonellosis has recently been recognized, but the disease entity has been poorly established. In this study, we describe two encephalopathic patients associated with nontyphoidal salmonellosis. The patients exhibited a rapid evolution of coma after the onset of lethargy or seizure. Fever and diarrhea due to salmonellosis preceded these events. Secondary factors inducing encephalopathies, such as severe dehydration, sepsis, meningitis, electrolyte or metabolic disturbances, acute renal failure, and multiple organ failure, were excluded in the differential diagnosis at the onset of encephalopathic features. These clinical findings and rapid development of encephalopathic features from localized intestinal infection without any significant abnormalities in a variety of blood tests may suggest a toxic etiology. However, endotoxin was not found in serum from both patients. From these results, we conclude that nontyphoidal salmonellosis can cause a toxic encephalopathy syndrome, like shigellosis or verocytotoxin-producing Escherichia coli infection.

Acute Disease↗

Osteopontin facilitates angiogenesis, accumulation of osteoclasts, and resorption in ectopic bone.

Osteoclastic bone resorption requires a number of complex steps that are under the control of local regulatory molecules. Osteopontin is expressed in osteoclasts and is also present in bone matrix; however, its biological function has not been fully understood. To elucidate the role of osteopontin in the process of osteoclastic bone resorption, we conducted ectopic bone implantation experiments using wild-type and osteopontin knockout mouse. In the wild-type group, bone discs from calvariae implanted ectopically in muscle were resorbed, and their mass was reduced by 25% within 4 weeks. In contrast, the mass of the bone discs from calvariae of osteopontin knockout mice was reduced by only 5% when implanted in osteopontin knockout mice. Histological analyses indicated that the number of osteoclasts associated with the implanted bones was reduced in the osteopontin knockout mice. As osteopontin deficiency does not suppress osteoclastogenesis per se, we further examined vascularization immunohistologically and found that the number of vessels containing CD31-positive endothelial cells around the bone discs implanted in muscle was reduced in the osteopontin knockout mice. Furthermore, sc implantation assays indicated that the length and branching points of the newly formed vasculatures associated with the bone discs were also reduced in the absence of osteopontin. In this assay, tartrate-resistant acid phosphatase-positive area of the bone discs was also reduced in the osteopontin knockout mice, indicating further the link between the osteopontin-dependent vascularization and osteoclast accumulation. The bone resorption defect could be rescued by topical administration of recombinant osteopontin to the bones implanted in muscle. These observations indicate that osteopontin is required for efficient vascularization by the hemangiogenic endothelial cells and subsequent osteoclastic resorption of bones.

Animals↗

Roles of septins in the mammalian cytokinesis machinery.

Septins comprise a eukaryotic guanine nucleotide binding protein subfamily which form filamentous heteropolymer complexes. Although mechanism of cytokinesis is diverged by species and tissues, loss of septin function results in the multinuclear phenotype in many organisms. Hence septin filaments beneath the cleavage furrow are hypothesized as a structural basis to ensure completion of cytokinesis. However, molecular mechanisms of septin assembly, disassembly and function have been elusive despite the potential importance of this ubiquitous cytoskeletal system. Meanwhile, growing evidence suggests that mammalian septins functionally or physically interact with diverse molecules such as actin, actin-binding proteins, proteins of membrane fusion machinery, Cdc42 adapter proteins, a ubiquitin-protein ligase, and phosphoinositides. Careful integration of these data may provide insights into the mechanism of mammalian septin organization and functions in cytokinesis.

Animals↗

Involvement of angiotensin II in progression of renal injury in rats with genetic non-insulin-dependent diabetes mellitus (Wistar fatty rats).

Wistar fatty (WF) rats have a genetic predisposition to hyperglycemia, polyuria, hyperinsulinemia, hyperlipidemia, obesity and nephropathy. These phenotypic characteristics are similar to those observed in obese patients with non-insulin-dependent diabetes mellitus (NIDDM) nephropathy. In this study, the effects of two types of renin-angiotensin system inhibitors, an angiotensin II type 1-receptor antagonist (AT1A) and an angiotensin I-converting enzyme inhibitor (ACEI), on renal injury in WF rats were studied during the progressive phase of diabetic nephropathy. An AT1A, candesartan cilexetil (1 mg/kg), and an ACEI, enalapril (10 mg/kg), were administered orally once a day for 12 weeks, beginning when the rats were 27-week-old and already showed diabetic nephropathy and obesity. Both drugs prevented an increase in proteinuria during the experimental period. Furthermore, after 4-week intervention, the levels of proteinuria were markedly lower in drug-treated rats. At the end of the experiment, both drugs prevented the development of glomerular lesions without affecting glucose metabolism and obesity. In conclusion, the inhibition of angiotensin II activity ameliorated both existing proteinuria and the progression of proteinuria, resulting in preservation of glomerular structure. Thus angiotensin II plays important roles in the development and the progression of nephropathy in genetically obese diabetic WF rats.

Angiotensin II↗

Bone morphogenetic protein regulation of forkhead/winged helix transcription factor Foxc2 (Mfh1) in a murine mesodermal cell line C1 and in skeletal precursor cells.

Mfh1/Foxc2 is a member of forkhead/winged helix transcription factor family in which its members serve as key regulators in embryogenesis and cell differentiation in various species. Mutant mice null for Mfh1 show defects in axial and cranial skeletogenesis, suggesting requirement of Mfh1 for skeletal tissue development. However, the roles of Mfh1 and its regulation during early skeletogenesis have not been understood fully yet. In this study, we investigated developmental regulation of Mfh1 expression during embryonic skeletogenesis in vivo and in vitro chondrogenic cell differentiation using a mesodermal progenitor-like cell line C1. We first examined expression patterns of Mfh1 in relation to the cartilage phenotype-related molecules including bone morphogenetic proteins (BMPs) during mouse embryogenesis by in situ hybridization. In 10.5 days postcoitum (dpc) mouse limb, Mfh1 messenger RNA (mRNA) was expressed in the mesenchymal cells in the tissues that later give rise to skeleton. In 11.5 dpc embryos, Mfh1 transcripts were expressed in the cell condensation of skeletal blastemas. BMP2 transcripts were expressed in the cell condensation proximal to the Mfh1-expressing cells in the limbs and those of BMP-7 were expressed in the mesenchymal tissue surrounding the Mfh1-positive cell condensation. In 12.5 dpc and 13.5 dpc embryos, the expression of Mfh1 was localized to the perichondrium, which surrounds cells that express noggin and SOX9 mRNA. BMP-2 expression was overlapped with that of Mfh1 in the peripheral layer of 12.5 dpc and 13.5 dpc limb skeletal blastemas. Mfh1 expression persisted in the perichondrium of 15.5 dpc embryos though its level was reduced. We then examined the expression of Mfh1 in the mouse mesodermal cell line C1 that differentiates into chondrocytes in vitro. Mfh1 mRNA was expressed constitutively at low levels in C1 cells before the induction of its differentiation. On the differentiation of C1 cells into chondrocytes by the treatment with dexamethasone (Dex), Mfh1 expression was increased and peaked on day 4 of Dex treatment. Treatment with BMP-4/7 and BMP-7 protein also enhanced Mfh1 expression in C1 cells. To further examine the causative relationship between BMP and Mfh1 in mesenchymal tissue, we performed a mouse limb bud organ culture to implant BMP proteins with carriers into the mesenchymal tissue of the limb bud. Implantation of BMP-7 protein in the limb bud of 11.5 dpc embryos induced Mfh1 expression, suggesting that BMP regulates Mfh1 expression in limb mesenchyme. These results indicate that Mfh1 expression is associated with the early stage of chondrogenic differentiation both in vivo and in vitro and that BMPs regulate Mfh1 expression in skeletal precursor cells.

Animals↗

Osteopontin deficiency reduces experimental tumor cell metastasis to bone and soft tissues.

Osteopontin has been implicated in the metastasis of tumors, and human tumors with high metastatic activity often express osteopontin at high levels. Osteopontin contains an arginine-glycine-aspartate (RGD) motif that is recognized by integrin family members to promote various cell activities including attachment to substrate and it is abundant in bone, to which certain tumors preferentially metastasize. Therefore, we investigated the role of osteopontin in the experimental metastasis of tumor cells using recently established osteopontin-deficient mice. B16 melanoma cells, which produce little osteopontin, were injected into the left ventricle of osteopontin-deficient mice or wild-type mice. Animals were killed 2 weeks after injection. The number of tumors was reduced in the bones of osteopontin-deficient mice compared with the bones in wild-type mice. The number of tumors in the adrenal gland also was reduced. To investigate the osteopontin effect on metastases via a different route, we injected B16 melanoma cells into the femoral vein. Through this route, the number of lung tumors formed was higher than in the intracardiac route and was again less in osteopontin-deficient mice compared with wild-type mice. In conclusion, in an experimental metastasis assay, the number of tumors found in bone (after intracardiac injection) and lung (after left femoral vein injection) was significantly reduced in osteopontin-deficient mice compared with wild-type mice. Tumor numbers in other organs examined were small and not significantly different in the two situations.

Animals↗

Signal transduction from bradykinin, angiotensin, adrenergic and muscarinic receptors to effector enzymes, including ADP-ribosyl cyclase.

Muscarinic acetylcholine receptors in NG108-15 neuroblastoma x glioma cells, and beta-adrenergic or angiotensin II receptors in cortical astrocytes and/or ventricular myocytes, utilize the direct signaling pathway to ADP-ribosyl cyclase within cell membranes to produce cyclic ADP-ribose (cADPR) from beta-NAD+. This signal cascade is analogous to the previously established transduction pathways from bradykinin receptors to phospholipase Cbeta and beta-adrenoceptors to adenylyl cyclase via G proteins. Upon receptor stimulation, the newly-formed cADPR may coordinately function to upregulate the release of Ca2+ from the type II ryanodine receptors as well as to facilitate Ca2+ influx through voltage-dependent Ca2+ channels. cADPR interacts with FK506, an immunosuppressant, at FKBP12.6, FK506-binding-protein, and calcineurin, or ryanodine receptors. cADPR also functions through activating calcineurin released from A-kinase anchoring protein (AKAP79). Thus, some G(q/11)-coupled receptors can control cADPR-dependent modulation in Ca2+ signaling.

ADP-ribosyl Cyclase↗

Left ventricular apical aneurysm in cardiac sarcoidosis.

A 53-year-old woman was hospitalized for general fatigue and palpitations. An electrocardiogram showed ST elevation and T wave inversion in leads II, III, aVF, and V4-6. Cardiac catheterization was performed since the echocardiogram demonstrated the existence of a left ventricular apical aneurysm. Left ventriculography showed an aneurysm of the apex. An endomyocardial biopsy specimen from the left ventricular apical wall demonstrated typical noncaseating granulomas with giant cells. The patient was diagnosed as having cardiac sarcoidosis. There was no evidence suggesting involvement of other systemic organs. Cardiac sarcoidosis should be considered within a spectrum of diseases that cause left ventricular aneurysm.

Cardiomyopathies↗

Klotho-deficient mice are resistant to bone loss induced by unloading due to sciatic neurectomy.

Unloading induces bone loss as seen in experimental animals as well as in space flight or in bed-ridden conditions; however, the mechanisms involved in this phenomenon are not fully understood. Klotho mutant mice exhibit osteopetrosis in the metaphyseal regions indicating that the klotho gene product is involved in the regulation of bone metabolism. To examine whether the klotho gene product is involved in the unloading-induced bone loss, the response of the osteopetrotic cancellous bones in these mice was investigated. Sciatic nerve resection was conducted using klotho mutant (kl/kl) and control heterozygous mice (+/kl) and its effect on bone was examined by micro-computed tomography (microCT). As reported previously for wild-type mice (+/+), about 30% bone loss was induced in heterozygous mice (+/kl) by unloading due to neurectomy within 30 days of the surgery. By contrast, kl/kl mice were resistant against bone loss induced by unloading after neurectomy. Unloading due to neurectomy also induced a small but significant bone loss in the cortical bone of the mid-shaft of the femur in the heterozygous mice; no reduction in the cortical bone was observed in kl/kl mice. These results indicate that klotho mutant mice are resistant against bone loss induced by unloading due to neurectomy in both cortical and trabecular bone and indicate that klotho is one of the molecules involved in the loss of bone by unloading.

Animals↗

Dexamethasone enhances SOX9 expression in chondrocytes.

SOX9 is a transcription factor that activates type II procollagen (Col2a1) gene expression during chondrocyte differentiation. Glucocorticoids are also known to promote chondrocyte differentiation via unknown molecular mechanisms. We therefore investigated the effects of a synthetic glucocorticoid, dexamethasone (DEX), on Sox9 gene expression in chondrocytes prepared from rib cartilage of newborn mice. Sox9 mRNA was expressed at high levels in these chondrocytes. Treatment with DEX enhanced Sox9 mRNA expression within 24 h and this effect was observed at least up to 48 h. The effect of DEX was dose dependent, starting at 0.1 nM and maximal at 10 nM. The half life of Sox9 mRNA was approximately 45 min in the presence or absence of DEX. Western blot analysis revealed that DEX also enhanced the levels of SOX9 protein expression. Treatment with DEX enhanced Col2a1 mRNA expression in these chondrocytes and furthermore, DEX enhanced the activity of Col2-CAT (chloramphenicol acetyltransferase) construct containing a 1.6 kb intron fragment where chondrocyte-specific Sry/Sox- consensus sequence is located. The enhancing effect of DEX was specific to SOX9, as DEX did not alter the levels of Sox6 mRNA expression. These data suggest that DEX promotes chondrocyte differentiation through enhancement of SOX9.

Animals↗

[Long survival in a case of unresectable hepatic metastasis from rectal carcinoma treated with second-look hepatectomy plus pharmacokinetic modulating chemotherapy (PMC)].

A 67-year-old female with rectal cancer and multiple liver metastases underwent low anterior resection by total mesorectal excision (TME), cholecystectomy and hepatic arterial cannulation in June 1995. She was treated with hepatic arterial infusion chemotherapy (HAI) (5-FU 600 mg/m2/day x 2 days/w) and oral UFT (400 mg/body, 5 days/w) once a week for 6 months on an outpatient basis. As the metastatic foci of the liver significantly decreased (83.3%) and extrahepatic disease were not observed, partial resection of the liver (second-look hepatectomy) was performed in March 1996. She continued arterial infusion PMC and venous infusion PMC as an outpatient. During the follow-up period a lung metastasis appeared in November 1997. Her regimen was changed to modified PMC with MMC (mitomycin C) and CPT-11. She has been managed at our outpatient clinic while the lung metastasis remained but with no liver metastasis for 57 months after the first operation, until the present. Second-look hepatectomy and PMC with a two-way port system was a useful option for unresectable hepatic metastases from colorectal carcinoma.

Adenocarcinoma↗

Bicuspid tubes.

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Bicuspid↗

[Factors related to satisfaction level in daily life for older people].

The purpose of this study was to examine relations between satisfaction levels and life-style in daily life for older people. A questionnaire, based on 7 factors of life satisfaction level and 13 factors of life-style chosen after considering theoretical validity, was administered to 1,320 healthy people aged 60 or more in the community (665 males and 655 females). Remarkable gender and grade differences were confirmed in the "physical health" satisfaction level. Satisfaction level for "personal relations" related to the number of friends for both sexes and to volunteer activities for males. The influence of the life-style factor on satisfaction level was highest in physical health. The influence of the number of friends was high for each satisfaction level. It was inferred that there are many aspects of life-style backgrounds contributing to the satisfaction level of older people in the community, and individual satisfaction with daily life is affected by different life-style factors.

Activities of Daily Living↗