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Biomedical subjects

M Suematsu

Publications and source records attributed to M Suematsu.

At least 91 records · Page 5Linked to original sources
PubMed1996

Endothelial constitutive nitric oxide synthase protein and mRNA increased in rabbit atherosclerotic aorta despite impaired endothelium-dependent vascular relaxation.

Atherosclerotic arteries are well known to exhibit impaired endothelium-dependent relaxation (EDR), but the exact mechanism of this impairment remains unclear. Recently, endothelial constitutive nitric oxide synthase (ECNOS), which generates nitric oxide and mediates EDR, was cloned, and ECNOS mRNA expression was reported to be modified by various cytokines, lipoproteins, and shear stress. To investigate the expression of ECNOS mRNA and protein in atherosclerotic arteries with impaired EDR, thoracic aortas isolated from Watanabe heritable hyperlipidemic (WHHL) rabbits were examined by using in situ hybridization and immunohistochemistry. Compared with thoracic aortas from Japanese White rabbits, WHHL aortas exhibited significantly impaired EDRs, although both in situ hybridization and immunohistochemistry exhibited enhanced expression of ECNOS mRNA and protein in WHHL aortas. There was no significant relationship between expression of ECNOS mRNA and protein of endothelial cells and age of the examined WHHL aortas. These data suggest that the mechanism of impaired EDR in atherosclerotic arteries is not due to the decrease in ECNOS mRNA and protein.

Acetylcholine↗
PubMed1996

Gaseous monoxides: a new class of microvascular regulator in the liver.

Gaseous monoxides such as nitric oxide (NO) and carbon monoxide (CO) have recently attracted great interest as a regulator of cell and organ functions. When exposed to endotoxin, cytokines or ischemia-reperfusion, the liver produces larger amounts of NO than those in the control via the activity of inducible NO synthase which can alter a variety of organ functions such as sensitivity of vascular tone to catecholamine, mitochondrial membrane potential, biliary transport and tissue regeneration. On the other hand, the liver constitutively produces CO through the reaction of heme oxygenase. CO generated in the liver tissue can reach sinusoidal vessels and relax fat-storing Ito cells--the liver-specific microvascular pericytes covering the sinusoidal wall--and thereby serves as an endogenous modulator of vascular tone. Two isoforms of the CO-generating enzyme have been characterized: heme oxygenase-1 which is inducible by a variety of stressors, and heme oxygenase-2 which constitutes the major enzyme activity under physiological conditions in the liver. Although it is still unknown whether excessive CO generation by the inducible heme oxygenase activity may preserve or jeopardize the integrity of microvascular function in the liver, the potential importance of this double-edged molecule has just emerged much like nitric oxide, another gaseous molecule that was established as a neurovascular mediator inducing vascular cell relaxation. This article provides an overview of the pathophysiological roles of these gaseous monoxides in regulation of microvascular function in the liver.

Animals↗
PubMed1995

Myristoylation of endothelial cell nitric oxide synthase is important for extracellular release of nitric oxide.

Endothelial cell nitric oxide synthase (NOS) is known to have a N-myristoylation consensus sequence. Such a consensus sequence is not evident in the macrophage, smooth muscle and neuronal NOS. A functional role for this N-terminal myristoylation is not clear yet. In the present study, we examined the effect of N-terminal myristoylation on the NOS activity determined by the conversion of L-[3H]arginine to L-[3H]citrulline and extracellular NO release determined by nitrite production in the conditioned medium from the COS-7 cells transfected with wild-type bovine aortic endothelial cell (BAEC) NOS cDNA or non-myristoylated BAEC-NOS mutant cDNA. NOS activity of wild type BAEC-NOS in COS-7 cells was localized in the particulate fraction and that of mutant NOS was in the cytosolic fraction. In contrast, nitrite production from COS-7 cells transfected with wild type BAEC-NOS cDNA was greater than that of mutant cDNA in a time dependent and a concentration dependent manner. These results suggest that membrane localization of NOS with myristoylation facilitates extracellular transport of NO and leads to enhanced NO signaling on the vascular smooth muscle cells and the intravascular blood cells including neutrophils, macrophages and platelets.

Animals↗
PubMed1995

Intravital demonstration of sequential migration process of lymphocyte subpopulations in rat Peyer's patches.

BACKGROUND & AIMS: Although recirculation of lymphocytes through Peyer's patches is important for specific immune defense, the intraorgan migration of lymphocyte subpopulations has not been clearly understood. The aim of this study was to compare the spatial distributions of labeled lymphocytes among various subpopulations in rat Peyer's patches. METHODS: Lymphocytes collected from intestinal lymph were separated into CD4+, CD8+, and T and B cells, labeled with a fluorochrome carboxyfluorescein diacetate succinimidyl ester, and injected into the jugular vein. Peyer's patches of recipient rats were observed by intravital fluorescence microscopy. RESULTS: No significant difference was found in the percentage of lymphocytes in transit or in the rolling velocity among different subpopulations. Lymphocytes sticking to the venules increased in number at 10-20 minutes, with preferential adherence of CD4+ cells to venules of 25-50 microns and preferential adherence of B cells to the venules of a wider size range. After 30 minutes, extravasated lymphocytes moved into the interstitium. B cells migrated from venules more quickly than CD4+ cells. CD8+ cells showed an intermediate pattern between CD4+ and B cells in sticking and migratory behaviors. Subsequently, CD4+ and CD8 cells preferentially appeared in parafollicular microlymphatics. CONCLUSIONS: Significant differences were observed among lymphocyte subpopulations in terms of spatial distribution of lymphocytes sticking to venules, migration into the interstitium, and their lymphatic transport.

Animals↗
PubMed1995

Recognition of consensus CHO structure in ligands for selectins by novel antibody against sialyl Lewis X.

The selectins (L, E, and P) play an important role in the earliest events of the inflammatory response, leading to the "rolling" phenomenon. All selectins react with sialyl Lewis X (SLex) in vitro, possibly suggesting that their ligands have a consensus structure. 2H5 is a monoclonal antibody against SLex that blocks L-selectin-mediated adhesion. 2H5 inhibited adhesion of HL-60 cells to P- and E-selectin-producing COS cells in vitro and immunoprecipitated a P-selectin glycoprotein ligand-1-like glycoprotein from HL-60 cell lysate, suggesting that it recognizes a functional consensus structure on the ligands for all selectins. 2H5 reacted not only with human but also with rat and mouse neutrophils. 2H5 is the first antibody against SLex that recognizes neutrophils of nonhuman mammals. The carbohydrate structure recognized by 2H5 was present not only on high endothelial venules of rat lymphoid organs but also on the endothelial cells of nonlymphoid organs. Furthermore, administration of the antibody markedly inhibited L- and P-selectin-mediated neutrophil rolling and adhesion in rat mesenteric venules in vivo. These results provide evidence for the presence of a consensus carbohydrate structure on the ligands for all selectins. The consensus structure thus has the potential to serve as a therapeutic target.

Animals↗
PubMed1995

Inhibition of endothelial nitric oxide synthase activity by protein kinase C.

Nitric oxide (NO) is an important molecular messenger accounting for endothelium-derived relaxing factor. Recently, NO synthase (NOS) from cultured endothelial cells has been purified and molecularly cloned. To evaluate the effect of phosphorylation by protein kinase C (PKC) and cyclic AMP-dependent protein kinase (PKA) on endothelial constitutive NOS catalytic activity, we incubated purified endothelial NOS with PKC or PKA. Endothelial NOS was stoichiometrically phosphorylated by PKC and PKA. In intact bovine aortic endothelial cells (BAECs), NOS was phosphorylated by stimulation with 12-O-tetradecanoylphorbol-13-acetate (TPA). NOS activity measured by the conversion of [3H]arginine to [3H]citrulline in homogenates of BAECs treated with TPA or phorbol 12,13-dibutyrate was reduced by 30%, whereas dibutylyl cyclic AMP did not affect NOS activity. Moreover, we measured NO release from cultured BAECs by a chemiluminescence method to examine the effect of PKC and PKA on endothelial NOS activity. In cultured BAECs, ATP gamma S and A23187 induced NO release in time- and dose-dependent manners. Phorbol esters such as TPA and phorbol 12,13-dibutyrate dose dependently inhibited NO release stimulated by A23187 as well as ATP gamma S. Reduction of NO release by TPA was almost completely prevented by pretreatment with staurosporine, an inhibitor of PKC. NO release by A23187 was increased in PKC-downregulated BAECs. In contrast, dibutylyl cyclic AMP or 8-bromo cyclic GMP had no effect on NO release from BAECs induced by A23187 or ATP gamma S. These results indicate that phosphorylation of NOS by PKC is associated with a reduction of its catalytic activity in vascular endothelial cells.

Amino Acid Oxidoreductases↗
PubMed1995

Impairment of selectin-mediated leukocyte adhesion to venular endothelium in spontaneously hypertensive rats.

The present study was designed to elucidate whether molecular mechanisms for leukocyte adhesion to microvascular endothelium may differ between spontaneously hypertensive rats and Wistar Kyoto rats. Leukocyte rolling and adhesion were investigated while monitoring venular wall shear rates in the mesenteric microcirculation stimulated with histamine or tert-butyl hydroperoxide in the two strains. In Wistar Kyoto rats, 10 microM histamine as well as 500 microM tertbutyl hydroperoxide promoted a significant reduction of venular leukocyte rolling velocity and subsequent adhesion. These changes in leukocyte behavior were blocked by monoclonal antibodies against P-selectin (PB 1.3) and against sialyl Lewis X-like carbohydrates (2H5). However, spontaneously hypertensive rats exhibited a blunted response of the stimulus-elicited leukocyte rolling, which was associated with impairment of venular P-selectin expression as well as a decrease in the expression of sialyl Lewis X-like carbohydrates on circulating neutrophils. No significant differences were detected between the two strains not only in the surface CD11b/CD18 expression but also in the CD18-mediated adhesivity of neutrophils to intracellular adhesion molecule-1 transfectants in vitro. These results suggest that impairment of selectin-mediated leukocyte adhesion is an event responsible for disorders of inflammatory responses in spontaneously hypertensive rats.

Animals↗
PubMed1995

Carbon monoxide: an endogenous modulator of sinusoidal tone in the perfused rat liver.

Heme oxygenase is a heme-oxidizing enzyme which generates biliverdin and carbon monoxide (CO). The present study was designed to elucidate whether CO endogenously produced by this enzyme serves as an active vasorelaxant in the hepatic microcirculation. Microvasculature of the isolated perfused rat liver was visualized by dual-color digital microfluorography to alternately monitor sinusoidal lining and fat-storing Ito cells. In the control liver, the CO flux in the venous effluent ranged at 0.7 nmol/min per gram of liver. Administration of a heme oxygenase inhibitor zinc protoporphyrin IX (1 microM) eliminated the baseline CO generation, and the vascular resistance exhibited a 30% elevation concurrent with discrete patterns of constriction in sinusoids and reduction of the sinusoidal perfusion velocity. The major sites of the constriction corresponded to local sinusoidal segments colocalized with Ito cell which were identified by imaging their vitamin A autofluorescence. The increase in the vascular resistance and sinusoidal constriction were attenuated significantly by adding CO (1 microM) or a cGMP analogue 8-bromo-cGMP (1 microM) in the perfusate. From these findings, we propose that CO can function as an endogenous modulator of hepatic sinusoidal perfusion through a relaxing mechanism involving Ito cells.

Animals↗
PubMed1994

Carbon monoxide as an endogenous modulator of hepatic vascular perfusion.

Carbon monoxide (CO) generated by heme oxygenase has recently been considered a neural messenger in brain. This observation prompted us to investigate whether CO participates in vascular regulation in the liver, another organ with high levels of heme oxygenase activity. In isolated perfused rat liver, submicromolar levels of CO were detectable in the effluent and were able to be suppressed by the administration of Zn protoporphyrin IX (1 microM), a potent inhibitor of heme oxygenase. Furthermore, zinc protoporphyrin IX (1 microM) promoted an increase in the perfusion pressure under the constant flow conditions. These changes were reversed by adding CO (2 microM) or a cGMP analogue 8-bromo-cGMP (1 microM) in the perfusate. The present findings indicate that CO can function as an endogenous modulator of vascular perfusion in the liver.

Animals↗
PubMed1994

Rat CINC/gro: a novel mediator for locomotive and secretagogue activation of neutrophils in vivo.

The effects of rat CINC/gro, a member of the interleukin-8 family, on the endothelium-neutrophil interaction and transendothelial macromolecular leakage were studied in rat mesenteric microcirculation. Thirty minutes after superfusion with 10 nM CINC/gro, the number of neutrophils adherent to the venular endothelium and those migrated across the venules were significantly increased with a concomitant elevation of luminol-dependent chemiluminescence at the site of adhesion. Transendothelial macromolecular leakage as assessed by the relative length of venular wall stained with monastral blue B was also increased at 30 min after the start of CINC/gro superfusion. Pretreatments with a CD18-directed monoclonal antibody, WT-3 (1 mg/kg), significantly attenuated the increase in number of adherent and migrated neutrophils, the increase in luminol-dependent chemiluminescence, and the venular macromolecular leakage after the application of CINC/gro. These data suggest that CINC/gro is a novel stimulator that evokes not only locomotive but also secretagogue activation of neutrophils via a CD18-dependent mechanism in vivo.

Animals↗
PubMed1994

Verotoxin induces hemorrhagic lesions in rat small intestine. Temporal alteration of vasoactive substances.

E. coli O157:H7 produces a cytotoxin active against Vero cells that has been termed verotoxin. In this study, we demonstrated that local intraarterial injection of verotoxin induced a decrease in blood flow and an increase in hemorrhagic lesions in rat small intestine. Significant increases in the area of hemorrhagic lesions were observed at 120 min after verotoxin injection. These lesions were produced by either verotoxin 1 or 2, but verotoxin 2 produced more extensive lesions. The temporal alteration of vasoactive substances in microcirculatory beds was determined after the administration of culture filtrate of E. coli O157:H7. Tissue-type plasminogen activator activity in regional plasma was significantly elevated as early as 30 min, suggesting that local fibrinolytic activation mediated by microvascular endothelium occurred. There was also early elevation of platelet-activating factor content in the ileal mucosa and its level remained significantly elevated thereafter. Intestinal blood flow, as determined by a laser Doppler flowmeter, started to decrease at about 45 min. The platelet-activating factor antagonist CV6209 was shown to attenuate the decrease in blood flow as well as the development of hemorrhagic lesions, demonstrating that platelet-activating factor is an important mediator for the microcirculatory damage. Accumulation of neutrophils demonstrated by myeloperoxidase activity in the intestinal mucosa and overproduction of oxygen-radicals from neutrophils of the mesenteric veins determined by the luminol-dependent chemiluminescence assay were observed at 60 min, corresponding with the decreased blood flow. Platelet-activating factor may be closely involved in the process of leukocyte accumulation and increased oxygen radical generation, because CV6209 also significantly attenuated these changes.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)

Animals↗
PubMed1994

Rebamipide, a novel antiulcer agent, attenuates Helicobacter pylori induced gastric mucosal cell injury associated with neutrophil derived oxidants.

The effect of rebamipide, a novel antiulcer compound, on Helicobacter pylori activated neutrophil dependent in vitro gastric epithelial cell injury was investigated. Luminol dependent chemiluminescence (ChL), which detects toxic oxidants from neutrophils exhibited a 12-fold increase when the bacterial suspension of H pylori was added to the isolated human neutrophils. This change was significantly attenuated by rebamipide at a concentration less than 1 mM, showing that rebamipide may inhibit oxidant production from H pylori elicited neutrophils. To assess whether rebamipide attenuates gastric mucosal injury, we tested its inhibitory action on H pylori induced gastric mucosal damage associated with neutrophils in vitro. Rabbit gastric mucosal cells were monolayered in culture wells and coincubated with human neutrophils and H pylori, and the cytotoxicity index was then calculated. Cultured gastric cells were significantly damaged when they were incubated with human neutrophils activated by H pylori. This cellular damage was attenuated by rebamipide in a dose-dependent manner. Furthermore, spectrophotometrical measurement showed that rebamipide (1 mM) inhibits urease activity by 21.7%. As monochloramine (an oxidant yielded by reaction of neutrophil derived chlorinated oxidant and ammonia) is proposed as an important toxic molecule in this model, the current findings suggest that the preventive effect of rebamipide on H pylori elicited neutrophil induced gastric mucosal injury may result from its inhibitory actions on the neutrophilic oxidative burst as well as H pylori derived urease activity.

Alanine↗
PubMed1994

Circulating neutrophil kinetics during tolerance in hemorrhagic shock using bacterial lipopolysaccharide.

The objective of this study was to investigate mechanisms by which circulating polymorphonuclear neutrophils (PMNs) may contribute to the tolerance to hemorrhagic shock induced by pretreatment with lipopolysaccharides (LPS). Tolerance was developed by daily injections of sublethal doses of LPS for four subsequent days while controls received saline injections. During shock, both groups of rats were maintained for 3 h at 40 mmHg mean arterial pressure and were then observed for survival during a 24-h period. This protocol resulted in 40% survival in the untreated controls and 89% survival in the tolerant group (P < 0.0068). Hypotension caused an initial neutropenia in both groups. The circulating PMN counts remained lower in the tolerant than in the controls rats for most of the low flow period. The number of circulating activated PMNs in whole blood, as assessed by spontaneous nitroblue tetrazolium reduction, was lower in tolerant animals before and during most of the hypotensive period, except immediately after bleeding when both groups have low circulating leukocyte counts. No detectable tumor necrosis factor activity was observed in the plasma of either group. Adhesion of circulating PMNs to nylon fibers in vitro and the number of PMNs adhering to the endothelium in the mesentery in vivo was significantly lower in the tolerant rats. We conclude that LPS pretreatment produces a reduction in the activated circulating PMNs and in the degree of PMN adhesion to endothelium with subsequent improvement of survival after hemorrhagic shock.

Analysis of Variance↗
PubMed1994

Microvascular oxidative stress preceding leukocyte activation elicited by in vivo nitric oxide suppression.

This study was aimed to determine the mechanism by which endogenous nitric oxide suppression promotes leukocyte adhesion in vivo. The rat mesenteric microcirculation was superfused with NG-nitro-L-arginine methyl ester (L-NAME; 100 microM), and intracellular oxidant formation in several microcirculatory cellular components such as arteriolar and venular endothelium and mast cells was visually monitored by digital microfluorography assisted by carboxydichlorofluorescein (CDCF), a hydroperoxide-sensitive fluorogenic probe. Adherent leukocyte density was measured simultaneously. L-NAME induced a significant time-dependent increase in CDCF fluorescence in arteriolar and venular endothelium and mast cells followed by firm adhesion of leukocytes. L-NAME-induced CDCF elevation showed a different spatial distribution compared with that evoked by N-formylmethionyl-leucyl-phenylalanine, in which only local venular segments with adhering leukocytes exhibited CDCF fluorescence enhancement. The level of hydroperoxide formation in arterioles and venules evoked by 60-min L-NAME superfusion was equivalent to that induced by the superfusion of approximately 880 microM tert-butyl hydroperoxide for 10 min. Pretreatment with anti-intracellular adhesion molecule-1, anti-P-selectin, or anti-CD18 monoclonal antibody attenuated L-NAME-elicited venular leukocyte adhesion without abolishing CDCF fluorescence in situ. Pretreatment with desferioxamine (50 mg/kg iv; 1 h before L-NAME superfusion) significantly diminished the iron-catalyzed hydroperoxide formation in arterioles and venules, but not in interstitial mast cells, as well as subsequent venular leukocyte adhesion. These findings indicate that endogenous nitric oxide may modulate oxidative stress in mast cells, arteriolar and venular microvascular endothelium and thereby can play a crucial role in leukocyte recruitment in venules.

Animals↗
PubMed1994

Impaired leukocyte-endothelial cell interaction in spontaneously hypertensive rats.

Hypertension is associated with a progressive organ injury whose etiology remains largely speculative. An increasing database shows that activated leukocytes, while affording an important immune protection, may be a contributing factor to several of the pathogenetic features of the hypertension syndrome. The purpose of this study was to determine the extent to which the glucocorticoid pathway may be involved in the atypical kinetics of leukocytes in spontaneously hypertensive rats (SHR) compared with normotensive Wistar-Kyoto (WKY) rats. The typical venular leukocyte adhesion induced by histamine application was significantly lower in SHR, and a comparison of normalized leukocyte rolling velocity (VWBC/VRBC) showed the values to be significantly higher in SHR relative to WKY controls. This abnormal trend in adherent leukocyte numbers and in VWBC/VRBC values could be counteracted when SHR were pretreated with RU 486, a synthetic glucocorticoid inhibitor, and restored to the levels observed in WKY rats. Anti-P-selectin monoclonal antibody (PB1.3) attenuated in SHR and WKY rats the increment of adherent leukocyte numbers as well as the decrement of VWBC/VRBC value that developed under combined histamine and RU 486 superfusion. Furthermore, an anti-intercellular adhesion molecule-1 monoclonal antibody (1A29) served to attenuate the increment of adherent leukocyte number induced by a combination of histamine and RU 486 superfusion in WKY rats and SHR. The results indicate that the deficient leukocyte-endothelial cell interaction in SHR can be circumvented by a glucocorticoid inhibitor.

Animals↗
PubMed1994

Transforming growth factor-beta 1 potentiated alpha 1-adrenergic and stretch-induced c-fos mRNA expression in rat myocardial cells.

Since transforming growth factor-beta 1 (TGF-beta 1) has been recently shown to be expressed in the heart by mechanical stretch and ischemic injury, we examined the modulation of c-fos mRNA expression and amino acid uptake by TGF-beta 1 in rat myocardial cells. Pretreatment with TGF-beta 1 potentiated norepinephrine (NE)-induced and stretch-induced (+10% and +20% elongation, for 30 minutes) c-fos mRNA expression by 2.2-fold, whereas TGF-beta 1 alone did not induce c-fos mRNA expression in Northern blot analysis. NE-induced [14C]phenylalanine uptake was also potentiated with TGF-beta 1 pretreatment. The effect of TGF-beta 1 on the NE action was not blocked by propranolol but by prazosin. The protein kinase C activators (12-O-tetradecanoylphorbol 13-acetate [TPA], phorbol 12,13-dibutyrate, and 1-oleyl-2-acetyl-rac-glycerol) induced c-fos mRNA expression, which was also potentiated by TGF-beta 1. Cycloheximide (protein synthesis inhibitor) could not suppress the TGF-beta 1 actions. In nonmuscle cells, TGF-beta 1 modified neither adrenergic nor TPA-induced c-fos mRNA expression. These data suggested that TGF-beta 1 potentiated the c-fos mRNA expression and amino acid incorporation by modification of the alpha 1-adrenergic and stretch-activated protein kinase C pathway. This mechanism did not require protein synthesis.

Amino Acids↗