[Case of hepatocellular carcinoma with an orbital metastasis as the initial symptom].
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Carcinoma, Hepatocellular↗
Biomedical subjects
M Wada
Publications and source records attributed to M Wada.
Discrepancy between PNMT presence and relative lack of adrenaline production in extra-adrenal pheochromocytoma.
Among catecholamine synthesizing enzymes, phenylethanolamine-N-methyltransferase (PNMT) exists only in adrenal and extra-adrenal pheochromocytoma has been believed not to produce adrenaline. However, adrenaline production is clinically active in some extra-adrenal cases. To investigate this controversy, the localization of catecholamine synthesizing enzymes was studied by immunohistochemical staining in extra-adrenal and adrenal cases. The results showed that PNMT was expressed not only in many cases of adrenal pheochromocytoma, but also in extra-adrenal pheochromocytoma. It is suspected that little adrenaline production in extra-adrenal cases is attributable to a lack of a good environment for the activation of PNMT by a high concentration of glucocorticoids.
Adrenal Gland Neoplasms↗
Molecular cloning of P-type ATPases on intracellular membranes of the marine alga Heterosigma akashiwo.
Two cDNA clones (HAA13 and HAA1) which include conserved regions of genes of P-type ATPases were isolated from the marine alga Heterosigma akashiwo by a method that included the polymerase chain reaction. The longer cDNA (3286 bp), HAA13, consisted of an open reading frame that encoded a 106 kDa polypeptide of 977 amino acids with several possible transmembrane domains and conserved regions of eukaryotic P-type ATPases. One transmembrane domain had a leucine zipper structure. HAA1 was not a full-length gene (2054 bp) and lacked the 5' region, but it also included the conserved regions and putative transmembrane domains. Antibodies against the regions and putative transmembrane domains. Antibodies against the polypeptides encoded by HAA13 and HAA1 that have been expressed in Escherichia coli reacted with 100 kDa and 95 kDa polypeptides, respectively, on intracellular membranes of H. akashiwo cells. Immunostaining of H. akashiwo cells revealed that the HAA13 antigen was distributed on membranes around chloroplasts and the HAA1 antigen was located on small vesicles.
Adenosine Triphosphatases↗
Anterior decompression and fusion for cervical myeloradiculopathy secondary to ossification of the posterior ligament.
The authors reviewed 85 patients who had undergone anterior decompression and cervical fusion for myeloradiculopathy due to ossification of the posterior longitudinal ligament. There were 72 males and 13 females; the average follow up was for 8.3 years. Sixteen patients (group I) underwent one vertebra subtotal spondylectomy with fusion, 58 (group II) two vertebra subtotal spondylectomy, and 11 (group III) three vertebra subtotal spondylectomy. Neurological recovery was assessed on the grading system of the Japanese Orthopaedic Association. The patients in group I had an average improvement of 75%, in group II 72% and in group III 23%. The severity of compromise of the spinal cord did not affect the postoperative improvement. Duration of disease, previous injury and advanced neurological symptoms all affected neurological recovery. Spondylectomy of at most two vertebrae, with fusion, is recommended for ossification of the posterior longitudinal ligament. If there is more extensive involvement laminoplasty may be indicated.
Cervical Vertebrae↗
Intraspinal epidermoid after lumbar puncture.
An intraspinal epidermoid tumour developed six years after a lumbar puncture in a woman aged 30 years. This rare complication possibly arose from implanted cutaneous tissue.
Adult↗
Characterization of insoluble macromolecular Sn(II) complex and its application to the 99mTc labeling of human serum albumin-bearing mercapto groups.
A chelating ion exchange resin containing aminophosphonic acid groups was used as a polymer matrix for the preparation of an insoluble macromolecular Sn(II)(R-Sn) complex. Sn(II), which strongly bound to the surface of the polymer matrix by chelation, retained the ability to reduce 99mTc in the R-Sn complex. Human serum albumin-bearing-mercapto groups (HMA) was labeled with 99mTc at pH 2-3 using the R-Sn complex or SnCl2 as reducing agent. The 99mTc-HMA labeled with the R-Sn complex resulted in a higher sustained level of radioactivity in the blood of mice than the 99mTc-HMA labeled with SnCl2. These results suggest that the use of the R-Sn complex minimized Sn(II) contamination of the 99mTc labeling solution and can be used effectively as a reducing agent for 99mTc labeling of proteins containing sulfhydryl groups.
Animals↗
Multi-gene family of major surface glycoproteins of Pneumocystis carinii: full-size cDNA cloning and expression.
The major surface glycoprotein (MSG) of Pneumocystis carinii plays a crucial role in the fatal pneumonia caused by this organism in AIDS patients. A cDNA encoding a full-length MSG polypeptide was isolated from a lambda library of rat-derived P. carinii cDNAs. The deduced MSG, referred to as the MSG5 subtype, is a 120,765-Da protein composed of 1,076 amino acids and contains an anchoring hydrophobic sequence at the C-terminus of the protein. Sequence analyses of cloned MSG-cDNAs revealed an MSG-gene family with approximately 70% protein sequence identity between subtypes. P. carinii karyotype hybridization analyses indicated that the MSG gene family members are scattered throughout most of the P. carinii chromosomes. These recombinant MSG proteins reacted with the antiserum from P. carinii-infected rats, as expected, and antiserum generated against P. carinii-infected mice, indicating the existence of common determinants in MSG polypeptides. The family of MSG proteins is rich in cysteine residues and these cysteines are highly conserved in all MSG subtypes regardless of species specificity, suggesting the structural and/or functional importance of these cysteines. The pathobiological significance of the MSG gene family and its sequence diversity in P. carinii is discussed.
Amino Acid Sequence↗
MSG gene cluster encoding major cell surface glycoproteins of rat Pneumocystis carinii.
The MSG genes of Pneumocystis carinii encode major cell surface glycoproteins of multi-gene families and play crucial roles in the pathobiology of P. carinii pneumocystosis. The 11,370-bp chromosomal DNA encoding MSG was cloned and sequenced. It contained three open reading frames in tandem repeat, MSG99, MSG100 and ORF-3. MSG99 and MSG100 shared 39% protein sequence identity and belonged to the same MSG family, regardless of the internal ca. 1,000-bp deletion in MSG99. ORF-3 encodes a putative 47,820-Da protein and had no sequence similarities to MSG molecules or any known proteins. However, the ORF-3 protein was rich in proline residues and highly hydrophilic except for the C-terminal region, which seemed to be an anchoring sequence in the cell membrane. Northern and Southern blot hybridization analyses revealed a 3-kb ORF-3 transcript as well as multiple DNA fragments carrying the MSG and ORF-3 sequences. These results strongly suggested that diverse MSG genes are clustered in tandem repeats and these clusters involve ORF-3. The possible association of ORF-3 protein in the cell membrane is discussed.
Amino Acid Sequence↗
Stability of YACs containing ribosomal or RCP/GCP locus DNA in wild-type S. cerevisiae and RAD mutant strains.
About 2% of human YAC clones, including tandemly repeated segments color vision pigment DNA, ribosomal DNA and alphoid DNA have been reported to be inherently unstable in yeast hosts, producing more stable deletion products. YACs containing color vision red pigment gene DNA or 1.5 rDNA tandem repeat units were transformed into hosts bearing lesions at the RAD1, RAD6, RAD51, or RAD52 loci. YACs susceptible to deletion during outgrowth of wild-type cells (or in preliminary experiments, in RAD6 transformants) were stable for up to 100 generations or more in the other strains. Thus both the RAD1 and RAD51/RAD52 epistatic pathways are apparently involved in the instability of YACs containing tandem repeat loci, presumably during recombination-based deletion formation; and a yeast host disarmed in these pathways will likely maintain YACs intact that are otherwise unstable.
Animals↗
Increased retention of small chromosomes in a novel yeast mutant.
MSC201 and MSC202 are novel yeast mutant strains in which a 10-kb linear yeast artificial chromosome (YAC) was stably maintained in unselective medium during mitotic cell division. After culturing for 35 cycles of cell division, about 50% of MSC cells retain YAC3 DNA, compared to 0.001% of the wild-type AB1380 strain. Southern blot hybridization analysis with pBR322 DNA as the probe showed that in the MSC transformants, YAC DNA remained in a linear form free of cellular chromosomal DNA. The msc201 mutation was shown to be recessive by the rapid loss of the YAC in a diploid strain made by mating with AB1375, which has a genetic background similar to that of the MSC strain. Linear YAC DNA with a centromere was stabilized in MSC201 better than a linear construct lacking a centromere sequence.
Chromosomes, Artificial, Yeast↗
Identification and characterization of a family of genes for the plasma membrane H(+)-ATPase of Oryza sativa L.
A cDNA clone (cOSA2) encoding a plasma membrane H(+)-ATPase was isolated from rice. Southern blot analysis indicated that the genes that corresponds to cOSA2 was different from that to cOSA1. Northern blots revealed OSA2 mRNA in roots, calli and shoots. OSA1 transcripts were detected only by RT-PCR in these tissues.
Amino Acid Sequence↗
A Mucor pusillus mutant defective in asparagine-linked glycosylation.
A Mucor pusillus mutant defective in asparagine-linked glycosylation was found in our stock cultures. This mutant, designated 1116, secreted aspartic proteinase (MPP) in a less-glycosylated form than that secreted by the wild-type strain. Analysis of enzyme susceptibility, lectin binding, and carbohydrate composition indicated that this mutant secreted three glycoforms of MPPs, one of which contained no carbohydrate; the other two had truncated asparagine-linked oligosaccharide chains such as Man0-1GlcNAc2. Further analysis using oligosaccharide processing inhibitors, such as castanospermine, 1-deoxynojirimycin and N-methyldeoxynojirimycin, suggested that MPPs in the mutant were glycosylated through a transfer of the truncated lipid-linked oligosaccharides, Man0-1GlcNAc2, to the MPP protein but not through an aberrant processing. In addition, genetic studies with forced primary heterokaryons indicated that the mutation in strain 1116 was recessive.
1-Deoxynojirimycin↗
Transconjunctival and transantral approaches are combined with antral wall bone graft to repair orbital floor blow-out fractures.
Orbital floor blow-out fractures in two patients were surgically repaired. The transconjunctival approach alone was unsuccessful in freeing the entrapped orbital contents, so the transantral approach with the use of antral wall bone graft was also used. The combined approaches produced good results. The transconjunctival approach supplemented with the transantral approach and bone graft may be a useful technique in the repair of orbital floor blow-out fractures.
Adolescent↗
An improved method for the purification of human erythropoietin with high in vivo activity from the urine of anemic patients.
An improved method for the purification of human erythropoietin with high in vivo activity from urine was developed. This method involved ion-exchange, gel permeation, affinity chromatography, and reverse-phase chromatography but did not involve any stabilizing procedures. The purified human urinary erythropoietin showed a single broad band with a molecular weight between 37000 and 39000 Da on sodium dodecyl sulfate polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis, and had an in vivo specific activity of 160000 IU/mg comparable to that of human erythropoietin produced in recombinant Chinese hamster ovary cells. We found that omission of the phenol treatment and ethanol precipitation which are usually used in the purification of human urinary erythropoietin greatly improved the biological activity of the final product. Phenol treatment followed by ethanol precipitation did not affect the amino acid composition but decreased the apparent molecular weight and N-acetylglucosamine content of human urinary erythropoietin. These findings suggest that phenol treatment followed by ethanol precipitation does not restore erythropoietin with high branched sugar chains which would have high in vivo specific activity as reported previously (M. Takeuchi, et al. (1989) Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. U.S.A., 86, 7819-7822).
Anemia↗
[Relationship between bacteria decomposing organic substances and water pollution in river water].
In order to clarify the relationship between water pollution and bacteria decomposing organic substances, 48 samples of river water were collected at twelve stations of the Chikuma-Sai river system. The bacteria decomposing organic substances were enumerated and identified by GM plates, which contained fewer organic substances than agar plates. Sixteen biological-physicochemical examinations of the river water were also performed. The results were as follows: temperature and dissolved oxygen in river water influenced the number of bacteria decomposing organic substances; proportions of bacteria decomposing degradable organic substances were higher in summer and spring than those in winter and autumn; the proportions of bacteria decomposing undegradable organic substances were higher in winter and autumn than those in other seasons. Organic substances were decomposed mainly by Aeromonas, a coliform group of facultatively anaerobic Gram-negative rods, and Pseudomonas, Gram-negative aerobic rods. Organic substances decomposed by facultatively anaerobic Gram-negative rods were much more degradable than those decomposed by Gram-negative aerobic rods. It seemed that the bacterial population of Aeromonas and the coliform group in river water increased with increases in the effluent of domestic and sewage abundant in degradable organic substances. Although Gram-positive rods were hardly isolated from river water, most of them decomposed undegradable organic substances. These results suggest that most bacteria decomposing organic substances are mainly distributed in river water and soil, and that modification of the river environment influences self-purification of rivers.
Bacteria↗
Effects of dietary casein and soy-protein on metabolic conversion of eicosapentaenoic acid to docosahexaenoic acid in the liver of rat.
The differential effects of dietary proteins on the metabolic process of eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA, 20:5n-3) via docosapentaenoic acid (DPA, 22:5n-3) to docosahexaenoic acid (DHA, 22:6n-3) were studied using parameters calculated from the proportion of n-3 polyenoic acid in liver phospholipid (PL) of rats. Rats were given casein or soy-protein isolate (SPI) diet containing 3% EPA with or without methionine (Met) supplementation for 3 weeks. The (22:5 + 22:6)/20:5 and 22:5/20:5 ratios of the PL fractions in the liver of rats given SPI were evidently elevated compared with those given casein. These ratios were also elevated when linoleic acid (LA, 18:2n-6) was added to the diet. There were no significant differences in the 22:6/22:5 ratio of the same PL fractions between the casein and SPI groups without the addition of LA, but the ratio was lowered by the addition of LA. It was found that these parameters for metabolic conversion were not affected by supplementation of Met or by a decrease in body weight. The above results suggest that the elongation step from EPA to DPA is affected by the type of protein, i.e., it is accelerated by SPI and is not affected by the presence of LA, while the metabolic process from DPA to DHA is not affected by the type of proteins without the addition of LA but is suppressed when LA is added.
Animals↗
[Glucose intolerance during interferon therapy in patients with chronic hepatitis type C].
A new side effect of interferon (IFN) therapy, glucose intolerance was investigated using insulin-clamp study. In 75 g oral glucose tolerance tests before and after the IFN therapy showed no significant difference, whereas clamp study showed a significant decrease of glucose disposal. Our data suggested that insulin resistance was the main reason for glucose intolerance observed during INF therapy in the patients with chronic active hepatitis C. Early detection and strict control of glucose intolerance could avoid the progress of glucose intolerance.
Chronic Disease↗
[Investigation on the treatment of infection due to Mycobacterium Kansasii].
Mycobacterium kansasii infection responds well to antituberculous drugs, and in the initial phase of treatment, many patients with M. kansasii infection are regarded as tuberculosis. This study was carried out to know whether the regimen of chemotherapy be continued or changed after the confirmation of diagnosis as M. kansasii infection. The treatment result of 107 cases with M. kansasii infection of the lung encountered at Fukujuji Hospital was compared with that of pulmonary tuberculosis. Sputum culture of all patients treated with drug regimens containing RFP converted to negative within 3 months after starting chemotherapy, while sputum culture of many patients treated with regimens not containing RFP converted to negative 4 months or later after the start of chemotherapy. Hence, the effectiveness of RFP in treating M. kansasii infection was confirmed. Among 65 patients with no relapse during a follow-up period of at least one year after the completion of chemotherapy, 58 patients (89.2%) were treated with drug regimens containing INH and RFP, and the treatment of 40 patients (61.5%) was finished within 12 months. Among three patients deteriorated during chemotherapy or relapsed within one year after the completion of chemotherapy, two patients were treated with drug regimens containing RFP and one of them had serious complications. The chemotherapy regimen for tuberculosis is considered to be sufficient for the initial treatment of pulmonary disease caused by M. kansasii.
Adult↗