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Biomedical subjects

M Yoshida

Publications and source records attributed to M Yoshida.

At least 19 recordsLinked to original sources
PubMed1992

A DNA fragment homologous to F1-ATPase beta subunit was amplified from genomic DNA of Methanosarcina barkeri. Indication of an archaebacterial F-type ATPase.

A 490 bp DNA fragment was amplified from Methanosarcina barkeri genomic DNA by the polymerase chain reaction (PCR) using oligonucleotide primers designed based on conserved amino acid sequences of the F1-ATPase beta subunits. The amino acid sequence deduced from the DNA sequence of this fragment was highly homologous to a portion of the F1-ATPase beta subunit. This indicates that this archaebacterium has a gene of F-type ATPase in addition to a gene of V-type ATPase.

Amino Acid Sequence↗
PubMed1992

Potent and specific inhibition of p60v-src protein kinase both in vivo and in vitro by radicicol.

A fungal metabolite, radicicol, with a macrocyclic ring induced the reversal of transformed phenotypes of v-src-transformed fibroblasts (Rous sarcoma virus-transformed 3Y1 rat fibroblast) at a quite low concentration of 0.1 microgram/ml. Actin stress fibers reappeared in the transformed cells after treatment with radicicol. Radicicol reduced the intracellular level of autophosphorylation of p60v-src as well as the level of other tyrosine-phosphorylated proteins in a dose-dependent manner. In vitro kinase assay revealed that radicicol effectively inhibited not only autophosphorylation but also transphosphorylation activities of purified p60v-src with a concentration producing 50% inhibition of 0.1 microgram/ml. However, radicicol showed no inhibitory effect on protein kinase C or protein kinase A. These results suggest that radicicol is a novel and specific protein-tyrosine kinase inhibitor and that the decreased level of tyrosine kinase activity of p60v-src causes reversion of transformed phenotypes of Rous sarcoma virus-transformed 3Y1 rat fibroblast. Furthermore, differentiation of Friend leukemia cells, which is one of the known characteristic phenomena associated with the inhibition of tyrosine kinase, was also induced in the concentration range of 0.05-0.5 microgram/ml, suggesting that the agent is useful for the analysis of differentiation as well as the kinase-mediated signal transduction.

Animals↗
PubMed1992

L-threo-3,4-dihydroxyphenylserine, a noradrenaline precursor, inhibits dopamine release and metabolism in the rat striatum in vivo.

The effect of L-threo-3,4-dihydroxyphenylserine (L-threo-DOPS) on dopamine (DA) release and metabolism in the striatum was studied in freely moving rats by intracerebral microdialysis techniques. The DA level as well as the levels of 3,4-dihydroxyphenylacetic acid and homovanillic acid were significantly decreased 140 min after the administration of L-threo-DOPS (50 mg/kg intraperitoneally). The results suggest that L-threo-DOPS inhibits the release and metabolism of DA in the striatum.

Animals↗
PubMed1992

Elevated expression of the ornithine decarboxylase gene in human esophageal cancer.

The mechanisms involved in sustaining the high levels of ornithine decarboxylase (ODC) activity in human cancers are not well defined. We examined the level of expression of ODC mRNA together with ODC activity in surgically excised human cancers, including esophagus, stomach, colon, and liver tumors, the objective being to determine whether the ODC mRNA level correlates with enhancement of ODC activity in these cancers. Among these tumors, the esophageal cancers had the highest ODC activity (120 +/- 43.9 pmol of CO2/h/mg of protein), compared with the stomach (37.6 +/- 13.7), colon (22.8 +/- 5.9), and liver (10.2 +/- 5.6) cancers. A remarkable increase in ODC mRNA was seen in all of the esophageal cancers. The ratio of ODC mRNA in the tumors, relative to the paired normal tissues, was 14.6 +/- 3.7. Some increase was noted in some of the stomach (2.9 +/- 0.9) and colon (2.1 +/- 0.9) cancers, but there was no increase in the liver tumors (0.9 +/- 0.2). A significant correlation was noted between ODC activity and mRNA expression in cancerous and noncancerous tissues of the esophagus, stomach, and colon, thereby suggesting that increased steady-state mRNA may be responsible for the high ODC activity in these tumors. Southern blot analysis of the DNA from the esophageal cancers revealed no amplification or significant rearrangement of the gene. Mechanisms sustaining high ODC mRNA levels in esophageal cancers may be an enhancement of the promoter activity of this gene or stabilization of the mRNA.

Blotting, Northern↗
PubMed1992

Quercetin arrests human leukemic T-cells in late G1 phase of the cell cycle.

The effect of quercetin, a flavonoid found in many plants, on the proliferation of human leukemic T-cells was analyzed. Quercetin reversibly blocked the cell cycle at a point 3-6 h before the start of DNA synthesis. Expression of the growth-related genes histone H4, cyclin A and B, and p34cdc2 was suppressed in cells blocked with quercetin. Comparison of the quercetin arrest points with those of the cell cycle inhibitors aphidicolin and mimosine revealed a temporal order of arrest points in G1 of quercetin, mimosine, and aphidicolin. Mimosine and aphidicolin did not inhibit the expression of cyclin A or p34cdc2, whereas all three reagents inhibited expression of cyclin B. Low concentrations of the protein inhibitor cycloheximide inhibited release of the quercetin but not the mimosine or aphidicolin block. A [35S]methionine-labeled M(r) 60,000 protein disappeared in quercetin-treated cells and was rapidly synthesized after removal of quercetin, suggesting the possibility that the M(r) 60,000 protein induces DNA synthesis after the cell is released from a quercetin block. These results suggest the usefulness of quercetin in studies of the regulation of late G1 phase.

Aphidicolin↗
PubMed1992

Platelet-derived growth factor gene expression in cultured human retinal pigment epithelial cells.

Gene expression of platelet-derived growth factor (PDGF) and its receptors in cultured human retinal pigment epithelial (RPE) cells was studied by using semiquantitative polymerase chain reaction. The RPE cells were found to express PDGF A- and B-chain genes as well as alpha- and beta-receptor genes with dominant expression of B-chain and beta-receptor isoforms. Phorbol myristate acetate (PMA) and thrombin increased the expression of PDGF B-chain gene to 19.8 +/- 1.75 and 15.9 +/- 1.84 fold (n = 3) of the control without affecting beta-receptor gene expression. PDGF produced by the RPE cells may play an important role in the pathogenesis of some ocular proliferative diseases.

Base Sequence↗
PubMed1992

Effects of phorbol ester on lower urinary tract smooth muscles in rabbits.

The contractile effects of phorbol 12,13-dibutyrate (PDBu) on rabbit urinary bladder dome and urethra were investigated using muscle bath techniques. PDBu caused concentration-dependent contractions in both tissues, and these responses were not affected by pretreatment with atropine, phentolamine, hexamethonium or indomethacin. In both tissues, 1-(5-isoquinolinyl-sulfonyl)-2-methylpiperazine (H-7), a potent inhibitor of protein kinase C (PKC), inhibited PDBu-induced contractions in a concentration-dependent manner. The maximum PDBu-induced contractions in bladder dome and urethra were 33.5 +/- 3.4 and 33.3 +/- 4.1% of KCl-induced maximum contractions, respectively. In Ca(2+)-free solution or after pretreatment with nifedipine (10(-6) M), PDBu-induced contractions were reduced but not completely abolished. Although pretreatment with PDBu (10(-8) M) did not have a significant effect on the contractile responses induced by carbachol (in bladder dome) and phenylephrine (in urethra), pretreatment with H-7 (100 microM) had an inhibitory effect on carbachol- and phenylephrine-induced contractions; tonic phase contractions were more sensitive than phasic contractions. These results indicate that PDBu has significant contractile effects in rabbit bladder dome and urethra, and that the effects may be partly mediated by activation of PKC. PKC activation might also contribute to agonist-induced contractile responses in these tissues.

1-(5-Isoquinolinesulfonyl)-2-Methylpiperazine↗
PubMed1992

Attenuation of the inhibitory effect of dynorphin on dopamine release in the rat nucleus accumbens by repeated treatment with methamphetamine.

Dynorphin (1-100 nM) dose dependently inhibited both spontaneous and electrically evoked endogenous dopamine (DA) release from slices of the nucleus accumbens of untreated rats. When this inhibitory effect was compared, it was significantly reduced in rats pretreated (for 9 days) with methamphetamine (6 mg/kg per day i.p.) relative to rats treated with saline. These findings indicate that dynorphin inhibits DA release from the nucleus accumbens, and that treatment with methamphetamine reduces the modulatory action of dynorphin on DA release. It is possible that repeated administration of methamphetamine leads to attenuation of the inhibition of DA release from the nucleus accumbens via presynaptic dynorphin-sensitive receptors.

Animals↗
PubMed1992

Tumor necrosis factor-alpha gene is expressed in stimulated retinal pigment epithelial cells in culture.

Expression of TNF-alpha gene in the retinal pigment epithelial (RPE) cells was studied by using polymerase chain reaction (PCR). PCR for human TNF-alpha gene using complementary DNA (cDNA) of control RNA prepared from non-stimulated RPE cells failed to show expression of TNF-alpha gene. However, PCR by using cDNA prepared from interleukin-1 beta (IL-1 beta)-stimulated RPE cells revealed expression of the gene, suggesting in vivo production of TNF-alpha from RPE cells in response to IL-1 beta.

Base Sequence↗
PubMed1992

Hyperthermia enhances the inhibition of tumor growth by 1-(2-tetrahydrofuryl)-5-fluorouracil/uracil (1:4) in tumors in mice and humans.

The cytotoxicity of several antitumor drugs is enhanced by hyperthermia (HT). Using mouse Sarcoma-180 (S-180) tumors, the authors examined the effects of 5-fluorouracil (5-FU) and a combined oral preparation of 1-(2-tetrahydrofuryl)-5-fluorouracil (FT) and uracil in a molar ratio of 1:4 (UFT), in combination with HT. The antitumor effect of 5-FU was not enhanced significantly by HT. Growth inhibition by UFT plus HT was significantly greater than that by UFT alone, whereas inhibition by UFT alone was significantly greater than that by 5-FU. The intracellular metabolism of 5-FU and FT in whole homogenates of S-180 cells, human tumor cell lines (SC-2 and Lu-99), and five fresh human tumor tissues also was investigated. Conversion of FT to 5-FU, phosphorylation, and degradation of 5-FU were assayed with [3H]FT or [3H]5-FU, and the products were separated by thin-layer chromatography. The conversion of FT to 5-FU and the phosphorylation of 5-FU were more rapid at 43 degrees C than at 37 degrees C, whereas the degradation of 5-FU to 2-fluoro-beta-alanine remained unchanged. This acceleration of the active metabolism of FT and 5-FU may be one explanation for the enhanced effect of UFT by HT.

Animals↗
PubMed1992

Glycoprotein-binding site of dystrophin is confined to the cysteine-rich domain and the first half of the carboxy-terminal domain.

Dystrophin, a protein product of the Duchenne muscular dystrophy gene, is thought to associate with the muscle membrane by way of a glycoprotein complex which was co-purified with dystrophin. Here, we firstly demonstrate direct biochemical evidence for association of the carboxy-terminal region of dystrophin with the glycoprotein complex. The binding site is found to lie further inward than previously expected and confined to the cysteine-rich domain and the first half of the carboxy-terminal domain. Since this portion corresponds well to the region that, when missing, results in severe phenotypes, our finding may provide a molecular basis of the disease.

Amino Acid Sequence↗
PubMed1992

Molecular dissection of the beta subunit of F1-ATPase into peptide fragments.

Partial digestion of the native beta subunit of F1-ATPase from the thermophilic Bacillus strain PS3 by three different proteases produced a limited number of peptide fragments. In most cases, the peptides remained associated, and the gross structure of the beta subunit was not destroyed. Furthermore, most peptides were able to reassociate into the form of the beta subunit after denaturating urea treatment. Therefore, the cleaved sites are most likely located in water-exposed loop regions in the tertiary structure of the protein. Almost all peptides were analyzed, and 17 cleaved sites were determined. From the analysis of the distribution of cleaved sites and deletions or insertions in the multiple amino acid sequence alignment of proteins homologous to the beta subunit, locations of five loops and four candidate loops in the beta subunit are suggested. There are two large loops in the central region of the beta subunit sequence, and dicyclohexylcarbodiimide-reactive Glu190 is located in one of them. Tyr341, involved in putative catalytic ATP binding, is also found in one of the loops. Then, taking cleaved sites as a reference, two kinds of expression plasmids, each of which carried genes of two complementary peptide fragments, 1-193 and 198-473 or 1-284 and 285-473, were constructed and expressed in Escherichia coli. For each plasmid, two peptides were coexpressed, associated into a stable beta subunit form in E. coli cells, and purified without dissociation. When these beta subunits were denatured by urea and applied to polyacrylamide gel without denaturant, a protein band with the same mobility as that of the beta subunit appeared, indicating that reassociation of peptide fragments into the form of the beta subunit occurred upon removal of urea. These beta subunits retained the ability to reconstitute the alpha 3 beta 3 gamma complexes even though the efficiency of reconstitution and the recovered ATPase activities were decreased. These complexes were stable at high or low temperature, and ATPase activities were sensitive to inhibition by N3-.

Amino Acid Sequence↗
PubMed1992

Frequent clonal proliferation of human T-cell leukemia virus type 1 (HTLV-1)-infected T cells in HTLV-1-associated myelopathy (HAM-TSP).

Human T-cell leukemia virus type 1 (HTLV-1) integrates its proviruses into random sites in host chromosomal DNA. Random integration of the proviruses was observed in asymptomatic HTLV-1 carriers and patients with HTLV-1-associated myelopathy (HAM/TSP). However, clonal integration has been reported in patients with adult T-cell leukemia (ATL), including that in the smoldering, chronic, and acute states, indicating clonal expansion of infected cells. In this study, we found that about 20% of HAM/TSP patients and their seropositive family members harbored subpopulation(s) of clonally proliferated cells infected with HTLV-1, although they still maintained randomly infected cells as a major population. These clones were stable during examination periods of 4 months to 3 years. However, these carriers or HAM/TSP patients did not show any significant indication of ATL. This extremely high frequency of clonal expansion of HTLV-1-infected cells indicates that some clones of HTLV-1-infected cells have a tendency to proliferate more efficiently than the other population without malignant transformation.

Cell Division↗
PubMed1992

The ES-242s, novel N-methyl-D-aspartate antagonists of microbial origin, interact with both the neurotransmitter recognition site and the ion channel domain.

ES-242-1 approximately 5 are novel microbial bioxanthracenes which do not contain nitrogen. The ES-242s inhibited the binding of [3H]TCP and [3H]CGS19755 to the N-methyl-D-aspartate (NMDA) receptor complex. They had no effect on the binding of the specific ligands for the non-NMDA receptor. The biochemical and pharmacological properties of ES-242-1 were fully examined since it is the most potent of the five compounds. ES-242-1 is highly specific for the NMDA receptor; it has no effect on other receptors. Kinetic analyses indicated that ES-242-1 inhibited the binding of [3H]TCP and [3H]CGS19755 in a competitive manner, respectively, suggesting that ES-242-1 interacts with both the transmitter recognition site and the channel domain. ES-242-1 selectively inhibited NMDA-induced Ca2+ influx in primary cultures of mouse hippocampal neurons. ES-242-1 also specifically blocked the increase in cyclic GMP accumulation induced by NMDA or L-glutamate in rat cerebellar slices. In a concentration range of 0.1-1.0 microM, ES-242-1 was as potent as MK-801 in preventing glutamate-induced neurotoxicity in primary cultures of mouse hippocampal neurons. These results show that ES-242-1 is a potent and specific antagonist for the NMDA receptor. The antagonistic properties of the ES-242s appear to be due to a novel mechanism of action at the NMDA receptor.

Animals↗
PubMed1992

Synthesis of the methyl thioglycosides of deoxy-N-acetyl-neuraminic acids for use as glycosyl donors.

Methyl 2-thioglycoside derivatives of 4-, 7-, 8-, and 9-deoxy-N-acetylneuraminic acids have been prepared as glycosyl donors for the synthesis of sialoglycoconjates. Reduction of a (phenoxy)thiocarbonyl group, selectively introduced at the 4 position of methyl [2-(trimethylsilyl)ethyl 5-acetamido-3,5-dideoxy-8,9-O-isopropylidene-D- glycero-alpha-D-galacto-2-nonulopyranosid]onate (1), gave the 4-deoxy compound, which was transformed via O-deisopropylidenation, acetylation, selective removal of the 2-(trimethylsilyl)ethyl group, subsequent acetylation, and displacement of the 2-acetoxy group by a methylthio group, into methyl (methyl 5-acetamido-7,8,9-tri-O-acetyl-3,4,5-trideoxy-2-thio-D-manno-2- nonulopyranosid)onate (17). Methyl [2-(trimethylsilyl)ethyl 5-acetamido-8,9-di-O-acetyl-4-O-benzoyl- 3,5,7-trideoxy-alpha-D-galacto-2-nonulopyranosid]onate, prepared from 1 in five steps, and methyl [2-(trimethylsilyl)ethyl 5-acetamido-4,7,9-tri-O-acetyl-3,5,8-trideoxy-alpha-D-galacto-2- nonulopyranosid]onate, prepared from 1 in six steps, were converted via selective removal of the 2-(trimethylsilyl)ethyl group, O-acetylation, and displacement of the 2-acetoxy group by a methylthio group as described for 17, into the corresponding methyl 7- and 8-deoxy-2-thioglycosides. Reductive dechlorination of methyl [2-(trimethylsilyl)ethyl 5-acetamido-4,7-di-O-benzoyl-9-chloro-3,5,9-trideoxy-D-glycero-alpha-D-g alacto- 2-nonulopyranosid]onate, prepared from methyl [2-(trimethylsilyl)ethyl 5-acetamido-3,5-dideoxy-D-glycero-alpha-D-galacto-2-nonulopyranosid++ +]onate by selective 9-O-tert-butyldimethylsilylation, benzoylation, removal of the 9-silyl group, and selective chlorination, gave a 9-deoxy compound. This was transformed, via O-debenzoylation, O-acetylation, selective removal of the 2(trimethylsilyl)ethyl group, 2-O-acetylation, 2-chlorination, displacement with potassium thioacetate, selective S-deacetylation, and S-methylation, into the methyl 2-thio-alpha-glycoside of 9-deoxy-N-acetylneuraminic acid.

Carbohydrate Conformation↗
PubMed1992

Synthesis of a series of ganglioside GM3 analogs containing a deoxy-N-acetylneuraminic acid residue.

Ganglioside GM3 analogs containing 4-, 7-, 8-, and 9-deoxy-N-acetylneuraminic acids in the place of N-acetylneuraminic acid (Neu5Ac) have been synthesized. Glycosylation of 2-(trimethylsilyl)ethyl O-(6-O-benzoyl-beta-D-galactopyranosyl)-(1----4)-2,6-di- O-benzoyl-beta-D-glucopyranoside with the methyl 2-thioglycoside derivatives of the respective deoxy-N-acetylneuraminic acids, using dimethyl(methylthio)sulfonium triflate as a promoter, gave the four required 2-(trimethylsilyl)ethyl alpha-sialosyl-(2----3b)-beta-lactosides. These were converted via O-acetylation, selective removal of the 2-(trimethylsilyl)ethyl group, and subsequent imidate formation, into the corresponding alpha-sialosyl-(2----3b)-alpha-lactose trichloroacetimidates 15, 17, 19, and 21. Glycosylation of (2S,3R,4E)-2-azido-3-O-benzoyl-4-octadecene-1,3-diol with 15, 17, 19, and 21 in the presence of boron trifluoride etherate afforded the expected beta glycosides, which were transformed in good yields, via selective reduction of the azido group, coupling with octadecanoic acid, O-deacylation, and de-esterification, into the target compounds.

Carbohydrate Conformation↗