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Biomedical subjects

N Akao

Publications and source records attributed to N Akao.

10 recordsLinked to original sources

[A survey of intestinal parasites of the foreign laborers (Indonesians and Filipinos) in Ishikawa Prefecture].

A survey of intestinal parasites was conducted on 198 foreign workers aged 19-27 from Inodonesia and Philippines. They work for a private company in Ishikawa Prefecture as technical trainee. On the base of stool examination, 94 (71%) out of 133 Indonesians and 48 (74%) of 65 Filipinos had intestinal helminths and/or protozoan infections. The prevalence of Ascaris lumbricoides, Trichuris trichura and Hookworm was 4.5, 64.1, 10.6%, respectively. In addition, the positive rate of the cyst of Entamoeba coli, Endolimax nana, Blastocystis hominis and Giardia lumblia was 11.1, 5.6, 4.5 and 2.0%, respectively. No E. histolytica was found; however, counter current immunoelectrophoresis revealed that one out of 112 sera possessed the antibody against the antigen of HK-9 strain of E. histolytica. Sixty-three cases of trichuriasis were treated with mebendazole at a dose of 200 mg/day x 3 consecutive days. Re-examination revealed that 53 (85.5%) of them were cured.

Adult

Immunoblot analysis of Dirofilaria immitis recognized by infected humans.

To help to develop better diagnostic tests for zoonotic pulmonary dirofilariasis, seven patients with histologically confirmed pulmonary dirofilariasis were evaluated using the immunoblot technique. Six patients exhibited a response to the excretory-secretory (AS) antigen proteins with molecular weights of 20-19.5, 17.5-17 and 14 derived from Dirofilaria immitis adult works. However, when adult worm extracts were used as the antigen, there was no qualitative difference in antigen recognition between the Dirofilaria patients, other patients with non-filarial parasitic infections or with lung cancer or tuberculosis, and normal individuals. All the sera, not only those of the Dirofilaria patients but also those of the non-filarial patients and the controls, strongly cross-reacted with the 18-kDa ES antigen. These findings suggest that the ES antigen of D. immitis provides a more sensitive antigen than does the adult somatic antigen; but the ES antigen and the adult somatic antigen have a common antigenic band at 18 kDa.

Adult

Immunoblot analysis of serum IgG, IgA and IgE responses against larval excretory-secretory antigens of Anisakis simplex in patients with gastric anisakiasis.

To increase our understanding of the immune response to Anisakis infection, antigen specific IgG, IgA and IgE responses were identified using an immunoblot technique after polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis of excretory-secretory products from the larval stage of Anisakis simplex. Nine sera were drawn from proven cases of gastric anisakiasis within 3 days after symptoms had developed. The molecular weight of the major antigenic bands were distributed between 50 kDa and 120 kDa of the antigens. In nine cases of gastric anisakiasis, three of them were positive for IgG response, five for IgE, and six for IgA, respectively. None of control sera recognized the antigenic bands in IgA and IgE responses. In contrast, two controls had IgG antibodies against 1-2 proteins in the 65-95 kDa region. The antigenicity of the excretory-secretory products was lost following treatment by 0.2% trypsin, but not by 0.2 M periodic acid. Based on the results of reactivity to lectins, antigenic bands of the ES products possessed mucin type glycoconjugate residues in their protein portion. This indicates that the humoral responses of IgA and IgE antibodies to the larval ES antigens are a more reliable index of infection than that of the IgG response.

Adult

A human case of zoonotic onchocerciasis in Japan.

A 2-year-old girl living in southwestern Japan had a nodule of 2 months' duration on the left foot. A biopsy from the lesion showed transverse sections of a worm surrounded by granulomatous tissue. The worm was identified as an Onchocerca sp. from the morphological characteristics such as relatively thick cuticles, annular ridges on the cortical layer, and high somatic muscles. Positive serological tests using ELISA for Onchocerca gutturosa and Onchocerca volvulus supported the diagnosis. This was the first case of zoonotic Onchocerca infection detected in Japan. The clinicopathological aspects of zoonotic onchocerciasis of this case were discussed.

Child, Preschool

[Antigenic recognition of rats infected with Gnathostoma hispidum: comparison of antigens derived from the advanced third stage larvae of Gnathostoma hispidum and Gnathostoma doloresi].

To increase understanding of immune response of host against G. hispidum, antigenic recognition of rodent gnathostomiasis were identified by the immunoblot method after PAGE of the advanced third stage larvae of G. hispidum and G. doloresi. The molecular weight of the major antigenic bands of G. hispidum extracts were 35 kDa and 16 kDa, and of G. doloresi were 48 kDa, 37 kDa and 35 kDa. Of these bands, the 35 kDa antigen of G. hispidum and G. doloresi was recognized with the sera of rats infected with G. hispidum 5 weeks after inoculation. Lecting staining with endoglycosidase-H or hydrolytic degradation on nitrocellulose strips revealed that the 35 kDa band of G. hispidum possessed the mannose-rich oligosaccharides. On the other hand, the band of G. doloresi had the hybrid-type glycopeptides. The larval extracts and excretory-secretory materials of G. hispidum were not antigenitically identical.

Animals