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Biomedical subjects

N Nagao

Publications and source records attributed to N Nagao.

At least 73 records · Page 4Linked to original sources

Plasma plasmin inhibitors in Duchenne-type progressive muscular dystrophy.

In our previous research, we found that the level of the plasminogen activity in the plasma from Duchenne-type patients with progressive muscular dystrophy was higher than of the normal boys, though the level of the plasmin inhibitors was lower. Therefore, in the present study, we investigated the differences in the fractions of plasmin inhibitors. The subjects were nine patients (the average age being 17.1 years) who had been diagnosed, by clinical and biochemical tests, as having PMD; serving as controls were normal boys (the average age being 15 years), the patients' mothers, and the mothers of the normal boys. The plasmin inhibitors were separated from plasma using lysine-Sepharose columns according to the method of Urita et al. The determination was performed based on the method of Aoyagi et al. and an immunoreactive assay. The results were as follows: (1) No significant differences were seen between patients with PMD and control subjects with respect to either alpha 1-antichymotrypsin, antithrombin III, and alpha 1-antitrypsin or alpha 2-macroglobulin and inter-alpha-trypsin inhibitors. These results suggested that the low level of plasmin inhibitors in patients was due to the low activity of the C1 inactivator. (2) The patients with PMD showed lower values than the normal boys in the levels of C1 inactivator in plasma; similarly, the mothers of these patients showed lower values than the normal mothers.

Adolescent↗

[Fluctuations in pulmonary fibrin decomposing activities (plasmin and non-plasmin activities) in an endotoxin DIC model in rats].

Non-plasmin fibrinolysis enzyme was extracted from the lung and spleen of conventional rats (Thrombos. Haemostas., 1979), although the enzyme was not found in germfree rats, suggesting the possibility that the enzyme may participate in the defence mechanism of the body. The present study was made in an attempt to determine the behavior of non-plasmin fibrinolysis enzyme of the lung tissue in the DIC model of conventional rats induced by a single injection of bacterial endotoxin. The plasminogen-activator activity of the lung tissue, and the fibrinogen level, platelet count, urea nitrogen and plasminogen-activator activity in the blood were also measured. Examination of the lung tissue in the DIC rats indicated a remarkable increase in non-plasmin fibrinolysis activity and a disappearance of plasminogen-activator activity. Inhibitor studies using t-AMCHA and DFP demonstrated that the increased non-plasmin fibrinolysis activity was not derived from activated plasmin, but from serine protease. The disappearance of plasminogen-activator activity in the lung and increase of plasminogen-activator activity in the blood suggested a release of the activator from the lung into the blood due to the endotoxin injection.

Animals↗

In vitro induction of HLA-restricted cytotoxic T lymphocytes against autologous Epstein-Barr Virus transformed B lymphoblastoid cell line.

Cytotoxic T lymphocytes (CTL) against autologous EBV-transformed B lymphoblastoid cell line (LCL) were induced in vitro by culturing peripheral blood lymphocytes (PBL) of healthy donors together with mitomycin C-treated autologous LCL for 6 days. The cytotoxic cells developed only from the E-rosette-positive fraction but not from the negative fraction of PBL. These CTL killed autologous LCL but not PWM-stimulated autologous PBL. In addition, the CTL killed allogeneic LCL when at least 1 of the HLA-A antigens was identical with that of the LCL of CTL donor. However, identity of HLA-B and HLA-C antigens was not enough for a significant killing of allogeneic LCL. The specificity of the CTL was also confirmed by a cold target inhibition test. These results indicated that the CTL induced specifically recognized EBV-transformed cells with HLA restriction.

Animals↗