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Biomedical subjects

N Nishi

Publications and source records attributed to N Nishi.

At least 163 records · Page 9Linked to original sources

[The combined effect of bromocriptine and clomiphene citrate on normoprolactinemic anovulation; the lack of effectiveness of clomiphene citrate treatment alone].

The purpose of this study is to investigate the combined effect of bromocriptine and clomiphene citrate (Cl) treatment on 35 patients with normoprolactinemic amenorrhea who failed to respond to Cl alone. Ovulation was restored by this treatment in 20 of these patients (57.1%), and the pregnancy rate was 26.7%. This treatment was effective in 11 of 15 women with polycystic ovary like syndrome (73.3%). Resting levels of prolactin, estradiol and testosterone in the effective group were significantly higher than those in the non-effective group. As a result of the treatment, the prolactin and LH levels were significantly decreased, and estradiol and progesterone levels were significantly increased in the effective group. Before the treatment, the responsiveness of LH to LHRH in the effective group was significantly higher, but the responsiveness of prolactin to TRH in this group was not significantly higher than that in the non-effective group. After the treatment, the LH-releasing response following a premarin injection in the effective group was significantly higher than that in the non-effective group. The present results indicate that the therapeutic effect of this treatment may be primarily due to the restoration and improvement of the impaired hypothalamo-pituitary system without the suppression of pituitary prolactin secretion.

Adolescent↗

A human prostatic growth factor (hPGF): partial purification and characterization.

A growth factor capable of stimulating DNA synthesis of BALB/3T3 cells was purified about 1,000-fold from the cytosol of human benign hypertrophic prostates by heparin-Sepharose chromatography; the growth factor bound to the column in the presence of 0.5 M NaCl was eluted with 1.5-1.7 M NaCl. Its molecular weight and isoelectric point were estimated to be 11,000-13,000 and 10.5, respectively. It was sensitive to heat- and acid-treatments but resistant to disulfide-reducing agent. The final preparation was able to stimulate DNA synthesis at 10 ng/ml. The degree of stimulation was dependent on serum concentration in the assay system; the degree of maximum stimulation increased about 5 times as serum concentration increased from 0.2 to 2%.

Cytosol↗

Quantitative solubilization of nonhistone chromosomal proteins without denaturation using zwitterionic detergents.

Of three kinds of commercial zwitterionic detergents [SB 12, SB 14, and 3-[(3-cholamidopropyl)dimethylammonio]-1-propanesulfonate (Chaps)], SB 12 and Chaps were more useful than SB 14 because of high solubility and less interference with protein assay. Efficiency for protein solubilization at pH 6-9 was higher for SB 12 than for Chaps with either calf thymus chromatin or rat liver nuclei. At pH 9 and ionic strength (I) = 0.35, 1% SB 12 and 1% Chaps were capable of solubilizing about 70% and about 47% of total proteins in rat liver nuclei, respectively. Core histones in rat liver nuclei were extracted to a lesser extent with Chaps than with SB 12. DNA-dependent RNA polymerase and isopeptidase activities were barely inactivated by 1% Chaps at pH 8-9, but isopeptidase activity was inhibited by 0.3% SB 12. These facts indicate that whereas SB 12 is effective for solubilization of whole nuclear proteins, Chaps is suitable for the selective extraction of nonhistone chromosomal proteins without denaturation.

Animals↗

Localization of prostatic basic protein ("probasin") in the rat prostates by use of monoclonal antibody.

Isolated nuclei of the rat prostates contain a unique androgen-dependent basic protein, "probasin". Despite that it was hardly detectable in the cytosol centrifugally prepared from the prostates, immunofluorescent histological analysis of whole tissues using monoclonal antibody, which was raised against probasin purified from the nuclei, revealed that probasin was abundantly localized in the lumen and acinal regions of the epithelium, but hardly in the nuclei. Previous extraction of secretory fluid from the prostates caused about 60% decrease in the probasin content of isolated nuclei. These suggest that probasin was originally a secretory component in the prostates, being redistributed from the secretory fluid and granule into nuclei during fractionation of subcellular components.

Androgen-Binding Protein↗

Differences in nonhistone protein changes in rat ventral and dorsolateral prostate during sexual maturation.

Age-related changes of chromosomal proteins in the dorsolateral and ventral prostates of rats from 6 to 31 weeks of age were studied by SDS-polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis. A nonhistone protein having a molecular weight of about 20,000 (20K-NHP), abundantly localized in the dorsolateral prostate, increased rapidly in content during the early stage of sexual maturation (6-11 weeks of age) in association with increases of serum testosterone concentration and prostatic tissue weight. Serum testosterone concentration decreased after week 11 and then remained constant until week 31. In contrast, the 20K-NHP content continued to increase after 11 weeks of age in the dorsolateral prostate, but not in the ventral prostate. The rapid increase of 20K-NHP in the dorsolateral prostate during the early stage of sexual maturation could not be attained in immature rats (5 weeks of age) by injection of excess amounts of androgens and/or prolactin for a week. But the 20K-NHP content in the ventral prostate of rats treated with testosterone propionate was almost the same as that of mature rats.

Androgens↗

Comparison of subcellular proteins of normal prostate, benign prostatic hypertrophy, and prostatic cancer: presence of BPH-associated nonhistone proteins.

Proteins in the cytosol, postnuclear particulate, and nuclear fractions from seven specimens of normal prostate from bladder cancer patients, 14 specimens of benign hypertrophic prostate (BPH), and three specimens of cancerous prostate were analyzed and compared by SDS-polyacrylamide slab gel electrophoresis. Abundant protein species in the cytosol fractions were 60K (species having a molecular weight of about 60,000) and 42K; their relative contents were about 35% for 60K and about 12% for 42K. In the postnuclear particulate fraction, 42K was the most abundant (about 10% of the total). The contents of these major protein species were similar in specimens of normal and diseased prostates. In addition, there are marked similarities in the electrophoretic patterns for all the protein (24-29 species) in the cytosol and postnuclear particulate fractions of the human prostate, except for four minor species in the cytosol fraction. Of the nuclear proteins, the content of core histones (H2A, H2B, H3, and H4) was fundamentally similar among all the specimens, whereas the content of H1 histone was different from one specimen to another. The most remarkable and significant difference was that the 42K-NHP (nonhistone protein having a molecular weight of about 42,000), 55K-NHP, and 190K-NHP concentrations were significantly higher in BPH than in normal and cancerous prostates.

Chromosomal Proteins, Non-Histone↗

Adjuvant activity of chitin derivatives in mice and guinea-pigs.

Adjuvant activity of chitin derivatives was examined in guinea-pigs and mice. Among derivatives of chitin tested, 30 and 70% deacetylated chitin (DAC-30 and DAC-70), were active as adjuvants for the circulating-antibody formation to bacterial alpha-amylase and for the induction of delayed-type hypersensitivity to azobenzenearsonate-N-acetyl-L-tyrosine. DAC-70 enhanced the helper T cell function, the generation of alloreactive cytotoxic T lymphocytes, and the activity of natural killer cells in mice, however, it was inactive as mitogen. Other derivatives of chitin showed weaker or no adjuvant activity compared with DAC-70. Carboxymethyl-, hydroxyethyl and dihydroxypropyl-chitin showed weak mitogenic activities on normal spleen cells.

Adjuvants, Immunologic↗

[Studies of coagulation-fibrinolysis system and cold insoluble globulin in cases of caesarean section].

In our previous study, we reported that pregnant blood was hypercoagulable and hypo-fibrinolytic. However, localized fibrinolytic activity, e.g. in the placenta, seemed to be present, because of increased FDP and fibrinopeptide B beta 15-42 during pregnancy. In this study, we tried to find out the changes in the coagulation-fibrinolysis system as well as cold insoluble globulin when stress such as operative procedure is being added. In 25 cases of cesarean section in full term pregnancy without onset of labor, blood samples were collected before operation, during operation and 3 hours, 6 hours, 12 hours, 24 hours and 48 hours post-operatively for estimation of the coagulation factors (FXII, IX, VIII, VII, X, V, II. XIII. Fbg), fibrinolytic factors (plg-Act, plg, SFMC, FDP), prekallikrein, plasma serin protease inhibitors (AT-III, alpha 2-PI, alpha 2-M, alpha 1-AT) and cold insoluble globulin. 30 normal term-pregnant women as well as 30 non-pregnant women were studied as the control. The result showed that the activities of both the intrinsic and extrinsic coagulation factors were markedly increased while the Fbg and AT-III were markedly decreased from during operation to 3 hours after operation. FXIII was markedly decreased and FII was slightly decreased from during operation. The marked decreases in prekallikrein, plg, alpha 2-PI, alpha 2-M, alpha 1-AT together and marked increases in plg-Act and FDP were noted from 3 to 12 hours after operation. A marked decrease in CIG was demonstrated immediately after the operation and continued until 48 hours after operation. These findings suggested that hypercoagulable state and secondary hyperfibrinolysis were associated during and after cesarean section. Decreases in Factor XIII and CIG seemed to be a general reaction in the mechanism of wound healing.

Antithrombin III↗

Changes of an androgen-dependent nuclear protein during functional differentiation and by dedifferentiation of the dorsolateral prostate of rats.

Nuclei of the dorsolateral prostate of rats contain a large amount of androgen-dependent non-histone protein (20K-NHP) (mol. wt. not equal to 20,000; pI not equal to 11.5) (Matuo et al. (1]. Its content in the nuclei increased most markedly during 4-8 weeks of age, when functional differentiation of the prostate was most active on the basis of the changes of major cytosol proteins and zinc. Nuclei of the Dunning tumors originating in the dorsolateral prostate were found to lack 20K-NHP regardless of androgen dependency, indicating the disappearance of the 20K-NHP from the nuclei by dedifferentiation. These suggest that the 20K-NHP is an important nuclear protein for differentiation of the dorsolateral prostate cells.

Aging↗

Biochemical difference between ventral and dorsolateral prostates: effects of castration and administration of the antiandrogen 16 beta-ethyl-17 beta-hydroxy-4-oestren-3-one on SDS-electrophoretic patterns of subcellular proteins from rat prostates.

Protein species in the cytosol, postnuclear particulate, and nuclear fractions from the ventral and dorsolateral prostates of rats castrated or injected with antiandrogen, 16 beta-ethyl-17 beta-hydroxy-4- oestren -3-one ( EHOO ), were analyzed by SDS-polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis. The effects of EHOO injection on the contents of the most abundant species in all three fractions of ventral prostate were similar to the effects of castration, but the effects of EHOO and castration were only similar on the nuclear fraction in the dorsolateral prostate. The most sensitive species to castration in the three subcellular fractions of dorsolateral prostate were the same as those to EHOO injections; this was not the case for the cytosol and nuclear fractions in the ventral prostate.

Androgen Antagonists↗

Immunological activity of chitin and its derivatives.

The effect of chitin and its derivatives on the activation of peritoneal macrophages in vivo, on the suppression of tumour growth in syngeneic mice and on the protection of the host against bacterial infection was examined. Thirty percent deacetylated chitin (30% DA-chitin), 70% DA-chitin and carboxymethyl-chitin (CM-chitin) induced cytotoxic macrophages most effectively. Chitosan, hydroxyethyl-chitin, dihydroxypropyl-chitin (DHP-chitin) and DHP-chitosan had moderate activities. Phosphorylated-, sulphonated- or acetyl-chitin, however, were less effective. Both 70% DA-chitin and DHP-chitosan were most active on the suppression of Meth-A tumour growth in BALB/c mice, and 30% DA-chitin had a moderate effect. For the stimulation of non-specific host resistance against Escherichia coli infection, 30% and 70% DA-chitin were effective.

Adjuvants, Immunologic↗

Reconstruction of photosynthetic, cyclic electron transport system from photoreaction unit, ubiquinone-10 protein, cytochrome c2 and polar lipids purified from Rhodospirillum rubrum.

It was previously reported that in chromatophores of Rhodospirillum rubrum, reaction center, which consists of three kinds of protein (Mm, about 78K), is a small fragment of a large protein complex (PRU; photoreaction unit), which contains six other kinds of protein including light-harvesting bacteriochlorophyll protein, has Mm of about 700K and is free of phospholipid [J. Biochem. 86, 1211-1224 (1979); 94, 1815-1826 (1983(]. In the present study, the photosynthetic, cyclic electron transport system sensitive to antimycin A was effectively reconstructed by incubating 60 nM PRU (which contained 1 mol of reaction center and 2 mol of ubiquinone-10 per mol) with 300 nM each of oxidized ubiquinone-10 protein, reduced cytochrome c2 and lipoamino acid (which were all purified from Rhodospirillum rubrum) in the presence of low concentrations of cholate and deoxycholate (pH 8.0). In the light, the cytochrome was oxidized while the quinone was reduced. The oxidation and reduction each progressed rapidly at first, then slowly, reaching maxima (steady states) 1-2 min after the light had been turned on. At the steady states, 30% of the cytochrome was oxidized while 11% of the total quinone was reduced. When the light was turned off, the original oxidation-reduction states of the cytochrome and quinone were restored at rapid rates initially then at slow rates. Antimycin A stimulated the slow rates in the light-on state and depressed them in the light-off state, but did not influence the fast rates. Ubiquinone-10 protein was required for the antibiotic-sensitive, slow oxidation reactions. This indicates that the slow rates were due to cyclic electron transport. Cytochrome c2 was tightly bound to PRU at a molar ratio of 1:1. This cytochrome as well as the quinone bound to PRU was responsible for the fast rates. PRU had other sites able to bind cytochrome c2 and ubiquinone-10 protein with Km of 0.4 and 0.1 microM, respectively. Of the polar lipids tested, lipoamino acid was the most effective for reconstruction, and its effect was maximal at 300 nM, which is far below its critical micelle concentration.

Bacterial Proteins↗

[The reciprocal pattern of release observed in PRL and TSH following various types of administration of TRH].

Alterations of plasma TSH and PRL levels following various types of administration with TRH were studied in the luteal phase of women with normal menstrual cycles. The results were as follows: Plasma PRL response to a single i.v. injection of tRH with DHEA-S drop injection was not significantly different from that observed without it. The data suggest that DHEA-S does not affect the feedback mechanism in the short-term course of the experiment. Alterations in the plasma levels of PRL during intermittent as well as continuous infusion with TRH were quite different from those with TSH. Plasma TSH increased following the beginning of a continuous infusion with TRH and reached a peak at approximately 180 min, maintaining a plateau until the infusion was withheld. On the other hand, plasma PRL levels increased rapidly to reach peak levels in 30 min after the start of the infusion gradually following a decline in spite of continued TRH stimulation. Furthermore, a stepwise increase of TSH levels was observed following 4 intermittent injections of TRH; however, plasma PRL rapidly reached peak levels in 30 min following the 1st injection of TRH and a further 3 injections did not raise the levels of PRL. The results suggest that in humans, the synthesis and release of PRL occur independently in the pituitary.

Adult↗

[Effect of induced hyperprolactinemia on the plasma levels of C19 steroids in humans].

In order to investigate the relationship between the increment of plasma prolactin (PRL) levels and the change of plasma levels of PRL, DHEA-S, cortisol, aldosterone and 17 alpha OH delta 5-P were quantified by respective RIA in patients treated with TRH parenterally or with sulpiride orally. The results were as follows: During the infusion of TRH, plasma levels of PRL reached the maximal values within 30 min and then declined gradually in spite of continued TRH stimulation. Sulpiride given orally for 12 consecutive days in the luteal phase of the menstrual cycle caused a significant increase in the plasma PRL level. This increase was higher than that obtained in the experiment during the follicular phase. No significant change in the plasma level of 17 alpha OH delta 5-P was observed TRH sulpiride administration. In 3 out of 9 cases, plasma DHEA-S levels were elevated significantly on day 13 to 14 of the experimental course. These results indicate that the responsiveness of plasma levels of adrenal androgens to the raised plasma PRL level requires a certain period of time in the hyperprolactinemic state in the human female.

Administration, Oral↗

[The effects of metoclopramide on maternal, umbilical and amniotic fluid prolactin at delivery].

Sixteen normal pregnant woman at delivery were administered 10 mg of Metoclopramide (MCP) intravenously, and the Prolactin (PRL) levels in the maternal plasma and in the amniotic fluid were measured by RIA before and after the administration, and in the umbilical plasma after the administration. Eight other pregnant women at term were studied similarly without the administration of MCP and served as the control. In this experiment, there was a significant increase only in the maternal plasma PRL but not in the amniotic fluid PRL nor in the umbilical plasma PRL. Furthermore, by using an intrauterine pressure catheter and a maternal intravenous cannula we measured the amniotic fluid PRL and the maternal plasma PRL about every 20 minutes during 3 hours before and after the intravenous administration of MCP 10mg. The maternal plasma PRL increased promptly and remained high for 150 minutes, while there was no significant change in the amniotic fluid PRL. This obvious discrepancy supports the hypothesis that decidua is the source of amniotic fluid PRL and suggests an independent regulation of amniotic fluid PRL.

Amniotic Fluid↗