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Biomedical subjects

R Kasai

Publications and source records attributed to R Kasai.

At least 127 records · Page 7Linked to original sources
PubMed1984

Regional mapping of catalase and Wilms tumor--aniridia, genitourinary abnormalities, and mental retardation triad loci to the chromosome segment 11p1305----p1306.

Gene dosage effects for catalase (CAT) were studied in two unrelated patients with an interstitial deletion involving 11p13 to determine precisely the sites of the genes for CAT and the Wilms tumor--aniridia, genitourinary abnormalities, and mental retardation triad (WAGR) in the 11p13 band. Case 1 had the aniridia-Wilms tumor association, and case 2 showed the AGR triad. The karyotypes identified by high resolution banding techniques were 46,XY,del(11)(pter----p13::p11.11----qter) for case 1 and 46,XY,t(2;17)(q23;q25),del(11)(pter----p13::p11.2----qter) for case 2. In both cases, the distal breakpoints of the deleted chromosomes 11 appeared to have occurred on the middle portion of 11p13 (11p1305----p1306). The level of erythrocyte CAT activities in case 1 was reduced (47% of normal), while that in case 2 was normal. The results suggested not only that both the CAT and WAGR should be mapped to chromosome region 11p1305----p1306, but also that in this region the CAT locus is more distally placed than the WAGR locus. Because of the proximity of the two gene loci, assays of erythrocyte CAT may be useful to identify a submicroscopic deletion in some patients with sporadic aniridia and to predict a risk of developing Wilms tumor.

Abnormalities, Multiple↗
PubMed1984

Grading score system: a method for evaluation of the degree of senescence in senescence accelerated mouse (SAM).

For evaluation of the degree of senescence in SAM-P, accelerated senescence prone mouse, formerly called SAM or prone series or P-series, consisting of SAM-P/1, SAM-P/2, SAM-P/3 and SAM-P/4 corresponding to P-1, P-2, P-3 and P-4 series, respectively, in the previous reports, and in SAM-R, accelerated senescence resistant mouse, formerly called resistant series or R-series, consisting of SAM-R/1, SAM-R/2 and SAM-R/3 corresponding to R-1, R-2 and R-3 series, respectively, in the previous reports, the grading score system was adopted. The items to be examined in this system include 11 categories selected from the clinical signs and gross lesions considered to be associated with the aging process. The degree of the senescence in each category was graded from 0 to 4 according to the detailed criteria devised in our laboratory. After 8 months of age each mouse was examined every 4 months, and some of the mice were examined after 2 months of age. In almost all categories, the grading score and incidence began to increase from 4 or 6 months of age and continued to increase with advancing age in both SAM-P and SAM-R. The increase, however, was more marked in SAM-P than in SAM-R. The slow but steady increase in the SAM-R levelled out at 24 months of age and was comparable to that at 12 months of age in SAM-P. In both SAM-P/1 at 8 months of age and SAM-R/2 at 12 months of age, there was a significant reverse correlation between total score of this grading score system and length of residual life after examination. Systematic and extensive studies using the grading score system showed that if the validity of the system is, based on "irreversibility" and "universality" of the changes in each category with advancing age, most categories are valid for evaluation of the degree of senescence. This grading score system is a unique, useful and convenient method for evaluation of the degree of senescence in mice.

Aging↗
PubMed1982

Antitumor agents LV: Effects of genkwadaphnin and yuanhuacine on nucleic acid synthesis of P-388 lymphocytic leukemia cells.

The diterpene esters, genkwadaphnin and yuanhuacine, have been shown to possess significant antileukemic activity in the P-388 screen. The major metabolic effects of the diterpene esters were on DNA and protein synthesis. The effects on DNA synthesis in vitro were evoked at a lower concentration than that required for protein synthesis inhibition. The sites in DNA synthesis which were inhibited were DNA polymerase and purine synthesis. In the latter pathway the enzyme activities inhibited were phosphoribosyl aminotransferase, inosinic acid dehydrogenase, and dihydrofolate reductase. In vivo administration of the diterpene esters at 0.8 mg/kg afforded identical types of effects on purine and DNA synthesis and in addition suppressed histone phosphorylation and reduced the number of surviving tumor cells. The in vivo effects on purine and DNA synthesis were evident as early as 6 and 24 hr after administration of a single dose of the diterpene esters.

Animals↗
PubMed1981

Studies on thermal adaptation in Tetrahymena membrane lipids. Changes in positional distribution of fatty acids in diacyl-phospholipids and alkyl-acyl-phospholipids during temperature acclimation.

The positioning of acyl chains in both 1-O-alkyl-2-acyl- and 1,2-diacyl-phospholipids was analyzed at various time intervals for a thermotolerant strain (NT-1) of Tetrahymena pyriformis cells during cold acclimation. During the 10 h period of adaptation, cells were not able to grow but maintained the ability to divide. The content of palmitate (16 : 0) in phosphatidylcholine and phosphatidylethanolamine was decreased after temperature-shift, with a concurrent increase of palmitoleate (16 : 1 delta 9) and gamma-linolenate (18 : 3 delta 6,9,12). An increase in gamma-linolenate at the 1-position and linoleate at the 2-position was observed in diacyl-phospholipids (phosphatidylethanolamine, phosphatidylcholine and 2-aminoethylphosphonolipid). The 2-position of 1-O-alkyl-2-acyl-phosphatidylcholine and 1-O-alkyl-2-acyl-(2-aminoethyl)phosphonolipid was occupied mainly by gamma-linolenate together with cilienate (18 : 2 delta 6,11) and linoleate (18 : 2 delta 9,12). Cilienate and gamma-linolenate at the 2-position of 1-O-alkyl-2-acyl-phosphatidylcholine were increased after temperature shift, with a small decrease of linoleate. There are little significant changes in alkyl ether lipid content of phosphatidylcholine and 2-aminoethylphosphonolipid after temperature shift. The results indicate that phosphatidylethanolamine, which is most abundant and present only in the diacyl form, would play a crucial role in thermal adaptation of membrane lipids, by replacing palmitate with gamma-linolenate at its 1-position, and also that hexadecyl/gamma-linolenoyl phosphatidylcholine would be an important molecular species in the acclimation.

Animals↗
PubMed1981

Amyloid deposition in the articular structures of AKR senescent mice.

Amyloid deposition in the articular structures occurred with high frequency in a strain of mice now being established as an animal model of senescence in this laboratory. The changes were most evident in the knee joint. Peripheral joints were always spared. The lesions appeared after 7 months of age, and the incidence reached 88% (7 of 8) in autopsied mice over 8 months of age. This is the first report of amyloid deposition in the joints of laboratory animals.

Aging↗
PubMed1981

Cell cycle-associated changes of guanylate cyclase activity in synchronized Tetrahymena: a possible involvement of calmodulin in its regulation.

Guanylate cyclase activity decreased during the division phase of heat-shock synchronized Tetrahymena pyriformis, strain GL. However, when Ca2+ was removed by EGTA to negate the effects of the Ca2+-binding protein (calmodulin), which is required for the full activity of guanylate cyclase in this organism, no significant change in the enzymatic activity was observed throughout the cell cycle. On the other hand, the reduced guanylate cyclase activity at division phase was associated with a decreased level of calmodulin content. These results suggest that fluctuations in guanylate cyclase activity during the cell cycle would be dependent on the concentration of calmodulin.

Animals↗
PubMed1980

Modification of membrane lipid composition following the nutritional shift-up of starved cells. A comparison with membrane biogenesis in Tetrahymena.

Detailed analyses of lipid composition have been made on various membrane fractions isolated at different intervals after 24 h-starved Tetrahymena cells were refed with nutrient-rich medium. During starvation there was a marked alteration in both phospholipid polar headgroup and acyl chain compositions: an increase in 2-aminoethylphospholipid and gamma-linolenic acid (18 : 3) with a concurrent decrease in phosphatidylethanolamine and palmitoleic acid (16 : 1). However, following refeeding, such an altered lipid composition was rather rapidly restored to the initial level of the control cell membranes prior to starvation. This membrane lipid modification was found to occur in good accordance with the recovery of cell size and lipid synthesis. The considerable changes in the principal unsaturated fatty acids, 16 : 1 and 18 : 3, which are formed via the palmitate and stearate desaturation pathways, respectively, were suggested to be accounted for by the levels of desaturases activities. The results of the labeling experiments with radioactive precursors have demonstrated that in the refed cells, there was a more rapid and dynamic transfer or exchange between membranes as compared with that in the exponentially growing control cells. Thus, rapid ameliorative modifications of membrane lipid composition are thought to be required for the urgent growth of membrane systems in the refed cell which should be ready to initiate new division.

Animals↗
PubMed1980

Age-dependent modifications in membrane lipids: lipid composition, fluidity and palmitoyl-CoA desaturase in Tetrahymena membranes.

The membrane lipid composition of Tetrahymena pyriformis NT-I was observed to change in a manner markedly dependent on the progress of culture age. The pellicular, mitochondrial and microsomal membranes were isolated from cell harvested at various growth phases (I, early exponential; II, mid-exponential; III, late exponential; IV, early stationary; V, late stationary) and their lipid composition was analyzed by thin-layer and gas-liquid chromatography. Although the phospholipid composition varied somewhat among membrane fractions, the most general age-dependent alteration was a considerable decrease in the content of phosphatidylethanolamine accompanied by a small increase in phosphatidylcholine. The 2-aminoethylphosphonolipid, enriched in the surface membrane pellicle, did not undergo a consistent change. As for fatty acid composition the most notable variation occurred in unsaturated fatty acids; a great increase in oleic and linoleic acids and a compensatory decrease in palmitoleic acid. This resulted in an augmented unsaturation of the overall phospholipid fatty acid profile of the aged membranes. The age-associated drastic decline in the palmitoleic acid content in membrane phospholipids could be accounted for by the markedly lowered activity of palmitoyl-CoA desaturase. The microsomes from the early exponential phase cells possess a 4-fold higher activity of the desaturase as compared to that of the late stationary phase microsomes. The decreased desaturase activity associated with the culture age was also reflected in the corresponding decrease in the conversion rate of [14C]palmitate to [14C]palmitoleate in cells labelled in vivo. The ESR spectra of the spin-labeled phospholipids extracted from the pellicular and microsomal membranes have led to the suggestion that these types of membrane would become more fluid with the age of growth.

Animals↗
PubMed1980

Regulatory mechanism of palmitoyl-CoA desaturase activity in thermal adaptation. Induction in non-growing Tetrahymena cells deprived of pre-existing desaturase.

The regulatory mechanism of palmitoyl-CoA desaturase activity in the downward temperature shift was investigated in the non-growing (starved) Tetrahymena cells. This cell system is advantageous in allowing depletion of the pre-existing palmitoyl-CoA desaturase. An unexpectedly profound increase in its activity was observed following temperature shift from 34 degrees C to 15 degrees C, providing evidence to support the concept that the increased level of the desaturase activity results from induction of the desaturase synthesis, probably by reutilization of degraded cell components, rather than from direct membrane fluidity control as observed in different experiments.

Acyl Coenzyme A↗
PubMed1980

Morphogenesis and wall chemistry of the yeast, "intermediate," and hyphal phases of the dimorphic fungus, Mycotypha poitrasii.

When Mycotypha poitrasii (Zygomcetes) is grown under standard conditions in liquid culture containing 1% polypeptone, 0.5% yeast extract, and variable glucose concentrations (0-6%), it displays mycelial--yeast conversion. "Intermediate" cells, isolated from cultures containing 2% glucose, are considered to represent a developmental phase in the process of morphogenesis. Distinct differences in the morphology and wall chemistry of the intermediate cells were demonstrated when compared to the yeast and hyphal forms. It is suggested that the trends evident from these comparative analyses reflect relationships between the alterations in cell wall chemistry and morphogenetic aspects of dimorphism.

Amino Acids↗