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Biomedical subjects

S Abe

Publications and source records attributed to S Abe.

At least 253 records · Page 14Linked to original sources
PubMed1999

Branching patterns of intramural coronary vessels determined by microangiography using synchrotron radiation.

The intramural coronary artery (IMCA) with a diameter of 50-500 micrometers is critical for blood supply to the inner layers of heart muscle. We introduced digital measurement to microangiography using monochromatic synchrotron radiation and quantified branching patterns of the IMCA, the epicardial coronary artery (EPCA), and the distal ileal artery (DIA). The pre- and postbranching diameters were measured (95-1,275 micrometers) in seven dogs. A typical arterial segment divided into two nearly equivalent branches, and a regression line of daughter-to-mother diameter plots was almost identical among the EPCA (y = 0.838x - 16.7 in micrometers), IMCA (y = 0.737x - 2.18), and DIA (y = 0.755x + 8.63). However, a considerable difference was present at a segment where a proximal IMCA branched off from an EPCA (y = 0.182x + 90.2). Moreover, a proximal IMCA diameter had no relationship to the branching order from an EPCA. The precision of this method was confirmed by the good correlation of diameter measurements between two independent observers (r = 0.999, y = 1.02x - 1.07). In conclusion, using digital microangiography we demonstrated that the self-similar branching pattern of coronary arteries was discrete at the connection between the IMCA and EPCA.

Angiography↗
PubMed1999

Allergic bronchopulmonary aspergillosis due to Aspergillus niger without bronchial asthma.

A 65-year-old woman was admitted to our hospital with a dry cough and pulmonary infiltrates. Chest radiograph and CT revealed mucoid impaction and consolidations. Peripheral blood eosinophilia and elevated serum IgE were observed. Aspergillus niger was cultured repeatedly from her sputum, but A. fumigatus was not detected. Immediate skin test and specific IgE (RAST) to Aspergillus antigen were positive. Precipitating antibodies were confirmed against A. niger antigen, but not against A. fumigatus antigen. She had no asthmatic symptoms, and showed no bronchial hyperreactivity to methacholine. Thus, this case was diagnosed as allergic bronchopulmonary aspergillosis (ABPA) without bronchial asthma due to A. niger, an organism rarely found in ABPA. The administration of prednisone improved the symptoms and corrected the abnormal laboratory findings.

Aged↗
PubMed1999

Circulating leptin in patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease.

Unexplained weight loss is common in patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD). Since leptin, an obesity gene product, is known to play important roles in the control of body weight and energy expenditure, we investigated serum leptin levels, along with circulating tumor necrosis factor-alpha (TNF-alpha) and soluble TNF receptor (sTNF-R55 and -R75) levels, in 31 patients with COPD and 15 age-matched healthy controls. The body mass index (BMI) and percent body fat (%fat) were significantly lower in the COPD patients than in the healthy controls (BMI = 18.1 +/- 2.7 kg/m2 versus 22.8 +/- 2.2 kg/m2 [mean +/- SD]; p < 0.0001; %fat = 16.9 +/- 5.8% versus 24.3 +/- 4.9%; p < 0.001). Serum leptin levels were significantly lower in the COPD patients than in the healthy controls (1.14 +/- 1.17 ng/ml versus 2.47 +/- 2.01 ng/ml; p < 0.05). In contrast, serum TNF-alpha levels (6.59 +/- 1.92 pg/ml versus 5.41 +/- 1.60 pg/ml; p < 0.05), plasma sTNF-R55 (1.16 +/- 0.47 ng/ml versus 0.67 +/- 0.13 ng/ml; p < 0.0001) and sTNF-R75 (3.65 +/- 1.29 ng/ml versus 2.25 +/- 0.43 ng/ml; p < 0.0001) levels were significantly higher in the COPD patients than in the healthy controls. Importantly, circulating leptin levels (log transformed) did correlate well with BMI and %fat, but not with TNF-alpha or with sTNF-R levels in the COPD patients. These data suggest that circulating leptin is independent of the TNF-alpha system and is regulated physiologically even in the presence of cachexia in patients with COPD.

Adipose Tissue↗
PubMed1999

Clara cell protein-positive epithelial cells are reduced in small airways of asthmatics.

Clara cell 10 kilodalton protein (CC10), the predominant product from nonciliated cells in the epithelial lining of bronchioles (Clara cells), has been shown to have immunomodulatory and anti-inflammatory activity, and may play roles in controlling inflammation in the airway. This study was designed to examine immunohistochemical expression of CC10 in epithelial cells in small airways (perimeter < 6 mm) of asthmatic and control nonsmokers who underwent lung resection because of peripheral lung carcinoma and to compare CC10-positive epithelial cell proportions with numbers of inflammatory cells in small airways of asthmatics. Significantly decreased proportions of CC10-positive epithelial cells and significantly increased numbers of T cells, activated eosinophils, and mast cells in small airways of asthmatics were found compared with those of control subjects. CC10-positive epithelial cell proportions inversely correlated with numbers of T cells and mast cells in small airways of asthmatics. Decreases of CC10-producing cells may give an accelerating cause for further aggravation of inflammatory responses in chronic asthma.

Asthma↗
PubMed1999

Vascular endothelial growth factor and osteopontin in stage I lung adenocarcinoma.

Tumor growth and metastasis are angiogenesis-dependent processes initiated and regulated by a number of cytokines. Vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) is a potent angiogenic protein with a selective mitogenic effect on vascular endothelial cells. Osteopontin (OPN) induces endothelial cell migration and upregulates endothelial cell migration induced by VEGF. To clarify the cooperative role of VEGF and OPN in tumor angiogenesis, we stained VEGF, OPN, and CD34 immunohistochemically in 87 cases of stage I non-small cell lung cancer (adenocarcinoma, 55, and squamous cell carcinoma, 32). Of the 87 patients studied, 27 patients had postoperative relapse and 60 patients did not. VEGF was found in 34 of 55 cases of adenocarcinomas and 14 of 32 squamous cell carcinomas, and OPN was found in 30 of 55 adenocarcinomas and 10 of 32 squamous cell carcinomas. In adenocarcinoma, microvessel counts of VEGF-positive and OPN-positive tumors were significantly higher than VEGF-negative and OPN-negative tumors, respectively, whereas in squamous cell carcinoma they were not. More importantly, patients with VEGF- and OPN-positive stage I lung adenocarcinoma had significantly worse prognosis as compared with other groups. Cooperation of OPN is important in VEGF-mediated tumor angiogenesis in stage I lung adenocarcinoma.

Adenocarcinoma↗
PubMed1999

Hydrogen peroxide enhances shedding of type I soluble tumor necrosis factor receptor from pulmonary epithelial cells.

Reactive oxygen intermediates (ROIs) are among the important mediators in the pathogenesis of lung diseases in which tumor necrosis factor (TNF) plays a pivotal role. However, the effects of ROIs on the TNF- TNF receptor system remain unclear. Effects of hydrogen peroxide on the shedding of soluble tumor necrosis factor receptor (sTNF-R) were investigated in a pulmonary epithelial cell line (A549) using enzyme-linked immunoassay. A549 cells spontaneously released type I sTNF-R (sTNF-RI) into the culture medium. Hydrogen peroxide accelerated the release of sTNF-RI from the A549 cells time- and dose- dependently. Stimulated release of sTNF-RI by hydrogen peroxide or phorbol myristate acetate (PMA) was inhibited by pretreatment with the intracellular hydroxyl radical scavengers dimethyl sulfoxide and dimethyl thiourea. A synthetic metalloproteinase inhibitor (KB-R8301) inhibited not only spontaneous release of sTNF-RI but also shedding enhanced by hydrogen peroxide and PMA. Preincubation with a protein kinase C inhibitor, calphostin C, downregulated the hydrogen peroxide- or PMA-induced shedding of sTNF-RI. Neither genistein, a tyrosine kinase inhibitor, nor H-89, a protein kinase A inhibitor, inhibited shedding of sTNF-RI by hydrogen peroxide and PMA. Although the surface expression of TNF-R assessed by 125I-TNF specific binding was decreased in the presence of hydrogen peroxide or PMA, TNF-RI mRNA transcript levels remained unchanged. These results show that hydrogen peroxide is involved in the activation of metalloproteinase and protein kinase C responsible for the shedding of sTNF-RI. Accordingly, ROIs may alter TNF action by enhanced shedding of sTNF-RI and reducing its surface receptor expression.

Cell Line↗
PubMed1999

A Japanese case with Frasier syndrome caused by the splice junction mutation of WT1 gene.

The Wilms' tumor suppressor gene, WT1, plays an important role in the development of the urogenital system and also subsequent normal function of this system. Recently, the splice mutations in intron 9 of WT1 gene have been detected in Frasier syndrome, which is characterized by streak gonads, pseudohermaphroditism, slowly progressive nephropathy and frequent development of gonadoblastoma. Here to elucidate the molecular basis in a Japanese patient of Frasier syndrome, WT1 gene was analyzed by polymerase-chain-reaction (PCR) and direct sequencing. We identified the splice junction mutation in intron 9 of WT1, which is recognized as a mutation hot-spot in intron 9. This finding concludes that 1) the mutation in intron 9 might be the cause of Frasier syndrome, and 2) the mutation hot-spot in Japanese and Caucasian patients is similar.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1999

Non-surgical reduction of septal myocardial mass in a patient with hypertrophic obstructive cardiomyopathy.

Non-surgical reduction of septal myocardial mass was performed with success in a 48-year-old male with hypertrophic obstructive cardiomyopathy. Angioplasty balloon inflated in the first septal branch of the left anterior descending artery dramatically reduced the pressure gradient across the outflow tract of the left ventricle. Following injections of absolute alcohol into the artery with the balloon kept inflated induced a small septal myocardial infarction. By hemodynamic evaluation, the peak pressure gradient of 108 mmHg before the procedure was decreased to 30 mmHg. Clinical improvement in New York Heart Association (NYHA) functional class was obtained. At 3-month follow-up, the patient was doing quite well; the gradient was only 10 mmHg at rest and 25 mmHg with Valsalva maneuver.

Angioplasty, Balloon↗
PubMed1999

Protection of immunosuppressed mice from lethal Candida infection by oral administration of a kampo medicine, hochu-ekki-to.

The protective effect of a Kampo medicine, Hochu-ekki-to (TJ-41) on experimental candidiasis in immunosuppressed mice was investigated. ICR mice were immunosuppressed by injection of prednisolone or cyclophosphamide, given TJ-41 orally and challenged intravenously with Candida albicans (day 0). Treatments with a daily dose of 1 g/kg/day of TJ-41 for 8 days from day-4 or for 4 days from day 0 significantly prolonged the life span of the Candida-infected mice pretreated with prednisolone. The latter treatment appeared to inhibit the colonization of Candida in kidneys of the infected mice. These results suggest that Hochu-ekki-to can be used as a therapeutic agent against candidiasis in patients with glucocorticoid-induced immunosuppression.

Administration, Oral↗
PubMed1999

Efficacy of antibacterial drugs in mice with complex infection by Candida albicans and Escherichia coli.

We investigated the effect of seven antibacterial antibiotics: kanamycin, gentamicin, tetracycline, minocycline, ampicillin, piperacillin and cefotaxime, on survival of mice infected sequentially with a lethal dose of Candida albicans and a sublethal dose of Escherichia coli. The mortality of C. albicans-infected mice was facilitated by the superinfection with E. coli. When administered to mice with C. albicans/E. coli complex infection, aminoglycosides and tetracyclines significantly prolonged the survival period as compared with the infected and untreated controls. The recovery of viable counts of E. coli from the renal tissues was rapidly reduced by the treatment with gentamicin or minocycline, compared to the untreated control. Thus it was concluded that nullification by the treatment with aminoglycosides or tetracyclines of the enhancing effect of E. coli superinfection on the lethality of C. albicans-infected mice is due to early elimination of E. coli from the kidney.

Ampicillin↗
PubMed1999

[A case of Guillain-Barrè syndrome with severe sciatica preceding motor paralysis in the lower extremities].

A 62-year-old man was referred to our clinic for a three-day history of intractable sciatic pain. The pain was so severe that he could not sleep for days. Initially there was no neuronal sign except for the pain, nor any abnormality in lumbar CT and MRI. Cerebrospinal fluid sampled on the third hospital day revealed elevated protein (192 mg.dl-1) with minimal cells. On the 4th hospital day motor weakness of lower extremities appeared and he developed complete flaccid paraplegia in a week without loss of sensation. He was diagnosed as Guillain-Barrè syndrome. For the relief of this pain, intermittent injection of 4 ml 0.25% bupivacaine from lumbar epidural catheter was started on the admission day. By using patient controlled analgesia system, we could treat his repetitive demand timely and well control the pain. The leg weakness started to recover slowly from the 13th hospital day and at the same time the pain started to diminish rapidly in a few days. From the 20th hospital day he started to have rehabilitation in walking and recovered completely in two months without complication. We should remember that sudden onset of severe pain is one of early symptoms of Guillain-Barrè syndrome.

Analgesia, Epidural↗