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Biomedical subjects

S Abe

Publications and source records attributed to S Abe.

At least 1,117 records · Page 62Linked to original sources

Preferential digestion of basement membrane collagen by an enzyme derived from a metastatic murine tumor.

The specificity of human skin collagenase and of an enzyme from an invasive tumor were studied by using types I, II, III, IV, and V (AB) collagen as substrates. Human skin collagenase degraded types I, II, and III collagen, producing the characteristic 3/4 and 1/4 cleavage products, but failed to degrade type IV or V collagen. Collagenase prepared from the invasive tumors showed maximal activity after trypsin treatment. The tumor enzyme degraded type IV (basement membrane) collagen, producing fragments consistent with a single cleavage site but did not attack types I, II, III, and V collagen. Because type IV collagen prepared by pepsinization of placenta was also digested, it is likely that cleavage of type IV collagen by the tumor collagenase occurs within a largely helical domain. A type IV collagenase could play a significant role in tumor metastases and in normal tissues where basement membrane turnover takes place.

Animals↗

Occurrence of GTP cyclohydrolase I in Bacillus stearothermophilus.

A GTP cyclohydrolase which catalyzes the removal of carbon 8 of GTP as formic acid to yield a single pteridine compound occurs in an obligate thermophile Bacillus stearothermophilus ATCC 8005. The enzyme was purified 5.5-fold. Its molecular weight and Stoke's radius were estimated as 105,000 and 45.3 A, respectively. The Km for GTP was 0.98 microM. The temperature and pH optima for activity were 60-65 degrees C and 8.0-8.4, respectively. No divalent cation was required for the reaction. The pteridine product was 3'-triphosphate of 2-amino-4-hydroxy-6-(D-erythro-1',2',3'-trihydroxypropyl)-7,8-dihydropteridine (dihydroneopterin triphosphate), identified by isolating its immediate derivative, 2',3'-cyclic phosphate of 2-amino-4-hydroxy-6-(D-erythro-1',2',3'-trihydroxypropyl)pteridine (neopterin cyclic phosphate). The radioactive product from [8-14C]GTP agreed with 14C-formate. Molar ratio of formate release to pteridine formation was 1.0.

Aminohydrolases↗

Finger print deposits of the kidney in pure monoclonal IgG kappa cryoglobulinemia.

In a male patient with pure monoclonal IgG kappa cryoglobulin associated with the nephrotic syndrome, finger print deposits were observed in the subendothelial space and mesangial matrix of the kidney by electron microscopy. The structure was similar to a unique tubular crystal structure of IgGl kappa cryoglobulin which was reported by Bogaars et al. [1973] in the serum of a patient with multiple myeloma. It was therefore supposed that the finger print deposits in the kidney of this patient were the precipitation of the monoclonal IgG kappa cryoglobulin in serum.

Cryoglobulins↗

Antibodies to type II collagen in relapsing polychondritis.

Relapsing polychondritis is a disorder of unknown cause characterized by the destruction of cartilage. To test the hypothesis that immunologic mechanisms are involved in the pathogenesis of relapsing polychondritis, we analyzed the serum of 15 patients for the presence of antibodies to cartilage. Antibodies to Type II (cartilage) collagen were found in the serum of five patients at the time of acute symptoms. No antibodies were detected either to cartilage proteoglycan or to other collagen types. The antibodies were detected at the onset of the disease and their titers appeared to correlate with severity of disease. Circulating immune complexes were also detected in the serum of these patients. Our findings support an immunologic involvement in this condition.

Acute Disease↗

Purification and some properties of riboflavin synthetase from Bacillus stearothermophilus ATCC 8005.

A riboflavin synthetase was purified 51-fold from a thermophilic organism, Bacillus stearothermophilus ATCC 8005, that grew at 40 to 72 degrees C. Some of the properties of the enzyme are: (i) its temperature optimum was 95 degrees C, and the activity was negligible below 40 degrees C; (ii) the Arrhenius plot of the initial reaction rates was concave upward, with a break at 65 degrees C, and the apparent activation energies below and above 65 degrees C were 4.2 X 10(4) and 6.7 X 10(4) J/mol, respectively; (iii) the enzyme was fairly stable up to 60 degrees C without 6,7-dimethyl-8-ribityllumazine; this substance protected the enzyme from inactivation above 60 to 97 degrees C; (iv) the pH range for stability was 6.0 to 10.0 at 26 degrees C and 6.3 to 7.6 at 55 degrees C; (v) the enzyme was highly resistant at 26 degrees C to denaturation in 8 M urea, but the tolerance was extremely low at 55 degrees C; (vi) its molecular weight was estimated at 45,000; (vii) the Km for 6,7-dimethyl-8-ribityllumazine was 23 micrometer at 55 degrees C and 29 micrometer at 75 degrees C; (viii) its pH optimum was 6.7 to 7.2; (ix) 6-methyl-7-hydroxy-8-ribityllumazine was a competitive inhibitor (Ki = 0.18 micrometer); (x) the activity was sensitive to heavy-metal ions and thiol reagents; (xi) the enzyme did not require cofactor or a carbon donor; and (xii) the molar ratio of 6,7-dimethyl-8-ribityllumazine consumption to riboflavin formation was 2 throughout the entire reaction. Properties i through vi distinguish this enzyme from riboflavin synthetases purified by other investigators from mesophilic organisms, Ashbya gossypii, Eremothecium ashbyii, Escherichia coli, yeast, and spinach.

Cations, Divalent↗

Lung cancer in Japanese chromate workers.

We have treated ten patients with lung cancer among workers in a chromate factory between 1972 and 1976. Four further cases were also found through death certificates and medical records. Most were smokers and all were men. The average duration of exposure to chromate was 24 years (range 10 to 36). The cell type in our ten patients was squamous in seven and small anaplastic type in three. The primary sites were all in large bronchi. The incidence (person per year) calculated from the number of employees, duration of factory activity, number of cancer patients, and shortest duration of labour period among the patients was 657.9 per 100,000 compared to 13.3 per 100,000 in Japan as a whole.

Adult↗