Search PubMed⌕ Search

Biomedical subjects

S Hirono

Publications and source records attributed to S Hirono.

At least 91 records · Page 5Linked to original sources

Neoplastic angioendotheliosis: demonstration of immunoglobulin gene rearrangements by the Southern blot hybridization technique.

Using the Southern blot hybridization technique, two cases of 'neoplastic angioendotheliosis' (NAE) were examined for immunoglobulin gene rearrangements. For DNA analysis, frozen kidney (Case 1) and lung (Case 2) tissue, in which intravascular neoplastic cells were abundant, were used. In each case rearrangements were observed in both heavy and light chain genes. On examination of the heavy chain gene, the JH DNA probe detected one rearranged band in Case 1 and two in Case 2 after EcoRI digestion. On examination of the light chain genes, the C kappa DNA probe revealed one rearranged band in Case 1 and two in Case 2 after BamHI digestion, while the C lambda 2 DNA probe revealed only germline configurations after EcoRI digestion in each case. Thus, B-lymphocytic differentiation at the gene level was demonstrated in neoplastic cells in both cases. Since no more than two rearrangements were detected in each immunoglobulin gene, the intravascular neoplastic cells were considered to be monoclonal in nature.

Aged↗

Quantitative structure-activity relationships for calmodulin inhibitors.

Using the discriminant analysis method, we completely distinguished 24 calmodulin inhibitors in three groups, as classified by Zimmer et al. The resultant discriminant functions distinguished the three groups in terms of positive potential surface area on the side chain, as well as the total and neutral surface areas on the ring in the inhibitor molecules. Group assignment of additional calmodulin inhibitors from other sources was then estimated according to the discriminant functions. The relationship between structure and inhibitory potency on calmodulin-activated phosphodiesterase for group I inhibitors, together with those estimated, was studied using the adaptive least squares method with several parameters dependent on molecular conformations. A "best conformer" was selected for each inhibitor on the basis of quantitative structure-activity relationship (QSAR). The results of QSAR analysis of group I inhibitors showed that hydrophobicity was important for the ring moiety but not for the side chain. The negative potential surface area of the side chain is necessary for activity. It is desirable for the nitrogen atom in the side chain, which is considered the center of the negative potential area, to be located far from the ring moiety. Thus, the ring moiety and side chain may possibly play different roles in interactions with the receptor system.

Calmodulin↗

Fuzzy adaptive least squares and its use in quantitative structure-activity relationships.

Fuzzy adaptive least squares (FALS), a pattern recognition method designed to correlate molecular structure with activity rating, has been developed. A novel feature of FALS is that the degree to which each sample belongs to an activity class is given using a membership function. The algorithm involves an iterative modification of forcing factors to maximize the sum of the membership function values over all samples. This paper first describes the method and calculation procedure of FALS89 (1989 version of FALS), and then shows its application to the correlation of structure with a potency rating of anticarcinogenic mitomycin derivatives and arginine-vasopressin antagonists. FALS89 applied to these samples showed considerably high reliability in both recognition and leave-one-out prediction.

Antibiotics, Antineoplastic↗

Molecular cloning and sequence analysis of cDNA for human hepatocyte growth factor.

Amino acid sequences of four peptide fragments of human hepatocyte growth factor purified from the plasma of patients with fulminant hepatic failure were determined. Based on the amino acid sequence of one of the fragments, two oligodeoxyribonucleotide mixtures were synthesized and used to screen a human placenta cDNA library. On the screening, two overlapping cDNA clones for human hepatocyte growth factor were isolated and the nucleotide sequence of the cDNA was determined. The entire primary structure of the protein was deduced from the sequence. The protein consists of 728 amino acid residues, including a possible signal peptide at the N-terminus. The sequence revealed that the heavy and light chains which comprise the protein are encoded by the same mRNA and are produced from a common translation product by proteolytic processing.

Amino Acid Sequence↗

Clinical significance of human hepatocyte growth factor in blood from patients with fulminant hepatic failure.

We have recently found the presence of human hepatocyte growth factor in sera of patients with fulminant hepatic failure and have purified human hepatocyte growth factor from plasma of a patient with fulminant hepatic failure. In this paper, we report the clinical significance of human hepatocyte growth factor in blood from patients with fulminant hepatic failure. The effect of sera or plasma from 17 patients with fulminant hepatic failure on liver cell growth was examined by use of adult rat hepatocytes in primary cultures. Sera or plasma from 16 of the 17 patients with fulminant hepatic failure stimulated DNA synthesis in hepatocytes more effectively than normal human serum. The mean growth-promoting activity for the 17 patients with fulminant hepatic failure was about 16 times higher than that obtained for normal human serum. This growth-promoting activity of the patients' blood was not related to sex, age, clinical outcome of the patients or type of fulminant hepatic failure, but was intimately related to the clinical grade of hepatic coma. Sera or plasma with Grade III and IV coma showed stimulatory activity on DNA synthesis more markedly than sera or plasma from patients with coma of less than Grade II. In the surviving group, this activity decreased as the hepatic coma of patients improved. In fact, this activity of sera from patients at the recovery stage showed no significant increase compared with that of normal human serum. In the group of terminal patients, this activity increased as the coma developed.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)

Adult↗

Purification and partial characterization of hepatocyte growth factor from plasma of a patient with fulminant hepatic failure.

Human hepatocyte growth factor (hHGF) has been purified approximately 209,000-fold with 18% yield from plasma of a patient with fulminant hepatic failure. The purification involves heat treatment of plasma, ammonium sulfate precipitation, and chromatography on Affi-Gel Blue, heparin-Sepharose, and hydroxylapatite. Purified hHGF shows several bands with molecular weights between 76,000 and 92,000. Each band shows growth-stimulating activity on cultured hepatocytes which is proportional to the intensity of the band. After reduction of the sample with 2-mercaptoethanol, SDS-PAGE yields two chains with molecular weights of 31,500-34,500 and 54,000-65,000. The effect of hHGF on DNA synthesis by hepatocytes is half-maximal at 3.5 ng/ml. hHGF stimulates proliferation of cultured hepatocytes more effectively than human epidermal growth factor (hEGF) or insulin, and the effect of hHGF is additive or synergistic with the maximal effects of hEGF and insulin. These results suggest that hHGF is a new growth factor which is different from hEGF.

Cell Division↗

Effect of histamine H2-receptor antagonists on DNA synthesis in adult rat hepatocytes in primary culture. Cimetidine enhanced hepatocytes proliferation stimulated with insulin and epidermal growth factor.

The effects of three of the most widely used histamine H2-receptor antagonists, cimetidine, ranitidine and famotidine, on liver cell growth were studied in vitro using adult rat hepatocytes in primary culture, because these antagonists are commonly given to patients with hepatic cirrhosis or fulminant hepatic failure for protection against peptic ulcers and gastrointestinal hemorrhage. At their clinically effective concentrations in the blood (0.5-5 micrograms/ml cimetidine, 0.25-2.5 micrograms/ml ranitidine and 0.05-0.5 microgram/ml famotidine), these three antagonists did not have any effect on replicative DNA synthesis either in the presence or absence of insulin plus epidermal growth factor (EGF). However, unexpectedly DNA synthesis stimulated by insulin and EGF was found to be enhanced by 0.05-0.5 mg/ml cimetidine, although it was unaffected or inhibited by ranitidine and famotidine at the concentrations tested. Cimetidine caused maximal enhancement of 1.5-2 times the control level of DNA synthesis at a concentration of 0.25 mg/ml. Cimetidine also had an enhancing effect at submaximal concentrations of insulin and EGF, but neither cimetidine nor the other antagonists had any stimulatory effect on DNA synthesis in the absence of insulin plus EGF. This enhancement of DNA synthesis by cimetidine resulted in significant increase in the total DNA content of the hepatocytes in culture. Under the conditions used, cimetidine had the lowest toxicity of these three antagonists and ranitidine the highest, as judged from data on DNA synthesis and the total protein content of cultured hepatocytes, leakage of aminotransferases from the cells and morphological observations.

Animals↗

Human hepatocyte growth factor in plasma from patients with fulminant hepatic failure.

Plasma from patients with fulminant hepatic failure obtained during plasma exchange therapy, like their serum, demonstrated marked stimulatory activity on DNA synthesis in cultured rat hepatocytes. Heat treatment at 56 degrees C for 30 min did not affect this activity of the plasma, but reduced that of the serum. This growth-promoting activity was confirmed by showing that the patients' serum and plasma increased the labeling index with [3H]thymidine and the total number of nuclei in hepatocyte cultures. The activity of pooled active fractions obtained by gel filtration of the heated plasma was lost completely on heat treatment at 80 degrees C for 10 min or on treatment with trypsin or chymotrypsin, which suggests that it was due to a protein. The human hepatocyte growth factor was purified about 600-fold from heated plasma of a patient by ammonium sulfate precipitation and chromatographies on Affi-Gel Blue and hydroxylapatite. The maximum effect of this partially purified factor on DNA synthesis in cultured hepatocytes was greater than that of epidermal growth factor. The molecular weight of the hepatocyte growth factor was about 85,000 as determined by SDS-PAGE.

Animals↗

Crystal structure at 2.6 A resolution of the complex of subtilisin BPN' with streptomyces subtilisin inhibitor.

The crystal structure of the complex of a bacterial alkaline serine proteinase, subtilisin BPN', with its proteinaceous inhibitor SSI (Streptomyces subtilisin inhibitor) was solved at 2.6 A resolution. Compared with other similar complexes involving serine proteinases of the trypsin family, the present structure is unique in several respects. (1) In addition to the usual antiparallel beta-sheet involving the P1, P2 and P3 residues of the inhibitor, the P4, P5 and P6 residues form an antiparallel beta-sheet with a previously unnoticed chain segment (residues 102 through 104, which was named the S4-6 site) of subtilisin BPN'. (2) The S4-6 site does not exist in serine proteinases of the trypsin family, whether of mammalian or microbial origin. (3) Global induced-fit movement seems to occur on SSI: a channel-like structure in SSI where hydrophobic side-chains are sandwiched between two lobes becomes about 2 A wider upon complexing with subtilisin. (4) The complex is most probably a Michaelis complex, as in most of the other complexes. (5) The main role of the "secondary contact region" of SSI seems to be to support the reactive site loop ("primary contact region"). Steric homology of the two contact regions between the inhibitors of the SSI family and the pancreatic secretory trypsin inhibitor-ovomucoid inhibitor family is so high that it seems to indicate divergent evolutionary processes and to support the general notion as to the relationship of prokaryotic and eukaryotic genes put forward by Doolittle (1978).

Amino Acid Sequence↗

Charge state of His-57-Asp-102 couple in a transition state analogue-trypsin complex: a molecular orbital study.

Ab initio molecular orbital studies have been made as a model for the deacylation step of trypsin. Ser-195 is modeled by H2O in which one H is replaced either by--PO2(OH)- (monoisopropyl phosphoryl, MIP) or by--CHO(OH)- (a transition state analogue, TSD). The quantum mechanical region includes imidazole+ and acetate- as models for His-57+ and Asp-102-, two hydrogen bonds from two formamide molecules to the oxyanion MIP or TSD, and three hydrogen bonds to Asp-102. The remainder of the enzyme is treated classically as a fractional charge model. The effect of proton transfer from His-57+ to Asp-102- is very similar for the MIP and TSD models, and the proton transfer is energetically unfavorable for all models that include at least the hydrogen bond from an H2O that models Ser-214. Thus, the several hydrogen bonds to the models of the catalytic unit (substrate, Ser-195, His-57, and Asp-102) stabilize the His-57+/Asp-102- salt link, and this indicates that proton transfer does not occur from His-57+ to Asp-102-. (Also, the similarities of energy of transfer of this proton transfer for the various models show that the model substrate analogue behaves very similarly to the MIP inhibitor.)

Aspartic Acid↗