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Biomedical subjects

S Kawai

Publications and source records attributed to S Kawai.

At least 19 recordsLinked to original sources

Combined action of paraquat and superoxide on the peroxidation of detergent-dispersed linolenic acid.

We investigated the peroxidative effect of paraquat and active oxygens on detergent-dispersed linolenic acid in phosphate buffer (pH 7.5) from the malondialdehyde (MDA) level. Our complete system and further inclusion of catalase were effective in stimulating MDA formation. On the other hand, xanthine oxidase (XOD) or paraquat omission, superoxide dismutase (SOD) inclusion or anaerobic incubation inhibited the formation of MDA. Ferrous ion was weakly associated with phosphate of the buffer, forming a complex, and the release of ferrous ion from the complex intensified the MDA levels with the complete and catalase inclusion systems. The electron paramagnetic resonance (EPR) spectra using 5,5-dimethyl-1-pyrroline N-oxide (DMPO) showed that superoxide, produced immediately after the addition of XOD, played a crucial role. We could obtain a DMPO-OOH signal at the starting stage whenever MDA stimulation was observed. The omission of paraquat, however, produced no increase in MDA level in spite of an appearance of DMPO-OOH signal, indicating that paraquat also plays an important role. On the other hand, Desferal, a ferric chelator, showed a concentration-dependent inhibition effect. There was an immediate strong intensity of DMPO-OOH and paraquat signals. We did not, however, observe MDA stimulation at 250 microM Desferal, which confirms that ferrous ion plays an essential role in the lipid peroxidation. These results indicate a combined action of paraquat (or its radical) and superoxide on the accessibility of ferrous ion, including its release from the complex with phosphate, which may be an endogenous chelator. The possibility of ternary complex participation is also discussed.

Cyclic N-Oxides

Cell proliferation in childhood acute leukemia. Comparison of Ki-67 and proliferating cell nuclear antigen immunocytochemical and DNA flow cytometric analysis.

The proliferative activity of bone marrow leukemia cells was determined by DNA flow cytometric (FCM) analysis and labeling index (LI) of Ki-67 monoclonal antibodies and proliferating cell nuclear antigen (PCNA) autoantibodies in 73 children with acute leukemia. LI of Ki-67 varied greatly from patient to patient (range, 0.4% to 42.2%; mean, 18.8%) and differed significantly between acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL) and acute nonlymphoblastic leukemia (ANLL). In ALL, the Ki-67 LI showed a positive correlation with the S-phase fraction (SPF) determined by DNA FCM analysis, whereas, in ANLL, there was a discrepancy between the Ki-67 LI and SPF. In contrast, LI of PCNA varied less among the patients (range, 57.2% to 100%; mean, 90.3%), and the value was always higher than that of the Ki-67 LI in individual patients. A significant relationship between PCNA LI and the percentage of blast cells was found in peripheral blood leukocytes from patients with leukemia. These results suggest that the Ki-67 LI reflects differences in the proliferative activity depending on the subtype of the disease and that the PCNA LI is useful as a marker of proliferating cells.

Blast Crisis

Prospective and randomized clinical trial for the treatment of hepatocellular carcinoma--a comparison of lipiodol-transcatheter arterial embolization with and without adriamycin (first cooperative study). The Cooperative Study Group for Liver Cancer Treatment of Japan.

A randomized, controlled clinical trial comparing the use of lipiodol-transcatheter arterial embolization (L-TAE) in the presence versus the absence of Adriamycin (ADR) for the treatment of hepatocellular carcinoma was conducted from August 1988 through September 1989. In all, 125 Japanese hospitals participated in this study and 289 patients were entered in the trial. The patients were randomly allocated into group A (L-TAE) or group B (L-TAE + ADR) by telephone registration. There was no significant difference in background factors between group A and group B. Additional treatment, including repeated TAE or hepatic resection, was given to 189 patients. Among the four endpoints analyzed, the rate of tumor reduction and lipiodol accumulation in the tumor did not significantly differ between the two groups. The 3-year survival values for groups A and B were 33.6% and 34.9%, respectively; the difference was not significant. The serum alpha-fetoprotein level, however, decreased to a significantly greater extent in the group that received ADR than in the group that did not (P < 0.05). This result suggests that ADR has some favorable additional effect in L-TAE for the treatment of hepatocellular carcinoma.

Adult

Prospective and randomized clinical trial for the treatment of hepatocellular carcinoma--a comparison of L-TAE with Farmorubicin and L-TAE with adriamycin (second cooperative study). The Cooperative Study Group for Liver Cancer Treatment of Japan.

A randomized clinical trial comparing L-TAE with Farmorubicin (FARM) and L-TAE with Adriamycin (ADR) in the treatment of hepatocellular carcinoma was conducted from October 1989 through December 1990. In all, 192 hospitals participated in this study and 117 patients were entered. The patients were randomly allocated to group A (L-TAE+FARM) or group B (L-TAE+ADR). There was no significant intergroup difference in background factors. Additional treatment consisting of repeated TAE or surgery was given to 66 patients. Four factors were analyzed in this study: the percentage of reduction in tumor size, the change in the AFP level, lipiodol accumulation, and survival. None of these factors differed significantly between the two groups. The final evaluation of this study will be based on differences in survival after a long-term follow-up. Toxic effects manifested less frequently in group A than in group B, and the decrease in the platelet count in the peripheral blood was significantly lower in group A than in group B. These results suggest that FARM exerts a more favorable effect than does ADR in the treatment of hepatocellular carcinoma.

Adult

Radiotherapy of cholangiocarcinoma: the roles for primary and adjuvant therapies.

A total of 22 patients with cholangiocarcinoma who had been treated with external radiotherapy between 1978 and 1989 were analyzed. Of the 22 patients, 18 had cancer of the hepatic hilus (Klatskin) and 4 had intrahepatic biliary cancer; all but 2 of the subjects had advanced disease. In all, 16 patients underwent primary irradiation for unresectable tumors, 4 were subjected to adjuvant irradiation after gross tumor resection, and 2 received preoperative irradiation followed by gross tumor resection. The mean initial irradiation dose was 52.0 Gy (range, 26-78 Gy). The TDF (time-dose-fractionation) for the entire course of radiotherapy ranged from 49 to 154 (mean, 100). The median survival of all patients was 10 months, and the cumulative 1-year survival value was 37.7%. The external radiotherapy proved to be effective in the treatment of cholangiocarcinoma in terms of palliation and survival.

Adenoma, Bile Duct

Isolation of the avian transforming retrovirus, AS42, carrying the v-maf oncogene and initial characterization of its gene product.

A novel avian transforming retrovirus was isolated from a chicken musculoaponeurotic fibrosarcoma. This virus (called AS42) induces tumors histopathologically indistinguishable from the original sarcoma after a long latent period when inoculated into newborn chickens. AS42 also exhibits a weak transforming activity when infected into chicken embryo fibroblasts (CEF). This virus is replication-defective and associated with a helper virus of subgroup A (called ASAV). An AS42-specific protein of about 100 kDa was immunoprecipitated from lysates of AS42-transformed CEF with antiserum directed against avian retrovirus virion proteins. Molecular analysis of the genomic structure of the AS42 virus has revealed that this 100-kDa protein represents a novel oncogene, v-maf of cellular origin, which is fused with a part of the viral gag gene (Nishizawa et al., Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. USA 86, 7711-7715, 1989). Interestingly, some size variation was observed among the gag-maf fusion proteins found in individual clones of transformed CEF. Consistent with this observation, Southern blot analyses and nucleotide sequence determination of several independent isolates of proviral DNA indicated that this virus segregates multiple forms of deletion mutants, probably through homologous recombinations among the repetitive sequences present within the v-maf coding region.

Animals

A comparison of vascularized and conventional sural nerve grafts.

Long-term results of a randomized series of 27 vascularized and 22 conventional sural nerve grafts in patients with comparable upper extremity injuries are reported. Recovery speed and outcome depended on (1) whether or not there was an overlying skin defect, (2) how the defect was closed, and (3) which nerve was injured and at what level. Generally, a vascularized nerve graft is indicated when the nerve gap is more than 6 cm and is associated with a massive skin defect or the graft is performed after reimplantation. Otherwise, results achieved with a conventional graft are equally good.

Adolescent

A degenerative lesion of the approach to the atrioventricular node producing second-degree and third-degree atrioventricular block.

We report a case of a degenerative approach lesion in an 83-year-old male with diabetes mellitus, hypertension, and ischemic heart disease. His ECGs changed from first-degree atrioventricular (AV) block 14 years ago, to third-degree AV (A-H) block. A pacemaker was implanted for bradycardia. He died 4 years later from heart and renal failure. Serial sections through the conduction system revealed total depletion and fatty replacement of the atrial muscle at the approaches to the AV node.

Aged

Drastic alteration of cycloheximide sensitivity by substitution of one amino acid in the L41 ribosomal protein of yeasts.

Cycloheximide is one of the antibiotics that inhibit protein synthesis in most eukaryotic cells. We have found that a yeast, Candida maltosa, is resistant to the drug because it possesses a cycloheximide-resistant ribosome, and we have isolated the gene responsible for this. In this study, we sequenced this gene and found that the gene encodes a protein homologous to the L41 ribosomal protein of Saccharomyces cerevisiae, whose amino acid sequence has already been reported. Two genes for L41 protein, named L41a and L41b, independently present in the genome of S. cerevisiae, were isolated. L41-related genes were also isolated from a few other yeast species. Each of these genes has an intron at the same site of the open reading frame. Comparison of their deduced amino acid sequences and their ability to confer cycloheximide resistance to S. cerevisiae, when introduced in a high-copy-number plasmid, suggested that the 56th amino acid residue of the L41 protein determines the sensitivity of the ribosome to cycloheximide; the amino acid is glutamine in the resistant ribosome, whereas that in the sensitive ribosome is proline. This was confirmed by constructing a cycloheximide-resistant strain of S. cerevisiae having a disrupted L41a gene and an L41b gene with a substitution of the glutamine codon for the proline codon.

Amino Acid Sequence

Highly efficient focus formation by Rous sarcoma virus on adenovirus type 12 E1A-transformed rat 3Y1 cells.

When rat 3Y1 cells were infected with Rous sarcoma virus (RSV) variant SR-RSV-D(H), many 3Y1 cells acquired a stable provirus but only few of them formed transformed foci. In contrast, 12E1AY cells (3Y1 cells expressing the adenovirus type 12 [Ad12] E1A protein) formed transformed foci upon RSV infection with the same high frequency as did chicken embryo fibroblast cells. This enhancement of focus-forming efficiency was specifically observed in 3Y1 cells expressing Ad12 E1A protein but was not observed in 3Y1 cells expressing simian virus 40 T, c-myc, p53, c-fos, or v-fos protein. This enhancement was not evident in 5E1AY cells (3Y1 cells expressing the Ad5 E1A protein). Judging from the experiment using Ad12-Ad5 hybird E1A DNAs, the N-terminal half of the Ad12 E1A protein was responsible for this enhancement. The promoter activity of the RSV long terminal repeat measured by pLTR-CAT did not correlate to the efficiency of focus formation by RSV in these 3Y1 cells. Moreover, RSV containing the neo gene instead of the src gene produced G418-resistant cells equally efficiently among 3Y1, E1AY, and chicken embryo fibroblast cells. These results suggest that the enhancement of focus formation by RSV is not due to the increased expression of the src gene by the E1A protein. src mRNA and src protein were lower in RSV-transformed E1AY (RSVE1AY) cells than in RSV-transformed 3Y1 (RSV3Y1) cells. The phosphotyrosine-containing proteins were also less abundant in RSVE1AY cells than in RSV3Y1 cells, suggesting that E1AY cells require a lower threshold dose of p60v-src for transformation than do 3Y1 cells. E1AY cells were found to be more sensitive to lysis by detergents. The results suggest that the enhancement is due to changes in membrane structures in E1AY cells.

Adenovirus Early Proteins

Nucleotide sequence of the gene for an alkaline endoglucanase from an alkalophilic Bacillus and its expression in Escherichia coli and Bacillus subtilis.

The gene for an alkaline endoglucanase from the alkalophilic Bacillus sp. KSM-64 was cloned into the HindIII site of pBR322 and expressed in Escherichia coli HB101. The nucleotide sequence of a 4.1-kb region of the HindIII insert had two open reading frames, ORF-1 and ORF-2. The protein deduced from ORF-1 was composed of 244 amino acids with an M(r) of 27,865. Subcloning analysis proved that the alkaline endoglucanase was encoded by ORF-2 (822 amino acids with an M(r) of 91,040). Upstream from ORF-2, there were three consensus like sequences of the sigma A-type promoter of Bacillus subtilis, a putative Shine-Dalgarno sequence (AGGAGGT), and a catabolite repression operator-like sequence (TGTAAGCGGTTAACC). The HindIII insert was subcloned into a shuttle vector, pHY300PLK, and the encoded alkaline endoglucanase gene was highly expressed both in E. coli and B. subtilis. One of the three promoter-like sequences in ORF-2 could be suitable for high levels of enzyme expression in both host organisms.

Amino Acid Sequence

Cushing's syndrome due to primary adrenocortical nodular dysplasia, cardiac myxomas, and spotty pigmentation, complicated by sarcoidosis.

A 23-year-old male patient revealed hypercortisolism with stigmata of Cushing's syndrome, and post-operative pathological examination demonstrated primary adrenal nodular dysplasia. Because of the presence of cardiac myxomas and skin pigmentation, the diagnosis of Carney's complex was given. After the control of hypercortisolism by adrenalectomy, the patient experienced iridocyclitis and bilateral hilar lymphadenopathy with elevated levels of serum angiotensin-converting enzyme and lysozyme, all of which indicated the presence of sarcoidosis. Despite the numerous recent descriptions concerning Carney's complex, an association with sarcoidosis has not yet been documented. Moreover, the sequential occurrence of sarcoidosis after adrenalectomy suggests an etiological link between these two rare disorders.

Adrenal Cortex

A case of amylase-producing lung cancer.

A case of lung cancer with hyperamylasemia was studied. Small cell carcinoma was diagnosed histologically. The salivary gland and pancreas had no clinical involvement in the hyperamylasemia. Saliva-type amylase was dominant as observed from amylase isozyme patterns in the serum and tumorous tissue. Levels of amylase were higher in tumorous tissue than in normal lung tissue. Immunohistochemical study showed amylase localized in tumor cells. Observation of the ultrastructure revealed electron-dense granules in the cytoplasm of the tumor cells. Findings suggested that amylase was being produced by the lung cancer in this case.

Amylases

Cortical and subcortical cavernous angioma: a comparison of patients with and without hemorrhage as the initial symptom.

Cavernous angioma is a benign vascular hamartoma with an obscure etiology. Clinical, radiological, and histological features of 24 cases of cortical and subcortical cavernous angiomas were analyzed to investigate the etiology. The lesions were classified as hemorrhaging (8 cases) or non-hemorrhaging (16 cases) according to the initial symptom. Age, sex, location, calcification and postcontrast enhancement by computed tomography (CT), tumor staining by angiography, and calcification and hemosiderin by histological examination were analyzed. Multivariate analysis showed that calcification by CT and histological examination correlated with non-hemorrhaging cases. Histological examination showed that calcification occurred inside and outside the blood vessels, within the vessel walls and in the adjacent brain tissue. Hemosiderin was also seen in most cases. These findings suggest that cavernous angiomas without hemorrhage have a poor circulation, resulting in minor recurrent bleeding and thrombosis, as well as calcification.

Adolescent

Cell-cycle-associated expressions of proliferating cell nuclear antigen and Ki-67 reactive antigen of bone marrow blast cells in childhood acute leukemia.

To investigate the growth characteristics of human leukemia cells, the expression of proliferation-associated nuclear antigens was examined in relation to cell cycle phases in marrow blast cells obtained from 37 untreated children with acute leukemia. Ki-67 monoclonal antibody reactive antigen and proliferating cell nuclear antigen (PCNA) were measured by the simultaneous flow cytometric analysis of DNA and nuclear antigens. The percentage of PCNA-positive cells was always higher than that of Ki-67-positive cells in individual patients. The level of PCNA was greatly increased in G1 or early S phase, but was generally stable in S and G2 phases. Accordingly, most of the cells in the proliferative compartments (greater than 2C DNA) showed a high expression of PCNA. In contrast, expression of Ki-67 antigen varied greatly from patient to patient, and differed significantly in different subtypes of the disease. The level of Ki-67 antigen increased with the cell cycle progression, showing maximum expression in late S and G2 phases. However, in most of the patients, a distinct population of Ki-67-negative cells was found not only in G1 phase, but also in the proliferative compartments. These results appear to reflect differences in the proliferative activity of bone marrow blast cells in childhood acute leukemia.

Cell Cycle

[Vagal innervation in the human atrioventricular valves].

Innervation of the human atrioventricular (AV) valves is microscopically studied by histopathological methods. The tricuspid and mitral valves of 4 autopsied hearts of adult men (age range from 50 to 74 years old) without any cardiovascular diseases were stained for acetylcholine-esterase by histochemical method in the medium containing acetylthiocholine iodide. Acetylcholine-esterase positive nerve fibers of 2 to 50 microns in diameter were widely distributed in the subepicardial space of the atrial of the AV valve. They formed a coarse network of the nerve elements from the valve base to the anatomical edge. The nerve network was more dense at the valve ring and base, as well as at the commissure, than at the edge and body. Some thick nerve fibers ran in the chordae tendineae. The thick fibers were intercalated with varicose-like special structures at several places in the leaflets, which seemed to be a kind of sensory apparatus. The thin nerve fibers ended, as usual, at small dot or brush-like apparatus. It is widely accepted that the acetylcholine-esterase positive nerve fibers are identical with vagal nerves which are insisted on participating in development of mitral valve prolapse syndrome. We suggest that the vagal innervation in the AV valves could play an important role for valvular function.

Acetylcholinesterase