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Biomedical subjects

S Kawamura

Publications and source records attributed to S Kawamura.

At least 37 records · Page 2Linked to original sources
PubMed2001

Effects of in vivo gene transfer of fibroblast growth factor-2 on cardiac function and collateral vessel formation in the microembolized rabbit heart.

The effects of gene transfer of the secreted form of fibroblast growth factor-2 (FGF-2) were tested using an adenovirus vector in the microembolized rabbit heart. Japanese white rabbits underwent an intracoronary injection of 25-microm microspheres followed by recombinant adenovirus vectors encoding a secreted form of FGF-2 (FGF group), LacZ (LacZ group), or saline (saline group). Left ventricular (LV) systolic function was serially assessed by echocardiography. Vascular density was measured at 14 days with Azan and CD31 staining. The development of collateral vessels was assessed by measuring myocardial blood flow before and after the occlusion of the left anterior descending coronary artery. Percent fractional shortening (%FS) decreased after the microembolization, and improved gradually for 14 days in the FGF group only (41+/-1% (FGF) vs 32+/-1% (LacZ), 31+/-1% (saline), p<0.01). The vascular density and myocardial collateral blood flow were significantly higher in the FGF group in comparison with other groups. Transcoronary arterial gene transfer of the secreted form of FGF-2 was beneficial for the recovery of LV systolic function and development of collateral vessels in the microembolized rabbit heart.

Animals↗
PubMed2001

Relationship between serum TNF activity and insulin resistance in dairy cows affected with naturally occurring fatty liver.

To clarity the relationship between tumor necrosis factor (TNF) and insulin resistance in dairy cows affected with fatty liver, naturally occurring cases were investigated. The affected cows were classified into following three groups according to histopathologic findings of the liver: mild fat droplet deposition (group 1; n=11), severe fat droplet deposition (group 2; n=10), and cloudy swelling (group 3; n=8). Serum TNF activities in Group 2 (8.67 +/- 2.16 U/ml) and Group 3 (11.65 +/- 1.92 U/ml) were significantly higher than that in Group 1 (3.57 +/- 0.81 U/ml) (p<0.05). The insulin-tolerance tests showed that the insulin-stimulated glucose disposal rates (GDR) in Group 2 (27.6 +/- 7.8%) and Group 3 (15.8 +/- 9.1%) were significantly lower than that in Group 1 (41.7 +/- 9.8%). There was a significant negative correlation between serum TNF activity and GDR in affected cows (r=-0.56, p<0.01). These results indicate that serum TNF activity is correlated with insulin resistance in cows with fatty liver.

Animals↗
PubMed2001

Changes of immunological response after experimentally ozonated autohemoadministration in calves.

Changes in subsets of peripheral blood mononuclear cells and lymphocyte blastogenesis reaction were observed after ozonated autohemoadministration (OAHA) in calves. Ten healthy calves were used in this study. After OAHA, CD8+ cells, CD14+ cells and WCl+cells increased (p<0.05). The level of lymphocyte blastogenesis stimulated by PHA decreased after OAHA. A significant increase in serum IL-6 activity was observed in OAHA calves. These results suggested that OAHA induced immunological changes in calves.

Animals↗
PubMed2001

Determination of canine beta2-microgloblin in plasma and urine by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay.

An enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay was developed for the determination of canine beta2-microglobulin (beta2-m) in plasma and urine. The detectable sensitivity for pure canine beta2-m was 0.05 microg/l and the analytical range was 0.1 to 50 microg/l. The mean analytical recovery when pure canine beta2-m was added to normal plasma was 101.9%. The mean analytical recovery in the urine was 102.1%. The intra-day variation coefficient was 3.1% in plasma, 4.3% in serum and 1.9% in urine. No difference was found between the concentration of beta2-m in plasma and serum (n=17). The concentration of beta2-m in the plasma of normal dogs was 1.82 +/- 0.57 mg/l (n=31). The mean excretion in 24 hr urine collected from normal dogs was 17.6 +/- 9.2 microg/l, 0.22 +/- 0.12 microg/kg of body weight or 14.2 +/- 9.4 microg/g of urine creatinine. The beta2-m creatinine index of random urine samples was 23.5 +/- 16.6 microg/g (n=26). There was a close correlation between the beta2-m creatinine index of 24 hr urine samples and that of random urine samples (r=0.872).

Animals↗
PubMed2001

Acute phase response in naturally occurring coliform mastitis.

Changes in the activities of serum cytokines and in acute phase response were observed in dairy cows with naturally occurring coliform mastitis. Seven cows with severe mastitis showed systemic and mammary inflammatory response throughout the observation period, and 11 cows with mild mastitis recovered and were able to be milked within 3 days of onset of mastitis. Serum interleukin (IL)-I and tumor necrosis factor (TNF) activities were higher in the severe group than in the mild group at the first appearance of symptoms. Elevated IL-1 activity was evident in the severe group throughout the observation period. Serum alpha-1-acidglycoprotein (alpha1AG) concentration began to rise with the beginning of mastitis in the severe group, and peaked at 9 days. Serum haptoglobin (Hp) concentrations peaked at 3 days, and decreased gradually after 3 days in the severe group. These results showed that there are dynamic changes in serum IL-1 activity and in serum alpha1AG and Hp concentrations in cows with severe coliform mastitis.

Acute-Phase Proteins↗
PubMed2001

Senile plaques in an aged western lowland gorilla.

Senile plaques (SPs) were found in the cerebral cortex of a 44-year-old Western lowland gorilla (Gorilla gorilla gorilla). All the SPs were obtained as dense assemblies consisting of fibrous materials by silver impregnation, but were not detected by Congo red. More SPs were detected by immunostaining for amyloid beta protein (A beta) and a half of A beta-positive-SPs were also immunoreactive for apolipoprotein E. Moreover, all SPs were immunoreactive for A beta 42 and A beta 43, but not for A beta 40. SPs also did not contain A beta precursor protein-positive structures. These findings suggested that SPs in this case were diffuse plaques. To our knowledge, this is the first report of SPs in the gorilla.

Aging↗
PubMed2001

Effects of various insecticides on the development of the egg parasitoid Trichogramma dendrolimi (Hymenoptera: Trichogrammatidae).

The toxicity of six insecticides, acephate, methomyl, ethofenprox, cartap, chlorfluazuron, and Bacillus thuringiensis (Bt) was tested on different developmental stages of the egg parasitoid, Trichogramma dendrolimi (Matsumura). Each of the insecticides tested showed different degrees of toxicity to the parasitoid, Ethofenprox showed the highest toxicity and cartap showed relatively higher toxicity compared with the other insecticides. The development of the parasitoids treated with these two insecticides was normal, similar to that of the control group. Only the emergence of adult wasps from host eggs was disturbed. Emergence of the host, Mamestra brassicae larva was reduced following treatment with ethofenprox, cartap and methomyl. However, adult female wasps, which emerged from host eggs treated with the insecticides had the ability to oviposit normally.

Animals↗
PubMed2001

Organ doses from radiation therapy in atomic bomb survivors.

Previous surveys of radiation therapy among the Life Span Study (LSS) population at the Radiation Effects Research Foundation (RERF) revealed that 1,670 (1.4%) of the LSS participants received radiation treatments before 1984. The data on therapeutic radiation doses are indispensable for studying the relationship between radiation treatments and subsequent cancer occurrences. In this study, the radiation treatments were reproduced experimentally to determine the scattered radiation doses. The experiments were conducted using a female human phantom and various radiation sources, including a medium-voltage X-ray machine and a (60)Co gamma-ray source. Doses were measured using thermoluminescence dosimetry and ionization chambers. Radiation doses were determined for the salivary glands, thyroid gland, breast, lung, stomach, colon, ovary and active bone marrow. The results have been used for documenting the organ doses received by patients in previous surveys. The contribution of therapeutic irradiation to the occurrence of chromosome aberrations was studied using data on doses to active bone marrow from both radiation treatments and atomic bomb exposures in 26 RERF Adult Health Study participants. The results suggest that radiation treatments contributed to a large part of their frequencies of stable-type chromosome aberrations. The therapeutic radiation doses determined in the present study are available for investigating the effects of therapeutic irradiation on the subsequent primary cancers among atomic bomb survivors who received radiation treatments.

Chromosome Aberrations↗
PubMed2001

Application of computer-assisted sperm analysis system to elucidate lack of effects of cyclophosphamide on rat epididymal sperm motion.

A computer-assisted sperm analysis (CASA) system was used to examine the motion of epididymal spermatozoa derived from cyclophosphamide (CP)-treated male rats. Male rats were orally dosed daily for 1 week with 20 mg/kg of CP. Males were euthanized or were mated 3 times with untreated females at 1 day, 3 weeks, and 8 weeks after the final treatment. Significant decreases in testicular and epididymal weights and epididymal sperm counts of the treated animals were noted after 8-week recovery. Histopathological morphometry of the testis revealed minimal damage to spermatogonia at 1 day after the final treatment and to spermatocytes after 3-week recovery in the CP-treated group. On Caesarian section, increased post-implantation losses were found in females mated with CP-treated males in matings starting 1 day and 3 weeks after the final treatment. On the other hand, none of the sperm motion parameters of treated males derived from the CASA system exhibited significant changes at any time points, although the spermatozoa of treated males at 1 day and 3 weeks after the final treatment were damaged at the DNA level, and the spermatozoa of males after 8-week recovery had been the target cells of CP when they were spermatogonia in the testis. It was thus found that damaged spermatozoa could exhibit no changes on their motion when the damage was confined to the nuclei, and that the effect of CP on sperm nuclei was reversible.

Animals↗
PubMed2001

[Retrospective evaluation of PSA density for selection of biopsy candidates with prostate specific antigen in the gray zone].

PURPOSE: We examined the usefulness of prostate specific antigen density (PSAD) for selection of biopsy candidate with prostate specific antigen levels between 4.1 and 10.0 ng./ml. in prostate cancer screening retrospectively. MATERIALS AND METHODS: The screening was conducted on male candidates in Natori city, aged 55 years or older, for 6 years from 1994 through 1999. We could analyze serum PSA levels and PSA density in 118 men with PSA levels between 4.1 and 10.0 ng./ml. All of 118 men underwent ultrasound guided systematic prostate biopsy regardless of findings of digital rectal examination and transrectal ultrasound. Prostate volume was estimated by transrectal ultrasound measurements using the prolate ellipse formula (pi/6 x length x width x height). PSAD was calculated by dividing serum PSA level by prostate volume. Serum PSA levels were determined by Tandem-R assay. RESULTS: In 118 men, twenty-five men had prostate cancer. There was no significant difference in mean PSA between those with prostate cancer and those without prostate cancer, but the difference was significant in the mean PSA density (mean 0.26 and 0.16, respectively, p < 0.0001). Receiver operating characteristic curves for PSA and PSAD demonstrated superior benefit for PSAD in 118 men. A sensitivity, a specificity, a positive predictive value and a negative predictive value of PSAD cut-off of 0.15 were 88%, 52.7%, 33.3% and 94.2%. PSAD cut-off of 0.18 showed the highest sum of sensitivity and specificity, which gave a sensitivity of 80%, a specificity of 72%, a positive predictive value of 43.5% and a negative predictive value of 93.1%. PSAD cut-off of 0.15 would seem to be preferable to cut-off of 0.18 because of less cancer missing. CONCLUSIONS: Although further studies are needed to determine optimal cut-off value to be used in clinical practice, PASD seems to be useful for the selection of biopsy candidates with PSA levels of 4.1 to 10.0 ng./ml. in the prostate cancer screening.

Aged↗
PubMed2001

Retroperitoneal fibrosis and immune-complex glomerulonephritis.

A 63-year-old man with rapidly progressive glomerulonephritis of the immune-complex type showed typical findings of idiopathic retroperitoneal fibrosis involving the left ureter resulting in hydronephrosis. Treatment with steroid improved both conditions. Our case and previously reported cases showing the same association of conditions support the hypothesis that the association is not fortuitous but reflects a common immunological mechanism.

Disease Progression↗
PubMed2001

[Primary renal non-Hodgkin's lymphoma presenting as massive macrohematuria and bladder tamponade].

A 43-year-old man with macrohematuria and anuresis was admitted, and diagnosed as having bladder tamponade due to coagulates. Abdominal ultrasonography and computed tomography revealed bilateral renal tumors. Bilateral renal arteriography showed hypovascular lesions. Percutaneous needle biopsy of the left renal tumor was performed, and the final diagnosis was non-Hodgkin's lymphoma (diffuse mixed, B cell type, CSIIA). After six courses of chemotherapy, the tumor lesions were markedly reduced, and at present there is no evidence of recurrence.

Adult↗
PubMed2001

[Spinal cord sarcoidosis without abnormal shadows on chest radiography or chest CT diagnosed by transbronchial lung biopsy].

The patient was a woman aged 56 years. In February 1998, she complained of fatigability of the right upper limb and disturbed extension of the right fourth finger. Because her condition deteriorated gradually and myelopathic signs such as difficulty in walking developed, she was hospitalized in May 1999 for close examination and appropriate treatment; and she was a few days later transferred to our hospital because of progressive myelopathy. In T2-weighted MR images of the cervical spine, the high-intensity area ranged between C2 and Th1, and in Gd-DTPA enhanced MRI the high-intensity area was seen between C3 and C7. Although chest radiographs and chest CT scans were normal, spinal cord sarcoidosis could not be ruled out, and therefore, bronchoscopic examination was performed. Specimens obtained from transbronchial lung biopsy (TBLB) revealed non-caseating epithelioid cell granulomas, and so and the disease was diagnosed as spinal cord sarcoidosis. Both symptoms and MRI findings were improved by treatment with corticosteroids. It is suggested that, in patients suspected of spinal cord sarcoidosis from MRI findings. TBLB should be aggressively attempted, even if chest radiographs and chest CT scans are normal.

Biopsy↗
PubMed2000

Immunohistochemical expression of Bcl-2, Bax and cytochrome c following focal cerebral ischemia and effect of hypothermia in rat.

Recent studies suggest that mild hypothermia significantly alleviate damage following cerebral ischemia though the precise mechanism is poorly defined. In the present study, middle cerebral artery occlusion (MCAo) was induced in Sprague-Dawley (SD) rats for 1 h followed by varying periods of reperfusion. Cerebral infarcts identified by hematoxylin & eosin (H&E) staining revealed extensive lesion in normothermic (NT) 37 degrees C and small lesion in hypothermic (HT) 33 degrees C group of rats. Immunohistochemical analysis revealed Bcl-2 was induced in many neurons of HT group, while Bax and cytochrome c was induced in few neurons. In situ detection of DNA fragmentation using 3'-OH end labeling method (terminal dUTP nick-end labelling (TUNEL)) indicated, higher number of TUNEL-positive cells in NT group, but significantly decreased in HT group. The expression pattern revealed many neurons at the penumbra region could survive in HT group whereas, many neurons are committed to die in NT group. Our results suggest that hypothermia is selectively interfering at more than one place and providing protection.

Animals↗
PubMed2000

Characterization of p26olf, a novel calcium-binding protein in the frog olfactory epithelium.

We have previously shown that p26olf is a novel S100-like Ca(2+)-binding protein in the frog olfactory epithelium. In this paper, we characterized the Ca(2+) binding property of p26olf, examined the precise localization in the frog olfactory epithelium, and searched for the possible target proteins of p26olf. By flow dialysis experiments using (45)Ca, p26olf was suggested to bind approximately 4 Ca(2+). Circular dichroism measurement showed that binding of Ca(2+) to p26olf induces an increase in the apparent content of both alpha-helix and beta-sheet with an apparent K(d) value of 2.4 micrometer. Electron microscopic observation disclosed p26olf immunoreactivity in the cilia, dendritic knob, and dendrite of olfactory receptor cells. Blot overlay analysis and affinity purification of p26olf-binding proteins showed that p26olf binds to a frog beta-adrenergic receptor kinase-like protein in a Ca(2+)-dependent manner. These results suggested that p26olf has some roles in the olfactory transduction or adaptation.

Amphibian Proteins↗
PubMed2000

Amino acid residues of S-modulin responsible for interaction with rhodopsin kinase.

S-modulin in frog or its bovine homologue, recoverin, is a 23-kDa EF-hand Ca(2+)-binding protein found in rod photoreceptors. The Ca(2+)-bound form of S-modulin binds to rhodopsin kinase (Rk) and inhibits its activity. Through this regulation, S-modulin is thought to modulate the light sensitivity of a rod. In the present study, we tried to identify the interaction site of the Ca(2+)-bound form of S-modulin to Rk. First, we mapped roughly the interaction regions by using partial peptides of S-modulin. The result suggested that a specific region near the amino terminus is the interaction site of S-modulin. We then identified the essential amino acid residues in this region by using S-modulin mutant proteins: four amino acid residues (Phe(22), Glu(26), Phe(55), and Thr(92)) were suggested to interact with Rk. These residues are located in a small closed pocket in the Ca(2+)-free, inactive form of S-modulin, but exposed to the surface of the molecule in the Ca(2+)-bound, active form of S-modulin. Two additional amino acid residues (Tyr(108) and Arg(150)) were found to be crucial for the Ca(2+)-dependent conformational changes of S-modulin.

Amino Acid Sequence↗
PubMed2000

Survival rate of microbes after freeze-drying and long-term storage.

The survival rates of 10 species of microorganisms were investigated after freeze-drying and preserving in a vacuum at 5 degrees C. The survival rates varied with species. The survival rates immediately after freeze-drying were different among yeast, gram-positive bacteria, and gram-negative bacteria, and the change in the 10-year survival rate was species-specific. The survival rate of yeast, Saccharomyces cerevisiae, was about 10% immediately after drying, and the rate did not decrease significantly during the 10-year storage period. Survival rates after the drying of gram-positive bacteria, i.e., Brevibacterium flavum, B. lactofermentum, Corynebacterium acetoacidophilum, C. gultamicum, and Streptococcus mutans, were around 80%. The survival rate of Brevibacterium and Corynebacterium did not decrease greatly during the storage period, whereas the rate of S. mutans decreased to about 20% after 10 years. Survival rates after the drying of gram-negative bacteria, i.e., Escherichia coli, Pseudomonas putida, Serratia marcescens, and Alcaligenes faecalis, were around 50%. The survival rate decreased for the first 5 years and then stabilized to around 10% thereafter.

Freeze Drying↗