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Biomedical subjects

S Kohno

Publications and source records attributed to S Kohno.

At least 829 records · Page 46Linked to original sources
PubMedDate not supplied

Expression of interleukin 6 and its receptor in human gastric and colorectal cancers.

Interleukin 6 (IL-6) is a pleiotropic cytokine with many physiological functions. The present study was designed to determine the expression of IL-6 and its receptor (IL-6R) in human gastric and colorectal cancers. Nine gastric- and nine colorectal cancer cell lines were analysed. The IL-6 gene was expressed in two gastric cancer cell lines and one colorectal cancer cell line; however, most of the cancer cell lines studied expressed the IL-6R gene. The level of IL-6 secretion in the gastric cancer cell lines correlated with the level of soluble IL-6R secretion, and was significantly higher (< approximately 100 pg/ml) than the level of IL-6 secretion in the colorectal cancer cell lines (< approximately 50 pg/ml). These results suggest that IL-6 may act in a paracrine fashion rather than an autocrine fashion in these cell lines.

Cell Line, Tumor↗
PubMedDate not supplied

Impact of CagA status on serum gastrin and pepsinogen I and II concentrations in Japanese children with Helicobacter pylori infection.

The study aimed to determine the association between cytotoxin-associated gene product (CagA), serum gastrin and pepsinogen levels in Japanese children infected with Helicobacter pylori. Three hundred children were enrolled in the study. H. pylori infection was assessed using an enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay, and CagA status was assessed using immunoblotting. Serum gastrin and pepsinogen concentrations were measured by radioimmunoassay. H. pylori seroprevalence was 12.3% (37/300) and CagA status was identified in 28/37 H. pylori-seropositive children (75.7%). Serum pepsinogen I and II levels were significantly higher in CagA-seropositive than CagA-seronegative children with H. pylori infection. There was no significant relationship between CagA seropositivity and serum gastrin levels. In conclusion, CagA status has a significant impact on serum pepsinogen levels, possibly through enhanced gastric mucosal inflammation.

Adolescent↗
PubMedDate not supplied

Comparison of the microbicidal activities of superoxidized and ozonated water in the disinfection of endoscopes.

The microbicidal activities of superoxidized water (electrolysed strong acid water [ESAW] or electrolysed weak acid water [EWAW]), ozonated water, 0.05% chlorhexidine and 2% glutaraldehyde were tested against seven strains of clinical micro-organism isolates. Following incubation of bacterial suspensions in ESAW and EWAW for 10 s, the number of micro-organisms was reduced below the detection limit. The microbicidal activities of ESAW and EWAW were similar to that of glutaraldehyde, and superior to ozonated water and 0.05% chlorhexidine. The microbicidal activities of ESAW, EWAW and ozonated water were markedly diminished in the presence of albumin. Microbial contamination of upper gastrointestinal endoscopes was detected after 90 endoscopic procedures, but treatment of the endoscope with ESAW, EWAW or ozonated water eradicated the microbes. These results indicate that ESAW and EWAW are effective disinfectants after mechanical cleaning of upper gastrointestinal endoscopes, and can, therefore, be used in the endoscopy unit.

Acids↗
PubMedDate not supplied

Autoimmunity to heat shock protein 40 in ulcerative colitis.

Autoantibodies against heat shock protein 40 (HSP40) and their clinical significance in ulcerative colitis (UC) have not been evaluated before. Twenty-six tissue specimens of inflamed areas from patients with UC, 16 from patients with Crohn's disease (CD) and 16 endoscopically normal tissues were analysed for HSP40 expression. Sera from 47 patients with UC and 44 healthy volunteers were examined for the presence of autoantibodies against HSP40 by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay test. Immunohistochemistry showed that 17 out of 26 specimens from UC patients, one specimen from a CD patient and one normal tissue specimen were positive for HSP40. Most HSP40-positive cells expressed CD68. Higher titres of anti-HSP40 autoantibodies were detected in sera from UC patients compared with healthy volunteers. In patients with inactive disease, those with proctitis or left-sided colitis had higher titres of anti-HSP40 autoantibodies than those with total colitis. Our study suggests that autoimmunity against HSP40 may have a beneficial effect in UC patients by limiting the extent of the disease.

Adolescent↗
PubMedDate not supplied

Amyloid beta protein deposition in osteopetrotic (op/op) mice is reduced by injections of macrophage colony stimulating factor.

The deposition of amyloid beta (Abeta) protein is a neuropathological change that characterizes Alzheimer's disease. Animals with the osteopetrosis (op/op) mutation suffer from a general skeletal sclerosis, a significantly reduced number of macrophages and osteoclasts in various tissues, and have no systemic macrophage colony stimulating factor (M-CSF). This study examined the effect that M-CSF injections had on Abeta deposition and microglial cell distribution in the brains of normal and op/op mice. Abeta-positive plaques were detected in the cerebral cortex of op/op mice, but not in normal mice. M-CSF reduced the numbers of Abeta-positive plaques in op/op mice. The microglial cell population was reduced in op/op mice compared with normal mice, and M-CSF increased the numbers to 65.8% of that observed in normal mice. Our results suggest that a clearer understanding of the role that microglial cells play in Abeta deposition may help determine the mechanisms involved in the pathogenesis of Alzheimer's disease.

Amyloid beta-Peptides↗
PubMedDate not supplied

Clinical evaluation of 12 cases of antimicrobial drug-induced pneumonitis.

The diagnosis of drug-induced pneumonitis is generally difficult, and it is made clinically by Tamura's criteria. We experienced 12 cases (7 definite and 5 possible cases) of antimicrobial drug-induced pneumonitis (one of case was the first case caused by carbapenem). Symptoms such as fever (11/12), cough (10/12) and dyspnea (10/12) and laboratory data such as eosinophilia (7/12), elevation of IgE (4/6) and hypoxia (11/12) were commonly seen in these patients, although they were not specific. Lymphocyte stimulation test (5/11) and provocation test (4/8) were quite suggestive of drug allergy. Bronchoscopy has been used for confirmation of pneumonitis. Transbronchial lung biopsy revealed alveolitis (4/9) or alveolar fibrosis (3/9), and bronchoalveolar lavage showed lymphocytosis (6/6) and depression of OKT4/T8 ratio (3/5). The combination of bronchoscopic and immunological examinations were more confirmative for diagnosis.

Adult↗
PubMedDate not supplied

Jejunal perforation in a patient with adult T-cell leukemia.

We present a case of adult T-cell leukemia (ATL) with jejunal perforation at the site of intestinal involvement by ATL. A 39-year-old woman presented with sudden-onset abdominal pain. Physical examination showed generalized severe abdominal tenderness and intraabdominal free air was seen on radiographic examination. Under a diagnosis of peritonitis due to intestinal perforation, an emergency operation was performed. A pinhole-like perforation was found in the jejunum 80 cm distal to Treitz's ligament, and the patient underwent partial resection of the affected jejunum. Microscopic examination revealed diffuse infiltration of abnormal lymphocytes into the entire wall of the jejunum and mesenteric lymph nodes. A diagnosis of ATL was confirmed by the presence of antibody to human T-lymphotropic virus type 1 (HTLV-1) in the serum, a positive result for T-cell markers and the HTLV-1 proviral genome in the mononuclear cells in the specimens. The final diagnosis was thus lymphoma subtype of ATL. Combination chemotherapy was repeated until the patient died 14 months postoperatively. Emergent surgery followed by intense chemotherapy might improve survival in patients with ATL and perforated intestine.

Adult↗
PubMedDate not supplied

Immunological function and nutritional status in patients with hepatocellular carcinoma.

BACKGROUND/AIMS: Infection is a major complication associated with increased morbidity and mortality in patients with hepatocellular carcinoma. We compared the immunological function and nutritional status in 16 patients with hepatocellular carcinoma (13 patients had liver cirrhosis) with those of 21 normal healthy subjects. METHODOLOGY: The immunological function was assessed by chemotaxis and superoxide anion production by neutrophils, phagocytosis and killing activities of neutrophils and monocytes, absolute and relative number of peripheral blood lymphocytes, the percentage of peripheral lymphocyte subsets and serum concentrations of immunoglobulins. RESULTS: Although the phagocytic and bactericidal activities of monocytes and superoxide production of neutrophils were not different between the groups, the phagocytic and bactericidal activities of neutrophils and the percentage of natural killer cells were significantly reduced in patients with hepatocellular carcinoma. In the latter group, the prognostic nutrition index was significantly high compared with normal subjects, indicating a poor nutritional status. The phagocytic and bactericidal activities of neutrophils were low in patients with a poor nutritional status compared to those with a good nutritional status. CONCLUSIONS: Our results suggest that impaired immunological competence and undernourishment may be one of the mechanisms causing increased susceptibility of patients with hepatocellular carcinoma to infection.

Aged↗
PubMedDate not supplied

New biomaterials and methods for craniofacial bone defect: chondroid bone grafts in maxillary alveolar clefts.

The purpose of this study was to evaluate autogenous osteogenic marrow within chondroid bone grafts in simulated alveolar defects of mice in order to determine the ability of the graft material to effectively close the cleft from an osseous standpoint and to observe the effect of the grafting procedure. Critical-sized defects were made in the premaxillary bones of male mice using a surgical trephine and a low-speed dental engine as a model of the maxillary alveolar cleft for testing bone-inductive agents. Premaxillary trephine defects were not repaired by fibrous tissue or bone formation 30 days after operation. This nonhealing bony wound of the premaxilla in mice may be useful as a model for studying the effect of bone-inductive agents on the healing of alveolar clefts. Distraction osteogenesis is a recently advanced principle of bone lengthening in which a long bone separated by osteotomy is subjected to slow progressive distraction using an external fixation device. The osteotomy site was surrounded by an external callus consisting of hyaline cartilage. The callus contained a lot of chondroid bone. The transplant bone within chondroid bone was characterized by bone formation and remodeling 30 days after transplantation. Throughout the experiment, our findings demonstrated, for the first time, that the transplant bone that contains chondroid bone may be used clinically in relation to craniofacial bone defects to improve the treatment of bone grafts.

Alveolar Process↗
PubMedDate not supplied

Heterotopic gastric mucosa in intrahepatic bile duct, presenting with hemobilia: a case report.

We present a 66-year-old man with unique heterotopic gastric mucosa in the intrahepatic bile duct causing hemobilia. Endoscopic retrograde cholangiography showed irregular stenosis of the left intrahepatic bile duct, and a provisional diagnosis of cholangiocarcinoma was made. Therefore, partial hepatic lobectomy and cholecystectomy were performed. Histological examination of the liver showed the presence of ectopic gastric mucosa in the intrahepatic bile duct containing mucous glands with parietal and chief cells and bile. Heterotopic gastric mucosa in the intrahepatic bile duct is a rare cause of hemobilia.

Aged↗
PubMedDate not supplied

Clinical features and treatment of hepatocellular carcinoma in eight patients older than eighty years of age.

BACKGROUND/AIMS: Most-hepatocellular carcinoma patients are between 40 and 60 years of age, but an increasing number of elderly patients with hepatocellular carcinoma is expected in the future because of the increase in life expectancy seen in many countries. Since elderly patients have a high incidence of comorbid illnesses, it should be useful to examine the clinical features of these patients to select the optimal management strategy for hepatocellular carcinoma. METHODOLOGY: A retrospective review of 111 patients with hepatocellular carcinoma was undertaken to examine the clinical features of 8 patients older than 80 years of age. RESULTS: In the 111 patients with hepatocellular carcinoma, the ratio of males to females was 81:30 and the peak incidence of hepatocellular carcinoma was noted in the seventh and eighth decades in males and females, respectively. Of these, 21 (19%) were type "B" [seropositive for hepatitis B surface antigen (HBsAg) and seronegative for antibody to the hepatitis C virus (anti-HCV)], 69 (62%) were type "C" (seronegative for HBsAg and seropositive for anti-HCV), 3 (3%) were type "B + C" (seropositive for both HBsAg and anti-HCV), and 18 (16%) were type "non-B non-C" (seronegative for both HBsAg and anti-HCV). The peak incidences of type "B" were in the sixth decade, whereas those of type "C" were in the seventh decade in both males and females. Patients with "non-B non-C" were common in their seventies. Of the 111 patients, 6 (5 males and 1 female) were older than 80 years at the time of diagnosis and 2 females became 80 years old during the course of follow-up of hepatocellular carcinoma. All but one of these patients were anti-HCV-positive, stage and clinical stage I or II according to the criteria defined by the Liver Cancer Study Group of Japan, and underwent transcatheter arterial embolization and/or transcatheter arterial infusion chemotherapy. Transcatheter arterial embolization/transcatheter arterial infusion or percutaneous ethanol injection therapy was well tolerated in these patients, and the outcome of these patients was good. However, concomitant underlying diseases other than liver diseases made it impossible or difficult to apply an aggressive management protocol for hepatocellular carcinoma in some patients. CONCLUSIONS: Our results suggest that the overall treatment of hepatocellular carcinoma in the elderly should be similar to that in younger patients, but may be restricted by the concomitant underlying diseases specific to advanced age.

Aged↗
PubMedDate not supplied

Accumulation of mast cells and macrophages in focal active gastritis of patients with Crohn's disease.

BACKGROUND/AIMS: Recent studies have shown that focal active gastritis seems to be the typical gastric pathology in Crohn's disease. The aim of this study was to compare the incidence of focal active gastritis, Helicobacter pylori infection and distribution of gastric mast cells and macrophages in patients with Crohn's disease, ulcerative colitis and H. pylori gastritis without inflammatory bowel disease. METHODOLOGY: Patients with histologically confirmed Crohn's disease (n = 25) or ulcerative colitis (n = 25) and control patients without inflammatory bowel disease (n = 25) were included in this study. Biopsy specimens were obtained from the antrum and corpus of each patient, and stained with hematoxylin and eosin and immunostained using antibodies to tryptase (AA1) and CD68. The number of mast cells and macrophages located in the lamina propria was determined. RESULTS: Focal active gastritis was detected in 54% of H. pylori-negative patients with Crohn's disease, but it was not found in patients with ulcerative colitis nor in the control group. The density of mast cells and macrophages in the lamina propria of H. pylori-positive patients was significantly higher than in H. pylori-negative patients in all groups. In the Crohn's disease group, the number of mast cells (antrum; 83 +/- 11, body; 89 +/- 11/mm2) and macrophages (antrum; 94 +/- 22, body; 92 +/- 17/mm2) in the lamina propria of H. pylori-negative patients with focal active gastritis was halfway between that in H. pylori-positive and H. pylori-negative patients. In focal active gastritis, mast cells accumulated at the border of focal active gastritis, whereas macrophages accumulated in the center of such lesions. CONCLUSIONS: Our findings indicated that the diagnosis of focal active gastritis, using immunostain for mast cells and macrophages, is the histological hallmark of gastric Crohn's disease. Macrophages might be associated with the formation of focal active gastritis in patients with Crohn's disease.

Adult↗
PubMedDate not supplied

O2- scavenging activity of lignins, tannins and PSK.

Iodination stimulators, such as the dehydrogenation polymer of caffeic acid (DHP-CA), a protein-bound polysaccharide (PSK), and a commercially available tannic acid, potently inhibited the luciferin-dependent chemiluminescence (LDCL) generated by opsonized zymosan-stimulated human peripheral blood polymorphonuclear cells (PMN). Continuous presence of these substances was necessary to express their inhibitory activity. The extent of inhibition paralleled their ability to scavenge the chemiluminescence generated by the xanthine-xanthine oxidase reaction. They also scavenged the chemiluminescence generated by potassium superoxide solution, but less effectively. An electron paramagnetic resonance spin-trapping technique revealed that DHP-CA significantly, but incompletely, scavenged O2-. The results suggest that O2- might be scavenged both directly by iodination stimulators, and by other oxygen radicals produced by activation of myeloperoxidase-mediated reaction.

Antibiotics, Antineoplastic↗
PubMedDate not supplied

Induction of cytotoxic factor in mice by lignified materials combined with OK-432 (Picibanil).

Intravenous administration of pine cone lignin-related substance (Fr. VI) significantly stimulated OK-432-elicited cytotoxic factor (CF) production in ICR mouse serum. The level of CF elicited after OK-432 administration peaked after 2 h and declined to basal level within 6 h. The CF productibility depended greatly on both dose and the interval between the administration of the Fr. VI and OK-432. Most natural and synthetic lignins, their degradation products, and polysaccharides, including pine cone hemicellulose fractions, had much weaker CF-inducing (priming) activity. When Fr. VI was treated with NaCl02 to decompose the lignin portion, the priming activity was significantly reduced. The data suggest that the potent priming activity of Fr. VI might de a result of some conjugation between the lignin portion and other components including polysaccharides.

Animals↗
PubMedDate not supplied

The clinical role of MDR1 gene expression in human lung cancer.

Human P-glycoprotein (Pgp) encoded by the MDR1 gene confers multidrug resistance to cancer cells. The clinical role of MDR1/Pgp in lung cancer is not fully understood. A total of 87 lung cancer surgical tissue samples, including previously untreated 84 non-small-cell (NSCLC) and three small-cell lung carcinoma (SCLC), were analyzed for levels of MDR1 mRNA determined by Northern blotting and compared with MDR1-positive cell lines. Fifteen percent (13/87) of the tumors were positive for the MDR1 gene, but the level was low in all samples except in one adenocarcinoma which expressed a high level of MDR1. The gene expression in these tumors did not relate with any pathologic factors such as histologic type, pathologic stage and tumor size. The SCLC and only one of the 14 MDR1-negative NSCLC responded to adjuvant chemotherapy after surgery. The present results indicate that the MDR1 gene is not associated in NSCLC with tumor progression and drug resistance.

Blotting, Northern↗
PubMedDate not supplied

Multidrug resistance-associated protein gene expression and drug sensitivity in human lung cancer cells.

Multidrug resistance-associated protein (MRP) mRNA expression and drug sensitivity in lung cancer cells were examined, and the effects of verapamil, a modulating agent for MRP, on drug sensitivity were also tested. Nine cell lines expressed various levels of MRP gene expression but not the MDR1 gene. The levels were higher in non-small cell carcinoma cells (NSCLC) than in small cell carcinoma cells (SCLC). Clear correlations between the MRP gene level and the sensitivity to etoposide (VP-16) and doxorubicin (Dox) were observed except for one cell line which highly expressed DNA topoisomerase II. Positive correlations between the MRP gene levels in three cell lines and the modulation effects of verapamil in VP-16, Dox, and vincristine were observed. The present results indicate that MRP probably confers intrinsic multidrug resistance in NSCLC rather than in SCLC.

ATP-Binding Cassette Transporters↗
PubMedDate not supplied

Enhanced expression of metallothionein in human non-small-cell lung carcinomas following chemotherapy.

Metallothioneins (MTs) are induced by various stimuli and probably confer drug resistance in tumor cells in vitro. To investigate whether MT expression in lung cancer is induced by chemotherapy, ninety-seven surgical specimens from patients who had or not received chemotherapy containing cisplatin, were stained immunohistochemically for MT. In untreated tumors, 23% (15/64) of all tumors and 27% (15/56) of non-small-cell carcinoma (NSCLC) stained positive, while all eight small-cell carcinoma (SCLC) were negative. In treated tumors, 52% (17/33) of all tumors, 80% (12/15) of NSCLC and 28% (5/18) of SCLC stained positive. The proportion of positively-stained tumors was significantly higher in treated NSCLC compared with untreated NSCLC (P = 0.0005) and treated SCLC (P < 0.005). Our results indicate that MT expression increases following chemotherapy and that such expression may confer during resistance in lung cancer, especially NSCLC.

Antineoplastic Combined Chemotherapy Protocols↗