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S Komura

Publications and source records attributed to S Komura.

At least 19 recordsLinked to original sources
PubMed2001

Immunohistochemical investigation of pulmonary surfactant-associated protein A in fatal poisoning.

To evaluate the immunohistochemical distribution of pulmonary surfactant-associated protein A (SP-A) in fatal poisoning in relation to the effects of drugs and poisons on respiratory function, 42 forensic autopsy cases were examined by scoring the staining intensity. The highest scores of SP-A staining, with dense granular deposits (aggregates) in the intra-alveolar space, were observed in fatalities from pancuronium bromide (muscle relaxant) injection and petroleum (butane) gas inhalation. Poisoning with organophosphate pesticides and arsenic (ingestion) showed a second grade SP-A score. However, The SP-A scores were relatively low in ethanol and sedative-hypnotic intoxication. Carbon monoxide intoxication showed a varied degree of SP-A score, and the aggregated SP-A score tended to be higher in cases of lower blood carboxyhemoglobin concentration. A varied SP-A score was also observed in methamphetamine fatalities, in which the score was relatively low in cases with a higher serum drug level. Increase of SP-A was not always associated with the intra-alveolar effusion or hemorrhages. The above-described observations suggested that the immunohistochemical score of SP-A may be a possible indication for intensity and duration of drug/poison-dependent respiratory distress.

Adolescent↗
PubMed2001

Dynamical fluctuation of the mesoscopic structure in ternary C12E5-water-n-octane amphiphilic system.

Dynamical fluctuations of the bicontinuous microemulsion and lamellar structures in ternary C12E5-water-n-octane amphiphilic system are studied by means of neutron spin echo (NSE) spectrometry. The decay rates of the time correlation of the concentration were analyzed in terms of three theories: (1) A. G. Zilman and R. Granek, Phys. Rev. Lett. 77, 4788 (1996), (2) M. Nonomura and T. Ohta, J. Chem. Phys. 110, 7516 (1999), and (3) R. Granek and M. E. Cates, Phys. Rev. A 46, 3319 (1992), in the first of which a Langevin equation for membrane plaquettes and in the latter two of which time-dependent Ginzburg-Landau equations for the order parameters are considered. The result shows that the intermediate correlation functions I(q,t) for the ranges of 0<t<15 ns and 0<q<0.2 A (-1) are well fitted to a stretched exponential function in time, I(q,t)=exp[-(Gammat)(2/3)], for the bicontinuous microemulsion and the lamellar phases of the same systems with the relaxation rate Gamma increasing as q(3) in agreement with theory (1) from which the bending modulus of the membrane kappa was estimated. For more restricted ranges of 0<t<5 ns and 0.05<q<0.15 A (-1) the NSE result can be expressed by an exponential function in time in agreement with theory (2) determined exclusively by hydrodynamic interactions and for extended range of 0<t<10 ns and 0.03<q<0.15 A (-1) by a nonexponential function in agreement with theory (3), from both of which the effective viscosities eta(0) and eta(eff) of the system were estimated. The effective viscosity from the nonexponential eta(eff) is five times greater than that from the simple exponential eta(0) that is almost the same as the literature value. The implication of this result is discussed in terms of the effective viscosity eta(eff) that takes into account the renormalization of the bending modulus of the membrane.

Journal Article↗
PubMed1999

Loss of molecular interaction between cytochrome c and cardiolipin due to lipid peroxidation.

To explore the molecular mechanism underlying the translocation of cytochrome c from the mitochondrial inner membrane to the cytosol during apoptosis, we analyzed the molecular interaction between cytochrome c and cardiolipin (CL) by (1)H NMR spectroscopy. Bovine heart CL induced a drastic broadening of the linewidth of the downfield signals at 31.4 and 34.2 ppm assigned to the heme methyl group-3 and -8, respectively, of horse heart cytochrome c. In contrast, CL mono- and dihydroperoxides were less active in broadening the signals than CL, and CL trihydroperoxides induced almost no broadening of their linewidth. This finding suggests that the peroxidation of CL induces a release of cytochrome c from mitochondria into the cytosol, which release induces apoptosis in the cells.

Animals↗
PubMed1999

Adrenocorticotropic hormone-independent bilateral adrenocortical macronodular hyperplasia treated with mitotane.

We report a case of adrenocorticotropic hormone (ACTH)-independent bilateral macronodular adrenocortical hyperplasia (AIMAH), which was successfully treated with mitotane. A 71-year-old man visited our hospital because of central obesity and enlarged bilateral adrenal glands. The endocrinological studies showed elevated plasma cortisol and undetectable levels of ACTH, a lack of suppression with high-dose dexamethasone and a hyper-response to exogenous ACTH. These clinical features were compatible with the diagnosis of AIMAH. In this patient, extra-adrenal multiple tumors were also detected. After treatment with mitotane, the plasma level of cortisol was decreased while that of ACTH was increased and the signs of Cushing's syndrome were resolved.

Adrenal Cortex↗
PubMed1998

Dissipation of mitochondrial membrane potential by exogenous phospholipid monohydroperoxide and protection against this effect by transfection of cells with phospholipid hydroperoxide glutathione peroxidase gene.

Two hours after its addition to cultures of a guinea pig cell line, 104C1, dilinoleoyl phosphatidylcholine monohydroperoxide (PCOOH) at concentrations of 5-160 microM induced a dissipation of the mitochondrial inner membrane potential (delta psi m), without any apparent morphological changes, in the cells. The PCOOH-induced loss of delta psi m was restored 4 hr after the replacement of the medium with PCOOH-free fresh medium. In contrast, 104C1/O4C cells, a stable clone from 104C1 cells transfected with the human phospholipid hydroperoxide glutathione peroxidase (PHGPx) gene encoding a sequence including a signal peptide towards mitochondria, were resistant to the loss of delta psi m after a 2-hr exposure to PCOOH at concentrations up to 160 microM. Even after an 8-hr exposure to 80 microM PCOOH, the transfected cells retained their delta psi m intact, though the parent cells were killed by the same treatment. The present results strongly suggest that the expression of PHGPx protected the host cells from PCOOH-mediated injury at least by protecting their mitochondria from lipid hydroperoxide-induced loss of delta psi m.

Animals↗
PubMed1998

Effects of repeated cocaine administration on alcohol consumption.

OBJECTIVE: Alcohol consumption (alcohol preference or alcohol intake) in animals is an index of human drinking behavior. Cocaine is the most frequently abused drug at present. Therefore, an increasing number of cases demonstrating concurrent use of alcohol and cocaine is being noted. We examined whether cocaine affects alcohol consumption and studied the mechanism of change in alcohol consumption following cocaine administration. METHOD: We measured alcohol consumption in inbred mice, C57BL/6J and C3H/HeJ, when 10 or 50 mg/kg cocaine was administered intraperitoneally once a day for 1 week. Then the rate of blood ethanol disappearance from C57BL/6J mice in vivo was measured. Also, liver alcohol dehydrogenase(ADH) and aldehyde dehydrogenase(ALDH) activity in vitro were measured in the C57BL/6J mice. RESULTS: Following 50 mg/kg cocaine administration, alcohol consumption was reduced in C57BL/6J mice, but there was no clear change in C3H/HeJ mice. The rate of blood ethanol disappearance was not changed by pretreatment with cocaine. Neither liver ADH nor ALDH activity was changed by repeated cocaine administration. CONCLUSIONS: The present study showed that repeated cocaine administration decreased alcohol consumption in C57BL/6J mice without altering the metabolism of ethanol.

Alcohol Dehydrogenase↗
PubMed1997

Effects of ion channel blockers on rapid postmortem changes in extracellular dopamine and serotonin levels in the rat nucleus accumbens.

In the present study, we used in vivo brain microdialysis to examine the effects of ion channel blockers tetrodotoxin (TTX), EGTA-free Ca2+ and verapamil on rapid postmortem changes in extracellular levels of dopamine (DA), serotonin (5-HT) and their metabolites dihydroxyphenylacetic acid (DOPAC) and 5-hydroxyindoleacetic acid (5-HIAA) in the ACC of freely moving rats. Extracellular ACC DA levels decreased following the perfusion of the three ion channel blockers in freely moving rats, and then, at death by cervical dislocation, maximum respective 220-, 60- and 90-fold increases were observed in the extracellular output of DA in animals treated with EGTA, verapamil and TTX, respectively. Also, ACC 5-HT decreased following perfusion with the three blockers in the freely moving rats, and then maximum increases of 80-, 30- and 45-fold in the extracellular output of 5-HT were observed at death in animals treated with EGTA, verapamil and TTX, respectively, compared to the baseline. Cervical dislocation-induced rapid postmortem changes were inhibited markedly by perfusion with CSF containing the CA2+ entry blocker verapamil. These observations suggested that rapid postmortem changes in ACC DA and 5-HT release were associated with the action of calcium ion channels and/or voltage gated channels in the CNS.

Animals↗
PubMed1997

Effect of selenium on human phospholipid hydroperoxide glutathione peroxidase expression and host cell susceptibility to lipid hydroperoxide-mediated injury.

We recently isolated stable transfectants expressing human phospholipid hydroperoxide glutathione peroxidase (PHGPx) from the cells of guinea pig cell line 104C1 (Biochem. Biophys. Res. Commun. 219, 486-491, 1996). Among them, one transfectant, designated 104C1/O4C, expressed high glutathione peroxidase activity toward dilinoleoyl phosphatidylcholine hydroperoxide (PCOOH); and another one, 104C1/O2D, moderate activity. In the present study, we investigated the effect of selenium on the PHGPx activity and on the lipid hydroperoxide-mediated cell injury in the transfectants to clarify further the action of PHGPx in preventing oxidative injury of the cells. When transfectant 104C1/O2D cells were cultured in the medium added with 250 nM selenium, glutathione peroxidase activity toward PCOOH increased 8-fold. Western blot analysis also revealed an increase in the amount of protein immunoreactive against anti-rat PHGPx antibody in this transfectant. Lipid hydroperoxide-mediated cell injury to the transfectant 104C1/O2D was significantly suppressed in accordance with the increase in the enzyme activity when the cells were cultured in the medium added with selenium. On the contrary, neither glutathione peroxidase activity toward PCOOH nor susceptibility to the injury was affected by selenium addition to the medium of the parental 104C1 cells, which have no selenium-dependent glutathione peroxidase. These results clearly support our previous conclusion that expression of PHGPx is responsible for the protection of host cells from lipid hydroperoxide-mediated injury.

Animals↗
PubMed1997

Effects of ethanol on the levels of brain 6R-L-erythro-5, 6, 7, 8-tetrahydrobiopterin in the inbred strains of mice. DBA/2J, C3H/HeJ and C57BL/6J with different alcohol preferences.

6R-L-erythro-5, 6, 7, 8-tetrahydrobiopterin (6R-BH4) is a coenzyme for tyrosine, tryptophan and phenylalanine hydroxylases, the former two of which are the initial and the rate-limiting enzymes in the biosynthesis of the catecholamines and serotonin, respectively. The present study was designed to determine the changes in concentrations of 6R-BH4 in striatum and midbrain of the inbred strains of mice, DBA/2J, C3H/HeJ and C57BL/6J, with different genetically determined alcohol preferences, following the injection of ethanol (EtOH). The intraperitoneal administration of EtOH (0, 1, 2 and 4 g/kg) significantly and dose-dependently reduced the levels of striatal and midbrain 6R-BH4 in DBA/2J mice with the lowest alcohol preference, and EtOH (4 g/kg, i.p.) reduced the level of striatal 6R-BH4 in C3H/HeJ with medium alcohol preference. Following the administration of EtOH (4 g/kg, i.p.), brain 6R-BH4 levels in C57BL/6J mice with high alcohol preference were lowered compared with the control group, but the difference did not reach statistic significance. EtOH has a tendency to reduce the brain 6R-BH4 levels in mice with lower alcohol preference or higher sensitivity to EtOH. Based on these findings, it was proposed that differences in alcohol drinking behavior in the inbred strains of mice was influenced by brain 6R-BH4.

Alcohol Drinking↗
PubMed1996

Fundamental studies on alcohol dependence and disposition.

This article reviews some recent studies on alcohol preference, dependence, metabolism and pharmacokinetics which were mainly carried out in our department. The inbred strains of mice with genetically different alcohol drinking behavior and alcohol animal model treated with the neurotoxins, 6-hydroxydopamine and 5,7-dihydroxytryptamine, are useful for a behavioral and pharmacological approach to evaluate the contribution of specific neural systems to alcohol, drug dependence mechanism and alcohol drinking behavior. The relations between alcohol preference and some physiological conditions are reviewed. On the drug-alcohol interaction, some drugs containing the chemical group = CHONO2, antimony and methamphetamine are addressed. This article also deals with recent topics in the pharmacokinetics and pharmacodynamics of alcohol. The dose-dependency of the alcohol elimination rate, the first-pass metabolism during alcohol drinking, and the pharmacodynamic model for describing pulse rate reaction to plasma acetaldehyde are discussed.

Alcohol Drinking↗
PubMed1996

Expression of human phospholipid hydroperoxide glutathione peroxidase gene for protection of host cells from lipid hydroperoxide-mediated injury.

A cDNA encoding human phospholipid hydroperoxide glutathione peroxidase (PHGPx) was obtained by PCR amplification from human testis cDNA and was inserted into the plasmid pRc/CMV to construct an expression vector for human PHGPx. Guinea pig cell line 104C1 cells were transfected with the expression vector. One of the transfectants, designated 104Cl/O4C, expressed high glutathione peroxidase activity toward dilinoleoyl phosphatidylcholine hydroperoxide and linoleic acid hydroperoxide. Western blot analysis revealed a large amount of protein immunoreactive against anti-PHGPx antibody in the transfectant. When the cells were incubated with these hydroperoxides, the parental cells suffered from serious cell injury, whereas the transfectant was extremely resistant against lipid hydroperoxide-mediated injury.

Animals↗
PubMed1996

Alpha-class isozymes of glutathione S-transferase in rat liver cytosol possess glutathione peroxidase activity toward phospholipid hydroperoxide.

Selenium-independent enzymes, found in the liver cytosol of selenium deficient rats, that are capable of reducing dilinoleoyl phosphatidylcholine hydroperoxide in the presence of reduced glutathione [Guan et al., (1995) Biochem. Mol. Biol. Int., 37, 1103-1110] were purified to homogeneity by use of successive chromatography on glutathione affinity and Mono P columns. The molecular weight of the purified protein was estimated by gel filtration to be approximately 50 kDa. Upon isoelectric focusing, the purified preparation showed two protein bands having pI values of 8.6 and 8.8. Both proteins had reactivity against both 1-chloro-2,4-dinitrobenzene and dilinoleoyl phosphatidylcholine hydroperoxide in the presence of reduced glutathione. Each of them consisted of two subunits having molecular weights of 24.3 kDa and 26 kDa, as estimated by sodium dodecyl sulfate-polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis. The large subunit was identified as rat glutathione S-transferase (GST) 2 (Yc subunit) based on the amino-terminal amino acid sequence analysis. The small subunit was considered to be most probably rat GST 1 (Ya subunit). From these results, we conclude that the basic alpha-class isozymes of GST in rat liver cytosol possess glutathione peroxidase activity toward phospholipid hydroperoxide.

Animals↗
PubMed1996

Problems in pharmacokinetic analysis of alcohol disposition: a trial of the Bayesian least-squares method.

The technical problems of the pharmacokinetic analysis of alcohol disposition were studied using the Michaelis-Menten elimination kinetic model. This model was defined by two forms of equations: differential and integrated, with the latter being derived by integration of the differential equation. We compared the parameter values, estimated by one-line curve-fitting, using these two equation forms. We concluded that, for the kinetic analysis of alcohol disposition, curve-fitting with the differential equation was superior to that with the integrated equation. We also studied the methodological problems involved in one-line fitting. The ordinary least-squares (OLS) method was compared with the Bayesian least-squares (BLS) method. Correlation between the Vmax and beta (ethanol elimination rate) values, and between the Vmax and K(m) values was seen when the parameter values were estimated by the OLS method. These results suggested that one-line fitting by the OLS method was not adequate for Michaelis-Menten-type elimination kinetic analysis. BLS analysis resulted in no correlation between the estimated parameter values that did not change with the level of the dose. The BLS method seemed to be more useful than the OLS method for the estimation of individual pharmacokinetic parameter values.

Animals↗
PubMed1996

Distribution of 6R-L-erythro-5,6,7,8-tetrahydrobiopterin in regional brain areas of inbred strains of rats and mice with different alcohol preferences.

6R-L-erythro-5,6,7,8-tetrahydrobiopterin (6R-BH4) is a coenzyme for tyrosine, tryptophan and phenylalanine hydroxylases, the former two of which are the initial and the rate-limiting enzymes in the biosynthesis of catecholamines and serotonin, respectively. The present study was conducted to determine the levels of 6R-BH4 in the inbred strains of rats BN and F344, and the inbred strains of mice C57BL/6J, C3H/HeJ and DBA/2J, with different genetically determined alcohol preferences. Previous studies have shown that BN and F344 rats exhibit a high and low alcohol preference, respectively; that C57BL/6J and DBA/2J mice show a high and low alcohol preference, respectively, and that C3H/HeJ mice exhibit a moderate alcohol preference. The levels of 6R-BH4 were measured in five regional brain areas of rats and in two regional brain areas of mice. There was about a 3-fold difference in 6R-BH4 levels across the rat brain areas assayed, ranging from a low level in the frontal cortex to a high level in the striatum and midbrain. Midbrain 6R-BH4 levels in F344 rats were higher than those of BN rats (p < 0.05). On the other hand, striatal 6R-BH4 levels in DBA/2J mice were higher than those of the other two strains of mice (p < 0.05). These results indicate that 6R-BH4 is distributed throughout the nigro- and mesostriatal dopaminergic nervous systems, and that brain 6R-BH4 levels may be involved in the genetic differences in alcohol-drinking behavior in animal models.

Alcohol Drinking↗
PubMed1996

Noncompetitive-like inhibition of ethanol elimination by cyanamide treatment: pharmacokinetic study.

The effect of acetaldehyde accumulation of ethanol elimination is of interest in medico-legal practice in Japan. We examined the pharmacokinetic mechanism of the inhibition of ethanol metabolism by cyanamide, an inhibitor of mitochondrial aldehyde dehydrogenase. An ethanol solution (0.25-2.0 g/kg body weight) was injected intravenously into male rabbits with or without administration of cyanamide. Cyanamide was injected intraperitoneally (25 mg/kg body weight) to the cyanamide-treated group 2 hr before ethanol injection. Blood ethanol and acetaldehyde concentrations were measured periodically by head-space gas chromatography. The MULTI(RUNGE) computer program was applied for the pharmacokinetic analysis. One- or two-compartment open models with Michaelis-Menten elimination kinetics were used for simultaneous multi-line fitting. The ethanol elimination rate decreased by cyanamide treatment. The border-point concentration between pseudolinear and curvilinear phases was not affected by cyanamide treatment. The estimated Vmax value decreased by cyanamide treatment, whereas the K(m) value did not change. Our results correspond to a noncompetitive-like inhibition of ethanol metabolism. K(m) is related to the border point between pseudolinear and curvilinear phases. Thus, our findings in the blood ethanol concentration-time curve suggest adequate curve-fitting. The product, or competitive, inhibition of alcohol dehydrogenase by acetaldehyde had been reported in enzymological study. The pharmacokinetic manner of inhibition in vivo was different from the enzymologic mechanism in vitro. Other metabolic factors related to ethanol metabolism are thought to be more important than acetaldehyde accumulation itself.

Acetaldehyde↗