Biomedical subjects

S Matsuda

Publications and source records attributed to S Matsuda.

At least 235 records · Page 13Linked to original sources

PubMed1998

[Evaluation of factors associated with well-being of elderly in an aged society by analytic hierarchy process analysis].

In the coming aged society in Japan, where about one quarter of the citizens will be aged 65 or more, the social policy concerning the well-being of the elderly will become very important for the local government. In this analysis, the authors evaluated the importance of future social programs on this subject using the Analytic Hierarchy Process (AHP) technique in a community of Fukuoka prefecture. Fifty-three participants in this study regarded six keywords as important for the well being of the elderly in the coming aged society in the following order: health, family hobby life-long education, friends community, economic conditions, and social participation. Considering the contribution to each of the six keywords, composite priorities among the four programs were determined by the AHP technique to be in the following order: assistance for the social autonomy of the elderly, health promotion programs, development of welfare services, and development of medical services. These results indicate that for Japan to achieve a comfortable aged society, a democratic government made possible by autonomous individual citizen is desirable, with wide participation of individual in services provided by autonomous local governments that incorporate the structured elements shown to be important in this study.

Aged↗

PubMed1998

Ecological study of mean birth weight and nutritional intake in Japan.

The purpose of the present study was to assess the influence of nutrition on the nationwide decreases and regional differences in mean birth weight (MBW) recently observed in Japan. The relationship between MBW and nutritional intake was examined using nationwide data covering a two-decade time span from 1969 to 1988. The results of different statistical analyses indicate the MBW decreased uniformly in all 12 major regions of Japan over those 20 years (p < 0.0001). This trend was accompanied by decreases in energy and carbohydrate intake and increases in the intake of fat. We also found that the relationship between MBW and the nutrients is not linear but quadratic, showing declines in MBW only beginning from certain critical points. Hence we conclude that changes in MBW in Japan reflect the nutritional status of the Japanese, namely, decreases in the intake of energy and carbohydrate and an increase in fat intake in recent years. We also conclude that regional differences in MBW are concordant with differences in nutritional intake.

Birth Weight↗

PubMed1998

[Morphological transformation of sensory ganglion neurons and satellite cells].

Sensory ganglion neurons in higher vertebrates are unique in that they are pseudounipolar with a single stem process that divides at some distance from the cell body into central and peripheral processes. In the early stages of development, these neurons are bipolar but later they became pseudounipolar. This developmental process of sensory ganglion neurons with satellite cells was examined by scanning electron microscopy following removal of connective tissue. This pseudo-unipolarization began earlier but proceeded at a slower rate in chick than in rat embryos. This difference may due to the difference found in the extent and intimacy of satellite cell investments in these two animals, which was due to the fact that sensory neurons undergo pseudo-unipolarization only in the presence of satellite cells in vitro. The neuronal perikaryal projections were observed by scanning electron microscopy after removal of connective tissue and satellite cells. Morphometric analysis reveal that perikaryal projections were more numerous on the surface of mature pseudounipolar neurons than on the surface of premature bipolar neurons, and that the number of projections increased as the neuronal cell bodies grew larger. This may support the hypothesis that perikaryal projections are structural devices for increasing the neuron-satellite interface and for improving the efficiency of metabolic exchange between these two cell types. These results suggest that satellite cells play an important role in neuronal maturation.

Animals↗

PubMed1997

Molecular cloning and characterization of a novel cytoplasmic protein-tyrosine phosphatase that is specifically expressed in spermatocytes.

We identified a novel gene encoding protein-tyrosine phosphatase using a polymerase chain reaction-based method. Northern blot hybridization of RNAs from various tissues with the polymerase chain reaction-amplified DNA fragment showed that this gene was expressed exclusively in the testis. Complementary DNAs for this gene, termed typ (testis-specific tyrosine phosphatase), were obtained from a mouse testis cDNA library. Nucleotide sequencing of the cDNAs revealed an open reading frame that encoded 426 amino acids. The predicted Typ protein contained a single catalytic domain at the carboxyl-terminal half. No hydrophobic stretch for a possible transmembrane sequence or signal sequence was found, suggesting that Typ is a cytoplasmic protein-tyrosine phosphatase. The amino-terminal half of Typ did not share significant homologies with the other known proteins but contained a region rich in PEST residues. Indirect immunofluorescence studies and in situ hybridization analysis showed that Typ was specifically expressed in testicular germ cells that underwent meiosis. Developmentally, Typ was detected between 2 and 3 weeks after birth, in parallel with the onset of meiosis. Thus, Typ is a new member of the cytoplasmic protein-tyrosine phosphatases that may play an important role(s) in spermatogenesis and/or meiosis.

Amino Acid Sequence↗

PubMed1997

[Effects of establishing a special smoking area in the office of an electronic factory].

Measurements of concentrations of suspended particles and a questionnaire survey at the office of an electronic factory were conducted before and after the establishing of a special smoking area. Compared with the previous conditions where smoking had been allowed during a specified time, the suspended particle concentration has decreased to less than one fifth of the previous condition. Both smokers and non-smokers are satisfied with the establishment of the smoking area. All were convinced that the separation of the smoking permissible area and non-smoking area was more effective than the time restriction on smoking.

Adult↗

PubMed1997

Mitochondrial antisense RNA for cytochrome C oxidase (MARCO) can induce morphologic changes and cell death in human hematopoietic cell lines.

To identify essential molecules capable of inducing terminal morphologic maturation and cell death of myeloid progenitor cells, we isolated cDNA clones by functional expression cloning using a library constructed from all-trans retinoic acid (ATRA)-treated human promyelocytic HL-60 cells. Clones which induced morphologic changes in HL-60 cells from blastic cells to mature neutrophilic granulocytes were selected. The isolated positive cDNA clone was demonstrated to encode an antisense RNA for cytochrome c oxidase/serine tRNA derived from a mitochondrial gene (MARCO). When MARCO was expressed in HL-60 cells with the lac switch system, blastic cell morphology became neutrophilic after 48-hour incubation with IPTG, and cell death was observed after 3 days. Also, high molecular weight DNA fragmentation was observed after 36 hours in culture. Similar results were observed using transformants from human K562 cells and CMK cells. RT-PCR analysis revealed that MARCO was transcribed in both ATRA and TNF-alpha systems, and also in human blood neutrophilic granulocytes. Following transfection with cytochrome c oxidase expression plasmids, TNF-alpha-induced high molecular weight DNA fragmentation in U937 cells and HL-60 cells was inhibited in these transformants. These results indicate that maturational changes in hematopoietic cells and the process of cell death may be induced by mitochondrial respiratory insufficiency, and also that the mitochondrial gene MARCO may be used as one of the candidates for gene supplementation therapy for the acute leukemias.

Apoptosis↗

PubMed1997

Replication of DNA templates containing 5-formyluracil, a major oxidative lesion of thymine in DNA.

5-Formyluracil (5-foU) is a major lesion of thymine produced in DNA by ionizing radiation and various chemical oxidants. To assess its biochemical effects on DNA replication, 22mer oligonucleotide templates containing an internal 5-foU at defined sites were synthesized by the phosphoramidite method and examined for ability to serve as a template for various DNA polymerases in vitro . Klenow fragments with and without 3'-->5'exonuclease of DNA polymerase I, Thermus thermophilus DNA polymerase (exonuclease-deficient) and Pyrococcus furiosus DNA polymerase (exonuclease-proficient) read through the site of 5-foU in the template. Primer extension assays revealed that the 5-foU directed not only incorporation of dAMP but also dCMP opposite the lesion during DNA synthesis. Misincorporation opposite 5-foU was unaffected by 3'-->5' exonuclease activity. DNA polymerases had different dissociation rates from a dCMP/T mispair and from a dCMP/5-foU mispair. The incorporation of an 'incorrect' nucleotide was dependent on the sequence context and DNA polymerase used. These results suggest that 5-foU produced in DNA has mutagenic potential leading to T-->G transversions during DNA synthesis.

Base Composition↗

PubMed1997

Protective effect of a prostaglandin I2 analog, TEI-7165, on ischemic neuronal damage in gerbils.

TTC-909 (Clinprost), a chemically stable PGI2 analog, isocarbacyclin methyl ester (TEI-9090 or Clinprost) incorporated in lipid microspheres, when administered intravenously after brain ischemia, prevents ischemic neuronal damage possibly by modulating cerebral blood flow and platelet aggregation. However, the possibility exists that TEI-7165, which is the free acid form and a central metabolite of TEI-9090, has direct neurotrophic action in vivo, since TEI-7165 has been shown to block neuronal voltage-dependent Ca2+ channels in vitro, and a novel prostacyclin receptor showing high affinity with TEI-7165 has been detected in a variety of brain regions including the hippocampus. In the present study, we infused TEI-7165 for 7 days into the lateral ventricle of gerbils starting 2 h before or just after 3-min forebrain ischemia. TEI-7165 infusion prevented significantly the ischemia-induced shortening of response latency time as revealed by a step-down passive avoidance task. Subsequent light and electron microscopic examinations showed that pyramidal neurons in the hippocampal CA1 region, as well as synapses within the strata moleculare, radiatum and oriens of the region, were significantly more numerous in gerbils infused with TEI-7165 than in those receiving vehicle infusion. TEI-7165 infusion did not affect hippocampal blood flow or temperature. These findings, together with the previously depicted accumulation of centrally administered [3H]TEI-7165 around hippocampal neurons, suggest that TEI-7165 has a direct neuroprotective action in brain ischemia.

Animals↗

PubMed1997

Protein synthesis inhibitor transiently reduces neuronal death in the thalamus of spontaneously hypertensive rats following cortical infarction.

Using stroke-prone spontaneously hypertensive rats with permanent occlusion of the middle cerebral artery (MCA), we investigated whether the secondary thalamic degeneration following cortical infarction is related to apoptosis, and whether the protein synthesis inhibitor cycloheximide (CHX) ameliorates this degenerative process. TdT-mediated dUTP-biotin nick end labeling (TUNEL staining) revealed a distinct pattern of nuclear staining in many ventroposterior (VP) thalamic nucleus neurons on the lesioned side at 1 week after MCA occlusion. In rats with a single or continuous intraventricular infusion of CHX, starting just after brain ischemia, in the VP thalamic neurons were significantly more numerous than those in the thalamic nucleus of rats with vehicle infusion at 1 week after MCA occlusion. However, at 2 weeks after MCA occlusion, the numbers of VP thalamic neurons were similar in the CHX- and vehicle-treated groups. These findings suggest that the secondary thalamic degeneration following cortical infarction is an event reminiscent of apoptosis and that CHX prevents the secondary thalamic neuronal death transiently.

Animals↗

PubMed1997

[An AHP analysis of the structure of awareness of the aged society by public health nurses, general clerks of a public health center, and citizens].

The differences in awareness of the aged society were evaluated by the AHP technique among 48 citizens, 7 public health nurses, and 2 general clerks of O-Public Health Center in Fukuoka. As evaluating criteria, citizens laid stress on "Health", "Economic status", "Family"; general clerks on "Health", "Family", and "Autonomy of the aged"; public health nurses on "Health". "Economic status", and "Autonomy of the aged". While the citizens evaluated "health promotion" as the most important strategy in the aged society, the other two groups considered "sufficient pension" as the most important. "In-home services" was regarded as the lowest priority by all three groups.

Community Health Centers↗

PubMed1997

A novel zinc finger protein, Finb, is a transcriptional activator and localized in nuclear bodies.

cDNAs encoding a novel DNA binding protein, termed Finb (finger protein in nuclear bodies) were molecularly cloned. The Finb protein consists of 1656 amino acids, containing 15 C2H2-type zinc fingers and three proline-rich regions. Finb efficiently activates transcription from the promoters of the metallothionein and thymidine kinase genes. The finb mRNA is ubiquitously expressed in various cell lines and tissues. The protein product is localized in nuclear bodies, whereas the N-terminally truncated protein spreads throughout the nucleus and cytoplasm. Further characterization of Finb would unravel an important role of nuclear body-involved transcriptional regulation.

Amino Acid Sequence↗

PubMed1997

Mutational analysis of putative SCH 28080 binding sites of the gastric H+,K+-ATPase.

A compound, SCH 28080 (2-methyl-8-(phenylmethoxy)imidazo [1,2-a]pyridine-3-acetonitrile), reversibly inhibits gastric and renal ouabain-insensitive H+,K+-ATPase, but not colonic ouabain-sensitive H+,K+-ATPase. By using the functional expression system and site-directed mutagenesis, we analyzed the putative binding sites of SCH 28080 in gastric H+,K+-ATPase alpha-subunit. It was previously reported that the binding site of SCH 28080, which is a K+-site inhibitor specific for gastric H+,K+-ATPase, was in the first extracellular loop between the first and second transmembrane segments of the alpha-subunit; Phe-126 and Asp-138 were putative binding sites. However, we found that all the mutants in the first extracellular loop including Phe-126 and Asp-138 retained H+, K+-ATPase activity and sensitivity to SCH 28080. Therefore, amino acid residues in the first extracellular loop are not directly involved in the SCH 28080 binding nor indispensable for the H+, K+-ATPase activity. Here we propose a candidate residue that is important for the binding with SCH 28080, Glu-822 in the sixth transmembrane segment. Mutations of Glu-822 to Asp and Ala (mutants termed E822D and E822A, respectively) decreased the ATPase activity to about 45% and 35% of the wild-type enzyme, respectively, while the mutations to Gln and Leu abolished the activity. Mutant E822A showed a significantly lower affinity for K+ than the wild-type enzyme, indicating that Glu-822 is involved in determining the affinity for K+. The sensitivity of mutant E822D to SCH 28080 was 8 times lower than that of the wild-type enzyme. The counterpart of Glu-822 in gastric H+,K+-ATPase is Asp in Na+,K+-ATPase and other colonic ouabain-sensitive H+,K+-ATPase, which are insensitive to SCH 28080. These results suggest that Glu-822 is one of important sites that bind with SCH 28080.

Adenosine Triphosphate↗

PubMed1997

Cloning and characterization of the mouse tob gene.

The human Tob protein was identified as a molecule that interacted with the ErbB-2 protein, a receptor-type protein tyrosine kinase (RPTK). The interaction suggests that Tob is involved in RPTK-mediated signaling. In the present paper, we report molecular cloning and characterization of the mouse tob gene. The mouse tob gene contains an open reading frame of 1089 bp with 87% identity to its human counterpart in the nucleotide sequence. The coding region of mouse tob as well as human tob is not interrupted by introns. The mouse tob transcript is 2.3 kb long, the size being similar to that of the human tob transcript, and is detected ubiquitously in various tissues. Like human Tob, mouse Tob is characterized by the presence of a sequence rich in proline and glutamine which is often present in the sequence of transcription factors. In addition, the ATTTA motif characteristic of the immediate early gene is present in the 3'-untranslated region of the mouse tob gene. This, together with the conserved sequence and expression pattern of tob between mouse and human, suggests that Tob plays an important role in the response to extracellular signals.

Amino Acid Sequence↗

PubMed1997

Functional expression and characterization of frog photoreceptor-specific calcium-binding proteins.

S-modulin (sensitivity-modulating protein) is a photoreceptor-specific calcium-binding protein which plays an important role in the light adaptation process by controlling rhodopsin phosphorylation in rods. S-modulin and its cone homologue, s26, were expressed at high level (more than 30% of total protein) in Escherichia coli and then purified. They both inhibited rhodopsin phosphorylation in a calcium dependent manner. Myristoylated recombinants of S-modulin and s26 showed calcium-dependent changes in tryptophan emission spectra with half-maxima at about 0.7 microM free calcium concentration. However, the spectral changes are distinctive from each other, suggesting that there is some difference in the structural change between S-modulin and s26.

Adenosine Triphosphate↗

PubMed1997

Histological study of urinary bladder transplantation in rats.

Patients who require cystectomy are usually treated with an ileal conduit or intestinal neobladder for urinary control. In some of them, however, the bowel segment cannot be used because of previous abdominal surgery or radiation treatment. Bladder transplantation from cadavers may be beneficial to these patients, if possible. To obtain basic knowledge about bladder transplantation, we developed an animal model of whole bladder transplantation in rats. Male Lewis rats weighing 270-320 g were used as both donors and recipients. Of the 23 recipients, 12 (52.2%) survived 7 days or longer after surgery. At 1 week after transplantation, the bladder showed loss of transitional epithelium and remarkable cellular infiltration. In the bladder at 5 weeks after transplantation, the transitional epithelium regenerated markedly and submucosal cellular infiltration was much improved. Regeneration of some smooth muscle cells was also noted. At 6 months after transplantation, the nerve fibers were recognized in the bladder and the volume of the transplanted bladder was well preserved (1.0-1.3 ml). This article describes an animal model of whole bladder transplantation in the rat which we produced and the results of our study. Because a large number of pure-bred animals can easily be used, we believe our rat model is very useful for basic studies of bladder transplantation.

Animals↗

PubMed1997

TAK1 mediates the ceramide signaling to stress-activated protein kinase/c-Jun N-terminal kinase.

Ceramide has been proposed as a second messenger molecule implicated in a variety of biological processes. It has recently been reported that ceramide activates stress-activated protein kinase (SAPK, also known as c-Jun NH2-terminal kinase JNK), a subfamily member of mitogen-activated protein kinase superfamily molecules and that the ceramide/SAPK/JNK signaling pathway is required for stress-induced apoptosis. However, the molecular mechanism by which ceramide induces SAPK/JNK activation is unknown. Here we show that TAK1, a member of the mitogen-activated protein kinase kinase kinase family, is activated by treatment of cells with agents and stresses that induce an increase in ceramide. Ceramide itself stimulated the kinase activity of TAK1. Expression of a constitutively active form of TAK1 resulted in activation of SAPK/JNK and SEK1/MKK4, a direct activator of SAPK/JNK. Furthermore, expression of a kinase-negative form of TAK1 interfered with the activation of SAPK/JNK induced by ceramide. These results indicate that TAK1 may function as a mediator of ceramide signaling to SAPK/JNK activation.

Animals↗

PubMed1997

Fully-automated roller bottle handling system for large scale culture of mammalian cells.

A fully automatic and continuous cell culture system based on roller bottles is described in this paper. The system includes a culture rack storage station for storing a large number of roller bottles filled with culture medium and inoculated with mammalian cells, mass-handling facility for extracting completed cultures from the roller bottles, and replacing the culture medium. The various component units of the system were controlled either by a general-purpose programmable logic controller or a dedicated controller. The system provided four subsequent operation modes: cell inoculation, medium change, harvesting, and medium change. The operator could easily select and change the appropriate mode from outside of the aseptic area. The development of the system made large-scale production of mammalian cells, and manufacturing and stabilization of high quality products such as erythropoietin possible under total aseptic control, and opened up the door for industrial production of physiologically active substances as pharmaceutical drugs by mammalian cell culture.

Animals↗

PubMed1997

Nontoxic embolic liquids for treatment of arteriovenous malformations.

Interventional radiology is becoming one of the standard treatments of arteriovenous malformation (AVM). Cyanoacrylate derivatives and polymer solutions are widely used to occlude the AVM nidus by their injection through a catheter, but they are far from satisfactory embolic liquids. For instance, cyanoacrylate derivatives sometimes glue the catheter to the artery, resulting in serious complications; in addition, the organic solvents used to dissolve polymers cause damage to the surrounding brain tissue of the AVM. Therefore, we attempted to develop embolic liquids by dissolving poly(2-hydroxyethyl methacrylate-co-methyl methacrylate) in Iopamiron with an addition of a small amount of ethyl alcohol. This new embolic liquid is not cytotoxic and is easily injected into the AVM through a thin, long catheter to effectively occlude the AVM.

Animals↗