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Biomedical subjects

S Mizuno

Publications and source records attributed to S Mizuno.

At least 55 records · Page 3Linked to original sources

Chicken spindlin genes on W and Z chromosomes: transcriptional expression of both genes and dynamic behavior of spindlin in interphase and mitotic cells.

Contigs of genomic clones covering about 480 kb on the terminal region of the short arm of chicken W chromosome were obtained. By applying the exon trapping procedure on this whole region, a chicken homolog of spindlin gene, chSpin-W, was identified and subcloned. A counterpart gene, chSpin-Z, was found near the centromere on the long arm of Z chromosome. Although protein-coding regions of both genes are nearly identical, a part of the 3'-untranslated region is sufficiently different to distinguish the transcript of chSpin-W. Both chSpin-W and chSpin-Z are transcribed in early embryos. chSpin-Z is transcribed in various tissues of adult chickens, while chSpin-W is transcribed most prominently in ovarian granulosa and thecal cells. When female chicken embryonic fibroblasts were transfected with a cDNA construct for red fluorescent protein or green fluorescent protein-fused spindlin or FLAG-tagged spindlin, the expressed spindlin was co-localized with SUMO-1 in nuclear dots, ND10, in interphase cells, while the expressed spindlin was localized on entire chromosomes during mitosis. The localization of spindlin in ND10 reappeared after mitosis in daughter cell nuclei. A C-terminal region of spindlin was suggested to be required for the localization of spindlin to ND10.

Amino Acid Sequence↗

Hepatocyte growth factor suppresses interstitial fibrosis in a mouse model of obstructive nephropathy.

BACKGROUND: As tubulointerstitial fibrosis (TIF) reflects the prognosis of patients with various chronic renal diseases, the pathogenesis of TIF has to be clarified. Transforming growth factor-beta (TGF-beta) is a key mediator for renal fibrosis. We reported that hepatocyte growth factor (HGF) prevents renal fibrosis in nephrotic mice. However, the function of HGF in chronic renal failure, except for nephrotic syndrome, remains to be determined. METHODS: Using mice subjected to unilateral ureter-ligated obstruction (UUO), we investigated the roles of HGF in TIF, as induced by obstructive nephropathy. Pathophysiological changes in the kidney after UUO treatment were analyzed focusing on expressions of renal HGF and TGF-beta, TIF, tubular proliferation, and apoptosis. Neutralizing antibody against rodent HGF, or recombinant human HGF (rhHGF), was administrated to the UUO mice, and pathophysiological changes after neutralization or supplements of HGF were analyzed. RESULTS: In this UUO model, TIF with tubular apoptosis became evident, and it was accompanied by a decrease in renal HGF expression and an increase in renal TGF-beta expression. Neutralization of endogenous HGF accelerated the progression of TIF, accompanied by increases in TGF-beta expression and tubular apoptosis as well as by decreases in tubular proliferation. In contrast, rhHGF attenuated TIF progression, and there were decreases in TGF-beta expression and tubular apoptosis, and an increase in tubular proliferation. CONCLUSIONS: Endogenous as well as exogenous HGF attenuated the progression of the fibrosis caused by obstructive nephropathy in these mice. Thus, local reduction in HGF levels may account for TIF in chronic renal diseases.

Animals↗

Quantitation of chondroitin-sulfates, disaccharides and hyaluronan in normal, early and advanced osteoarthritic sheep temporomandibular joints.

OBJECTIVE: To determine the relationship between synovial fluid, chondroitin sulfate disaccharide and hyaluronic acid to differing degrees of experimental temporomandibular joint (TMJ) osteoarthritis (OA). DESIGN: Twenty-four merino sheep were divided into three groups and had different TMJ surgical procedures to produce OA. Group I; control (six sheep), Group II; disc perforation (nine sheep) and Group III; disc perforation and articular damage (nine sheep). Synovial fluid was collected initially and at sacrifice at 3 months. Chondroitin 4-sulfate, chondroitin 6-sulfate and hyaluronic acid were measured and correlated to the OA histologic score. RESULTS: The chondroitin-sulfate levels were significantly increased (Group I to Group II P< 0.001; Group I to Group III P< 0.001), the hyaluronic acid levels decreased (Group I to Group II P< 0.01; Group I to Group III P< 0.01) with the increasing OA score. CONCLUSION: Chondroitin-sulfate and hyaluronic acid show a correlation with surgically created TMJ osteoarthritis in sheep model.

Animals↗

Primary diffuse tracheobronchial amyloidosis: radiologic findings.

Reports detailing the radiologic features of tracheobronchial amyloidosis are scant and typically describe only the computed tomography findings of this disease. No reports have described the magnetic resonance (MR) findings of tracheobronchial amyloidosis. With this case, the authors describe the radiologic findings in a patient with diffuse tracheobronchial amyloidosis, focusing particularly on the MR and bone scintigraphy findings in this disease.

Amyloidosis↗

Role of interleukin (IL)-1 type 1 receptor in mycobacterial infection.

It is important to gain a better understanding of IL-1-mediated signaling events in mycobacterial infection. In order to clarify the role of IL-1 receptor type 1 (IL-1 R1) in IL-1 R1, knockout (KO) mice were infected with either Mycobacterium tuberculosis H37Rv or Kurono strain by the respiratory route, and their ability to control mycobacterial growth, pulmonary granuloma formation, and cytokine mRNA expression was investigated. IL-1 R1 KO mice developed significantly larger (P< 0.01) granulomatous lesions with neutrophil infiltration in their lungs than wild-type mice did after infection with the M. tuberculosis Kurono strain. The number of mycobacterial colonies in lungs and spleen increased from five weeks post-infection. Interferon-y production by spleen cells was low in IL-1 R1 KO mice. It is concluded that the IL-1 R1 is essential for IL-1-mediated signaling events in mycobacterial infection.

Animals↗

Relative importance of NF-kappaB p50 in mycobacterial infection.

To understand the role of NF-kappaB in the development of murine tuberculosis in vivo, NF-kappaB p50 knockout mice were infected with Mycobacterium tuberculosis by placing them in the exposure chamber of an airborne-infection apparatus. These mice developed multifocal necrotic pulmonary lesions or lobar pneumonia. Compared with the levels in wild-type mice, pulmonary inducible nitric oxide synthase, interleukin-2 (IL-2), gamma interferon, and tumor necrosis factor alpha mRNA levels were significantly low but expression of IL-10 and transforming growth factor beta mRNAs were within the normal ranges. The pulmonary IL-6 mRNA expression level was higher. Therefore, NF-kappaB and its interaction with host cells play an important role in the pathogenesis of tuberculosis.

Animals↗

Evaluation of accumulated mucopolysaccharides in the brain of patients with mucopolysaccharidoses by (1)H-magnetic resonance spectroscopy before and after bone marrow transplantation.

In seven patients with mucopolysaccharidoses (1 Hurler, 1 Hurler-Scheie, 4 Hunter, 1 Sly), cranial (1)H-magnetic resonance spectroscopy was performed to evaluate the accumulation of mucopolysaccharides and biochemical changes in the CNS in vivo before and after bone marrow transplantation (BMT). In two of seven patients, (1)H-magnetic resonance spectroscopy was performed before and after BMT. Nuclear magnetic resonance spectra of dermatan sulfate and chondroitin sulfate-C and magnetic resonance spectroscopy of chondroitin sulfate-C and urine from patients with mucopolysaccharidoses showed resonance higher than the chemical shift of myoinositol in the brain (3.7 ppm). The resonance was considered to contain signals from mucopolysaccharide molecules. The resonance was measured as presumptive mucopolysaccharides (pMPS). In white matter lesions detected by magnetic resonance imaging, pMPS/creatine ratios and choline/creatine ratios were consistently higher than control ratios. In white matter without lesions, choline/creatine ratios were higher than control ratios. Patients with higher developmental quotient or intelligence quotient tended to show higher N:-acetylaspartate/creatine ratios and lower pMPS/creatine ratios in basal ganglia. After BMT, the pMPS/creatine ratio in white matter lesions of patient 3, with Hunter syndrome, was slightly decreased, but in none of the patients was the ratio ever below the control ratios, even 7 y after BMT. In white matter without lesions, the pMPS/creatine ratio in patient 3 was decreased to the control ratios after BMT, but although the choline/creatine ratios were gradually decreased, they remained higher than the control ratio, 2 y after BMT. These results suggest that evaluation of pMPS, choline, and N:-acetylaspartate by (1)H-magnetic resonance spectroscopy is an important technique that may provide useful biochemical information in vivo on the neurologic process and the efficacy of BMT in patients with mucopolysaccharidoses.

Adolescent↗

Coronary lesion morphology and prognosis in young males with myocardial infarction with or without familial hypercholesterolemia.

The present study examined the angiographic characteristics and prognosis of young males under 40 years of age with acute myocardial infarction (AMI) and familial hypercholesterolemia (FH). The study group was divided into an FH group (n=16) and a non-FH group (n=27). Lesion morphology was classified as complex or smooth. Overall 36 patients were followed up for an average of 9.4 years. The frequency of angiographic normal or nonobstructive culprit lesions was significantly higher in the non-FH group (p<0.01). In contrast, the incidence of complex or totally occlusive lesions was higher in the FH group (p<0.01). At 10-year follow-up, survival rates from cardiac death (FH 85% vs non-FH 100%, p=0.06), from AMI (FH 43% vs non-FH 80%, p<0.05), and from any ischemic event at a new lesion (FH 9% vs non-FH 67%, p<0.01) were all reduced in the FH group. These results suggest that the mechanism of AMI in young male patients with FH differs from that in similar aged patients without FH, and that the overall prognosis of these patients is less favorable.

Adult↗

Asymptomatic pyuria in diabetic women.

The aim of the present study was to determine the prevalence of and the host factors for asymptomatic pyuria (ASP) in women with type 2 diabetes. The study included 179 type 2 diabetic women and consecutive 455 non-diabetic women attending as out-patients in 1996. Patients with symptoms of a urinary tract infection were excluded. ASP was defined as the presence of more than 10 leukocytes/high-power field in a random urine sample. Diabetic women more often had ASP than non-diabetic women (27.9 vs. 15.8%, P<0.001). The prevalence of ASP was significantly increased in patients with a duration of diabetes exceeding 15 years (0 approximately 4 years; 20.3%, 5 approximately 9 years; 24.3%, 10 approximately 14 years; 23.8%, and > or =15 years; 46.3%). No differences were evident in HbA(1C) between diabetic patients without ASP and those with ASP. Diabetic women with ASP more often had diabetic retinopathy, neuropathy, nephropathy, cerebrovascular disease, ischemic heart disease, and hyperlipidemia than those without ASP. However, no statistically significant differences were evident in the prevalence of hypertension, constipation, or dementia. As the degree of neuropathy increases, it is accompanied by an increasing prevalence of ASP (none, 21.4%; blunt tendon reflexes, 24.5%; symptomatic, 50.0%; and gangrene, 66.6%). The prevalence of ASP was significantly increased in the patients with proliferative diabetic retinopathy (none, 23.2%; background, 29.4%; pre-proliferative, 18.2%; and proliferative, 50.0%). As the degree of nephropathy increases, it is accompanied by an increasing prevalence of ASP (none, 20.0%; microalbuminuria, 31.9%; macroalbuminuria, 37.0%; and renal failure, 60.0%). Thus, the prevalence of ASP is increased in women with diabetes and increased with longer duration of diabetes but was not affected by glucose control. The incidence of ASP increases significantly as diabetic microangiopathy becomes severer.

Aged↗

Immunohistochemical analysis of molecular events in tubulo-interstitial fibrosis in a mouse model of diffuse mesangial sclerosis (ICGN strain).

Diffuse mesangial sclerosis (DMS) is one of the hereditary glomerular diseases and histologically characterized by severe glomerulosclerosis and subsequent tubulo-interstitial fibrosis (TIF). In DMS patients, renal dysfunction correlates well with TIF, rather than with glomerular lesions. Thus, molecular mechanisms whereby TIF in DMS progresses should be addressed. Previously, we found that nephrotic ICGN mice manifest DMS-like lesions and develop renal dysfunction in accordance with onset of TIF. In the present study, we investigated fibrogenic events involved in the progression of TIF after DMS manifestation, using the DMS mouse model. Immunohistochemistry revealed that expression of transforming growth factor-beta (TGF-beta) was rare in the interstitial cells of the nephrotic mice at the early-stage of DMS, while the TGF-beta expression became evident in the late-stage DMS mice. Platelet-derived growth factor (PDGF) was mildly expressed in the distal tubules of the early-stage DMS mice, whereas the PDGF expression markedly increased at the late-stage of DMS. As a result, alpha-actin-positive myofibroblastic cells were found dominant in the interstitial spaces of the late-stage DMS mice. Finally, TIF became severe in accordance with the overexpressions of these molecules. Our results suggest that in our murine model: 1) persistent proteinuria leads to over-expression of TGF-beta and PDGF in non-glomerular areas; 2) these cytokines provoke interstitial myofibroblast accumulation; and 3) the myofibroblasts produce fibrotic matrix proteins in the interstitial spaces. This process may possibly contribute to the development of TIF in DMS patients.

Albuminuria↗

[A case of radiologically negative small-cell lung carcinoma successfully detected early by whole-body FDG-PET].

A 68-year-old man was referred to our hospital after being treated for early gastric cancer to investigate the causative malignancy, as his serum carcinoembryonic antigen (CEA) level was increased. Chest radiography showed no abnormal opacities. Subsequently, a whole-body FDG-PET was performed, which detected some tiny lesions in the mediastinum and the right lower lung field. A diagnosis of small-cell lung carcinoma was made after mediastinoscopic and bronchoscopic examinations. After chemoradiotherapy, the previously abnormal uptake of FDG was attenuated and the bronchoscopic appearance was improved, while the serum CEA and NSE levels returned to normal. Our findings demonstrated that whole-body scanning by FDG-PET could be useful for early detection of lung cancer, especially in cases of small-cell lung cancer.

Aged↗

[On line display of the reconstructed pressure waves of the radial artery from the monitored output pressure waves at the same site].

The input-output relationship of transducer and catheter system is described by linear, second-order differential equation with three coefficients: inductance (L), resistance (R), and capacitance (C). Once the natural frequency (fo) and the damping ratio (beta) of the monitoring system have been measured, three coefficients of the differential equation are uniquely obtained. We measured the frequency response of the monitoring system, which we usually use in our hospital, to obtain fo and beta, and reconstructed the original input arterial pressure wave from output signal on the display using the simple time-domain approach. The analysis of this linear, second-order differential equation, is applicable in on-line bedside monitoring, because the calculation of this equation is simpler than that using Fourier's translation. The pressure waves of the radial artery both monitored (output) and restored (input) were depicted on the same display at the same time. We can evaluate the changes in systemic circulation from the changes in the wave shapes of arterial blood pressure.

Blood Pressure↗

Theoretical analysis of mixed irradiation (3).

As the model we proposed last year was contradictory to experimental data, we revised again the models for mixed irradiation by Zaider and Rossi and by Suzuki, substituting a 'reciprocal-time' pattern of repair function for a first-order one in reduction and interaction factors of the models, although we used a second order repair function last year. The reduction factor, which reduces the contribution of the square of a dose to cell killing in the models, and the interaction factor, which also reduces the contribution of the interaction of two or more doses of different types of radiation, were formulated by using the 'reciprocal-time' pattern of repair function. These newly modified models for mixed irradiation could express or predict cell survival more accurately than the older ones, especially when irradiation is prolonged at low dose rates. We present survival curves of cells calculated from the newly and the older models of assumptive simultaneous mixed irradiation with two or three types of radiation.

Animals↗

Silk fibroin of Bombyx mori is secreted, assembling a high molecular mass elementary unit consisting of H-chain, L-chain, and P25, with a 6:6:1 molar ratio.

Silk fibroin produced by the silkworm Bombyx mori consists of a heavy chain, a light chain, and a glycoprotein, P25. The heavy and light chains are linked by a disulfide bond, and P25 associates with disulfide-linked heavy and light chains by noncovalent interactions. Quantitative enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay revealed that molar ratios of the heavy chain, light chain, and P25 were 6:6:1, both in cocoons and in fibroin secreted into the lumen of posterior silk gland. Trace amounts of fibroin produced by three "naked pupa" mutants of B. mori lacked the light chain, but the molar ratio of heavy chain and P25 was also 6:1. Gel filtration chromatography and sedimentation equilibrium analysis demonstrated that a large protein complex of approximately 2.3 MDa, designated an elementary unit of fibroin having 6:6:1 molar ratios of the heavy chain, light chain, and P25, existed in posterior silk gland cells. Inaccessibility of biotinylated concanavalin A to the native elementary unit and partial dissociation of the elementary unit after incubation with excess N-glycosidase F or endoglycosidase H suggest that a single molecule of P25 is located internally and plays an important role in maintaining integrity of the complex.

Amino Acid Sequence↗

Age-related decline in osteoprotegerin expression by human bone marrow cells cultured in three-dimensional collagen sponges.

With advancing age, an increase in bone resorption relative to bone formation results in bone loss. Bone marrow stromal cells and their products support osteoclastogenesis from hematopoietic progenitors. Another of their products, osteoprotegerin (OPG), blocks the osteoclast-stimulatory effects of OPG ligand. We tested the hypothesis that with advancing age there is a decrease in OPG expression by human bone marrow cells. Bone marrow cells were obtained from 18 subjects (age range 38-84 years). Expression of mRNA transcripts of OPG was assessed by quantitative competitive RT-PCR. Median number of OPG transcripts in the younger group was 0. 3 zetptomoles (range 0.01 to 1.30) and was higher than in the older group's median of 0.06 (range 0 to 0.5; p < 0.05). The decline in the expression of OPG with age may increase the capacity of stromal/osteoblast cells to support osteoclastogenesis.

Adult↗

Early oxidative DNA damages and late development of lung cancer in diesel exhaust-exposed rats.

To demonstrate DNA damages in the early stage of diesel exhaust exposure, an inhalation study of 1 through 12 months was conducted. The lung burden of diesel soot increased with increase in exposure duration. Histologically, hyperplastic foci of alveolar epithelia were found at 6-month exposure and became prominent at the 12th month, with slight nuclear atypia and positive p53 staining. The level of 8-OH-hydroxyguanosine (8-OH-dG) in the exposed rat lungs showed an increase from 1 month of exposure, followed by a gradual increase, reaching almost a plateau level at the 9th month. An in vitro experiment demonstrated significant 8-OH-dG formation when diesel particles and H(2)O(2) were added to the DNA solution. The level of bulky aromatic DNA adducts peaked at the 1st month of exposure, followed by a decrease. By the end of the observation period of 30 months, lung tumors developed even in the 6-month exposure group, and the earliest lung tumors were found only in rats that survived longer than 18 months. In conclusion, persisting oxidative stress on DNA induced in the early phase of diesel exhaust exposure, together with inflammation, seems to play an important role in carcinogenesis at advance ages after a long latent period.

Animals↗