Biomedical subjects

S Ohno

Publications and source records attributed to S Ohno.

At least 235 records · Page 13Linked to original sources

PubMed1999

Triplet repeat polymorphism in the MICA gene in HLA-B27 positive and negative caucasian patients with ankylosing spondylitis.

Previously, we reported a triplet repeat polymorphism in the transmembrane region within the MICA gene closely linked to HLA-B in a limited number of B27-positive Caucasian patients with ankylosing spondylitis (AS) (N = 48). In this study, we enrolled much more patients including some negative for B27, 162 AS subjects consisting of 140 B27-positive, and 22 B27-negative patients. The microsatellite allele consisting of 4 repetitions of (GCT/AGC) (A4 allele) was present at a significantly higher phenotype frequency in the patient group than in the ethnically matched control group (Pc < 0.000001). However, the frequency of the A4 allele was not significantly higher in the B27-positive and B27-negative patient groups, as compared to the B27-positive and B27-negative control groups, respectively. The higher phenotype frequency of the A4 allele in the patient group was supposed to be due to a strong linkage disequilibrium between the MICA and HLA-B genes. Thus, the possibility that the MICA gene is involved in the pathogenesis of AS can be excluded, supporting the hypothesis of a primary association of AS with HLA-B27.

Case-Control Studies↗

PubMed1999

Electroclinical characteristics of hemimegalencephaly.

Presented here are two long-term follow-up patients with hemimegalencephaly. Patient 1 had Ohtahara's syndrome, which evolved into West's syndrome. Patient 2 had localization-related epilepsy, which demonstrated epilepsia partialis continua throughout the clinical course. The patients' interictal electroencephalograms revealed asymmetric suppression-burst patterns sometime during the clinical course: only during early infancy in patient 1 and until the last follow-up (at 30 years of age) in patient 2. Both patients had moderate mental and motor disturbances with persistence of seizures. Hemiplegia was progressive during early childhood. Aggravation of hemiplegia might be related to frequent seizures and persistent electroencephalographic abnormalities during early childhood. Although asymmetric suppression-burst patterns are considered characteristic electroencephalographic findings in these cases, the duration of their appearance did not have definite prognostic significance.

Adolescent↗

PubMed1999

Serum levels of soluble intercellular adhesion molecule-1, vascular cell adhesion molecule-1, and interleukin-2 receptor in patients with vernal keratoconjunctivitis and allergic conjunctivitis.

BACKGROUND: Vernal keratoconjunctivitis (VKC) is characterized by severe ocular allergic inflammation that may have a poor visual prognosis. Due to the high frequency of the presence of atopic dermatitis (AD) in VKC, most systemic parameters are dependent on the clinical severity of AD. METHODS: Serum levels of sICAM-1, sVCAM-1, and sIL-2R were measured by enzyme-linked immunoassay using samples from 30 VKC patients, 30 allergic conjunctivitis (AC) patients, and 20 normal subjects, to determine whether the concentrations of these molecules are elevated. RESULTS: Circulating sICAM-1 and sIL-2R levels were increased in patients with VKC with AD compared with those in VKC without AD, AC, and normal controls. Serum levels of sVCAM-1 in VKC patients with and without AD were significantly higher than those in controls. No significant difference was found in the levels of sVCAM-1 between patients with VKC with and without AD. In VKC patients with AD, the sIL-2R level correlated significantly with severity of AD, whereas no such correlation was found for sICAM-1 and sVCAM-1. CONCLUSIONS: These results suggest that serum sVCAM-1 can be used as a marker to differentiate VKC from nonproliferative ocular allergic diseases, and specific immunologic features of VKC may underlie the upregulation of serum sVCAM-1.

Adolescent↗

PubMed1999

Behçet's disease, the Silk Road and HLA-B51: historical and geographical perspectives.

Behçet's disease (BD), also known as the Silk Road disease, is a blinding inflammatory disorder of young adults found predominantly between the Mediterranean basin and the Orient, and is strongly associated with the major histocompatibility complex (MHC) antigen HLA-B51. In this article we review the history of Behçet's disease since its first description by Hippocrates, the development of the trading routes collectively known as the Silk Road and the effect of population movement on the distribution of HLA-B51. The global distribution of this antigen among healthy control populations bears a striking similarity both to the ancient trading routes and the distribution of Behçet's disease, suggesting a genetic risk that migrated in parallel with population movement between the Mediterranean and Asia. However, certain indigenous Amerindian peoples have a high prevalence of HLA-B51 but no reported cases of BD. Furthermore, a clear genealogical relationship exists between eastern, but not central, Siberian populations with the Amerindians. Since a high level of recombination within the MHC is known to have occurred in these eastern populations before their migration into Beringia, we suggest that disruption of genetic loci in linkage disequilibria with HLA-B51 may be one reason for the absence of disease in these high HLA-B51-bearing populations. However, a contributory influence of environmental factors is not excluded by this data, and the wide variation that exists in relative risk of HLA-B51 even within Europe would support other non-genetic risk factors on the Silk Road which may be absent, or non-contributory to disease, in the Americas.

Arabia↗

PubMed1999

HLA class I and II typing of the patients with Behçet's disease in Saudi Arabia.

Thirteen Saudi Arabian patients with Behçet's disease (BD) were typed for HLA-A and -B alleles by the conventional serologic typing and for HLA-DRB1, -DQB1 and -DPB1 alleles by the polymerase chain reaction-restriction fragment length polymorphism (PCR-RFLP) method. As a result, the phenotype frequency of the B51 antigen was significantly increased in the patient group as compared to the ethnically matched control group (76.9% in patients vs. 22.20% in controls), but no significant difference was observed in HLA-A, -DRB1, -DQB1 or -DPB1 alleles between the patients and controls, as previously observed in Japanese BD. Further, by HLA-B51 allelic genotyping performed by the polymerase chain reaction-sequence specific primers (PCR-SSP) method, all of the B51-positive patients and controls were found to carry one particular allele, B*5101, except one patient with B*5108.

Behcet Syndrome↗

PubMed1999

Significant associations of HLA-B5101 and B5108, and lack of association of class II alleles with Behçet's disease in Italian patients.

Behçet's disease has been known to be strongly associated with human leukocyte antigen (HLA) B51, one of the split antigens of HLA-B5. An increased incidence of HLA-B51 in the patient group has also been reported in an Italian population. Since the B51 antigen has been recently identified to comprise nine alleles, B*5101-B*5109, we performed HLA-B51 allele genotyping by the polymerase chain reaction-sequencing based typing (PCR-SBT) method as well as serological HLA-A and -B typing among 21 Italian patients with Behçet's disease in order to investigate whether there is any correlation of one particular B51-associated allele with Behcet's disease. In addition, HLA class II genotyping was performed by the PCR-restriction fragment length polymorphism (RFLP) method. As a result, only the phenotype frequency of the B51 antigen was found to be significantly increased in the patient group as compared to the ethnically matched control group by the corrected P-value analysis (71.4% in patients vs. 17.9% in controls; chi2 = 14.26, Pc = 0.0042, R.R. = 11.5). In the B51 allele genotyping, 11 out of 15 B51-positive patients were B*5101 and the remaining four were B*5108, whereas all of 5 normal controls were B*5101, showing significant association of each allele with Behçet's disease. No significant difference was observed between the patient and control groups in the HLA class II allelic distribution. This study revealed a strong association of Behçet's disease in Italian with B*5108 as well as B*5101, providing important insight into the molecular mechanism underlying an HLA association with Behçet's disease.

Alleles↗

PubMed1999

Blocking angiotensin II ameliorates proteinuria and glomerular lesions in progressive mesangioproliferative glomerulonephritis.

BACKGROUND: The renin-angiotensin system is thought to be involved in the progression of glomerulonephritis (GN) into end-stage renal failure (ESRF) because of the observed renoprotective effects of angiotensin-converting enzyme inhibitors (ACEIs). However, ACEIs have pharmacological effects other than ACE inhibition that may help lower blood pressure and preserve glomerular structure. We previously reported a new animal model of progressive glomerulosclerosis induced by a single intravenous injection of an anti-Thy-1 monoclonal antibody, MoAb 1-22-3, in uninephrectomized rats. Using this new model of progressive GN, we examined the hypothesis that ACEIs prevent the progression to ESRF by modulating the effects of angiotensin II (Ang II) on the production of transforming growth factor-beta (TGF-beta) and extracellular matrix components. METHODS: We studied the effect of an ACEI (cilazapril) and an Ang II type 1 receptor antagonist (candesartan) on the clinical features and morphological lesions in the rat model previously reported. After 10 weeks of treatment with equihypotensive doses of cilazapril, cilazapril plus Hoe 140 (a bradykinin receptor B2 antagonist), candesartan, and hydralazine, we examined systolic blood pressure, urinary protein excretion, creatinine clearance, the glomerulosclerosis index, and the tubulointerstitial lesion index. We performed a semiquantitative evaluation of glomerular immunostaining for TGF-beta and collagen types I and III by immunofluorescence study and of these cortical mRNA levels by Northern blot analysis. RESULTS: Untreated rats developed massive proteinuria, renal dysfunction, and severe glomerular and tubulointerstitial injury, whereas uninephrectomized control rats did not. There was a significant increase in the levels of glomerular protein and cortical mRNA for TGF-beta and collagen types I and III in untreated rats. Cilazapril and candesartan prevented massive proteinuria, increased creatinine clearance, and ameliorated glomerular and tubulointerstitial injury. These drugs also reduced levels of glomerular protein and cortical mRNA for TGF-beta and collagen types I and III. Hoe 140 failed to blunt the renoprotective effect of cilazapril. Hydralazine did not exhibit a renoprotective effect. CONCLUSION: These results indicate that ACEIs prevent the progression to ESRF by modulating the effects of Ang II via Ang II type 1 receptor on the production of TGF-beta and collagen types I and III, as well as on intrarenal hemodynamics, but not by either increasing bradykinin activity or reducing blood pressure in this rat model of mesangial proliferative GN.

Angiotensin II↗

PubMed1999

The critical region for Behçet disease in the human major histocompatibility complex is reduced to a 46-kb segment centromeric of HLA-B, by association analysis using refined microsatellite mapping.

The HLA-B51 allele is known to be associated with Behçet disease. Recently, we found a higher risk for Behçet disease in the MICA gene, 46 kb centromeric of HLA-B, by investigation of GCT repetitive polymorphism within exon 5 of MICA. The pathogenic gene causing Behçet disease, however, has remained uncertain. Here, eight polymorphic microsatellite markers, distributed over a 900-kb region surrounding the HLA-B locus, were subjected to association analysis for Behçet disease. Statistical studies of associated alleles detected on each microsatellite locus showed that the pathogenic gene for Behçet disease is most likely found within a 46-kb segment between the MICA and HLA-B genes. The results of this mapping study, and the results of an earlier study of ours, suggest that MICA is a strong candidate gene for the development of Behçet disease.

Behcet Syndrome↗

PubMed1999

Murine plasmacytomas, carrier of the t(12;15) chromosomal translocation, develop from immature/mature B cells not from differentiated plasma cells.

Dysregulation of the c-myc gene by chromosomal translocation in >95% of murine plasmacytomas (MPCs) is an obligatory requirement for the transformation of B lymphocytes into MPCs. However, it is still unknown whether sIg+ B cells or differentiated plasma cells are the legitimate precursor cells from which MPCs develop. To address this question, C.B-17 scid/scid (SCID) mice were reconstituted with splenic surface Ig-positive (sIg+) B lineage cells originating from BALB/cRb6.15 (B/cRb6.15) or human IL-6 transgene-congenic BALB/cRb8.12 mice (B/cRb8.12 IL-6-Tg). Six of 80 SCID mice reconstituted with B/cRb6.15 sIg+ B cells developed MPCs after pristane (2,6,10,14-tetramethylpentadecane) treatment followed by Abelson murine leukemia virus (A-MuLV) infection (incidence 7.5%) and four of 40 after pristane treatment alone (incidence 10%). Similarly, in 20 SCID mice reconstituted with B/cRb8.12 IL-6-Tg splenic sIg+ B cells the MPC incidence was 10%. Karyotype analysis revealed that all the translocations were of typical t(12;15) type and all tumors carried the Rb6.15 or Rb8.12 marker chromosome, indicating their donor cell origin. In contrast, none of the 48 SCID mice reconstituted with plasma cells obtained from the lymph nodes of B/cRb8.12 IL-6-Tg mice developed MPCs when treated either with pristane plus A-MuLV (20 mice) or with pristane alone (28 mice), although the transferred plasma cells were still functional in the recipient SCID mice 6 months after transfer. The findings indicate that the malignant transformation triggered by Ig/myc juxtaposition occurs more in immature (sIgM+) and/or mature (sIgM+/sIgD+, sIgG+ and sIgA+) B cells than in differentiated G0 or cycling plasma cells. We inferred that immature and/or mature B cells and not differentiated plasma cells are most likely the principal source of precursor cells from which the typical t(12;15) MPCs develop.

Animals↗

PubMed1999

Capillary blood flow velocity in patients with idiopathic epiretinal membranes.

PURPOSE: Eyes with idiopathic epiretinal membranes (ERM) often have tortuous vessels and macular edema, suggesting that eyes with ERM may have a disturbance of the macular microcirculation. The authors studied perifoveal microcirculation in eyes with ERM by means of scanning laser ophthalmoscope (SLO) fluorescein angiography. METHODS: Mean capillary blood flow velocity (CFV) was measured by SLO fluorescein angiography in 19 eyes with ERM before and 6 months after vitreous surgery and in 19 healthy control eyes. RESULTS: Mean CFV was significantly reduced in the eyes with ERM compared with the healthy control eyes (2.98 +/- 0.32 mm/sec versus 3.34 +/- 0.12 mm/sec, P < 0.05), and postoperative mean CFV was significantly increased compared with preoperative mean CFV (3.14 +/- 0.32 mm/sec versus 2.98 +/- 0.32 mm/sec, P < 0.05). CONCLUSIONS: Eyes with ERM show abnormal hemodynamics in the perifoveal capillaries. Surgical treatment of eyes with ERM results in improvement of the abnormal blood flow.

Blood Flow Velocity↗

PubMed1999

Ocular manifestations of systemic infections.

Ocular involvement, mainly uveitis or retinochoroiditis, is common in various systemic diseases, such as endogenous endophthalmitis, Lyme disease, human T-cell lymphotropic virus type I infection, toxoplasmosis, and toxocariasis. Recent progress, especially in laboratory microbiologic testing, has enabled us to reliably diagnose many formerly idiopathic intraocular inflammatory diseases. A group of systemic infectious diseases, including those discussed here, are implicated as a body of emerging or re-emerging diseases that have appeared in the past two decades and are thought to have a close relation with global socioenvironmental changes. This paper discusses recent clinical and experimental studies of the most important systemic infectious diseases that affect the eye.

Animals↗

PubMed1999

Human cytomegalovirus IE1 protein activates AP-1 through a cellular protein kinase(s).

During human cytomegalovirus (HCMV) infection, a rapid increase in AP-1 activity is detected. In this study, activation of transcription from promoters containing AP-1-binding sites by the IE1 protein of HCMV was examined. In transient transfection assays with reporter plasmids, it was found that IE1 strongly induced AP-1-driven transcription. Cells stably expressing IE1 also showed higher levels of AP-1 activity than did control cells. IE1 expression did not raise levels of c-jun and c-fos RNA, as determined by quantitative RT-PCR. AP-1 induction by IE1 was blocked efficiently by protein kinase inhibitors in a cell type-dependent manner; for example, by staurosporine in the human microglial cell line U373MG and by H7 in the human promonocytic cell line U937. IE1-driven activation of AP-1 was increased dramatically by mitogen-activated protein kinase/extracellular signal-regulated kinase kinase kinase 1 (MEKK1). The results of this study indicate that IE1 activates AP-1 at the post-transcriptional level and that MEKK1 may play an important role in this process.

Cells, Cultured↗

PubMed1999

Spontaneous splenic rupture in a patient with large hepatocellular carcinoma.

We report a 61-yr-old woman with acute circulatory failure from spontaneous splenic rupture with decompensated liver cirrhosis complicating large hepatocellular carcinoma exposed on the right liver surface. On admission, the patient was tentatively diagnosed as having rupture of the hepatocellular carcinoma, and she died 15 hours after admission despite blood transfusion. Autopsy revealed that the origin of the intraperitoneal hemorrhage was a ruptured spleen. According to a MEDLINE search of the English-language literature published between 1966 and March 1998, this is the first reported case of spontaneous splenic rupture in a patient with hepatocellular carcinoma without splenic metastasis.

Carcinoma, Hepatocellular↗

PubMed1999

[Successful treatment of primary CNS lymphoma diagnosed by 201thallium-single photon emission computed tomography (201Tl-SPECT) with whole-brain radiation therapy in an AIDS patient].

The patient, a 51-year-old male with a two year history of AIDS, was admitted to our hospital because of hemiparalysis and vomiting. The MRI study showed multiple lesions with ring-enhancement in the right basal brain area. Empirical therapy for toxoplasma encephalitis was started. After 64 days, the subsequent brain MRI showed deterioration. A 201Tl-SPECT study was performed and the findings were consistent with those of malignant lymphoma (ML). The patient was treated with 40 Gy of whole brain radiation, MRI showed partial response to this therapy, and clinical improvement was achieved. The definitive diagnosis of primary CNS lymphoma can be made only by brain biopsy, and many cases have been diagnosed at autopsy. The clinical and radiological findings of primary CNS lymphoma resemble toxoplasma encephalitis. An empirical therapy for toxoplasma encephalitis is recommended to avoid brain biopsy in these cases. The use of 201Tl-SPECT for the differential diagnosis of these diseases have been reported. Considering the poor prognosis of primary CNS lymphoma in AIDS, the application of 201Tl-SPECT before empirical therapy for toxoplasma must be important for appropriate treatment.

Brain Neoplasms↗

PubMed1999

Adenovirus strains of subgenus D associated with nosocomial infection as new etiological agents of epidemic keratoconjunctivitis in Japan.

Adenovirus strains of a new type were isolated from patients with epidemic keratoconjunctivitis. They were not completely neutralized by any antiserum against adenovirus prototypes. PCR followed by restriction endonuclease analysis demonstrated that they were type 8. PCR followed by sequencing revealed a high homology rate between them and type 9.

Adenoviridae↗

PubMed1999

Serotyping of adenoviruses on conjunctival scrapings by PCR and sequence analysis.

To detect and identify adenovirus (Ad), we investigated hypervariable regions (HVRs) of Ad by using a combination of PCR and direct sequencing (PCR-sequence) method. Primers for nested PCR to amplify the conserved region in the hexon protein containing HVRs were designed based on hexon gene sequences derived from GenBank. These two primer sets amplified a DNA fragment of 7 HVRs from 16 prototypes of Ad, which were divided into five subgenera, including seven serotypes that are the predominant causative agents of acute conjunctivitis in Japan, and from 31 recent conjunctival scraping specimens from patients with adenoviral conjunctivitis. HVR DNA sequences were determined by means of universal sequence primers. Analysis of the predicted amino acid homology of HVRs among Ad prototypes suggested three regions, HVR4, -5, and -7, to be candidates for the neutralization epitopes. The clinical serotype of specimens was determined by the PCR-sequence method with reference to these three HVRs. The serotype determined according to this method was identical to that obtained by culture isolation and the neutralization test (NT) in all scraping samples, whereas the results of this method did not match PCR and restriction fragment length polymorphism (PCR-RFLP) analysis in five samples. It took only three days to detect Ad and to identify the serotype, in contrast to culture isolation-NT, which took at least 2 weeks. These findings indicate that our newly developed PCR-sequence method is applicable for the detection and serotyping of human Ads.

Adenovirus Infections, Human↗

PubMed1999

High incidence of glucose intolerance in Vogt-Koyanagi-Harada disease.

AIMS: To evaluate glucose tolerance of patients with Vogt-Koyanagi-Harada (VKH) disease before systemic corticosteroid therapy, and to assess changes brought on by treatment. METHODS: 20 VKH patients with acute bilateral panuveitis were studied. 20 healthy adults and 11 Behçet's disease patients with active uveoretinitis served as controls. A 75 g oral glucose tolerance test (OGTT) was given in the acute stage of ocular inflammation before systemic corticosteroid therapy. The OGTT was repeated in the convalescent stage of VKH disease in the patients with glucose intolerance before treatment. Insulin response was examined at the same time as the OGTT when possible. RESULTS: 55% of VKH patients (11/20) showed glucose intolerance but no apparent insulin secretion deficiency was detected. Four of seven patients in the convalescent stage showed improvement of glucose tolerance. None of the normal controls or disease controls showed glucose intolerance. CONCLUSION: A high incidence of glucose intolerance was found in the acute stage of VKH disease. However, glucose intolerance improved in most cases after systemic corticosteroid therapy. It is possible that glucose intolerance seen in VKH patients may be related to the autoimmune inflammatory process of this disease.

Adrenal Cortex Hormones↗

PubMed1999

Simulation model of an eyeball based on finite element analysis on a supercomputer.

BACKGROUND/AIMS: A simulation model of the human eye was developed. It was applied to the determination of the physical and mechanical conditions of impacting foreign bodies causing intraocular foreign body (IOFB) injuries. METHODS: Modules of the Hypermesh (Altair Engineering, Tokyo, Japan) were used for solid modelling, geometric construction, and finite element mesh creation based on information obtained from cadaver eyes. The simulations were solved by a supercomputer using the finite element analysis (FEA) program PAM-CRASH (Nihon ESI, Tokyo, Japan). It was assumed that rupture occurs at a strain of 18.0% in the cornea and 6.8% in the sclera and at a stress of 9.4 MPa for both cornea and sclera. Blunt-shaped missiles were shot and set to impact on the surface of the cornea or sclera at velocities of 30 and 60 m/s, respectively. RESULTS: According to the simulation, the sizes of missile above which corneal rupture occurred at velocities of 30 and 60 m/s were 1.95 and 0.82 mm. The missile sizes causing scleral rupture were 0.95 and 0.75 mm at velocities of 30 and 60 m/s. CONCLUSIONS: These results suggest that this FEA model has potential usefulness as a simulation tool for ocular injury and it may provide useful information for developing protective measures against industrial and traffic ocular injuries.

Aged↗