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Biomedical subjects

S Okada

Publications and source records attributed to S Okada.

At least 667 records · Page 37Linked to original sources

[Glycyrrhitinic acid reference standard (Control 941) of the National Institute of Health Sciences].

The raw material of glycyrrhitinic acid was examined for preparation of the "Glycyrrhitinic Acid Reference Standard". The candidate material was evaluated physico-chemically by a collaborative study in which five laboratories participated. Analytical data obtained were as follows: UV spectrum, lambda max = 251 nm and specific absorbance E1%1cm (EtOH) at the lambda max = 145; IR spectrum, specific absorption numbers were at 1719, 1654, 1216, and 1170 cm-1; thin-layer chromatography, some laboratories detected a trace amount of one spot and others not detected; high-performance liquid chromatography, 2-6 impurities were detected and the amount of any impurities were estimated to be less than 0.2% and the total amount less than 0.5%. Based on the above results, the candidate material was authorized as the Glycyrrhitinic Acid Reference Standard of National Institute of Health Sciences.

Chromatography, High Pressure Liquid↗

[Berberine hydrochloride reference standard (Control 941) of the National Institute of Health Sciences].

The raw material of berberine hydrochloride was examined for preparation of the "Berberine Hydrochloride Reference Standard". The candidate material was evaluated physico-chemically by a collaborative study in which five laboratories participated. Analytical data obtained were as follows: UV spectrum, lambda max = 228, 263, 345, and 421 nm and specific absorbance E1%1cm at each lambda max = 814, 794, 722, and 160, respectively; IR spectrum, specific absorption wave numbers at 2845, 1633, 1568, and 1506 cm-1; thin-layer chromatography, some laboratories detected a trace amount of one or two spot and others not detected; high-performance liquid chromatography, 2-5 impurities were detected and the amount of any impurities were estimated to be less than 0.05% and the total amount less than 0.2%. Based on the above results, the candidate material was authorized as the Berberine Hydorochloride Reference Standard of National Institute of Health Sciences.

Berberine↗

[Ulinastatin reference standard (Control 941) of the National Insutitute of Health Sciences].

The raw material of ulinastatin was examined for preparation of the "Ulinastatin Reference standard". The candidate material was evaluated in collaboration with one domestic laboratory, and the potency of trypsin inhibiting activity was determined to be 3500 unit/vial. Other analytical data obtained were as follows: UV maximum absorption was observed at 276 nm, the molecular weight was estimated to be about 66000 +/- 5000 by gel filtration method. Maximum variance of material contents in 10 vials was 6.52% by means of the weight variation test in JP XII. Based on the above results, this raw material was authorized to be the first "Ulinastatin Reference Standard" of the National Institute of Health Sciences.

Glycoproteins↗

[Protamine sulfate reference standard (Control 941) of the National Institute of Health Sciences].

Three kinds of the candidate raw material for protamine sulfate was tested for preparation of the "Protamine Sulfate Reference Standard (Control 941)". The candidates were evaluated by physicochemical tests and anti-heparin tests. Analytical data were summarized in Table 1. Based on the above results, the best one having the highest anti-heparin activity was selected and authorized as the Japanese Pharmacopoeia Reference Standard (Control 941).

Chemical Phenomena↗

Localization in rat brain of the trace metals, zinc and manganese, after intracerebroventricular injection.

Autoradiographic studies of rat brain, after 65ZnCl2 or 54MnCl2 injection into the lateral ventricle, revealed that 65Zn and 54Mn were transferred freely through the cerebrospinal and extracellular fluid compartments; both tracers appeared in all the ventricles 1 h after injection. At 6 days after injection, 65Zn was concentrated in the hippocampal formation and hypothalamic nuclei but not in the cerebral cortex and superior colliculus of the ipsilateral hemisphere, with a lower uptake into contralateral hemisphere except for the hypothalamic nuclei. 54Mn was concentrated in some brainstem nuclei, such as the red and pontine reticular nuclei, to about the same extent in both hemispheres. These results suggest that both metals were taken up gradually into brain mainly via the cerebrospinal fluid. Relatively high uptake of 65Zn into the cerebral cortex and superior colliculus after intravenous injection suggests uptake in those regions is through two blood/brain barriers.

Animals↗

Therapeutic effect of adriamycin encapsulated in long-circulating liposomes on Meth-A-sarcoma-bearing mice.

Long-circulating liposomes modified with a uronic-acid derivative, palmityl-D-glucuronide (PGIcUA), have been developed previously for the passive targeting of liposomes to tumor tissues. In this study, we examined the therapeutic effect of adriamycin (ADM) encapsulated in PGIcUA liposomes composed of dipalmitoylphosphatidylcholine (DPPC), cholesterol (Chol) and PGIcUA (molar ratio, 40/40/10) since this amount of PGIcUA was enough to endow liposomes with long-circulating activity. Long-circulating activity was also observed with palmityl-D-galacturonide (PGalUA) modified liposomes, suggesting that uronic acid plays an important role in preventing liposomes from being trapped in the reticuloendothelial system (RES). ADM was loaded in liposomes by a remote-loading method. Free or liposomal ADM was injected i.v. into BALB/c mice bearing s.c.-implanted Meth-A sarcoma. The liposomal formulation was efficient for reducing tumors, prolonging survival time and curing the animals, especially in the case of large tumors where free ADM was not. Furthermore, PGlcUA liposomes were more effective than conventional liposomes containing dipalmitoylphosphatidylglycerol (DPPG) instead of PGlcUA for prolonging survival time in mice. It might therefore be appropriate to use PGlcUA liposomes as the carriers of anticancer drugs.

1,2-Dipalmitoylphosphatidylcholine↗

Functional and morphological abnormalities of mitochondria in human cells containing mitochondrial DNA with pathogenic point mutations in tRNA genes.

mtDNA with a point mutation in the tRNA(Ile) gene at nucleotide position 4269 found in a patient with fatal cardiomyopathy and mtDNA with a point mutation in the tRNA(Arg) gene at 10410 found in a patient with Alpers disease were transferred cytoplasmically to rho zero HeLa cells (HeLa cells lacking mtDNA) to determine whether these novel mtDNA mutations in the tRNA genes are responsible for the defects in mitochondrial respiration function observed in these diseases. Cybrid clones (clones of rho zero HeLa cells with mtDNA from the patients) were isolated, and respiratory function and morphology of the mitochondria of the cybrid clones containing wild-type mtDNA and mutant mtDNA predominantly were compared. The results showed that accumulation of mutant mtDNA at 4269 alone without defects in the nuclear genome was sufficient to produce a disease phenotype, while mutant mtDNA at 10410 was not related to pathogenesis and reflected one of the rare polymorphic sites of human mtDNA. Moreover, we found that mitochondria in living cells were significantly swollen only when they contained predominantly the pathogenic mutant mtDNA, suggesting that the functional abnormality of mitochondria induced by pathogenic mtDNA mutations in tRNA genes is always associated with their swollen structure.

Cardiomyopathies↗

Low frequency of the p53 gene mutations in neuroblastoma.

BACKGROUND: The p53 gene frequently is affected by point mutations, rearrangements, or deletions that contribute to the genesis or progression of a wide variety of human adult solid tumors; however, to the authors' knowledge, this gene alteration has not been analyzed in neuroblastoma. METHODS: Genomic DNA samples from 20 children with neuroblastoma, including 16 patients with advanced disease, were screened for the presence of mutations in exons 5-9 of the p53 gene, where over 90% of mutations have been reported to be located in human cancer. The screening technique employed polymerase chain reaction/single-strand conformation polymorphism analysis followed by direct DNA sequencing. RESULTS: Heterozygous mutations were detected in 2 of the 20 cases. A silent mutation (T to G transversion) at codon 172 and a missense mutation (G to T transversion) at codon 259 were found in patients with Stage II and Stage IV disease, respectively. Thus, p53 mutations were found to occur in neuroblastoma, but at a low frequency (2 of 20). CONCLUSIONS: Our data suggest that in a minority of neuroblastomas, p53 gene mutations may play a contributing role in tumorigenesis, but other genes presumably play a major role in this tumor.

Child↗

Positron emission tomography analysis of metastatic tumor cell trafficking.

Organ-specific colonization of metastatic tumor cells is regulated through complex interactions of specific adhesion molecules on the tumor cell surface with organ specific microvascular endothelium. The present paper shows the real time tumor cell trafficking under the actual blood flow, which became able to be determined using a new technology, positron emission tomography. This technology would be useful to evaluate the interaction of characteristic tumor cells with various organs in vivo. High and low metastatic rat mammary adenocarcinoma cell variants, MTLn3 and MTC, respectively, were labeled with [2-18F]2-fluoro-2-deoxy-D-glucose in vitro. The labeled cells preferentially accumulated in the lungs, in which the disposition was more intense for MTLn3 than for MTC cells especially for the first 2-10 min after injection, apparently reflecting the organ specific interaction of metastatic tumor cells which may lead to metastasis. Such a short time change of cell disposition is easily determined in a living animal by this new technique. Furthermore, sialidase treatment of MTLn3 cells suppressed the accumulation of these cells in lungs, suggesting that some sialyl glycoconjugates on the MTLn3 cell surface play an important role in cell adhesion to lung endothelium. Positron emission tomography scanning thus enables the noninvasive study of the interaction of characteristic tumor cells with specific endothelium in a living animal.

Animals↗

Potential usage of thermosensitive liposomes for macromolecule delivery.

Since transient swelling during phase transition of liposomes with hyper-osmotic internal aqueous phase may cause permeation of large molecules through the lipid bilayer, this type of liposomes can be useful for delivering macromolecules. In fact, thermosensitive liposomes containing an internal solution with osmotic pressure 2-fold higher than the physiologic level and sized through 200-nm pore, released encapsulated macromolecules such as dextran (M(r) 144,000) effectively when they were incubated at 40-42 degrees C. These liposomes were stable in the presence of serum compared to the liposomes with internal osmotic pressure more than 3-fold higher than the physiologic level.

1,2-Dipalmitoylphosphatidylcholine↗

Brain uptake of trace metals, zinc and manganese, in rats.

The brains of rats injected intravenously with 65ZnCl2 or 54MnCl2 were subjected to high resolution autoradiography. 65Zn and 54Mn were largely concentrated in choroid plexus 1 h after injection and then gradually decreased, with increases in other brain regions, suggesting that both metals were taken up gradually into brain mainly via cerebrospinal fluid in the choroid plexus. By 3 days after injection, relatively high level of 65Zn was seen in the dentate gyrus and CA3 region of the hippocampus and in the cerebral cortex. The level of 54Mn was also high in the former, while relatively low in the latter.

Animals↗

Krabbe disease: isolation and characterization of a full-length cDNA for human galactocerebrosidase.

Human galactocerebrosidase, the enzyme deficient in Krabbe disease, was purified, through several hydrophobic column steps and gel filtration, 22,650-fold from human lymphocytes. Using information on its N-terminal and internal amino acid sequences, and the polymerase chain reaction method, we cloned a full-length cDNA for the enzyme. The deduced amino acid sequence matched all amino acid sequences determined. The 3780 nucleotide sequence included 2007 nucleotides which encoded a single chain peptide of 669 amino acid residues with a 26 amino acid N-terminal signal peptide and six potential asparagine-linked glycosylation sites. The galactocerebrosidase cDNA detected an about 4 kb mRNA band material in human cultured skin fibroblasts. A nonsense mutation was found at codon 369 (GAA-->TAA) in the coding sequence of cDNA amplified from cultured skin fibroblast mRNA from a patient with typical Krabbe disease.

Amino Acid Sequence↗

Acetyl-CoA carboxylase exerts strong flux control over lipid synthesis in plants.

The importance of acetyl-CoA carboxylase in regulation of lipid synthesis for barley and maize leaves has been quantitatively assessed using, as specific inhibitors, the herbicides fluazifop and sethoxydim. Apparent flux control coefficients of about 0.58 and 0.52 were determined for acetyl-CoA carboxylase in barley and maize leaves, respectively. These results show that acetyl-CoA carboxylase is the major flux controlling enzyme for light-stimulated lipid synthesis in these tissues.

Acetyl-CoA Carboxylase↗

Expression of sialosyl-Tn in colony-forming unit-erythroid, erythroblasts, B cells, and a subset of CD4+ cells.

The epitopes Tn and sialosyl-Tn are expressed on erythrocytes of individuals with a very rare blood group, who often suffer from "Tn syndrome." We surveyed expression of Tn and sialosyl-Tn in normal blood cells, malignant transformed cells, and progenitor stem cells from bone marrow (BM). An anti-Tn antibody, IE3, and an anti-sialosyl-Tn antibody, TKH2, were used in this study. TKH2 reacted with erythroblasts, B cells, and a subset of CD4+ cells; but not with erythrocytes. Erythroblastic cell lines (K562, HEL, and UT7/EPO) and B-cell lines (Daudi, Raji, and B-cell lines transformed by Epstein-Barr virus) showed reactivity to TKH2. Similar results from the reactivity of TKH2 with transformed cells from leukemia patients and lymphoma patients were obtained; TKH2 reacted with blasts from erythroleukemia (M6; for 4 of 4 cases) and with lymphocytes from B-cell chronic lymphocytic leukemia (3 of 3), B-cell lymphoma (5 of 5), and CD4+ adult T-cell leukemia (4 of 4), but did not react with blasts from acute myeloid leukemia (M0 to M5; 0 of 22) or acute lymphoid leukemia (B-lymphoid leukemia, 0 of 11; T-lymphoid leukemia, 0 of 2; undifferentiated leukemia, 0 of 1). IE3 did not react with all of the tested cells. CD2-CD19-TKH2+ normal BM cells (BMC) contained blasts and various maturation stages of erythroblasts. The TKH2+ cells produced a large number of colony-forming unit-erythroid (CFU-E) colonies, whereas they produced a small number of burst-forming unit-erythroid colonies and CFU-granulocyte-macrophage colonies. CD34+ normal BMC did not express Tn and sialosyl-Tn. These findings suggest that sialosyl-Tn expresses in CFU-E to erythroblasts.

Antibodies, Monoclonal↗

Comparison of chorionic villus sampling and amniocentesis: current status of prenatal diagnosis in Japan.

Data were tabulated and compared for cases involving prenatal diagnostic procedures performed in the 8 years between January 1985 and December 1992. Of a total of 2781 pregnancies, 2546 cases (91.5 per cent) were diagnosed by amniocentesis, and 235 (8.5 per cent) by chorionic villus sampling (CVS). These findings reflect the fact that amniocentesis has taken deep root as the prenatal diagnostic procedure widely acknowledged by society, whereas even the existence of CVS has yet to be generally recognized. Analysis of our clinical and laboratory results and complication rates, however, suggests that CVS is a safe and accurate alternative to amniocentesis which should and can be positively presented to all patients who are candidates for prenatal diagnosis.

Amniocentesis↗

Isolation and mapping of cosmid markers on human chromosome 22, including one within the submicroscopically deleted region of DiGeorge syndrome.

A genomic cosmid library was constructed from a Chinese hamster/human hybrid cell containing human intact chromosome 22 as its only human component. Of 1000 cosmids with inserts derived from human chromosome 22, 191 were tested for restriction fragment length polymorphisms (RFLPs). As a result, 64 clones detected RFLPs, including five variable number of tandem repeats systems. Of the remaining 127 cosmids, 111 detected a single copy sequence on human chromosome 22. Five somatic cell hybrids allowed us to assign all of the 64 polymorphic cosmids and 44 non-polymorphic cosmids to four different regions of human chromosome 22. In two patients with DiGeorge syndrome, one of the cosmids that had been sublocalized to 22pter-q11 detected hemizygosity. These 108 cosmid markers regionally assigned to human chromosome 22 should be useful for the construction of long-range physical maps and the identification of genetic alterations on the chromosome.

Animals↗