Biomedical subjects

S Tada

Publications and source records attributed to S Tada.

At least 163 records · Page 9Linked to original sources

PubMed1993

Detection of HTLV-I pX gene by polymerase chain reaction using newly designed primers.

Newly designed oligonucleotide primers, KI-7 and KI-8 for the human T cell lymphotropic virus type I (HTLV-I) pX gene were synthesized using an automated DNA synthesizer. Previously known HTLV-I-infected cell lines, MT-1 and MT-2, were used as positive controls and HTLV-I-uninfected cell lines, Molt-4, SBC-3, ABC-1, and EBC-1, as negative controls. Peripheral blood mononuclear cells from 17 patients with anti-HTLV-I antibody and 10 healthy individuals without anti-HTLV-I antibody were studied by polymerase chain reaction (PCR) with KI-7 and KI-8. All DNA samples from HTLV-I-infected cell lines and 17 patients with anti-HTLV-I antibodies showed positive signals of the HTLV-I pX gene. None of the DNA samples from HTLV-I-uninfected cell lines or 10 healthy individuals showed positive signals. When serially diluted DNA of MT-2 cells were amplified by 35 cycles of PCR, the detection limit of the pX gene by using the primer pairs was DNA from about 1.5 MT-2 cells. Specificity and detectable capacity of primer pairs, KI-7 and KI-8 were confirmed to be enough to use for the diagnosis of HTLV-I infection.

Base Sequence↗

PubMed1993

Overexpression of interleukin-2 receptor alpha mRNA in pulmonary lymphocytes of lung cancer patients associated with interstitial pulmonary shadow.

The activity of pulmonary lymphocytes was evaluated by the detection of interleukin-2 (IL-2) receptor alpha mRNA expression in lung cancer patients associated with diffuse interstitial shadow on roentgenograms of their lungs. Reverse transcription coupled with the polymerase chain reaction was used to detect mRNA expression. In 5 of 6 patients, IL-2R alpha mRNA expression was increased in pulmonary lymphocytes compared with 4 normal controls. The expression in this mRNA in peripheral blood lymphocytes was almost undetectable in either normal controls or these patients. These results suggest that pulmonary lymphocytes in patients with lung cancer associated with diffuse interstitial shadows are activated and may promote the inflammatory process generating pulmonary fibrosis.

Aged↗

PubMed1993

Appearance of the inferior phrenic artery and vein on CT scans of the chest: a CT and cadaveric study.

OBJECTIVE: Central linear densities are often seen at the level of the diaphragm on CT scans of the chest. To determine the cause of these densities, we evaluated helical CT scans and correlated the results with the findings from a study of cadavers. SUBJECTS AND METHODS: Forty patients who had normal findings on conventional CT scans had helical CT of the entire chest. For the cadaveric study, we examined the lung bases and extrapleural spaces on the diaphragmatic surface in 22 formalinized cadavers. RESULTS: On helical CT scans, linear densities extending laterally from the mid-part of the right side of the inferior vena cava and from the posterior margin of the left ventricle were seen on the right side of the chest in 12 subjects (30%) and on the left side in 17 subjects (42%). In the cadavers, the inferior phrenic artery and the accompanying vein ran over the diaphragmatic dome in the extrapleural space from the region of the inferior vena cava on the right and from the posterior margin of the left ventricle on the left. These supradiaphragmatic vessels were seen on the right side in 10 cadavers (45%) and on the left side in four cadavers (18%). CONCLUSION: We conclude that these linear densities at the level of the diaphragm on CT scans of the chest represent the inferior phrenic artery and vein.

Angiography↗

PubMed1993

Airway inflammation and bronchial hyperresponsiveness in patients with asthma. Comparison between atopic and nonatopic asthma.

A relationship of cellular composition in the airways and the release of chemical mediators from the cells to bronchial hyperresponsiveness was examined in two age-matched asthma groups: 15 atopic and 15 nonatopic patients. 1. A significant correlation between the proportion of eosinophils in bronchoalveolar lavage (BAL) fluid and bronchial reactivity (BR) was found in patients with atopic and nonatopic asthma. The proportion of the cells (combined eosinophils and neutrophils) in BAL fluid was closely correlated with BR in patients with atopic asthma, but not in those with nonatopic asthma. There was no correlation between the proportion of BAL neutrophils and BR in the two asthma groups. 2. There was a significant correlation between histamine release from BAL cells and BR in patients with atopic asthma. In contrast, LTC4 release from BAL cells was significantly corrected with BR in patients with nonatopic asthma. The results suggest that the humoral and cellular components in the airways, that participate in bronchial hyperresponsiveness, are different between patients with atopic and nonatopic asthma.

Adult↗

PubMed1993

[Predicting the clinical efficacy of house dust mite immunotherapy in bronchial asthmatics by multiple quantification analysis type II].

To predict the clinical efficacy of house dust mite immunotherapy (IT) for bronchial asthma, clinical factors before IT were analyzed in relation to clinical efficacy. The factors analyzed were severity, skin test threshold, age at which IT was started, duration of asthma, onset of asthma, FEV1.0%, serum IgE levels before IT, the presence of allergens other than HD, family history of atopic disease, complications with other allergic diseases, sex, seasonality of attacks and the maintenance dose. The clinical efficacy ranging from good response to no benefit was well discriminated by this analysis. The rate of discrimination was about 90%, indicating clinical usefulness of the method. In this study, skin test threshold seemed to be the most important factor, followed by FEV1.0%. While severity and age have been reported to be important, those who show good FEV1.0% and low skin test threshold, regardless of their severity or age, may be good candidates for IT.

Adolescent↗

PubMed1993

[Clinical features of bronchial asthma with mucus hypersecretion].

Fifty patients with bronchial asthma were divided into four groups according to the amount of expectoration per day: 0-24, 25-49, 50-99 and 100+ ml/day. Clinical features of patients with mucus hypersecretion (more than 50 ml/day of expectoration) were evaluated by age, severity of disease, cellular composition of bronchoalveolar lavage (BAL) fluid, and ventilatory function. 1. The proportion of patients with steroid-dependent intractable asthma (SDIA) in each group increased with increase in mucus hypersecretion. 2. Many of the patients with mucus hypersecretion (more than 50 ml/day) were over the age of 40. 3. The proportion of BAL eosinophils was significantly higher in patients with hypersecretion (more than 50 ml/day) than in those with expectoration of less than 49 ml/day. There was a significant correlation between the proportion of BAL eosinophils and the amount of expectoration per day (r = 0.48, p < 0.05). Proportions of lymphocytes and neutrophils in the BAL fluid were not related to the amount of expectoration per day. 4. There was no significant correlation between the amount of expectoration per day and ventilatory function in patients with asthma in this study.

Adult↗

PubMed1993

[A case of smoldering ATL associated with hypersensitivity pneumonitis].

A 37-year-old woman was admitted to our hospital with the complaints of cough, lymph node swelling. Chest X-ray film showed diffuse small nodular shadows in the bilateral lower lung fields. Bronchoalveolar lavage fluid revealed an increased proportion of lymphocytes (71%) with low OKT4/T8 ratio (0.26). Lung tissue biopsied by bronchofiberscopy showed the existence of interstitial pneumonia. Precipitating antibodies in this patient's serum against various antigens including Trichosporon cutaneum were positive. After admission, all symptoms resolved gradually without specific therapy. But, as soon as the patient was discharged and returned to her home, all symptoms including fever, cough, dyspnea and lymphadenopathy recurred rapidly. The diagnosis of hypersensitivity pneumonitis was made on the basis of these laboratory findings and clinical course. The patient died from respiratory failure after detection of anti-HTLV-I antibody, and autopsy revealed massive ATL cell infiltration of lung tissue, and immunoenzymatic analysis showed a high OKT4/T8 ratio (3.5). Chronic HTLV-1 infection since infancy was suspected in this case, to have modified the immune regulation of the lung, and to have led to the onset of hypersensitivity pneumonitis and the active immune response in the lungs, finally followed by the acute exacerbation of ATL.

Adult↗

PubMed1993

[Development of an enzymatic fluorescence method for detecting of cholesterols in circulating monocyte].

Since the infiltration of macrophage/monocyte into the arterial intima would be the first and most important step to developing the atherosclerosis, it is important to analyze the lipid composition not only in the circulating blood but also in the cell. We developed the high sensitive enzymatic assay method of total and free cholesterol and employed this assay to the measurement of monocyte cholesterol ester. Diabetic patients had high total cholesterol and cholesterol ester of monocyte. The elevated monocyte cholesterol ester was related to the LDL-cholesterol and Lp(a) concentrations in the plasma.

Adult↗

PubMed1993

A pilot study of long-term weekly interferon-beta administration for chronic hepatitis B.

Interferon-beta was given weekly for 24 wk, at a dose of 3 million units, intravenously, to 10 patients with chronic hepatitis B who were serologically positive for HBsAg and HBeAg. Their condition was followed for 6 months after the end of therapy. Both serum hepatitis B virus-associated DNA-polymerase activity and alanine aminotransferase level became significantly lower during therapy and during the 6 months after the end of therapy than at the beginning of therapy. In five of 10 patients, the seroconversion from HBeAg positive to anti-HBe positive had occurred by 6 months after the end of therapy, and in four of these five patients, serum alanine aminotransferase level became normal. Weekly interferon-beta administration over 6 months seems effective in inducing seroconversion and in normalizing serum alanine aminotransferase level.

Adolescent↗

PubMed1993

[Correlation between proportion of BAL cells and ventilatory function in patients with asthma].

The correlation between proportions of cells in bronchoalveolar lavage (BAL) fluid and ventilatory function was examined in 52 patients with asthma. 1. There was no significant correlation between the proportion of BAL lymphocytes and ventilatory function. 2. The proportion of BAL eosinophils correlated to a certain extent with ventilatory function: the values of %MMF, %V50 and %V25 were lower in patients with BAL eosinophils of 10-19.9% than in those with BAL eosinophils below 4.9%, and %V25 value was significantly lower in patients with a high proportion of BAL eosinophils (10-19.9%) compared with those with a low proportion of BAL eosinophils (0-4.9%). However, ventilatory function was not decreased in patients with BAL eosinophils of more than 20%. 3. The values of ventilatory parameters showed a tendency to decrease with increase in BAL neutrophils. The values of all parameters of obstructive ventilatory dysfunction were significantly lower in patients with BAL neutrophils of > 10% than in those with BAL neutrophils < 4.9%. A significant difference between patients with BAL neutrophils > 10% and < 9.9% was found in values of %V50 and %V25, and the values of %V50 and %V25 were significantly lower in patients with a high proportion of BAL neutrophils (> 10%) than in those with BAL neutrophils < 9.9%. These results suggest that the proportion of BAL eosinophils is to a certain extent related to ventilatory function of asthma patients and that the increase in proportion of BAL neutrophils is closely related to a decrease in values of obstructive ventilatory parameters.

Adult↗

PubMed1992

[MR imaging of degenerative lumbar disc disease emphasizing on signal intensity changes in vertebral body].

Magnetic resonance imaging was performed in 400 patients with degenerative disc disease. Signal changes and their sites in the vertebral body were classified and referred to narrowing of the intervertebral disc space. MR findings were compared with those of plain roentgenograms of the lumbar spine. Signal changes in the vertebral body were noted in 83 cases (102 vertebral bodies). Low-intensity abnormality on both T1- and T2-weighted images (WI) was the most common finding, and was most frequently seen at the end plate and/or the angle. These changes were correlated with narrowing of the disc space and osteosclerosis on the plain roentgenogram of the lumbar spine. Signal changes occasionally occurred in the inner region of the vertebral body, and these lesions tended to show a high-intensity abnormality on T1-WI. We conclude that signal changes in degenerative disc disease are not specific, but are sometimes difficult to distinguish from the signal changes in other conditions such as spinal tumor or bone marrow disorder.

Humans↗

PubMed1992

P2 purinoceptor-mediated cyclic AMP accumulation in bovine vascular smooth muscle cells.

Extracellular ATP has been shown to induce intracellular Ca2+ mobilization and adenylate cyclase inhibition via P2 purinoceptors in several species of cells. Now we found that in calf vascular smooth muscle cells the addition of ATP to the medium did not induce inhibition but stimulation of cyclic AMP accumulation, in addition to stimulation of inositol phosphate production. Adenosine and AMP also induced cyclic AMP accumulation but their efficacy was much less than that of ATP. The ATP action was not influenced by the presence of either adenosine deaminase or of an ATP regenerating system, whereas the AMP action was increased by the regenerating system. The results indicate that the cyclic AMP accumulation by ATP is due to ATP itself but neither to adenosine nor to AMP, both of which are produced from ATP. ATP receptor coupled to the cyclic AMP generation was shown to be different from that coupled to phospholipase C based on the difference in the potency order of the receptor agonists and in the sensitivity of P2 receptor agonists to 8-cyclopentyl-1,3-dipropylxanthine (CPX)- and suramin-induced antagonism. We conclude that in the aortic smooth muscle cells a novel P2-type receptor directly coupled to adenylate cyclase activation exists in addition to the previously known P2 receptor linked to phospholipase C activation.

Adenosine Triphosphate↗

PubMed1992

Phosphorylation of the inhibitory guanine-nucleotide-binding protein as a possible mechanism of inhibition by protein kinase C of agonist-induced Ca2+ mobilization in human platelet.

Increases in the intracellular Ca2+ concentration of human platelets caused by receptor agonists, such as thrombin, 9,11-epithio-11,12-methanothromboxane A2 (STA2), platelet-activating factor (PAF) and arginine-vasopressin, were inhibited by prior addition of 12-O-tetradecanoylphorbol 13-acetate (TPA) in time-dependent and concentration-dependent manners. The inhibitions were mostly reversed by staurosporine, and inhibitor of protein kinase C, added 1 min before TPA. Prior treatment of platelets with thrombin or STA2, the efficacious Ca2+ mobilizer, suppressed the increase in the intracellular Ca2+ concentration of the cells to other agonists, but treatment with less efficacious PAF or vasopressin did not. The heterologous receptor desensitizations were also reversed by staurosporine. The antibody, directed against the carboxy-terminal region of the alpha subunits 1 and 2 of the inhibitory guanine-nucleotide-binding proteins (Gi1 alpha and Gi2 alpha), was raised in rabbit and was used to immunoprecipitate Gi alpha in 32P-labeled platelets. The radioactivity was detected in Gi alpha after incubation of 32P-labeled platelets with TPA, thrombin or STA2, but not in the cells incubated with PAF or vasopressin. The time-dependency or concentration-dependency of TPA-induced phosphorylation of Gi alpha was similar to the dependency of its inhibitory action on agonist-induced Ca2+ mobilization. Thus, strong activation of Ca2+/phospholipid-dependent protein kinase C by phorbol ester or agonists of certain Ca(2+)-mobilizing receptors leads to phosphorylation of the alpha subunit of guanine-nucleotide-binding protein, thereby impairing the coupling of the G protein to receptors as a feedback regulatory component of the receptor-triggered intracellular Ca(2+)-mobilizing system.

Alkaloids↗

PubMed1992

Visualization of oxidative processes at the cellular level during neutrophil-mediated cytotoxicity against a human hepatoma cell line, HCC-M.

Human neutrophil-mediated oxidative processes against a human hepatoma cell line, HCC-M, was visualized at the cellular level by using a silicon-intensified target camera and subsequently processing with a computer-assisted digital-imaging processor. Neutrophils were activated by a streptococcal preparation, OK-432. A hydroperoxide-sensitive tracer, dichlorofluorescein diacetate, was loaded in HCC-M and temporal and spatial changes of lipid peroxides in this cell after addition of stimulated neutrophils were analyzed. The luminol-dependent chemiluminescence activity of neutrophils was significantly enhanced and continued for at least 2 hr by stimulation with OK-432, and its activity was shown to be accumulated at the site where a neutrophil attached with HCC-M. The intensity of dichlorofluorescein fluorescence in HCC-M rapidly increased after adding stimulated neutrophils, and their reaction was significantly attenuated by superoxide dismutase. The number of non-viable cells was increased as the dichlorofluorescein fluorescence increase. It is suggested that oxidative stress may play an important role in neutrophil-mediated tumor-cell damage.

Carcinoma, Hepatocellular↗

PubMed1992

Probable occurrence of toxin-susceptible G proteins in the nematode Caenorhabditis elegans.

Pertussis toxin, islet-activating protein (IAP), and cholera toxin ADP-ribosylated 40 kDa and 45 kDa proteins in membrane preparations from Caenorhabditis elegans. Proteins with the same molecular weights were recognized in the same membranes by an antibody that had been raised against a peptide common to alpha-subunits of mammalian alpha beta gamma-heterotrimeric G proteins. The antibody produced immunoprecipitation with the 40 kDa protein 32P-labeled by IAP. A 35 kDa protein immunochemically indistinguishable from the beta-component of mammalian G proteins was also found in C. elegans membranes. The membranes displayed adenylate cyclase activity which was highly sensitive to forskolin and GTP analogues, whose action was antagonized by GDP beta S. Receptor-coupled regulation of adenylate cyclase thus appears to be mediated by mammalian-type G proteins in C. elegans as well.

Adenosine Diphosphate Ribose↗

PubMed1992

High level expression of the synthetic human lysozyme gene in Aspergillus oryzae.

Aspergillus oryzae was transformed with a synthetic gene consisting of a chicken lysozyme signal sequence and a mature human lysozyme (HLY) sequence. The transformants secreted active HLY (about 1.2 mg/l) when the HLY gene was expressed under the control of the Taka-amylase A gene (amyB) promoter. Western blot analysis suggested that the secreted protein was immunoreactive with anti-human lysozyme antibody and the signal peptide was correctly cleavaged off in the A. oryzae transformants. The transcriptional level of the HLY gene was investigated by Northern blot analysis using a probe that was equivalently specific to both the HLY gene and the amyB gene. The HLY gene was expressed at a higher level compared with the amyB gene because of its multi-copy integration. The efficient transcription of the HLY gene suggested that A. oryzae is a promising host for production of heterologous proteins from higher eukaryotes.

Amylases↗

PubMed1992

The anticoagulant effects of ionic and nonionic low-osmolar contrast media in dogs.

RATIONALE AND OBJECTIVES: The anticoagulant effects of ionic and nonionic low-osmolar contrast media were evaluated in vivo. METHODS: The amount of clot deposited on guide wires placed in the femoral vessels of dogs was weighed 30 minutes after the injection of 2 mL/kg of different contrast media. Six dogs were examined after injection of ioxaglate (ioxaglate group), six after injection of iopamidol (iopamidol group), and five after injection of saline (saline group). RESULTS: The mean weights of clot deposited on the guide wires in dogs in the ioxaglate group, the iopamidol group, and saline group were 30.5, 63.1, and 74.2 mg, respectively. The mean weight of clot deposition on the guide wires in the ioxaglate group was significantly less than in the iopamidol and saline groups, whereas there was no statistical difference in the mean weight of clot deposition on the guide wires in the iopamidol and saline groups. CONCLUSIONS: Ioxaglate, a low-osmolar, ionic contrast medium, has a greater anticoagulant effect than a low-osmolar, nonionic contrast agent, such as iopamidol.

Animals↗

PubMed1992

Deletion analysis of the Taka-amylase A gene promoter using a homologous transformation system in Aspergillus oryzae.

The Taka-amylase A gene (amyB) of Aspergillus oryzae is induced by starch or maltose. The molecular mechanism of the induction was investigated using a fusion of the amyB promoter and the Escherichia coli uidA gene encoding beta-glucuronidase (GUS). To identify the region responsible for high-level expression and regulation within the amyB promoter, a series of deletion promoters was constructed and introduced into the A. oryzae met locus by homologous recombination. Deletion of the region between -377 to -290 (the number indicates the distance in base pairs from the translation initiation point (+1) to the deletion end point) significantly reduced of the GUS activity, but slight reduction of the GUS activity was observed in deletions up to -377. Northern blot analysis showed that reduction of the GUS activity depended upon the expression level of the GUS gene. The region between -377 to -290 is suggested to include the sequence required directly for high-level expression and regulation of the amyB gene.

Aspergillus oryzae↗