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Biomedical subjects

S Uchida

Publications and source records attributed to S Uchida.

At least 361 records · Page 20Linked to original sources

Different natures of supersensitivity of adenylate cyclase stimulated by calcitonin gene-related peptide and isoproterenol in rat diaphragm after denervation and reserpine treatment.

In skeletal muscles, calcitonin gene-related peptide (CGRP) released from motor nerve terminals and humoral catecholamines stimulate adenylate cyclase (AC) and enhance muscle contraction. The effects of denervation and treatment with reserpine on twitch contraction and the AC system in rat diaphragm were investigated. The basal levels of twitch contraction and AC activity of the diaphragm of rats were both increased 2 weeks after phrenic nerve denervation but were not altered by treatment with reserpine. Reserpine treatment provoked supersensitivity of AC to isoproterenol, without affecting the response to CGRP. On the other hand, denervation decreased the activation of AC and enhancement of twitch contraction by CGRP, without affecting the responses to isoproterenol. These data suggest that denervation causes up-regulation of AC as a result of loss of CGRP release from nerve terminal and that depletion of catecholamines by reserpine treatment supersensitizes the responses at the beta-adrenoceptor level. Thus, nervous and humoral factors regulate the AC system in striated muscle by different mechanisms.

Adenylyl Cyclases↗

Intestinal anisakiasis: US in diagnosis.

Eighteen consecutive patients with intestinal anisakiasis were studied with high-resolution ultrasound (US) and barium studies. US showed markedly thickened bowel loops associated with luminal narrowing, swelling of Kerckring folds, and decreased peristalsis. A small amount of ascitic fluid around the bowel loops was found, and cytologic examinations of the ascites revealed a dense infiltration of eosinophils. Barium studies demonstrated segmental mucosal edema of the small intestine: The most common site was the distal ileum, and the mean length of the edematous lesion was 19 cm. All patients underwent treatment of symptoms without laparotomy, and their symptoms disappeared by the eighth day after onset. Patients with acute abdominal symptoms should be asked about the intake of raw or undercooked fish. If the above US features are found, the diagnosis of intestinal anisakiasis must be seriously considered to avoid unnecessary surgical treatment.

Adult↗

Different pathways for Ca2+ influx and intracellular release of Ca2+ mediated by muscarinic receptors in ileal longitudinal smooth muscle.

Muscarinic receptor-mediated elevations in intracellular Ca2+ concentration ([Ca2+]i) in the longitudinal smooth muscle of guinea pig ileum were studied by the use of fura-2 fluorescence. Dose-response analysis indicated a difference in the potencies of carbachol (CCh) to increase [Ca2+]i in the presence and absence of extracellular Ca2+. For the increase in [Ca2+]i due to Ca2+ release from intracellular stores in the absence of extracellular Ca2+, the ED50 value of CCh was 3 x 10(-5) M. On the other hand, in the presence of Ca2+, the ED50 value was 2.5 x 10(-7) M, indicating that a low concentration of CCh (less than 10(-7) M) caused influx of extracellular Ca2+ without Ca2+ release. Oxotremorine and pilocarpine induced Ca2+ influx, but were less potent inducers of Ca2+ release. CCh also stimulated the formation of inositol trisphosphates (IP3) with an ED50 value of (4.5 x 10(-5) M), which was similar to that for Ca2+ release from intracellular stores. Treatment of the smooth muscle with neomycin (1 mM), a phospholipase C inhibitor, abolished both CCh-induced IP3 formation and Ca2+ release from intracellular stores, but did not affect CCh-induced Ca2+ influx. These results suggest that the pathway for muscarinic stimulation of Ca2+ influx through plasma membranes is different from that for Ca2+ release from intracellular stores, which seems to be coupled with IP3 formation.

Animals↗

Demonstration of platelet activating factor receptor in guinea pig kidney.

Distribution of platelet activating factor (PAF) receptor was examined in the guinea pig kidney. Northern blot analysis showed a single band electrophoresed just below the 28S rRNA, and the mRNA was richest in the cortex with lesser amounts in the outer and then inner medulla. Scatchard analysis of membrane fraction using [3H]WEB 2086, a specific PAF receptor antagonist, revealed a single binding site with Bmax of 522, 228, 58 fmol/mg protein for the cortex, outer medulla and inner medulla, respectively. Kd values were in the same order of magnitude (10(-8) M). These results indicate the presence of a single class of PAF receptor in the guinea pig kidney which is most abundant in the cortex.

Animals↗

Expression of Madin-Darby canine kidney cell Na(+)-and Cl(-)-dependent taurine transporter in Xenopus laevis oocytes.

Expression of a Madin-Darby canine kidney (MDCK) cell taurine transporter was examined in Xenopus oocytes that had been injected with poly(A)+ RNA extracted from MDCK cells. Compared with water-injected oocytes, injection of total poly(A)+ RNA resulted in an increase in Na(+)-dependent taurine uptake which was directly related to the amount of RNA injected. The magnitude of expression in poly(A)+ RNA-injected oocytes was 5-10-fold higher than that of water-injected oocytes. Since the Vmax of taurine uptake in MDCK cells is increased by culture in hypertonic medium, we compared oocyte taurine uptake after injection with poly(A)+ RNA from MDCK cells cultured in hypertonic medium with uptake in oocytes injected with poly(A)+ RNA from hypertonic cells elicited twice the taurine uptake elicited by poly(A)+ RNA from isotonic cells. The transporter expressed in oocytes was like that in MDCK cells: it was completely dependent on external sodium and was also anion dependent (Cl- greater than or equal to Br- greater than SCN- much greater than gluconate-). Other beta-amino acids, beta-alanine and hypotaurine, inhibited taurine uptake, but L-alanine and 2-(methylamino) isobutyric acid did not. The apparent Km of the transporter was 7.0 microM. After size fractionation on a sucrose density gradient, poly(A)+ RNA encoding for the MDCK taurine transporter was found in the fraction whose average size was 4.4 kilobases.

Animals↗

Augmentation of antitumor effect on syngeneic murine solid tumors by an interleukin 2 slow delivery system, the IL-2 mini-pellet.

We evaluated the antitumor effect of an interleukin 2 (IL-2) slow delivery system, the IL-2 mini-pellet, in two murine solid tumor models, and also investigated the enhancement of its therapeutic effect by serial administration. The IL-2 mini-pellet contains 1 x 10(6) units of IL-2 and releases it slowly in vivo. In our experiment, the IL-2 mini-pellet was administered subcutaneously near the tumor site in combination with the intravenous injection of lymphokine-activated killer (LAK) cells. When this regimen was given on days 8 and 11 after the subcutaneous inoculation of Meth A fibrosarcoma into BALB/c mice, tumor growth was significantly inhibited (p less than 0.05) compared to tumor growth in untreated controls. Moreover, the IL-2 mini-pellet alone was also effective in inhibiting tumor growth. In another experiment, MH134 hepatoma was inoculated into C3H/He mice. Both administration of the IL-2 mini-pellet alone and in combination with LAK cells resulted in complete tumor regression in four of five mice. In a third experiment, serial administration of the IL-2 mini-pellet at 3- or 5-day intervals prolonged the suppression of Meth A fibrosarcoma growth in BALB/c mice. These results suggested that the IL-2 mini-pellet could be applied to cancer immunotherapy and that its antitumor effect could be prolonged by serial administration.

Animals↗

Sigma (12-15 Hz) and delta (0.3-3 Hz) EEG oscillate reciprocally within NREM sleep.

Sleep EEG in the sigma and delta frequency bands was subjected to spectral analysis in 8 normal young adults. In each subject, power density of sigma and delta oscillated reciprocally during NREM sleep, confirming an observation made initially with period/amplitude analysis. In REM sleep, power density for both frequency bands was at its lowest levels. Correlation coefficients between power density of delta vs. 1/sigma for all artifact-free 20-s epochs of NREM sleep/night were highly significant for each subject. These results show that cyclic oscillation of EEG within sleep is not limited to delta frequencies. The reciprocal relation of sigma to delta holds implications for the EEG mechanisms of NREM sleep. This dynamic pattern may also prove useful for sleep stage scoring and for a finer empirical analysis of sleep in psychiatric and neurological disorders.

Activity Cycles↗

Oxygen metabolism of the hypertrophic right ventricle in open chest dogs.

STUDY OBJECTIVE: The aim was to investigate oxygen metabolism of the hypertrophic right ventricle in anaesthetised open chest dogs. DESIGN: Right ventricular hypertrophy was induced by right ventricular pressure overload with banding the pulmonary artery for six months. Coronary blood flow and myocardial oxygen metabolism of the hypertrophic right ventricle were determined during control and after increasing right ventricular oxygen consumption, and compared with those of the normal right and left ventricles. SUBJECTS: Seven mongrel dogs with right ventricular hypertrophy and 21 normal dogs were used. All were anaesthetised with pentobarbitone sodium. MEASUREMENTS AND MAIN RESULTS: Oxygen extraction [(A-V)O2] of the hypertrophic right ventricular myocardium was greater than that of normal right ventricle in controls and almost identical to the (A-V)O2 of the normal left ventricle. It showed no increase when coronary blood flow and right ventricular oxygen consumption were raised in response to a further elevation of the right ventricular pressure and isoprenaline infusion. However, the right ventricular interventions which increased right ventricular oxygen consumption produced an elevation of (A-V)O2 of the right ventricle with an increase in right coronary blood flow. CONCLUSIONS: Higher oxygen extraction during control and no response of oxygen extraction of the hypertrophied right ventricle in response to stimuli which increase right ventricular oxygen consumption indicate that oxygen supply to the hypertrophic right ventricle is different from that of the normal right ventricle, and is more like that of the left ventricle.

Animals↗

Biological half-life of gaseous elemental iodine deposited onto rice grains.

In order to obtain the biological half-life (Tb) of iodine deposited on rough rice grains, rice plants of four different growing stages--heading, milky, dough, and yellow ripe--were exposed to elemental gaseous iodine. After the exposure, the rough rice samples were collected at different intervals and analyzed for iodine to estimate the value of Tb. The average value of Tb obtained by the experiments at the dough and yellow ripe stages was about 200 d. This value is considerably larger than those for pasture grass and leafy vegetables.

Food Contamination, Radioactive↗

Mechanisms of endothelin-1 mRNA and peptides induction by TGF-beta and TPA in MDCK cells.

Mechanisms of prepro-ET-1 mRNA expression and mature endothelin-1 (ET-1) peptide secretion in MDCK cells (dog collecting duct origin) were investigated. MDCK cells constitutively expressed prepro-ET-1 mRNA (approximately 2.3 kb). TGF-beta time-dependently increased prepro-ET-1 mRNA levels between 30 min and 6 h. Induction of the mRNA 6 h following TGF-beta addition was dose-dependent with a half-maximal concentration of 10 pM. The half-life of prepro-ET-1 mRNA was 15 min in controls when the cells were treated with 10 micrograms/ml of actinomycin D, whereas it was extended to 30-45 min by TGF-beta treatment. Prepro-ET-1 mRNA was rapidly (15-30 min) induced by 0.5 microM TPA, one of the phorbol esters, but downregulated below baseline after 1 h. Our data show that MDCK cells constitutively secrete ET-1 and increase its production in response to TGF-beta. An axis of TGF-beta-ET-1-collecting duct may play an important role in regulation of electrolyte transport and cell growth of the renal tubules.

Animals↗