Biomedical subjects
Publications and source records attributed to T Arai.
A case of sacral perineurial cyst with ossification of the arachnoid membrane discovered intraoperatively is reported. We are not aware of any similar cases in the literature.
For quantitative assessment of ongoing symptomatic Epstein-Barr virus (EBV) infection in pediatric recipients of liver transplantation, we determined the number of peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMC) infected by EBV by in situ hybridization (ISH) and related the results with clinical courses of those patients. Twenty-four patients had symptomatic EBV infection between February 1995 and March 1996. Blood samples were obtained from these 24 patients at the time of acute phase, from 13 of them during convalescence, and 37 pediatric patients before transplantation. ISH was performed on the PBMC and polymerase chain reaction (PCR) on DNA from whole blood. Oligonucleotide probes for ISH were chosen from coding sequences of EBV-encoded small nuclear RNA 1 (EBER1). Results of ISH were reported in a number of cells expressing EBER1/5 x 104 PBMC (#EBER1). Fever, diarrhea, upper respiratory symptoms, pleural effusion, ascites, lymphadenopathy, and lymphoproliferative disease (LPD) accompanied with EBV infection proven by serology, viral-specific stain or PCR were regarded as EBV related diseases (EBVD). All samples with positive #EBER1 were accompanied by positive EBV PCR. #EBERI was 68.2 +/- 144.9 (mean +/- SD) ranging from 0 to 621 in the acute phase, 0.20 +/- 0.41 ranging from 0 to 2 in the convalescence phase, 0.27 +/- 0.77 in 23 preoperative patients with positive serology, and 0 in all 14 preoperative patients with negative serology. The #EBER1 in ongoing EBVD was significantly greater than that of patients in convalescence or before transplantation. Patients with #EBERI greater than 10 had a significantly lower chance of convalescence and a higher mortality than patients with #EBER 1 less than 10. We conclude that #EBER1 could be a specific and quantitative marker of EBVD and might predict progression to LPD.
NeuralVision is a type of artificial intelligence that has the ability to identify specific microscopic objects. The MICRO21 system uses neural networking to analyze the features of blood cells; color, shape, size, and density, just as a technologist would. The basic nucleated blood cell processing procedure of the MICRO21 is divided into three general categories; location, segmentation, and classification. Classification takes place using the Neural Network and is fine tuned during post-processing. We evaluated the performance of the MICRO21 automated differential vs. manual differential method. The intra-assay of leukocyte differentiation by MICRO21 was fairly good in normal samples with normal leukocyte counts. The neutrophils, lymphocytes and eosinophils count correlated well between MICRO21 and visual count. Post-processing was performed after the Neural Network has initially classified the cell, in which the confidence levels of MICRO21 to visual count was 87%. By post-processing, coincidence ratio of cell-by-cell by MICRO21 and visual count has been improved to 97%. Based on the above, MICRO21 is an effective and efficient system for locating, storing and displaying images of white blood cells, in which the technologist could determine specific characteristics of cells in each laboratory. Furthermore, the system may be applied to any blood cell and would be important from the perspective of cytological and morphological analysis, such as blood cells in bone marrow and body fluid, in the future.
In order to clarify the relationship between the telomeric length of human female breast carcinoma cells and patient age, and between telomeric length and the histological type of carcinoma, we examined 64 patients (aged 20-89 years) with breast carcinoma by histological and southern blot analysis. No difference in the telomeric length was recognizable among the three major histological types: papillotubular, solid tubular and scirrhous (7.9-8.7 kilobase pairs (kbp)). Mean telomere lengths in the groups aged under 35 (8 patients), 36-50 (10 patients), 51-70 (17 patients), 71-80 (19 patients), and over 81 years (10 patients) were 11.0, 9.9, 7.0, 7.7 and 7.6 kbp, respectively. There was no significant evidence for telomeric shortening in breast carcinoma according to patient age. Two peaks of telomeric length were observed in three carcinomas comprising a medullary carcinoma and two solid tubular carcinomas showing very prominent lymphocyte infiltration histologically.
A 63-year-old female developed the chest wall tumor protruding into the right thoracic cavity. She consulted our hospital complaining of chest pain. 20 years before this episode, she had undergone tumor extirpation combined with the partial resection of adherent anterior chest wall and the diaphragm for large benign solitary fibrous tumor of the pleura. Because of the difficulty in making diagnosis by needle biopsy, operation (re-tumor extirpation combined with the chest wall) was done. Histological examination revealed that the tumor was malignant solitary fibrous tumor. We concluded that the tumor was the malignant recurrence of the benign solitary fibrous tumor resected 20 years before. Occasionally, benign solitary fibrous tumor of the pleura recurs and behaves more aggressively than primary, but such a long latent period as 20 years is quite uncommon. So we present the case and the review of the literature.
We have reported that hepatic artery infusion (HAI) chemotherapy with 5-fluorouracil for unresectable colorectal liver metastasis may lead to improved overall survival for some patients compared with controls. The aim of this work is to determine whether p53 nuclear protein expression examined by immunohistochemical technique could predict the outcome of patients treated with HAI chemotherapy. No significant difference was found in the response rate (p > .99, Fisher's exact method.) and median survival time (12 months in patients with p53-positive tumors and 11 months with negative tumors). Our results indicate that HAI chemotherapy is an effective treatment for liver metastasis regardless of p53 nuclear protein expression.
This study was designed to examine the mechanism of vasorelaxation induced by pulsed-UV laser. Luminal diameters of rat femoral arteries were measured prior to and following krypton-fluoride excimer laser irradiation of 248 nm in wavelength. The diameter was enlarged to 1.3 times the preirradiated size at 1 or 10 Hz irradiation when the fluence was over 2.0 mJ/pulse/mm2, while the diameter reached 1.8 times at 100 Hz with a fluence of 0.8 mJ/pulse/mm2. Vasorelaxation by the 100 Hz irradiation was inhibited when the artery was pretreated with methylene blue but was enhanced with superoxide dismutase. Pathological analysis revealed an ablation crater and vacuole formation in the vessel at 1 or 10 Hz irradiation, but these changes were not remarkable in the 100 Hz-exposed sample. These findings suggest that vasorelaxation induced by the pulsed UV irradiation at 1 or 10 Hz results from structural alteration of vascular smooth muscle by the ablation crater or vacuolization. On the other hand, a possible mechanism of vasorelaxation at the 100 Hz irradiation is partially related to nitric oxide.
We report a case of glioblastoma manifesting 49 years after a lobotomy. He was diagnosed as having schizophrenia at age 20 and was operated on with a standard lobotomy when he was 27 years old. He had led a useful life after 40 years old without medication. Because of hallucination and delusion, he was hospitalized at the end of 1996. CT showed a well enhanced tumor adjacent to the cavity made by the lobotomy in the left frontal lobe. This is the second case report of glioblastoma just beside the cavity formed by lobotomy. The relationship between glioblastoma and old lobotomy is discussed, especially in regard to morphology and CT findings.
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Messenger RNA of receptor for advanced glycation end products (RAGE) is abundantly expressed in the lung. However, cell types expressing RAGE mRNA in the lung have not been identified. In order to elucidate the function of RAGE in pulmonary tissue, we have identified a cell type expressing RAGE mRNA by in situ hybridization and compared its expression level of RAGE mRNA by RNA blot analysis of isolated cells. In situ hybridization revealed that RAGE mRNA was intensely and specifically visualized in alveolar epithelial type II (AT-II) cells, and weakly in alveolar macrophages. The expression of RAGE mRNA in the primary culture of AT-II cells was at a high level, but that in alveolar macrophages isolated from alveolar lavage was under the level of detection by RNA blot analysis. These results showed that RAGE mRNA is specifically expressed in AT-II cells, and suggested that RAGE makes a substantial contribution to the function of AT-II cells in the lung.
A recombinant human neutrophil chemotactic protein LECT2 (rhLECT2) was purified as a 16-kDa protein from the culture fluids of stable transfectants derived from CHO cells (clone C1D8-1) and L929 cells (clone L2E4-1). The N-terminal amino acid sequence of the protein secreted by both clones were homologous to the previously described bovine LECT2. We produced polyclonal and monoclonal antibodies against rhLECT2 and investigated secretion of LECT2 protein in six human hepatoma cell lines, which express LECT2 mRNA, and in hepatocytes of normal human livers by a sandwich enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay and by immunostaining using the antibodies, respectively. We revealed that five of six hepatoma cell lines secreted LECT2 into culture fluids at concentrations of 30-135 ng/mg. We also demonstrated that the cytoplasm of human hepatocytes was diffusely stained, although periportal hepatocytes tended to be weakly and granularly stained by immunostaining. These results indicated that the novel protein was expressed in hepatocytes and suggested an important role of LECT2 in the cells in addition to the activation of neutrophils.
The changes in the extracellular concentrations of rat striatal H2O2, dopamine (DA) and its metabolites during middle cerebral artery (MCA) occlusion and reperfusion were simultaneously examined by microdialysis, and the relationship between the ischemia-induced release of DA and the generation of H2O2 was estimated by assessing the effect of the lesion of the substantia nigra (SN). In the rats without SN lesions, a significant increase in the striatal H2O2 level was observed during the ischemia and reperfusion phases. In the rats with SN lesions, the ischemia-induced H2O2 production was not attenuated. These results suggest that DA is not an important source of H2O2 in cerebral ischemia and reperfusion.
A cDNA clone encoding extracellular lipase I (TFL I) from Trichosporon fermentans WU-C12 was isolated and characterized. The TFL I cDNA was isolated from a lambda gt10-based cDNA library using as a probe a 0.8 kb fragment, amplified by PCR with synthetic oligonucleotide corresponding to the partial amino acid sequences of TFL I. The cDNA encodes a protein consisting of 563 amino acids containing a putative signal peptide of 19 amino acids. The deduced amino acid sequence shares 99.5% overall identity with that of lipase II (GCL II) from Geotrichum candidum ATCC 34614, whereas TFL I is a trimer enzyme and GCL II monomer. Southern hybridization with the TFL I cDNA as a probe revealed that WU-C12 contained two different lipase genes.
High mobility group 2 (HMG2) protein is ubiquitously distributed in the nucleus of higher eukaryotic cells. Accumulation of an HMG2-beta-galactosidase fusion protein expressed in COS-7 cells suggested active transport of HMG2 protein into the nucleus after translation in the cytoplasm. Deletion analysis of the HMG2 sequence in the HMG2-beta-galactosidase fusion protein indicated that basic regions interspaced with the long DNA-binding sequence in HMG2, called the HMG1/2 box, are necessary for the nuclear accumulation of HMG2. The close configuration of basic regions at both ends of the DNA-binding sequence in the tertiary structure may function as the nuclear localization signal. This novel nuclear localization signal structure is different from typical ones such as the single or bipartite basic cluster in many nuclear proteins. A portion of the HMG2 molecule remained in the cytoplasm after translation. Interspecies heterokaryon assay demonstrated that the acidic carboxyl terminus of HMG2 was necessary for retention of the protein in the nucleus.
Positron emission tomography (PET) was used to determine brain incorporation coefficients k* of [1-11C]arachidonate in isoflurane-anesthetized rhesus monkeys, as well as cerebral blood flow (CBF) using [15O]water. Intravenously injected [1-11C]arachidonate disappeared from plasma with a half-life of 1.1 min, whereas brain radioactivity reached a steady-state by 10 min. Mean values of k* were the same whether calculated by a single-time point method at 20 min after injection began, or by least-squares fitting of an equation for total brain radioactivity to data at all time points. k* equalled 1.1-1.2 x 10(-4) ml x s(-1) x g(-1) in gray matter and was unaffected by a 2.6-fold increase in CBF caused by hypercapnia. These results indicate that brain incorporation of [1-11C]arachidonate can be quantified in the primate using PET, and that incorporation is flow-independent.
Effects of a protease inhibitor, leupeptin, on the memory function and the morphological changes in the hippocampus were examined in rats. The leupeptin was infused by an implanted-osmotic minipump into the lateral ventricle of the rats for 14 days. The acquisition and the maintenance of memory were evaluated by a step-down passive avoidance task. The control rats, infused with an artificial cerebral spinal fluid, showed good retention for the passive avoidance training for 21 days after training. The leupeptin-treated rats showed good retention for 7 days following training; however, pronounced impaired retention was observed on day 10 and thereafter. These rats were accompanied by a degeneration of the dentate gyrus in the histological examinations on Days 14 and 21. The granule cells in the dentate gyrus of the hippocampus appeared much more eosinophilic pyknotic. Numerous eosinophilic spherical structures of the cell processes were seen in the neuropil beneath the granule cell layer. Electron microscopic examination disclosed a marked accumulation of lipofuscin-like granules in the perikaryon of the cells and in the dendrites and the axons. These findings suggest that the memory impairment is closely related to the degeneration of the dentate gyrus in the hippocampus in the leupeptin-treated rats.
Superoxide anion radical (O2.-) scavenging activity of neopterin (NP) and its photodegraded products was studied. NP did not affect O2.- release in hypoxanthine/xanthine oxidase (HPX/XOD) reaction system, but pterin-6-aldehyde (P6A), one of photodegraded products of NP, suppressed it. The identification of P6A was successful by confirming inhibiting property of xanthine oxidase. In neutrophil/phorbol myristate acetate reaction system, NP did not affect the O2.- release but P6A suppressed it. The suppression by P6A was not associated with oxygen uptake, which indicated that P6A did not inhibit the generation of O2.- but directly scavenged it. These findings suggest that P6A has ameliorating effects on ischemic-reperfusion injury in which O2.-, which is generated both in HPX/XOD reaction and in activated neutrophil, is one of the major substances to damage the tissues.