Isolated corticotropin deficiency.
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Biomedical subjects
Publications and source records attributed to T Goto.
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To ascertain whether renal prostaglandin (PG) E synthesis is decreased in patients with essential hypertension (EH), urinary PGE excretion (UPGEV) was measured in 47 normal females and 62 female patients with EH. In order to avoid contaminations of urine by seminal fluids, only female subjects were studied. UPGEV was also measured in female patients with renovascular hypertension (RVH) as well as primary aldosteronism (PA) or idiopathic hyperaldosteronism (IHA). As a whole, UPGEV was lower in patients with EH (226.9 +/- 13.7 ng/day) than that in normal females (317.3 +/- 22.1 ng/day, p less than 0.001). Younger patients (15 to 39 years) had significantly lower UPGEV than normal females of corresponding ages. However, there was no significant difference in UPGEV between older patients (over 40 years) with EH and normal females of the same age range. There were no significant differences in UPGEV among patients with low renin EH, normal renin EH, RVH, PA and IHA. We reconfirmed the decrease in UPGEV in patients with EH as compared with normal controls by studying female subjects. Further, it is suggested that renal PGE synthesis is not influenced by the renin-angiotensin system in these hypertensive states.
The changes in active and inactive renin after oral administration of captopril (SQ 14225) were studied in 29 hypertensive patients. Inactive renin was calculated as plasma renin activity (PRA) after cold storage (total renin) minus PRA before cold storage (active renin). The patients were divided into 2 groups, responders and non-responders, according to the response of active renin to captopril. In 9 responders, the active renin increased markedly, while the inactive renin decreased. On the other hand, in 20 non-responders, both renin activities increased only slightly. Total renin increased markedly in responders; it increased in much smaller degree but significantly in non-responders. These data suggest that captopril promotes the conversion of inactive renin to active one and augments the renin release as a whole.
Acute effects of MK421 were examined in 11 male normal volunteers. Oral administration of 5 mg of MK421 did not induce any changes in blood pressure or pulse rate. Plasma renin activity increased significantly from 7.3 +/- 2.9 ng/ml to 22.2 +/- 7.1 (p less than 0.05), whereas plasma aldosterone concentration did not change. Blood kinin, or urinary excretion of kallikrein and of prostaglandin E did not change. However, urinary excretion of sodium increased significantly from 44.0 +/- 6.8 mEq/4 hr to 56.5 +/- 6.5 (p less than 0.02) following the administration of MK421. The present results show that an increased renin release induced by MK421 is independent of change in blood pressure, and also suggest that MK421 may have a direct action on the renal tubules.
To study the effects of pulmonary blood flow on the impedance cardiogram, the pattern of pulmonary blood flow was alternated from pulsatile to non pulsatile, or the reverse, using our extracorporeal bypass-method on anaesthetized dogs. The thoracic impedance cardiogram was recorded from band electrodes placed around the neck and upper abdomen. During nonpulsatile pulmonary blood flow, the height of the diastolic phase of the delta Z wave was lower than that during pulsatile pulmonary blood flow. The area under the impedance curve decreased during nonpulsatile pulmonary blood flow. This appeared to be more obvious as the pulmonary arterial flow was reduced. The results suggest that the pulmonary blood flow might have substantial effects on the impedance cardiogram.
The role of cyclic AMP in mediating the prostaglandin (PG) E2-induced suppression of natural killer (NK) cell function was studied. Highly purified preparations of human large granular lymphocytes (LGL; which have been shown to be closely associated with human NK activity) and T lymphocytes were obtained by using Percoll gradients. Basal cyclic AMP was similar in both cell populations. With LGL, PGE2 (but not PGF2 alpha) suppressed NK activity (75%) and enhanced cellular cycle AMP (600%). In contrast, in small, high density T lymphocytes, PGE2 caused very small increases in cyclic AMP (20%). Phosphodiesterase inhibitors (PDEI) such as isobutyl methylxanthine and theophylline also increased cyclic AMP and suppressed NK activity in LGL. The effect of PGE2 and PDEI, in combination on cellular cyclic AMP and NK activity, was greater than the effect of each agent alone. Finally, exogenous derivatives of cyclic AMP also suppressed NK activity. These results indicate that in LGL, increased cellular cyclic AMP mediates the action of PGE2 on the suppression of NK activity.
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Clinical study on cefotetan (CTT), a new cephamycin antibiotic, was carried out and the following results were obtained. CTT was intravenously administered at a daily dose of 2 to 4 g to 24 cases including 10 cases with intrauterine infection, 2 cases with adnexitis, 6 cases with intrapelvic infection and 6 cases with extragenital infection. Marked response was seen in 8 cases, moderate response in 15 and no response in 1. Neither side effects nor abnormal values in clinical laboratory tests were observed.
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A synthesis of a new modified nucleoside isolated from tRNA2Gly of Bombyx mori was accomplished. This synthesis confirmed its structure and proved its absolute configuration to be 5-(S-carboxy(hydroxy)methyl)uridine.
To study the effect of pregnancy and lactation on the clinical course of patients with pituitary adenoma and the influence of maternal hyperprolactinemia and bromocriptine treatment on fetal and neonatal development, prolactin levels were serially determined and abnormalities of newborn babies were examined. Ninety-nine patients with hyperprolactinemic amenorrhea were treated by surgery, bromocriptine therapy, and a combination of them; thus 34 patients conceived and gave birth to 43 babies. Almost all patients progressed uneventfully except for 2 cases who manifested diabetes insipidus and acute visual impairment. After the end of lactation, prolactin levels declined to lower values than before attempting pregnancy, except in 3 patients. Furthermore, those diagnosed as functional hyperprolactinemia before pregnancy were not found to have developed microadenoma. These results suggest that there is little influence on growth and activity of tumor throughout pregnancy and lactation. All of the newborns were normal and their growth up to 2 years after birth showed no special abnormalities. It was therefore concluded that maternal hyperprolactinemia or bromocriptine therapy in early pregnancy do not cause any deleterious effect on fetal and neonatal development.
An activity from the yeast Saccharomyces cerevisiae, initially noted for its catalysis of aggregation of covalently closed double-stranded DNA rings in the presence of ATP, has been identified as a type II DNA topoisomerase and is designated yeast DNA topoisomerase II. The formation of the DNA aggregate, which has been shown to be a network of DNA rings that are topologically interlocked, requires the presence of a yeast DNA-binding protein in addition to the topoisomerase. In the absence of the binding protein, yeast DNA topoisomerase II catalyzes decatenation and unknotting of duplex DNA rings and the relaxation of negatively or positively supercoiled DNA. All reactions are ATP-dependent and require Mg(II). Similar to other eukaryotic and phage T4-type II DNA topoisomerases, the yeast enzyme does not catalyze DNA supercoiling under the assay conditions employed. The activity is not sensitive to the gyrase inhibitor nalidixic acid, oxolinic acid, or novobiocin. Coumermycin inhibits the activity, however, at a concentration as low as 5 microgram/ml.
Polyembryoma of ovary producing alpha-fetoprotein (AFP) and human chorionic gonadotropin (HCG) was studied by indirect immunoperoxidase method for AFP and HCG, and electron microscopy. Clinically, this patient showed pseudoprecocious puberty caused by elevated HCG which is synthesized by trophoblastic cells in polyembryoma. She is put under VAC (vincristine, actinomycin-D, cyclophosphamide) chemotherapy after operation and shows no signs of recurrence including reelevation of serum AFP at five months after operation. Embryoid bodies which we studied correspond to normal embryo at 15- or 16-day stage. Immunoperoxidase study showed that AFP is synthesized by yolk sac cells of the embryoid bodies and HCG is synthesized by syncytiotrophoblastic cells. The finding about AFP synthesis suggests that normal embryo at 15- or 16-day stage may begin AFP synthesis. Electron microscopic study showed that each part of the embryoid bodies had some characteristic structures. Most striking features found in the cytodifferentiation of the embryoid bodies were noticed in some special differentiation of plasma membrane and existence of surface coat. Desmosomes were found in endodermal cells and yolk sac cells. Ectodermal cells were attached to each other by zonulae occludentes and adherentes. Microvilli were found in ectodermal cells and yolk sac cells. Two different kinds of surface coat were found in mesodermal cells and lining cells of yolk sac cavity: thin-layered deposit of electron-dense material covering the plasma membrane facing intercellular space of mesodermal cells and endodermal cells, and thick-layered deposit of electron-dense material which covered the plasma membrane facing yolk sac cavity of endodermal cells and yolk sac cells. Presence of similar characteristic material in RER of yolk sac cells led us to speculate that thick deposit was synthesized by yolk sac cells and secreted into yolk sac cavity. Combined with immunoperoxidase study by light microscopy, we assume that this thick-layered deposit has some close relation to AFP.
1. Retinular fine structures in compound eyes of the porcellanid crab Petrolisthes differs significantly from two paguroid anomurans Clibanarius and Pagurus which basically conform to the usual conservative decapod crustacean retinular pattern. 2. Bidirectional orientation of microvilli has been discovered in rhabdomeres of retinular cells R1-R7 in Petrolisthes. Distally the regular rhabdom has mainly a typical banded microvillus structure (Figs. 7,8). Proximally rhabdom banding continues but uniquely all seven regular retinular cells contribute sets of alternately orthogonal microvilli to each band (Figs. 5, 6, 12). This unorthodox pattern should reduce polarization sensitivity and enhance sensitivity to unpolarized light. 3. In this special region microvillus layers are strongly elliptical in cross section with the minor axis parallel to the microvilli (Fig. 12). Hence the ends of the major axes protrude considerably from the central area of overlap (Fig. 6). 4. Retinular cell eight has bidirectional microvilli (Figs. 5-7) as usual in brachyuran crabs. Unlike the latter as well as paguroid crabs, Petrolisthes has square facets and a rectangular retinular array (Figs. 1, 3) similar to other galatheids and macruran decapods generally. It also resembles macrurans (shrimps and lobsters) in having perirhabdomal vacuoles absent or much reduced. 5. Tight junctions occur widely between adjacent retinular cells (Figs. 14, 17) especially basally immediately distal to longitudinal zonular adherentes (Figs. 6, 16) typical of compound eyes. Freeze fracture reveals in addition numerous rectangular arrays of particles on the protoplasmic face of retinular cell membrance near, but not part of, the rhabdom (Figs. 19, 20). Other authors have hypothesized polarized transfer functions for similar particle aggregates in certain vertebrate cells.