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T Kawashima

Publications and source records attributed to T Kawashima.

At least 73 records · Page 4Linked to original sources
PubMed1999

Nucleotide sequences of the mouse globin beta gene cDNAs in a wild derived new haplotype Hbb(w1).

Haplotypes of the beta-globin gene complex (Hbb) in laboratory mice have been defined as d, p, and s. We previously found a new haplotype w1 in wild mice collected from northwestern China. This study analyzed the nucleotide sequences of b1 and b2-globin gene cDNAs of both the p and w1 haplotypes, in comparison with those of the d haplotype. In Hbb-b1 cDNA, six base substitutions were found between the d and w1 haplotypes and also between p and w1, but none existed between d and p. In Hbb-b2 cDNA, three base substitutions were found between the d and w1 haplotypes and also between d and p, but none between p and w1. This result indicated that the Hbb gene complex of the p haplotype carries b1(d) and b2(w1) genes and is probably a recombinant between d and w1 haplotypes. The hemoglobin containing the W1 phenotype showed oxygen-binding properties identical with those of the hemoglobins containing D and P phenotypes.

Animals↗
PubMed1999

Immunohistochemical analysis of spinal cord lesions in amyotrophic lateral sclerosis using microtubule-associated protein 2 (MAP2) antibodies.

We have studied microtubule-associated protein 2 (MAP2) expression in anterior horn neurons in the cervical and lumbar spinal cords of 19 cases of adult-onset sporadic amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) using immunohistochemistry. Specimens from 7 patients without neurological disease served as controls. MAP2 expression decreased in the anterior gray horn of all ALS cases and in the intermediate gray of several ALS cases. Such reduction correlated with the degree of degeneration or neuronal loss in anterior horn cells and with the clinical symptoms of limb weakness. Cytopathologically, the MAP2 immunoreactivity decreased corresponding to the occurrence of individual signs of neuronal degeneration, such as chromatolytic neurons, shrunken neurons and pigmented neurons. MAP2 expression was relatively well preserved in the specimens in which spheroids are conspicuous. The findings of this study demonstrate MAP2 to be an excellent marker for the detection and quantification of anterior horn degeneration in ALS.

Aged↗
PubMed1999

Dopaminergic modulation of transcallosal activity of cat motor cortical neurons.

The effects of dopamine (DA) and its antagonists on the transcallosal activity of pyramidal tract neurons (PTNs) and non-PTNs in the anesthetized cat motor cortex were studied with iontophoretic applications; dopamine, SCH 23390 (D1 antagonist), sulpiride (D2 antagonist) and haloperidol. Neuronal activity was recorded with a multi-barreled glass microelectrode. Transcallosal neuronal activity was evoked by stimulation of the contralateral motor cortex. The number of spikes thus activated was counted for the control and test conditions after application of each drug: (1) dopamine application decreased the number of spikes evoked by transcallosal stimulation; (2) application of SCH 23390, sulpiride and haloperidol restored these decreased spike numbers to the control level; (3) latency of neuronal response to transcallosal stimulation was not affected by the application of either DA, SCH 23390, sulpiride or haloperidol; and (4) there was no significant difference between PTNs and non-PTNs in the manner of response to DA and its antagonist applications. Our conclusion is that dopamine modulated the transcallosal neuronal response in the cat motor cortex in a suppressive manner. This fact suggested that interhemispheric neuronal communications could be subjected to suppressive modification by the dopaminergic system.

Action Potentials↗
PubMed1999

Argyrophilic grains in late-onset Creutzfeldt-Jakob diseased brain.

Braak's argyrophilic grains (ArG) are spindle-shaped structures originally described in patients with dementia. Herein, a unique case of sporadic Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease (CJD) accompanied by numerous ArG is presented. The pathological picture was typical of CJD based on the findings of routine hematoxylin-eosin staining. The highest density of ArG was observed throughout the parahippocampal gyrus and the temporal gyri; however, the sector CA1 of the hippocampus showed less ArG. An immunohistochemical analysis for prion protein (PrP) revealed diffuse fine neuropil staining in the cerebral cortex, while the ArG themselves did not demonstrate any immunoreaction for PrP. No correlation was observed between the densities of ArG and either the presence of senile plaques, neurofibrillary tangles or neuropil threads in the present case. To our knowledge, this is the first report of CJD demonstrating numerous ArG.

Aged↗
PubMed1999

Brain injury does not modify transmissible spongiform encephalopathy caused by intraperitoneal inoculation with Fukuoka-1 strain.

The pathogenesis of neuroinvasion in Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease and other transmissible spongiform encephalopathies following the peripheral uptake of a disease agent is still not fully understood. The possibility of neuroinvasion either being established or being accelerated by an insult to the brain has not previously been tested. The experiment described herein was designed to examine this possibility by wounding the brain following an intraperitoneal challenge with a mouse-adapted strain of human transmissible spongiform encephalopathy, Fukuoka-1 strain. The results showed that brain injury introduced in any period before the appearance of cerebral abnormal prion protein deposition modified neither the clinical features, including the incubation period, nor the histopathology of the mice. Our findings suggest that neurovirulence of the agent may not be sufficiently promoted by brain injury.

Animals↗
PubMed1999

Increase of serum des-gamma-carboxy prothrombin in alcoholic liver disease without hepatocellular carcinoma.

The purpose of this study is to determine serum des-gamma-carboxy prothrombin (DCP) levels in benign liver diseases by a new sensitive method, and to demonstrate the elevation of serum DCP in alcoholic liver disease (ALD) without hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). Median values of serum DCP were 16.2 mAU/ml (range: 3.2 to 1570 mAU/ml) in ALD and 16.7 mAU/ml (1.2 to 75.4 mAU/ml) in viral liver disease (VLD). Using the cut-off value of 40 mAU/ml as a tumor marker for HCC, 21% (11/52) was positive in ALD and 2% (1/57) was positive in VLD (p = 0.0014, Fisher's exact probability test), and 27% (9/33) was positive in alcoholic liver cirrhosis and 3% (1/39) was positive in viral liver cirrhosis (p = 0.0042, Fisher's exact probability test). The positive rate of DCP was significantly (p < 0.001, Spearman's rank correlation test) correlated with the severity of liver disease in ALD. Serum vitamin K level was not decreased in cases with ALD. In a demonstrable case, serum DCP was decreased after abstinence and was increased again after the beginning of ethanol intake, suggesting the involvement of ethanol to the elevation of serum DCP in ALD. In conclusion, serum DCP was significantly elevated in ALD, compared with VLD, although the mechanism of the elevation of DCP was not clarified. Ethanol intake may act, in part, on the increase of serum DCP in ALD.

Aged↗
PubMed1999

[The prognostic value preoperative promontory testing in Japanese cochlear implant patients].

The prognostic value of preoperative promontory testing was evaluated in Japanese cochlear implant patients. Promontory testing consisted of measurement of electrical thresholds (T), uncomfortable level (UCL), dynamic range (DR), gap detection (GAP), and temporal difference limen (TDL). Patients' performances were measured at 3 months (n = 46) and 1 year (n = 20) postoperatively, using a standard Japanese audiologic test battery without lip-reading. This study included only postlingual deaf patients who received the Nucleus multichannel cochlear implant. Wide DRs at low frequencies (50,100,200 Hz) and good GAP detection (< 20 ms) emerged as excellent preoperative predictors of the 3-month postoperative performances (P < 0.05). In contrast, any measurements could not serve as a good predictor of the 1-year performances. These results suggest that the preoperative promontory testing provides useful information only for early postoperative performances but that it could not predict the final language performances.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1999

[Clonorchiasis].

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Animals↗
PubMed1999

[Analysis of immunological mechanisms in the pathogenesis of generalized pustular psoriasis].

Generalized pustular psoriasis is one of life-threatening skin diseases which represents sudden onset of severe systemic symptoms such as high fever and chill as well as burning erythema and aseptic pustules over the entire skin. Although the precise mechanism of this rare disease is unknown, several lines of clinical and experimental observations have suggested that certain immunological mechanisms play important roles in the pathogenesis of this disease. In this study, in order to attain better understanding of the immunological events involved in generalized pustular psoriasis, several in vivo and in vitro immunological experiments have been performed. The results obtained are as follows: 1) sera from patients contained high amount of inflammatory cytokines, 2) peripheral blood mononuclear cells(PBMC) showed high proliferative responses to bacteria-derived super antigens, 3) PBMC from patients produced a large amount of cytokines when stimulated by mitogens in vitro, 4) endothelial cells in the lesional skins of patients exhibited enhanced expression of adhesion molecules, and 5) the expressions of these adhesion molecules on human endothelial cells were differently regulated by several cytokines. These results suggest that the activation of peripheral blood mononuclear cells by bacteria-derived super antigens followed by cytokine production, and the induction of the adhesion molecules expressions on the endothelial cells are important immunological events in the forming the characteristic clinical symptoms of generalized pustular psoriasis.

Cell Adhesion Molecules↗
PubMed1999

[Histological findings of TTV-positive non-B non-C chronic hepatitis patients].

TT virus has been reported in association with patients with acute and chronic liver disease of unknown etiology. In order to estimate the pathogenesis of TTV, we investigated the liver histology in the patients of TTV-positive chronic hepatitis. The findings frequently observed in TTV-DNA positive cases were changes in liver parenchyma such as focal necrosis, hepatocyte degeneration or fatty change of various degree. On the other hand, degree of chronic inflammation in portal areas such as lymphocyte infiltration, piecemeal necrosis or fibrosis were relatively mild, which might suggest the good prognosis in TTV-positive cases. However, we could not find any differences in liver histology between TTV positive and negative patients.

Adult↗
PubMed1999

[Sensitivity of sputum eosinophil cationic protein level for monitoring asthmatic patients with normal peak expiratory flow].

Previous studies have shown that eosinophils and eosinophil cationic protein (ECP) levels in the sputum of patients with asthma closely reflect inflammatory activity of the bronchial mucosa. We examined whether the ECP level or eosinophil count in induced sputum provides information useful in determining whether to taper the dose of medications or to terminate treatment especially with inhaled corticosteroids in patients with well controlled asthma. We studied 15 adults with asthma who consistently maintained a peak expiratory flow (PEF) value within 80% or more of their predicted value (green zone) for at least 4 weeks with no asthmatic symptoms. All patients underwent at least two hypretonic saline inhalation tests. Forty sputum samples were obtained for evaluation of cell count and ECP level. Before the tests, patients were requested to record asthmatic symptoms, medications received, and morning and evening PEF values in a diary for more than 3 months. The relations among clinical and laboratory variables, including symptoms scores, medication scores, asthma scores (= symptom scores + medication scores). PEF values, forced expiratory volume (FEV1.0) during the test, and sputum eosinophil count or sputum ECP, were analyzed. The sputum ECP level correlated significantly with the percentage of eosinophils in the sputum (rs = 0.783). There were also significant correlations between the sputum ECP level and the mean weekly symptom scores (rs = 0.500-0.510), medication scores (rs = 0.510-0.540), and asthma scores (rs = 0.509-0.548). However, there were no significant correlations among sputum ECP level, mean morning PEF or evening PEF, daily variation in PEF, and FEV1.0. We conclude that the sputum ECP level is a sensitive laboratory variable useful in monitoring the presence of eosinophilic inflammation in the bronchial mucosa of patients with bronchial asthma, especially those who have mild or no symptoms with normal PEF.

Adult↗
PubMed1998

Expression and functional analysis of a hemopoietic progenitor antigen, NJ-1 (114/A10), in the megakaryocytic lineage.

To analyze the functions of molecules expressed in hemopoietic progenitor cells, we obtained several monoclonal antibodies by immunizing Wistar rats with antigens from a murine immature leukemic cell line, DA-1. Here, we characterize one antibody designated NJ-1, which recognizes a 145-kd molecule, and identify the cDNA encoding the NJ-1 antigen by retrovirus-mediated expression cloning. Sequence analysis of the cDNA reveals that it is identical to a previously reported cDNA encoding a surface molecule of 573 amino acids recognized by monoclonal antibody 114/A10. Our studies show that expression of NJ-1 antigen is upregulated in a murine megakaryoblastic cell line, L8057, when it differentiates into a megakaryocytic lineage in response to 12-O-tetradecanoyl phorbol-13-acetate. Overexpression of NJ-1 antigen in L8057 cells inhibits cell adhesion to fibronectin, suggesting that it may act as a negative regulator of cell adhesion in the megakaryocytic lineage.

Animals↗
PubMed1998

Relationship between dermato-physiological changes and hormonal status in pre-, peri-, and postmenopausal women.

We previously reported that hormonal changes in perimenopausal women are associated with dermatologic changes. In the present study, we evaluated such dermatologic changes by means of dermato-physiological testing methods in perimenopausal women with various types of hormonal conditions. The study group consisted of 46 consecutive women 41-70 years of age (mean, 54.0 years), attending a climacteric outpatient clinic for a healthy check-up is whom no abnormalities were recognized. The women were divided into four groups according to menstrual history and sex-related steroid hormone values: a premenopausal group (n = 9); a perimenopausal group (n = 8); an early menopausal group, in which 5 years or less had elapsed since menopause (n = 12); and a late menopausal group, in which 6 years or more had elapsed since menopause (n = 17). We found that: (1) after menopause the sebum cutaneum content of the forehead decreased significantly, but that of the subocular region was unchanged; (2) the water content of the stratum corneum of the forehead was significantly higher in the late menopausal group than in the premenopausal group and the perimenopausal group, but there were no significant differences among the four groups at the other sites studied; (3) on psychological stimulation, sweat production was found to decrease significantly after menopause; (4) the skin temperature of the forehead and cheek fell significantly after menopause, but that of the nose, back of the foot, and tips of the toes, did not differ significantly among the four groups; (5) The perimenopausal period was associated with increased skin permeability and vascular responsiveness; (6) fingertip plethysmography revealed significant decreases in peripheral circulatory function in the perimenopausal group and the late menopausal group.

Adult↗
PubMed1998

Interleukin-12 induces tyrosine phosphorylation of an 85-kDa protein associated with the interleukin-12 receptor beta 1 subunit.

Interleukin-12 (IL12) is a heterodimeric cytokine composed of p35 and p40 subunits and having multiple immunomodulatory effects on T cells as well as on natural killer cells. Two subunits, beta 1 and beta 2, consisting of the functional IL12 receptor complex, have been recently identified as members of the hemopoietin receptor superfamily, bearing strong homology to gp130. In the present study, we attempted to further characterize the biochemical nature of the IL12 receptor complex and to delineate IL12-triggered signal transduction pathways. To this end, we established a Jurkat transfectant (JIL12R beta 1t) highly expressing the recombinant human IL12 receptor beta 1 subunit. Using this transfectant, we identified an 85-kDa protein (p85) which is associated with the beta 1 subunit and appears to be a cell surface protein, but is distinct from the beta 2 subunit (130 kDa). p85 was also detected in PHA-activated T cells. Importantly, p85 was rapidly tyrosine phosphorylated upon stimulation of both JIL12R beta 1t cells and PHA-activated T cells with IL12. These results suggest that p85 is a component of the IL12 receptor complex and may play a significant role in mediating IL12-dependent signals.

Animals↗
PubMed1998

Skein-like inclusions in the neostriatum from a case of amyotrophic lateral sclerosis with dementia.

Skeins or skein-like inclusions (SLIs) in motor neurons detected by ubiquitin immunohistochemistry are a characteristic finding of amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS). Here we report ubiquitinated SLIs in the putamen and caudate nucleus from a case of ALS with dementia. A 48-year-old Japanese man developed apathy and amimia. Mental and neurological examinations revealed severe character change, muscle atrophy and fasciculation of the distal upper extremities and the tongue, and an exaggeration of the deep tendon reflex. He subsequently showed dysphagia and dysarthria. He died at the age of 51 years, after a total clinical course of about 2.5 years. By immunohistochemistry, ubiquitin-immunoreactive intraneuronal inclusions were observed in the spinal anterior horn cells, the frontal, temporal and entorhinal cortices, dentate fascia of the hippocampus and the amygdala. In addition, ubiquitinated inclusions were also seen in the putamen and caudate nucleus, which appeared as aggregates of thread-like structures similar to SLIs in the spinal anterior horn neurons. They were not seen on hematoxylin-eosin staining, and they also did not show any argentophilia nor did they react with other antibodies, including antibody against tau protein. To our knowledge, this is the first report of the presence of SLIs in non-motor neurons. Our results thus support the notion that ALS is a multisystem disease, and not simply a disease of the motor neurons.

Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis↗
PubMed1998

Successful graft replacement of the descending aorta after an extended reconstruction of the ascending and transverse aorta in a patient with Marfan's syndrome.

A 27-year-old man with Marfan's syndrome underwent a total aortic graft replacement in three separate stages. Initially the abdominal aorta was replaced, followed by the ascending aorta and aortic arch, and finally the residual portion. The extensive reconstruction of both the ascending and transverse aorta at the second operation, even though no dissection was present in the aortic arch, reduced the risk of the subsequent operation since the same surgical approach did not have to be used.

Adult↗