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Biomedical subjects

T Nonaka

Publications and source records attributed to T Nonaka.

At least 55 records · Page 3Linked to original sources
PubMed2000

Tooth wear and loss: symptomatological and rehabilitating treatments.

The authors report a clinical case that presented tooth wear and absence, with painful muscular and articular symptomatology, and also alteration in deglutition, mastication and speech. The clinical procedures used were re-establishment of vertical dimension of occlusion, mandibular centric relations, and occlusal contacts through therapeutic removable partial dentures. The condyle position was analyzed in habitual occlusion and in occlusion with dentures, through transcranial radiographs of the temporomandibular joints. Oral rehabilitation was achieved with dental restoration and removable partial dentures.

Adult↗
PubMed1999

Functionally important residues tyrosine-171 and serine-158 in sepiapterin reductase.

The active site of sepiapterin reductase (SPR), which is a member of the NADP(H)-preferring short-chain dehydrogenase/reductase (SDR) family and acts as the terminal enzyme in the biosynthetic pathway of tetrahydrobiopterin cofactor (BH4), was investigated by truncation and site-directed mutagenesis. The truncation mutants showed that N-terminal and C-terminal residues contribute to bind coenzyme and substrate, respectively. The mutant rSPRA29V showed decreased activity; however, the A-X-L-L-S sequence, which has been reported as a putative pterin binding site, was estimated to preferably work as a component in the region for binding coenzyme rather than substrate. Site-directed mutants of rSPRS158D, rSPRY171V, and rSPRK175I showed low, but significant, activity having similar Km values and kcat/Km values less than 25%, for both sepiapterin and NADPH. Both amino acids Tyr-171 and Ser-158 are located within a similar distance to the carbonyl group of the substrate in the crystal structure of mouse SPR, and the double point mutant rSPRY171V+S158D was indicated to be inactive. These results showed that Ser-158, Tyr-171, and Lys-175 contributed to the catalytic activity of SPR, and both Tyr-171 and Ser-158 are simultaneously necessary on proton transfer to the carbonyl functional groups of substrate.

Alcohol Oxidoreductases↗
PubMed1999

Shigella flexneri YSH6000 induces two types of cell death, apoptosis and oncosis, in the differentiated human monoblastic cell line U937.

Shigella flexneri, but not a non-invasive mutant derivative rapidly induced cell death in human monoblastic U937 cells as well as in differentiated cells pretreated with interferon-gamma (IFN gamma) or retinoic acid (RA). We investigated the morphological and biochemical characteristics of bacterial invasion-induced cell death in these differentiated U937 cells. IFN gamma-differentiated cells showed morphological changes typical of apoptosis and their DNA was cleaved giving a ladder-like electrophoretic pattern after infection by Shigellae. In contrast, swelling of the cytoplasm and blebbing of the plasma membrane were observed in RA-differentiated and undifferentiated cells invaded by the bacteria. No condensation of nuclei was observed in these cells by light microscopy, and no internucleosomal fragmentation of DNA was detected on agarose gels, which resembled the features of oncosis. Furthermore, cleavage of poly(ADP-ribose) polymerase, a substrate for apoptotic caspases, was seen only in IFN gamma-pretreated cells but not in RA-pretreated or undifferentiated cells. These findings suggested that virulent Shigella flexneri induces distinct types of cell death in U937 cells depending on their differentiation state.

Apoptosis↗
PubMed1999

Pharmacological activities of TEI-8362, a novel inhibitor of human neutrophil elastase.

1. TEI-8362, 4-(N-(3-((3-carboxypropyl)amino)-8-methyl-1-oxo-4-azaisochromen-6- yl)carbamoyl)-4-((phenylmethoxy)carbonylamino)butanoic acid (C26H28N4O9) is a novel inhibitor of human neutrophil elastase (HNE). We evaluated its pharmacological profile in vitro and in vivo. 2. TEI-8362 demonstrated potent inhibition of HNE with a Ki value of 1.38 x 10(-9) M. Its selectivity for HNE among a variety of proteases ranged from 163 fold to 68,000 fold in favour of HNE. 3. The pulmonary haemorrhage that occurred after i.t. instillation of HNE to hamsters was inhibited by either i.t., i.v., or inhalant administration of TEI-8362. 4. Intratracheal administration of lipopolysaccharide induced pulmonary neutrophilia. Twenty-four hours after lipopolysaccharide administration, the additional treatment with formyl-methionyl-leucyl-phenylalanine resulted in a specific neutrophil-dependent acute lung injury. In this model, lung injury was significantly attenuated by i.t., i.v., or inhalant administration of TEI-8362. 5. These pharmacological actions of TEI-8362 suggest that this drug has therapeutic value in the treatment of destructive lung diseases due to neutrophils.

Animals↗
PubMed1999

A cold-adapted protease engineered by experimental evolution system.

A new cold-adapted protease subtilisin BPN' mutant, termed m-51, was successfully isolated by use of an evolutionary program consisting of two-step in vitro random mutagenesis, which we developed for the screening of mutant subtilisins with increased activity at low temperature. The m-51 mutant showed 70% higher catalytic efficiency, expressed by the k(cat)/K(m) value, than the wild-type at 10 degrees C against N-succinyl-L-Ala-L-Ala-L-Pro-L-Phe-p-nitroanilide as a synthetic substrate. This cold-adaptation was achieved mainly by the increase in the k(cat) value in a temperature-dependent manner. Genetic analysis revealed that m-51 had three mutations, Ala-->Thr at position -31 (A-31T) in the prodomain, Ala-->Val at position 88 (A88V), and Ala-->Thr at position 98 (A98T). From kinetic parameters of the purified mutant enzymes, it was found that the A98T mutation led to 30% activity increase, which was enhanced up to 70% by the accompanying neutral mutation A88V. The A-31T mutation severely constrained the autoprocessing-mediated maturation of the pro-subtilisin in the Escherichia coli expression system, thus probably causing an activity-non-detectable mutation in the first step of mutagenesis. No distinct change was observed in the thermal stability of any mutant or in the substrate specificity for m-51. In the molecular models of the two single mutants (A88V and A98T), relatively large displacements of alpha carbon atoms were found around the mutation points. In the model of the double mutant (A88V/A98T), on the other hand, the structural changes around the mutation point counterbalanced each other, and thus no crucial displacements occurred. This mutual effect may be related to the enhanced activity of the double mutant.

Base Sequence↗
PubMed1999

TTG as the initiation codon of Salmonella slyA, a gene required for survival within macrophages.

The slyA gene, which has been implicated in the virulence of Salmonella serovar Typhimurium and its survival in macrophages, is widely distributed among different Salmonella serovars. In this study, we cloned and sequenced the translational initiation region of the slyA gene from nine different serovars and found sequence differences in the previously proposed ATG initiation codon but not in a TTG triplet, another putative initiation codon in the slyA gene. Therefore, we determined the actual translational initiation site of the slyA gene by analyzing slyA genes with defined mutation in either the ATG or TTG sequences in an in vitro translation assay and a quantitative hemolytic assay in Escherichia coli. The replacement of TTG by TTC in the slyA gene significantly reduced both the amount of protein synthesized and the hemolytic activity of a transformed strain of E. coli, while replacement of ATG by ATC had no effect in these assays. In addition, the amino acid sequence analysis of the His-tagged SlyA protein showed that it was identical with the amino acid sequence deduced from the 5' end of the slyA gene with a TTG initiation codon. Our results suggest that TTG serves as the translational initiation codon for the slyA gene of Salmonella.

Amino Acid Sequence↗
PubMed1998

Biochemistry of frog ribonucleases.

Frogs have unique pyrimidine base-specific RNases, with structures similar to those of turtle, iguana and chicken RNases. Among the four frog RNases discussed here, three from Rana pipiens, R. catesbeiana and R. japonica oocyte cells show antitumour activity, and the latter two show lectin activity towards sialic acid-rich glycoproteins. In this review, (i) we compare their unique primary structures with respect to the locations of their disulphide bridges, three-dimensional structure, base specificity and heat stability as compared with RNase A, and (ii) we summarize current knowledge about the mode of action of lectin and the antitumour activities of the three frog RNases.

Amino Acid Sequence↗
PubMed1998

Intellectual functions and regional cerebral haemodynamics after extensive omental transplantation spread over both frontal lobes in childhood moyamoya disease.

Most accepted operations for childhood moyamoya disease have attempted to increase cerebral blood flow (CBF) in the ischaemic cortical areas around the central fissure. Developed ischaemic brain damage in the prefrontal area may lead to poor intellectual outcome and restrict patients' daily lives. Thus, extensive cerebral revascularization in both the ischaemic anterior and middle cerebral artery territories is mandatory. We describe the long-term follow-up results for intellectual outcome and performance status and make an evaluation of regional cerebral haemodynamics after extensive omental transplantation spread over both frontal lobes performed as the initial management. In the past 10 years, 10 moyamoya patients less than 12 years of age consecutively underwent omental transplantation. The omental flap was spread over not only the symptomatic hemisphere but also the contralateral frontal lobe after a large craniotomy. Superficial temporal artery to middle cerebral artery (STA-MCA) anastomosis was accomplished simultaneously. On the contralateral hemisphere, STA-MCA anastomosis combined with encephalomyosynangiosis was subsequently performed. The clinical observation period averaged 6.7 years (ranged 1.9 to 9.2 years). Apart from 2 patients in whom severe mental retardation had been disclosed pre-operatively, full-scale intelligence quotient scores have been maintained at over 90, that is, within the normal intellectual range. With respect to quality of life (QOL), these 8 patients have been leading normal daily lives since the operation. The focal decrease in CBF observed in the frontal lobe pre-operatively in 7 cases had disappeared after surgical treatment. In these patients, serial post-operative MR angiography revealed developed omental vessels and STAs. Deterioration of intellectual functions and QOL as well as cerebral ischaemic events in paediatric moyamoya patients can be prevented by extensive omental transplantation spread over both frontal lobes combined with STA-MCA anastomosis.

Cerebral Revascularization↗
PubMed1998

Kinetic characterization of lysine-specific metalloendopeptidases from Grifola frondosa and Pleurotus ostreatus fruiting bodies.

Two zinc-metalloendopeptidases, GFMEP (accession number P81054) and POMEP (accession number P81055), from the fruiting bodies of two edible mushrooms, Grifola frondosa and Pleurotus ostreatus, respectively, specifically hydrolyze peptidyl-lysine bonds (-X-Lys-) in polypeptides. To understand detailed substrate specificities and kinetic characters of these enzymes, we have synthesized various intramolecularly quenched fluorescent peptide substrates and determined their kinetic constants with these substrates. Each synthesized fluorogenic peptide has a fluorescent residue, tryptophan, at its carboxyl terminus and a quenching group, dinitrophenyl (Dnp), at its amino terminus. Quenching of the Trp fluorescence in an intact substrate is relieved on hydrolysis of the -X-Lys- bond, giving rise to a continuous increase in fluorescence. The octapeptide substrate, Dnp-Ser-Thr-Ala-Thr-Lys-Leu-Ser-Trp, was an efficient substrate for both enzymes, the kcat/Km values being 9.8 x 10(6) and 7.0 x 10(5) M-1.s-1 for GF- and POMEP, respectively. Peptides with aspartic acid adjacent to the Lys residue were found to be poor substrates for both enzymes. Neither the shortest peptide, Dnp-Thr-Lys-Trp, nor peptides with substitution of L-Arg, L-ornithine, or D-Lys for Lys were hydrolyzed by either enzyme. These results confirmed the strict specificities of GF- and POMEP toward the peptide bond, -X-Lys-. Substitution of Co2+ for Zn2+ enhanced the activity, while the Km values were comparable. All peptides not hydrolyzed by either enzyme had inhibitory effects on GFMEP activity. The active site structure is discussed in relation to these observations.

2,4-Dinitrophenol↗
PubMed1998

Roles of the Ser146, Tyr159, and Lys163 residues in the catalytic action of 7alpha-hydroxysteroid dehydrogenase from Escherichia coli.

The Escherichia coli 7alpha-hydroxysteroid dehydrogenase (7alpha-HSDH; EC 1.1.1.159) has been the subject of our studies, including the cloning of its gene, and determination of the crystal structures of its binary and ternary complexes [J. Bacteriol. 173, 2173-2179 (1991); Biochemistry 35, 7715-7730 (1996)]. Through these studies, the Ser146, Tyr159, and Lys163 residues were found to be involved in its catalytic action. In order to clarify the roles of these residues, we constructed six single mutants of 7alpha-HSDH, Tyr159-Phe (Y159F), Tyr159-His (Y159H), Lys163-Arg (K163R), Lys163-Ile (K163I), Ser146-Ala (S146A), and Ser146-His (S146H), by site-directed mutagenesis. These mutants were overexpressed in E. coli WSD, which is a 7alpha-HSDH null strain, and the expressed enzymes were purified to homogeneity. The kinetic constants of the mutant enzymes were determined, and the structures of the Y159F, Y159H, and K163R mutants were analyzed by X-ray crystallography. The Y159F mutant showed no activity, while the Y159H mutant exhibited 13.3% of the wild-type enzyme activity. No remarkable conformational change between the Y159F (or Y159H) and wild-type proteins was detected on X-ray crystallography. On the other hand, the K163I mutant showed just 5.3% of the native enzyme activity, with a 8. 5-fold higher Kd. However, the K163R mutant retained 64% activity, and no remarkable conformational change was detected on X-ray crystallography. In the cases of the S146A and S146H mutants, the activities fairly decreased, with 20.3 and 35.6% of kcat of the wild-type, respectively. The data presented in this paper confirm that Tyr159 acts as a basic catalyst, that Lys163 binds to NAD(H) and lowers the pKa value of Tyr159, and that Ser146 stabilizes the substrate, reaction intermediate and product in catalysis.

Binding Sites↗
PubMed1997

Amino acid sequences of metalloendopeptidases specific for acyl-lysine bonds from Grifola frondosa and Pleurotus ostreatus fruiting bodies.

The complete amino acid sequences of two lysine-specific zinc metalloendopeptidases (EC 3.4.24), Grifola frondosa metalloendopeptidase (GFMEP) and Pleurotus ostreatus metalloendopeptidase (POMEP), from the fruiting bodies of these two edible mushrooms have been established based on the sequence information of the peptides generated from the reduced and alkylated GFMEP and POMEP by proteolytic digestions using GFMEP, trypsin, and other proteinases as well as by several chemical cleavages. From the sequences, it was found that GFMEP and POMEP were polypeptides composed of 167 and 168 amino acid residues, from which their molecular weights were calculated to be 18,040.5 and 17,921.3 in accord with the observed (M+H)+ values of 18,028 and 17,927, respectively, as determined by matrix-assisted laser desorption ionization-time of flight mass spectrometry. Two disulfide bonds in GFMEP were found to link Cys5 to Cys75 and Cys77 to Cys97. An unusual post-translational modification of GFMEP was corroborated to be a partial attachment of a single mannose to Thr42. Comparison of the sequences revealed that overall identity between the enzymes was 61.3%. Although a highly homologous sequence was not found in sequence data bases except for a consensus zinc-binding sequence, HEXXH, both metalloendopeptidases somewhat resembled a family of metalloproteinases categorized as deuterolysin. These proteases together with GFMEP and POMEP do not have conserved third and/or fourth liganding amino acid residues seen in metzincin or thermolysin superfamily proteins and belong to a novel zinc metalloendopeptidase superfamily.

Amino Acid Sequence↗
PubMed1997

Switch of coenzyme specificity of mouse lung carbonyl reductase by substitution of threonine 38 with aspartic acid.

Mouse lung carbonyl reductase, a member of the short-chain dehydrogenase/reductase (SDR) family, exhibits coenzyme specificity for NADP(H) over NAD(H). Crystal structure of the enzyme-NADPH complex shows that Thr-38 interacts with the 2'-phosphate of NADPH and occupies the position spatially similar to an Asp residue of the NAD(H)-dependent SDRs that hydrogen-bonds to the hydroxyl groups of the adenine ribose of the coenzymes. Using site-directed mutagenesis, we constructed a mutant mouse lung carbonyl reductase in which Thr-38 was replaced by Asp (T38D), and we compared kinetic properties of the mutant and wild-type enzymes in both forward and reverse reactions. The mutation resulted in increases of more than 200-fold in the Km values for NADP(H) and decreases of more than 7-fold in those for NAD(H), but few changes in the Km values for substrates or in the kcat values of the reactions. NAD(H) provided maximal protection against thermal and urea denaturation of T38D, in contrast to the effective protection by NADP(H) for the wild-type enzyme. Thus, the single mutation converted the coenzyme specificity from NADP(H) to NAD(H). Calculation of free energy changes showed that the 2'-phosphate of NADP(H) contributes to its interaction with the wild-type enzyme. Changing Thr-38 to Asp destabilized the binding energies of NADP(H) by 3.9-4.5 kcal/mol and stabilized those of NAD(H) by 1.2-1.4 kcal/mol. These results indicate a significant role of Thr-38 in NADP(H) binding for the mouse lung enzyme and provide further evidence for the key role of Asp at this position in NAD(H) specificity of the SDR family proteins.

Alcohol Oxidoreductases↗
PubMed1997

Rapid rise in FDG uptake in an irradiated human tumour xenograft.

In order to investigate early changes in the glucose metabolism of irradiated tumours, tumour uptake of 2-[18F]fluoro-2-deoxy-d-glucose (18FDG) was studied in human tumour xenografts. Three human tumour lines [ependymoblastoma (NNE), small cell lung cancer (GLS), and glioblastoma (KYG)] showing different radiosensitivities and incidences of radiation-induced apoptosis were subcutaneously transplanted into nude mice, and were irradiated at a single dose of 10 Gy. Then 0.5 mCi of 18FDG was intravenously administered 1 h before sacrifice. The animals were sacrificed at 2, 4 and 6 h following irradiation, and 18FDG accumulation in the tumours was examined. Before irradiation, GLS and KYG tumours showed significantly higher rates of 18FDG accumulation compared with NNE tumours (P <0.004 and P <0.001, respectively). NNE (the most radiosensitive tumour with the highest incidence of radiation-induced apoptosis), however, displayed a 2.3-fold higher rate of 18FDG accumulation at 2 h following irradiation compared with a non-irradiated group (P <0.01), and thereafter showed a plateau up to 6 h. The accumulation did not increase significantly in the other tumours with lower radiosensitivity and much less radiation-induced apoptosis. The rapidity of the increase in 18FDG accumulation in the most radiosensitive tumour line, occurring as early as 2 h following irradiation, suggests that the increase was independent of recovery phenomena following radiation damage.

Animals↗
PubMed1997

Ultrasonic effects on electroorganic processes Part 6. Formation of cupric carboxylates at a reactive copper anode in carboxylic acid solutions.

Current efficiency for the formation of highly soluble cupric acetate at a reactive (consumable) copper anode in an acetic acid solution was increased almost independently of current density under ultrasonic irradiation. On the other hand, the efficiency for sparingly soluble cupric oxalate depended complicatedly on current density. At a low current density region less than 4 mA cm(-2), ultrasonic irradiation caused an increase in the current efficiency, while at higher current densities no ultrasonic effect was observed because of the formation of a rigid oxalate film on the anode surface. This paper is the first report of ultrasonic effects on an electrochemical reaction at a reactive (consumable) anode which is stoichiometrically involved in the reaction leading to the formation of products derived from anode metal.

Journal Article↗
PubMed1997

Neutron Laue diffractometry with an imaging plate provides an effective data collection regime for neutron protein crystallography.

Neutron quasi-Laue diffraction data (2 A resolution) from tetragonal hen egg-white lysozyme were collected in ten days with neutron imaging plates. The data processing Laue software, LAUEGEN, developed for X-ray Laue diffractometry, was adapted for neutron diffractometry with a cylindrical detector. The data analysis software, X-PLOR, was modified and used for the refinement of hydrogen atoms, and the positions of 960 hydrogen atoms in the protein and 157 bound water molecules, were determined. Several examples are given of the methods used to identify hydrogen atoms and water molecules.

Animals↗
PubMed1997

Supratentorial glioma manifesting as acute onset of pure motor hemiparesis--case report.

A 68-year-old male presented with an anaplastic astrocytoma deep in the sensorimotor cortex manifesting as acute pure motor hemiparesis suggestive of a vascular mechanism rather than tumor mass effect. Perfusion-weighted magnetic resonance (MR) imaging showed a significant decrease of blood flow in the sensorimotor area, where fluid-attenuated inversion recovery imaging demonstrated a prominently edematous area. Angiography also suggested ischemia with poor visualization of the precentral and central arteries. Diffusion-weighted MR imaging failed to identify the edema as cytotoxic or vasogenic due to technical problems. Brain tumors may manifest through impairment of peritumoral blood supply, which can be clarified by recent MR methods.

Aged↗