Biomedical subjects

Y Aoki

Publications and source records attributed to Y Aoki.

At least 505 records · Page 28Linked to original sources

PubMed1992

Effects of Schistosoma haematobium infection on mental test scores of Kenyan school children.

Adverse effects of Schistosoma haematobium infection on mental activities were studied at a primary school in rural Kenya, where the intensity of infection was light (the average egg count: < 50/10 ml of urine). The school children received three kinds of mental tests, which examine attentiveness and concentration, before and a month after treatment with a single dose of praziquantel. A pretreatment analysis showed that test scores became worse as egg counts of children increased. The praziquantel treatment improved the scores of all three tests among children who got high scores in the first tests. The study showed that even the light infection caused adverse effects on mental activities, which were detectable using simple mental tests.

Adolescent↗

PubMed1992

[Chemotherapy of biliary tract infections (XXXVII). Excretion into bile and gallbladder tissue levels of levofloxacin and its clinical effect in biliary tract infections].

Evaluations were made on biliary excretion and penetration into the gallbladder tissue of levofloxacin (LVFX, DR-3355), a new quinolone antibacterial agent, and its clinical efficacy in biliary tract infections. 1. Gallbladder tissue concentrations and biliary concentrations of LVFX at 2-6 hours at oral administration of 100 mg were 0.58-1.99 micrograms/g and 0.49-5.63 micrograms/ml, respectively. These tissue and biliary levels are almost equal or somewhat higher than the serum levels (0.55-1.63 micrograms/ml) of the compound. 2. The concentrations of LVFX and optical isomer DR-3354 in the serum, gallbladder tissue, and bile were determined after a single or a concomitant administration of LVFX 100 mg and/or ofloxacin (OFLX) 100 to 200 mg. The concentration ratio of LVFX to DR-3354 paralleled with the ratio of the 2 compounds administrated. 3. At a dose of 100 mg, the glucuronide of LVFX in the common duct bile was detected at proportions between 0.9 and 36.0%. 4. A total of 11 patients with biliary tract infections, including 6 cholecystitis 3 cholangitis, and 1 each of cholecystocholangitis and liver abscess was treated with LVFX at 100-200 mg t.i.d. for 3-14 days. Clinical results were excellent or good in 8 cases and fair in 3 cases, resulting in an efficacy rate of 72.7%. 5. A side effect and an abnormal change in laboratory findings were observed in both 1 case each and they were both mild. It was concluded that LVFX showed good penetration to the biliary tract as does OFLX, and that it would be a useful oral agent for the treatment of biliary tract infections.

Adult↗

PubMed1992

Induction of activated killer cells from human lymphocytes by medullasin (a serine protease in bone marrow cells).

Medullasin, a serine protease found in human bone marrow cells, has been shown to induce activated killer (AK) cells that lyse both natural killer (NK)-sensitive and -resistant cloned target cells from human lymphocytes. In addition to all the tested malignant cell lines, malignant cells obtained from all patients with acute myelocytic leukaemia, chronic lymphocytic leukaemia and lymphoblastic leukaemia were lysed by AK cells induced by medullasin. Maximum induction was achieved when lymphocytes were incubated at 37 degrees for 60 min in the presence of medullasin (20 micrograms/ml). The cytotoxicity of AK cells induced by medullasin treatment (200 micrograms/ml, 37 degrees for 60 min) was greater than that of lymphokine-activated killer (LAK) cells produced by 500 U/ml of interleukin-2 (IL-2). Cytokines such as IL-2 or interferon (IFN) are not considered to be involved in the medullasin induction of AK cells for the following reasons: (1) neither IL-2 nor IFN activity were detected in the supernatant of lymphocytes treated with medullasin; (2) the supernatant of lymphocytes treated with medullasin failed to induce AK cells; and (3) the presence of antibodies against IL-2 or IFN did not influence the effect of the protease. By employing monoclonal antibodies to the surface antigens of lymphocytes and a panning method using plastic dishes coated with anti-mouse IgG goat Fab', progenitor as well as effector cells were found to be CD16-positive cells.

Cell Line↗

PubMed1992

[The study of ovarian metastasis in uterine cancer].

The correlation between histological ovarian metastasis and histologic cell type, clinical stage, depth of invasion, lymph node metastasis, and menstrual activity were analyzed in 566 patients who underwent surgery for uterine cancer at the hospital of Niigata University between January, 1971 and May, 1990. Ovarian metastasis was studied in 456 patients with stage Ib or more advanced cervical cancer and 110 patients with stage Ia or more advanced endometrial cancer. The following results were obtained: 1. The incidence of ovarian metastasis of cervical cancer by histologic cell type was 18.6% (8/43) for adenocarcinoma, 6.7% (1/15) for mixed type adenocarcinoma and squamous cell carcinoma, and 0% (0/398) for squamous cell carcinoma. The metastasis rate in patients with endometrial carcinoma was 10.8% (10/93) for adenocarcinoma, but there was no metastasis of 2 squamous cell carcinoma, 13 mixed type of adenocarcinoma and squamous cell carcinoma or 2 undifferentiated carcinoma. 2. The incidence of metastasis of cervical adenocarcinoma by stage was 5.3% (1/19) for stage Ib and 29.2% (7/24) for stage II. The metastasis rate of mixed type of adenocarcinoma and squamous cell carcinoma was 0% (0/6) for stage Ib and 11.1% (1/9) for stage II. The incidence of metastasis of endometrial carcinoma was 2.1% (1/47) for stage Ia, 15.0% (3/20) for stage Ib, 15.0% (6/40) for stage II and 0% (0/3) for stage III. 3. All the patients with ovarian metastases of uterine cervical cancer had invasion to a depth of more than 2/3 of the uterine cervix, while the incidence of ovarian metastasis of endometrial carcinoma was increased with deep invasion of the uterine muscular layer, and metastasis was present even in shallow invasion.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)

Adenocarcinoma↗

PubMed1992

In vivo administration of interleukin 6 delays hematopoietic regeneration in sublethally irradiated mice.

The in vivo effects of recombinant human interleukin 6 (IL-6) on the hematopoietic system of sublethally (4.8 Gy) x-irradiated mice were investigated. Animals were injected twice daily s.c. with IL-6 (10 micrograms/kg body weight/day) for 7 days following irradiation, and the numbers of hematopoietic stem, progenitor, and circulating blood cells were evaluated at 4, 7, 13, and 23 days. IL-6 caused significant depression of early hematopoiesis (decreased numbers of spleen colony-forming units [CFU-S] and granulocyte-macrophage colony-forming cells [GM-CFC]) in the spleens of irradiated mice. Marrow hematopoiesis was less affected by IL-6 injection, although the number of hematopoietic cells was also significantly lower than in irradiated mice injected with carrier alone. The observed decrease in the numbers of hematopoietic cells was not reflected by any significant change in the circulating blood cell numbers, which were similar to those in control irradiated animals. In contrast, IL-6 administered in 100 times higher doses (1000 micrograms/kg/day) caused significant increases in bone marrow and spleen cellularity and GM-CFC numbers, thus accelerating postirradiation hematopoietic regeneration. Our studies show that IL-6, administered in relatively low doses, suppresses postirradiation hematopoietic recovery, decreasing the numbers of stem and progenitor cells in sublethally irradiated mice.

Animals↗

PubMed1992

[A case of Wegener's granulomatosis with a giant solitary pulmonary mass].

A 44-year-old woman was admitted to hospital with a history of high fever, cough, and weight loss. Her chest X-ray film showed a giant solitary pulmonary mass in the left lower lobe. After admission, she developed bilateral eyeache and left exophthalmos. CT film of the head showed a massive lesion in the sinuses. Biopsy specimens obtained from both massive lesions showed either epithelioid granulomas with Langhans' giant cells or necrotising vasculitis. Antineutrophil cytoplasmic antibodies, which have high sensitivity and specificity for active WG, were found. The diagnosis of WG was thus made.

Adult↗

PubMed1991

Primary torsion of the greater omentum.

A case with primary torsion of the greater omentum is reported. This pathological condition is an uncommon cause of acute abdominal emergency and it is very difficult even for general surgeons to differentiate this from other acute abdomen. The etiology remains unknown and the treatment of choice is resection of the affected organ.

Acute Disease↗

PubMed1991

Alterations in protein synthesis in rat liver cells by in vitro and in vivo exposure to 2,3,7,8-tetrachlorodibenzo-p-dioxin.

Alterations in protein synthesis in rat liver cells were examined following in vitro and in vivo exposure to 2,3,7,8-tetrachlorodibenzo-p-dioxin (TCDD). Primary cultured rat liver parenchymal cells were exposed to 1 nM TCDD for 23 and 47 hr. Synthesis of two proteins with molecular weights (Mr) of 26,000 and 39,000 (designated 26k-P and 39k-P, respectively), other than cytochrome P450, was increased markedly in the cells. These proteins did not have the same antigens as cytochromes P450IA1 and P450IA2. Synthesis of three proteins with Mrs of 24,000, 25,000 and 29,000, respectively, was decreased by TCDD. TCDD was administered to rats at a dose of 100 micrograms/kg body weight. The amount of five proteins (two proteins with Mr of 26,000, one of 36,000 and two of 39,000) was increased in TCDD-treated rat liver. However, the proteins increased in vivo by TCDD were distinguishable from 26k-P and 39k-P by two dimensional gel electrophoresis.

Animals↗

PubMed1991

The primary structure and elastinolytic activity of medullasin (a serine protease of bone marrow).

The amino acid sequence around the carboxyl terminal of medullasin was determined by digesting the protease with carboxypeptidase Y and measuring the rate of release of amino acids from the carboxyl terminal. By considering the structure of the protease's cDNA, we concluded that His-238 is the C-terminal residue of medullasin. Therefore, medullasin is composed of 238 amino acid residues with Ile as the amino terminal and His as the carboxyl terminal. Medullasin is essentially devoid of elastinolytic activity, because it failed to digest orcein-elastin.

Amino Acid Sequence↗

PubMed1991

[MR cholangiography].

A time-reversed gradient echo pulse sequence (PSIF; Siemens), one of the MR imaging methods based on steady-state free precession of excited spins, makes the bile duct quite bright relative to the surrounding tissue. Using this sequence under breath hold combined with a two or three-dimensional data set and maximum intensity projection method provided fair delineation of the dilated bile duct and the site of its obstruction or stricture. Though the clinical experience is limited, this technique is considered to be of value in the non-invasive evaluation of bile duct system in the patient of obstructive jaundice.

Cholestasis↗

PubMed1991

[Nasobiliary drainage for spontaneous bile peritonitis due to cholangiocarcinoma].

We report a case of cholangiocarcinoma presented with bile peritonitis, in which endoscopic nasobiliary drainage (ENBD) as well as pleural and abdominal drainages improved the general condition leading to a radical operation. The case was a 79-year-old woman with the chief complaints of fever and right hypochondralgia due to pleural effusion and infected ascites contaminated with bile including E. coli. However gall-stones were not recognized in any biliary trees. US-guided drainage was performed into the pleural and abdominal cavities because of poor condition. After continuous drainages, peritonitis was improved, but hematoemesis and tarry stool appeared. Emergent endoscopy revealed a multiple gastric ulcer, and the bleeding was stopped by an injection of ethanol. ERCP findings revealed a cholangiocarcinoma in superior and middle portion of the bile duct obstructed nearly completely. After improvement in general condition by ENBD, cholecystectomy, resection of extrahepatic bile duct and subtotal gastrectomy were performed followed the reconstruction with Roux-en-Y method. Postoperative course was uneventful and the patient was discharged at the postoperative 35th day. Thus, the appropriate and opportune multiple biliary drainages can save a patient with cholangiocarcinoma in poor condition and lead to tolerate the operation even if he or she is suffering from severe bile peritonitis.

Adenoma, Bile Duct↗

PubMed1991

Use of adoptive transfer of tumor-infiltrating lymphocytes alone or in combination with cisplatin-containing chemotherapy in patients with epithelial ovarian cancer.

Lymphocytes isolated from fresh human epithelial ovarian tumors can be expanded in the presence of recombinant interleukin-2, and some CD8 antigen-positive lymphocytes can lyse autologous fresh tumor cells. We treated 7 patients with advanced or recurrent epithelial ovarian cancers, using the adoptive transfer of these tumor-infiltrating lymphocytes (TILs) following a single i.v. injection of cyclophosphamide. One case of disappearance (complete response) and 4 cases of greater than 50% decrease of tumor (partial response) were reported (14.3 and 57.1%, respectively). Regression of tumors in the ovary, liver, lung, and lymph node, both primaries and metastases, lasted for 3-5 months. Furthermore, 10 patients were treated alternately with a cisplatin-containing chemotherapeutic regimen and the adoptive transfer of TILs. Seven cases of complete regression and 2 cases of partial regression of cancer were reported. Four of the 7 patients with a complete response have had no recurrence for greater than 15 months of follow-up. It appears that this experimental technique of adoptive transfer of TILs achieves high response rates even without recombinant interleukin-2 administration and that the prospect of combined therapy using TILs and cisplatin offers hope for increasing the cure rate and long-term survival.

Adult↗

PubMed1991

Retinoic acid induces polarizing activity but is unlikely to be a morphogen in the chick limb bud.

Retinoic acid is a putative morphogen in limb formation in the chick and other vertebrates. In chick limb formation, it is thought that retinoic acid is released from the zone of polarizing activity (ZPA) and the concentration gradient of retinoic acid formed from the posterior to the anterior provides positional cues for digit formation. Implantation of a bead containing retinoic acid at the anterior margin of the limb bud induces a mirror-image symmetrical duplication of the digit pattern similar to that observed when the ZPA is grafted into the anterior margin of the host limb bud. Also, the level of endogenous retinoic acid (25 nM on average) is higher in the posterior one third of the limb bud. We found that when the bead containing either retinoic acid or an analogue but not the ZPA, was implanted in the anterior margin of the chick limb bud, expression of the retinoic acid receptor type-beta gene was induced around the bead within 4 h. These results indicate that exogenous retinoic acid is not identical with the ZPA morphogen. As the anterior tissue exposed to retinoic acid has polarizing activity, we conclude that the primary function of exogenous retinoic acid is to induce polarizing activity in the limb bud.

Amino Acid Sequence↗

PubMed1991

Clinical pharmacology and toxicity of low daily administration of oral etoposide in advanced lung cancer patients.

In this study, pharmacokinetics, clinical effects, and toxicity of daily oral etoposide were studied in 12 patients with advanced lung cancers. Administration schedule was 25 mg/body everyday of a 4-week cycle or 50 mg (25 mg twice)/body for 14 consecutive days of a 4-week cycle. The pharmacokinetic parameters of both groups in serum were as follows: 1) mean peak plasma concentration of 0.91 +/- 0.18 micrograms/mL (25 mg) and 1.24 +/- 0.12 micrograms/mL (25 mg twice); 2) elimination half-lives of 6.48 +/- 1.09 hours (25 mg) and 3.64 +/- 0.27 hours (25 mg twice); and 3) the area under the plasma concentration curve of 7.09 +/- 1.26 micrograms.hr/mL (25 mg) and 8.67 +/- 0.77 micrograms.hr/mL (25 mg twice). There was a significant difference between those two schedules in terms of the plasma concentration and the duration at a low concentration (greater than 1 micrograms/mL) of etoposide. Low daily administration of oral etoposide is shown to be well tolerated and easy on the patient. More studies are needed to study whether prolonged schedules of lower doses of etoposide could result in improved prognosis.

Adenocarcinoma↗

PubMed1991

A simple method for in situ freezing of anchorage-dependent cells including rat liver parenchymal cells.

We developed a simple method for freezing anchorage-dependent cells, including primary cultured rat liver parenchymal cells, without detaching the cells from the culture dish. The method consists of preculture of the cells to confluence, changing the growth medium to a conventional freezing medium, packaging in a container, and storage at -80 degrees C. After thawing and changing the freezing medium to regular growth medium, cell growth was nearly identical to that of cells freshly seeded into a new dish.

Animals↗

PubMed1991

Application of single-locus hypervariable region DNA probes to deficiency cases in paternity testing.

Seven DNA probes which recognize single-locus hypervariable region (HVR) were applied to a paternity test in which the putative father and his wife were deceased. Three legitimate children, an illegitimate child and her mother were available for analysis. The cumulative paternity index of the illegitimate child derived from 15 conventional blood group markers was 18.71 and from 7 DNA probes 92,572.08, that is, 4,948 times higher than the former. Thus the DNA analyses gave nearly conclusive evidence that the putative father was the biological father of the child. The application of highly discriminating polymorphisms of DNA which recognize single HVR loci is considered to be extremely informative in cases of disputed parentage.

Child↗

PubMed1991

Schistosoma mansoni: possible involvement of protein kinase C in linoleic acid-induced proteolytic enzyme release from cercariae.

The possible involvement of protein kinase C and Ca2+ metabolism in the proteolytic enzyme release from schistosome cercariae was studied. Cercariae were placed in dechlorinated tap water containing 0.37 mM calcium in the small glass petri dish and exposed to the stimuli (linoleic acid, phorbol esters, and Ca2+ ionophore) with or without inhibitors of protein kinase C or Ca2+ metabolism. The proteolytic activity of incubation medium of cercariae thus treated was measured by the azocoll assay. The penetration response of cercariae induced by linoleic acid, a physiological stimulus, was mimicked by phorbol esters. When exposed to phorbol esters, 0.02 to 2 microM of 12-O-tetradecanoylphorbol-13-acetate (TPA) and 0.2 to 2 microM of phorbol-12,13-dibutyrate (PDBu), cercariae ceased the swimming movement, began a rhythmic thrusting of the anterior tip of the parasite, and released the proteolytic enzyme, but they did not shed the tails. Lowering Ca2+ in water by addition of 5 mM ethylene glycol-bis(beta-aminoethyl ether) N,N,N',N'-tetraacetic acid (EGTA), phorbol ester-induced release of enzyme was completely inhibited. Phorbol ester-induced release of enzyme was partially inhibited by 1-(5-isoquinolinylsulfonyl)-2-methylpiperazine (H-7), an inhibitor of protein kinase C, at a concentration of 100 microM. H-7 alone, at a concentration of 100 microM, did not affect the swimming movement of cercariae. The cercariae were stimulated to release the enzyme by high concentrations (10 and 100 microM) of the Ca2+ ionophore, A23187, but enzyme was not released by low concentrations (0.5 and 1 microM) of this drug. Cercariae exposed to A23187 behaved differently from those exposed to phorbol esters. They ceased swimming, showed strong muscle contraction, and shed their tail. A23187 stimulated cercariae to release the enzyme in the water containing 5 mM EGTA. A23187-induced enzyme release was not inhibited by N-(6-aminohexyl)-5-chloro-1-naphthalenesulfonamide (W-7), a calmodulin antagonist, trifluoperazine (TFP), a better calmodulin antagonist on schistosome, or by verapamil, a Ca2+ channel blocker. Linoleic acid-induced release of enzyme was partially inhibited by 0.5 and 5 mM of EGTA and by 1 to 100 microM of H-7. While it was not inhibited by N-[2-(methylamino)ethyl]-5-isoquinolinesulfonamide (H-8) and N-(2-guanidinoethyl)-5-isoquinolinesulfonamide (HA-1004), inhibitors of cyclic nucleotide-dependent protein kinase which were used as negative controls of H-7, W-7, TFP, 8-(N,N-diethylamino)octyl 3,4,5-trimethoxybenzoate (TMB-8), an intracellular Ca2+ antagonist, and verapamil.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 400 WORDS)

Animals↗

PubMed1991

Amino acid sequence of a myotoxin from venom of the eastern diamondback rattlesnake (Crotalus adamanteus).

The complete amino acid sequence of a myotoxin isolated from Crotalus adamanteus venom (CAM-toxin) was determined. The total number of amino acid residues was 45, giving a mol. wt of 5202. The amino acid sequence was compared with those of previously determined Crotalus myotoxins. The CAM-toxin shows a surprisingly close relationship to those of peptide c (C. v. helleri), myotoxin a (C. v. viridis), crotamine (C. d. terrificus), myotoxin I and II (C. v. concolor) with homologies of approximately 98, 83, 90, 95 and 91%, respectively. The hydropathy profile of the CAM-toxin is almost identical to peptide c and myotoxin I, as can be assumed from the sequence homology. Despite the absence of any close sequence homology with the myotoxic phospholipase A2 enzymes, CAM-toxin contains a similar cationic myotoxic region at residues 2-10 as found in the other five myotoxic peptides.

Amino Acid Sequence↗