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Biomedical subjects

Y Fujii

Publications and source records attributed to Y Fujii.

At least 649 records · Page 36Linked to original sources
PubMed1994

Corpus callosum in developmentally retarded infants.

The development of the corpus callosum was examined by magnetic resonance imaging in developmentally retarded infants ranging in age from 1-13 months. Results were compared with those of normal infants. Eighteen magnetic resonance imaging studies were performed on 18 developmentally retarded infants. Fifty-four magnetic resonance imaging studies were performed on 38 normally developed infants. The thickness of the corpus callosum was measured at a point one-third of the length of the entire corpus callosum from the most anterior aspect of the genu. The development of the corpus callosum was related to aging in both groups. There was significant difference in the thickening of the corpus callosum between normal and developmentally retarded infants.

Birth Weight↗
PubMed1994

Thymectomy and malignancy.

Three hundred ninety patients who underwent thymectomy for myasthenia gravis (MG) were followed up to investigate the development of associated malignancies. There were 102 patients with thymoma and 288 without thymoma. Malignant neoplasms were detected in ten patients, four of whom already had the tumor at the time MG was diagnosed. Thus, malignancy developed after thymectomy in six patients. Malignant fibrous histiocytoma (MFH) developed in three patients, as well as gastric cancer, gastric leiomyosarcoma, rectal cancer, liver cancer, lung cancer, breast cancer, and thymic carcinoid in one patient each. Nine of the ten malignancies developed in the thymoma group, and only one in the non-thymoma group. The predicted number of patients with malignancy was 2.63 in the thymoma group and 2.65 in the non-thymoma group. Our findings suggest that the presence of thymoma facilitates the occurrence of extrathymic malignancy, and that thymectomy never enhances the occurrence of malignancy but possibly inhibits it.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1994

Radial bone mineral content of normal Japanese infants and prepubertal children: influence of age, sex and body size.

The present study was performed to measure appendicular bone mass of Japanese infants and children, and to assess the influence of age, sex and body size on bone mass during the period of bone growth. The bone mineral content (BMC) and bone width (BW) at the distal third of the radius were measured by single photon absorptiometry (SPA) in 229 healthy Japanese infants and children aged 0-12 years, and the BMC/BW ratio was calculated to give the bone mineral density (BMD). BMC and BW increased with age until 2 years, while BMD did not obviously change until 2 years. After 2 years of age, the overall effect of aging appeared more prominent in BMC and BMD than in BW. There were no significant differences in BMC, BW and BMD between males and females aged 0-12 years. Age, body height, and body weight were strongly correlated with three parameters of bone mass (BMC, BW, and BMD). Among the three parameters of bone mass, BMC showed the highest Pearson coefficient of correlation with age (r = 0.955), body height (r = 0.957) and body weight (r = 0.966), as compared with BW and BMD. The present cross-sectional study provides normative data of the appendicular bone mass in healthy Japanese children, which may serve as a standard for assessment of bone mineralization in Japanese infants and children with medical problems.

Absorptiometry, Photon↗
PubMed1994

Ultrasound transmission as a sensitive indicator of bone change in Japanese women in the perimenopausal period.

Apparent velocity of ultrasound (AVU) through the patella was measured in 160 Japanese women without specific diseases affecting the skeletal system. AVU averaged 1955 +/- 64 m/s (mean +/- S.D.) in healthy premenopausal women. Twenty patients with postmenopausal osteoporosis over the age of 50 years with at least one atraumatic vertebral fracture had significantly lower average AVU (1757 +/- 89.6 m/s) than that of the same age group without compression fracture (1838 +/- 78.0 m/s, P < 0.05). Perimenopausal women without vertebral fracture in their 50s were divided into two groups, premenopausal (n = 11) and postmenopausal (n = 28), and both AVU through the patella and spinal BMD (L-2-4) using DXA were measured. A significant difference was found in AVU between the two groups (premenopausal, 1953 +/- 58 m/s; postmenopausal, 1885 +/- 73 m/s, P < 0.01), in the absence of a difference either in the mean age (premenopausal, 52.7 +/- 2.0; menopausal, 54.2 +/- 2.4) or in the spinal BMD as assessed by DXA (premenopausal, 0.930 +/- 0.080 g/cm2; postmenopausal, 0.851 +/- 0.148 g/cm2). The apparent difference in AVU without corresponding difference in BMD suggests that perhaps AVU measures something about the bone that is not reflected in BMD in women in their 50s in the immediate postmenopausal period. When AVU of our test subjects was compared with that in Caucasians reported by Heaney RP et al. (Osteoporotic bone fragility: detection by ultrasound transmission velocity. J Am Med Assoc 1989;261:2986-2990) no difference was found in AVU between Japanese and Caucasians.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)

Absorptiometry, Photon↗
PubMed1994

In vivo administration of interleukin-6 in murine allogeneic bone marrow chimeras: early and delayed enhancement of hematopoiesis accompanied with split tolerance but not with graft-versus-host disease.

Interleukin-6 (IL-6) induced increased, leukocyte and platelet counts on around day 20 when it was administered into [BALB/c-->C3H/He] bone marrow chimeras from day 1 to day 12. Increased leukocyte counts and hemoglobin (Hb) levels were also observed at around day 60 and from day 41 to 80, respectively. On the other hand, hematopoietic recovery in [C3H/He-->C3H/He] bone marrow chimeras injected with IL-6 was different from that in [BALB/c-->C3H/He] bone marrow chimeras, showing no delayed and long-lasting increase in Hb levels but showing an early and transient increase in Hb levels and platelet counts. Sera from [BALB/c-->C3H/He] bone marrow chimeras injected with IL-6 showed predominant productions of IL-3 and/or IL-4. Reverse transcriptase polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) showed that stem cell factor (SCF) mRNA expression was increased in bone marrow or spleen cells from [BALB/c-->C3H/He] bone marrow chimeras injected with IL-6 on day 36. Furthermore, we analyzed influence of IL-6 on graft-versus-host disease (GVHD) in [BALB/c-->C3H/He] bone marrow chimeras injected with IL-6. Decreased survival days and body weights were not observed when compared with the control. Histopathological changes of the liver due to GVHD were also not obvious. However, alloreactive mixed lymphocyte reactions (MLRs) were readily detected although cytotoxic T cells were not generated. Since H-2 typing showed that donor-type chimerism was predominantly observed, it was suggested that split tolerance might be induced by IL-6 administration. Increased IL-2 levels were not detected in sera from [BALB/c-->C3H/He] bone marrow chimeras injected with IL-6 whereas IL-4 was detected in the same sera, indicating that type 2 helper T (TH2) cells appeared to be predominantly generated. These results suggest that IL-3/IL-4 and SCF appeared to synergistically support delayed effects on hematopoiesis in [BALB/c-->C3H/He] bone marrow chimeras injected with IL-6 although early effects appeared to be mediated mainly by IL-6 directly or indirectly. Furthermore, IL-6 could induce split tolerance in [BALB/c-->C3H/He] bone marrow chimeras via a preferable activation of TH2 type cells without inducing severe GVHD.

Animals↗
PubMed1994

Correlation of proteolytic cleavage of F protein precursors in paramyxoviruses with expression of the fur, PACE4 and PC6 genes in mammalian cells.

The fusion (F) protein precursor of virulent Newcastle disease virus (NDV) strains and human parainfluenza virus type 3 (HPIV3) has a multibasic amino acid sequence at the cleavage site, and intracellular cleavage activation occurs in a variety of cells. The host protease responsible for the cleavage has been proposed to be a subtilisin-like protease (subtilase) such as furin (the product of the fur gene). We found that the lymphocyte cell lines MOLT-4, Ramos and Daudi, in addition to NALM6, lacked the ability to fully cleave the F protein precursor of virulent NDV. In contrast, MT4 as well as the non-lymphocyte cell lines HeLa and Hep2 cleaved the F protein precursor efficiently. To investigate the role of subtilases in proteolytic processing, we examined the gene expression of candidate subtilases, furin, PACE4 and PC6 in these cleavage-competent and -incompetent cells. Considerable expression of the fur gene was observed in the cleavage-competent cells, but little or no expression was detected in the cleavage-incompetent cells. PACE4 and PC6 gene expression was observed in some of the cleavage-competent cells but not in the cleavage-incompetent cells. These results suggest that furin is the protease responsible for cleavage activation of the F protein of virulent NDV strains in cultured mammalian cells and the possibility is raised that PACE4 and PC6 also participate in processing in some of the cells. On the other hand, the HPIV3 F protein was cleaved efficiently in lymphocyte cells deficient in subtilases, suggesting that an unknown protease other than furin, PACE4 or PC6 may be involved in the processing.

Amino Acid Sequence↗
PubMed1994

Intraglomerular expression of transforming growth factor-beta 1 (TGF-beta 1) mRNA in patients with glomerulonephritis: quantitative analysis by competitive polymerase chain reaction.

TGF-beta 1 is involved in the pathogenesis of glomerular sclerosis. We studied the intraglomerular expression of TGF-beta 1 mRNA in patients with glomerulonephritis using competitive polymerase chain reaction (PCR). This method is sensitive enough to quantify cDNA copies of mRNA present in small amounts of samples. Renal biopsy specimens were obtained from 42 patients with various kinds of glomerulonephritis. Ten glomeruli were dissected from renal biopsy specimens. Normal glomeruli were also obtained from the resected kidneys of eight patients with renal cell cancer. Total RNA was extracted from the glomeruli and reverse transcribed into cDNA with reverse transcriptase. To prepare samples containing identical amounts of beta-actin cDNA (8 pg), we performed competitive PCR by co-amplifying mutant templates of beta-actin with a unique EcoRI site. Next, to measure TGF-beta 1 cDNA, we performed competitive PCR by co-amplifying mutant templates of TGF-beta 1. We observed a higher glomerular expression of TGF-beta 1 mRNA in cases of mesangial proliferative glomerulonephritis having a moderate increase in mesangial matrix, diabetic nephropathy and diffuse proliferative lupus nephritis, compared with normal glomeruli. Results suggest that the intraglomerular synthesis of TGF-beta 1 may be involved in the progression of glomerulonephritis in humans.

Actins↗
PubMed1994

Effect of alterations of basic amino acid residues of Escherichia coli heat-stable enterotoxin II on enterotoxicity.

Escherichia coli heat-stable enterotoxin II (STII) is composed of 48 amino acid residues. Among these, one histidine, two arginine, and six lysine residues are basic. Isoelectric focusing showed that the isoelectric point of STII is 9.7, indicating that the side chains of some of these basic amino acid residues project outside the molecule. To understand the role that these basic amino acid residues play in toxicity, STII was chemically modified with ethoxyformic anhydride, maleic anhydride, and phenylglyoxal, which alter the side chains of basic amino acid residues in proteins. Maleic anhydride, which modifies the epsilon amino group, caused a significant loss of enterotoxic activity, but the other two modifiers did not. This indicated that lysine residues play an important role in the expression of the enterotoxic activity of STII and that the contribution of the other basic amino acid residues to the toxicity is relatively low. To confirm this hypothesis, we substituted these nine basic amino acid residues by oligonucleotide-directed site-specific mutagenesis and examined the enterotoxicity of these purified mutant STIIs. The enterotoxic activity was reduced when the lysine residues at positions 18, 22, 23, and 46 were substituted. In particular, the substitution at positions 22 and 23 induced a remarkable reduction. These results demonstrate that the lysine residues at positions 22 and 23 are very important in the expression of the enterotoxic activity of STII.

Animals↗
PubMed1994

Maturation pathway of Escherichia coli heat-stable enterotoxin I: requirement of DsbA for disulfide bond formation.

The Escherichia coli heat-stable enterotoxin STp is synthesized as a precursor consisting of pre, pro and mature regions. Mature STp is released into the culture supernatant and is composed of 18-amino-acid resides which contain three intramolecular disulfide bonds. The involvement of DsbA in the formation of the disulfide bonds of STp was examined in this study. A dsbA mutant was transformed with a plasmid harboring the STp gene, and the ST activity was significantly lower than that of the parent strain harboring the same plasmid. Furthermore, purified DsbA induced the conversion of synthetic STp peptide (inactive form) to the active form and increased the ST activity of the culture supernatant derived from the dsbA transformants. These results showed that DsbA directly catalyzes the formation of the disulfide bonds of STp. DsbA is located in periplasmic space, where STp is released as an intermediate form consisting of pro and mature regions. To examine the effect of the pro region on the action of DsbA, we replaced the cysteine residue at position 39 and tested the effect in vivo. The substitution caused a significant decrease of ST activity in the culture supernatant, the accumulation of inactive ST in periplasmic space, and an alteration in the cleavage site of the intermediate of STp. We conclude that Cys-39 is important for recognition by the processing enzymes required for the maturation of STp.

Amino Acid Sequence↗
PubMed1994

Development of posture in prone and supine positions during the prenatal period in low risk preterm infants.

The development of posture in the prone and supine positions was studied longitudinally in 10 low risk preterm infants between 31 and 39 weeks' postmenstrual age whose subsequent neurological development at 18 months old was normal. The infants were observed from one week after birth until the expected date of delivery. All postures were analysed according to the procedures described by Prechtl et al. There were large intraindividual and interindividual differences in posture in terms of the duration and incidence of the two positions. There was no age specific preferred posture found in either position. The posture duration in the prone position was longer than that in the supine position, but overall flexed and abducted posture were observed more often in the former. Turning of the head to the right side was also observed more often in the prone than in the supine position.

Female↗
PubMed1994

Renal handling of albumin and beta-2-microglobulin in neonates.

Urinary albumin and beta 2-microglobulin (B2M) were measured during the neonatal period. Urinary albumin decreased postnatally in term neonates, while it remained almost constant in preterm neonates. Urinary B2M showed a peak level on day 7 both in term and preterm neonates. There was some trend towards higher levels of albumin and B2M with decreasing gestation, showing that glomerular permeability increases and proximal tubular protein reabsorption decreases with increasing degrees of prematurity. In sick preterms who were depressed at birth and had respiratory failure, both parameters were elevated during the first 2 weeks, indicating the presence of glomerular and tubular damage in this period. The changes in B2M with gestation or clinical condition were more pronounced than those in albumin.

Age Factors↗
PubMed1994

Middle cerebral arterial blood flow velocity increases during laparoscopic cholecystectomy.

The effects of intraperitoneal CO2 insufflation on middle cerebral arterial blood flow velocity were evaluated in 10 patients undergoing laparoscopic cholecystectomy under general anesthesia with nitrous oxide, oxygen, and isoflurane. Blood flow velocity was measured using transcranial Doppler ultrasonography. During CO2 insufflation, Paco2 and the end-tidal CO2 concentration (PETCO2) increased significantly compared with the preinsufflation baseline value (P < 0.01) while ventilation was kept constant. Cerebral blood flow velocity also increased significantly in comparison with the baseline value (P < 0.01). These values still exceeded baseline values 10 min after deflation of the peritoneal cavity. A significant positive correlation was observed between blood flow velocity and Paco2 (P < 0.001). Our results suggest that intraperitoneal CO2 insufflation during laparoscopic cholecystectomy increases cerebral blood flow and that this is probably due to an increased Paco2.

Adult↗
PubMed1994

Serial changes in hemostasis after intracranial surgery.

We performed hemostatic studies on eight patients undergoing clipping of unruptured cerebral aneurysms to assess the influence of intracranial surgery itself on hemostasis. Blood samples were collected from each patient 10 times: before and after the induction of anesthesia and 6, 12, and 24 hours and 2, 3, 5, and 7 days immediately after surgery. The changes and our interpretation of them include the following: 1) the elevation of thrombin antithrombin III complex levels (activation of blood coagulation) was transient and monophasic; 2) the elevation of plasmin alpha 2-antiplasmin complex and D-dimer levels (activation of fibrinolysis) was biphasic, despite the monophasic elevation of tissue plasminogen activator or plasminogen activator inhibitor-1 levels; 3) the elevation of beta-thromboglobulin and platelet-factor-4 levels (activation of platelet) was also biphasic; 4) fibrinogen level and alpha 2-antiplasmin activity increased in the acute phase of the postoperative course (acute phase reaction); 5) the changes in hematocrit appeared to parallel those in various other parameters, especially platelet count, antithrombin III, and plasminogen levels for 1 or 2 days after surgery; 6) fibronectin appeared to be consumed in the acute phase of postoperative course; and 7) general anesthesia did not significantly affect hemostasis. These serial changes seem to be related to the activation of hemostatic systems after intracranial surgery and the subsequent acute phase reaction.

Acute-Phase Reaction↗
PubMed1994

Liver dysfunction in spontaneous intracerebral hemorrhage.

The purpose of this study was to investigate the relationship between mild degrees of liver dysfunction and spontaneous intracerebral hemorrhage (ICH) from the hemostatic standpoint. A detailed study of hemostatic systems was made in 462 patients with ICH. To compare ICH with the other cerebrovascular diseases, data from 120 patients with subarachnoid hemorrhage and 114 others with cerebral infarction were reviewed. At admission, the medical histories of the patients, including information about previous alcohol consumption, was taken, and blood samples were collected to perform the following studies: platelet count, fibrinogen level, prothrombin time, activated partial thromboplastin time, antithrombin III, plasminogen and alpha 2-antiplasmin activity, platelet aggregability, and liver function tests. The incidence of liver dysfunction and alcohol consumption in patients with ICH was significantly (P < 0.05) higher than in patients with subarachnoid hemorrhage and in those with cerebral infarction. Hematoma volume, mortality rate, and past alcohol consumption in patients with ICH significantly increased with worsening severity of liver dysfunction. Although almost all hemostatic parameters became worse with increasing severity of liver dysfunction, they changed within the normal limits. Platelet aggregability and alpha 2-antiplasmin activity in patients with liver dysfunction were remarkably deteriorated beyond normal limits. In conclusion, liver dysfunction associated with alcohol consumption appears to be an important factor in the deterioration of the clinical status of patients with ICH and may be one of the causative factors in the development of ICH. Although mildly impaired hemostatic systems may be partially responsible for these adverse effects of liver dysfunction on ICH, it seems probable that nonhemostatic mechanisms are attributed to the effects.

Adult↗
PubMed1994

Preparation and antigenic properties of digitoxin-bovine serum albumin conjugates linked at the digitoxose C-3' and C-3" positions.

In order to obtain specific antisera to digitoxin, four new types of hapten-bovine serum albumin (BSA) conjugates were synthesized from digitoxin. The haptens were linked to the carrier protein through hemisuccinate and hemisuccinylglycine bridges at the C-3' and C-3" positions in the digitoxose chain. The antisera were prepared by immunizing rabbits with each digitoxin-BSA conjugate and the properties of the antisera were investigated by RIA with 3H-labeled digitoxin. Among these antisera, the antiserum raised against digitoxin 3'-hemisuccinate-BSA conjugate possessed high specificity for digitoxin, exhibiting only minor cross-reactions with digitoxigenin bisdigitoxoside (4.0%), dihydrodigitoxin (2.8%), digoxin (2.4%), digitoxigenin monodigitoxoside (0.23%) and digitoxigenin (< 0.05%).

Animals↗
PubMed1994

Generalized Mantel-Haenszel procedures for 2 x J tables.

Generalization of Mantel-Haenszel procedure for 2 x J (J > 2) tables is reviewed. Included are generalized Mantel-Haenszel tests, estimators for a common odds ratio, and generalized Breslow-Day test for the homogeneity of odds ratios across the strata.-Environ Health Perspect 102(Suppl 8): 57-60 (1994)

Adult↗
PubMed1994

Henoch-Schönlein purpura nephritis associated with polycythemia vera.

We present a 53-year-old man with rapidly progressive glomerulonephritis and Henoch-Schönlein purpura which developed during the course of treatment for polycythemia vera. An initial renal biopsy specimen showed mesangial proliferative glomerulonephritis. The patient was admitted to the hospital with cutaneous purpura and progressive renal failure after having received 700 mg of ranimustine over a 29 month period as therapy for the polycythemia vera. A second renal biopsy specimen revealed crescentic glomerulonephritis with deposition of immunofluorescent IgA. These data suggest that Henoch-Schönlein purpura nephritis may occur in response to ranimustine therapy.

Glomerulonephritis, Membranoproliferative↗