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Biomedical subjects

Y Fukui

Publications and source records attributed to Y Fukui.

At least 289 records · Page 16Linked to original sources

Sudden and unexpected death due to undiagnosed pulmonary thromboembolism in an adolescent male without previous history of trauma.

We report a case of sudden death in a 19-year-old adolescent male who had been receiving hospital treatment because of a persistent right calf pain which had started about 18 days previously. The pain had not been relieved by analgesics, and had extended to the right thigh. The post-mortem examination revealed that the cause of death was pulmonary embolism by thrombi which had arisen in the right calf veins. The bilateral pulmonary arteries were packed with thrombi, and many pulmonary branches were occluded with fresh thrombi. The right calf veins contained thrombi of differing ages. In old thrombi, massive collagen formation and hemosiderin granules were present but elastic fibers had not yet formed. Therefore, it was considered that the old thrombi had formed at the time of the patient's first visit to the hospital. The right calf pain for which the deceased had sought medical advice was considered to have been caused by the vein thrombosis. Although various risk factors for the formation of thrombi are known, in the present case no precedent causes other than obesity were identified.

Adult↗

Role of alcohol dehydrogenase in rat ethanol elimination kinetics.

Ethanol elimination in rats following bolus intravenous administration (0.5, 1, 2, 3 g/kg body weight) was investigated with and without pyrazole pretreatment. Elimination time was significantly longer in the pyrazole-pretreated group than in the control. Simultaneous multilines fitting of two-compartment models to the ethanol concentration-time courses proved that the two-compartment model with Michaelis-Menten elimination kinetics was optimum to the curves in both groups. the V(max) value (0.41 +/- 0.05 mg/ml/hr) in the pyrazole-pretreated group was significantly lower than that (0.70 +/- 0.03 mg/ml/hr) in the control. The K(m) value (1.44 +/- 0.12 mg/ml) in the pyrazole-pretreated group was significantly higher than the control (0.07 +/- 0.01 mg/ml), similar to the in vitro value in hepatic alcohol dehydrogenase (ADH). This higher K(m) value in the pyrazole-treated group than the in vitro value in the microsomal ethanol oxidizing system (MEOS) suggests that pyrazole-insensitive pathways may involve pathways other than MEOS. The first-order elimination rate from the two-compartment model with parallel first-order and Michaelis-Menten kinetics was a very low value of 10(-5)min(-1) ,which shows that a pathway with a higher K(m) than blood ethanol concentration does not contribute to in vivo ethanol elimination. The relative contribution of the pyrazole-sensitive pathway calculated from the ratio of total clearance in two groups was 83% at a low ethanol concentration of 0.5 mg/ml and 60% at a high concentration of 5.0 mg/ml. The K(m) value (0.02 mg/ml) from fitting the double Michaelis-Menten model is similar to that in vitro in ADH3. These findings suggest that the ADH3 pathway plays a major role in ethanol elimination.

Alcohol Dehydrogenase↗

Estimation of ethanol first-pass effect in the perfused rat liver.

Ethanol elimination was studied in the perfused rat liver. Perfusion was carried out in a single-pass fashion with hemoglobin-free Krebs-Ringer bicarbonate solution. A bolus ethanol dose (1.5, 3, 6, 12 mg/ml, 0.1 ml) was administered through portal vein from a sample loop exchanging a sample injector. Ethanol concentration-time curves of outflow were analyzed by statistical moment analysis. There was no significant difference in the normalized area under the curves [AUC/dose (D)] among doses. Mean transit time (MTT), however, was significantly changed. There was no correlation between AUD/D/g liver weight, or MTT, and D/g liver weight. This suggests that hepatic ethanol elimination exhibited a linear kinetics in the range of doses from 0.15 to 1.2 mg. The recovery ratio at all doses except 0.15 mg was similar to a value of 50%. The first-pass effect in the perfused liver calculated from the recovery ratio was estimated to be a mean value of 51.7% at doses of concentrations from 3 to 12 mg/ml. Our findings suggest that the hepatic saturation of ethanol can be reached by the continuous influx of low concentration of ethanol, rather than instantaneous influx with high ethanol levels.

Animals↗

Inhibition of histamine secretion by wortmannin through the blockade of phosphatidylinositol 3-kinase in RBL-2H3 cells.

The surface engagement of high affinity immunoglobulin E receptor (Fc epsilon RI) of rat basophilic leukemia 2H3 (RBL-2H3) cells induced histamine secretion and leukotriene release following activation of the tyrosine kinase Lyn together with phosphatidylinositol 3-kinase (PI3-kinase). Wortmannin inhibited the activity of partially purified PI3-kinase from calf thymus, as well as the PI3-kinase activity in anti-PI3-kinase p85 immunoprecipitates from RBL-2H3 cells, at a concentration as low as 1.0 nM and with IC50 values of 3.0 nM, but did not inhibit PI4-kinase activity. The inhibition of PI3-kinase by wortmannin was irreversible. Wortmannin inhibited both Fc epsilon RI-mediated histamine secretion and leukotriene release up to 80% with IC50 values of 2.0 and 3.0 nM, respectively. Wortmannin inhibited PI3-kinase activity in intact cells up to 80% with an IC50 value of 2.0 nM, which is almost equal to those for PI3-kinase in vitro and for histamine secretion and leukotriene release. With anti-wortmannin antibody, we have shown that wortmannin binds to the 110-kDa protein, but not to PI3-kinase 85-kDa regulatory subunit both in vitro and in whole cells. Furthermore, there was a positive correlation between the potencies of wortmannin derivatives as inhibitors of PI3-kinase and as inhibitors of histamine secretion. Wortmannin had no effect on the activation of the tyrosine kinase Lyn. These results suggest that PI3-kinase is involved in the signal transduction pathway responsible for histamine secretion following stimulation of Fc epsilon RI and that wortmannin blocks these responses through direct interaction with the catalytic subunit of this enzyme.

Androstadienes↗

Reciprocal synaptic relations between CRF-immunoreactive- and TRH-immunoreactive neurons in the paraventricular nucleus of the rat hypothalamus.

By double immunoelectron microscopy, we studied synaptic relations between corticotropin-releasing factor (CRF)-immunoreactive (ir) and thyrotropin-releasing hormone (TRH)-ir neurons in the paraventricular nucleus (PVN) of the rat hypothalamus. CRF-ir and TRH-ir neurons made reciprocal synaptic connections in the medial and periventricular parvocellular regions. These results may suggest that both the parvocellular neurons interplay on their hypophysiotropic functions within the PVN.

Animals↗

Sequence, expression pattern, intracellular localization, and targeted disruption of the Dictyostelium myosin ID heavy chain isoform.

The complete sequence of the Dictyostelium myosin ID (DMID) heavy chain isoform has been determined from cDNA and genomic clones. Like the DMIB isoform characterized previously, the DMID isoform is up-regulated during starvation-induced chemotactic aggregation, and its 124-kDa heavy chain contains the tail domain sequences that correspond to both the membrane and second actin-binding sites. An antibody that is specific for the DMID isoform was found to stain the actin-rich pseudopods at the leading edge of migrating cells. Protein microsequencing data reveals that the myosin I isoform localized to leading edge pseudopods in a previous study (Fukui, Y., Lynch, T. J., Brzeska, H., and Korn, E. D. (1989) Nature 341, 328-331) was DMIB, indicating that DMID and DMIB also colocalize and that both should influence the dynamics of actin-rich cortical structures. This and other data indicate that the DMID and DMIB isoforms are closely related and are distinct from the DMIA and DMIE isoforms, which possess truncated tail domains and are not up-regulated during chemotactic aggregation. Cells in which the DMID gene was rendered nonfunctional by targeted gene disruption do not show obvious behavioral defects, suggesting that another myosin I isoform(s) (possibly DMIB) might compensate for DMID. Finally, Southern blot data indicate that Dictyostelium may contain as many as nine myosin I isoforms.

Amino Acid Sequence↗

Somatostatin-like immunoreactive axon terminals on oxytocin-like immunoreactive neurons in the paraventricular nucleus of the rat hypothalamus.

By double label immunohistochemistry, we studied the synaptic relation between somatostatin (SS) and oxytocin (OT) or vasopressin (VP) neurons in the paraventricular nucleus (PVN) of the rat hypothalamus. In the light microscopic observation, SS-immunoreactive (ir) fibers were seen very frequently in contact with OT-ir neurons, but not with VP-ir neurons. Immunoelectron microscopic analysis revealed that somata and their dendrites of OT-ir magnocellular neurons were in synaptic contacts with SS-ir axon terminals. No SS-ir synaptic terminals were found on VP-ir magnocellular neurons. The results suggest that OT-containing magnocellular neurons in the PVN are under regulatory influences of SS-containing neurons.

Afferent Pathways↗

The alpha-type 85-kDa subunit of phosphatidylinositol 3-kinase is phosphorylated at tyrosines 368, 580, and 607 by the insulin receptor.

We have shown previously that insulin stimulated the tyrosine phosphorylation of the alpha-type 85-kDa subunit (p85) of phosphatidylinositol (PI) 3-kinase in vitro and in vivo. In the present work, we identified the major tyrosine phosphorylation sites of the alpha-type p85 by the insulin receptor. [32P]Phosphopeptides obtained from lysylendopeptidase digestion of phosphorylated alpha-type p85 in intact cells after insulin treatment were analyzed using reverse-phase high performance liquid chromatography and thin layer electrophoresis. The tyrosine phosphorylation sites of alpha-type p85 in vivo were assigned to three major phosphopeptides, designated p1, p2, and p3. Highly purified insulin receptor also phosphorylated the purified p85 of PI 3-kinase from the bovine thymus at p1. The purified glutathione S-transferase (GST)-p85 (alpha-type) fusion protein and its truncated proteins from Escherichia coli were also phosphorylated by the purified insulin receptor at p1, p2, and p3 in vitro. Analysis of [32P]phosphopeptide of the truncated GST-p85 (alpha-type) fusion proteins and radiosequence analysis revealed that the p1, p2, and p3 phosphopeptides were phosphorylated at tyrosines 607, 580, and 368, respectively. In addition, phenylalanine substitutions at tyrosine 607 and 580 reduced the p1 and p2 phosphopeptides in vivo, respectively. We conclude that the alpha-type p85 of PI 3-kinase was phosphorylated at tyrosines 368, 580, and 607 by the insulin receptor in vivo.

Amino Acid Sequence↗

Different properties of monomer and heterodimer forms of phosphatidylinositol 3-kinases.

Phosphatidylinositol (PI) 3-kinase plays an important role in the signalling of cell growth. We previously purified two types of PI 3-kinase from bovine thymus, a monomer from (PI 3-kinase I) and a heterodimer form (PI 3-kinase II) [Shibasaki, Homma and Takenawa (1991) J. Biol. Chem. 266, 8108-8114]. Here we examine the properties of these purified PI 3-kinases. Both PI 3-kinases were inhibited strongly by quercetin and isoquercetin. The inhibition of PI 3-kinase I and PI 3-kinase II by quercetin appears to be non-competitive, with apparent Ki values of 4 microM and 2.5 microM respectively. PI 3-kinase II, but not PI 3-kinase I, co-immunoprecipitates with pp60v-src and polyoma middle T (mT)/pp60c-src, even under conditions where the PI 3-kinases are not phosphorylated, suggesting that non-phosphorylated PI 3-kinase recognizes autophosphorylated pp60v-src. PI 3-kinase II is phosphorylated by pp60v-src and binds to it. Anti-p85 (85 kDa subunit of PI 3-kinase II) antibody precipitates not only PI 3-kinase II but also co-immunoprecipitates pp60v-src in src-transformed cells, suggesting that PI 3-kinase II binds to pp60v-src in vivo. These data suggest that the two PI 3-kinases may be regulated independently.

Animals↗

Restricted expression of transgenic HLA-DRA gene in thymic epithelial cells and its role in acquisition of T cell tolerance to self-superantigens and processed DR alpha-derived peptide.

We have established a set of transgenic mouse lines in which the HLA-DRA gene was expressed in different cell types. In one line (DR alpha-24), DR alpha E beta b molecules were expressed on thymic medullary and cortical epithelial cells and all lineages of bone marrow-derived antigen-presenting cells (APC) except for thymic macrophages. By contrast, expression of the molecules in another line (DR alpha-30) was found on thymic medullary and cortical epithelial cells but not on bone marrow-derived APC in the thymus and periphery. To evaluate the role of thymic epithelial cells in acquisition of T cell tolerance, comparative analysis of DR alpha-24 and DR alpha-30 was performed. In DR alpha-30, T cells expressing TcR V beta 5 and V beta 11 were eliminated to comparable levels to those in DR alpha-24, suggesting that expression of the DR alpha E beta b molecules on thymic epithelial cells are sufficient for clonal deletion of the self-superantigen-reactive T cells. In addition, CD4+ T cells from DR alpha-30 as well as those from DR alpha-24 were tolerant to DR alpha-derived peptide/I-Ab complex expressed on spleen cells from DR alpha-24 even in the presence of exogenous interleukin-2. These observations suggest that expression of the DR alpha chain in thymic epithelial cells could induce T cell tolerance directed toward naturally processed DR alpha-derived peptide bound to I-Ab molecules, probably via clonal deletion of the self-reactive T cells.

Animals↗

Activation of a histone H1 kinase by tyrosine phosphorylation in v-src-transformed fibroblasts.

Using anti-phosphotyrosine immunoaffinity chromatography, we have searched for serine/threonine kinases that are directly regulated by tyrosine phosphorylation in v-src-transformed rat 3Y1 fibroblasts. Tyrosine phosphoprotein preparations from v-src-transformed cells contain a kinase activity that phosphorylates histone H1 in vitro on serine residues and this activity is present at a 20-fold greater level than that in parental cell preparations. This activity elutes from a MonoQ FPLC column as a single peak and gel filtration chromatography suggests that the kinase has a molecular mass of approximately 55 kDa. Tyrosine phosphatase treatment inactivates the histone H1 kinase and this result indicates that the specific activity of the kinase is regulated by tyrosine phosphorylation. Experiments with cells transformed with a temperature-sensitive mutant of the v-src oncogene demonstrate that the tyrosine phosphorylation of the histone H1 kinase is an early event in v-src transformation. The kinase is distinct from known cdc2 family members that contain the PSTAIR motif, because the kinase can be separated almost completely from these proteins by immunoprecipitation with an antibody against p34cdc2. The profile of antibody reactivity and sensitivity to modulators of protein kinases suggests that this activity is distinct from known second messenger-regulated kinases and from previously characterized MAP kinases.

Amino Acid Sequence↗

T-cell repertoire in a strain of transgenic C57BL/6 mice with the HLA-DRA gene on the X-chromosome.

We have established a strain of transgenic mice in which the HLA-DRA gene was integrated into the X-chromosome and the xenogeneic mixed isotype molecule, DR alpha E beta b, was expressed in a cell type-specific manner, although the transgenic DRA gene contained only 268 base pairs of the 5'-flanking region. The DR alpha E beta b molecules expressed in the transgenic mice functioned as major histocompatibility complex (MHC) class II to select T-cell repertoire, and to stimulate mixed lymphocyte reaction. In female transgenic mice homozygous for HLA-DRA (DR alpha-B6-F-homo) and male transgenic mice (DR alpha-B6-M), DR alpha E beta b molecules were expressed in almost all of the MHC class II Ab-positive cells. In contrast, the expression of DR alpha E beta b molecules in female transgenic mice hemizygous for HLA-DRA (DR alpha-B6-F-hemi) was found only in part of the Ab positive cells, and the proportion of cells expressing the DR alpha E beta b molecules varied due to random inactivation of one of the X-chromosomes. Clonal deletions of the T cells and mature thymocytes bearing Tcrb-V5 and Tcrb-V11, which are eliminated from the peripheral repertoire in mice expressing self-superantigen and MHC class II E molecules, were incomplete in DR alpha-B6-F-hemi as compared with those in DR alpha-B6-F-homo, and were correlated with the proportion of DR alpha E beta b-positive spleen cells. These observations suggested that the number of bone marrow-derived cells expressing DR alpha E beta b molecules was critical for clonal deletions of Tcrb-V5+ and Tcrb-V11+ T cells in the thymus.

Animals↗

Vitamin A status in biliary atresia: intestinal absorption and liver storage of retinol.

The vitamin A status of 19 patients with corrected biliary atresia was examined. They had been receiving 5,000 IU of oral vitamin A daily postoperatively. Plasma vitamin A levels in the nonjaundiced group were almost within normal range, whereas those in the jaundiced group were significantly low compared with the controls. In the oral vitamin A tolerance test, plasma vitamin A levels increased from 33.1 +/- 11.8 to 215.4 +/- 100.7 micrograms/dL in the nonjaundiced group, and from 23.1 +/- 10.3 to 209.8 +/- 154.2 micrograms/dL in the slightly jaundiced group, at 4 hours after the administration of vitamin A, showing no difference between both group and control. In the severely jaundiced group, plasma vitamin A levels increased from 13.5 +/- 3.5 to 30.0 +/- 14.6 micrograms/dL, a significantly smaller increase compared with controls. However, liver vitamin A levels were greater than 20 micrograms/g liver in all patients, irrespective of the presence of jaundice. This study suggested that nutritional support to facilitate the synthesis of retinol-binding protein may be an important factor in addition to vitamin A supplementation.

Administration, Oral↗

Effect of glucose levels during the in vitro culture in synthetic oviduct fluid medium on in vitro development of bovine oocytes matured and fertilized in vitro.

The present study was conducted to determine the optimal glucose levels during the in vitro culture of bovine oocytes matured and fertilized in vitro for blastocyst development. Oocytes matured in TCM-199 + 10% FCS + hormones and granulosa cells were fertilized in vitro in a TALP medium with frozen-thawed, swim-up separated, and heparin-treated spermatozoa. After insemination, 1199 oocytes were cultured for 3 days in synthetic oviduct fluid medium (SOFM) supplemented with 10% human serum (HS) and with 10 different glucose levels (0 to 5 mM), and further cultured for 5 days in SOFM + 10% HS containing 1.5 mM glucose (Experiment 1). In Experiment 2, 739 oocytes were cultured for 3 days following insemination in either SOFM + human serum albumin or SOFM + 10% HS containing 0.188 mM glucose. From Days 4 to 8, the oocytes were cultured in SOFM containing 4 different glucose levels. A high level of glucose (3.0 and 5.0 mM) at Days 0 to 3 significantly reduced the rate of blastocyst development (3.0 to 4.2%), and a yet higher (5.0 mM) glucose level at Days 4 to 8 also significantly lowered the rate of blastocyst development as compared with 1.5 mM glucose (19.5% vs 29.3%). The present results indicate that a lower level (0.188 mM: 28.8% in blastocyst development) of glucose is preferable in SOFM for the in vitro development to blastocysts at Days 0 to 3 after insemination. At Days 4 to 8, the original level (1.5 mM) of glucose contained in SOFM appears to be the most effective treatment.

Journal Article↗

Midbrain tegmentum as an intermediate relay station of the periaqueductal-facial pathway in the cat.

Iontophoretic injection of horseradish peroxidase (HRP) into the medial part of the facial nucleus resulted in retrograde labeling in the lateral midbrain tegmentum contralaterally which corresponded to the paralemniscal zone (PL). Further experiments in which HRP was injected iontophoretically into the PL revealed heavy retrograde labeling in the lateral portion of the ipsilateral periaqueductal gray (PAG). These light microscopic studies indicated the possibility of the pathway from the PAG to the facial nucleus via the midbrain PL. The electron microscopic observations were carried out on the lateral midbrain tegmentum containing the PL after kainic acid, and wheat germ agglutinin conjugated HRP injections were made into the PAG and the contralateral facial nucleus in the same animal, respectively. Although in the neuropil many degenerating PAG fibers and retrogradely labeled neurons were observed, it was of particular interest that the degenerating fibers made synaptic contacts with HRP-labeled somata and dendrites.

Animals↗

A simple method for diatom detection in drowning.

A new and simple method for diatom detection is presented. Organ tissue was digested by a solubilizer instead of a conventional acid which may be hazardous and pollutive. The digestion was accelerated by ultrasonic irradiation and heating.

Adult↗