Enhancement of the thermostability of the alkaline protease from Aspergillus oryzae by introduction of a disulfide bond.
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Amino Acid Sequence↗
Biomedical subjects
Y Ishida
Publications and source records attributed to Y Ishida.
A case report of familial cyclic neutropenia.
A 34-year-old female with cyclic neutropenia is reported. Family studies showed that her three sons and her mother were also involved. Oscillations in the blood neutrophil counts were almost regular, with a periodicity of 21 days. Numbers of colony-forming unit--granulocyte macrophage (CFU-GM) formed from the bone marrow cells of normal volunteers co-cultured with the patient's serum or mononuclear cell-conditioned medium (MNC-CM) were examined. Her serum prepared during the neutropenic phase inhibited the growth of CFU-GM, while her MNC-CM stimulated it. Human granulocyte colony-stimulating factor (hG-CSF) level in her serum was persistently high, with the peak occurring during the neutropenic phase. These results suggest that some inhibitory factors in the serum may be pathophysiologically important for cyclic neutropenia. To control infections, a pharmacological dose of hG-CSF was administered for 7 days around the early neutropenic phase. Her peripheral neutrophil counts oscillated from 1,200/mm3 to 17,000/mm3 with G-CSF, and from 150/mm3 to 1,800/mm3 without G-CSF.
Adult↗
[A comparison of fat and muscle thickness in Japanese and American women].
The purpose of this study was to investigate the ethnic differences in the body composition, thickness of subcutaneous fat and muscle between Japanese and American white females. Thirty-six Japanese (aged 20-30 years) and 42 American white females (aged 20-29 years) served as subjects. Percentage of fat weight (%fat) and fat free weight (FFW) were assessed by hydrostatic weighing. Subcutaneous fat and muscle thickness were measured by using B-scan ultrasound equipment with a 5MHz transducer at eight sites: forearm, biceps, triceps, subscapular, abdomen, quadriceps, hamstrings and posterior calf. There were no significant differences in %fat between Japanese and American subjects. However, American subjects had significantly higher values in FFW compared to Japanese. The Americans showed higher muscle thickness than Japanese at every site and higher fat thickness of biceps, triceps and hamstrings compared to Japanese subjects. For fat thickness at the abdomen, however, Japanese indicated significantly higher values than American. In both Japanese and Americans, relative values of fat weight (FW) and FFW per unit of height were significantly related to each of the sum of fat and muscle thicknesses obtained from every measurement site respectively. There were no differences in fat thickness at a given FW/height between Japanese and Americans.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)
Adipose Tissue↗
Perfusion pressure breakthrough threshold of cerebral autoregulation in the chronically ischemic brain: an experimental study in cats.
A study was designed to investigate hyperperfusion syndrome after the restoration of normal cerebral blood flow in a chronically cerebral ischemic state resulting from high-flow arteriovenous malformations or severe carotid stenosis. A fistula between the left distal common carotid artery and the jugular vein was created and the left vertebral artery was simultaneously occluded in 44 cats to produce a chronic cerebral ischemic state. For control experiments, 10 cats underwent occlusion of the left common carotid and vertebral arteries. Six weeks later, pial arterial behavior, disruption of the blood-brain barrier (BBB), and cerebral histological changes were investigated using three experimental methods. In the first, in which a fistula was occluded under normal conditions, pial arteries contracted to some 80% of the resting state; however, no BBB disruption or histological changes were observed. In the second experiment, in which a 20-minute occlusion of the left middle cerebral artery was performed in the cats with a patent fistula, a 30% to 40% dilated state of the pial arteries continued after recirculation, and BBB disruption-induced cerebral edema and infarction were observed. These findings were more prominent in the cats that underwent occlusion of the fistula. On the other hand, in the control group, the pial arteries returned to resting size within 40 minutes, and no BBB disruption or histological changes were observed. In the third experiment, in which moderate hypertension was induced for 1 hour, the pial arteries dilated much more remarkably; BBB disruption and cerebral edema were revealed to be more extensive in the cases of fistula occlusion than within those with a patent fistula. In the control group, however, the pial arteries contracted 10% during hypertension, while BBB disruption and histological changes were not evident. The results indicate that the perfusion pressure breakthrough threshold in the chronically ischemic brain may not be reduced by the restoration of normal blood flow, but may be decreased by the addition of new ischemic insults or hypertension.
Animals↗
[Clinical effects of six-month short time biofiltration].
The clinical effects of six-month short time biofiltration (SBF) were evaluated using a B-A-B' study (B, B': conventional bicarbonate hemodialysis; CBHD, A:SBF) in ten patients maintained on CBHD three times a week. An F80 hemodiafilter (1.9 m2, polysulfone, Fresenius) was used. In addition to routine clinical parameters for a patient on regular dialysis treatment, plasma von Willebrand factor antigen (vWF) (an index of stimulation of vascular endothelium), and the methylguanidine/creatinine ratio (MG/Cr) and malondialdehide (MDA) (indices of the levels of oxygen radicals), were evaluated. Nine patients completed the study, one patient dropping out at the 12th week of A because of muscle cramps during SBF. The treatment time was 2 hours in six cases and 2.5 hours in three cases. The mean blood flow rate was 280 +/- 42 (SD) minutes. Using the urea kinetics model, the mean KT/V was 1.26 +/- 0.28, and the mean protein catabolic rate was 1.22 +/- 0.18 g/kg body weight/day at the end of A. No change in ultrafiltration, blood pressure, cardiac function (assessed by echocardiography), CTR, human atrial natriuretic peptide, total protein, albumin, uric acid, serum creatinine, sodium, calcium, inorganic phosphorus, vWF, or MDA was found between each period. Blood urea nitrogen, c-PTH, and MG/Cr increased during the A period. Serum magnesium and beta-2 microglobulin decreased during the A period. Blood gas results, on the whole, did not change. In a patients, however, acidosis gradually developed. An increase in substitution fluid from 5 L/session to 7.5 L/session improved the acid-base balance in that patient. In conclusion, SBF is as effective as CBHD in removing small molecules and maintaining cardiocirculatory status, and is superior to CBHD in removing beta 2-microglobulin and is less stimulative to the endothelium than CBHD.
Adult↗
[Clinical usefulness of exercise/rest 99mTc-teboroxime SPECT imaging: results of a Japanese multi-center phase II study].
99mTc-Teboroxime [Chloro[tris(cyclohexyldioxime)methaneboronic acid] (99mTc)technetium], a perfusion agent for myocardial imaging, has a distinct advantage over 201Tl because of its very high myocardial extraction and is a 99mTc compound ideal for gamma camera imaging. This agent also demonstrates rapid myocardial washout, which allows completion of exercise and rest imaging studies in a short interval (to 1 hour). However, the rapid washout necessitates the completion of image acquisition very quickly after injection and therefore may require nonconventional SPECT imaging. In this Phase II study we evaluate the safety and efficacy of 99mTc-Teboroxime to detect coronary artery disease by exercise and rest SPECT imaging in 38 patients with prior myocardial infarction, 31 patients with angina pectoris, and 4 patients with non-coronary cardiac diseases. The 99mTc-Teboroxime dose used was 370-740 MBq in each study. The findings were compared with coronary angiography or 201Tl exercise and redistribution SPECT. No significant adverse reactions or laboratory abnormalities attributable to 99mTc-Teboroxime were observed. The quality of SPECT images was optimal in 62.5% of all patients. The relatively large population of suboptimal cases (37.5%) was attributed to the delay of the start and prolongation of the image acquisition time. In 85.7% of patients whose imaging was started within 5 minutes and completed within 11 minutes after injection, optimal quality was observed. Thus, 99mTc-Teboroxime SPECT requires the rapid completion of image acquisition after injection to achieve optimal image quality. Abnormalities of 99mTc-Teboroxime distribution were detected in 97.1% and 62.1% of patients with prior myocardial infarction or angina pectoris, respectively. The concordance with coronary angiography was 84.4% and 68.0%, and with 201Tl was 78.1% and 74.1%, respectively. Although standardization of the image protocol suitable for this agent is needed for the next study, these high correlations suggest the potential usefulness of 99mTc-Teboroxime SPECT imaging.
Adult↗
[Purine catabolites and pial arteriolar diameter in transient cerebral ischemia].
In transient cerebral ischemia, extracellular purine catabolites and pial arteriolar diameter were measured continuously. Ischemia during one hour was induced by unilateral occlusion of left middle cerebral artery in feline. Extracellular purine catabolites were sampled by in vivo brain microdialysis technique from the gray matter at ectosylvian gyrus. These catabolites were analyzed by HPLC system. Simultaneously, reactivity of pial arteriole was observed and its diameter was measured through the cranial window using intravital microscope and width analyzer. Extracellular concentrations of adenosine, inosine, hypoxanthine and xanthine were found to be 0.80 +/- 0.16 microM, 2.01 +/- 0.95 microM, 4.01 +/- 2.73 microM and 3.93 +/- 2.39 microM, respectively. During ischemia, the concentration of adenosine increased 8.7-fold and arteriolar diameter was 170% of the resting state. These findings in extracellular adenosine concentration and pial arteriolar diameter during ischemia support a role of adenosine in regulation of cerebral blood flow. After reperfusion, arteriolar diameter had returned to 120% of the resting state. But 50 min after reperfusion, pial arteriole began to dilate again coincident with the peak of xanthine concentration. These results suggest that free radicals were produced and could affect pial arterioles 50 min after reperfusion.
Adenosine↗
[Diagnostic value of a new myocardial perfusion agent, 99mTc-teboroxime (SQ30,217) in patients with coronary artery disease, utilizing a SPECT imaging protocol: a multicenter phase III clinical trial].
Technetium-99m teboroxime (TEBO) is a new technetium-based myocardial perfusion imaging agent, which has high myocardial extraction and rapid myocardial washout. Its rapid myocardial washout may necessitate rapid imaging protocols. This study was designed to perform exercise/rest SPECT imaging protocols with rapid data acquisition (from 2.8 +/- 1.4 min to 11.2 +/- 4.1 min after injection) in 171 patients with coronary artery disease, 15 patients with cardiomyopathy and 8 patients with other heart disease. The rapid imaging protocols resulted in a high prevalence of good image quality. The diagnostic value of TEBO was recognized from the high concordance of image findings with thallium-201 (201Tl) scintigraphy, 88.2% in the exercise protocol and 89.9% in the rest protocol. Also, the sensitivity and specificity of TEBO for detecting coronary artery disease were comparable (86.6% and 53.9%, respectively) with those of 201Tl (90.7% and 46.2%, respectively). No toxic effects of TEBO were observed in subjective and objective clinical findings and blood examinations. TEBO was finally evaluated to be useful in 98.4% of the patients. Thus, this agent has good clinical potential for myocardial perfusion imaging.
Aged↗
Immunosuppressive effect of bactobolamine.
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Animals↗
Underlying mechanisms for hypoxia-induced relaxation of the guinea-pig isolated aorta.
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Animals↗
Inhibitory effects of endothelium on contractile responses to acetylcholine in the pig coronary artery.
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Acetylcholine↗
Coffin-Lowry syndrome associated with calcium pyrophosphate crystal deposition in the ligamenta flava.
Clinical and ultrastructural study of four cases of Coffin-Lowry syndrome (CLS), a heritable disorder with peculiar facies, stooped posture, vertebral changes, and mental retardation, is reported. Three of the four cases had myelopathy caused by calcification of the ligamenta flava in early adulthood. These patients demonstrated that CLS is a calcium pyrophosphate dihydrate crystal deposition disease, and it is postulated that a metabolic abnormality in collagen and in proteoglycans are responsible for some aspects of CLS.
Adolescent↗
Sequence conservation of the catalytic regions of amylolytic enzymes in maize branching enzyme-I.
We have identified cDNA clones encoding branching enzyme-I (BE-I) from a maize kernel cDNA library. The combined nucleotide sequence of the cDNAs indicates that maize BE-I is initially synthesized as a precursor protein with a putative 64-residue transit peptide at the amino terminus, and that the mature enzyme contains 759 amino acid residues with a calculated molecular mass of 86,236 Da. The four regions, which constitute the catalytic site of amylolytic enzymes, are conserved in the sequences of BE-I and bacterial branching enzymes. This result demonstrates that branching enzyme belongs to a family of the amylolytic enzymes. The BE-I gene is highly expressed in the early stages of kernel development, and the level of the message concentration decreases slowly as kernel maturation proceeds.
1,4-alpha-Glucan Branching Enzyme↗
Involvement of alpha- and beta-PKC in the differentiation of 3T3-L1 cells.
Present investigation revealed that 3T3-L1 cells contained two protein kinase C (PKC) subspecies, i.e. alpha- and beta-PKC. These cells treated by staurosporine, a specific inhibitor of PKC, differentiated to adipocytes more remarkably than those without its treatment. Their alpha- and beta-PKC activity decreased to 49% and 18% of the staurosporine-untreated cells respectively, and GPDH activity, a marker enzyme of adipocytes, increased to 143%. Thus, both alpha- and beta-PKC seemed to be associated with the adipose conversion in 3T3-L1 cells.
3T3 Cells↗
Active site of mu-conotoxin GIIIA, a peptide blocker of muscle sodium channels.
The amino acid sequence of mu-conotoxin GIIIA (otherwise called geographutoxin I), a peptide having 22 amino acid residues with three disulfide bridges, was modified by replacing each residue with Ala or Lys to elucidate its active center for blocking sodium channels of skeletal muscle. NMR and CD spectra were virtually identical between native and modified toxins, indicating the similarity of their conformation including disulfide bridges. The inhibitory effect of these modified peptides on twitch contractions of the rat diaphragm showed that Arg at the 13th position and the basicity of the molecule are crucial for the biological action. The segment Lys11-Asp12-Arg13 has been reported to be flexible (Lancelin, J.-M., Kohda, D., Tate, S., Yanagawa, Y., Abe, T., Satake, M., and Inagaki, F. (1991) Biochemistry, in press), and this may represent a clue for the subtle fit of Arg13 to the specific site of sodium channels. Since known ligands to sodium channels, such as tetrodotoxin, anthopleulin-A, etc., contain guanidino groups as a putative binding moiety, Arg may be a general residue for peptide toxins to interact with the receptor site on sodium channels.
Amino Acid Sequence↗
[Tumor embolism of pulmonary arteries and subsequent pulmonary infarction observed in two hepatocellular carcinoma cases].
Tumor emboli of the pulmonary arteries are infrequent and premortem detection of this lesion is rare. We encountered two cases of hepatocellular carcinoma associated with tumor emboli of the pulmonary arteries and subsequent pulmonary infarctions. Plain radiographs and CT demonstrated multiple metastatic pulmonary nodules as well as pleural-based pulmonary consolidations representing pulmonary infarctions. Postcontrast CT also showed filling defects in the main pulmonary arteries. These radiographic and CT features are considered to be characteristic of tumor emboli of pulmonary arteries and subsequent pulmonary infarction. In one patient whose initial symptoms were chest pain and bloody sputum, CT was useful in detecting the primary site of tumor emboli of the pulmonary arteries. It should be kept in mind that neoplasm with a tendency to venous invasion can cause tumor emboli of the pulmonary arteries and subsequent pulmonary infarction.
Aged↗
Vasoconstrictor-induced protein-tyrosine phosphorylation in cultured vascular smooth muscle cells.
In cultured rat aortic smooth muscle cells, angiotensin II induced tyrosine phosphorylation of at least 9 proteins with molecular masses of 190, 117, 105, 82, 79, 77, 73, 45 and 40 kDa in time- and dose-dependent manners. Other vasoconstrictors such as [Arg]vasopressin, 5-hydroxytryptamine and norepinephrine induced the tyrosine phosphorylation of the same set of proteins as angiotensin II. The tyrosine phosphorylation of these proteins was mimicked by the protein kinase C-activating phorbol ester, phorbol 12 myristate 13-acetate, and the Ca2+ ionophore, ionomycin. These results demonstrate that the vasoconstrictors stimulate the tyrosine phosphorylation of several proteins in vascular smooth muscle cells and suggest that the tyrosine phosphorylation reactions are the events distal to the activation of protein kinase C and Ca2+ mobilization in the intracellular signalling pathways of the vasoconstrictors.
Angiotensin II↗
Effect of intra-amygdala dopaminergic grafts on methamphetamine-induced locomotor activity, extracellular dopamine and dopamine metabolite overflow: a comparison with the effect of intra-accumbens grafts.
The effects of 6-hydroxydopamine lesions of the ventral tegmental area and following intra-amygdala or intra-accumbens dopaminergic (DAergic) grafts on methamphetamine (MAP)-induced locomotor activity were investigated in rats. Intra-accumbens DAergic grafts from rat embryos restored the locomotor hyperactivity response to MAP 5 weeks after grafting, while intra-amygdala grafts did not restore responses by 10 weeks after grafting. Biochemical measurements of extracellular DAergic activity in the amygdala (AMY) by in vivo microdialysis after grafting showed no significant change in the basal levels of dopamine (DA) and partial restoration of metabolite levels. MAP induced an increase of DA efflux and a decrease in dihydroxyphenylacetic acid without a significant change in homovanillic acid, which is the same pattern of response seen in control animals. These biochemical changes are similar to those seen previously after intra-accumbens grafts. The results show that restoration of DAergic activity in the AMY in the presence of DAergic denervation of accumbens does not have an effect on MAP-induced locomotion.
3,4-Dihydroxyphenylacetic Acid↗