[Effective use of pamphlets for education of parents of preanesthetic patients].
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Biomedical subjects
Publications and source records attributed to Y Kondo.
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Silver ion was effectively bound to alginate film by the aid of DNA. Amounts of Ag(I) bound to the films (18 mm x 18 mm) were 4.2 micrograms and 24.7 micrograms in the absence and presence of DNA, respectively. The Ag(I)-induced films showed antibacterial activity for both of Escherichiacoli (E. coli) and Staphylococcus aureus (S. aureus), and the activity of DNA-alginate film was obviously larger than alginate film. These results indicate that Ag(I) induced in the DNA-alginate film keeps the potent antibacterial activity, and so DNA is very useful as a carrier of silver ion in the alginate film.
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Although the molecular events regulating the pathogenesis of malignant astrocytomas remains unclear, the inactivation of tumor suppressor genes may be a key factor. The inactivation of p53 by mutation or deletion, however, is not the only obligatory step in astrocytoma genesis. The MDM2 protein has been shown to bind to and downmodulate p53 function, and to have oncogenic capacity. The MDM2 gene is also amplified and overexpressed in a subset of malignant astrocytomas without p53 mutation. Here we show that overexpression of MDM2 promoted the DNA synthesis of cultured neonatal rat astrocytes (RNB cells), abrogated the transcriptional activity of wild-type p53, conferred invasive activity, and subsequently induced the transformation from astrocytes to high-grade astrocytomas. Intriguingly, MDM2 enhanced the expression of angiogenic mitogens; basic fibroblast growth factor (bFGF) and platelet-derived growth factor (PDGF) in RNB cells. These results indicate that MDM2 may play an important role in the progression of astrocytomas, by not only conferring invasive activity but also stimulating the expression of angiogenic growth factors.
Induction of apoptosis in tumor cells is an important determinant in the outcome of therapy. Molecular details of the apoptosis pathway, however, are still poorly defined. The recently discovered WAF1/CIP1 gene is a potent inhibitor of cyclin-dependent kinases and a mediator of tumor-suppressor p53-dependent apoptosis by DNA damage. In addition, WAF1/CIP1 expression is shown to be triggered through the p53-independent pathway. The relationship between WAF1/CIP1 and p53-independent apoptosis by DNA damage, however, remains unclear. In this study, we show that WAF1/CIP1 was induced in p53-dependent apoptosis of U87-MG glioma cells by cis-diamminedichloroplatinum (cisplatin), and overexpression of WAF1/CIP1 induced apoptosis in U87-MG cells without cisplatin treatment. In contrast, the p53-independent apoptosis of GB-1 glioma cells by cisplatin did not express WAF1/CIP1. Overexpression of WAF1/CIP1 inhibited DNA synthesis in GB-1 cells, but did not induce apoptosis. Interestingly, WAF1/CIP1 increased the susceptibility of GB-1 cells to cisplatin-induced apoptosis. These results suggest that overexpression of WAF1/CIP1 may have potential for the treatment of tumors with non-functional p53.
Transcription factor, cAMP response element-binding protein (CREB), which is phosphorylated by cAMP-dependent kinase via an increase in cAMP, and regulates gene transcription by binding to the cAMP response element (CRE) on target genes. We examined age-dependent alterations in the DNA-binding activity of CREB in rat brain regions, and the effects of rolipram, a cAMP-specific phosphodiesterase (PDE) inhibitor on the CRE-binding activity by electrophoretic mobility-shift assay (EMSA). A marked age-dependent decrease in the CRE-binding activity was shown in all brain regions examined, especially in the basal forebrain, the striatum and the hippocampus. Furthermore, CRE-binding activities in the basal forebrain of both young-adult and aged rats significantly increased 2 h after rolipram administration (1 mg/kg, i.p.), and the rolipram treatment recovered the decreased CRE-binding activity in the aged rats. The saturation experiment in EMSA also revealed that rolipram reversed the decrease in the maximum CRE-bindings in the basal forebrain with aging. Since the 5' upstream region of the rat choline acetyltransferase (ChAT) gene contains CRE, and ChAT-positive neurons in the basal forebrain project to the frontal cortex and the hippocampus, rolipram may exert its previously reported ameliorating effect on the age-related reductions of ChAT activities in the frontal cortex and the hippocampus by phosphorylating CREB in the basal forebrain with activation of cAMP-dependent protein kinase via inhibition of PDE.
In the present paper we report the purification of calreticulin (CLT) from livers of the frog, Rana rugosa, the cloning and sequencing of its cDNA, and the CLT gene expression. CLT with M(r) = 52 kDa, estimated by SDS-PAGE, was purified from frog livers. Using rat CLT cDNA as a probe, a 2.4-kilobase frog cDNA clone was isolated from a frog liver cDNA library. The cDNA encoded 419 amino acids including an 18-residue NH2-terminal signal sequence that was 76% homologous to the rat CLT sequence and was 84% homologous to the partial sequence of Xenopus laevis CLT (Treves et al. [1992] Biochem. J. 287:579-581). Phylogenetic relationships estimated from the amino acid sequence of CLTs showed no pronounced variation between the two frog species, R. rugosa and X. laevis. Northern blot analysis indicated that the CLT mRNA level was very high in the liver of tadpoles, but extremely low in adult frogs. Expression levels were also very high in the premature ovary, while moderate expression was observed in the testis and brain of adult frogs. However, there was little histological change in the liver of tadpoles during development. Furthermore, CLT was recognized by Western blot analysis of total proteins in the liver of adult frogs. Immunostaining showed that CLT was distributed in the cytoplasm of liver cells. These results suggest that the expression of the CLT gene is tissue-dependent in the frog, R. rugosa, and that CLT probably functions biochemically in liver cells even when its gene expression is low.
BACKGROUND: Undifferentiated carcinoma with lymphoid stroma (UCLS) arising in the salivary gland is a rare tumor, except for its geographic concentration among Eskimo and southern Chinese populations. Five cases of salivary gland UCLS in Japanese patients are presented here and compared with benign lymphoepithelial lesions (BLELs) with regard to their association with Epstein-Barr virus (EBV), p53 expression, and cell proliferative activity. METHODS: Formalin fixed, paraffin embedded sections of 5 cases of UCLS selected from 1676 patients with primary tumors of the major salivary gland and 7 cases of BLEL were examined using in situ hybridization for EBV-encoded RNAs (EBERs), along with immunostaining for p53 and Ki-67 (MIB-1). RESULTS: The incidence of UCLS was 0.3% among patients with major salivary gland tumors. EBER hybridization signals were strongly expressed in most of the neoplastic cells in all five cases of UCLS, whereas there was no signal in BLEL and surrounding nontumorous salivary gland tissues. All cases of UCLS showed strongly positive immunostaining for p53 in the tumor cell nuclei. By contrast, only one case of BLEL was positively stained for p53 in dysplastic epimyoepithelial cells, which showed focal immunostaining. Cell proliferative activity assessed using the Ki-67 labeling index was significantly higher in tumor cells of UCLS than in epimyoepithelial cells of BLEL. CONCLUSIONS: UCLS of the salivary gland is an extremely rare tumor in Japanese patients characterized by consistent association with EBV. Distinction between BLEL and UCLS is possible by examining for evidence of EBV infection, expression of p53, and cell proliferative activity.
The effects of chronic hypoperfusion of cerebral blood flow (CBF) on central cholinergic indices and intellectual functions were investigated in rats. Male Wistar rats, aged 9 weeks, were anesthetized with pentobarbital, and the bilateral common carotid arteries were permanently ligated. Cortical CBF in the hypoperfused rats was markedly decreased at 6 weeks after the operation. In the hypoperfused group, cholinergic indices were changed to consist two phases after the operation, before (acute) and after (chronic) 6 weeks after the operation. At 6 weeks, choline acetyltransferase activity was restored to the sham-operated level compared with the changes in the frontal cortex and thalamus + midbrain at 3 weeks. On the other band, the maximum number of muscarinic acetylcholine receptors was reduced in the frontal cortex, hippocampus and striatum at 6 weeks and thereafter remained at this low level. In discrimination learning task, the percentage of correct responses in the hypoperfused rats was generally reduced in contrast with that of the sham-operated rats, although the number of total responses were not changed. As a consequence, cholinergic dysfunctions correlate with discrimination learning disabilities in the hypoperfused rats. These findings suggest that the hypoperfused rat may be useful for the cerebrovascular type dementia model to clarify pathophysiology.
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Metallothionein (MT), a major zinc-binding intracellular protein thiol, has been associated with cytoprotection from heavy metals, antineoplastic drugs, mutagens, and cellular oxidants. Despite its small mass (7 kDa), nuclear partitioning of MT has been observed in both normal and malignant tissues. The factors controlling MT sequestration are unknown. Thus, we examined the regulation of MT subcellular distribution in human cancer cell lines that exhibit prominent nuclear MT. The nuclear disposition of MT was unaltered during cell cycle passage in synchronized cells. MT redistributed to the cytoplasm when cells were exposed to reduced temperature. Cytoplasmic redistribution was also seen in DU-145 and HPC36M prostatic cancer cells after ATP depletion, but not in PC3-MA2 and SCC25/CP cells. Pretreatment with 10 microM CdCl2 did not significantly alter MT distribution but did render all cells sensitive to cytoplasmic redistribution after either reduced temperature or ATP depletion. Thus, nuclear retention of MT is energy requiring and this ability of MT to accumulate in subcellular compartments against its concentration gradient may be important in the capacity of MT to supply Zn or other metals to target sites within the cell.
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Digital video imaging indicated that about 80% of fura-2-loaded single human thyroid cells responded to TSH, resulting in an increase in intracellular Ca2+ concentration ([Ca2+]i). Most of the TSH-sensitive cells further responded to N6-(L-2-phenylisopropyl)-adenosine (PIA) showing a transient [Ca2+]i rise in a PIA dose-dependent manner. Addition of PIA prior to TSH administration had no effect or showed only a slight [Ca2+]i increase, but in about 80% of the cells, regardless of the response to PIA, the addition of TSH after PIA resulted in a higher transient [Ca2+]i response than that in the absence of PIA. Inactivation of Gi/G(o) by pertussis toxin (PTX) treatment markedly reduced the effect of PIA on TSH action to the level induced by PIA alone. Immunoglobulin fractions obtained from two Graves' patients with high TSAb (antibody activity measured by cAMP response) activity induced [Ca2+]i increase and cooperated with PIA. Under the same conditions, TSH-dependent cAMP accumulation was inhibited by PIA. These results suggest that adenosine Ai receptor is expressed in human thyroid cells in primary culture as well as in FRTL-5 rat thyroid cells, and that in the presence of adenosine. TSH or Graves' IgG signal tends to be directed to the Ca2+ pathway in the human thyroid.
The development of CD8+ intestinal intraepithelial T lymphocytes (IEL) was analyzed in mice that are deficient in the expression of MHC class I molecules, owing to either a mutated beta 2-microglobulin (beta 2m) gene or a mutated transporter associated with Ag processing 1 (TAP1) gene, and in mice doubly homozygous for beta 2m and TAPI mutations. In all mutant mice, the population size of major CD8 alpha alpha+ and CD8 alpha beta+ alpha beta-IEL subsets was reduced drastically, and this resulted in a conspicuous decrease in the total number of alpha beta-IEL. Concomitantly, a compensatory two- to threefold increase in the number of gamma delta-IEL consisting mostly of CD8 alpha alpha+ subset was noted. In radiation bone marrow chimeras, this wild-type/mutant phenotype was determined by the genotype of radioresistant host cells, but was not determined by the genotype of reconstituting bone marrow-derived cells. In beta 2m X TCR-delta double mutant mice, however, the CD8 alpha alpha+ but not CD8 alpha beta+ alpha beta-IEL subset expanded dramatically. Thus, in the absence of gamma delta-IEL, alpha beta-IEL in beta 2m-deficient mice outnumbered those in wild-type littermates. These results indicate that the generation of CD8 alpha alpha+ lymphocyte population of alpha beta- and gamma delta-IEL is not dependent, but that of CD8 alpha beta+ lymphocyte population of alpha beta-IEL is dependent on beta 2m- and/or TAP1-dependent MHC class I molecules, expressed by the controlling cells present in the anatomical site, where the development of IEL takes place.
Using an animal model of forebrain ischemia in spontaneously hypertensive rats (SHR) by 3-h bilateral carotid occlusion, and various indices of the cerebral cholinergic system were assessed for periods up to 24 weeks. The lesions observed histologically in the hippocampus of SHR 2 weeks after ischemia were less severe than those in the frontal cortex. Marked elevation of acetylcholine concentration was transiently observed in the frontal cortex, hippocampus and thalamus + midbrain at 2 weeks, and in the striatum at 1-4 weeks after ischemia. Choline acetyltransferase activity remained unchanged in all regions throughout the experimental period except for a minimal decrease in the frontal cortex at 4 weeks. Choline esterase (ChE) activity was slightly decreased in the frontal cortex at 2-4 weeks after ischemia but recovered by 8 weeks. A decrease in the hippocampus was seen at 8 weeks. The B(max) for the M1-receptor was significantly reduced by 2 weeks in the frontal cortex and by 4 weeks in the hippocampus. Low B(max) values in both regions persisted through week 24. These delayed hippocampal changes in the ChE activity and M1-receptor in SHR were similar to those of the very much delayed changes in M1-receptor previously reported in the gerbil model for transient ischemia. In contrast, Wistar-Kyoto rats (WKY), used as normotensive controls, exhibited no histological or biochemical changes for up to 24 weeks. The difference between SHR and WKY may depend on the more severe cerebral blood flow depletion during carotid ligation in the former. The chronic state of SHR after the transient ischemia may be a useful pathophysiological model for human cerebral infarctions with hypertension.
Exogenous sphingosine 1-phosphate (S1P) induced Ca2+ mobilization, in association with an increase in inositol polyphosphate production reflecting activation of phospholipase C in HL60 leukemia cells. The increase in intracellular Ca2+ concentration ([Ca2+]i) induced by S1P was inhibited by an appropriate treatment of the cells with pertussis toxin (PTX), U73122 (a phospholipase C inhibitor) or phorbol 12-myristate 13-acetate (PMA). In parallel with the Ca2+ response, these agents also inhibited inositol polyphosphate production. The S1P-induced Ca2+ response was also attenuated in the dibutyryl cAMP-induced differentiated cells, where GTP-binding protein-induced Ca2+ response suggested to be enhanced. Lysophosphatidic acid (LPA) also increased [Ca2+]i in the cels, but the maximal response was about half of that of S1P, and furthermore PTX and dibutyryl cAMP treatment hardly affected the LPA-induced Ca2+ mobilization. We conclude that exogenous S1P mobilizes Ca2+ through phospholipase C activation. The S1P-induced enzyme activation is at least partly mediated by PTX-sensitive GTP-binding protein-coupled receptors which may be different from LPA receptors.
Mechanisms of relative potency in direct action of antiandrogens have not been fully elucidated. Using castrated rats, the effects of antiandrogens on the prostatic weight gain induced by exogenous testosterone (T), and on T uptake into prostatic cells were examined. Tested antiandrogens were cyproterone acetate, chlormadinone acetate, a new steroidal antiandrogen, 17acetoxy-6-chloro-2-oxa-4,6-pregnadiene-3,20-dione (TZP-4238), and one nonsteroidal type, flutamide (FL). Suppression of prostatic weight gain, T uptake and serum concentrations of compounds, correlated well each other among steroidal antiandrogens, while FL was five times more active in suppressing weight gain than TZP-4238, associated with a lower nuclear distribution of androgen. The results suggest that 1) suppression of T uptake is a major and common mechanism of steroidal antiandrogens and the relative potency is attributable to pharmacokinetic characteristics in vivo, and 2) FL suppress s nuclear T uptake more specifically than steroidal antiandrogens.
The polypeptide encoded by the partial fragment of cDNA of phenylalanine ammonia-lyase (PAL; EC 4.3.1.5), PALcDNA1 (Osakabe et al., 1995, Plant Sci. 105: 217-226), isolated from Populus kitakamiensis (P. sieboldii x P. grandidentata), was expressed in Escherichia coli cells. The polypeptide was purified and an antiserum raised against it. The antiserum recognized a protein of 77 kDa on nitrocellulose blots after sodium dodecyl sulfate-polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis of total protein and the partially purified PAL protein from P. kitakamiensis. Moreover, the antiserum recognized a protein on the blot after non-denaturing polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis of P. kitakamiensis proteins and this protein had PAL activity. Furthermore, the antibody inhibited PAL activity of extracts from stem tissues. These results showed that the antiserum against the partial PAL peptide recognized only the PAL subunits in extracts of P. kitakamiensis. Immunolocalization studies of P. kitakamiensis tissues revealed that the PAL protein was specifically localized in the xylem and the phloem fibers and no immunogold signal was found in the epidermis, the cortex, the pith, or the cambium of either stems or leaves.