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Biomedical subjects

Y Miyabara

Publications and source records attributed to Y Miyabara.

26 records · Page 2Linked to original sources

Murine strain differences in allergic airway inflammation and immunoglobulin production by a combination of antigen and diesel exhaust particles.

To clarify the relationship between the manifestations of allergic airway inflammation modulated by diesel exhaust particles (DEP) and immunoglobulin production in response to an antigen, airway inflammation characterized by the infiltration of eosinophils, goblet cell proliferation, and antigen-specific immunoglobulin (Ig) production was investigated in five strains of mice after immunization with ovalbumin (OA). Mice were injected intratracheally with OA (1 microg) or OA (1 microg) + DEP (50 microg) four times at 3-week intervals. The order of antigen-specific IgG1 production in plasma of mouse strains treated with OA alone was CBA/2N <BDF/1 <C57BL/6 < ICR <C3H/He. The adjuvant effect of DEP on IgG1 production was observed in CBA/2N, BDF/1, ICR, and C57BL/6 mice. The immune activity in BDF/1 mice was significantly elevated (P < 0.01). The OA-specific IgE in plasma was unaffected by antigen challenge with or without DEP in any strain. The degree of eosinophilic inflammation and goblet cell proliferation in the airway induced by OA alone or OA + DEP corresponded well with the antigen-specific IgG1 production. These results suggest that the manifestations of allergic airway inflammation modulated by DEP were closely related to the immunoglobulin production response to OA, especially with regard to enhanced IgG1 production.

Animals↗

Diesel exhaust particles enhance antigen-induced airway inflammation and local cytokine expression in mice.

Previous experimental studies have suggested that nasal instillation of diesel exhaust particles (DEP) can enhance nasal IgE response and cytokine production. However, there is no experimental evidence for the relation of DEP to allergic asthma. We investigated the effects of DEP inoculated intratracheally on antigen-induced airway inflammation, local expression of cytokine proteins, and antigen-specific immunoglobulin production in mice. DEP aggravated ovalbumin-induced airway inflammation characterized by infiltration of eosinophils and lymphocytes and an increase in goblet cells in bronchial epithelium. DEP with antigen markedly increased interleukin-5 (IL-5) protein levels in lung tissue and bronchoalveolar lavage supernatants compared with either antigen or DEP alone. The combination of DEP and antigen induced significant increases in local expression of IL-4, granulocyte macrophage-colony stimulating factor (GM-CSF), and IL-2, whereas expression of interferon-gamma was not affected. In addition, DEP exhibited adjuvant activity for the antigen-specific production of IgG and IgE. These results provide the first experimental evidence that DEP can enhance the manifestations of allergic asthma. The enhancement may be mediated mainly by the increased local expression of IL-5, and also by the modulated expression of IL-4, GM-CSF, and IL-2.

Animals↗

Degradations of urobilin and stercobilin during activated sludge treatment of night soil.

This paper deals with the degradation of urobilin and stercobilin in the sewage treatment plant or domestic septic tank and elucidates the factors contributing to their decomposition. The quantities of urobolin or stercobilin in the effluents from the sewage treatment plants were low and these substances were degraded by treatment with activated sludge. The efficacies of aeration, bacterial decomposition and free chlorine treatment in degrading urobilin or stercobilin were examined. Urobilin and stercobilin were decomposed by aeration and the decomposition rate was accelerated under alkaline conditions. Both compounds were decomposed by activated sludge, isolated bacteria and free chlorine treatments. These results show the decomposition of urobilin and stercobilin at sewage treatment plants.

Journal Article↗

Evaluation of fecal pollution of river sediment by detection of urobilin.

In this study, we attempted to establish a new indicator for fecal pollution of river sediment using a sensitive detection method for urobilin. Urobilin contained in sediment was extracted with an alkaline buffer solution. The suitable buffer solution for extraction of urobilin consisted of 0.1 M Tris-HCl buffer (pH 10.0) containing 0.1 m sodium chloride. The ratio of sediment to buffer was 1:10. The distribution of urobilin in river sediment was studied by this method. The amount of urobilin in the river sediment of Tokyo (urban) and the Miura peninsula (rural) area was surveyed. Large quantities of urobilin were detected in the sediments of the urban rivers, but it was scarce in the rural rivers. Urobilin showed a higher content in sediment than in water. Urobilin in river sediment is distributed in large amounts in the lower reaches, where the water is polluted with domestic sewage and industrial waste, but is scarce in the upper streams. The amount of urobilin decreases to the lower layers.

Journal Article↗

Estimation of faecal pollution based on the amounts of urobilins in urban rivers.

An attempt was made to establish a new indicator for faecal pollution in aquatic environments using a sensitive determination method for urobilins, which are only present in mammalian faeces and urine. Assessment of urobilin stability was followed by determination of the amount of urobilins in river water. When river water containing urobilins was shaken at room temperature, the number of total and faecal coliforms increased, while urobilins decreased only in small amounts, indicating that urobilin is relatively stable in river water and hence can serve as a useful indicator for the estimation of faecal pollution of river water. The amount of urobilins in the river waters increased steeply from the mid-point of a stream near a sewage treatment plant, while amounts in the upper stream were very low. The amount of urobilins in river water increased after rainfall. Findings suggested that urobilin, i.e. sewage, originated from the output of the sewage treatment plant and raw sewage.

Journal Article↗

Separation and sensitive determination of i-urobilin and 1-stercobilin by high-performance liquid chromatography with fluorimetric detection.

i-Urobilin and 1-stercobilin were separated by high-performance liquid chromatography on a reversed-phase octadecylsilane-bonded column and detected fluorimetrically through formation of phosphor with zinc ions in the eluent. The separation and the intensity of the fluorescence response were affected by concentrations of zinc acetate and sodium borate buffer, pH and methanol content in the eluent. The optimal eluent used consisted of 0.1% zinc acetate in 75 mM boric acid buffer (pH 6.0)-methanol (25:75). The detection limit was 0.2 microgram/l for both i-urobilin and 1-stercobilin (signal-to-noise ratio 2), which makes the method 250-2500 times more sensitive than conventional methods.

Bile Pigments↗