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Biomedical subjects

Y Oji

Publications and source records attributed to Y Oji.

At least 37 records · Page 2Linked to original sources
PubMed1998

Predomination of Dimers over Naturally Occurring Anthraquinones in Soil

Four bianthraquinones and two monoanthraquinones were isolated as the major soil anthraquinones from a volcanic ash soil in Japan. They were identified as a new natural product 5,5'-biphyscion (named hinakurin) (3) and five known compounds, chrysotalunin (1), (-)-7,7'-biphyscion (2), microcarpin (4), chrysophanol (5), and physcion (6) using MS, 1D NMR, and 2D NMR techniques. Although the dimers (1-4) are rarely found as natural products, they, along with 5 and 6, were ubiquitous and predominant over other anthraquinones in various soils from Japan and Nepal.

Journal Article↗
PubMed1998

Successful donor leukocyte transfusion at molecular relapse for a patient with acute myeloid leukemia who was treated with allogenic bone marrow transplantation: importance of the monitoring of minimal residual disease by WT1 assay.

We report here that a patient with relapsed AML after allogeneic bone marrow transplantation achieved and maintained complete remission (CR) after effective donor leukocyte transfusion (DLT), without the occurrence of GVHD and marrow aplasia, for more than 21 months. This continuous CR maintenance is mainly due to the application of DLT at molecular relapse that was diagnosed by monitoring minimal residual disease (MRD) by the quantitation of WT1 (Wilms tumor gene) expression levels (WT1 assay). The present case demonstrates that early application of DLT at molecular relapse is essential for the improvement of the efficacy of DLT for relapsed AML after BMT.

Acute Disease↗
PubMed1998

Enzymic method for the determination of nitrite in meat and fish products.

A simple spectrophotometric method for the determination of nitrite is described. Nitrite is measured enzymically through its reaction with nitrite reductase coupled with NADH. The entire enzymic procedure required 15 min to complete. The calibration curve was linear in the range 0.1-10 micrograms cm-3 nitrite with a slope of 6.25. The relative standard deviation at 5 microgram g-1 was 1.7% (n = 5). The method greatly simplifies the procedure of nitrite determination and enables the routine inspection of a number of samples with very little laboratory equipment. A comparison study showed that the method was superior to the GC method for samples containing large amounts of reducing substances while good agreement was achieved between both methods for other foods.

Fish Products↗
PubMed1998

High incidence of chemotherapy-induced acral erythema in female patients with non-Hodgkin's lymphoma treated with the VACOP-B regimen.

Seven patients, all females out of 29 with non-Hodgkin's lymphoma (NHL) (16 males and 13 females) treated with the VACOP-B regimen utilizing granulocyte-colony-stimulating factor (G-CSF) support developed chemotherapy-induced acral erythema (CAE). In contrast, none of 32 patients with NHL who were treated with CHOP, MACOP-B, or biweekly CHOP regimens without G-CSF developed CAE. Total dose intensities of VACOP-B regimen were higher than those of the three other regimens. However, no significant difference in dose intensities of each drug in the patients treated with the VACOP-B regimen was found between male and female patients and between female patients with or without CAE. The cause of the high incidence of CAE (7/13) in the female patients treated with VACOP-B regimen remains unknown. However, female sex hormones may increase susceptibility to CAE. Since the occurrence of CAE interrupts intensive chemotherapy and reduces the cure rate, high risk patients for CAE should be carefully monitored for early symptoms and signs of CAE and should be treated early and appropriately.

Antineoplastic Combined Chemotherapy Protocols↗
PubMed1997

Aberrant overexpression of the Wilms tumor gene (WT1) in human leukemia.

To clarify whether the expression of the WT1 gene in leukemic cells is aberrant or merely reflects that in normal counterparts, the expression levels of the WT1 gene were quantitated for normal hematopoietic progenitor cells. Bone marrow (BM) and umbilical cord blood (CB) cells were fluorescence-activated cell sorting (FACS)-sorted into CD34+ and CD34- cell populations, and the CD34+ cells into nine subsets (CD34+ CD33-, CD34+ CD33+, CD34+ CD38-, CD34+ CD38+, CD34+ HLA-DR-, CD34+ HLA-DR+, CD34+ c-kit(high), CD34+ c-kit(low), and CD34+ c-kit-) according to the expression levels of CD34, CD33, CD38, HLA-DR, and c-kit. Moreover, acute myeloid leukemic cells were also FACS-sorted into four populations (CD34+ CD33-, CD34+ CD33+, CD34- CD33+, and CD34- CD33-). FACS-sorted normal hematopoietic progenitor and leukemic cells and FACS-unsorted leukemic cells were examined for the WT1 expression by quantitative reverse transcriptase-polymerase chain reaction. The WT1 expression in the CD34+ and CD34- cell populations and in the nine CD34+ subsets of BM and CB was at either very low (1.0 to 2.4 x 10(-2)) or undetectable (< 10(-2)) levels (the WT1 expression level of K562 cells was defined as 1.0), whereas the average levels of WT1 expression in FACS-sorted and -unsorted leukemic cells were 2.4 to 9.3 x 10(-1). Thus, the WT1 expression levels in normal hematopoietic progenitor cells were at least 10 times less than those in leukemic cells. Therefore, we could not find any normal counterparts of BM or CB that expressed the WT1 at levels comparable with those in leukemic cells. These results indicate an aberrant overexpression of the WT1 gene in leukemic cells and imply the involvement of this gene in human leukemogenesis.

Acute Disease↗
PubMed1997

Lineage- and differentiation stage-specific expression of LSM-1 (LPAP), a possible substrate for CD45, in human hematopoietic cells.

CD45, a transmembrane tyrosine phosphatase, is found on almost all nucleated hematopoietic cells and plays a crucial role in lymphocyte activation and differentiation. We recently achieved isolation of the human LSM-1 (hLSM-1) gene, whose product is a possible substrate for CD45, and we raised antibodies against the hLSM-1 protein. hLSM-1 expression in hematopoietic cells was examined with Northern and Western blot, fluorescence-activated cell sorter, and immunocytochemical analyses. It was found that in the lymphoid lineage, T and B lymphocytes as well as NK cells expressed LSM-1, whereas terminally differentiated plasma cells did not. As for the myeloid lineage, immature myeloid cells expressed LSM-1, whereas terminally differentiated granulocytes and monocytes did not. In the erythroid lineage, normal erythroblasts expressed very low levels of LSM-1, while erythroid cell lines (K562 and HEL) did not. Megakaryocytes did not express LSM-1. Both CD34+/CD33- and CD34+/CD33+ hematopoietic progenitor cells weakly expressed LSM-1. These results showed that LSM-1 is expressed in a lineage- and differentiation stage-specific fashion.

Blotting, Western↗
PubMed1997

Secondary acute monocytic leukemia occurring during the treatment of a testicular germ cell tumor. A case report and review of the literature.

Secondary leukemia following chemotherapy or radiotherapy for mediastinal germ cell tumors is a well-described entity. It also may occur in patients with testicular germ cell tumors. We report a case of acute monocytic leukemia occurring in a 44-year-old man who received etoposide-based chemotherapy and radiotherapy for a recurrent, metastatic testicular germ cell tumor. The patient received 14 cycles of systemic chemotherapy for pulmonary and para-aortic lymph node metastases following his initial orchiectomy. The total amount of etoposide this patient received was 6,400 mg/m2. Leukemia occurred 11 years after orchiectomy. A literature review revealed 25 other reported cases of secondary leukemias after treatment for testicular carcinoma. It is not clear whether chemotherapy, radiotherapy or both are responsible for the secondary leukemias seen in these patients.

Adult↗
PubMed1996

Long-term follow-up of minimal residual disease in leukemia patients by monitoring WT1 (Wilms tumor gene) expression levels.

Thirty-one patients (27 with acute myeloid leukemia [AML], 2 with acute lymphocytic leukemia [ALL], and 2 with acute mixed lineage leukemia [AMLL]) treated with conventional chemotherapy (CHT) and 23 patients (13 AML, 5 ALL, and 5 with chronic myeloid leukemia [CML]) treated with allogeneic bone marrow transplantation (BMT) were monitored for WT1 expression levels in BM and peripheral blood (PB) by reverse transcriptase-polymerase chain reaction over a long-term period (mean, 29 months for CHT and 24 months for BMT). Sixteen of the patients in the CHT group and 3 in the BMT group who had achieved complete remission suffered clinical relapse. In 10 of these patients, WT1 expression that had returned to normal BM levels (< 10(-3); the WT1 expression level of K562 cells was defined as 1.0) after complete remission (CR) either gradually or rapidly increased again to abnormal levels 1 to 18 months (mean, 7 months) before clinical relapse became apparent. In another 9 patients, WT1 expression never returned to normal BM levels even after CR and the subsequent relapse was accompanied by a rapid increase in WT1 expression to levels higher than 10(-2) (10(-3) levels in PB). On the other hand, the remaining 35 patients (15 CHT and 20 BMT) maintained their CR. In 29 of these patients (11 CHT and 18 BMT), WT1 expression either gradually or rapidly decreased to normal BM levels, whereas in the other 6 (4 CHT and 2 BMT), low or very low levels of WT1 mRNAs (10(-3) to 10(-2) in BM and 10(-5) to 10(-3) in PB) remain detectable, but without any clinical signs of relapse. A clear correlation was found to exist between the minimal residual disease (MRD) detected in the paired BM and PB samples for all types of leukemias (AML, ALL, and CML), with MRD in PB being approximately one-tenth of that in BM. WT1 quantitation of 168 paired BM and PB samples showed that PB samples were superior to BM samples for the detection of MRD. We conclude that monitoring of WT1 expression levels in BM and PB makes it possible to rapidly assess the effectiveness of individual treatment and diagnose clinical relapse in the early stage for all leukemia patients regardless of the presence or absence of tumor-specific DNA markers.

Bone Marrow↗
PubMed1996

Emergence of proteases in germinating cucumber cotyledons and their roles in the two-step degradation of storage protein.

The degradation of storage protein in germinating cucumber seeds was shown to proceed via two distinct steps. First, several proteases with acidic isoelectric points (pIs) were involved in solubilization and partial degradation of 11S globulin. Treatment of seedlings with cycloheximide inhibited this step and the expression of these proteases. Thus, the first step appeared to be governed by these proteases, which were synthesized de novo after imbibition. The first step was observed in dark-grown cotyledons, but the complete degradation of 11S globulin did not occur in the absence of illumination. An additional protease, with a pI of 4.5, was induced by illumination, and it was involved in the further cleavage of the partially degraded products of 11S globulin. Thus, the complete degradation of the storage protein proceeded via a two-step process in illuminated germinating seedlings. Light is needed to induce the second step in the degradation of 11S globulin that supplies the nitrogen required for development of the photosynthetic apparatus in the greening cotyledon.

Amino Acid Sequence↗
PubMed1996

[Septicemia associated with hematopoietic disorders and its features according to respective primary disorders].

Two hundred eighty-seven episodes of septicemia which occurred in patients with hematological disorders between 1980 and 1993 were examined according to respective underlying diseases. The diagnosis of acute myelogenous leukemia (AML) was made in 155 patients, acute lymphocytic leukemia (ALL) in 45, chronic myelogenous leukemia (CML) in 29, malignant lymphoma in 36, adult T-cell leukemia (ATL) in 7, multiple myeloma (MM) in 8 and aplastic anemia (AA) in 7. Three hundred and two strains were isolated from 287 patients. Fifty two point three percent of the total isolates were gram-negative bacilli, 26.8% were gram-positive cocci, 17.2% were fungi and 3.6% were anaerobic bacteria. In ALL patients gram-positive cocci accounted for 42.0%. This rate was significantly higher than in other disorder. Additionally, oral mucositis or gingivitis was evaluated as clinical background in 36.1% of ALL cases. Forty-seven point two percent of organisms which caused septicemia in ALL patients were isolated from surveillance cultures of the throat just before the onset of septicemia. These data suggested that in ALL cases microbiological organisms more frequently invaded through injuries of oral mucosa. In ATL, CML, MM and AA patients, fungi accounted for more than 25% of causative organisms. The most common organism of all of the strains was Pseudomonas aeruginosa (21.9%), but in ATL and MM patients Escherichia coli was more common than P. aeruginosa. At the onset of the septicemia, neutrophil counts were less than 100/mm3 in 76.6% of all patients, and more than 3,000/mm3 in only 5.0%. In contrast to this result, in 66.7% of ATL patients and 37.5% of MM patients, septicemia occurred even when neutrophil counts were more than 3,000/mm3. Septicemia occurred in 28.2% of the total patients but died. The mortality rate in MM and AA patients (50.0% respectively) was higher than in other diseases. According to the mortality of each causative organisms, fungal septicemia had a terribly high mortality of 82.9% while other bacterial mortality was about 20%.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1995

Enzymic method for the amperometric determination of nicotinic acid in meat products.

An enzymic method for the determination of nicotinic acid is described, based on the indirect electrochemical monitoring of nicotinic acid via its reaction with oxygen in the presence of nicotinic acid hydroxylase. Derivative amperometric signals due to oxygen depletion enable a one-point kinetic analysis to be carried out. Nicotinic acid hydroxylase catalyses the hydroxylation of nicotinic acid to produce 6-hydroxynicotinic acid, which is accompanied by a stoichiometric consumption of oxygen. The method was applied successfully to the analysis of real samples.

Catalysis↗
PubMed1994

Purification and characterization of protein kinase C from a higher plant, Brassica campestris L.

Protein kinase C (PKC) was partially purified from Brassica campestris L., by successive chromatographies on DEAE-cellulose membrane, hydroxyapatite and phenyl-5PW columns. The purified preparation showed typical characteristics of the conventional type of mammalian PKC that responds to Ca2+, phosphatidylserine, and diacylglycerol or the tumor-promoting phorbol ester, phorbol 12-myristate 13-acetate. The plant PKC activity was apparently associated with a 75-kDa polypeptide that was recognized by an antibody against the catalytic domain of rat PKC. Substrate specificity of the plant PKC was similar to that of the rat PKC. A synthetic peptide corresponding to residues 4-14 of myelin basic protein, which is a selective substrate for the mammalian PKC, was phosphorylated efficiently by the plant PKC. These results indicate the existence of a PKC equivalent in higher plant cells.

Brassica↗
PubMed1994

[The monitoring of cytomegalovirus antigenemia and arterial oxygen saturation for the early detection of cytomegalovirus pneumonia].

Eighteen patients underwent allogeneic bone marrow transplantation (allo. BMT) during the period May, 1991 to December, 1992 in the Center for Adult Diseases, Osaka. They were monitored for cytomegalovirus (CMV) antigenemia and arterial oxygen saturation (SaO2). More than 10 antigen-positive cells per 50,000 polymorphonuclear leukocytes were detected in five of 18 patients. Three of these 5 patients developed CMV pneumonia several weeks after the first detection of more than 10 positive cells. Six of 18 patients developed interstitial pneumonia (IP) (3 CMV pneumonia and 3 idiopathic IP). SaO2 decreased less than 95% several days before the development of IP in 3 of these 6 patients (2 of CMV pneumonia and 1 of idiopathic IP). CMV antigenemia assay and SaO2 assay were thus both considered to be useful for the early detection or prediction of development of CMV pneumonia.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1993

Sensitive spectrophotometric method for the determination of ethylenediaminetetraacetic acid in foods.

A sensitive spectrophotometric method for the determination of ethylenediaminetetraacetic acid (EDTA) in foods is described. The method involves the reaction of EDTA with Fe3+ to produce the EDTA-Fe chelate, followed by the removal of excess of Fe3+ by a chelate extraction technique using chloroform and N-benzoyl-N-phenylhydroxylamine and the formation of a chromophore with 4,7-diphenyl-1,10-phenanthroline-disulfonic acid. The calibration graph was linear in the range 0.5-40.0 micrograms cm-3 of EDTA with a slope of 21.1. The relative standard deviation at 10 micrograms cm-3 of EDTA was 1.6% (n = 10). There was no interference from most of the common ingredients of commercial foods. More than 90% of EDTA added at two levels was recovered from real samples. The method was applied to the determination of EDTA in various foods, and the results obtained were compared with those given by high-performance liquid chromatography.

Edetic Acid↗
PubMed1992

Enzymic method for the spectrophotometric determination of choline in liquor.

A sensitive spectrophotometric method for the determination of choline in liquor is described. The method involves the conversion of choline into formaldehyde by sequential enzymic reactions (choline oxidase and catalase), followed by the formation of a chromophore with 4-aminopent-3-en-2-one. The calibration graph was linear in the range 0.4-15 micrograms cm-3 of choline. The relative standard deviation at 5 micrograms cm-3 of choline was 1.3%. There was no interference from most of the common ingredients of liquor. More than 95% of choline added at two levels was recovered from real samples. The method is simple, and the detection limit was 2 micrograms g-1 when 5 g of sample were assayed.

Alcohol Oxidoreductases↗