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Biomedical subjects

Y Taguchi

Publications and source records attributed to Y Taguchi.

At least 37 records · Page 2Linked to original sources
PubMed2000

Fine localization of a major disease-susceptibility locus for diffuse panbronchiolitis.

Diffuse panbronchiolitis affecting East Asians is strongly associated with the class I human leukocyte antigen (HLA) alleles. Recent observations suggest that a major disease-susceptibility gene may be located between the HLA-B and HLA-A loci in the class I region of the major histocompatibility complex on chromosome 6. To test this possibility, we analyzed 14 polymorphic markers in 92 Japanese patients and 93 healthy controls. Of these, seven marker alleles, including HLA-B54 and HLA-A11, were significantly associated with the disease. Maximum-likelihood haplotype analysis and subsequent direct determination of individual haplotypes identified a group of disease-associated haplotypes, one of which contained all seven disease-associated marker alleles. Another haplotype, containing HLA-B*5504, was also associated with the disease. All these haplotypes seem to have diverged from a common ancestral haplotype in East Asians and share a specific segment containing three consecutive markers between the S and TFIIH loci in the class I region. Furthermore, one of the markers within the candidate region showed the highest delta value, indicating the strongest association. Of 20 Korean patients with diffuse panbronchiolitis, 17 also shared the combination of the disease-associated marker alleles within the candidate region. These results indicate that an HLA-associated major susceptibility gene for diffuse panbronchiolitis is probably located within the 200 kb in the class I region 300 kb telomeric of the HLA-B locus on the chromosome 6p21.3.

Alleles↗
PubMed2000

Establishment of a porcine cell line from in vitro-produced blastocysts and transfer of the cells into enucleated oocytes.

The present study was conducted to establish a porcine cell line from blastocysts produced in vitro and to examine the developmental ability of nuclear transfer embryos reconstituted with the cells and enucleated mature oocytes. When hatched blastocysts were cultured in Dulbecco's modified Eagle's medium with supplements, no colonies of embryo-derived cells were observed. In contrast, 56% of embryos that were attached to feeder layers of STO cells formed colonies in NCSU-23 with supplements. When the colonies were subcultured in the absence of feeder cells, a cell line with an epithelial-like cell morphology was obtained. This cell morphology was stable up to at least passage 30. Although no fused embryos were observed when a pulse of 100 V/mm was applied, the fusion rate increased significantly at 150 V/mm (28%) and 200 V/mm (64%). At 200 V/mm, 39% of fused embryos cleaved, but no embryos developed beyond the 3-cell stage. When cocultured with electro-activated oocytes, percentages of reconstructed embryos cleaved (65%) and developed to the 4-cell stage (23%) were significantly higher than percentages for those (cleavage: 38%; 4-cell stage: 3%) in the absence of activated oocytes. At 7 days after culture, one reconstructed embryo successfully developed to the blastocyst stage in the presence of activated oocytes. When green fluorescent protein-expressing cells and enucleated oocytes were fused and the fused embryos were cultured with electro-activated oocytes, 3 of 102 reconstructed embryos developed to the blastocyst stage. All of the blastocysts were positive for fluorescent green under ultraviolet light. The results of the present study indicate that a porcine cell line can be established from the hatched blastocyst and maintained in vitro for a long period, and that reconstructed embryos obtained by transferring the blastocyst-derived cells into enucleated oocytes have the ability to develop to the blastocyst stage in vitro.

Animals↗
PubMed2000

[Chest radiograph of atypical pneumonia: comparison among Chlamydia pneumoniae. Pneumonia, ornithosis, and Mycoplasma pneumoniae pneumonia].

No report has been found comparing Chlamydia pneumoniae (C. pneumoniae) pneumonia radiographically with other atypical pneumonias, Chlamydia psittaci (C. psittaci) pneumonia and Mycoplasma pneumoniae (M. pneumoniae) pneumonia. We described the chest radiographs of three kinds of pneumonia cases: 46 cases of C. pneumoniae pneumonia, 39 cases of C. psittaci pneumonia, and 131 cases of M. pneumoniae pneumonia. Radiographic shadows were categorized into main shadows and sub-shadows. The main shadows are classified from the viewpoint of the characteristics; air space consolidation(AS), ground-glass opacity(GG), reticular shadow(RS), bronchopneumonia(BP), and small nodular shadows (SN). The size, the site, and the number of the main shadows were also analyzed. In comparison among the three pneumonias, BP was the most frequent in M. pneumoniae pneumonia (0.40/case). AS predominated in C. pneumoniae pneumonia (0.67/case), and GG in C. psittaci pneumonia (0.62/case). The number of main shadows was equal, about 1.4/case in three pneumonias. Large shadows were less frequent in M. pneumoniae pneumonia than C. pneumoniae pneumonia (p = 0.02) and C. psittaci pneumonia (p = 0.01). Main shadows were more frequent in the outer zone in M. pneumoniae pneumonia than C. psittaci pneumonia (p = 0.01), and in the middle zone in C. psittaci pneumonia than in M. pneumoniae pneumonia (p = 0.02). Cases with bilateral main shadows were less common in M. pneumoniae pneumonia (9%) than C. pneumoniae pneumonia(33%, p = 0.001) and C. psittaci pneumonia(30%, p = 0.005). Thickening of bronchovascular bundles as a sub-shadow was most frequently noted in M. pneumoniae pneumonia. Some differences among the three atypical pneumonias were seen in the chest radiograph. However, no specific findings of C. pneumoniae pneumonia were shown radiographically in this study.

Aged↗
PubMed2000

Role of activated protein C in Helicobacter pylori-associated gastritis.

The protein C (PC) pathway has recently been suggested to play a role in the regulation of the inflammatory response. To further extend the anti-inflammatory effect of activated PC (APC) in vivo, particularly its biological relevance to human disease, the activity of APC in the mucosa of patients with Helicobacter pylori-associated gastritis and the effect of vacuolating cytotoxin (VacA), cytotoxin-associated antigen (CagA), and H. pylori lipopolysaccharide (LPS) on PC activation were evaluated. This study comprised 35 patients with chronic gastritis. There were 20 patients with and 15 without H. pylori infection. The levels of PC and APC-PC inhibitor (PCI) complex were measured by immunoassays. The level of PC was significantly decreased and the level of APC-PCI complex was significantly increased in biopsy specimens from gastric corpus and antrum in patients with H. pylori-associated gastritis as compared to H. pylori-negative subjects. The concentrations of VacA, CagA, and LPS were significantly correlated with those of the APC-PCI complex in biopsy mucosal specimens from the gastric corpus and antrum. H. pylori LPS, VacA, and CagA induced a dose-dependent activation of PC on the surface of monocytic cells. APC inhibited the secretion of tumor necrosis factor alpha (TNF-alpha) induced by H. pylori LPS. Overall, these results suggest that H. pylori infection is associated with increased APC generation in the gastric mucosa. The inhibitory activity of APC on TNF-alpha secretion may serve to protect H. pylori-induced gastric mucosal damage.

Antigens, Bacterial↗
PubMed2000

Recurrent craniopharyngioma with nasopharyngeal extension.

We report the case of a 10-year-old boy having a recurrent craniopharyngioma with nasopharyngeal extension during a course of growth hormone therapy, in whom the nasopharyngeal craniopharyngioma was totally resected despite its extensive growth by using a transbasal approach. There has been no evidence of recurrence during 6 years of follow-up. A literature review was made with respect to nasopharyngeal extension of craniopharyngiomas, and the efficacy of the transbasal approach for those tumors is discussed.

Child↗
PubMed2000

Essential requirement of BMPs-2/4 for both osteoblast and osteoclast formation in murine bone marrow cultures from adult mice: antagonism by noggin.

Bone morphogenetic proteins (BMPs) have been heretofore implicated in the induction of osteoblast differentiation from uncommitted progenitors during embryonic skeletogenesis and fracture healing. We have tested the hypothesis that BMPs are also involved in the osteoblastogenesis that takes place in the bone marrow in postnatal life. To do this, we took advantage of the properties of noggin, a recently discovered protein that binds BMP-2 and -4 and blocks their action. Addition of human recombinant noggin to bone marrow cell cultures from normal adult mice inhibited both osteoblast and osteoclast formation; these effects were reversed by exogenous BMP-2. Consistent with these findings, BMP-2 and -4 and BMP-2/4 receptor transcripts and proteins were detected in these primary cultures, in a bone marrow-derived stromal/osteoblastic cell line, as well as in murine adult whole bone; noggin expression was also documented in all these preparations. Moreover, addition of antinoggin antibody caused an increase in osteoblast progenitor formation. These findings suggest that BMP-2 and -4 are expressed in the bone marrow in postnatal life and serve to maintain the continuous supply of osteoblasts and osteoclasts; and that, in fact, BMP-2/4-induced commitment to the osteoblastic lineage is a prerequisite for osteoclast development. Hence, BMPs, perhaps in balance with noggin and possibly other antagonists, may provide the tonic baseline control of the rate of bone remodeling on which other inputs (e.g., hormonal, biomechanical, etc.) operate.

Animals↗
PubMed2000

A profound hemispheric hypoperfusion with relatively small infarcts indicates a progressing stroke.

We determined clinical features of patients who had a profound hemispheric hypoperfusion with relatively small, acute cerebral infarcts. One hundred and thirty-five patients with acute cerebral infarction underwent both magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) and cerebral blood flow (CBF) measurement in the acute phase of stroke. Eleven (8.1%) had a profound hemispheric hypoperfusion with relatively small infarcts. In these patients, magnetic resonance angiography or conventional angiography was performed, demonstrating the internal carotid artery (ICA) stenosis or occlusion on the ipsilateral side of the infarcts. MRI and CBF measurement were repeated one month later. All of 11 patients suffered from a mild consciousness disturbance, and showed a progress of neurological symptoms during a few days, indicative of a progressing stroke. Five patients of 11 concomitantly had atherosclerotic lesions in the arteries distal to the circle of Willis. The remaining six patients had only the ICA lesions. The prognosis of the former was poor and the hemispheric hypoperfusion pattern did not improved. On the other hand, the prognosis of the latter was good and the hemispheric hypoperfusion was recovered soon. In conclusion, if the collateral flow through the circle of Willis could compensate the misery perfusion, the prognosis of low-flow infarctions with ipsilateral ICA lesions might be good.

Acute Disease↗
PubMed2000

[Occurrence of BOOP outside radiation field after tangential radiation therapy for breast carcinoma].

We report three cases of bronchiolitis obliterans organizing pneumonia (BOOP) that occurred outside the radiation field after radiation therapy using tangential fields for breast carcinoma. All patients complained of a cough between 14 and 20 weeks after completion of radiation therapy. Fever also developed in two of the three. Chest radiography and computed tomography demonstrated peripheral alveolar opacities outside the radiation field on the same side as the radiation therapy. Laboratory data showed an increased level of C-reactive protein and an increased erythrocyte sedimentation rate. Bronchoalveolar lavage showed an elevated total cell count with a very high percentage of lymphocytes. Transbronchial lung biopsy revealed a histologic pattern consistent with BOOP. Treatment with corticosteroids resulted in rapid clinical improvement and complete resolution of the radiographic abnormalities. This pulmonary disorder appears to be induced by radiation, especially when a tangential field is employed for breast carcinoma, though the etiology has not been fully investigated. It is important to be aware of this type of pulmonary complication in patients given radiotherapy for breast carcinoma.

Breast Neoplasms↗
PubMed2000

[A patient of MELAS with 3271 mutation with fatal outcome after alcohol intake].

A patient of MELAS is reported. A 28-year-old woman was admitted to Shimada Municipal Hospital because of nausea, vomiting, and right homonymous hemianopsia. She had past history of dizziness and convulsion. A brain magnetic resonance imaging showed an ischemic lesion in the left occipital lobe, which disappeared in the follow-up study. Laboratory examination indicated elevated lactate and pyruvate levels in both blood and cerebrospinal fluid. The muscle biopsy demonstrated ragged-red fibers and strongly SDH-reactive blood vessels. PCR-RFLP analysis of DNA extracted from her muscle and blood as well as her mother's blood revealed a T to C mutation at nucleophile position of 3271 in mitochondrial DNA. She was diagnosed as having MELAS and discharged. One year after the first admission, she re-visited our hospital because of three days' duration of fatigability and generalized muscle pain after alcohol intake. She had severe lactic acidosis, rhabdomyolysis and acute renal failure. Despite a continuous hemodialysis and other intensive efforts, the patient died 20 hours later. Alcohol intake has been reported to induce rhabdomyolysis in myopathy with mitochondrial DNA deletions. The course of this patient suggests that alcohol intake can be an aggravating factor also in MELAS.

Adult↗
PubMed2000

Crystal structure and preferred conformation of beta-lactams derived from (S)-1-arylethyl isocyanates and vinyl ethers.

The configurational analysis of beta-lactams prepared from [2 + 2] cycloaddition of vinyl ethers to pure enantiomers of 1-arylethyl isocyanates was carried out by high resolution 1H NMR. The addition of a chiral shift reagent revealed that the most important conformation of the studied beta-lactams in solution is that in which the methine proton, of the exocyclic stereogenic carbon, points towards the carbonyl oxygen atom. Since the configuration of the stereogenic exocyclic carbon is known, the orientation of the aromatic ring allows the correlation of the chemical shifts with the absolute configuration of the new stereogenic centers. This method is particularly useful to establish the stereochemistry of oily beta-lactams having the N-(1-arylethyl) group. The X-ray crystallographic analysis carried out with (1R,5S)-7-[(1S)-1-(1-naphthyl) ethyl]-2-oxa-7-azabicyclo[3.2.0]heptan-6-one, is consistent with the proposed model for beta-lactams in solution.

Crystallography, X-Ray↗
PubMed1999

Meltrin-alpha, a fusion protein involved in multinucleated giant cell and osteoclast formation.

The formation of multinucleated cells such as myotubes, macrophage-derived giant cells (MGC), and osteoclasts is the result of cell-cell fusion of mononuclear precursors. Meltrin-alpha, -beta, and -gamma are members of a recently discovered family of proteins that contain disintegrin and metalloprotease domains and are related to fertilin, a protein involved in egg-sperm fusion. Based on this and evidence implicating meltrin-alpha in myoblast formation, we have investigated the possibility that meltrins may also play a role in the formation of MGC and osteoclasts. Using in situ RT-PCR, we have determined that murine mononuclear alveolar macrophages cultured under basal conditions express the transcript for meltrin-beta, but not for meltrin-alpha. However, meltrin-alpha mRNA appeared in mononuclear cells before cell fusion after treatment with 1,25-dihydroxyvitamin D3 [1,25(OH)2D3], a potent inducer of giant cell and osteoclast formation. Moreover, addition of meltrin-alpha antisense oligonucleotides to the cultures caused a 50% inhibition of giant cell formation. Similarly, meltrin-alpha antisense oligonucleotides inhibited by 70% the formation of multinucleated osteoclast-like cells expressing tartrate-resistant acid phosphatase (TRAP) in co-cultures of bone marrow cells and osteoblastic cells (2107) in the presence of 1,25(OH)2D3. Mononucleated TRAP-positive cells, induced by 1,25(OH)2D3 in the co-cultures, also expressed meltrin-alpha mRNA, but their number was not changed in the presence of meltrin-alpha antisense oligonucleotide. In contrast to mononuclear macrophages and osteoclast-like cells, murine bone marrow stroma and calvaria derived-cell lines (+/+ LDA.11 and 2107), primary cultures of calvaria cells, and primary cultures of bone marrow cells expressed both meltrin-alpha and -beta mRNA under basal conditions; whereas embryonic fibroblasts (NIH3T3) expressed only the meltrin-beta transcript. Upregulation of meltrin-alpha protein expression during cell fusion in alveolar macrophages and expression in osteoblastic cell lines were confirmed by Western blot analysis. These observations demonstrate that meltrins play a role in MGC and osteoclast formation from mononuclear precursors, as in the case with myotubes.

ADAM Proteins↗
PubMed1999

Early postmenopausal bone loss is prevented by estrogen and partially by 1alpha-OH-vitamin D3: therapeutic effects of estrogen and/or 1alpha-OH-vitamin D3.

A total of 79 Japanese women who were within 5 years of menopause were randomly assigned 1alpha-hydroxyvitamin D3 [1alpha(OH)D3] 1.0 microg/day, conjugated estrogens 0.625 mg/day, a combination of both, or control (no treatment). Lumbar spine and proximal femur bone mineral density (BMD) and biochemical indices were monitored over 2 years. In the 1alpha(OH)D3-treated group, there was a nonsignificant decrease in lumbar spine BMD compared with controls, and no significant loss in the femoral neck compared with controls. In the estrogen-treated group, there was a nonsignificant increase in spine BMD (+2.17% in the first year and +1.71% in the second year), and no loss in femoral neck BMD. The combination of conjugated estrogens +1alpha(OH)D3 was more effective in increasing BMD in the spine (+3. 68% in the first year and +3.63% in the second year) and femur (+2. 56% in the first year and +4.44% in the second year) BMD. There was a significant difference in lumbar spine BMD in both the first and second years between the combination-treated group and the 1alpha(OH)D3-treated and control groups (P < 0.01). Serum osteocalcin (OC) significantly decreased in the combination-treated group (-23.8% in the first year) and the estrogen-treated group (-37. 6% and -41.2% at 6 and 18 months, respectively), and serum alkaline phosphatase (Alp) decreased significantly in the first year in the combination-treated (-31.5%), estrogen-treated (-27.3%), and 1alpha(OH)D3-treated (-7.9%) groups, whereas serum OC increased (+45. 4% in the first year) in women without treatment. The results of this study indicate that early postmenopausal bone loss in the femoral neck is prevented by conjugated estrogens, 1alpha(OH)D3, or both, whereas bone loss in the spine is not prevented by 1alpha(OH)D3. Estrogen proves effective in preventing early postmenopausal bone loss by markedly inhibiting bone turnover. Moreover, a synergistic bone-sparing effect can be expected when estrogen is administered concomitantly with 1alpha(OH)D3 rather than when used alone.

Adult↗
PubMed1999

Transient mutism resolving into cerebellar speech after brain stem infarction following a traumatic injury of the vertebral artery in a child.

A 3.7-year-old girl presented with an anterior neck injury followed by progressive subcutaneous emphysema and loss of consciousness. After resuscitation, a laceration on the first tracheal cartilage was closed surgically. As she was extubated one week later, she was found to have right hemiplegia and muteness. MRI showed a T2-bright lesion on the tegmentum of the left midbrain down to the upper pons. Right vertebral angiography disclosed an intimal flap with stenosis at the C3 vertebral level presumably caused by a fracture of the right C3 transverse process later confirmed in a cervical 3D-CT scan. Her muteness lasted for 10 days, after which she began to utter some comprehensible words in a dysarthric fashion. Her neurological deficits showed improvement within 3 months of her admission. Transient mutism after brain stem infarction has not been reported previously. We discuss the anatomical bases for this unusual reversible disorder in the light of previous observations and conclude that bilateral damage to the dentatothalamocortical fibers at the decussation of the superior cerebellar peduncle may have been responsible for her transient mutism.

Brain Mapping↗
PubMed1999

Capillary changes with fenestrations in the contralateral soleus muscle of the rat following unilateral limb immobilization.

Using electron microscopy, we examined structural changes in the capillaries of the immobilized and contralateral soleus muscles in the rat after the unilateral limb had been immobilized for 4 weeks. Individual contralateral muscle fibers showed a normal structure, compared with the structure in the immobilized muscle fibers. Most capillaries in the contralateral muscle were of the continuous type. However, about 5% of the examined capillaries in these muscles in each rat had fenestrations. The non-nuclear portions of the endothelial cells in these capillaries were extremely thin and were perforated by several fenestrations that were bridged by a single-layered diaphragm. The fenestration of capillaries in the contralateral muscle may have been caused by some the unilateral limb immobilization.

Animals↗
PubMed1999

Association of diffuse panbronchiolitis with microsatellite polymorphism of the human interleukin 8 (IL-8) gene.

Diffuse panbronchiolitis (DPB) is a distinctive chronic inflammatory lung disease predominantly found in Asian populations. Although its etiology is unknown, DPB is considered to be a multifactorial disease of whose susceptibility is determined by genetic predisposition unique to Asians. We and others have previously reported that the B*5401 allele of the human leukocyte antigen (HLA)-B gene or a closely linked gene in the HLA region on 6p21.3 is one of the major genetic factors in susceptibility to this disease. However, the association with B*5401 is not absolute and the contribution of other genetic or environmental factors should also be considered. Here, four candidate genes that are postulated to play a role in the pathophysiology of DPB, namely, RON-kinase, CYP3A4, motilin, and interleukin (IL)-8, were chosen, and association studies between microsatellite markers at these loci and DPB were conducted. We demonstrated the presence of a specific allele at the IL-8 locus was associated with the disease (c2 = 9.13; P = 0.0025; corrected P [Pc] < 0.05). Although further studies are needed to examine whether neutrophil accumulation in the airways of patients with DPB is controlled by a possible genetic variation of IL-8 or other chemokine genes located in the region 4q12-q13, our data suggest that genes other than those of the HLA system may also contribute to a genetic predisposition to DPB.

Asian People↗