Sonography as a replacement for sialography for the diagnosis of salivary glands affected by Sjögren's syndrome.
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Humans↗
Biomedical subjects
Y Takagi
Publications and source records attributed to Y Takagi.
Cannulation of simple bone cysts.
We describe a consecutive series of 26 patients with simple bone cysts who were treated by curettage, multiple drilling and continuous decompression by the insertion of either a cannulated screw or a pin. In the first 15 patients we used titanium cannulated screws (group 1) and in the next 11 a cannulated hydroxyapatite pin (group 2). Satisfactory healing was achieved in 12 patients in group 1 (80%) and in all in group 2. This technique seems to be a promising option for the treatment of simple bone cysts. The cannulated hydroxyapatite pin is recommended because of its higher success rate and the fact that it does not need to be removed.
Adolescent↗
[Pacemaker therapy in Kearns-Sayre syndrome].
Kearns-Sayre syndrome is regarded as a type of mitochondrial encephalomyopathy accompanied with mitochondrial DNA abnormality of the muscle. Diagnosis of this disease is based upon the progressive external ophthalmoplegia, atypical retinal pigmentation and cardiac conduction block. We report two clinical cases of this disorder treated with permanent pacemaker implantation at a 20 year old man (patient 1) and a 27 years old woman (patient 2). Patient 1 with bifascicular block at 19 years old progressed into complete heart block at 20 years old. Patient 2 with complete heart block was occurred "torsade de pointes." Several problems of this disease in permanent pacing should be considered the patients' small size, pacing mode selection and coexistence of congenital heart disease. Routine electrocardiography is recommended for these patients and bifascicular block in this disease constitutes a definite indication for prophylactic pacemaker implantation.
Adult↗
Detection of peritoneal micrometastases by reverse transcriptase-polymerase chain reaction targeting carcinoembryonic antigen and cytokeratin 20 in colon cancer patients.
Peritoneal recurrence after curative resection of malignant tumor with negative cytology is considered to be caused by microscopic dissemination of the exfoliated cancer cells from primary tumors to serosal surfaces at the time of operation, not detectable with conventional diagnostic tools. We applied the reverse transcriptase-polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) for carcinoembryonic antigen (CEA) and cytokeratin 20 (CK 20) to detect micrometastatic foci in the peritoneal cavity of colon cancer patients. Cytological samples taken by peritoneal lavage from a series of 79 colon cancer patients were analyzed microscopically, for CEA levels, and by RT-PCR analysis using nested primers for CEA and CK 20. Cases with both CEA and CK 20 signals were defined as PCR-positive. This RT-PCR method proved both sensitive (1 tumor cell/10(6) non-tumor cells on preparation of serial colorectal cancer cell dilutions) and specific (no false positive results, 0/23 tested in our control experiment). Intraperitoneal micrometastatic cells were detected in peritoneal lavage 7.6% by cytology, 17.7% by CEA levels, and 24.1% by RT-PCR (significantly higher than by cytology: p=0.0046). RT-PCR detection rate increased in parallel with pathological depth of tumor invasion, and also a pathological stage-dependence was suggested according to the tumor-node-metastasis classification of the International Union Against Cancer. Our results suggest that CEA and CK 20 mRNA identification by RT-PCR appeared to be reliable and may be useful for early diagnosis in peritoneal dissemination of colon cancer.
Aged↗
Molecular cloning, expression, and site-directed mutations of oxidosqualene cyclase from Cephalosporium caerulens.
A cDNA for oxidosqualene:lanosterol cyclase (OSLC) was cloned and sequenced from the fungus Cephalosporium caerulens, that produces a steroidal antibiotic, helvolic acid. A 2280 bp open reading frame encoded an M(r) 87078 protein with 760 amino acids. The cDNA was functionally expressed in the OSLC-deficient mutant GIL77 strain of Saccharomyces cerevisiae. A truncated recombinant enzyme (Delta49N) starting from the second methionine (M50) residue was completely inactive, suggesting that ca. 30 additional hydrophilic amino acid residues at the N-terminal are essential for the folding of the enzyme. Furthermore, the active site residues, H234 and D456 (numbering in S. cerevisiae OSLC), were chosen for site-directed mutagenesis experiments; H234E, H234Y, H234F, D456E, D456N, and D456H mutants were inactive, while H234W and H234K mutants retained lanosterol-forming activity.
Acremonium↗
[Present status and future of clinical laboratory tests(discussion)].
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Clinical Laboratory Techniques↗
PhaR, a protein of unknown function conserved among short-chain-length polyhydroxyalkanoic acids producing bacteria, is a DNA-binding protein and represses Paracoccus denitrificans phaP expression in vitro.
A putative regulatory protein, PhaR, which was identified in the polyhydroxyalkanoic acid synthetic locus (phaZCPR) in Paracoccus denitrificans, was investigated. The PhaR protein purified from a recombinant Escherichia coli was estimated to be 22 kDa by sodium dodecyl sulfate-polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis, being consistent with the mass calculated from the nucleotide sequence. The molecular mass was determined to be 93 kDa by size-exclusion chromatography, suggesting that the protein formed a tetramer. A gel mobility shift assay showed that PhaR specifically bound to the intergenic region of phaC--phaP. In a cell-free protein synthesis system using E. coli S30 extract, the expression of the phaP gene was repressed by the addition of purified PhaR. These results suggest that PhaR is a DNA-binding protein and may play a role in the regulation of phaP gene expression.
Bacterial Proteins↗
A multiprotein complex that interacts with RNA polymerase II elongator.
A three-subunit Hap complex that interacts with the RNA polymerase II Elongator was isolated from yeast. Deletions of genes for two Hap subunits, HAP1 and HAP3, confer pGKL killer-insensitive and weak Elongator phenotypes. Preferential interaction of the Hap complex with free rather than RNA polymerase II-associated Elongator suggests a role in the regulation of Elongator activity.
Amino Acid Sequence↗
Recent advances in the elucidation of the mechanisms of action of ribozymes.
The cleavage of RNA can be accelerated by a number of factors. These factors include an acidic group (Lewis acid) or a basic group that aids in the deprotonation of the attacking nucleophile, in effect enhancing the nucleophilicity of the nucleophile; an acidic group that can neutralize and stabilize the leaving group; and any environment that can stabilize the pentavalent species that is either a transition state or a short-lived intermediate. The catalytic properties of ribozymes are due to factors that are derived from the complicated and specific structure of the ribozyme-substrate complex. It was postulated initially that nature had adopted a rather narrowly defined mechanism for the cleavage of RNA. However, recent findings have clearly demonstrated the diversity of the mechanisms of ribozyme-catalyzed reactions. Such mechanisms include the metal-independent cleavage that occurs in reactions catalyzed by hairpin ribozymes and the general double-metal-ion mechanism of catalysis in reactions catalyzed by the Tetrahymena group I ribozyme. Furthermore, the architecture of the complex between the substrate and the hepatitis delta virus ribozyme allows perturbation of the pK(a) of ring nitrogens of cytosine and adenine. The resultant perturbed ring nitrogens appear to be directly involved in acid/base catalysis. Moreover, while high concentrations of monovalent metal ions or polyamines can facilitate cleavage by hammerhead ribozymes, divalent metal ions are the most effective acid/base catalysts under physiological conditions.
Catalysis↗
FGF-2 regulation of neurogenesis in adult hippocampus after brain injury.
Fibroblast growth factor-2 (FGF-2) promotes proliferation of neuroprogenitor cells in culture and is up-regulated within brain after injury. Using mice genetically deficient in FGF-2 (FGF-2(-/-) mice), we addressed the importance of endogenously generated FGF-2 on neurogenesis within the hippocampus, a structure involved in spatial, declarative, and contextual memory, after seizures or ischemic injury. BrdUrd incorporation was used to mark dividing neuroprogenitor cells and NeuN expression to monitor their differentiation into neurons. In the wild-type strain, hippocampal FGF-2 increased after either kainic acid injection or middle cerebral artery occlusion, and the numbers of BrdUrd/NeuN-positive cells significantly increased on days 9 and 16 as compared with the controls. In FGF-2(-/-) mice, BrdUrd labeling was attenuated after kainic acid or middle cerebral artery occlusion, as was the number of neural cells colabeled with both BrdUrd and NeuN. After FGF-2(-/-) mice were injected intraventricularly with a herpes simplex virus-1 amplicon vector carrying FGF-2 gene, the number of BrdUrd-labeled cells increased significantly to values equivalent to wild-type littermates after kainate seizures. These results indicate that endogenously synthesized FGF-2 is necessary and sufficient to stimulate proliferation and differentiation of neuroprogenitor cells in the adult hippocampus after brain insult.
Animals↗
Expression of thioredoxin in bleomycin-injured airway epithelium: possible role of protection against bleomycin induced epithelial injury.
Bleomycin (BLM) is an anticancer drug, administration of which leads to severe lung injury, in which the generation of intracellular reactive oxygen species (ROS) is thought to participate in that. Thioredoxin (TRX) has been found to function as a powerful antioxidant by reducing ROS, and thus protecting against ROS-mediated cytotoxicity. However, a protective role of TRX in BLM-induced lung injury has not been determined. In the present study, we therefore attempted to clarify this issue. Human TRX-transfected L929 murine fibrosarcoma cells were more resistant to BLM-induced cytotoxicity than the parental and the control transfected cells, indicating that TRX plays the protective role in BLM-induced cytotoxicity. Next, we examined TRX expression in the lung of in vivo model of BLM-induced lung injury and BLM-stimulated bronchial epithelial cells in vitro to clarify the role of TRX in BLM-induced lung injury. In the lungs of BLM-treated mice, the expression of TRX was strongly induced in bronchial epithelial cells. TRX expression was also up-regulated at both the mRNA and protein levels in cultured BEC with the treatment with BLM. However, the expression of other major antioxidants, such as Cu/Zn-SOD, Mn-SOD, catalase and glutathione peroxidase, was not affected by BLM. These observations suggest that the cellular reduction and oxidation (redox) state modified by TRX is involved in the BLM resistancy and the induction of TRX in bronchial epithelial cells might play a protective role in BLM-induced lung injury.
Animals↗
Comparison of plastic prostheses and self-expandable metallic stents in the treatment of malignant esophageal stenosis.
OBJECTIVE: We compared the efficacy of plastic prostheses and self-expandable metallic stents in the treatment of malignant esophageal stenosis and/or fistula. SUBJECTS AND METHODS: Subjects were 31 patients with esophageal cancer, 4 with esophagotracheal fistula, and 1 with esophageal stenosis. A plastic prosthesis was inserted in 15 patients (group A) and a self-expandable metallic stent in 21 patients (group B). We evaluated food ingestion improvement, effectiveness, complications, mean survival, food ingestion duration, the percentage of food ingestion capability in total survival time, and inhospital mortality. RESULTS: No differences were seen in food intake improvement or in the effectiveness between groups, whereas fatal complications were higher in Group A. No significant differences were seen in mean survival, food ingestion duration, percentage of food ingestion capability, or inhospital mortality between groups. CONCLUSION: We concluded that a self-expandable metallic stent was safer than a plastic prosthesis because of fewer serious complications such as bleeding, and recommended the use of metallic stents in the treatment of malignant esophageal stenosis and/or fistula.
Aged↗
Association of the C-509-->T polymorphism, alone of in combination with the T869-->C polymorphism, of the transforming growth factor-beta1 gene with bone mineral density and genetic susceptibility to osteoporosis in Japanese women.
Transforming growth factor-beta1 is an important local regulator of bone metabolism, acting downstream of estrogen and cooperatively with vitamin D. The possible association of a C 509-->T polymorphism in the promoter region of the transforming growth factor-beta1 gene, alone or in combination with a T869-->C (Leu10-->Pro) polymorphism, with bone mineral density and genetic susceptibility to osteoporosis was investigated in 625 postmenopausal Japanese women. The frequencies of the CC, CT, and TT genotypes of the C-509-->T polymorphism in the study population were 24%, 49%, and 27%, respectively. A significant association of C-509-->T genotype with bone mineral density was detected: lumbar spine (L2-L4) and total body bone mineral density values were 7% and 5% lower, respectively, in individuals with the TT genotype than in those with the CT or CC genotype. The serum concentration of transforming growth factor-beta1 did not vary with C-509-->T genotype. Multivariable logistic regression analysis, with adjustment for age, height, body weight, time since menopause, smoking status, body fat mass, and lean mass, revealed a significantly higher frequency of the TT genotype of the C-509-->T polymorphism in 286 individuals with osteoporosis than in 170 normal controls. Analysis of combined C-509-->T and T869-->C genotypes showed that L2-L4 bone mineral density decreases and the prevalence of osteoporosis increases with the number of T alleles. These results suggest that the C-509-->T polymorphism, alone or in combination with the T869-->C polymorphism, of the transforming growth factor-beta1 gene is a genetic determinant of bone mass, and that the number of T alleles in the combined genotype is a risk factor for the genetic susceptibility to osteoporosis in postmenopausal Japanese women.
Aged↗
Comparative study of the relationship between monomer structure and reactivity for two polyhydroxyalkanoate synthases.
Using organically synthesized hydroxyalkanoate coenzyme A thioesters, the activities of two short-chain polyhydroxalkanoate (PHA) synthases were investigated--Ralstonia eutropha PHA synthase (a type I PHA synthase) and Ectothiorhodospira shaposhnikovii PHA synthase (a type III synthase). The results indicate that the two synthases have similar activities towards most of the monomers tested. 3-Hydroxybutyryl CoA was found to be the most efficient substrate for both synthases. Changes in the side-chain length of the monomers affect monomer reactivity, with shortening of the side-chain length having the more severe effect. Hydrophobicity in the side chain appears to play an important role in the catalytic reaction. The configuration and the position of the hydroxyl group also affect the reactivity of a monomer. Monomers with the [S] configuration can not be recognized by either synthase. Moving the hydroxyl group from the beta carbon to the alpha carbon has a much more severe effect on the reactivity of the monomer than moving the hydroxyl group to the gamma carbon. The results demonstrate that the in vitro system can be used to prepare entirely novel polymers that may not be obtainable from living cells because of metabolic restrictions.
Acyl Coenzyme A↗
Asymmetrical development of bones and soft tissues during eye migration of metamorphosing Japanese flounder, Paralichthys olivaceus.
The symmetrical body of flatfish larvae dramatically changes into an asymmetrical form after metamorphosis. Eye migration results in the most significant asymmetrical development seen in any vertebrate. To understand the mechanisms involved in eye migration, bone and cartilage formation was observed during metamorphosis in laboratory-reared Japanese flounder, Paralichthys olivaceus, by using whole-body samples and histological sections. Most of the hard tissues of the cranium (parasphenoid, trabecular cartilage, supraorbital canal, and supraorbital bar) exist symmetrically in the larval period before metamorphosis and develop by twisting in the same direction as that in which the eye migrates. An increase in skin thickness beneath the eye was observed only on the blind side at the beginning of eye migration; this was the first definitive difference between the right and left sides of the body. The pseudomesial bar, a peculiar bone present only in flatfishes, developed from this thick skin and grew dorsad. Novel sac-like structures were found and named retrorbital vesicles. The retrorbital vesicle of the blind side grew larger and faster than that of the ocular side when the right eye moved most dramatically, whereas no difference was observed between the volume of right and left connective tissue in the head. The asymmetrical presence and growth of the pseudomesial bar together with inflation of the retrorbital vesicle on the blind side may be responsible for right eye migration during metamorphosis in the Japanese flounder.
Animals↗
Analgesic effect of etidronate on degenerative joint disease.
In the present study, 80 patients with degenerative joint disease, spondylosis deformans, and/or osteoarthritis of the knee with back or joint pain, especially on movement and strain, were randomly divided into four groups. Group A received no etidronate, while groups B, C and D received 66, 133 and 200 mg/day etidronate, respectively, for 12 months. Every 3 months, after evaluating subjective pain on a visual rating scale (VRS), skin impedance was measured with subjects in a quiet sitting position and with the application of various strains on the spine and knee, including standing up from quiet sitting on a chair, bending forward to flex the spine, squatting to flex the knee, walking 20 paces on a flat floor, ascending 10 stair steps and descending 10 stair steps. A dose related improvement of subjective pain on the VRS with a parallel decrease in the percentage fall in skin impedance was noted. The intra-individual coefficients of variation (CV) of L1-L4 bone mineral density (BMD) on dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry were calculated as a possible index for spondylotic changes before and after treatment as an indication of spondylotic deformity, because no established method is yet available to evaluate such changes objectively. A dose-related decrease in CV of BMD was also noted, parallel to the analgesic effect.
Aged↗
Fall of skin impedance and bone and joint pain.
Pain is a complex neurophysiological and psychological process associated with various electrodermal phenomena, including Galvanic skin response, a fall of resistance to Galvanic current. Because skin impedance, an alternative current counterpart of direct current resistance, is readily measured and is probably more sensitive and stable in reflecting the state of the skin, the relationship between changes in pain and skin impedance was evaluted in the present study. Baseline skin impedance was stable and reproducible within a short time of less than 1 h and on consecutive days with a coefficient of variation of 1%-4%, but it may vary more widely over a longer period of 1 year. Baseline skin impedance gradually rose with advancing age, and females tended to show higher values than males. A highly significant correlation was noted between the percentage fall in skin impedance in response to strain on the joint, such as standing, bending, squatting, walking on a flat floor, and ascending and descending stairs, and pain scores obtained by a visual rating scale according to the Spearman's rank correlation coefficient test. Measurement of the fall in skin impedance may be a useful index of pain-associated somatic changes for a better understanding of the overall manifestations of pain as a step toward to an objective evalution of pain.
Age Factors↗
A new quantitative analytical method of serum biotinidase activity using biocytin as a substrate and its clinical significance in Japan.
We have developed a new quantitative analytical method of serum biotinidase activity, which uses the native substrate biocytin, and to which can be applied the improved agar plate method of biotin bioassay. Assay characteristics were within acceptable ranges (intra-assay CVs, 4.44% and 1.95% at 1.82+/-0.08 and 3.08+/-0.06 pmol/min/ml; day-to-day CV, 5.92% at 2.68+/-0.16 pmol/min/ml). The enzyme activity with biocytin was stable at 4 degrees C for 90 days. The mean value of the serum biotinidase levels in 129 healthy adults was 2.71+/-0.93 pmol/min/ml. The method was clinically comparable with a colorimetric method for detection of biotinidase deficiency. Biotin supplementation treatment normalized our partial biotinidase deficiency patient's serum biotinidase activity. This normalized phenomenon has not yet been observed in a Caucasian patient. We also found that the distribution of the enzyme activities with biotinyl-p-aminobenzoate in 8 of 11 patients with suspected biotin metabolic disorders shifted to a higher level than that of the controls. Although, we have few opportunities to analyze the sera of biotin metabolic disorders in Japan, the new method are suitable for clinical research applications in combination with the colorimetric method.
Adult↗