Simultaneous elevation of serum amylase and lipase levels due to multiclass immunoglobulin-bound enzymes in a patient with alcoholic liver cirrhosis.
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Aged↗
Biomedical subjects
Y Uchida
Publications and source records attributed to Y Uchida.
Decreased regional cerebral metabolic rate for glucose in systemic lupus erythematosus patients with psychiatric symptoms.
To determine brain functional abnormality in systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) patients with psychiatric symptoms, we evaluated 12 active SLE patients with or without psychiatric symptoms by means of [18F]2-fluoro-2-deoxy-D-glucose positron emission tomography (PET), magnetic resonance imaging and neuropsychological testing. Patients with psychiatric symptoms showed significantly poorer performance in tests which subserved attentional function. The PET study revealed that the psychiatric patients had significantly decreased regional cerebral metabolic rates for glucose in the prefrontal, inferior parietal and anterior cingulate regions. Prefrontal, inferior parietal and anterior cingulate dysfunction may be related to attentional deficits that are involved in various psychiatric symptoms in SLE. PET is an invaluable tool to reveal such brain functional abnormality seen in SLE patients with psychiatric symptoms.
Adolescent↗
In vitro reconstitution of the tracheal epithelium.
We have developed a unique in vitro reconstitution system for tracheal epithelia of guinea pigs. In the system, a human amnion membrane was used as a basement membrane and the tracheal epithelial cells were cultured on the epithelial side of the membrane. Three weeks later, the tracheal fibroblasts were co-cultured on the serosal side of the amnion membrane and the culturing was continued for an additional 10 d. The morphology of the cultured epithelial cells consisted of a pseudostratified columnar ciliated epithelium from cuboidal ciliated epithelium during the last 10 d of the culture period. Epithelial cells included both goblet-like and basal cells. In addition, the frequency of each type of differentiated cells was almost identical to that of in vivo tracheas. Interestingly, the same results were obtained when the conditioned medium of the tracheal fibroblasts was used instead of the fibroblasts themselves. These results suggest that epithelial-mesenchymal interaction is likely involved in growth and differentiation of epithelial cells in vivo in a soluble factor(s)-mediated manner. As well as the epithelial cells, the fibroblasts also formed a multilayer during the last 10 d of co-culturing. This indicates that in vitro reconstitution of tracheal epithelia is achieved without addition of any exogenous growth or differentiation factors. The reconstitution system is shown to be useful for investigating the cellular and molecular interaction of epithelial and mesenchymal cells. Possible applications of the culture system and possible factors involved in growth and differentiation of epithelial cells are discussed.
Amnion↗
[Clinical effects of combination therapy with cefozopran and tobramycin for severe infections in patients with hematologic diseases].
We studied clinical effect of a combination therapy with cefozopran (CZOP) and tobramycin (TOB) for infections in 80 patients with hematologic diseases in 15 institutes. Combined doses with CZOP 2 g and TOB 60-90 mg twice a day had been given intravenously. Of the 80 patients, 61 patients (42 with acute leukemia, 10 with malignant lymphoma, 3 with aplastic anemia, 2 with chronic myeloid leukemia, 2 with multiple myeloma, and 2 with myelodysplastic syndrome) were evaluable. Those consisted of 6 patients with septicemia, 49 with suspected septicemia, 3 with pneumonia, and 3 with other infections. Clinical efficacy by the treatment was excellent in 24, good in 17, fair in 9, and poor in 11 patients, and the overall efficacy rate including excellent and good was 67.2%. Microbiologically, 5 of the 6 patients with septicemia (1 coagulase negative Staphylococcus, 2 S. pneumoniae, 1 S. oralis, and 1 E. coli) were responded. The efficacy rate in patients with severe granulocytopenia showing 100/microliter or lesser neutrophil counts during the drug administration was 57.1% (12/21). Side effects and abnormal changes of clinical laboratory findings were observed in 5 patients, and 16 patients, respectively, but most of them were mild. The findings above suggested that the combination therapy with CZOP and TOB is useful as an empiric therapy for severe infections in patients with hematologic diseases.
Adult↗
[Clinical evaluation and significance of measurement of airway hyperresponsiveness in COPD].
Airway hyperresponsiveness (HR) is one of the clinical characteristics of bronchial asthma and COPD. HR of COPD has been known to correlate with progress of pulmonary function in COPD. In order to evaluate the necessity of HR measurement, HR of COPD alone, COPD with asthma, asthma and control subjects was compared. Patients with COPD alone exhibited weak HR, while COPD with asthma represented severe HR, which was the same degree with asthmatics. From these results, we should be cautious in measurement of HR in COPD. Especially patients with FEV1 less than 1 L should be prevented from HR test.
Adult↗
Regulation of growth inhibitory factor expression by epidermal growth factor and interleukin-1beta in cultured rat astrocytes.
Growth inhibitory factor (GIF) is highly expressed in the CNS under physiological conditions, but its expression is reduced in neurodegenerative diseases, such as Alzheimer's disease. The results of this study show that the levels of GIF and GIF mRNA were not influenced by neuroglial interactions. GIF was highly expressed in confluent astrocytes, but the expression was down-regulated in low-density growing astrocytes. A high level of GIF was not observed in serum-starved low-density cultures. These findings suggest that GIF is a quiescent state-specific protein and that two different mechanisms may exist for the cells to enter the quiescent state. Among interleukin-1beta (IL-1beta), fibroblast growth factor-2, epidermal growth factor (EGF), amyloid beta1-42, and 50% O2, only EGF and IL-1beta altered the level of GIF in confluent astrocytes: EGF increased both GIF mRNA and protein, and IL-1beta decreased GIF mRNA, but did not alter GIF protein. Kinetic analysis of the GIF mRNA level revealed the biphasic regulation of GIF mRNA expression by IL-1beta, i.e., a transient up-regulation followed subsequently by down-regulation, explaining in part the discrepancy between the levels of GIF mRNA and protein in astrocytes treated with IL-1beta.
Alzheimer Disease↗
[Alpha 1-antitrypsin deficiency (Siiyama) with pulmonary emphysema].
A 44-year-old man was admitted to the hospital with dyspnea on exertion. Chest radiographs and pulmonary function tests showed evidence of pulmonary emphysema. Serum alpha 1-antitrypsin (alpha 1-AT) could not be detected by nephelometry, immuno-electrophoresis, or iso-electric focusing. However, allele-specific PCR revealed a genotype homozygotic for an alpha 1-AT deficient variant of the Siiyama allele. An elder sister of the proband was also a homozygous carrier of the Siiyama allele. The amino acid sequence for normal alpha 1-AT variants had been substituted by Arg101-Val213-Glu376 in the proband, demonstrating that the alpha 1-antitrypsin-deficient Siiyama variant in this pedigree was derived from M 1 (Val213).
Adult↗
Molecular cloning and characterization of Ca2+-dependent inducible nitric oxide synthase from guinea-pig lung.
We have isolated a full-length cDNA for an inducible nitric oxide synthase (iNOS) from guinea-pig lung. The cDNA has a 3447 bp open reading frame encoding 1149 amino acid residues. The deduced amino acid sequence is approx. 80% identical with iNOS of human epithelial cells and murine macrophages. Consensus recognition sites for cofactors are highly conserved. COS cell lysate transfected with the guinea-pig iNOS shows significant levels of nitric oxide synthase (NOS) activity, and this is inhibited by 79% by chelation of Ca2+ ions. The NOS activity is restored in a concentration-dependent manner by increasing the free Ca2+ level. The NOS activity is also inhibited by trifluoperazine, a calmodulin antagonist, which suggests that the Ca2+ dependence is due to Ca2+-dependent calmodulin binding to the enzyme. Northern blot analysis reveals that the cloned iNOS mRNA is expressed in the lung and the colon in normal guinea pigs. Stimulation in vivo by lipopolysaccharide induces the expression of iNOS in the kidney, the spleen and the colon, but in the lung the same stimulation decreases its expression. These results suggest that the cloned guinea-pig iNOS is distinct in characteristics and expression from previously described iNOS forms.
Amino Acid Sequence↗
p53 and Bcl-2 expression in pneumoconiosis-related pre-cancerous lesions and lung cancers: frequent and preferential p53 expression in pneumoconiotic bronchiolar dysplasias.
To explore the mechanism by which lung cancers excessively arise from pneumoconiosis, we determined the altered expression of p53 and Bcl-2 by immunohistochemistry (IHC) in lung cancers, dysplasias and non-cancerous pulmonary epithelia in pneumoconiotics in comparison with those from non-pneumoconiotic patients. We examined p53 expression in squamous cell carcinomas (SCCs) and dysplasias separately in the central and peripheral zones of bronchial trees, based on observations that SCCs from pneumoconiotic patients occurr more frequently in peripheral epithelia than those from non-pneumoconiotic patients (55 of 72 SCCs with pneumoconiosis vs. 33 of 72 SCCs without pneumoconiosis). Forty-one of 72 patients with pneumoconiosis-related lung cancers had altered p53 expression, which was comparable to the positivity of p53 expression in lung cancers without pneumoconiosis. p53 expression was observed significantly more frequently in bronchiolar dysplasias with pneumoconiosis than in those from non-pneumoconiotic patients (13 of 23 vs. 4 of 22), while p53 expression was found in bronchial dysplasias with pneumoconiosis as frequently as those without pneumoconiosis. Moreover, in patients with pneumoconiosis, bronchiolar dysplasias exhibited p53 expression more frequently than bronchial dysplasias (13 of 23 vs. 4 of 19). When comparison was restricted to bronchiolar dysplasias from patients without lung cancer, p53 expression had a strikingly higher frequency in the dysplasias with pneumoconiosis than in those from non-pneumoconiotic patients (8 of 15 vs. 0 of 14). Bcl-2 occasionally was expressed in squamous metaplasias and basal cell hyperplasias, in contrast to p53, for which immunostaining was negative in these lesions. Altogether, our results show that pre-cancerous and/or cancerous targets in pneumoconiosis may be distributed over a more peripheral zone than those in patients without pneumoconiosis.
Bronchi↗
Animal behavior case of the month. A captive bear was observed to exhibit signs of separation anxiety, decreased fear of human beings, and stereotypical activity.
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Animals↗
Establishment of monoclonal antibody against human Apo B-48 and measurement of Apo B-48 in serum by ELISA method.
The elevation of chylomicrons and chylomicron remnants in plasma would lead to hyperlipidemia and other complications. Apo B-48, which is translated and produced in the adult intestine from the same gene as Apo B-100, is considered to be an essential component of chylomicrons and chylomicron remnants. Using a peptide representing human Apo B-48 C-terminal sequence as immunogen, we established a monoclonal antibody, B48-151, against human Apo B-48. The specific reactivity for Apo B-48 of this monoclonal antibody was confirmed using Western blot analysis of human plasma in fractions isolated as chylomicron and VLDL. Then, we developed a simple sandwich ELISA method for the detection of human Apo B-48 in serum by combining B48-151 as capturing antibody and HRP-conjugated-polyclonal antibodies for Apo B as signaling antibody. The established sandwich ELISA constitutes a simple method to monitorApo B-48 level in chylomicrons and chylomicron remnants in human serum.
Adult↗
Pituitary adenylate cyclase activating peptide induces cGMP-mediated relaxation in guinea-pig airways.
The mechanism of relaxation of the guinea-pig trachea induced by pituitary adenylate cyclase activating peptide (PACAP)-27 was investigated. We examined whether modulators of nitric oxide (NO) and carbon monoxide (CO) affect PACAP-induced response of tracheal strips in vitro. Pretreatment with N omega-nitro-L-arginine methyl ester hydrochloride (L-NAME) and L-arginine (L-arg) had no effect, while 1H-[1,2,4] oxadiazolo[4,3-a]quinoxalin-1-one (ODQ), haemoglobin and zinc protoporphyrin IX (ZnPP-9) partially abolished the PACAP-induced relaxation. PACAP-27 elevated cyclic GMP level in airway smooth muscle tissue. These results indicate that PACAP-27 not only induces cyclic AMP-mediated responses, but also cyclic GMP-mediated responses in the airway. In addition, CO is related to the PACAP-induced elevation of cGMP level in the tracheal tissue.
Analysis of Variance↗
[A case of congenital partial pericardial defect and anomaly of phrenic nerve with cystic bronchiectasis].
Congenital partial pericardial defect is a rare anomaly that causes no symptoms and is often noticed by chance at autopsy or thoracotomy. During an operation on a patient with bronchiectasis, a partial pericardial defect and anomaly of left phrenic nerve were found incidently. A 58-year-old man complaining hemoptysis was referred to our hospital for surgical treatment of the left cystic bronchiectasis. During a thoracotomy, a partial pericardial defect was noticed. Moreover the left phrenic nerve could not be found within the operative field. We performed left pneumonectomy without repair of pericardial defect, and the patient had a satisfactory postoperative course. A relationship was suggested between congenital pericardial defect and the anomaly of the phrenic nerve.
Bronchiectasis↗
Elimination of neutrophils by apoptosis during the resolution of acute pulmonary inflammation in rats.
We evaluated the apoptosis of neutrophils during the resolution of acute pulmonary inflammation induced by exposure to ozone. The inflammatory response was assessed in rat lungs 0, 1, 3, and 7 days after 4-h exposure to air or 2 ppm ozone. Analysis of bronchoalveolar lavage fluid demonstrated significant increases in albumin concentrations on days 0 and 1 and in the number of lavageable neutrophils on days 0, 1, and 3, indicating the presence of acute pulmonary inflammation. These parameters returned to control values on day 7, which suggests that the acute pulmonary inflammation induced by ozone was reversible. On days 1 and 3, but not on day 0, the neutrophils showed morphologic evidence of apoptosis. Based on morphologic analysis, the proportion of apoptotic neutrophils was 23.3 +/- 2.2% on day 1 and 55.7 +/- 3.2% on day 3. Terminal deoxynucleotidyl transferase-mediated dUTP end labeling (TUNEL), in contrast, revealed that the proportion of apoptotic cells was 59.7 +/- 9.1% on day 1 and 68.0 +/- 4.3% on day 3. On day 3, light microscopy and electron microscopy demonstrated engulfment of the neutrophils by macrophages. These findings indicate that the apoptosis of neutrophils followed by their engulfment by macrophages contributes to the clearance of neutrophils from the sites of inflammation. Moreover, TUNEL detected apoptotic neutrophils with greater sensitivity compared with morphologic assessment.
Acute Disease↗
Preventive effects of an antiallergic drug, pemirolast potassium, on restenosis after percutaneous transluminal coronary angioplasty.
BACKGROUND: We recently confirmed that pemirolast potassium, an antiallergic agent, markedly inhibits migration and proliferation of vascular smooth muscle cells. It has also been reported that pemirolast inhibits intimal hyperplasia in animal experiments. METHODS AND RESULTS: To elucidate the preventive effects of pemirolast on restenosis after percutaneous transluminal coronary angioplasty (PTCA), 227 patients were enrolled in this prospective, randomized trial. A total of 205 patients who were compatible with the protocol were analyzed (pemirolast group, 104 patients with 140 lesions; control group, 101 patients with 133 lesions). Patients in the pemirolast group received 20 mg/d of pemirolast from 1 week before PTCA until the time of follow-up angiography (4 months after PTCA). Angiographic restenosis was defined as diameter stenosis >/=50% at follow-up. Restenosis rates were significantly lower in the pemirolast group than in the control group (24.0% vs 46.5% of patients, 18.6% vs 35.3% of lesions, P <.01, respectively). During 8 months of follow-up, there were no coronary events (death, myocardial infarction, coronary artery bypass surgery, or repeated PTCA) in 81.7% of the pemirolast group and in 63.4% of the control group (P =.013). CONCLUSIONS: This study suggested that pemirolast would be useful in the clinical setting to prevent restenosis after PTCA.
Aged↗
Successful prednisone withdrawal after living-related liver transplantation.
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Adolescent↗
Postoperative production of anti-donor antibody and early graft loss due to vascular rejection in renal transplantation.
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Antibody Formation↗
Cerebellopontine angle lymphoma: a case report and review of the literature.
BACKGROUND: Although malignant lymphomas of the central nervous system have been reported to be increasing in frequency, cerebellopontine (CP) angle lymphoma is rare and only 13 cases have been reported previously in the literature. CASE PRESENTATION: A 63-year-old woman had progressive dizziness and nausea for 2 months. Computed tomography scanning and magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) revealed a mass lesion in the left CP angle, that was compressing the lateral-dorsal aspect of the pons and the fourth ventricle. This tumor was avascular on angiography. The tumor was surgically removed through a left lateral suboccipital approach. It was considered to arise from the subarachnoid space of the CP angle cistern. For some reason, the histologic diagnosis was not definitively made, and therefore radiation therapy was not planned. The tumor recurred within 50 days after the tumor excision. Surgical excision of the recurrent tumor was performed again. The histologic diagnosis was B-cell type malignant lymphoma. Radiation therapy was performed. In the 27 months since irradiation, a recurrent tumor has not been detected on MRI. CONCLUSIONS: Although erosion and expansion of the internal auditory canal suggest an acoustic neurinoma, CP angle lymphoma can, in rare circumstances, erode the internal auditory canal. There are three distinct patterns in which malignant lymphomas occupy the CP angle: (1) an extra-axial CP angle lymphoma, (2) an intra-axial lymphoma extending to the CP angle, and (3) a leptomeningeal lymphoma presenting as a CP angle lesion. Although malignant lymphomas rarely occupy the CP angle, it should be considered in the differential diagnosis of CP angle tumors. It is desirable to obtain a frozen section in all CP angle tumors during surgery to identify the tumor, because aggressive removal is not necessary, but radiation therapy should additionally be performed for malignant lymphomas.
Cerebellar Neoplasms↗