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Biomedical subjects

A Kishimoto

Publications and source records attributed to A Kishimoto.

At least 19 recordsLinked to original sources
PubMed2001

Cell cycle regulation via p53 phosphorylation by a 5'-AMP activated protein kinase activator, 5-aminoimidazole- 4-carboxamide-1-beta-D-ribofuranoside, in a human hepatocellular carcinoma cell line.

5-Aminoimidazole-4-carboxamide-1-beta-D-ribofuranoside (AICAR) is an activator of AMP activated protein kinase (AMPK) and a regulator of de novo purine synthesis. There are several earlier reports indicating that AICAR treatment suppresses cell growth via regulation of AMPK or de novo purine synthesis. We found cell growth to be suppressed by AICAR treatment in HepG2 because of p53 accumulation, which was associated with p53-Ser15 phosphorylation. Moreover, a motif very similar to the consensus motif of AMPK phosphorylation was found around p53-Ser15, and Ser15 phosphorylation was detected in AICAR treated HepG2 as was in vitro phosphorylation by AMPK. Our results suggest that AICAR may regulate cell growth via p53 phosphorylation, and also indicate the possibility of p53 phosphorylation.

AMP-Activated Protein Kinases↗
PubMed2001

Strong growth polarity of yeast prion fiber revealed by single fiber imaging.

Using the yeast prion as a model, we have developed a novel system to observe the growth of individual prion fibers directly. NM fragments, the prion-determining region of the yeast protein Sup35p, were labeled by either red or green fluorescent dyes, and the fiber growth was observed under a fluorescence microscope. When green-Sup35NM was added to the preformed fibers made of red-Sup35NM, 70-97% of green fibers grew unidirectionally, from only one end of individual red fibers, whereas the remainder grew from both ends. Similarly, the majority of red fibers grew from only one end of green fibers when the order of addition was reversed. Sonication of preformed fibers to expose fresh ends did not change the results, excluding a possibility of occasional deformation of one end as the reason of the apparent unidirectional growth. These results indicate the polarity of Sup35 prion fibers and impose constraints on the models of fiber growth.

Base Sequence↗
PubMed2001

Cost effectiveness of reducing dioxin emissions from municipal solid waste incinerators in Japan.

The main sources of dioxin emissions are municipal solid waste incinerators. The Japanese national government has set an emission standard for dioxins to reduce dioxin exposure levels. In this study, cost-effectiveness analyses are carried out regarding countermeasures that were recently taken and are being taken at municipal solid waste incinerators in Japan. Annual costs were estimated by telephone survey and model calculations. Annual decrease in the incidence of cancer was estimated in three steps. First, the annual decrease in the volume of dioxin emissions was estimated. Next, using a mathematical model, the annual decrease in human exposure was estimated. Finally, the annual decrease in the incidence of cancer was estimated by applying the cancer slope factor. When annual costs are divided by the annual number of life-years saved, cost per life-year saved (CPLYS) was obtained. CPLYS was estimated to be 7.9 million yen for emergency countermeasures and 150 million yen for long-term countermeasures. However, it must be noted that these obtained CPLYSs are highly dependent on the cancer slope factor and should be considered as an upper limit since there may be a cancer effect threshold.

Air Pollution↗
PubMed2001

A simple method to estimate the secretion of saliva from minor salivary glands using iodine-starch reaction.

OBJECTIVE/HYPOTHESIS: This study was undertaken to detect the faculty of secretion of saliva from minor salivary glands by analyzing a color reaction on a test tape containing iodine and starch that was applied on the lower lip. STUDY DESIGN: A study involving 63 patients with oral dryness, 7 patients with Sjogren syndrome, and 70 healthy individuals was performed. METHODS: A test tape (1 x 1 cm) containing iodine and starch was set on the mucosal area anterior to the labia frenulum for 30 seconds. Because the number of blue spots was considered to correspond to the number of ostia of the salivary gland on the lower lip that was examined, the number of blue spots occurring as a reaction of iodine and starch on the test tape was counted and was compared among three groups. In addition, the relationship between the histopathological findings and the number of spots was analyzed. RESULTS: The average number of spots in the patients with oral dryness (4.52+/-3.18 [mean +/- SD]) was lower than that in healthy individuals (9.49+/-2.52, P <.01), and that in the patients with Sjögren syndrome (2.14+/-1.35) was the lowest among all groups in the study. Moreover, this reduction in the number of spots in those patients was accompanied by histopathological changes of the minor salivary glands. CONCLUSION: These findings suggest that this simple, noninvasive method can be successfully used for the estimation of the faculty of secretion of saliva from the minor salivary glands.

Female↗
PubMed2001

Primary lymphoma of spermatic cord.

Primary lymphomas of spermatic cord are extremely rare. In a review of the world medical literature, until now, only fourteen cases of spermatic cord lymphoma have been reported, and, furthermore, they have a poor prognosis even in patients with stage I disease. Herein, we report a new case of primary non-Hodgkin's lymphoma of the spermatic cord. In August, 1993, 76-year-old man visited an urological hospital with a compaint of a right intrascoral mass, and underwent orchiectomy. Macroscopically no invasive lesion in the testis was observed, and the tumorous lesion was restricted to the epididymis. The histopathological study indicated that he suffered from primary malignant lymphoma of the spermatic cord (B-cell, diffuse medium-sized cell type). As radiographic investigations showed no other invasive lesion, the patient was diagnosed to be in stage IE. He was followed only with clinical observation, and, in August, 1996, relapsed with extensive disease in the abdoninal cavity, and was transferred to our hospital. Fourty months after the orchiectomy, he died of progression of disease irrespective of the salvage radio-chemotherapies given to him.

Aged↗
PubMed2001

[Refractory idiopathic cold agglutinin disease successfully treated with intermittent high-dose cyclophosphamide].

A 56-year-old woman, who had been suffering from idiopathic cold agglutinin disease and treated unsuccessfully with prednisolone and cyclosporine A for 6 months, was referred to our hospital in November 1998. She was given methylprednisolone pulse therapy followed by low-dose cyclophosphamide, but her anemia did not improve. We then began administration of intermittent high-dose cyclophosphamide (1,200 mg/day, every 4 weeks), and this resulted in a dramatic increase of her hemoglobin level and improvement of her symptoms. She is currently receiving 500 mg of cyclophosphamide every 2 months and showing a good response. Intermittent high-dose cyclophosphamide therapy can be an effective treatment for refractory cold agglutinin disease.

Anemia, Hemolytic, Autoimmune↗
PubMed2000

[Occurrence of angioimmunoblastic T-cell lymphoma six months after onset of Lyme disease].

A 68-year-old man, who had suffered a tick bite one week previously, consulted his home doctor because of fever and an erythematous rash around the bite scar. He underwent a skin biopsy, and Borrelia garinii was detected, from which Lyme disease was diagnosed. He received amoxicillin for two weeks and his symptoms disappeared. After 6 months he noticed swelling of his cervical, axillary and inguinal lymph nodes. A biopsy sample was taken from a left cervical lymph node, and this revealed angioimmunoblastic T-cell lymphoma. The patient achieved a complete remission after chemotherapy. The relationship between Lyme disease and lymphoma is discussed.

Aged↗
PubMed1999

Biosynthesis of major plasma proteins in the primary culture of fat body cells from the silkworm, Bombyx mori.

Plasma proteins termed "SP1" and "30K proteins" are synthesized by the fat body cells of the silkworm, Bombyx mori, in a sex- and stage-specific manner during larval development. We successfully established a primary culture of the fat body cells in order to investigate the regulatory mechanisms of plasma protein gene expression. The primary cultures of fat body cells contained at least two cell types: small oval cells, and large spherical cells. The cells adhered to and migrated on the cultured dish after plating. By the 7th day of cultivation, the cells clustered to form fat body-like structures, which were maintained for at least 3 months. Plasma proteins were actively synthesized in the primary cultures of the fat body cells isolated from the final instar larvae only when the cells tightly adhered to and clustered on the cultured dish. Immunocytochemical analysis revealed that only 10-15% of the clustered cells synthesized plasma proteins in our culture system, indicating that the primary culture comprises heterogeneous cells that are morphologically and functionally distinct. The patterns of SP1 syntheses in primary cultures faithfully reproduced their sex-dependency in vivo.

Animals↗
PubMed1998

A history of investigation on the mood stabilizing effect of carbamazepine in Japan.

A history of investigation on the antimanic and prophylactic effects of carbamazepine in Japan is described. Following the initial open trials in the early 1970s in which the antimanic and prophylactic effects of carbamazepine were indicated for the first time in the world, the mood stabilizing effect was confirmed by the double blind studies which were performed with a multi-institutional cooperation in Japan in the late 1970s. During the course of the double blind trials, the problem of different therapeutic dosages of psychotropic drugs between Japan and Western countries emerged; that is, the doses of chlorpromazine and lithium carbonate, which were used as the control drugs to carbamazepine in the two double-blind group-comparison studies in Japan, were both much lower than the dosage used in most of the Western countries. The low dosage of control drugs made the evaluation of the results of the double blind studies performed in Japan difficult, and caused a delay of publication in the Western journals of the results. Whether the difference is due to biological factors or to psychosocial and cultural factors is an important problem in psychopharmacology and should be investigated further.

Anticonvulsants↗
PubMed1998

Suppression of the lethal effect of acidic-phospholipid deficiency in Escherichia coli by Bacillus subtilis chromosomal locus ypoP.

An acidic-phospholipid deficiency caused by the pgsA3 allele that encodes a defective phosphatidylglycerophosphate synthase in Escherichia coli is lethal. The only known mutations that suppress this lethality fully have been related to the major outer-membrane lipoprotein. We isolated a Bacillus subtilis chromosomal locus that suppresses the lethality when harbored in a low copy-number plasmid, without restoring the synthase activity or phospholipid composition to normal. The locus was first recognized to suppress the conditional lethality of E. coli YA5512 (pgsA3) that harbored an unidentified mutation(s), allowing its growth in LB medium but not in media of lower osmolarities. The locus was then found to suppress the lethality of pgsA3 in wild-type E. coli W3110. This locus, named ypoP in the database, had 37% nucleotide identity with the E. coli mprA gene, but the amplification of mprA had no suppressive effect. Plasmid pPOP1 containing ypoP completely prevented the decrease in the amount of a porin protein, OmpF, in the outer membrane and also cell mucoidy caused by pgsA3. The mechanisms underlying these unusual effects are discussed in relation to a putative stress signal(s) generated by the acidic-phospholipid deficiency.

Alleles↗
PubMed1996

Intraluminal tumor of the common bile duct as a metastasis of renal cell carcinoma.

A 57-year-old woman was admitted for evaluation of liver dysfunction. A physical examination revealed jaundice and a left abdominal mass, which was diagnosed as being a large renal tumor. Cholangiography showed a smooth filling defect 1 cm in diameter at the common bile duct. Left nephrectomy, and resection of the common bile duct were performed. The pathological diagnosis was metastasis of the common bile duct wall resulting from renal cell carcinoma. Metastatic common bile duct tumors are extremely rare. However, it is important to consider that this is one of the causes of obstructive jaundice.

Carcinoma, Renal Cell↗
PubMed1996

[Clinical effects of cortisol synthesis inhibition on treatment-resistant depression].

Clinical trial with a steroid suppressive agent, metyrapone, was carried out in 6 patients with treatment-resistant depression (3 patients with major depression and 3 with bipolar disorder). Up to 2,000 mg/day of metyrapone was administered for 4 weeks, and 10 trials of the therapy were done in these patients. Most patients completed the therapy without remarkable side effects. As a result, three patients (6 trials) showed remission within 4 weeks and one patient (one trial) showed a partial response. In the remitted patients, plasma cortisol levels were suppressed below 10 micrograms/dl during the therapy and plasma ACTH levels were elevated. These results indicate that "hypercortisolemia-induced depression" similar to Cushing's disease may be present in patients with treatment-resistant depression.

Adrenocortical Hyperfunction↗
PubMed1995

[Non-Hodgkin's lymphoma presenting as a soft tissue tumor in the connective tissue at the thigh].

A 62-year-old man visited our hospital in July 1993, because of a right thigh mass which had grown gradually since two years previously. Physical examination revealed that the mass at the right thigh region, was elastic soft and about 15 x 10 cm in diameter, without regional lymph node swelling. An ultrasound study showed a hypoechogenic and mesh patterned mass. MRI revealed that the tumor was well defined from subcutaneous adipose tissue and skeletal muscle, indicating that it arose in connective tissue. Angiography demonstrated diffuse hypervascularization of the tumor, and Gallium scintigraphy showed remarkable accumulation at the tumor. Serum IgM was increased, which was proven to be an monoclonal hypergammopathy (IgM, lambda). Histological examination of a biopsied specimen obtained from the thigh mass revealed B cell lymphoma, lymphoplasmacytic cell type. The patient achieved a complete remission after surgical treatment following radiation and combination chemotherapy.

Humans↗
PubMed1994

Prophylactic effect of mianserin on recurrent depression.

The prophylactic effect of mianserin on recurrent depression was studied in a double-blind comparison with an inactive placebo by analyzing the recurrence rate and the number of depressive episodes in 9 mianserin-treated (daily dose 20-60 mg) and 13 placebo-treated patients. The selected patients were those who had a higher incidence of recurrence (more than 2 depressive episodes during the 2 years preceding the study). During the 18-month study period, 4 of 9 mianserin-treated patients and all 13 placebo-treated patients had recurrences. The ratio between patients with recurrence and total patients (recurrence ratio) was lower in the mianserin-treated group throughout the study, and the intergroup difference from the 3rd to the 18th month was significant. In the mianserin-treated group, the frequency of episode recurrence during the study period was significantly lower and the total duration of episodes was significantly shorter than those in the placebo-treated group. The treatments did not differ significantly in safety. These results clearly indicate that mianserin is effective in the prophylaxis of recurrent depressive episodes.

Adult↗
PubMed1994

[Endocrinological examination and its clinical significance in manic-depressive illness].

Neuro-endocrine test is one of the useful strategies in examining the pathophysiology of manic-depressive illness (MDI). Unfortunately, however, the pathophysiology of MDI has not yet been clarified and the specific biological markers of MDI have still not been found. In the present paper, a brief general survey as to main clinical points of endocrinological examination and its results towards the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal axis, the hypothalamic-pituitary-thyroid axis, the hypothalamic-pituitary-gonadal axis, growth hormone, melatonin, etc. are given and some mentions of biological markers in MDI are made.

Adrenocorticotropic Hormone↗