Biomedical subjects

Atsuko Tanaka

Publications and source records attributed to Atsuko Tanaka.

21 records · Page 2Linked to original sources

PubMed2002

The PAR-1-activating peptide attenuates carrageenan-induced hyperalgesia in rats.

We examined if thrombin or a receptor-activating peptide for protease-activated receptor-1 (PAR-1), a thrombin receptor, could modulate nociception at peripheral levels. Intraplantar administration of PAR-1 activators, thrombin or TFLLR-NH(2), but not its inactive control FTLLR-NH(2) or a PAR-2 activator SLIGRL-NH(2), significantly attenuated the hyperalgesia in rats treated with carrageenan, although they had no effect on nociception in naïve rats. The thrombin-PAR-1 system might thus act to attenuate nociception during inflammatory hyperalgesia.

Animals↗

PubMed2002

Lateral position decreases collapsibility of the passive pharynx in patients with obstructive sleep apnea.

BACKGROUND: Reduction of nocturnal obstructive events during lateral position in patients with obstructive sleep apnea was previously reported. However, little information is available regarding mechanisms of the improvement and the precise pharyngeal site influenced by the lateral position. The authors tested the hypothesis that structural properties of the passive pharynx change by changing the body position from supine to lateral. METHOD: Total muscle paralysis was induced with general anesthesia in eight patients with obstructive sleep apnea, eliminating neuromuscular factors contributing to pharyngeal patency. The cross-sectional area of the pharynx was measured endoscopically at different static airway pressures. Comparison of static pressure-area plot between the positions allowed assessment of the influence of the position change on the mechanical properties of the pharynx. RESULTS: The static pressure-area curves of the lateral position were above those of the supine position, with increasing maximum cross-sectional area and decreasing the closing pressure at both retropalatal and retroglossal airways. CONCLUSIONS: Lateral position structurally improves maintenance of the passive pharyngeal airway in patients with obstructive sleep apnea.

Adult↗

PubMed2002

Molecular alterations of h-warts/LATS1 tumor suppressor in human soft tissue sarcoma.

h-warts/LATS1 is a human homolog of the Drosophila warts tumor suppressor gene, which functions as a component of the mitotic apparatus. LATS1-deficient (Lats1(-/-)) mice have been reported to develop ovarian stromal tumors and soft tissue sarcomas. We investigated the status of the h-warts/LATS1 in 50 human soft tissue sarcomas to address its potential function as a tumor suppressor in human sarcoma development. In our RT-PCR assay, 7 (14%) (3 of 4 myxoid liposarcomas, 3 of 7 leiomyosarcomas, 1 of 9 malignant fibrous histiocytomas) of 50 sarcomas examined had no or a reduced expression of the h-warts/LATS1, indicating down-regulated gene expression. We further analyzed alterations of the h-warts/LATS1 in these seven sarcomas. Using microsatellite markers for chromosome 6q23-25.1, to which the h-warts/LATS1 is localized, an allelic loss of this locus was detected in one leiomyosarcoma, in which a missense point mutation of the h-warts/LATS1 was detected by PCR single-strand conformation polymorphism. Clusters of CpG dinucleotides in a 5' putative promoter region were hypermethylated in the other six sarcomas. Our data suggest that the molecular alterations of the h-warts/LATS1 could be of pathologic importance in human sarcomagenesis.

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