Biomedical subjects

H Taga

Publications and source records attributed to H Taga.

At least 19 recordsLinked to original sources

PubMed2001

Diagnosis of atypical cases of infectious mononucleosis.

The variable manifestations of infectious mononucleosis rarely cause clinicians to suspect primary Epstein-Barr virus or cytomegalovirus infection; consequently, costly diagnostic tests and unnecessary treatments are undertaken. Seventeen cases of clinically atypical and 11 cases of clinically typical infectious mononucleosis were diagnosed through screening for atypical and apoptotic lymphocytes in the peripheral blood samples by means of an automated hematologic analyzer. Atypical and typical cases did not differ significantly with respect to peripheral white blood cell counts; percentages of lymphocytes, atypical lymphocytes, CD4(+) lymphocytes, human leukocyte antigen--DR positivity in CD3 lymphocytes, or apoptotic cells in blood smear after incubation; or levels of aspartate aminotransferase, alanine aminotransferase, and lactate dehydrogenase. Only the percentage of CD8(+) lymphocytes was significantly higher in patients with typical infectious mononucleosis than it was in patients with atypical infectious mononucleosis. Because certain atypical cases of infectious mononucleosis display laboratory abnormalities that are characteristic of typical infectious mononucleosis, enhanced awareness can help in the diagnosis.

Adult↗

PubMed2001

Antifibrotic effect of the herbal medicine Saiko-keishi-to (TJ-10) on chronic pancreatitis in the WBN/Kob rat.

Chronic pancreatitis is characterized by fibrosis. We reported an anti-inflammatory effect of the herbal medicine Saiko-keishi-to (TJ-10) on chronic pancreatitis. This study aimed to elucidate the antifibrotic effect of TJ-10. Four-week-old male WBN/Kob rats were fed a special pellet diet (MB-3) with or without TJ-10 (80 mg/100 g body weight) for 20 weeks. Pancreata were histopathologically examined at every 4 weeks, and the expression of fibrosis-related factors such as transforming growth factor beta1 (TGF-beta1), fibronectin (FN), alpha-smooth muscle actin (alpha-SMA), and type III collagen was analyzed. In untreated WBN/Kob rats, chronic pancreatitis developed at 12 weeks and progressed with marked fibrosis at 16 weeks, and the expression of TGF-beta1 and FN peaked at 12 weeks. However, in the TJ-10-treated rats, the rate of pancreatic fibrosis and the expression of TGF-beta1, FN, alpha-SMA, and type III collagen at 12 and 16 weeks decreased significantly compared to those in the untreated rats. These results suggest that TJ-10 inhibits the pancreatic fibrosis by the suppression of TGF-beta1 expression.

Actins↗

PubMed2001

Effect of herbal medicine keishi-to (TJ-45) and its components on rat pancreatic acinar cell injuries in vivo and in vitro.

BACKGROUND: In an attempt to clarify the mechanism of the effect of a herbal medicine, Saiko-keishi-to (TJ-10), which is a combination of Keishi-to (TJ-45) and Sho-saiko-to (TJ-9), we investigated the effects of these two herbal medicines and their components on pancreatic acinar cell injury models in vivo and in vitro. METHODS: Four-week-old male WBN/Kob rats were fed an MB-3 pellet diet containing herbal medicine (TJ-9, TJ-10 and TJ-45). Expressions of pancreatitis-associated protein (PAP) and manganese superoxide dismutase (Mn-SOD) were analyzed with a reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) and immunohistochemistry. The herbal medicines and two of their components, Keihi (Cinnamomi cortex) and Shakuyaku (Paeoniae radix alba), were tested in vitro using an arginine-treated rat pancreatic acinar AR4-2J cell injury model. The inducible nitric oxide synthase (iNOS) was assayed in in vitro experiments. RESULTS: TJ-45-treated WBN/Kob rats showed no evidence of pancreatitis whereas there were pathological changes of chronic pancreatitis in TJ-9-treated WBN/Kob rats. PAP was not expressed and Mn-SOD expression was increased in the TJ-10-, and TJ-45-treated rats. The herbal medicines and two components suppressed PAP mRNA expression and enhanced Mn-SOD and iNOS mRNA expression in arginine-treated AR4-2J cells. CONCLUSION: These results suggest that the herbal medicine TJ-45 is effective for chronic pancreatitis caused by pancreatic ischemia.

Animals↗

PubMed2000

Effect of herbal medicine Saiko-keishi-to (TJ-10) on rat spontaneous chronic pancreatitis: comparison with other herbal medicines.

BACKGROUND: In an attempt to obtain evidence of the beneficial effects of TJ-10, we investigated the gene expression of PAP, an acute phase protein specific for pancreatitis in rat spontaneous chronic pancreatitis. METHODS: Four-wk-old male WBN/Kob rats were fed with MB-3 pellet diet containing herbal medicine. There were two administration groups for each drug: the prophylactic group administered from 4-12 wk, and the therapeutic group administered from 12-20 wk. Untreated control rats were fed with MB-3 alone. Histopathologic changes and PAP gene expressions were analyzed at 12 and 20 wk. RESULTS: In the prophylactic group, TJ-10-treated WBN/Kob rats showed no evidence of pancreatitis, and there was the amelioration of pancreatitis in the pancreata of the rats treated with other herbal medicines except TJ-24 at 12 wk. PAP mRNA was not expressed in the TJ-10-treated rats, and PAP gene expression was suppressed in rats treated with other drugs except TJ-107. In the therapeutic group, the amelioration of pancreatitis was seen only in TJ-10-treated rats, but PAP gene expression was significantly suppressed in the rats treated with all herbal medicines tested, compared with that in untreated control rats. CONCLUSION: An herbal medicine Saiko-keishi-to (TJ-10) delayed the onset of chronic pancreatitis in the WBN/Kob rat, and suppressed the pancreatitis-associated protein (PAP) gene expression more significantly than other herbal medicines.

Acute-Phase Proteins↗

PubMed1999

Serum levels of pancreatitis-associated protein in digestive diseases with special reference to gastrointestinal cancers.

The serum levels of pancreatitis-associated protein (PAP) were measured in 196 patients with digestive diseases and 15 healthy subjects by an enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay. The serum PAP levels were significantly elevated in the patients with gastric, colorectal, biliary tract, hepatocellular, or pancreatic cancers compared with the healthy subjects. After curative resection of the tumor, serum PAP levels were significantly decreased. The serum PAP levels were not related to clinicopathological factors except for the tumor size of pancreatic cancer. There were some cases of PAP-positive and carcinoembryonic antigen (CEA) or carbohydrate antigen (CA) 19-9 -negative gastric and colorectal cancers. The serum PAP levels were also significantly elevated in the patients with acute pancreatitis compared with those in not only the healthy subjects but also the patients with chronic pancreatitis. The peak PAP levels were significantly correlated with the severity of acute pancreatitis and reflected the clinical healing of the disease. The peak of serum PAP was significantly delayed compared with those of other pancreatic enzymes. These results suggest that the increase of serum PAP levels in patients with gastrointestinal cancers reflects an ectopic expression of PAP in cancer cells and that increased serum levels of PAP in acute pancreatitis are correlated with the disease severity and are prolonged than those of other pancreatic markers.

Acute Disease↗

PubMed1999

Expression of pancreatitis-associated protein (PAP) in rat spontaneous chronic pancreatitis: effect of herbal medicine Saiko-keishi-to (TJ-10).

Pancreatitis-associated protein (PAP) is almost absent in the normal pancreas but is overexpressed in acute pancreatitis. However, its expression in chronic pancreatitis (CP) is unknown. An herbal medicine Saiko-keishi-to (TJ-10) has long been used clinically for CP, but there is no experimental evidence of the effect of TJ-10 on CP. The aim of this study was to analyze the expression of PAP and the effect of TJ-10 in a spontaneous chronic pancreatitis model. Four-week-old male WBN/Kob rats were fed with a special pellet diet (MB-3), and TJ-10 (80 mg/100 g body weight/day) was orally administered for 16 weeks. The rats were killed at every 4 weeks, and pancreata were histopathologically examined. PAP messenger RNA (mRNA) in the pancreas was detected with a reverse transcription/polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) method. The cellular localization of PAP mRNA and protein was analyzed with in situ hybridization (ISH) and immunohistochemistry (IHC). PAP mRNA was expressed from 8 weeks, when the pancreas was still pathologically normal, and reached its peak at 12 weeks, when the pancreatitis first appeared. Then the expression of PAP mRNA was decreased gradually. TJ-10 suppressed the expression of PAP mRNA completely at 8 and 12 weeks. PAP mRNA was slightly expressed at 16 and 20 weeks. ISH and IHC confirmed the PAP mRNA and protein expression in the cytoplasm of acinar cells. These results suggest that PAP mRNA appears before CP, and its peak coincides with the onset of CP. TJ-10 suppressed the PAP expression and delayed the development of CP in the WBN/Kob rat.

Acute-Phase Proteins↗

PubMed1999

Effect of Koso-san on globus pharyngeus.

Twenty-three patients with globus pharyngeus were treated with Koso-san (TJ-70) at a dose of 7.5 g/day for at least 14 days. Symptoms disappeared in 18 cases and improved in 3 cases, therefore, the effective rate was 91.3% (21/23). The symptoms disappeared on average within 13.5 days. Terasawa qi-stasis scores were significantly decreased after the treatment. TJ-70 might thus be a remedy for globus pharyngeus with qi-stasis.

Adult↗

PubMed1999

Developmental alterations in the alpha-fetoprotein sugar chain in maternal serum analyzed by lectin affinity electrophoresis.

Our purpose was to investigate developmental alterations of human alpha-fetoprotein (AFP) oligosaccharides in maternal serum by lectin affinity electrophoresis and to compare the AFP glycoforms in maternal serum with those in umbilical cord serum and amniotic fluid. AFP glycoforms were separated by affinity electrophoresis with concanavalin A (Con A), lentil lectin (LCA), erythroagglutinating phytohemagglutinin (E-PHA) and Allomyrina dichotoma lectin (allo A) and detected by sensitive antibody affinity blotting. In maternal serum, increased proportions of Con A-nonreactive AFP (AFP-C1), LCA strongly-reactive AFP (AFP-L3) and E-PHA-reactive AFP (AFP-P4 and AFP-P5) decreased gradually during the early gestational weeks. Allo A-nonreactive AFP (AFP-A1 and asialo-AFP) were found only in amniotic fluids during early gestational weeks. The percentages of these glycoforms at full term were almost the same among those body fluids. Since the glycoforms of maternal serum AFP were close to those of umbilical cord serum AFP, lectin-affinity electrophoretic analysis of maternal serum AFP may be useful for evaluating the developmental state of fetus by examining the nature of AFP sugar chain.

Amniotic Fluid↗

PubMed1998

Lectin-gradient gel affinity electrophoresis of glycoproteins.

Lectin-gradient agarose gel affinity electrophoresis was developed for identification of glycoforms of glycoproteins in lectin affinity electrophoresis. Gradation of lectin was done by stacking agarose gel blocks with increasing concentrations of lectin (discontinuous system) and by keeping the plate in a moist chamber at 4 degrees C overnight (continuous system) before electrophoresis. On the visualization of separated glycoform lines, the antibody-affinity blotting was superior for low concentrations of alpha-fetoprotein. Fluoresceine isothiocyanate (FITC) labeling of whole serum proteins, enzyme activity staining for alkaline phosphatase, and prestaining for lipoproteins were also applicable for visualization of proteins at higher concentrations. The conventional Western blotting can not be recommended because of the competition between lectin and glycoproteins in binding to nitrocellulose membrane. Lectin-gradient affinity electrophoresis also had a wide application for optimization of the condition of lectin affinity electrophoresis.

Adult↗

PubMed1998

Lectin-dependent modulation of interaction between human alpha-fetoprotein and its monoclonal antibodies. Epitope mapping.

The effect of lentil lectin (LCA) on the binding of mouse monoclonal antibody (MoAb) against human alpha-fetoprotein (AFP) to LCA-nonreactive AFP-L1 and LCA-reactive AFP-L3 was studied on a panel of 30 MoAbs provided by the TD-2 Workshop of ISOBM for epitope mapping. LCA inhibited the binding of MoAbs 93 and 98 to AFP-L3 but not to AFP-L1, indicating that there was a competition between the MoAbs and LCA for the AFP sugar chain. With MoAbs 100, 109, 118, and 120, LCA rather increased the binding to AFP-L3 over that to AFP-L1. These modulating effects of LCA on the MoAb binding to AFP-L3 were abolished by periodate treatment of the AFP preparations without affecting the binding of MoAb to AFP. Concanavalin A had similar inhibiting and enhancing effects on MoAb binding, but equally to AFP-L1 and AFP-L3, both of which are fully reactive with concanavalin A. The results suggested that MoAbs 93 and 98 recognized epitopes closely related to sugar chain, and their binding to AFP-L3 was inhibited by the bound LCA due to steric hindrance. The enhanced binding of some MoAbs to AFP-L3 over AFP-L1 with LCA, or both glycoforms of AFP with concanavalin A, may be explained by postulating an allosteric mechanism mediated by the oligosaccharide-lectin interaction.

Animals↗

PubMed1998

Developmental alterations of alpha-fetoprotein sugar chain in amniotic fluids analyzed by lectin affinity electrophoresis.

Affinity electrophoresis of human alpha-fetoprotein (AFP) in amniotic fluid from pregnant women between 6 to 42 weeks of gestation and in the serum of a yolk sac tumor was performed with concanavalin A (Con A), lentil lectin (LCA), erythroagglutinating phytohemagglutinin (E-PHA) and Allomyrina dichotoma lectin (allo A). Separated AFP bands were detected by sensitive antibody-affinity blotting. In the first trimester, amniotic fluid AFP showed elevated percentages of Con A-nonreacting AFP (AFP-C1) and LCA weakly-reacting AFP (AFP-L2) as previously reported. Additionally, high percentages of E-PHA strongly-reacting AFP (AFP-P5) and E-PHA-reacting AFP (AFP-P4) were observed. E-PHA-nonreacting AFP (AFP-P1), E-PHA weakly-reacting AFP (AFP-P3f), allo A-nonreacting AFP (AFP-A1) and asialo-AFP, AFP-A1 s, were present only in amniotic fluids from 6 to 17 weeks of gestation. With advancing gestation, percentages of AFP-C1, AFP-P4 and AFP-P5 decreased and AFP-L2, AFP-P3f, AFP-A1, and AFP-A1 s disappeared by the end of 18 weeks. The glycoforms of serum AFP of the yolk sac tumor resembled those of amniotic fluid AFP in the early gestational stages.

Amniotic Fluid↗

PubMed1997

Effect of niuche-shen-qi-wan on painful muscle cramps in patients with liver cirrhosis: a preliminary report.

Twelve patients with liver cirrhosis complaining of painful muscle cramps were treated with Niuche-Shen-Qi-Wan (TJ-107). Three patients were at the decompensated state. Muscle cramps disappeared in 4 weeks on the average after oral administration of TJ-107 in all 12 patients. During the period of TJ-107 administration, there was no significant improvement of hepatic function. One patient complained of mild epigastric discomfort after taking TJ-107, but there were no other adverse effects. Our results indicate that TJ-107 is useful for treatment of painful muscle cramps in cirrhotic patients.

Administration, Oral↗

PubMed1997

Effect of gegen-tang on painful gynecomastia in patients with liver cirrhosis: a brief report.

Four patients with liver cirrhosis and complaining of painful gynecomastia were treated with oral administration of Gegen-Tang (TJ-1). Pain disappeared in 3 patients in one week, and in one patient in 4 weeks. The size of gynecomastia did not change significantly on mammography, but palpable induration diminished or disappeared. The patients had been treated with Chaihu (saiko) group drugs for liver diseases, and TJ-1 was used in combination with these drugs. Serum levels of estrogen, progesterone, testosterone, and other sex hormones did not change significantly after TJ-1 treatment. These results suggest that TJ-1 could be used for the painful gynecomastia that is occasionally seen in cirrhotic patients.

Administration, Oral↗

PubMed1996

Affinity electrophoretic determination of oligosaccharide specificity of Butea monosperma agglutinin.

The oligosaccharide specificity of newly isolated Butea monosperma agglutinin (BMA) was determined by two-dimensional lectin affinity electrophoresis of alpha-fetoprotein (AFP) with concanavalin A, lentil lectin, erythroagglutinating phytohemagglutinin and Allomyrina dichotoma lectin, of which the specificities to known AFP oligosaccharides had been established. Effects of neuraminidase treatment on the reactivities of AFP to the lectins were also studied. The results indicated that BMA had the highest affinity for the exposed Gal residues of nonreducing termini of biantennary complex-type oligosaccharides, and that the affinity was reduced to zero in the following order by the presence of monosialyl residue of the Man alpha1->3 arm, monosialyl residue of the Man alpha1->6 arm, monosialyl residue of the Man alpha 1->3 arm and bisecting G1cNAc, and disialyl residues. BMA did not recognize Neu5Ac alpha2->6 and Neu5Ac alpha2->3 substitutions of Gal. These characteristics of BMA were shown to be useful in identifying malignancy-associated alteration of AFP sugar chains.

Agglutinins↗

PubMed1996

Interaction of lectins with their ligand carbohydrate of alpha-fetoprotein: analysis by mixed-lectin affinity electrophoresis.

Serum or ascites alpha-fetoprotein (AFP) from patients with hepatocellular carcinoma and from a cord blood were analyzed by affinity electrophoresis with two lectins mixed in agarose gel in a combination of concanavalin A (Con A) and Lens culinaris agglutinin A (LCA-A) or of erythroagglutinating phytohemagglutinin (E-PHA) and Allomyrina dichotoma lectin (allo A). Con A- and LCA-A-reactive AFP-C2-L3 was not further retarded by mixing with either of the other lectin. It showed a mobility identical with that of AFP-C2 or AFP-L3. E-PHA- and allo A-reactive AFP-P4-A3 showed similar results. It migrated with intermediate mobilities of AFP-P4 and AFP-A3 depending on the concentrations of the two lectins mixed in the gel. The results indicate that the two mixed lectins compete with each other for the topologically different lectin-binding sites on the oligosaccharide of AFP molecule.

Carbohydrate Metabolism↗

PubMed1996

Lectin affinity electrophoresis of alpha-fetoprotein detected by immunoenzymatic and chemiluminescent amplification followed by direct scanning.

Microdetermination of alpha-fetoprotein (AFP) glycoforms by lectin affinity electrophoresis followed by chemiluminescence reaction using horseradish peroxidase (POD) or alkaline phosphatase (ALP) in antibody-affinity blotting was developed. The intensity of chemiluminescence obtained by ALP was greater than that by POD; however, the coefficient of variation with POD was less than that with ALP. The optimized sensitivity of the chemiluminescence method with POD was two times that of the most sensitive colorimetric method currently available in terms of the chemiluminescence intensity per unit AFP concentration. The lower detection limit by the chemiluminescence method with POD (0.5 ng/ml) was much lower than that by the colorimetric method (3 ng/ml). Both methods gave identical percentages of lentil lectin- and erythroagglutinating phytohemagglutinin-reactive minor bands using a serum with 52 ng/ml AFP. This result indicates that microdetermination of AFP glycoforms by chemiluminescence after lectin-affinity electrophoresis was more sensitive than currently available methods and that it is potentially useful for clinical application.

Electrophoresis↗

PubMed1995

Human and viral interleukin-10 in acute Epstein-Barr virus-induced infectious mononucleosis.

Human interleukin 10 (hIL-10), a product of monocytes, T cells, and B cells, shares extensive structural and functional similarity with viral IL-10 (vIL-10), a product of Epstein-Barr virus (EBV) replication. With two ELISAs, one that recognizes both hIL-10 and vIL-10 and the other specific for vIL-10, IL-10 was measured in serum or plasma and in saliva from 50 patients with acute EBV-induced infectious mononucleosis and from 19 normal subjects. In serum or plasma, 60% of the patients had measurable hIL-10 and/or vIL-10 and 18% had measurable vIL-10. In saliva, 20% of the patients had detectable hIL-10 and/or vIL-10 and none had detectable vIL-10. In contrast, hIL-10 and/or vIL-10 was undetectable in all 19 normal serum or plasma samples (P < .001 vs. patient samples). Among normal saliva samples, 21% had detectable hIL-10 and/or vIL-10 but none had detectable vIL-10. Thus, most patients with acute EBV-induced infectious mononucleosis transiently have abnormally high levels of circulating IL-10.

Acute Disease↗

PubMed1993

A collaborative study for the evaluation of lectin-reactive alpha-fetoproteins in early detection of hepatocellular carcinoma.

Lectin-affinity electrophoretic separation of serum alpha-fetoprotein (AFP) was carried out using AFP Differentiation Kits, which used Lens culinaris agglutinin-A (Kit L) and erythroagglutinating phytohemagglutinin (Kit P). Separated AFP bands were detected with a sensitive antibody-affinity blotting technique and determined quantitatively by densitometry, and the results were expressed as percentages of the intensity of total AFP bands. Sera from 424 patients with acute hepatitis, chronic hepatitis, liver cirrhosis, hepatocellular carcinoma, and extrahepatic tumors were assayed for proportion of AFP present as Lens culinaris agglutinin-A-reactive AFP (AFP-L3) and erythroagglutinating phytohemagglutinin-reactive AFPs (AFP-P4+P5). From the maximum Youden indices determined, cutoff levels were set at 15% for both AFP-L3 and AFP-P4+P5 to discriminate between patients with chronic hepatitis and liver cirrhosis and patients with hepatocellular carcinoma. AFP-L3 and AFP-P4+P5 showed sensitivities of 55.3 and 61.0% at specificities of 93.9% and 82.3%, respectively. Thirty-eight % of tumors that measured less than 20 mm in diameter were positive for AFP-L3 and AFP-P4+P5. AFP-L3 exceeded the cutoff level of 15% 4.0 +/- 4.9 months before detection of hepatocellular carcinomas by imaging techniques with a sensitivity of 48% and a specificity of 81%. Thus, these tests are useful for the early detection of hepatocellular carcinomas in patients with hepatitis or liver cirrhosis.

Carcinoma, Hepatocellular↗