PubMed Health⌕ Search

Biomedical subjects

I Kawakami

Publications and source records attributed to I Kawakami.

At least 19 recordsLinked to original sources
PubMed2001

Ci-opsin1, a vertebrate-type opsin gene, expressed in the larval ocellus of the ascidian Ciona intestinalis.

A novel gene encoding visual pigment, Ci-opsin1, was identified in a primitive chordate, the ascidian, Ciona intestinalis. Molecular phylogenetic analysis and the exon-intron organization suggest that Ci-opsin1 is closely related to the retinal and pineal opsins of vertebrates. During embryogenesis, Ci-opsin1 transcripts were first detected in part of the brain of mid tailbud embryos; its expression was confined to photoreceptor cells of the ocellus (eye spot) in the larval brain as development proceeded. These results suggest a common descent of the ascidian ocellus and the vertebrate eyes. The ocellus of ascidian larvae may represent an ancestral state of the vertebrate eye.

Amino Acid Sequence↗
PubMed2001

Dioxin-like PCBs released from waste incineration and their deposition flux.

To investigate the formation and decomposition behaviors of dioxin-like PCBs during incineration of municipal solid wastes in a recently constructed facility, the concentrations of dioxin-like PCBs were measured in municipal solid waste before incineration and in the incinerator emission gas and residues. Using these values, release/inflow ratios of dioxin-like PCB congeners (ratio of the amount released from the incinerator to the amount flowing into the incinerator through waste) were calculated. For PCB congeners 126, 169, and 189, these ratios were greater than 1. In contrast, ratios of the other dioxin-like congeners were much less than 1. To take into account atmospheric sources, the amounts of dioxin-like PCBs released via emissions from municipal solid waste incineration were compared with atmospheric depositions in the Kyoto City area. Most of the PCDD/F congeners and homologue groups were deposited in amounts similar to those found in emissions from the waste incinerator. Deposition of dioxin-like PCB congeners 81, 126, 169, and 189 were also found in amounts similar to those released via the waste incinerator emissions. However, depositions of congeners 105, 114, and 118 greatly exceeded the amounts released via waste incinerator emissions. In reviewing the congener profiles of industrial PCB products and emission gas, the following general trends were observed: (i) For congeners whose contents are high in industrial PCB products (e.g., 105 and 118), the amounts deposited were much higher than the amounts released with waste incineration emission gas. (ii) For congeners whose percentages were high in the waste incineration emission gas (e.g., 126 and 189), the amounts deposited were similar to the amounts released in the waste emission gas.

Air Pollutants↗
PubMed1996

Autoantibodies recognizing proteins copurified with PCNA in patients with connective tissue diseases.

OBJECTIVE: Proliferating cell nuclear antigen (PCNA), one of the target antigen recognized by lupus sera, has been reported to be present as a subnuclear multi-peptide complex. But autoantibodies reacting with components of PCNA complex are poorly understood. To study the specificity of those autoantibodies, immunoreactivities of autoimmune sera against purified PCNA antigen were studied. METHODS: PCNA antigens were purified from rabbit thymus extract by affinity column using murine monoclonal antibodies (mAbs) to PCNA, TOB7, TO17 and TO30. Immunoreactivities of autoimmune sera against purified PCNA were analyzed by WB. RESULTS: PCNA antigen purified by serum AK predominantly showed a 34 kD band specific for PCNA in SDS-PAGE. When antigens were purified by anti-PCNA mAb TOB7 and TO30 which are known to be targeting different epitopes on PCNA antigen, SDS-PAGE analysis showed various mol. wt of proteins in addition to the 34 kD PCNA while both AK and mAbs reacted only with 34 kD PCNA in WB. In WB using PCNA purified by TOB7, various immunoreactivities were observed at 150, 66, 58, 48, 45, 37, 32 and 16 kDa in sera from patients with connective tissue diseases. CONCLUSIONS: These results suggested that many of the proteins copurified with PCNA were also targets of autoimmune responses and these autoantibody expression may be induced through antigen-driven mechanisms.

Animals↗
PubMed1991

Screening for disorders of pyruvate metabolism by measuring the ratio of the rates of lactate production and pyruvate decarboxylation in cultured skin fibroblasts.

We assayed the rates of lactate production from [1-14C]pyruvate and decarboxylation of [1-14C]pyruvate in cultured skin fibroblasts from 8 patients with disorders of pyruvate metabolism and 16 control subjects. The disorders of pyruvate metabolism could be more readily detected by measuring the ratio between the rates of lactate production and pyruvate decarboxylation by cultured skin fibroblasts than by measuring either the rate in isolation.

Acidosis, Lactic↗
PubMed1991

[Heterogeneity of anticardiolipin antibody].

The antibody to cardiolipin(ACA) was tested in patients with systemic rheumatic disease. The frequency of IgG ACA was 46/100(46.0%) in systemic lupus erythematosus(SLE). In other rheumatic disease, this was less than 20%. Significant correlation between the presence of IgG ACA and thrombosis and/or thrombocytopenia was found in patients with SLE. Eight sera containing high titered IgG ACA from lupus patients were selected for further inhibition study. Inhibitors were consisted of cardiolipin(CL), phosphatidyl(p-)serine, p-inositol, p-glycerol, p-ethanolamine, p-choline, ds-DNA, ss-DNA, fresh platelets(PLT)and fresh red blood cells(RBC). All sera were markedly inhibited by negatively charged phospholipids. In 4 sera(group B), there was moderate inhibition by ss-DNA, ds-DNA, PLT and RBC. In another 4 sera(group A), mild but significant inhibition was obtained by PLT alone. The number of platelet in group A was less than that in group B. There were some differences in inhibitory activity, suggesting heterogeneity of antibody to CL. It may be possible to speculate that heterogeneity of IgG ACA cause various combination of clinical features such as thrombocytopenia and thrombosis.

Abortion, Spontaneous↗
PubMed1990

Effect of long-term treatment with massive doses of 1 alpha-hydroxyvitamin D3 on calcium-phosphate balance in patients with vitamin D-dependent rickets type II.

Three patients with vitamin D-dependent rickets type II were given massive doses of 1 alpha-hydroxyvitamin D3 for 29 to 36 months and their calcium-phosphate balance was studied during treatment and one month after cessation of treatment. During treatment fasting hypercalciuria was observed in patient 1 and an increased rate of calcium excretion after calcium loading in patients 1 and 2. In these patients, calcium excretion was parallel with the serum 24,25-dihydroxyvitamin D concentration, which may reflect the level of receptor for 1,25-dihydroxyvitamin D. These findings suggested that the responsiveness to 1,25-dihydroxyvitamin D improved during long-term treatment of these two patients with vitamin D-dependent rickets type II.

Calcium↗
PubMed1989

Two siblings with vitamin-D-dependent rickets type II: no recurrence of rickets for 14 years after cessation of therapy.

Rickets in a 3-year-old boy and his 1-year-old sister, both with alopecia, was cured by treatment with 50,000 IU of vitamin D2 daily for 2 years and did not recur within 14 years after cessation of therapy. A diagnosis of vitamin-D-dependent rickets type II was made in these patients at the ages of 20 and 18 years based on the findings that 1,25-dihydroxyvitamin D3 [1,25(OH)2D3] did not inhibit DNA biosynthesis in phytohaemagglutinin-stimulated lymphocytes and that cultured skin fibroblasts showed impaired nuclear uptake and normal cytosol binding of [3H]1,25(OH)2D3. Surprisingly, the serum 1,25(OH)2D levels of these patients were high and their serum 24,25-dihydroxyvitamin D levels were low, although neither patient showed any symptoms except alopecia. The presence of vitamin D metabolite imbalances in the absence of rickets in these patients might be explained by differences in sensitivity to 1,25(OH)2D3 of bone formation and vitamin D metabolism. In addition, changes of sensitivity to treatment with vitamin D derivatives might be a consequence of differentiation of target cells. From the present findings, it is suggested that in this disease treatment with a sufficient dose of vitamin D derivatives should be initiated in the active phase of rickets.

Alopecia↗
PubMed1988

The effect of low and high NaCl diets on oral glucose tolerance.

The effects of low and high NaCl diets on plasma glucose and insulin responses to glucose ingestion were investigated in 15 patients with essential hypertension. Oral glucose (75 g) tolerance tests were carried out while patients were taking diets with low (2 g/day) and high (20 g/day) NaCl content. Fasting plasma glucose and insulin levels were both significantly lower during ingestion of the high NaCl diet (p less than 0.05). After glucose ingestion, the incremental areas under the two hour plasma glucose and insulin curves were significantly smaller during ingestion of the high NaCl diet (glucose p less than 0.005 and insulin p less than 0.025). These findings that low NaCl diets increase the glycemic response to glucose loads suggest that use of NaCl restriction for the treatment of essential hypertension may not always be desirable.

Adult↗
PubMed1984

[CDDP-containing combination chemotherapy for advanced lung cancer].

The effect and toxicities of Cis-containing combination chemotherapy were tested in 28 patients with primary lung cancer. All patients were treated with 80 mg/m2 Cisplatinum on the first day and 750 mg ftorafur p.o. every day. In addition to these drugs, patients with squamous cell cancer were treated with continuous subcutaneous infusion of 4 mg/m2 Peplomycin for 5 days and one shot i.v. of 4 mg MMC. Patients with adeno- and large cell cancer were treated with 30 mg/m2 Adriamycin and 4 mg MMC, while patients with small cell cancer were given 150 mg/m2 VP-16 p.o. for 5 days. The following results were obtained. Of 22 evaluable patients, overall response rate was 50%. In each histologic type, response rate was 50% (5/10) for squamous cell carcinoma 50% (4/8) for adenocarcinoma 33% (1/3) for large cell carcinoma and 100% (1/1) for small cell carcinoma. No CR was obtained in this series. Main side effects due to Cisplatinum were nausea, vomiting, loss of appetite, mild leukopenia and thrombocytopenia, mild elevation of serum creatinine and BUN and alopecia, all of which were transient. Interstitial pneumonitis was observed in 40% of patients with squamous cell cancer. Two patients with adenocarcinoma died within 3 weeks after treatment due to embolism of the abdominal aorta and myocardial infarction probably caused by treatment with Adriamycin.

Adenocarcinoma↗
PubMed1976

Fish swimbladder: an excellent mesodermal inductor in primary embryonic induction.

Swimbladder of the crucian carp, Carassius auratus, was found to be better as a vegatalizing tissue than other tissues, such as guinea-pig bone marrow, when presumptive ectoderm of Triturus gastrulae was used as reacting tissue. Swimbladder usually induced assemblies of highly organized mesodermal tissues, such as notochord, somites and pronephric tubules, some of which were covered by mesodermal epithelium without any epidermal covering. A special character of the effect of swimbladder was the rather frequent induction of solid balls of undifferentiated cells, which were identified as mesodermal or mesodermal and probably endodermal. These findings show that swimbladder has a strong and fast spreading vegetalizing effect on the responding presumptive ectoderm.

Air Sacs↗
PubMed1976

Cytological and microspectrophotometric analysis of mesodermalized explants of Triturus gastrula ectoderm.

Using isolated presumptive ectoderm of the newt (Triturus pyrrhogaster) embryos as a reactor and extract of rat bone marrow as a mesodermal inductor, changes of cell number and mitotic index of the reactor cells were studied. In early stages of cultivation the increase in cell number in the mesodermalized ectodermal piece was slower than in the non-mesodermalized epidermal piece; but after 24 h it showed abrupt increase and reached a cell population equal to that of the control at 48 h of cultivation. In the experimental series, the mitotic index was 0 at 4 h after the application of the inducing stimulus, but increased precipitously in the next 8 h and reached a level of 4-4% at 12 h and thereafter decreased gradually. The cell cycle stopped at the S phase and stayed in it for several hours after the application of inductor. A sudden fall in cell number, observed in the mesodermalized epidermal piece between the 4th and the 8th h after the application of inducing stimulus, seems to be attributable to cell death which was brought about by the inducing stimulus. In the histogenetic process phases of repression on mitosis by an inducing stimulus, cell proliferation and nonproliferation seem to succeed each other.

Animals↗