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Biomedical subjects

K Ejiri

Publications and source records attributed to K Ejiri.

At least 55 records · Page 3Linked to original sources
PubMed1988

Complements in non-insulin-dependent diabetes mellitus with complications.

A relation of the complement system to the development of complications in non-insulin-dependent diabetes mellitus (NIDDM) was evaluated by measuring some components of the complement system. CH50, C3, C4 and C3bINA were significantly elevated in subjects with NIDDM as compared with healthy non-diabetic controls. However, CH50 and C3 did not differ between diabetics with and without complications. C4 was higher in diabetics with retinopathy as well as with retinopathy and neuropathy than in diabetics without these complications. ACH50, beta 1Hg1 and C3d were similar in subjects with NIDDM and non-diabetics, and not associated with complications of NIDDM. C3d/C3 in NIDDM without complications was lower than in healthy subjects, but did not significantly differ between the types of complications. These results suggest that the high level of complements in NIDDM might be due to enhanced production of complements and the development of diabetic complications would be related to the elevated level of complements.

Complement System Proteins↗
PubMed1988

Non-frozen cold storage is favorable for islet function and morphology.

Freezing has been shown to damage pancreatic islets and to disrupt their insulin release, probably because of intracellular ice formation. We compared frozen islets with fresh ones and with others stored at temperatures above freezing from a standpoint of insulin release response to glucose and transplantation. Group A islets, isolated from rats and immersed in 10% dimethyl sulfoxide in RPMI 1640, were stored at -2 degrees C, and group B islets at -196 degrees C, for 7 days. As for group B, the islets were cooled at 1 degree C/min from room temperature to -40 degrees C, subsequently at 3 degrees C/min to -80 degrees C and then put into liquid nitrogen to be rapidly frozen to -196 degrees C. The control islets were fresh. In vitro, basal release at 3.3 mM glucose was similar in group A to that in the controls, but was higher in group B than group A. Stimulated release against 16.7 mM glucose was lower in group A than group B. However, insulin responsiveness, i.e., the ratio of insulin release at 16.7 mM glucose to that at 3.3 mM glucose, was lost in group B. Freezing also caused damage to the group B cells visible under the light and electron microscopes, while group A islets were largely intact. In vivo, after 600 islets were transplanted into streptozotocin-induced diabetic rats, group A was better able to lower fasting blood glucose than was group B, and remained so for 4 weeks. Above sub-zero preservation in the non-frozen state thus seems adequate for the short-term storage for 7 days.

Animals↗
PubMed1988

An improved method for the isolation of islets from the rat pancreas.

The conventional method for rat islet isolation was improved by injection of collagenase solution (1.3 mg/ml) into the bile duct and the concomitant dissection of the inferior vena cava, static incubation of the removed distended pancreas for 15 min at 37 degrees C and filtration of the digested tissue through two different meshes of 1190 and 590 micron in pore size. This new technique led to about 2.5 times higher yield of viable islets than the conventional method.

Animals↗
PubMed1988

[Evaluation of the system performance and clinical images of the single photon emission computed tomography for head using ring arranged detector].

To evaluate the system performance, several preoperational fundamental tests of single photon emission computed tomography (SPECT) were carried out. Spatial resolutions (FWHM) measured with the point-spread functions of a 99mTc line source were 12.5 mm with a high resolution (HR) collimator and 17.2 mm with a high sensitivity (HS) collimator respectively. Slice thicknesses (FWHM) obtained from the profile curves of slice images were 17.5 mm (HR) and 29.0 mm (HS) at the center of rotation. System sensitivities were 5.4 kcps/slice (HR) and 27.8 kcps/slice (HS). Uniformities calculated from the SPECT images of a pool phantom were 4.7% (HR) and 2.7% (HS) at the condition of 3,000 kcounts to be acquired. SPECT images of the HEADTOME SET-031 were considered very useful to diagnose the cerebrovascular disease.

Brain↗
PubMed1987

Effect of guanidinoethyl sulfonate on taurine concentrations and fetal growth in pregnant rats.

Guanidinoethyl sulfonate (GES), a transport antagonist of taurine, was given to pregnant rats from day 11 to 21 of gestation as a 1% solution in drinking water. On day 21 of gestation in GES-treated pregnant rats, the concentration of taurine markedly decreased in the fetal whole body (54% of the control), the fetal liver (37%), the fetal whole brain (87%), the placenta (32%), the maternal liver (33%), the maternal whole brain (32%), and the maternal plasma (46%). The wet weight of fetal whole body, liver and brain of fetus, and placenta also showed a significant drop. But there were no differences of weight gain, in the liver and brain weights of the mother of the control and GES-treated pregnant rats. The urinary excretion of taurine in pregnant rats treated with GES was much higher than that of the controls. These results suggest that the administration of GES to pregnant rats induces much urinary taurine excretion with a resulting decrease in the tissue taurine content and readily produces taurine-deficient fetal rats.

Amino Acids↗
PubMed1987

Transamination of L-cysteine sulfinate in the growing rat.

The enzyme activities involved in the transamination of L-cysteine sulfinate (L-alanine 3-sulfinic acid), L-aspartate and L-cysteine were examined in fetal, neonatal and maternal rat liver and placenta. In fetal and neonatal rat liver, aminotransferase activity was most active with L-cysteine sulfinate as a substrate and was also active with L-aspartate, while activity with L-cysteine was very low. The activity of transamination of L-cysteine sulfinate in rat liver developed in parallel with that of L-aspartate and L-cysteine. The aminotransferase activity markedly increased after the 19th day of gestation, reaching the same value as adult liver on the 3rd day after birth. The ratios of transamination of L-cysteine sulfinate to that of L-aspartate and to that of L-cysteine were constant during development. These observations suggest that L-cysteine sulfinate, L-aspartate and L-cysteine are transaminated by the same enzyme in the rat liver during development. Since placental aminotransferase activity was extremely low compared with that of the liver, it was suggested that the placenta did not play an important role in the transamination of these amino acids during pregnancy.

Aging↗
PubMed1987

Improvement of autonomic neuropathy after mecobalamin treatment in uremic patients on hemodialysis.

The effect of mecobalamin on autonomic neuropathy was evaluated in 20 hemodialyzed uremic patients; their mean age was 53 years and the duration of hemodialysis was 6.5 years; 14 were women. The cardiac beat-to-beat variation (BBV) was used as the measure of autonomic neuropathy. Twelve patients with normal BBV test results were either given 1,500 micrograms of mecobalamin daily for three months (six patients) or were untreated (six patients). The BBV test results did not change significantly over the three months in either the treated or untreated group, nor were there any significant between-group differences. Eight patients with abnormal results on the BBV test were given 1,500 micrograms of mecobalamin daily for six months. The mean BBV values increased significantly from 3.3 beats/min before treatment to 5.8 beats/min at six months (P less than 0.005); five of these patients (including three of the four patients with diabetes) showed normal BBV values by three months. It is concluded that mecobalamin can be used in the treatment of autonomic and peripheral neuropathy in both diabetic and nondiabetic patients with chronic renal failure.

Adult↗
PubMed1986

Taurine concentrations in fetal, neonatal and pregnant rats.

The concentrations of taurine in the fetal and neonatal organs, and the maternal organs, plasma and urine of rats between the 15th day of gestation and the 21st day after birth were determined using an automatic amino acid analyzer. In the fetal liver and brain and in the placenta, the taurine concentration was the highest of all ninhydrin positive compounds. In the fetal liver and placenta, the concentrations of taurine increased significantly with the gestational days. Concentrations of taurine in the brain were much higher in the fetus and neonate than that in the adult. Moreover, the total amount of taurine per fetus increased markedly after the 15th day of gestation, and near term, reached almost the same amount as in the adult rat liver. In contrast to this, a significant decrease was observed in the taurine concentration in the maternal liver and muscle near term. The concentration of taurine in the urine of pregnant rats decreased near term, but in the plasma of pregnant rats the concentration of taurine did not change during pregnancy.

Amino Acids↗
PubMed1985

Effects of tris(hydroxymethyl)aminomethane on biosynthesis and release of insulin in the pancreatic Langerhans islets.

Tris(hydroxymethyl)aminomethane (Tris) has been shown to inhibit selectively the Golgi apparatus and Golgi-endoplasmic reticulum-lysosomal system (GERL system) of several kinds of cells including pancreatic B cells. This study was designed to assess the effect of Tris on insulin, glucagon and somatostatin release and insulin synthesis in pancreatic B cells by using isolated rat pancreatic islets. Tris suppressed glucose-induced insulin release, whereas it did not affect the glucagon and somatostatin release. Furthermore, the incorporation of [3H]leucine into the insulin fraction was suppressed by 10 mM Tris, but the sum of the radioactivity of both proinsulin and insulin fraction were not influenced. The present study suggests that the Golgi apparatus and GERL system may play a role in insulin secretion and biosynthesis in pancreatic B cells.

Animals↗