PubMed Health⌕ Search

Biomedical subjects

K Mito

Publications and source records attributed to K Mito.

At least 19 recordsLinked to original sources
PubMed2005

High plasma concentrations of osteopontin in patients with interstitial pneumonia.

Osteopontin (OPN) produced by alveolar macrophages functions as a fibrogenic cytokine in the development of bleomycin (BLM)-induced murine pulmonary fibrosis, and OPN mRNA is expressed on lung tissues from patients with idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis (IPF). The present study investigates plasma OPN levels in human interstitial pneumonia (IP) and their relationships with disease severity by analyzing the correlation between plasma OPN concentrations and pulmonary functions. The concentrations of OPN in plasma were measured in 17 patients with IP, in 9 with sarcoidosis and in 20 healthy controls using an antigen-capture enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay. The concentrations of OPN in plasma were significantly higher in IP patients than in those with sarcoidosis or in controls. Based on a Receiver Operating Characteristic curve analysis, cut-off points between 300 and 380 ng/ml discriminated between IP and control subjects with 100% sensitivity and 100% specificity. In such case, the sensitivity for sarcoidosis decreased (55.5-33.3%) in cut-offs with 100% specificity. Plasma OPN levels inversely and closely correlated with arterial oxygen tension (PaO2) in patients with IP. Immunohistochemically, OPN was localized predominantly in macrophages and airway epithelium. These findings suggest that plasma OPN levels were found to be associated with the presence of IP, and that OPN play an important role in the development of IP.

Adult↗
PubMed2004

Cortical potentials associated with voluntary, reflex, and spontaneous blinks as bilateral simultaneous eyelid movement.

Movement-related cortical potentials (MRCPs) associated with the contraction of m. orbicularis oculi related to three types of blinks (voluntary, reflex, and spontaneous) were measured for 12 normal subjects. The purpose of the present study was to estimate the role of the cerebral cortex in close association with the blinks caused by bilateral simultaneous eyelid movements. MRCPs were recorded by surface electrodes placed over the frontal to the parietal regions. The mean amplitude and the duration of the MRCPs for the three types of blinks were evaluated by an averaging technique for each subject. MRCPs for the voluntary blinks were evoked in all subjects. For the reflex and the spontaneous blinks, however, a clear negative rising deflection from the baseline was not obtained. The maximum amplitude of the MRCPs for the voluntary blinks was localized at the vertex region, though there was no significant difference between the durations of the MRCPs for the vertex region and for the other regions. Moreover, the positive potential following the voluntary and the spontaneous blinks was recognized in the parietal region. These results suggest that only the voluntary blinks are caused by the neural activation of the supplementary motor area (SMA), and in addition, the neural activation related to visual recognition is considered to be elicited by the voluntary and the spontaneous blinks.

Adult↗
PubMed2002

Production of long-chain polyunsaturated fatty acids by monoxenic growth of labyrinthulids on oil-dispersed agar medium.

A novel method is proposed for the production of long-chain polyunsaturated fatty acids (LCPUFA) by labyrinthulids. The method comprises a monoxenic culture with Psychlobacter phenylpyruvicus, using agar medium in which oil was dispersed. Soybean oil (SBO) was selected as the optimum material for an oil-dispersed agar medium. The labyrinthulids showed three-dimensional growth and an anastomosing ectoplasmic network in the SBO-dispersed agar medium. The oil plate changed from an opaque culture to a more transparent culture, due to growth of the labyrinthulids. The optimum culture conditions were 25-30 degrees C, an initial pH of 6-10 and artificial seawater with a salt concentration of 50-100%. These conditions are close to those where these strains were isolated. The maximum LCPUFA production (0.59 g/l) and dry cell weight (4.93 g/l) was obtained using strain S3-2 (isolated from Ishigaki Island) with 1.5% SBO at 14 days. This value was about 30 times more than that using glucose instead of SBO. The method proposed is promising in terms of the production of LCPUFA from reproducible oils.

Agar↗
PubMed2001

Prednisolone inhibits an IgE-mediated late-phase allergic cutaneous reactionby interfering with the activation of mast cells in mice.

Epicutaneous antigen challenge in passively sensitized mice with IgE produces a biphasic cutaneous response which peaks 1 h (immediate-phase reaction) and 24 h (late-phase reaction; LPR) after the antigen challenge. In this model, anaphylactic degranulation and interleukin 6 (IL-6) expression between 4 and 8 h are observed in resident mast cells as the preceding stage of LPR. Prednisolone at a dose of 3 mg kg(-1) clearly inhibited the LPR when administered 2 h before and 4 h after antigen challenge. Slight or no inhibition of LPR was observed by prednisolone administered 6-12 h after challenge. Histologically, prednisolone treatment 2 h before antigen challenge completely inhibited edema and inflammatory cell infiltration, while treatment at 6 h did not at all. In order to investigate the relationship between inhibition of LPR by prednisolone and mast cell activation, the effects of prednisolone on degranulation of mast cells and IL-6 expression in mast cells were investigated. 8 h after antigen challenge, prednisolone clearly inhibited the increase in the number of anaphylactic degranulated and IL-6-positive mast cells by administration 2 h before challenge, but did not affect it by administration 6 h after challenge. These data indicate that the inhibitory mechanism of prednisolone on LPR, at least, involves the inhibition of mast cell activation before LPR.

Animals↗
PubMed2001

Hypertrophic pulmonary osteoarthropathy associated with non-small cell lung cancer demonstrated growth hormone-releasing hormone by immunohistochemical analysis.

Hypertrophic pulmonary osteoarthropathy (HPO) associated with non-small cell lung cancer in a 58-year-old man was accompanied by an elevated serum level of growth hormone (GH). HPO rapidly disappeared after resection of the primary tumor and the elevation of serum GH was resolved. Immunohistochemically the tumor contained growth hormone-releasing hormone (GHRH) but not GH. These findings suggest that the high serum GH level due to ectopic GHRH production in the tumor, was a contributing factor in HPO. This is the second reported case of non-small cell lung cancer which was immunohistochemically positive for GHRH associated with HPO.

Carcinoma, Non-Small-Cell Lung↗
PubMed2000

Role of mast cells in the onset of IgE-mediated late-phase cutaneous response in mice.

BACKGROUND: In mice that are passively sensitized to IgE, cutaneous antigen challenge produces a biphasic response with peaks at 1 and 24 hours after challenge. OBJECTIVE: We investigated the role of mast cells in the IgE-mediated late-phase reaction in mice. METHODS: We histologically and ultrastructurally investigated the morphologic changes of mast cells during the biphasic responses. RESULTS: Degranulation of mast cells, which was observed between 4 and 24 hours after challenge, reached a peak at 8 hours. Piecemeal degranulation was seen during the immediate phase reaction. The number of IL-6-positive mast cells was increased after 4 hours in both IgE-sensitized and unsensitized mice, but positive cells showed a greater increase in sensitized mice and reached a peak after 8 hours. With in situ hybridization experiments, mast cells were positive for IL-6 messenger RNA at 6 hours after challenge. CONCLUSION: These findings indicate that anaphylactic degranulation of mast cells and the expression of IL-6 mRNA within 4 hours after antigen challenge are important for the onset of the late-phase allergic cutaneous reaction in mice.

Animals↗
PubMed2000

[Primary pulmonary cryptococcosis with endobronchial lesion].

A 19-year old man was admitted to our hospital with fever and productive cough. Chest X-ray films revealed multiple nodular shadows accompanied by a fusing tendency in the right middle field. A diagnosis of bacterial pneumonia was indicated, and the patient was treated with antibiotics. However, because this failed to resolve the nodular shadows, bronchofibroscopy was performed. Examination with a fiberoptic bronchoscope revealed an elevated lesion in the truncus intermedius. Histopathologic examination of a specimen obtained by transbronchial biopsy revealed cryptococcal organisms with the infiltration of monocytes. These findings yielded a diagnosis of pulmonary cryptococcosis with endobronchial lesion. After 6 months of treatment with fluconazole, the multiple nodular shadows disappeared. Comparison of bronchoscopic findings before and after fluconazole treatment clearly demonstrated the efficacy of the therapy.

Adult↗
PubMed2000

[A small cell lung cancer shadow resembling beads on chest radiographs].

We present a case of small cell lung cancer whose shadow resembles bead son chest radiographs. An 81-year-old woman who had been receiving treatment from her doctor for pulmonary emphysema and chronic respiratory failure consulted our department because a small nodular shadow had been detected radiographically in the right lower lung field. The bead-like shadows in the radiographs and tomograms extended from the periphery of the right lower lobe to the pulmonary hilum. This case of small cell lung cancer appeared in chest radiographs to have an unusual shape.

Aged↗
PubMed2000

[A case of pulmonary manifestation associated with myelodysplastic syndrome].

A 69-year-old woman with myelodysplastic syndrome (MDS) was admitted to our hospital because of recurrent fever and pulmonary infiltration shadows. On the seventh day of hospitalization, she had an attack of high fever and cough and laboratory tests revealed an elevated leukocyte count and elevated serum C-reactive protein. Chest radiographs showed infiltration shadows in the right middle and lower lung fields. Because a diagnosis of bacterial pneumonia was initially suggested, she was treated with antibiotics. However, the infiltration shadows on the chest radiograph had not improve, so bronchofiberscopy was performed. Analysis of fluid obtained by bronchoalveolar lavage (BAL) showed an increase in the total cell count, predominantly in lymphocytes and neutrophils. A transbronchial biopsy specimen showed infiltration of numerous neutrophils with necrosis under the bronchial epithelium, and edematous septa were infiltrated with numerous neutrophils and lymphocytes. BAL, blood, urine, bone marrow, and sputum cultures were all free of bacteria, mycobacteria and fungi. Interstitial infiltration by numbers of neutrophils associated with MDS was diagnosed and steroid treatment was performed.

Aged↗
PubMed1999

Phase I study of cisplatin and docetaxel plus mitomycin C in patients with metastatic non-small cell lung cancer.

BACKGROUND: Docetaxel, cisplatin and mitomycin C are some of the active drugs used in the treatment of patients with metastatic non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC). The purpose of this study was to determine the maximum tolerated dose (MTD) and recommended dose of the three drugs in combination for such patients. METHODS: Chemotherapy-native patients with metastatic NSCLC were enrolled in this study. The doses of docetaxel and cisplatin were fixed at 60 and 80 mg/m2, respectively. It was planned to increase the dose of mitomycin C from 4 to 6 and 8 mg/m2. All drugs were administered on day 1 and repeated every 3-4 weeks. RESULTS: All six patients received 60 mg/m2 of docetaxel and 80 mg/m2 of cisplatin, three of them with 4 mg/m2 of mitomycin C (level 1) and the other three with 6 mg/m2 of mitomycin C (level 2). Two of the three level 2 patients experienced dose-limiting toxicities (DLTs) in first cycle: febrile neutropenia and grade 3 hyponatremia. Based on these data, the MTD was concluded to be 60 mg/m2 for docetaxel, 80 mg/m2 for cisplatin and 6 mg/m2 for mitomycin C. Evaluation of the data from all of the cycles, however, showed that four of the six patients experienced DLTs. CONCLUSIONS: The addition of mitomycin C to docetaxel and cisplatin resulted in relatively high toxicities. It was impossible to use a high enough dose of mitomycin C to improve the survival of NSCLC patients. We therefore concluded that further evaluation of this combination is unwarranted.

Aged↗
PubMed1999

A needle-type immunotherapeutic system incorporating laser light and platonin in combination with ethanol injection in the treatment of cancer growing in deep organs.

Platonin is a potent cell-activating agent and a photosensitizing dye characterized by a typical absorption peak at 590 nm. It has been already clarified that macrophage activity is enhanced synergistically by platonin administration together with laser light irradiation. This method is considered to be useful in cancer immunotherapy. In this study, a needle-type therapeutic system incorporating this method was applied for the therapy of a homogeneous tumor grafted onto mice. The tumor was strongly cicatrized by collagen fibers at an early stage of the treatment. A high T/B cell ratio of lymphocytes was observed in the peripheral blood of the treated mice. In addition, a high survival ratio was seen, especially in the group of concomitant therapy with ethanol injection (PEI method). It was determined that the induction of high immunopotentiation of mice was triggered by ethanol injection at an early stage. These results demonstrated that the system is reliable for the treatment of cancer in deep organs such as a liver, requiring no major surgical intervention.

Animals↗
PubMed1998

Expression of exon 5 deleted estrogen receptor variant messenger RNA in human uterine myometrium and leiomyoma.

To examine the relationship between uterine leiomyoma, an estrogen-dependent tumor and its estrogen receptor, the relative amounts of wild type estrogen receptor (WT) mRNA and exon 5 deleted estrogen receptor variant (D5-ER) mRNA to G3PDH mRNA were examined in human uterine myometrium and leiomyoma specimens obtained from 46 patients in 3 age groups (group A: 41-45 years old, group B: 46-50 years old, group C: 51-54 years old) using a quantitative reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction method (RT-PCR). D5-ER mRNA was co-expressed with WT mRNA in all myometrium and leiomyoma specimens. In myometrium, the relative amount of WT decreased with aging, but in leiomyoma, it was high in group B. The relative amount of D5-ER mRNA and the ratio of D5-ER mRNA to WT mRNA (D5/WT ratio) were significantly higher in group C in both myometrium and leiomyoma. The percentage of the patients whose D5/WT ratio was higher in leiomyoma than in myometrium (L/M ratio>1.0) increased with age. These findings suggest that D5-ER increases to supplement the decreasine in WT in uterine tissues toward menopause and that D5-ER plays a more active role in leiomyoma than in myometrium during the perimenopausal period.

Adult↗
PubMed1998

Apoptosis and suppression of tumor growth by artepillin C extracted from Brazilian propolis.

Artepillin C was extracted from Brazilian propolis. Artepillin C (3,5-diprenyl-4-hydroxycinnamic acid) has a molecular weight of 300.40 and possesses antibacterial activity. When artepillin C was applied to human and murine malignant tumor cells in vitro and in vivo, artepillin C exhibited a cytotoxic effect and the growth of tumor cells was clearly inhibited. The artepillin C was found to cause significant damage to solid tumor and leukemic cells by the MTT assay, DNA synthesis assay, and morphological observation in vitro. When xenografts of human tumor cells were transplanted into nude mice, the cytotoxic effects of artepillin C were most noticeable in carcinoma and malignant melanoma. Apoptosis, abortive mitosis, and massive necrosis combined were identified by histological observation after intratumor injection of 500 microg of artepillin C three times a week. In addition to suppression of tumor growth, there was an increase in the ratio of CD4/CD8 T cells, and in the total number of helper T cells. These findings indicate that artepillin C activates the immune system, and possesses direct antitumor activity.

Animals↗
PubMed1996

Antihypertensive effect of angiotensin I-converting enzyme inhibitory peptides derived from hemoglobin.

From proteolytic digest of swine hemoglobin, we isolated four peptide, E-1 (Phe-Gln-Lys-Val-Val-Ala), E-2 (Phe-Gln-Lys-Val-Val-Ala-Gly), peptide 30-3 (Phe-Gln-Lys-Val-Val-Ala-Lys) and H-1 (Gly-Lys-Lys-Val-Leu-Gln). These peptides inhibited angiotensin I-converting enzyme activity with an IC50 of 5.8, 7.4, 2.1 and 1.9 microM, respectively. Oral administration of 50 mg/kg E-1 and 50 mg/kg H-1 decreased blood pressure in spontaneously hypertensive rats. In normotensive rats, oral administration of 500 mg/kg E-1 and 500 mg/kg H-1 inhibited the pressor effect of i.v. administrated 300 ng/kg angiotensin I, possibly by inhibiting its conversion to angiotensin II. These results suggest that these peptides are orally effective inhibitors of angiotensin I-converting enzyme that have a hypotensive effect.

Angiotensin-Converting Enzyme Inhibitors↗
PubMed1996

Photodynamic efficiency of macrophage activity using a photosensitizer, lumin, with near-IR laser light for photoimmunotherapy of a cancer.

This study was carried out to determine the efficacy of photoimmunotherapy using a photosensitizer, lumin, and near-IR laser light irradiation for cancer therapy. Lumin is a potent cell-activating agent and a photosensitizer characterized by typical absorption peaks at 670 and 770 nm. To clarify that ingestion activity is enhanced by lumin administration with different light irradiation, He-Ne laser light (632.8 nm) and near-IR laser light (780 nm) were used. The results showed that a small dose of lumin (5 ng/ml) with near-IR laser light dramatically enhanced the ingestion activity. A human lung cancer grafted onto nude mice was used in this study. After the tumor hypertrophied, lumin was injected into it six times. Then, it was exposed to near-IR laser light (2 mW, 1 min) every other day for 2 weeks. The whole tumor was strongly cicatrized by collagen fiber from the stroma. It was removed 15 weeks after the treatment. Immunological function was investigated using a two-color flow cytometric assay method based on immunofluorescence labeling with specific monoclonal antibodies of 10(4) cell samples harvested from mouse peripheral blood. At 40 weeks, the ratio of T cells to B cells in untreated mice was 0.23, whereas that in treated mice was 0.58. These results demonstrated that photoimmunotherapy with lumin administration and laser light irradiation is a reliable method of cancer therapy.

Adenocarcinoma↗
PubMed1993

Antihypertensive effects of peptides in autolysate of bonito bowels on spontaneously hypertensive rats.

An autolysate of bonito bowels was treated with ultrafiltration, loose RO concentration, ion-exchange chromatography, and reverse phase chromatography to increase its potency to inhibit angiotensin I-converting enzyme (ACE) activity by 16-fold. Oral administration of the partially purified autolysate decreased the systolic blood pressure of spontaneously hypertensive rats (SHR) in a dose-dependent manner at the doses of 1 g peptides/kg or higher. The relationship between the antihypertensive activity (in vivo) of the partially purified preparation and its ACE inhibitory activity (in vitro) in comparison with previously reported ACE inhibitory peptides is discussed.

Amino Acid Sequence↗
PubMed1992

Jatropham derivatives and steroidal saponins from the bulbs of Lilium hansonii.

Two new jatropham derivatives and three new steroidal saponins were isolated from the fresh bulbs of Lilium hansonii, along with previously known compounds. The structures of the new compounds were elucidated, on the basis of spectroscopic data and chemical evidence, and by comparing them with those of known compounds, as (-)-5-hydroxy-3-methyl-3-pyrrolin-2-one (jatropham) 5-O-beta-D-glucopyranosyl-(1----3)-beta-D-glucopyranoside, (2S*,4R*)-1-(3-methyl-2-oxo-3-pyrrolinyl)-4-methyl-5-oxo-2-pyrr olidinecarboxyli c acid, 26-O-beta-D-glucopyranosyl-(25R)-5 alpha-furostan-3 beta,22 zeta-diol 3-O-alpha-L-rhamnopyranosyl-(1----2)-O-[beta-D-glucopyranosyl-(1----4)]- beta-D-glucopyranoside, (25R)-5 alpha-spirostan-3 beta,12 alpha-diol 3-O-alpha-L-rhamnopyranosyl-(1----2)-O-[beta-D-glucopyranosyl-(1----4)]- beta-D-glucopyranoside and (25R)-spirost-5-en-3 beta,12 alpha-diol 3-O-alpha-L-rhamnopyranosyl-(1----2)-O-[beta-D-glucopyranosyl-(1----4)]- beta-D-glucopyranoside, respectively. The stereostructure of jatropham dimer, the plain structure of which was presented previously, was confirmed by X-ray crystallographic analysis. The inhibitory activity on cyclic AMP phosphodiesterase of the steroidal saponins was evaluated.

3',5'-Cyclic-AMP Phosphodiesterases↗