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Biomedical subjects

K Shimokado

Publications and source records attributed to K Shimokado.

At least 19 recordsLinked to original sources
PubMed2005

Insulin signaling in arteries prevents smooth muscle apoptosis.

OBJECTIVE: Insulin is an antiapoptotic factor of cultured vascular cells, but it is not clear whether it also exerts antiapoptotic effects on vascular cells in vivo. We studied insulin receptor signaling in the arteries of normal and diabetic rats to establish whether insulin exhibits antiapoptotic activity toward vascular smooth muscle cells in vivo as well as in vitro. METHODS AND RESULTS: Western blot analysis and real-time polymerase chain reaction revealed alpha- and beta-subunits of the insulin receptor in association with insulin receptor substrate-1 and phosphatidylinositol 3-kinase in the media of the aorta and carotid artery. The insulin receptor signaling pathway was partially activated under physiological conditions, further activated by intravenous insulin injection, and was attenuated in streptozotocin-induced diabetic rats. Lipopolysaccharide injection induced more apoptosis of vascular smooth muscle cells in diabetic rats than in control rats, whereas insulin prevented apoptosis in the aortic wall. An in vitro study suggested that the antiapoptotic effect of insulin was mediated by phosphatidylinositol 3-kinase. CONCLUSIONS: Insulin is an antiapoptotic factor of vascular smooth muscle cells in vitro and in vivo. Decreased insulin activity on the artery may increase smooth muscle cell death and cause unstable plaque formation associated with diabetes.

Animals↗
PubMed2004

Gastric motility after laparoscopically assisted distal gastrectomy, with or without preservation of the pylorus, for early gastric cancer, as assessed by digital dynamic x-ray imaging.

This study aimed to evaluate the usefulness of digital x-ray imaging for measuring gastric motility in patients subjected to laparoscopically assisted distal gastrectomy without preservation of the pylorus (LADG) or laparoscopically assisted pylorus-preserving gastrectomy (LAPPG) for early gastric cancer. Between April 1998 and February 2002, 52 patients with preoperative stage IA gastric cancer underwent laparoscopically assisted distal gastrectomy, with 26 receiving LADG for tumors in the lower third of the stomach and 26 receiving LAPPG for tumors in the middle third of the stomach. The gastric emptying ratio at 15 min after the ingestion of the test meal was 61.8% +/- 28.0% for LADG and 42.9% +/- 18.0% for LAPPG ( p < 0.01). The motility index was 2.65% +/- 2.54% for LADG and 8.13% +/- 2.46% for LAPPG ( p < 0.001). In conclusion, LAPPG results in better motility than LADG for patients with early gastric cancer arising in the middle third of the stomach.

Adult↗
PubMed2002

Polyion complex micelles as vectors in gene therapy--pharmacokinetics and in vivo gene transfer.

To establish non-viral gene delivery systems for intravenous administration, complexes of DNA and block copolymer consisting of poly-L-lysine and poly(ethylene glycol) were tested in in vivo turnover studies. The polyion complex micelles have self-assembling core-shell structures, yielding spherical nano-particles with small absolute values of zeta-potential. Southern blot analysis showed that supercoiled DNA was observed for 30 min and open circular or linear DNA was seen for 3 h after intravenous administration of PIC micelles having the charge ratios of 1:4 and PLL length of 48 mer. The PIC micelles with shorter PLL length showed lower stability in the blood stream suggesting that DNA is able to persist as an intact molecule in the blood stream using this system. Though having no ligands, PIC micelles with charge ratios of 1:2 and 1:4 transfected efficiently into HepG2 cells. Preincubation with free copolymer inhibited expression of the reporter gene, suggesting that adsorption of block copolymer to the cell surface blocked the interaction site of the PIC micelles. When the PIC micelles were injected via supramesenteric vein, expression of the gene was observed only in the liver and was sustained for 3 days. It was suggested that this gene delivery system is intrinsically efficient.

Carcinoma, Hepatocellular↗
PubMed2001

Metabolism of triglyceride-rich lipoproteins and their role in atherosclerosis.

Recent large-scale clinical trials indicate that hypertriglyceridemia is a risk factor in coronary artery disease; however, the mechanism has not yet been completely clarified. We are currently studying the metabolism of triglyceride-rich lipoproteins and their role in atherosclerosis. Remnants, one of atherogenic lipoproteins, showed a marked increase and remained high even 8 hours after fat loading, especially in patients with coronary artery disease or diabetes mellitus. This shows that the postprandial state persists almost the whole day in these patients. Accordingly, it may be important to assess post-prandial remnant concentrations when evaluating risk factors for atherosclerosis. We identified apo B100 expression in the epithelial cells of the small intestine by immunoblotting with anti-apo B100 monoclonal antibody and dot-blotting of PCR-amplified cDNA. This indicates that not only apo B48, but also apo B100 is expressed in human small intestinal epithelium. The expression of apo B100 suggests that dietary VLDL may be synthesized in human small intestinal epithelium and converted into LDL, which may play an important role in atherosclerosis. A new receptor, apo B48, which binds and internalizes triglyceride-rich lipoproteins via a domain in apo B48, was identified in human monocyte-macrophages. The receptor differs from the scavenger receptor family and LDL receptor family because it does not bind acetyl LDL and it does bind VLDL devoid of apo E. Immunohistochemical studies indicate colocalization of anti-apo B48 receptor antibody in human atherosclerotic lesion foam cells, suggesting that apo B48 receptor may contribute to foam cell formation and atherosclerosis.

Arteriosclerosis↗
PubMed2001

Potential role of recombinant annexin II in diabetic vascular injury.

Hyperinsulinemia and hyperglycemia have been associated with vascular injury such as atherosclerosis in diabetes mellitus. Recently, annexin II, a member of annexin family proteins, has been found to work as co-receptor on endothelial cells for plasminogen and tissue plasminogen activator, facilitating plasmin generation on the surface of vascular endothelium. In this review, we overviewed the effect of glucose and insulin on plasmin generation in endothelial cells and its potential modulation by recombinant annexin II (rAN II) based on our data.

Annexin A2↗
PubMed2001

Remnant lipoproteins and atherogenesis.

Remnant lipoproteins are reported to play a causative role in atherogenesis. They consist of chylomicron remnants and very low-density lipoprotein remnants. They are heterogeneous in composition and metabolic pathway and are rapidly taken up from the circulation as soon as they are formed in normal lipid metabolism. These characteristics make it difficult to separate and subsequently analyze remnant lipoproteins. Recently, however, we developed a simple and reliable immunoseparation method to separate remnant lipoproteins, and the cellular mechanism(s) by which they contribute to atherogenesis have been elucidated.

Arteriosclerosis↗
PubMed2000

Transcriptional activation of urokinase by the Krüppel-like factor Zf9/COPEB activates latent TGF-beta1 in vascular endothelial cells.

Understanding the regulation of genes controlling fibrinolysis and matrix homeostasis is essential for elucidating the basis of tissue repair. A recently described novel Krüppel-like factor, Zf9, is up-regulated in acute liver injury in activated hepatic stellate cells. Because Zf9 can be induced widely, its activity was examined in vascular endothelium, a key cell in vascular injury. Zf9 is induced as an immediate-early response gene in bovine aortic endothelial cells (BAECs) following treatment with serum or phorbol ester. Zf9 transcriptionally activates urokinase plasminogen activator (uPA). Recombinant Zf9-GST binds to wild-type but not mutated 'GC-box' motifs within the human uPA promoter (-63 to -32), with greatest affinity to the middle of 3 contiguous GC boxes. Transient transfection of Zf9 drives transactivation of a full-length uPA promoter- and GC box-construct, but not a uPA promoter-construct devoid of GC boxes. Transactivation of uPA by Zf9 is also supported in Drosophila S2 cells. Most importantly, transiently transfected Zf9 up-regulates endogenous uPA messenger RNA and activity in BAECs, resulting in increased bioactive transforming growth factor-beta (TGF-beta) via enhancement of proteolytic activation of the latent molecule. Furthermore, concomitant expression of Zf9 and uPA proteins was observed in arterial endothelial cells after balloon injury in rats, suggesting a potential role of Zf9 in uPA expression not only in vitro but also in vivo. These findings suggest a role of Zf9 in the injury response by enhancing uPA synthesis and subsequent activation of latent TGF-beta. (Blood. 2000;95:1309-1316)

Animals↗
PubMed1999

Cloning and characterization of a novel human gene encoding a zinc finger protein with 25 fingers.

This study reports cloning and characterization of a human cDNA encoding a novel human zinc finger protein, ZFD25. ZFD25 cDNA is 6118 bp long and has an open reading frame of 2352 bp that encodes a 783 amino acid protein with 25 C2H2-type zinc fingers. The ZFD25 cDNA also contains a region with high sequence similarity to the Krüppel-associated box A and B domain in the 5'-untranslated region, suggesting that ZFD25 belongs to the Krüppel-associated box zinc finger protein family. The ZFD25 gene was localized to chromosome 7q11.2. Northern blot analysis showed that ZFD25 was expressed in a wide range of human organs. In cultured endothelial cells, the mRNA level was decreased upon serum starvation.

Amino Acid Sequence↗
PubMed1999

Analysis of the c-myc, K-ras and p53 genes in methylcholanthrene-induced mouse sarcomas.

We have examined 63 methylcholanthrene (MCA)-induced mouse sarcomas for possible correlations of mutations involving the c-myc, ras and p53 genes. The c-myc gene was found to be amplified in 18 of these sarcomas (29%). Polymerase chain reaction-single strand conformation polymorphism (PCR-SSCP) analysis and subsequent direct sequencing identified 18 cases carrying K-ras mutation at codons 12, 13 and 61 (29%). No mutation was detected in the H-ras and N-ras genes. Mutations of the p53 gene in exons 5 to 8 were found in 45 cases (71%). Comparison of these mutations revealed that out of 18 cases with c-myc gene amplifications, 10 carried K-ras mutations (56%) and 14 carried p53 mutations (78%). In contrast, among 45 cases of sarcomas without c-myc gene amplification, 8 were found to have K-ras mutations (18%). The same 45 cases were found to have 31 p53 mutations (69%). The present study suggests a strong correlation between c-myc gene amplification and K-ras gene mutation (P < 0.01). p53 gene mutation was frequently found among MCA-induced mouse sarcomas, indicating the importance of this mutation in the etiology of these tumors. However, p53 mutations were present in sarcomas regardless of the state of c-myc amplification and K-ras mutation. Therefore, a defect in the p53 gene is independent of amplification of the c-myc gene or point mutation of the K-ras gene.

Animals↗
PubMed1999

Autocrine FGF-2 is responsible for the cell density-dependent susceptibility to apoptosis of HUVEC : A role of a calpain inhibitor-sensitive mechanism.

To elucidate the factors affecting endothelial susceptibility to apoptosis, we studied the effects of cell density on endothelial cell apoptosis induced by deprivation of serum and fibroblast growth factor-2 (FGF-2/basic FGF). On deprivation, more cells became apoptotic in a dense culture (5 x 10(2) cells/mm(2)) than in a sparse culture (1 x 10(2) cells/mm(2)) of human umbilical vein endothelial cells. FGF-2, hepatocyte growth factor, and vascular endothelial cell growth factor, but not insulin-like growth factor-I, decreased apoptosis in the dense culture to a level similar in the sparse culture. An anti-FGF-2 antibody significantly increased the apoptosis in the sparse culture, suggesting that the sparse culture was resistant to apoptosis because of the greater autocrine production of FGF-2. Western blot analysis and metabolic labeling revealed that the sparse culture has, in fact, more FGF-2 than the dense culture. The steady state level of mRNA for FGF-2 was not significantly different between the dense and sparse cultures. Among a panel of inhibitors for 2 major cytoplasmic proteolytic enzymes, calpain inhibitors increased FGF-2 in the dense culture, but proteasome inhibitors did not. Our findings demonstrate that cell density affects endothelial survival by regulating autocrine FGF-2 production through a calpain inhibitor-sensitive mechanism.

Apoptosis↗
PubMed1999

Phosphatidylinositol 3-kinase is required for growth factor-induced amino acid uptake by vascular smooth muscle cells.

Although accumulating evidence suggests that phosphatidylinositol 3-kinase (PI3K) is a common signaling molecule for growth factor-induced amino acid uptake by the cell, the role of PI3K in the uptake of different amino acids was not tested under the same conditions. In this study, we asked whether PI3K mediates platelet-derived growth factor (PDGF) -stimulated uptake of different amino acids that are taken up through 3 major amino acid transporters expressed in rat vascular smooth muscle cells and other cell types and whether PI3K mediates amino acid uptake stimulated with different growth factors and vasoactive substances. PDGF increased the uptake of [(3)H]leucine, [(3)H]proline, and [(3)H]arginine in a dose- and time-dependent fashion. Two different PI3K inhibitors, wortmannin (100 nmol/L) and LY294002 (10 micromol/L), completely inhibited the amino acid uptake stimulated by PDGF. Chinese hamster ovary cells expressing both PDGF receptor-beta and a dominant-negative PI3K did not increase their leucine uptake when stimulated with PDGF, whereas the same cells expressing only PDGF receptor-beta did. Transforming growth factor-beta, as well as insulin-like growth factor-I and angiotensin II, increased leucine uptake by vascular smooth muscle cells. Wortmannin and LY294002 inhibited this increase. We also found that transforming growth factor-beta stimulated PI3K activity and the phosphorylation of Akt, a downstream signaling molecule of PI3K. A similar effect of PI3K inhibitors on amino acid uptake was observed in Swiss 3T3 cells. We conclude that PI3K mediates the uptake of different amino acids by vascular smooth muscle cells and other cell types stimulated with a variety of growth factors, including transforming growth factor-beta. Our findings suggest that PI3K may play an important role in vascular pathophysiology by regulating amino acid uptake.

Amino Acids↗
PubMed1998

Oxidized low density lipoprotein induces apoptosis in cultured human umbilical vein endothelial cells by common and unique mechanisms.

Oxidized low density lipoprotein (oxLDL) induces apoptosis in vascular cells. To elucidate the mechanisms involved in this apoptosis, we studied the apoptosis-inducing activity in lipid fractions of oxLDL and the roles of two common mechanisms, ceramide generation and the activation of caspases, in apoptosis in human umbilical vein endothelial cells treated with oxLDL. We also studied the effects of antioxidants and cholesterol. oxLDL induced endothelial apoptosis in a time- and dose-dependent fashion. Apoptosis-inducing activity was recovered in the neutral lipid fraction of oxLDL. Various oxysterols in this fraction induced endothelial apoptosis. Neither the phospholipid fraction nor its component lysophosphatidylcholine induced apoptosis. oxLDL induced ceramide accumulation temporarily at 15 min in a dose-dependent fashion. Two inhibitors of acid sphinogomyelinase inhibited both the increase in ceramide and the apoptosis induced by oxLDL. Furthermore, a membrane-permeable ceramide (C2-ceramide) induced endothelial apoptosis. These findings demonstrated that ceramide generation by acid sphingomyelinase is indispensable for the endothelial apoptosis induced by oxLDL. Inhibitors of both caspase-1 and caspase-3 inhibited the apoptosis, suggesting that oxLDL induced apoptosis by activating these cysteine proteases. The antioxidants butylated hydroxytoluene and superoxide dismutase but not catalase inhibited the apoptosis induced by oxLDL or 25-hydroxycholesterol. This suggests not only that superoxide plays an important role but also that a critical interaction between oxLDL and the cell takes place on the outer surface of the membrane, because superoxide dismutase is not membrane-permeable. Exogenous cholesterol also inhibited the apoptosis. Our study demonstrated that neutral lipids in oxLDL induce endothelial apoptosis by activating membrane sphingomyelinase in a superoxide-dependent manner, as well as by activating caspases.

Antioxidants↗
PubMed1998

Serum amyloid P component associates with high density lipoprotein as well as very low density lipoprotein but not with low density lipoprotein.

Serum amyloid P component (SAP) is a glycoprotein in human plasma. We previously showed that SAP is specifically localized in human atherosclerotic lesions, suggesting that SAP may play a role in atherogenesis. In this study, the interactions between human SAP and high density lipoprotein (HDL), low density lipoprotein (LDL) and very low density lipoprotein (VLDL) were investigated by using a solid phase plate assay. Biotinylated SAP bound to immobilized HDL and VLDL in a calcium-dependent, saturable manner. The SAP-HDL and SAP-VLDL bindings reached saturation at 4 nM and 16 nM of SAP, respectively. The bindings were inhibited by native SAP in a dose-dependent manner. No binding between SAP and LDL was found in the presence of calcium or EDTA, which indicates the specificity of SAP-lipoproteins interactions. These results suggest that the function of SAP is related to its capability to interact with lipoproteins and this may have important implications in atherosclerosis and in amyloidosis.

Binding, Competitive↗
PubMed1998

Changes of gene expression by lysophosphatidylcholine in vascular endothelial cells: 12 up-regulated distinct genes including 5 cell growth-related, 3 thrombosis-related, and 4 others.

Lysophosphatidylcholine (lysoPC), a component of oxidatively modified lipoproteins, is present in atherosclerotic lesions, and its proatherogenic properties have been demonstrated. To gain an insight into lysoPC-mediated endothelial gene expression, we applied nonradioactive differential display analysis of mRNA from lysoPC-treated and untreated human umbilical vein endothelial cells. We identified 12 up-regulated distinct genes including 5 cell growth-related genes (two phosphatases CL100 and B23/hVH-3, gravin, activating transcription factor-4, and heparin-binding epidermal growth factor-like growth factor), 3 thrombosis-related genes (plasminogen activator inhibitor-1, tissue plasminogen activator, and thrombomodulin), and 4 others (stanniocalcin, NAD-dependent methylenetetrahydrofolate dehydrogenase/methenyltetrahydrofolate cyclohydrolase, BENE, and reducing agents and tunicamycin-responsive protein). We isolated a full-length cDNA of human gravin. The cDNA sequence of gravin was homologous with rat mitogenic regulatory gene or rat protein kinase C binding protein and substrate, suggesting that gravin would regulate cell growth. Thus, lysoPC apparently accelerates atherosclerosis by regulating the expression of a wide variety of genes. Our data suggest the involvement in atherogenesis of the genes hitherto regarded as atherosclerosis-unrelated.

A Kinase Anchor Proteins↗
PubMed1998

p53 gene mutation and loss of heterozygosity of chromosome 11 in methylcholanthrene-induced mouse sarcomas.

Mutations of the p53 tumor suppressor gene are the most prevalent genetic alteration observed in a wide variety of human cancers. In this study we examined 63 methylcholanthrene (MCA)-induced sarcomas from C57BL/6N x C3H/HeN F1 (BCF1) or C3H/HeN x C57BL/6N F1 (CBF1) mice for p53 gene mutations and loss of heterozygosity (LOH) of chromosome 11. Mutation analysis was done on exons 5 to 8 of the p53 gene by polymerase chain reaction-single strand conformation polymorphism analysis. This identified 53 potential mutations in 45 sarcomas. Mutations were further confirmed by direct sequencing of the region. Forty-nine of the 53 cases (94%) were missense mutations, while the rest included two nonsense mutations, one silent mutation and one insertional mutation. Spectra of base substitutions were: 25 cases (47%) of G:C-->T:A transversion, 13 cases (25%) of G:C-->A:T transition (CpG site 15%), 13 cases (24%) of G:C-->C:G transversion, a case (2%) of A:T-->T:A transversion and a case (2%) of insertion. In addition, analysis of 5 polymorphic markers of mouse chromosome 11 revealed LOH in ten cases (22%) among those carrying p53 mutations. In nine of these 10 cases, the loss involved all 5 markers. In addition, the loss was biased toward the C57BL allele (9 cases). The present study establishes the pattern of mutation of the p53 gene in MCA-induced mouse sarcomas.

Amino Acid Sequence↗
PubMed1996

Phosphatidylinositol 3-kinase-independent signal transduction pathway for platelet-derived growth factor-induced chemotaxis.

Platelet-derived growth factor (PDGF)-BB is a potent chemoattractant for mesenchymal cells. Intracellular signal transduction for PDGF-induced chemotactic response has been reported to be dependent on phosphatidylinositol 3-kinase (PI3K) activation. Here, we report a PI3K-independent pathway operating for PDGF-induced chemotaxis in vascular smooth muscle cells and other cell types. Two different PI3K inhibitors, wortmannin (WT, 1 nM-1 microM) and LY294002 (100 nM-10 microM), did not inhibit PDGF-induced chemotaxis in smooth muscle cells and Swiss 3T3 cells, whereas WT inhibited activity of PI3K that were immunopurified from PDGF-stimulated cells as well as PI3K purified from cells that were stimulated with PDGF in the presence of the same concentrations of WT. Similarly, WT (100 nM) abolished the increase in intracellular phosphatidylinositol 3,4,5-triphosphate after PDGF stimulation. Furthermore, Chinese hamster ovary/Deltap85 cells overexpressing a dominant negative p85 subunit of PI3K showed a chemotactic response comparable to that of parental cells while showing a remarkable decrease in PI3K activity. Rapamycin, a specific inhibitor of pp70 S6 kinase, which is one of the well characterized downstreams of PI3K, did not inhibit PDGF-induced chemotaxis. Both WT and LY294002 inhibited PDGF-induced amino acid uptake and actin-stress fiber reorganization and partly inhibited PDGF-induced glucose incorporation in Swiss 3T3 cells. Our findings indicate that, in vascular smooth muscle cells and other cell types, the signal transduction for PDGF-induced chemotaxis is independent of PI3K activity while the signal transduction for PDGF-induced amino acid uptake, glucose incorporation, and cytoskeletal reorganization is dependent on PI3K.

3T3 Cells↗