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Biomedical subjects

K Shirota

Publications and source records attributed to K Shirota.

At least 19 recordsLinked to original sources

Naturally occurring Tyzzer's disease in a calf.

Naturally occurring Clostridium piliforme infection (Tyzzer's disease) was found in a calf. Light microscopic examination revealed multifocal coagulative necrosis in the liver, catarrhal gastroenteritis, tracheitis and pneumonia, and thymic atrophy. Warthin-Starry staining clearly showed large filamentous bacilli in bundles or criss-cross patterns within the hepatocytes and epithelium and smooth muscle cells of the ileum and cecum. Immunohistochemistry using anti-C. piliforme RT and MSK strain antisera showed positive reaction against the bacilli. Electron microscopic examination revealed bacilli within the hepatocytes that demonstrated a characteristic vegetative form, with peritrichous flagella, and spores. The polymerase chain reaction (PCR) study using the paraffin-embedded liver sections, the 196-bp DNA fragment specific to 16S ribosomal RNA of C. piliforme was amplified. The characteristics of these bacilli are consistent with those of of C. piliforme. The PCR technique using paraffin-embedded sections should be useful for confirming C. piliforme infection in spontaneous cases.

Animals

Mechanism of initial distribution of blood-borne colon carcinoma cells in the liver.

BACKGROUND/AIMS/METHODS: The distribution characteristics of a human colon carcinoma cell line, KM12-HX cells, were examined. After intraportal vein (i.p.v.) or intravenous (i.v.) injection into rats, almost all the injected tumor cells are distributed to liver or lung, respectively, both after 30 s and 30 min. Our previous kinetic analysis of the fate of tumor cells revealed that the cumulative amount of tumor cells distributed in the liver is a factor determining the degree of metastasis. Thus, we examined the mechanism of initial efficient trapping of tumor cells by the liver in more detail. RESULTS: Thirty minutes after tumor cells were injected into the left ventricle of the heart, the distribution of tumor cells was more restricted in several tissues (kidney, small intestine, large intestine and spleen), as compared with the distribution of microspheres undergoing 100% extraction, indicating that the first-pass extraction of KM12-HX cells is incomplete in these organs. The hepatic first-pass distribution of these tumor cells was unaffected by pretreatment of liposomes, such that the preinjected amount was sufficient to saturate the phagocytotic function of macrophages. Thus, the mechanism of initial distribution of the tumor cells to the liver is different from the mechanism of liposome uptake by macrophages. Considering that the diameter of microvessels in sinusoid and KM12-HX cells is approximately 7 and 12 microm, respectively, it is possible that these tumor cells are trapped physically in hepatic microvessels. In fact, after i.p.v. injection of microspheres 5 microm in diameter, only 20% of the dose was distributed to liver and the rest to other tissues. In contrast, almost 100% of microspheres 10 microm in diameter were distributed to the liver. CONCLUSIONS: These results support the hypothesis that the initial organ distribution of blood-borne tumor cells is determined by mechanical and physical properties of the cells.

Animals

Eosinophilic proliferative pylephlebitis in the liver of Japanese beef cattle with fascioliasis.

Intrahepatic pylephlebitis was detected in 17 Japanese beef cattle. Grossly, the intrahepatic vessels in the caudate lobe and/or in the periphery of the other hepatic lobes were thickened and protruded above the lobar surface. The vessel lumina were packed with white to red, waste thread-like contents. A few immature flukes were found in the bile ducts in 3 of the 7 cases with biliary thickening. Foci of hepatic necrosis and hemorrhage were scattered around the thickened vessels in 8 cases. Histologically, the interlobular veins were thickened due to severe intimal hyperplasia with endothelial proliferation and eosinophilic accumulation and medial hypertrophy, accompanied by fibrosis and eosinophilic infiltration in the portal areas. Hepatic tissues with necrosis and hemorrhage were surrounded by eosinophils and histiocytes including a granulomatous reaction. One immature fluke was detected in one of these regions of necrosis. Immunoperoxidase staining revealed that the small fluke, Kupffer cells, and histiocytes in the liver of all cases were positively stained with anti-Japanese Fasciola sp. antiserum. Enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay of the sera of 15 cases revealed that all were positive for the anti-Fasciola antibody. On the basis of these findings, the present cases were regarded as an atypical form of fascioliasis, characterized by eosinophilic proliferative pylephlebitis of the liver.

Animals

Study on the pathogenesis of porcine serum-induced liver fibrosis in rats with special reference to the effects of hypertension.

To investigate the pathogenesis of porcine serum (PS)-induced liver fibrosis in rats, two experiments were carried out, taking into consideration of hypertension and vascular changes. In Experiment I, spontaneous hypertensive rats (SHRs), two-kidney, one clip hypertensive F344 rats (2K1C rats), and normotensive F344 rats were given an intraperitoneal injection of PS of 0.5 ml twice a week for 8 weeks. Histopathological, immunohistochemical, and electron microscopical examinations were performed on the liver from each rat. Histological features of liver fibrosis in hypertensive and normotensive rats were essentially identical. However, in the PS-treated SHRs, 2 of 5 animals showed the most severe fibrosis in all PS-treated groups. Electron microscopically, degranulated mast cells, eosinophils, and macrophages engulfing apoptotic cells were rarely observed in the late stage of fibrous septa (FS) in the PS-treated SHR liver. In Experiment II with normotensive F344 rats, histopathological features of early FS in the liver were compared with those of late FS observed in Experiment I using serial sections, and we found that FS developed along the wall of newly formed vessels to connect between neighboring central veins. However, the effect of hypertension on this fibrosis could not be clearly demonstrated in the present study using SHRs and 2K1C rats.

Animals

Coxiellosis in domestic and wild birds from Japan.

Serological evidence of infection with Coxiella burnetii was found in 41 (2%) of 1,951 domestic birds and in 167 (19%) of 863 wild birds from 17 and 5 prefectures in Japan, respectively, by microagglutination (MA) test. The bacteriological evidence of the infection was found in 17 (41%) of 41 domestic birds and 37 (22%) of 167 wild birds by the nested polymerase chain reaction (PCR). In addition, C. burnetii was isolated from five each of serum, spleen and fecal specimens from five jungle crows (Corvus macrorhynchos) (whose sera were positive by both the MA test and PCR) by inoculating laboratory mice. Domestic quail (Coturnix coturnix japonica) (3%), domestic muscovy ducks (Cairina moschata) (3%), domestic chickens (2%), domestic mallards (Anas platyrhynchos domesticus) (2%), carrion crows (Corvus corone) (37%), jungle crows (35%), and wild rock doves (Columba livia) (6%) showed serologic evidence of experience with C. burnetii. There was a tendency for a high prevalence among birds living and/or feeding in close proximity to infected livestock. This suggests that these birds are one of the less important links in maintaining the whole cycle of C. burnetii infection.

Agglutination Tests

[A case of submitral left ventricular pseudoaneurysm following mitral valve replacement for infective endocarditis].

A 25-year-old female presented with high fever and dyspnea. She was diagnosed as infective endocarditis, severe mitral regurgitation, grade II A-V block and acute left heart failure We performed emergency mitral valve replacement. At operation, mitral ring abscess was found which was extended to submitral left ventricular wall. The abscess was excised and the defect of mitral annulus was repaired with Xenomedica patch. Left ventriography at 30 days after the operation showed a submitral left ventricular pseudoaneurysm (size: 30 x 26 x 33 mm) without evidence of infection. Further examinations showed that the aneurysm extended to the annulus of tricuspid valve through interatrial septum. About 1 year after the operation, she had paroxysmal atrial fibrillation due to right atrial overloading. We decided to perform reoperation. At reoperation, the ostium of the aneurysm was closed with a Xenomedica patch after taking off the prosthetic valve. It was very difficult to close the ostium because we could not see the submitral ventricular wall directly. Although postoperative course was good, she had complete A-V block necessitating permanent pacemaker.

Adult

Hemangiopericytoma of the sigmoid mesentery: report of a case with immunohistochemical findings.

Hemangiopericytoma has been described in various sites in the body but only rarely in the mesocolon. This report describes the clinical course of an 83-year-old man whose mesosigmoidal tumor (hemangiopericytoma) was resected on 11 November 1994. Immunostaining was done with the following primary antibodies: alpha-actin, vimentin, factor VIII-related antigen, chromogranin, and S-100. Staining for factor VIII-related antigen was strongly positive in the endothelial cells of the capillaries, but negative in the tumor cells. The tumor cells contained immunoreactive vimentin, but demonstrated no alpha-actin, chromogranin, or S-100. Since the operation, the patient has been disease-free for 11 months.

Actins

Hepatoblastoma in a dog.

A hepatoblastoma was found in a 13-year-old female Maltese dog. Histologically, the tumor showed a wide trabecular pattern and was frequently accompanied with vascular lake formation. Tumor cells were positive for cytokeratin and neuron specific enolase, but negative for chromogranin. Electronmicroscopically, tumor cells were accompanied with continuous basement membrane and had poorly developed desmosomes. Sinusoidal endothelia had fenestration and were surrounded by myofibroblast-like cells. To the best of our knowledge, this paper is the first report of morphological studies on canine hepatoblastoma.

Animals

Morphological and immunohistochemical studies on porcine serum-induced rat liver fibrosis.

In order to clarify the pathogenesis of porcine serum (PS)-induced rat liver fibrosis, three experiments differing in dose of PS or duration of treatment were performed on male Fischer 344 rats. The rats were given an intraperitoneal injection of PS twice a week for 3 to 16 weeks and euthanized 7 days after the last injection for each treatment group. Liver tissues from these animals were subjected to detailed morphological and immunohistochemical examinations. Biochemical tests on treated rat serum revealed an increase in globulin concentration but no elevation in AST, ALT and ALP activities. There were no relationships among the dose of PS, the extent of fibrosis, and the anti-PS antibody titer. A number of alpha-smooth muscle actin-positive non-myofibroblastic cells, desmin-positive cells, and lipofuscin-laden Kupffer cells were found around the central veins and in the fibrous septa. In advanced stages of fibrosis, a proliferation of elastic fibers were observed in the septa. These findings were considered to indicate gradually occurred hepatocellular necrosis. The vascular endothelial cells in the fibrous septa expressed factor VIII-related antigen, exhibited fenestration accompanied by basement membrane formation, and were surrounded by Ito cells. Most of the portal vein branches showed hypertrophic thickening of the smooth muscle layer, resulting in narrowing of the lumen. These vascular changes suggested that hemodynamic alterations of the intrahepatic circulation induced hepatocellular necrosis/apoptosis and played an important role in the pathogenesis of porcine serum-induced liver fibrosis in rats.

Actins

Alteration of anionic sites in renal glomerular basement membrane of pigs.

Ultrastructural alteration of anionic sites (ASs) in the glomerular basement membrane (GBM) was studied in 10 cases of swine mesangial proliferative glomerulonephritis using a cationic ultrastructural tracer, 0.5% polyethyleneimine (M.W. = 1,800). Glomerular ASs were seen as discrete electron-dense particles in the GBM, mesangial matrix and epithelial cell surfaces by electron microscopy. In the lamina rara externa (LRE) of the normal GBM, ASs were distributed regularly in a single layer. In those areas of the LRE that contained electron dense deposits or clusters of spherical microparticles (SMPs), however, a distinct reduction or loss of ASs was observed in all the pigs. Quantitative assessment of ASs in the LRE over 1,000 nm of the GBM revealed a significant reduction in ASs in one case with diffuse global thickening of the GBM as compared with the remaining nine pigs without GBM thickening (P < 0.001, Mann-Whitney's U-test). There were no ASs in the lamina densa (LD) of the normal GBM, but an irregular distribution of ASs was seen within the LD of the pig showing diffuse global thickening of the GBM. These results suggest that a disturbance of the charge-selective barrier in the GBM may be induced by electron-dense deposits or SMPs, in the LRE as well as thickening of the GBM in swine glomerulonephritis.

Animals

[Reversible changes of cranial MRI in a girl with SLE].

The 11-year-old girl had hypertension and generalized tonic-clonic convulsions during the steroid pulse therapy. Her cranial T2-weighed MRI showed small areas of high signal intensity in the right occipital lobe. Her neurological findings were normal. After 2 months of steroid pulse therapy, multiple high signal intensities were demonstrated on T2-weighed MRI. After 5 months of the therapy, however, only a small T2-weighed MRI spot of high signal intensity in the white matter was observed, and the multiple lesions disappeared. On follow up, she did not show any neurological defects. It is postulated that not only steroid pulse therapy-induced hypertension but also SLE-induced angiopathy caused such flexible lesions. According to the literature, these lesions can be considered to be edema around small vessels. Such MRI findings have been reported in adult patients with SLE, but to our knowledge there have not been reports on children with SLE.

Brain

Renal glomerular fibrosis in a cat.

Renal glomerular fibrosis was observed in a 1-year-old spayed female Japanese domestic cat that showed clinically advanced renal failure. In the glomeruli, increased homogeneous materials were stained strongly with aniline blue by Masson's trichrome and positive for anti-type III collagen antibody by immunohistochemical staining, causing mesangial sclerosis and capillary collapse. By electron microscopy, randomly arranged fibrils were observed in the expanded subendothelial and mesangial areas, and the fibrils showed periodicity characteristic of collagen fibers in longitudinal sections. These findings of glomerular lesions closely resemble those of human "collagenofibrotic glomerulonephropathy," which has recently been described as a new type of glomerulonephropathy.

Animals

Morphological study on a case of canine hepatic nodular fibrosis.

Hepatic nodular fibrosis occurred in an 8-year-old male Papillon dog. Fibrous nodules, consisting of broad bands of collagen fibers, spindle cells, and lipofuscin-laden foamy macrophages, were well-circumscribed and frequently linked up with the portal areas. Because the spindle cells were positive for desmin and/or alpha-smooth muscle actin, they might be Ito cells or myofibroblasts. These results suggest that both the spindle cells and macrophages play an important role in the pathogenesis of hepatic nodular fibrosis, which might arise from the portal area.

Actins

Growth and metastasis of two canine mast cell tumors in SCID mice.

Intermediately differentiated mast cell tumors in two dogs were subcutaneously xenotransplanted into severe combined immunodeficiency (SCID) mice. Both tumors primarily grew and were serially transplantable in SCID mice. The histological features of the xenografts were similar to those of original tumors in dogs. Both of these subcutaneous tumors were judged as connective tissue mast cells by toluidine blue stain. One of the two xenografts metastasized to the tracheobronchial lymph nodes, omentum, mesentery, subpleural region and retroperitoneum of the SCID mouse. These canine mast cell tumor xenografts in SCID mice may be valuable tools for investigating the growth and metastatic behaviors of the tumor.

Animals

Immunohistochemical and ultrastructural studies on the sinusoidal lining cells of canine hepatocellular carcinoma.

Immunohistochemical and ultrastructural studies were performed on the sinusoidal lining cells of eight canine hepatocellular carcinomas. The sinusoidal endothelial cells of the tumors had a positive reaction for both Factor VIII-related antigen and peanut agglutinin, but did not bind with Ulex europaeus agglutinin-1. Desmin- and lysozyme-positive cells were present along the sinusoids and perisnusoidal spaces of the tumor tissues, respectively, but were fewer in number compared with those of normal canine liver. Alpha-Smooth muscle actin-positive cells outlining the sinusoids were frequently observed. Electron microscopy revealed that basement membranes were often formed beneath the sinusoidal endothelial cells, with rare fenestration. Macrophages were present around or within the sinusoids and tended to increase in number relative to the degree of tumor differentiation. Myofibroblast-like cells with various morphological features, consistent with alpha-smooth muscle actin-positive cells, were frequently found in the perisinusoidal space. The present study indicates that the sinusoidal lining cells of canine hepatocellular carcinoma have some phenotypic characteristics.

Actins

[A case report of mitral valve papillary fibroelastoma leading to embolic stroke].

A 39-year-old man presented with acute onset of left arm and left side face weakness, and mild expressive aphasia. He was referred for two-dimensional echocardiography, which demonstrated a 13 mm diameter pedunculated, mobile, echodense mass attached to the anterior leaflet of the mitral valve. At operation, the tumor was a 10 x 10 x 15 mm, rounded, and yellow-whitish mass with a short stalk arising from rough zone of the anterior leaflet of the mitral valve. The surface appeared to be sean anemone. The mitral valve with this tumor was excised and replaced with a 29 mm St Jude Medical mechanical valve. The pathological findings are typical of a papillary fibroelastoma.

Adult