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Biomedical subjects

K Taketa

Publications and source records attributed to K Taketa.

At least 19 recordsLinked to original sources

Seroepidemiologic studies of hepatitis C virus infection in a population of Okayama Prefecture screened for liver disease.

To better understand the spread of hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection, we studied the association of HCV infection with similarly transmissible hepatitis B virus (HBV) infection and with hepatitis A virus (HAV) infection, which is supposed to be related to a nosocomial transmission of HCV. This was done by studying the presence or absence of antibodies to these viruses, as well as hepatitis B surface antigen, in a population of 1,398 inhabitants with abnormal liver function tests or history of liver disease and/or blood transfusion. This group was drawn from a group of 7,905 examinees screened for liver disease in 26 districts of Okayama prefecture, Japan. The prevalence of antibody-positive cases increased with age for those viruses. Small but significantly increased odds ratios were obtained among anti-HCV antibodies (HCVAb), anti-hepatitis B core antibodies (HBcAb) and anti-hepatitis A antibodies (HAVAb). After adjusting odds ratios by logistic regression analysis, a significant association was present only between HCVAb and HBcAb. The distribution of age-adjusted prevalences (AAP) of HCVAb in 26 districts was significantly wider than those of HBcAb or HAVAb. The district-based AAP of HCVAb, but not of HBcAb and HAVAb, correlated significantly with the district-based prevalence of infectious hepatitis having a tendency of chronicity reported in 1953-1955. Adjusted odds ratios calculated by logistic regression analysis of the virus markers showed that HCVAb was significantly associated with a past history of blood transfusion. Thus, the spread of HCV infection is speculated to have been triggered by blood transfusion, particularly from paid donors initially, followed by transmission by nosocomial or close person-to-person contact.

Adult

Lectin-gradient gel affinity electrophoresis of glycoproteins.

Lectin-gradient agarose gel affinity electrophoresis was developed for identification of glycoforms of glycoproteins in lectin affinity electrophoresis. Gradation of lectin was done by stacking agarose gel blocks with increasing concentrations of lectin (discontinuous system) and by keeping the plate in a moist chamber at 4 degrees C overnight (continuous system) before electrophoresis. On the visualization of separated glycoform lines, the antibody-affinity blotting was superior for low concentrations of alpha-fetoprotein. Fluoresceine isothiocyanate (FITC) labeling of whole serum proteins, enzyme activity staining for alkaline phosphatase, and prestaining for lipoproteins were also applicable for visualization of proteins at higher concentrations. The conventional Western blotting can not be recommended because of the competition between lectin and glycoproteins in binding to nitrocellulose membrane. Lectin-gradient affinity electrophoresis also had a wide application for optimization of the condition of lectin affinity electrophoresis.

Adult

Multimodal application of lectin affinity electrophoresis of alpha-fetoprotein.

Multimodal application of lectin affinity electrophoresis of alpha-fetoprotein (AFP) glycoforms is reviewed. Crossed affinity immunoelectrophoresis developed by Bøg-Hansen and others was extended to tandem-lectin affinity electrophoresis by tandem lining of two different lectin gels and to mixed-lectin affinity electrophoresis. By introducing an antibody-affinity blotting technique for detection of separated glycoforms of AFP, several two-dimensional combinations of lectin affinity electrophoresis became possible: two different lectins for the first and second dimension electrophoresis, lectin-gradient affinity electrophoresis, and electrophoretic separation of lectin isoforms in the first-dimension electrophoresis, followed by affinity electrophoresis against the separated lectin isoforms. Usefulness of the different modalities of lectin affinity electrophoresis for several analytical purposes has been described.

Humans

Characterization of sugar chain structures of human alpha-fetoprotein by lectin affinity electrophoresis. ibarahp@oka.urban.ne.jp.

Alpha-Fetoprotein (AFP) glycoforms, defined as AFP with different chemical structures of carbohydrate, were analyzed by affinity electrophoresis with several lectins of known specificities against complex-type oligosaccharides. Serum AFP samples from cord blood on full-term delivery and from patients with hepatocellular carcinoma and extrahepatic malignancies including gastrointestinal tumors and yolk sac tumors were used. Two-dimensional lectin affinity electrophoresis and also lectin affinity chromatography coupled with lectin affinity electrophoresis were employed. More than ten AFP glycoforms were identified or characterized using the above-mentioned AFP samples. Known specificities of the lectins against complex-type oligosaccharides were refined or their additional specificities were found in this study. Lectin appeared to have specificity against carbohydrates by recognizing not only specific residues but also the whole carbohydrate molecule containing the residues, resulting in differential affinities for the lectin.

Carbohydrate Conformation

Yolk sac tumor with a unique uniform hepatoid pattern histology.

BACKGROUND: Yolk sac tumors (YST) exhibit several different histological subtypes and the mechanisms of cellular differentiation and prognosis of each subtype remain unknown. RESULTS: We report two infants with sacrococcygeal YST; one represented a typical histological subtype and the other showed a hepatoid subtype with uniform histology. The isoform of alpha-fetoprotein (AFP) in the patient with the hepatoid pattern was examined by lectin-affinity immunoelectrophoresis and represented as a YST, but not hepatocellular, subtype. The patient with typical YST responded well to VAB-6 combination chemotherapy. However, this regimen was only partially effective to the patient with the pure hepatoid histological subtype, and an etoposide with ifosfamide and cisplatin (VIP) regimen as a salvage chemotherapy combined with complete tumor resection was useful to achieve complete remission (CR). Both of the patients have been in CR for more than four years.

Antineoplastic Combined Chemotherapy Protocols

Lectin-dependent modulation of interaction between human alpha-fetoprotein and its monoclonal antibodies. Epitope mapping.

The effect of lentil lectin (LCA) on the binding of mouse monoclonal antibody (MoAb) against human alpha-fetoprotein (AFP) to LCA-nonreactive AFP-L1 and LCA-reactive AFP-L3 was studied on a panel of 30 MoAbs provided by the TD-2 Workshop of ISOBM for epitope mapping. LCA inhibited the binding of MoAbs 93 and 98 to AFP-L3 but not to AFP-L1, indicating that there was a competition between the MoAbs and LCA for the AFP sugar chain. With MoAbs 100, 109, 118, and 120, LCA rather increased the binding to AFP-L3 over that to AFP-L1. These modulating effects of LCA on the MoAb binding to AFP-L3 were abolished by periodate treatment of the AFP preparations without affecting the binding of MoAb to AFP. Concanavalin A had similar inhibiting and enhancing effects on MoAb binding, but equally to AFP-L1 and AFP-L3, both of which are fully reactive with concanavalin A. The results suggested that MoAbs 93 and 98 recognized epitopes closely related to sugar chain, and their binding to AFP-L3 was inhibited by the bound LCA due to steric hindrance. The enhanced binding of some MoAbs to AFP-L3 over AFP-L1 with LCA, or both glycoforms of AFP with concanavalin A, may be explained by postulating an allosteric mechanism mediated by the oligosaccharide-lectin interaction.

Animals

Association of fatty liver with increased ratio of visceral to subcutaneous adipose tissue in obese men.

We studied the association of fatty liver with subcutaneous and visceral obesity in 46 male and 36 female patients with body mass index (BMI) over 22 kg/m2. The correlation coefficient between the ratio of the visceral adipose tissue to the subcutaneous adipose tissue (V/S) and the computed tomography (CT) number of the liver was -0.299 (P < 0.05) and that between the V/S ratio and the ratio of the CT number of the liver to that of the spleen (CT-L/CT-S) was -0.335 (P < 0.05) in the males. Partial correlation analysis after making correction for BMI showed an increased correlation coefficient of -0.485 (P < 0.05) between the V/S ratio and the CT-L/CT-S ratio in the males. The odds ratio in the males for CT-L/CT-S below 1.0 and V/S above 1.0 was 3.25 with a 95% confidence interval of 1.02 to 9.39. No such association between the V/S ratio and the CT-L/CT-S ratio was present in the female patients. Multiple regression analysis with serum level of alanine aminotransferase, a marker of fatty liver, as an independent variable revealed a partial regression coefficient of -17.7 for CT-L/CT-S (P < 0.05) in the males and -21.7 (P < 0.05) in the females, validating the CT-L/CT-S ratio as an index of fatty liver. The results indicate the association of fatty liver as determined by the CT-L/CT-S ratio with visceral obesity in males.

Adipose Tissue

Risk analysis of the exposure to GB virus C/hepatitis G virus among populations of intravenous drug users, commercial sex workers and male outpatients at STD clinic in Chiang Mai, Thailand: a cross-sectional case-control study.

An exposure to GB virus C/hepatitis G virus (GBV-C/HGV) was studied among populations at risk for blood and sexual exposure to analyze risk factor of the transmission of the virus. Blood samples were drawn from 98 intravenous drug users (IVDU), 100 female high-class commercial sex workers (CSW) and 50 male outpatients (MOP) at a sexually transmitted diseases (STD) clinic in Chiang Mai, Thailand. These blood samples were analyzed for GBV-C/HGV RNA; antibodies against second envelope protein of GBV-C/HGV (anti-E2); anti-hepatitis C virus antibody (HCV-Ab); hepatitis B core antibody (HBcAb); and antibodies against human immunodeficiency virus (HIV-Ab). Prevalences of GBV-C/HGV RNA, anti-E2, HCV-Ab, HBcAb and HIV-Ab were 27.6%, 16.3%, 84.7%, 76.5% and 45.0% in IVDU; 0%, 21.5%, 2.0%, 72.0% and 11.0% in CSW; 6.0%, 13.6%, 0%, 64.0% and 14.0% in MOP. While the prevalence of GBV-C/HGV RNA was higher in IVDU than in CSW and MOP, comparable prevalences of anti-E2 among the three populations were found. Intravenous drug injection showed association with GBV-C/HGV RNA, while history of STD associated with anti-E2. In conclusion, intravenous drug injection and STD were found to be risk factors for the previous exposure to GBV-C/HGV, but STD did not increase the risk of the GBV-C/HGV viraemia.

Adolescent

Wider distribution of salivary-type isoamylase activity as compared with pancreatic-type isoamylase activity in serum: a study on young female adults.

The clinical implications of a wider distribution of salivary type (S-type) isoamylase activity, as compared with that of pancreatic type (P-type) isoamylase activity in the serum of young female adults of 18-23 years old was studied. A high correlation existed between the S-type isoamylase levels in the initial determination and those in the second determination one year after on the same subjects, indicating that the wider distribution of S-type isoamylase level reflects an individual variation. The serum level of S-type isoamylase was highly correlated with the S-type isoamylase activity in saliva. Among the additional factors studied, a weak positive correlation was present between energy intake and the total and S-type isoamylase activities in serum. However, there was no negative correlation between the S-type isoamylase level and body mass index (BMI), which was reported for young male adults.

Adolescent

Serum alpha-fetoprotein levels in healthy Japanese adults.

With advances in lectin affinity electrophoresis of alpha-fetoprotein (AFP), the detection of significant changes in serum AFP at low levels in cirrhotics has become important for early detection of hepatocellular carcinoma. Serum AFP levels of 616 healthy individuals without abnormal liver function tests or virus markers of hepatitis B and C were determined by enzyme immunoassay with IMx-AFP Dainapack using automated IMx apparatus set at twice the ordinary sensitivity and compared with those of 241 individuals with abnormal liver function tests and/or positive hepatitis virus markers. The coefficient of variation in this assay was less than 10% at AFP levels as low as 0.2 ng/ml with a lower detection limit of 0.1 ng/ml. The AFP level of healthy population showed a Gaussian distribution curve after logarithmic transformation with a median and 2.5-97.5 percentile reference range of 2.2 (0.6-5.6) ng/ml. There was no significant difference in the AFP level between males and females. Individuals with abnormal liver function tests alone showed no significant increase in serum AFP unless they were associated with positive hepatitis virus markers.

Adult

Developmental alterations of alpha-fetoprotein sugar chain in amniotic fluids analyzed by lectin affinity electrophoresis.

Affinity electrophoresis of human alpha-fetoprotein (AFP) in amniotic fluid from pregnant women between 6 to 42 weeks of gestation and in the serum of a yolk sac tumor was performed with concanavalin A (Con A), lentil lectin (LCA), erythroagglutinating phytohemagglutinin (E-PHA) and Allomyrina dichotoma lectin (allo A). Separated AFP bands were detected by sensitive antibody-affinity blotting. In the first trimester, amniotic fluid AFP showed elevated percentages of Con A-nonreacting AFP (AFP-C1) and LCA weakly-reacting AFP (AFP-L2) as previously reported. Additionally, high percentages of E-PHA strongly-reacting AFP (AFP-P5) and E-PHA-reacting AFP (AFP-P4) were observed. E-PHA-nonreacting AFP (AFP-P1), E-PHA weakly-reacting AFP (AFP-P3f), allo A-nonreacting AFP (AFP-A1) and asialo-AFP, AFP-A1 s, were present only in amniotic fluids from 6 to 17 weeks of gestation. With advancing gestation, percentages of AFP-C1, AFP-P4 and AFP-P5 decreased and AFP-L2, AFP-P3f, AFP-A1, and AFP-A1 s disappeared by the end of 18 weeks. The glycoforms of serum AFP of the yolk sac tumor resembled those of amniotic fluid AFP in the early gestational stages.

Amniotic Fluid

Reduced serum levels of ALT and GGT and high carbohydrate intake among workers exposed to toluene below the threshold limit values.

We have found decreased serum alanine aminotransferase (ALT) and gamma-glutamyltransferase (GGT) levels in human males exposed to toluene at low levels, suggesting that toluene exposure or related factors in lifestyles were likely to have lowering effects on serum ALT and GGT activities between toluene-exposed and the control subjects. The present study was attempted to investigate whether there is any difference in nutrient intakes between the two groups. Biochemical results were also analysed together with nutrient intakes. In agreement with our previous reports, the present data also provided significant evidence of lowered serum ALT and GGT activities in toluene-exposed males after age matching (p < 0.05). Energy intakes from carbohydrate, fat and protein were 64.6%, 22.5% and 12.9% in the toluene-exposed group and 62.0% (p < 0.05), 24.8% (p < 0.05) and 13.2%, respectively, in the controls. Multiple regression analysis indicated that carbohydrate, protein and energy intakes are significantly associated with toluene exposure. No significant differences in alcohol consumption, tobacco use, work intensities and physical activities were found between the two groups. The present results suggest that the toluene exposure at levels generally considered to be safe, probably have some biological effects on the liver and related organs.

Adult

Lectin affinity electrophoresis in a yolk sac tumour in the vagina with yolk sac tumour-type glycoform of alpha fetoprotein.

AIMS: To investigate a potential diagnostic use of alpha fetoprotein (alpha FP) isoform analysis by lectin affinity electrophoresis to distinguish between endodermal sinus tumours arising in the vagina in infants from those at other sites. METHODS: alpha FP in the serum of a patient with a vaginal endodermal sinus tumour was analysed for its isoforms by lectin affinity electrophoresis. The isoforms were compared with that of cord serum, sera of hepatoid adenocarcinoma of the uterus, and endodermal sinus tumour of the ovary. RESULTS: The isoforms of alpha FP obtained by lectin affinity electrophoresis in the serum of the patient with vaginal endodermal sinus tumour differed from the isoforms of alpha FP in the cord serum of normal neonates, and sera of patients with hepatoid adenocarcinoma of the uterus or endodermal sinus tumour of the ovary. CONCLUSIONS: Endodermal sinus tumour arising in the vagina could be distinguished from that in the ovary by the lectin affinity electrophoresis, and a potential diagnostic use of alpha FP isoform analysis by the lectin affinity electrophoresis for the detection of the endodermal sinus tumour in infants was demonstrated.

Diagnosis, Differential

Size-selective sampling of oil mist in air and subjective symptoms among machine workers.

Oil mists at an automobile factory were measured size-selectively. Furthermore, subjective symptoms were surveyed through the distribution of a questionnaire. The measured levels of respirable-size, 2-10 micrometer oil mists at 3 selected workshops ranged 0.04-0.09 mg/m3 for the lower exposed group (17 men), 0.10-0.18 mg/m3 for the higher exposed group (16 men) to water-insoluble oil, and 0.08-0.29 mg/m3 for the higher exposed group (19 men) to water-soluble oil. The higher the level of exposure to respirable-size particulates, the more workers complained of dissatisfaction with air quality. As to the subjective symptoms, the "yes" rate for "irritated nose" and "sneezing" showed significant differences among the unexposed, lower exposed, and higher exposed groups. Workers using water-soluble oil complained of "uncomfortable smell" more than those who used water-insoluble oil. The results of this study suggested that it is necessary to measure the levels of oil mists size-selectively.

Air Pollutants, Occupational

Comparison of carbohydrate structures of serum alpha-fetoprotein by sequential glycosidase digestion and lectin affinity electrophoresis.

Serum alpha-fetoprotein (AFP) is a glycoprotein of which the sugar chain is considered to show structural changes with malignancies. Microheterogeneity of the serum AFP carbohydrate structure was studied in samples from 35 patients with benign and malignant diseases. Sera were digested directly, extensively, and sequentially with sialidase. beta-galactosidase and beta-N-acetylhexosaminidase. Before and after digestion, sera were examined by means of lectin affinity electrophoresis using eight lectins. Relationships between AFP carbohydrate structures and liver diseases were elucidated by the lectin-reactive profiles and the effect of glycosidase digestion. More than 94% of the AFP carbohydrate structures found in patients with benign and malignant liver diseases were biantennary complex-type oligosaccharides. Changes in the AFP carbohydrate structures at the early stage of hepatocellular carcinoma revealed the addition of alpha 1-->6 fucose to the reducing terminal N-acetylglucosamine and monosialylated AFPs. In both advanced hepatocellular carcinoma and AFP producing extrahepatic malignancies, AFP carbohydrate structures were characterized as the further addition of beta 1-->4 N-acetylglucosamine and heterogeneity in the galactose and N-acetylglucosamine residues. Sequential glycosidase digestion and lectin affinity electrophoresis is useful for analysing the carbohydrate structures of serum glycoprotein.

Carbohydrate Conformation

Lectin affinity electrophoretic demonstration of tissue specificity and malignant alteration of human alpha-fetoprotein isoforms produced in transgenic mice.

Transgenic mouse which produces human alpha-fetoprotein (AFP) ubiquitously was used to study carbohydrate structures of AFP produced by various tissues as well as that in the serum. A series of tissues from the transgenic mouse were cultured in vitro and the AFP produced was analyzed by affinity electrophoreses with 4 kinds of lectins. Variable electrophoretic profiles of them suggested that the fine structures of the carbohydrate of human AFPs expressed in the mouse tissues were different. The characterization of human AFP produced by mouse hepatoma which developed in offspring between the AFP transgenic mouse and hepatoma-developing transgenic mouse indicated that the hepatoma AFP was distinct from the liver AFP and that the malignancy-specific phenotypic alteration was common to human and mouse.

Animals