Biomedical subjects

Kyoko Okada

Publications and source records attributed to Kyoko Okada.

22 records · Page 2Linked to original sources

PubMed2002

Xenopus actin-interacting protein 1 (XAip1) enhances cofilin fragmentation of filaments by capping filament ends.

Xenopus actin-interacting protein 1 (XAip1) is thought to promote fragmentation of actin filaments by cofilin. To examine the mechanism of XAip1, we measured polymer lengths by fluorescence microscopy and the concentration of filament ends with an elongation assay. Cofilin creates ends by severing actin filaments. XAip1 alone does not sever actin filaments or prevent annealing/redistribution of mechanically severed filaments and has no effect on the concentration of ends available for subunit addition. In the presence of XAip1, the apparent filament fragmentation by cofilin is enhanced, but XAip1 reduces rather than increases the concentration of ends capable of adding subunits. Electron microscopy with gold-labeled antibodies showed that a low concentration of XAip1 bound preferentially to one end of the filament. A high concentration of XAip1 bound along the length of the filament. In the presence of gelsolin-actin to cap filament barbed ends, XAip1 does not enhance cofilin activity. We conclude that XAip1 caps the barbed end of filaments severed by cofilin. This capping blocks annealing and depolymerization and allows more extensive severing by cofilin.

Actin Depolymerizing Factors↗

PubMed2002

Inferior mesenteric arteriovenous fistula eight years after sigmoidectomy.

We report a 69-year-old woman with liver cirrhosis due to chronic hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection in whom iatrogenic arteriovenous fistula (AVF) developed after sigmoidectomy. A soft mass with bruit led to the diagnosis of inferior mesenteric AVF. Most mesenteric AVF cases have portal hypertension, but this patients showed none of the usual symptoms of portal hypertension; however, she had a splenomegaly that became worse after sigmoidectomy. Clinicians should be aware of the possibility of AVF in patients with a history of abdominal surgery.

Aged↗

PubMed2002

[A case of amyopathic dermatomyositis with systemic sclerosis sine scleroderma presenting abnormal vermiculation].

A 24-year-old Japanese woman was admitted to our hospital in January 2000 with daily diarrhea, abdominal distention, and abdominal pain. Raynaud's phenomenon with erythroderma desquamativum eruptions had been found in 1992. In 1999, small intestinal transillumination showed dilation of the second and third portion of the duodenum. She was diagnosed as amyopathic dermatomyositis because of Gottron's sign despite not having symptoms of myositis, normal serum CPK levels and no histological abnormality by muscle biopsy. In addition, the patient was diagnosed as systemic sclerosis sine scleroderma because Raynaud's phenomenon, leukoma and gastrointestinal dilation were present. Also, antinuclear antibody and anti centromere antibody were positive and anti Scl-70 antibody was dull-positive, despite the absence of scleroderma, extreme edema, and bone resorption. Careful, long term observation will be required because of the splanchnopathy in youth and the complications of systemic sclerosis.

Adult↗

PubMedDate not supplied

Expression patterns of seprase, a membrane serine protease, in cervical carcinoma and cervical intraepithelial neoplasm.

BACKGROUND: Seprase is a membrane-bound serine proteinase with gelatinase activity, which may be involved in cancer invasion and metastasis. PATIENTS AND METHODS: We examined the seprase expression patterns in invasive or preinvasive squamous epithelial lesions. RESULTS AND CONCLUSION: No seprase immunoreactivity was found in the atypical epithelial cells and subepithelial stromal cells of CIN1 and 2 lesions. No seprase expression could be detected even in CIN3 lesions. However, in contrast to CIN1 and 2, seprase immunoreactivity was occasionally observed in the subepithelial stromal cells that were associated with moderate or severe inflammatory infiltrates. Some microinvasive carcinomas and all invasive carcinomas showed seprase immunoreactivity in the cancer cells with various degrees of seprase-positive stromal cells. Seprase may be an early marker of tumor invasion in squamous lesions of the uterine cervix.

Adult↗