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Biomedical subjects

M Haisa

Publications and source records attributed to M Haisa.

At least 37 records · Page 2Linked to original sources

Primary malignant melanoma of the esophagus: report of a case successfully treated with pre- and post-operative adjuvant hormone-chemotherapy.

Primary malignant melanoma of the esophagus is a very rare and deadly disease, with a survival of 2.2% at 5 years and a median survival of about 10 months. The aggressive biological behavior of this disease and advanced stage at the time of diagnosis together with the lack of effective treatment have contributed to its poor prognosis. We present the case of a 45-year-old Japanese man diagnosed as having a primary melanoma of the esophagus by clinical evaluation and a histological examination of endoscopic biopsy specimens. A novel approach consisting of pre- and post-operative chemo-hormone therapy with dacarbazine, nimustine, cisplatin and tamoxifen in conjunction with radical esophagectomy accompanied by lymph node dissection was carried out. The tumor size was decreased to 70% by the pre-operative chemo-hormone therapy. During the post-operative 32 months of follow-up, no evidence of recurrence or metastatic disease has been found. Although this is only one case, the outcome observed suggests that the combination of pre- and post-operative chemo-hormone therapy and radical esophagectomy with lymph node dissection is a modality that can increase the possibility of curability or at least improve the survival of patients with primary melanoma of the esophagus.

Antineoplastic Combined Chemotherapy Protocols↗

Tuberculosis of the esophagus.

We report a case of a patient with esophageal tuberculosis, a very uncommon form of extrapulmonar tuberculosis. Initially, because of constitutional symptomatology and radiological findings of mediastinal lymph node enlargement, lymphoma was considered. However, the endoscopic findings of ulcerative masses and a sinus tract revealed by esophagram were suspicious of tuberculous origin. Diagnosis was achieved after bacterial examination of smear samples from esophageal ulcers that revealed bacillus tuberculous and histological demonstration of caseating granulomas in cervical lymph nodes. Tuberculous mediastinal lymphadenitis was thought to be source of the spread to esophagus. The patient was successfully treated with a three antituberculous drugs regimen. In spite of its rarity, even in patients without risk factors, the diagnosis would be considered in the differential diagnosis of uncertain esophageal lesions.

Adult↗

Apoptosis in cultured human colon cancer cells induced by combined treatments with 5-fluorouracil, tumor necrosis factor-alpha and interferon-alpha.

Biochemical analysis using nick end-labeling was performed to investigate the effect of various combinations of 5-fluorouracil, natural human tumor necrosis factor-alpha and natural human interferon-alpha on the induction of apoptosis in RPMI 4788 human colon cancer cells. After treatment with 5-fluorouracil (1 mM) for 48 h, the number of nick end-positive cells was significantly increased in comparison to the situation without treatment. When tumor cells were treated with 1 mM 5-fluorouracil, 2.86 Japan Reference Units (JRU)/ml natural human tumor necrosis factor-alpha and 1 x 10(3) IU/ml natural human interferon-alpha in combination for 48 h, the number of nick end-positive cells was significantly higher than that after treatment with 5-fluorouracil alone. MTT (3-(4,5-dimethylthiazol-2-yl)-2,5-diphenyl tetrazolium bromide) assay revealed a significant decrease of relative viability, as compared to treatment with 5-fluorouracil (1 mM), 5-fluorouracil + natural human tumor necrosis factor-alpha, or 5-fluorouracil + natural human interferon-alpha for 48 h. Pretreatment with 5-fluorouracil (1 mM) for 24 h prior to treatment with natural human tumor necrosis factor-alpha (2.86 JRU/ml) and natural human interferon-alpha (10(3) IU/ml) for 24 h resulted in a significant increase of nick end-positive cells compared to pretreatment with natural human tumor necrosis factor-alpha and natural human interferon-alpha prior to treatment with 5-fluorouracil for 24 h (p < 0.05). These results suggest that 5-fluorouracil alone can induce apoptosis in RPMI 4788 tumor cells and that this effect can be enhanced by combination with natural human tumor necrosis factor-alpha and natural human interferon-alpha.

Antimetabolites, Antineoplastic↗

Leukocyte-derived growth factor links the PDGF and CXC chemokine families of peptides.

Leukocytes produce many biological mediators that orchestrate the subsequent cellular events during wound healing. We have identified a novel cytokine, leukocyte-derived growth factor (LDGF), which is mitogenic for connective tissue cells. Sequence analysis of the LDGF peptide revealed that it is a precursor of other known peptides including platelet basic protein (PBP), connective tissue activating peptide III (CTAP-III), and neutrophil activating peptide 2 (NAP-2). None of these shorter peptides are active as mitogens for fibroblasts. LDGF appears to stimulate fibroblast growth by stimulation of tyrosine kinase activity of the PDGF receptors. One of the truncated products of LDGF, NAP-2, is a potent neutrophil chemoattractant. Peptides larger than NAP-2, such as PBP and CTAP-III, are not active as neutrophil chemoattractants. Collectively, these findings demonstrate that the LDGF peptide must remain intact in order to retain its fibroblast mitogenic activity. If the LDGF peptide is processed to release the carboxyl terminal half to generate NAP-2, a peptide with proinflammatory activity is generated. These results indicate that the multiple peptides produced from the LDGF-PBP gene posses divergent biological activities that could regulate different phases of the repair process.

Amino Acid Sequence↗

Cyclin A and Cdk2 kinase activity are suppressed by combined treatment with tumor necrosis factor-alpha and interferon-alpha.

We previously reported that combined treatment with tumor necrosis factor-alpha (TNF-alpha) and interferon-alpha (IFN-alpha) showed a synergistic antitumor effect via regulation of cell cycle progression in the S phase. Here, we investigated the effect of the combined treatment with TNF-alpha and IFN-alpha on cell cycle regulating protein in RPMI 4788 cells. Treatment with TNF-alpha or IFN-alpha alone showed no effect on these proteins, however, the combined treatment showed suppression of cyclin A protein and its associated kinase activity. Furthermore, although the combined treatment inhibited Cdk2 kinase activity, the amount of Cdk2 protein was not affected. These results suggested that TNF-alpha and IFN-alpha work together to suppress cyclin A and Cdk2 kinase activity and to inhibit cell cycle progression in the S phase.

CDC2 Protein Kinase↗

Endoscopic mucosal resection for superficial carcinoma and high-grade dysplasia of the esophagus.

Endoscopic mucosal resection (EMR) is a recently introduced therapeutic method based on the principles of the strip biopsy for resection of flat lesions of the gastrointestinal tract. Eleven asymptomatic patients (nine men, two women) with superficial carcinoma or high-grade dysplasia of the intrathoracic esophagus were treated by EMR during a 6-month period. The patients' mean age was 64 years (range, 49-78). The site of the lesions was the middle third of the esophagus in eight, upper third in two, and lower third in one patient. All patients in this series had a flat (II) type of superficial cancer. The procedure was carried out in all 11 patients without complication. Histopathological examination of the specimens revealed squamous cell carcinoma in nine patients. The remaining two patients were confirmed to have dysplasia only. Free margins measured greater than 5 mm in all cases. No recurrence was detected in a mean follow-up of 8 (5-10) months. For superficial flat lesions, EMR proved to be a safe and curative procedure that provided good quality of life following resection. However, larger trials are needed to confirm these results. Applying EMR to esophageal dysplasia could decrease the incidence of esophageal cancer.

Aged↗

Elevated levels of PDGF alpha receptors in keloid fibroblasts contribute to an enhanced response to PDGF.

Despite a number of studies, the etiology of keloids remains unknown. We have investigated the response of fibroblasts derived from keloid tissue and normal adult skin to platelet-derived growth factor (PDGF), epidermal growth factor (EGF), and fibroblast growth factor (FGF). Keloid fibroblasts were more responsive in both chemotactic and mitogenic assays to all three isoforms of PDGF than fibroblasts from normal skin. No enhanced response of the cells to either EGF or FGF was detected. The enhanced PDGF response of keloid fibroblasts appears to be mediated by elevated levels of PDGF alpha receptors, which are 4-5 times higher than those in normal human skin fibroblasts.

Adolescent↗

Renal transplantation from HLA-haploidentical living-related donors: the effects of donor-specific blood transfusions and different immunosuppressive regimens.

One-hundred-nine HLA-haploidentical living related renal transplants have been retrospectively analysed to compare the effect of donor-specific blood transfusion (DST) and different immunosuppressive regimens on graft survival and acute rejection. The recipients were divided into four groups according to the immunosuppressive therapy. Group 1 (n = 44): conventional therapy with posttransplant azathioprine (AZP) + methylprednisolone (MP). Group 2 (n = 25): pretransplant DST + posttransplant AZP + MP. Group 3 (n = 12): triple-drug therapy with posttransplant AZP + MP + cyclosporine (CS). Group 4 (n = 25): pretransplant DST + posttransplant AZP + MP + CS. The five-year actuarial survival rates for groups 1, 2, 3 and 4 were 48%, 73%, 79%, and 89%, respectively. The graft survival rate in group 3 was significantly (p less than 0.01) better than that in group 1. The transfusion effect was reduced, and appears as a 10% improvement in the graft survival in the cyclosporin era compared with a 25% improvement at pre-cyclosporin era. Furthermore, the incidence of the first rejection episode was decreased in recipients that received DST. The present study revealed that DST, as pretransplant conditioning has a definite impact on rejection-free long-term graft survival in HLA-haploidentical living-related kidney recipients and the most favorable outcome in such patients could be achieved by DST pretreatment in conjunction with posttransplant triple-drug therapy including cyclosporine.

Blood Transfusion↗

Immunosuppressive mechanism of 15-deoxyspergualin on sinusoidal lining cells in swine liver transplantation: suppression of MHC class II antigens and interleukin-1 production.

To elucidate the precise mechanism of action of 15-deoxyspergualin (DSG) in swine liver transplantation, the expression of MHC class II antigens (Ia) on hepatic sinusoidal lining cells (SLC) and their production of interleukin-1 (IL-1) were examined. In our previous study, we isolated sinusoidal endothelial cells (SEC) and Kupffer cells (KC) by enzymatic digestion and centrifugal elutriation, and demonstrated that both SEC and KC present alloantigens effectively and generated IL-1 in response to allogenic or lipopolysaccharide stimulation. Animals were divided into three groups: group 1, nontransplanted normal controls (n = 3); group 2, no immunosuppressive treatment following liver transplantation (n = 5); group 3, DSG (0.8 mg/kg/day) intravenously for 7 days following liver transplantation (n = 5). At 1 week after transplantation, the three liver grafts in groups 2 and 3 were processed for the study of Ia expression and IL-1 production on SEC and KC. The expression of Ia was detected in 21.5 +/- 4.7% of SEC and 24.3 +/- 11.1% of KC in group 1. In group 3, Ia expression was suppressed compared with group 2, being 3.6 +/- 2.8% versus 22.0 +/- 2.8% for SEC (P less than 0.02) and 15.5 +/- 11.3% versus 24.3 +/- 7.1% for KC. IL-1 production by SEC and KC was respectively 11,483 +/- 3311 cpm and 9077 +/- 2161 cpm in group 1. In group 3, IL-1 production was inhibited compared with that in group 2, being 7190 +/- 883 cpm versus 19,297 +/- 5182 cpm for SEC (P less than 0.05) and 16,130 +/- 3769 cpm versus 25,857 +/- 3963 cpm for KC.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)

Animals↗

Expression of the interleukin 2 receptor beta chain (p75) in renal transplantation--applicability of anti-interleukin-2 receptor beta chain monoclonal antibody.

The interaction of interleukin 2 with specific cellular receptors plays an essential role in the allostimulated proliferation and differentiation of T cells. Recent chemical linking studies have demonstrated that the human high-affinity IL-2 receptor is a membrane complex composed of at least two distinct subunits, which are the p55 (alpha-chain) and p75 (beta-chain) subunits. The IL-2R beta chain is supposed to play a role in the signal transduction of IL-2, but the exact mechanism is still unknown. In this study, we investigated the effects of a newly established anti-IL-2R beta chain monoclonal antibody (MoAb, TU-27) on the induction of cytotoxic T lymphocytes (CTLs) using the cell-mediated lympholysis (CML) assay. TU-27 in combination with H-31, a MoAb directed against the IL-2R alpha chain, produced inhibition of cytotoxicity, while TU-27 alone could not inhibit cytotoxicity, while TU-27 alone could not inhibit cytotoxicity at any concentration. TU-27 plus H-31 prevented the expansion of CD4+ cells and CD8++ cells in mixed lymphocyte culture (MLC). Furthermore, we examined the serial changes in the expression of the IL-2R beta chain on peripheral blood lymphocytes from renal transplant recipients using two-color immunofluorescence flow cytometry, so as to investigate correlations between IL-2R beta chain expression and the occurrence of allograft rejection. Here, we report that the IL-2R beta chain is expressed on CD4-positive (CD4+) cells and strongly CD8-positive (CD8(+)+) cells in association with acute rejection, indicating that IL-2R beta chain expression appears to increase on alloreactive T cells.

Antibodies, Monoclonal↗