Biomedical subjects

M Kakubari

Publications and source records attributed to M Kakubari.

4 recordsLinked to original sources

PubMed2000

The decrease in total collagen fibers in the liver by hepatocyte growth factor after formation of cirrhosis induced by thioacetamide.

Liver cirrhosis is an inveterate disease accompanying fibrosis, hepatocyte damage, and liver dysfunction. In this study, the therapeutic effects of recombinant human hepatocyte growth factor (rhHGF) on liver cirrhosis were examined in rats administered thioacetamide (TAA). Repeated administration of TAA for 10 weeks to rats induced liver cirrhosis with collagen nodes and pseudo-lobe generation, a condition that was pathologically similar to that in humans. Administration of rhHGF after the formation of liver cirrhosis markedly decreased the incidence of pathological fibrosis and the degree of fibrosis as measured by a computed image analysis system. Continuous administration of rhHGF by infusion pump was more effective than bolus administration. Northern blotting analysis showed that rhHGF reduced mRNA levels of procollagen alpha2(I), alpha1(IV), and transforming growth factor-beta1 (TGF-beta1) that were stimulated in the TAA-treated liver. The labeling index of hepatocytes increased following administration of rhHGF in this model. These observations suggest that the pathological recession of liver fibrosis is the result of the reduction of TGF-beta1 and collagen synthesis and, in part, of the stimulation of mitosis of hepatocytes directly by rhHGF and indirectly by TGF-beta1 reduction in the cirrhotic liver. These results demonstrate the usefulness of rhHGF as a therapeutic agent in liver cirrhosis.

Animals↗

PubMed1996

Characteristics of 45Ca2+ release induced by quinolidomicin A1, a 60-membered macrolide from skeletal muscle sarcoplasmic reticulum.

Quinolidomicin A1, a 60-membered macrolide purified from an actinomycete Micromonospora sp. markedly induced 45Ca2+ release from the heavy fraction of skeletal muscle sarcoplasmic reticulum (HSR), but induced only slightly from the light fraction of sarcoplasmic reticulum (LSR), showing a lack of the ionophoretic activity even at a high concentration (300 microM). This was also confirmed by measuring the 45Ca2+ transport activity of quinolidomicin A1 across an organic solvent barrier. Quinolidomicin A1 (3-300 microM) increased 45Ca2+ release from HSR with an EC50 value of approx. 20 microM. The potency of quinolidomicin A1 was approx. 100-fold higher than that of caffeine. The bell-shaped profile of Ca2+ dependence for quinolidomicin A1 was different from that for caffeine. Blockers of Ca2+ release channels such as Mg2+ (10 mM), procaine (10 mM) and ruthenium red (10 microM) partially blocked quinolidomicin A1 (30 microM)-induced 45Ca2+ release from HSR. At 0 degrees C, quinolidomicin A1-induced 45Ca2+ release was ascertained not to be due to the inhibition of Ca2+ ATPase by the ATPase assay. Quinolidomicin A1 potentiated [3H]ryanodine binding to HSR with a decrease in KD but without a change in Bmax. These results suggest that quinolidomicin A1-induced Ca2+ release from HSR is consisted of two components, which are both sensitive and insensitive to blockers of Ca2+ release channels, and that the former component is associated with the ryanodine receptor.

Actinomycetales↗

PubMed1994

Tissue- and subcellular-distribution of the binding site of [3H]9- methyl-7-bromoeudistomin D, a potent caffeine-like Ca2+ releaser, in rabbits.

Tissue and subcellular distribution of the binding site of 3H-labelled 9-methyl-7-bromoeudistomin D ([3H]MBED), a powerful caffeine-like Ca2+ releaser, were investigated in rabbits. The order of specific activities of total homogenates was liver > brain > other tissues. All binding was completely suppressed by 10 mM caffeine, indicating that all [3H]MBED binding sites are modulated by caffeine. [3H]MBED binding sites distributed mainly in membrane fractions rather than soluble fractions in most tissues. In lung and liver, [3H]MBED binding was enriched in microsomes. [3H]MBED may be useful as a probe to investigate the actions of caffeine at the molecular level not only in muscles but also in a variety of tissues including liver, kidney and lung.

Animals↗

PubMed1994

The specific binding site of 9-[3H]methyl-7-bromoeudistomin D, a caffeine-like Ca2+ releaser, in liver microsomes in distinct from that in skeletal sarcoplasmic reticulum.

3H-labeled 9-methyl-7-bromoeudistomin D ([3H]MBED), a powerful caffeine-like Ca2+ releaser, binds to the caffeine binding site of terminal cisternae (TC) of skeletal muscle sarcoplasmic reticulum (SR) (Fang, Y-I., Adachi, M., Kobayashi, J., and Ohizumi, Y. (1993). J. Biol. Chem. 268, 18622-18625.) and activates Ca(2+)-induced Ca2+ release (CICR). [3H]MBED, however, bound to rabbit hepatic microsomes with a comparable affinity (Kd = 50 nM) and with a more than 30-fold greater receptor density (Bmax = 350 pmol/mg of protein), compared with those in SR. Caffeine (0.1-10 mM) caused a concentration dependent inhibition of [3H]MBED binding to hepatic microsomes with the IC50 value of 0.3 mM. The mode of inhibition by caffeine was allosteric, indicating that the binding site of the ligand is distinct from but related to that of caffeine. Procaine (1-10 mM), a representative inhibitor of CICR, which suppresses [3H]MBED binding to TC-SR, inhibited ligand binding to hepatic microsomes only slightly. Moreover, ligand binding to the hepatic binding site was not affected by adenosine 5'-(beta, gamma-methylene) triphosphate (AMP-PCP) (10-100 microM), which is an activator of CICR and potentiates [3H]MBED binding to TC-SR. Inhibitors of [3H]MBED binding to liver microsomes other than caffeine were nucleotides such as ADP, ATP, GTP, UTP (1 mM), while CTP, cAMP, AMP, adenosine (1 mM), ryanodine (0.1-100 mM) and inositol 1,4,5-trisphosphate (1 microM) were not effective. These features of the hepatic microsomal [3H]MBED binding site distinguish it from that of skeletal muscle SR. [3H]MBED, which binds to the different sites which are both sensitive to caffeine, is useful as a probe to investigate the actions of caffeine at the molecular level.

Animals↗