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Biomedical subjects

M Mizutani

Publications and source records attributed to M Mizutani.

At least 19 recordsLinked to original sources

Histochemical study of the lumbar colonic nerve supply to the internal anal sphincter and its physiological role in dogs.

The sympathetic innervation of the internal and sphincter (IAS) and its physiological role in maintaining sphincter tone were histochemically and mechanically studied in dogs anesthetized with pentobarbital sodium. Numerous catecholamine-fluorescent nerve fibers with varicosities were identified in the IAS of normal dogs. Such fibers were markedly reduced at one week and one month after resection of the hypogastric nerves (HGNs) or the lumbar colonic nerve (LCN), and disappeared after combined HGN and LCN resection. IAS tone decreased to 37.2% of baseline at 1 h after LCN resection and to 69.9% after HGN resection. It returned to the preoperative level at one week and one month after resection. The restored IAS tone was decreased again by acute transection of the previously intact HGNs or LCN. Combined LCN and HGN resection also caused a marked reduction of IAS tone (36.9%) at 1 h after the procedure, and was then restored to the preoperative level with time. The restored tone was not decreased by phentolamine administration. These findings confirmed that both the LCN and the HGN innervate the IAS and play a physiological role in the development of resting tone. The restoration of IAS tone after denervation may be due to intrinsic myogenic properties of the sphincter.

Acetylcholine

High glucose and hyperosmolarity increase platelet-derived growth factor mRNA levels in cultured human vascular endothelial cells.

We investigated the effects of high glucose and hyperosmolality on platelet-derived growth factor (PDGF) production and PDGF-B chain mRNA levels in cultured human umbilical vein endothelial cells. Under an excess of ambient glucose (13.8 and 27.5mM) and a hyperosmolar condition (22.0mOsm/L with mannitol), PDGF concentrations in the culture medium were both significantly increased (10.3 +/- 6.0%, 36.2 +/- 7.2%, 48.5 +/- 9.0% increase respectively compared with 5.5mM glucose). Parallel to protein secretion levels, PDGF-B chain mRNA levels showed a significant increase (57.7%, 103.7%, 210.8% increase), while no change of beta-actin mRNA levels was observed. Thus, elevated PDGF released from endothelium by high glucose may play an important role in the pathogenesis of diabetic angiopathy.

Blotting, Northern

SPECT demonstration of splenosis.

Splenosis is defined as the heterotopic autotransplantation of splenic tissue. The main cause of splenosis is splenic rupture following abdominal trauma, in which fragments of splenic tissue are seeded throughout the peritoneal cavity. Demonstration of splenosis by scintigraphy or CT imaging has been reported, but there is no previous report of simultaneous demonstration by SPECT and CT imaging. Autotransplantation of splenic tissue in the abdominal cavity forms a solid tumor-like image on CT and is difficult to differentiate from other abdominal masses. In such cases, SPECT demonstration of splenosis is very important for identification of its exact site. A case report of splenosis is presented, in which simultaneous demonstration by SPECT and CT was performed. This was confirmed at laparotomy for gastrectomy.

Abdominal Neoplasms

Malignant progression of a mouse fibrosarcoma by host cells reactive to a foreign body (gelatin sponge).

The QR regressor tumour (QR-32), a fibrosarcoma which is unable to grow progressively in normal syngeneic C57BL/6 mice, was able to grow progressively in 13 out of 22 mice (59%) when it was subcutaneously coimplanted with gelatin sponge. We established four culture tumour lines from the resultant tumours (QRsP tumour lines). These QRsP tumour lines were able to grow progressively in mice even in the absence of gelatin sponge. The ability of QRsP tumour cells to colonise the lungs after intravenous injection and to produce high amounts of prostaglandin E2 (PGE2) during in vitro cell culture was much greater than that of parent QR-32 cells. These biological characteristics of QR-32 cells and QRsP tumour cells were found to be stable for at least 6 months when they were maintained in culture. We also observed that QR-32 cells were able to grow progressively in five out of 12 (42%) mice after coimplantation with plastic non-adherent peritoneal cells obtained from mice which had been intraperitoneally implanted with gelatin sponge. These host cells reactive to gelatin sponge increased the production of high amounts of PGE2 by QR-32 cells during 48 h coculture. Preliminary in vitro studies implicated the involvement of hydrogen peroxide and hydroxyl radical as some of the factors necessary to induce QR-32 cells to produce high amounts of PGE2 and to accelerate tumour progression.

Animals

Ascending contraction mediated by 5-hydroxytryptamine3 receptors in canine small intestine.

We investigated the mechanism of ascending contraction induced by activation of 5-hydroxytryptamine3 (5-HT3) receptors in anesthetized dogs. Pressure-measuring balloons were inserted into a loop of extrinsically denervated jejunum. Drugs were administered via the arterial tree to the oral or the anal segment and the ensuing mechanical responses were monitored. Administration of 2-methyl-5-HT (440 pmol-44 nmol) to the anal segment caused contractions in the oral segment in a dose-dependent manner. This response was inhibited by treating the anal segment with ICS 205-930, cocaine, hexamethonium, or tetrodotoxin and by treating the oral segment with atropine or hexamethonium. The response persisted even after abolition of contraction in the anal segment by nifedipine. These results imply that activation of 5-HT3 receptors can induce an ascending contraction through an enteric excitatory pathway formed by a series of cholinergic interneurons and final cholinergic motor neurons, apart from the anal contraction.

Animals

Otitis externa induced with Malassezia pachydermatis in dogs and the efficacy of pimaricin.

Eight beagles were experimentally inoculated intraotally with Malassezia pachydermatis to induce acute otitis externa. Three or 4 days after the inoculation, the animals showed the symptoms of otitis externa. All ear canals were erythematous and the dogs were shaking their heads. A large number of M. pachydermatis was noticed in exudate taken from every ear canal. Clinical signs of otitis externa were reduced after treatment with 0.1 ml (per canal) of 1% pimaricin suspension twice a day for 3 days. The amount of exudate decreased gradually and 12 of the 16 ear swabs examined, thereafter, were found to be negative for M. pachydermatis within 10 days. No side effects were observed in all the treated cases. These results suggested that M. pachydermatis could induce the canine otitis externa, and that pimaricin is effective agent for M. pachydermatis infection in ear canals.

Animals

[Diffusely increased uptake in the skull in normal bone scans].

Diffusely increased skull uptake (a hot skull) is often seen in patients with bone metastases and metabolic diseases. This finding is also, however, noticed in normal bone scans of aged women. To determine whether the hot skull could be considered a normal variant in elderly women and is associated to menopause, we studied 282 normal bone scans (166 women and 116 men without metabolic and hormonal disease; age range 11 to 84 yr). We divided the patients into eight age groups--ages 10-19, 20-29, 30-39, 40-49, 50-59, 60-69, 70-79, and 80-89 yrs. Measurements of skull uptake were obtained from anterior total body views using contrast-to-noise ratio (CNR). CNR for the skull was calculated using the following equation: (counts skull - counts femur)/square root of counts skull+counts femur, where the denominator signifies a measure of the noise and the numerator represents the contrast between the skull and the midfemur. Counts skull and femur are the number of average counts per one pixel recorded over the skull and midfemur, respectively. The sex dependent difference in skull uptake began to develop in the age group 30-39 yrs (p less than 0.05). The skull showed greater activity in women than in men for age groups from 30-39 to 80-89 yrs. In the age groups 50-59 and 60-69, the difference was particularly large (p less than 0.001).(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)

Adolescent

Defective expression of neurofilament protein subunits in hereditary hypotrophic axonopathy of quail.

Hereditary hypotrophic axonopathy is an inherited, neuronal cytoskeletal disease of the "quiver" mutant quail (Quv). Nerve tissue pathology is characterized by axonal hypotrophy associated with neurofilament (NF) deficiency in the central and peripheral nervous system. To elucidate the biochemical mechanism of this disease, we examined the in vivo expression of NF triplet protein subunits and the assembly state thereof in neuronal cell bodies in adult Quv and controls. Gel electrophoresis and Western blot analysis indicated that low, middle and high molecular mass NF subunits were markedly deficient in the brain, cervical spinal cord and sciatic nerve of Quv. Immunohistochemically, the spinal cord of Quv had no immunoreactive products corresponding to low molecular mass NF. However, middle and high molecular mass NF antisera stained few axons in the white matter and bound to ventral horn cell bodies, which in the controls were not labeled. Furthermore, a 130-kDa subunit likely to be a non- or hypophosphorylated form of middle molecular mass NF was localized in neuronal cell bodies with considerably stronger intensity than those in the controls. Ultrastructurally, intermediate filaments were not seen in such neurons; instead amorphous matrix was increased between clusters of granular endoplasmic reticulum and in the peripheral cytoplasmic areas. Degenerative changes of the neurons were very rare. We hypothesize that the deficiency of NFs in Quv results from an alteration of filament assembly caused by defective expression of low molecular mass NF. This mutant presents direct evidence for the importance of NFs in achieving and/or maintaining normal axon caliber and provides a novel system for further studies on NF expression, metabolism and function.

Animals

Hemodynamic effects of cilostazol on peripheral artery in patients with diabetic neuropathy.

On the basis of vascular involvement, an open clinical trial was performed to determine whether or not the antithrombotic drug cilostazol (6-[4-(1-cyclohexyl-1H-tetrazol-5-yl) butoxy]-3,4-dihydro-2(1H)-quinolinone, OPC-13013, Pletaal, CAS 73963-72-1) applied as a single 100 mg tablet increases peripheral blood flow and prevents diabetic neuropathy in 30 patients with non-insulin dependent diabetes mellitus. The hemodynamic effects of this drug on the a. dorsalis pedis were examined using a new real-time two-dimensional Doppler echography. 1 h after oral administration of cilostazol, the cross-sectional area of the a. dorsalis pedis significantly increased from 2.2 +/- 0.2 to 2.9 +/- 0.3 mm2 (p less than 0.05). Also, the a. dorsalis pedis blood flow index significantly increased from 16 +/- 1 to 31 +/- 4 (p less than 0.05). Cilostazol did not affect plasma glucose level (from 213 +/- 14 to 198 +/- 15 mg/dl), but slightly plasma ratio of 6-keto PGF1a to TXB2 (from 0.71 +/- 0.09 to 0.83 +/- 0.12). These effects of cilostazol might ameliorate diabetic neuropathy by improving blood flow and preventing nerve tissue ischemia.

6-Ketoprostaglandin F1 alpha

Purification and characterization of the recombinant human aldose reductase expressed in baculovirus system.

Large quantities of recombinant human aldose reductase were produced using Spodoptera frugiperda cells and properties of the enzyme were characterized. Direct purification of the recombinant aldose reductase by affinity column chromatography using Matrex gel orange A yielded a single 36 kDa band, similar in size to the purified human muscle aldose reductase, on a sodium dodecyl sulfate-polyacrylamide gel after silver staining. The isoelectric point of the recombinant enzyme was 5.85 which is identical to the human muscle aldose reductase. Following the treatment with an acylamino-acid releasing enzyme, the blocked NH2-terminal amino acid was identified to be acetylalanine. The successive NH2-terminal sequence and that of the COOH-terminal peptide concurred with the expected translated sequence. Kinetic analyses of the recombinant enzyme activity for various substrates and the cofactor, NADPH, demonstrated a good agreement with the previously reported kinetic data on the purified human aldose reductase. A high concentration of (NH4)2SO4 elicited a significant increase in both Km and Kcat for DL-glyceraldehyde as well as D-glucose. Although IC50 values for most of the aldose reductase inhibitors with recombinant enzyme were found to fall within the comparable range of those obtained with nonhuman mammalian enzymes, the IC50 value for epalrestat was more than 10-fold higher in the recombinant enzyme. These results indicate that the recombinant human aldose reductase expressed in the baculovirus system possesses structurally and enzymatically similar properties as those reported for the native human enzyme and should serve as a superior enzyme preparation to nonhuman mammalian enzymes for the screening of the efficacy and potency of newly developed aldose reductase inhibitors.

Aldehyde Reductase

DNA superhelicity affects the formation of transcription preinitiation complex on eukaryotic genes differently.

In vitro transcription was reconstituted with HeLa cell transcription factors and RNA polymerase II, which were essentially free from DNA topoisomerase activities. DNA templates with defined negative superhelical densities were tested for transcription activity. Transcription of the Bombyx mori fibroin gene increases and plateaus from templates of increasing superhelicity, and transcription from the adenovirus 2 major late promoter rises and then falls, while transcription of the Drosophila hsp70 gene remains unchanged. Dissection of transcription into pre and post-initiation steps by the use of Sarkosyl reveals that formation of a preinitiation complex on the fibroin gene or the adenovirus 2 major late promoter is slow on relaxed DNA and accelerated by DNA superhelicity. On the contrary, the preinitiation complex assembles rapidly on the hsp70 gene irrespective of DNA topology. As is the case with the fibroin gene promoter, DNA superhelicity appears to facilitate the interaction of transcription factor IID to the adenovirus 2 major late promoter.

Animals

[MR studies of extension and spread pattern of nasopharyngeal carcinoma].

Seven patients with T2-T4 nasopharyngeal carcinoma were examined by MRI on a 0.5T superconducting system. The obtained MRI images were reviewed focusing on the signal intensity (SI) of tumors, and the extension of tumors into the related spaces from the pharyngeal mucosal space (PMS). Consequently, the SI of tumors demonstrated low on T1 weighted images and high on T2 weighted images. The parapharyngeal space was the first space where the tumors extended from the pharyngeal mucosa. The parapharyngeal space was an intermediate point of extension to the masticator space (MS), the carotid space (CS), the retropharyngeal space (RPS), and the prevertebral space (PVS). The PVS involvement by tumors was not a direct extension from the PMS, because the posterior portion of pharyngobasilar fascia worked as a barrier on MR. Therefore, the longus capitus muscle in the prevertebral space was considered to be involved via the parapharyngeal space (PPS). The masticator space involvement was indicated by slightly high SI of pterygoid muscle on T2 weighted images, and also the effacement of the PPS fat and parapharyngeal venous plexus were considered as a sign of involvement into the masticator space. The retropharyngeal lateral lymph node (Rouviere) metastases were recognized by MR. These metastasized lymph nodes were low on T1 weighted images and high on T2 weighted images.

Adult

Negative supercoiling of DNA facilitates an interaction between transcription factor IID and the fibroin gene promoter.

Transcription of the fibroin gene can be reconstituted with partially purified components from HeLa cells. Transcription factors IIB, IID, and IIE and RNA polymerase II are required for accurate initiation of transcription. Linear and relaxed closed circular DNA show a similar level of template activity. However, transcription of closed circular DNA is stimulated when negative supercoils are introduced by the addition of DNA topoisomerase II and supercoiling factor purified from the posterior silk gland of Bombyx mori. Dissection of transcription into pre- and postinitiation steps by the use of Sarkosyl reveals that DNA supercoiling promotes formation of a preinitiation complex. Furthermore, order of addition experiments suggest that DNA supercoiling facilitates a functional binding of transcription factor IID to the promoter.

Cell Nucleus

Induction of fetal malformations after treatment of mouse embryos with methylnitrosourea at the preimplantation stages.

The effects of methylnitrosourea (MNU) on the development of preimplantation mouse embryos were investigated in this study. ICR mice were treated intraperitoneally with single doses of 10, 20, and 30 mg MNU/kg body wt on day 0, 1, 2, or 3 of pregnancy. The uterine contents were examined on day 18 of pregnancy. The fetuses were examined for external and skeletal abnormalities. No significant differences were observed in the number of implantation sites between all the MNU-treated groups and controls. MNU treatment on day 2 or 3 of pregnancy caused dose-dependent significant increases in the incidence of abnormal fetuses over the control level, while treatment on day 0 or 1 failed to cause an increase of abnormalities. Cleft palate, exencephalus, and malformed vertebrae were the most common types of abnormalities. In the embryo transfer experiments, the frequency of fetal abnormalities induced when embryos were transferred from MNU-treated females to untreated pseudopregnant females was significantly higher than that induced when embryos were transferred from untreated females to MNU-treated or untreated pseudopregnant females. The results in the present study confirm and extend the previously proposed hypothesis that the direct effects of MNU on preimplantation embryos make a significant contribution to the induction of fetal malformations.

Animals

Hereditary hypotrophic axonopathy with neurofilament deficiency in a mutant strain of the Japanese quail.

A primary axonal disease affecting the central and peripheral nervous system was discovered in a new mutant strain of the Japanese quail, named quiver (Quv). Quv showed significantly smaller cross-sectional areas of the cervical spinal cord and the optic and sciatic nerves, when compared with controls by light microscopic morphometry. In the cervical spinal cord, electron microscopic morphometry indicated that myelinated axons in Quv were significantly smaller in size than in controls, though greater in density. The axonal circularity was not significantly different from that of controls. Electron microscopically and immunohistochemically, neurofilaments were not detected in the axons or neuronal cell bodies. Axons in Quv were composed mainly of microtubules, which were increased in number in relation to the axonal size. From these findings, the lesions observed in Quv were regarded as axonal hypotrophy (growth arrest or retardation) due to altered neurofilament expression.

Animals

Experimental odontogenic tumors produced by ethylnitrosourea injections and mechanical injuries.

The present study was carried out to investigate odontogenic tumor induction in the rats by injections of carcinogen N-ethyl-N-nitrosourea (ENU) coupled with incisional wounds. The animals which received local injections of ENU in the region of incisor tooth germ of the right mandible every other day for 19 days after birth coupled with incisional wounding in the same region at 2 and 8 days, developed odontogenic carcinomas. However, the animals which were given local injections of ENU in the region of incisor tooth germ but did not receive incisional wounds, showed no pathologic changes. The animals which received both local injections of physiologic salt solution and incisional wounds in the same manner as mentioned above, did not exhibit any pathologic changes. The present results indicate that local administration of carcinogen ENU coupled with mechanical injuries, namely incisional wounding, caused the production of odontogenic carcinomas in the incisor region of the mandible in rats.

Ameloblasts

Flow cytometric DNA analysis of stage D2 prostatic carcinoma.

Flow cytometric DNA analysis was performed on 34 samples of prostatic carcinoma patients with stage D2 disease to study the relationship between DNA ploidy pattern, Gleason sum score, and prognosis. Nuclei were extracted from paraffin-embedded needle biopsy specimens. The DNA ploidy pattern was diploid in 53% of the tumors, tetraploid in 38%, and aneuploid in 9%. A significant correlation between DNA ploidy pattern, Gleason sum score, and prognosis was not proved. It was considered that DNA ploidy pattern and Gleason sum score of limited primary lesion did not allow a prognosis of the patients with stage D2 prostatic carcinoma to be made.

Adenocarcinoma

Early neurobehavioral disorders in the micrencephalic offspring induced by prenatal treatment with N-methyl-N-nitrosourea or methylazoxymethanol in the rat.

Micrencephalic neonatal pups were obtained from pregnant Crj:CD (SD) rats once treated with 5 mg/kg of N-methyl-N-nitrosourea (MNU) or 40 mg/kg of methylazoxymethanol (MAM) on day 12, 13, 14 or 15 of gestation (vaginal plug = day 0). They were reared by their own mothers and were subjected to various neurobehavioral tests during the suckling period, days 0 to 22 after birth. The brain weights in the MNU- and MAM-treated pups on postnatal day 22 were significantly less than those in the control pups. These micrencephalic pups were retarded in neurobehavioral ontogeny. By several tests, each of them showed an impaired performance such as paired limb movement, clumsy locomotion or hyperreflexive reaction. These behavioral disorders appeared different according to the day of treatment, without any substantial difference between the test compounds, MNU and MAM. The findings suggest that the different neurobehavioral characteristics in the micrencephalic pups may reflect their different brain disorders induced by the test compounds given on the different period of the treatment.

Animals