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N Kiyota

Publications and source records attributed to N Kiyota.

14 recordsLinked to original sources
PubMed2004

Relationship between C-reactive protein and visceral adipose tissue in healthy Japanese subjects.

AIM: Recent studies have suggested that the elevated C-reactive protein (CRP) levels are associated with body fat, especially visceral adipose tissue, but most of them were investigated in Westerners who had higher body mass index (BMI) than Asians. To investigate the association between CRP concentrations, parameters of visceral obesity, the insulin resistance syndrome and carotid atherosclerosis in healthy Japanese who had a lower BMI than Westerners. METHODS: We explored the relationships between fatness and visceral obesity parameters [by anthropometry, bioelectrical impedance analysis and abdominal computed tomography (CT)] and CRP (high sensitivity) and examined their associations with components of insulin resistance syndrome, interleukin-6 (IL-6), tissue necrosis factor-alpha (TNF-alpha) and intima-media thickness (IMT) of common carotid arteries (CCAs) by ultrasonograms in 116 healthy Japanese subjects. RESULTS: In crude regression analyses, CRP was significantly associated with measures of obesity. After adjustment for age, gender and smoking, the association with CRP was stronger for parameters of visceral obesity (waist circumference, waist-to-hip ratio and visceral adipose tissue accumulation) than for other parameters of obesity. IL-6 and TNF-alpha were not associated with CRP. Blood pressure (BP), metabolic variables and CCA-IMT were also significantly associated with CRP. But, after being adjusted for age, gender, smoking and BMI, BP and high-density lipoprotein cholesterol (HDLc) were significantly associated. CONCLUSION: CRP level is associated with visceral adipose tissue and is significantly associated with the components of insulin resistance syndrome in healthy Japanese subjects. These data support a possible role of visceral adipose tissue in inflammation component of atherosclerosis, and further studies are needed to study the mechanism of CRP elevation caused by visceral adipose tissue.

Adipose Tissue↗
PubMed2000

Molecular cloning and sequence analysis of an endoinulinase gene from Penicillium sp. strain TN-88.

A genomic DNA segment and cDNAs encoding an extracellular endoinulinase of Penicillium sp. strain TN-88 were cloned and sequenced. Southern blot analysis indicated that the endoinulinase gene (inuC) was present as a single copy in the genome. An open reading frame, consisting of 1,545 bp, was not interrupted by introns, and it encoded a 25 amino acid signal peptide and a 490 amino acid mature protein. The mature protein contained three Cys residues and ten potential N-linked glycosylation sites. Three distinct transcriptional start points were observed at positions -242 (A), -215 (A), and -75 (C) from the start codon. The 5'-noncoding region had a putative TATA box at position -120 (TATATATA) and two contiguous CAAT sequences at -159 to -151. The deduced amino acid sequence showed 72 and 85% identities with those of Aspergillus niger and Penicillium purpurogenum endoinulinase genes, respectively. A neighbor-joining tree showed that fungal endoinulinases form a distinct cluster from other members of the beta-fructofuranosidase superfamily and that they are more closely related to bacterial levanases than to a fungal fructosyltransferase, yeast invertases, or a yeast exoinulinase.

3' Untranslated Regions↗
PubMed1994

In vivo isomerization of retinoic acids. Rapid isomer exchange and gene expression.

The in vivo isomerization of all-trans- and 9-cis-retinoic acids (RAs) was evaluated by high performance liquid chromatography after oral administration to rats. All-trans (2 ng/ml)- and 13-cis (1.8 ng/ml)-RAs, but not 9-cis-RA, were detected in the serum of normal rats. When an excess of either all-trans-RA or 9-cis-RA (100 micrograms/rat) was intragastrically administered to the retinoid-depleted rats, a rapid isomer exchange between 9-cis- and all-trans-RAs along with appearance of the administered RA occurred shortly after the dose (30 min). RA rapidly isomerized when an excess of either all-trans- or 9-cis-RA (1 mg/rat) was administered to normal rats. To examine whether the isomerized RAs elicit biological actions in vivo, the induction of target genes-[cellular retinol-binding protein type II (CRBP II) for 9-cis-RA and all-trans-retinoic acid receptor beta (RAR beta) for 9-cis- and all-trans-RAs] was determined. The degree of induction of the two genes did not differ 4 h after administration of either 9-cis-RA or all-trans-RA. However, unlike all-trans-RA, the RAR-specific synthetic retinoids did not induce the CRBP II gene. These results suggested that the apparent actions of 9-cis- and all-trans-RAs on gene expression in vivo may be mediated to some extent by the converted stereoisomer.

Animals↗
PubMedDate not supplied

Plasma guanosine 3',5'-monophosphate responses to the cold pressor test in patients with vibration disease.

Plasma cyclic guanosine 3',5'-monophosphate (cyclic GMP) levels were determined during the cold pressor test (CPT) in 10 normal volunteers and 39 patients with vibration disease. The CPT caused no significant increase in plasma cyclic GMP in the controls. There was a sharp rise in plasma cyclic GMP during and after the CPT in patients with vibration disease. This increase was suppressed by simultaneous injection of phentolamine or atropine. In patients who had been treated with kallidinogenase or nicametate citrate for 3-6 months, the CPT caused no significant increase in plasma cyclic GMP. In 1 patient the plasma cyclic GMP was suppressed by dihydroergotamine. From these findings it is very likely that cholinergic or alpha-adrenergic receptor responses are enhanced in patients with vibration disease.

Adult↗