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Biomedical subjects

N Murayama

Publications and source records attributed to N Murayama.

At least 19 recordsLinked to original sources
PubMed1992

Control of segregation of chromosomal DNA by sex factor F in Escherichia coli. Mutants of DNA gyrase subunit A suppress letD (ccdB) product growth inhibition.

The letA (ccdA) and letD (ccdB) genes, located just outside the sequence essential for replication of the F plasmid, apparently contribute to stable maintenance of the plasmid. The letD gene product acts to inhibit partitioning of chromosomal DNA and cell division of the host bacteria, whereas the letA gene product acts to suppress the activity of the letD gene product. To identify the target of the letD gene product, temperature-sensitive growth-defective mutants were screened from bacterial mutants that had escaped the letD product growth inhibition that occurs in hosts carrying an FletA mutant. Of nine mutants analysed, three mutants were shown, by phage P1-mediated transduction and complementation analysis, to have mutations in the gyrA gene and the other six in the groE genes. The nucleotide sequence revealed that one of the gyrA mutants has a base change from G to A at position 641 (resulting in an amino acid change from Gly to Glu at position 214) of the gyrA gene. The mutant GyrA proteins produced by these gyrA(ts) mutants were trans-dominant over wild-type GyrA protein for letD tolerance. The wild-type GyrA protein, produced in excess amounts by means of a multicopy plasmid, overcame growth inhibition of the letD gene product. These observations strongly suggest that the A subunit of DNA gyrase is the target of the LetD protein.

Amino Acid Sequence↗
PubMed1992

Enhancement of ethanol-induced lipid peroxidation in rat liver by lowered carbohydrate intake.

In order to investigate the effect of carbohydrate intake on ethanol-induced lipid peroxidation and cytotoxicity, rats were maintained on four different test diets, a medium-carbohydrate (carbohydrate intake, 8.4 g/day/rat on average), a low-carbohydrate (carbohydrate intake, 2.8 g/day/rat on average), an ethanol-containing medium-carbohydrate (carbohydrate and an ethanol intake, 8.4 and 2.9 g/day/rat on average, respectively), and an ethanol-containing low-carbohydrate diet (2.8 and 2.9 g/day/rat on average, respectively). Ethanol and the low-carbohydrate diet each increased the liver malondialdehyde content, but the combined effect of both (ethanol-containing low-carbohydrate diet) was much more prominent than either alone. The degree of increase in malondialdehyde content almost paralleled the activity of the microsomal ethanol oxidizing system. Both the low-carbohydrate and the ethanol-containing low-carbohydrate diets decreased the liver glutathione content, but ethanol combined with the medium-carbohydrate diet had no effect on the content. Ethanol treatment increased the liver triglyceride content only when combined with the low-carbohydrate diet. The rate of NADPH-dependent microsomal malondialdehyde formation was much higher in microsomes from rats maintained on the ethanol-containing low-carbohydrate diet than in those from rats on the ethanol-containing medium-carbohydrate diet, indicating that lowered carbohydrate intake augments ethanol-induced malondialdehyde accumulation in the liver by enhancing the rate of lipid peroxidation. In addition, when incubated with red blood cells in the presence of NADPH, microsomes from rats fed the ethanol-containing low-carbohydrate diet caused marked hemolysis, which was prevented by the addition of 5 mM glutathione to the incubation system. Furthermore, addition of 50 mM ethanol to the reaction system greatly accentuated the hemolysis. These results suggest that lowered carbohydrate intake at the time of ethanol consumption potentiates ethanol cytotoxicity by enhancing ethanol-induced lipid peroxidation.

Animals↗
PubMed1992

Difference in receptive field features of taste neurons in rat granular and dysgranular insular cortices.

Receptive fields (RFs) of 59 cortical taste neurons (35 in the granular insular area, area GI, 21 in the dysgranular insular area, area DI, and 3 in the agranular insular area, area AI) were identified in the oral cavity of the rat. The fraction of the neurons with RFs in the anterior oral cavity only was significantly larger in area GI (74.3%) than in area DI (42.9%). On the other hand, the fraction of neurons with RFs in both the anterior and posterior oral cavity was larger in area DI (42.9%) than in area GI (11.4%). On the whole, it is suggested that area GI is involved in discrimination of several taste stimuli in the oral cavity, whereas in area DI taste information originating from various regions of the oral cavity is integrated. When neurons were classified according to the best stimulus which most excited the neuron among the four basic tastes, different categories of taste neurons had RFs in different parts of the oral cavity. It is suggested that, in either taste area, different categories of taste neurons are involved in different sorts of taste coding. The majority of neurons in both areas had bilateral RFs. In area GI, neurons with RFs on single subpopulations of taste buds were significantly more numerous at the rostral region of the cortex than at the caudal region. There was no such relation between RF types and cortical localization in area DI. Otherwise, topographic representation of the oral cavity by taste neurons on the cortical surface was not obvious. RF features of taste neurons did not differ across layers in either cortical area.

Animals↗
PubMed1992

Difference in taste quality coding between two cortical taste areas, granular and dysgranular insular areas, in rats.

The responses of 84 taste neurons to stimulation of the oral cavity in rats were examined; most taste neurons were found in either a granular insular area (area GI; n = 55) or dysgranular insular area (DI; n = 25), and the others (n = 4) were in an agranular insular area (area AI). The fraction of neurons responding to only one of the four basic stimuli was significantly larger in area GI than in area DI. When neurons were classified by the stimulus which most excited the neuron among the four basic stimuli, every "best-stimulus category" of neurons was found in both GI and DI areas. Quinine-best and "multistimulus-type" neurons, whose responses to some non-best stimulus exceeded 90% of the maximum, were more numerous in the cortex than in the thalamocortical relay neurons. When responses were plotted against taste stimuli arranged in the order of sucrose, NaCl, HCl, and quinine along the abscissa (taste coordinate), response profiles of taste neurons often showed two peaks. The double-peaked type of response profiles were found in every best-stimulus category of neurons in both areas; though, a significantly large fraction of quinine-best neurons in area GI were of the double-peaked type. Some taste neurons in area GI (n = 21) and in area DI (n = 7) were inhibited by one to two taste stimuli, particularly by the stimuli present next to the best one along the taste coordinate. In correlation profiles--correlation coefficients between sucrose and NaCl and between HCl and quinine--pairs of stimuli which were located next to each other on the taste coordinate were significantly smaller in area GI than in area DI. It is thus highly probable that area GI plays an important role in fine taste discrimination and area DI in integration of taste information.

Animals↗
PubMed1992

Randomized, controlled study on adjuvant immunochemotherapy with PSK in curatively resected colorectal cancer. The Cooperative Study Group of Surgical Adjuvant Immunochemotherapy for Cancer of Colon and Rectum (Kanagawa).

A randomized, controlled trial of adjuvant immunochemotherapy with PSK (Kureha Chemical Industry Co., Tokyo, Japan) in curatively resected colorectal cancer was studied in 35 institutions in the Kanagawa prefecture. From March 1985 to February 1987, 462 patients were registered. Four hundred forty-eight of those patients (97.0 percent) satisfied the eligibility criteria. The control group received mitomycin C intravenously on the day of and the day after surgery, followed by oral 5-fluorouracil (5-FU) administration for over six months. The PSK group received PSK orally for over three years, in addition to mitomycin C and 5-FU as in the control group. At the end of February 1990, the median follow-up time for this study was four years (range, three to five years). The disease-free survival curve and the survival curve of the PSK group were better than those of the control group, and differences between the two groups were statistically significant (disease-free survival, P = 0.013; survival, P = 0.013). These results indicate that adjuvant immunochemotherapy with PSK was beneficial for curatively resected colorectal cancer.

Adjuvants, Immunologic↗
PubMed1992

Hepatic triiodothyronine sulfation and its regulation by growth hormone and triiodothyronine in rats.

The regulatory mechanism of cytosolic sulfation of T3 has been studied in rat liver. Sulfation of T3 is sexually differentiated in adult rats of Sprague-Dawley (SD), Fisher 344, and ACI strains. In SD strain, the male animals showed 4 times higher sulfating activity than did the females. The specific activity was decreased by hypophysectomy of male adult rats, but was not affected in the females. Thus, the sex-difference was abolished in the hypophysectomized condition. Supplement of human GH intermittently twice daily for 7 days, to mimic the male secretory pattern, increased T3 sulfating activity in both sexes of hypophysectomized rats, whereas continuous infusion to mimic a female secretory pattern had no appreciable effect. Cytosolic sulfation of T3 was decreased by 25 to 30% by thyroidectomy or propylthiouracil treatment of male adult rats, and was restored by the supplementation of T3 (50 micrograms/kg daily for 7 days) to thyroidectomized rats. Administration of T3 in hypophysectomized rats almost completely restored the sulfating activity in the males and increased the activity in the females. Cytosolic T3 sulfation was inhibited by the addition of known inhibitors of phenol sulfotransferase, pentachlorophenol or 2,6-dichloro-4-nitrophenol. These results indicate a role of pituitary GH in hepatic sulfation of thyroid hormones in rats. The data obtained also raise the possibility that GH may modify the effect of thyroid hormones on the pituitary by a feed-back mechanism through changing the level of a sex-dominant phenol sulfotransferase(s) in rat livers. T3 was also sulfated in hepatic cytosols of mouse, hamster, rabbit, dog, monkey, and human.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)

Animals↗
PubMed1992

Increase of migration of cultured endothelial cells by angiotensin-converting enzyme inhibitor derived from tuna muscle.

The influence of angiotensin-converting enzyme (ACE) inhibitory octapeptide derived from tuna muscle (tuna AI) on the bovine aorta endothelial cell (BAEC) migration was investigated, as compared with captopril. BAEC migration was quantitated 6 d after release from contact inhibition by a teflon fence assay. The culture grown in the presence of tuna AI (1 and 10 microM) clearly exhibited an increase in migration, compared with the control. The media collected from tuna AI (1 and 10 microM)-stimulated BAECs significantly exhibited the interleukin (IL) -1 activity that was detected by the thymocyte costimulation assay with phytohemagglutinin. Although tuna AI was a weaker ACE inhibitor than captopril, the increasing effect of tuna AI on the migration and the IL-1 generation in BAECs was slightly greater than that of captopril. In quiescent BAECs, tuna AI (1 microM) apparently induced c-myc and platelet derived growth factor (PDGF) A-chain messenger ribonucleic acid (mRNA) expressions within 30 min, which persisted for 6 h. In contrast, captopril induced a very low expression of c-myc mRNA, and had no relation to PDGF A-chain mRNA expression. These results suggest that the increase of BAEC migration by tuna AI, unlike captopril, is likely related to the induction or activation of IL-1, and c-myc and PDGF mRNAs, in addition to the inhibition of the conversion of endogenous angiotensin I to angiotensin II.

Amino Acid Sequence↗
PubMed1992

Inhibitory effect of bis(2-aminohexyl) disulfide and bis(2-amino-3-phenylpropyl) disulfide on several mouse inflammations.

The anti-inflammatory profile of the analogues of bis(2-aminopropyl) disulfide dihydrochloride with butyl (compd. II) and phenyl (compd. III) instead of the methyl group was studied in several mouse models related to phagocyte functions. The test samples were administered 2-3 h before the inflammatory stimulation or the peak of inflammation. Subcutaneously administered, compds. II and III significantly inhibited serotonin-induced paw edema in a dose-dependent manner (50% inhibitory dose values: 10 and 5 mg/kg, respectively), when orally administered at 25 mg/kg, these compounds were significantly effective, but their potencies were weaker. Neither compound had any irritant activity when administered at a dose of 12.5 micrograms/5 microliters/paw into the paw. In a sheep red blood cells (SRBC)-induced delayed-type hypersensitivity (DTH) reaction model, compd. II (25 mg/kg, s.c.) significantly inhibited the DTH responses when administered at two different times in relation to the time of challenge. However, there was only slight inhibition by compd. III (25 mg/kg, s.c.) on paw edema formation when administered 14 h after secondary immune response. In a model of experimental acute hepatic failure induced by successive injections of Propionibacterium acnes and lipopolysaccharide, both compounds increased mouse survived, compared with the control mice, and kept the serum levels of components involved in hepatic failure to nearly normal levels. These results demonstrate that compds. II and III possess an inhibitory effect on inflammation related to phagocytes.

Amines↗
PubMed1992

Studies on thermophile products. V. Immunosuppressive profile in vitro of Bacillus stearothermophilus component, Fr.5-B.

The immunosuppressive profile of Bacillus stearothermophilus UK563 component, Fr.5-B, is presented in in vitro studies. Fr.5-B (0.1-1000 ng/ml), provided it was added at the initiation of mixed leukocyte reaction (MLR), inhibited dose-dependently the incorporation of tritiated thymidine ([3H]TdR) into mouse spleen cells and human peripheral blood lymphocytes. Even the addition of Fr.5-B 48 h after the onset of culture suppressed mouse MLR, unlike cyclosporin A (CYA). Fr.5-B significantly inhibited cytotoxic T lymphocyte generation determined by [3H]TdR-release micro-cytotoxicity assay by using mouse mastocytoma P815 as targets. Moreover, this component decreased dose-dependently the expression of class II major histocompatibility molecules (Ia) on mouse peritoneal macrophages induced by concanavalin A supernatant. The present results revealed the unique immunosuppressive property of Fr.5-B which was different from that of CYA.

Animals↗
PubMed1992

Inhibitory effects of bis(2-aminohexyl)disulfide and its analogues on polymorphonuclear leukocyte functions in vitro.

Water soluble analogues of the anti-inflammatory compound, bis(2-aminopropyl)disulfide dihydrochloride (compd. I) with a butyl (II), phenyl (III), benzyl (IV) or pyrrolidinyl group (V) instead of the methyl group were synthesized, and their effects on the functions of cells related to inflammation were studied in vitro. Compounds II, III and IV showed much higher inhibitory activity than compd. I on formyl Met-Leu-Phe (FMLP)-induced O2(-)-generation of polymorphonuclear leukocytes (PMNs) and platelet aggregation. Compound II showed the strongest activity among the compounds (IC50 values: 2.6 microM). The inhibition of O2(-)-generation of PMNs by compd. II was the most effective when FMLP was used as a stimulant rather than when phorbol myristate acetate, A-23187 and opsonized zymosan were used. However, compd. II was not an O2(-)-scavenger. Compounds II, III and IV significantly inhibited a series of activation processes in PMNs, chemotaxis, phagocytosis and lysosomal enzyme release at doses ranging from 10 to 100 microM. Under these doses, compds II, III and IV did not affect the histamine release from mast cells or the hemolysis of erythrocytes. These results strongly suggest that the anti-inflammatory action caused by compd. II and its analogues was at least partly due to inhibition of several functions of PMNs and platelets.

Amines↗
PubMed1992

[Metabolic abnormalities of amino acids in patients with alcoholic liver damage].

The metabolic abnormality of amino acids in patients with alcoholic liver damage is discussed. The abnormalities are variable according to the degree of hepatic damage, the amount of alcohol consumption, and the intake of amino acids. In general, the plasma concentration of branched-chain amino acids, aromatic amino acids and alpha-amino-n-butyric acid increases, whereas that of hydroxy amino acids, alanine and proline decreases, in alcoholics with liver damage. Serum gamma-glutamyltranspeptidase activity increases with the increase of alcohol consumption. This increase is accentuated by lowered carbohydrate intake at the time of alcohol ingestion. A nutritional survey among healthy male subjects revealed that the intake of cereals decreases with increasing amount of alcohol consumption, a finding which suggests that the intake of some amino acids may be altered by drinking habit.

Amino Acids↗
PubMed1992

Effect of repeated oral doses of a novel immunosuppressive macrolide lactone on hepatic mixed-function oxidase system in the rat. Comparative study with ciclosporin.

Effect of pretreatment of rats with FK506((-)-(1R,9S,12S,13R,14S,17R,18E,21S,23S,24R,25S,27R)-17-allyl-1,14- dihydroxy-12-[(E)-2-[(1R,3R,4R)-4-hydroxy-3methoxycyclohexyl]-1- methylvinyl]-23,25-dimethoxy-13,19,21,27-tetramethyl-11,28-dioxa-4- azatricyclo-[22.3.1.0(4.9)]octacos-18-ene-2,3,10,16-tetrone hydrate, CAS 104987-11-3) on microsomal cytochrome P-450 system and oxidations of the administered drug and other model substrates were studied and compared with those of a pharmacologically related drug, ciclosporin (cyclosporin A). Oral treatment of male Sprague-Dawley rats with FK506 (0.4, 2 or 10 mg/kg/d) for 7 days did not decrease microsomal content of total cytochrome P-450 in livers, but rather increased the content in groups with the dose of 0.4 or 10 mg/kg to the levels of 126-130% of the control. Microsomal NADPH-cytochrome c reductase activities were decreased up to 67% of the control with the increasing dose of FK506 and to 62% in a group treated orally with cyclosporin A (25 mg/kg/d for 7 days), although another microsomal electron-transport component, cytochrome b5, was rather increased in all the treated groups. Treatment with FK506 or cyclosporin A did not reduce but slightly increased microsomal activities of aniline hydroxylation, p-nitroanisole O-demethylation and O-ethoxyresorufin O-deethylation. Microsomal depropylation of 7-propoxycoumarin, a typical P-450IIIA-substrate, was also not reduced in all dose groups of FK506, while it was decreased by the treatment with 25 mg/kg cyclosporin A.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)

Animals↗
PubMed1992

Flow-injection analysis for malondialdehyde in plasma with the thiobarbituric acid reaction.

A simple, precise, and rapid method to measure plasma malondialdehyde (MDA) was developed by use of solvent extraction--flow-injection analysis. The reagent solution, containing thiobarbituric acid (TBA), 5 g/L in 100 mL/L phosphoric acid, and extraction solvent (methylisobutyl ketone, MIBK) were propelled with a double-plunger micropump at a flow rate of 0.3 mL/min, and 20 microL of sample was introduced into the reagent stream. After TBA-MDA reactant was extracted into MIBK, the organic phase was continuously separated by a successive phase-separation system equipped with two phase separators, and the absorbance of the TBA-MDA reactant was measured at 532 nm. This approach resulted in excellent sensitivity, a CV of < 1.5%, a good correlation with the conventional manual method, and a sampling frequency of 7 samples/h, suggesting that this semiautomated method is suitable for measuring plasma MDA.

Animals↗
PubMed1992

[Drinking-related changes in dietary intake in 2165 male adults--with special reference to carbohydrate, protein and fat].

A food intake-frequency survey using a 7-day weighted inventory questionnaire was conducted among 2165 healthy men aged from 18 to 85 living in Nagano Prefecture. The effect of ethanol consumption on the intake of 12 different groups of food (cereals, potatoes, sugar, confectioneries, fruit, vegetables, soybean and its products, eggs, milk and dairy products, fish, meat, and oils), on the intake of macronutrients (carbohydrate, protein and fat), on the total energy intake including and excluding energy from ethanol, and on the energy percentage from carbohydrate, protein and fat, were analyzed. As ethanol consumption increased, the intake of cereals and confectioneries was found to markedly decrease, and that of potatoes, sugar, fruit, vegetables, milk and dairy products, and oils to decrease to a lesser extent. In contrast, the intake of meat increased with increasing ethanol consumption. The intake of carbohydrate, vegetable protein and fat decreased with increase in ethanol consumption in the following order: carbohydrate greater than vegetable protein = vegetable fat. As ethanol consumption increased, total energy intake including energy from ethanol increased, but the energy excluding ethanol decreased. The energy percentage contributed by carbohydrate, vegetable protein, and vegetable and animal fat decreased with increase of ethanol consumption: the extent of the decrease was most prominent in energy from carbohydrate, followed by vegetable fat, animal fat and vegetable protein in decreasing order. These results suggest that people have a tendency to consume less carbohydrate, especially cereals, when increasing ethanol consumption.

Adult↗
PubMed1992

[A quantitative analysis of ataxia in the upper limbs].

By using a transparent digitizer and a personal computer, we tried a quantitative analysis of ataxia in the upper limbs. A total of 25 upper extremities of 13 patients with spino-cerebellar degeneration (SCD) and 140 upper extremities of 70 normal volunteers were tested by two types of tasks. One was the free speed trace of a circle presented on the display (free circle), and the other was the pursuit of a target moving on a circle at a fixed speed (pursuit circle). The digitizer was put on a color display stabilized horizontally. For 1024 points with a 25 msec sampling time, the trajectory of the stylus pen was transmitted to the computer in real time. Circle diameters of 3 cm and 6 cm were selected. The target rounded the circle at a speed of 6 or 3 times per 1024 points. The mean velocity (MV), mean acceleration (MA), and MA/MV ratio were calculated for the extent of one circle period. And the coefficient of variation (CV) of the shifted distance in each sampling time and the power spectrum by Fast Fourier Transform (FFT) to the acceleration wave were calculated for the total input data. In the free circles, the MV and logarithm of MA varied widely and showed positive correlations. In contrast, those of the pursuit circles converged narrowly near the values of the target. On the other hand, in the SCD group, many patients could not draw the small free circle.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)

Adult↗
PubMed1991

Clinical significance of CD7-positive stem cell leukemia. A distinct subtype of mixed lineage leukemia.

Ten leukemia cases with mixed phenotype were investigated in terms of clinical characteristics and cellular origin. Three patients were infants and six patients were older children. Six of them had a high leukocyte count and a mediastinal mass was found in three cases. All but one showed hepatosplenomegaly and/or lymphoadenopathy. In spite of intensive chemotherapy, most of them responded poorly. Cytochemical analysis of their leukemic cells revealed a low percentage of positivity for myeloperoxidase reactivity (less than 25%) in two cases and electron microscopic platelet peroxidase reactivity was found in one of three analyzed cases. Phenotypically, these cells all expressed CD7, and other T-lineage-associated, B-lineage-associated, and/or myeloid-associated antigens were also detected to some extent. In addition, three cases expressed CD41 and one case expressed CD56. The T-cell receptor (TCR) genes and immunoglobulin gene were in the germline configuration in seven cases. In three rearranged cases, two showed only the TCR-delta gene rearrangement, and one had both TCR-gamma and delta gene rearrangements. Cell culture studies with 12-0-tetradecanoyl-phorbol-13-acetate (TPA) revealed differentiation to the T-lineage in two cases and to a myeloid lineage in one case. Megakaryocytic differentiation was detected in two cases in culture without TPA. These results suggest that the cells from these cases arose from stem cells capable of both lymphoid and nonlymphoid differentiation. Although the cells were heterogeneous with regard to their potency of differentiation, they have similar clinical characteristics. Because of poor prognosis, it is important to identify this type of leukemia, and allogenic or autologous bone marrow transplantation should be considered.

Acute Disease↗
PubMed1991

Differential phenotypic expression by three mutant alleles in familial lecithin:cholesterol acyltransferase deficiency.

Familial deficiency of lecithin:cholesterol acyltransferase (LCAT) is an autosomal recessive disorder characterised by abnormalities of all plasma lipoprotein classes and by abnormal deposition of unesterified cholesterol in tissues. To elucidate the molecular basis of the disease, the LCAT genes of three unrelated Japanese patients were amplified by means of the polymerase chain reaction. Direct sequencing of the amplified fragments covering all exons and junctions showed that the patients are homozygotes for separate gene mutations. In one patient a 3 bp insertion, which should cause a substantial change in the enzyme structure, was found in exon 4; he had near absence of LCAT mass and activity. Two separate missense mutations were identified in exon 6 of the other two patients, who produced functionally defective enzymes that differed widely in specific activity. The replacement of asparagine228 with positively charged lysine completely abolished enzyme activity, whereas the other, conservative, aminoacid substitution (methionine293----isoleucine) gave rise to a partially defective enzyme. These results show that distinct mutations cause differences in plasma LCAT activity and LCAT mass, ultimately leading to differential phenotypic expression of familial LCAT deficiency.

Adult↗