PubMed HealthSearch

Biomedical subjects

T Hamada

Publications and source records attributed to T Hamada.

At least 19 recordsLinked to original sources

Effect of substance P on circadian rhythms of firing activity and the 2-deoxyglucose uptake in the rat suprachiasmatic nucleus in vitro.

The suprachiasmatic nuclei (SCN) have been identified as a pacemaker for many circadian rhythms in mammals. Although substance P (SP) fibers from retina are found to terminate the SCN, the physiological role of this peptide is uncertain. The 2-deoxyglucose (2-DG) uptake and firing activity in the SCN show a robust circadian change. SP causes an increase in 2-DG uptake by SCN during the subjective night but not during subjective day. SP-induced increase in 2-DG uptake is blocked by co-treatment with the SP receptor antagonist, spantide. Treatment with SP produces phase shifts of circadian rhythm in spontaneous neural activity in SCN neurons with a phase-response curve that is similar to the effect of light pulses to animals under constant darkness. SP-induced phase change is also blocked by pretreatment with spantide. SP-induced increase in 2-DG uptake and phase changes in firing activity occur only during subjective night, at circadian times when photic phase shifting of activity occurs. The present results suggest that SP may be an important transmitter for conveying environmental light-dark information from retina to the SCN.

Action Potentials

[MR imaging of thyroid masses].

Magnetic resonance (MR) imaging was performed in 35 patients with histologically proved thyroid masses. Gadopentetate dimeglumine was used in 25 of these cases. The thyroid tumors were analyzed by MR imaging as to shape, margin, pseudocapsulation, homogeneity, and enhanced pattern. Gd-DTPA was helpful in identifying pseudocapsules and showing the extent of the tumor. Papillary carcinoma tended to display unclear margins, heterogeneous intensity, and inhomogeneously enhanced patterns. In follicular adenoma, the tumor margin was smooth and pseudocapsules were clearly detected. Follicular adenoma was enhanced homogeneously, but it was difficult to distinguish follicular adenoma from follicular carcinoma by MR imaging. Adenomatous goiter was delineated as multiple nodules with smooth margins, but without pseudocapsules. These nodules were enhanced in various ways after Gd-DTPA administration.

Female

An in vitro circadian rhythm of protein synthesis in the rat suprachiasmatic nucleus under tissue culture conditions.

Because inhibitors of protein synthesis produce changes in the circadian rhythm of wheel-running activity in rodents, we examined the circadian changes of in vitro protein synthesis by the rat suprachiasmatic nucleus (SCN). We demonstrated a robust circadian rhythm of [14C]leucine incorporation as well as [3H]2-deoxyglucose (2DG) uptake by the SCN. The peak time of 2DG uptake was around circadian time 6-9 h (CT6-CT9). In contrast to 2DG uptake, the maximum rate of leucine incorporation occurred around CT22-CT0. Thus, the leucine incorporation rate preceded 2DG uptake by 6-9 h. Leucine incorporation was inhibited by protein synthesis inhibitors, but not by tetrodotoxin. Since a robust circadian rhythm of leucine incorporation by the SCN was detected in vitro by using our method, this procedure may be useful to study the circadian clock function of the SCN.

Animals

Presynaptic inhibition by clonidine of neurotransmitter amino acid release in various brain regions.

The release of endogenous aspartic acid (Asp), glutamic acid (Glu) and gamma-aminobutyric acid (GABA) was investigated in synaptosomes prepared from various regions of the rat brain. The basal release of Asp, Glu and GABA from various regions was 12-35, 24-107 and 15-43 pmol/min per mg protein, respectively. Exposure to a depolarizing concentration of KCl (30 mM) resulted in 1.7 to 3.6-fold increases in Asp, Glu and GABA release. When clonidine (10(-4) M) was added to the perfusion medium, the K(+)-evoked overflow of both Asp and Glu was inhibited by 50-90% in the anterior cortex, thalamus and hypothalamus. Clonidine inhibited the K(+)-evoked Glu overflow by 30-40% in the posterior cortex and hippocampus. No significant effects were observed in the other brain regions (olfactory bulb, striatum, midbrain, cerebellum, pons, medulla oblongata). The inhibitory effects of clonidine were counteracted by an alpha 2-adrenoceptor antagonist, rauwolscine. The data suggest that the basal and K(+)-evoked release of Asp, Glu and GABA from nerve terminals is different in rat brain regions and that the presynaptic alpha 2-adrenoceptors which regulate the release of excitatory amino acids are mainly distributed in the anterior cerebral cortex, thalamus and hypothalamus of the rat brain.

Adrenergic alpha-Antagonists

Phase-resetting effect of 8-OH-DPAT, a serotonin1A receptor agonist, on the circadian rhythm of firing rate in the rat suprachiasmatic nuclei in vitro.

The 5-HTergic neurons in the mesencephalic raphe nuclei provide a robust projection to the hypothalamic suprachiasmatic nucleus (SCN), the site of a putative neuronal circadian pacemaker. Although it has been suggested that 5-HT neurons may play a role in the circadian timing system, this role has not yet been specified. Prosser et al. (Brain Res., 534 (1990) 336-339) reported that 1 h treatments with quipazine induce robust phase shifts in vitro, and that this effect depends upon the circadian time of treatment. However, quipazine is a non-specific 5-HT agonist. Besides, it is reported that the 5-HT1A agonist, 8-hydroxy-2-(di-n-propylamino)tetraline hydrobromide (8-OH-DPAT) affected a circadian rhythm of hamster wheel-running activity. In the present study we investigated whether the 5-HT1A agonist 8-OH-DPAT can reset the phase of the SCN clock when it is isolated in vitro. The present results show that 1 h treatments with 8-OH-DPAT induce robust phase advances in vitro when it was administered during the subjective day. This result suggests that 5HT1A receptor functioning may play a role in modulating the phase of SCN clock, especially during the subjective day.

8-Hydroxy-2-(di-n-propylamino)tetralin

Excitatory effect of N-methyl-D-aspartate and kainate receptor on the 2-deoxyglucose uptake in the rat suprachiasmatic nucleus in vitro.

The suprachiasmatic nuclei (SCN) have been identified as a pacemaker for many circadian rhythms in mammals. The previous findings indicate the excitatory amino acid (EAA) receptors play an important role in the transmission of light information from the retina to the circadian clocks. The 2-deoxyglucose (2DG) uptake shows a robust circadian change; high uptake during subjective day and low uptake subjective night. To determine whether EAA agonists regulate 2DG uptake in the SCN, we have measured 2DG uptake in the rat SCN in vitro. We report that, during the subjective night, glutamate, N-methyl-D-aspartate (NMDA) and kainic acid (KA) cause an increase in 2DG uptake and that NMDA- or KA-induced increase of 2DG uptake is blocked by co-treatments with competitive and non-competitive NMDA or KA receptor antagonists. EAA receptor agonist-induced increase in 2DG uptake occurs only during subjective night, at circadian times when photic phase shifting of activity occurs. Taken together, those data suggest that EAA may be an important transmitter of light information from retina to the SCN.

Animals

Factors involved in the adherence of Candida albicans and Candida tropicalis to protein-adsorbed surfaces. An in vitro study using immobilized protein.

The adherence of Candida albicans and C. tropicalis to protein-adsorbed surfaces was investigated with surface-modified glass slides to which serum or salivary proteins were covalently bound. A specific adherence like a ligand-receptor interaction was observed between C. albicans and mucin- or salivary protein-immobilized glass slides. This interaction was eliminated by deglycosylation of the slides, suggesting that the receptor may be an oligosaccharide(s) contained mucin or saliva. A similar specific interaction was also observed between C. tropicalis and fibrinogen-immobilized glass surfaces. When the numbers of adherent cells to deglycosylated protein-immobilized glass glides were plotted against zeta potentials and contact angles of these protein-immobilized glass slides, a significant correlation was observed between the numbers of adherent cells and zeta potentials in the case of C. albicans (r = -0.87), whereas a significant correlation was observed between cell numbers and contact angles (r = 0.82) in the case of C. tropicalis. These results suggest that the forces governing the adherence of fungi to pellicle in dentures may vary depending upon the surface properties of fungi and substrate.

Adsorption

In vitro evaluation of Candida albicans adherence to soft denture-lining materials.

The adherence of Candida albicans to seven commercial soft denture-lining materials was studied in vitro with BCA protein assay reagent. A good correlation was observed between the amount of protein in yeast cells and the number of yeasts (r = 0.993, p < 0.01), and it was revealed that the adherence of C. albicans to bare surfaces of these soft denture-lining materials correlated well with their relative hydrophobic properties (r = 0.905, p < 0.01); thus there was consistency with the thermodynamic theory. These results combined corroborated the accuracy of this method. To know the effect of pellicle on fungal adherence, the adherence of C. albicans to saliva-coated samples was examined. It was revealed that neither the amount of protein adsorbed by substrates nor the adherence of yeast to saliva-coated substrates correlated with the relative hydrophobic properties of these samples, suggesting that factors other than hydrophobic interaction play an important role in the adherence of C. albicans to pellicle-coated soft liners and tissue conditioners.

Analysis of Variance

Dimensional accuracy of castable apatite ceramic crowns: the influence of heat treatment on dimensional changes and distortion of crowns.

Castable apatite ceramic crowns are subjected to heat treatment during crystallizing and during coloring after casting. The dimensional accuracy of the heat-treated crowns was investigated with respect to its influence on dimensional changes in castable apatite ceramic crowns and on distortion of the interior of the crowns, using two investment techniques and a three-coordinate measuring machine. Dimensional changes were not influenced by the number of coloring firings. Distortion of the interior of crowns was slightly outward at the gingival plane. Shrinkage because of crystallizing was approximately 20 microns and the shrinkage of the gingival plane was equal to that of the occlusal plane.

Apatites

The usage period of dentures and their residual monomer contents.

The quantity of residual monomer content in 24 maxillary dentures was detected by gas liquid chromatography. The residual monomer contents tended to be lower in dentures used for long periods than in those used for short periods. Decreases in the quantities of residual monomer in acrylic resin dentures as a result of aging can be expressed in a hyperbola. The fitted curve also suggests that most of the loss could be accomplished in 5 years; however, complete loss of the residual monomer content takes many years.

Acrylic Resins

Use of plastic bar molded casting in the modification of variably expanding investment to compensate for casting shrinkage of nickel-chromium alloy.

Trial plastic bar molded castings were compared for accuracy with cast crowns by means of a nickel-chromium alloy, which was used to establish the liquid density of variably expanding investments. The plastic bars were invested to evaluate the change of expansion rate in a wide range of six liquid densities from 0% to 100%, and the distances between the sections were measured before and after casting. Wax crowns were cast to obtain a more detailed relation around 0% expansion at seven liquid densities, and the gaps between the base of the die and the margin of the crown were measured before and after casting. The expansion rates of both castings were calculated and thus were proportional to the liquid density; both regression curves indicated high correlation coefficients. As a result of the statistics of the Student's t-test, the difference between the two methods was not significant. The trial plastic bar was useful in establishing the variably expanding investment for precise casting of artificial crowns.

Chromium Alloys

The dimensional accuracy of rectangular acrylic resin specimens cured by three denture base processing methods.

The dimensional accuracy of rectangular acrylic resin specimens was examined when they were processed by three methods: a conventional method, the SR-Ivocap system, and a microwave curing method. The dimensional accuracy was evaluated by the change of the distance vector V, which is calculated by means of measurements of the distances between fixed points on specimens. The specimen cured by the SR-Ivocap system exhibited less dimensional change (p less than 0.05) than those cured by the conventional and the microwave curing methods. The SR-Ivocap system might produce a more accurate denture base than the conventional and the microwave curing methods.

Acrylic Resins

MRI findings of multiple sclerosis with acute transverse myelopathy.

We classified clinically definite multiple sclerosis (MS) patients who underwent brain MRI with superconductive magnet into 2 subgroups: group A, consisting of 14 patients who had shown acute transverse myelopathy (ATM) during the course of illness; and group B, 35 patients without ATM, and the same neuroradiologist, blinded to clinical profiles of the patients, investigated the MR scans. We analyzed some parameters such as distribution, size, shape and number of the lesions. Although the total number of lesions were similar in each group, and the number of small size or patchy shape solitary lesions were not different, the moderate, large, ovoid or confluent lesions were lower in number in group A, compared with group B. The degree of cerebral white matter lesions and periventricular lesions were higher in group B. Brainstem lesions were significantly less common in group A. These results show characteristic differences in MR-detected, possibly pathological, changes between these 2 groups, and support our previous report that group A may constitute a distinct subgroup in patients with MS.

Adult

Myasthenogenicity in the main immunogenic region of acetylcholine receptor as modified by conformational design: an approach to antigenic synthetic peptides.

Myasthenogenic regions in the acetylcholine receptor (AChR) alpha-subunit were studied in view of the conformation-dependent B-cell epitope expected at beta-turn and the MHC class II-restricted T-cell epitope expected at alpha-helix. Torpedo AChR alpha 67-76 and alpha 107-116 were synthesized as the main immunogenic region and the site specific for T-cell epitope in Lewis rat, respectively. Model peptides, synthesized by combining these natural sequence segments or by intervening the segment aligned as Asn-Pro-Gly-Gly (NPGG) in natural sequence segments, were tested in terms of antigenic conformation. The model peptide, alpha 107-116.alpha 67-76.alpha 107-116, was immunogenic in the induction of the animal model of myasthenia, accompanied by the anti-peptide antibody cross-reactive with the native AChR. High antigenicity in antibody assays for various peptide- and native AChR-immunized rats was found when the model peptides, alpha 107-116.alpha 67-76 and/or alpha 107-116.NPGG.alpha 67-76 were used for measurement as antigens. Antigenic conformation for the induction of the disease may thus be different from that for the reactivity to antibody.

Amino Acid Sequence

Differences in HTLV-I integration patterns between skin lesions and peripheral blood lymphocytes of HTLV-I seropositive patients with cutaneous lymphoproliferative disorders.

We examined HTLV-I integration patterns in nine cases of HTLV-I-seropositive patients with cutaneous lymphoproliferative disorders. The Southern blot on EcoRI digests of DNA revealed a discrete band of HTLV-I provirus (monoclonal integration) in either skin lesions or peripheral blood lymphocytes (PBL). Four cases showed the monoclonal integration of HTLV-I provirus only in skin lesions: one case showed only in PBL and two cases showed in both skin and PBL. The Southern blot on PstI digests of DNA revealed a 2.4 Kb band of the internal construct of HTLV-I provirus (polyclonal integration) in the PBL of EcoRI-negative samples. The difference in HTLV-I integration patterns between skin lesions and PBL in these cases suggests that the monoclonal outgrowth of HTLV-I-infected cells in the skin is causatively associated with the pathogenesis of cutaneous ATL.

Aged

Expression of human T-cell lymphotropic virus type-1 gene products in the short-term cultured skin tissues of an adult T-cell leukemia/lymphoma patient with cutaneous manifestations.

Adult T-cell leukemia/lymphoma (ATLL) is recognized as a disease etiologically associated with human T lymphotropic virus type-1 (HTLV-1) infection, but, neither viral replication nor specific virus antigen expression have been detected on ATLL cells distributed in organs, including skin. To examine the latent expression of HTLV-1 in the cutaneous lesions of ATLL patients, we cultured the lesional skin tissues in vitro and applied immunofluorescence staining with mouse monoclonal antibodies Lt-4, GIN-14, and F10, which react with p40tax, p19 and gp21, respectively. We recognized HTLV-1 specific antigens on clustered ATLL cells only in the deeper dermis of the skin after 24 hrs cultivation of the lesional skin tissue from an ATLL patient in RPMI-1640 medium supplemented with 20% fetal calf serum. In the electron microscope, we observed HTLV-1 like particles, 80-140 nm in diameter with envelope and core structures, in the same tissue specimen. These findings suggest that HTLV-1 gene products may be expressed in the skin lesions of ATLL patients and involved in the pathogenesis of skin eruptions in cutaneous type ATLLs. To our knowledge, this is the first report that envisages the potency of intracutaneous HTLV-1 expression in vivo.

Aged

Effects of butylated hydroxyanisole on ornithine decarboxylase activity induced by ultraviolet-B and PUVA in mouse skin.

The effects of butylated hydroxyanisole (BHA), a representative phenolic antioxidant, on the activity of ornithine decarboxylase (ODC, an indicator of tumor promotion and epidermal hyperproliferation) induced by ultraviolet-B (UVB) or PUVA in mouse skin were investigated. By topical application of BHA (55 mumol), PUVA-induced ODC activity was suppressed by about 60% at both 12 h and 24 h after treatment. In contrast, BHA failed to suppress UVB-induced ODC activity in mouse skin. These results suggest that the induction of ODC activity by UVB or PUVA is mediated by different pathways.

Animals