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Y Amuro

Publications and source records attributed to Y Amuro.

53 records · Page 3Linked to original sources
PubMed1986

Urinary excretion of pseudouridine in patients with hepatocellular carcinoma.

The urinary concentration of pseudouridine, primarily a degradation product of transfer ribonucleic acid, was determined by high-performance liquid chromatography in 23 patients with primary hepatocellular carcinoma, 13 patients with liver cirrhosis, and 24 healthy controls. The urinary concentration of pseudouridine in the patients with hepatocellular carcinoma was significantly higher than that in the patients with liver cirrhosis or the healthy controls. Sixteen (70%) of the 23 patients with hepatocellular carcinoma had urinary pseudouridine levels higher than the mean value for the healthy controls plus 2 standard deviations. Nine of the 13 patients (69%) who had a serum alpha-fetoprotein level below 400 ng/ml, had elevated urinary pseudouridine levels. Thus, the two markers, urinary pseudouridine and serum alpha-fetoprotein in combination, which were detected in a total of 19 of the 23 patients (83%) with hepatocellular carcinoma, are considered to serve as complementary markers for the diagnosis of this disease.

Aged↗
PubMed1986

Fecal bile acids and neutral sterols in rats with spontaneous colon cancer.

Fecal bile acids and neutral sterols of spontaneous colon cancer-bearing Wistar-Furth strain rats were examined and compared with those of control rats of the same strain by gas chromatography and gas chromatography-mass spectrometry. The amount of total fecal bile acids and the percentage of fecal lithocholic acid were almost similar in both groups, but the percentage of fecal deoxycholic acid was significantly higher in the colon cancer group than in the controls. The amount of total fecal neutral sterols and the percentage of fecal coprostanol were also markedly higher in the colon cancer group than in the controls. The percentage of cholesterol and the amount of beta-sitosterol were, however, almost similar in the two groups. These results indicate that fecal deoxycholic acid and fecal coprostanol are notably higher in rats with colon cancer than in controls.

Animals↗
PubMed1986

Glycosaminoglycan in malignant pleural mesothelioma.

The quantitative analysis on glycosaminoglycan (GAG) in the tumor tissues of five patients with malignant pleural mesothelioma and in the pleural fluid of two patients was performed with the use of biochemical methods. In the tumor tissues, it was found that the average of the total amount of GAG was more than 7.9 times as high as that in adenocarcinoma of the lung, and that hyaluronic acid and chondroitin sulfate were main constituents of mesothelioma GAG. However, there was no significant difference in the content of dermatan sulfate and heparan sulfate between this neoplasm and adenocarcinoma. In the pleural fluid, the amount of hyaluronic acid was about 40 to 230 times higher than that in adenocarcinoma of the lung with the increment of chondroitin sulfate (11-87 times). These findings suggest that a marked increase in the total amount of GAG and the elevation of either the hyaluronic acid or the chondroitin sulfate level, or both, are characteristic abnormalities in malignant pleural mesothelioma.

Adult↗
PubMed1985

Reduction of 3-keto-5 beta-cholanoic acid to lithocholic and isolithocholic acids by human liver cytosol in vitro.

The formation of lithocholic and isolithocholic acids from 3-keto-5 beta-cholanoic acid by human liver cytosol was examined in vitro. Liver cytosol was incubated at various pH levels with 3-keto-5 beta-cholanoic acid in a phosphate buffer containing NADPH or NADH; the products formed were analyzed by gas chromatography. Results showed that human liver cytosol reduced 3-keto-5 beta-cholanoic acid to lithocholic acid at a pH level of 7.0 or above and to isolithocholic acid at a pH level of 6.0 or below when NADPH was used as a coenzyme, and it was reduced to isolithocholic acid only when NADH was used. Furthermore, two peaks for the reducing enzymes could be clearly found by column chromatography of Affi-Gel Blue. These results indicate that human liver cytosol contains two enzymes acting on reduction of 3-keto-5 beta-cholanoic acid to lithocholic and isolithocholic acids, which are dependent on the pH level and the use of NADPH or NADH in vitro. Since the 3 beta-dehydrogenation was inhibited by the addition of pyrazole, an alcohol dehydrogenase inhibitor or ethanol, and the major peak of 3 beta-hydroxysteroid dehydrogenase coincided with the peak of alcohol dehydrogenase on Affi-Gel Blue chromatography, at least some of the cytosolic 3 beta-hydroxysteroid dehydrogenase seemed to be identical to or to have characteristics similar to alcohol dehydrogenase.

Alcohol Dehydrogenase↗
PubMed1985

Hypercholinesterasemia with isoenzymic alteration in a family.

A family with hypercholinesterasemia with isoenzymic alteration is reported. The propositus, a 55-year-old woman, was admitted to our hospital because of diabetes mellitus. Because her cholinesterase activity (delta pH 3.2) was supranormal, with no other abnormal liver-function test result throughout the hospitalization period, and was independent of her disease state, we investigated whether this condition might be familial. We studied six of her 17 family members in three generations. All six had above-normal serum cholinesterase activity. Gradient gel electrophoresis on polyacrylamide showed that the normal control individuals had seven isoenzymes, but all the family members with hypercholinesterasemia had two additional isoenzymes. The enzymic properties of the affected members were similar to those of the normal individuals. Hypercholinesterasemia in this family seems to be the result of an increased number of enzyme molecules, but how this isoenzymic alteration emerged remains obscure.

Alcohols↗
PubMed1983

Unusual trihydroxylated bile acids in urine of patients with liver cirrhosis.

Urine from 20 male patients with liver cirrhosis was analyzed for bile acid constituents by gas chromatography and gas chromatography-mass spectrometry. Five unusual trihydroxy bile acids were found in the urine: norcholic acid in 18; 3 alpha, 7 beta, 12 alpha-trihydroxy-5 beta-cholanoic acid in 9; hyocholic acid in 11; 1 beta, 3 alpha, 12 alpha-trihydroxy-5 beta-cholanoic acid in 12; and allocholic acid in 13 patients. The presence of unusual trihydroxy bile acids was unrelated to the clinical severity of cirrhosis. Norcholic acid was the major trihydroxy bile acid which was found in the urine.

Adult↗
PubMed1982

Bile acid synthesis by long-term cultured cell line established from human hepatoblastoma.

Bile acids in the spent medium for the cell culture were analyzed by gas-liquid chromatography and gas-liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry to determine whether human hepatoblastoma cell line could synthesize bile acids. Cholic, chenodeoxycholic, and lithocolic acids were found in the culture medium, and a portion of chenodeoxycholic acid and all of lithocholic acid were sulfated. Since the cells had been cultured in serum-free medium, it is clear that the bile acids were newly synthesized and sulfated by the cultured cells. Chenodeoxycholic acid was the main bile acid in the medium, suggesting that the cell line might predominantly synthesize chenodeoxycholic acid. On the other hand, the cells had fetal or hepatoma characters such as marked alpha-fetoprotein production. These results suggest that fetal or hepatoma type bile acid metabolism might occur in the cell line, and that the established cell line could be an useful in vitro model for the study of bile acid metabolism in hepatoma.

Animals↗
PubMed1981

Urinary and fecal keto bile acids in liver cirrhosis.

The urinary and fecal bile acids of thirteen male patients with liver cirrhosis were analyzed by gas chromatography and gas chromatography-mass spectrometry to obtain information on their keto bile acid excretion. 3 alpha-Hydroxy-12-keto-5 beta-cholanoic, 3 alpha,12 alpha-dihydroxy-7-keto-5 beta-cholanoic, 3 alpha,7 alpha-dihydroxy-12-keto-5 beta-cholanoic and 3 alpha-hydroxy-7,12-diketo-5 beta-cholanoic acids were found in the urine of ten patients. In four of these patients, keto bile acids were the main bile acids excreted in the urine. However, the ratios of fecal keto bile acids to the total fecal bile acids in these four patients were similar to those in the other six patients whose urinary excretion of keto bile acids was low. Three of the four patients had clinical abnormalities, such as ascites, esophageal varices or a history of hepatic encephalopathy, that may indicate advanced liver dysfunction and/or presence of collateral circulation. These findings suggest that the occurrence of keto bile acids in the urine might be ascribed to the escape of these acids from reduction to hydroxy-forms in the liver, not to bacterial over-production in the intestine. However, the mechanism and significance of the presence of keto bile acids in the urine are still unknown.

Adult↗
PubMed1981

Serum, fecal and urinary bile acids in patients with mild and advanced liver cirrhosis.

The levels and compositions of bile acids in the serum, feces and urine were determined by gas chromatography in male patients with mild and advanced stages of liver cirrhosis, defined by usual clinical and laboratory criteria. Increased concentrations of serum bile acids, a decreased ratio of serum cholic acid plus deoxycholic acid/chenodeoxycholic acid plus lithocholic acid, a reduction of fecal bile acids, especially deoxycholic acid, and a reduction in total daily excretion of bile acids were found in patients with advanced cirrhosis. Furthermore, 3 beta-hydroxy-5-cholenoic acid, a presumed intermediate in the alternate pathway of chenodeoxycholic acid synthesis, was found in the urine of patients with very advanced cirrhosis. Such changes were absent in patients with mild cirrhosis except for increased concentration of serum bile acids and decreased excretion of total bile acids. The present study suggests that marked changes in bile acid metabolism occur only in advanced cirrhosis.

Adult↗
PubMed1979

Bile acid metabolism in benign recurrent intrahepatic cholestasis. Comparative studies on the icteric and anicteric phases of a single case.

Bile acid compositions in the serum, urine, bile, and feces were examined in a typical case of benign recurrent intrahepatic cholestasis for a period of 3 yr. The serum cholesterol level remained almost constant. The serum and urinary levels of total bile acids increased markedly during the icteric phase but returned to normal toward the anicteric phase. Daily fecal excretion of bile acids in the anicteric phase was about three times the normal value. Bile acids in the bile and feces, and in the serum and urine, mainly consisted of chenodeoxycholic and cholic acids, with little deoxycholic acid even in the anicteric phase. Scarcely any coprostanol was found in the feces. These observations suggest that metabolism by intestinal bacteria was altered in this patient. The ratio of cholic acid/chenodeoxycholic acid in the serum was above 2.0 in the icteric phase but was reduced to 0.9 in the anicteric phase. At least three unusual bile acids, designated as peak 7a, 11, and 13, were detected in the feces. The amount of bile acid in peak 7a reached about 10% of the total in the anicteric phase.

Adult↗