Biomedical subjects

Y Murakami

Publications and source records attributed to Y Murakami.

At least 19 recordsLinked to original sources

PubMed1992

[MR imaging of degenerative lumbar disc disease emphasizing on signal intensity changes in vertebral body].

Magnetic resonance imaging was performed in 400 patients with degenerative disc disease. Signal changes and their sites in the vertebral body were classified and referred to narrowing of the intervertebral disc space. MR findings were compared with those of plain roentgenograms of the lumbar spine. Signal changes in the vertebral body were noted in 83 cases (102 vertebral bodies). Low-intensity abnormality on both T1- and T2-weighted images (WI) was the most common finding, and was most frequently seen at the end plate and/or the angle. These changes were correlated with narrowing of the disc space and osteosclerosis on the plain roentgenogram of the lumbar spine. Signal changes occasionally occurred in the inner region of the vertebral body, and these lesions tended to show a high-intensity abnormality on T1-WI. We conclude that signal changes in degenerative disc disease are not specific, but are sometimes difficult to distinguish from the signal changes in other conditions such as spinal tumor or bone marrow disorder.

Humans↗

PubMed1992

Ornithine decarboxylase is degraded by the 26S proteasome without ubiquitination.

Ornithine decarboxylase (ODC), a key enzyme in polyamine biosynthesis, is the most rapidly turned over mammalian enzyme. We have shown that its degradation is accelerated by ODC antizyme, an inhibitory protein induced by polyamines. This is a new type of enzyme regulation and may be a model for selective protein degradation. Here we report the identification of the protease responsible for ODC degradation. Using a cell-free degradation system, we demonstrate that immunodepletion of proteasomes from cell extracts causes almost complete loss of ATP- and antizyme-dependent degradation of ODC. In addition, purified 26S proteasome complex, but not the 20S proteasome, catalyses ODC degradation in the absence of ubiquitin. These results strongly suggest that the 26S proteasome, widely viewed as specific for ubiquitin-conjugated proteins, is the main enzyme responsible for ODC degradation. The 26S proteasome may therefore have a second role in ubiquitin-independent proteolysis.

Adenosine Triphosphate↗

PubMed1992

Structural requirements for duodenal permeability of heparin-diamine complexes.

We have compared the physico-chemical behaviors alone and in the presence of a synthetic bilayer membrane, in aqueous solution and the bioavailability after intraduodenal administration to rabbits, of the two heparin diamine salts ITF-300 and ITF-331 with those of the heparin-amine salt ITF-1175. The three salts have similar structures but different characteristics of compounds tend to form aggregates in solution, but at different critical concentrations. The compounds induce fusion of single-walled vesicles of a synthetic peptide lipid into multi-walled lamellae. The minimal concentrations of the compounds required for the formation of such lamellae differ. This behavior in solution explains the differences in absorption in the animal model. This makes it possible to correlate enhanced heparin bioavailability with the structural nature of the diamine counter-ions used to prepare heparin salts.

Animals↗

PubMed1992

Measurement of plasma membrane potential in isolated rat hepatocytes using the lipophilic cation, tetraphenylphosphonium: correction of probe intracellular binding and mitochondrial accumulation.

The lipophilic cation tetraphenylphosphonium (TPP+) has been extensively utilized as the probe for the membrane potential (Vm) in various cells. For application to mammalian cells, however, two serious problems require resolution: (1), correction of TPP+ binding to intracellular constituents and (2), estimation of the considerable TPP+ accumulation in mitochondria. We propose here a simple corrective method for the TPP+ binding and its accumulation. TPP+ distribution is assumed as: (1), two compartments (a cytosolic and a mitochondrial space); (2), a proportional relationship between TPP+ bound amount and its unbound concentration in each compartment. We theoretically derived the simple equation: Vm = - RT/F ln(C/Mphys ratio/C/Mabol ratio) where R, T and F have their usual thermodynamic significance. Here, the C/M ratio is defined as the ratio of TPP+ concentration of apparent intracellular to extracellular space. The suffixes phys and abol, respectively, mean the physiological and solely Vm-abolished conditions. This equation was checked with hepatocytes, because estimating hepatocytes Vm with TPP+ distribution is not considered possible because of the relatively high mitochondrial content. The selective Vm abolition was achieved by permeabilization with 20 microM of amphotericin B. The Vm value was, thus, estimated to be -38.6 +/- 0.3 mV, compatible with those obtained with microelectrodes in other laboratories. Vm in hepatocytes is composed of transmembrane K+ diffusion potential (-20.6 +/- 0.3 mV) and electrogenic Na+/K(+)-ATPase (-19.6 +/- 0.4 mV). Addition of rheogenic L-alanine caused a transient but significant depolarization (from control to -34 +/- 0.3 mV). These results taken together indicate that hepatocyte Vm can be accurately determined with the present simple method, so that it may possibly be applicable to the evaluation of Vm in other mammalian cells.

Amphotericin B↗

PubMed1992

Biological role of an arginine residue present in a histidine-rich peptide which inhibits hemagglutination of Porphyromonas gingivalis.

Inhibitory effects of synthetic fragments in histatin 8, having the sequence Lys-Phe-His-Glu-Lys-His-His-Ser-His-Arg-Gly-Tyr, on hemagglutination by Porphyromonas gingivalis 381 were examined. The hemagglutinating activity was reduced much more by the peptide Lys-His-His-Ser-His-Arg-Gly-Tyr than by the peptides Lys-His-His-Ser-His and/or Lys-Phe-His-Glu-Lys. These results suggest that the arginine residue may have an important role in the inhibition of hemagglutination by P. gingivalis.

Amino Acid Sequence↗

PubMed1992

Aberrations of the p53 tumor suppressor gene in human non-small cell carcinomas of the lung.

Aberrations of the p53 gene in 115 surgical specimens of non-small cell carcinomas of the lung were examined by single-strand conformation polymorphism analysis of polymerase chain reaction products. Structural abnormalities of the p53 gene were observed in 60 tumors (52%), i.e., 8 of 14 large cell carcinomas, 24 of 58 adenocarcinomas, 25 of 37 squamous cell carcinomas, and 3 of 6 adenosquamous carcinomas. Direct sequencing of abnormal DNA fragments revealed 45 single-base substitutions, 9 deletions or insertion of a short nucleotide sequence, and 3 two-base substitutions in 57 tumors. In the other 3 tumors, loss of one of the p53 alleles was observed, with no mutation in the other allele. Allelic loss of the p53 gene was observed in 14 of 43 informative cases (33%), and in 11 of the 14 cases the remaining allele was mutated. The aberrations of the p53 gene were not limited to a particular histological type or clinical stage. Their high frequency suggests that they were involved in the genesis of non-small cell carcinomas of the lung. The mutation frequency (46%) of the p53 gene in tumors carrying mutated ras genes was essentially the same as the overall frequency in lung cancers, suggesting that accumulation of mutations in these two genes in a tumor is a random phenomenon.

Base Sequence↗

PubMed1992

Destabilization of ornithine decarboxylase by transfected antizyme gene expression in hepatoma tissue culture cells.

The degradation of ornithine decarboxylase (ODC) is stimulated by polyamines in a protein synthesis-dependent manner. It has been suggested that antizyme, an ODC-inhibiting protein induced by polyamines, is involved in the process of polyamine-stimulated ODC decay. In this study, we investigated the direct effect of antizyme on ODC decay in hepatoma tissue culture (HTC) cells. A truncated rat antizyme cDNA, Z1, was inserted into an expression vector at a site under the control of a glucocorticoid-inducible promoter and transfected into HTC cells. In the transfected cells dexamethasone increased the amount of Z1 mRNA and induced active antizyme in the absence of exogenous polyamines. When dexamethasone was added to cells with a high level of ODC, rapid decays of ODC activity and protein were elicited after a lag time. Cycloheximide abolished the effect of dexamethasone. These effects of dexamethasone were not observed in control HTC cells transfected with the chloramphenicol acetyltransferase gene. This study indicated that, once induced, antizyme stimulated ODC degradation independently of polyamines and strongly supported our previous hypothesis that the ODC decay-accelerating action of polyamines is mediated by antizyme.

Animals↗

PubMed1992

Mutations of p53 gene and their relation to disease progression in B-cell lymphoma.

The alteration of p53 tumor suppressor gene was studied in 48 patients with B-cell lymphoma. A sequential combined technique of polymerase chain reaction-mediated single-strand conformational polymorphism (PCR-SSCP) or reverse transcription (RT)-PCR-SSCP and direct sequencing were used as a simple and sensitive approach to analyze nucleotide changes. By these methods, we identified 8 missense point mutations and 2 codon deletions in 9 of the 48 patients. These mutations were located in or close to the evolutionally highly conserved regions of the p53 gene. Eight of nine patients having p53 gene alterations were in advanced clinical stage (IV). It is the first report of p53 gene mutations in follicular and diffuse lymphoma. These observations suggest that the p53 gene alteration may play an important role in lymphomagenesis and/or disease progression in some types of B-cell lymphoma.

Base Sequence↗

PubMed1992

Antizyme, a protein induced by polyamines, accelerates the degradation of ornithine decarboxylase in Chinese-hamster ovary-cell extracts.

Ornithine decarboxylase (ODC), the key regulatory enzyme for polyamine biosynthesis, is known to have a short intracellular half-life, and antizyme, an ODC-binding protein induced by polyamines, has been suggested to be involved in the process of ODC degradation. In the present study we demonstrated that antizyme markedly accelerated ATP-dependent degradation of ODC in vitro in an extract from ODC-overproducing Chinese-hamster ovary cells.

Adenosine Triphosphate↗

PubMed1992

Human fibroblast cells synthesize and secrete nerve growth factor in culture.

Using our enzyme immunoassay system developed for recombinant hNGF, we examined the synthesis and secretion of human NGF (hNGF) by human fibroblast (WS-1) cells. The amount of the factor secreted by WS-1 cells increased linearly and a significant amount of NGF was detected in the conditioned medium of WS-1 cultures. WS-1 NGF showed properties identical to those of recombinant human NGF in immunoreactivity and molecular weight. An increase in cell density or the withdrawal of serum from the culture medium caused a drastic decrease in the rate of NGF secretion. These results suggest that WS-1 cells are able to synthesize and secrete hNGF in culture and that the synthesis/secretion is regulated in a growth phase-dependent manner.

Cell Division↗

PubMed1992

The replication of DNA containing the simian virus 40 origin by the monopolymerase and dipolymerase systems.

The influence of DNA polymerase (pol) alpha and DNA primase on SV40 DNA replication was examined in both the monopolymerase and dipolymerase systems. The synthesis of oligoribonucleotides in the monopolymerase and dipolymerase systems, followed by pulse labeling with deoxynucleoside triphosphates, yielded short Okazaki fragments approximately 35 nucleotides in length that were chased into full-length Okazaki fragments with time. In the presence of activator 1 and proliferating cell nuclear antigen (PCNA), but no pol delta, these short fragments hardly increased in size with time. DNA fragments of similar size (approximately 35 nucleotides) were previously observed in SV40 replication reactions carried out with crude extracts of HeLa cells in the presence of antibodies directed against PCNA (Bullock, P. A., Seo, Y.S., and Hurwitz, J. (1991) Mol. Cell. Biol. 11, 2350-2361). Thus, the pol alpha-primase complex appears to act processively for only a short distance. At high levels of pol alpha and primase, both short and long DNA products were formed in both systems. In the presence of limiting amounts of pol alpha and excess primase, the monopolymerase system inefficiently yielded longer length Okazaki fragments than those formed with excess pol alpha and primase, whereas the dipolymerase system yielded both short and long DNA fragments. In the presence of limiting amounts of primase and excess pol alpha, long products were formed in both systems, and virtually no short products accumulated. Thus, the ratio between the polymerase and primer ends available controls the size of the nascent product DNA strands. We examined whether PCNA, the T4 phage-encoded gene product 45 (T4 gp45), and the Escherichia coli beta subunit of DNA polymerase III (dnaN gene product) supported SV40 DNA replication and the elongation of single-stranded DNA-binding protein-coated singly primed DNA in reactions catalyzed by pol delta, T4 DNA pol, and E. coli DNA pol III*, respectively. In the presence of T4 gp44/62 and T4 gp32 (but not human single-stranded DNA-binding protein isolated from HeLa cells), T4 DNA pol was weakly activated by PCNA and the beta subunit in lieu of T4 gp45 in the elongation of singly primed phi X174 DNA. However, the other systems were specific for their analogous auxiliary factors. This specificity indicates the importance of protein-protein interactions.

Antibodies, Monoclonal↗

PubMed1992

Studies on the initiation of simian virus 40 replication in vitro: RNA primer synthesis and its elongation.

DNA primase-dependent synthesis of oligoribonucleotides 10-15 nucleotides long was observed in the presence of ATP, UTP, GTP, and CTP by using the purified components of the simian virus 40 (SV40) DNA replication system. The DNA primase-catalyzed reaction required the SV40 large tumor antigen (T antigen), DNA polymerase alpha (pol-alpha), the three-subunit human single-stranded DNA binding protein (HSSB), and topoisomerase I. The synthesis of small RNAs was unaffected by the addition of activator 1, proliferating cell nuclear antigen, and DNA polymerase delta, proteins that can support extensive leading-strand synthesis. The RNA primers were derived predominantly from transcription of the lagging-strand template, even after prolonged incubation, indicating that the leading strand did not serve as a template. When the four dNTPs were added after oligoribonucleotide synthesis, pol-alpha extended the RNA primers hybridized to SV40 DNA. Pulse-chase experiments revealed that the small RNA chains were elongated to Okazaki-sized products. T7 DNA polymerase was also shown to rapidly extend oligoribonucleotide primers in the presence of aphidicolin or antibodies against pol-alpha, conditions under which pol-alpha was markedly inhibited. These findings suggest that interactions between T antigen, pol-alpha-primase, and HSSB position the pol-alpha-primase complex on the lagging-strand template for RNA primer synthesis.

Antigens, Polyomavirus Transforming↗

PubMed1992

Distribution of tyrosine hydroxylase immunoreactive nerve fibers in the canine larynx.

The sympathetic innervation of the canine larynx was investigated using tyrosine hydroxylase (TH) immunohistochemistry. Many tyrosine hydroxylase immunoreactive (TH-IR) nerve fibers were observed around arteries and arterioles in the laryngeal mucosa and intrinsic laryngeal muscles. In the glandular region, TH-IR fibers were also found, with some of these fibers terminating around the basement membranes of the glandular cells. The quantity of TH-IR fibers in the mucosa differed among regions of the larynx. Many of these fibers could be found in the laryngeal surface of the epiglottis as well as the posterior glottis. These findings suggest that TH-IR fibers may directly innervate muscles in the intrinsic larynx.

Adrenergic Fibers↗

PubMed1992

Distribution of calcitonin gene-related peptide nerve fibers in the canine larynx.

Immunohistochemistry was used to investigate the distribution pattern of calcitonin gene-related peptide (CGRP) nerve fibers in the laryngeal mucosa, glands and intrinsic muscles of the dog. CGRP immunoreactive nerve fibers were found more frequently than substance P immunoreactive nerve fibers in every region of the larynx. In the epithelia, CGRP nerve fibers were mainly found in the epiglottis, arytenoid region and subglottis. Many taste buds were observed in the arytenoid region and were densely innervated by the CGRP nerve fibers. In the lamina propria, the plexus of CGRP nerve fibers was present, with some of these fibers associated with blood vessels. Laryngeal glands were also innervated by a few CGRP nerve fibers. In the intrinsic laryngeal muscles, abundant immunoreactivity was observed and many motor end-plate-like structures were found with CGRP immunoreactivity. These findings strongly suggest that CGRP plays an important role in all of the sensory, motor and autonomic nervous systems of the larynx.

Animals↗

PubMed1992

Detection of a common mutation of the catalase gene in Japanese acatalasemic patients.

Acatalasemia was one of the earliest described genetic enzyme defects. In 1990, a causal point mutation (a splicing mutation) was first reported in a Japanese patient with acatalasemia. In the present study, the polymerase chain reaction and single-strand conformation polymorphism analysis were used to determine whether the same point mutation was present in unrelated Japanese patients. The subjects studied were the previously examined acatalasemic female, her brother, who is hypocatalasemic, and two other unrelated acatalasemic patients. A single G to A point mutation at the fifth position of intron 4, identical to that previously found, was present in all the studied patients. This finding strongly suggests that only a single mutated allele has spread in the Japanese population.

Acatalasia↗

PubMed1992

Anomalous arrangement of the pancreaticobiliary ductal system without dilatation of the biliary tract.

A rare case of anomalous arrangement of the pancreaticobiliary ductal system without dilatation of the biliary tract (AAPBDS without DBT) associated with mucosal dysplasia of the biliary duct is described herein. A 53 year old male with a long history of diarrhea and right upper abdominal pain was diagnosed as having AAPBDS without DBT by endoscopic retrograde cholangiopancreatography and other examinations. Excision of the gallbladder and biliary duct with a Roux-en-Y hepatico-jejunostomy was performed and subsequent pathological examination of the surgical specimens showed mucosal hyperplasia of the gall-bladder and mucosal dysplasia of the biliary duct. Considering the dysplastic changes of the biliary duct as seen in our case, and the high incidence of AAPBDS without DBT developing into carcinoma of the biliary duct, being 12.2 per cent, we suggest that pancreaticobiliary ductal diversion with excision of the gallbladder and biliary duct should also be performed for AAPBDS without DBT. However, further pathological investigations concerning the excised biliary duct in AAPBDS without DBT will be need to be carried out.

Bile Ducts↗

PubMed1992

Mapping of the human GSPT1 gene, a human homolog of the yeast GST1 gene, to chromosomal band 16p13.1.

The GSPT1 gene, a human homolog of the yeast GST1 gene (formerly named GST1-Hs), was mapped on human chromosome 16p13.1 by a combination of nonradioactive in situ hybridization and Giemsa staining. Southern blot hybridization with a panel of human-rodent somatic cells confirmed the location of the GSPT1 gene on chromosome 16 and also showed the existence of a homologous gene on the X chromosome. A breakpoint for nonrandom chromosome rearrangements has been found in the region of GSPT1 in patients with acute nonlymphocytic leukemia.

Blotting, Southern↗

PubMed1992

Induction of protective immunity and neutralizing antibodies to pseudorabies virus by immunization of anti-idiotypic antibodies.

Xenogenic anti-idiotypic antibodies (anti-Id) were prepared in rabbits against three murine neutralizing monoclonal antibodies (MAbs) directed to pseudorabies virus glycoproteins. These anti-Id were highly specific to idiotopes on the corresponding MAb molecules. Because the binding of MAb to the corresponding anti-Id was inhibited by the addition of viral envelope protein, these anti-Id seemed to contain a subpopulation of antibodies against the antigen-combining site (paratope) or the region related to the paratope of the MAb molecules. One of the anti-Id to a MAb directed against glycoprotein gp50 induced neutralizing antibodies to PrV. Mice immunized with the anti-Id were protected from lethal infection of PrV.

Animals↗