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Y Otsuki

Publications and source records attributed to Y Otsuki.

At least 73 records · Page 4Linked to original sources

Fine structure and morphometric analysis of lymphatic capillaries in the developing corpus luteum of the rabbit.

The fine distribution and ultrastructural changes in the intraovarian lymphatics were studied in the developing corpus luteum of rabbits. Three days after human chorionic gonadotropin (HCG) injection, lymphatic capillaries were observed among theca lutein but not granulosa cells. This distribution persisted even on day 14. Edema appeared around the lymphatic capillaries, corresponding to dilatation of blood capillaries surrounding the membrana granulosa. The diameter and perimeter of the latter vessels were about 5 times greater than before HCG injection. Lymphatic capillaries were slightly dilated and about 2 times their original diameter and perimeter. Flocculent material migrated into the lumen of the lymphatics through the open junctions. Lysosomes and rough endoplasmic reticulum were increased in number in the lymphatic endothelial cells. Five and 7 days after HCG injection macrophages and sometimes loose, degenerated lutein cells were observed in the lymphatic capillaries. Fourteen days after HCG injection, the dilatation of blood capillaries disappeared, although lymphatic capillaries remained slightly dilated after day 3. Some lymphatic but not blood vascular endothelial cells began to degenerate. The results suggest that lymphatic capillaries function to absorb and transport excess fluid and "hormones" in association with changes in ultrastructure.

Animals↗

[An ultrastructural study of the rabbit intraovarian lymphatic capillaries after ovulatory stimulus].

Fine distribution and ultrastructural changes in intraovarian lymphatics were studied at accurately timed intervals after the injection of human chorionic gonadotropin (hCG). Four and six hours after hCG injection, edema around the lymphatic capillaries in the theca externa followed that around the blood capillaries. The lymphatic capillaries were markedly dilated and displayed wide openings between neighboring endothelial cells in them. At these stages, lysosome disappeared from the lymphatic endothelium, while macrophages with numerous lysosomes appeared around the lymphatic capillaries and some of them entered the lumen. Eight hours after hCG injection, the ultrastructure of the lymphatic capillaries resumed the appearance of their pre-injection stage. Three days after hCG injection, lymphatic capillaries were observed among the theca lutein cells, but not among the granulosa lutein cells. Edema around the lymphatic capillaries and openings between neighboring endothelial cells reappeared as shown 4 and 6 hours after hCG injection. Five and seven days after hCG injection, macrophages and degenerated lutein cells were observed in the lymphatic capillaries. Fourteen days after hCG injection, lymphatic endothelium began to degenerate, but that of the blood capillaries showed no degenerative signs. These results suggest that the functions of the lymphatic capillaries are absorption and transport of excess fluid, waste products and hormones.

Animals↗

Lymphatic capillaries in rabbit ovaries during ovulation: an ultrastructural study.

The fine distribution and ultrastructural changes of rabbit intraovarian lymphatics and blood vessels were compared in specimens obtained at accurately timed intervals after the injection of human chorionic gonadotropin (HCG). At four and six hours after HCG injection, edema was observed around blood capillaries with a slight increase in the number of small fenestrae in the theca interna. Edema around the lymphatic capillaries in the theca externa occurred a little later. The lymphatic capillaries were markedly dilated with occasional wide openings between adjacent cells. At this stage, lysosome disappeared in the endothelial cells of the lymphatic capillaries, and macrophages with numerous peculiar lysosomes appeared around the lymphatic capillaries and some of them entered into the lumen. By eight hours after HCG injection, the edema around the lymphatic capillaries had disappeared. The form and structure of the lymphatic capillaries resumed their pre-injection appearance, but the blood capillaries showed large gaps or perforations in the endothelium. At 11 and 18 hours after HCG injection, blood capillaries had penetrated into the membrana granulosa, but lymphatic capillaries had not. Thus, the lymphatics appear to be modified at four and six hours after HCG injection and these modifications are consistent with the removal of edematous fluid.

Animals↗

[Establishment and characterization of TA-4 producing cell line (OMC-1) originating from a human squamous cell carcinoma of the uterine cervix].

A new human cell line designated OMC-1 was established from a metastatic lesion of Virchow lymph node of a large cell non-keratinizing squamous cell carcinoma of the uterine cervix. OMC-1 was successively subcultured 30 times in about 15 months. The monolayer cultured cells appeared to be epithelial with a pavement-like arrangement and tendency to pile up without contact inhibition. Electronmicroscopy showed desmosomes and well-developed tonofilaments. The population doubling time was 43-70 hours, the saturation density was 1.3-1.7 X 10(5) cells/cm2, the plating efficiency was 23-25% and the mitotic index was 3.3-4.8%. Chromosome studies showed aneuploidy and a modal number of 45. After subcutaneous transplantation into nude mice, the cells grew into solid large cell non-keratinizing squamous cell carcinomas. By the flow cytometric analysis, the phase fractions of the cells was G1 + G0 = 40.1%, S = 24.9% and G2 + M = 35.0%. The OMC-1 cells produced TA-4 in culture media. TA-4 was also demonstrated immunohistochemically in the original tumor tissue, cultured cells and tumors in nude mice.

Animals↗

Oxytocin in the cerebrospinal fluid and plasma of pregnant and nonpregnant subjects.

The oxytocin concentration in the cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) and plasma of pregnant women at term with and without labor pain were measured by radioimmunoassay and compared with those of non-pregnant women of matched age. The oxytocin concentrations in the CSF were 4.9 +/- 4.1 microU/ml (mean +/- S.D.) in pregnant women with labor pain, 4.1 +/- 2.4 microU/ml in those without labor pain and 4.0 +/- 2.8 microU/ml in nonpregnant women, and the oxytocin concentrations in the plasma of these subjects were 45.2 +/- 19.6, 17.1 +/- 22.2 and 7.0 +/- 5.3 microU/ml, respectively. Thus the oxytocin level in the CSF did not change appreciably even when the level in the plasma was raised in the pregnant women with labor pain. These findings suggest that oxytocin does not penetrate the blood-brain barrier, and that oxytocin in the CFS has little or no central role in parturition in women.

Adult↗

Serial plasma oxytocin levels during pregnancy and labor.

Maternal plasma oxytocin levels during pregnancy and labor were measured by a sensitive and specific radio-immunoassay. The mean plasma oxytocin concentration in maternal peripheral plasma showed a gradual rise towards term, reaching 12.5 microU/ml in term subjects without labor contractions. This level was not significantly different from the mean value in the 1st stage of normal spontaneous labor (12.6 microU/ml). Brief fluctuations in plasma oxytocin levels of considerable degree, and sometimes spurt release, were observed in labor and at term, but not in the mid-trimester, in serial samples collected at short intervals (about 10 sec). In normal spontaneous labor, no obvious relation was observed between the plasma oxytocin level and the uterine contraction period, and no significant difference was found between the mean value in uterine contraction periods (12.1 microU/ml) and that in relaxation periods (11.5 microU/ml).

Female↗

Feto-maternal plasma oxytocin levels in normal and anencephalic pregnancies.

In 4 women with anencephalic fetuses, the oxytocin level was measured in the maternal plasma in the second stage of labor and in the umbilical artery (UA) and umbilical vein (UV) by radioimmunoassay (RIA). In these cases, the mean maternal OT level was 13.4 +/- 8.0 microU/ml (mean +/- S.E.), which was not significantly different from the OT levels in cases of normal spontaneous birth and elective cesarean section. The UA and UV plasma OT levels in these cases were below the detectable level (less than 2 microU/ml), whereas in normal spontaneous births, they were 18.2 +/- 4.9 microU/ml and 12.2 +/- 2.3 microU/ml, respectively. The OT level in the UA was higher than that in the UV. There was no difference between the mean OT levels in patients with, versus those without contractions, but the plasma OT levels in the second stage of labor were higher than those in the first stage. In normal pregnancies the plasma OT concentration increased during parturition. These results suggest that placental transfer of maternal plasma OT to the fetal circulation is limited, and that in cases of anencephalic fetuses, maternal labor does not necessarily require fetal OT as a trigger or for its maintenance.

Anencephaly↗

Simultaneous determination of azathioprine and 6-mercaptopurine in serum by reversed-phase high-performance liquid chromatography.

The simultaneous determination of azathioprine and its metabolite 6-mercaptopurine in serum by reversed-phase high-performance liquid chromatography is described. 6-Mercaptopurine was converted to a derivative, 6-mercaptopurine-N-ethylmaleimide, which is stable against autoxidation, on reaction with N-ethylmaleimide. Since the N-ethylmaleimide derivative was more hydrophobic than the parent compound, it could be extracted into ethyl acetate together with azathioprine and the derivative was retained on the reversed-phase column better than 6-mercaptopurine. In addition, 6-mercaptopurine-N-ethylmaleimide absorbed at the same wavelength (280 nm) as azathioprine. Consequently, this derivatization procedure enabled the simultaneous extraction, separation, and detection of these compounds.

Azathioprine↗

Correlation between particle multiplicity and location on virion RNA of the assembly initiation site for viruses of the tobacco mosaic virus group.

The initiation site for reconstitution on genome RNA was determined by electron microscopic serology for a watermelon strain of cucumber green mottle mosaic virus (CGMMV-W), which is chemically and serologically related to tobacco mosaic virus (TMV). The initiation site was located at the same position as that of the cowpea strain, a virus that produces short rods of encapsidated subgenomic messenger RNA for the coat protein (a two-component TMV), being about 320 nucleotides away from the 3' terminus, and hence within the coat protein cistron. Although CGMMV-W was until now believed to be a single-component TMV, the location of the initiation site indicated the presence of short rods containing coat protein messenger RNA in CGMMV-W-infected tissue, as in the case for the cowpea strain. We found such short rods in CGMMV-W-infected tissue. The results confirmed our previous hypothesis that the site of the initiation region for reconstitution determines the rod multiplicity of TMV. The finding of the second two-component TMV, CGMMV, indicates that the cowpea strain of TMV is not unique in being a two-component virus and that the location of the assembly initiation site on the genome RNA can be a criterion for grouping of viruses.

Journal Article↗

[Serum hCG, hPL and progesterone levels in threatened abortions (author's transl)].

Serum hCG, hPL and progesterone levels in women with early pregnancies were measured with radioimmunoassay, simultaneously diagnosed whether the fetus was viable or nonviable by real-time ultrasonography. According to the ultrasonographic diagnosis, combined with subjective or objective signs of abortion, patients were divided into three groups-normal pregnancies, threatened abortions and missed abortions. There was no significant difference between serum hCG levels in women with normal pregnancies and those in women with threatened abortions. Whereas, significant difference was observed about serum progesterone and hPL levels between those two groups, at 12 approximately 13 weeks of pregnancy. Abnormally low serum hCG, hPL and progesterone levels were observed in women with missed abortions. In 8 out of 11 cases of patients with missed abortions, serum hCG or hPL levels have been rising after the fetal death had been identified. Above results suggest that impairment of translocation of production site of progesterone could be a cause of clinical manifestations in threatened abortions, and that the synthesis and secretion of two protein hormones are still taking place in trophoblasts after the fetal death occurred.

Abortion, Threatened↗

An enzyme-immunoassay for estriol.

A practical method was developed for enzyme-immunoassay of serum estriol, with alkaline-phosphatase as a marker enzyme. Alkaline-phosphatase was conjugated with estriol-6-(O-carboxymethyl) oxime using water soluble carbodiimide. The estriol-alkaline-phosphatase complex, which has both enzyme activity and capacity to bind anti-estriol serum, was obtained by Sephadex G-200 gel filtration. This complex, which was stable for at least 3 months at 4 degrees C, was used as enzyme-labelled estriol. Anti-estriol serum raised against estriol-6-(O-carboxymethyl) oxime bovine serum albumin was employed. "Bound and free" estriol were separated by the double antibody method. A linear relation was obtained between estriol concentration and antibody-bound alkaline-phosphatase activity in the range of 0.2-100 ng estriol/ml. In this assay system, cross-reactivity with other steroids was negligible under physiological conditions, and endogenous alkaline-phosphatase, which increases during the late pregnancy, caused no interference. The coefficients of variation were 3.3-14.2% (within assays), and less than 22% (between assays), and the mean recovery rate was 77.5%. Serum estriol values determined by the present method correlated well with those determined by radioimmunoassay (r=0.90 for total estriol; r=0.98 for free estriol). The present method of enzyme-immunoassay is suitable for measurement of serum estriol during pregnancy.

Alkaline Phosphatase↗

Anti-nucleoprotein antibody response in influenza A infection.

The nucleoprotein (NP) antigen isolated from influenza A virus by solubilization with Triton X-100 (TX-100) and further electrophoresis with SDS-cellulose acetate membrane gave a single band on SDS-polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis. Rabbit anti-serum hyperimmunized with the NP reacted only against the NP antigen. Moreover, a well-defined single precipitin line was shown between the NP and human sera. These results suggested that the NP was possible to detect anti-NP antibody in human serum. Immuno double diffusion (IDD) and single radial immunodiffusion (SRD) tests using the NP were established to detect the anti-NP antibody in human sera. During an epidemic caused by antigenic drift strain, anti-NP antibody was detected by the IDD test in the cases which did not show any significant rise in HAI titer. During a mixed epidemic caused by the different strain of HA antigen, the infection ratio in mass population was revealed more convenient and sensitive by SRD than HAI. The anti-NP antibody was detected by IDD for long periods of one year or more after infection. These results suggest that the detection of anti-NP antibody is applicable to serologic studies, particularly serologic diagnosis and serologic surveys of influenza infection in mass population.

Antibodies, Viral↗