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Watanabe T, Kamimura K, Shirahata M, Moriya K. Continuous ulnar nerve block at the forearm for early active mobilisation following flexor tendon reconstruction. Anaesth Rep 2022; 10:e12180. [PMID: 36237495 PMCID: PMC9535094 DOI: 10.1002/anr3.12180] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Accepted: 07/08/2022] [Indexed: 12/29/2022] Open
Abstract
A 63-year-old woman had sustained a subcutaneous rupture of the flexor digitorum profundus tendon of the little finger due to osteoarthritis of the pisotriquetral joint. She underwent excision of the pisiform bone and reconstruction of the flexor digitorum profundus tendon of the little finger using an autogenous palmaris longus tendon graft. After surgery, a continuous ulnar nerve block was performed at the forearm under ultrasound and nerve stimulator guidance. During rehabilitation, she could not actively extend her little finger independently due to the block; however, she could actively extend it when the dorsum of the metacarpophalangeal joint was pressed by the occupational therapist, resulting in successful early active mobilisation. A continuous ulnar nerve block at the forearm may help to facilitate early active mobilisation after reconstructive surgery for little finger flexor tendon rupture. However, it may restrict the active extension of the little finger because the block does not spare the innervation of the intrinsic muscles responsible for little finger extension.
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Affiliation(s)
- T. Watanabe
- Department of Anaesthesiology, Uonuma Institute of Community MedicineNiigata University Medical and Dental HospitalMinami‐UonumaNiigataJapan
| | - K. Kamimura
- Department of Orthopaedic SurgeryUonuma Kikan HospitalMinami‐UonumaNiigataJapan
| | - M. Shirahata
- Department of Orthopaedic SurgeryUonuma Kikan HospitalMinami‐UonumaNiigataJapan
| | - K. Moriya
- Niigata Hand Surgery FoundationSeiroNiigataJapan
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Fujimoto C, Kaji Y, Muneishi M, Kamimura K, Sakaue M. Dietary awareness, eating attitudes, and phosphorus intake in hemodialysis patients with protein-energy wasting (pew). Clin Nutr ESPEN 2020. [DOI: 10.1016/j.clnesp.2020.09.352] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 10/23/2022]
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Kamimura K, Nakajo M, Fukukura Y, Iwanaga T, Saito T, Sasaki M, Fujisaki T, Takemura A, Okuaki T, Yoshiura T. Intravoxel Incoherent Motion in Normal Pituitary Gland: Initial Study with Turbo Spin-Echo Diffusion-Weighted Imaging. AJNR Am J Neuroradiol 2016; 37:2328-2333. [PMID: 27516241 DOI: 10.3174/ajnr.a4930] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/05/2016] [Accepted: 07/16/2016] [Indexed: 11/07/2022]
Abstract
BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE DWI with conventional single-shot EPI of the pituitary gland is hampered by strong susceptibility artifacts. Our purpose was to evaluate the feasibility of intravoxel incoherent motion assessment by using DWI based on TSE of the normal anterior pituitary lobe. MATERIALS AND METHODS The intravoxel incoherent motion parameters, including the true diffusion coefficient (D), the perfusion fraction (f), and the pseudo-diffusion coefficient (D*), were obtained with TSE-DWI in 5 brain regions (the pons, the WM and GM of the vermis, and the genu and splenium of the corpus callosum) in 8 healthy volunteers, and their agreement with those obtained with EPI-DWI was evaluated by using the intraclass correlation coefficient. The 3 intravoxel incoherent motion parameters in the anterior pituitary lobe were compared with those in the brain regions by using the Dunnett test. RESULTS The agreement between TSE-DWI and EPI-DWI was moderate (intraclass correlation coefficient = 0.571) for D, substantial (0.699) for f', but fair (0.405) for D*. D in the anterior pituitary lobe was significantly higher than in the 5 brain regions (P < .001). The f in the anterior pituitary lobe was significantly higher than in the 5 brain regions (P < .001), except for the vermian GM. The pituitary D* was not significantly different from that in the 5 brain regions. CONCLUSIONS Our results demonstrated the feasibility of intravoxel incoherent motion assessment of the normal anterior pituitary lobe by using TSE-DWI. High D and f values in the anterior pituitary lobe were thought to reflect its microstructural and perfusion characteristics.
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Affiliation(s)
- K Kamimura
- From the Department of Radiology (K.K., M.N., Y.F., T.Y.), Kagoshima University Graduate School of Medical and Dental Sciences, Kagoshima, Japan
| | - M Nakajo
- From the Department of Radiology (K.K., M.N., Y.F., T.Y.), Kagoshima University Graduate School of Medical and Dental Sciences, Kagoshima, Japan
| | - Y Fukukura
- From the Department of Radiology (K.K., M.N., Y.F., T.Y.), Kagoshima University Graduate School of Medical and Dental Sciences, Kagoshima, Japan
| | - T Iwanaga
- Department of Radiological Technology (T.I., T.S., M.S., T.F.), Kagoshima University Hospital, Kagoshima, Japan
| | - T Saito
- Department of Radiological Technology (T.I., T.S., M.S., T.F.), Kagoshima University Hospital, Kagoshima, Japan
| | - M Sasaki
- Department of Radiological Technology (T.I., T.S., M.S., T.F.), Kagoshima University Hospital, Kagoshima, Japan
| | - T Fujisaki
- Department of Radiological Technology (T.I., T.S., M.S., T.F.), Kagoshima University Hospital, Kagoshima, Japan
| | - A Takemura
- Philips Electronics Japan (A.T.), Tokyo, Japan
| | - T Okuaki
- Philips Healthcare (T.O.), Tokyo, Japan
| | - T Yoshiura
- From the Department of Radiology (K.K., M.N., Y.F., T.Y.), Kagoshima University Graduate School of Medical and Dental Sciences, Kagoshima, Japan
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Dohgomori H, Imamura J, Saho S, Kamimura K, Kukita I. Blood purification therapy prolongs the duration of intensive care unit stay to 14 days or more. Intensive Care Med Exp 2015. [PMCID: PMC4797201 DOI: 10.1186/2197-425x-3-s1-a761] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/10/2022] Open
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Yokoo T, Kamimura K, Suda T, Kanefuji T, Oda M, Zhang G, Liu D, Aoyagi Y. Novel electric power-driven hydrodynamic injection system for gene delivery: safety and efficacy of human factor IX delivery in rats. Gene Ther 2013; 20:816-23. [PMID: 23344066 DOI: 10.1038/gt.2013.2] [Citation(s) in RCA: 20] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/09/2012] [Revised: 11/21/2012] [Accepted: 12/21/2012] [Indexed: 02/07/2023]
Abstract
The development of a safe and reproducible gene delivery system is an essential step toward the clinical application of the hydrodynamic gene delivery (HGD) method. For this purpose, we have developed a novel electric power-driven injection system called the HydroJector-EM, which can replicate various time-pressure curves preloaded into the computer program before injection. The assessment of the reproducibility and safety of gene delivery system in vitro and in vivo demonstrated the precise replication of intravascular time-pressure curves and the reproducibility of gene delivery efficiency. The highest level of luciferase expression (272 pg luciferase per mg of proteins) was achieved safely using the time-pressure curve, which reaches 30 mm Hg in 10 s among various curves tested. Using this curve, the sustained expression of a therapeutic level of human factor IX protein (>500 ng ml(-1)) was maintained for 2 months after the HGD of the pBS-HCRHP-FIXIA plasmid. Other than a transient increase in liver enzymes that recovered in a few days, no adverse events were seen in rats. These results confirm the effectiveness of the HydroJector-EM for reproducible gene delivery and demonstrate that long-term therapeutic gene expression can be achieved by automatic computer-controlled hydrodynamic injection that can be performed by anyone.
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Affiliation(s)
- T Yokoo
- Division of Gastroenterology and Hepatology, Graduate School of Medical and Dental Sciences, Niigata University, Niigata, Niigata, Japan
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Kumagae Y, Fukukura Y, Takumi K, Shindo T, Tateyama A, Kamiyama T, Kamimura K, Nakajo M. Distinguishing adrenal adenomas from non-adenomas on dynamic enhanced CT: a comparison of 5 and 10 min delays after intravenous contrast medium injection. Clin Radiol 2013; 68:696-703. [PMID: 23482305 DOI: 10.1016/j.crad.2013.01.016] [Citation(s) in RCA: 13] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/21/2012] [Revised: 01/08/2013] [Accepted: 01/14/2013] [Indexed: 10/27/2022]
Abstract
AIM To evaluate the usefulness of several parameters of 5 min compared to 10 min delayed contrast-enhanced CT in distinguishing adenomas from non-adenomas. MATERIALS AND METHODS The study population consisted of 94 patients (52 men and 42 women; mean age 62 years) with 103 adrenal lesions (75 adenomas and 28 non-adenomas). In each patient, unenhanced CT was followed by early, 5 and 10 min enhanced CT. Diagnostic parameters included delayed enhanced attenuation at 5 and 10 min, washout attenuation (WO) at 5 and 10 min, absolute percentage washout (APW) at 5 and 10 min, and relative percentage washout (RPW) at 5 and 10 min. The accuracy of each parameter for diagnosing adenomas from non-adenomas was calculated using receiver operating characteristic (ROC) analysis. RESULTS Upon comparison between 5 and 10 min delayed contrast-enhanced CT for differentiating total adenomas or lipid-poor adenomas from non-adenomas, there was no significant difference in the area under the binomial ROC curve (Az) values of delayed enhanced attenuation (total adenomas versus non-adenomas, p = 0.164; lipid-poor adenomas versus non-adenomas, p = 0.178), WO (total adenomas versus non-adenomas, p = 0.216; lipid-poor adenomas versus non-adenomas, p = 0.230), APW (total adenomas versus non-adenomas, p = 0.401; lipid-poor adenomas versus non-adenomas, p = 0.870), or RPW (total adenomas versus non-adenomas, p = 0.160; lipid-poor adenomas versus non-adenomas, p = 0.780). CONCLUSION Five minute contrast-enhanced CT was as useful as 10 min contrast-enhanced CT for differentiation of adrenal adenomas from non-adenomas.
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Affiliation(s)
- Y Kumagae
- Department of Radiology, Kagoshima University Graduate School of Medical and Dental Sciences, Kagoshima City, Japan.
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8
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Maeda N, Ishii M, Nishimura K, Kamimura K. Functions of chondroitin sulfate and heparan sulfate in the developing brain. Neurochem Res 2010; 36:1228-40. [PMID: 21110089 DOI: 10.1007/s11064-010-0324-y] [Citation(s) in RCA: 80] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Accepted: 11/09/2010] [Indexed: 02/08/2023]
Abstract
Chondroitin sulfate and heparan sulfate proteoglycans are major components of the cell surface and extracellular matrix in the brain. Both chondroitin sulfate and heparan sulfate are unbranched highly sulfated polysaccharides composed of repeating disaccharide units of glucuronic acid and N-acetylgalactosamine, and glucuronic acid and N-acetylglucosamine, respectively. During their biosynthesis in the Golgi apparatus, these glycosaminoglycans are highly modified by sulfation and C5 epimerization of glucuronic acid, leading to diverse heterogeneity in structure. Their structures are strictly regulated in a cell type-specific manner during development partly by the expression control of various glycosaminoglycan-modifying enzymes. It has been considered that specific combinations of glycosaminoglycan-modifying enzymes generate specific functional microdomains in the glycosaminoglycan chains, which bind selectively with various growth factors, morphogens, axon guidance molecules and extracellular matrix proteins. Recent studies have begun to reveal that the molecular interactions mediated by such glycosaminoglycan microdomains play critical roles in the various signaling pathways essential for the development of the brain.
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Affiliation(s)
- N Maeda
- Department of Developmental Neuroscience, Tokyo Metropolitan Institute for Neuroscience, 2-6 Musashidai, Fuchu, Tokyo, 183-8526, Japan.
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Nishimura K, Ishii M, Kuraoka M, Kamimura K, Maeda N. Opposing functions of chondroitin sulfate and heparan sulfate during early neuronal polarization. Neuroscience 2010; 169:1535-47. [PMID: 20600662 DOI: 10.1016/j.neuroscience.2010.06.027] [Citation(s) in RCA: 30] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/25/2010] [Revised: 06/10/2010] [Accepted: 06/11/2010] [Indexed: 12/14/2022]
Abstract
Axon-dendrite polarity of neurons is essential for information processing in the nervous system. Here we studied the functions of chondroitin sulfate (CS) and heparan sulfate (HS) in neuronal polarization using cultured dissociated hippocampal neurons. Immunohistochemical analyses of early cultured neurons indicated the distribution of these glycosaminoglycans to be quite different. While CS epitopes were accumulated in the focal contacts present in axons and cell bodies, those of HS were detected ubiquitously on the cell surface including on dendrites and axons. Treatment with chondroitinase (CHase) ABC, which degrades CS, and knockdown of a CS sulfotransferase, N-acetylgalactosamine 4-sulfate 6-O-sulfotransferase (4,6-ST), which is involved in the biosynthesis of oversulfated structures, induced the formation of multiple axons in hippocampal neurons. Time-lapse recordings revealed the multiple axons of CHase ABC-treated neurons to be highly unstable, extending and retracting, repeatedly. CHase ABC-treatments suggested that CS is involved in the formation of phosphorylated focal adhesion kinase-positive focal contacts. Thus, CS may enhance integrin signaling in the nascent axons, supporting axon specification. On the other hand, when neurons were treated with heparitinases that specifically degrade HS, neurons with a single axon increased. The axons of HSase-treated neurons extended steadily and showed almost no retraction. These results suggest that CS stabilizes and HS destabilizes the growth of axons in an opposing manner, contributing to early neuronal polarization.
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Affiliation(s)
- K Nishimura
- Department of Developmental Neuroscience, Tokyo Metropolitan Institute for Neuroscience, Fuchu, Tokyo 183-8526, Japan
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Mizukami Y, Kono K, Maruyama T, Watanabe M, Kawaguchi Y, Kamimura K, Fujii H. Downregulation of HLA Class I molecules in the tumour is associated with a poor prognosis in patients with oesophageal squamous cell carcinoma. Br J Cancer 2008; 99:1462-7. [PMID: 18841157 PMCID: PMC2579690 DOI: 10.1038/sj.bjc.6604715] [Citation(s) in RCA: 70] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/13/2023] Open
Abstract
As antigenic peptides in the context of human leukocyte antigen (HLA) class I molecules are recognised by cytotoxic T lymphocytes (CTL), the downregulation of HLA class I molecules is one of the reasons why tumour cells can evade CTL-mediated anti-tumour immunity. In this study, we investigated HLA class I expression in oesophageal squamous cell carcinoma (ESCC) (n=70) and in their metastatic lesions (lymph nodes (n=40) and liver (n=3)), by immunohistochemistry with anti-HLA class I monoclonal antibody (EMR8-5). As a result, the downregulation of HLA class I expression in primary lesions of ESCC was observed in 43%, and that in metastatic lymph nodes was noted in 90%. Furthermore, patients with preserved HLA class I expression in primary tumours showed a better survival in comparison to those with downregulated HLA class I molecules (P<0.01). Furthermore, multivariate analysis using Cox's proportional hazards model revealed that the downregulated expression of HLA class I in primary lesions was an independent, unfavourable prognostic factor (P<0.01). In conclusion, the downregulation of HLA class I expression frequently occurred in primary tumour and, to a greater extent, in metastatic lesions of patients with ESCC and was associated with patient survival.
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Affiliation(s)
- Y Mizukami
- First Department of Surgery, University of Yamanashi, 1110 Shimokato, Chuo-city, Yamanashi 409-3898, Japan
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Kamimura K, Mishima Y, Obata M, Endo T, Aoyagi Y, Kominami R. Lack of Bcl11b tumor suppressor results in vulnerability to DNA replication stress and damages. Oncogene 2007; 26:5840-50. [PMID: 17369851 DOI: 10.1038/sj.onc.1210388] [Citation(s) in RCA: 38] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/08/2022]
Abstract
Bcl11b/Rit1 is involved in T-cell development and undergoes chromosomal rearrangements in human T-cell leukemias. Thymocytes of Bcl11b(-/-) newborn mice exhibit apoptosis at a certain developmental stage when thymocytes re-enter into the cell-cycle. Here, we show that Bcl11b-knockdown T-cell lines, when exposed to growth stimuli, exhibited apoptosis at the S phase with concomitant decreases in a cell-cycle inhibitor, p27 and an antiapoptotic protein, Bcl-xL, owing to transcriptional repression. This repression was a likely consequence of the impairment of Sirt1, a nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide-dependent deacetylase associating with Bcl11b. Activation of the apoptotic process cleaved the mediator protein, Claspin, and inhibited phosphorylation of cell-cycle checkpoint kinase 1 (Chk1) that plays a central role in sensing and responding to incomplete replication. Bcl11b(-/-) thymocytes also failed to phosphorylate Chk1 when UV irradiated. These results implicate Bcl11b in the remedy for DNA replication stress and maintenance of genomic integrity.
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Affiliation(s)
- K Kamimura
- Department of Molecular Genetics, Niigata University Graduate School of Medical and Dental Sciences, Asahimachi 1-757, Niigata 951-8510, Japan
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Ohi H, Mishima Y, Kamimura K, Maruyama M, Sasai K, Kominami R. Multi-step lymphomagenesis deduced from DNA changes in thymic lymphomas and atrophic thymuses at various times after gamma-irradiation. Oncogene 2007; 26:5280-9. [PMID: 17325664 DOI: 10.1038/sj.onc.1210325] [Citation(s) in RCA: 24] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/15/2022]
Abstract
Whole-body gamma-irradiation to mice causes thymic atrophy where a population of precancerous cells with mutation can be found. Thus, clonal growth and DNA changes at Bcl11b, Ikaros, Pten, Notch1 and Myc were examined in not only thymic lymphomas but also in atrophic thymuses at various times after irradiation. Clonal expansion was detected from the distinct patterns of rearrangements at the TCRbeta receptor locus in a fraction of atrophic thymuses at as early as 30 days after irradiation. This expansion may be in part owing to the rearranged TCRbeta signaling because the transfer of bone marrow cells with the rearrangement and the wild-type locus into severe-combined immunodeficiency mice showed preferential growth of the rearranged thymocytes in atrophic thymus. Loss of heterozygosity (LOH) at Bcl11b and trisomy of Myc were found at high frequencies in both lymphomas and atrophic thymuses, and in contrast, LOH at Ikaros and Pten were rare in atrophic thymuses but prevalent in lymphomas. Notch1 activation was detected in lymphomas and in atrophic thymuses only at a late stage. Similar patterns of DNA changes were found in atrophic thymuses induced in Bcl11b(+/-) mice. These results suggest the order of genetic changes during lymphomagenesis, Bcl11b and Myc being at the early stage; whereas Ikaros, Pten and Notch1 at the late stage.
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Affiliation(s)
- H Ohi
- Department of Molecular Genetics, Graduate School of Medical and Dental Sciences, Niigata University, Asahimachi, Niigata, Japan
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Sugio T, Iwahori K, Takeuchi F, Negishi A, Maeda T, Kamimura K. Cytochrome c oxidase purified from a mercury-resistant strain of Acidithiobacillus ferrooxidans volatilizes mercury. J Biosci Bioeng 2005; 92:44-9. [PMID: 16233056 DOI: 10.1263/jbb.92.44] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/18/2000] [Accepted: 04/11/2001] [Indexed: 11/17/2022]
Abstract
We suggested in our previous study that the plasma membrane cytochrome c oxidase of the mercury-resistant iron-oxidizing bacterial strain Acidithiobacillus ferrooxidans, SUG 202, is involved in Fe2+-dependent mercury volatilization. To study the involvement of A. ferrooxidans cytochrome c oxidase in mercury reduction, the cytochrome c oxidase was extracted from mercury-resistant and mercury-sensitive strains and purified. The Fe2+-dependent mercury volatilization activities of the oxidases from these strains were compared. The cytochrome c oxidase from strain SUG 2-2 volatilized 39% of the total Hg2+ (7 nmol) that had been added to a 10-ml reaction mixture (pH 3.8) in the presence of 10 micromol of Fe2+ after a 7-d incubation period at 30 degrees C. In contrast, the enzyme purified from the mercury-sensitive strain AP19-3 volatilized 3.5% of the total mercury under the same conditions. The boiled SUG 2-2 oxidase did not exhibit activity to volatilize mercury. Fe2+ reduced the oxidase from SUG 2-2 and Hg2+ oxidized the reduced enzyme. The purified SUG 2-2 oxidase is composed of three protein subunits with apparent molecular weights of 56,000 Da (alpha), 24,000 Da (beta), and 19,000 Da (gamma). The amount of mercury bound to the purified SUG 2-2 oxidase was 6.2 microg/mg protein and those bound to alpha-, beta- and gamma-subunits of the cytochrome c oxidase were 3.5, 2.6 and 0.7 microg/mg protein, respectively.
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Affiliation(s)
- T Sugio
- Division of Science and Technology for Energy Conversion, Graduate School of Natural Science and Technology, Okayama University, Tsushima Naka, Okayama 700-8530, Japan.
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Ng KY, Kamimura K, Sugio T. Production of hydrogen sulfide from tetrathionate by the iron-oxidizing bacterium Thiobacillus ferrooxidans NASF-1. J Biosci Bioeng 2005; 90:193-8. [PMID: 16232841 DOI: 10.1016/s1389-1723(00)80109-7] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/14/2000] [Accepted: 05/23/2000] [Indexed: 11/28/2022]
Abstract
When incubated under anaerobic conditions, five strains of Thiobacillus ferrooxidans tested produced hydrogen sulfide (H2S) from elemental sulfur at pH 1.5. However, among the strains, T. ferrooxidans NASF-1 and AP19-3 were able to use both elemental sulfur and tetrathionate as electron acceptors for H2S production at pH 1.5. The mechanism of H2S production from tetrathionate was studied with intact cells of strain NASF-1. Strain NASF-1 was unable to use dithionate, trithionate, or pentathionate as an electron acceptor. After 12 h of incubation under anaerobic conditions at 30 degrees C, 1.3 micromol of tetrathionate in the reaction mixture was decomposed, and 0.78 micromol of H2S and 0.6 micromol of trithionate were produced. Thiosulfate and sulfite were not detected in the reaction mixture. From these results, we propose that H2S is produced at pH 1.5 from tetrathionate by T. ferrooxidans NASF-1, via the following two-step reaction, in which AH2 represents an unknown electron donor in NASF-1 cells. Namely, tetrathionate is decomposed by tetrathionate-decomposing enzyme to give trithionate and elemental sulfur (S4O6(2-)-->S3O6(2-) + S(o), Eq. 1), and the elemental sulfur thus produced is reduced by sulfur reductase using electrons from AH2 to give H2S (S(o) + AH2-->H2S + A, Eq. 2). The optimum pH and temperature for H2S production from tetrathionate under argon gas were 1.5 and 30 degrees C, respectively. Under argon gas, the H2S production from tetrathionate stopped after 1 d of incubation, producing a total of 2.5 micromol of H2S/5 mg protein. In contrast, under H2 conditions, H2S production continued for 6 d, producing a total of 10.0 micromol of H2S/5 mg protein. These results suggest that electrons from H2 were used to reduce elemental sulfur produced as an intermediate to give H2S. Potassium cyanide at 0.5 mM slightly inhibited H2S production from tetrathionate, but increased that from elemental sulfur 3-fold. 2,4-Dinitrophenol at 0.05 mM, carbonylcyanide-m-chlorophenyl- hydrazone at 0.01 mM, mercury chloride at 0.05 mM, and sodium selenate at 1.0 mM almost completely inhibited H2S production from tetrathionate, but not from elemental sulfur.
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Affiliation(s)
- K Y Ng
- Division of Science and Technology for Energy Conversion, Graduate School of Natural Science and Technology, Okayama University, 1-1-1 Tsushima Naka, Okayama 700-8530, Japan
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Takeuchi F, Iwahori K, Kamimura K, Sugio T. Isolation and some properties of Thiobacillus ferrooxidans strains with differing levels of mercury resistance from natural environments. J Biosci Bioeng 2005; 88:387-92. [PMID: 16232633 DOI: 10.1016/s1389-1723(99)80215-1] [Citation(s) in RCA: 12] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/14/1999] [Accepted: 07/08/1999] [Indexed: 10/18/2022]
Abstract
Fifty iron-oxidizing bacteria isolated from natural environments were screened for resistance to mercuric ions (Hg2+). Thiobacillus ferrooxidans Funis 2-1, the strain found to show the greatest resistance to Hg2+ among the fifty isolates, gave a cell yield of 7.0 x 10(7) cells/ml after 8 d cultivation in an Fe2+-medium (pH 2.5) containing 0.7 microM Hg2+. Funis 2-1 volatilized 80% of the total mercury added to the medium over 8 d of cultivation. T. ferrooxidans AP19-3, more sensitive to Hg2+ than Funis 2-1, could not grow in an Fe2+-medium (pH 2.5) containing 0.7 microM Hg2+ even over a 28 d cultivation period. When resting cells of strains Funis 2-1 and AP19-3 were incubated for 3 h in a salt solution containing 0.7 microM Hg2+ (pH 3.0), 14.3% and 7.9% of the total mercury added to the reaction mixtures respectively, were volatilized. The activity of the mercuric reductase from Funis 2-1 was only 2.8 times higher than that of the enzyme from AP19-3. Since the markedly higher mercury resistance of Funis 2-1 compared with that of AP19-3 cannot be explained only by the level of the mercuric reductase activity, the levels of mercury resistance of iron oxidase and cytochrome c oxidase were studied. The 1 microM mercuric ions inhibited the 35% of iron-oxidizing activity from AP19-3. In contrast, the same concentration of Hg2+ did not inhibit the activity of iron oxidase from Funis 2-1. In the case of the cytochrome c oxidases purified from both strains, the 0.2 microM Hg2+ inhibited approximately 40% of cytochrome c oxidizing activity from AP19-3, on the contrary, the activity of the enzyme from Funis 2-1 was activated 1.8- and 1.2-fold, respectively, in the presence of 0.08 and 0.2 microM Hg2+. Since cytochrome c oxidase is one of the most important components of the iron-oxidizing system, these results indicate that both the existence of cytochrome c oxidase resistant to Hg2+ as well as that of mercuric reductase in the cells is responsible for the more rapid growth of Funis 2-1 than that of in an Fe2+-medium containing 0.7 microM Hg2+.
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Affiliation(s)
- F Takeuchi
- Administration Center for Environmental Science and Technology, Okayama University, 3-1-1 Tsushima Naka, Okayama 700-8530, Japan
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Kamimura K, Nakamura N, Ishibashi T, Maruyama Y, Abe M. Somatic hypermutation of immunoglobulin heavy chain variable region genes in thymic marginal zone B-cell lymphoma of MALT type of a patient with Sjögren's syndrome. Histopathology 2002; 40:294-6. [PMID: 11895498 DOI: 10.1046/j.1365-2559.2002.1363b.x] [Citation(s) in RCA: 18] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/20/2022]
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17
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Ishak H, Takegami T, Kamimura K, Funada H. Comparative sequences of two type 1 dengue virus strains possessing different growth characteristics in vitro. Microbiol Immunol 2002; 45:327-31. [PMID: 11386425 DOI: 10.1111/j.1348-0421.2001.tb02627.x] [Citation(s) in RCA: 25] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/29/2022]
Abstract
The complete genome sequences of two dengue-1 virus strains having different growth characteristics (Mochizuki and A88) were compared with other published strains. The sequence analysis indicated several unique amino acid changes throughout the coding region of Mochizuki strain, mostly in envelope (E) protein. A unique amino acid, Ile-69 for Mochizuki strain at E protein resulted in the loss of an Asn-67-linked glycosylation site. A Thr substitution for Ala-114 at C protein and amino acid changes found in E, non-structural NS3, NS4a, and NS5 proteins were unique for A88 strain. These substitutions might be correlated to their different growth characteristics in vitro.
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Affiliation(s)
- H Ishak
- Department of Biodefence Medicine, Faculty of Medicine, Toyama Medical and Pharmaceutical University, Japan
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18
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Nakato H, Kamimura K. [Glycosaminoglycans: a view from developmental genetics]. Tanpakushitsu Kakusan Koso 2001; 46:1849-54. [PMID: 11552268] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [MESH Headings] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 02/21/2023]
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19
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Takeuchi F, Iwahori K, Kamimura K, Negishi A, Maeda T, Sugio T. Volatilization of mercury under acidic conditions from mercury-polluted soil by a mercury-resistant Acidithiobacillus ferrooxidans SUG 2-2. Biosci Biotechnol Biochem 2001; 65:1981-6. [PMID: 11676009 DOI: 10.1271/bbb.65.1981] [Citation(s) in RCA: 20] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/08/2022]
Abstract
Volatilization of mercury under acidic conditions from soil polluted with mercuric chloride (1.5 mg Hg/kg soil) was studied with resting cells of a mercury-resistant strain, Acidithiobacillus ferrooxidans SUG 2-2. When resting cells of SUG 2-2 (0.01 mg of protein) were incubated for 10 d at 30 degrees C in 20 ml of 1.6 mM sulfuric acid (pH 2.5) with ferrous sulfate (3%) and mercury-polluted soil (1 g), which contained 7.5 nmol of Hg, approximately 4.1 nmol of mercury was volatilized, indicating that 54% of the total mercury in the soil was volatilized. The amount of mercury volatilized from the soil was dependent on the concentration of Fe2+ added to the medium. When elemental sulfur, sodium tetrathionate, and pyrite were used as an electron donor for the mercury reduction, 16, 2.4 and 0.84%, respectively, of the total mercury added to the solution were volatilized. The optimum pH and temperature for mercury volatilization were 2.5 and 30 degrees C. Approximately 92% of the total mercury in a salt solution (pH 2.5) with resting cells of SUG 2-2 (0.01 mg of protein), ferrous sulfate (3%) and mercury-polluted soil (1 g) was volatilized by further addition of both resting cells and Fe2+ and by incubating for 30 d at 30 degrees C.
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Affiliation(s)
- F Takeuchi
- Administration Center for Environmental Science and Technology, Graduate School of Natural Science and Technology, Okayama University, Tsushima Naka, Japan
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Kamimura K, Fujii S, Sugio T. Purification and some properties of ubiquinol oxidase from obligately chemolithotrophic iron-oxidizing bacterium, Thiobacillus ferrooxidans NASF-1. Biosci Biotechnol Biochem 2001; 65:63-71. [PMID: 11272847 DOI: 10.1271/bbb.65.63] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/08/2022]
Abstract
Ubiquinol-oxidizing activity was detected in an acidophilic chemolithotrophic iron-oxidizing bacterium, T. ferrooxidans. The ubiquinol oxidase was purified 79-fold from plasma membranes of T. ferrooxidans NASF-1 cells. The purified oxidase is composed of two polypeptides with apparent molecular masses of 32,600 and 50,100 Da, as measured by gel electrophoresis in the presence of sodium dodecyl sulfate. The absorption spectrum of the reduced enzyme at room temperature showed big peaks at 530 and 563, and a small broad peak at 635 nm, indicating the involvement of cytochromes b and d. Characteristic peaks of cytochromes a and c were not observed in the spectrum at around 600 and 550 nm, respectively. This enzyme combined with CO, and its CO-reduced minus reduced difference spectrum showed peaks at 409 nm and 563 nm and a trough at 431 nm. These results indicated that the oxidase contained cytochrome b, but the involvement of cytochrome d was not clear. The enzyme catalyzed the oxidations of ubiquinol-2 and reduced N,N,N',N'-tetramethyl-p-phenylenediamine dihydrochloride. The ubiquinol oxidase activity was activated by the addition of albumin and lecithin to the reaction mixture and inhibited by the respiratory inhibitors KCN, HQNO, NaN3, and antimycin A1, although the enzyme was relatively resistant to KCN, and the divalent cation, Zn2+, compared with ubiquinol oxidases of E. coli.
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Affiliation(s)
- K Kamimura
- Department of Biological Function, Faculty of Agriculture, Okayama University, Japan.
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21
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Kamimura K, Fujise M, Villa F, Izumi S, Habuchi H, Kimata K, Nakato H. Drosophila heparan sulfate 6-O-sulfotransferase (dHS6ST) gene. Structure, expression, and function in the formation of the tracheal system. J Biol Chem 2001; 276:17014-21. [PMID: 11278892 DOI: 10.1074/jbc.m011354200] [Citation(s) in RCA: 94] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/06/2022] Open
Abstract
Heparan sulfate, one of the most abundant components of the cell surface and the extracellular matrix, is involved in a variety of biological processes such as growth factor signaling, cell adhesion, and enzymatic catalysis. The heparan sulfate chains have markedly heterogeneous structures in which distinct sequences of sulfate groups determine specific binding properties. Sulfation at each different position of heparan sulfate is catalyzed by distinct enzymes, sulfotransferases. In this study, we identified and characterized Drosophila heparan sulfate 6-O-sulfotransferase (dHS6ST). The deduced primary structure of dHS6ST exhibited several common features found in those of mammalian HS6STs. We confirmed that, when the protein encoded by the cDNA was expressed in COS-7 cells, it showed HS6ST activity. Whole mount in situ hybridization revealed highly specific expression of dHS6ST mRNA in embryonic tracheal cells. The spatial and temporal pattern of dHS6ST expression in these cells clearly resembles that of the Drosophila fibroblast growth factor (FGF) receptor, breathless (btl). RNA interference experiments demonstrated that reduced dHS6ST activity caused embryonic lethality and disruption of the primary branching of the tracheal system. These phenotypes were reminiscent of the defects observed in mutants of FGF signaling components. We also show that FGF-dependent mitogen-activated protein kinase activation is significantly reduced in dHS6ST double-stranded RNA-injected embryos. These findings indicate that dHS6ST is required for tracheal development in Drosophila and suggest the evolutionally conserved roles of 6-O-sulfated heparan sulfate in FGF signaling.
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Affiliation(s)
- K Kamimura
- Department of Biology, Tokyo Metropolitan University, Hachioji-shi, Tokyo 192-0397, Japan
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Ohtsuka E, Kawai S, Ichikawa T, Nojima H, Kitagawa K, Shirai Y, Kamimura K, Kuraishi Y. Roles of mast cells and histamine in mosquito bite-induced allergic itch-associated responses in mice. Jpn J Pharmacol 2001; 86:97-105. [PMID: 11430478 DOI: 10.1254/jjp.86.97] [Citation(s) in RCA: 60] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 10/27/2022]
Abstract
We investigated itch-associated responses (scratching) to mosquito bites and the role of histamine and mast cells in mosquito-induced itching in mice. Although the first bites of mosquito Aedes albopictus did not increase scratching, repeated bites increased scratching. The response was not diminished even after an interval of 2 months. Similarly, repeated intradermal (i.d.) injections of salivary gland extract (SGE) from Aedes albopictus increased scratching after SGE injection itself and mosquito bites. The scratching peaked within 10 min and almost subsided by 60 min. The opioid antagonist naloxone (1 mg/kg, s.c.) inhibited scratching following SGE injection. Although the non-sedative H1-histamine-receptor antagonist terfenadine (30 mg/kg, p.o.) significantly suppressed scratching induced by histamine (100 nmol/site, i.d.) in either naive or mosquito-sensitized mice, it did not affect mosquito-induced scratching in mosquito-sensitized mice. Repeated injections of SGE increased scratching in mast cell-deficient (WBB6F1-W/Wv) mice as well as in normal (WBB6F1-+/+) littermates. Repeated exposure to mosquito bites roughly doubled serum concentrations of total IgE and IgG1, but not IgG2a. Repeated injections of SGE markedly increased plasma extravasation induced by mosquito bites and such an increase was almost completely suppressed by terfenadine (30 mg/kg, p.o.). The results show the presence of histamine-mediated and histamine-independent mechanisms in cutaneous itching and suggest that histamine probably released from mast cells does not play an important role in itching in immediate allergic reaction. Our murine model of mosquito itching may be useful for studying the mechanisms of immediate allergic itching.
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Affiliation(s)
- E Ohtsuka
- Department ofApplied Pharmacology, Faculty of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Faculty of Medicine, Toyama Medical and Pharmaceutical University, Sugitani, Japan
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Kotorii S, Takahashi K, Kamimura K, Nishio T, Arima K, Yamada H, Uyama E, Uchino M, Suenaga A, Matsumoto M, Kuchel G, Rouleau GA, Tabira T. Mutations of the notch3 gene in non-caucasian patients with suspected CADASIL syndrome. Dement Geriatr Cogn Disord 2001; 12:185-93. [PMID: 11244211 DOI: 10.1159/000051256] [Citation(s) in RCA: 30] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/19/2022] Open
Abstract
The Notch3 gene has been recently identified as a causative gene for cerebral autosomal dominant arteriopathy with subcortical infarcts and leukoencephalopathy (CADASIL). To investigate the genetic contribution of Notch mutations in familial cases with vascular leukoencephalopathy, we screened 13 patients from 11 unrelated families, which were selected on the basis of magnetic resonance imaging findings and positive family history. We identified three different missense mutations in 5 patients from 4 families. Two (Arg90Cys and Arg133Cys) are the same as previously reported in Caucasian patients, the other (Cys174Phe) is a novel mutation causing a loss of a cysteine in epidermal-growth-factor-like repeats of Notch3. These data indicate that the CADASIL Notch3 mutations were found in approximately 35% of familial cases with leukoencephalopathy, suggesting genetic heterogeneity of the disease.
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Affiliation(s)
- S Kotorii
- Department of Demyelinating Disease and Aging, National Institute of Neuroscience, Tokyo, Japan
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Takai M, Kamimura K, Sugio T. A new iron oxidase from a moderately thermophilic iron oxidizing bacterium strain TI-1. Eur J Biochem 2001; 268:1653-8. [PMID: 11248684] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 02/19/2023]
Abstract
Iron oxidase was purified from plasma membranes of a moderately thermophilic iron oxidizing bacterium strain TI-1 in an electrophoretically homogeneous state. Spectrum analyses of purified enzyme showed the existence of cytochrome a, but not cytochrome b and c types. Iron oxidase was composed of five subunits with apparent molecular masses of 46 kDa (alpha), 28 kDa (beta), 24 kDa (gamma), 20 kDa (delta), and 17 kDa (epsilon). As the molecular mass of a native enzyme was estimated to be 263 kDa in the presence of 0.1% n-dodecyl-beta-D-maltopyranoside (DM), a native iron oxidase purified from strain TI-1 seems to be a homodimeric enzyme (alpha beta gamma delta epsilon)(2). Optimum pH and temperature for iron oxidation were pH 3.0 and 45 degrees C, respectively. The K(m) of iron oxidase for Fe(2+) was 1.06 mM and V(max) for O(2) uptake was 13.8 micromol x mg(-1) x min(-1). The activity was strongly inhibited by cyanide and azide. Purified enzyme from strain TI-1 is a new iron oxidase in which electrons of Fe(2+) were transferred to haem a and then to the molecular oxygen.
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Affiliation(s)
- M Takai
- Science and Technology for Energy Conversion, Okayama University, Japan
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25
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Sugio T, Kuwano H, Negishi A, Maeda T, Takeuchi F, Kamimura K. Mechanism of growth inhibition by tungsten in Acidithiobacillus ferrooxidans. Biosci Biotechnol Biochem 2001; 65:555-62. [PMID: 11330668 DOI: 10.1271/bbb.65.555] [Citation(s) in RCA: 10] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/08/2022]
Abstract
Cell growth of three hundred iron-oxidizing bacteria isolated from natural environments was inhibited strongly by 0.05 mM, and completely by 0.2 mM of sodium tungstate (Na2WO4), respectively. Since no great difference in the level of tungsten inhibition was observed among the 300 strains tested, the mechanism of inhibition by Na2WO4 was studied with Acidithiobacillus ferrooxidans strain AP19-3. When resting cells of AP19-3 were incubated in 0.1 M beta-alanine-SO4(2-) buffer (pH 3.0) with 0.1 mM Na2WO4 for 1 h, the amount of tungsten bound to the cells was 12 microg/mg protein. The optimum pH for tungsten binding to the resting cells was 2 to approximately 3. Approximately 2 times more tungsten bound to the cells at pH 3.0 than at pH 6.0. The tungsten binding was specifically inhibited by sodium molybdenum. However, copper, nickel, cadmium, zinc, manganese, cobalt, and vanadate did not disturb tungsten binding to the resting cells. The iron-oxidizing activity of AP19-3 was inhibited 24, 62, and 77% by 1, 5, and 10 mM of Na2WO4, respectively. Among the components of iron oxidation enzyme system, iron:cytochrome c oxidoreductase activity was not inhibited by 10 mM of Na2WO4. In contrast, the activity of cytochrome c oxidase purified highly from the strain was inhibited 50 and 72%, respectively, by 0.05 and 0.1 mM of Na2WO4. The amounts of tungsten bound to plasma membrane, cytosol fraction, and a purified cytochrome c oxidase were 8, 0.5, and 191 microg/mg protein, respectively. From the results, the growth inhibition by Na2WO4 observed in A. ferrooxidans is explained as follows: tungsten binds to cytochrome c oxidase in plasma membranes and inhibits cytochrome c oxidase activity, and as a results, the generation of energy needed for cell growth from the oxidation of Fe2+ is stopped.
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Affiliation(s)
- T Sugio
- Science and Technology for Energy Conversion, Okayama University, Tsushima Naka, Japan.
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Kamimura K, Wakai S, Sugio T. Identification of Thiobacillus ferrooxidans strains based on restriction fragment length polymorphism analysis of 16S rDNA. Microbios 2001; 105:141-52. [PMID: 11414499] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 04/16/2023]
Abstract
The 16S rDNA sequences from ten strains of Thiobacillus ferrooxidans were amplified by PCR. The products were compared by performing restriction fragment length polymorphism (RFLP) analysis with restriction endonucleases Alu I, Hap II, Hha I, and Hae III. The RFLP patterns revealed that T. ferrooxidans could be distinguished from other iron- or sulphur-oxidizing bacteria such as T. thiooxidans NB1-3, T. caldus GO-1, Leptospirillum ferrooxidans and the marine iron-oxidizing bacterium strain KU2-11. The RFLP patterns obtained with Alu I, Hap II, and Hae III were the same for nine strains of T. ferrooxidans except for strain ATCC 13661. The RFLP patterns for strains NASF-1 and ATCC 13661 with Hha I were distinct from those for other T. ferrooxidans strains. The 16S rDNA sequence of T. ferrooxidans NASF-1 possessed an additional restriction site for Hha I. These results show that iron-oxidizing bacteria isolated from natural environments were rapidly identified as T. ferrooxidans by the method combining RFLP analysis with physiological analysis.
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Affiliation(s)
- K Kamimura
- Department of Biological Function, Faculty of Agriculture Okayama University, Japan
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Abstract
The attraction of Aedes albopictus (Skuse) to hands and forearms of human subjects treated with several concentrations of L-LA solution were studied in a test chamber containing proboscis-amputated mosquitoes. Fewer mosquitoes alighted on L-LA treated human skin than on water-treated control skin. Similar results were found using normal mosquitoes following L-LA and water treatment of mouse skin. The relative repellent effects of L-LA varied with concentration. The minimum repellent concentration was lower than previously reported for human skin. The number of alightments decreased at increasing concentrations of L-LA, demonstrating the absolute repellency of L-LA. Unlike previous reports suggesting that L-LA attracted mosquitoes, our studies using human and mouse skin showed that L-LA exhibited both relative and absolute repellency.
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Affiliation(s)
- Y Shirai
- Department of Biodefence Medicine, Faculty of Medicine, Toyama Medical and Pharmaceutical University, 2630 Sugitani, Toyama 930-0194, Japan
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Abstract
An iron-oxidizing bacterium strain, OKM-9, isolated from mud obtained from the bottom of a pond, Minamikata Ohike, in Okayama prefecture, Japan, grew well in an FeSO4 x 7H2O (3%)-medium (pH 2.5) with 0.03% yeast extract. However, the strain could not grow either in an FeSO4 x 7H2O (3%)-medium without yeast extract or in a yeast extract (0.03%)-medium (pH 2.5) without Fe2+. The strain did not use elemental sulfur as an energy source and did not have the activity to fix carbon dioxide. Strain OKM-9 could grow in an FeSO4 x 7H2O (3%)-medium with twenty different L-amino acids instead of yeast extract. Incorporation of [U-14C] glutamic acid into the cells was dependent on the energy produced by the oxidation of Fe2+. Strain OKM-9 did not grow heterotrophically using amino acids and hexoses as a sole energy and carbon source. The results that strain OKM-9 absolutely required ferrous iron (Fe2+) as a sole energy source and yeast extract or L-amino acids as a carbon source for growth strongly suggest that the strain is a mixotrophic iron-oxidizing bacterium. Strain OKM-9 was a gram-negative and rod-shaped bacterium (0.4-0.6 x 1.6-2.2 microm) and the mean G + C content of the DNA of the bacterium was 59.6 mol%. The optimum temperature and pH for growth were 30 degrees C and 2.1, respectively. However, the strain could not grow at temperatures above 45 degrees C. Iron-oxidizing activities of strain OKM-9 measured with intact cells and the plasma membrane were 14.3 and 5.7 microl O2 uptake/mg protein/min, respectively. The pyridine ferrohemochromes prepared from the plasma membrane of this strain showed absorption peaks characteristic of alpha-bands of heme a and b, but not heme c, at 587 and 557 nm, respectively. The results suggest that the cytochromes composing an iron-oxidation system of strain OKM-9 are different from those of the well-known mesophilic iron-oxidizing bacteria Thiobacillus ferrooxidans and Leptospirillum ferrooxidans.
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Affiliation(s)
- T Inoue
- Division of Science and Technology for Energy Conversion, Graduate School of Natural Science and Technology, Okayama University, Tsushima Naka, Japan
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Abstract
OBJECTIVE More than 80 unrelated, but all Caucasian, patients with cerebral autosomal dominant arteriopathy with subcortical infarcts and leukoencephalopathy (CADASIL), originating from various communities around the world, have been molecularly identified. To clarify the occurrence of CADASIL in Orientals, we investigated Japanese families presenting as CADASIL. METHODS We performed the PCR-SSCP and sequence analyses using genomic DNA, isolated from venous blood of participants under informed consent. PATIENTS We identified two unrelated Japanese families with CADASIL, including 5 affected members through 2 generations. RESULTS Each of the affected individuals developed recurrent strokes without risk factors resulting in progressive dementia, pseudobulbar palsy, and gait disturbances which started after the fifth decade of life. Although affected individuals had no vascular risk factors, they showed various degrees of narrowing of retinal arteries. Their MRI/CTs showed characteristics of the disease; bilateral small infarcts in the thalamus, basal ganglia, brain stem, and deep white matter in addition to the findings of leukoaraiosis. On SPECT imaging, there was severe hypoperfusion in the cortex as well as in the white matter. Ultrastructural studies revealed an abnormal deposition of granular osmiophilic materials (GOM) within the basal lamina of pericytes in muscular capillaries. On PCR-SSCP and sequence analyses, a heterozygous Arg133Cys mutation was present, in the affected individuals, in the exon 4 of Notch3 gene which is the hot spot region for CADASIL mutations in Caucasian families. None of the non-affected members nor the 50 Japanese normal controls revealed this mutation. CONCLUSION Thus, our results confirm that CADASIL is a geographically widespread disorder caused by a Notch3 mutation.
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Affiliation(s)
- E Uyama
- Department of Neurology, Kumamoto University School of Medicine
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Iwahori K, Takeuchi F, Kamimura K, Sugio T. Ferrous iron-dependent volatilization of mercury by the plasma membrane of Thiobacillus ferrooxidans. Appl Environ Microbiol 2000; 66:3823-7. [PMID: 10966396 PMCID: PMC92226 DOI: 10.1128/aem.66.9.3823-3827.2000] [Citation(s) in RCA: 34] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/20/2022] Open
Abstract
Of 100 strains of iron-oxidizing bacteria isolated, Thiobacillus ferrooxidans SUG 2-2 was the most resistant to mercury toxicity and could grow in an Fe(2+) medium (pH 2.5) supplemented with 6 microM Hg(2+). In contrast, T. ferrooxidans AP19-3, a mercury-sensitive T. ferrooxidans strain, could not grow with 0.7 microM Hg(2+). When incubated for 3 h in a salt solution (pH 2.5) with 0.7 microM Hg(2+), resting cells of resistant and sensitive strains volatilized approximately 20 and 1.7%, respectively, of the total mercury added. The amount of mercury volatilized by resistant cells, but not by sensitive cells, increased to 62% when Fe(2+) was added. The optimum pH and temperature for mercury volatilization activity were 2.3 and 30 degrees C, respectively. Sodium cyanide, sodium molybdate, sodium tungstate, and silver nitrate strongly inhibited the Fe(2+)-dependent mercury volatilization activity of T. ferrooxidans. When incubated in a salt solution (pH 3.8) with 0.7 microM Hg(2+) and 1 mM Fe(2+), plasma membranes prepared from resistant cells volatilized 48% of the total mercury added after 5 days of incubation. However, the membrane did not have mercury reductase activity with NADPH as an electron donor. Fe(2+)-dependent mercury volatilization activity was not observed with plasma membranes pretreated with 2 mM sodium cyanide. Rusticyanin from resistant cells activated iron oxidation activity of the plasma membrane and activated the Fe(2+)-dependent mercury volatilization activity of the plasma membrane.
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Affiliation(s)
- K Iwahori
- Science and Technology for Energy Conversion, Faculty of Agriculture, Okayama University, Tsushima Naka, Okayama 700-8530, Japan
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Kiwaki T, Umehara F, Takashima H, Nakagawa M, Kamimura K, Kashio N, Sakamoto Y, Unoki K, Nobuhara Y, Michizono K, Watanabe O, Arimura H, Osame M. Hereditary motor and sensory neuropathy with myelin folding and juvenile onset glaucoma. Neurology 2000; 55:392-7. [PMID: 10932274 DOI: 10.1212/wnl.55.3.392] [Citation(s) in RCA: 15] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/15/2022] Open
Abstract
OBJECTIVE We describe three patients from a family with motor and sensory neuropathy accompanied by open-angle glaucoma. BACKGROUND Autosomal recessive demyelinating hereditary motor and sensory neuropathies (HMSN) include different disorders. To our knowledge, autosomal recessive HMSN has not been associated with juvenile onset glaucoma. METHODS Sural nerve pathology of the three patients were examined, and genetic analysis of the family was performed. RESULT - The most prominent pathologic finding was a highly unusual myelin abnormality consisting of irregular redundant loops and folding of the myelin sheath. The family survey supports autosomal recessive inheritance. The molecular analysis failed to demonstrate either linkage of the disease to MPZ gene, PMP22 gene, Cx32 gene, orEGR2 gene. Analysis did not establish linkage of the disease to the locus of CMT4A, 4B, and 4C genes. CONCLUSION The present cases may represent a new type of HMSN accompanied by juvenile onset glaucoma.
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Affiliation(s)
- T Kiwaki
- Third Department of Internal Medicine, Kagoshima University School of Medicine, Sakuragaoka, Japan
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Takegami T, Ishak H, Miyamoto C, Shirai Y, Kamimura K. Isolation and molecular comparison of Japanese encephalitis virus in Ishikawa, Japan. Jpn J Infect Dis 2000; 53:178-9. [PMID: 11056567] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [MESH Headings] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 02/18/2023]
Affiliation(s)
- T Takegami
- Medical Research Institute, Kanazawa Medical University, Ishikawa 920-0293, Japan.
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Abstract
Triphenyltin (TPT)-degrading bacteria were screened by a simple technique using a post-column high-performance liquid chromatography using 3,3',4',7-tetrahydroxyflavone as a post-column reagent for determination of TPT and its metabolite, diphenyltin (DPT). An isolated strain, strain CNR15, was identified as Pseudomonas chlororaphis on the basis of its morphological and biochemical features. The incubation of strain CNR15 in a medium containing glycerol, succinate, and 130 microM TPT resulted in the rapid degradation of TPT and the accumulation of approximately 40 microM DPT as the only metabolite after 48 h. The culture supernatants of strain CNR15, grown with or without TPT, exhibited a TPT degradation activity, whereas the resting cells were not capable of degrading TPT. TPT was stoichiometrically degraded to DPT by the solid-phase extract of the culture supernatant, and benzene was detected as another degradation product. We found that the TPT degradation was catalyzed by low-molecular-mass substances (approximately 1,000 Da) in the extract, termed the TPT-degrading factor. The other fluorescent pseudomonads, P. chlororaphis ATCC 9446, Pseudomonas fluorescens ATCC 13525, and Pseudomonas aeruginosa ATCC 15692, also showed TPT degradation activity similar to strain CNR15 in the solid-phase extracts of their culture supernatants. These results suggest that the extracellular low-molecular-mass substance that is universally produced by the fluorescent pseudomonad could function as a potent catalyst to cometabolite TPT in the environment.
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Affiliation(s)
- H Inoue
- Marine Biological Technology Section, Chugoku National Industrial Research Institute, Hiroshima, Japan.
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Shirai Y, Kamimura K, Seki T, Morohashi M. Proboscis amputation facilitates the study of mosquito (Diptera: Culicidae) attractants, repellents, and host preference. J Med Entomol 2000; 37:637-639. [PMID: 10916308 DOI: 10.1603/0022-2585-37.4.637] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 05/23/2023]
Abstract
Proboscis amputation has facilitated the study of mosquito behavior. Using humans as a host is very important in the study of mosquito attractants, repellents, and host preference. However, mosquito bites cause potential medical problems because of hypersensitivity and perhaps secondary bacterial infection, even using laboratory mosquitoes. Moreover, once a normal female mosquito bites and feeds on human blood, it cannot be used in subsequent probing tests. These problems were resolved by proboscis amputation. Variation of attraction among humans was examined effectively without bites using proboscis-amputated Aedes albopictus Skuse. Proboscis-amputated and normal mosquitoes also showed equal repellency against 1% L-lactic acid. Although the mosquitoes lacked the tip of the labium and some sensilla, they alighted on human forearms in the same way as normal mosquitoes. Because proboscis-amputated mosquitoes continued to probe avidly, they could be used repeatedly, thereby reducing the number of mosquitoes required for experimentation. The use of proboscis-amputated mosquitoes would promote various studies of mosquito attraction or repellency with no risk of hypersensitivity and secondary bacterial infection by mosquito bites.
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Affiliation(s)
- Y Shirai
- Department of Biodefence Medicine, Faculty of Medicine, Toyama Medical and Pharmaceutical University, Japan
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Kamiya M, Judson H, Okazaki Y, Kusakabe M, Muramatsu M, Takada S, Takagi N, Arima T, Wake N, Kamimura K, Satomura K, Hermann R, Bonthron DT, Hayashizaki Y. The cell cycle control gene ZAC/PLAGL1 is imprinted--a strong candidate gene for transient neonatal diabetes. Hum Mol Genet 2000; 9:453-60. [PMID: 10655556 DOI: 10.1093/hmg/9.3.453] [Citation(s) in RCA: 163] [Impact Index Per Article: 6.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/14/2022] Open
Abstract
We describe a screen for new imprinted human genes, and the identification in this way of ZAC (zinc finger protein which regulates apoptosis and cell cycle arrest)/ PLAGL1 (pleomorphicadenoma of the salivary gland gene like 1) as a strong candidate gene for transient neonatal diabetes mellitus (TNDM). To screen for imprinted genes, we compared parthenogenetic DNA from the chimeric patient FD and androgenetic DNA from hydatidiform mole, using restriction landmark genome scanning for methylation. This resulted in identification of two novel imprinted loci, one of which (NV149) we mapped to the TNDM region of 6q24. From analysis of the corresponding genomic region, it was determined that NV149 lies approximately 60 kb upstream of the ZAC / PLAGL1 gene. RT-PCR analysis was used to confirm that this ZAC / PLAGL1 is expressed only from the paternal allele in a variety of tissues. TNDM is known to result from upregulation of a paternally expressed gene on chromosome 6q24. The paternal expression, map position and known biological properties of ZAC / PLAGL1 make it highly likely that it is the TNDM gene. In particular, ZAC / PLAGL1 is a transcriptional regulator of the type 1 receptor for pituitary adenylate cyclase-activating polypeptide, which is the most potent known insulin secretagog and an important mediator of autocrine control of insulin secretion in the pancreatic islet.
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Affiliation(s)
- M Kamiya
- CREST, Japan Science and Technology Corporation (JST), Genome Exploration Research Group, Genomic Sciences Center (GSC), Genome Science Laboratory and Biogenetic Research Center, Riken Tsukuba Life Science Center, Ibaraki, Japan
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Ng KY, Sawada R, Inoue S, Kamimura K, Sugio T. Purification and some properties of sulfur reductase from the iron-oxidizing bacterium Thiobacillus ferrooxidans NASF-1. J Biosci Bioeng 2000; 90:199-203. [PMID: 16232842 DOI: 10.1016/s1389-1723(00)80110-3] [Citation(s) in RCA: 12] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/14/2000] [Accepted: 05/23/2000] [Indexed: 11/26/2022]
Abstract
Thiobacillus ferrooxidans strain NASF-1 grown aerobically in an Fe2+ (3%)-medium produces hydrogen sulfide (H2S) from elemental sulfur under anaerobic conditions with argon gas at pH 7.5. Sulfur reductase, which catalyzes the reduction of elemental sulfur (S0) with NAD(P)H as an electron donor to produce hydrogen sulfide (H2S) under anaerobic conditions, was purified 69-fold after 35-65% ammonium sulfate precipitation and Q-Sepharose FF, Phenyl-Toyopearl 650 ML, and Blue Sepharose FF column chromatography, with a specific activity of 57.6 U (mg protein)(-1). The purified enzyme was quite labile under aerobic conditions, but comparatively stable in the presence of sodium hydrosulfite and under anaerobic conditions, especially under hydrogen gas conditions. The purified enzyme showed both sulfur reductase and hydrogenase activities. Both activities had an optimum pH of 9.0. Sulfur reductase has an apparent molecular weight of 120,000 Da, and is composed of three different subunits (M(r) 54,000 Da (alpha), 36,000 Da (beta), and 35,000 Da (gamma)), as estimated by sodium dodecyl sulfate-polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis. This is the first report on the purification of sulfur reductase from a mesophilic and obligate chemolithotrophic iron-oxidizing bacterium.
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Affiliation(s)
- K Y Ng
- Division of Science and Technology for Energy Conversion, Graduate School of Natural Science and Technology, Okayama University, 1-1-1 Tsushima Naka, Okayama 700-8530, Japan
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Baba Y, Inoue H, Sasaki M, Hokotate H, Kamiyama T, Kamimura K, Nakajo M. [Percutaneous mechanical thrombectomy for thrombosed vessels with a hydrolyser (hydrodynamic thrombectomy catheter): clinical experience]. Nihon Igaku Hoshasen Gakkai Zasshi 2000; 60:23-7. [PMID: 10689886] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 02/15/2023]
Abstract
A hydrodynamic thrombectomy catheter was prospectively evaluated for the treatment of thrombosed vessels. Seven patients (7 males: age range from 56 to 82 years; mean age: 79 years) presenting with acute or chronic occlusion of peripheral native arteries (n = 6) and dialysis shunt (n = 1) were treated with the hydrolyser (Cordis, Johnson and Johnson, Japan). Mean occlusion time was 135 days (range: 2-300 days), and mean thrombus length 16 cm (range: 5-20 cm). Removal of the thrombus was successful in five patients (71%), regardless of the length of the thrombus. Mean procedure time was 20 minutes (range: 15-30 minutes). No major complications occurred. Adjunctive thrombolysis was required for persistence of the residual thrombosed distal vessel in one patient. Adjunctive balloon angioplasty was performed in two patients (one native vessel and one dialysis shunt), and stent placement was performed in one patient (dialysis shunt). In two unsuccessful cases, the hydrolyser could not be advanced to the distal side because of the solid thrombus. Therefore, thrombolytic therapy was chosen. However, this therapy failed because the guidewire did not pass within the thrombus. Surgery was performed in these two patients. We conclude from this clinical experience that percutaneous thrombectomy with a hydrolyser is a promising technique for the treatment of thrombosed vessels. Especially in the acute stage of thrombosed occlusion, percutaneous thrombectomy with a hydrolyser is superior to thrombectomy with a Fogarty balloon catheter because of its shorter procedure time and fewer complications.
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Affiliation(s)
- Y Baba
- Department of Radiology, Faculty of Medicine, Kagoshima University
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Abstract
PURPOSE To describe two Japanese families with Sorsby's fundus dystrophy (SFD) with unusual clinical features. METHODS Two families from Kagoshima Prefecture with senile-onset macular dystrophy were examined. Three affected individuals through three successive generations of one family and three affected siblings in another family were examined and followed. RESULTS The initial symptom of these patients was a rapid or slow central visual loss that occurred at an average age of 67.4 years. The major ophthalmoscopic changes consisted of soft drusen and hemorrhagic or atrophic lesions in the macula, which were progressive and ultimately led to disciform scarring. They had no difficulty with night vision. All the patients had normal peripheral retina with intact peripheral fields. They maintained good ambulatory vision and could walk unguided until late in life. These patients had a novel mutation in the tissue inhibitor of the metalloproteinases-3 (TIMP3) gene. CONCLUSIONS This is the first report of SFD from the East. Its clinical features differ from those of SFD patients of the West, appearing closer to features of age-related macular degeneration. These two unrelated Japanese families with an identical mutation in the TIMP3 gene might be descendants of a common ancestor who carried the mutant gene.
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Affiliation(s)
- Y Isashiki
- Center for Chronic Viral Diseases, Kagoshima University Faculty of Medicine, Japan
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Kamimura K, Takahashi K, Uyama E, Tokunaga M, Kotorii S, Uchino M, Tabira T. Identification of a Notch3 mutation in a Japanese CADASIL family. Cerebral autosomal dominant arteriopathy with subcortical infarcts and leukoencephalopathy. Alzheimer Dis Assoc Disord 1999; 13:222-5. [PMID: 10609671 DOI: 10.1097/00002093-199910000-00008] [Citation(s) in RCA: 9] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/26/2022]
Abstract
Cerebral autosomal dominant arteriopathy with subcortical infarcts and leukoencephalopathy (CADASIL) is a hereditary disease that is characterized by recurrent stroke episodes and focal neurologic deficits progressing to pseudobulbar palsy and dementia. The causative gene is the Notch3 gene on chromosome 19, and 22 missense mutations have been identified in Caucasian patients to date. To perform mutational analysis of the Notch3 gene, we identified its exon intron boundaries and prepared sets of primers for amplification of each exon. Using these primers, we determined the Notch3 gene in a Japanese family with CADASIL symptoms and found a missense mutation (Arg133Cys) in exon 4. The mutation was heterozygous and cosegregated with the disease. Thus, the Notch3 gene is responsible for CADASIL in patients across different ethnic groups.
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Affiliation(s)
- K Kamimura
- Department of Demyelinating Disease and Aging, National Institute of Neuroscience, National Center for Neurology and Psychiatry, Kodaira, Tokyo, Japan
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Takai M, Kamimura K, Sugio T. Involvement of cytochrome a in iron oxidation of a moderately thermophilic iron-oxidizing bacterium, strain TI-1. Biosci Biotechnol Biochem 1999; 63:1541-7. [PMID: 10540740 DOI: 10.1271/bbb.63.1541] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/08/2022]
Abstract
The iron-oxidizing activity of a moderately thermophilic iron-oxidizing bacterium, strain TI-1, was located in the plasma membrane. When the strain was grown in Fe2+ (60 mM)-salts medium containing yeast extract (0.03%), the plasma membrane had iron-oxidizing activity of 0.129 mumol O2 uptake/mg/min. Iron oxidase was solubilized from the plasma membrane with 1.0% n-octyl-beta-D-glucopyranoside (OGL) containing 25% (v/v) glycerol (pH 3.0) and purified 37-fold by a SP Sepharose FF column chromatography. Iron oxidase solubilized from the plasma membrane was stable at pH 3.0, but quite unstable in the buffer with the pH above 6.0 or below 1.0. The optimum pH and temperature for iron oxidation were 3.0 and 55 degrees C, respectively. Solubilized enzyme from the membrane showed absorption peaks characteristic of cytochromes a and b. Cyanide and azide, inhibitors of cytochrome c oxidase, completely inhibited iron-oxidizing activity at 100 microM, but antimycin A, 2-n-heptyl-4-hydroxyquinoline-N-oxide (HOQNO) and myxothiazol, inhibitors of electron transport systems involved with cytochrome b, did not inhibit enzyme activity at 10 microM. The absorption spectrum of the most active enzyme fraction from SP Sepharose FF column chromatography (4.76 mumol O2 uptake/mg/min) compared with lower active fractions from the chromatography (0.009 and 2.10 mumol O2 uptake/mg/min) showed a large alpha-peak of cytochrome a at 602 nm and a smaller alpha-peak of cytochrome b at 560 nm. The absorption spectrum of pyridine ferrohemochrome prepared from the most highly purified enzyme showed an alpha-peak characteristic of heme a at 587 nm, but not the alpha-peak characteristic of heme c at 550 nm. The cytochrome a, but not cytochrome b, in the most highly purified enzyme fraction was reduced by the addition of ferrous iron at pH 3.0, indicating that electrons from Fe2+ were transported to cytochrome a, but not cytochrome b. These results strongly suggest that cytochrome a, but not cytochromes b and c, is involved in iron oxidation of strain TI-1.
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Affiliation(s)
- M Takai
- Department of Biological Function and Genetic Resources Science, Faculty of Agriculture, Okayama University, Japan
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Tsuda M, Kamimura K, Nakato H, Archer M, Staatz W, Fox B, Humphrey M, Olson S, Futch T, Kaluza V, Siegfried E, Stam L, Selleck SB. The cell-surface proteoglycan Dally regulates Wingless signalling in Drosophila. Nature 1999; 400:276-80. [PMID: 10421371 DOI: 10.1038/22336] [Citation(s) in RCA: 315] [Impact Index Per Article: 12.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/09/2022]
Abstract
Wingless (Wg) is a member of the Wnt family of growth factors, secreted proteins that control proliferation and differentiation during development. Studies in Drosophila have shown that responses to Wg require cell-surface heparan sulphate, a glycosaminoglycan component of proteoglycans. These findings suggest that a cell-surface proteoglycan is a component of a Wg/Wnt receptor complex. We demonstrate here that the protein encoded by the division abnormally delayed (dally) gene is a cell-surface, heparan-sulphate-modified proteoglycan. dally partial loss-of-function mutations compromise Wg-directed events, and disruption of dally function with RNA interference produces phenotypes comparable to those found with RNA interference of wg or frizzled (fz)/Dfz2. Ectopic expression of Dally potentiates Wg signalling without altering levels of Wg and can rescue a wg partial loss-of-function mutant. We also show that dally, a regulator of Decapentaplegic (Dpp) signalling during post-embryonic development, has tissue-specific effects on Wg and Dpp signalling. Dally can therefore differentially influence signalling mediated by two growth factors, and may form a regulatory component of both Wg and Dpp receptor complexes.
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Affiliation(s)
- M Tsuda
- Department of Biology, Tokyo Metropolitan University, Japan
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Toma A, Miyagi I, Kamimura K, Tokuyama Y, Hasegawa H, Selomo M, Dahlan D, Majid I, Hasanuddi I, Ngatimin R, Mogi M, Kuwabara N. Questionnaire survey and prevalence of intestinal helminthic infections in Barru, Sulawesi, Indonesia. Southeast Asian J Trop Med Public Health 1999; 30:68-77. [PMID: 10695792] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 02/15/2023]
Abstract
A questionnaire survey with parasitological study was carried out on the inhabitants of 4 villages in Barru district, Sulawesi, Indonesia from 1994 to 1995. The questionnaire dealt with life style and sanitary conditions. In 482 houses in the 4 villages, interviews for the items of the questionnaire were conducted with the owner, housekeeper and children of the same family. In Pancana and Lalolang, 37.7% and 50% respectively of man inhabitants surveyed were fishermen, while in Lompo Riaja and Pattappa, 38.6% and 65.5% respectively were farmers. The highest proportion of official workers was 33.7% in Lompo Riaja. Educational level was low; 88.4% in Pancana, 90.4% in Lalolang, 62.1% in Lompo Riaja and 91.2% in Pattappa had elementary or below elementary school education. In Lompo Riaja, 30.8% of the inhabitants graduated from senior high school or university. The percentage of families having their own latrine was 30.3% in Pancana, 13.2% in Lalolang, 31.9% in Pattapa and 60% in Lompo Riaja. The people without latrines usually defecated in rice fields, seaside or riverside. A total of 654 fecal samples was examined by the modified Kato-Katz thick smear method. Five nematode species, Ascaris lumbricoides, Trichuris trichiura, Necator americanus, Strongyloides stercoralis and unidentified Rhabditoids of free-living nature were detected. Cestode, Hymenolepis nana infection was confirmed. All the hookworms examined by the modified Harada-Mori culture technic were Necator americanus. Trichuris infection was most common, followed by hookworm and Ascaris infections, both in young (aged 4-14) and older (aged over 15) age groups. The prevalence of hookworm infection was significantly higher in males than in females of older age. Among the older age group, the prevalence of Trichuris infection was significantly lower in Lompo Riaja, while hookworm infection was the highest in Pattappa. Among all the inhabitants examined for parasite infection, 17.4% had 3 kinds of nematode, Ascaris, Trichuris and hookworm. However, egg counts revealed that most of the inhabitants with Trichuris or hookworm had light infections. The inhabitants with higher education background had significantly lower infection rates of Ascaris and Trichuris. The prevalence of hookworm infection was not significantly different between the inhabitants owning latrine and without it, but the prevalence of Ascaris and Trichuris, differed significantly.
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Affiliation(s)
- A Toma
- Faculty of Medicine, University of the Ryukyus, Okinawa, Japan
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Maeda T, Negishi A, Komoto H, Oshima Y, Kamimura K, Sugio T. Isolation of iron-oxidizing bacteria from corroded concretes of sewage treatment plants. J Biosci Bioeng 1999; 88:300-5. [PMID: 16232615 DOI: 10.1016/s1389-1723(00)80013-4] [Citation(s) in RCA: 24] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/10/1999] [Accepted: 06/10/1999] [Indexed: 11/25/2022]
Abstract
Thirty-six strains of iron-oxidizing bacteria were isolated from corroded concrete samples obtained at eight sewage treatment plants in Japan. All of the strains isolated grew autotrophically in ferrous sulfate (3.0%), elemental sulfur (1.0%) and FeS (1.0%) media (pH 1.5). Washed intact cells of the 36 isolates had activities to oxidize both ferrous iron and elemental sulfur. Strain SNA-5, a representative of the isolated strains, was a gram-negative, rod-shaped bacterium (0.5-0.6x0.9-1.5 microm). The mean G+C content of its DNA was 55.9 mol%. The pH and temperature optima for growth were 1.5 and 30 degrees C, and the bacterium had activity to assimilate 14CO2 into the cells when ferrous iron or elemental sulfur was used as a sole source of energy. These results suggest that SNA-5 is Thiobacillus ferrooxidans strain. The pHs and numbers of iron-oxidizing bacteria in corroded concrete samples obtained by boring to depths of 0-1, 1-3, and 3-5 cm below the concrete surface were respectively 1.4, 1.7, and 2.0, and 1.2 x 10(8), 5 x 10(7), and 5 x 10(6) cells/g concrete. The degree of corrosion in the sample obtained nearest to the surface was more severe than in the deeper samples. The findings indicated that the levels of acidification and corrosion of the concrete structure corresponded with the number of iron-oxidizing bacteria in a concrete sample. Sulfuric acid produced by the chemolithoautotrophic sulfur-oxidizing bacterium Thiobacillus thiooxidansis known to induce concrete corrosion. Since not only T. thiooxidans but also T. ferrooxidans can oxidize reduced sulfur compounds and produce sulfuric acid, the results strongly suggest that T. ferrooxidans as well as T. thiooxidans is involved in concrete corrosion.
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Affiliation(s)
- T Maeda
- Technical Research Institute, Hazama Corporation, 515-1 Nishimukai, Karima, Tsukuba 305-0822, Japan
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Abstract
More than 40 missense mutations and a splice-site mutation in the presenilin 1 (PS-1) gene, two missense mutations of presenilin 2 (PS-2), and more than three missense mutations of amyloid precursor protein (APP) cosegregate with early onset familial Alzheimer's disease (FAD). In order to determine the incidence of mutations of these genes in Japanese patients, we screened 25 early onset FAD families, one late-onset FAD case, 33 early onset AD cases and five late-onset AD cases for mutations in the coding regions of the genes using SSCP analysis. Four different missense mutations of the PS-1 gene, including a novel mutation, Glu273Ala, were identified in five early onset FAD families and one missense mutation of PS-1 in one isolated AD patient. While no missense mutations of PS-2 were detected, four silent nucleotide substitutions were observed. Our data indicate that PS-1 mutations account for 20.0% of early onset FAD cases in Japan. Since mutations in PS-2 and APP genes were not found in the remaining cases, which could be explained only partially by apolipoprotein E epsilon4, important FAD genes or risk-factor genes remain to be identified.
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Affiliation(s)
- K Kamimura
- Department of Demyelinating Disease and Aging, NCNP, Kodaira, Tokyo, Japan
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Toma T, Miyagi I, Hasegawa H, Kamimura K, Tokuyama Y, Selomo M, Dahlan D, Majid I, Hasunuddin I, Ngatimin R, Mogi M. Prevalence of intestinal helminthic infections in Barru, S, Sulawesi, Indonesia. Parasitol Int 1998. [DOI: 10.1016/s1383-5769(98)80943-4] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/27/2022]
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Tabata Y, Isashiki Y, Kamimura K, Nakao K, Ohba N. A novel splice site mutation in the tissue inhibitor of the metalloproteinases-3 gene in Sorsby's fundus dystrophy with unusual clinical features. Hum Genet 1998; 103:179-82. [PMID: 9760202 DOI: 10.1007/pl00008707] [Citation(s) in RCA: 15] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/27/2022]
Abstract
Sorsby's fundus dystrophy (SFD) is an autosomal dominant macular dystrophy which is developed usually in the third or fourth decade of life, and is characterized by central visual loss and nyctalopia due to fundus changes of exudative or atrophic macular lesions. Its functional prognosis is usually poor because of disciform macular scars and peripheral chorioretinal atrophies. To date, five different mutations in the tissue inhibitor of the metalloproteinases-3 (TIMP3) gene have been identified in families of a wide geographic origin, all of which are missense mutations that cause replacement by cysteine of conserved amino acids in the C-terminus of exon 5 of TIMP3. We have studied two Japanese families with SFD, the first report from the Eastern world, and identified a novel 3' splice site mutation in the TIMP3 gene, namely a single base insertion at the intron 4/exon 5 junction which converts the consensus sequence CAG to CAAG in the splice acceptor site. In addition, our patients displayed a distinctive clinical expression in that they developed macular dystrophies at an approximately 30-year later age of onset and preserved functional vision until later life with essentially uninvolved peripheral retina. The present findings may provide some insight into the genotype-phenotype relationship in SFD.
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Affiliation(s)
- Y Tabata
- Department of Ophthalmology, Kagoshima University Faculty of Medicine, Japan
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Iwahori K, Kamimura K, Sugio T. Isolation and some properties of cytochrome c oxidase purified from a bisulfite ion resistant Thiobacillus ferrooxidans strain, OK1-50. Biosci Biotechnol Biochem 1998; 62:1081-6. [PMID: 9692188 DOI: 10.1271/bbb.62.1081] [Citation(s) in RCA: 15] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 02/08/2023]
Abstract
Sulfite ion (HSO3-) is one of the products when elemental sulfur is oxidized by the hydrogen sulfide:ferric ion oxidoreductase of Thiobacillus ferrooxidans AP19-3. Under the conditions in which HSO3- is accumulated in the cells, the iron oxidase of this bacterium was strongly inhibited by HSO3-. Since cytochrome c oxidase is one of the most important components of the iron oxidase enzyme system in T. ferrooxidans, effects of HSO3- on cytochrome c oxidase activity were studied with the plasma membranes of HSO3(-)-resistant and -sensitive strains of T. ferrooxidans, OK1-50 and AP19-3. The enzyme activity of AP19-3 compared with OK1-50 was strongly inhibited by HSO3-. To investigate the inhibition mechanism of HSO3- in T. ferrooxidans, cytochrome c oxidases were purified from both strains to an electrophoretically homogeneous state. Cytochrome c oxidase activity of a purified OK1-50 enzyme was not inhibited by 5 mM HSO3-. In contrast, the same concentration of HSO3- inhibited the enzyme activity of AP19-3 50%, indicating that the cytochrome c oxidase of OK1-50 was more resistant to HSO3- than that of AP19-3. Cytochrome c oxidases purified from both strains were composed of three subunits. However, the molecular weight of the largest subunit differed between OK1-50 and AP19-3. Apparent molecular weights of the three subunits of cytochrome c oxidases were 53,000, 24,000, and 19,000 for strain AP19-3 and 55,000, 24,000, and 19,000 for strain OK1-50, respectively.
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Affiliation(s)
- K Iwahori
- Department of Biological Function and Genetic Resources Science, Faculty of Agriculture, Okayama University, Japan
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Kaetsu H, Mizuguchi J, Hamamoto T, Kamimura K, Yoshida Y, Nakagaki T, Ogata Y, Miyamoto S, Funatsu A. Large-scale preparation of human thrombin: polyethylene glycol potentiates the factor Xa-mediated activation of prothrombin. Thromb Res 1998; 90:101-9. [PMID: 9684728 DOI: 10.1016/s0049-3848(98)00026-7] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 02/08/2023]
Abstract
We investigated the ability of polyethylene glycol 4000 to accelerate thrombin generation in a mixture of prothrombin and factor X at concentrations of 1-30%. In the presence of 5 mM of CaCl2, polyethylene glycol 4000 promoted prothrombin activation at concentrations above 1%. The peak of activation was seen at levels of 14 and 20% of polyethylene glycol 4000. The effect of the polyethylene glycol was remarkably dependent on its molecular weight; molecular weights greater than 2000 were required for accelerating thrombin generation. Under optimal conditions, polyethylene glycol 4000, in the presence of CaCl2, promoted conversion of all of the prothrombin into thrombin and its derivatives. We conclude that polyethylene glycol 4000, at concentrations ranging from 14 to 20%, effectively accelerates thrombin generation in the presence of 5 mM of CaCl2. This new method for preparing thrombin is based on the use of polyethylene glycol 4000 and CaCl2 and is applicable to the manufacture of thrombin.
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Affiliation(s)
- H Kaetsu
- The Chemo-Sero-Therapeutic Research Institute, Kumamoto, Okubo, Japan.
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50
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Sugio T, Oda K, Matsumoto K, Takai M, Wakasa S, Kamimura K. Purification and characterization of sulfur reductase from a moderately thermophilic bacterial strain, TI-1, that oxidizes iron. Biosci Biotechnol Biochem 1998; 62:705-9. [PMID: 9614700 DOI: 10.1271/bbb.62.705] [Citation(s) in RCA: 9] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 02/07/2023]
Abstract
A moderately thermophilic bacterium, strain TI-1, produces H2S outside of the cells when grown at 45 degrees C on Fe(2+)-medium (pH 1.8) containing elemental sulfur and L-glutamic acid. A newly identified sulfur reductase was present in the cytosol of this strain and was purified to an electrophoretically homogeneous state from strain TI-1. The apparent molecular weight of sulfur reductase was 86,000 by gel filtration and 48,000 by SDS-PAGE, so the enzyme was a homodimer. The enzyme was most active at pH 9.0 and 60 to 70 degrees C, and it catalyzed the reduction of 1 mol of elemental sulfur with 1 mol of NADH to give 1 mol of H2S and 1 mol of NAD+. Elemental sulfur was a specific electron acceptor of this enzyme. Thiosulfate, sulfite, and tetrathionate were not electron acceptors, but inhibited sulfur reductase activity. NADPH was not used as an electron donor.
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Affiliation(s)
- T Sugio
- Division of Biological Function and Genetic Resources Science, Faculty of Agriculture, Okayama University, Japan
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