Effect of adrenocorticotropin stimulation on the synthesis of 19-noraldosterone in man.

The hormone, 19-noraldosterone, which was recently shown to be synthesized and produced in the human adrenal gland, exhibits potent mineralocorticoid and hypertensinogenic activities. This hormone is controlled in part by the renin-angiotensin system. We studied the effects of ACTH stimulation on the synthesis of 19-noraldosterone in vitro and in six normal men.

[Cholesteryl ester transfer protein (CETP) deficiency and increased HDL cholesterol levels (hyperalphalipoproteinemia)].

Four different CETP gene mutations have been identified as causes of increased levels of HDL cholesterol by us and other investigators; two splice donor site mutations involving intron 14, one missense mutation of D442G in exon 15, and one nonsense mutation of Q309X in exon 10. Two splice donor site mutations are G(+1)-to-A transition (Int14A) and T insertion at +3 position (Int14T), and both mutations result in null phenotype as well as a nonsense mutation. By contrast, the D442G mutation is partially defective in plasma CETP activity.

Long-term probucol treatment results in regression of xanthomas, but in progression of coronary atherosclerosis in a heterozygous patient with familial hypercholesterolemia.

A 66-year-old male heterozygous familial hypercholesterolemia (FH) patient with significant coronary atherosclerosis has been treated by us with probucol (1000 mg daily) for eight years. This treatment has produced significant reductions in the cholesterol levels of his serum, low density lipoprotein (LDL), and high density lipoprotein (HDL) from 237 +/- 20 mg/dl (mean +/- S.D.

Severe gastrointestinal complications of dialysis-related amyloidosis in two patients on long-term hemodialysis.

Two patients undergoing long-term hemodialysis developed severe gastrointestinal complications due to dialysis-related amyloidosis (DRA). Case 1, a 68-year-old male on hemodialysis for 18 years developed marked gastric dilatation and severe paralytic ileus. Five years later he died of peritonitis.

Correlation between serum carnitine levels and erythrocyte osmotic fragility in hemodialysis patients.

The relationship between serum carnitine levels and erythrocyte osmotic fragility was investigated in 26 chronic hemodialysis patients (10 males and 16 females, mean age: 57.3 +/- 13.5 years).

Correlation between myocardial dysfunction and changes in myosin isoenzymes in diabetic rat hearts.

We investigated the relationship between papillary muscle function and the myosin isoenzyme pattern, collagen content, and the type of myocardial collagen in diabetic rats to elucidate the mechanism of short-term myocardial dysfunction in diabetes. Diabetes was induced in 9-week-old male Wistar rats with a single intravenous injection of streptozotocin. One-half of the diabetic rats were treated with insulin.

Ultrafast computed tomography in the diagnosis and evaluation of anomalous origin of the right coronary artery.

Anomalous origin of the right coronary artery may lead to myocardial ischemia despite the absence of atherosclerosis. We report the case of a 52-year-old man who was admitted to our hospital with exertional chest discomfort and palpitations. An anomalous origin of the right coronary artery was demonstrated by coronary angiography.

[A quantitative evaluation of coronary steal phenomenon in coronary artery-pulmonary artery fistula: case report].

A 67-year-old woman was admitted to our hospital with a complaint of anterior chest pain on exertion. Auscultation disclosed a continuous murmur and exercise electrocardiography revealed positive ischemic ST change. Coronary angiography showed a large left coronary fistula and a small right coronary fistula into the main pulmonary artery.

Noninvasive prediction of coronary atherosclerosis by quantification of coronary artery calcification using electron beam computed tomography: comparison with electrocardiographic and thallium exercise stress test results.

Objectives: This study was designed to compare the usefulness of electron beam computed tomography for prediction of coronary stenosis with that of electrocardiographic (ECG) and thallium exercise tests.

Background: Electron beam computed tomography can quantify coronary calcifications; however, its clinical value has yet to be established.

Methods: Using the volume mode of electron beam computed tomography, we studied 251 consecutive patients who underwent elective coronary angiography because of suspected coronary artery disease and compared the results with those of ECG and thallium exercise tests.

[EBER-1 expression in salivary glands of Sjögren's syndrome].

EB virus-encoded small nuclear RNAs (EBERs) which present in large numbers during persistent infection, are known to stably bind to SSB/La antigen, leading to speculation that EBV may be involved in the pathogenesis of primary Sjögren's syndrome (1 degree SjS). Although studied by many investigators serologically, immunohistochemically and molecular biologically, this remains controversial. In situ hybridization study for EBER-1 showed positive hybridization in ductal epithelial cells in nine of eighteen salivary glands (SGs).

Mutations causing high basal level transcription that is independent of transcriptional activators but dependent on chromosomal position in Saccharomyces cerevisiae.

Two single (bel2 and bel4) and two double (bel3 bel7 and bel5 be16) mutations causing enhanced transcription of a gene fusion, consisting of the open reading frame of PHO5 connected to the HIS5 promoter (HIS5p) integrated at the ura3 or leu2 locus, were isolated from a gcn4-disrupted mutant of Saccharomyces cerevisiae. The PHO5 gene, encoding repressible acid phosphatase, in the HIS5p-PHO5 construct was derepressed under amino acid starved conditions by the action of the transcriptional activator Gcn4p. The bel mutants showed temperature-sensitive cell growth and/or cell aggregation.

[Molecular genetics of cholesterol transport and cholesterol reverse transport disorders (familial hypercholesterolemia and CETP deficiency), and coronary heart disease].

Familial hypercholesterolemia (FH) is a disorder of LDL receptor abnormalities, and the resultant high-LDL-cholesterolemia produces atherosclerosis. More than 150 different mutations in the LDL receptor gene have been reported in the world. Seven variants of the LDL receptor gene have been identified in our laboratory.

Effects of angiotensin-converting enzyme inhibitor and aldosterone antagonist on myocardial collagen in cardiomyopathic hamsters.

To examine the effects of angiotensin-converting enzyme (ACE) inhibitor and aldosterone antagonist on myocardial collagen in the cardiomyopathic hamster, the collagen concentration was measured by determining the hydroxyproline concentration, and the ratio of type I to type III collagen (type I/III ratio) was measured by sodium dodecyl sulfate-polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis. Five-week-old Bio14.6 cardiomyopathic hamsters were treated with the ACE inhibitor captopril (20 mg/kg per day) or the aldosterone antagonist K-canrenoate (20 mg/kg per day) in drinking water for 20 weeks, and the collagen concentration and type I/III ratio at 25 weeks were compared with those in 25-week-old untreated Bio14.

Coronary artery bypass grafting in familial hypercholesterolemia.

Familial hypercholesterolemia is an autosomal dominant disorder caused by a mutation of the gene for the low-density lipoprotein receptor and is characterized by rapidly progressing coronary atherosclerosis. We assessed the long-term results of coronary artery bypass grafting performed during the past 13 years in 62 patients with heterozygous familial hypercholesterolemia, whose mean plasma total and low-density lipoprotein cholesterol level was 327 mg/dl, respectively. The patients had severe coronary atherosclerosis, with coronary stenosis index of 19.

[Carbon-11 labeled diacylglycerol for signal transduction imaging by positron CT: evaluation of the quality and safety for clinical use].

To elucidate the synaptic transmission in the neural system, we have been developing fundamental studies for intracellular signaling. For clinical application of carbon-11 labeled diacylglycerol (1-[1-11C]butyryl-2-palmitoyl-rac-glycerol: 11C-DAG) using positron emission computed tomography (PET), we evaluated the quality and the safety of 11C-DAG as the solution for injection. As a result, 11C-DAG was synthesized within 50 minutes, including the preparation step for injection.

Effect of FK 506 on the expression of endothelin receptor mRNA in the vasculature.

Tacrolimus (FK 506) is a new, more powerful immunosuppressant and is more effective in the prevention and treatment of allograft rejection in humans than cyclosporine (CysA). The present study was conducted to determine whether FK 506 increases ET(A) receptor mRNA in blood vessels in rats. FK 506 5 mg/kg/day for 4 weeks increased blood pressure and expression of ET(A) receptor mRNA in mesenteric arteries of Wistar-Kyoto rats.

[Carbon-11 labeled diacylglycerol for signal transduction imaging: effect of the solubilizer on the distribution and radiation dosimetry].

Carbon-11 labeled diacylglycerol (11C-DAG) has been developed as a signal transduction imaging agent for the CNS, and it can visualize the second messenger. For clinical application by positron CT (PET), the 11C-DAG solution must be prepared for intravenous injection. However, the 11C-DAG does not dissolve in water because of its lipophilicity and requires a solubilizer such as human serum albumin (HSA) and Tween 80 (TW-80).