Publications by authors named "Miyoko Yamaguchi"

Histone H3 lysine 9 (H3K9) methylation is a hallmark of heterochromatin. H3K9 demethylation is crucial in mouse sex determination; The H3K9 demethylase Jmjd1a deficiency leads to increased H3K9 methylation at the Sry locus in embryonic gonads, thereby compromising Sry expression and causing male-to-female sex reversal. We hypothesized that the H3K9 methylation level at the Sry locus is finely tuned by the balance in activities between the H3K9 demethylase Jmjd1a and an unidentified H3K9 methyltransferase to ensure correct Sry expression.

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Carnitine palmitoyltransferase II (CPT II) deficiency is a rare inherited disorder related to recurrent episodes of rhabdomyolysis. The adult myopathic form of CPT II deficiency is relatively benign and difficult to diagnose. The point mutation S113L in CPT2 is very common in Caucasian patients, whereas F383Y is the most common mutation among Japanese patients.

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Objectives: To determine the induction and changes in anti-influenza virus secretory IgA (s-IgA) levels in nasal washes and serum IgG levels in patients with influenza.

Methods: The study recruited 16 patients with influenza aged 35.6 ± 9.

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Background: In mammals, carnitine palmitoyltransferase (CPT) system is a pivotal component of energy metabolism through mitochondrial fatty acid oxidation. The majority of patients with fatal or handicapped influenza-associated encephalopathy exhibit thermolabile compound homo/heterozygous mutations of CPT II.

Objective: Compound CPT II mutations, [c.

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Influenza-associated encephalopathy (IAE) is characterized by persistently high fever, febrile convulsions, severe brain edema and high mortality. We reported previously that a large proportion of patients with disabling or fatal IAE exhibit a thermolabile phenotype of compound variants for [1055T>G/F352C] and [1102G>A/V368I] of carnitine palmitoyltransferase II (CPT II) and mitochondrial energy crisis during high fever. In the present study, we studied the effect of bezafibrate, a hypolipidemic pan-agonist of peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor (PPAR), on CPT II expression and mitochondrial energy metabolism in fibroblasts of IAE patients and wild type (WT) fibroblasts from a healthy volunteer at 37°C and 41°C.

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Despite the decrease in Reye syndrome after the discontinuation of aspirin, acute encephalopathy (non-Reye syndrome type) has been continually reported in Japan. Recent studies suggested that the thermolabile phenotype of carnitine palmitoyltransferase II (CPT II) variation [F352C] was closely related to the pathomechanism of influenza-associated encephalopathy (IAE) in Japanese, causing mitochondrial ATP utilization failure during periods of high fever, resulting in brain edema. So, we analyzed CPT II polymorphism and peripheral blood ATP levels as a signal of "energy crisis" in 12 and 10 patients with acute encephalopathy, respectively.

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Influenza-associated encephalopathy (IAE) is characterized by persistent high fever, febrile convulsions, severe brain edema, and high mortality in otherwise apparently healthy individuals. We have reported that a large proportion of patients suffering from disabling or fatal IAE, with transiently elevated serum acylcarnitine during high fever, exhibit a thermolabile phenotype of compound homo-/heterozygous variants of carnitine palmitoyltransferase II (CPT II, gene symbol CPT2). We characterized the enzymatic properties of five single and three compound CPT II variants in patients with IAE.

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