Home death is associated with frequency of physician home medical care visits: a questionnaire survey on communications in home medical care settings.

Aim: To investigate the factors related to communications in home medical care settings, and the association between such factors and a patient's place of death.

Methods: A questionnaire survey of 295 families of patients who had previously received home medical care was carried out in June and July 2011. The response rate was 83.

Influence of prior pandemic A(H1N1)2009 virus infection on invasion of MDCK cells by community-associated methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus.

Secondary bacterial pneumonia due to community-associated methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (CA-MRSA) has become a highly publicized cause of death associated with influenza. In this study, we performed the gentamicin-killing assay using Madin-Darby canine kidney (MDCK) cells and MRSA strains to investigate whether prior infection from pandemic A(H1N1)2009 virus (A[H1N1]pdm09) lead to increased invasion of MDCK cells by MRSA. We found that the invasion rate of two MRSA strains (ATCC BAA-1680 [USA 300] and ATCC BAA-1699 [USA 100]) into intact MDCK cell monolayers was 0.

Semiquantitative analysis of apolipoprotein A-I modified by advanced glycation end products in diabetes mellitus.

Background: Apolipoprotein A-I (Apo A-I), the major component of high-density lipoprotein (HDL), is modified by reactive α-oxoaldehydes, such as methylglyoxal (MG) and glycolaldehyde (GA), and these modifications affect the function of Apo A-I. GA- and MG-modified Apo A-I serum levels were semiquantitatively evaluated in diabetic patients to elucidate the association of each protein with diabetes and to determine its appropriateness as a serum marker of diabetes.

Methods: We enrolled 44 subjects in this study (diabetic subjects, n = 24; nondiabetic subjects, n = 20).

Progression of non-small cell lung cancer: diagnostic and prognostic utility of matrix metalloproteinase-2, C-reactive protein and serum amyloid A.

Matrix metalloproteinase-2 (MMP-2) is known to degrade type IV collagen, which is a major component of the cellular basement membrane, and to be involved in the invasion and metastasis of cancer cells. On the other hand, C-reactive protein (CRP) and serum amyloid A (SAA) are acute inflammatory biomarkers that increase in various conditions including infection, inflammation, malignancy and tissue disturbance. In the present study, we examined the serum levels of MMP-2, CRP and SAA in patients with localized and metastatic non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) to establish the clinical significance and changes in these biomarkers during NSCLC progression.

Clinicopathological characteristics of androgen-dependent advanced prostate cancer patients with α2-macroglobulin deficiency.

α2-Macroglobulin (α2M) is thought to be involved in cancer metastasis and inflammatory reaction through its functions as a proteinase inhibitor and carrier protein for interleukin-6 (IL-6). We previously reported that advanced prostate cancer (PCa) patients with multiple distant bone metastases had markedly decreased serum α2M levels (<20 mg/dl) and no detection of α2M by immunoelectrophoresis (defined as α2M deficiency). We also showed a relationship between serum α2M levels and acute inflammatory biomarkers in PCa patients with or without α2M deficiency.

Clinical significance of DJ-1 as a secretory molecule: retrospective study of DJ-1 expression at mRNA and protein levels in ductal carcinoma of the breast.

Aims: DJ-1 is a molecule secreted into serum by some breast cancer cells. However, little is known about the clinical significance of the DJ-1 expression.

Methods And Results: Expression of DJ-1 protein was examined by immunohistochemistry, and expression of DJ-1 mRNA was detected using in-situ hybridization in 273 invasive ductal carcinomas (IDCs) and 41 ductal carcinomas in situ (DCISs) of the breast, and also in breast cancer cell lines.

Clinical usefulness of multiplex PCR lateral flow in MRSA detection: a novel, rapid genetic testing method.

Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) with exogenous cassette DNA containing the methicillin-resistant gene mecA (SCCmec) poses a problem as a drug-resistant bacterium responsible for hospital- and community-acquired infections. The frequency of MRSA detection has recently been increasing rapidly in Japan, and SCCmec has also been classified more diversely into types I-V. A rapid test is essential for early diagnosis and treatment of MRSA infections, but detection by conventional methods requires at least two days.

Levels of acute inflammatory biomarkers in advanced prostate cancer patients with α2-macroglobulin deficiency.

C-reactive protein (CRP), serum amyloid A (SAA), interleukin-6 (IL-6), α1-antitrypsin (α1AT), α1-acid glycoprotein (α1AG) and ceruloplasmin (CP) are acute inflammatory biomarkers that increase in various conditions including infection, inflammation, malignancy and tissue disturbance. In contrast, α2-macroglobulin (α2M) is involved in inflammation through its function as a carrier protein of IL-6. We had previously reported on advanced prostate cancer (PCa) patients with multiple distant bone metastases in whom serum α2M levels were markedly decreased (α2M deficiency).

Acute inflammatory biomarkers in cerebrospinal fluid as indicators of blood cerebrospinal fluid barrier damage in Japanese subjects with infectious meningitis.

Background: The blood-cerebrospinal fluid barrier (BCB) has selectivity for protein components with different molecular weights. Protein components in the cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) change when the BCB is damaged. We calculated the alpha2 macroglobulin (alpha2M) index as an indicator of BCB permeability from the point of view of molecular weight and evaluated the relationship between the alpha2M index and CSF concentrations of the inflammatory biomarkers interleukin-6 (IL-6), C-reactive protein (CRP), and serum amyloid A (SAA) in Japanese subjects with infectious meningitis, in order to determine the clinical significance of those inflammatory biomarkers in CSF.

[Electroencephalographic background activity and blood biochemistry data in patients with chronic renal failure during chronic hemodialysis].

There is no particular electroencephalographic activity known to be associated with consciousness disturbance in uremic patients; however, a slow wave activity is generally observed during consciousness disturbance. Abnormal electroencephalographic activity was observed in 30 (67%) of 45 chronic renal failure patients during chronic hemodialysis without consciousness disturbance, and slow wave activity was observed in 58%. The frequency of the electroencephalographic background activity correlated with blood urea nitrogen (BUN) and serum Ca levels, but not with K, IP, and creatinine levels.

Flow cytometric detection of small cell lung cancer cells with aberrant CD45 expression in micrometastatic bone marrow.

A lot of hematologists are often faced with the difficulty of diagnosing bone marrow micrometastasis of carcinoma cells. We employed a new flow cytometric immunophenotyping by a combination of CD45 with three neuroendocrine markers: CD56, microtubule-associated protein-2 and synaptophysin, and successfully detected micrometastatic tumor cells in the bone marrow of a 61-year-old male patient with small cell lung cancer (SCLC), whose marrow smears never showed a distinct morphology of metastasis. It was noteworthy that these SCLC cells accompanied the aberrant expression of CD45, leukocyte common antigen known as a specific marker for hematolymphoid neoplasms, which was not detected in the tumor of primary lesion.

Intervention of an inflammation amplifier, triggering receptor expressed on myeloid cells 1, for treatment of autoimmune arthritis.

Objective: Triggering receptor expressed on myeloid cells 1 (TREM-1) is inducible on monocyte/macrophages and neutrophils and accelerates tissue destruction by propagating inflammatory responses in disease related to bacterial infections. Its blockade rescues the hosts in murine models of sepsis, to clear the bacteria without impairing the host defense. The aim of this study was to investigate the involvement of TREM-1 in an autoimmune, noninfectious disease.

Associations of IgG N-linked oligosaccharide chains and proteases in sera of prostate cancer patients with and without alpha2-macroglobulin deficiency.

We previously reported on a number of cases of metastatic prostate cancer (PCa) in which serum alpha2-macroglobulin (alpha2M) levels were markedly decreased to less than 20 mg/dl (alpha2M deficiency). All PCa patients with alpha2M deficiency had multiple bone metastases. Proteases in ten PCa patients with and without alpha2M deficiency were studied and compared against ten healthy controls in order to elucidate the relationships between changes in sugar chain structure and neoplasia.

[Annual changes in antimicrobial susceptibility of Campylobacter jejuni and Campylobacter coli isolated from acute diarrheic patients].

Two hundred thirty-one Campylobacter were isolated from acute diarrheic patients between January 2001 and December 2005. We evaluated annual changes in identified species of Campylobacter and their susceptibilities against antibiotics. Campylobacter jejuni (219 strains; 94.

Prognostic potential of a PSA complex in sera of prostate cancer patients with alpha2-macroglobulin deficiency.

We previously reported on a number of cases of metastatic prostate cancer (PCa) in which serum alpha2-macroglobulin (alpha2M) levels were markedly decreased to less than 20 mg/dl (alpha2M deficiency). In order to elucidate the relative proportions of free and a prostate-specific antigen (PSA) complex in PCa patients with alpha2M deficiency, we have assessed serum alpha2M and total PSA levels, and ratios of free PSA to total PSA (F/T ratios) at each stage of PCa. Moreover, the PSA reactivity profile was determined on fractionated serum specimens of PCa patients using high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) using a TSKG-3000 SWXL column.

Changes to N-linked oligosaccharide chains of human serum immunoglobulin G and matrix metalloproteinase-2 with cancer progression.

Background: Alterations to the sugar chain structure of E-cadherin, a calcium-dependent adhesion molecule, have been shown to influence cancer metastasis. Furthermore, expression of sialyl Le(x) sugar chains on cancer cells has been demonstrated to influence their adhesion to vascular endothelial cells. On the other hand, matrix metalloproteinase-2 (MMP-2) degrades extracellular matrix and is involved in the invasion and metastasis of cancer cells.

[Pathological mechanisms of gouty arthritis].

Gout is a disease caused by the deposition of monosodium urate monohydrate (MSU) crystals. Precise mechanisms underlying the initiation of acute gout, however, are not known. Recent investigations provided novel evidence in the pathology of acute gout.

Serum matrix metalloproteinase-2 levels indicate blood-CSF barrier damage in patients with infectious meningitis.

Objective: Protein components in cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) are maintained at a specific concentration by a dynamic gradient between the capillary and intrathecal spaces via the blood-cerebrospinal fluid barrier (BCB) in the brain and spinal cord. Permeability to proteins increases when there is structural damage to the BCB. Matrix metalloproteinase-2 (MMP-2; gelatinase A) has been shown to degrade type IV collagen, a major component of the cellular basement membrane.

Mitochondria play a role in the development of non-apoptotic programmed cell death of neutrophils induced by ONO-AE-248.

We previously reported that ONO-AE-248, a selective EP3 receptor agonist, has been shown to cause neutrophil death without the typical features of apoptosis and necrosis. However, the mechanism of the neutrophil death is unclear. By using Western blotting, flow cytometry (FACS) and confocal laser scanning microscopy (CLSM), we investigated the cellular signal transduction pathways of the neutrophil death.

[Evaluation of antigen diagnostic kit in group A streptococcus mass infection].

We report a Food-borne group A streptococcus epidemic at Kitasato University campus on July 30 and 31, 2005, believed caused by lunch. A current mass group A streptococcus infection differing from the food-borne epidemic above occurred at Kitasato University East Hospital, also believed caused by lunch. Group A streptococcus was detected using a prompt diagnostic kit and bacterial culture from 116 clinical specimens taken from 116 patients with group A streptococcus pharyngitis at Kitasato University East Hospital on August 5, 2005.

Dihydrotestosterone inhibits tumor necrosis factor alpha induced interleukin-1alpha mRNA expression in rheumatoid fibroblast-like synovial cells.

Rheumatoid arthritis (RA) is a chronic inflammatory disease that affects multiple synovial joints. Proinflammatory cytokines, such as interleukin-1 (IL-1) and tumor necrosis factor (TNF)alpha play important roles as principle inflammatory and destructive components of the disease. RA is known to be associated with significant gender differences in its prevalence and clinical features.

17beta-estradiol induces IL-1alpha gene expression in rheumatoid fibroblast-like synovial cells through estrogen receptor alpha (ERalpha) and augmentation of transcriptional activity of Sp1 by dissociating histone deacetylase 2 from ERalpha.

Rheumatoid arthritis (RA) occurs four times more frequently in women than in men, although the mechanistic basis of the gender difference is unknown. RA is characterized by the overproliferation of synoviocytes producing proinflammatory cytokines such as IL-1, implicated in the pathogenesis of the disease. In this study we examined whether 17beta-estradiol (E2) induced IL-1alpha mRNA expression in the rheumatoid fibroblast-like cell line MH7A, as well as in primary synovial cells from RA patients, and investigated the underlying molecular mechanisms.