Induction of transformation and p53-dependent apoptosis by adenovirus type 5 E4orf6/7 cDNA.

Adenovirus (Ad) E4orf6/7, one of the early gene products of human Ads, forms a stable complex with the cellular transcription factor E2F to activate transcription from the Ad E2 promoter. E2F cDNAs have growth-promoting and apoptosis-inducing activities when overexpressed in cells. We cloned Ad5 E4orf6/7 cDNA in both simian virus 40- and human cytomegalovirus-based expression vectors to examine its transforming and apoptotic activities.

Purification and characterization of two major forms of naloxone reductase from rabbit liver cytosol, new members of aldo-keto reductase superfamily.

Rabbit liver cytosol produced approximately equal amounts of 6alpha-naloxol and 6beta-naloxol from naloxone in the presence of NADPH at pH 7.4, and contained at least four forms of naloxone reductase. The two major forms, NR1 and NR2, which catalyze the stereospecific reduction of naloxone to 6alpha-naloxol and 6beta-naloxol, respectively, were purified to apparent homogeneity by various chromatographic techniques.

Purification and characterization of rat liver naloxone reductase that is identical to 3alpha-hydroxysteroid dehydrogenase.

1. Rat liver cytosol produced exclusively 6beta-naloxol from naloxone in the presence of either NADPH or NADH at pH 7.4.

Z-line structural diversity in frog single muscle fiber in the passive state.

The structural changes of the Z-line between small square net (ss) and basket weave (bw) cross-sectional patterns were examined using intact single fibers and mechanically skinned fibers in the passive state to determine if the pattern is related to the sarcomere length (SL) and if the pattern undergoes a reversible transition in low- and high-osmotic medium. Frog single fibers were isolated from the anterior tibial muscle in Ringer's solution. Entirely or partially skinned single fibers were prepared in relaxing solution (also called low-osmotic medium).

Asymptomatic cerebrovascular lesions detected by magnetic resonance imaging in patients with systemic lupus erythematosus lacking a history of neuropsychiatric events.

Objective: To clarify the extent of asymptomatic cerebrovascular involvement in systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE).

Patients And Methods: Cerebral magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) findings and ultrasonography findings of 100 patients with SLE lacking present or past clinical neurologic deficits were compared with 66 age-matched volunteers to determine the combined intima-media thickness (IMT) of the common carotid artery, and tests for anti-cardiolipin antibodies (aCL).

Results: Thirty-eight patients, but only 2 controls, showed imaging abnormalities.

Salivary gland cytokine expression in NOD and normal BALB/c mice.

The autoimmune diabetes-prone nonobese diabetic (NOD) mouse develops a chronic lymphocytic infiltration of endocrine and exocrine glands. The objectives of this study were to characterize the salivary immune infiltration and cytokine expression of NOD mice and compare these findings to those of normal BALB/c mice. A decline in salivary flow rates in NOD mice began between 8 and 12 weeks of age.

Effect of lysophosphatidic acid on the ovum transport in mouse oviducts.

The effects of lysophosphatidic acid (LPA) on ovum transport in mouse oviducts were studied. When excised oviducts were incubated at 37 degrees C under 5% CO2 in humidified air for 24 hours, addition of LPA at 10 microM to the medium significantly accelerated the rate of ovum transport, and 1 microM LPA slightly increased the ovum transport rate. These increases were not inhibited by 10 microM indomethacin, a cyclooxygense inhibitor, but were suppressed by 260 ng/ml of pertussis toxin or 10 microM verapamil, a voltage-sensitive calcium channel blocker.

A cambialistic SOD in a strictly aerobic hyperthermophilic archaeon, Aeropyrum pernix.

The superoxide dismutase (SOD) gene of Aeropyrum pernix, a strictly aerobic hyperthermophilic archaeon, was cloned and expressed in Escherichia coli, and its gene product was characterized. The molecular mass of the protein, based on the deduced amino acid sequence, was 24.6 kDa.

Production of lysophosphatidic acids by lysophospholipase D in human follicular fluids of In vitro fertilization patients.

Lysophosphatidic acids (LPAs) are known to be normal constituents of mammalian serum, and they mimic some biological effects of the serum. We previously reported that lysophospholipase D (LPLD) was involved in the accumulation of LPAs in incubated rat plasma and serum. In this study we detected, by gas-liquid chromatography, various molecular species of LPA in follicular fluids collected from women programmed for in vitro fertilization.

[Production of morphinone as a metabolite of morphine and its physiological role].

Morphine is a potent analgesic and is widely used in the clinical management of severe acute and chronic pain; however, its clinical usefulness is limited due to the development of both tolerance and dependence after repeated morphine administration. The morphine metabolism has been studied in order to elucidate its pharmacological actions as well as its adverse effects. Thus far several metabolites have been identified and their analgesic potency and toxicity have been also investigated.

Relationship between brain atrophy estimated by a longitudinal computed tomography study and blood pressure control in patients with essential hypertension.

To evaluate the relationship between blood pressure control and the progression of brain atrophy in the elderly, patients with essential hypertension and brain atrophy were longitudinally evaluated using computerized tomography (CT). The study evaluated 48 patients with essential hypertension aged 46-78 years, and 30 sex- and age-matched normotensive control subjects. The extent of brain atrophy as determined by caudate head index (CHI), the inverse cella media index (iCMI), and Evans' ratio (ER) was estimated twice at an interval of 5-9 years (mean, 6.

Expression and characterization of rat UDP-N-acetylglucosamine: alpha-3-D-mannoside beta-1,2-N-acetylglucosaminyltransferase I in Saccharomyces cerevisiae.

The yeast Saccharomyces cerevisiae is a useful host for the production of heterologous proteins through the secretory pathway. However, because of the potential antigenicity of mannan-type sugar chains in humans, yeast cannot be used as a host for the production of glycoprotein therapeutics. To overcome this problem, we are trying to breed a yeast which can produce hybrid- or complex-type carbohydrates.

An azide-insensitive superoxide dismutase from a hyperthermophilic archaeon, Sulfolobus solfataricus.

The superoxide dismutase (SOD) gene of Sulfolobus solfataricus, a hyperthermophilic archaeon, was cloned and expressed in Escherichia coli, and its gene product was characterized. When the protein was expressed in E. coli, it formed a homodimer that contained both Mn and Fe.

[Carotid artery atherosclerosis in patients with myocardial infarction].

This study investigated carotid artery atherosclerosis in patients with myocardial infarction. One hundred and two patients with acute myocardial infarction [Group MI: male 86, female 16, mean 62 (range 43-79) years] and 55 normal subjects matched for age and sex with negative responses to exercise electrocardiogram testing (control group: Group C) were included. Patients in Group MI were divided into 3 subgroups according to coronary angiographic findings as follows: 57 patients with one-vessel disease (Group I: mean 59 years), 34 with 2-vessel disease (Group II: mean 64 years), and 11 with 3-vessel disease (Group III: mean 64 years).

Sjögren's syndrome: a model for dental care in the 21st century.

The diagnosis and treatment of Sjögren's syndrome, which poses many severe complications, should be of critical interest to dentists, who are often the first practitioners to detect symptoms. Dentistry is an integral part of health care delivery for patients with this condition. Management of Sjögren's syndrome can be seen as a model for the expanded scope of dental care in the future.

[Hemodynamics of asymptomatic brain infarction determined by Doppler sonography].

We compared the usefulness of two methods for diagnosing asymptomatic brain infarction: an ultrasonic quantitative flow measurement system (QFM) and a transcranial Doppler arteriography (TCDA). A total of 137 patients (73 men and 64 women) who underwent magnetic resonance imaging of the brain, QFM, and TCDA were enrolled. Their ages ranged from 41 to 83 years (mean age, 63 years).

Semen analysis and antisperm antibody.

Evaluation of the fertilizing potential of sperm is an important procedure in in vitro fertilization and embryo transfer (IVF-ET) clinic, in order to avoid performing invalid conventional IVF-ET or unnecessary intracytoplasmic sperm injection (ICSI). However, none of the standard semen parameters are reliable indices in predicting IVF outcome. The test examining sperm-zona interaction is the best present method, though the short supply of the human zona component should be solved.

[Relationship between carotid atherosclerosis and plasma endothelin-1 concentration in senile patients with hypertension].

The relationship between carotid atherosclerosis and plasma endothelin-1 (ET-1) concentration was studied in senile patients with essential hypertension. A total of 212 patients (83 M, 129 F; mean age, 63 years) with essential hypertension (WHO stage I-II), and 109 age-matched control subjects (mean age, 61 years) were enrolled in the study. The maximum thicknesses of the intima-media complex (IMTmax) in the right common carotid artery (CCA) and the right internal carotid artery (ICA) was measured by B-mode ultrasonography, and ET-1 was measured by enzyme immunoassay.

[Effects of long-term antihypertensive medication on common carotid hemodynamics in elderly patients with essential hypertension].

This longitudinal study was performed in order to clarify the effects of long-term antihypertensive medication on common carotid hemodynamics. A total of 84 patients (54 males and 30 females), who had been receiving treatment with antihypertensive medications for 5 years, were enrolled in this study. The subjects' ages ranged from 62 to 74 (mean 67).

[The relationship between brain atrophy and asymptomatic cerebral lesions].

In order to clarify the relationship between brain atrophy and asymptomatic cerebral lesions, total of 235 subjects (130 males and 105 females), who had neither neurologic deficits nor organic lesions on cerebral computed tomography, were studied. The subjects' ages ranged from 40 to 86 years (mean 66). They were divided into two groups: 90 controls without hypertension or diabetes mallitus (Group C), and 145 patients with essential hypertension (Group H).

Biochemical and genetic characterization of an FK506-sensitive peptidyl prolyl cis-trans isomerase from a thermophilic archaeon, Methanococcus thermolithotrophicus.

A peptidyl prolyl cis-trans isomerase (PPIase) was purified from a thermophilic methanogen, Methanococcus thermolithotrophicus. The PPIase activity was inhibited by FK506 but not by cyclosporine. The molecular mass of the purified enzyme was estimated to be 16 kDa by sodium dodecyl sulfate-polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis and 42 kDa by gel filtration.

[Estrogen, progesterone--biosynthesis, receptor and action].

Ovarian sex steroid hormones, estrogen and progesterone, have crucial effects on female reproductive functions such as the development and maturation of reproductive organs and the appearance of normal menstrual cycles. The precursor of steroid hormones is a cholesterol that is synthesized de novo from acetate or that is taken in as LDL-cholesterol via LDL-receptor. Members of cytochrome P450 superfamily and hydroxysteroid dehydrogenase (HSD) involved in the biosynthesis of the steroid hormones.

Avoidance of oocyte retrieval on the weekend through the use of scheduled ovarian hyperstimulation for in vitro fertilization and embryo transfer.

Objective: To avoid oocyte retrieval for IVF-ET during the weekend, the scheduled method of ovarian hyperstimulation, in which oocyte retrieval is planned in advance for Monday through Wednesday, was evaluated.

Design: A retrospective study.

Setting: The IVF-ET unit of the Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology at Tokushima University Hospital.

Prevalence, vasculature, and innervation of myocardial bridges in dogs.

Objective: To report gross anatomic examination of the canine myocardial bridge (MB), a muscular band found above the coronary artery (CA), with respect to its occurrence, location, vascularization, and innervation.

Sample Population: 629 canine hearts obtained within 1 to 3 hours after euthanasia.

Procedure: After an incision was made at the left fifth intercostal space, the pericardial sac was cut open, and if an MB was present, the heart, lungs, and annexed structures were removed together and subsequently subjected to macroscopic examination of MB musculature and innervation after formalin fixation.