Prediction of Early BK Virus Infection in Kidney Transplant Recipients by the Number of Cells With Intranuclear Inclusion Bodies (Decoy Cells).

Background: BK virus (BKV) is the cause of nephropathy. Because BKV nephropathy can progress to graft loss, early diagnosis of BKV infection is very important. In this study, we aimed to investigate the utility of quantifying cells with intranuclear inclusion bodies (decoy cells) in urinary sediment for the screening and monitoring of BKV infection in renal transplant recipients at our hospital.

Emergence of Mycoplasma genitalium with clinically significant fluoroquinolone resistance conferred by amino acid changes both in GyrA and ParC in Japan.

We observed fluoroquinolone treatment failures in 2 men with Mycoplasma genitalium-positive non-gonococcal urethritis in Japan. A fluoroquinolone regimen of sitafloxacin 100 mg twice daily for 7 days failed to eradicate M. genitalium.

Clinical courses of herpes simplex virus-induced urethritis in men.

We retrieved clinical data of 13 men having herpes simplex virus (HSV)-induced non-gonococcal urethritis (NGU) without visible herpetic lesions. They visited a clinic in Sendai, Japan, between April 2013 and December 2015. All the men complained of dysuria.

Ferritin Assembly Revisited: A Time-Resolved Small-Angle X-ray Scattering Study.

The assembly reaction of Escherichia coli ferritin A (EcFtnA) was studied using time-resolved small-angle X-ray scattering (TR-SAXS). EcFtnA forms a cagelike structure that consists of 24 identical subunits and dissociates into dimers at acidic pH. The dimer maintains nativelike secondary and tertiary structures and is able to reassemble into a 24-mer when the pH is increased.

Clinical effectiveness and safety of tazobactam/piperacillin 4.5 g for the prevention of febrile infectious complication after prostate biopsy.

We investigated the clinical effectiveness and safety of tazobactam/piperacillin (TAZ/PIPC) in a 1:8 ratio, a β-lactamase inhibitor with penicillin antibiotic, for the prevention of febrile infectious complication after prostate biopsy. Each patient received a single dose of TAZ/PIPC 4.5 g, 30 min before the biopsy in Group 1 or TAZ/PIPC 4.

A compact intermediate state of calmodulin in the process of target binding.

Calmodulin undergoes characteristic conformational changes by binding Ca(2+), which allows it to bind to more than 300 target proteins and regulate numerous intracellular processes in all eukaryotic cells. We measured the conformational changes of calmodulin upon Ca(2+) and mastoparan binding using the time-resolved small-angle X-ray scattering technique combined with flash photolysis of caged calcium. This measurement system covers the time range of 0.

[Disseminated nocardiosis presenting as retroperitoneal abscess: a case report].

A 64-year-old man presented to our emergency room with right back pain on July 10, 2009. At the emergency room, abdominal enhanced computed tomography revealed a cystic lesion in the retroperitoneum. Then he was referred to our department.

[A case of mucinous tubular and spindle cell carcinoma of the kidney].

We report a case of mucinous tubular and spindle cell carcinoma (MTSCC) of the kidney. A 68-years old female consulted a primary hospital with a chief complaint of back pain. Computed tomography revealed the tumor of the left kidney, so she was referred to our department.

Non-native alpha-helix formation is not necessary for folding of lipocalin: comparison of burst-phase folding between tear lipocalin and beta-lactoglobulin.

Tear lipocalin and beta-lactoglobulin are members of the lipocalin superfamily. They have similar tertiary structures but unusually low overall sequence similarity. Non-native helical structures are formed during the early stage of beta-lactoglobulin folding.

Interactions responsible for secondary structure formation during folding of equine beta-lactoglobulin.

Equine beta-lactoglobulin forms a compact intermediate at an acidic pH (A state). It also forms an expanded and helical conformation at low temperatures (C state). The structure of a single disulfide mutant C66A/C160A is similar to the A state in the presence of salts, while it is similar to the C state at low anion concentrations.

Structural and thermodynamic consequences of removal of a conserved disulfide bond from equine beta-lactoglobulin.

A disulfide bond between cysteine 66 and cysteine 160 of equine beta-lactoglobulin was removed by substituting cysteine residues with alanine. This disulfide bond is conserved across the lipocalin family. The conformation and stability of the disulfide-deleted mutant protein was investigated by circular dichroism.

[Synergetic responses after administration of interleukin-2 and Interferon-alpha combined with gamma knife radiosurgery in a patient with multiple lung and brain metastases: a case report].

A 51-year-old man with left renal tumor and multiple lung metastases was admitted to our hospital for treatment. Left nephrectomy was performed, and pathological diagnosis was renal cell carcinoma (clear cell carcinoma, G2, pT3a). Initially, Interferon-alpha (IFN-alpha) therapy was started for lung metastases.

Helical and expanded conformation of equine beta-lactoglobulin in the cold-denatured state.

The thermal unfolding transition of equine beta-lactoglobulin (ELG) was investigated by circular dichroism (CD) over a temperature range of -15 degrees C to 85 degrees C. In the presence of 2 M urea, a cooperative unfolding transition was observed both with increasing and decreasing temperature. The CD spectrum indicated that the heat and cold-denatured states of ELG have substantial secondary structures but lack persistent tertiary packing of the side-chains.

[Clinical study of male urethritis in Oogaki Municipal Hospital].

We studied 181 patients diagnosed with male urethritis at Oogaki Municipal Hospital from April 2002 to March 2004. Twenty-two out of 92 patients diagnosed with gonococcal urethritis (GU) and 52 out of 89 patients diagnosed with non-gonococcal urethritis (NGU) were positive for Chlamidia trichomatis by polymerase chain reaction (PCR). Most patients of male urethritis were in their twenties.

[Renal hemangiopericytoma discovered at a health screening: a case report].

We report a case of renal hemangiopericytoma which was incidentally discovered by ultrasonography at a health screening. A 58-year-old man was admitted to our hospital for close examination of the renal tumor. Computed tomography revealed the left renal tumor, 60 x 50 mm in size, which was well enhanced with contrast medium.

Thermal stabilization of penicillolysin, a thermolabile 19 kDa Zn2+-protease, obtained by site-directed mutagenesis.

Penicillolysin is a member of the clan MX and the family of M35 proteases. The enzyme is a thermolabile Zn(2+)- protease from Penicillium citrinum with a unique substrate profile. We expressed recombinant penicillolysin in Aspergillus oryzae and generated several site-directed mutants, R33E/E60R, A167E and T81P, with the intention of exploring thermal stabilization of this protein.

Lack of association in Japanese patients between neuroleptic malignant syndrome and the TaqI A polymorphism of the dopamine D2 receptor gene.

Objective: The molecular basis of neuroleptic malignant syndrome (NMS) is unclear, but clinical studies have noted a genetic predisposition. A recent genetic study suggested an association between NMS and the I A polymorphism in the dopamine D2 receptor (DRD2 ) gene. We further examined the association in a larger number of subjects.