[Mitochondrial encephalomyopathy associated with parkinsonism and a point mutation in the mitochondrial tRNA(Leu)(UUR)) gene]

We report a patient with mitochondrial encephalomyopathy presenting parkinsonism, as well as her brother who had ataxia but not parkinsonism. Both patients had myopathy, deafness, and insulin-dependent diabetes mellitus. The proband was a 55-year-old woman, who has developed progressive difficulty in walking and slowness of movement since 53 years of age, becoming bed-ridden at 55. Neurological examination revealed mental impairment, a masked face, Myerson's sign, vertical supranuclear ophthalmoplegia, and severe sensorineural deafness, hypokinesia, rigidospasticity, and weakness of the extremities. But tremor and cerebellar ataxia were absent. Her 48-year-old brother gradually developed weakness of the lower extremities and drunken gait over a few years. On neurologic examination, vertical supranuclear ophthalmoplegia, moderate sensorineural deafness, and cerebellar ataxia were present, but parkinsonism was absent. Three other siblings were reported to have died in early childhood. Cranial MR imaging showed cerebral atrophy and mild atrophy of the cerebellar vermis as well as mild periventricular hyperintensities in T2-weighted images in both patients. However, no infarcts were seen. Laboratory investigations revealed slightly elevated lactate and pyruvate levels in the proband and elevation of pyruvate in her brother. A biopsy specimen obtained from the quadriceps muscle showed ragged-red fibers with modified Gomori trichrome staining, and a decrease of complex I+III and complex II+III activity in the proband. Mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) analysis using the polymerase chain reaction and restriction enzyme Apa I showed a point mutation in the tRNA(Leu)(UUR)) gene (an A to G transition at nucleotide 3243) in both patients.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)

Simultaneous determination of the optical constants and thickness of very thin films by using soft-x-ray reflectance measurements

A nonlinear, least-squares curve-fitting method is described that simultaneously determines the optical constants and the thickness of a very thin (≲ 100-Å) film from reflectance versus angle of incidence (R - θ) data measured in the soft-x-ray region. The method is applied to R - θ data obtained for very thin, sputtered films of carbon (65 Å thick) and gold (94 Å thick) at photon energies of 60-900 eV. The results show that the present method is capable of accurately determining the thickness of very thin films even for transparent materials, and that the obtained optical constants are in good agreement with values reported for films with a thickness of 1000 Å.

Cloning of the pka1 gene encoding the catalytic subunit of the cAMP-dependent protein kinase in Schizosaccharomyces pombe

We have isolated Schizosaccharomyces pombe genes that confer sterility to the fission yeast cell when expressed from a multicopy plasmid. One of these genes strongly hybridized to a probe carrying the open reading frame of Saccharomyces cerevisiae TPK1, which encodes a catalytic subunit of the cAMP-dependent protein kinase (protein kinase A). This S. pombe gene, named pka1, has a coding potential of 512 amino acids, and the deduced gene product is 60% identical with the S. cerevisiae Tpk1 protein in the C-terminal 320 amino acids. Disruption of pka1 slows cell growth but is not lethal. The resultant cells, however, are highly derepressed for sexual development, readily undergoing conjugation and sporulation in the absence of nitrogen starvation. They are, thus, phenotypically indistinguishable from the adenylyl cyclase-defective (cyr1-) cells previously characterized, except that the pka1- spores are retarded in germination, whereas the cyr1- spores are not. Disruption of pka1 is epistatic to a defect in cgs1, which encodes the regulatory subunit of protein kinase A. These results strongly suggest that the product of pka1 is a catalytic subunit of protein kinase A and, furthermore, that S. pombe has only one gene encoding it. This situation contrasts with the case of S. cerevisiae, in which three genes encode the catalytic subunits.

Endoneurosurgical treatment for hydrocephalus caused by intraventricular tumors

A flexible therapeutic ventriculoscope allowing for the use of a variety of different instruments has been developed. Endoneurosurgical instruments are composed of an endoscopic contact YAG laser endoprobe, grasping forceps and a punctured needle. Endoneurosurgical procedures include biopsies, III ventriculostomy, fenestration of the septum pellucidum, aspirations of cysts and excisions of tumors in the cerebrospinal fluid pathways. Our ventriculoscope allows the initial treatment for progressive hydrocephalus caused by intraventricular tumors to take the form of reducing ventricular size and decreasing intracranial pressure, and it can also be used to perform biopsy examinations, so that acceptable neurological outcomes and an accurate histological diagnosis can be obtained with fewer side effects. The subsequent therapies for hydrocephalus caused by intraventricular tumors include radical surgery for benign tumors, irradiation for radiosensitive tumors, and irradiation and/or chemotherapy for either malignant or disseminated tumors. We have tried to avoid the sequelae of shunt surgery and have achieved maximum effects with the minimum of procedures by using our ventriculoscope.

Regulation of transcription by dimerization of erythroid factor NF-E2 p45 with small Maf proteins

Transcription factor NF-E2 is crucial for regulating erythroid-specific gene expression. Cloning of the NF-E2 p45 protein has revealed that it contains a basic region-leucine zipper (b-zip) domain which associates with another unidentified protein (of relative molecular mass 18,000) to form functional NF-E2. We show here that products of the maf proto-oncogene family, MafF, MafG and MafK (the small Maf proteins) which possess a b-zip DNA-binding domain but lack a canonical transactivation domain, directly control the DNA-binding properties of p45 by heterodimeric association with p45. Whereas homodimers of the small Maf proteins act as negative regulators, heterodimers composed of Maf and p45 support active transcription in vivo. These results indicate that one (or all) of the small Maf proteins is the second constituent chain required for NF-E2 activity, and that negative as well as positive regulation can be achieved through an NF-E2 site, depending on the equilibrium concentrations of p45 and the Maf proteins inside erythroid cells.

Polyhedral assembly of a membrane protein in its three-dimensional crystal

A novel ordered assemblage of bacteriorhodopsin, a transmembrane protein functioning as a light-driven proton pump, is found in its three-dimensional crystal. Atomic force microscope images of the crystal surface reveal that spherical protein clusters with a diameter of approximately 50 nm are hexagonally close-packed. Electron micrographs of mechanically disintegrated crystals show that the inside of the protein cluster is filled with the mother liquor. The crystal is made up of hollow protein clusters. When disintegrated crystals are illuminated in the presence of a lipophilic anion, a significant alkalization of the external medium occurs. This result indicates that the protein cluster contains native lipids and that the cytoplasmic side of the protein faces the external medium. X-ray diffraction patterns and the observed diameter of the spherical shell suggest that approximately 200 bacteriorhodopsin trimers are aligned on a polyhedral surface lattice. Another remarkable feature of the spherical assemblies of bacteriorhodopsin is that they fuse with each other at low ionic strength and occasionally form a tubular or doughnut-like structure. The concept of membrane protein polymorphism is introduced on the basis of these observations, and it is used to describe the dynamic structure of some other biological membranes.

Pharmacological and model-based interpretation of neuronal dynamics transitions during sleep-waking cycle

Power spectral analysis has been applied to spontaneous single neuronal activities during the sleep-waking cycle in various regions of the cat's central nervous system. During slow-wave sleep (SWS), the spontaneous activities of many neurons had a white noise-like power-spectral density profile in a very low frequency range (0.01-1.0 Hz) whereas, during rapid-eye-movement sleep (REMS), they showed a 1/f-like spectral pattern. This spectral transition between SWS and REMS was hypothesized to depend on the influence of serotonergic and cholinergic neuronal activity which is considered to modulate various brain functions. According to both pharmacological experiments and simulation studies with a neural network model, it was concluded that the serotonergic system may have a function to eliminate slow fluctuations in neuronal activity in wide areas, from the reticulo-thalamo-neocortical to the limbic systems. Consequently, simple signal processing of spontaneous neuronal activity has elucidated an important neurophysiological fact, which may lead to a principle of the basic brain function and its mechanism.

Role of prostate-specific antigen and digital rectal examination in the detection of prostate cancer

Prostate-specific antigen (PSA) is a kallikrein-like serine protease that is secreted exclusively by the epithelial cells of all types of prostatic tissue, benign and malignant. Its serum concentration is raised in men with prostatic disease including cancer. We have evaluated its usefulness in the diagnosis of prostate cancer by measuring serum PSA concentrations in 260 men aged 50 years or over. All had abnormalities at digital rectal examination (DRE) involving suspected cancer, signs and symptoms of benign prostatic hyperplasia and equivocal findings on DRE, and miscellaneous other conditions, including hematospermia, chronic prostatitis and microscopic hematuria. Transrectal prostatic needle biopsies were performed in the men with abnormal findings on DRE or elevated serum PSA (above 4 ng/ml). Serum PSA ranged from 4.0 to 9.9 ng/ml in 14 (5%) of the 260 men. Four of the men in this group (31%) who underwent prostatic biopsy had prostate cancer. Serum PSA levels greater than or equal to 10.0 ng/ml were found in 8 (3%) of the 260 men. 5 of these 8 (63%) who underwent prostatic biopsy had cancer. If DRE alone had been used to screen the men having biopsies, 4 of the 10 cancers (40%) would have been missed. If PSA alone had been used to screen these men, only 1 of the 10 cancers would have been missed. Serum PSA measurement was more reliable than DRE for detecting prostate cancer. Since these two methods do not always detect the same malignant tumor, the combined use of DRE and PSA testing affords a more complete evaluation of the prostate gland for malignant involvement.

Effects of kainic acid, quisqualic acid, and their antagonist, pCB-PzDA, on rat electrocorticograms and monoamine metabolite levels in rat striatum

The action of kainic acid (KA), quisqualic acid (QA), and 1-(4-chlorobenzoyl)-piperazine-2,3-dicarboxylic acid (pCB-PzDA) was investigated in the central nervous system of male Sprague Dawley rats. Intracerebroventricularly injected KA and QA (100 nmol) induced spike discharges, and pCB-PzDA (100 nmol) suppressed electrocorticograms for one hour. pCB-PzDA enhanced the KA-induced spike discharges and inhibited those induced by QA. 2,3-Di-hydroxyphenylacetic acid(DOPAC) and homovanillic acid (HVA) levels were increased transiently by 10 nmol and continuously by 100 nmol of KA. KA dose-dependently increased 5-hydroxyindoleacetic acid (5-HIAA) levels 2 hours after administration. While 10 nmol of QA slightly increased the HVA level, 100 nmol of QA significantly increased DOPAC, HVA, and 5-HIAA levels. DOPAC and HVA levels were increased by 100 nmol of pCB-PzDA, although this agent inhibited KA-induced increases in DOPAC, HVA, and 5-HIAA levels. On the other hand, while pCB-PzDA first inhibited QA-induced increases in DOPAC, HVA and 5-HIAA levels for one hour, DOPAC and HVA levels thereafter increased additively. These findings suggest that pCB-PzDA may act not only as a NMDA antagonist, but that it may also act directly on dopaminergic neurons.

Mutation of the p53 gene in gallbladder cancer

Genetic alteration of the p53 gene was examined in tissue specimens of primary gallbladder cancer (GBC) using PCR-single strand conformation polymorphism (SSCP) and direct sequencing analyses. The p53 gene mutation was detected in five of the 16 GBC cases examined (31%). All five cases showed single point mutations; four were mutations resulting in amino acid substitution and the other was one base-pair deletion. Of the five mutations detected, four occurred at evolutionarily conserved regions and the remaining one at a well conserved region among species. Our result is similar to those of previous reports for various human cancers in mutation scattering over four of the five conserved domains.

A new sclerosant therapy for testicular hydrocele with aspiration and injection of OK-432

Twenty patients with testicular hydrocele were treated with a new sclerosing therapy consisting of intrascrotal injection of OK-432 (group A Streptococcus pyogenes of human origin). The median observation period after treatment was 6 months (range 2-13 months). Eighteen patients required only one treatment. Two patients had recurrences and received repeat injection. There have been no serious side effects except for fever of 2-3 days' duration and local inflammatory reaction. Sclerotherapy with OK-432 is an efficient and easy method which can be recommended as a primary treatment for hydrocele.

Pathophysiologic significance of free and conjugated dopamines in congestive heart failure

sulfoconjugated dopamine constitutes the major portion of circulating or excreted dopamine, but its physiologic significance is still unknown. To test whether conjugated dopamine serves as a source of free dopamine in response to acute stress, plasma concentrations of free and conjugated dopamine were measured during an acute exacerbation of heart failure. The plasma concentration of conjugated dopamine decreased significantly during the acute phase of heart failure, whereas that of free dopamine increased. The plasma concentration of free dopamine decreased, whereas the concentration of conjugated dopamine increased as heart failure improved. An infusion of dopamine increased the plasma concentration of conjugated dopamine, suggesting that at least part of the excess active dopamine was detoxified through conjugation. The results of these tests with both conjugated and free dopamine are interconvertible and indicate that conjugated dopamine can serve as a reservoir of active dopamine.

Discordance between thermogenic activity and expression of uncoupling protein in brown adipose tissue of old rats

To elucidate the reason why thermogenic ability is impaired with age, the relationship between thermogenic activity and gene expression of several proteins including uncoupling protein (UCP) in brown adipose tissue (BAT) was investigated in 24-month-old rats. Compared to young (3-month-old) rats, a significant decrease in BAT/body mass ratio and considerable changes of chemical components in BAT were observed in the old rats. This indicates a marked decrease in the thermogenic capacity in BAT of the old rats. Likewise, the thermogenic activity (which was assessed by guanosine 5'-diphosphate binding to BAT mitochondria) was greatly reduced in the mitochondria recovered from BAT of the old rats. However, the UCP content in the BAT mitochondria was similar in both groups. Conversely, the expression of UCP mRNA was greater in the old rats than in the young rats. These results suggest that the regulation on and after UCP translation may be concerned with impaired BAT thermogenic activity due to aging. Moreover, the mRNA levels of several other proteins including insulin-sensitive glucose transporter concerned in BAT thermogenesis changed with age, suggesting that the mRNA levels may be affected in order to compensate for the decline in the thermogenic activity in the old rats.

Power spectral analysis of blood pressure fluctuations during sleep in normal and decerebrate cats

Arterial blood pressure fluctuations during sleep were investigated with power analysis technique in both normal and decerebrate cats. In the initial postoperative stage lasting about 3 to 4 days, intact cats displayed, during paradoxical sleep, phasic increases in arterial blood pressure which were superimposed on a tonic hypotension. In the later chronic stage, however, the animals showed the phasic hypertension being superimposed on the background of a tonic hypertension. Regardless of these stages, the blood pressure during paradoxical sleep exhibited a 1/f-like spectrum, expressed by the power spectral density which is inversely proportional to the Fourier frequency f. On the other hand, a power spectral profile of the blood pressure during slow wave sleep presented a white noise-like pattern within the same frequency range of 0.1-0.01 Hz. After brainstem transections at the pontomesencephalic border, the cats exhibited consistently a sustained fall in blood pressure during paradoxical sleep and the power spectral density of the blood pressure displayed a white noise-like pattern throughout the survival periods of one month or more. These observations indicate that the blood pressure fluctuations in the 1/f spectrum during paradoxical sleep originate in rostral brain structures.

Ventriculoscope-guided ventriculoperitoneal shunt and shunt revision. Technical note

A new small, flexible fiberoptic ventriculoscope for the accurate positioning of a ventricular catheter tip has been developed. The technique for ventriculoscope-guided ventriculoperitoneal shunt and shunt revision is described. The ventricular catheter can easily be positioned away from the choroid plexus. Choroid plexus adhering to the shunt tube can be coagulated during shunt revision. This procedure can thus prevent an obstruction of the ventricular catheter by an adherent choroid plexus.

[Effect of physostigmine on acetylcholine and monoamine metabolites in rat frontal cortex with lesions of the nucleus basalis of Meynert]

Acetylcholine (ACh) and monamine (MA) metabolites were collected from the frontal cortex of free moving rats, using a microdialysis technique. In rats subjected to bilateral ibotenic acid lesioning of the nucleus basalis of Meynert (nbM), ACh release was markedly decreased, while DOPAC, HVA and 5-HIAA were not affected. Physostigmine (0.3 mg/kg, IP) increased ACh concentration in the brain dialysate, and the rate of ACh increase was lower in nbM-lesioned rats than that in unoperated rats. Physostigmine also increased the concentration of MA metabolites in both nbM-lesioned and unoperated rats equally. The results indicate that there may be some interaction between non nbM-originated cholinergic systems and monoaminergic systems in the frontal cortex.

Human GATA-3 trans-activation, DNA-binding, and nuclear localization activities are organized into distinct structural domains

GATA-3 is a zinc finger transcription factor which is expressed in a highly restricted and strongly conserved tissue distribution pattern in vertebrate organisms, specifically, in a subset of hematopoietic cells, in cells within the central and peripheral nervous systems, in the kidney, and in placental trophoblasts. Tissue-specific cellular genes regulated by GATA-3 have been identified in T lymphocytes and the placenta, while GATA-3-regulated genes in the nervous system and kidney have not yet been defined. We prepared monoclonal antibodies with which we could dissect the biochemical and functional properties of human GATA-3. The results of these experiments show some anticipated phenotypes, for example, the definition of discrete domains required for specific DNA-binding site recognition (amino acids 303 to 348) and trans activation (amino acids 30 to 74). The signaling sequence for nuclear localization of human GATA-3 is a property conferred by sequences within and surrounding the amino finger (amino acids 249 to 311) of the protein, thereby assigning a function to this domain and thus explaining the curious observation that this zinc finger is dispensable for DNA binding by the GATA family of transcription factors.

Glucose and insulin metabolism in patients with hyperthyroidism due to Graves' disease

To clarify the impairment of carbohydrate metabolism in hyperthyroidism, we performed the oral glucose tolerance test (OGTT) and glucagon tolerance test in ten patients with hyperthyroidism due to Graves' disease (GD) and in ten normal subjects. During OGTT, glucose and insulin values in the GD patients were twice as high as those in the normals. The ratio of cumulative net plasma glucose [sigma PG (0-120 minutes)] and insulin [sigma IRI (0-120 minutes)] was 0.83 +/- 0.14 and 1.14 +/- 0.25 in the GD patients and normals, respectively. During the glucagon tolerance test, plasma glucose showed lower peaks in the GD patients than in the normals. C-peptide reached a peak value at 6 min in the GD patients and at 10 min in the normals. Cyclic AMP response in the GD patients was three times greater than that in the normals. A smaller insulinogenic index and a smaller sigma PG/sigma IRI ratio in the GD patients suggest that the secretion of insulin in GD patients does not meet the demand despite the higher insulin values observed during OGTT. Greater response of cAMP, smaller and earlier peaks of C-peptide and smaller response of glucose to glucagon in the GD patients may suggest a rapid insulin turnover and a reduction of glycogen storage in the liver with hyperthyroidism.

Expression of a novel Marek's disease virus type 1 (MDV1)-specific protein p40 in insect cells by a baculovirus vector and in chick embryo fibroblasts infected with MDV1

We found that the open reading frame of 1053 nucleotides within the short unique sequence of Marek's disease virus (MDV) type 1 (MDV1) expresses a 40 kDa protein, using a baculovirus vector in insect cells. Mouse antisera against the 40 kDa protein reacted with a 40 kDa protein in MDV1-infected cells. A cross-reactive polypeptide of 37 kDa was also detected in cells infected with herpesvirus of turkey.

[Event-related potentials in anisometropic amblyopia]

Event-related potentials were recorded from 20 neurologically normal children with anisometropic amblyopia. Stimulation was performed with an 'odd-ball' paradigm counting Randolts' circle, and in all cases N200 and P300 were recorded as event-related potentials. The latencies of N200 showed statistically significant delay (p < 0.001: Wilcoxson signed rank test), but P100 and P300 were not delayed in the stimulus input from amblyopic eyes. The degree of delay has no relationship with visual acuity or anisometropic differences. The results suggest that the cortical sensory processing functions represented by P300 were not damaged in the amblyopic cases observed in this study.

Prognostic value of depth and pattern of stomach wall invasion in patients with an advanced gastric carcinoma

We reviewed data on 467 patients with advanced gastric carcinoma, taking into consideration tumor size, shape and depth of invasion, and growth pattern, either expanding or infiltrative. Three patterns of penetration were identified: i.e., funnel, column, and mountain patterns. The funnel pattern was predominant in tumors extending into the muscularis propria (pm) or subserosa (ss), and were more widely distributed than the column pattern. The majority of the column type tumors were less than 8 cm in pm or ss, and the mountain type was found in only one case in ss, but their size was widely distributed once cancer cells penetrated the serosa. Patients with the funnel type had a better prognosis than the column or the mountain type, and the difference was significant when cancer invasion extended to the serosa.

Intraluminal content is required for the maintenance of antigrade proluminal movement of 3H-androgens into rat caput epididymal tubules

The present study was undertaken to determine whether or not antigrade, proluminal 3H-androgen movement in the caput epididymis occurs in the absence of native lumen content. A single tubule was perfused with artificial caput fluid containing no androgen-binding protein for 30 min and subsequently tubules were perifused with Minimum Essential Medium perifusion fluid containing 26.7 microCi/ml 3H-testosterone and 1.3 microCi/ml 14C-polyethyleneglycol for 1 h. Radioactivity of isotopes in perifusion and intraluminal fluids was determined at 1 h after sustaining perifusion, and the percentage of peritubular isotopes appearing in the intraluminal fluid was determined. Net entry of 3H-androgen into the epididymal tubules in the presence of native intraluminal content was approximately 323%. In contrast, intraluminal 3H-androgen concentrations in the epididymal fluid in the absence of native lumen content were significantly reduced, to 100% of those in the peritubular fluid. Antigrade, proluminal movement of 3H-androgen in the caput epididymis does not occur in the absence of native lumen content. Androgen-binding protein in the epididymal lumen may be required to maintain uphill proluminal movement of 3H-androgen into the tubules.

[A case of coccidioidomycosis that was extirpated under thoracoscopy]

We report a case of coccidioidosis, which occurred in a 49-year-old Japanese man. He came back to Japan in 1994 after living in California in the U.S. for 2 years, and showed a round shadow in the left lower lung field on chest X-ray. A tumor was 1.4 cm in diameter and located in the left S8 showed by chest CT and the bronchography. It was extirpated under thoracoscopy. Histology of the tumor revealed chronic inflammation of the lung tissue, that contained a spherule of a diameter of 20-60 microns and endospores of a length of 2-6 microns. These structures were identified morphologically as coccidioides immitis. Only 3 cases of benign residual coccidioidal lesions have been reported in Japan including this case.