Junichi Masuda

Second nation-wide study of atherosclerosis in infants, children and young adults in Japan

Abstract This paper reports the results of a nation-wide cooperative study of atherosclerosis in young, first generation Japanese with ages ranging from 1 month to 39 years, who were autopsied between 1978 and 1982 in hospitals distributed over the entire archipelago of Japan. Atherosclerotic lesions in 2320 aortas, 1620 coronary arteries and 344 cerebral arteries were classified into fatty streaks, fibrous plaques and complicated lesions and were then quantificated with the point-counting method. Atherosclerosis of aortas, coronary arteries and cerebral arteries, determined by surface involvement (SI) of atherosclerotic lesions and atherosclerotic index (AI), increased with age; the severest were seen in aortas, and then, with decreasing severity, in the coronary and cerebral arteries. Fatty streaks preceded the other lesions and accounted for the largest portion of the lesions in aortas and coronary arteries. Fibrous plaques and complicated lesions developed in the later decades of life. The patients with collagen diseases had a greater severity of aortic atherosclerosis in the 2nd and 3rd decades of life, than those without such disorders. Correlation of antemortem clinical data with SI and Al of each artery were analyzed, using simple correlation analysis and multiple regression analysis. Age, serum cholesterol and blood pressure were significantly and positively correlated with SI and AI of aortas and coronary arteries. Serum cholesterol was more strongly correlated with the extent of fatty streaks than was mean blood pressure and vice versa with that of fibrous plaques. Atherosclerosis of cerebral arteries, however, showed a significant correlation only with the factor of mean blood pressure. Therefore the susceptibility to risk factors varies with the artery in cases of early lesions of atherosclerosis in young Japanese.

Prostaglandins A and J arrest the cell cycle of cultured vascular smooth muscle cells without suppression of c-myc expression

The effects of prostaglandins (PGs) A and J, which are anti-tumor eicosanoids, on the proliferation of cultured vascular smooth muscle cells were investigated. Serum-stimulated DNA synthesis was potently inhibited by PGA1, PGA2, PGJ2, and delta 12-PGJ2 in similar dose-dependent fashions. The effects of PGA1 and PGA2 were reversible when they were removed from the culture media, whereas recoveries were only partial in the cells treated with PGJ2 and delta 12-PGJ2. PGs were effective even if they were added immediately before entry into S phase. Inhibition of DNA synthesis was sustained when hydroxyurea, which blocks cell cycle at the G1/S border, was added after the removal of PGA2, and vice versa; PGs blocked DNA synthesis when they were added after the removal of hydroxyurea. Levels of c-myc mRNA formed two peaks during the G1 phase, at 1-2 h and at 8-12 h. The PGs did not affect the first elevation, but enhanced the second and sustained it up to 18-24 h, whereas in controls, c-myc mRNA decreased quickly after entry into S phase. The rate of degradation of c-myc mRNA was much smaller in PG-treated cells than in nontreated cells. We conclude, therefore, that PGA and PGJ inhibit a crucial event(s) in the cell cycle occurring at the G1/S border, but that this inhibition is not accompanied by the reduction in c-myc gene expression in contrast with some types of tumor cells treated with PGs.

Interferon-γ suppresses PDGF production from THP-1 cells and blood monocyte-derived macrophages

Abstract Involvement of the immunological mechanisms in atherogenesis has recently been suggested by immunohistological detection of macrophages and T lymphocytes in atherosclerotic lesions. In the present study, we have investigated the regulatory effect of interferon-γ (IFN-γ), a cytokine secreted by activated T cells, on the production and secretion of platelet-derived growth factor (PDGF) from macrophages in culture. The human monocytic leukemia cell line, THP-1, was treated with phorbol 12-myristate 13-acetate (PMA) for 24 h to induce macrophage differentiation and PDGF production, and then various doses of recombinant human IFN-γ (0–1000 I.U./ml) were added to the culture. After 48 h, the conditioned medium and the cells were harvested and analyzed for PDGF production. PDGF-dependent mitogenic activity in the conditioned medium, estimated by neutralization of mitogenic activity with anti-PDGF antibody, was suppressed by IFN-γ treatment. Radioimmunoassays for PDGF also revealed a decrease in both PDGFAA and -BB in the conditioned medium with IFN-γ treatment, whereas neither total cell DNA as an indication of cell number nor overall protein synthesis based on [ 3 H]leucine incorporation were decreased. Northern analysis of total RNA extracted from the cells demonstrated that IFN-γ suppressed the level of PDGF mRNA. Analysis of mRNA degradation in the presence of actinomycin D demonstrated that the decrease in PDGF mRNA was not due to enhanced degradation of mRNA. A similar inhibitory effect of IFN-γ on PDGF mRNA levels was also found in monocyte-derived macrophages cultured in the presence of granulocyte-macrophage colony stimulating factor. These results suggest that IFN-γ modulates production and secretion of PDGF from macrophages and that the functions of macrophages in atherogenesis may be regulated by the cellular interactions between T cells and macrophages through the action of cytokines such as IFN-γ.

Does hypertension confer a hypercoagulable state in stroke-prone spontaneously hypertensive rats?

Objective To verify whether hypertension confers a hypercoagulable state in a hypertensive animal model. Design The parameters of blood coagulation were compared between stroke-prone spontaneously hypertensive rats (SHR-SP) and Wistar-Kyoto (WKY) rats. Each rat group consisted of a younger subgroup at 8–12 weeks old (n = 12) and an older subgroup at 16–20 weeks old (n = 12). Methods Prothrombin time (PT), activated partial thromboplastin time (APTT), fluorogenic PT, fibrinogen, fibrin/fibrinogen degradation products (FDP), thrombin-anti-thrombin III complex (TAT), factor Xa activity, anti-thrombin III (AT-III), tissue factor pathway inhibitor (TFPI), protein C and C1 inhibitor were measured in both rat groups. Results There was no significant difference in FDP and TAT levels between SHR-SP and WKY rats even at 16–20 weeks when SHR-SP developed severe hypertensive vascular lesions. Contrary to expectations, fluorogenic PT and factor Xa activity were significantly lower in SHR-SP than in WKY rats. While there was no significant difference in AT-III, TFPI and protein C activities between SHR-SP and WKY rats, C1 inhibitor activity was significantly higher in SHR-SP than in WKY rats. The elevated C1 inhibitor activity was inversely correlated with the reduced factor Xa activity. Gel-filtered fractionated plasma with C1 inhibitor activity had an inhibitory effect on the purified rat factor Xa, and immunodepletion of C1 inhibitor from the fractionated plasma attenuated the inhibitory effect. Conclusion These results suggest that SHR-SP get into a hypocoagulable state rather than a hypercoagulable state, and that the reduction of factor Xa activity in SHR-SP may be related to the elevation of C1 inhibitor activity.

Poorly differentiated adenocarcinoma of the rectum in a nephrotic patient with focal segmental glomerulosclerosis

We report herein a case of poorly differentiated adenocarcinoma of the rectum occurring in a nephrotic patient with focal segmental glomerulosclerosis. The neoplasm which first appeared to be a submucosal tumor occurred in a 29-year old Japanese man with a neophrotic syndrome for 2 years and 6 months. Autopsy disclosed a large tumor located between the rectum and urinary bladder. Renal specimens showed changes consistent with focal segmental glomerulosclerosis.

Tyrosine kinase inhibitors inhibit multiple steps of the cell cycle of vascular smooth muscle cells

Protein tyrosine kinase (PTK) inhibitors have been reported to inhibit proliferation of vascular smooth muscle cells (SMC). To elucidate the mode of this inhibition, the effects on the cell cycle of cultured vascular SMC of three PTK inhibitors with different modes of action (methyl 2,5-dihydroxycinnamate, genistein, and herbimycin A) were studied. Rat aortic SMC were synchronized to the G0 phase of the cell cycle and then released to proceed through the cell cycle by the addition of platelet-derived growth factor (PDGF), and [3H]thymidine incorporation into DNA was measured. The three PTK inhibitors all inhibited PDGF-induced DNA synthesis in a dose-dependent fashion, with IC50 values of 4.7 +/- 1.4 microM for methyl 2,5-dihydroxycinnamate, 6.7 +/- 2.5 microM for genistein, and 0.17 +/- 0.07 microM for herbimycin A. Time course studies suggested that the agents inhibited early G1 phase but not the G0-G1 transition. the lack of effect on the G0-G1 transition was also supported by the finding that the agents did not inhibit the ligand-induced autophosphorylation of PDGF receptor nor the induction of c-fos mRNA at concentrations which were sufficient to inhibit DNA synthesis. PTK inhibitors inhibited progression of the S phase when they were added to SMC that had been arrested at the G1-S border with hydroxyurea. Methyl 2,5-dihydroxycinnamate also blocked the M phase when it was added to SMC cultured in the presence of 10% fetal calf serum, while genistein and herbimycin A did not inhibit the M phase under the same experimental conditions. In accordance with our previous observation, methyl 2,5-dihydroxycinnamate impaired microtubule networks and formation of the mitotic spindle during the M phase. Our findings indicated that PTK inhibitors inhibit multiple steps of the vascular SMC cell cycle.

CARDIAC DISORDERS PREDISPOSING TO DEVELOPMENT OF CEREBROVASCULAR DISEASES IN THE JAPANESE

For a clear definition of the influence of cardiac disorders on the development of cerebrovascular diseases in the Japanese, we reviewed 1,162 cosecutive autopsy records aged 20 years and over in the Department of Pathology, Kyushu University, Japan. All autopsies had been done between Nov. 1971 and Oct. 1981. Cerebral infarction was found in 101 out of 196 with any type of cardiac disorder. Frequencies of cerebral infarction in those with myocardial infarction, rheumatic heart disease, non‐bacterial thromboendocarditis, and atrial fibrillation were higher than in those with no heart disease. These differences can be ascribed to the higher incidence of large and medium‐sized cerebral infarction, including many cases of cerebral embolism originating from the heart. Only 3.4% of those with small cerebral infarction were assessed to be cases of embolism. Non‐embolic cerebral infarction was more frequently noted in those with myocardial infarction and atrial fibrillation than in those with no heart disease. These differences were probably linked to concomitant progression of arteriosclerosis of the cerebral and coronary arteries. In this consecutive autopsy study, cerebral embolism was found in 35 cases, 10.9% of the total number of those with cerebral infarction. ACTA PATHOL. JPN. 35 : 329–337, 1985.

Atherosclerosis and Thrombosis of the Cerebral and Coronary Arteries

An association between cerebrovascular diseases and cardiac diseases has been recognised.1,2Three mechanisms are considered to contribute to the relation between them: 1. Cardiac diseases and cerebrovascular diseases are linked through common risk factors, e.g. hypertension, serum lipids and cigarette smoking. 2. Cerebral hypoperfusion due to impaired cardiac function contributes to the development of cerebral infarction and cerebral ischemia. 3. Thromboembolization from the heart associated with myocardial infarction, rheumatic heart disease, etc.