Naoto Sugawara

TARC in allergic disease

. THYMUS activation-regulated chemokine (TARC/CCL17) is a member of CC chemokine that is transiently expressed in phytohemagglutininstimulated peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMC) and constitutively and selectively in the thymus (1). Recently it has been reported that the TARC receptor CCR4 is selectively expressed in T helper (Th2) cells and that serum TARC level is associated with disease activity in atopic dermatitis (2,3). This is the first report describing plasma TARC levels in patients with bronchial asthma and allergic rhinitis. Plasma TARC concentration was measured by ELISA (R&D systems, MN, USA) in 50 healthy volunteers who previously showed no allergic symptoms, 30 patients with atopic dermatitis, 64 patients with bronchial asthma, and 22 patients with allergic rhinitis. In this study patients treated with drugs were excluded. The mean concentration of TARC in healthy volunteers was 31.9 pg/ml (SD14.8); significantly higher than in non-allergic volunteers, and than Thymus and activating-

Sulfidoleukotriene Release Test (CAST) in Hypersensitivity to Nonsteroidal Anti-Inflammatory Drugs

There is a great need to develop a method for making an accurate and reliable in vitro diagnosis of adverse hypersensitivity reactions to drugs. We measured the amount of sulfidoleukotriene (sLT) released from the peripheral blood leukocytes obtained from 25 patients who developed hypersensitivity reactions following the administration of nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs); 12 patients demonstrated reactions to Voltaren, 8 patients to Bufferin, and 5 patients to Sedes G. The stimulation index, the ratio of the amounts of sLT (pg/ml) incubated with and without drugs, was considerably higher in the patients than in the controls, which consisted of 5 nonallergic healthy subjects. The sensitivity of the CAST (cellular antigen stimulation test) was evaluated to range from 62.5 to 80%, while the specificity was 70-100%. The CAST may thus be useful as a novel in vitro test system in order to screen for possible hypersensitive reactions to NSAIDs with both reliability and safety.

Relation between serum high molecular weight adiponectin and serum ferritin or prohepcidin in patients with type 2 diabetes

An increase of serum ferritin, an indicator of body iron store, is associated with insulin resistance and with an increased risk of type 2 diabetes in the general population. A low serum adiponectin is also associated with insulin resistance. Recently, hepcidin was identified as a regulator of iron metabolism. We investigated whether serum adiponectin was associated with serum ferritin or prohepcidin, a precursor of hepcidin, in healthy subjects and patients with type 2 diabetes. We studied 65 healthy subjects and 104 patients with type 2 diabetes. A serum ferritin concentration ≥ 300 ng/ml for men or ≥ 150 ng/ml for women was defined as hyperferritinemia. Serum ferritin was significantly higher and serum prohepcidin was significantly lower in diabetic patients than in control subjects. Serum total and high molecular weight (HMW) adiponectin correlated negatively with serum ferritin in control subjects or diabetic patients, while serum total and HMW adiponectin correlated positively with serum prohepcidin in diabetic patients, but not in control subjects. Serum total and HMW adiponectin were lower in patients with hyperferritinemia than in those without it. In conclusion, serum ferritin was increased in type 2 diabetic patients, while serum prohepcidin was decreased. A high serum ferritin was associated with insulin resistance, and with low serum total and HMW adiponectin in patients with type 2 diabetes.

Serum inhibitors for human mast cell growth: possible role of retinol

Background: In vitro culture systems have been used to study the physiological and pathological characteristics of human mast cells. However, there are some differences in proliferation and maturation of mast cells between fetal bovine serum (FBS)‐containing and serum‐deprived cultures. Accordingly, we attempted to identify circulating factor(s) affecting the development of human mast cells.

Interactions between vitreous‐derived cells and vascular endothelial cells in vitreoretinal diseases

Purpose:  This study aimed to investigate the roles played by vitreous‐derived cells in the pathogenesis of vitreoretinal vascular diseases.