Acta Medica Okayama 2005 Coronary Flow Reserve after Coronary Intervention is Similar in Patients with Preserved Viability in Previous Myocardial Infarction and in Those with Angina Pectoris EN Atsushi Takaishi No potential conflict of interest relevant to this article was reported.

Acta Medica Okayama 2005 The Relationship between Epidermal Growth Factor Receptor Mutations and Clinicopathologic Features in Non-Small Cell Lung Cancers EN Masaki Tokumo PURPOSE: Recent studies reported that clinical responsiveness to gefitinib was associated with somatic mutation of epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) gene in non-small cell lung cancers (NSCLC). Here, we investigated the relationship between EGFR mutation and clinicopathologic features. EXPERIMENTAL DESIGN: EGFR mutational status of 120 NSCLCs was determined mainly in EGFR exons 18 to 21 by direct sequence and correlated with clinicopathologic parameters. RESULTS: EGFR mutations were present in 38 cases (32%) and the majority of mutations were in-frame deletions of exon 19 (19 cases) and a missense mutation in exon 21 (18 cases). EGFR mutations were frequently associated with adenocarcinoma (P < 0.0001), never smoker (P < 0.0001), and female gender (P = 0.0001). Of interest, increasing smoke exposure was inversely related to the rate of EGFR mutation (P < 0.0001). Multivariate analysis showed that smoking and histology were independent variables. Furthermore, gender difference was observed for the mutational location (P = 0.01) dominance of exon 19 for males and exon 21 for females. Twenty-one cases were treated with gefitinib and found that EGFR mutation was significantly related to gefitinib responsiveness (P = 0.002). In addition, median survival times of patients with and without EGFR mutations treated with gefitinib were 25.1 and 14.0 months, respectively. Patients with EGFR mutations had approximately 2-fold survival advantage; however, the difference was not significant. CONCLUSIONS: We show that EGFR mutations were significantly related to histology and smoke exposure and were a strong predictive factor for gefitinib responsiveness in NSCLC. No potential conflict of interest relevant to this article was reported.

Acta Medica Okayama 2005 Role of Macrophage Migration Inhibitory Factor in Otitis Media with Effusion in Adults EN Shin Kariya No potential conflict of interest relevant to this article was reported.

Acta Medica Okayama 2005 Des-gamma-carboxy prothrombin is a potential autologous growth factor for hepatocellular carcinoma EN Mayumi Suzuki Des-gamma-carboxyl prothrombin (DCP) is a well recognized tumor marker for hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). In the present study, we demonstrate that DCP has a mitogenic effect on HCC cell lines. Purified DCP stimulated DNA synthesis of Hep3B and SK-Hep-1 cells in a dose-dependent manner. DCP was found to bind with cell surface receptor Met causing Met autophosphorylation and also to activate STAT3 signaling pathway through Janus kinase 1. Luciferase gene reporter analysis showed that DCP induced STAT3-related transcription. Small interfering RNAs against both STAT3 and Met abrogated DCP-induced cell proliferation. DCP did not affect the mitogen-activated protein kinase pathway, Myc signaling pathway, or phosphoinositide 3-kinase/Akt pathway. Based on these results, we believe that DCP acts as an autologous mitogen for HCC cell lines. The Met-Janus kinase 1-STAT3 signaling pathway may be a major signaling pathway for DCP-induced cell proliferation. No potential conflict of interest relevant to this article was reported.

Acta Medica Okayama 2005 Osteogenic protein-1 reduces intercellular adhesion molecule-1 messenger RNA expression, infarct size and TUNEL-positive cardiomyocytes in ischemia / reperfusion rat hearts EN Junichi Hayashi No potential conflict of interest relevant to this article was reported.

Acta Medica Okayama 2005 Stable long-term induction of perforin-positive CD8+ T cells in gut by oral administration of streptococcal preparation OK-432 EN Norifumi Mino No potential conflict of interest relevant to this article was reported.

Acta Medica Okayama 2005 Digitalradiographic Quantification of Myocardial Blood Flow Around a Transmyocardial Laser Channel in Rabbit Hearts EN Osami Honjo No potential conflict of interest relevant to this article was reported.

Acta Medica Okayama 2005 Characterization of the Bone Morphogenetic Protein (BMP) System in Human Pulmonary Arterial Smooth Muscle Cells Isolated from a Sporadic Case of Primary Pulmonary Hypertension: Roles of BMP Type IB Receptor (Activin Receptor-Like Kinase-6) in the Mitotic Action EN Masaya Takeda No potential conflict of interest relevant to this article was reported.

Acta Medica Okayama 2005 PREDICTING POSTOPERATIVE RENAL INSUFFICIENCY IN PATIENTS UNDERGOING NEPHRECTOMY FOR RENAL MALIGNANCY: ASSESSMENT BY RENAL SCINTIGRAPHY USING 99mTECHNETIUM- MERCAPTOACETYLTRIGLYCINE EN Yoshinori Shirasaki No potential conflict of interest relevant to this article was reported.

Acta Medica Okayama 2005 ACCURACY OF TWO NONINVASIVE METHODS OF DIAGNOSING BLADDER OUTLET OBSTRUCTION USING ULTRASONOGRAPHY: INTRAVESICAL PROSTATIC PROTRUSION AND VELOCITY-FLOW VIDEO URODYNAMICS EN Hiroyuki Nose No potential conflict of interest relevant to this article was reported.

Acta Medica Okayama 2005 The NH2 Terminus of Influenza Virus Hemagglutinin-2 Subunit Peptides Enhances the Antitumor Potency of Polyarginine-mediated p53 Protein Transduction EN Hiroyuki Michiue No potential conflict of interest relevant to this article was reported.

Acta Medica Okayama 2005 Proteasome Inhibitors Can Alter the Signaling Pathways and Attenuate the P-Glycoprotein-Mediated Multidrug Resistance EN Takeo Fujita No potential conflict of interest relevant to this article was reported.

Acta Medica Okayama 2005 Diagnostic capabilities of I-131, Tl-201, and Tc-99m-MIBI scintigraphy for metastatic differentiated thyroid carcinoma after total thyroidectomy EN Shunji Fujie No potential conflict of interest relevant to this article was reported.

Acta Medica Okayama 2005 Identification of Epigenetic Aberrant Promoter Methylation in Serum DNA Is Useful for Early Detection of Lung Cancer EN Keiichi Fujiwara No potential conflict of interest relevant to this article was reported.

Acta Medica Okayama 2005 The Rey-Osterrieth Complex Figure as a Measure of Executive Function in Childhood EN Kiyoko Watanabe No potential conflict of interest relevant to this article was reported.

Acta Medica Okayama 2005 Change in Parameters before and after Alpha-1-Blocker Therapy for Men with Lower Urinary Tract Symptoms Using Color Doppler Ultrasound Urodynamics: Possible Application for Prediction of Clinical Outcome EN Yuichi Watanabe No potential conflict of interest relevant to this article was reported.

Acta Medica Okayama 2005 Possible contribution of prior hepatitis B virus infection to the development of hepatocellular carcinoma EN Hironori Tanaka No potential conflict of interest relevant to this article was reported.

Acta Medica Okayama 2005 Accommodative Lag under Habitual Seeing Conditions: Comparison Between Myopic and Emmetropic Children EN Chiaki Nakatsuka No potential conflict of interest relevant to this article was reported.

Acta Medica Okayama 2005 Glutamine is a key regulator for amino acid-controlled cell growth through the mTOR signaling pathway in rat intestinal epithelial cells EN Tohru Nakajo No potential conflict of interest relevant to this article was reported.

Acta Medica Okayama 2005 Usefulness of Helical Computed Tomography in Diagnosing Pulmonary Vein Stenosis in infants EN Shinnichi Ohtsuki No potential conflict of interest relevant to this article was reported.

Acta Medica Okayama 2005 Alcohols increase calmodulin affinity for Ca2+ and decrease target affinity for calmodulin EN Ichiro Ohashi No potential conflict of interest relevant to this article was reported.

Acta Medica Okayama 2005 Prevention of hemorrhagic shock-induced lung injury by heme arginate treatment in rats EN Kyoichiro Maeshima No potential conflict of interest relevant to this article was reported.

Acta Medica Okayama 2005 Suppression of chondrosarcoma cells by 15-deoxy-Delta 12,14-prostaglandin J2 is associated with altered expression of Bax/Bcl-xL and p21 EN Zheng-Nan Shen We previously reported that 15-deoxy-Delta(12,14)-prostaglandin J(2) (15d-PGJ(2)), the most potent agonist for peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor gamma (PPAR gamma), induces apoptosis of human chondrosarcoma cell line OUMS-27. The current study aimed to explore the mechanism of 15d-PGJ(2)-induced apoptosis and inhibition of cell proliferation in OUMS-27 cells. The preliminary results of cDNA microarray analysis showed the down-regulation of anti-apoptotic Bcl-xL and up-regulation of pro-apoptotic Bax in the process of 15d-PGJ(2)-induced apoptosis. These changes were further confirmed at mRNA and protein levels by RT-PCR and Western blot analysis, respectively. Among cyclin-dependent kinase inhibitors, p21 was induced and up-regulated by 15d-PGJ(2), but p16 and p27 were not changed, suggesting that the involvement of p21 in inhibition of cell proliferation. Activation of caspase-3 by 15d-PGJ(2) was partly, but not completely, blocked by PPAR gamma antagonist (GW9662) suggesting the 15d-PGJ(2) exerted its effect by PPAR gamma-dependent and -independent pathways. Interestingly, immunohistochemical study on human chondrosarcoma samples revealed that Bcl-xL is frequently expressed by tumor cells. The results of the current study suggest that the potential ability of 15d-PGJ(2) in regulation of cell cycle and inhibition of Bcl-xL expression might be beneficial in the development of novel pharmacological agents for chondrosarcoma. No potential conflict of interest relevant to this article was reported.

Acta Medica Okayama 2005 In vivo, Real Time Visualization of the Interaction between Perialveolar Microcirculation and Individual Alveolar Respiration by CCD Videomicroscopy in Rats EN Taro Morimoto No potential conflict of interest relevant to this article was reported.

Acta Medica Okayama 2005 Determinants of Cisplatin and Irinotecan Activities in Human Lung Adenocarcinoma Cells: Evidence of Cisplatin Accumulation and Topoisomerase‡T Activity EN Tadashi Matsumura No potential conflict of interest relevant to this article was reported.

Acta Medica Okayama 2005 Relationship between two job stress models and coronary risk factors among Japanese part-time female employees of a retail company EN Yuka Kobayashi No potential conflict of interest relevant to this article was reported.

Acta Medica Okayama 2005 Profile of Users of Prosthetic Limbs provided by the Fund of Law for the Welfare of Physically Disabled Persons in Okayama Prefecture EN Masato Kotakemori No potential conflict of interest relevant to this article was reported.

Acta Medica Okayama 2005 XAGE-1 mRNA Expression in Prostate Cancer and Antibody Response in Patients EN Fumihito Koizumi No potential conflict of interest relevant to this article was reported.

Acta Medica Okayama 2005 Manganese superoxide dismutase overexpression changes plating efficiency bidirectionally according to change in redox for SaOS2 human osteosarcoma cell line EN Megumi Komatsu No potential conflict of interest relevant to this article was reported.

Acta Medica Okayama 2005 A New HLA-DRB1 Genotyping Method Using Single Nucleotide Polymorphism (SNP) Analysis with Multiplex Primer Extension Reactions and Its Application to Mixed Samples EN Kiyomi Imabayashi No potential conflict of interest relevant to this article was reported.

Acta Medica Okayama 2005 Effects of hypothermia for a short period on histological outcome and extracellular glutamate concentration during and after cardiac arrest in rats EN Ken Takata No potential conflict of interest relevant to this article was reported.

Acta Medica Okayama 2005 Antitumor effect of gefitinib (`Iressa') on esophageal squamous cell carcinoma cell lines in vitro and in vivo EN Fumikata Hara No potential conflict of interest relevant to this article was reported.

Acta Medica Okayama 2005 Regulation of synaptic vesicle recycling by calcineurin in different vesicle pools EN Susumu Kumashiro No potential conflict of interest relevant to this article was reported.

Acta Medica Okayama 2005 Effect of Vision on Postural Sway in Anterior Cruciate Ligament Injured Knees EN Kazuhiro Okuda No potential conflict of interest relevant to this article was reported.

Acta Medica Okayama 2005 Reduction of a VEGF Receptor, Flk-1, by Antisense Oligonucleotides Induces Motor Neuron Death in Rat Spinal Cord Exposed to Hypoxia EN Mito Shiote No potential conflict of interest relevant to this article was reported.

Acta Medica Okayama 2005 Hepatocyte Growth Factor Attenuates Airway Hyperresponsiveness, Inflammation, and Remodeling EN Wataru Ito No potential conflict of interest relevant to this article was reported.

Acta Medica Okayama 2005 ADAMTS-9 Is Synergistically Induced by Interleukin-1ƒÀ and Tumor Necrosis Factorƒ¿ in OUMS-27 Chondrosarcoma Cells and in Human Chondrocytes EN Kadir Demircan No potential conflict of interest relevant to this article was reported.