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Eizaburo Ohno,
Akihiro Itoh,
Hiroki Kawashima, Takuya Ishikawa,
Hiroshi Matsubara,
Yuya Itoh,
Yosuke Nakamura,
Takeshi Hiramatsu,
Masanao Nakamura,
Ryoji Miyahara,
Naoki Ohmiya,
Masatoshi Ishigami,
Yoshiaki Katano,
Hidemi Goto,
Yoshiki Hirooka
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ABSTRACT: The natural history of branch duct-type intraductal papillary mucinous neoplasms (BD-IPMNs) of the pancreas remains unclear. We conducted a retrospective long-term follow-up study for malignant transformation (MT) of BD-IPMNs focusing on morphological changes.
The subjects consisted of 142 patients who underwent contrast-enhanced endoscopic ultrasonography for initial diagnosis from January 2001 with more than 12 months of follow-up. The MT rate, including the co-occurrence of invasive ductal cancer, was evaluated by univariate and multivariate analysis. In addition, on the basis of morphological changes in patients who underwent surgery, the predictive factors for malignant IPMNs were evaluated.
Median follow-up term was 42.5 months (range, 12-105 months). Thirty patients who exhibited morphological changes underwent surgery. Malignant transformation occurred in 9 patients (6.3%), and 5-year MT rate was 10.7%. The co-occurrence of invasive ductal cancer was seen in 5 patients. Multivariate analysis showed that the existence of mural nodules at initial diagnosis and involvement of main pancreatic duct were significant predictors of MT of BD-IPMN.
Malignant transformation of BD-IPMN is not rare. The observation of morphological changes of main pancreatic duct and nodules, mainly on contrast-enhanced endoscopic ultrasonography, is practical and useful for predicting MT of BD-IPMN itself.
Pancreas 04/2012; 41(6):855-62. · 2.39 Impact Factor
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ABSTRACT: Deuteration of macromolecules is an important technique in neutron protein crystallography. Solvent deuteration of protein crystals is carried out by replacing water (H(2)O) with heavy water (D(2)O) prior to neutron diffraction experiments in order to diminish background noise. The effects of solvent deuteration on the crystallization of proteinase K (PK) with polyethylene glycol as a precipitant were investigated using high-resolution X-ray crystallography. In previous studies, eight NO(3)(-) anions were included in the PK crystal unit cell grown in NaNO(3) solution. In this study, however, the PK crystal structure did not contain NO(3)(-) anions; consequently, distortions of amino acids arising from the presence of NO(3)(-) anions were avoided in the present crystal structures. High-resolution (1.1 Å) X-ray diffraction studies showed that the degradation of PK crystals induced by solvent deuteration was so small that this degradation would be negligible for the purpose of neutron protein crystallography experiments at medium resolution. Comparison of the nonhydrogen structures of nondeuterated and deuterated crystal structures demonstrated very small structural differences. Moreover, a positive correlation between the root-mean-squared differences and B factors indicated that no systematic difference existed.
Acta Crystallographica Section F Structural Biology and Crystallization Communications 11/2011; 67(Pt 11):1334-8. · 0.51 Impact Factor
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ABSTRACT: The protonation states of the histidine residues key to the function of deoxy (T-state) human hemoglobin have been investigated using neutron protein crystallography. These residues can reversibly bind protons, thereby regulating the oxygen affinity of hemoglobin. By examining the OMIT F(o)-F(c) and 2F(o)-F(c) neutron scattering maps, the protonation states of 35 of the 38 His residues were directly determined. The remaining three residues were found to be disordered. Surprisingly, seven pairs of His residues from equivalent α or β chains, αHis20, αHis50, αHis58, αHis89, βHis63, βHis143 and βHis146, have different protonation states. The protonation of distal His residues in the α(1)β(1) heterodimer and the protonation of αHis103 in both subunits demonstrates that these residues may participate in buffering hydrogen ions and may influence the oxygen binding. The observed protonation states of His residues are compared with their ΔpK(a) between the deoxy and oxy states. Examination of inter-subunit interfaces provided evidence for interactions that are essential for the stability of the deoxy tertiary structure.
Acta crystallographica. Section D, Biological crystallography 11/2010; 66(Pt 11):1144-52. · 12.67 Impact Factor
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Crystal Growth & Design 10/2010; 10(3):1090-1095. · 4.72 Impact Factor
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ABSTRACT: We have investigated the protonation states of histidine residues (potential Bohr groups) in the deoxy form (T state) of human hemoglobin by direct determination of hydrogen (deuterium) positions with the neutron protein crystallography technique. The reversible binding of protons is key to the allosteric regulation of human hemoglobin. The protonation states of 35 of the 38 His residues were directly determined from neutron scattering omit maps, with 3 of the remaining residues being disordered. Protonation states of 5 equivalent His residues--alpha His20, alpha His50, alpha His89, beta His143, and beta His146--differ between the symmetry-related globin subunits. The distal His residues, alpha His58 and beta His63, are protonated in the alpha 1 beta 1 heterodimer and are neutral in alpha 2 beta 2. Buried residue alpha His103 is found to be protonated in both subunits. These distal and buried residues have the potential to act as Bohr groups. The observed protonation states of His residues are compared to changes in their pK(a) values during the transition from the T to the R state and the results provide some new insights into our understanding of the molecular mechanism of the Bohr effect.
Journal of Molecular Biology 03/2010; 398(2):276-91. · 4.00 Impact Factor
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ABSTRACT: Insulin is stored in pancreatic beta-cell as hexameric form with Zn2+ ions, while the hormonally active form is monomer. The hexamer requires the coordination of Zn2+ ions to the HisB10. In order to reveal the mechanism of the hexamerization of insulin, we investigated the Zn2+ free insulin at pD6.6 and pD9 by neutron crystallographic analyses. HisB10 is doubly protonated not only at pD6.6 but also at pD9, indicating an abnormal pK(a) of this histidine. It is suggested that HisB10 acts on a strong cation capture and contributes to the high stability of the hexameric form in pancreas.
Biochemical and Biophysical Research Communications 09/2008; 376(1):32-5. · 2.48 Impact Factor
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Chemical Physics 08/2008; 23(2-3):152-158. · 1.90 Impact Factor
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ABSTRACT: To observe the ionized status of the amino acid residues in proteins at different pH (protein pH titration in the crystalline state) by neutron diffraction, hen egg-white lysozyme was crystallized over a wide pH range (2.5-8.0). Crystallization phase diagrams at pH 2.5, 6.0 and 7.5 were determined. At pH < 4.5 the border between the metastable region and the nucleation region shifted to the left (lower precipitant concentration) in the phase diagram, and at pH > 4.5 the border shifted to the right (higher precipitant concentration). The qualities of these crystals were characterized using the Wilson plot method. The qualities of all crystals at different pH were more or less equivalent (B-factor values within 25-40). It is expected that neutron diffraction analysis of these crystals of different pH provides equivalent data in quality for discussions of protein pH titration in the crystalline state of hen egg-white lysozyme.
Journal of Synchrotron Radiation 05/2008; 15(Pt 3):312-5. · 2.73 Impact Factor