Mai Ohsawa

Tokyo Metropolitan Institute of Medical Science, Tokyo, Tokyo-to, Japan

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Publications (9)27.43 Total impact

  • Article: Production of recombinant beta-hexosaminidase A, a potential enzyme for replacement therapy for Tay-Sachs and Sandhoff diseases, in the methylotrophic yeast Ogataea minuta.
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    ABSTRACT: Human beta-hexosaminidase A (HexA) is a heterodimeric glycoprotein composed of alpha- and beta-subunits that degrades GM2 gangliosides in lysosomes. GM2 gangliosidosis is a lysosomal storage disease in which an inherited deficiency of HexA causes the accumulation of GM2 gangliosides. In order to prepare a large amount of HexA for a treatment based on enzyme replacement therapy (ERT), recombinant HexA was produced in the methylotrophic yeast Ogataea minuta instead of in mammalian cells, which are commonly used to produce recombinant enzymes for ERT. The problem of antigenicity due to differences in N-glycan structures between mammalian and yeast glycoproteins was potentially resolved by using alpha-1,6-mannosyltransferase-deficient (och1Delta) yeast as the host. Genes encoding the alpha- and beta-subunits of HexA were integrated into the yeast cell, and the heterodimer was expressed together with its isozymes HexS (alphaalpha) and HexB (betabeta). A total of 57 mg of beta-hexosaminidase isozymes, of which 13 mg was HexA (alphabeta), was produced per liter of medium. HexA was purified with immobilized metal affinity column for the His tag attached to the beta-subunit. The purified HexA was treated with alpha-mannosidase to expose mannose-6-phosphate (M6P) residues on the N-glycans. The specific activities of HexA and M6P-exposed HexA (M6PHexA) for the artificial substrate 4MU-GlcNAc were 1.2 +/- 0.1 and 1.7 +/- 0.3 mmol/h/mg, respectively. The sodium dodecyl sulfate-polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis pattern suggested a C-terminal truncation in the beta-subunit of the recombinant protein. M6PHexA was incorporated dose dependently into GM2 gangliosidosis patient-derived fibroblasts via M6P receptors on the cell surface, and degradation of accumulated GM2 ganglioside was observed.
    Applied and Environmental Microbiology 09/2007; 73(15):4805-12. · 3.83 Impact Factor
  • Article: 1,25(OH)(2)D(3) blocks TNF-induced monocytic tissue factor expression by inhibition of transcription factors AP-1 and NF-kappaB.
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    ABSTRACT: An essential coagulation factor, tissue factor (TF), is rapidly expressed by human monocytes when exposed to a variety of agonists, such as lipopolysaccharide or tumor necrosis factor (TNF). We previously found that 1alpha,25-dihydroxyvitamin D(3) (1,25(OH)(2)D(3)) and its potent synthetic analogs downregulate TF and upregulate thrombomodulin expression on monocytic cells, counteracting the effects of TNF at the level of transcription. The human TF gene has characteristic binding sequences for activator protein-1 (AP-1) (c-Jun/c-Fos), nuclear factor-kappaB (NF-kappaB), Sp-1, and early growth response factor-1 (Egr-1). In this study, we investigated the regulatory mechanisms by which 1,25(OH)(2)D(3) inhibits TNF-induced TF expression in human monocytic cells. 1,25(OH)(2)D(3) reduced basal and TNF-induced TF activities. Gel-shift assay and luciferase assay with the respective reporter vectors showed that 1,25(OH)(2)D(3) reduced basal and TNF-induced activities of the nuclear proteins AP-1 and NF-kappaB, but not Egr-1. 1,25(OH)(2)D(3) inhibited TNF-induced phosphorylation of c-Jun without affecting phosphorylation of the other pathways. On the other hand, 1,25(OH)(2)D(3) directly inhibited nuclear binding and activities of NF-kappaB in the nucleus without affecting phosphorylation of the NF-kappaB activation pathway. These results indicate that 1,25(OH)(2)D(3) suppresses basal and TNF-induced TF expression in monocytic cells by inhibition of AP-1 and NF-kappaB activation pathways, but not of Egr-1. Our results may help to elucidate the regulatory mechanisms of 1,25(OH)(2)D(3) in TF induction, and may have physiological significance in the clinical challenge to use potential 1,25(OH)(2)D(3) analogs in antithrombotic therapy as well as immunomodulation and antineoplastic therapy of leukemia.
    Laboratory Investigation 06/2007; 87(6):540-7. · 3.64 Impact Factor
  • Article: Cytochemical analysis of storage materials in cultured skin fibroblasts from patients with I-cell disease.
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    ABSTRACT: In cultured fibroblasts from I-cell disease patients the transport of many lysosomal enzymes is defective, and affected cells contain inclusion bodies filled with undegraded substrates. However, the contents of these inclusion bodies have not been well characterized yet. We attempted to identify accumulated substances in cultured I-cell disease fibroblasts cytochemically. Cultured fibroblasts from I-cell disease patients were double-stained with a monoclonal antibody to lysosome-associated membrane protein-1 (LAMP-1) and that to GM2 ganglioside, or a series of lectins that specifically bind to sugar moieties. The patients' cells were granularly stained with the antibody to GM2 ganglioside and the lectins including Maakia amurensis, Datura stramonium, and concanavalin A. Their localization was coincident with that of LAMP-1. GM2 ganglioside and various kinds of glycoconjugates having sialic acidalpha2-3galactose, galactosebeta1-4N-acetylglucosamine and mannose residues accumulate in enlarged lysosomes in I-cell disease fibroblasts.
    Clinica Chimica Acta 04/2007; 378(1-2):142-6. · 2.54 Impact Factor
  • Article: Phospholipid storage in the myocardium of a unique Japanese case of idiopathic cardiomyopathy.
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    ABSTRACT: A unique adult male patient who developed cardiomyopathy was first suspected to have cardiac Fabry disease based on the pathological findings in heart tissues obtained on biopsy, but the alpha-galactosidase activity in his leukocytes was normal and no mutation was detected in the coding region of the alpha-galactosidase gene. We identified accumulated materials in the myocardium of this patient. Pathological and biochemical analyses were performed using the autopsied heart tissues as samples. Although numerous lamellar and concentric inclusion bodies were ultrastructurally found in the autopsied myocardium, the alpha-galactosidase activity in the heart tissues was not decreased. Lipid analysis revealed the accumulation of phospholipids including phosphatidylethanolamine, phosphatidylcholine, and phosphatidylinositol, but not globotriaosylcereamide or gangliosides. We found that a large amount of phospholipids accumulated in the myocardium of a patient with idiopathic cardiomyopathy, and electron microscopic findings of lamellar and concentric inclusion bodies in cardiomyocytes. A cardiac phospholipid storage disorder should be considered as an important candidate disease on differential diagnosis of myocardiac disorders including cardiac Fabry disease.
    Clinica Chimica Acta 11/2006; 372(1-2):154-7. · 2.54 Impact Factor
  • Article: Significant decrease in tropoelastin gene expression in fibroblasts from a Japanese Costello syndrome patient with impaired elastogenesis and enhanced proliferation.
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    ABSTRACT: Costello syndrome is a connective tissue disorder associated with sparse, thin, and fragmented elastic fibers in tissues. In this study we demonstrated a significant decrease in the expression of tropoelastin mRNA in fibroblasts derived from a Japanese Costello syndrome patient with impaired elastogenesis and enhanced proliferation. In contrast, there were no changes in expression of the Harvey ras (HRAS), fibrillin-1, fibulin-5, microfibril-associated glycoprotein-1 (MAGP-1), lysyl oxidase (LOX), or 67-kDa non-integrin elastin-binding protein (EBP) gene. The proliferative activity of the Costello fibroblasts was about 4-fold higher than that of the normal and pathological control ones. However, no mutations were detected in the coding region of HRAS mRNA. Transduction of the bovine tropoelastin (bTE) gene with the lentiviral vector restored the elastic fiber formation and decreased the growth rate in the Costello fibroblasts. These results strongly suggest that the defect of human tropoelastin (hTE) gene expression should induce the impaired elastogenesis and enhanced proliferation of Costello fibroblasts, and that a primary cause other than the HRAS gene mutation should contribute to the pathogenesis in the present Costello case.
    Journal of Biochemistry 09/2006; 140(2):193-200. · 2.37 Impact Factor
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    Article: Corrective effect on Fabry mice of yeast recombinant human alpha-galactosidase with N-linked sugar chains suitable for lysosomal delivery.
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    ABSTRACT: We have previously reported the production of a recombinant alpha-galactosidase with engineered N-linked sugar chains facilitating uptake and transport to lysosomes in a Saccharomyces cerevisiae mutant. In this study, we improved the purification procedure, allowing us to obtain a large amount of highly purified enzyme protein with mannose-6-phosphate residues at the non-reducing ends of sugar chains. The products were incorporated into cultured fibroblasts derived from a patient with Fabry disease via mannose-6-phosphate receptors. The ceramide trihexoside (CTH) accumulated in lysosomes was cleaved dose-dependently, and the disappearance of deposited CTH was maintained for at least 7 days after administration. We next examined the effect of the recombinant alpha-galactosidase on Fabry mice. Repeated intravascular administration of the enzyme led to successful degradation of CTH accumulated in the liver, kidneys, heart, and spleen. However, cleavage of the accumulated CTH in the dorsal root ganglia was insufficient. As the culture of yeast cells is easy and economical, and does not require fetal calf serum, the recombinant alpha-galactosidase produced in yeast cells is highly promising as an enzyme source for enzyme replacement therapy in Fabry disease.
    Journal of Human Genetics 02/2006; 51(4):341-52. · 2.57 Impact Factor
  • Article: Establishment of immortalized Schwann cells from Sandhoff mice and corrective effect of recombinant human beta-hexosaminidase A on the accumulated GM2 ganglioside.
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    ABSTRACT: We have established spontaneously immortalized Schwann cell lines from dorsal root ganglia and peripheral nerves of Sandhoff mice. One of the cell lines exhibited genetically and biochemically distinct features of Sandhoff Schwann cells. The enzyme activities toward 4-methylumbelliferyl N-acetyl-beta-D-glucosamine (beta-hexosaminidases A, B, and S) and 4-methylumbelliferyl N-acetyl-beta-D-glucosamine-6-sulfate (beta-hexosaminidases A and S) were decreased, and GM2 ganglioside accumulated in lysosomes of the cells. Incorporation of recombinant human beta-hexosaminidase isozymes expressed in Chinese hamster ovary cells into the cultured Sandhoff Schwann cells via cation-independent mannose 6-phosphate receptors was found, and the incorporated beta-hexosaminidase A degraded the accumulated GM2 ganglioside. The established Sandhoff Schwann cell line is useful for investigation and development of therapies for Sandhoff disease.
    Journal of Human Genetics 02/2005; 50(9):460-7. · 2.57 Impact Factor
  • Article: Induction of tissue factor expression in human monocytic cells by protease inhibitors through activating activator protein-1 (AP-1) with phosphorylation of Jun-N-terminal kinase and p38.
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    ABSTRACT: Tissue factor (TF) is expressed rapidly by human monocytes exposed to a variety of agonists such as lipopolysaccharide (LPS) or tumor necrosis factor-alpha. Activation of both activator protein-1 (AP-1; c-Jun/c-Fos) and nuclear factor-kappaB (NF-kappaB) pathways is necessary for maximal induction of the TF gene. It has been demonstrated that activation of both AP-1 and NF-kappaB is correlated with the degradation of both phosphorylated c-Jun and inhibitor kappaB (IkappaB) by proteasome. The present study was designed to investigate whether various protease inhibitors, including proteasome inhibitors, affect TF expression in monocytic cells. Protease inhibitors, 3,4-dichloroisocoumarin (DCI), N-tosyl-l-phenylalanine chloromethyl ketone (TPCK), and N-acetyl-Leu-Leu-norleucinal (ALLN) induced TF activity in monocytic cells in a dose- and time-dependent manner at the level of the transcription of the TF gene, which was mediated through inducing phosphorylation of both Jun-N-terminal kinase and p38. The early growth response-1 (Egr-1) pathway was not affected. The NF-kappaB pathway was not activated; rather it was inhibited. These results were distinct from the findings previously reported for LPS-stimulated cells. The present study demonstrated that some protease inhibitors might act as stress and induced TF expression with direct phosphorylation of JNK and p38, followed by phosphorylation and activation of AP-1 in monocytic cells. This evidence may help elucidate further regulatory mechanisms of TF induction, and might have physiological significance for the clinically challenged use of proteasome inhibitors. In addition to phosphorylation of JNK and p38, an unknown signal pathway needs to be clarified for TF induction.
    Thrombosis Research 02/2003; 112(5-6):313-20. · 2.44 Impact Factor
  • Article: A novel cell line derived from de novo acute myeloblastic leukaemia with trilineage myelodysplasia which proliferates in response to a Notch ligand, Delta-1 protein.
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    ABSTRACT: A novel human leukaemia cell line, designated TMD7, was established from blast cells of a patient with de novo acute myeloblastic leukaemia with trilineage myelodysplasia (AML/TLD). As seen in the original blast cells, TMD7 cells expressed CD7, CD13, CD33 and CD34 and showed an abnormal karyotype containing -5, -7, -8, der(16)t(10;16)(q22;q13). The cells proliferated without added growth factors. Growth was stimulated with the addition of granulocyte colony-stimulating factor (G-CSF), granulocyte-macrophage CSF (GM-CSF) and interleukin 3. Differentiation was not observed with the addition of various cytokines. As a cell line derived from AML/TLD has not been reported, TMD7 will be a useful tool as a model of AML/TLD cells. Recently, it was reported that the Notch system has crucial roles to regulate the self-renewal and differentiation of haematopoietic stem cells. We found that TMD7 cells expressed Notch-1 and Notch-2 mRNA. The exposure to recombinant Delta-1 protein, which was one of the Notch ligands, significantly stimulated the growth of TMD7 cells. This is the first human cell line which was shown to proliferate in response to Delta-1, without artificially expressed Notch protein. Therefore, TMD7 will also be a useful tool to study the mechanism of the Notch-Notch ligand interaction.
    British Journal of Haematology 06/2002; 117(2):373-8. · 4.94 Impact Factor