Moderate repulsive effects of E-unit-containing chondroitin sulfate (CSE) on behavior of retinal growth cones

Chondroitin sulfate (CS), the carbohydrate chain of chondroitin sulfate proteoglycans, is involved in neuronal circuit formation during development. CS shows great structural diversity with combination of disaccharide units of different structure (A-, C-, D-, or Eunit).However, whether its structural diversity contributes to pathway formation remains unclear. We chemically coupled the reducing end of various types of CS to the amino group of phosphatidylethanolamine (lipid-derivatized CS, CS-PE) and established an in vitro time-lapse assay to observe the behaviors of growth cones of retinal ganglion cells from embryonic day 6 chick retina on exposure to beads coated with lipid-derivatized CS (CS-PE beads). Among CS-PEs with different content of the structural units, the beads coated with E-unit–containing CS-PE [E-unit: GlcAβ1-3GalNAc(4,6-O-disulfate)] (CSE-PE beads) significantly caused the growth cones to retract and to turn away from the beads, but the beads coated with CSA-, CSC- or CSDPE beads did not. Importantly, not all the growth cones retracted equally from the CSE-PE beads, but they showed continuum of the repulsive behaviors; some behaved moderately and others remarkably. The growth cones distinguished different samples of CS: CSE and the others. Moreover, the continuum of the repulsive behaviors suggests that CS might be involved with the fine regulation of growth cones\u27 behavior through its characteristic structure

Foraging ecology of short-tailed shearwater in the Southern Ocean

The Tenth Symposium on Polar Science/Ordinary sessions: [OB] Polar Biology, Wed. 4 Dec. / 3F Multipurpose conference room, National Institute of Polar Researc

Performance Analysis of All-Optical Wavelength-Shift-Free Format Conversion from QPSK to Two BPSK Tributaries Using FWM and Interference (Special Section on Recent Advances in Photonics Technologies and Their Applications)

Conversion between multi-level modulation formats is one of key processing functions for flexible networking aimed at high spectral efficiency (SE) in optical fiber transmission. The authors previously proposed an all-optical format conversion system from binary phase-shift keying (BPSK) to quadrature PSK (QPSK) and reported an experimental demonstration. In this paper, we consider its reversed conversion, that is, from QPSK to BPSK. The proposed system consists of a highly nonlinear fiber used to generate complex conjugate signal, and a 3-dB directional coupler used to produce converted signals by interfering the incident signal with the complex conjugate signal. The incident QPSK stream is converted into two BPSK tributaries without any loss of transmitting data. We show the system performances such as bit-error-rate and optical signal-to-noise ratio penalty evaluated by numerical simulation

The somatic mutations in Interferon-γ signal molecules in human uterine leiomyosarcoma

Human uterine leiomyosarcoma (U-LMS) is neoplastic malignancy that typically arises in tissues of mesenchymal origin. The identification of novel molecular mechanism leading to human U-LMS formation and the establishment of new therapies has been hampered by several critical points. We earlier reported that mice with a homozygous deficiency for proteasome beta subunit 9 (Psmb9)/β1i, an interferon (IFN)-γ inducible factor, spontaneously develop U-LMS. The use of research findings of the experiment with mouse model has been successful in increasing our knowledge and understanding of how alterations, in relevant oncogenic, tumour suppressive, and signaling pathways directly impact sarcomagenesis. The IFN-γ pathway is important for control of tumour growth and invasion and has been implicated in several malignant tumours. In this study, experiments with human tissues revealed a defective expression of PSMB9/β1i in human U-LMS that was traced to the IFN-γ pathway and the specific effect of somatic mutations of JANUS KINASE (JAK) 1 molecule or promoter region on the locus cording PSMB9/β1i gene. Understanding the molecular mechanisms of human U-LMS may lead to identification of new diagnostic candidates or therapeutic targets against human U-LMS

The transient appearance of anti-GAD antibody in a type 2 diabetic patient with empyema

金沢大学医薬保健研究域医学

Psychological and weight-related characteristics of patients with anorexia nervosa-restricting type who later develop bulimia nervosa

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Patients with anorexia nervosa-restricting type (AN-R) sometimes develop accompanying bulimic symptoms or the full syndrome of bulimia nervosa (BN). If clinicians could predict who might change into the bulimic sub-type or BN, preventative steps could be taken. Therefore, we investigated anthropometric and psychological factors possibly associated with such changes.</p> <p>Method</p> <p>All participants were from a study by the Japanese Genetic Research Group for Eating Disorders. Of 80 patients initially diagnosed with AN-R, 22 changed to the AN-Binge Eating/Purging Type (AN-BP) and 14 to BN for some period of time. The remaining 44 patients remained AN-R only from the onset to the investigation period. Variables compared by ANOVA included anthropometric measures, personality traits such as Multiple Perfectionism Scale scores and Temperament and Character Inventory scores, and Beck Depression Inventory-II scores.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>In comparison with AN-R only patients, those who developed BN had significantly higher current BMI (p < 0.05) and maximum BMI in the past (p < 0.05). They also scored significantly higher for the psychological characteristic of parental criticism (p < 0.05) and lower in self-directedness (p < 0.05), which confirms previous reports, but these differences disappeared when the depression score was used as a co-variant. No significant differences were obtained for personality traits or depression among the AN-R only patients irrespective of their duration of illness.</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>The present findings suggest a tendency toward obesity among patients who cross over from AN-R to BN. Low self-directedness and high parental criticism may be associated with the development of BN by patients with AN-R, although the differences may also be associated with depression.</p

イトウシ オヨビ オダワラシ ニ テイチャク シタ ガイライシュハリネズミ ノ ミトコンドリアDNAタガタカイセキ

本研究はミトコンドリアDNA(mtDNA)の塩基多型情報から伊東市と小田原市に生息するハリネズミの種を同定することを目的とした。両地域のハリネズミに加え,韓国産マンシュウハリネズミErinaceus amurensisのmtDNA D-loop領域前半450bpの塩基配列を決定し,既報のナミハリネズミE. europaeusおよびヒトイロハリネズミE. concolorの配列を加えて解析を行なった。その結果,伊東市および小田原市のハリネズミではそれぞれ1つのハプロタイプしか認められなかった。一方,韓国産ハリネズミは4個体で4つのハプロタイプが認められた。このことからも現在日本に定着しているハリネズミの遺伝的多様性は低く,また,両地域の個体群が異なる導入経路を持つ可能性も示唆された。系統樹において,伊東市および小田原市のハリネズミは韓国産E. amurensisとクラスターを形成し,E. europaeusおよびE. concolorからは高いブートストラップ確率にて明確に区別された。また,伊東・小田原-E. amurensis間の遺伝的差異は他の2種における種内変異レベルの遺伝的差異よりも小さかった。よって伊東市および小田原市のハリネズミはE. amurensisであることが明らかとなった。This study analyzed the mitochondrial DNA D-loop region of hedgehogs in Ito and Odawara to evaluate their genetic variation and taxonomic status. In addition, D-loop sequences of the Korean hedgehog Erinaceus amurensis as well as the reported sequences of the two European hedgehog species E. europaeus and E. concolor were investigated. Both populations from Ito and Odawara showed only one haplotype each with a difference of three substitutions and one indel of 450bp between them. In contrast, four haplotypes were observed in four samples obtained from different regions of Korea. It is suggested that the genetic diversity of the hedgehog in Ito and Odawara were low but they have independent introduction routes. In the phylogenetic tree of genus Erinaceus, specimens from Ito and Odawara were clustered with the Korean hedgehog and were separated from the two European species with a high bootstrap value. Genetic variation between the Ito-Odawara species and E. amurensis was less than observed in `inter\u27 species of other two species. These results suggest that hedgehogs found in Ito and Odawara are actually E. amurensis

Carbonyl Reductase 3 (CBR3) Mediates 9-cis-Retinoic Acid-Induced Cytostatis and is a Potential Prognostic Marker for Oral Malignancy

The molecular mechanisms of growth suppression by retinoic acid (RA) were examined. Our results suggest that the cytostatic effects of RA could be mediated by the activation of endogenous CBR3 gene in oral squamous cell carcinomas (OSCCs), and the expression is a potential marker for oral malignancy