Tissue- and Stage-specific Expression of Two Lipophorin Receptor Variants with Seven and Eight Ligand-binding Repeats in the Adult Mosquito

We identified two splice variants of lipophorin receptor (LpR) gene products specific to the mosquito fat body (AaLpRfb) and ovary (AaLpRov) with respective molecular masses of 99.3 and 128.9 kDa. Each LpR variant encodes a member of the low density lipoprotein receptor family with five characteristic domains: 1) ligand recognition, 2) epidermal growth factor precursor, 3) putative O-linked sugar, 4) single membrane-spanning domains, and 5) the cytoplasmic tail with a highly conserved internalization signal FDNPVY. Proposed phylogenetic relationships among low density lipoprotein receptor superfamily members suggest that the LpRs of insects are more closely related to vertebrate low density lipoprotein receptors and very low density lipoprotein receptor/vitellogenin receptor than to insect vitellogenin receptor/yolk protein receptors. Two mosquito LpR isoforms differ in their amino termini, the ligand-binding domains, and O-linked sugar domains, which are generated by differential splicing. Polymerase chain reaction and Southern blot hybridization analyses show that these two transcripts originated from a single gene. Significantly, the putative ligand-binding domain consists of seven and eight complement-type, cysteine-rich repeats inAaLpRfb and AaLRov, respectively. Seven cysteine-rich repeats in AaLpRfb are identical to the second through eighth repeats of AaLpRov. Previous analyses (1) have indicated that the AaLpRov transcript is present exclusively in ovarian germ-line cells, nurse cells, and oocytes throughout the previtellogenic and vitellogenic stages, with the peak at 24–30 h after blood meal, coincident with the peak of yolk protein uptake. In contrast, the fat body-specific AaLpRfb transcript expression is restricted to the postvitellogenic period, during which yolk protein production is terminated and the fat body is transformed to a storage depot of lipid, carbohydrate, and protein

Identification and Characterization of a Dual-Acting Antinematodal Agent against the Pinewood Nematode, Bursaphelenchus xylophilus

The pinewood nematode (PWN), Bursaphelenchus xylophilus, is a mycophagous and phytophagous pathogen responsible for the current widespread epidemic of the pine wilt disease, which has become a major threat to pine forests throughout the world. Despite the availability of several preventive trunk-injection agents, no therapeutic trunk-injection agent for eradication of PWN currently exists. In the characterization of basic physiological properties of B. xylophilus YB-1 isolates, we established a high-throughput screening (HTS) method that identifies potential hits within approximately 7 h. Using this HTS method, we screened 206 compounds with known activities, mostly antifungal, for antinematodal activities and identified HWY-4213 (1-n-undecyl-2-[2-fluorphenyl] methyl-3,4-dihydro-6,7-dimethoxy-isoquinolinium chloride), a highly water-soluble protoberberine derivative, as a potent nematicidal and antifungal agent. When tested on 4 year-old pinewood seedlings that were infected with YB-1 isolates, HWY-4213 exhibited a potent therapeutic nematicidal activity. Further tests of screening 39 Caenorhabditis elegans mutants deficient in channel proteins and B. xylophilus sensitivity to Ca2+ channel blockers suggested that HWY-4213 targets the calcium channel proteins. Our study marks a technical breakthrough by developing a novel HTS method that leads to the discovery HWY-4213 as a dual-acting antinematodal and antifungal compound

A Technical Assessment of Comfort Performance of Hanok Using Comparative Field Surveys between Experts and Users

The paper aims to evaluate the psychological factors of the comfort performance of the hanok. This is to guide restoration and improvement in consideration of the intangible variables that provide the quality of the hanok. Through this process, we ultimately intend to build an integrated residential performance evaluation system that includes factors related to the quality of residents’ lives, such as the comfort of their surrounding and indoor environment, as well as the functionality and convenience of the hanok, a representative type of Korean traditional architecture. The test method to evaluate the comfort performance of hanok is largely divided into the physical perception element, which is a quantitative indicator, and the psychological cognitive element, which is a qualitative indicator. Physical perceptive factors are composed of nine quantifiable factors that can be measured by numerical values, namely humidity control, condensation, insulation, thermal comfort, air permeability, solar radiation, solar lighting, sound insulation, and air cleanness. This is a perceptual concept of viewing a building as it is, and a quantitative evaluation method of measuring data in the field using environmental sensors and equipment. Psychological cognitive factors that are evaluated based on the experiences of users (residents) living in hanok, are classified into five categories, of scenery, beauty, deodorization, usability, and health. This study was conducted through a questionnaire between experts and users (residents), limited to the psychological factors among methods of evaluating the comfort performance of hanok. As a result, it can be seen that environmental factors are the main variables that influence the degree of satisfaction with the psychological perception factor. This might be a merit factor of general hanok, and weight could be given when creating an integrated standard in the future

An AHP Analysis on the Habitability Performance toward the Modernized Hanok in Korea

Hanok is a building style in Korean traditional architecture that presently supports a specialty of urban scenery and residential environment for regeneration in Korea. However, it is difficult to review or evaluate for the performance of Hanok, and there is no definite standard that can be applied to it yet. Therefore, it is necessary to establish the evaluation system of the residential performance of Hanok, and its concept model of the habitability performance needs to be derived in order to develop an evaluation system for the residential performance of Hanok. For this study, its evaluation factors have been classified into three major aspects such as the architectural space, the village complex, and the sustainability. This study, then, has attempted to build an evaluation system composed of proven assessment items or factors and performed AHP (Analytic Hierarchy Process) analyses with certified experts in the Hanok field and applied the relative importance among the evaluation items. Finally, this research has proposed an evaluation model of the habitability performance of Hanok. As a result of applying the assessment model for weighted habitability performances, the proposed evaluation system has been implemented as the inherent value of Hanok and its objectivity to be a major sustainable form of regeneration for contemporary residency in Korea

Effects of Dietary Supplementation with Astaxanthin on Histamine Induced Lesions in the Gizzard and Proventriculus of Broiler Chicks

Astaxanthin (ASX) is a xanthophyll pigment isolated from crustaceans and salmonids. Owing to its powerful antioxidant activity, ASX has been reported to have the potential to protect against gastric ulcers and a variety of other illnesses. Histamine (His) is a dietary factor that causes gastric erosion and ulceration in young chicks. In this study, we examined whether ASX had protective effects on dietary histamine-induced lesions in the gizzard and proventriculus of broiler chickens. Four experimental treatment groups were planned: basal diet (BD), BD+His, BD+ASX, and BD+ASX+His, with four chicks (5 days old) in each group and three replications (i.e., a total of 12 chicks per group). The BD was supplemented with either 0.4% His or 100 ppm ASX. The birds were fed ad libitum for 3 weeks, and diets contained no antimicrobial compounds. Supplementing the diet with His significantly decreased body weight gain, but increased the weights of the gizzard and proventriculus of the chicks as compared with those of chicks in the BD group (p<0.05). ASX did not affect His-dependent changes in chick body weight or weights of the gizzard and proventriculus. The loss of gastric glands in the proventriculus, which was observed in His-treated chicks, was not prevented by ASX administration. The frequency of proventricular ulceration, however, was lowered by treatment with ASX, without significant differences between the two supplementation levels. In conclusion, our data showed that ASX might be helpful for alleviating structural damage to the digestive system in poultry under certain stressful conditions

Tissue- and Stage-specific Expression of Two Lipophorin Receptor Variants with Seven and Eight Ligand-binding Repeats in the Adult Mosquito

We identified two splice variants of lipophorin receptor (LpR) gene products specific to the mosquito fat body (AaLpRfb) and ovary (AaLpRov) with respective molecular masses of 99.3 and 128.9 kDa. Each LpR variant encodes a member of the low density lipoprotein receptor family with five characteristic domains: 1) ligand recognition, 2) epidermal growth factor precursor, 3) putative O-linked sugar, 4) single membrane-spanning domains, and 5) the cytoplasmic tail with a highly conserved internalization signal FDNPVY. Proposed phylogenetic relationships among low density lipoprotein receptor superfamily members suggest that the LpRs of insects are more closely related to vertebrate low density lipoprotein receptors and very low density lipoprotein receptor/vitellogenin receptor than to insect vitellogenin receptor/yolk protein receptors. Two mosquito LpR isoforms differ in their amino termini, the ligand-binding domains, and O-linked sugar domains, which are generated by differential splicing. Polymerase chain reaction and Southern blot hybridization analyses show that these two transcripts originated from a single gene. Significantly, the putative ligand-binding domain consists of seven and eight complement-type, cysteine-rich repeats inAaLpRfb and AaLRov, respectively. Seven cysteine-rich repeats in AaLpRfb are identical to the second through eighth repeats of AaLpRov. Previous analyses (1) have indicated that the AaLpRov transcript is present exclusively in ovarian germ-line cells, nurse cells, and oocytes throughout the previtellogenic and vitellogenic stages, with the peak at 24–30 h after blood meal, coincident with the peak of yolk protein uptake. In contrast, the fat body-specific AaLpRfb transcript expression is restricted to the postvitellogenic period, during which yolk protein production is terminated and the fat body is transformed to a storage depot of lipid, carbohydrate, and protein.This article is from Journal of Biological Chemistry 278 (2003): 41954, doi:10.1074/jbc.M308200200.</p