Elevated Levels of VE-Cadherin-Positive Endothelial Microparticles in Patients With Type 2 Diabetes Mellitus and Coronary Artery Disease

ObjectivesThe purpose of this study was to examine whether CD144-EMP (endothelium-derived microparticles) is useful as a specific marker of endothelial cell (EC) dysfunction and to determine whether plasma levels of circulating CD144-EMP predicted coronary artery disease (CAD) in patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus (DM).BackgroundEndothelial cell dysfunction is involved in atherogenesis; however, the quantitative assessment of EC dysfunction has yet to be established clinically. Endothelium-derived microparticles are small, membrane-shed vesicles that are generated from the EC surface in response to cellular dysfunction and/or injury. Diabetes mellitus is known to be associated with EC dysfunction and accelerated atherosclerosis.MethodsWe characterized EMP using anti-CD144 (VE-Cadherin) antibody in various atherosclerosis-related cells and investigated the association between the levels of CD144-positive microparticles and hydrogen-peroxide-induced EC injury and acetylcholine-induced coronary vasomotion. Furthermore, we evaluated plasma CD144-EMP levels in patients with and without DM.ResultsWe demonstrated that CD144-positive microparticles were derived selectively from human EC. The levels of CD144-EMP reflected the degree of in vitro hydrogen-peroxide-induced EC injury and impairment of in vivo endothelium-dependent coronary vasodilation (p < 0.01). Plasma CD144-EMP levels were increased significantly in DM patients compared with patients without DM (p < 0.001). In DM patients, the elevated levels of CD144-EMP were the most significant risk factor for CAD relative to all other traditional risk factors (odds ratio [OR] 3.5, 95% confidence interval [CI] 1.8 to 6.9, p < 0.001). Notably, plasma CD144-EMP identified a subpopulation of established CAD patients in DM subjects without typical anginal symptoms (OR 10.6, 95% CI 3.9 to 29.5, p < 0.001).ConclusionsThe CD144-positive EMP exist in human plasma, and plasma CD144-EMP levels can be a clinically specific and quantitative marker of EC dysfunction and/or injury. Measurement of CD144-EMP, by providing a quantitative assessment of EC dysfunction, may be useful for identifying DM patients with increased risk of CAD

Yam contributes to improvement of glucose metabolism in rats.

To investigate whether yam improves glucose metabolism, yam-containing diets were given to Wistar rats. In a short-term experiment, fasted-rats were given 1.0 g of a control and 20% yam-containing diets. At 60 min after start of the feeding, glucose level in the yam diet group was lower or tended to be lower than that in the control diet. Insulin levels at 30 min and 60 min were significantly lower than those in the control group. In a long-term experiment, a normal diet (N) or 25% high fat diets with (Y) or without 15% yam powder (HF) were given to rats for 4 weeks. At 4 weeks, in an oral glucose tolerance test, the area under the curve (AUC) of plasma glucose level was higher in the HF group than that in the N group, whereas those in the Y groups did not differ from that in the N group. Glycosylated hemoglobin levels had similar tendency to the AUCs. Plasma leptin levels in the Y groups were significantly higher than that in the N group. In conclusion, yam may contribute to improvement of glucose metabolism. Additionally, we speculated that leptin level is possibly involved in the insulin-response to yam diets

Brain Dp140 alters glutamatergic transmission and social behaviour in the mdx52 mouse model of Duchenne muscular dystrophy

Duchenne muscular dystrophy (DMD) is a muscle disorder caused by DMD mutations and is characterized by neurobehavioural comorbidities due to dystrophin deficiency in the brain. The lack of Dp140, a dystrophin short isoform, is clinically associated with intellectual disability and autism spectrum disorders (ASDs), but its postnatal functional role is not well understood. To investigate synaptic function in the presence or absence of brain Dp140, we utilized two DMD mouse models, mdx23 and mdx52 mice, in which Dp140 is preserved or lacking, respectively. ASD-like behaviours were observed in pups and 8-week-old mdx52 mice lacking Dp140. Paired-pulse ratio of excitatory postsynaptic currents, glutamatergic vesicle number in basolateral amygdala neurons, and glutamatergic transmission in medial prefrontal cortex-basolateral amygdala projections were significantly reduced in mdx52 mice compared to those in wild-type and mdx23 mice. ASD-like behaviour and electrophysiological findings in mdx52 mice were ameliorated by restoration of Dp140 following intra-cerebroventricular injection of antisense oligonucleotide drug-induced exon 53 skipping or intra-basolateral amygdala administration of Dp140 mRNA-based drug. Our results implicate Dp140 in ASD-like behaviour via altered glutamatergic transmission in the basolateral amygdala of mdx52 mice

蔬菜水耕栽培の実用化に関する研究 XIV : 生育段階別の溶存酸素供給量の差異がトマトの生育と収量におよぼす影響(農学部門)

春作と秋作において大型福寿トマトを水耕栽培し, 栄養生長期, 開花結実期, 果実肥大期の一時期のみ培養液の溶存酸素供給量を多くして, 生育段階により溶存酸素濃度に敏感な時期があるかどうか, 生育, 収量にどのような影響をおよぼすかを調べた。開花結実期または果実肥大期に酸素供給量を多くすることにより, 開花から果実収穫までの日数が短くなった。生育の一時期に溶存酸素供給量を多くすることによる, 生育, 栄養・水吸収量, 収量におよぼす影響はほとんどなかった。酸素供給量の多い状態から標準供給量にもどした場合, 根腐れ症状がみられた。Tomato variety "Ohgata-Fukujyu" was water-cultured as spring and fall crops, where dissolved oxygen supply to the nutrient solution was increased at each of the vegetative growth stage, the flowering and fruit setting stage and the fruit developing stage. The effect of temporarily increasing the oxygen supply was studied in relation to the following factors : oxygen concentration, pH and electric conductivity of the nutrient solution, NO_3-N, P, K, Ca, Mg, Fe and water absorption, plant weight and size, root appearance, mineral composition of plant parts, yield and length of time required for fruit development. Effect of increased oxygen supply to the nutrient solution at one of the growth stages on growth, nutrient and water absorption and yield of the tomato was little, if any. The length of time required for fruit development, that is, the number of days from anthesis to harvest-ripeness of the indivisual fruit, was shortened when the oxygen supply was increased at the later stage of plant growth

リン酸架橋でん粉のラットにおける脂質代謝改善作用

We investigated the effect of raw distarch potato starch (DPS) on lipid metabolism in rats. Rats were fed a 60% sucrose diet (control) and or one of 3 test diets containing 100 g/kg of DPS, native potato starch (NPS) or alkali-treated starch (ATS). DPS, NPS, and ATS contain 837 ppm, 818 ppm, and 818 ppm of phosphorous, respectively. There were no differences in final body weight among the rats fed the control, NPS, ATS, and DPS diets for 4 weeks. Rats fed the DPS diet had significantly smaller epididymal and perirenal fat pads than did the control rats (P<0.05). We also found that rats fed the DPS and NPS diets had significantly lower plasma triglyceride levels than did the control rats. Lower hepatic triglyceride concentrations were also seen in the DPS-and ATS-fed rats (-47 and -50%, respectively)compared to the controls. From these results, DPS, NPS and ATS can be seen to affect lipid metabolism in rats, with the greatest effect seen in the DPS group. The digestion of distarch phosphate of potato origin in the small intestine is suggested to have a large effect on the above mechanism