Effect of the steroid receptor antagonist RU486 (mifepristone) on an IFNγ-induced persistent Chlamydophila pneumoniae infection model in epithelial HEp-2 cells

We have previously demonstrated that the steroid receptor antagonist mifepristone (RU486) causes growth inhibition of Chlamydophila pneumoniae by binding to and subsequently destroying the bacteria during their normal developmental cycle in epithelial HEp-2 cells. In the present study, we assessed the efficacy of treatment with RU486 against persistent C. pneumoniae infection in interferon (IFN)γ-treated HEp-2 cells. Assessment of bacterial growth modification, the number of infectious progenies, the formation of inclusions, and the expressions of the C. pneumoniae genes 16S rRNA and hsp60 were investigated in cells with or without IFNγ stimulation in the presence of RU486, using an inclusion-forming unit (IFU) assay, fluorescence microscopic analysis, and reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR), respectively. Our results indicated that RU486 treatment produced growth inhibition and an absence of C. pneumoniae gene expression in normal HEp-2 cells and that this treatment failed to inhibit C. pneumoniae growth in HEp-2 cells stimulated with IFNγ. These results indicate that treatment with RU486 had a limited effect on C. pneumoniae growth only during the active developmental stage of the bacteria, suggesting that the bacterial target molecule of RU486 is not expressed sufficiently during persistent infection in which there is an aberrant developmental cycle. Thus, our findings provide valuable insight into the complicated chlamydial biological processes involved in the recurrent cycling between normal and persistent infections

Healing Effects of Irsogladine Maleate on Acetic Acid- induced Oral Stomatitis in 5-Fluorouracil-treated and -untreated Syrian Golden Hamsters

ABSTRACT Oral stomatitis is one of the adverse events induced by 5-fluorouracil (5-FU). The healing effects of irsogladine maleate (IM), a therapeutic agent for stomach ulcer, were examined on oral stomatitis with 5-FU. The oral stomatitis model in the cheek pouch were produced by submucosal injection of 25 µL of 10% acetic acid solution in male Syrian golden hamsters anesthetized with pentobarbital 30 mg/kg i.p. on day -2. 5-FU was injected at 60 mg/kg/day i.p. on days -4 and -2. In the IM application group, 0.2 mL of IM solution or vehicle was started from day 0 to the oral mucosa of the cheek pouch. Application of 1.2 mg/mL IM solution significantly reduced the areas of injury in 5-FU-untreated animals. Application of 1.2 mg/mL IM suspension in sodium carboxymethyl cellulose (CMC-Na) solution did not reduce the area of oral injury in this model, and no reduction was observed upon p.o. administration of 1.2 and 4.0 mg/mL IM solution. The areas of oral injury in 5-FU-treated animals were significantly larger than those in 5-FU-untreated animals. The period required for the area of oral injury to be reduced to 50% was about 4.9 and 3.9 days in the 5-FU-treated and -untreated animals, respectively. Application of 4.0 mg/mL IM solution significantly reduced the area of injury in the 5-FU-treated animals. In addition, 4.0 mg/mL IM in a solution containing gum ghatti to increase viscosity and retention reduced the area of oral injury significantly. However, p.o. administration of 1.2 or 4.0 mg/mL IM in gum ghatti-containing solution had no reduction effects. These results suggest that application of IM reduces the area of oral injury in acetic acid-induced oral stomatitis developing under both 5-FU-treated and -untreated conditions

The Thirty Millimeter Telescope

A near-infrared telescope with an effective aperture diameter of thirty millimeters has been developed. The primary objective of the development is to observe northern bright stars in the $J$, $H$, and $K_{\rm s}$ bands and provide accurate photometric data on those stars. The second objective is to repeatedly observe a belt-like region along the northern Galactic plane ($|b| \le 5^\circ$ and $\delta \ge -30^\circ$) to monitor bright variable stars there. The telescope has been in use since December 2016. The purpose of this paper is to describe the design and operational performances of the telescope, photometric calibration methods, and our scientific goals. We show that the telescope has the ability to provide photometry with an uncertainty of less than 5\% for stars brighter than 7, 6.5, and 6~mag in the $J$, $H$, and $K_{\rm s}$ bands, respectively. The repeatability of the photometric measurements for the same star is better than 1\% for bright stars. Our observations will provide accurate photometry on bright stars that are lacking in the Two Micron Sky Survey and the Two Micron All-Sky Survey. Repeated observations at a good cadence will also reveal their nature of the variability in the near-infrared.Comment: Accepted for publication in Publications of the Astronomical Society of Japa

Search for Scalar Diphoton Resonances in the Mass Range 65−60065-600 GeV with the ATLAS Detector in pppp Collision Data at s\sqrt{s} = 8 TeVTeV

A search for scalar particles decaying via narrow resonances into two photons in the mass range 65–600 GeV is performed using $20.3\text{}\text{}{\mathrm{fb}}^{-1}$ of $\sqrt{s}=8\text{}\text{}\mathrm{TeV}$ $pp$ collision data collected with the ATLAS detector at the Large Hadron Collider. The recently discovered Higgs boson is treated as a background. No significant evidence for an additional signal is observed. The results are presented as limits at the 95% confidence level on the production cross section of a scalar boson times branching ratio into two photons, in a fiducial volume where the reconstruction efficiency is approximately independent of the event topology. The upper limits set extend over a considerably wider mass range than previous searches

Search for Higgs and ZZ Boson Decays to J/ψγJ/\psi\gamma and Υ(nS)γ\Upsilon(nS)\gamma with the ATLAS Detector

A search for the decays of the Higgs and $Z$ bosons to $J/\psi\gamma$ and $\Upsilon(nS)\gamma$ ($n=1,2,3$) is performed with $pp$ collision data samples corresponding to integrated luminosities of up to $20.3\mathrm{fb}^{-1}$ collected at $\sqrt{s}=8\mathrm{TeV}$ with the ATLAS detector at the CERN Large Hadron Collider. No significant excess of events is observed above expected backgrounds and 95% CL upper limits are placed on the branching fractions. In the $J/\psi\gamma$ final state the limits are $1.5\times10^{-3}$ and $2.6\times10^{-6}$ for the Higgs and $Z$ bosons, respectively, while in the $\Upsilon(1S,2S,3S)\,\gamma$ final states the limits are $(1.3,1.9,1.3)\times10^{-3}$ and $(3.4,6.5,5.4)\times10^{-6}$, respectively