Role of protein kinase C in angiotensin II-induced constriction of renal microvessels

Role of protein kinase C in angiotensin II-induced constriction of renal microvesselsBackgroundAlthough angiotensin II (Ang II) exerts its action through multiple vasomotor mechanisms, the contribution of phosphoinositol hydrolysis products to Ang II-induced renal vasoconstriction remains undetermined.MethodsThe role of protein kinase C (PKC) in Ang II-induced afferent (AFF) and efferent (EFF) arteriolar constriction was examined using the isolated perfused hydronephrotic rat kidney.ResultsAng II (0.3 nmol/L)-induced EFF constriction was refractory to inhibition of voltage-dependent calcium channels by pranidipine (1 μmol/L, 19 ± 2% reversal) but was completely reversed by a PKC inhibitor, chelerythrine (1 μmol/L, 96 ± 2% reversal). Furthermore, direct PKC activation by phorbol myristate acetate (PMA; 1 μmol/L) caused prominent EFF constriction, and this constriction was inhibited by manganese and free calcium medium. In contrast, Ang II-induced AFF constriction was completely abolished by pranidipine (98 ± 4% reversal) and was partially inhibited by chelerythrine (55 ± 3% reversal). Although PMA elicited marked AFF constriction, this constriction was insensitive to the calcium antagonist, but was totally inhibited by manganese or free calcium medium.ConclusionsPKC plays an obligatory role in Ang II-induced EFF constriction that requires extracellular calcium entry through nonselective cation channels. In contrast, in concert with our recent findings demonstrating a complete dilation by thapsigargin, Ang II-induced AFF constriction is mainly mediated by inositol trisphosphate (IP3) and voltage-dependent calcium channel pathways, but could not be attributed to the PKC-activated calcium entry pathway (for example, nonselective cation channels). Rather, Ang II-stimulated PKC may cross-talk to the IP3/voltage-dependent calcium channel pathway and could modulate the vasoconstrictor mechanism of the AFF. Thus, the role of PKC during Ang II stimulation differs in AFF and EFF, which may constitute segmental heterogeneity in the renal microvasculature

On the exact Foldy-Wouthuysen transformation for a Dirac spinor in torsion and other CPT and Lorentz violating backgrounds

We discuss the possibility to perform and use the exact Foldy-Wouthuysen transformation (EFWT) for the Dirac spinor coupled to different CPT and Lorentz violating terms. The classification of such terms is performed, selecting those of them which admit EFWT. For the particular example of an axial vector field, which can be associated with the completely antisymmetric torsion, we construct an explicit EFWT in the case when only a timelike component of this axial vector is present. In the cases when EFWT is not possible, one can still use the corresponding technique for deriving the perturbative Foldy-Wouthuysen transformation, as is illustrated in a particular example in the Appendix

The application of tetanic stimulation of the unilateral tibial nerve before transcranial stimulation can augment the amplitudes of myogenic motor-evoked potentials from the muscles in the bilateral upper and lower limbs.

BACKGROUND: Recently, we reported a new technique to augment motor-evoked potentials (MEPs) under general anesthesia, posttetanic MEP (p-MEP), in which tetanic stimulation of the peripheral nerve before transcranial stimulation enlarged amplitudes of MEPs from the muscle innervated by the nerve subjected to tetanic stimulation. In the present study, we tested whether tetanic stimulation of the left tibial nerve can also augment amplitudes of MEPs from the muscles which are not innervated by the nerve subjected to tetanic stimulation. METHODS: Thirty patients undergoing spinal surgery under propofol-fentanyl anesthesia with partial neuromuscular blockade were examined. For conventional MEP (c-MEP) recording, transcranial stimulation with train-of-five pulses was delivered to C3-4, and the compound muscle action potentials were bilaterally recorded from the abductor pollicis brevis, abductor hallucis (AH), tibialis anterior, and soleus muscles. For p-MEP recording, tetanic stimulation (50 Hz, 50 mA of stimulus intensity) with a duration of 5 s was applied to the left tibial nerve at the ankle 1 s before transcranial stimulation. Transcranial stimulation and recording of compound muscle action potentials were performed in the same manner as c-MEP recording. Amplitudes of c-MEP and p-MEP were compared using Wilcoxon's signed rank test. RESULTS: Amplitudes of p-MEPs from the left AH muscle innervated by the left tibial nerve with tetanic stimulation were significantly larger compared with those of c-MEPs. Amplitudes of p-MEPs from the bilateral abductor pollicis brevis and soleus muscles and right AH and tibialis anterior muscles, which were not innervated by the left tibial nerve with tetanic stimulation, were also significantly larger compared with those of c-MEPs. CONCLUSION: In patients under propofol and fentanyl anesthesia with partial neuromuscular blockade, the application of tetanic stimulation to the left tibial nerve augmented the amplitudes of MEPs from the muscles without tetanic nerve stimulation and those with stimulation.博士（医学）・乙第1317号・平成25年7月22

偏光分解顕微鏡を用いたアルコール性肝線維症の線維化の量的・質的評価系の開発

Liver fibrosis is assessed mainly by conventional staining or second harmonic generation (SHG) microscopy, which can only provide collagen content in fibrotic area. We propose to use polarization-resolved SHG (PR-SHG) microscopy to quantify liver fibrosis in terms of collagen fiber orientation and crystallization. Liver samples obtained from autopsy cases with fibrosis stage of F0–F4 were evaluated with an SHG microscope, and 12 consecutive PR-SHG images were acquired while changing the polarization azimuth angle of the irradiated laser from 0° to 165° in 15° increments using polarizer. The fiber orientation angle (φ) and degree (ρ) of collagen were estimated from the images. The SHG-positive area increased as the fibrosis stage progressed, which was well consistent with Sirius Red staining. The value of φ was random regardless of fibrosis stage. The mean value of ρ (ρ-mean), which represents collagen fiber crystallinity, varied more as fibrosis progressed to stage F3, and converged to a significantly higher value in F4 than in other stages. Spatial dispersion of ρ (ρ-entropy) also showed increased variation in the stage F3 and decreased variation in the stage F4. It was shown that PR-SHG could provide new information on the properties of collagen fibers in human liver fibrosis

Clinical Course before and after Cataract and Glaucoma Surgery under Systemic Infliximab Therapy in Patients with Behçet's Disease

www.karger.com/cop This is an Open Access article licensed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 3.0 License (www.karger.com/OA-license), applicable to the online version of the article only. Distribution for non-commercial purposes only

ケンキュウショ カツドウ ホウコク ガクセイ ルポ ニッカン メディア トーク ニッカン カンケイ 100ネン ニツイテ カンガエル

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Pregnancy outcomes of women who received conservative therapy for endometrial carcinoma or atypical endometrial hyperplasia

Case: Approximately 3%‐25% of cases of endometrial carcinoma (EC) or atypical endometrial hyperplasia (AH) occur in women aged <40 years and conservative treatment with high‐dose medroxyprogesterone acetate (MPA) is administered to women who wish to preserve their fertility. Here is reported the pregnancy outcomes of patients with EC or AH who received MPA therapy at Tokushima University Hospital, Tokushima, Japan. The frequency of pregnancy and live births among the patients with EC or AH who received conservative treatment, followed by fertility treatment, were analyzed retrospectively. Outcome: Twelve patients underwent fertility examinations and received fertility treatment immediately after the completion of conservative treatment for EC or AH. One patient had the complication of severe diabetes and total embryo cryopreservation was performed before her diabetes was treated. Among the other 11 patients, 8 (72.7%) became pregnant at least once and 6 (54.5%) experienced at least 1 live birth. Three patients (25.0%) suffered disease recurrence during or after the infertility treatment and all of the recurrences occurred in the EC cohort. Conclusion: When patients with EC or AH wish to preserve their fertility, it is recommended that prompt and effective fertility treatment, including assisted reproductive technology, should be initiated just after conservative treatment because EC and AH exhibit relatively high recurrence rates among conservatively treated patients

Assessment of skin inflammation using near-infrared Raman spectroscopy combined with artificial intelligence analysis in an animal model

Raman spectroscopy is a powerful method for estimating the molecular structure of a target that can be adapted for biomedical analysis given its non-destructive nature. Inflammatory skin diseases impair the skin’s barrier function and interfere with the patient’s quality of life. There are limited methods for non-invasive and objective assessment of skin inflammation. We examined whether Raman spectroscopy can be used to predict skin inflammation with high sensitivity and specificity when combined with artificial intelligence (AI) analysis. Inflammation was chemically induced in mouse ears, and Raman spectra induced by a 785 nm laser were recorded. A principal component (PC) analysis of the Raman spectra was performed to extract PCs with the highest percentage of variance and to estimate the statistical score. The accuracy in predicting inflammation based on the Raman spectra with or without AI analysis was assessed using receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curves. We observed some typical changes in the Raman spectra upon skin inflammation, which may have resulted from vasodilation and interstitial oedema. The estimated statistical scores based on spectral changes correlated with the histopathological changes in the skin. The ROC curve based on PC2, which appeared to include some spectral features, revealed a maximum accuracy rate of 80.0% with an area under the curve (AUC) of 0.864. The AI analysis improved the accuracy rate to 93.1% with an AUC of 0.972. The current findings demonstrate that the combination of Raman spectroscopy with near-infrared excitation and AI analysis can provide highly accurate information on the pathology of skin inflammation

Probing non-Riemannian spacetime geometry

The equations of motion for matter in non-Riemannian spacetimes are derived via a multipole method. It is found that only test bodies with microstructure couple to the non-Riemannian spacetime geometry. Consequently it is impossible to detect spacetime torsion with the satellite experiment Gravity Probe B, contrary to some recent claims in the literature.Comment: 8 pages, 1 figure, matches published version including the erratum in Phys. Lett. A 373 (2009) 160