Preparation of Rat Gingival Mitochondria with an Improved Isolation Method

In order to establish a method of obtaining rat gingival mitochondria (Mt), Mt fractions were prepared in various combinations of homogenizing time with collagenase concentration. Rat gingival tissues were excised, minced, treated with collagenase, homogenized, and subjected to differential centrifugation rates. Both the respiratory control ratio (RCR) and adenosine diphosphate/oxygen (ADP/O) ratio of the Mt fraction prepared in a combination of 40, 50, or 60 sec homogenization with collagenase in a concentration range of 0.115%–0.130% (w/v) were measured. The values for the RCR and ADP/O ratio of the Mt fraction obtained in an optimal condition was 1.80 ± 0.05 and 1.65 ± 0.03, respectively. These results suggest that Mt of fairly high quality can be obtained through this refined combination of the homogenizing time and collagenase concentration

Royal Jelly Prevents Osteoporosis in Rats: Beneficial Effects in Ovariectomy Model and in Bone Tissue Culture Model

Royal jelly (RJ) has been used worldwide for many years as medical products, health foods and cosmetics. Since RJ contains testosterone and has steroid hormone-type activities, we hypothesized that it may have beneficial effects on osteoporosis. We used both an ovariectomized rat model and a tissue culture model. Rats were divided into eight groups as follows: sham-operated (Sham), ovariectomized (OVX), OVX given 0.5% (w/w) raw RJ, OVX given 2.0% (w/w) RJ, OVX given 0.5% (w/w) protease-treated RJ (pRJ), OVX given 2.0% (w/w) pRJ, OVX given 17β-estradiol and OVX given its vehicle, respectively. The Ovariectomy decreased tibial bone mineral density (BMD) by 24%. Administration of 17β-estradiol to OVX rats recovered the tibial BMD decrease by 100%. Administration of 2.0% (w/w) RJ and 0.5–2.0% (w/w) pRJ to OVX rats recovered it by 85% or more. These results indicate that both RJ and pRJ are almost as effective as 17β-estradiol in preventing the development of bone loss induced by ovariectomy in rats. In tissue culture models, both RJ and pRJ increased calcium contents in femoral-diaphyseal and femoral-metaphyseal tissue cultures obtained from normal male rats. However, in a mouse marrow culture model, they neither inhibited the parathyroid hormone (PTH)-induced calcium loss nor affected the formation of osteoclast-like cells induced by PTH in mouse marrow culture system. Therefore, our results suggest that both RJ and pRJ may prevent osteoporosis by enhancing intestinal calcium absorption, but not by directly antagonizing the action of PTH

Mode of disulfide bond formation of a heat-stable enterotoxin (STh) produced by a human strain of enterotoxigenic Escherichia coli

AbstractTo determine the modes of three disulfide linkages in the heat-stable enterotoxin (STh) produced by a human strain of enterotoxigenic Escherichia coli, we synthesized STh(6–18), which consists of 13 amino acid residues and has the same intramolecular disulfide linkages as native STh [(1985) FEBS Lett. 181, 138–142], by stepwise and selective formation of disulfide bonds using different types of removable protecting groups for the Cys residues. Synthesis of the peptide with different modes of disulfide bond formation provided three peptides consistent with standard STh(6–18) in their physicochemical and biological properties, thereby indicating that the disulfide bonds in STh(6–18) are

Women\u27s health consciousness in the Southeast Asian area : Comparison among Taiwan, the Philippines, Malaysia, Indonesia and Japan

生涯に亘って良好な健康を維持するためには、心身のシグナルである自覚症状に対する意識や認識が極めて重要である。健康意識は、性、年齢、生活環境、社会的背景等によって多種多様な様相を現している。長寿社会の日本を取り巻く隣国アデア周辺では,日本に比して平均寿命や,健康支援活動面で高いとは言いがたい。我々は、過去台湾を中心に女性の健康調査を行ってきたが、今回は、更に調査対象地域を拡大したのでここに幸民告する。自覚症状の出現形態は、各国別の順位でみると、自律神経症状で、インドネシア、台湾、フイリッピン、日本、マレーシアの順である。次に、訴え頻度の多い5位までを国別にみると症状の特徴が国によって顕者に異なっている。特にフイリッピンの性に関する頻度の出現が顕者であった。以上のように各国の症状の出現はその地域の環境や、生活様式が顕者に反映されていることを示した。The knowledge and awareness on subjective symptoms, which serve as important signals to mental and physical conditions are vital in maintaining good health. Health awareness is reflected by age, sex, living environments, social backgrounds and other factors. The life span and health conditions of the neighboring Asian countries are relatively poorer than those of Japan. In the past, we made studies on the health conditions of Taiwanese women. The result of our survey among countries under study revealed the prevalence of autonomic imbalance in the increasing order of Indonesia, Taiwan, Philippines, Japan and Malaysia. In addition, the top 5 prevailing diseases characteristic of each country has been found to be significantly different. Specifically, the incidence rate of symptoms related to genital organs was found notable in the Philippines. In conclusion, this study shows that the incidence of diseases in each country is strongly influenced by its environment and ways of living