221 research outputs found
Isolation of a transcriptionally active element of high copy number retrotransposons in sweetpotato genome
Many plant retrotransposons have been characterized, but only three families (Tnt1, Tto1 and
Tos17) have been demonstrated to be transpositionally competent. We followed a novel approach
that enabled us to identify an active element of the Ty1-copia retrotransposon family with
estimated 400 copies in the sweetpotato genome. DNA sequences of Ty1 -copia reverse
transcriptase (RTase) from the sweetpotato genome were analyzed, and a group of
retrotransposon copies probably formed by recent transposition events was further analyzed.
3’RACE on callus cDNA amplified transcripts containing long terminal repeats (LTR) of this
group. The sequence -specific amplification polymorphism (S-SAP) patterns of the LTR sequence
in the genomic DNA were compared between a normal plant and callus lines derived from it. A
callus -specific S-SAP product was found into which the retrotransposon detected by the 3’RACE
had been transposed apparently during cell culture. We conclude that our approach provides an
effective way to identify active elements of retrotransposons with high copy numbers.</p
Synthetic studies on pterin glycosides: the first synthesis of 2′-O-(α-d-glucopyranosyl)biopterin
L-Rhamnose was led, in a 14-step-sequence, to N2-(N,N-dimethylaminomethylene)-1′-O-(4-methoxybenzyl)-3-[2-(4-nitrophenyl)ethyl]biopterin (23), an appropriately protected precursor for 2′-O-glycosylation, while 4,6-di-O-acetyl-2,3-di-O-(4-methoxybenzyl)-α-d-glucopyranosyl bromide (32), a novel glycosyl donor, was efficiently prepared from d-glucose in 8 steps. The first synthesis of 2′-O-(α-d-glucopyranosyl)biopterin (2a) was achieved by treatment of the key intermediate 23 with 32 in the presence of silver triflate and tetramethylurea, followed by successive removal of the protecting groups
The middle region of an HP1-binding protein, HP1-BP74, associates with linker DNA at the entry/exit site of nucleosomal DNA
Kayoko Hayashihara, Susumu Uchiyama, Shigeru Shimamoto, Shouhei Kobayashi, Miroslav Tomschik, Hidekazu Wakamatsu, Daisuke No, Hiroki Sugahara, Naoto Hori, Masanori Noda, Tadayasu Ohkubo, Jordanka Zlatanova, Sachihiro Matsunaga, Kiichi Fukui. The Middle Region of an HP1-binding Protein, HP1-BP74, Associates with Linker DNA at the Entry/Exit Site of Nucleosomal DNA. Journal of Biological Chemistry, Volume 285, Issue 9, 2010, Pages 6498-6507. https://doi.org/10.1074/jbc.M109.092833
Effect of ipragliflozin on carotid intima-media thickness in type 2 diabetes patients
Aims
To examine the effects of a 24-month treatment with ipragliflozin on carotid intima-media thickness (IMT) in type 2 diabetes patients.
Methods and results
In this multicenter, prospective, randomized, open-label, and blinded-endpoint investigator-initiated clinical trial, adults with type 2 diabetes and haemoglobin A1C (HbA1c) of 6.0–10.0% (42–86 mmol/mol) were randomized equally to ipragliflozin (50 mg daily) and non-sodium-glucose cotransporter-2 (SGLT2) inhibitor use of standard-care (control group) for type 2 diabetes and were followed-up to 24 months. The primary endpoint was the change in mean common carotid artery IMT (CCA-IMT) from baseline to 24 months. A total of 482 patients were equally allocated to the ipragliflozin (N = 241) and control (N = 241) groups, and 464 patients (median age 68 years, female 31.7%, median type 2 diabetes duration 8 years, median HbA1c 7.3%) were included in the analyses. For the primary endpoint, the changes in the mean CCA-IMT from baseline to 24 months were 0.0013 [95% confidence interval (CI), −0.0155–0.0182] mm and 0.0015 (95% CI, −0.0155–0.0184) mm in the ipragliflozin and control groups, respectively, with an estimated group difference (ipragliflozin-control) of −0.0001 mm (95% CI, −0.0191–0.0189; P = 0.989). A group difference in HbA1c change at 24 months was also non-significant between the treatment groups [−0.1% (95% CI, −0.2–0.1); P = 0.359].
Conclusion
Twenty-four months of ipragliflozin treatment did not affect carotid IMT status in patients with type 2 diabetes recruited in the PROTECT study, relative to the non-SGLT2 inhibitor-use standard care for type 2 diabetes
Comparison of Mortality between Japanese Peritoneal Dialysis and Hemodialysis Patients: A 5-Year Multicenter Follow-Up Study
To examine the relationship between dialysis modality and prognosis in Japanese patients, we conducted a prospective multicenter observational study. We recruited 83 background-matched peritoneal dialysis (PD) and 83 hemodialysis (HD) patients (average age, 64.9 years; men, 53.6%; diabetic patients, 22.9%; median duration of dialysis, 48 months in all patients) and followed them for 5 years. During the follow-up period, 27 PD patients (16 cardiovascular and 11 non-cardiovascular deaths) and 27 HD patients died (14 cardiovascular and 13 non-cardiovascular deaths). There were 8 PD patients switched to HD, and 6 PD patients received renal transplantation. Kaplan-Meier analysis revealed that the crude survival rate was not significantly different at the end of 5 years (PD 67.5% versus 67.5%, log-rank P = 0.719). The difference in cardiovascular and non-cardiovascular mortalities between PD and HD was not statistically significant. Multivariate Cox analysis showed that the independent predictors for death were age and serum albumin levels, but not the dialysis modality. This study showed that the overall mortality was not significantly different between PD and HD patients, which suggests that dialysis modality might not be an independent factor for survival in Japanese patients
<Abstract of Published Report>Chemoprevention of Azoxymethane-induced Rat Colon Carcinogenesis by a Xanthine Oxidase Inhibitor, 1\u27-Acetoxychavicol Acetate.
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