Involvement of STAT3 in Bladder Smooth Muscle Hypertrophy Following Bladder Outlet Obstruction

We examined the involvement of the signal transducer and activator of transcription 3 (STAT3) in bladder outlet obstruction (BOO)-induced bladder smooth muscle hypertrophy using a rat in vivo and in vitro study. BOO induced increases in bladder weight and bladder smooth muscle thickness 1 week after the operation. By using antibody microarrays, 64 of 389 proteins blotted on the array met our selection criteria of an INR value between > or = 2.0 and < or = 0.5. This result revealed up-regulation of transcription factors, cell cycle regulatory proteins, apoptosis-associated proteins and so on. On the other hand, down-regulation (INR value < or = 0.5) of proteins was not found. In a profiling study, we found an increase in the expression of STAT3. A significant increase in nuclear phosphorylated STAT3 expression was confirmed in bladder smooth muscle tissue by immunohistochemistry and Western blot analysis. Cyclical stretch-relaxation (1 Hz) at 120% elongation significantly increased the expression of STAT3 and of alpha-smooth muscle actin in primary cultured bladder smooth muscle cells. Furthermore, the blockade of STAT3 expression by the transfection of STAT3 small interfering RNA (siRNA) significantly prevented the stretch-induced increase in alpha-smooth muscle actin expression. These results suggest that STAT3 has an important role in the induction of bladder smooth muscle hypertrophy

Epoprostenol Therapy for Pulmonary Arterial Hypertension

Pulmonary arterial hypertension (PAH) is characterized by elevation of pulmonary artery pressure caused by pulmonary vasoconstriction and vascular remodeling, which leads to right heart failure and death. Epoprostenol (prostaglandin I2) has a potent short-acting vasodilator property, and intravenous continuous epoprostenol is therefore used for treatment of PAH. Here we review evidence for the usefulness of intravenous continuous epoprostenol therapy in patients with PAH. Epoprostenol therapy is effective in idiopathic PAH patients and in patients with PAH associated with connective tissue disease, portal hypertension or congenital heart diseases, but it is not effective in patients with pulmonary veno-occlusive disease or pulmonary capillary hemangiomatosis. High-dose epoprostenol therapy markedly improved hemodynamics in some patients with PAH, possibly due to reverse remodeling of pulmonary arteries. This therapy has several side effects and complications such as headache, hypotension and catheter-related infections. Intravenous continuous epoprostenol is an effective treatment, but there are still some problems to be resolved

Twenty barrel in situ pipe gun type solid hydrogen pellet injector for the Large Helical Device

A 20 barrel solid hydrogen pellet injector, which is able to inject 20 cylindrical pellets with a diameter and length of between 3.0 and 3.8 mm at the velocity of 1200 m/s, has been developed for the purpose of direct core fueling in LHD (Large Helical Device). The in situ pipe gun concept with the use of compact cryo-coolers enables stable operation as a fundamental facility in plasma experiments. The combination of the two types of pellet injection timing control modes, i.e., pre-programing mode and real-time control mode, allows the build-up and sustainment of high density plasma around the density limit. The pellet injector has demonstrated stable operation characteristics during the past three years of LHD experiments

2006 ネンド コウガクブ シンニュウセイ オ タイショウ トシタ ボウサイ キョウイク ノ ジッシ ト ボウサイ イシキ チョウサ

本論文では，徳島大学工学部の2006 年度新入生を対象とした防災教育の実施と，同時に実施し たアンケート調査の結果から，学生の防災意識の現状を把握するとともに，徳島大学の防災教育のあ り方について検討を行った．アンケート調査の結果より，被災経験のある学生が多く存在するものの， 防災意識・知識が低く，防災訓練の経験に偏りが見られたこと，およびその重要性を認識できていな い傾向があることがわかった．一方，災害ボランティア活動に対して興味が持っている学生が多く， 災害時にボランティア活動に従事することが可能である，と答えた学生も多く見られた．災害時の 「自助・共助」を推進するためには，本学において防災教育を実施し，災害および防災に対する正し い知識と理解を深める必要があることを示した．This paper aims that recognition about Disaster prevention of the New Students entered the faculty of engineering the University of Tokushima in April, 2006. The authors used a questionnaire for investigation and analyzed it. As a result of having analyzed it, most of students cannot understand disaster prevention and more than half of them are single lives, but the students are interested in volunteer activity. By a disaster of the past, a youth is a lot dead next to an old man, too. The reason is because the students were crushed under furniture when an earthquake was generated a student lives in a simple building and a room is small. If students do volunteer activity of a disaster, it is very dangerous. The reason is because it leads to not only a primary disaster but also a second disaster. In other words, the students improve disaster prevention recognition and must understand disasters

Polo kinase regulates the localization and activity of the chromosomal passenger complex in meiosis and mitosis in Drosophila melanogaster

International audienceCell cycle progression is regulated by members of the cyclin-dependent kinase (CDK), Polo and Aurora families of protein kinases. The levels of expression and localization of the key regulatory kinases are themselves subject to very tight control. There is increasing evidence that crosstalk between the mitotic kinases provides for an additional level of regulation. We have previously shown that Aurora B activates Polo kinase at the centromere in mitosis, and that the interaction between Polo and the chromosomal passenger complex (CPC) component INCENP is essential in this activation. In this report, we show that Polo kinase is required for the correct localization and activity of the CPC in meiosis and mito-sis. Study of the phenotype of different polo allele combinations compared to the effect of chemical inhibition revealed significant differences in the localization and activity of the CPC in diploid tissues. Our results shed new light on the mechanisms that control the activity of Aurora B in meiosis and mitosis

Nuclear Hormone Receptor Expression in Mouse Kidney and Renal Cell Lines

Nuclear hormone receptors (NHRs) are transcription factors that regulate carbohydrate and lipid metabolism, immune responses, and inflammation. Although several NHRs, including peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor-γ (PPARγ) and PPARα, demonstrate a renoprotective effect in the context of diabetic nephropathy (DN), the expression and role of other NHRs in the kidney are still unrecognized. To investigate potential roles of NHRs in the biology of the kidney, we used quantitative real-time polymerase chain reaction to profile the expression of all 49 members of the mouse NHR superfamily in mouse kidney tissue (C57BL/6 and db/m), and cell lines of mesangial (MES13), podocyte (MPC), proximal tubular epithelial (mProx24) and collecting duct (mIMCD3) origins in both normal and high-glucose conditions. In C57BL/6 mouse kidney cells, hepatocyte nuclear factor 4α, chicken ovalbumin upstream promoter transcription factor II (COUP-TFII) and COUP-TFIII were highly expressed. During hyperglycemia, the expression of the NHR 4A subgroup including neuron-derived clone 77 (Nur77), nuclear receptor-related factor 1, and neuron-derived orphan receptor 1 significantly increased in diabetic C57BL/6 and db/db mice. In renal cell lines, PPARδ was highly expressed in mesangial and proximal tubular epithelial cells, while COUP-TFs were highly expressed in podocytes, proximal tubular epithelial cells, and collecting duct cells. High-glucose conditions increased the expression of Nur77 in mesangial and collecting duct cells, and liver x receptor α in podocytes. These data demonstrate NHR expression in mouse kidney cells and cultured renal cell lines and suggest potential therapeutic targets in the kidney for the treatment of DN