Analysis of Infant Microbiota Composition and the Relationship With Breast Milk Components in the Asian Elephant (Elephas Maximus) at the Zoo

The prevention of diseases through health control is essential at zoos. Here, we investigated the gut microbiota formation during infancy in an Asian elephant and compared the composition between infant and mother. Besides, we analyzed the components of breast milk and examined the correlation with the infant gut microbiota. Analysis revealed the gut microbiota of the infant contained high amount of Lactobacillales and its diversity was relatively low compared to that of the mother. We found several milk components, showed a positive correlation with the change of Lactobacillales. The present study revealed the mechanism of gut microbiota formation during infancy in an Asian elephant and provides important insights into the health control of Asian elephants in zoos

Experimental myelitis caused by herpes simplex virus type 2 in C57BL/6N and BALB/cN mice

Intraperitoneal and intracranial inoculation of herpes simplex virus type 2 (HSV 2) into BALB/cN and C57BL/6N mice was carried out to induce experimental myelitis. The myelitis was clearly observed in C57BL/6N mice following intraperitoneal inoculation. Within 24 hours before death, the mice showed urinary and rectal incontinence and paraplegia of the hind legs. Randomly distributed, severe necrosis was demonstrated in the spinal cord, mainly at the lower cord. In BALB/cN mice the clinical symptoms were not clearly observed, as the mice died shortly after their onset. Although spinal cord necrosis was more prominent in C57BL/6N mice than BALB/cN mice, brain necrosis was only found in the latter, and not in the former. Both strains of mouse showed marked nuclear pyknosis of the nerve cells and slight nuclear pyknosis of the astrocytes in the brain where HSV 2 antigen was demonstrated immunohistochemically. The antigen was also detected in the necrotic spinal cord. In contrast, intracranial inoculation of the virus into both strains did not cause myelitis. Spinal cord necrosis was not demonstrated and virus DNA was not detected, by PCR, in spinal cord samples. In the brain, however, the virus was demonstrated by both PCR and immunohistochemistry

Downregulation of citrin, a mitochondrial aspartate glutamate carrier, is associated with apoptosis of hepatocytes

Citrin is a mitochondrial aspartate glutamate carrier primarily expressed in liver. Adult-onset type II citrullinemia is caused by mutations in the SLC25A13 gene that encodes for citrin, and patients with this condition do not express citrin. We found apoptotic hepatocytes in one such patient. This finding prompted us to investigate the role of citrin in hepatocyte survival. Knockdown of citrin by a vector-based short-hairpin RNA technique reduced cell viability and induced apoptosis of a hepatocellular carcinoma cell line, Hep3B cells. Caspase-3/7 and caspase-9 were activated, and PARP was cleaved. Citrin knockdown also increased the expression of Bax and Bak, and reduced expression of Bcl-xL and Bcl-2. These alterations resulted in the release of cytochrome c from the mitochondria. Our results indicated that citrin downregulation induces apoptosis of hepatocytes through the mitochondrial death pathway, highlighting the importance of citrin in survival of hepatocytes and maintenance of liver function

Apoptosis Induced by the Histone Deacetylase Inhibitor FR901228 in Human T-Cell Leukemia Virus Type 1-Infected T-Cell Lines and Primary Adult T-Cell Leukemia Cells

Inhibition of histone deacetylase (HDAC) activity induces growth arrest, differentiation, and, in certain cell types, apoptosis. FR901228, FK228, or depsipeptide, is an HDAC inhibitor effective in T-cell lymphomas. Adult T-cell leukemia (ATL) is caused by human T-cell leukemia virus type 1 (HTLV-1) and remains incurable. We examined whether FR901228 is effective for treatment of ATL by assessing its ability to induce apoptosis of HTLV-1-infected T-cell lines and primary leukemic cells from ATL patients. FR901228 induced apoptosis of Tax-expressing and -unexpressing HTLV-1-infected T-cell lines and selective apoptosis of primary ATL cells, especially those of patients with acute ATL. FR901228 also efficiently reduced the DNA binding of NF-κB and AP-1 in HTLV-1-infected T-cell lines and primary ATL cells and down-regulated the expression of Bcl-x(L) and cyclin D2, regulated by NF-κB. Although the viral protein Tax is an activator of NF-κB and AP-1, FR901228-induced apoptosis was not associated with reduced expression of Tax. In vivo use of FR901228 partly inhibited the growth of tumors of HTLV-1-infected T cells transplanted subcutaneously in SCID mice. Our results indicated that FR901228 could induce apoptosis of these cells and suppress the expression of NF-κB and AP-1 and suggest that FR901228 could be therapeutically effective in ATL

沖縄社会の越境的ネットワーク化とダイナミズムに関する研究

平成17年度～平成19年度科学研究費補助金(基盤研究(B))研究成果報告書研究概要：(平成19年度時点)本研究では、米国をはじめとする海外の沖縄系コミュニティと日本における沖縄社会の多様性・特殊性・普遍性を解明しつつ、その越境的かつ重層的なネットワーク化のダイナミズム、すなわち新たな社会形成と地域活性化の可能性について検証した。具体的には以下の諸点を明らかにした。（1）海外（国内）における沖縄系コミュニティに関する実態調査県人会活動などが活発な北米を主に、南米及びフィリピンなどにおいて沖縄系コミュニティの実態と越境的なネットワーク形成に関する現地調査を実施し、比較研究を視野に入れた分析を行なった。並行して、国内の主要地域における県人会組織や活動の変化について資料収集と聞き取り調査を行った。（2）「第4回世界のウチナーンチュ大会」でのアンケート調査の分析2006年10月に沖縄県において開催された第4回世界のウチナーンチュ大会で実施したアンケート調査や聞き取り調査の集計・検証を継続し、分析結果をまとめた。同時に、沖縄県および他の地域における越境的なネットワークの拠点形成に関する動向を把握した。（3）調査結果の報告及び調査資料集と研究成果報告書の刊行今後の分析や考察、情報の共有などを目的に、各人が行った過年度および今年度の調査データ等をとりまとめ、調査資料集と研究成果報告書を刊行した。また、アンケート調査などに協力いただいた県系人や関係者に成果を還元するため、最終的な成果報告書をまとめる前に英語版の資料集を作成し、ロサンゼルスとハワイにて成果報告会（フォーラム）を実施した。未公開：P.91～P.140（別刷論文のため）、P.220～P.222（関連新聞記事のため