Zinc increases vulnerability of rat thymic lymphocytes to arachidonic acid under in vitro conditions

Previous studies on the cytotoxicity of arachidonic acid (ARA) elucidated the involvement of oxidative stress and Ca2+. In the present study, the Zn2+-related cytotoxicity of ARA was studied by a flow cytometric technique with appropriate fluorescent probes in rat thymocytes. Addition of 10 μM ZnCl2 enhanced the increase in cell lethality induced by 10 μM ARA. The removal of Zn2+ by Zn2+ chelators attenuated the ARA-induced increase in cell lethality. Thus, Zn2+ is suggested to be involved in ARA cytotoxicity. ARA at 3–10 μM elevated intracellular Zn2+ level. The Zn2+ chelators attenuated the ARA-induced increase in intracellular Zn2+ level while ARA significantly increased intracellular Zn2+ level in the presence of 3 μM ZnCl2, suggesting the involvement of external Zn2+. Zn2+ reportedly exerts cytotoxic action under oxidative stress induced by hydrogen peroxide, via an excessive increase in intracellular Zn2+ levels. Since ARA induces oxidative stress, the simultaneous administration of zinc and ARA may be harmful

Motivation and Media Used by Tourist When Visiting Sightseeing After Pandemic Covid-19 in Indonesia and Japan

Sightseeing are places that have the attractiveness of an area, and this makes them a place that is visited by many tourists. However, several conditions make sightseeing unknown and rarely visited by tourists, which is the main problem in this study. Through this research, we will find out the motivation of tourists to travel, the media used by tourists to get information, and the attraction of sightseeing that can attract tourists to visit. This research uses survey methods and interviews with tourists to find out the phenomenon directly when tourists visit tourist attractions in Japan and Indonesia. Japan and Indonesia became the object of research because they were affected by the aftermath of the COVID-19 pandemic in their tourist fields. There will also be further analysis of the problems faced by the two countries. Then the results of the data obtained will be analyzed descriptively, and a solution to the problem is sought. Analyzing the results of this study, we found the phenomenon that the way of getting tourist information varies by age. The younger generation uses SNS, while the older generation often uses introductions from acquaintances and maps. It was also found that Japanese people’s motivation for traveling is often to find a place to visit or to have an extraordinary experience. At the same time, Indonesians are often motivated by the desire to refresh themselves

Sex-dependent regulation of vertebrate somatic growth and aging by germ cells

Abe K., Ino H., Niwa T., et al. Sex-dependent regulation of vertebrate somatic growth and aging by germ cells. Science Advances 10, eadi1621 (2024); https://doi.org/10.1126/sciadv.adi1621.The function of germ cells in somatic growth and aging has been demonstrated in invertebrate models but remains unclear in vertebrates. We demonstrated sex-dependent somatic regulation by germ cells in the short-lived vertebrate model Nothobranchius furzeri. In females, germ cell removal shortened life span, decreased estrogen, and increased insulin-like growth factor 1 (IGF-1) signaling. In contrast, germ cell removal in males improved their health with increased vitamin D signaling. Body size increased in both sexes but was caused by different signaling pathways, i.e., IGF-1 and vitamin D in females and males, respectively. Thus, vertebrate germ cells regulate somatic growth and aging through different pathways of the endocrine system, depending on the sex, which may underlie the sexual difference in reproductive strategies

Identification of Inappropriately Reprogrammed Genes by Large-Scale Transcriptome Analysis of Individual Cloned Mouse Blastocysts

Although cloned embryos generated by somatic/embryonic stem cell nuclear transfer (SECNT) certainly give rise to viable individuals, they can often undergo embryonic arrest at any stage of embryogenesis, leading to diverse morphological abnormalities. In an effort to gain further insights into reprogramming and the properties of SECNT embryos, we performed a large-scale gene expression profiling of 87 single blastocysts using GeneChip microarrays. Sertoli cells, cumulus cells, and embryonic stem cells were used as donor cells. The gene expression profiles of 87 blastocysts were subjected to microarray analysis. Using principal component analysis and hierarchical clustering, the gene expression profiles were clearly classified into 3 clusters corresponding to the type of donor cell. The results revealed that each type of SECNT embryo had a unique gene expression profile that was strictly dependent upon the type of donor cells, although there was considerable variation among the individual profiles within each group. This suggests that the reprogramming process is distinct for embryos cloned from different types of donor cells. Furthermore, on the basis of the results of comparison analysis, we identified 35 genes that were inappropriately reprogrammed in most of the SECNT embryos; our findings demonstrated that some of these genes, such as Asz1, Xlr3a and App, were appropriately reprogrammed only in the embryos with a transcriptional profile that was the closest to that of the controls. Our findings provide a framework to further understand the reprogramming in SECNT embryos

DOCK2 is involved in the host genetics and biology of severe COVID-19

「コロナ制圧タスクフォース」COVID-19疾患感受性遺伝子DOCK2の重症化機序を解明 --アジア最大のバイオレポジトリーでCOVID-19の治療標的を発見--. 京都大学プレスリリース. 2022-08-10.Identifying the host genetic factors underlying severe COVID-19 is an emerging challenge. Here we conducted a genome-wide association study (GWAS) involving 2, 393 cases of COVID-19 in a cohort of Japanese individuals collected during the initial waves of the pandemic, with 3, 289 unaffected controls. We identified a variant on chromosome 5 at 5q35 (rs60200309-A), close to the dedicator of cytokinesis 2 gene (DOCK2), which was associated with severe COVID-19 in patients less than 65 years of age. This risk allele was prevalent in East Asian individuals but rare in Europeans, highlighting the value of genome-wide association studies in non-European populations. RNA-sequencing analysis of 473 bulk peripheral blood samples identified decreased expression of DOCK2 associated with the risk allele in these younger patients. DOCK2 expression was suppressed in patients with severe cases of COVID-19. Single-cell RNA-sequencing analysis (n = 61 individuals) identified cell-type-specific downregulation of DOCK2 and a COVID-19-specific decreasing effect of the risk allele on DOCK2 expression in non-classical monocytes. Immunohistochemistry of lung specimens from patients with severe COVID-19 pneumonia showed suppressed DOCK2 expression. Moreover, inhibition of DOCK2 function with CPYPP increased the severity of pneumonia in a Syrian hamster model of SARS-CoV-2 infection, characterized by weight loss, lung oedema, enhanced viral loads, impaired macrophage recruitment and dysregulated type I interferon responses. We conclude that DOCK2 has an important role in the host immune response to SARS-CoV-2 infection and the development of severe COVID-19, and could be further explored as a potential biomarker and/or therapeutic target