Phospholipid‐flipping activity of P4‐ATPase drives membrane curvature

リン脂質の移動によって細胞膜が変形するメカニズムを解明 --ウイルス・細菌の細胞への侵入を制御の可能性--. 京都大学プレスリリース. 2018-03-30.P4-ATPases are phospholipid flippases that translocate phospholipids from the exoplasmic/luminal to the cytoplasmic leaflet of biological membranes. All P4-ATPases in yeast and some in other organisms are required for membrane trafficking; therefore, changes in the transbilayer lipid composition induced by flippases are thought to be crucial for membrane deformation. However, it is poorly understood whether the phospholipid-flipping activity of P4-ATPases can promote membrane deformation. In this study, we assessed membrane deformation induced by flippase activity via monitoring the extent of membrane tubulation using a system that allows inducible recruitment of Bin/amphiphysin/Rvs (BAR) domains to the plasma membrane (PM). Enhanced phosphatidylcholine-flippase activity at the PM due to expression of ATP10A, a member of the P4-ATPase family, promoted membrane tubulation upon recruitment of BAR domains to the PM. This is the important evidence that changes in the transbilayer lipid composition induced by P4-ATPases can deform biological membranes

Web-based System for Designing Game-based Evacuation Drills

A game-based evacuation drill (GBED) using the program Real-World Edutainment is effective disaster education. For the successful GBED, an evacuation scenario and digital materials are important. We are developing a web-based system to design GBEDs through community survey, digital material creation and evacuation scenario composition. This system works with a standard web browser and allows a wide range of people to participate in the GBED design process through simple operations

Production of C

Ethanol conversion to C3+ olefins, especially propylene, using Zr-modified H-ZSM-5 catalysts was investigated. Zr-modification to H-ZSM-5 zeolite could improve the initial yield of C3+ olefins and propylene and could reduce the initial yield of ethylene. In general, catalysts exhibiting the higher initial yield of propylene showed the steeper decrease in propylene yield as the reaction proceeded. However, Zr-modification to H-ZSM-5 could depress the decrease in propylene yield for aqueous ethanol. As cause of catalytic deactivation, carbon deposition on catalyst and framework collapse of zeolite support can be considered. The addition of water to Zr-modified H-ZSM-5 catalyst could depress carbon deposition in some degree, and, as a result, the decrease in propylene yield could be depressed

Development of Ultra-Super Sensitive Immunohistochemistry and Its Application to the Etiological Study of Adult T-Cell Leukemia/Lymphoma

Antigen retrieval (AR) and ultra-super sensitive immunohistochemistry (ultra-IHC) have been established for application to archival human pathology specimens. The original ultra-IHC was the ImmunoMax method or the catalyzed signal amplification system (ImmunoMax/CSA method), comprising the streptavidin-biotin complex (sABC) method and catalyzed reporter deposition (CARD) reaction with visualization of its deposition. By introducing procedures to diminish non-specific staining in the original ultra-IHC method, we developed the modified ImmunoMax/CSA method with AR heating sections in an AR solution (heating-AR). The heating-AR and modified ImmunoMax/CSA method visualized expression of the predominantly simple present form of HTLV-1 proviral DNA pX region p40Tax protein (Tax) in adult T-cell leukemia/lymphoma (ATLL) cells in archival pathology specimens in approximately 75% of cases. The simple present form of Tax detected exhibited a close relation with ATLL cell proliferation. We also established a new simplified CSA (nsCSA) system by replacing the sABC method with the secondary antibody- and horse radish peroxidase-labeled polymer reagent method, introducing the pretreatments blocking non-specific binding of secondary antibody reagent, and diminishing the diffusion of deposition in the CARD reaction. Combined with AR treating sections with proteinase K solution (enzymatic-AR), the nsCSA system visualized granular immunostaining of the complex present form of Tax in a small number of ATLL cells in most cases, presenting the possibility of etiological pathological diagnosis of ATLL and suggesting that the complex present form of Tax-positive ATLL cells were young cells derived from ATLL stem cells. The heating-AR and ultra-IHC detected physiological expression of the p53 protein and its probable phosphorylation by Tax in peripheral blood mononuclear cells of peripheral blood tissue specimens from HTLV-1 carriers, as well as physiological and pathological expression of the molecules involved with G1 phase progression and G1–S phase transition (E2F-1, E2F-4, DP-1, and cyclin E) in ATLL and peripheral T-cell lymphoma cells. The ultra-IHC with AR is useful for etiological pathological diagnosis of ATLL since HTLV-1 pathogenicity depends on that of Tax, and can be a useful tool for studies translating advanced molecular biology and pathology to human pathology

Measurements of short-lived cosmogenic nuclides in rain samples

金沢大学自然計測応用研究センター自然計測研究部門金沢大学理学部Extremely low activity levels of cosmic ray induced nuclides have been measured in freshly precipitated rainwater by quick chemical separation coupled with ultra low background gamma-spectrometry. The nuclides detected were 38S (T1/2 = 2.83 h)-38Cl (37.2 m), 39Cl (55.6 m), 24Na (14.96 h), 28Mg (20.9 h), 7Be (53.3 d) and 22Na (2.602 y). The number of atoms in rain water were evaluated to be ranging from 400-1900 l-1 for 39Cl (n = 6, mean: 1200), 30-1500 l-1 for 24Na (n = 16, mean: 520), 80-600 l-1 for 28Mg (n = 13, mean: 260), 1·106-4·107 l-17Be (n = 16, mean: 7·106) and 2·10 3-1·105 l-1 for 22Na (n = 9, mean: 2·104). Measurements of activity levels and activity ratios of short-lived cosmic-ray induced short-lived nuclides will open new method to understand atmospheric processes occurred at the altitude of rain cloud. © 2006 Akadémiai Kiadó

Mass transportation monitored by trace level radioactivity

金沢大学大学院自然科学研究科場所：金沢大学自然科学研究科図書館棟1階，講演会場：図書館棟1階　大会議室，ポスター会場：図書館棟1階12会議室,主催・共催：文部科学省２１世紀COE「環日本海域の環境計測と長期・短期変動予測」， 大気環境学会， 金沢大学工学