Protein Transduction Method for Cerebrovascular Disorders

Many studies have shown that a motif of 11 consecutive arginines (11R) is one of the most effective protein transduction domains (PTD) for introducing proteins into the cell membrane. By conjugating this &#34;11R&#34;, all sorts of proteins can effectively and harmlessly be transferred into any kind of cell. We therefore examined the transduction efficiency of 11R in cerebral arteries and obtained results showing that 11R fused enhanced green fluorescent protein (11R-EGFP) immediately and effectively penetrated all layers of the rat basilar artery (BA), especially the tunica media. This method provides a revolutionary approach to cerebral arteries and ours is the first study to demonstrate the successful transductionof a PTD fused protein into the cerebral arteries. In this review, we present an outline of our studies and other key studies related to cerebral vasospasm and 11R, problems to be overcome, and predictions regarding future use of the 11R protein transduction method for cerebral vasospasm (CV).</p

Autoantibodies in myasthenia gravis: demonstration of anti-motor endplate antibody and anti-muscle membrane antibody using membrane immunofluorescence technique

The presence of specific serum antibodies in five myasthenia gravis patients was demonstrated against the motor endplates and muscle membranes of rats by membrane immunofluorescence technique. The immunologic specificity of the antibodies was confirmed. The clinical significance is discussed.</p

The regulation mechanism of epithelial mesenchymal transition by a novel ERK substrate, MCRIP1 (MAPK-regulated Co-Repressor Interacting Protein 1) mediating transcriptional co-repressor CtBP

学位の種別: 課程博士審査委員会委員 : （主査）東京大学教授 深田 吉孝, 東京大学教授 黒田 真也, 東京大学教授 秋山 徹, 東京大学教授 斎藤 春雄, 東京大学准教授 石谷 隆一郎University of Tokyo(東京大学

The YlmG protein has a conserved function related to the distribution of nucleoids in chloroplasts and cyanobacteria

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Reminiscent of their free-living cyanobacterial ancestor, chloroplasts proliferate by division coupled with the partition of nucleoids (DNA-protein complexes). Division of the chloroplast envelope membrane is performed by constriction of the ring structures at the division site. During division, nucleoids also change their shape and are distributed essentially equally to the daughter chloroplasts. Although several components of the envelope division machinery have been identified and characterized, little is known about the molecular components/mechanisms underlying the change of the nucleoid structure.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>In order to identify new factors that are involved in the chloroplast division, we isolated <it>Arabidopsis thaliana </it>chloroplast division mutants from a pool of random cDNA-overexpressed lines. We found that the overexpression of a previously uncharacterized gene (<it>AtYLMG1-1</it>) of cyanobacterial origin results in the formation of an irregular network of chloroplast nucleoids, along with a defect in chloroplast division. In contrast, knockdown of <it>AtYLMG1-1 </it>resulted in a concentration of the nucleoids into a few large structures, but did not affect chloroplast division. Immunofluorescence microscopy showed that AtYLMG1-1 localizes in small puncta on thylakoid membranes, to which a subset of nucleoids colocalize. In addition, in the cyanobacterium <it>Synechococcus elongates</it>, overexpression and deletion of <it>ylmG </it>also displayed defects in nucleoid structure and cell division.</p> <p>Conclusions</p> <p>These results suggest that the proper distribution of nucleoids requires the YlmG protein, and the mechanism is conserved between cyanobacteria and chloroplasts. Given that <it>ylmG </it>exists in a cell division gene cluster downstream of <it>ftsZ </it>in gram-positive bacteria and that <it>ylmG </it>overexpression impaired the chloroplast division, the nucleoid partitioning by YlmG might be related to chloroplast and cyanobacterial division processes.</p

Radiotherapy for inoperable and refractory endometriosis presenting with massive hemorrhage: a case report

INTRODUCTION: Many patients with endometriosis are treated with medication or by surgical approaches. However, a small number of patients do not respond to medication and are inoperable because of comorbidities. This case report shows the effectiveness of radiotherapy for refractory endometriosis and includes a time series of serum estradiol levels. CASE PRESENTATION: A 47-year-old Asian woman presented to our facility with uncontrolled endometriosis refractory to medication. Our patient was considered inoperable because of severe idiopathic thrombocytopenic purpura, and underwent radiotherapy for massive genital bleeding requiring blood transfusions. A radiation dose of 20Gy in 10 fractions was delivered to the pelvis, including the bilateral ovaries, uterus, and myomas. An additional 10Gy in five fractions was delivered to the endometrium to control residual bleeding. Genital bleeding was completely inhibited on day 46 after radiotherapy. Hormonal analysis revealed that radiotherapy induced post-menopausal status. Two years after radiotherapy, atypical genital bleeding had not recurred and has been well controlled without side effects. CONCLUSIONS: Disrupted ovarian function is an adverse effect of radiotherapy. However, radiotherapy can be useful for inducing menopause. In cases of medication-refractory or inoperable endometriosis, radiotherapy would be an effective treatment option

Interleukin-8 in bronchoalveolar lavage fluid of patients with diffuse panbronchiolitis or idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis

This study was designed to clarify the contribution of IL-8 as a specific neutrophil chemotactic factor in the human respiratory tract in various pulmonary diseases. The neutrophil chemotactic activity(NCA), neutrophil counts and IL-8 concentration in the bronchoalveolar lavage fluid (BALF) obtained from normal volunteers (NV), control patients (CP), patients with diffuse panbronchiolitis (DPB) and patients with idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis (IPF) were examined. Neutrophil counts, NCA and IL-8 concentration in BALF obtained from patients with DPB or IPF was significantly higher than that from NV or CP. The IL-8 concentration correlated with neutrophil count and also correlated with NCA in BALF from patients with IPF, whereas there was no correlation between these factors in BALF from DPB. These results suggest that the contribution of IL-8 to neutrophil accumulation of the lower respiratory tract is different between IPF and DPB

Optimization of scan timing for aortic computed tomographic angiography using the test bolus injection technique

Background: With fast computed tomography (CT), it is possible for the scanning to outpace the contrast medium bolus during aortic CT angiography (CTA). Purpose: To evaluate the effectiveness of a new method for reducing the risk of outpacing in which the scan start timing (ST) and speed can be estimated from the peak enhancement time measured at the femoral artery using a single testbolus injection (femoral artery test injection method [FTI method]). Material and Methods: In 30 cases of aortic CTA, we measured the time to peak enhancement at the femoral artery (TPF) and the ascending aorta (TPA) with test-bolus injection performed twice in each examination. From the resultant linear relationship between TPF and transit time (TTTPF=TPA), we developed a method for determining the ST and TT from TPF. One hundred patients were assigned to two groups: FTI and bolus tracking (BT), each with 50 patients. CT values were measured in main vessels (ascending aorta, descending aorta, femoral artery). The CT values of the vessels and the rate of cases with more than 300 HU (good cases) were compared between the two groups. Results: The enhancement in the FTI method was significantly higher than that of the BT method (average CT values: FTI, 388.352.4; BT, 281.259.1; P<0.001). The rates of good cases for FTI and BT were 86.0% and 46.0%, respectively. Conclusion: The FTI method was very effective in reducing the risk of outpacing of the contrast medium transit in aortic CTA without the need for an additional contrast medium dose. © The Foundation Acta Radiologica 2015.Embargo Period 12 month

Study of Thin Iron Films for Polarization Analysis of Ultracold Neutrons

The TUCAN (TRIUMF Ultra-Cold Advanced Neutron) collaboration aims to search for the neutron electric dipole moment (nEDM) with unprecedented precision. One of the essential elements for the nEDM measurement is a polarization analyzer of ultracold neutrons (UCNs), whose main component is a magnetized thin iron film. Several thin iron films were deposited on aluminum and silicon ubstrates and were characterized by vibrating sample magnetometry and cold-neutron reflectometry. A magnetic field required to saturate the iron film is $\sim$12 kA/m for those on the aluminum substrates and 6.4 kA/m for the silicon substrates. The magnetic potential of the iron films on the Si substrate was estimated to be 2 T by the neutron reflectometry, which is sufficient performance for an UCN polarization analyzer of the nEDM measurement.Comment: Proceedings of the 24th International Spin Symposium (SPIN 2021), 18-22 October 2021, Matsue, Japa

Screening for resistance against Pseudomonas syringae in rice-FOX Arabidopsis lines identified a putative receptor-like cytoplasmic kinase gene that confers resistance to major bacterial and fungal pathogens in Arabidopsis and rice

Approximately 20 000 of the rice-FOX Arabidopsis transgenic lines, which overexpress 13 000 rice full-length cDNAs at random in Arabidopsis, were screened for bacterial disease resistance by dip inoculation with Pseudomonas syringae pv. tomato DC3000 (Pst DC3000). The identities of the overexpressed genes were determined in 72 lines that showed consistent resistance after three independent screens. Pst DC3000 resistance was verified for 19 genes by characterizing other independent Arabidopsis lines for the same genes in the original rice-FOX hunting population or obtained by reintroducing the genes into ecotype Columbia by floral dip transformation. Thirteen lines of these 72 selections were also resistant to the fungal pathogen Colletotrichum higginsianum. Eight genes that conferred resistance to Pst DC3000 in Arabidopsis have been introduced into rice for overexpression, and transformants were evaluated for resistance to the rice bacterial pathogen, Xanthomonas oryzae pv. oryzae. One of the transgenic rice lines was highly resistant to Xanthomonas oryzae pv. oryzae. Interestingly, this line also showed remarkably high resistance to Magnaporthe grisea, the fungal pathogen causing rice blast, which is the most devastating rice disease in many countries. The causal rice gene, encoding a putative receptor-like cytoplasmic kinase, was therefore designated as BROAD-SPECTRUM RESISTANCE 1. Our results demonstrate the utility of the rice-FOX Arabidopsis lines as a tool for the identification of genes involved in plant defence and suggest the presence of a defence mechanism common between monocots and dicots