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

Omentin Prevents Myocardial Ischemic Injury Through AMP-Activated Protein Kinase- and Akt-Dependent Mechanisms

ObjectivesThis study examined the impact of omentin on myocardial injury in a mouse model of ischemia/reperfusion (I/R) and explored its underlying mechanisms.BackgroundObesity is a major risk factor for ischemic heart disease. Omentin is a circulating adipokine that is down-regulated by obesity.MethodsIn patients who underwent successful reperfusion treatment after acute myocardial infarction, cardiac function and perfusion defect were assessed by using scintigraphic images. Mice were subjected to myocardial ischemia followed by reperfusion.ResultsThis study found that high levels of plasma omentin were associated with improvement of heart damage and function after reperfusion therapy in patients with acute myocardial infarction. Systemic administration of human omentin to mice led to a reduction in myocardial infarct size and apoptosis after I/R, which was accompanied by enhanced phosphorylation of AMP-activated protein kinase (AMPK) and Akt in the ischemic heart. Fat-specific overexpression of human omentin also resulted in reduction of infarct size after I/R. Blockade of AMPK or Akt activity reversed omentin-induced inhibition of myocardial ischemic damage and apoptosis in mice. In cultured cardiomyocytes, omentin suppressed hypoxia/reoxygenation-induced apoptosis, which was blocked by inactivation of AMPK or Akt.ConclusionsOur data indicate that omentin functions as an adipokine that ameliorates acute ischemic injury in the heart by suppressing myocyte apoptosis through both AMPK- and Akt-dependent mechanisms

Silencing of p53 and CDKN1A establishes sustainable immortalized megakaryocyte progenitor cells from human iPSCs

iPS細胞を用いた人工血小板の作製の効率化に成功 血小板のテイラーメイド医療に向けた一歩. 京都大学プレスリリース. 2021-12-03.Platelet transfusions are critical for severe thrombocytopenia but depend on blood donors. The shortage of donors and the potential of universal HLA-null platelet products have stimulated research on the ex vivo differentiation of human pluripotent stem cells (hPSCs) to platelets. We recently established expandable immortalized megakaryocyte cell lines (imMKCLs) from hPSCs by transducing MYC, BMI1, and BCL-XL (MBX). imMKCLs can act as cryopreservable master cells to supply platelet concentrates. However, the proliferation rates of the imMKCLs vary with the starting hPSC clone. In this study, we reveal from the gene expression profiles of several MKCL clones that the proliferation arrest is correlated with the expression levels of specific cyclin-dependent kinase inhibitors. Silencing CDKN1A and p53 with the overexpression of MBX was effective at stably inducing imMKCLs that generate functional platelets irrespective of the hPSC clone. Collectively, this improvement in generating imMKCLs should contribute to platelet industrialization and platelet biology

テレビ カイギ システム オ カツヨウ シタ ゲンショク キョウイン ケンシュウ ノ コウチク

鳴門教育大学は，「学び続ける教員」を支援し，地域の教育課題に対応するため，徳島県教育委員会並びに阿南市教育委員会，美馬市教育委員会と協力し，テレビ会議システムICTを利用した研修室）による教員研修を開始した。その結果，テレビ会議システムによる研修は，地理的環境や小規模校ゆえに研修参加・実施が困難な教員の研修を活性化し，教員が児童生徒と向き合う時間を確保しながら，研修の充実を図ることにもつながることが示された。さらに，校内研修や教育相談，各教科等の部会など既存の研修にテレビ会議システムを活用することにより，教科指導や生徒理解に関する専門的知見を得られたり，喫緊の教育課題についても即時的にアドバイスを受けたりすることができるなど，教員の資質向上を図る上で効果的であることが明らかになった。また，公開講座の配信によって，地域の社会教育の発展と充実に資する人材育成を図ることが可能になるなど，学校を支える地域の人材活用の推進にも資することが今後期待される。Naruto University of Education，in collaboration with Tokushima Prefectural Board of Education, Anan City Board of Education, Mima City Board of Education, has started teacher training with the Teleconference System (Training room using ICT) to support teachers who continue to learn and to cope with local education issues. As a result, training with the Teleconference System has been shown to revitalize the training of teachers who find it difficult to participate in training and implementation due to the geographical environment and small scale of schools, and it has shown that teachers can improve their training while securing the time to face the students. Furthermore, utilizing the Teleconference system for existing training, such as in-school training, educational counseling, and subject group meetings, teachers can utilize professional knowledge on subject guidance and student understanding, and can receive immediate advice on urgent issues. It has become clear that satellite training is effective for improving the abilities of teachers. Also, it is expected that it will contribute to the promotion and utilization of regional human resources supporting the school, such as being able to foster human resource that will contribute to the development and enhancement of local social education through delivery of open lectures

A distinct subtype of Epstein-Barr virus-positive T/NK-cell lymphoproliferative disorder: adult patients with chronic active Epstein-Barr virus infection-like features

The characteristics of adult patients with chronic active Epstein-Barr virus infection are poorly recognized, hindering early diagnosis and an improved prognosis. We studied 54 patients with adult-onset chronic active Epstein-Barr virus infection diagnosed between 2005 and 2015. Adult onset was defined as an estimated age of onset of 15 years or older. To characterize the clinical features of these adults, we compared them to those of 75 pediatric cases (estimated age of onse

Effects of P Content on Nanocrystalline Morphology Formed by FIB Irradiation in Ni-P Amorphous Alloy

We studied the effects of phosphorus (P) on the Ni nanocrystalline morphology of Ni-P amorphous alloy thin films subjected to focused ion beam (FIB) irradiation. The P contents in the amorphous alloys varied from 14 to 20 at%. The nanocrystals induced by FIB irradiation of Ni-20.2, 15.6, and 14.0 at%P amorphous alloys had a face-centered-crystal (f.c.c.) structure and showed unique crystallographic orientation relationships to the geometry of the focused ion beam, with {111} f.c.c. parallel to the irradiated plane and h110i f.c.c. parallel to the direction of the projected ion beam, respectively. The Ni nanocrystals formed by FIB irradiation precipitated in the same manner as aggregates, and the average size of the Ni nanocrystals increased as the P content decreased. These results indicate that the P content does not affect the crystallographic orientation relationships but does influence precipitation distribution of the Ni nanocrystals