Curcumin (1,7-bis(4-hydroxy-3-methoxyphenyl)-1, 6-heptadiene-3,5-dione) Blocks the Chemotaxis of Neutrophils by Inhibiting Signal Transduction through IL-8 Receptors

We investigated the impact of curcumin on neutrophils. Chemotactic activity via human recombinant IL-8 (hrIL-8) was significantly inhibited by curcumin. Curcumin reduced calcium ion flow induced by internalization of the IL-8 receptor. We analyzed flow cytometry to evaluate the status of the IL-8 receptor after curcumin treatment. The change in the distribution of receptors intracellularly and on the cell surface suggested that curcumin may affect the receptor trafficking pathway intracellulary. Rab11 is a low molecular weight G protein associated with the CXCR recycling pathway. Following curcumin treatment, immunoprecipitation studies showed that the IL-8 receptor was associated with larger amounts of active Rab11 than that in control cells. These data suggest that curcumin induces the stacking of the Rab11 vesicle complex with CXCR1 and CXCR2 in the endocytic pathway. The mechanism for antiinflammatory response by curcumin may involve unique regulation of the Rab11 trafficking molecule in recycling of IL-8 receptors

Major Depressive Disorder Complicated with Spinocerebellar Ataxia: Report of 2 Cases

Background: It is known that patients with spinocerebellar ataxia (SCA) tend to exhibit depressive symptoms. But the pathology of depressive symptoms complicated with SCA, including the reaction to the stress resulting from decreased motor function and central dysfunction due to neurodegeneration, is controversial and remains to be elucidated. To our knowledge, there have been hardly any reports on treatment methods of major depressive disorder (MDD) complicated with SCA. Case Reports: We report 2 cases in which selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs) were effective against MDD complicated with SCA. Interestingly, one of the patients developed the symptoms of spinocerebellar degeneration (SCD) during the course of the MDD, and the other patient developed the symptoms of MDD during the course of SCA, but complete remission of the MDD occurred in both cases. In our cases, the depressive symptoms may have been caused mainly by an abnormality of reversible neural transmission including serotonin transmission due to central dysfunction, and there is the unlikely possibility that the depressive symptoms are reactive to the stress due to decreased motor function, because the depressive symptoms decreased with SSRIs. Conclusion: Although cerebellar degeneration is irreversible in SCA patients, our cases suggest that MDD complicated with SCA may be reversible and treatable using antidepressants such as SSRIs with few adverse events. Therefore, it is important for neurologists to detect MDD complicated with SCA early and consult a psychiatrist in order to improve quality of life of SCA patients

Functional Expression and Characterization of Tetrachloroethene Dehalogenase From Geobacter sp.

Reductive dehalogenase (RDase) consists of two parts, RdhA and RdhB. RdhA is the catalytic subunit, harboring a cobalamin cofactor and two Fe–S clusters. RdhA is anchored to the cytoplasmic membrane via the membrane anchoring subunit, RdhB. There are many genes encoding RDases in the genome of organohalide-respiring bacteria, including Dehalococcoides spp. However, most genes have not been functionally characterized. Biochemical studies on RDases have been hampered by difficulties encountered in their expression and purification. In this study, we have expressed, purified and characterized RdhA of RDase for tetrachloroethene (PceA) from Geobacter sp. PceA was expressed as a fusion protein with a trigger factor tag in Escherichia coli. PceA was purified and denatured in aerobic condition. Subsequently, this protein was refolded in the presence of FeCl3, Na2S and cobalamin in anaerobic condition. The reconstituted PceA exhibited dechlorination ability for tetrachloroethene. UV-Vis spectroscopy has shown that it contains cobalamin and Fe-S clusters. Since this method requires anaerobic manipulation only in the reconstituting process and has a relatively high yield, it will enable further biochemical studies of RDases

<原著>副腎腫瘤の臨床的検討

We reviewed the records of 13 patients with adrenal masses operated on over a ten-year period to clarify clinical characteristics of adrenal tumors. Tumors were found incidentally in seven of nine patients with primary adrenal tumors (78%); however, three of these seven patients (43%) proved to have shown symptoms related to adrenal hyperfunction when re-e、raluated. Other adrenal tumors (metastatic in three patients and inflammatory in one) were found without any symptoms referable to the tumors. In nine of 13 patients (69%), tumors were discovered by computerized tomography (CT). All patients with primary tumors have been gotten free of disease postoperatively. In contrast, although all three patients with metastatic adrenal tumors underwent resection of all known disease tissue, they died of the recurrence of malignancies within 10 months. This study suggests that a number of functional adrenal tumors are possibly left undiagnosed until found incidentally, and that CT is the most powerful tool to detect adrenal tumors. Our data did not support surgical intervention in cases of metastatic adrenal tumors.副腎腫瘤の臨床的特徴を明らかにするために過去10年間に当科で手術された13例を検討した. 原発性腫瘍9例中2例は臨床症状より原発性アルドステロン症を疑われ副腎腫瘍を発見されているが, 残りの7例(78%)は偶然腫瘍が発見された, いわゆる incidentaloma であった. しかしながら, retrospective にみるとこの7例中3例(43%)で副腎機能亢進によると考えられる症状を呈していた. 転移性腫瘍3例, histoplasma による肉芽腫1例は全て無症状であった. 13例中9例(69%)はCTにより, 2例は超音波, 1例は血管造影, 1例は scintigraphy によりそれぞれ病変を発見され, CT で副腎腫瘤を指摘できなかったのは1例のみであった. 13例中11例は経腹的に, 2例 は開胸開腹で手術されたが, 術後合併症は1例に創感染を認めたのみであった. 原発性腫瘍例は全例術後再発を認めていないが, 転移性腫瘍の3例は全例, 術後10ヶ月以内に再発死した. 以上の結果は機能性副腎腫瘍でも偶然発見されるまで診断されない場合が多いことを示唆しており, 臨床症状を注意深く検討し常に副腎腫瘍の可能性を考慮にいれることが肝要であると考えられる. また, 今回の結果より CT が副腎腫瘤の診断において重要な位置を占めるものと考えられた. なお, 転移性副腎腫瘍に対する手術療法は今回の検討ではそれを積極的に支持する結果は得られず, 今後さらに検討を要する問題と思われる

Automatic Classification of White Blood Cells(Feature Extraction Part 2)

The present paperdeals with the following problems for the automatic white blood cell classification. (1)A technique for extracting a nucleus region of the white blood cell is described. It can be accomplishedby using the histogram of the directional difference. From this histograrm，an optimum threshold value for extracing the nucleus region is obtained. (2)The texture parmeters which express effectively the difference of the texture between white blood cells are proposed. That is，the shape of the chromatin in the nucleus and the amount of the granules are proposed to discriminate the differene between monocytes and large lymphocytes and the difference between eosinophils and basophils， respectively

HSP105 prevents depression-like behavior by increasing hippocampal brain-derived neurotrophic factor levels in mice

Heat shock proteins (HSPs) are stress-induced chaperones that are involved in neurological disease. Although increasingly implicated in behavioral disorders, the mechanisms of HSP action, and the relevant functional pathways, are still unclear. We examined whether oral administration of geranylgeranylacetone (GGA), a known HSP inducer, produced an antidepressant effect in a social defeat stress model of depression in mice. We also investigated the possible molecular mechanisms involved, particularly focusing on hippocampal neurogenesis and neurotrophic factor expression. In stressed mice, hippocampal HSP105 expression decreased. However, administration of GGA increased HSP105 expression and improved depression-like behavior, induced hippocampal cell proliferation, and elevated brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF) levels in mouse hippocampus. Co-treatment with GGA and the BDNF receptor inhibitor K252a suppressed the antidepressant effects of GGA. HSP105 knockdown decreased BDNF mRNA levels in HT22 hippocampal cell lines and hippocampal tissue and inhibited the GGA-mediated antidepressant effect. These observations suggest that GGA administration is a therapeutic candidate for depressive diseases by increasing hippocampal BDNF levels via HSP105 expression

筋機能的磁気共鳴画像法を用いた股関節外転運動後の股関節外転筋群の継時的な筋活動の変化

The hip abductor muscles play an important role in postural control. Structural differences in the hip abductor muscles translate to differences in functional activity. This study sought to measure changes in T2 values of the hip abductors after hip abduction exercise over time and to identify variations in activity between the different hip abductor muscle groups. Ten healthy young men (mean age 28.4 [24−32] years) performed 5 sets of 40 repetitions of a hip abduction exercise at 30% maximum voluntary contraction with the right leg. Magnetic resonance imaging was performed before exercise, at intervals during exercise, and at the end of exercise. Subsequently, T2 values were measured for the tensor fasciae latae, gluteus minimus, the anterior, middle, and posterior segments of the gluteus medius, and the upper fibers of the gluteus maximus. T2 values for the gluteus minimus, tensor fasciae latae, and the anterior and middle segments of the gluteus medius were significantly higher at after all exercise compared with before exercise. However, T2 values for the posterior segments of the gluteus medius after 3, 4, and 5 sets of exercise were significantly higher than before exercise. T2 values for the upper fibers of the gluteus maximus after 4 and 5 sets were significantly higher than before exercise. Thus, the variable changes in muscle activity observed in this study were attributable to differences in anatomic structure and reflected intramuscular variation in activity between the hip abductor muscles.首都大学東京学位論文甲第959号副論

筋機能的磁気共鳴画像法を用いた異なる方向への股関節外転運動後の股関節外転筋群の筋活動の経時的変化

首都大学東