miR2118-dependent U-rich phasiRNA production in rice anther wall development

Reproduction-specific small RNAs are vital regulators of germline development in animals and plants. MicroRNA2118 (miR2118) is conserved in plants and induces the production of phased small interfering RNAs (phasiRNAs). To reveal the biological functions of miR2118, we describe here rice mutants with large deletions of the miR2118 cluster. Our results demonstrate that the loss of miR2118 causes severe male and female sterility in rice, associated with marked morphological and developmental abnormalities in somatic anther wall cells. Small RNA profiling reveals that miR2118-dependent 21-nucleotide (nt) phasiRNAs in the anther wall are U-rich, distinct from the phasiRNAs in germ cells. Furthermore, the miR2118-dependent biogenesis of 21-nt phasiRNAs may involve the Argonaute proteins OsAGO1b/OsAGO1d, which are abundant in anther wall cell layers. Our study highlights the site-specific differences of phasiRNAs between somatic anther wall and germ cells, and demonstrates the significance of miR2118/U-phasiRNA functions in anther wall development and rice reproduction

Establishment of a Method tao Culture a Washed and Cloned Green Paramecium (Paramecium bursaria)

The green paramecium, Paramecium bursaria , widely distributed in freshwater habitats around the world, has hundreds of symbiotic green algae in its cytoplasm. P. bursaria is classified as a paramecium, a species of ciliate. Symbiotic algae cannot exist inside paramecia other than P. bursaria , like as P. tetraurelia or P. caudatum . Much interest has been accumulating in elucidating the symbiotic mechanism of symbiotic algae that can exist only inside P. bursaria . However, the basic properties related to P. bursaria and symbiotic algae have not yet been fully elucidated. Are the species of symbiotic algae in P. bursaria uniform or diverse? Are the symbiotic microorganisms in P. bursaria symbiotic algae only? Does each individual P. bursaria show physiologically similar properties regarding the rate and frequency of cell division and also in terms of longevity? Actually, many things described above still remain unanswered. In this study, after isolating, washing and cloning P. bursaria , the rate of proliferation was measured for individual cells. Although each cloned strain should have the same genetic background, we obtained interesting results showing that the proliferation rates were significantly varied among the strains.Full-Length PaperBy a grant from Research Institute for Integrated Science, Kanagawa Universit

Establishment of Rat Embryonic Stem Cells and Making of Chimera Rats

The rat is a reference animal model for physiological studies and for the analysis of multigenic human diseases such as hypertension, diabetes, neurological disorders, and cancer. The rats have long been used in extensive chemical carcinogenesis studies. Thus, the rat embryonic stem (rES) cell is an important resource for the study of disease models. Attempts to derive ES cells from various mammals, including the rat, have not succeeded. Here we have established two independent rES cells from Wister rat blastocysts that have undifferentiated characters such as Nanog and Oct3/4 genes expression and they have stage-specific embryonic antigen (SSEA) -1, -3, -4, and TRA-1-81 expression. The cells were successfully cultured in an undifferentiated state and can be possible over 18 passages with maintaining more than 40% of normal karyotype. Their pluripotent potential was confirmed by the differentiation into derivatives of the endoderm, mesoderm, and ectoderm. Most importantly, the rES cells are capable of producing chimera rats. Therefore, we established pluripotent rES cell lines that are widely used to produce genetically modified experimental rats for study of human diseases

Predictors for metamorphopsia in eyes undergoing macular hole surgery

Abstract Metamorphopsia is an important visual symptom of macular disease. We determined predictors for metamorphopsia investigating the relationships of macular hole (MH) diameter and retinal layer thicknesses with metamorphopsia after MH surgery. Forty-two eyes of 42 consecutive patients undergoing MH surgery were retrospectively studied. Metamorphopsia was measured with M-CHARTS. Inner nuclear layer (INL) and outer retinal layer (OR) thicknesses were measured 1000 μm away from central fovea at using Spectralis. Preoperative M-CHARTS scores correlated with MH diameters (P = 0.007–0.031) and changes of temporal OR thickness (P = 0.008–0.010). Postoperative M-CHARTS score at 3 months correlated with preoperative nasal and inferior OR thicknesses (P = 0.003 and 0.016) and with changes of superior INL at 3 and 6 months (P = 0.011 and 0.025), and score at 1 month with change of temporal OR at 6 months (P = 0.033). Postoperative improvement of M-CHARTS scores correlated with changes of temporal INL and superior OR (P = 0.026 and 0.002). Multiple regression analysis revealed that MH diameter was a significant predictor for metamorphopsia. Photoreceptor displacement and inner retinal change may generate metamorphopsia in MH undergoing surgery, however MH diameter is the most powerful predictor

再燃前立腺癌患者に対するビスホスホネート・低容量デキサメサゾン治療

We evaluated the effects of bisphosphonate (BP) treatment in five patients with hormone-refractory prostate cancer (HRPC), experiencing bone pain from metastases to the bone, and assessed changes in serum prostate specific antigen (PSA) levels, bone pain, and quality of life (QOL). Treatment with incadronate disodium (10 mg) in saline was administered at 2-week intervals for a total of 6 times. Evaluation of the treatment included the incidence of adverse events, QOL, bone pain, pain scale, and blood analyses including tumor markers. BP treatment was generally well tolerated by all five patients. The effects of BP treatment on serum PSA values were evaluated as prominent response (PR), no change (NC) and progressive disease (PD) in one, two and two cases of PD, respectively. During BP treatment, serum type I procollagen values decreased in patients, but there was no large change in serum type I collagen values. Only one patient experienced increased pain; pain was well controlled in the others. The QOL evaluation by Short-Form 36 (SF-36), showed no change in scores during BP treatment except for general health. These results suggested that BP treatment is safe and feasible. It may be effective for the treatment of those HRPC patients with bone pain and may become one of the choices for treatment of HRPC.われわれは, 骨転移による骨痛有するホルモン不応性前立腺癌(HRPC)5例においてビスホスホネート(BP)治療を行い, 血清PSA値, 骨痛と生活の質(QOL)を評価した.インカドロン2ナトリウム(10mg)を2週ごと, 合計6回施行した.治療効果判定を腫瘍マーカー, 副作用, QOL, 骨痛・疼痛スケールと血液検査で行った.BP治療は, 5例すべて問題なく終了した.治療効果における血清PSA値は, 1例PR, 2例NCと2例PDであった.BP治療期間中血清I型プロコラーゲン値は患者で減少した.しかしながら, 血清I型コラーゲン値の大きな変化はみられなかった.1人の患者において疼痛の増加が見られたが, 他の症例では疼痛の悪化を認めなかった.Short-Form 36(SF-36)によるQOL評価では, 全体的健康感以外BP治療の間のスコアは不変であった.これらの結果からBP治療が安全に施行でき, 骨痛を伴ったHRPC患者に効果的である可能性が認められ, HRPCに対する治療の1つの選択肢になることが示唆された(著者抄録