ホエーの長期間摂取が老齢ラット唾液腺の萎縮、遺伝子変化、機能低下に及ぼす効果

Salivary glands in elderly individuals commonly exhibit morphological changes and dysfunction resulting in xerostomia. Long-term (4-week) drinking of whey prevented and/or restored age-dependent decline of salivary volume and protein concentration, and atrophy of sublingual glands (SLGs) significantly in 88-week-old rats. The transcripts of 42 genes were up-regulated and 7 genes were down-regulated by more than 1.5-fold change with FDR ≦ 0.1 after whey-drinking. The expression levels of genes associated with salivary proteins and tissue repair were significantly increased, while those associated with lipid metabolism were decreased. Venn diagram analysis revealed that expressions of 13 genes, including Tcfap2b and Abpa, were induced significantly by whey-drinking. Furthermore, secretory protein levels in SLGs and saliva were revealed by immunoblot analysis. This is the first study to report that whey-administration can prevent and/or restore age-dependent atrophy and functional decline of SLGs in relation to gene expression and thus may serve as a functional food ingredient

The Relationships among Trait Anxiety, State Anxiety and the Goal Performance of Penalty Shoot-Out by University Soccer Players

The present study examined how the level of trait anxiety, which is a personality characteristic, influences state anxiety and penalty shoot-out performance under pressure by instruction. The high and low trait anxiety groups were selected by using Spielberger's Trait Anxiety Scale, with trait anxiety scores, and control and pressure conditions manipulated by instructions. The participants were two groups of eight university male soccer players. They individually performed 20 shots from the penalty shoot-out point, aiming at the top right and top left corner areas in the soccer goal. Each condition had 10 trials in a within-subject design. The dependent measures comprised the number of successful goals and the state anxiety scores under each instructional condition. The result showed a significant main effect of instruction. State anxiety scores increased more and the number of successful goals decreased more in high trait anxiety groups than in low trait anxiety groups under pressure instructional condition. These findings suggest that players with higher trait anxiety scores tend to experience increased state anxiety under a pressure-laden condition, and higher state anxiety interferes with goal performance

A vicious cycle between acid sensing and survival signaling in myeloma cells : acid-induced epigenetic alteration

Myeloma (MM) cells and osteoclasts are mutually interacted to enhance MM growth while creating acidic bone lesions. Here, we explored acid sensing of MM cells and its role in MM cell response to acidic conditions. Acidic conditions activated the PI3K-Akt signaling in MM cells while upregulating the pH sensor transient receptor potential cation channel subfamily V member 1 (TRPV1) in a manner inhibitable by PI3K inhibition. The acid-activated PI3K-Akt signaling facilitated the nuclear localization of the transcription factor Sp1 to trigger the expression of its target genes, including TRPV1 and HDAC1. Consistently, histone deacetylation was enhanced in MM cells in acidic conditions, while repressing a wide variety of genes, including DR4. Indeed, acidic conditions deacetylated histone H3K9 in a DR4 gene promoter and curtailed DR4 expression in MM cells. However, inhibition of HDAC as well as either Sp1 or PI3K was able to restore DR4 expression in MM cells suppressed in acidic conditions. These results collectively demonstrate that acid activates the TRPV1-PI3K-Akt-Sp1 signaling in MM cells while inducing HDAC-mediated gene repression, and suggest that a positive feedback loop between acid sensing and the PI3K-Akt signaling is formed in MM cells, leading to MM cell response to acidic bone lesions

Means and <i>SDs</i> of Trait Anxiety, State Anxiety and Number of successful goals.

<p>The value in a parenthesis shows <i>SD</i>.</p

Mean successful goals for each trait anxiety group and instructional condition.

<p>The solid and dotted lines are respectively the Low and High Trait Anxiety Groups.</p

Mean difference scores of state anxiety for each trait anxiety group and instructional condition.

<p>The solid and dotted lines are respectively the Low and High Trait Anxiety Groups.</p