Age-dependent motor dysfunction due to neuron-specific disruption of stress-activated protein kinase MKK7.

c-Jun N-terminal kinase (JNK) is a member of the mitogen-activated protein kinase family and controls various physiological processes including apoptosis. A specific upstream activator of JNKs is the mitogen-activated protein kinase kinase 7 (MKK7). It has been reported that MKK7-JNK signaling plays an important regulatory role in neural development, however, post-developmental functions in the nervous system have not been elucidated. In this study, we generated neuron-specific Mkk7 knockout mice (MKK7 cKO), which impaired constitutive activation of JNK in the nervous system. MKK7 cKO mice displayed impaired circadian behavioral rhythms and decreased locomotor activity. MKK7 cKO mice at 8 months showed motor dysfunctions such as weakness of hind-limb and gait abnormality in an age-dependent manner. Axonal degeneration in the spinal cord and muscle atrophy were also observed, along with accumulation of the axonal transport proteins JNK-interacting protein 1 and amyloid beta precursor protein in the brains and spinal cords of MKK7 cKO mice. Thus, the MKK7-JNK signaling pathway plays important roles in regulating circadian rhythms and neuronal maintenance in the adult nervous system

Selection of antigenically advanced variants of seasonal influenza viruses.

Influenza viruses mutate frequently, necessitating constant updates of vaccine viruses. To establish experimental approaches that may complement the current vaccine strain selection process, we selected antigenic variants from human H1N1 and H3N2 influenza virus libraries possessing random mutations in the globular head of the haemagglutinin protein (which includes the antigenic sites) by incubating them with human and/or ferret convalescent sera to human H1N1 and H3N2 viruses. We also selected antigenic escape variants from human viruses treated with convalescent sera and from mice that had been previously immunized against human influenza viruses. Our pilot studies with past influenza viruses identified escape mutants that were antigenically similar to variants that emerged in nature, establishing the feasibility of our approach. Our studies with contemporary human influenza viruses identified escape mutants before they caused an epidemic in 2014-2015. This approach may aid in the prediction of potential antigenic escape variants and the selection of future vaccine candidates before they become widespread in nature.This work was supported by the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation Global Health Grant OPPGH5383; National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID) Public Health Service research grants (USA); ERATO (Japan Science and Technology Agency); the Center for Research on Influenza Pathogenesis (CRIP) funded by the NIAID Contracts HHSN266200700010C and HHSN27 2201400008C; the Japan Initiative for Global Research Network on Infectious Diseases; Grants-in-Aid for Specially Promoted Research from the Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science, and Technology, Japan; Grants-in-Aid from the Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare, Japan; grants from the Strategic Basic Research Program of the Japan Science and Technology Agency; and by the Advanced Research & Development Programs for Medical Innovation from the Japan Agency for Medical Research and Development (AMED). C.A.R. was supported by a University Research Fellowship from the Royal Society. The authors acknowledge a Netherlands Organisation for Scientific Research (NWO) VICI grant, European Union (EU) FP7 programs EMPERIE (223498) and ANTIGONE (278976); Human Frontier Science Program (HFSP) program grant P0050/2008; Wellcome 087982AIA; and NIH Director's Pioneer Award DP1-OD000490-01. D.F.B and D.J.S. acknowledge CamGrid, the University of Cambridge distributed computer system. The Melbourne WHO Collaborating Centre for Reference and Research on Influenza is supported by the Australian Government Department of Health.This is the author accepted manuscript. The final version is available from Nature Publishing Group via http://dx.doi.org/10.1038/nmicrobiol.2016.5

Selection of antigenically advanced variants of seasonal influenza viruses

Influenza viruses mutate frequently, necessitating constant updates of vaccine viruses. To establish experimental approaches that may complement the current vaccine strain selection process, we selected antigenic variants from human H1N1 and H3N2 influenza virus libraries possessing random mutations in the globular head of the haemagglutinin protein (which includes the antigenic sites) by incubating them with human and/or ferret convalescent se

Combined In Silico and In Vivo Analyses Reveal Role of Hes1 in Taste Cell Differentiation

The sense of taste is of critical importance to animal survival. Although studies of taste signal transduction mechanisms have provided detailed information regarding taste receptor calcium signaling molecules (TRCSMs, required for sweet/bitter/umami taste signal transduction), the ontogeny of taste cells is still largely unknown. We used a novel approach to investigate the molecular regulation of taste system development in mice by combining in silico and in vivo analyses. After discovering that TRCSMs colocalized within developing circumvallate papillae (CVP), we used computational analysis of the upstream regulatory regions of TRCSMs to investigate the possibility of a common regulatory network for TRCSM transcription. Based on this analysis, we identified Hes1 as a likely common regulatory factor, and examined its function in vivo. Expression profile analyses revealed that decreased expression of nuclear HES1 correlated with expression of type II taste cell markers. After stage E18, the CVP of Hes1−/− mutants displayed over 5-fold more TRCSM-immunoreactive cells than did the CVP of their wild-type littermates. Thus, according to our composite analyses, Hes1 is likely to play a role in orchestrating taste cell differentiation in developing taste buds

Clinical Significance of Microvessel Count in Patients with Metastatic Liver Cancer Originating from Colorectal Carcinoma.

BACKGROUND: Microvessel count (MVC) has been correlated with patient prognosis in hepatocellular carcinoma. We investigated whether MVC assessed by staining with CD34 antibody was associated with disease-free and overall survival in patients with metastatic liver cancer (MLC). METHODS: We examined relationships between MVC and clinicopathologic factors or postoperative outcomes in 139 MLC patients who underwent hepatectomy between 1990 and 2006. CD34 expression was analyzed by the immunohistochemical method. RESULTS: MVC was associated with fibrous pseudocapsular formation on histological examination. By means of the modern Japanese classification of liver metastasis, poorer survival was associated with higher score, poorly differentiated adenocarcinoma, higher preoperative carcinoembryonic antigen (CEA) level, fibrous pseudocapsular formation, and smaller surgical margin. Shorter disease-free survival was associated with higher score when the Japanese classification of liver metastasis was used, multiple or bilobar tumor, regional lymph node metastasis in primary colon carcinoma, preoperative CEA level, fibrous pseudocapsular formation, and smaller surgical margin (/=406/mm(2)) was associated with decreased disease-free and overall survival by univariate analysis (P = .034 and P = .021, respectively), and higher MVC represented an independently poor prognostic factor in overall survival by Cox multivariate analysis (risk ratio, 2.71; P = .023) in addition to histological differentiation. CONCLUSIONS: Tumor MVC seems to be a useful prognostic marker of MLC patient survival

Parallel and four-step synthesis of natural-product-inspired scaffolds through modular assembly and divergent cyclization

By emulating the universal biosynthetic strategy, which employs modular assembly and divergent cyclizations, we have developed a four-step synthetic process to yield a collection of natural-product-inspired scaffolds. Modular assembly of building blocks onto a piperidine-based manifold 6, having a carboxylic acid group, was achieved through Ugi condensation, N-acetoacetylation and diazotransfer, leading to cyclization precursors. The rhodium-catalyzed tandem cyclization and divergent cycloaddition gave rise to tetracyclic and hexacyclic scaffolds by the appropriate choice of dipolarophiles installed at modules 3 and 4. A different piperidine-based manifold 15 bearing an amino group was successfully applied to demonstrate the flexibility and scope of the unified four-step process for the generation of structural diversity in the fused scaffolds. Evaluation of in vitro antitrypanosomal activities of the collections and preliminary structure-activity relationship (SAR) studies were also undertaken

Ceratinadins E and F, New Bromotyrosine Alkaloids from an Okinawan Marine Sponge Pseudoceratina sp.

Two new bromotyrosine alkaloids, ceratinadins E (1) and F (2), were isolated from an Okinawan marine sponge Pseudoceratina sp. as well as a known bromotyrosine alkaloid, psammaplysin F (3). The gross structures of 1 and 2 were elucidated on the basis of spectroscopic data. The absolute configurations of 1 and 2 were assigned by comparison of the NMR and ECD data with those of a known related bromotyrosine alkaloid, psammaplysin A (4). Ceratinadins E (1) and F (2) are new bromotyrosine alkaloids possessing an 8,10-dibromo-9-methoxy-1,6-dioxa-2-azaspiro[4.6]undeca-2,7,9-trien-4-ol unit with two or three 11-N-methylmoloka’iamine units connected by carbonyl groups, respectively. Ceratinadin E (1) exhibited antimalarial activities against a drug-resistant and a drug-sensitive strains of Plasmodium falciparum (K1 and FCR3 strains, respectively)