Nongenomic action of 20-hydroxyecdysone in ecdysteroid-induced programmed cell death

取得学位：博士(理学)，学位授与番号：博甲第903号，学位授与年月日：平成19年3月22

RNA interference in Lepidoptera: an overview of successful and unsuccessful studies and implications for experimental design

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双極性障害におけるグルタミン酸神経伝達異常に関するMRS研究

Background: Previous studies of patients with bipolar disorder (BD) using magnetic resonance spectroscopy (MRS) have shown neurophysiological abnormalities related to the glutamate (Glu)-glutamine (Gln) cycle, membrane turnover, and neuronal integrity, although the results were neither consistent nor conclusive. Recently it has been reported the Gln/Glu ratio is the most useful index, quantifying neuronal-glial interactions and the balance of glutamatergic metabolites In this MRS study, we elucidated the abnormalities of metabolites in a larger sample of patients with BD with a high-field MRI system. Methods: Sixty-two subjects (31 patients with BD and 31 healthy controls [HC]) underwent 3T proton MRS (1H-MRS) of the anterior cingulate cortex (ACC) and left basal ganglia (ltBG) using a stimulated echo acquisition mode (STEAM) sequence. Results: After verifying the data quality, 20 patients with BD and 23 age- and gender-matched HCs were compared using repeated-measures analysis of covariance (ANCOVA). Compared to the HC group, the BD group showed increased levels of Gln, creatine (Cr), N-acetyl aspartate (NAA), choline (Cho), and an increased ratio of Gln to Glu in the ACC, and increased Gln and Cho in the ltBG. These findings remained after the participants with BD were limited to only euthymic patients. After removing the influence of lithium (Li) and sodium valproate (VPA), we observed activated glutamatergic neurotransmission in the ACC but not in the ltBG. Limitations: The present findings are cross-sectional and metabolites were measured in only two regions. Conclusions: Our results support a wide range of metabolite changes in patients with BD involved in glutamatergic neurotransmission, membrane turnover, and neuronal integrity. Moreover, the elevation of Gln/Glu ratio suggested that hyperactivity of glutamatergic neurotransmission in the ACC is a disease marker for BD

Characterization and Scaled-Up Production of Azido-Functionalized Silk Fiber Produced by Transgenic Silkworms with an Expanded Genetic Code

The creation of functional materials from renewable resources has attracted much interest. We previously reported on the genetic code expansion of the domesticated silkworm Bombyx mori to functionalize silk fiber with synthetic amino acids such as 4-azido-L-phenylalanine (AzPhe). The azido groups act as selective handles for biorthogonal chemical reactions. Here we report the characterization and scaled-up production of azido-functionalized silk fiber for textile, healthcare, and medical applications. To increase the productivity of azido-functionalized silk fiber, the original transgenic line was hybridized with a high silk-producing strain. The F1 hybrid produced circa 1.5 times more silk fibroin than the original transgenic line. The incorporation efficiency of AzPhe into silk fibroin was retained after hybridization. The tensile properties of the azido-functionalized silk fiber were equal to those of normal silk fiber. Scaled-up production of the azido-functionalized silk fiber was demonstrated by rearing circa 1000 transgenic silkworms. Differently-colored fluorescent silk fibers were successfully prepared by click chemistry reactions, demonstrating the utility of the azido-functionalized silk fiber for developing silk-based materials with desired functions