178 research outputs found

    5-Aminolevulinic acid regulates the inflammatory response and alloimmune reaction

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    Abstract5-Aminolevulinic acid (5-ALA) is a naturally occurring amino acid and precursor of heme and protoporphyrin IX (PpIX). Exogenously administrated 5-ALA increases the accumulation of PpIX in tumor cells specifically due to the compromised metabolism of 5-ALA to heme in mitochondria. PpIX emits red fluorescence by the irradiation of blue light and the formation of reactive oxygen species and singlet oxygen. Thus, performing a photodynamic diagnosis (PDD) and photodynamic therapy (PDT) using 5-ALA have given rise to a new strategy for tumor diagnosis and therapy. In addition to the field of tumor therapy, 5-ALA has been implicated in the treatment of inflammatory disease, autoimmune disease and transplantation due to the anti-inflammation and immunoregulation properties that are elicited with the expression of heme oxygenase (HO)-1, an inducible enzyme that catalyzes the rate-limiting step in the oxidative degradation of heme to free iron, biliverdin and carbon monoxide (CO), in combination with sodium ferrous citrate (SFC), because an inhibitor of HO-1 abolishes the effects of 5-ALA. Furthermore, NF-E2-related factor 2 (Nrf2), mitogen-activated protein kinase (MAPK), and heme are involved in the HO-1 expression. Biliverdin and CO are also known to have anti-apoptotic, anti-inflammatory and immunoregulatory functions. We herein review the current use of 5-ALA in inflammatory diseases, transplantation medicine, and tumor therapy

    Evolutionarily Conserved Interaction between the Phosphoproteins and X Proteins of Bornaviruses from Different Vertebrate Species.

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    Bornavirus, a non-segmented, negative-strand RNA viruses, is currently classified into several genetically distinct genotypes, such as Borna disease virus (BDV) and avian bornaviruses (ABVs). Recent studies revealed that bornavirus genotypes show unique sequence variability in the putative 5' untranslated region (5' UTR) of X/P mRNA, a bicistronic mRNA for the X protein and phosphoprotein (P). In this study, to understand the evolutionary relationship among the bornavirus genotypes, we investigated the functional interaction between the X and P proteins of four bornavirus genotypes, BDV, ABV genotype 4 and 5 and reptile bornavirus (RBV), the putative 5' UTRs of which exhibit variation in the length. Immunofluorescence and immunoprecipitation analyses using mammalian and avian cell lines revealed that the X proteins of bornaviruses conserve the ability to facilitate the export of P from the nucleus to the cytoplasm via interaction with P. Furthermore, we showed that inter-genotypic interactions may occur between X and P among the genotypes, except for X of RBV. In addition, a BDV minireplicon assay demonstrated that the X and P proteins of ABVs, but not RBV, can affect the polymerase activity of BDV. This study demonstrates that bornaviruses may have conserved the fundamental function of a regulatory protein during their evolution, whereas RBV has evolved distinctly from the other bornavirus genotypes

    Implementation of a new specific program for training curators at Hiroshima University

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    博物館法施行規則の改正に伴い,2012年4月から学芸員資格取得のために修得すべき科目が大幅に変更となった。学芸員資格取得の歴史においてはきわめて大きな変更である。本学では,これに対応するため,各学部の学芸員資格取得特定プログラムを統合し,全学の学生を対象とする新課程に移行した。本稿では,本学が新たに採用した4学期制(ターム制)を含め,今回の変更が受講や資格取得にどのような影響を及ぼしたのか,統計データの分析を通じて考察した。新課程移行の前後で,プログラム登録者数,資格取得者数は大幅に減少し,取得率も大きく低下した。こうした現象は特定の学部,分野の変化に基づくものではなく,旧課程においてプログラム登録の主体となってきた全ての学部に共通する。分析を通じて,大幅な必要単位数の増加,全学を対象としたプログラムへの変更,2学期制から4学期制(ターム制)への変更など,複数の要因が関連して,各学部における専門の修得と学芸員資格取得を両立させることが困難な状況が生じていることが推定された。As a result of the revision of Museum Law Enforcement Rules, the subjects that must be completed to acquire the curator qualification have changed significantly since April 2012, which constitutes a major change in the history of this qualification. To cope with this change, we integrated the curator qualification specific programs of each faculty into a new course for students of all universities. In this paper, through statistical data analysis, we examined the impact of this change on attendance trends, including the term system newly adopted by Hiroshima University. Before and after the transition to the new course, the number of program registrants and qualifications greatly decreased, and the acquisition rate has also declined significantly. These phenomena were not based on changes in specific faculties or fields, but are common to all faculties subject to program registration during the old course. Through this analysis, we presumed that several factors, such as the great increase in the required number of credits, the change to the program for the whole school, and the change from a two-semester system to the four-semester system, were all interrelated to each other, which make it difficult to achieve both specialized and curator qualifications.本稿は,2018年6月22日に香川大学で開催された第13回日本博物科学会で口頭発表した藤野次史・青木孝夫・清水則雄・菅村 亨・本多博之・山口富美夫・山崎博史・吉田将之「広島大学における新課程実施後の学芸員資格取得状況について」を元に,新たなデータを加えて考察したものである

    Life Style Factors Influencing Serum Pepsinogen Levels in Healthy Japanese: a Prospective Study

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    Background: Gastric cancer mass screening using serum pepsinogen has been recognized and several advantages of this methods over photofluorography have been shown by previous study. Aims: To determine the factors influence the serum pepsinogen levels in healthy subjects. Subjects & Methods: One thousand and one hundred fourteen subjects who were screened for gastric cancer as part of a periodic health check. Blood samples were taken after fasting and stored below –20 ° C, until pepsinogen levels were assayed. Results: The subjects consist of 338 males (mean age 52.6+14.0) and 776 females (mean age 49.0+11.9). Age ranges from 19 to 81 years. The overall prevalence of chronic atrophic gastritis using a criterion PG I £ 70 hg/ml and PG I/II ratio £ 3.0 was 21.99 % in 1996 and 23.97 % in 2000. Bivariate analysis revealed a significant association between age, more salt consumption, fish favorable over meat and less than three time meal intake covariates with the lowering of PG I/II ratio. Smoking, drinking, BMI, weight and gender did not affect the changes of PG I/II ratio. Conclusion: Age and more salt consumption covariates have a strongest association with the decreased of PG I/II by multivariate analysis

    Rapid identification of pathogenic streptococci isolated from moribund red tilapia (Oreochromis spp.)

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    Accurate and rapid identification of bacterial pathogens of fish is essential for the effective treatment and speedy control of infections. Massive mortalities in market-sized red tilapia (Oreochromis spp.) were noticed in mariculture concrete ponds in northern Egypt. Histopathological examination revealed marked congestion in the central vein of the liver with the presence of bacterial aggregates inside the lumen and in the vicinity of the central vein. A total of 12 isolates of streptococci were obtained from the moribund fish. This study documented the ability of the MicroSeq 500 16S bacterial sequencing method to accurately identify Streptococcus agalactiae and S. dysgalactiae mixed infections from moribund red tilapia that were difficult to be recognised by the commercial biochemical systems. The continuously decreasing cost of the sequencing technique should encourage its application in routine diagnostic procedures

    Expression of Cyclooxygenase Enhances Tumor Invasion and Metastasis in Human Gastric Carcinoma

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    Background: Expression of COX-2 in vitro has been shown to have a number of cellular effects including increasing proliferation, reducing apoptosis promoting angiogenesis, decreasing E-cadherin expression and increasing invasive/metastatic potential. Aims: To determine the role of COX-2 in the development and metastasis potential of gastric carcinoma in human subjects. Methods: Tissue samples were obtained from surgically removed specimens of 48 patients with primary gastric adenocarcinoma who underwent gastrectomy from January 1998 to December 1999. The specimens were stained for HE while COX-2 expressions in cancer fold and antrum site were evaluated immunohistochemically. Expression of COX-2 was defined as positive when either one of cancer lesion or antrum site showed immunoreactivity. Results: Preliminary result from 12 out of 48 cases, COX-2 immunoreactivity was detected in 50% (6 of 12 specimens). Expression of COX-2 were more frequent in tumor with serosal invasion (5 of 6 specimens), lymph node metastases (3 of 3 specimens), tumor size more than 4 cm and were significant, statistically (p<0.05). The expression of COX-2 in well differential carcinoma type was similar with in poorly differentiated carcinoma type. Conclusion: COX-2 expression in gastric carcinoma tissue is correlated closely with tumor size, serosal invasion and lymph node metastases, indicating that COX-2 is involved in the growth and metastases of gastric carcinoma
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