Development of a new mAb specific to mouse Vγ6 chain

There are seven Vγ gene segments in the TCR γ chain loci of mice. We developed monoclonal antibodies (mAbs) specific to the Vγ6 chain (Heilig & Tonegawa nomenclature). By immunizing Vγ4/6 KO mice with complementarity-determining region peptides in Vγ6 chains, we generated three hybridomas. These hybridomas produced mAbs capable of cell surface staining of Vγ6/Vδ1 gene–transfected T-cell line lacking TCR as well as of Vγ1− Vγ4− Vγ5− Vγ7− γδ T cells and the CD3high TCRδint γδ T cells in various organs. The location of Vγ6+ γδ T cells, which peaked in the newborn thymus, was associated with mTEC. In vivo administration of clone 1C10-1F7 mAb impaired protection against Klebsiella pneumoniae infection but ameliorated psoriasis-like dermatitis induced by imiquimod treatment. These new mAbs are useful to elucidate the development, location, and functions of Vγ6 γδ T cells in mice

Longistatin, a Plasminogen Activator, Is Key to the Availability of Blood-Meals for Ixodid Ticks

Ixodid ticks are notorious blood-sucking ectoparasites and are completely dependent on blood-meals from hosts. In addition to the direct severe effects on health and productivity, ixodid ticks transmit various deadly diseases to humans and animals. Unlike rapidly feeding vessel-feeder hematophagous insects, the hard ticks feed on hosts for a long time (5−10 days or more), making a large blood pool beneath the skin. Tick's salivary glands produce a vast array of bio-molecules that modulate their complex and persistent feeding processes. However, the specific molecule that functions in the development and maintenance of a blood pool is yet to be identified. Recently, we have reported on longistatin, a 17.8-kDa protein with two functional EF-hand Ca++-binding domains, from the salivary glands of the disease vector, Haemaphysalis longicornis, that has been shown to be linked to blood-feeding processes. Here, we show that longistatin plays vital roles in the formation of a blood pool and in the acquisition of blood-meals. Data clearly revealed that post-transcriptional silencing of the longistatin-specific gene disrupted ticks' unique ability to create a blood pool, and they consequently failed to feed and replete on blood-meals from hosts. Longistatin completely hydrolyzed α, β and γ chains of fibrinogen and delayed fibrin clot formation. Longistatin was able to bind with fibrin meshwork, and activated fibrin clot-bound plasminogen into its active form plasmin, as comparable to that of tissue-type plasminogen activator (t-PA), and induced lysis of fibrin clot and platelet-rich thrombi. Plasminogen activation potentiality of longistatin was increased up to 4 times by soluble fibrin. Taken together, our results suggest that longistatin may exert potent functions both as a plasminogen activator and as an anticoagulant in the complex scenario of blood pool formation; the latter is critical to the feeding success and survival of ixodid ticks

Clinical effects of serial artificial CO(2) baths on degenerative disorders in consideration of the improved tissue perfusion.

組織循環の良不良は，結合織の退行性病変の予後に大いに影響をおよぼすものである。人工炭酸泉を用いた実験的検討で，すでに組織循環の30　％　増加を認めており，臨床的治験により好傾向を示す結果を得つつある。結合織病変を主とする慢性疾患4症例の治験前後に局所組織流量を測定して評価することができた。局所組織流量は医用質量分析装置を介したオンラインシステムで測定計算した。人工炭酸浴は，炭酸ガスキャビン，および人工炭酸浴剤浴を用いた。人工炭酸泉浴は，1カ月より1年におよび，それぞれ自覚症状の著名な改善と，組織流量の増加を定量しえた。人工炭酸泉の連浴による組織流量の改善は、結合織の退行性病変に有効に作用するものである。Tissue perfusion plays an important role in prognosis of the deteriorating connective tissue disorders. Tissue perfusion was evaluated before and after CO(2) treatment on the patients with connective tissue disorders by means of medical mass spectrometer. CO(2) treatment was performed in 2 ways ; one was with CO(2)-cabine, 20 litres per minute at 40℃ for 20 minutes, and the other was with an artificial CO(2) bathing prepared with 2 tablets of BUB-KAO, a 50 g sodium hydrogencarbonate and succinic acid tablet, in 280-litre-tub at 40℃ for 20 minutes. Case 1, 33-year-old female, suffering from chronic rheumatic arthritis with rheumatic thromboangiitis obliterans in the left 5th toe. Main arterial trees were found intact arteriographically. Her joint pain and muscle stiffness have been improved markedly after CO(2) treatment with cabin every day for one month though every medicine for rheumatism made little effect. Case 2, 46-year-old female, suffered from progressive systemic scleroderma. Major blood supply was found not blocked in upper extremities arteriographically. Tissue perfusion was found poor in muscle tissue of each forearm before CO(2) treatment with cabin, whereas an improved tissue perfusion was confirmed after one month of serial CO(2) treatment, leading to ameliorate persistent muscle stiffness, though every medicine for her made slow effect. Case 3, 48-year-old female, suffering from the weakness in strength with no positive laboratory findings of connective tissue disorders. Tissue perfusion has been found quite improved following serial artificial CO(2) bathings for 12 months, being able to work hard every day as a nurse. Serial CO(2) bathing is thought to be very useful in ameliorating the symptoms of deteriorating connective disorders by virtue of an improved tissue perfusion

Discovery of Extended X-Ray emission from the unidentified TeV source HESS J1614-518 using the Suzaku Satellite

We report the Suzaku results of HESS J1614-518, which is the brightest extended TeV gamma-ray source discovered in the Galactic plane survey conducted using the H.E.S.S. telescope. We discovered three X-ray objects in the field of view of the X-ray Imaging Spectrometer (XIS), which were designated as Suzaku J1614-5141 (src A), Suzaku J1614-5152 (src B), and Suzaku J1614-5148 (src C). Src A is an extended source located at the peak position of HESS J1614-518, and therefore it is a plausible counterpart to HESS J1614-518. The X-ray flux in the 2-10 keV band is 5e-13 erg/s/cm^2, which is an order of magnitude smaller than the TeV flux. The photon index is 1.7, which is smaller than the canonical value of synchrotron emissions from high-energy electrons found in some supernova remnants. These findings present a challenge to models in which the origin of the TeV emission is the inverse Compton scattering of the cosmic microwave background by accelerated electrons that emit X-rays via synchrotron emission. Src B is located at a relatively dim region in the TeV band image; however, its hydrogen column density is the same as that of src A. Therefore, src B may also be physically related to HESS J1614-518. Src C is a foreground late-type B star. We also discovered a soft extended X-ray emission near HESS J1614-518.Comment: Accepted for publication in PASJ vol. 60 Suzaku Special Issue

ショウワキチ ト ドームフジキチ ニ オケル エアロゾル リュウケイ ブンプ ノ ツウネン カンソク

1997年2月～1998年1月に,昭和基地(69゜00′S,39゜35′E,15 m a.s.l.)及びドームふじ観測拠点(77゜19′S,39゜42′E,3810 m a.s.l.)において,直径0.003-5 μmのエアロゾル粒径分布の変動の観測を行った.両基地において小エイトケンモード(直径0.05 μm以下),大エイトケンモード(直径0.05-0.3 μm),大粒子・粗大粒子モード(直径0.3 μm以上)の3つのモードが認められた.小エイトケンモードおよび大エイトケンモードは,夏に高濃度,冬に低濃度となり,一方,大粒子・巨大粒子モードは夏に低濃度,冬に高濃度となった.1～数日の時間スケールの全粒径にわたる急増,急減現象が両基地で冬季に見られた.ドームふじ観測拠点では春季に小エイトケン粒子のみの急増も見られた.ドームふじ観測拠点においてこれらの現象が起こる気象条件は,昭和基地における類似の現象が起こる時の気象条件とは異なっていた.Simultaneous observations of the aerosol size distribution for diameters of 0.003-5.0 μm were performed at Syowa Station (69゜00′S, 39゜35′E, 15 m a.s.l.) and Dome Fuji Station (77゜19′S, 39゜42′E, 3810 m a.s.l.) in Antarctica from February 1997 to January 1998. Size distributions show composites of a small-Aitken mode (less than 0.05 μm in diameter), a large-Aitken mode (0.05-0.3 μm in diameter), and a large giant particle mode (larger than 0.3 μm in diameter). Concentrations of small and large Aitken modes were high in summer and low in winter. On the other hand, concentrations of large giant particle mode were low in summer and high in winter. The high and or low concentration events for one or a few days in whole size range were observed especially in winter. High concentration events in small Aitken mode with the low concentrations in diameter of 0.07-5.0 μm were also observed at Dome Fuji Station in spring. Meteorological conditions during the events at Dome Fuji Station were different from those at at Syowa station

The ASTRO-H X-ray Observatory

The joint JAXA/NASA ASTRO-H mission is the sixth in a series of highly successful X-ray missions initiated by the Institute of Space and Astronautical Science (ISAS). ASTRO-H will investigate the physics of the high-energy universe via a suite of four instruments, covering a very wide energy range, from 0.3 keV to 600 keV. These instruments include a high-resolution, high-throughput spectrometer sensitive over 0.3-2 keV with high spectral resolution of Delta E < 7 eV, enabled by a micro-calorimeter array located in the focal plane of thin-foil X-ray optics; hard X-ray imaging spectrometers covering 5-80 keV, located in the focal plane of multilayer-coated, focusing hard X-ray mirrors; a wide-field imaging spectrometer sensitive over 0.4-12 keV, with an X-ray CCD camera in the focal plane of a soft X-ray telescope; and a non-focusing Compton-camera type soft gamma-ray detector, sensitive in the 40-600 keV band. The simultaneous broad bandpass, coupled with high spectral resolution, will enable the pursuit of a wide variety of important science themes.Comment: 22 pages, 17 figures, Proceedings of the SPIE Astronomical Instrumentation "Space Telescopes and Instrumentation 2012: Ultraviolet to Gamma Ray

The Quiescent Intracluster Medium in the Core of the Perseus Cluster

Clusters of galaxies are the most massive gravitationally-bound objects in the Universe and are still forming. They are thus important probes of cosmological parameters and a host of astrophysical processes. Knowledge of the dynamics of the pervasive hot gas, which dominates in mass over stars in a cluster, is a crucial missing ingredient. It can enable new insights into mechanical energy injection by the central supermassive black hole and the use of hydrostatic equilibrium for the determination of cluster masses. X-rays from the core of the Perseus cluster are emitted by the 50 million K diffuse hot plasma filling its gravitational potential well. The Active Galactic Nucleus of the central galaxy NGC1275 is pumping jetted energy into the surrounding intracluster medium, creating buoyant bubbles filled with relativistic plasma. These likely induce motions in the intracluster medium and heat the inner gas preventing runaway radiative cooling; a process known as Active Galactic Nucleus Feedback. Here we report on Hitomi X-ray observations of the Perseus cluster core, which reveal a remarkably quiescent atmosphere where the gas has a line-of-sight velocity dispersion of 164+/-10 km/s in a region 30-60 kpc from the central nucleus. A gradient in the line-of-sight velocity of 150+/-70 km/s is found across the 60 kpc image of the cluster core. Turbulent pressure support in the gas is 4% or less of the thermodynamic pressure, with large scale shear at most doubling that estimate. We infer that total cluster masses determined from hydrostatic equilibrium in the central regions need little correction for turbulent pressure.Comment: 31 pages, 11 Figs, published in Nature July