Kheper, a Novel ZFH/δEF1 Family Member, Regulates the Development of the Neuroectoderm of Zebrafish (Danio rerio)

AbstractKheper is a novel member of the ZFH (zinc-finger and homeodomain protein)/δEF1 family in zebrafish. kheper transcripts are first detected in the epiblast of the dorsal blastoderm margin at the early gastrula stage and kheper is expressed in nearly all the neuroectoderm at later stages. kheper expression was expanded in noggin RNA-injected embryos and also in swirl mutant embryos and was reduced in bmp4 RNA-injected embryos and chordino mutant embryos, suggesting that kheper acts downstream of the neural inducers Noggin and Chordino. Overexpression of Kheper elicited ectopic expansion of the neuroectoderm-specific genes fkd3, hoxa-1, and eng3, and the ectopic expression of hoxa-1 was not inhibited by BMP4 overexpression. Kheper interacted with the transcriptional corepressors CtBP1 and CtBP2. Overexpression of a Kheper mutant lacking the homeodomain or of a VP16–Kheper fusion protein disturbed the development of the neuroectoderm and head structures. These data underscore the role of Kheper in the development of the neuroectoderm and indicate that Kheper acts as a transcriptional repressor

Differentiation by imaging of superior segmental optic hypoplasia and normal-tension glaucoma with inferior visual field defects only

Purpose: To differentiate superior segmental optic hypoplasia (SSOH) from normal-tension glaucoma (NTG) with inferior visual field defects only. Methods: Eighteen eyes with SSOH (SSOH group) and 19 eyes with NTG (NTG group) were examined by optical coherence tomography (OCT), Heidelberg retina tomography (Heidelberg Retinal Tomograph II, HRT II) and standard automated perimetry. Results: Retinal nerve fiber layer thickness (RNFLT) based on OCT measurements was significantly reduced (thinner) in the superior to superonasal sectors and significantly greater (thicker) in the inferotemporal sector in the SSOH group than in the NTG group. The cup was significantly smaller and the rim significantly larger in the superotemporal and temporal sectors in the SSOH group than in the NTG group based on HRT II measurements. The greatest area under the receiver operating characteristic curve for discrimination of SSOH from NTG by OCT and HRT II was for the RNFLT ratio of 1 + 2 o\u27clock/10 + 11 o\u27clock (0.985) and for the ratio of the superonasal to superotemporal sector of rim to disc area ratio and cup to disc area ratio (0.955), respectively. The frequent location of the inferior visual field defects corresponded to the difference in structural changes in both groups. Conclusions: Comparison of the superonasal to superotemporal sectors by OCT and HRT II were useful in differentiating SSOH from NTG with only inferior visual field defects. © 2012 Japanese Ophthalmological Society

カン focal nodular hyperplasia ニ タイスル フククウキョウカ カン セツジョジュツ

Recently, laparoscopic hepatectomy of the liver has been reported to be safe, with possible advantages to the patients such as reduced postoperative pain and shorter hospital stay. We report successful laparoscopic partial liver resections for two cases of focal nodular hyperplasia. Two cases of 43-year-old male and 69-year-old male, with chronic hepatitis C and without any symptoms, presented in each other a solitary mass 1.5 and 1.0 cm in size at the edge of the liver on diagnostic imagings. The patients underwent laparoscopic partial hepatectomy to rule out well differentiated hepatocellular carcinoma. The histopathological diagnosis was focal nodular hyperplasia. Each patient had an uneventful postoperative recovery and had been free from recurrence during the 6 years follow-up period. Laparoscopic partial hepatectomy is indicated in patients with benign solid mass located at the edge of the liver

ジコ メンエキセイ スイエン ニ タイスル ステロイド チリョウ コウカ ハンテイ ニ Ga scintigraphy ガ ユウヨウ デアッタ 1レイ

Some cases of chronic idiopathic pancreatitis associated with autoimmune disease havebeen reported. The autoimmune pancreatitis revealed a diffusely irregular and narrowedpancreatic duct and responded well to steroid treatment. We report a case of autoimmunepancreatitis with a significant role of Gallium scintigraphy in response to steroid therapy.A sixty seven-year-old male, with upper abdominal pain, appetite loss and thirst, presenteddiffuse pancreatic swelling on abdominal ultrasonography, and diffuse irregular narrowingof the pancreatic duct and stenosis of the distal common bile duct. Gallium-67 scitigraphyrevealed high uptake in the whole pancreas. The patient underwent pancreatic biopsy torule out pancreatic cancer and malignant lymphoma. The definitive diagnosis was autoimmunepancreatitis. The patient recovered quickly with steroid therapy after the biopsy

スイ カセイ ノウホウ ニ タイスル フククウキョウカ ノホウ イ フンゴウジュツ : イヘキ トノ ユチャク オ ゼンテイ ト シナイ アンゼンナ ジュツシキ

A forty seven-year-old male who had been in clinical follow-up for a pancreatic pseudocystunderwent a laparoscopic cystogastrostomy through the lesser peritoneal sac in 1996. Thisprocedure is performed by creating a cystotomy and posterior gastrotomy through whichan Endo GIATM is applied. The mouth of cystogastrostomy is closed using continuous suturesby Endo STITCHTM. This approach does not rely on adhesions between the pseudocyst andposterior wall of the stomach, and offers clear advantages over previously described techniquesin the management of pancreatic pseudocyst

Primary cultures of human livers and their albumin-producing capacity.

Primary cultures of surgically obtained noncancerous portions of human liver tissues were made. Liver tissues were poorly dissociated with collagenase, but well dissociated with dispase. The yield and viability of cells were improved somewhat when dissociated with collagenase followed by dispase. The mean cell yield was 1.1 X 10(6) cells/g liver. The epithelial-like morphology of the dissociated liver cells was maintained for about one week, but thereafter degenerative alteration of cells was observed. In liver explant culture, an active outgrowth of cells was observed for more than one month. Albumin production in culture fluids from dissociated livers was detectable for about 2 weeks, but later became undetectable, while that from explant culture was detectable for at least one month. These data demonstrate that adult human hepatocytes can be isolated from noncancerous portions of livers with relatively high yield, and that albumin production of the dissociated cells is detectable for several days.</p

Fish oil-enriched nutrition combined with systemic chemotherapy for gastrointestinal cancer patients with cancer cachexia

Despite recent advances in chemotherapy for gastrointestinal cancer, a crucial factor related to poor prognosis is reduced tolerance to chemotherapy induced by cancer cachexia. Fish oil (FO)-derived eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA) modulates inflammation in patients with various malignancies; however, the impact of FO-enriched nutrition as a combined modality therapy on clinical outcomes remains controversial. We systemically analysed chronological changes in biochemical and physiological status using bioelectrical impedance analysis in 128 gastrointestinal cancer patients provided with or without FO-enriched nutrition during chemotherapy. Furthermore, we evaluated the clinical significance of FO-enriched nutrition and clarified appropriate patient groups that receive prognostic benefits from FO-enriched nutrition during treatment of gastrointestinal cancer. The control group showed significant up-regulation of serum CRP) levels and no significant difference in both skeletal muscle mass and lean body mass. In contrast, the FO-enriched nutrition group showed no changes in serum CRP concentration and significantly increased skeletal muscle mass and lean body mass over time. Furthermore, high CRP levels significantly correlated with reduced tolerance to chemotherapy, and FO-enriched nutrition improved chemotherapy tolerance and prognosis, particularly in gastrointestinal cancer patients with a modified Glasgow prognostic score (mGPS) of 1 or 2. We conclude that FO-enriched nutrition may improve the prognosis of patients with cancer cachexia and systemic inflammation (i.e., those with a mGPS of 1 or 2)

Postnatal lethality and chondrodysplasia in mice lacking both chondroitin sulfate N-acetylgalactosaminyltransferase-1 and -2

Chondroitin sulfate (CS) is a sulfated glycosaminoglycan (GAG) chain. In cartilage, CS plays important roles as the main component of the extracellular matrix (ECM), existing as side chains of the major cartilage proteoglycan, aggrecan. Six glycosyltransferases are known to coordinately synthesize the backbone structure of CS; however, their in vivo synthetic mechanism remains unknown. Previous studies have suggested that two glycosyltransferases, Csgalnact1 (t1) and Csgalnact2 (t2), are critical for initiation of CS synthesis in vitro. Indeed, t1 single knockout mice (t1 KO) exhibit slight dwarfism and a reduction in CS content in cartilage compared with wild-type (WT) mice. To reveal the synergetic roles of t1 and t2 in CS synthesis in vivo, we generated systemic single and double knockout (DKO) mice and cartilage-specific t1 and t2 double knockout (Col2-DKO) mice. DKO mice exhibited postnatal lethality, whereas t2 KO mice showed normal size and skeletal development. Col2-DKO mice survived to adulthood and showed severe dwarfism compared with t1 KO mice. Histological analysis of epiphyseal cartilage from Col2-DKO mice revealed disrupted endochondral ossification, characterized by drastic GAG reduction in the ECM. Moreover, DKO cartilage had reduced chondrocyte proliferation and an increased number of apoptotic chondrocytes compared with WT cartilage. Conversely, primary chondrocyte cultures from Col2-DKO knee cartilage had the same proliferation rate as WT chondrocytes and low GAG expression levels, indicating that the chondrocytes themselves had an intact proliferative ability. Quantitative RT-PCR analysis of E18.5 cartilage showed that the expression levels of Col2a1 and Ptch1 transcripts tended to decrease in DKO compared with those in WT mice. The CS content in DKO cartilage was decreased compared with that in t1 KO cartilage but was not completely absent. These results suggest that aberrant ECM caused by CS reduction disrupted endochondral ossification. Overall, we propose that both t1 and t2 are necessary for CS synthesis and normal chondrocyte differentiation but are not sufficient for all CS synthesis in cartilage

Systematic characterization of upper critical fields for MgB2_2 thin films using the two-band superconducting theory

We present experimental results of the upper critical fields $H_{\rm c2}$ of various MgB$_2$ thin films prepared by the molecular beam epitaxy, multiple-targets sputtering, and co-evaporation deposition apparatus. Experimental data of the $H_{\rm c2}(T)$ are successfully analyzed by applying the Gurevich theory of dirty two-band superconductivity in the case of $D_{\pi}/D_{\sigma}>1$, where $D_{\pi}$ and $D_{\sigma}$ are the intraband electron diffusivities for $\pi$ and $\sigma$ bands, respectively. We find that the parameters obtained from the analysis are strongly correlated to the superconducting transition temperature $T_{\rm c}$ of the films. We also discuss the anormalous narrowing of the transition width at intermediate temperatures confirmed by the magnetoresistance measurements.Comment: 7 pages, 7 figures, submitted to Phys. Rev.