Genome-Wide Association Study Confirming Association of HLA-DP with Protection against Chronic Hepatitis B and Viral Clearance in Japanese and Korean

Hepatitis B virus (HBV) infection can lead to serious liver diseases, including liver cirrhosis (LC) and hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC); however, about 85–90% of infected individuals become inactive carriers with sustained biochemical remission and very low risk of LC or HCC. To identify host genetic factors contributing to HBV clearance, we conducted genome-wide association studies (GWAS) and replication analysis using samples from HBV carriers and spontaneously HBV-resolved Japanese and Korean individuals. Association analysis in the Japanese and Korean data identified the HLA-DPA1 and HLA-DPB1 genes with Pmeta = 1.89×10−12 for rs3077 and Pmeta = 9.69×10−10 for rs9277542. We also found that the HLA-DPA1 and HLA-DPB1 genes were significantly associated with protective effects against chronic hepatitis B (CHB) in Japanese, Korean and other Asian populations, including Chinese and Thai individuals (Pmeta = 4.40×10−19 for rs3077 and Pmeta = 1.28×10−15 for rs9277542). These results suggest that the associations between the HLA-DP locus and the protective effects against persistent HBV infection and with clearance of HBV were replicated widely in East Asian populations; however, there are no reports of GWAS in Caucasian or African populations. Based on the GWAS in this study, there were no significant SNPs associated with HCC development. To clarify the pathogenesis of CHB and the mechanisms of HBV clearance, further studies are necessary, including functional analyses of the HLA-DP molecule

A Medaka Gene Map: The Trace of Ancestral Vertebrate Proto-Chromosomes Revealed by Comparative Gene Mapping

The mapping of Hox clusters and many duplicated genes in zebrafish indicated an extra whole-genome duplication in ray-fined fish. However, to reconstruct the preduplication chromosomes (proto-chromosomes), the comparative genomic studies of more distantly related teleosts are essential. Medaka and zebrafish are ideal for this purpose, because their lineages separated from their last common ancestor ∼140 million years ago. To reconstruct ancient vertebrate chromosomes, including the chromosomes of the vertebrate ancestor of humans from 450 million years ago, we mapped 818 genes and expressed sequence tags (ESTs) on a single meiotic backcross panel obtained from inbred strains of the medaka, Oryzias latipes. Comparisons of linkage relationships of orthologous genes among three species of vertebrates (medaka, zebrafish, and human) indicate the number and content of the chromosomes of the last common ancestor of ray-fined fish and lobe-fined fish (including humans), and the extra whole genome duplication event in the ray-fin lineage occurred in the common ancestor of perhaps all teleosts

『茶譜』巻七注釈

International audienc

『茶譜』巻十一 （下）

International audienc

Rapid Effect of nCPAP Therapy on Circulating Plasma Leptin in OSAS Patients

Obstructive sleep apnea syndrome (OSAS) is a problem of obese patients. Leptin prevents fat deposition in adipose tissue and insulin reduces plasma glucose, but levels of these hormones are sometimes high in obese patients with OSAS. Thus, leptin and insulin do not function properly in OSAS, and increase resistance to leptin and insulin may cause paradoxical state, that is, leptin and insulin resistance. The present study investigates the rapid effect of nasal continuous positive airway pressure (nCPAP) ventilation on serum leptin and insulin levels in OSAS. Levels of plasma leptin and insulin at four sampling points a day decreased in OSAS patients (*p<0.05, n=10) by nCPAP. Nocturnal mean-nadir arterial oxygen desaturation (nmSaO2) correlated with plasma leptin levels in OSAS patients (*p<0.05, n=10). Nasal CPAP did not affect circulating soluble leptin receptor levels in OSAS patients. These findings indicate that leptin and insulin are related to nocturnal hypoxia in OSAS patients, and that nCPAP have a possibility of improving leptin and insulin resistance