Effects of dietary inulin, statin, and their co-treatment on hyperlipidemia, hepatic steatosis and changes in drug-metabolizing enzymes in rats fed a high-fat and high-sucrose diet

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Rats fed a high-fat and high-sucrose (HF) diet develop hepatic steatosis and hyperlipidemia. There are several reports that a change in nutritional status affects hepatic levels of drug-metabolizing enzymes. Synthetic inulin is a dietary component that completely evades glucide digestion. Supplementing a HF diet with inulin ameliorates hypertriglycemia and hepatic steatosis, but not hypercholesterolemia. This study aimed at distinguishing the effects of synthetic inulin and 3-hydroxy-3-methylglutaryl coenzyme A reductase inhibitor (statin), which inhibit cholesterol biosynthesis.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>We examined effects of co-treatment with synthetic inulin (5%) and fluvastatin (0, 4, and 8 mg/kg, <it>per os</it>) on body weight, epidydimal white adipose tissue weight, serum and hepatic lipid profiles, and hepatic cytochrome P450 (CYP) mRNA and protein profiles in rats fed a standard diet or a HF diet for 3 weeks.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>Treatment with the synthetic inulin (5%) or fluvastatin at 4 mg/kg (lethal dose in rats fed the HF diet, 8 mg/kg) ameliorated the elevation in hepatic triacylglycerol and total cholesterol levels in rats fed the HF diet. Whereas co-treatment with the inulin (5%) and fluvastatin (4 mg/kg) had a tendency to more strongly suppress the elevation in serum levels of very low density lipoprotein triacylglycerol than either treatment alone, no additive or synergistic effect was found in decrease in hepatic lipid levels. Hepatic levels of CYP1A1/2 and CYP2E1 mRNA and protein and methoxyresorufin <it>O</it>-demethylase and ethoxyresorufin <it>O</it>-deethylase activities were reduced in rats fed the HF diet. The synthetic inulin alleviated the reduction in hepatic levels of CYP1A1/2 and CYP2E1 mRNA and protein more strongly than fluvastatin, and no synergistic effects were observed on co-treatment. Furthermore, hepatic levels of aryl hydrocarbon receptor mRNA were decreased in rats fed the HF diet and recovered to near normal values with the intake of dietary inulin, which correlated with change in CYP1A1/2.</p> <p>Conclusions</p> <p>Dietary inulin alone was effective to prevent the development of hepatic steatosis, ameliorate nutritional effects, and alleviate the hepatic change in the expression of CYP1A1/2 and CYP2E1, while co-treatment with statin did not have additive or synergistic effects and statin may cause adverse effects in rats fed the HF diet.</p

Ycf12 is a core subunit in the photosystem II complex

AbstractThe latest crystallographic model of the cyanobacterial photosystem II (PS II) core complex added one transmembrane low molecular weight (LMW) component to the previous model, suggesting the presence of an unknown transmembrane LMW component in PS II. We have investigated the polypeptide composition in highly purified intact PS II core complexes from Thermosynechococcus elongatus, the species which yielded the PS II crystallographic models described above, to identify the unknown component. Using an electrophoresis system specialized for separation of LMW hydrophobic proteins, a novel protein of ∼5 kDa was identified as a PS II component. Its N-terminal amino acid sequence was identical to that of Ycf12. The corresponding gene is known as one of the ycf (hypothetical chloroplast reading frame) genes, ycf12, and is widely conserved in chloroplast and cyanobacterial genomes. Nonetheless, the localization and function of the gene product have never been assigned. Our finding shows, for the first time, that ycf12 is actually expressed as a component of the PS II complex in the cell, revealing that a previously unidentified transmembrane protein exists in the PS II core complex

Comparison of Urinary Levels of 8-Hydroxy-2’-deoxyguanosine between Young Females with and without Depressive Symptoms during Different Menstrual Phases

This study aimed to clarify the association between depressive symptoms and a marker of oxidative stress-induced DNA damage in young females. Since the menstrual cycle may confound or modify this association, depressive symptoms and urinary levels of 8-hydroxy-2ʼ deoxyguanosine (8-OHdG) were evaluated during each menstrual phase. A total of 57 female fourth-year students (aged 21.6±0.8) from a Japanese health science university were studied. The menstrual cycle was divided into 3 phases:menstrual (days 1 to 3 after the onset of menses);proliferative (days 13 to 15);and secretory (days 24 to 26). Depressive symptoms were assessed by the self-rating depression scale (SDS). Positive depressive symptoms were defined as a score of 53 or more during 2 different menstrual phases. The association between the presence of depressive symptoms and 8-OHdG levels adjusting for the menstrual cycle was examined by two-way analysis of variance with the menstrual cycle (menstrual, proliferative, and secretory phases) as the within-individual factor. The menstrual cycle did not show a significant correlation with urinary 8-OHdG levels. On the other hand, the menstrual cycle-adjusted 8-OHdG level was significantly higher in those with depressive symptoms (7.01ng/mL) than in those without them (3.98ng/mL). The ROC curve analysis showed that urinary 8-OHdG levels had reasonably high discriminative performance throughout all the menstrual cycles (0.73-0.81;all p＜0.05). These results indicated the presence of oxidative stress in subjects with depressive symptoms independent of the menstrual cycle

Effect of Film-forming Additive on Electrochemical Performance of Silicon Negative-Electrode in Lithium-Ion Batteries

Effect of film-forming additives, such as vinylene carbonate (VC) and fluoroethylene carbonate (FEC), on electrochemical performance of Si negative-electrode in lithium-ion batteries was investigated using a thick-film prepared by gas-deposition without any binder and conductive additive. In VC-containing electrolyte, Si electrode exhibited better cycle performance with a discharge capacity of 1000 mA h g-1 beyond 750th cycles at a constant charge capacity of 1000 mA h g-1. In FEC-containing electrolyte, in addition, Si electrode showed good rate performance with a discharge capacity of 2000 mA h g-1 even at a high current rate of 10 C. When the current rate was returned to an initial low current rate of 0.4 C, more than 90% of initial discharge capacity was maintained. Film-forming additives relatively suppressed change in the surface morphology of Si thick-film electrode after charge-discharge cycling; disintegration of Si electrode was prevented by the additives

p53 Expression in Pretreatment Specimen Predicts Response to Neoadjuvant Chemotherapy Including Anthracycline and Taxane in Patients with Primary Breast Cancer.

While clinical and pathologic responses are important prognostic parameters, biological markers from core needle biopsy (CNB) are needed to predict neoadjuvant chemotherapy (NAC) response, to individualize treatment, and to achieve maximal efficacy. We retrospectively evaluated the cases of 183 patients with primary breast cancer who underwent surgery after NAC (anthracycline and taxane) at the National Cancer Center Hospital (NCCH). We analyzed EGFR, HER2, and p53 expression and common clinicopathological features from the CNB and surgical specimens of these patients. These biological markers were compared between sensitive patients (pathological complete response;pCR) and insensitive patients (clinical no change;cNC and clinical progressinve disease;cPD). In a comparison between the 9 (5%) sensitive patients and 30 (16%) insensitive patients, overexpression of p53 but not overexpression of either HER2 or EGFR was associated with a good response to NAC. p53 (p＝0.045) and histological grade 3 (p＝0.011) were important and significant predictors of the response to NAC. The correspondence rates for histological type, histological grade 3, ER, PgR, HER2, p53, and EGFR in insensitive patients between CNB and surgical specimens were 70%, 73%, 67%, 70%, 80%, 93%, and 73%. The pathologic response was significantly associated with p53 expression and histological grade 3. The correspondence rate of p53 expression between CNB and surgical specimens was higher than that of other factors. We conclude that the level of p53 expression in the CNB was an effective and reliable predictor of treatment response to NAC

A High-Yielding Rice Cultivar “Takanari” Shows No N Constraints on CO2 Fertilization

Enhancing crop yield response to elevated CO2 concentrations (E-[CO2]) is an important adaptation measure to climate change. A high-yielding indica rice cultivar “Takanari” has recently been identified as a potential candidate for high productivity in E-[CO2] resulting from its large sink and source capacities. To fully utilize these traits, nitrogen should play a major role, but it is unknown how N levels influence the yield response of Takanari to E-[CO2]. We therefore compared grain yield and quality of Takanari with those of Koshihikari, a standard japonica cultivar, in response to Free-Air CO2 enrichment (FACE, +200 μmol mol−1) under three N levels (0, 8, and 12 g m−2) over three seasons. The biomass of both cultivars increased under E-[CO2] at all N levels; however, the harvest index decreased under E-[CO2] in the N-limited treatment for Koshihikari but not for Takanari. The decreased harvest index of Koshihikari resulted from limited enhancement of spikelet number under N-limitation. In contrast, spikelet number increased in E-[CO2] in Takanari even without N application, resulting in significant yield enhancement, averaging 18% over 3 years, whereas Koshihikari exhibited virtually no increase in yield in E-[CO2] under the N-limited condition. Grain appearance quality of Koshihikari was severely reduced by E-[CO2], most notably in N-limited and hot conditions, by a substantial increase in chalky grain, but chalky grain % did not increase in E-[CO2] even without N fertilizer. These results indicated that Takanari could retain its high yield advantage over Koshihikari with limited increase in chalkiness even under limited N conditions and that it could be a useful genetic resource for improving N use efficiency under E-[CO2]

Search for Outer Massive Bodies around Transiting Planetary Systems: Candidates of Faint Stellar Companions around HAT-P-7

We present results of direct imaging observations for HAT-P-7 taken with the Subaru HiCIAO and the Calar Alto AstraLux. Since the close-in transiting planet HAT-P-7b was reported to have a highly tilted orbit, massive bodies such as giant planets, brown dwarfs, or a binary star are expected to exist in the outer region of this system. We show that there are indeed two candidates for distant faint stellar companions around HAT-P-7. We discuss possible roles played by such companions on the orbital evolution of HAT-P-7b. We conclude that as there is a third body in the system as reported by Winn et al. (2009, ApJL, 763, L99), the Kozai migration is less likely while planet-planet scattering is possible.Comment: 8 pages, 3 figures, 2 tables, PASJ in pres