\u3ci\u3eIn vitro\u3c/i\u3e assembly of apophytochrome and apophytochrome deletion mutants expressed in yeast with phycocyanobilin

Recombinant pea type I phytochrome apoprotein expressed in yeast is shown to assemble in vitro with phycocyanobilin to produce a photoreversible phytochromelike adduct. As an initial investigation of the amino acid sequence requirements for chromophore incorporation, three phyA gene product deletion mutants were produced in yeast. Truncation of the N-terminal tail to residue 46 demonstrates that this region is not critical to bilin attachment, but a deletion mutant lacking 222 amino acids from the N terminus failed to yield holophytochrome in vitro, under the same conditions. A mutant comprising a deletion of the C terminus to residue 548 showed bilin incorporation and red/far-red photoreversibility, indicating that bilin-apophytochrome assembly still occurred even when the entire C-terminal domain was truncated

12 Ⅸ 神奈川大学学校ボランティアの展開（横浜キャンパス）

2007年度～2009年度／神奈川大学共同研究奨励助成金研究報告書／研究代表者：鈴木そよ

小児がんターミナル期を経験した家族による命の授業と看護学生の学び―学生の振り返りシートのカテゴリー分析より―

The purpose of this study was to perform a categorical analysis of opinions and impressions of second-year nursing students after lectures by families of children who experienced the terminal pediatric cancer. The family's feelings during their children's battle against cancer were analyzed to examine the usefulness of the educational mode of lectures by families of affected children. The analysis identified the following eight categories: “emotions experienced by the students,” “understanding families’ emotions,” “imagining feelings of the pediatric patients,” “understanding physicians’ emotions,” “impressions from the drawings made by the pediatric patients,” “education during sickness,” “integrating end-of-life care into students themselves,” and “necessary nursing care.” Lectures directly delivered by families of child patients with cancer allowed some students to get in touch with the feelings of families, which could never be learned through lectures by instructors; furthermore, these lectures enabled the students to attempt to understand the emotions arising owing to the experiences shared by the families and to think about nursing for patients with terminal pediatric cancer. Therefore, our findings indicate the usefulness of educational lectures delivered by families of children who experienced terminal stages of pediatric cancer.departmental bulletin pape

Large Right Pulmonary Vein Is a Predictor of Atrial Fibrillation Recurrence after Pulmonary Vein Isolation in Patients with Persistent Atrial Fibrillation

Pulmonary vein isolation（PVI）is an effective treatment for atrial fibrillation（AF）. However, outcomes differ between paroxysmal AF and persistent AF. We analyzed the predictors of recurrence by examining the recurrence group after ablation. Of 372 consecutive patients with AF who underwent PVI between June 2016 and December 2018, we evaluated 250 patients（age, 67±12y, 65％ men）whose left atrium（LA）was constructed using the PENTARAY catheter（BioSense Webster, Los Angeles, CA）, a multipolar electrode catheter with a novel shape and excellent mapping capability. We measured the LA total volume（LATV）, right pulmonary vein＋antrum volume（RPAV）, left PV＋antrum volume（LPAV）, LA central volume（LACV）, and LA bipolar voltage. Of the 250 patients, 78 had persistent AF（recurrence, 20）and 172 had paroxysmal AF（recurrence, 16）. In all patients, LATV, LACV, RPAV, and LPAV were significantly larger in patients with persistent AF than those with paroxysmal AF. The mean LA bipolar voltage in patients with persistent AF was significantly lower than those with paroxysmal AF. In cases of persistent AF, RPAV was significantly larger in the recurrence group than that in the non-recurrence group（15.9±4.8 vs 13.4±5.4ml; P＜0.05）. In cases of paroxysmal AF, there were no differences in any volume between the recurrence and non-recurrence groups. In conclusion, larger right PV is a predictor of AF recurrence after PVI in patients with persistent AF. The right PV is close to the atrial septum and the septopulmonary bundle, and the expansion of RPAV reflects the disruption of these structures, which may be involved in this result

Abnormally High Levels of Virus-Infected IFN-γ+CCR4+CD4+CD25+ T Cells in a Retrovirus-Associated Neuroinflammatory Disorder

BACKGROUND:Human T-lymphotropic virus type 1 (HTLV-1) is a human retrovirus associated with both HTLV-1-associated myelopathy/tropical spastic paraparesis (HAM/TSP), which is a chronic neuroinflammatory disease, and adult T-cell leukemia (ATL). The pathogenesis of HAM/TSP is known to be as follows: HTLV-1-infected T cells trigger a hyperimmune response leading to neuroinflammation. However, the HTLV-1-infected T cell subset that plays a major role in the accelerated immune response has not yet been identified. PRINCIPAL FINDINGS:Here, we demonstrate that CD4(+)CD25(+)CCR4(+) T cells are the predominant viral reservoir, and their levels are increased in HAM/TSP patients. While CCR4 is known to be selectively expressed on T helper type 2 (Th2), Th17, and regulatory T (Treg) cells in healthy individuals, we demonstrate that IFN-gamma production is extraordinarily increased and IL-4, IL-10, IL-17, and Foxp3 expression is decreased in the CD4(+)CD25(+)CCR4(+) T cells of HAM/TSP patients as compared to those in healthy individuals, and the alteration in function is specific to this cell subtype. Notably, the frequency of IFN-gamma-producing CD4(+)CD25(+)CCR4(+)Foxp3(-) T cells is dramatically increased in HAM/TSP patients, and this was found to be correlated with disease activity and severity. CONCLUSIONS:We have defined a unique T cell subset--IFN-gamma(+)CCR4(+)CD4(+)CD25(+) T cells--that is abnormally increased and functionally altered in this retrovirus-associated inflammatory disorder of the central nervous system

Introduction for Fisheries and Aquatic Biology

Chapter I. Aquatic Environment. Ken FURUYA and Ichiro YASUDA : chapter_1.pdfChapter II. Biology and Ecology of Aqua-Shere. Toyoji KANEKO, Katsumi TSUKAMOTO, Atsushi TSUDA, Yuzuru SUZUKI and Katsufumi SATOH : chapter_2.pdfChapter III. Aquatic Resource and Production. Ichiro AOKI, Kazuo OGAWA, Taku YAMAKAWA and Tomoyoshi YOSHINAGA : chapter_3.pdfChapter IV. Chemistry of Aquatic Organism and Their Utilization. Hiroki ABE, Shugo WATABE, Yoshihiro OCHIAI, Shigeru OKADA, Naoko YOSHIKAWA, Yoshiharu KINOSHITA, Gen KANEKO and Shigeki MATSUNAGA : chapter_4.pdfChapter V. Relation between Aqua-Shere and Human Life. Hisashi KUROKURA, Hirohide MATSUSHIMA, Shingo KUROHAGI, Haruko YAMASHITA, Akinori HINO, Kazumasa IKUTA, Satoquo SEINO, Masahiko ARIJI, Ken FURUYA, Junichiro OKAMOTO and Nobuyuki YAGI : chapter_5.pdfPart of "Introduction for Fisheries and Aquatic Biology

Whole-genome analyses reveal genetic instability of Acetobacter pasteurianus

Acetobacter species have been used for brewing traditional vinegar and are known to have genetic instability. To clarify the mutability, Acetobacter pasteurianus NBRC 3283, which forms a multi-phenotype cell complex, was subjected to genome DNA sequencing. The genome analysis revealed that there are more than 280 transposons and five genes with hyper-mutable tandem repeats as common features in the genome consisting of a 2.9-Mb chromosome and six plasmids. There were three single nucleotide mutations and five transposon insertions in 32 isolates from the cell complex. The A. pasteurianus hyper-mutability was applied for breeding a temperature-resistant strain grown at an unviable high-temperature (42°C). The genomic DNA sequence of a heritable mutant showing temperature resistance was analyzed by mutation mapping, illustrating that a 92-kb deletion and three single nucleotide mutations occurred in the genome during the adaptation. Alpha-proteobacteria including A. pasteurianus consists of many intracellular symbionts and parasites, and their genomes show increased evolution rates and intensive genome reduction. However, A. pasteurianus is assumed to be a free-living bacterium, it may have the potentiality to evolve to fit in natural niches of seasonal fruits and flowers with other organisms, such as yeasts and lactic acid bacteria