Several Amino Acids and Carnitine Transport Activities of the Epithelial Cells of Bovine Mammary Gland

We investigated several amino acids and carnitine transport activities of bovine mammary gland epithelial cells. Gly, Ala, Gln, Glu, Arg, Leu, cystine and carnitine transport activities at 1 μmol/L substrate concentration were 24.0 ± 3.97, 90.9 ± 13.4, 32.5 ± 9.0, 14.2 ± 5.1, 48.9 ± 11.4, 48.8 ± 5.1, 22.7 ± 6.8 and 2.56 ± 0.96 nmol/mg protein/min, respectively. Na-dependency of transport was observed in Gly, Ala and Gln, but not in Arg, Leu and carnitine. Glu and Cys transport activity without Na condition were reduced to 36%, 63% in Na-free condition, respectively. Carnitine transport activities were low but detectable with or without Na condition. There was no correlation between amino acid transport activities and their concentrations in milk. The data clarified in this paper will be basic data for metabolic analysis of bovine mammary gland

Side-chain-dependent helical conformation of amylose alkylcarbamates: Amylose tris(ethylcarbamate) and amylose tris(n-hexylcarbamate)

Eight amylose tris(ethylcarbamate) (ATEC) samples ranging in the weight-average molar mass Mw from 1.0 - 104 to 1.1 - 106 g mol-1 and five amylose tris(n-hexylcarbamate) (ATHC) samples of which Mw varies from 4.9 - 104 to 2.2 - 106 g mol-1 have been prepared from enzymatically synthesized amylose samples having narrow dispersity indices and no branching. Small-angle angle X-ray scattering (SAXS), light scattering, viscometry, and infrared (IR) absorption measurements were carried out for their dilute solutions, that is, ATEC in tetrahydrofuran (THF), 2-methoxyethanol (2ME), methanol (MeOH), and ATHC in THF and 1-propanol (1PrOH) to determine M w, particle scattering functions, intrinsic viscosities, and IR spectra. SAXS and viscosity measurements were also made on ATEC in d- and l-ethyl lactates. The data were analyzed in terms of the wormlike cylinder model to estimate the helix pitch (or contour length) per residue h and the Kuhn segment length λ-1 (stiffness parameter, twice the persistence length). Both ATEC and ATHC have large λ-1 in THF, that is, 33 and 75 nm, respectively, and smaller λ-1 were obtained in alcohols, indicating that they have rigid helical conformation stabilized by intramolecular hydrogen bonds in THF. On the contrary, the helical structure estimated from the h value significantly depends on the alkyl side groups in a complex fashion, that is, h = 0.36 nm for ATEC, h = 0.29 nm for ATHC, and h = 0.26 nm for amylose tris(n-butylcarbamate) (ATBC). This is likely related to the bulkiness of side groups packed inside the amylosic helices. The solvent dependence of h, λ-1, and the fraction fhyd of intramolecular hydrogen bonds for ATEC can be explained by a current model as is the case with ATBC [ Terao, K.; Macromolecules 2010, 43, 1061 ], in which each contour point along the chain takes loose helical and rigid helical sequences independently. © 2012 American Chemical Society.Terao K., Maeda F., Oyamada K., et al. Side-chain-dependent helical conformation of amylose alkylcarbamates: Amylose tris(ethylcarbamate) and amylose tris(n-hexylcarbamate). Journal of Physical Chemistry B, 116(42), 12714-12720, October 5, 2012. Copyright © 2012, American Chemical Society. https://doi.org/10.1021/jp307998t

Amino Acid Transport System N: Molecular Structure, Distribution and Functional Analysis of Canine SLC38A5 (SNAT5) in Lens Epithelial Cells.

Na-dependent of neutral amino acid transport activity in canine lens epithelial cells (LEC) line was investigated. The transporter activity of glutamine was 11.17 ± 3.17 nmol/mg protein/min, and it was reduced by 75% in the absence of sodium. The full-length cDNA sequence of canine sodium-dependent neutral amino acid transporter 5 (SNAT5) was 2151 bp long and was predicted to encode the 536 amino acid polypeptides. The deduced amino acid sequence of canine SNAT5 showed >80% similarities with those of human and mouse. The RT-PCR analysis indicated that SNAT5 was expressed in liver, kidney and LEC, but not in heart and skin

Basic fibroblast growth factor promotes meniscus regeneration through the cultivation of synovial mesenchymal stem cells via the CXCL6–CXCR2 pathway

Objective: To investigate the efficacy of basic fibroblast growth factor (bFGF) in promoting meniscus regeneration by cultivating synovial mesenchymal stem cells (SMSCs) and to validate the underlying mechanisms. Methods: Human SMSCs were collected from patients with osteoarthritis. Eight-week-old nude rats underwent hemi-meniscectomy, and SMSCs in pellet form, either with or without bFGF (1.0 × 106 cells per pellet), were implanted at the site of meniscus defects. Rats were divided into the control (no transplantation), FGF (−) (pellet without bFGF), and FGF (+) (pellet with bFGF) groups. Different examinations, including assessment of the regenerated meniscus area, histological scoring of the regenerated meniscus and cartilage, meniscus indentation test, and immunohistochemistry analysis, were performed at 4 and 8 weeks after surgery. Results: Transplanted SMSCs adhered to the regenerative meniscus. Compared with the control group, the FGF (+) group had larger regenerated meniscus areas, superior histological scores of the meniscus and cartilage, and better meniscus mechanical properties. RNA sequencing of SMSCs revealed that the gene expression of chemokines that bind to CXCR2 was upregulated by bFGF. Furthermore, conditioned medium derived from SMSCs cultivated with bFGF exhibited enhanced cell migration, proliferation, and chondrogenic differentiation, which were specifically inhibited by CXCR2 or CXCL6 inhibitors. Conclusion: SMSCs cultured with bFGF promoted the expression of CXCL6. This mechanism may enhance cell migration, proliferation, and chondrogenic differentiation, thereby resulting in superior meniscus regeneration and cartilage preservation.Goshima A., Etani Y., Hirao M., et al. Basic fibroblast growth factor promotes meniscus regeneration through the cultivation of synovial mesenchymal stem cells via the CXCL6–CXCR2 pathway. Osteoarthritis and Cartilage , (2023); https://doi.org/10.1016/j.joca.2023.07.010

イヌのグルコース輸送体4（GluT4）の分子構造と組織発現

イヌのグルコース輸送体4（GluT4）の分子構造と組織発現を調べた。イヌGLUT4のcDNA配列全長1637bpであり，510のアミノ酸から構成され，ヒトとマウスより1アミノ酸大きいことが明らかとなった。このアミノ酸はヒトGluT4と95.2％，マウスGluT4と93.7％の相同性を示した。RT-PCRの結果，心臓・骨格筋・脂肪組織に発現がみられた。ウェスタンブロット解析により，GluT4タンパクは50kDaの質量をもつことが示された。イヌのインシュリン感受性グルコース輸送体4の構造が判明したことにより，イヌの糖尿病の病態生化学の理解に寄与するものと考えられる。Molecular structure and distribution of canine glucose transporter 4(GluT4)　were investigated. Canine GluT4 was consisted of 1637 nucleotides encoding 510 amino acids, which is one amino acid longer than human and mouse. Canine GluT4 exhibited 95.2% and 93.7% identity to human and mouse, respectively RT-PCR analysis indicated that its expression was confirmed in heart, skeletal muscle and lipocytes. Westernblot analysis showed the molecular weight of canine GluT4 was 50kDa. Molecular structure and distribution of insulin-sensitive GluT4 will contribute to a better understanding of the patho-physiology of canine diabetes

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

Mathematical Progress in Expressive Image Synthesis II

The material included in this book provides selected presentations given at the international symposium MEIS2014. The book aims to provide a unique venue where various issues in computer graphics (CG) application fields are discussed by mathematicians as well as CG researchers and practitioners. The target audience is not limited to researchers in academia but also those in industries with a strong interest in digital media creation, scientific visualization, and visual engineering. 

Improvement in Intestinal Coenzyme Q10 Absorption by Food Intake

Coenzyme Q10 (CoQ10) is widely consumed as a food supplement because of its recognition as an important nutrient in supporting human health. Absorption of compounds from the gastrointestinal tract is one of the important determinants of oral bioavailability. However, the absorption of dietary CoQ10 is slow and limited due to its hydrophobicity and large molecular weight. The absorption of orally applied compounds can be enhanced by interactions with food or food components. Thus, we investigated the effect of food intake on the absorption of CoQ10 after oral supplementation. In this study, we demonstrated that food intake enhanced the intestinal absorption of CoQ10. In order to improve intestinal absorption of CoQ10 after oral supplementation, we developed an emulsion formulation. Intestinal absorption of CoQ10 after administration of the emulsion formulation was also enhanced by food intake. Moreover, the peak concentration and the extent of absorption after administration of the emulsion formulation were greater than those after administration of a suspension formulation. It is possible that administration of CoQ10 in an emulsion formulation enhances the pharmacological effects of CoQ10