Comparison of ESD and Conventional Methods in Single Cell Spray

Various inorganic ions are related to activity in a cell. Behavior of biological activity is traditionally observed by using optical microscope and/or MALDI. However, higher spatial resolution imaging technique is needed to observe organelles in a cell. In such cases, fixation in vacuum becomes quite big problem to maintain original structure in a cell. Rapid freezing seems one of the promising methods. But single cells cannot be treated as section. In this study, we devised a new rapid freezing method by combining electro-spray deposition and metal-touch freezing. In this method, individual cell is sprayed with a droplet emitted from the electro-spray tip, and each cells impact on the cooled metal surface, then frozen rapidly

Influence of post-disaster evacuation on incidence of hyperuricemia in residents of Fukushima Prefecture: the Fukushima Health Management Survey

Aim: After the Great East Japan Earthquake, over 160, 000 residents in Fukushima Prefecture were forced to evacuate the area around the Fukushima Daiichi power plant following nuclear accident there. Health problems in these evacuees have since become a major issue. We have examined the association between evacuation and incidence of hyperuricemia among residents in Fukushima. Methods: We conducted a cohort study of residents aged 40–90 years without hyperuricemia at the time of the Fukushima disaster. Among 8173 residents who met the inclusion criteria before the disaster, 4789 residents (men: 1971, women: 2818; follow-up duration: 1.38 years; and follow-up rate: 58.6%) remained available for follow-up examinations at the end of March 2013. The main endpoint was incidence of hyperuricemia, defined by the Japanese committee guidelines, using local health data from before and after the disaster. We divided participants by evacuation status and compared outcomes between groups. Using a logistic regression model, we estimated the odds ratio for incidence of hyperuricemia, adjusting for potential confounders, age, gender, waist circumference, physical activity, and alcohol consumption. Results: Incidence of hyperuricemia was higher in evacuees (men 10.1%; women 1.1%) than in non-evacuees (men 7.4%, women 1.0%). Evacuees had higher body mass index, waist circumference, triglycerides, LDL-cholesterol, fasting plasma glucose, HbA1c, and lower HDL-cholesterol after the disaster than non-evacuees. We found that evacuation was associated with incidence of hyperuricemia (adjusted odds ratio: 1.38; 95% confidence interval: 1.03-1.86). Conclusion: This is the first study to demonstrate an association between evacuation after a disaster and increased incidence of hyperuricemia

The whole blood transcriptional regulation landscape in 465 COVID-19 infected samples from Japan COVID-19 Task Force

「コロナ制圧タスクフォース」COVID-19患者由来の血液細胞における遺伝子発現の網羅的解析 --重症度に応じた遺伝子発現の変化には、ヒトゲノム配列の個人差が影響する--. 京都大学プレスリリース. 2022-08-23.Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is a recently-emerged infectious disease that has caused millions of deaths, where comprehensive understanding of disease mechanisms is still unestablished. In particular, studies of gene expression dynamics and regulation landscape in COVID-19 infected individuals are limited. Here, we report on a thorough analysis of whole blood RNA-seq data from 465 genotyped samples from the Japan COVID-19 Task Force, including 359 severe and 106 non-severe COVID-19 cases. We discover 1169 putative causal expression quantitative trait loci (eQTLs) including 34 possible colocalizations with biobank fine-mapping results of hematopoietic traits in a Japanese population, 1549 putative causal splice QTLs (sQTLs; e.g. two independent sQTLs at TOR1AIP1), as well as biologically interpretable trans-eQTL examples (e.g., REST and STING1), all fine-mapped at single variant resolution. We perform differential gene expression analysis to elucidate 198 genes with increased expression in severe COVID-19 cases and enriched for innate immune-related functions. Finally, we evaluate the limited but non-zero effect of COVID-19 phenotype on eQTL discovery, and highlight the presence of COVID-19 severity-interaction eQTLs (ieQTLs; e.g., CLEC4C and MYBL2). Our study provides a comprehensive catalog of whole blood regulatory variants in Japanese, as well as a reference for transcriptional landscapes in response to COVID-19 infection

DOCK2 is involved in the host genetics and biology of severe COVID-19

「コロナ制圧タスクフォース」COVID-19疾患感受性遺伝子DOCK2の重症化機序を解明 --アジア最大のバイオレポジトリーでCOVID-19の治療標的を発見--. 京都大学プレスリリース. 2022-08-10.Identifying the host genetic factors underlying severe COVID-19 is an emerging challenge. Here we conducted a genome-wide association study (GWAS) involving 2, 393 cases of COVID-19 in a cohort of Japanese individuals collected during the initial waves of the pandemic, with 3, 289 unaffected controls. We identified a variant on chromosome 5 at 5q35 (rs60200309-A), close to the dedicator of cytokinesis 2 gene (DOCK2), which was associated with severe COVID-19 in patients less than 65 years of age. This risk allele was prevalent in East Asian individuals but rare in Europeans, highlighting the value of genome-wide association studies in non-European populations. RNA-sequencing analysis of 473 bulk peripheral blood samples identified decreased expression of DOCK2 associated with the risk allele in these younger patients. DOCK2 expression was suppressed in patients with severe cases of COVID-19. Single-cell RNA-sequencing analysis (n = 61 individuals) identified cell-type-specific downregulation of DOCK2 and a COVID-19-specific decreasing effect of the risk allele on DOCK2 expression in non-classical monocytes. Immunohistochemistry of lung specimens from patients with severe COVID-19 pneumonia showed suppressed DOCK2 expression. Moreover, inhibition of DOCK2 function with CPYPP increased the severity of pneumonia in a Syrian hamster model of SARS-CoV-2 infection, characterized by weight loss, lung oedema, enhanced viral loads, impaired macrophage recruitment and dysregulated type I interferon responses. We conclude that DOCK2 has an important role in the host immune response to SARS-CoV-2 infection and the development of severe COVID-19, and could be further explored as a potential biomarker and/or therapeutic target

Does variety of social interactions associate with frequency of laughter among older people? The JAGES cross-sectional study

Objective Several studies have reported that laughter is associated with health benefits. In addition, social interactions, such as social relationships, social participation and so forth, have shown the association with not only health but also individual emotion. In this study, we conducted a cross-sectional study to examine the association between variety of social interactions and the frequency of laughter.Design Cross-sectional study.Setting Sampled from 30 municipalities in Japan.Participants Non-disabled Japanese men (n=11 439) and women (n=13 159) aged ≥65 years using data from the Japan Gerontological Evaluation Study, which was conducted during October to December in 2013.Primary outcome measures Laughing almost every day by self-reported questionnaire.Results Poisson regression analysis with robust error variance was used to calculate prevalence ratios (PRs) for laughing almost every day according to each social relationship and its potential community-level environmental determinants. The prevalence of laughing almost every day tended to increase with increased variety in each social interaction after adjusting, instrumental activities of daily living, number of living together, working status, depression, self-reported economic status and residence year. Among men and women, multivariate-adjusted PRs (95% CIs) by comparing participants with the highest and lowest categories were 1.18 (1.04 to 1.35) and 1.16 (1.04 to 1.29) in positive life events; 1.26 (1.10 to 1.45) and 1.09 (0.96 to 1.24) in perceived positive changes in the area; 1.15 (1.04 to 1.28) and 1.17 (1.07 to 1.28) in social participations; 2.23 (1.57 to 3.16) and 1.47 (1.02 to 2.12) in social relationships and 1.25 (1.08 to 1.45) and 1.29 (1.15 to 1.45) in positive built environments. These associations were also preserved after the restriction of participants who were not in depression.Conclusions This study shows that a greater variety of each social relationships and the potential community-level environmental determinants are associated with higher frequencies of laughter in Japan

Prognostic value of phase analysis on gated single photon emission computed tomography in patients with cardiac sarcoidosis

Background We aimed to determine the correlation between phase analysis, reflecting the heterogeneity of perfusion defects, and the dyssynchrony of the left ventricle wall motion, and adverse cardiac events in cardiac sarcoidosis (CS) patients. Methods Fifty-seven consecutive patients with diagnosed CS (64 [IQR 55-71] years old, 14 males), who underwent F-18-FDG PET/CT and ECG-gated SPECT, were studied. FDG PET was analysed to measure cardiac metabolic volume (CMV), and total lesion glycolysis (TLG). The SPECT findings, such as LVEF, Summed Rest Score (SRS), bandwidth (BW) were evaluated. Results The median of BW was 56 degrees (IQR 40-95). BW showed a strong inverse correlation with LVEF (r = - 0.60, P 56 degrees) than the low BW group (BW <= 56 degrees) (15.1%/years vs. 4.4%/years, P = 0.025). In multivariable analysis, BW was a significant independent predictor of MACE (P = 0.015). Conclusion Phase analysis on gated SPECT was a significant and independent predictor of MACE in patients with CS