Analysis of Serum Fatty Acids and Vitamin D with Dimension Reduction Methods

Fatty acid plays an important role in human health and fat-related diseases. A comprehensive analysis of diverse fatty acids in serum naturally results in a multi-variable, high-dimensional dataset, and, therefore, multivariate analysis, especially dimension reduction, should be considered to extract useful information. In this study, three basic dimension reduction methods including factor analysis, principal component analysis, and independent component analysis were conducted on total and free fatty acid datasets in a general Japanese population (N=545; men:women=245:300). These analyses successfully characterized fatty acid datasets, reflecting their physicochemical natures, metabolisms, and food sources. Factor analysis and principal component demonstrated the association of -3 fatty acids (20:5 and 22:6) with 25-hydroxyvitamin D3 (vitamin D), suggesting fish oil as their common source of vitamin D. We conclude that dimension reductions can serve as a useful tool to extract valuable information from complex datasets of fatty acids and vitamin D in the aspect of health care and disease control

Autonomic function measurements for evaluating fatigue and quality of life in patients with breast cancer undergoing radiation therapy: a prospective longitudinal study

Background: Fatigue during radiation therapy in women with breast cancer can decrease quality of life (QOL), yet it is often underestimated and needs to be evaluated objectively. This longitudinal study aimed to evaluate fatigue and QOL of women with breast cancer undergoing radiotherapy with a simple autonomic function measurement. Methods: Women with breast cancer who underwent postoperative radiotherapy in eight cancer care hospitals in Chubu and Kinki regions in Japan were recruited between October 2021 and June 2022. The women underwent a self-administered questionnaire that included the Cancer Fatigue Scale (CFS) and the Short Form-8 Health Survey (SF-8) and an autonomic nervous function measurement using a simple, non-invasive device before (T0, baseline), mid (T1), and at the end (T2) of treatment. Results: The 57 women showed similar trends, with CFS scores and log LF/HF ratio being the highest at T0 and significantly decreasing at T1 (both p < 0.05). The log LF/HF trends differed between those with high and low baseline log LF/HF values. Women with mental component summary (MCS) score improvement (T0 to T2) had the highest log LF/HF ratio at T0 and had significantly lower log LF/HF values at T1 and T2 than at T0 (p < 0.01 and p < 0.05, respectively). The change of (⊿) MCS from T0 to T1 was negatively correlated with ⊿log LF/HF from T0 to T1 (r = − 0.36, p < 0.01). Conclusions: Measurement of autonomic nerve function with a simple device is useful for objective fatigue assessment during radiotherapy. Psychological support is important as improvement in mental health helps improve autonomic nerve function and, in turn, fatigue.Aoki M., Kuratsune H., Yamamoto S., et al. Autonomic function measurements for evaluating fatigue and quality of life in patients with breast cancer undergoing radiation therapy: a prospective longitudinal study. Radiation Oncology 18, 171 (2023); https://doi.org/10.1186/S13014-023-02362-W

The Role of c-fos in Cell Death and Regeneration of Retinal Ganglion Cells

PURPOSE. To investigate the effect of c-fos on apoptotic cell death and regeneration of damaged retinal ganglion cells (RGCs) in tissue culture of retinal explants. METHODS. Retinas from transgenic mice carrying the exogenous c-fos gene under the control of the interferon (IFN)-␣/␤ inducible Mx-promoter (Mx-c-fos), c-fos-deficient mice, and littermate control mice were dissected and cultured in a threedimensional collagen gel culture system, followed by an analysis of TdT-dUTP terminal nick-end labeling (TUNEL) staining and measurement of neurites that emerged from explants. RESULTS. Compared with littermate control mice, Mx-c-fos transgenic animals showed a higher ratio of TUNEL positivity in the RGC layer from early in the culture period that correlated with the small number of regenerating neurites. In contrast, the c-fos-null mutated mice showed a still-lower ratio of TUNEL-positive cells. Nevertheless, the number of regenerating neurites was significantly lower in the initial phase, although the drastic increase in density of neurite regeneration was observed in the late period of culture. CONCLUSIONS. These findings suggest that c-fos is involved in both apoptotic cell death and regeneration of damaged RGCs. Elucidation of the precise c-fos-mediated cascade involved in RGC apoptosis and regeneration is significant in realizing neuronal survival and regeneration. (Invest Ophthalmol Vis Sci

Hot cross bun" sign in multiple system atrophy with predominant cerebellar ataxia: a comparison between proton density-weighted imaging and T2-weighted imaging.

[Objective]: To investigate whether proton density-weighted imaging can detect the "hot cross bun" sign in the pons in multiple system atrophy with predominant cerebellar ataxia significantly better than T2-weighted imaging at 3T. [Methods]: Sixteen consecutive patients with multiple system atrophy with predominant cerebellar ataxia according to the Consensus Criteria were reviewed. Axial unenhanced proton density-weighted imaging and T2-weighted imaging were obtained using a dual-echo fast spin-echo sequence at 3T. Two neuroradiologists independently evaluated visualisation of the abnormal pontine signal using a 4-point visual grade from Grade 0 (no "hot cross bun" sign) to Grade 3 (prominent "hot cross bun" sign on two or more sequential slices). Differences in grade between proton density-weighted imaging and T2-weighted imaging were statistically analysed using the Wilcoxon signed-rank test. [Results]: In 11 patients (69%), a higher grade was given for proton density-weighted imaging than T2-weighted imaging. In 1 patient (6%), grades were the same (Grade 3) on both images. In the remaining 4 patients (25%), signal abnormalities were not detected on either image (Grade 0). The "hot cross bun" sign was thus observed significantly better on proton density-weighted imaging than on T2-weighted imaging (P = 0.001). [Conclusions]: The "hot cross bun" sign considered diagnostic for multiple system atrophy with predominant cerebellar ataxia is significantly better visualised on proton density-weighted imaging than on T2-weighted imaging at 3T

Transient Receptor Potential 1 Regulates Capacitative Ca2+ Entry and Ca2+ Release from Endoplasmic Reticulum in B Lymphocytes〉

Capacitative Ca2+ entry (CCE) activated by release/depletion of Ca2+ from internal stores represents a major Ca2+ influx mechanism in lymphocytes and other nonexcitable cells. Despite the importance of CCE in antigen-mediated lymphocyte activation, molecular components constituting this mechanism remain elusive. Here we demonstrate that genetic disruption of transient receptor potential (TRP)1 significantly attenuates both Ca2+ release-activated Ca2+ currents and inositol 1,4,5-trisphosphate (IP3)-mediated Ca2+ release from endoplasmic reticulum (ER) in DT40 B cells. As a consequence, B cell antigen receptor–mediated Ca2+ oscillations and NF-AT activation are reduced in TRP1-deficient cells. Thus, our results suggest that CCE channels, whose formation involves TRP1 as an important component, modulate IP3 receptor function, thereby enhancing functional coupling between the ER and plasma membrane in transduction of intracellular Ca2+ signaling in B lymphocytes

Periostin as a novel biomarker for postoperative recurrence of chronic rhinosinitis with nasal polyps

We previously reported that chronic rhinosinusitis with nasal polyps (CRSwNP) was subdivided into four chronic rhinosinusitis (CRS) subtypes using the JESREC scoring system. We sought to identify the gene expression profile and biomarkers related with CRSwNP by RNA-sequence. RNA-sequencing was performed to identify differentially expressed genes between nasal polyps (NPs) and inferior turbinate mucosa from 6 patients with CRSwNP, and subsequently, quantitative real-time PCR was performed to verify the results. ELISA was performed to identify possible biomarkers for postoperative recurrence. In the RNA-sequencing results, periostin (POSTN) expression was the highest in NP. We focused on POSTN and investigated the protein level of POSTN by immunohistochemistry and ELISA. POSTN was diffusely expressed in moderate and severe eosinophilic CRS using immunohistochemistry, and its staining pattern was associated with the severity of the phenotype of the CRSwNP (P < 0.05). There was a significant difference between the POSTN high/low groups for postoperative recurrence when the cutoff point was set at 115.5 ng/ml (P = 0.0072). Our data suggests that the protein expression level of POSTN was associated with the severity of CRSwNP, and serum POSTN can be a novel biomarker for postoperative recurrence of CRSwNP