An FXPRLamide Neuropeptide Induces Seasonal Reproductive Polyphenism Underlying a Life-History Tradeoff in the Tussock Moth

The white spotted tussock moth, Orgyia thyellina, is a typical insect that exhibits seasonal polyphenisms in morphological, physiological, and behavioral traits, including a life-history tradeoff known as oogenesis-flight syndrome. However, the developmental processes and molecular mechanisms that mediate developmental plasticity, including life-history tradeoff, remain largely unknown. To analyze the molecular mechanisms involved in reproductive polyphenism, including the diapause induction, we first cloned and characterized the diapause hormone-pheromone biosynthesis activating neuropeptide (DH-PBAN) cDNA encoding the five Phe-X-Pro-Arg-Leu-NH(2) (FXPRLa) neuropeptides: DH, PBAN, and alpha-, beta-, and gamma-SGNPs (subesophageal ganglion neuropeptides). This gene is expressed in neurosecretory cells within the subesophageal ganglion whose axonal projections reach the neurohemal organ, the corpus cardiacum, suggesting that the DH neuroendocrine system is conserved in Lepidoptera. By injection of chemically synthetic DH and anti-FXPRLa antibody into female pupae, we revealed that not only does the Orgyia DH induce embryonic diapause, but also that this neuropeptide induces seasonal polyphenism, participating in the hypertrophy of follicles and ovaries. In addition, the other four FXPRLa also induced embryonic diapause in O. thyellina, but not in Bombyx mori. This is the first study showing that a neuropeptide has a pleiotropic effect in seasonal reproductive polyphenism to accomplish seasonal adaptation. We also show that a novel factor (i.e., the DH neuropeptide) acts as an important inducer of seasonal polyphenism underlying a life-history tradeoff. Furthermore, we speculate that there must be evolutionary conservation and diversification in the neuroendocrine systems of two lepidopteran genera, Orgyia and Bombyx, in order to facilitate the evolution of coregulated life-history traits and tradeoffs.ArticlePLOS ONE. 6(8):e24213 (2011)journal articl

Inactivation of Vibrio vulnificus hemolysin through mutation of the N- or C-terminus of the lectin-like domain

Vibrio vulnificus is an etiological agent causing serious systemic infections in the immunocompromised humans or cultured eels. This species commonly produces a hemolytic toxin consisting of the cytolysin domain and the lectin-like domain. For hemolysis, the lectin-like domain specifically binds to cholesterol in the erythrocyte membrane, and to form a hollow oligomer, the toxin is subsequently assembled on the membrane. The cytolysin domain is essential for the process to form the oligomer. Three-dimensional structure model revealed that two domains connected linearly and the C-terminus was located near to the joint of the domains. Insertion of amino acid residues between two domains was found to cause inactivation of the toxin. In the C-terminus, deletion, substitution or addition of an amino acid residue also elicited reduction of the activity. However, the cholesterol-binding ability was not affected by the mutations. These results suggest that mutation of the C- or N-terminus of the lectin-like domain may result in blockage of the toxin assembly

An extracellular serine protease produced by Vibrio vulnificus NCIMB 2137, a metalloprotease-gene negative strain isolated from a diseased eel

Vibrio vulnificus is a ubiquitous estuarine microorganism but causes fatal systemic infections in immunocompromised humans, cultured eels or shrimps. An extracellular metalloprotease VVP/VvpE has been reported to be a potential virulence factor of the bacterium; however, a few strains isolated from a diseased eel or shrimp were recently found to produce a serine protease termed VvsA, but not VVP/VvpE. In the present study, we found that these strains had lost the 80 kb genomic region including the gene encoding VVP/VvpE. We also purified VvsA from the culture supernatant through ammonium sulfate fractionation, gel filtration and ion-exchange column chromatography, and the enzyme was demonstrated to be a chymotrypsin-like protease, as well as those from some vibrios. The gene vvsA was shown to constitute an operon with a downstream gene vvsB, and several Vibrio species were found to have orthologues of vvsAB. These findings indicate that the genes vvp/vvpE and vvsAB might be mobile genetic elements

Effects of pulsing procedure of interleukin-12 in combination with interleukin-2 on the activation of peripheral blood lymphocytes derived from patients with hepatocellular carcinoma.

In patients with hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC), natural killer (NK) cell activity decreases significantly, and the reduced activity may be associated with the progression of HCC. In this study we evaluated the effects of pulsing with interleukin (IL)-2 and/or IL-12 on the activation of freshly isolated peripheral blood lymphocytes (PBL) derived from patients with HCC. PBL obtained from 9 HCC patients, 4 liver cirrhosis patients, and 9 normal subjects were cultured in the presence of IL-2 and/or IL-12. After 24 h of incubation, the levels of interferon (IFN)-gamma and tumor necrosis factor (TNF)-alpha presented in the supernatants were determined by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA). The IFN-gamma and TNF-alpha production of PBL pulsed by a combination of IL-2 and IL-12 was significantly higher than those of PBL stimulated by either IL-2 or IL-12 alone. The mRNA encoding perforin, granzyme B, as well as IFN-gamma and TNF-alpha, were markedly enhanced in PBL stimulated with a combination of IL-12 and IL-2. The pulsing procedure of IL-12 in combination with IL-2 resulted in the increase of IFN-gamma and TNF-alpha, and the expression of perforin and granzyme B mRNA in PBL obtained from HCC patients, as well as in those obtained from normal subjects. These results indicate that adoptive immunotherapy based on PBL pulsed with a combination of IL-2 and IL-12 may be a promising adjunctive strategy for HCC treatment.</p

Unveiling structural disorders in honeycomb layered oxide: Na2Ni2TeO6

Honeycomb layered oxides have garnered tremendous research interest in a wide swath of disciplines owing not only to the myriad physicochemical properties they exhibit, but also their rich crystal structural versatility. Herein, a comprehensive crystallographic study of a sodium-based Na2Ni2TeO6 honeycomb layered oxide has been performed using atomic-resolution transmission electron microscopy, elucidating a plethora of atomic arrangement (stacking) disorders in the pristine material. Stacking disorders in the arrangement of honeycomb metal slab layers (stacking faults) occur predominantly perpendicular to the slabs with long-range coherence length and enlisting edge dislocations in some domains. Moreover, the periodic arrangement of the distribution of alkali atoms is altered by the occurrence of stacking faults. The multitude of disorders innate in Na2Ni2TeO6 envisage broad implications in the functionalities of related honeycomb layered oxide materials and hold promise in bolstering renewed interest in their material science.Correction published, see: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.mtla.2021.10110

Discussion of the Financial Systems of National Universities: Structural analysis of subsidies for operating expenses (Japanese)

The question of the rules that should govern the distribution of funds to each university has very important policy implications for the governance of national university corporations, as the preparation of the next medium-term plan for university corporations gets underway. The purpose of this paper is to evaluate the distribution of subsidies for operating expenses that currently account for approximately 50% of the revenues of national university corporations, and clarify the limit in their calculation, to provide the basis for a discussion on the question above. First, the determinants of the distribution of subsidies for operating expenses to education and research are sought through a structural analysis of the subsidy. As a result, it becomes clear that, the government still has some leeway in distributing competitive part of subsidies and tends to make a financing source guaranteed-type distribution; that is, the subsidy for the current fiscal year is distributed to universities that received a relatively smaller subsidy in the previous fiscal year. Second, the structural analysis of subsidies for operating expenses to affiliated hospitals shows an accounting disconnect between the current forms of budget and the book closing of the subsidy. This paper also points out that when developing a rule for distribution for the next medium-term plan, a discussion needs to be held after accounting defects are amended and the transparency of both revenues and expenditure is improved.