A Novel CLEIA for FGF23

Introduction: Measurement of fibroblast growth factor 23 (FGF23) has been reported to be clinically useful for the differential diagnosis of chronic hypophosphatemia. However, assays for research use only are available in Japan. Thus, the objective of this study was to examine the clinical utility of a novel and automated chemiluminescent enzyme immunoassay for the measurement of FGF23. Materials and Methods: Participants were recruited from July 2015 to January 2017 at six facilities in Japan. Thirty-eight patients with X-linked hypophosphatemic rickets (XLH; 15 males, 23 females, age 0–66 years), five patients with tumour-induced osteomalacia (TIO; 3 males, 2 females, age 60–73 years), and twenty-two patients with hypophosphatemia (11 males, 11 females, age 1–75 years) caused due to other factors participated in this study. Results: With the clinical cut-off value of FGF23 at 30.0 pg/mL indicated in the Diagnostic Guideline of Rickets/Osteomalacia in Japan, the sensitivity and specificity of FGF23-related hypophosphatemic rickets/osteomalacia without vitamin D deficiency (disease group-1) were 100% and 81.8%, respectively, which distinguished it from non-FGF23-related hypophosphatemia (disease group-2). Furthermore, the diagnostic sensitivity of FGF23-related hypophosphatemia with vitamin D deficiency remained at 100%. Among the four patients with FGF23 levels ≥ 30.0 pg/mL in disease group-2, two patients with relatively higher FGF23 values were suspected to have genuine FGF23-related hypophosphatemia, due to the ectopic production of FGF23 in pulmonary and prostate small cell carcinomas. Conclusion: The novel FGF23 assay tested in this study is useful for the differential diagnosis of hypophosphatemic rickets/osteomalacia in a clinical setting

Use of Human Senses as Sensors

This paper is an overview of our recent findings obtained by the use of human senses as sensors, suggesting that human senses might be indispensable sensors, not only for practical uses but also for gaining a deeper understanding of humans. From this point of view, two kinds of studies, both based on semantic responses of participants, deserve emphasis. One study assessed the efficacy of the photocatalytic elimination of stains or bio-aerosols from an air environment using TiO2 as well as the photocatalytic deodorizing efficacy of a TiO2-type deodorizer; the other study evaluated the changes in perception of a given aroma while inhaling the fragrance of essential oils. In the latter study, we employed a sensory test for evaluating changes in perception of a given aroma. Sensory tests were conducted twice, when participants were undergoing the Kraepelin mental performance test (mental arithmetic) or an auditory task (listening to environmental natural sounds), once before the task (pre-task) and once after the task (post-task). The perception of fragrance was assessed by 13 contrasting pairs of adjectives as a function of the task assigned to participants. The obtained findings illustrate subtle nuances regarding how essential oils manifest their potency and how olfactory discrimination and responses occur in humans

ニホンウナギに感染しているJapanese Eel Endothelial Cells-infecting Virusの探索に関する研究

博士(獣医学)岐阜大学(Gifu University

Insulin autoimmune syndrome caused by an adhesive skin patch containing loxoprofen-sodium

A 62-year-old woman complained of repeated hypoglycemic events. A 75g oral glucose tolerance test (75 gOGTT) showed a marked increase in the plasma insulin level and impaired glucose tolerance. The patient exhibited a high titer of plasma anti-insulin autoantibodies. Her diagnosis was insulin autoimmune syndrome (IAS). Following the cessation of loxoprofen-sodium (LOXs), she experienced no further hypoglycemic episodes. However, the hypoglycemic attacks recurred following the accidental readministration of LOXs in an adhesive skin patch. Considering the changes in the titer of anti-insulin autoantibodies, the repeated 75 gOGTT and the repeated Scatchard analysis, we determined LOXs to be the cause of the IAS and evaluated the characteristics of the autoantibodies. © 2013 by The Japanese Society of Internal Medicine

The NH2-terminal region of the active domain of sonic hedgehog is necessary for its signal transduction

AbstractThe NH2-terminal domain of sonic hedgehog (residue 25–198) was expressed in both yeast and animal cells. The yeast-derived NH2-terminal domain of sonic hedgehog was less active by far than the animal cell-derived counterpart. The yeast-derived NH2-terminal domain of sonic hedgehog lacked 10 amino acids from the NH2-terminus. This cleavage of the yeast-derived NH2-terminal domain of sonic hedgehog might due to Kex 2. In contrast, a mutant yeast-derived NH2-terminal domain of sonic hedgehog (Lys-33 to Thr) retained its NH2-terminus and its activity was comparable to that of the animal cell-derived NH2-terminal domain of sonic hedgehog. The NH2-terminal deleted NH2-terminal domain of sonic hedgehog completely lost its activity, nevertheless it inhibited the alkaline phosphatase activity induced by the animal cell-derived NH2-terminal domain of sonic hedgehog in a dose-dependent manner. These data suggest that the NH2-terminal deleted NH2-terminal domain of sonic hedgehog retains a receptor-binding ability and that the NH2-terminal peptide of the NH2-terminal domain of sonic hedgehog is necessary for its signal transduction