Caspase-8 cleavage of the interleukin-21 (IL-21) receptor is a negative feedback regulator of IL-21 signaling

AbstractWe screened a library of human single-transmembrane proteins (sTMPs), produced by a cell-free system, using a luminescent assay to identify those that can be cleaved by caspase-8 (CASP8). Of the 407 sTMPs screened, only the interleukin-21 receptor (IL21R), vezatin (VEZT), and carbonic anhydrase XIV were cleaved at Asp344, Asp655 and Asp53, respectively. We confirmed that IL21R and VEZT were also cleaved in apoptotic HeLa cells with the cleavage sites. Interestingly, IL21R was cleaved within 30min after apoptosis induction. Furthermore the CASP8-cleaved form of IL21R did not induce phosphorylation at Tyr705 of STAT3. Our results suggest that the interleukin-21 signaling cascade is negatively regulated by CASP8

矯正治療中に歯肉退縮した下顎中切歯に対して結合組織移植を行った長期保定症例

歯肉退縮は，矯正治療中や治療後にしばしば生じるリスクのひとつであり，歯根面の露出により審美障害ならびに知覚過敏や根面う蝕などの問題を誘発する． 歯肉退縮の予防を目的とした，矯正治療前の歯周外科処置も報告されているが，現時点では一般的ではなく，実際に歯肉退縮が発生した後，結合組織移植術（CTG）などの歯周形成外科手術によって対応しているのが現状である． 今回我々は，歯性上顎前突患者の矯正治療中に下顎左側中切歯に生じた歯肉退縮に対して，1年10か月間の矯正治療終了後にCTGを施行し，術後6年経過した現在も歯肉退縮の再発を認めず，良好な状態が維持された症例を経験したため報告する．Gingival recession is one of the common risks in clinical orthodontics, and it results in dentinal hyperesthesia and root caries with esthetic problems. Periodontal surgical therapy including connective tissue graft (CTG) has not been routinely performed to prevent gingival recession before orthodontic treatment, and CTG has been conducted when causing gingival recession after orthodontic treatment. In this study, we report a case of dental maxillary protrusion who induced gingival recession in the left lower central incisor during orthodontic treatment. After 1-yesr 10-month orthodontic treatment, a subepithelial CTG procedure was performed. Healing was uneventful, and the grafted site showed a favorable outcome at 6 years postoperatively

Density deficit of Earth’s core revealed by a multimegabar primary pressure scale

An accurate pressure scale is a fundamental requirement to understand planetary interiors. Here, we establish a primary pressure scale extending to the multimegabar pressures of Earth’s core, by combined measurement of the acoustic velocities and the density from a rhenium sample in a diamond anvil cell using inelastic x-ray scattering and x-ray diffraction. Our scale agrees well with previous primary scales and shock Hugoniots in each experimental pressure range and reveals that previous scales have overestimated laboratory pressures by at least 20% at 230 gigapascals. It suggests that the light element content in Earth’s inner core (the density deficit relative to iron) is likely to be double what was previously estimated, or Earth’s inner core temperature is much higher than expected, or some combination thereof

Thermal Equation of State of Fe3C to 327 GPa and Carbon in the Core

The density and sound velocity structure of the Earth’s interior is modeled on seismological observations and is known as the preliminary reference Earth model (PREM). The density of the core is lower than that of pure Fe, which suggests that the Earth’s core contains light elements. Carbon is one plausible light element that may exist in the core. We determined the equation of state (EOS) of Fe3C based on in situ high-pressure and high-temperature X-ray diffraction experiments using a diamond anvil cell. We obtained the P–V data of Fe3C up to 327 GPa at 300 K and 70–180 GPa up to around 2300 K. The EOS of nonmagnetic (NM) Fe3C was expressed by two models using two different pressure scales and the third-order Birch–Murnaghan EOS at 300 K with the Mie–Grüneisen–Debye EOS under high-temperature conditions. The EOS can be expressed with parameters of V0 = 148.8(±1.0) Å3, K0 = 311.1(±17.1) GPa, K0′ = 3.40(±0.1), γ0 = 1.06(±0.42), and q = 1.92(±1.73), with a fixed value of θ0 = 314 K using the KBr pressure scale (Model 1), and V0 = 147.3(±1.0) Å3, K0 = 323.0(±16.6) GPa, K0′ = 3.43(±0.09), γ0 = 1.37(±0.33), and q = 0.98(±1.01), with a fixed value of θ0 = 314 K using the MgO pressure scale (Model 2). The density of Fe3C under inner core conditions (assuming P = 329 GPa and T = 5000 K) calculated from the EOS is compatible with the PREM inner core

Using ultrasonography in evaluating the intramuscular injection techniques used for administering drug treatments to schizophrenic patients in Japan

This study was conducted with six patients with schizophrenia, four of whom received the atypical antipsychotic risperidone long-acting injectable (RLAI), and two patients receiving the typical depot injection (TDI). The purpose of this study was to determine the location (gluteus medius or maximus ; deltoid muscles) and diffusion of typical and atypical antipsychotic medications administered intramuscularly using ultrasonography. When using the standardized depth of needle insertion, in some cases, the drug was injected into the gluteus maximus instead of the gluteus medius. Similarly, in some cases the TDI was not visible in the ultrasonographic images until sixteen days after the injection. This verifies how hard the injection site becomes when microspheres of RLAI is injected as compared to other muscle areas. These results confirmed that the gluteus muscle structure was the ideal muscle for depot injection as evidenced by the injection solution being dispersed and rendered not visible immediately after intramuscular injection (IM). With the use of ultrasonography, injection sites and drug dispersions were evaluated under a direct visual guidance, suggesting that ultrasonography is a useful method for establishing evidence for determining correct insertion of IM injection, diffusion of medications, and the effective administration of IM injections