Introduction and scientific justification of data transportability for confined field testing for the ERA of GM plants

The concept of Data Transportability (DT) of Confined Field Testing (CFT) to support the Environmental Risk Assessment (ERA) of Genetically Modified (GM) plants was first introduced in the literature by Garcia-Alonso et al., in 2014. Since then, DT has been discussed in many countries and regions as a concept to prevent duplication of regulatory studies without compromising quality of the ERA. However, despite its usefulness and scientific justification, DT is not well adopted at this time and many regulatory agencies around the world require additional in-country CFT be conducted before approving GM plants. Based on the current circumstances, the authors organized a parallel session entitled “Introduction and Scientific Justification of DT for CFT for the ERA of GM plants” at 16th ISBR (the International Society for Biosafety Research). This session mainly consisted of the following three parts. The first two speakers, Andrew Roberts and Abigail Simmons provided an overview of DT and examples of conditions for the transportability of field data/conclusions advocated in the peer-reviewed scientific journals. Next, the current status of DT adoption in some countries/regions such as Japan and Africa, and a theoretical case study for Argentina were introduced by Kazuyuki Hiratsuka, Douglas Miano, and Facundo Vesprini, respectively. Lastly, a risk hypothesis-based approach for DT which was developed in advance by the five speakers of this parallel session, was introduced. During the discussion, there was a common understanding that transition to the risk hypothesis-based approach for DT was scientifically appropriate, considering the accumulated evidences that several countries have conducted confirmatory local CFT for more than 20 years but they have not detected any differences related to the ERA assessment endpoints in GM crops. The risk hypothesis-based approach for DT introduced here is expected to play an important role in discussions on the implementation of DT in various parts of the world in the future

Characterization of a gene coding for a putative adenosine deaminase-related growth factor by RNA interference in the Basidiomycete Flammulina velutipes

A full-length cDNA coding for a putative adenosine deaminase (Fv-ada) was isolated from the basidiomycete Flammulina velutipes. Fv-ada encodes a polypeptide consisting of 537 amino acid residues, which has a consensus sequence conserved among adenosine deaminase-related growth factors (ADGF) found in several metazoa, including chordates and insects. Fv-ada transcript was detected at all stages of growth in dikaryotic F. velutipes cells, with a peak at the primordial stage. Heterologous expression of Fv-ada in the yeast Pichia pastoris produced recombinant Fv-ADA that catalyzed the conversion of adenosine to inosine. Dikaryotic mycelia from F. velutipes were transformed with the binary plasmid pFungiway-Fv-ada, which was designed to suppress the expression of Fv-ada through RNA interference. The growth rates of the resulting transformants were retarded in response to the degree of suppression, indicating that Fv-ada plays an important role in the mycelial growth of F. velutipes. These results suggested that ADGF could function as growth factors in fungi, as is seen in other eukaryotes.ArticleJOURNAL OF BIOSCIENCE AND BIOENGINEERING. 115(4):360-365 (2013)journal articl

Clinical practice guideline for drug-induced kidney injury in Japan 2016: digest version

Approximately one in eight adults has chronic kidney disease (CKD) in Japan, and the prevalence rate is expected to rise steeply due to the aging of the population in this country. In patients with CKD, quite a few medications require the dosage reduction or discontinuation because of their reduced urinary excretion and the increased risk of further renal impairment. Therefore, CKD patients are often treated by insufficient amounts of the medications, even though they may suffer from various complications. Moreover, it is empirically known that drug-induced kidney injury (DKI) accelerates the progression of renal failure, while it is not superficially ranked as a primary cause of kidney disease.In this context, the early detection, prevention, and treatment of DKI are very important issue in preventing the progression of CKD and the development of renal failure. However, there are no comprehensive and practical guideline on the diagnosis and treatment of DKI for CKD patients and on dosage adjustments for these patients.In response to this need, a clinical practice guideline for DKI was developed with the support of a Health and Labour Science Research Grant from the Ministry of Health, Labour, and Welfare (MHLW) and the Japan Agency for Medical Research and Development (AMED) for Practical Research Project for Renal Diseases, “Early detection and treatment of drug-induced kidney injury that aggravate chronic kidney disease.” This guideline was established by doing a clinical survey on DKIs, evaluating clinicopathological factors, investigating the methods of the early detection of the disease, and analyzing animal models. The present article represents a Committee of Clinical Practice Guideline for DKI. We collected supportive evidence and analyzed data, focusing on several clinical questions that have practical importance

Vines avoid coiling around neighbouring plants infested by polyphagous mites

つる草はハダニがいる植物には巻き付かないことを発見 --歩行性害虫の「接触感染」を避ける術--. 京都大学プレスリリース. 2019-05-08.Vines that coil around plants heavily infested with ambulate polyphagous mites can be heavily damaged by the mites. To explore whether vines avoid mite-infested plants, we observed the coiling responses of morning glory (Ipomoea nil var. Heavenly Blue) vines and bush killer (Cayratia japonica (Thunb) Gagnep) tendrils around nearby kidney bean (Phaseolus vulgaris L.) plants that were either uninfested or heavily infested with the two-spotted spider mite (Tetranychus urticae Koch). The proportions of I. nil vines that coiled around spider mite-infested and uninfested bean plants did not differ significantly; however, no C. japonica tendril coiled around spider mite-infested plants. The proportion of such tendrils was thus significantly lower than that around uninfested plants. The ability of C. japonica tendrils to avoid spider mite-infested plants would prevent serious “contact infections” by mites. We further found that tendril avoidance seemed to be attributable to the mite webs that covered infested plants; neither spider mite-induced bean volatiles nor spider mite intrusion onto tendrils seemed to explain the avoidance

Malignant and Benign T Cells Constituting Cutaneous T-Cell Lymphoma

Cutaneous T-cell lymphoma (CTCL) is a heterogeneous group of non-Hodgkin lymphoma, including various clinical manifestations, such as mycosis fungoides (MF) and Sézary syndrome (SS). CTCL mostly develops from CD4 T cells with the skin-tropic memory phenotype. Malignant T cells in MF lesions show the phenotype of skin resident memory T cells (TRM), which reside in the peripheral tissues for long periods and do not recirculate. On the other hand, malignant T cells in SS represent the phenotype of central memory T cells (TCM), which are characterized by recirculation to and from the blood and lymphoid tissues. The kinetics and the functional characteristics of malignant cells in CTCL are still unclear due, in part, to the fact that both the malignant cells and the T cells exerting anti-tumor activity possess the same characteristics as T cells. Capturing the features of both the malignant and the benign T cells is necessary for understanding the pathogenesis of CTCL and would lead to new therapeutic strategies specifically targeting the skin malignant T cells or benign T cells

Stacked Genetically Engineered Trait Products Produced by Conventional Breeding Reflect the Compositional Profiles of Their Component Single Trait Products

An expanding trend for genetically engineered (GE) crops is to cultivate varieties in which two or more single trait products have been combined using conventional breeding to produce a stacked trait product that provides a useful grouping of traits. Here, we report results from compositional analysis of several GE stacked trait products from maize and soybean. The results demonstrate that these products are each compositionally equivalent to a relevant non-GE comparator variety, except for predictable shifts in the fatty acid profile in the case of stacked trait products that contain a trait, MON 87705, that confers a high-oleic-acid phenotype in soybean. In each case, the conclusion on compositional equivalence for the stacked trait product reflects the conclusions obtained for the single trait products. These results provide strong support for conducting a reassessment of those regulatory guidelines that mandate explicit characterization of stacked trait products produced through conventional breeding

In Vitro Antifungal Activity of Micafungin (FK463) against Dimorphic Fungi: Comparison of Yeast-Like and Mycelial Forms

The characteristics of in vitro micafungin (FK463) antifungal activity against six species of dimorphic fungi were investigated in accordance with the NCCLS M27-A microdilution methods. MICs of micafungin, amphotericin B, itraconazole, and fluconazole for Histoplasma capsulatum var. capsulatum, Blastomyces dermatitidis, Paracoccidioides brasiliensis, Penicillium marneffei, and Sporothrix schenckii were determined both for the yeast-like form and mycelial form. Coccidioides immitis was tested only in its mycelial form. We have clearly demonstrated that the in vitro activity of micafungin depends considerably on the growth form of dimorphic fungi. Micafungin exhibited potent activity against the mycelial forms of H. capsulatum, B. dermatitidis, and C. immitis (MIC range, 0.0078 to 0.0625 μg/ml), while it was very weakly active against their yeast-like forms (MIC range, 32 to >64 μg/ml). Micafungin was also more active against the mycelial forms than the yeast-like forms of Paracoccidioides brasiliensis, Penicillium marneffei, and S. schenckii. The MICs of amphotericin B were 2 to 5 dilutions lower for the mycelial forms than for the yeast-like forms of B. dermatitidis and Paracoccidioides brasiliensis. There was no apparent difference in the activity of itraconazole between the two forms. The MICs of fluconazole for the yeast-like forms were generally lower than those for the mycelial forms, and considerably so for B. dermatitidis. These results suggest that the growth form employed in antifungal susceptibility testing of dimorphic fungi can considerably influence the interpretation of results. At present, it cannot be judged whether micafungin has clinical usefulness for dimorphic fungus infections, since for most fungi it remains uncertain which growth form correlates better with therapeutic outcome. However, the results of this study warrant further investigations of micafungin as a therapeutic agent for infections caused by dimorphic fungi