Biological Functions of the Novel Collectins CL-L1, CL-K1, and CL-P1

Collectins are characterized by a collagen-like sequence and a carbohydrate recognition domain and are members of the vertebrate C-type lectin superfamily. Recently, “novel collectins”, different from “classical collectins” consisting of mannan-binding lectin (MBL) and surfactant proteins A and D (SP-A and SP-D), have been found by reverse genetics. These “novel collectins” consist of collectin liver 1 (CL-L1), collectin kidney 1 (CL-K1), and collectin placenta 1 (CL-P1) and are encoded by three separate genes. Experimental findings on human and animal collectins have shown that both novel collectins and classical collectins play an important role in innate immunity. Based on our recent results and those of others, in this paper, we summarize the new biological functions of these novel collectins in embryonic morphogenesis and development

Benign Pigmented Schwannoma of the Great Omentum: Report of a Rare Case and Review of the Literature

Schwannoma in the abdomen is an uncommon neoplasm that occurs most frequently in the cranial and peripheral nerves; it is extremely rare in the great omentum and only 6 cases of schwannoma of the great omentum have been observed previously. We report the case of a schwannoma found in the great omentum of a 55-year-old man who was treated with laparoscopic surgery. Though it was difficult to diagnose preoperatively, the tumor showed malignant potential by rapidly increasing in size. Histologically it was configured by a well-encapsulated round mass measuring 30 × 18 × 15 mm in diameter. Immunohistochemically most of the neoplastic cells reacted moderately to NSE, NCAM and S-100 protein. We document the clinicopathological study of a schwannoma of the great omentum, followed by a review of the literature

Global Thrombosis Test - a possible monitoring system for the effects and safety of dabigatran

© Otsui et al. 2015BACKGROUND: Dabigatran is an alternative to warfarin (WF) for the thromboprophylaxis of stroke in patients with non-valvular atrial fibrillation (NVAF). The advantage of dabigatran over WF is that monitoring is not required; however, a method to monitor the effect and the safety of dabigatran is not currently available. The Global Thrombosis Test (GTT) is a novel method to assess both clot formation and lysis activities under physiological conditions. OBJECTIVE: The aim of this study was to evaluate whether treatment with dabigatran might affect shear-induced thrombi (occlusion time [OT], sec) by the GTT, and to investigate the possibility that the GTT could be useful as a monitoring system for dabigatran. PATIENTS/METHODS: The study population consisted of 50 volunteers and 43 NVAF patients on WF therapy, who were subsequently switched to dabigatran. Using the GTT, the thrombotic status was assessed one day before and 1 month after switching anticoagulation from WF to dabigatran. RESULTS: The OT was 524.9 ± 17.0 sec in volunteers whereas that of NVAF patients on WF therapy was 581.7 ± 26.3 sec. The switch from WF to dabigatran significantly prolonged OT (784.5 ± 19.3 sec). One patient on WF therapy and 12 patients on dabigatran therapy were shown to have OT > 900 sec. CONCLUSION: The GTT could be used to assess the risk of dabigatran-related bleeding complications.Peer reviewe

前立腺癌に対するPepleomycin(Bleomycin Derivative, NK-631)の効果

未治療の前立腺腺癌2症例に本剤を投与し，その効果を検討した。症例1： 71歳， 排尿困難，左大腿部痛を主訴として1978年6月15日当科受診。前立腺は超鶏卵大，石様硬，表面不整，骨盤へ浸潤。左ソケイ部にくるみ大の硬いリンパ腺を触知。骨シンチで多数の転移を認めた。 前立腺の針生検組織像は分化型腺癌であった。pepleomycin 200 mg (1回10mg，静注， 週3回)の投与により前立腺癌，左ソケイ部リンパ腺の著明な縮小がみられ，血清酸ホスファターゼ値が治療前6.5K.A.U.から9.5K.A.U まで低下した。治療終了後の生検組織像は癌細胞の変性，壊死組織の線維化が目立った。　　症例2: 74歳，排尿困難で1978年8月19日当科受診。前立腺は鶏卵大，硬，周囲に浸潤。骨シンチで転移巣が多数あり，前立腺生検組織像は未分化型腺癌であった。 pepleomycin投与で自覚症状は症例1ほどの改善はみられず，前立腺癌そのものもあまり縮小しなかったが，残尿は80mlから10mlへ減少した。治療後の前立腺生検所見でも癌細胞の空胞化が著明に認められた。なお副作用としては症例1では著明な皮膚変化がみられたが，症例2でぎ軽度の口内炎を認めるにとどまった。NK 631 投与前後で血中FSH，LH，testosteroneを測定したところ，両症例ともに投与終了後FSH，LH，t estosterone値は投与前値の約1/2となっていた (Table 2)。 つまり， NK 631 の抗腫瘍作用はDNA合成抑制によるということになっているが，前立腺癌に対する抗腫聖書効果はNK631 の下重体抑制による睾丸のLeydig cellよりのandrogen分泌抑制も関与している可能性があることが示唆された。本剤の下垂体抑制効果については今後検討されるべき課題であると考える。Since the new bleomycin derivative-pepleomycin was reported to be effective for experimentally induced adenocarcinoma of stomach in rats, it was administered in two cases of prostatic cancer. Satisfactory response was obtained in well differentiated carcinoma, meanwhile only histological effect was observed in undifferentiated one. It seems that the effect of pepleomycin on prostatic cancer was brought about by the suppression of DNA synthesis of tumor and also of pituitary function resulting in decreased androgen secretion from Leydig cells

デヒドロエピアンドロステロン投与における雌ラット乳腺の超微構造的変化に関する研究

取得学位 : 博士（医学）, 学位授与番号 : 医博乙第1292号,学位授与年月日：平成6年3月16日,学位授与年：199

Classifying MathML Expressions by Multilayer Perceptron

MathML is a standard markup language for describing math expressions. MathML consists of two sets of elements: Presentation Markup and Content Markup. The former is widely used to display math expressions in Web pages, while the latter is more suited to the calculation of math expressions. In this letter, we focus on the former and consider classifying Presentation MathML expressions. Identifying the classes of given Presentation MathML expressions is helpful for several applications, e.g., Presentation to Content MathML conversion, text-to-speech, and so on. We propose a method for classifying Presentation MathML expressions by using multilayer perceptron. Experimental results show that our method classifies MathML expressions with high accuracy

Regulation of B1 cell migration by signals through Toll-like receptors

Peritoneal B1 cells are known to generate large amounts of antibodies outside their residential site. These antibodies play an important role in the early defense against bacteria and viruses, before the establishment of adaptive immune responses. Although many stimuli, including antigen, lipopolysaccharide, or cytokines, have been shown to activate B1 cells and induce their differentiation into plasma cells, the molecular signals required for their egress from the peritoneal cavity are not understood. We demonstrate here that direct signals through Toll-like receptors (TLRs) induce specific, rapid, and transient down-regulation of integrins and CD9 on B1 cells, which is required for detachment from local matrix and a high velocity movement of cells in response to chemokines. Thus, we revealed an unexpected role for TLRs in governing the interplay between integrins, tetraspanins, and chemokine receptors required for B1 cell egress and, as such, in facilitating appropriate transition from innate to adaptive immune responses

Karakterizacija kolagena iz kože sahalinske mladice kao potencijalne biomase

Animal collagen has been widely utilized in foods, cosmetics and biomedical fields. The non-edible portion, such as fish skin and bones, are obtained during cooking. Most of them are currently discarded as wastes, although the nutritional value of the skin and bones is high. The non-edible portion needs to be reused in order to reduce environmental impact, as it is one of the sources of environmental pollution. Collagen was prepared by cold acetone treatment from Sakhalin taimen skin as a waste produced during cooking. Next, the colour, SDS-polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis, ultraviolet absorption, subunit composition, amino acid composition, denaturation temperature and attenuated total reflectance-Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy analyses were conducted to explore the properties of the collagen. Lastly, we attempted to improve the functional properties of the collagen for future applications using chemical modification technique (succinylation). Cold acetone treatment easily removed the fats and pigments from the skin. The odourless and pure white collagen was obtained with high yield. The α3 chain did not exist in the collagen. Sakhalin taimen skin collagen had rich α-helix and low β-sheet structures. Succinylation caused the secondary structural changes of the collagen molecule. Moreover, it made it possible not only to increase the viscosity of the collagen solution but also to improve the solubility of the collagen under the physiological conditions around pH=6. This finding is the first report on the absence of the α3 chain from salmonid fish skin collagens. The succinylated collagen from Sakhalin taimen skins as useful biomass has potential to utilize in foods, cosmetics and related industries.Pozadina istraživanja. Kolagen životinjskog podrijetla uvelike se koristi u proizvodnji hrane, kozmetičkih i biomedicinskih proizvoda. Tijekom kuhanja se nejestivi dijelovi riba, kao što su kosti i koža, uglavnom odbacuju kao smeće, iako imaju veliku hranjivu vrijednost. S obzirom na to da taj otpad predstavlja izvor zagađenja, potrebno ga je iskoristiti da bi se smanjio njegov negativan utjecaj na okoliš. Eksperimentalni pristup. Kolagen je izdvojen iz kože sahalinske mladice, dobivene kao otpad pri kuhanju, nakon obrade ohlađenim acetonom. Zatim su ispitana sljedeća svojstva kolagena: boja, čistoća (pomoću poliakrilamid gel elektroforeze u prisutnosti natrijevog dodecil sulfata), apsorpcija ultraljubičastih zraka, sastav podjedinica, aminokiselinski sastav, temperatura denaturacije i struktura (pomoću prigušene totalne refleksije i infracrvene spektroskopije s Fourierovom transformacijom). Naposljetku smo kemijskom modifikacijom (sukcinilacijom) nastojali poboljšati funkcionalna svojstva kolagena za njegovu daljnju primjenu. Rezultati i zaključci. Obradom ohlađenim acetonom iz riblje kože su uspješno uklonjene masti i pigmenti. Dobiven je veliki prinos čistog bijelog kolagena bez mirisa, u kojem nije pronađen niti jedan α3-lanac. Kolagen iz kože sahalinske mladice sadržavao je velik udjel α-uzvojnica, a malen udjel β-ploča. Sukcinilacija je uzrokovala promjenu sekundarne strukture molekule kolagena. Osim toga, povećala se viskoznost otopine kolagena i poboljšala topljivost kolagena pri fiziološkim uvjetima pH-vrijednosti od otprilike 6. Novina i znanstveni doprinos. Ovi rezultati po prvi put pokazuju da kolagen iz kože ribe iz porodice salmonida ne sadržava α3-lance. Sukcinilirani kolagen iz kože sahalinske mladice korisna je biomasa, koja se može primijeniti u prehrambenoj i kozmetičkoj industriji, te srodnim industrijama