Antiviral and Virucidal Activities of Nα-Cocoyl-L-Arginine Ethyl Ester

Various amino acid-derived compounds, for example, Nα-Cocoyl-L-arginine ethyl ester (CAE), alkyloxyhydroxylpropylarginine, arginine cocoate, and cocoyl glycine potassium salt (Amilite), were examined for their virucidal activities against herpes simplex virus type 1 and 2 (HSV-1 and HSV-2), influenza A virus (IAV), and poliovirus type 1 (PV-1) in comparison to benzalkonium chloride (BKC) and sodium dodecylsulfate (SDS) as a cationic and anionic control detergent and also to other commercially available disinfectants. While these amino acid-derived compounds were all effective against HSV-1 and HSV-2, CAE and Amilite were the most effective. These two compounds were, however, not as effective against IAV, another enveloped virus, as against HSV. Cytotoxicity of CAE was weak; at 0.012%, only 5% of the cells were killed under the conditions, in which 100% cells were killed by either SDS or BKC. In addition to these direct virucidal effects, CAE inhibited the virus growth in the HSV-1- or PV-1-infected cells even at 0.01%. These results suggest a potential application of CAE as a therapeutic or preventive medicine against HSV superficial infection at body surface

Effect of cysteine on the inactivation of cystathionine gamma-lyase by D,L-propargylglycine.

In vivo inactivation of cystathionine gamma-lyase by D,L-propargylglycine, a suicide inhibitor, was found to be less profound in rat kidney than in the liver. We investigated the cause of this difference using rat tissues. We fractionated kidney extract to characterize the substance which protected enzyme, and found that cysteine exhibits protecting action. Addition of 0.3 mM L-cysteine to the incubation mixture containing dialyzed kidney supernatant and 0.5 mM D,L-propargylglycine resulted in the protection of cystathionine gamma-lyase from the inactivation by the inhibitor. The content of cysteine in the kidney was six-fold higher than that in the liver. Thus, we have concluded that one of the reasons why the in vivo inactivation of cystathionine gamma-lyase in rat kidney was less than that in the liver is the presence of a higher concentration of cysteine in the kidney. S-Carboxymethylcysteine, a cysteine derivative, exhibited a similar, but weaker, protective effect.</p

ミクロ2次元電気泳動法を用いたネコ尿タンパク質分析の基礎的検討

本研究では糖尿病性腎症の病態を把握するひとつとして，正常ネコ，糖尿病ネコおよび慢性腎不全ネコから採取した尿 (0.25μl) をミクロ2次元電気泳動 (M2D-PAGE : 未変性-変性) 分析により，タンパク質スポット (スポット) の動態観察を行った。　糖尿病ネコ尿では，正常ネコとほぼ同様にスポットaがわずかに観察されるA群と，明瞭なスポットaに加えスポットa以外の複数スポットが観察されるB群の2群に大別することが可能であった。　本研究により，濃縮操作を伴わない尿を用いるM2D-PAGE分析法は臨床獣医におけるスクリーニング検査として有用であることが示唆された。今後は，標的タンパク質の同定を各種抗ネコ抗体を用いることで実施し，スポットの定量を行うことで，より適切に糖尿病の進行状況や糖尿病性腎症の病態の把握することが可能と考えられる。One method of understanding of the pathology of diabetic nephropathy is to evaluate protein spot (spot) dynamics through micro two-dimensional polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis (M2D-PAGE; native and denaturing) analysis of urine. In this study 0.25-μl aliquots of urine were collected from and analyzed for normal. diabetes mellitus and chronic renal failure cats. The urine of diabetes mellitus cats could be broadly divided into two groups: minimal observation of spot A, almost identical to that in normal cats (Group A); and, observation of multiple other spots in addition to clearly defined spot A (Group B). This study suggests the expediency of M2D-PAGE analysis, which uses non-concentrated urine, for clinical veterinary screening tests. In future studies, identification of target proteins will be carried out using each type of anti-cat antibody. Moreover, better understanding of diabetes mellitus progression and diabetic nephropathy pathology may be possible through protein spot assay

Association between Hardness (Difficulty of Chewing) of the Habitual Diet and Premenstrual Symptoms in Young Japanese Women

Recent evidence suggests that voluntary rhythmic movements such as chewing may increase blood serotonin and subsequently brain serotonin, which in turn acts to alleviate premenstrual symptoms. In this observational cross-sectional study, we tested the hypothesis that hardness (difficulty of chewing) of the habitual diet (i.e. dietary hardness) is associated with decreased premenstrual symptoms. Subjects were 640 female Japanese dietetic students aged 18–22 years. Dietary hardness was assessed as an estimate of masticatory muscle activity for the habitual diet (i.e. the difficulty of chewing the food). The consumption of a total of 107 foods was estimated by means of a self-administered, comprehensive diet history questionnaire, and masticatory muscle activity during the ingestion of these foods was estimated according to published equations. Menstrual cycle symptoms were assessed using the retrospective version of the Moos Menstrual Distress Questionnaire, from which total score and subscale scores (i.e. pain, concentration, behavioral change, autonomic reactions, water retention, and negative affect) in the premenstrual phase were calculated and expressed as percentages relative to those in the intermenstrual phase. Dietary hardness was not associated with total score in the premenstrual phase (P for trend = 0.48). Further, no association was seen for any subscale score in the premenstrual phase (P for trend = 0.18–0.91). In conclusion, this preliminary study failed to substantiate a hypothesized inverse relationship between hardness of the habitual diet and premenstrual symptoms. Considering the plausibility of the putative mechanism, however, further investigation using more relevant measures of chewing and premenstrual symptoms is warranted

Comparison of Mortality between Japanese Peritoneal Dialysis and Hemodialysis Patients: A 5-Year Multicenter Follow-Up Study

To examine the relationship between dialysis modality and prognosis in Japanese patients, we conducted a prospective multicenter observational study. We recruited 83 background-matched peritoneal dialysis (PD) and 83 hemodialysis (HD) patients (average age, 64.9 years; men, 53.6%; diabetic patients, 22.9%; median duration of dialysis, 48 months in all patients) and followed them for 5 years. During the follow-up period, 27 PD patients (16 cardiovascular and 11 non-cardiovascular deaths) and 27 HD patients died (14 cardiovascular and 13 non-cardiovascular deaths). There were 8 PD patients switched to HD, and 6 PD patients received renal transplantation. Kaplan-Meier analysis revealed that the crude survival rate was not significantly different at the end of 5 years (PD 67.5% versus 67.5%, log-rank P = 0.719). The difference in cardiovascular and non-cardiovascular mortalities between PD and HD was not statistically significant. Multivariate Cox analysis showed that the independent predictors for death were age and serum albumin levels, but not the dialysis modality. This study showed that the overall mortality was not significantly different between PD and HD patients, which suggests that dialysis modality might not be an independent factor for survival in Japanese patients