Calibration of imaging plate for high energy electron spectrometer

Copyright 2005 American Institute of Physics. This article may be downloaded for personal use only. Any other use requires prior permission of the author and the American Institute of Physics. The following article appeared in Review of Scientific Instruments, 76(1), 013507_1-013507_5, 2005 and may be found at http://dx.doi.org/10.1063/1.182437

An Inducer of VGF Protects Cells against ER Stress-Induced Cell Death and Prolongs Survival in the Mutant SOD1 Animal Models of Familial ALS

Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) is the most frequent adult-onset motor neuron disease, and recent evidence has suggested that endoplasmic reticulum (ER) stress signaling is involved in the pathogenesis of ALS. Here we identified a small molecule, SUN N8075, which has a marked protective effect on ER stress-induced cell death, in an in vitro cell-based screening, and its protective mechanism was mediated by an induction of VGF nerve growth factor inducible (VGF): VGF knockdown with siRNA completely abolished the protective effect of SUN N8075 against ER-induced cell death, and overexpression of VGF inhibited ER-stress-induced cell death. VGF level was lower in the spinal cords of sporadic ALS patients than in the control patients. Furthermore, SUN N8075 slowed disease progression and prolonged survival in mutant SOD1 transgenic mouse and rat models of ALS, preventing the decrease of VGF expression in the spinal cords of ALS mice. These data suggest that VGF plays a critical role in motor neuron survival and may be a potential new therapeutic target for ALS, and SUN N8075 may become a potential therapeutic candidate for treatment of ALS

Integrative Annotation of 21,037 Human Genes Validated by Full-Length cDNA Clones

The human genome sequence defines our inherent biological potential; the realization of the biology encoded therein requires knowledge of the function of each gene. Currently, our knowledge in this area is still limited. Several lines of investigation have been used to elucidate the structure and function of the genes in the human genome. Even so, gene prediction remains a difficult task, as the varieties of transcripts of a gene may vary to a great extent. We thus performed an exhaustive integrative characterization of 41,118 full-length cDNAs that capture the gene transcripts as complete functional cassettes, providing an unequivocal report of structural and functional diversity at the gene level. Our international collaboration has validated 21,037 human gene candidates by analysis of high-quality full-length cDNA clones through curation using unified criteria. This led to the identification of 5,155 new gene candidates. It also manifested the most reliable way to control the quality of the cDNA clones. We have developed a human gene database, called the H-Invitational Database (H-InvDB; http://www.h-invitational.jp/). It provides the following: integrative annotation of human genes, description of gene structures, details of novel alternative splicing isoforms, non-protein-coding RNAs, functional domains, subcellular localizations, metabolic pathways, predictions of protein three-dimensional structure, mapping of known single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs), identification of polymorphic microsatellite repeats within human genes, and comparative results with mouse full-length cDNAs. The H-InvDB analysis has shown that up to 4% of the human genome sequence (National Center for Biotechnology Information build 34 assembly) may contain misassembled or missing regions. We found that 6.5% of the human gene candidates (1,377 loci) did not have a good protein-coding open reading frame, of which 296 loci are strong candidates for non-protein-coding RNA genes. In addition, among 72,027 uniquely mapped SNPs and insertions/deletions localized within human genes, 13,215 nonsynonymous SNPs, 315 nonsense SNPs, and 452 indels occurred in coding regions. Together with 25 polymorphic microsatellite repeats present in coding regions, they may alter protein structure, causing phenotypic effects or resulting in disease. The H-InvDB platform represents a substantial contribution to resources needed for the exploration of human biology and pathology

Isolation and characterization of acid-soluble bluefin tuna (Thunnus orientalis) skin collagen

Abstract In this study, we isolated and characterized the acid-soluble skin collagen of Pacific bluefin tuna (PBT, Thunnus orientalis). The PBT skin collagen was composed of two α chains (α1 and α2) and one β chain. The denaturation temperature of PBT collagen was low although it was rich in proline and hydroxyproline. The primary structure of PBT skin collagen was almost identical to that of calf and salmon skin collagen; however, it differed with respect to the epitope recognition of the antibody against salmon type I collagen. These results suggest that the primary structure of skin collagen was highly conserved among animal species, although partial sequences that included the epitope structure differed among collagens

IC₅₀ values for mitoxantrone in HeLa and HeLa/SN100 cells in the presence of α-adrenoceptor antagonists.

<p>Each value shows the mean ± S.E. (n = 4).</p><p>Relative sensitivity: the ratio of IC₅₀ values for mitoxantrone in the control divided by that in the groups treated with α-adrenoceptor antagonists.</p><p>*and**: significantly different from the respective control at <i>p</i><0.05 and <i>p</i><0.01, respectively.</p

Decreased keratinocyte Proline‐Rich protein expression in cutaneous T‐cell lymphoma

Abstract Background Cutaneous T‐cell lymphomas (CTCLs) often have skin dryness and skin barrier dysfunctions, which are also seen in atopic dermatitis (AD). Expression of keratinocyte proline‐rich protein (KPRP) was decreased in the epidermis of AD, which led to barrier defects and further allergic inflammation. Objectives The aim of this study was to analyze KPRP expression in CTCL. Materials & Methods Skin samples of CTCL and healthy control were collected, and KPRP mRNA expression in the skin tissue was analyzed. We also performed immunohistochemistry of KPRP protein. Results Keratinocyte proline‐rich protein (KPRP) mRNA expression was decreased compared with normal skin. KPRP expression was positively correlated with that of filaggrin and loricrin, and it was negatively correlated with serum interleukin‐2 receptor levels. Immunohistochemistry staining showed that KPRP was detected in upper part of granular layer of epidermis in normal skin and in early‐stage CTCL, but rarely detected in the advanced‐stage CTCL. Conclusion In conclusion, we revealed the decrease in KPRP expression in CTCL