UNEXPECTED ECTOPIC BONE FORMATION ON THE DORSUM OF A FOOT AFTER FREE PERONEAL FLAP TRANSFER : A CASE REPORT

We experienced a case in which ectopic bone formation with trabecular structures occurred after free peroneal flap transfer containing periosteum of a fibula onto a soft tissue defect on the dorsum of a foot in a 2-year 9-month-old boy. In this case, ectopic bone formation was detected by radiography 5 months after the operation and the bone was removed because of the restricted dorsiflexion of the ankle. This case suggests that new bone can be formed by the periosteum if it is grafted with its vasculature preserved by microvascular anastomosis

A case of IgG4-related tubulointerstitial nephritis concurrent with Henoch-Schönlein purpura nephritis

We describe a 72-year-old man, who had been suffered from Henoch-Schönlein purpura (HSP) several times, presented with hematoproteinuria with granular cast, and general lymphadenopathy. The immunological examination of the serum showed polyclonal hypergammagloburinemia with high value of IgG4. The renal biopsy revealed interstitial inflammatory cell infiltration, including infiltration of lymphocytes and plasma cells, and segmental glomerulonephritis. Direct immunofluorescence microscopy revealed apparent positive staining with anti-human IgA, and anti-human IgG in glomeruli, anti-human IgG4 antibody staining showed many positive plasma cells in the interstitium. The patient was diagnosed with HSP nephritis that was complicated by IgG4-related nephropathy. As a result of the treatment with 30mg prednisolone, the swelling of the LNs decreased, but the patient continued to have persistent hematoproteinuria

ジンコウ セイタイマク ノ ソフト ナノ テクノロジー

Soft nanotechnology is technology that treats soft and wet materials such as self-assembly systems in a living body under a relatively moderate condition. We focus our attention on the size control of liposomes, namely lipid bilayer membranes and performed the soft nanotechnology in sizing of liposomes under high pressure. Two high-pressure sizing techniques, a method of continuous pressure relaxation using a phase transition between gel and liquid crystalline phases of the bilayer membrane and that of a pressure-induced gel phase using a phase transition between bilayer and nonbilayer membranes, were applied to liposomes of distearoylphosphatidylcholine, and the effects of the both methods were considered. Further, the application of giant liposomes controlled by high-pressure sizing to microsensor was briefly described

Suppression of Hepatitis C Virus Core Protein by Short Hairpin RNA Expression Vectors in the Core Protein Expression HUH-7 Cells

Short hairpin RNAs (shRNAs) efficiently inhibit gene expression by RNA interference. Here, we report the efficient inhibition by DNA-based vector-derived shRNAs of core protein expression in Huh-7 cells. The shRNAs were designed to target the core region of the hepatitis C virus (HCV) genome. The core region is the most conserved region in the HCV genome, making it an ideal target for shRNAs. We identified an effective site on the core region for suppression of the HCV core protein. The HCV core protein in core protein-expressing Huh-7 cells was downregulated by core protein-shRNA expression vectors (core-shRNA-452, 479, and 503). Our results support the feasibility of using shRNA-based gene therapy to inhibit HCV core protein production

Thermotropic and barotropic phase transitions on diacylphosphatidylethanolamine bilayer membranes

The bilayer phase transitions of four diacylphosphatidylethanolamines (PEs) with matched saturated acyl chains (Cn = 12, 14, 16 and 18) and two PEs with matched unsaturated acyl chains containing a different kind of double bonds were observed by differential scanning calorimetry under atmospheric pressure and light-transmittance measurements under high pressure. The temperature-pressure phase diagrams for these PE bilayer membranes were constructed from the obtained phase-transition data. The saturated PE bilayer membranes underwent two different phase transitions related to the liquid crystalline (Lα) phase, the transition from the hydrated crystalline (Lc) phase and the chain melting (gel (Lβ) to Lα) transition, depending on the thermal history. Pressure altered the gel-phase stability of the bilayer membranes of PEs with longer chains at a low pressure. Comparing the thermodynamic quantities of the saturated PE bilayer membranes with those of diacylphosphatidylcholine (PC) bilayer membranes, the PE bilayer membranes showed higher phase-transition temperatures and formed more stable Lc phase, which originates from the strong interaction between polar head groups of PE molecules. On the other hand, the unsaturated PE bilayer membranes underwent the transition from the Lα phase to the inverted hexagonal (HII) phase at a high temperature and this transition showed a small transition enthalpy but high-pressure responsivity. It turned out that the kind of double bonds markedly affects both bilayer-bilayer and bilayer-nonbilayer transitions and the Lα/HII transition is a volume driven transition for the reconstruction of molecular packing. Further, the phase-transition behavior was explained by chemical potential curves of bilayer phases

Methylation deficiency disrupts biological rhythms from bacteria to humans

メチル化と体内時計が生命誕生以来の密な関係にあることを発見 --生命の起源に学ぶヒト障害の新治療法--. 京都大学プレスリリース. 2020-05-27.The methyl cycle is a universal metabolic pathway providing methyl groups for the methylation of nuclei acids and proteins, regulating all aspects of cellular physiology. We have previously shown that methyl cycle inhibition in mammals strongly affects circadian rhythms. Since the methyl cycle and circadian clocks have evolved early during evolution and operate in organisms across the tree of life, we sought to determine whether the link between the two is also conserved. Here, we show that methyl cycle inhibition affects biological rhythms in species ranging from unicellular algae to humans, separated by more than 1 billion years of evolution. In contrast, the cyanobacterial clock is resistant to methyl cycle inhibition, although we demonstrate that methylations themselves regulate circadian rhythms in this organism. Mammalian cells with a rewired bacteria-like methyl cycle are protected, like cyanobacteria, from methyl cycle inhibition, providing interesting new possibilities for the treatment of methylation deficiencies