Vaccine chronicle in Japan

The concept of immunization was started in Japan in 1849 when Jenner’s cowpox vaccine seed was introduced, and the current immunization law was stipulated in 1948. There have been two turning points for amendments to the immunization law: the compensation remedy for vaccine-associated adverse events in 1976, and the concept of private vaccination in 1994. In 1992, the regional Court of Tokyo, not the Supreme Court, decided the governmental responsibility on vaccine-associated adverse events, which caused the stagnation of vaccine development. In 2010, many universal vaccines became available as the recommended vaccines, but several vaccines, including mumps, zoster, hepatitis B, and rota vaccines, are still voluntary vaccines, not universal routine applications. In this report, immunization strategies and vaccine development are reviewed for each vaccine item and future vaccine concerns are discussed

Elucidation of the Mechanism and Significance of the Erythrocyte Sedimentation Rate from Clinical Laboratory Data

The erythrocyte sedimentation rate (ESR) is a widely used marker of inflammation, but the detailed mechanisms underlying the ESR remain unclear. We retrospectively collected laboratory data from our hospital’s laboratory information system, and performed multiple linear regression analysis and correlation analysis to determine relationships between the ESR and other laboratory test parameters. The alpha-2, beta-2, and gamma fractions from serum protein electrophoresis, serum immunoglobulin (Ig) G, IgA, IgM, and complement C3 levels, plasma fibrinogen levels, and platelet count showed positive effects on the ESR; however, the serum albumin level showed negative effects. Since erythrocytes are negatively charged, an increase in positively charged proteins and a decrease in negatively charged albumin were suggested to increase the ESR. Notably, C-reactive protein (CRP) showed the third-strongest correlation with the ESR despite having no significant effect on the ESR. We also reviewed cases with discordant ESR and CRP levels to compare the disease profiles of high ESR/low CRP patients and low ESR/high CRP patients. The patients with high ESR/low CRP had a completely different disease profile from those with low ESR/high CRP. Since the ESR and CRP have different roles, they should be used as markers in a context-dependent manner

Sero-Epidemiological Study of Respiratory Syncytial Virus

Background: Respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) is one of the major viruses that cause respiratory infections in all generations, not only in neonates and infants. There is a limited number of reports on serological epidemiology of RSV subgroups A and B. Neutralizing test (NT) antibody reflects protective immunity but bothersome. Sero-epidemiological study should be performed using practical NT method. Methods: Two wild-type viruses subgroups A and B, isolated in 2013, and the Long strain was used as the challenge viruses. NT antibody with 100% inhibition of cytopathic effect (CPE) was examined. A total of 91 serum samples obtained from 0 to 12 years subjects without RSV infection who visited our hospital with some health problems and 121 sera obtained from healthy subjects in different age groups were used. Serological epidemiology of subgroups A and B was investigated in this study using new NT methods. Results: 1) A simple and practical NT method was developed. 2) The NT antibody titer was lowest in \u3c1 year of age (5 × 21.70 ± 2.03 against subgroup A and 5 × 20.85 ± 1.31 against subgroup B) and increased in 3 years of age or older, and high antibody titers were maintained during school age. 3) A slight difference was observed in the NT antibody titers against subgroups A and Bin young children \u3c3 years, but not after 3 years of age, reflecting the repeated infections. 4) Specific IgG antibody against RSV was measured. The IgG EIA values decreased with age. No association was observed between IgG EIA and NT titers. Conclusions: A simple NT assay method was developed in the present study. By the age of 3 years, high NT antibody titers were observed and maintained until 12 years. The IgG (EIA) values decreased with age. No association was observed between IgG (EIA) and NT titers

The draft genome of Kipferlia bialata reveals reductive genome evolution in fornicate parasites

The fornicata (fornicates) is a eukaryotic group known to consist of free-living and parasitic organisms. Genome datasets of two model fornicate parasites Giardia intestinalis and Spironucleus salmonicida are well annotated, so far. The nuclear genomes of G. intestinalis assemblages and S. salmonicida are small in terms of the genome size and simple in genome structure. However, an ancestral genomic structure and gene contents, from which genomes of the fornicate parasites have evolved, remains to be clarified. In order to understand genome evolution in fornicates, here, we present the draft genome sequence of a free-living fornicate, Kipferlia bialata, the divergence of which is earlier than those of the fornicate parasites, and compare it to the genomes of G. intestinalis and S. salmonicida. Our data show that the number of protein genes and introns in K. bialata genome are the most abundant in the genomes of three fornicates, reflecting an ancestral state of fornicate genome evolution. Evasion mechanisms of host immunity found in G. intestinalis and S. salmonicida are absent in the K. bialata genome, suggesting that the two parasites acquired the complex membrane surface proteins on the line leading to the common ancestor of G. intestinalis and S. salmonicida after the divergence from K. bialata. Furthermore, the mitochondrion related organelles (MROs) of K. bialata possess more complex suites of metabolic pathways than those in Giardia and in Spironucleus. In sum, our results unveil the process of reductive evolution which shaped the current genomes in two model fornicate parasites G. intestinalis and S. salmonicida

Literature survey on epidemiology and pathology of cardiac fibroma

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Although cardiac fibroma has been regarded as benign tumor, it presents various symptoms and may lead to death. Unfortunately, only a few studies have reported the epidemiology, embryology, and histopathology of the tumor, and the factors predicting poorer outcome are still obscured.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>In July 2011 we searched for English and Japanese cases of cardiac fibroma using the PubMed and IgakuChuoZasshi databases. We then extracted and sampled raw data from the selected publications in accordance with the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses (PRISMA) style as much as was possible.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>Details of a total of 178 patients with cardiac fibroma were retrieved. The mean age was 11.4 years (median: 2.8 years). Tumor sizes ranged from 8.0 to 150.0 mm (mean 53.1 mm). The left ventricle was found to be the most common site associated with the tumor at a rate of 57.3%, followed by the right ventricle, and interventricular septum. The highest mortality was found in patients with septal involvement (58.6%). In all, 111 patients survived among the 160 patients with a recorded outcome. A younger age of the patient at the time of diagnosis was associated with a decreased survival rate. In addition, a significant positive association was found between ages for patients younger than 17 years of age and the diameter of the tumor at the time of diagnosis (r = 0.341, <it>P </it>= 0.006).</p> <p>Conclusions</p> <p>Both the younger age of patients at the time of diagnosis and septal involvement can be regarded as factors significantly indicating a poor prognosis. Furthermore, our statistical analyses support the following hypotheses. First, the high ratio of tumor-to-heart size may generate low cardiac output and therefore lead to poor outcome. Second, the ratio of the sites where cardiac fibroma occurred corresponds with the ratio of the muscular weight of the cardiac chamber. Third, cardiac fibroma involving the interventricular septum more frequently induces conduction system disease.</p

Gene Expression Analysis of a Murine Model with Pulmonary Vascular Remodeling Compared to End-Stage IPAH Lungs

BACKGROUND: Idiopathic pulmonary arterial hypertension (IPAH) continues to be one of the most serious intractable diseases that might start with activation of several triggers representing the genetic susceptibility of a patient. To elucidate what essentially contributes to the onset and progression of IPAH, we investigated factors playing an important role in IPAH by searching discrepant or controversial expression patterns between our murine model and those previously published for human IPAH. We employed the mouse model, which induced muscularization of pulmonary artery leading to hypertension by repeated intratracheal injection of Stachybotrys chartarum, a member of nonpathogenic and ubiquitous fungus in our envelopment. METHODS: Microarray assays with ontology and pathway analyses were performed with the lungs of mice. A comparison was made of the expression patterns of biological pathways between our model and those published for IPAH. RESULTS: Some pathways in our model showed the same expression patterns in IPAH, which included bone morphogenetic protein (BMP) signaling with down-regulation of BMP receptor type 2, activin-like kinase type 1, and endoglin. On the other hand, both Wnt/planar cell polarity (PCP) signaling and its downstream Rho/ROCK signaling were found alone to be activated in IPAH and not in our model. CONCLUSIONS: Activation of Wnt/PCP signaling, in upstream positions of the pathway, found alone in lungs from end stage IPAH may play essential roles in the pathogenesis of the disease