Processing of mutated proinsulin with tetrabasic cleavage sites to bioactive insulin in the non-endocrine cell line, COS-7

AbstractThe amino acid sequence, Arg−4-X−3-Lys/Arg−2-Arg−1 ↓ X+1, is thought to be a consensus processing site for a constitutive secretory pathway in non-endocrine cells. We created a mutant proinsulin DNA with a peptide structure of B chain-Arg-Arg-Lys-Arg-C peptide-Arg-Arg-Lys-Arg-A chain, which compares to the native proinsulin structure of B chain-Arg-Arg-C peptide-Lys-Arg-A chain. When the mutant insulin was expressed in a monkey kidney-derived cell line, COS-7, approximately 60% of the total immunoreactive insulin appeared as mature insulin in the culture medium. This conversion to the mature form was strikingly facilitated by co-expressing the mutant proinsulin with furin, a homologue of the yeast endoprotease, Kex2

Localization of Kex2-like processing endoproteases, furin and PC4, within mouse testis by in situ hybridization

AbstractBy in situ hybridization analysis, we show here the localization of furin and PC4, which are both members of a growing family of endoproteases structurally related to the yeast precursor processing protease Kex2, within mouse testis. Furin transcript was detected in both germ and somatic cells, while PC4 transcript was found only in round spermatids. Proenkephalin transcript was also localized in round spermatids. These observations suggest that, within testis, PC4 is involved in processing of peptide precursors such as proenkephalin and may play a role in regulation of sperm maturation. while furin may serve as a more general processing endoprotease

Applicability of care quality indicators for women with low-risk pregnancies planning hospital birth: a retrospective study of medical records

Practices for planned birth among women with low-risk pregnancies vary by birth setting, medical professional, and organizational system. Appropriate monitoring is essential for quality improvement. Although sets of quality indicators have been developed, their applicability has not been tested. To improve the quality of childbirth care for low-risk mothers and infants in Japanese hospitals, we developed 35 quality indicators using existing clinical guidelines and quality indicators. We retrospectively analysed data for 347 women in Japan diagnosed with low-risk pregnancy in the second trimester, admitted between April 2015 and March 2016. We obtained scores for 35 quality indicators and evaluated their applicability, i.e., feasibility, improvement potential, and reliability (intra- and inter-rater reliability: kappa score, positive and negative agreement). The range of adherence to each indicator was 0–95.7%. We identified feasibility concerns for six indicators with over 25% missing data. Two indicators with over 90% adherence showed limited potential for improvement. Three indicators had poor kappa scores for intra-rater reliability, with positive/negative agreement scores 0.94/0.33, 0.33/0.95, and 0.00/0.97, respectively. Two indicators had poor kappa scores for inter-rater reliability, with positive/negative agreement scores 0.25/0.92 and 0.68/0.61, respectively. The findings indicated that these 35 care quality indicators for low-risk pregnant women may be applicable to real-world practice, with some caveats

A Rare Case of a Symptomatic Tumor Found in the Groin Area : An Atypical Location Unexposed to the Known Causes

Nevoid basal cell carcinoma syndrome (NBCCS), also known as Gorlin syndrome, is a rare hereditary condition characterized by a wide range of developmental abnormalities and a predisposition to neoplasms. The syndrome consists of early-onset and/or multiple BCC. Herein we report a rare NBCCS case in which the first BCC onset occurred in the groin area. To the best of our knowledge, there have been no reports of first-onset BCC in the groin area in an NBCCS patient of any race

Localization of cortactin is associated with colorectal cancer development.

Cortactin is a ubiquitously expressed actin filament (F-actin)-binding protein that stabilizes F-actin networks and promotes actin polymerization by activating the actin-related protein 2/3 (Arp2/3) complex. Overexpression of cortactin in cancer cells stimulate cell migration, invasion, and experimental metastasis; however, the underlying mechanism in cortactin involvement in tumor progression is not fully understood. Recently, a direct interaction between zonula occludens-1 (ZO-1) and cortactin in epithelial cells was reported. The present study aimed to further clarify the significance of the interaction between cortactin and ZO-1 in cancer progression. Cortactin expression and localization in colorectal human cancer tissues were evaluated by immunohistochemistry and immunofluorescence. Co-immunoprecipitation and immunofluorescence analysis revealed cortactin and ZO-1 interaction and localization in cancer cells. In our study, the localization of cortactin is a crucial marker for lymph node metastasis in colorectal cancer. We show how the localization of cortactin effects cancer development. A molecular interaction between cortactin and ZO-1 in migrating or polarized cancer cells was revealed. This is the first report to show the interaction of cortactin and ZO-1 in colorectal cancer progression. We conclude that localization of cortactin in cancer cells and interaction between ZO-1 and cortactin are crucial for cancer progression

Actinomycosis sinusitis

Actinomycosis is an infection caused by anaerobic bacteria, primarily from the genus Actinomyces, which normally colonize the several regions including the mouth. Disruption of mucosa may lead to infection of virtually any site, but reports of involvement of the sinuses are rare. We report a case of an actinomycosis infection in the unilateral maxillary sinus. A 47-year-old female visited our hospital with a complaint of mild pain of left buccal region. Computed tomography (CT) revealed that the left maxillary and anterior ethmoidal sinus cavities were opacified along with a calcified fragment located close to the natural ostium. Thus, we provisionally diagnosed as a fungal sinusitis. She underwent trans-nasal endoscopic sinus surgery. The sinuses were opened and the caseous material was removed. The histopathological examination suggested an actinomycosis, but not fungal, infection. The patient’s postoperative course was uneventful. No evidence of recurrence has been seen over the 30 months of the postoperative follow-up period. In case of the aggressive actinomycotic sinusitis, extension into the adjacent organs could be occurred. We should be aware that sinusitis of actinomycosis infection could progress in patients with risk factors such as diabetes and immunodeficiency

A single-chip 20-channel speech spectrum analyaer using a multiplexed switched-capacitor filter bank

金沢大学理工研究域　電子情報学系A single-chip speech spectrum analyzer which contains a 20-channel filter bank, a 9-bit-resolution analog-to-digital converter, and a 396-bit buffer memory is described. Several efficient design techniques were used to realize the equivalent 308th-order transfer functions on a single chip monolithic MOS circuit. A new time-division-multiplexed switched-capacitor filter technique is introduced which can easily cancel DC offsets which appear in the multiplexed channel outputs. The LSI was fabricated in 3.5-μm CMOS technology, with a 7.0×6.5 mm/SUP 2/ die size, a power consumption of 150 mW, with a single power supply of +5 V. Experimental results show that designed performance was realized