Mineralogy of Y-981971 LL Chondrite and Brecciation Processes of the LL Parent Body

第3回極域科学シンポジウム/第35回南極隕石シンポジウム 11月30日（金） 国立国語研究所 2階講

Synthetic Physiology

Optogenetic tools are DNA-encoded molecules that, when genetically targeted to cells, enable the control of specific physiological processes within those cells through exposure to light. These tools can pinpoint how these specific processes affect the emergent properties of a complex biological system, such as a mammalian organ or even an entire animal. They can also allow control of a biological system for therapeutic or bioengineering purposes. Many of the optical control tools explored to date are single-component reagents containing a photoactive signaling domain. An interesting question is raised by comparing optogenetics to synthetic biology. In the latter, interchangeable and modular DNA-encoded parts are assembled into complex biological circuits, thus enabling sophisticated logic and computation as well as the production of biologics and reagents (1, 2). Is it possible to devise strategies for the temporally precise cell-targeted optical control of complex engineered biological computational or chemical-synthetic pathways? Such a marriage of optogenetics and synthetic biology—which one might call synthetic physiology—would open up the ability to use optogenetics to trigger and regulate engineered synthetic biology systems, which in turn could execute computational and biological programs of great complexity (3). On page 1565 of this issue, Ye et al. (4) explore such a hybrid approach to controlling a biological system, as well as the bioengineering and preclinical capabilities opened up by such an approach

Increased serum levels of a proliferation-inducing ligand in patients with bullous pemphigoid

金沢大学大学院医学系研究科血管分子科学Background: B cells have been demonstrated to have critical roles in developing autoimmune bullous diseases. Recently identified tumor necrosis factor-like molecules, B cell-activating factor of the TNF family (BAFF) and a proliferation-inducing ligand (APRIL) are essential molecules for B cell development, survival, and proliferation. Although the functions of APRIL have not been fully evaluated, recent studies suggest that circulating levels of APRIL are increased in various autoimmune diseases, including systemic lupus erythematosus and rheumatoid arthritis. Objectives: To determine serum APRIL levels in patients with pemphigus vulgaris (PV) and bullous pemphigoid (BP), and compare those with clinical findings and laboratory findings. Patients/Methods: Sera from 15 PV patients, 43 BP patients, and 15 normal controls were subjected to ELISA assays to measure serum APRIL, BAFF, Dsg3, and BP180 levels. Results and conclusions: Circulating APRIL levels were significantly elevated in BP patients but not in PV patients, and correlated with serum BAFF levels. Our study revealed that serum APRIL levels tended to be increased in the quite early stage of disease. In conclusion, circulating APRIL levels may be a useful marker for early activation of autoimmune diathesis, and furthermore, an effective therapeutic target molecule in patients with BP. © 2007 Japanese Society for Investigative Dermatology

Effects of Using Alternative Extreme Pressure (EP) and Anti-Wear (AW) Additives with Oxy-Nitrided Samples

Oxy-nitriding is a widely used industrial process aiming to improve the tribological properties and performance of components. Previous studies have shown the effectiveness of the treatment with friction and wear performance, but very few have focussed on optimising this behaviour. The lubrication properties of several EP and AW additives were examined to investigate their effectiveness in improving the tribological properties of the layers formed after treatment. Previous studies showed the presence of an oxide layer on the sample could improve the effectiveness of the sulphurised olefin (SO) and tricresyl phosphate (TCP) additives. The friction and wear behaviour of oxy-nitrided samples were analysed using a tribometer and surface profiler. Scanning electron microscope, energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy were employed to identify the morphologies and chemical compositions of the treated surface before and after testing. No real effect on friction was observed when using the SO or TCP additives, mostly due to lack of interaction with the less reactive iron nitride layer and their roles as anti-wear additives. However, when the zinc dialkyldithiophosphate-containing lubricant was used, a higher friction coefficient was observed. Greater improvements in anti-wear properties with the presence of additives in comparison with only using base oil were reported, with the TCP additive producing the lowest wear rates. The study effectively demonstrated that the additive package type used could impact the tribological and tribochemical properties of oxy-nitrided surfaces

Serum chemokine profile in patients with bullous pemphigoid

金沢大学大学院医学系研究科血管分子科学Background: Bullous pemphigoid (BP) is an autoimmune inflammatory disease causing blister formation at the dermoepidermal junction. Cutaneous infiltration of activated CD4+ T cells and eosinophils is an early event in blister formation during the disease process, suggesting that the trafficking of circulating leucocytes through the sites of inflammation is crucial in the pathogenesis of the disease. While the accumulated evidence suggests that some cytokines are involved in the pathogenesis, there have been few reports about serum chemokine profiles in patients with BP. Objectives: To determine serum profiles of various chemokines and their clinical association in patients with BP. Methods: Concentrations of 10 chemokines - interferon (IFN)-γ- inducible protein-10 (IP-10), monokine induced by IFN-γ (MIG), macrophage inflammatory protein (MIP)-1α, MIP-1β, RANTES, eotaxin, monocyte chemoattractant protein (MCP)-1, MCP-2, MCP-3 and growth-regulated oncogene-α- were measured in serum samples from 38 patients with BP, 16 with pemphigus vulgaris (PV) and 17 normal controls using a sandwich immunoassay-based multiplex protein array system. Results: While there was no significant increase in any serum chemokine levels in patients with PV, serum levels of IP-10 and MCP-1 were significantly increased in patients with BP compared with healthy controls. Furthermore, serum levels of IP-10, MIG, MCP-1 and eotaxin in patients with BP increased significantly with disease severity as determined by the area affected. Conclusions: These observations suggest that an elaborately orchestrated network of chemokines, especially MCP-1 and IP-10, contributes to the pathomechanism of BP. © 2007 The Authors

A novel Bifidobacterium infantis-mediated TK/GCV suicide gene therapy system exhibits antitumor activity in a rat model of bladder cancer

Bladder cancer is the ninth most common malignancy in the world. Successful clinical management remains a challenge. In order To search for novel targeted and efficacious treatment, we sought to investigate anti-tumor activity of BI-TK suicide gene therapy system in a rat model of bladder tumors. We first constructed and tested an anaerobic Bifidobacterium infantis-mediated thymidine kinase (BI-TK) suicide gene therapy system. To test the in vivo efficacy of this system, we established a rat model of bladder tumors, which was induced by N-methyl-nitrosourea perfusion. Bifidobacterium infantis containing the HSV-TK (i.e., BI-TK) were constructed by transformation of recombinant plasmid pGEX - TK. The engineered BI-TK was injected into tumor-bearing rats via tail vein, followed by intraperitoneal injection of ganciclovir (GCV). Using the rat model of bladder tumors, we found that bladder tumor burdens were significantly lower in the rats treated with BI-TK/GCV group than that treated with normal saline control group (p <0.05). While various degrees of apoptosis of the tumor cells were detected in all groups using in situ TUNEL assay, apoptosis was mostly notable in the BI-TK/GCV treatment group. Immunohistochemical staining further demonstrated that the BI-TK/GCV treatment group had the highest level of caspase3 protein expression than that of the empty plasmid group and normal saline group (p < 0.05). Thus, our results demonstrate that the Bifidobacterium infantis-mediated TK/GCV suicide gene therapy system can effectively inhibit rat bladder tumor growth, possibly through increasing caspase 3 expression and inducing apoptosis