Friend of Prmt1, FOP is a novel component of the nuclear SMN complex isolated using biotin affinity purification

SMN (survival motor neuron protein) complexes are essential for the biogenesis of uridine-rich small nuclear ribonucleoproteins (UsnRNPs). During the biogenesis, the SMN complexes bound to UsnRNPs are transported from the cytoplasm to the nucleus, and moved to Cajal body (bodies)/Gems (Cajal/Gems) where the SMN complexes- UsnRNPs are subjected to additional chemical modifications and dissociated to the SMN complexes and the mature UsnRNPs. Although the mature UsnRNPs are assembled into spliceosome with newly transcribed pre-mRNA in the perichromatin fibrils at the chromatin, the role of the dissociated nuclear SMN complexes remains undetermined. In this study, we identified Friend of Prmt1 (FOP; chromatin target of Prmt1, CHTOP; C1orf77) as a novel component of the nuclear SMN complexes by the biotin affinity purification, coupled with the mass spectrometry-based protein identification. FOP was associated with SMN, Gemines 2, 3, 4, 6, and 8, unrip, and fragile X mental retardation 1 protein (FMR1), as well as with U5and U6 snRNAs in the nucleus, but not with Sm proteins, Gemin5, coilin, and U1 and U2snRNAs. Using the quantitative proteomic method with SILAC coupled with RNA interference, we also showed that FOP is required for the association of the SMN complexes with hnRNPs, histone proteins, and various RNA-binding proteins. It is reported that FOP localizes mainly in the nuclear speckles, binds chromatin, and plays a role in mRNA transcriptional regulation. Our present data suggest that the nuclear SMN complex containing FOP participates in the process of mRNA post-transcriptional regulation

Diagnosis of Myocardial Viability by Fluorodeoxyglucose Distribution at the Border Zone of a Low Uptake Region

Purpose: In cardiac 2-[F-18]fluoro-2-deoxy-D-glucose (FDG)-positron emission tomography (PET) examination, interpretation of myocardial viability in the low uptake region (LUR) has been difficult without additional perfusion imaging. We evaluated distribution patterns of FDG at the border zone of the LUR in the cardiac FDG-PET and established a novel parameter for diagnosing myocardial viability and for discriminating the LUR of normal variants. Materials and Methods: Cardiac FDG-PET was performed in patients with a myocardial ischemic event (n = 22) and in healthy volunteers (n = 22). Whether the myocardium was not a viable myocardium (not-VM) or an ischemic but viable myocardium (isch-VM) was defined by an echocardiogram under a low dose of dobutamine infusion as the gold standard. FDG images were displayed as gray scaled-bull’s eye mappings. FDG-plot profiles for LUR ( = true ischemic region in the patients or normal variant region in healthy subjects) were calculated. Maximal values of FDG change at the LUR border zone (a steepness index; Smax scale/pixel) were compared among not-VM, isch-VM, and normal myocardium. Results: Smax was significantly higher for n-VM compared to those with isch-VM or normal myocardium (ANOVA). A cut-off value of 0.30 in Smax demonstrated 100 % sensitivity and 83 % specificity for diagnosing n-VM and isch-VM. Smax less than 0.23 discriminated LUR in normal myocardium from the LUR in patients with both n-VM and isch-VM with a 94 % sensitivity and a 93 % specificity. Conclusion: Smax of the LUR in cardiac FDG-PET is a simple and useful parameter to diagnose n-VM and isch

Artificial Production and Natural Breeding of the Endangered Frog Species Odorrana ishikawae, with Special Reference to Fauna Conservation in the Laboratory

Odorrana ishikawae is listed as a class IB endangered species in the IUCN Red List and is protected by law in both Okinawa and Kagoshima Prefectures, Japan. Here, in an effort to help effectively preserve the genetic diversity of this endangered species in the laboratory, we tested a farming technique involving the artificial breeding of frogs, and also promoted natural breeding in the laboratory. Field-caught male/female pairs of the Amami and Okinawa Island populations were artificially bred using an artificial insemination method in the 2004, 2006, and 2008 breeding seasons (March to April). Although fewer than 50% of the inseminated eggs achieved metamorphosis, approximately 500, 300, and 250 offspring from the three respective trials are currently being raised in the laboratory. During the 2009 and 2010 breeding seasons, second-generation offspring were produced by the natural mating activities of the first offspring derived from the two artificial matings in 2004. The findings and the methods presented here appear to be applicable to the temporary protection of genetic diversity of local populations in which the number of individuals has decreased or the environmental conditions have worsened to levels that frogs are unable to survive by themselves

Oxygen isotope evidence from Ryugu samples for early water delivery to Earth by CI chondrites

The delivery of water to the inner Solar System, including Earth, is still a debated topic. A preferential role for hydrated asteroids in this process is supported by isotopic measurements. Carbonaceous chondrite (CC) meteorites represent our main source of information about these volatile-rich asteroids. However, the destruction of weaker materials during atmospheric entry creates a bias in our CC data. The return of surface materials from the C-type asteroid 162173 Ryugu by the Hayabusa2 spacecraft provides a unique opportunity to study high-porosity, low-density, primitive materials, unrepresented in the meteorite record. We measured the bulk oxygen isotope composition from four Ryugu particles and show that they most closely resemble the rare CI (CC Ivuna-type) chondrites, but with some differences that we attribute to the terrestrial contamination of the CI meteorites. We suggest that CI-related material is widespread among carbonaceous asteroids and a more important source of Earth’s water and other volatiles than its limited presence in our meteoritic collection indicates

A pristine record of outer Solar System materials from asteroid Ryugu’s returned sample

Volatile and organic-rich C-type asteroids may have been one of the main sources of Earth’s water. Our best insight into their chemistry is currently provided by carbonaceous chondritic meteorites, but the meteorite record is biased: only the strongest types survive atmospheric entry and are then modified by interaction with the terrestrial environment. Here we present the results of a detailed bulk and microanalytical study of pristine Ryugu particles, brought to Earth by the Hayabusa2 spacecraft. Ryugu particles display a close compositional match with the chemically unfractionated, but aqueously altered, CI (Ivuna-type) chondrites, which are widely used as a proxy for the bulk Solar System composition. The sample shows an intricate spatial relationship between aliphatic-rich organics and phyllosilicates and indicates maximum temperatures of ~30 °C during aqueous alteration. We find that heavy hydrogen and nitrogen abundances are consistent with an outer Solar System origin. Ryugu particles are the most uncontaminated and unfractionated extraterrestrial materials studied so far, and provide the best available match to the bulk Solar System composition