Electrochemical Aberrant Methylation Detection Based on Ferrocenyl Naphthalene Diimide Carrying β-cyclodextrin, FNC

Electrochemical detection of the specific gene carrying aberrant methylated cytosine was achieved by ferrocenyl naphthalene diimide carrying β‐cyclodextrin (β‐CD), FNC, coupled with the probe‐DNA‐immobilized electrode. The five CpG sites in a 24‐base sequence were selected as the target DNA on the CDH4 gene, which is associated with colorectal cancer. When methylated and unmethylated samples hybridized with the DNA probe (HS‐M24) immobilized on the electrode, an increased current signal was observed in the electrolyte containing FNC and correlated with the amount of target DNA. Furthermore, an increase in current (115 %) was observed when the PCR product of 105 bp was hybridized on the HS‐M24‐immobilized electrode, whereas a background level of current increase was observed in the case of unmethylated product. Such large discrimination ability might be due to the inter‐ and/or intra‐complex formation of ferrocene with β‐CD of FNC on the surface of the electrode

Radiation exposure and circulatory disease risk: Hiroshima and Nagasaki atomic bomb survivor data, 1950-2003

Objective To investigate the degree to which ionising radiation confers risk of mortality from heart disease and stroke

Deconstructing the traditional Japanese medicine “Kampo”: compounds, metabolites and pharmacological profile of maoto, a remedy for flu-like symptoms

Pharmacological activities of the traditional Japanese herbal medicine (Kampo) are putatively mediated by complex interactions between multiple herbal compounds and host factors, which are difficult to characterize via the reductive approach of purifying major bioactive compounds and elucidating their mechanisms by conventional pharmacology. Here, we performed comprehensive compound, pharmacological and metabolomic analyses of maoto, a pharmaceutical-grade Kampo prescribed for flu-like symptoms, in normal and polyI:C-injected rats, the latter suffering from acute inflammation via Toll-like receptor 3 activation. In total, 352 chemical composition-determined compounds (CCDs) were detected in maoto extract by mass spectrometric analysis. After maoto treatment, 113 CCDs were newly detected in rat plasma. Of these CCDs, 19 were present in maoto extract, while 94 were presumed to be metabolites generated from maoto compounds or endogenous substances such as phospholipids. At the phenotypic level, maoto ameliorated the polyI:C-induced decrease in locomotor activity and body weight; however, body weight was not affected by individual maoto components in isolation. In accordance with symptom relief, maoto suppressed TNF-α and IL-1β, increased IL-10, and altered endogenous metabolites related to sympathetic activation and energy expenditure. Furthermore, maoto decreased inflammatory prostaglandins and leukotrienes, and increased anti-inflammatory eicosapentaenoic acid and hydroxyl-eicosapentaenoic acids, suggesting that it has differential effects on eicosanoid metabolic pathways involving cyclooxygenases, lipoxygenases and cytochrome P450s. Collectively, these data indicate that extensive profiling of compounds, metabolites and pharmacological phenotypes is essential for elucidating the mechanisms of herbal medicines, whose vast array of constituents induce a wide range of changes in xenobiotic and endogenous metabolism

北海道の女性労働者における抑うつの因子構造に関する研究

北海道の女性労働者586名に質問紙票(CES-D:the Center for Epidemiologic Study Depression Scale)を用いた抑うつ調査を実施した。一般職域の従業員542名と栄養士144名の2群に分けてCES-D(20質問項目)の因子構造を比較・検討した結果、以下の諸点が明らかとなった。1)一般職域従業員の探索的(因子数を指定しない)因子分析では、直交回転法、斜交回転法のいずれにおいても、第1因子:「不安6項目・孤立4項目」、第2因子:「抑うつ6項目」、第3因子:「生活に対する満足4項目」の3因子に縮約された。2)栄養士の探索的因子分析では、直交回転法では因子構造が同定できず、斜交回転法では6因子構造が示唆されたものの相関係数が1.0を越えるなど構造に不安定さがみとめられた。3)栄養士の確認的(因子数を3に指定した斜交回転法)因子分析では、第1因子:「不安6項目・抑うつ6項目」、第2因子:「孤立4項目」、第3因子:「生活に対する満足4項目」に集約された。4)一般職域従業員と栄養士の因子構造では、第3因子の「生活に対する満足4項目」は同じ質問項目で構成され、第1因子の「不安6項目」についても共通していた。また、一般職域従業員の第1因子の「孤立4項目」は栄養士の第2因子の「孤立4項目」と等しく、栄養士の第1因子の「抑うつ6項目」は一般職域従業員の第2因子の「抑うつ6項目」と対応していた。5)一般職域従業員、栄養士ともに第1因子の「不安6項目」を中核として共有し、それに「孤立4項目」が付随すると一般職域従業員の因子構造となり、「抑うつ6項目」が付随すると栄養士の因子構造となることが示唆された。以上のことから、北海道内女性労働者のCES-Dは、潜在的に「不安6項目」、「孤立4項目」、「抑うつ6項目」、「生活に対する満足4項目」の4因子で構成されていることが推察された