Steroids-producing nodules: a two-layered adrenocortical nodular structure as a precursor lesion of cortisol-producing adenoma

コルチゾール産生腫瘍の前駆病変を世界で初めて発見--副腎腫瘍の発生メカニズムの解明と副腎皮質疾患の治療への応用に期--京都大学プレスリリース. 2024-04-03.Background: The human adrenal cortex consists of three functionally and structurally distinct layers; zona glomerulosa, zona fasciculata (zF), and zona reticularis (zR), and produces adrenal steroid hormones in a layer-specific manner; aldosterone, cortisol, and adrenal androgens, respectively. Cortisol-producing adenomas (CPAs) occur mostly as a result of somatic mutations associated with the protein kinase A pathway. However, how CPAs develop after adrenocortical cells acquire genetic mutations, remains poorly understood. Methods: We conducted integrated approaches combining the detailed histopathologic studies with genetic, RNA-sequencing, and spatially resolved transcriptome (SRT) analyses for the adrenal cortices adjacent to human adrenocortical tumours. Findings: Histopathological analysis revealed an adrenocortical nodular structure that exhibits the two-layered zF- and zR-like structure. The nodular structures harbour GNAS somatic mutations, known as a driver mutation of CPAs, and confer cell proliferative and autonomous steroidogenic capacities, which we termed steroids-producing nodules (SPNs). RNA-sequencing coupled with SRT analysis suggests that the expansion of the zF-like structure contributes to the formation of CPAs, whereas the zR-like structure is characterised by a macrophage-mediated immune response. Interpretation: We postulate that CPAs arise from a precursor lesion, SPNs, where two distinct cell populations might contribute differently to adrenocortical tumorigenesis. Our data also provide clues to the molecular mechanisms underlying the layered structures of human adrenocortical tissues. Funding: KAKENHI, The Uehara Memorial Foundation, Daiwa Securities Health Foundation, Kaibara Morikazu Medical Science Promotion Foundation, Secom Science and Technology Foundation, ONO Medical Research Foundation, and Japan Foundation for Applied Enzymology

Palatinose and oleic acid act together to prevent pancreatic islet disruption in nondiabetic obese Zucker rats

We showed previously that 8-wk consumption of a diet containing palatinose (P, a slowly-absorbed sucrose analogue) and oleic acid (O) ameliorates but a diet containing sucrose (S) and linoleic acid (L) aggravates metabolic abnormalities in Zucker fatty (fa/fa) rats. In this study, we aimed to identify early changes in metabolism in rats induced by certain combinations of carbohydrates and fatty acids. Specifically, male Zucker fatty rats were fed an isocaloric diet containing various combinations of carbohydrates (P S) and fatty acids (O L). After 4 wk, no significant differences in bodyweight, visceral fat mass, plasma parameters (glucose, insulin, lipids, and adipokines), hepatic adiposity and gene expression, and adipose inflammation were observed between dietary groups. In contrast, pancreatic islets of palatinose-fed (PO and PL) rats were smaller and less fibrotic than sucrose-fed (SO and SL) rats. The abnormal_-cell distribution and sporadic staining of active caspase-3 common to islets of linoleic-acid-fed rats were not observed in oleic-acid-fed (PO and SO) rats. Accordingly, progressive_-cell loss was seen in SL rats, but not in PO rats. These findings suggest that pancreatic islets may be initial sites that translate the effects of different combinations of dietary carbohydrates and fats into metabolic changes

Syntheses and Characterization of New Nickel Coordination Polymers with 4,4′-Dipyridylsulfide. Dynamic Rearrangements of One-Dimensional Chains Responding to External Stimuli: Temperature Variation and Guest Releases/Re-Inclusions

Crystal structures and dynamic rearrangements of one-dimensional coordination polymers with 4,4′-dipyridylsulfide (dps) have been studied. Reaction of Ni(NO3)2·6H2O with dps in EtOH yielded [Ni(dps)2(NO3)2] ·EtOH (1), which had channels filled with guest EtOH molecules among the four Ni(dps)2 chains. This coordination polymer reversibly transformed the channel structure responding to temperature variations. Immersion of 1 in m-xylene released guest EtOH molecules to yield a guest-free coordination polymer [Ni(dps)2(NO3)2] (2a), which was also obtained by treatment of Ni(NO3)2·6H2O with dps in MeOH. On the other hand, removal of the guest molecules from 1 upon heating at 130 °C under reduced pressure produced a guest-free coordination polymer [Ni(dps)2(NO3)2] (2b). Although the 2a and 2b guest-free coordination polymers have the same formula, they showed differences in the assembled structures of the one-dimensional chains. Exposure of 2b to EtOH vapor reproduced 1, while 2a did not convert to 1 in a similar reaction. Reaction of Ni(NO3)2·6H2O with dps in acetone provided [Ni(dps)(NO3)2(H2O)] ·Me2CO (4) with no channel structure. When MeOH or acetone was used as a reaction solvent, the [Ni(dps)2(NO3)2] · (guest molecule) type coordination polymer, which was observed in 1, was not formed. Nevertheless, the reaction of Ni(NO3)2·6H2O with dps in MeOH/acetone mixed solution produced [Ni(dps)2(NO3)2]·0.5(MeOH·acetone) (5), which has an isostructural Ni-dps framework to 1

Phospholipase Cbeta4 and protein kinase Calpha and/or protein kinase CbetaI are involved in the induction of long term depression in cerebellar Purkinje cells.

Activation of the type-1 metabotropic glutamate receptor (mGluR1) signaling pathway in the cerebellum involves activation of phospholipase C (PLC) and protein kinase C (PKC) for the induction of cerebellar long term depression (LTD). The PLC and PKC isoforms that are involved in LTD remain unclear, however. One previous study found no change in LTD in PKCgamma-deficient mice, thus, in the present study, we examined cerebellar LTD in PLCbeta4-deficient mice. Immunohistochemical and Western blot analyses of cerebellum from wild-type mice revealed that PLCbeta1 was expressed weakly and uniformly, PLCbeta2 was not detected, PLCbeta3 was expressed predominantly in caudal cerebellum (lobes 7-10), and PLCbeta4 was expressed uniformly throughout. In PLCbeta4-deficient mice, expression of total PLCbeta, the mGluR1-mediated Ca(2+) response, and LTD induction were greatly reduced in rostral cerebellum (lobes 1-6). Furthermore, we used immunohistochemistry to localize PKCalpha, -betaI, -betaII, and -gamma in mouse cerebellar Purkinje cells during LTD induction. Both PKCalpha and PKCbetaI were found to be translocated to the plasmamembrane under these conditions. Taken together, these results suggest that mGluR1-mediated activation of PLCbeta4 in rostral cerebellar Purkinje cells induced LTD via PKCalpha and/or PKCbetaI

Conjugated docosahexaenoic acid suppresses KPL-1 human breast cancer cell growth in vitro and in vivo: potential mechanisms of action

Introduction The present study was conducted to examine the effect of conjugated docosahexaenoic acid (CDHA) on cell growth, cell cycle progression, mode of cell death, and expression of cell cycle regulatory and/or apoptosis-related proteins in KPL-1 human breast cancer cell line. This effect of CDHA was compared with that of docosahexaenoic acid (DHA). Methods KPL-1 cell growth was assessed by colorimetric 3- (4,5-dimethylthiazol-2-yl)-2,5-diphenyltetrazolium bromide assay; cell cycle progression and mode of cell death were examined by flow cytometry; and levels of expression of p53, p21Cip1/Waf1, cyclin D1, Bax, and Bcl-2 proteins were examined by Western blotting analysis. In vivo tumor growth was examined by injecting KPL-1 cells subcutaneously into the area of the right thoracic mammary fat pad of female athymic mice fed a CDHA diet. Results CDHA inhibited KPL-1 cells more effectively than did DHA (50% inhibitory concentration for 72 hours: 97 μmol/l and 270 μmol/l, respectively). With both CDHA and DHA growth inhibition was due to apoptosis, as indicated by the appearance of a sub-G1 fraction. The apoptosis cascade involved downregulation of Bcl-2 protein; Bax expression was unchanged. Cell cycle progression was due to G0/G1 arrest, which involved increased expression of p53 and p21Cip1/Waf1, and decreased expression of cyclin D1. CDHA modulated cell cycle regulatory proteins and apoptosis-related proteins in a manner similar to that of parent DHA. In the athymic mouse system 1.0% dietary CDHA, but not 0.2%, significantly suppressed growth of KPL-1 tumor cells; CDHA tended to decrease regional lymph node metastasis in a dose dependent manner. Conclusion CDHA inhibited growth of KPL-1 human breast cancer cells in vitro more effectively than did DHA. The mechanisms of action involved modulation of apoptosis cascade and cell cycle progression. Dietary CDHA at 1.0% suppressed KPL-1 cell growth in the athymic mouse system.</p