ABCA7 Gene Expression and Genetic Association Study in Schizophrenia

Introduction: Although ATP-binding cassette sub-family A member 7 gene (ABCA7) is known to be associated with Alzheimer’s disease, the relationship between ABCA7 and schizophrenia has been unknown. Methods: Schizophrenia patients (n = 50; 24 males, 62.1 ± 0.50 years old) and age- and sex-matched healthy controls (n = 50) were recruited for the mRNA analysis. Additionally, a case-control study for the rs3764650 genotypes was performed with 1308 samples (control subjects; n = 527, schizophrenia patients; n = 781). All participants were Japanese, unrelated to each other, and living in the same area. Results: The distributions of the rs3764650 genotypes in schizophrenia patients were not different from that of controls. However, the ABCA7 mRNA expression levels in schizophrenia patients were significantly higher than those in controls by a logistic regression analysis. Additionally, the ABCA7 mRNA expression levels in schizophrenia patients were correlated with the rs3764650 genotypes in a dose-dependent manner. Discussion: The ABCA7 mRNA expression levels in peripheral blood with the rs3764650 genotypes may be related to pathological mechanisms in schizophrenia and may be a biological marker for schizophrenia

TREM2 Expression in Schizophrenia

TREM2 and TYROBP are causal genes for Nasu–Hakola disease (NHD), a rare autosomal recessive disease characterized by bone lesions and early-onset progressive dementia. TREM2 forms a receptor signaling complex with TYROBP, which triggers the activation of immune responses in macrophages and dendritic cells, and the functional polymorphism of TREM2 is reported to be associated with neurodegenerative disorders such as Alzheimer’s disease (AD). The objective of this study was to reveal the involvement of TYROBP and TREM2 in the pathophysiology of AD and schizophrenia. Methods: We investigated the mRNA expression level of the 2 genes in leukocytes of 26 patients with AD and 24 with schizophrenia in comparison with age-matched controls. Moreover, we performed gene association analysis between these 2 genes and schizophrenia. Results: No differences were found in TYROBP mRNA expression in patients with AD and schizophrenia; however, TREM2 mRNA expression was increased in patients with AD and schizophrenia compared with controls (P < 0.001). There were no genetic associations of either gene with schizophrenia in Japanese patients. Conclusion: TREM2 expression in leukocytes is elevated not only in AD but also in schizophrenia. Inflammatory processes involving TREM2 may occur in schizophrenia, as observed in neurocognitive disorders such as AD. TREM2 expression in leukocytes may be a novel biomarker for neurological and psychiatric disorders

Recurrence of Atrial Fibrillation within Three Months after Pulmonary Vein Isolation in Patients with Paroxysmal Atrial Fibrillation : Analysis Using an External Loop Recorder with Auto-trigger Function

Pulmonary vein isolation (PVI) via catheter ablation has been shown to be a highly effective option for patients with symptomatic paroxysmal atrial brillation (AF). The recurrence of AF within 3 months after PVI is not considered a failure of the ablation procedure because early recurrence of AF is not always associated with late recurrence. We examined the usefulness of an external loop recorder with auto-trigger function (ELR-AUTO) to detect AF following PVI to characterize early recurrence and determine the implication of AF within 3 months after PVI. The study included 53 consecutive patients with symptomatic paroxysmal AF (age, 61.6 ± 12.6 years ; 77％ male) who underwent PVI, and were fitted with an ELR-AUTO for 7 ± 2 days within 3 months after PVI. Of the 33 patients(62.2％) who did not have AF within the 3-month period, only 1 patient had AF recurrence at 12 months. Seven of 20 patients (35％) who experienced AF within 3 months had symptomatic AF recurrence at 12 months. The sensitivity, specificity, positive predictive value, and negative predictive value of early AF recurrence for late recurrence was 87.5％, 71.1％, 35.0％, and 96.9％, respectively. Thus, AF recurrence detected by ELR-AUTO within 3 months after PVI can predict late AF recurrence. Freedom from AF in the firrst 3 months following ablation significantly predicts long-term freedom from AF. An ELR-AUTO is useful for detecting symptomatic and asymptomatic AF

The Japanese space gravitational wave antenna; DECIGO

DECi-hertz Interferometer Gravitational wave Observatory (DECIGO) is the future Japanese space gravitational wave antenna. DECIGO is expected to open a new window of observation for gravitational wave astronomy especially between 0.1 Hz and 10 Hz, revealing various mysteries of the universe such as dark energy, formation mechanism of supermassive black holes, and inflation of the universe. The pre-conceptual design of DECIGO consists of three drag-free spacecraft, whose relative displacements are measured by a differential Fabry– Perot Michelson interferometer. We plan to launch two missions, DECIGO pathfinder and pre- DECIGO first and finally DECIGO in 2024

Metal-Containing Schiff Base/Sulfoxide Ligands for Pd(II)-Catalyzed Asymmetric Allylic C-H Aminations

Metal-containing Schiff base/sulfoxides were developed as chiral ligands for Pd(II)-catalyzed asymmetric intramolecular allylic C-H amination reactions. The use of metal-containing Schiff base ligands allows tuning the selectivity and reactivity of the Pd(II)-catalyst, whereby a Schiff base-Cu(II)/sulfoxide ligand in combination with Pd(OAc)(2) showed the best performance. Both internal and terminal alkenes were applicable, and the C-H amination products were obtained in up to 91:9 er