pH measurement of tubular vacuoles of an arbuscular mycorrhizal fungus, Gigaspora margarita

Arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi play an important role in phosphate supply to the host plants. The fungal hyphae contain tubular vacuoles where phosphate compounds such as polyphosphate are accumulated. Despite their importance for the phosphate storage, little is known about the physiological properties of the tubular vacuoles in arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi. As an indicator of the physiological state in vacuoles, we measured pH of tubular vacuoles in living hyphae of arbuscular mycorrhizal fungus Gigaspora margarita using ratio image analysis with pH-dependent fluorescent probe, 6-carboxyfluorescein. Fluorescent images of the fine tubular vacuoles were obtained using a laser scanning confocal microscope, which enabled calculation of vacuolar pH with high spatial resolution. The tubular vacuoles showed mean pH of 5.6 and a pH range of 5.1-6.3. These results suggest that the tubular vacuoles of arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi have a mildly acidic pH just like vacuoles of other fungal species including yeast and ectomycorrhizal fungi.ArticleMYCORRHIZA. 25(1):55-60 (2015)journal articl

Treatment of postmenopausal osteoporosis

It is well recognized that estrogen deficiency leads to acceleration of bone resorption and is the main trigger for postmenopausal osteoporosis. It is important to raise the peak bone mass and to inhibit the bone loss after menopause in order to prevent the postmenopausal osteoporosis. Te therapy is based on the high calcium diet and exercise therapy, and the medication is mainly by the drugs that inhibits bone resorption. Especially estrogen administration can prevent bone loss and osteoporotic fracture as well as improve vasomotor symptoms and lipid metabolism. Therefore hormone replacement therapy (HRT) will be the key medication for total care for postmenopausal women. However, HRT does not prevail in Japan due to its side effects and mental rejection. We hope that HRT will be more utilized by reducing its side effects (for example by selective estrogen receptor modulator) and by providing more information

Fertilization failure and oocyte activation

Recent reports have suggested that when unfertilized oocytes with a sperma-tozoon after intracytoplasmic sperm injection (ICSI) are properly activated, the activated oocytes develop normaly similar to fertilized oocytes. However, human oocytes do not easily respond to universal activators of mammalian oocytes like ethanol or calcium ionophore A23187, which induce a calcium transient in ooplasm. Puromycin activates human oocytes at a rate of 90%, but more than two thirds of the parthenogenones possess 2 haploid pronuclei or 1 diploid pronucleus without extrusion of the second polar body. Therefore, the activation method which produces one pronucleus with extrusion of the second polar body in oocytes without a spermatozoon is necessary for producing embryos with normal karyotypes. Recently, we found the oocyte activation method which produced parthenogenones displaying one pronucleus with extrusion of the second polar body. Using our method (a combination of calcium ionophore A23187 and puromycin), the activation rate was approximately 90% and the proportion of parthenogenones dis-playing one pronucleus with extrusion of the second polar body was approximately 80% in human aged and mouse young oocytes. When human unfertilized oocytes following ICSI were activated by this method, two pronuclei were formed with extrusion of the second polar body in 30% of the oocytes. Four cleaved parthenogenones (or embryos) showed normal karyotypes. However, the cytotoxic, teratogenetic and mutagenetic activity of Ca ionophore and puromycin should be approved prior to the clinical adaptation of the method

ボニュウ エイヨウ ノ モンダイテン

Breastfeeding is recognized by many mothers, families and health professionals to beimportant for the health and wellbeing of mothers and babies. One of the important objectivesof the puerperium is to enhance the maternal-infant interaction as regards nutrition ofthe infants. The advantages of breastfeeding are many. Human milk is always at the correcttemperature and requires no sterilization ; the protein content is lower than in formulabut of high quality, gives a small curd, and is easily digestible ; the fats are well absorbed ;the carbohydrate is relatively high in lactose.But there are a few problems in breastfeeding ; for example, 1. breastfeeding jaundice, 2.Vitamin K deficiency, 3. drugs, 4. allergic disease, 5. HTLV-1, 6. The secretion of breast milkin pregnant women after therapy of sterility. We must mange these problems of breastfeeding

コウネンキ ジョセイ ニ ミラレル セイシン シンケイ ショウジョウ

Declining estrogen level associated with ovarian failure has wide-ranging and unwelcome consequences and leads to diverse metabolic changes and symptoms. The short-term effects are vasomotor instability and psychological symptoms, and medium-term effects include urogenital atrophy. On the other hand, long-term consequences are an increased risk of coronary artery disease, osteoporosis and possibly Alzheimer's disease. The hormonal change occurring around menopause and their influence may be enough to trigger emotional reactions such as depression. Furthermore, life events, personality also affect psychological symptoms which include forgetfulness, fatigue, irritability, loss of concentration, depressed mood, anxiety and sleep-related problems. Middle age is considered to be a period of increased role change and occurrence of stressful life events, particularly those called exit events. Such events include children moving out, elderly parents developing illnesses and requiring assistance or dying, partners or close friends aging or developing disease, separation and divorce. Hormone replacement therapy (HRT) improves mood and increases a sense of well-being in postmenopausal women, however estrogen was not effective in women with more severe depressive symptoms. When HRT is not advisable, other treatments such as Kampo medicine, anti-anxiety drugs and counseling should be considered. It is important for postmenopausal women suffered from psychological symptoms to look for signs of increased vulnerability to hormonal fluctuation and individualize treatment

Antisperm antibody: a monkey wrench in conception / magic bullet of contraception?

Antisperm antibodies can cause infertility by interacting with spermatozoa through immunoglobulin binding protein thereby blocking their penetrance of cervical mucus and / or by interfering with sperm-egg interaction. However, these antibodies appear not to be cytotoxic to embryos since a high implantation rate and consequently high pregnancy rate were achieved by IVF-ET treatment of women with antisperm antibodies. Also the finding that these antibodies do not appear to cause any deleterious clinical symptoms and have yet be associated with infertility suggested that sperm antigens are promising candidates in the development of immunocontraceptives. Some synthetic peptides corresponding to segments of human sperm antigens have effectively induced infertility in female rats when administered as an immunogen. Different peptides, adjuvants and routes of administration should be studied to determine the optimum conditions for inducing high antisperm antibody titers in the host. Moreover, identification of various steps and factors that are involved in regulating the production of antisperm antibodies such as immunoglobulin binding factor may open new paths in the treatment of immunological infertility and at the same time lead to a more effective immunocontraceptive

Immunological functions of adult T cell leukemia cells of a patient complicated with synchronous double primary gynecologic cancer

A patient with triple malignancies is reported, who presented cervical cancer, vulvar cancer and adult T cell leukemia (ATL). ATL was diagnosed as a smouldering type, because antibody to human T cell leukemia virus associated antigen (ATLA) was positive with a titer of 1 : 160. Although her malignant cells had an OKT 4+8-3+Tac+ phenotype, the cells did not display helper T cell functions. Namely they showed no response to Phytohemagglutinin (PHA) and Interleukin 2 (IL-2) and suppressed the PWM driven IgG synthesis of B cells obtained from healthy donor. They did not produce IL-2 by stimulation with PHA and phorbol myristate acetate (PMA). Furthermore, these ATL cells were producing IL-2 inhibitor like factors. As synchronous triple malignancies are extremely rare, two gynecologic cancers seem to ascribe to the suppressing state of the immunosurveillance mechanism by viral infection

The genome of the versatile nitrogen fixer Azorhizobium caulinodans ORS571

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Biological nitrogen fixation is a prokaryotic process that plays an essential role in the global nitrogen cycle. <it>Azorhizobium caulinodans </it>ORS571 has the dual capacity to fix nitrogen both as free-living organism and in a symbiotic interaction with <it>Sesbania rostrata</it>. The host is a fast-growing, submergence-tolerant tropical legume on which <it>A. caulinodans </it>can efficiently induce nodule formation on the root system and on adventitious rootlets located on the stem.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>The 5.37-Mb genome consists of a single circular chromosome with an overall average GC of 67% and numerous islands with varying GC contents. Most nodulation functions as well as a putative type-IV secretion system are found in a distinct symbiosis region. The genome contains a plethora of regulatory and transporter genes and many functions possibly involved in contacting a host. It potentially encodes 4717 proteins of which 96.3% have homologs and 3.7% are unique for <it>A. caulinodans</it>. Phylogenetic analyses show that the diazotroph <it>Xanthobacter autotrophicus </it>is the closest relative among the sequenced genomes, but the synteny between both genomes is very poor.</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>The genome analysis reveals that <it>A. caulinodans </it>is a diazotroph that acquired the capacity to nodulate most probably through horizontal gene transfer of a complex symbiosis island. The genome contains numerous genes that reflect a strong adaptive and metabolic potential. These combined features and the availability of the annotated genome make <it>A. caulinodans </it>an attractive organism to explore symbiotic biological nitrogen fixation beyond leguminous plants.</p

CXCL10 REGULATION BY THYMIDINE PHOSPHORYLASE IN RA

The sworn affidavit of Stephen R. Wee and attachment, Establishment of the Coeur d\u27Alene Indian Reservation and the Transformation of Coeur d\u27Alene Land and Water Use, From Contract Through Allotment, in support thereof