Tissue-specific expression of histone H3 variants diversified after species separation

Additional file 3: Predicted CDS of human histone H3/H4 variants, contains Table S2, which lists the CDS locus information of the predicted human histone H3 and H4 variants in an Excel file

Differences in the electric potential of pancreatic head cancer tissues

Identifying the electrical properties of cancer relies on the understanding of the electric potential (EP) of cancer tissues. This study aimed to investigate the EP properties in 49 pancreatic head cancer tissues using a digital multimetre. The anode was placed at the central side of the tumour, and the electric potential differences (EPDs) between cancerous and cancerous, cancerous and noncancerous, and noncancerous and noncancerous lesions at approximately 1-cm intervals following resection were evaluated. Pathological evaluation identified 30 of these samples as pancreatic invasive ductal carcinoma (PIDC, 10 without preoperative chemotherapy and 20 after chemotherapy), seven other pancreatic cancers, three tumours of Vater’s ampulla (VA), and eight extrahepatic cholangiocarcinoma (EHCC) samples. We also evaluated the differences in pH for cancerous and noncancerous lesions in nine PIDC samples. Our data suggest that the EP of pancreatic cancerous tissues is higher than that of noncancerous tissues, especially in PIDCs. We also noted that EPD was the highest when comparing cancerous and noncancerous lesions. Additionally, PIDC tissues presented with low pH; the pH difference between cancerous and noncancerous sites was significantly correlated with EPD (P = 0.011). These EPDs were also correlated with tumour size in PIDCs and inversely correlated with their response to chemotherapy. The EP values for both the cancerous and noncancerous sites in both the VA tumours and EHCC samples were not significantly different, whereas EPD in PIDC correlated with tumour extension and viable tumour content, suggesting that EPD might be useful for evaluating the viability and effectiveness of neoadjuvant chemotherapy.This research was partially supported by a Grant-in-Aid for Scientific Research (A) (Nos. 15H02567 and 17H05102) from the Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science, and Technology, and the Ministry of Health, Labour, and Welfare for Japan

Leukocytapheresis Therapy Improved Cholestasis in a Patient Suffering from Primary Sclerosing Cholangitis with Ulcerative Colitis

Primary sclerosing cholangitis (PSC) is an autoimmune disease of the hepatobiliary system for which effective therapy has not been established. Leukocytapheresis (LCAP) therapy is known to effective in patients with ulcerative colitis (UC). In addition, effects of LCAP therapy were reported on some autoimmune diseases such as Crohn's disease, rheumatoid arthritis and rapidly progressive glomerulonephritis. Here we report the case of a 29-year-old man with PSC associated with UC who was treated with LCAP therapy. He had a 16-year history of UC and a 12-year history of PSC. Although he was under treatment with prednisolone and ursodeoxycholic acid, exacerbation of UC and PSC-associated cholestasis were seen. Since he showed side effects of prednisolone, he was treated with LCAP. Not only improvement of UC, but also decreased serum alkaline phosphatase, γ-guanosine triphosphate and total bile acids, suggesting improvement of PSC-associated cholestaisis, were seen after treatment with LCAP. Our experience with this case suggests that LCAP therapy could be a new effective therapeutic strategy for patients with PSC associated with UC

関西大学東西学術研究所鱒澤文庫目録（初稿）

本目録は2016年度関西大学教育研究緊急支援経費「東アジア研究オープン・プラットホームの構築に向けて」（内田慶市、吾妻重二、原田正俊、篠原啓方、氷野善寛）の成果の一部である

Development of stepping measurement device for evaluation of and training in walking

急性膵炎の回復後その発症原因の検索において発見された小膵癌の3例を報告し，膵炎の発症原因の一つとして膵癌を常に念頭におく必要があることを強調した。またスクリーニング検査および精査において小膵癌を診断する手順について考察を加えた。症例1は初回発作の回復後に，症例2および症例3は再発発作の回復後に急性膵炎の発症原因の検索を目的に紹介された。いずれの症例においても血清腫瘍マーカーは正常植を示し，腹部USおよびCTは腫瘍から尾側の膵管の拡張を示したが腫瘍そのものは描出はできなかった。症例1ではERCP像から膵体部癌を強く疑い，症例2と症例3ではERCP像と細胞診陽性所見から膵頭部癌と確診し，手術を行った。腫瘍の最大径は症例1では0.9cm，症例2では1.5cm，症例3では2.0cmであり，いずれも転移を認めず根治切除可能であった。Although gait training equipment such as the bicycle ergometer and treadmill exists for patients whose walking ability is high, there is no appropriate gait training mehtod or training instrument for patients whose walking ability has become impaired, who often use a cane or walker, etc. in the course of daily life. In the case of gait training for persons whose walking ability involves impaired locomotion, there is always the danger of a fall. Consequently, a caregiver is required, and the effect of the training is cut by half because the patient's anxiety about falling is exacerbated. Slow stepping affords strengthening and balance training of the leg muscles for patients whose walking ability has become low, and walking ability is improved. However,whether such training appropriately carries out stepping and the degree of the effect of such training has not been evaluated. Therefore, we have developed a stepping measturement device that monitors stepping for evaluation and training of walking ability. This system consists of two mat switches for stepping, a measuring circuit for stepping detection, and a book-sized personal computer with a PC card-type AD converter. This system can detect a left or right single stance phase and a double stance phase relative to the ON, OFF condition of the mat switch. After measurement, the following items are analyzed and displayed : ・number of steps, ・average time of double stance phase, ・the average time of single stance phase, and so on. Finally, we measured the stepping of subjects whose walking ability is low, and showed the relationship between daily walking conditions and stepping conditions. The effectiveness of this system was considered in light of the results

Pyridoxal 5′-phosphate and related metabolites in hypophosphatasia: Effects of enzyme replacement therapy

Objective To investigate the utility of serum pyridoxal 5′-phosphate (PLP), pyridoxal (PL), and 4-pyridoxic acid (PA) as a diagnostic marker of hypophosphatasia (HPP) and an indicator of the effect of, and patient compliance with, enzyme replacement therapy (ERT), we measured PLP, PL, and PA concentrations in serum samples from HPP patients with and without ERT. Methods Blood samples were collected from HPP patients and serum was frozen as soon as possible (mostly within one hour). PLP, PL, and PA concentrations were analyzed using high-performance liquid chromatography with fluorescence detection after pre-column derivatization by semicarbazide. We investigated which metabolites are associated with clinical phenotypes and how these metabolites change with ERT. Results Serum samples from 20 HPP patients were analyzed. The PLP-to-PL ratio and PLP concentration were elevated in all HPP patients. They correlated negatively with serum alkaline phosphatase (ALP) activity and showed higher values in more severe phenotypes (perinatal severe and infantile HPP) compared with other phenotypes. PL concentration was reduced only in perinatal severe HPP. ERT reduced the PLP-to-PL ratio to mildly reduced or low-normal levels and the PLP concentration was reduced to normal or mildly elevated levels. Urine phosphoethanolamine (PEA) concentration did not return to normal levels with ERT in most patients. Conclusions The serum PLP-to-PL ratio is a better indicator of the effect of ERT for HPP than serum PLP and urine PEA concentrations, and a PLP-to-PL ratio of <4.0 is a good indicator of the effect of, and patient compliance with, ERT

Integrative Annotation of 21,037 Human Genes Validated by Full-Length cDNA Clones

The human genome sequence defines our inherent biological potential; the realization of the biology encoded therein requires knowledge of the function of each gene. Currently, our knowledge in this area is still limited. Several lines of investigation have been used to elucidate the structure and function of the genes in the human genome. Even so, gene prediction remains a difficult task, as the varieties of transcripts of a gene may vary to a great extent. We thus performed an exhaustive integrative characterization of 41,118 full-length cDNAs that capture the gene transcripts as complete functional cassettes, providing an unequivocal report of structural and functional diversity at the gene level. Our international collaboration has validated 21,037 human gene candidates by analysis of high-quality full-length cDNA clones through curation using unified criteria. This led to the identification of 5,155 new gene candidates. It also manifested the most reliable way to control the quality of the cDNA clones. We have developed a human gene database, called the H-Invitational Database (H-InvDB; http://www.h-invitational.jp/). It provides the following: integrative annotation of human genes, description of gene structures, details of novel alternative splicing isoforms, non-protein-coding RNAs, functional domains, subcellular localizations, metabolic pathways, predictions of protein three-dimensional structure, mapping of known single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs), identification of polymorphic microsatellite repeats within human genes, and comparative results with mouse full-length cDNAs. The H-InvDB analysis has shown that up to 4% of the human genome sequence (National Center for Biotechnology Information build 34 assembly) may contain misassembled or missing regions. We found that 6.5% of the human gene candidates (1,377 loci) did not have a good protein-coding open reading frame, of which 296 loci are strong candidates for non-protein-coding RNA genes. In addition, among 72,027 uniquely mapped SNPs and insertions/deletions localized within human genes, 13,215 nonsynonymous SNPs, 315 nonsense SNPs, and 452 indels occurred in coding regions. Together with 25 polymorphic microsatellite repeats present in coding regions, they may alter protein structure, causing phenotypic effects or resulting in disease. The H-InvDB platform represents a substantial contribution to resources needed for the exploration of human biology and pathology