Copper-deficiency anemia after esophagectomy: A pitfall of postoperative enteral nutrition through jejunostomy

AbstractINTRODUCTIONCopper deficiency leads to functional disorders of hematopoiesis and neurological system. There have been some reports of copper deficiency occurring to the patients on enteral nutrition through a jejunostomy in long-term-care hospitals. However, it is extremely rare to find patients with copper deficiency several months after esophagectomy, regardless of enteral nutrition through the jejunostomy. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first case report of a patient who experienced copper-deficiency anemia after esophagectomy and subsequent enteral nutrition through the jejunostomy.PRESENTATION OF CASEA 73-year-old man presented with pulmonary failure after esophagectomy for esophageal cancer with video-assisted thoracoscopic surgery, and needed long-term artificial ventilator support. Nutritional management included enteral nutrition through a jejunostomy from the early postoperative period. Copper-deficiency anemia was detected 3 months postoperatively; therefore, copper supplementation with cocoa powder was performed, and both serum copper and hemoglobin levels subsequently recovered.DISCUSSIONCopper-deficiency anemia has already been reported to occur in patients receiving enteral nutrition in long-term care hospitals. However, this is the first case report of copper deficiency after esophagectomy despite administration of standard enteral nutrition through the jejunostomy for several months.CONCLUSIONIt is extremely rare to find copper-deficiency anemia several months after esophagectomy followed by enteral nutrition through the jejunostomy. However, if anemia of unknown origin occurs in such patients, copper-deficiency anemia must be considered among the differential diagnoses

Neuromedin U-deficient rats do not lose body weight or food intake

Studies in genetically modified mice establish that essential roles of endogenous neuromedin U (NMU) are anorexigenic function and metabolic regulation, indicating that NMU is expected to be a potential target for anti-obesity agents. However, in central administration experiments in rats, inconsistent results have been obtained, and the essential role of NMU energy metabolism in rats remain unclear. This study aims to elucidate the role of endogenous NMU in rats. We generated NMU knockout (KO) rats that unexpectedly showed no difference in body weight, adiposity, circulating metabolic markers, body temperature, locomotor activity, and food consumption in both normal and high fat chow feeding. Furthermore, unlike reported in mice, expressions of Nmu and NMU receptor type 2 (Nmur2) mRNA were hardly detectable in the rat hypothalamic nuclei regulating feeding and energy metabolism, including the arcuate nucleus and paraventricular nucleus, while Nmu was expressed in pars tuberalis and Nmur2 was expressed in the ependymal cell layer of the third ventricle. These results indicate that the species-specific expression pattern of Nmu and Nmur2 may allow NMU to have distinct functions across species, and that endogenous NMU does not function as an anorexigenic hormone in rats

Identification and characterization of an oocyte factor required for development of porcine nuclear transfer embryos.

Nuclear reprogramming of differentiated cells can be induced by oocyte factors. Despite numerous attempts, these factors and mechanisms responsible for successful reprogramming remain elusive. Here, we identify one such factor, necessary for the development of nuclear transfer embryos, using porcine oocyte extracts in which some reprogramming events are recapitulated. After incubating somatic nuclei in oocyte extracts from the metaphase II stage, the oocyte proteins that were specifically and abundantly incorporated into the nuclei were identified by mass spectrometry. Among 25 identified proteins, we especially focused on a multifunctional protein, DJ-1. DJ-1 is present at a high concentration in oocytes from the germinal vesicle stage until embryos at the four-cell stage. Inhibition of DJ-1 function compromises the development of nuclear transfer embryos but not that of fertilized embryos. Microarray analysis of nuclear transfer embryos in which DJ-1 function is inhibited shows perturbed expression of P53 pathway components. In addition, embryonic arrest of nuclear transfer embryos injected with anti-DJ-1 antibody is rescued by P53 inhibition. We conclude that DJ-1 is an oocyte factor that is required for development of nuclear transfer embryos. This study presents a means for identifying natural reprogramming factors in mammalian oocytes and a unique insight into the mechanisms underlying reprogramming by nuclear transfer

DOCK2 is involved in the host genetics and biology of severe COVID-19

「コロナ制圧タスクフォース」COVID-19疾患感受性遺伝子DOCK2の重症化機序を解明 --アジア最大のバイオレポジトリーでCOVID-19の治療標的を発見--. 京都大学プレスリリース. 2022-08-10.Identifying the host genetic factors underlying severe COVID-19 is an emerging challenge. Here we conducted a genome-wide association study (GWAS) involving 2, 393 cases of COVID-19 in a cohort of Japanese individuals collected during the initial waves of the pandemic, with 3, 289 unaffected controls. We identified a variant on chromosome 5 at 5q35 (rs60200309-A), close to the dedicator of cytokinesis 2 gene (DOCK2), which was associated with severe COVID-19 in patients less than 65 years of age. This risk allele was prevalent in East Asian individuals but rare in Europeans, highlighting the value of genome-wide association studies in non-European populations. RNA-sequencing analysis of 473 bulk peripheral blood samples identified decreased expression of DOCK2 associated with the risk allele in these younger patients. DOCK2 expression was suppressed in patients with severe cases of COVID-19. Single-cell RNA-sequencing analysis (n = 61 individuals) identified cell-type-specific downregulation of DOCK2 and a COVID-19-specific decreasing effect of the risk allele on DOCK2 expression in non-classical monocytes. Immunohistochemistry of lung specimens from patients with severe COVID-19 pneumonia showed suppressed DOCK2 expression. Moreover, inhibition of DOCK2 function with CPYPP increased the severity of pneumonia in a Syrian hamster model of SARS-CoV-2 infection, characterized by weight loss, lung oedema, enhanced viral loads, impaired macrophage recruitment and dysregulated type I interferon responses. We conclude that DOCK2 has an important role in the host immune response to SARS-CoV-2 infection and the development of severe COVID-19, and could be further explored as a potential biomarker and/or therapeutic target

Finishing the euchromatic sequence of the human genome

The sequence of the human genome encodes the genetic instructions for human physiology, as well as rich information about human evolution. In 2001, the International Human Genome Sequencing Consortium reported a draft sequence of the euchromatic portion of the human genome. Since then, the international collaboration has worked to convert this draft into a genome sequence with high accuracy and nearly complete coverage. Here, we report the result of this finishing process. The current genome sequence (Build 35) contains 2.85 billion nucleotides interrupted by only 341 gaps. It covers ∼99% of the euchromatic genome and is accurate to an error rate of ∼1 event per 100,000 bases. Many of the remaining euchromatic gaps are associated with segmental duplications and will require focused work with new methods. The near-complete sequence, the first for a vertebrate, greatly improves the precision of biological analyses of the human genome including studies of gene number, birth and death. Notably, the human enome seems to encode only 20,000-25,000 protein-coding genes. The genome sequence reported here should serve as a firm foundation for biomedical research in the decades ahead

The Mediterranean diet: Effects on proteins that mediate fatty acid metabolism in the colon

Peer Reviewedhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/88101/1/j.1753-4887.2011.00439.x.pd