Inhibition of Tumor-induced Angiogenesis by Ribonuclease Inhibitor

The effect of recombinant ribonuclease inhibitor on angiogenesis induced by B16-F10 cells was examined in syngeneic mice. Ribonuclease inhibitor coated with a slow release substance caused a marked decrease of the number of vessels toward tumor mass (angiogenic response), however, injection of ribonuclease in-hibitor did not. Ribonuclease inhibitor did not directly affect the growth of tumor cell or endothelial cell in vitro. These results suggest that ribonuclease inhibitor could be an inhibitor of tumor-induced angiogenesis by using an appro-priate delivery system and stabilizing its activity

A Case of Retroperitoneal Malignant Mesenchymoma

A rare case of malignant mesenchymoma of a retroperitoneal lesion, com-posed of liposarcoma and osteosarcoma, is reported. For complete resection of the tumor, two surgical operations were performed. The first operative material showed a mass measuring 20 x 20 x 10 cm, weighing 1607g, arising from the soft tissue of the left retroperitoneum and the tumor had a smooth surface and elastic-hard consistency. The secondary operative materials exhi-bited a mass measuring 10 x 5 x 3 cm, weighing 268g. The tumor was com-posed of soft gelatinous tissues and adhered to the tail of the pancreas but was separate from the spleen. More than 3 years after the secondary operation, no recurrence has been observed. Immunohistochemical examinations showed that S-100 protein and non-specific enolase were present in the liposarcoma-tous area and that vimentin was positive in the osteosarcomatous area

Effects of the Protein Phosphatase Inhibitors, Okadaic Acid and Vanadate, on Localization of Occludin in Primary Cultures of Rat Hepatocytes

To elucidate whether protein phosphorylation is associated with the loca-lization of the tight junction protein occludin, we determined the changes of occludin protein expression in primary cultures of rat hepatocytes after treat-ment with the protein phosphatase inhibitors okadaic acid and vanadate. After 2 h of treatment with 1myu M okadaic acid or 5 mM vanadate, occludin immunoreactivity showing continuous lines in non-treated cells changed to a few spots on the plasma membrane. In western blots, broad bands above the occludin protein (65 kD) became conspicuous after treatment with okadaic acid and vanadate. We treated the same samples with alkaline phosphatase to examine whether the broad bands depended on the changes in the phos-phorylation states of occludin protein. The broad bands disappeared and the occludin was observed as a narrow band corresponding to 65 kD. Neither a significant change in the mRNA of occludin nor a change in the immunoreac-tivity of the tight junction associated protein, ZO-1, was observed after treatment with okadaic acid or vanadate. These results suggested that the phosphorylation of occludin is closely associated with localization of the protein in cultured hepatocytes and that protein phosphatase inhibitors affect the loca-lization of occludin but not ZO-1 on the plasma membrane

VLBI Detections of Parsec-Scale Nonthermal Jets in Radio-Loud Broad Absorption Line Quasars

We conducted radio detection observations at 8.4 GHz for 22 radio-loud broad absorption line (BAL) quasars, selected from the Sloan Digital Sky Survey (SDSS) Third Data Release, by a very-long-baseline interferometry (VLBI) technique. The VLBI instrument we used was developed by the Optically ConnecTed Array for VLBI Exploration project (OCTAVE), which is operated as a subarray of the Japanese VLBI Network (JVN). We aimed at selecting BAL quasars with nonthermal jets suitable for measuring their orientation angles and ages by subsequent detailed VLBI imaging studies to evaluate two controversial issues of whether BAL quasars are viewed nearly edge-on, and of whether BAL quasars are in a short-lived evolutionary phase of quasar population. We detected 20 out of 22 sources using the OCTAVE baselines, implying brightness temperatures greater than 10^5 K, which presumably come from nonthermal jets. Hence, BAL outflows and nonthermal jets can be generated simultaneously in these central engines. We also found four inverted-spectrum sources, which are interpreted as Doppler-beamed, pole-on-viewed relativistic jet sources or young radio sources: single edge-on geometry cannot describe all BAL quasars. We discuss the implications of the OCTAVE observations for investigations for the orientation and evolutionary stage of BAL quasars.Comment: 10 pages, no figure, 3 tables, accepted for publication in PAS

Analysis of gut microbiome, host genetics, and plasma metabolites reveals gut microbiome-host interactions in the Japanese population

Interaction between the gut microbiome and host plays a key role in human health. Here, we perform a metagenome shotgun-sequencing-based analysis of Japanese participants to reveal associations between the gut microbiome, host genetics, and plasma metabolome. A genome-wide association study (GWAS) for microbial species (n = 524) identifies associations between the PDE1C gene locus and Bacteroides intestinalis and between TGIF2 and TGIF2-RAB5IF gene loci and Bacteroides acidifiaciens. In a microbial gene ortholog GWAS, agaE and agaS, which are related to the metabolism of carbohydrates forming the blood group A antigen, are associated with blood group A in a manner depending on the secretor status determined by the East Asian-specific FUT2 variant. A microbiome-metabolome association analysis (n = 261) identifies associations between bile acids and microbial features such as bile acid metabolism gene orthologs including bai and 7β-hydroxysteroid dehydrogenase. Our publicly available data will be a useful resource for understanding gut microbiome-host interactions in an underrepresented population.Tomofuji Yoshihiko, Kishikawa Toshihiro, Sonehara Kyuto, et al. Analysis of gut microbiome, host genetics, and plasma metabolites reveals gut microbiome-host interactions in the Japanese population. Cell Reports 42, 113324 (2023); https://doi.org/10.1016/j.celrep.2023.113324

Growth and Yield of Six Rice Cultivars under Three Water-saving Cultivations

We evaluated the genotypic differences in growth, grain yield, and water productivity of six rice (Oryza sativa L.) cultivars from different agricultural ecotypes under four cultivation conditions: continuously flooded paddy (CF), alternate wetting and drying system (AWD) in paddy field, and aerobic rice systems in which irrigation water was applied when soil moisture tension at 15 cm depth reached −15 kPa (A15) and −30 kPa (A30). In three of the sixcultivars, we also measured bleeding rate and predawn leaf water potential (LWP) to determine root activity and plant water status. Soil water potential (SWP) in the root zone averaged −1.3 kPa at 15 cm in AWD, -5.5 and -6.6 kPa at 15 and 35 cm, respectively, in A15, and −9.1 and −7.6 kPa at 15 and 35 cm, respectively, in A30. The improved lowland cultivar, Nipponbare gave the highest yield in CF and AWD. The improved upland cultivar, UPLRi-7, and the traditional upland cultivar, Sensho gave the highest yield in A15 and A30, respectively. The yields of traditional upland cultivars,Sensho and Beodien in A30 were not lower than the yields in CF. However, the yields of the improved lowland cultivars, Koshihikari and Nipponbare, were markedly lower in A15 and A30. Total water input was 2145 mm in CF, 1706 mm in AWD, 804 mm in A15, and 627 mm in A30. The water productivity of upland rice cultivars in aerobic plots was 2.2 to 3.6 times higher than that in CF, while those of lowland cultivars in aerobic plots were lower than those in CF. The bleeding rate of Koshihikari was lower in A15 and A30 than in CF and AWD, and its LWP was significantly lower in A15 and A30 than in CF and AWD, but Sensho and Beodien showed no differences among the four cultivation conditions. We conclude that aerobic rice systems are promising technologies for farmers who lack access to enough water to grow flooded lowland rice. However, lowland cultivars showed severe growth and yield reductions under aerobic soil conditions. This might result from poor root systems and poor root function, which limits water absorption and thus decreases LWP. More research on the morphological and physiological traits under aerobic rice systems is needed