Behavior of ACRBP-deficient mouse sperm in the female reproductive tract

Gene-knockout mice lacking ACRBP, a proacrosin-binding protein localized in the acrosome of sperm, have been shown to exhibit male subfertility, owing to abnormal formation of the acrosome. In this study, to elucidate the mechanism contributing to the subfertility phenotype, we examined the behavior of ACRBP-deficient mouse sperm in the female reproductive tract. When sperm that had migrated into the uterus and oviduct after mating were counted, the number of ACRBP-deficient sperm was noticeably smaller in the oviduct of mice post mating. However, ACRBP-deficient sperm recovered from the oviduct possessed morphologically normal head shape and retained normal motility. Importantly, ACRBP-deficient sperm displayed a marked reduction in the ability to successfully gain access to unfertilized oocytes. These data suggest that male subfertility of ACRBP-deficient mice may be attributed to incompleteness of the acrosome reaction rather than impairment in sperm migration from the uterus to the oviduct

Postnatal liver functional maturation requires Cnot complex-mediated decay of mRNAs encoding cell cycle and immature liver genes

Liver development involves dramatic gene expression changes mediated by transcriptional and post-transcriptional control. Here, we show that the Cnot deadenylase complex plays a crucial role in liver functional maturation. The Cnot3 gene encodes an essential subunit of the Cnot complex. Mice lacking Cnot3 in liver have reduced body and liver masses, and they display anemia and severe liver damage. Histological analyses indicate that Cnot3-deficient (Cnot3(-/-) ) hepatocytes are irregular in size and morphology, resulting in formation of abnormal sinusoids. We observe hepatocyte death, increased abundance of mitotic and mononucleate hepatocytes, and inflammation. Cnot3(-/-) livers show increased expression of immune response-related, cell cycle-regulating and immature liver genes, while many genes relevant to liver functions, such as oxidation-reduction, lipid metabolism and mitochondrial function, decrease, indicating impaired liver functional maturation. Highly expressed mRNAs possess elongated poly(A) tails and are stabilized in Cnot3(-/-) livers, concomitant with an increase of the proteins they encode. In contrast, transcription of liver function-related mRNAs was lower in Cnot3(-/-) livers. We detect efficient suppression of Cnot3 protein postnatally, demonstrating the crucial contribution of mRNA decay to postnatal liver functional maturation

Evaluation and correlation of viscosity data : the most probable values of the viscosity of gaseous methane

The critical evaluation of the viscosity data of gaseous methane has been carried out using a number of experimental data available in literatures. All the experimental measurements under high pressure were evaluated in view of their reliability, and the data were correlated with temperature and pressure by means of two kinds of methods. The most probable values of the viscosity are presented in the forms of both a numerical table and an equation, covering the range of temperatures from 273.15K to 473.15K and of pressures up to 500×10^5 Pa. The uncertainty of the tabulated values is also estimated. The relation between residual viscosity and density has been also examined over the whole range of temperature and pressure

Evaluation and correlation of viscosity data : the most probable values of the viscosity of gaseous ethane and ethylene

The critical evaluations of the viscosity data of gaseous ethane and ethylene have been carried out based on the experimental data available in the literatures. All the experimental measurements under high pressure were critically evaluated in view of their reliability, and the data were correlated with temperature and pressure. The most probable values of the viscosity are presented in the form of numerical tables covering the range of temperature from 298.15 to 473.15K and that of pressure up to 700×10^5Pa for ethane, and from 297.15 to 373.15K and up to 800×10^5Pa for ethylene. The estimated uncertainties of the tabulated values are also given in the table. The relation between residual viscosity and density has been also examined over the whole range of temperature and pressure