Enhanced lung endothelial glycolysis is implicated in the development of severe pulmonary hypertension in type 2 diabetes.

Metabolic abnormalities in pulmonary endothelial cells are implicated in pulmonary hypertension (PH) while increasing evidence shows the influence of diabetes on progressing PH. In this study, we examined the effect of type 2 diabetes on hypoxia-induced PH and investigated its molecular mechanisms using hypoxia-induced diabetic male mice. Chronic hypoxia led to a more severe PH in type 2 diabetic mice than in control mice.

eNAMPT is a novel therapeutic target for mitigation of coronary microvascular disease in type 2 diabetes.

Aims/hypothesis: Individuals with diabetes are at high risk of cardiovascular complications, which significantly increase morbidity/mortality. Coronary microvascular disease (CMD) is recognised as a critical contributor to the increased cardiac mortality observed in people with diabetes. Therefore, there is an urgent need for treatments that are specific to CMD.

A MinION-based Long-Read Sequencing Application With One-Step PCR for the Genetic Diagnosis of 21-Hydroxylase Deficiency.

Context: Recently developed long-read sequencing (LRS) technology has been considered an option for CYP21A2 analysis. However, the clinical use of LRS for CYP21A2 analysis is limited.

Objective: This study's objective is to develop an efficient and low-cost LRS system for CYP21A2 screening.

Restoration of coronary microvascular function by OGA overexpression in a high-fat diet with low-dose streptozotocin-induced type 2 diabetic mice.

Sustained hyperglycemia results in excess protein -GlcNAcylation, leading to vascular complications in diabetes. This study aims to investigate the role of -GlcNAcylation in the progression of coronary microvascular disease (CMD) in inducible type 2 diabetic (T2D) mice generated by a high-fat diet with a single injection of low-dose streptozotocin. Inducible T2D mice exhibited an increase in protein -GlcNAcylation in cardiac endothelial cells (CECs) and decreases in coronary flow velocity reserve (CFVR, an indicator of coronary microvascular function) and capillary density accompanied by increased endothelial apoptosis in the heart.

The High Relevance of 21-Deoxycortisol, (Androstenedione + 17α-Hydroxyprogesterone)/Cortisol, and 11-Deoxycortisol/17α-Hydroxyprogesterone for Newborn Screening of 21-Hydroxylase Deficiency.

Context: There are limited reports on the detailed examination of steroid profiles for setting algorithms for 21-hydroxylase deficiency (21OHD) screening by liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry (LC-MS/MS).

Objective: We aimed to define an algorithm for newborn screening of 21OHD by LC-MS/MS, measuring a total of 2077 dried blood spot samples in Tokyo.

Methods: Five steroids (17α-hydroxyprogesterone [17αOHP], 21-deoxycortisol [21DOF], 11-deoxycortisol [11DOF], androstenedione [4AD], and cortisol [F]) were included in the panel of LC-MS/MS.

SOX9 and SRY binding sites on mouse mXYSRa/Enh13 enhancer redundantly regulate Sox9 expression to varying degrees.

Sox9 plays an essential role in mammalian testis formation. It has been reported that gene expression in the testes is regulated by enhancers. Among them, mXYSRa/Enh13-which is located at far upstream of the transcription start site-plays a critical role, wherein its deletion causes complete male-to-female sex reversal in mice.

Two ovarian candidate enhancers, identified by time series enhancer RNA analyses, harbor rare genetic variations identified in ovarian insufficiency.

The genetic regulation of ovarian development remains largely unclear. Indeed, in most cases of impaired ovarian development-such as 46,XX disorders of sex development (DSD) without SRY, and premature ovarian insufficiency (POI)-the genetic causes have not been identified, and the vast majority of disease-associated sequence variants could lie within non-coding regulatory sequences. In this study, we aimed to identify enhancers of five ovarian genes known to play key roles in early ovarian development, basing our analysis on the expression of enhancer derived transcripts (eRNAs), which are considered to characterize active enhancers.

HuR/Cx40 downregulation causes coronary microvascular dysfunction in type 2 diabetes.

Patients with diabetes with coronary microvascular disease (CMD) exhibit higher cardiac mortality than patients without CMD. However, the molecular mechanism by which diabetes promotes CMD is poorly understood. RNA-binding protein human antigen R (HuR) is a key regulator of mRNA stability and translation; therefore, we investigated the role of HuR in the development of CMD in mice with type 2 diabetes.

Human SRY Expression at the Sex-determining Period is Insufficient to Drive Testis Development in Mice.

The sex-determining region of the Y chromosome, Sry/SRY, is an initiation factor for testis development in both humans and mice. Although the functional compatibility between murine SRY and human SRY was previously examined in transgenic mice, their equivalency remains inconclusive. Because molecular interaction and timeline of mammalian sex determination were mostly described in murine experiments, we generated a mouse model in which Sry was substituted with human SRY to verify the compatibility.

Thirty-Year Lessons from the Newborn Screening for Congenital Adrenal Hyperplasia (CAH) in Japan.

Congenital adrenal hyperplasia (CAH) is an inherited disorder caused by the absence or severely impaired activity of steroidogenic enzymes involved in cortisol biosynthesis. More than 90% of cases result from 21-hydroxylase deficiency (21OHD). To prevent life-threatening adrenal crisis and to help perform appropriate sex assignments for affected female patients, newborn screening (NBS) programs for the classical form of CAH have been introduced in numerous countries.

Humanization of a tandem repeat in IG-DMR causes stochastic restoration of paternal imprinting at mouse Dlk1-Dio3 domain.

The Dlk1-Dio3 imprinted domain, regulated by an intergenic differentially methylated region (IG-DMR), is important for mammalian embryonic development. Although previous studies have reported that DNA methylation of a tandem repeated array sequence in paternal IG-DMR (IG-DMR-Rep) plays an essential role in the maintenance of DNA methylation in mice, the function of a tandem repeated array sequence in human IG-DMR (hRep) is unknown. Here, we generated mice with a human tandem repeated sequence, which replaced the mouse IG-DMR-Rep.

The progression of salt-wasting and the body weight change during the first 2 weeks of life in classical 21-hydroxylase deficiency patients.

Background: One of the major purposes of newborn screening for 21-hydroxylase deficiency (21OHD) is preventing life-threatening adrenal crisis. However, the details of adrenal crisis in newborns are not precisely documented.

Aim: We aimed to clarify the clinical details of salt-wasting in newborn 21OHD patients.

Overexpression of p53 due to excess protein O-GlcNAcylation is associated with coronary microvascular disease in type 2 diabetes.

Aims: We previously reported that increased protein O-GlcNAcylation in diabetic mice led to vascular rarefaction in the heart. In this study, we aimed to investigate whether and how coronary endothelial cell (EC) apoptosis is enhanced by protein O-GlcNAcylation and thus induces coronary microvascular disease (CMD) and subsequent cardiac dysfunction in diabetes. We hypothesize that excessive protein O-GlcNAcylation increases p53 that leads to CMD and reduced cardiac contractility.

Chloroquine differentially modulates coronary vasodilation in control and diabetic mice.

Background And Purpose: Chloroquine is a traditional medicine to treat malaria. There is increasing evidence that chloroquine not only induces phagocytosis but regulates vascular tone. Few reports investigating the effect of chloroquine on vascular responsiveness of coronary arteries have been made.

Long-Term Evaluation of Low-Dose Betamethasone for Ataxia Telangiectasia.

Background: Ataxia telangiectasia is an autosomal recessive disorder characterized by cerebellar ataxia, telangiectases, immune defects, and a predisposition to malignancy. Quality of life is severely impaired by neurological symptoms. However, curative options for the neurological symptoms are limited.

suppression during the murine fetal period optimizes ovarian development by fine-tuning Notch signaling.

The nuclear receptor NR5A1 is equally expressed and required for development of the gonadal primordia of both sexes, but, after sex determination, it is upregulated in XY testes and downregulated in XX ovaries. We have recently demonstrated, in mice, that this downregulation is mediated by forkhead box L2 (FOXL2) and hypothesized that adequate suppression of is essential for normal ovarian development. Further, analysis of human patients with disorders/differences of sex development suggests that overexpression of can result in XX (ovo)testicular development.

Peptidyl arginine deiminase 2 (Padi2) is expressed in Sertoli cells in a specific manner and regulated by SOX9 during testicular development.

Peptidyl arginine deiminases (PADIs) are enzymes that change the charge of proteins through citrullination. We recently found Padi2 was expressed exclusively in fetal Sertoli cells. In this study, we analyzed the transcriptional regulation of Padi2 and the role of PADI2 in testicular development.

Pulmonary vascular dysfunction in metabolic syndrome.

Metabolic syndrome is a critically important precursor to the onset of many diseases, such as cardiovascular disease, and cardiovascular disease is the leading cause of death worldwide. The primary risk factors of metabolic syndrome include hyperglycaemia, abdominal obesity, dyslipidaemia, and high blood pressure. It has been well documented that metabolic syndrome alters vascular endothelial and smooth muscle cell functions in the heart, brain, kidney and peripheral vessels.

Clinical characteristics of adolescent cases with Type A insulin resistance syndrome caused by heterozygous mutations in the β-subunit of the insulin receptor (INSR) gene.

Background: Type A insulin resistance (IR) is a rare form of severe congenital IR that is frequently caused by heterozygous mutations in the insulin receptor (INSR) gene. Although Type A IR requires appropriate intervention from the early stages of diabetes, proper diagnosis of this disease is challenging, and accumulation of cases with detailed clinical profiles and genotypes is required.

Methods: Herein we report on six peripubertal patients with clinically diagnosed Type A IR, including four patients with an identified INSR mutation.

Molecular mechanisms of insulin resistance in 2 cases of primary insulin receptor defect-associated diseases.

Background: Defects of the insulin receptor gene ( INSR ) cause wide spectra of congenital insulin resistance. Monoallelic defects result in milder insulin-resistant diabetes mellitus with acanthosis nigricans (IRAN, type A). Whereas, leprechaunism (Donahue syndrome), the most severe condition with lethality during the infantile period is caused by biallelic defects of INSR .

A Case of MECP2 Duplication Syndrome with Gonadotropin-Dependent Precocious Puberty.

Background: MECP2 duplication syndrome, which is caused by duplication of part of the Xq28 region containing the MECP2 gene, causes intellectual disability and mild dysmorphic features in males. To date, precocious puberty has not been reported as a clinical feature of MECP2 duplication syndrome.

Methods: A 6-year-old male with severe intellectual disability was referred because of growth acceleration and precocious puberty.