Evaluation of transgene expression characteristics and DNA vaccination against melanoma metastasis of an intravenously injected ternary complex with biodegradable dendrigraft poly-L-lysine in mice.

We developed a biocompatible splenic vector for a DNA vaccine against melanoma. The splenic vector is a ternary complex composed of plasmid DNA (pDNA), biodegradable dendrigraft poly-L-lysine (DGL), and γ-polyglutamic acid (γ-PGA), the selective uptake of which by the spleen has already been demonstrated. The ternary complex containing pDNA encoding luciferase (pCMV-Luc) exhibited stronger luciferase activity for RAW264.

The expression of repulsive guidance molecule a after traumatic brain injury: Time-course changes in gene expression in a murine model of controlled cortical impact.

Introduction: Repulsive guidance molecule a (RGMa) is a key protein that negatively regulates neuronal regeneration as its inhibition enhances axonal growth and promotes functional recovery in animal models of spinal cord injury. However, the role of RGMa in traumatic brain injury (TBI) remains elusive. This study aimed to clarify TBI-responsive RGMa expression in a murine model.

Effect of Chronic Kidney Disease on Hepatic Clearance of Drugs in Rats.

The pharmacokinetics of some hepatically cleared drugs have been reported to fluctuate in patients with renal impairment, but the definitive factors have not been clarified. We compared the pharmacokinetics of some drugs with different hepatic elimination processes in a chronic kidney disease (CKD) rat model, to optimize their administration during kidney injury. We chose indocyanine green (ICG), midazolam (MDZ), and acetaminophen (APAP) as reference drugs to determine changes in hepatic clearance pathways in presence of CKD.

Influence of Liver Intoxication by Carbon Tetrachloride or D-Galactosamine on Absorption of Fluorescein Isothiocyanate-Dextran-10 and Other Marker Compounds with Different Molecular Weights from the Rat Liver Surface.

We examined the influence of liver disease on the absorption from the liver surface of fluorescein isothiocyanate (FITC)-dextran 10 (FD-10, MW: 11000) and several marker compounds with different molecular weights. The purpose of this study was to determine the feasibility of liver surface application of macromolecular compounds in the disease state. We used male Wistar rats treated with carbon tetrachloride (CCl) or D-galactosamine (GAL).

Evaluation of mRNA expression of drug-metabolizing enzymes in acetaminophen-induced hepatotoxicity using a three-dimensional hepatocyte culture system.

1. The expression and activity of drug-metabolizing enzymes are known to affect the pharmacokinetics of drugs metabolized in the liver. Here, we assessed the effect of acetaminophen (APAP)-induced hepatotoxicity on the mRNA expression of drug-metabolizing enzymes and elucidated the underlying mechanism using three-dimensional (3D) cultures of HepG2 cells.

Photochromic Reaction by Red Light via Triplet Fusion Upconversion.

Red or near-infrared (NIR) light responsive molecules have received much attention for biological and material applications because potentially harmful UV light for materials and cells is not required for the photochemical reactions. Although some molecular designs for photochromic molecules to increase the photosensitivity to red or NIR light have been reported, the strategies are limited to the extension of π-conjugation length and the utilization of charge transfer transition or energy and electron transfers. Triplet fusion is an attractive tool to cause chemical reactions by converting low-energy excitation light to high-energy upconversion light.

Effect of renal ischaemia/reperfusion-induced acute kidney injury on pharmacokinetics of midazolam in rats.

Objectives: This study aimed to investigate the effects of renal ischaemia/reperfusion (I/R)-induced acute kidney injury (AKI) on the distribution of midazolam (MDZ), a probe drug for cytochrome P450 3A (CYP3A) activity.

Methods: We established an AKI model inducing ischaemia of both renal pedicles for 60 min followed by 24-h reperfusion. MDZ was administered intravenously (i.

Reversible Valence Photoisomerization between Closed-Shell Quinoidal and Open-Shell Biradical Forms.

We report here a kinetic study on the thermal equilibrium process between the biradical form and the quinoidal form starting from the singlet biradical form alone. A photochromic phenoxyl-imidazolyl radical complex repeatedly generates biradical species upon UV light irradiation, and the following thermal equilibrium process responsible for valence isomerization from the open-shell singlet biradical to the closed-shell quinoidal form is observed in the microsecond time region. The thermodynamic parameters for the equilibrium process were determined for the first time by nanosecond laser flash photolysis.

Early diagnosis using canonical discriminant analysis of innate immune receptor gene expression profiles in a murine infectious or sterile systemic inflammation model.

Background: Infection in patients with systemic inflammation is difficult to diagnose with a single biomarker. We aimed to clarify the time course of change in the gene expression profile of innate immune receptors in infectious or sterile inflammation and to establish an early diagnostic method using canonical discriminant analysis (CDA) of the gene expression profile.

Methods: To compare infectious and sterile inflammation, we used cecal ligation and puncture (CLP) and 20% full-thickness burn injury (Burn) models.

Influence of vasomodulators and tumor transplantation on the disposition of 5-fluorouracil after application to the liver surface in rats.

This study investigated the effect of epinephrine (a vasoconstrictor) and hydralazine (a vasodilator) on the hepatic disposition of 5-fluorouracil (5-FU) after application to the surface of the liver in rats. Normal livers were compared with a Walker 256 carcinoma cell tumor model. A cylindrical diffusion cell was attached to the liver surface.