Responses of hematopoietic cells after ionizing-irradiation in anemic adult medaka ().

Purpose: Hematopoietic tissues of vertebrates are highly radiation sensitive and the effects of ionizing radiation on the hematopoiesis have been studied in mammals and teleosts for decades. In this study, radiation responses in the kidney, the main hematopoietic organ in teleosts, were investigated in Japanese medaka (), which has been a model animal and a large body of knowledge has been accumulated in radiation biology.

Methods: Kidney, the main hematopoietic tissue of adult medaka fish, was locally irradiated using proton and carbon ion beams irradiation system of Takasaki Ion Accelerator for Advanced Radiation Application (TIARA), QST, and the effects on peripheral blood cells and histology of the kidney were investigated.

Effects on IS1 transposition frequency of a mutation in the ygjD gene involved in an essential tRNA modification in Escherichia coli.

The YgjD protein is essential for the synthesis of the universal tRNA modification, N(6) -threonylcarbamoyladenosine (t(6) A), which is necessary for the decoding of ANN codons. We isolated a suppressor (ygjDsup ) of the ygjD(ts) mutant by its permissive growth at high temperature in Escherichia coli. Resequencing of the ygjDsup mutant genome showed the presence of a complicated chromosome rearrangement, an inverse insertion of a large duplicated region (c.

Biochemical evidence supporting the presence of the classical mevalonate pathway in the thermoacidophilic archaeon Sulfolobus solfataricus.

The existence of the classical mevalonate (MVA) pathway was examined in the thermoacidophilic archaeon Sulfolobus solfataricus. The pathway is considered uncommon among archaea because the genes of the orthologues of phosphomevalonate kinase (PMK) and/or diphosphomevalonate decarboxylase (DMD) are absent in the genomes of most archaea. Instead, the modified MVA pathway, which involves isopentenyl phosphate kinase (IPK), has been proposed to exist in the archaea that lack the classical pathway.

Effects on transcription of mutations in ygjD, yeaZ, and yjeE genes, which are involved in a universal tRNA modification in Escherichia coli.

The Escherichia coli ygjD gene is critical for the universal tRNA modification N(6)-threonylcarbamoyladenosine, together with two other essential genes, yeaZ and yjeE. This study showed that the transcription of the thr and ilv operons in ygjD mutants was increased through the inhibition of transcription attenuation and that dnaG transcription was reduced.

Molecular design of N-linked tetravalent glycosides bearing N-acetylglucosamine, N,N'-diacetylchitobiose and N-acetyllactosamine: Analysis of cross-linking activities with WGA and ECA lectins.

Two types of nonspacer- and spacer-N-linked tetravalent glycosides bearing N-acetylglucosamine (GlcNAc), N,N'-diacetylchitobiose [(GlcNAc)(2)] and N-acetyllactosamine (LacNAc) were designed and prepared as glycomimetics. The interactions of wheat germ (Triticum vulgaris) agglutinin (WGA) and coral tree (Erythrina cristagalli) agglutinin (ECA) with a series of tetravalent glycosides and related compounds were studied using a hemagglutination inhibition assay, a precipitation assay, double-diffusion test, and an optical biosensor based on surface plasmon resonance (SPR). The tetravalent glycosides were found to be capable of binding and precipitating the lectins as tetravalent ligands.

What can be revealed by extending the sensitivity of HBsAg detection to below the present limit?

Background/aims: We investigated what can be revealed by extending the sensitivity of HBsAg detection to below the present limit.

Methods: We examined the sensitivity of this immunoassay in comparison with real-time PCR detection of HBV DNA using serially diluted sera from HBV carriers. Low HBsAg was measured in 210 healthy volunteers and 368 patients with non-B chronic liver diseases who were negative for HBsAg by a standard EIA method.