mRNA expression of lysyl oxidase and matrix metalloproteinase-12 in mouse skin.

Elastic fibers in the dermis play an important role in skin elasticity. The desmosine crosslinking structure constructed of lysyl oxidase (LOX) in elastic fibers contributes to elasticity, while elastic fibers are primarily degraded by one of the matrix metalloproteinases (MMPs), MMP-12. We investigated the gender differences and diurnal variation of these enzymes.

Carnosine-induced antidepressant-like activity in rats.

Depression is a pathological state of mood and is considered as one of the major causes of disabilities. Thus, the prevention of depression and care for individuals with depression is important. In the present study, we examined whether a single oral dose of CBEX (chicken breast extract), or carnosine (one of the major components of CBEX) affects immobility time, an index of depressive-like behavior, in the forced swimming test in male Wistar rats.

A judgment on postmortem aging in longissimus dorsi based on a peptide substrate library.

We attempted to develop a method to determine easily and effectively the degree of postmortem aging of pork longissimus dorsi (LD) by measuring the activity of proteases in the LD using fluorogenic peptide substrates. LD was used to measure the change with time in the protease activity detected with these substrates. Determining the variations within the LD muscles, strong positive correlations were found between changes in hardness and fluorescence intensities against Ac-Ala-MCA, Ac-Met-MCA, Ac-Ser-MCA, Ac-Thr-MCA, and Ac-Ala-Phe-MCA (P<0.