A Wiskott-Aldrich syndrome protein is involved in endocytosis in Aspergillus nidulans.

Endocytosis is vital for hyphal tip growth in filamentous fungi and is involved in the tip localization of various membrane proteins. To investigate the function of a Wiskott-Aldrich syndrome protein (WASP) in endocytosis of filamentous fungi, we identified a WASP ortholog-encoding gene, wspA, in Aspergillus nidulans and characterized it. The wspA product, WspA, localized to the tips of germ tubes during germination and actin rings in the subapical regions of mature hyphae.

Clinical characteristics of patients with Aspergillus species isolation from respiratory samples: Comparison of chronic pulmonary aspergillosis and colonization.

Background: With advancements in anti-fungal drugs, it has become more important to correctly diagnose chronic pulmonary aspergillosis (CPA); however, it is not easy to distinguish CPA from colonization when Aspergillus species are isolated from respiratory samples. The aim of the study was to clarify the particular clinical characteristics of patients with CPA vs. those with colonization.

Necrotizing arteritis occurring in an intralobar pulmonary sequestration of a patient without systemic vasculitis syndrome.

Necrotizing arteritis is a complex lesion of pulmonary hypertension, as are plexiform lesions, and is classically recognized as grade 6 in the Heath and Edwards grading scheme for hypertensive pulmonary vascular disease. The vascular changes observed in intralobar pulmonary sequestration have been reported to be similar to those observed in pulmonary hypertension, such as plexiform lesions. However, necrotizing arteritis occurring in an intralobar sequestration of a patient without systemic vasculitis syndrome has never been reported to our knowledge.

Overexpression of TSC-22 (transforming growth factor- β-stimulated clone-22) causes marked obesity, splenic abnormality and B cell lymphoma in transgenic mice.

In this study, we generated transgenic (Tg) mice, which overexpressed transforming growth factor (TGF)-β stimulated clone-22 (TSC-22), and investigate the functional role of TSC-22 on their development and pathogenesis. We obtained 13 Tg-founders (two mice from C57BL6/J and 11 mice from BDF1). Three of 13 Tg-founders were sterile, and the remaining Tg-founders also could generate only a limited number of the F1 generation.

Pulmonary arterial hypertension due to pulmonary vascular amyloid deposition in a patient with multiple myeloma.

Systemic amyloidosis is characterized by amyloid deposition throughout the body and subsequent dysfunction of various organs. Although pulmonary amyloidosis does occur, pulmonary hypertension (PH) caused by amyloidosis is extremely rare. In most of these cases, amyloid deposition occurred diffusely in alveolar septa, indicating that PH was due to lung disease and/or hypoxia.

Smooth muscle immaturity in the carotid arterial neointima as a prognostic marker for systemic atherogenic cardiovascular events in the Asian male.

Although immaturity of neointimal smooth muscle cells (SMCs) in coronary arteries has recently been demonstrated to be associated with acute coronary syndrome, the carotid arterial counterpart has not been investigated. We hypothesized that the same investigation of carotid endarterectomy specimens might contribute to living patients. Carotid endarterectomy specimens from 33 Asian males who underwent a 5-year follow-up were examined.

[A Case of Pancreatic Head Cancer Showing Pathological Complete Response to Neoadjuvant Chemoradiation Therapy].

The patient was a 64-year-old woman. She was referred to our institute because of a chief complaint of upper abdominal pain. Abdominal computed tomographic scan revealed a 35 mm hypovascular tumor in the pancreatic head and superior mesenteric vein (SMV), as well as thrombosis.

[Two Cases of Effective Hepatic Arterial Infusion Chemotherapy for Liver Metastases of Colon Cancer Resistant to Systemic Chemotherapy].

A 69-year-old man underwent right hemicolectomy for ascending colon cancer with liver metastases. Postoperative systemic chemotherapy did not reduce the metastases, and therefore, hepatic arterial infusion chemotherapy (HAI) was administered. The metastases decreased in size after 26 rounds of therapy, and the patient underwent resection.

Measurement and comparison of individual external doses of high-school students living in Japan, France, Poland and Belarus-the 'D-shuttle' project.

Twelve high schools in Japan (of which six are in Fukushima Prefecture), four in France, eight in Poland and two in Belarus cooperated in the measurement and comparison of individual external doses in 2014. In total 216 high-school students and teachers participated in the study. Each participant wore an electronic personal dosimeter 'D-shuttle' for two weeks, and kept a journal of his/her whereabouts and activities.

Prostaglandin E2 inhibits neutrophil extracellular trap formation through production of cyclic AMP.

Background And Purpose: Upon stimulation, neutrophils release their nuclear contents called neutrophil extracellular traps (NETs), which contain unfolded chromatin and lysosomal enzymes. NETs have been demonstrated to play a critical role in host defence, although the role of PGE2 , a bioactive substance generated in inflammatory tissues, in the formation of NETs remains unclear.

Experimental Approach: The effects of PGE2 , agonists and antagonists of its receptors, and modulators of the cAMP-PKA pathway on the formation of NETs were examined in vitro in isolated neutrophils and in vivo in a newly established mouse model.

[Gemcitabine in Combination with Cisplatin in Patients with Unresectable Advanced or Recurrent Biliary Tract Cancer--A Multicenter Prospective Observational Study in Fukuoka].

The standard chemotherapy for the treatment of unresectable advanced and recurrent biliary tract cancers is considered gemcitabine plus cisplatin (GC) on the basis of favorable results reported in the ABC-02 study from the UK and the BT22 study from Japan. However, the GC cohort of the BT22 study consisted of only 42 patients, and we considered it necessary to confirm the effectiveness and safety of GC chemotherapy in a multicenter prospective observational study in Fukuoka. Thirty-seven patients were enrolled in this study, including two patients with recurrent disease.

Does perineural invasion of the myenteric plexus have a key role in annular rectal invasion and digestive system symptoms of prostate carcinoma patients?

Prostate carcinoma is one of the most common cancers globally. It relatively rarely invades the rectum, accounting for only about 4% of resected cases. About half of these cases of rectal invasion show an annular rectal stricture pattern.

Pancreatic paraganglioma with draining vessels.

A pancreatic paraganglioma is a rare neoplasm that is difficult to distinguish from a pancreatic neuroendocrine tumour. Here we present a case of pancreatic paraganglioma that was surgically resected following preoperative diagnosis of a pancreatic neuroendocrine tumour. Careful evaluation of the endoscopic ultrasonography findings revealed abundant draining vessels, which could have led to a correct preoperative diagnosis of pancreatic paraganglioma.

Acidic phospholipid-independent interaction of Yas3p, an Opi1-family transcriptional repressor of Yarrowia lipolytica, with the endoplasmic reticulum.

In the n-alkane-assimilating yeast Yarrowia lipolytica, the transcription of ALK1, encoding cytochrome P450, that catalyses n-alkane hydroxylation is activated by a complex composed of Yas1p and Yas2p via a promoter element, ARE1, in response to n-alkanes. An Opi1-family transcription factor, Yas3p, represses the transcription by binding to Yas2p in the nucleus when cultured in glucose-containing medium, but it is localized to the ER, presumably through interaction with acidic phospholipids, phosphatidic acid and/or phospho inositides, when cultured in n-alkane-containing medium. Here, to elucidate the mechanisms regulating the localization of Yas3p, point and deletion mutants of Yas3p were constructed and analysed.

Unexpectedly High Prevalence of Acquired von Willebrand Syndrome in Patients with Severe Aortic Stenosis as Evaluated with a Novel Large Multimer Index.

Aim: Severe gastrointestinal bleeding sometimes occurs in patients with aortic stenosis (AS), known as Heyde's syndrome. This syndrome is thought to be caused by acquired von Willebrand syndrome and is characterized by reduced large von Willebrand factor (vWF) multimers. However, the relationship between the severity of AS and loss of large vWF multimers is unclear.

CCL11 enhances excitotoxic neuronal death by producing reactive oxygen species in microglia.

The chemokine CCL11 (also known as eotaxin-1) is a potent eosinophil chemoattractant that mediates allergic diseases such as asthma, atopic dermatitis, and inflammatory bowel diseases. Previous studies demonstrated that concentrations of CCL11 are elevated in the sera and cerebrospinal fluids (CSF) of patients with neuroinflammatory disorders, including multiple sclerosis. Moreover, the levels of CCL11 in plasma and CSF increase with age, and CCL11 suppresses adult neurogenesis in the central nervous system (CNS), resulting in memory impairment.

Evaluation of Injured Axons Using Two-Photon Excited Fluorescence Microscopy after Spinal Cord Contusion Injury in YFP-H Line Mice.

Elucidation of the process of degeneration of injured axons is important for the development of therapeutic modules for the treatment of spinal cord injuries. The aim of this study was to establish a method for time-lapse observation of injured axons in living animals after spinal cord contusion injury. YFP (yellow fluorescent protein)-H transgenic mice, which we used in this study, express fluorescence in their nerve fibers.

Systematic Asymmetric Synthesis of All Diastereomers of (-)-Talaumidin and Their Neurotrophic Activity.

(-)-Talaumidin (1), a 2,5-biaryl-3,4-dimethyltetrahydrofuran lignan isolated from Aristolochia arcuata Masters, shows significant neurite-outgrowth promotion and neuroprotection in primary cultured rat cortical neurons and in NGF-differentiated PC12 cells. The four stereogenic centers on the tetrahydrofuran moiety in 1 result in the presence of seven diastereomers except for their enantiomers. In order to investigate the stereochemistry-activity relationships of the stereoisomers, the systematic synthesis of all stereoisomers of 1 was accomplished by employing Evans aldol, diastereoselective hydroboration, reductive deoxygenation, and Mitsunobu reactions as key steps.

Evaluation of sterol transport from the endoplasmic reticulum to mitochondria using mitochondrially targeted bacterial sterol acyltransferase in Saccharomyces cerevisiae.

To elucidate the mechanism of interorganelle sterol transport, a system to evaluate sterol transport from the endoplasmic reticulum (ER) to the mitochondria was constructed. A bacterial glycerophospholipid: cholesterol acyltransferase fused with a mitochondria-targeting sequence and a membrane-spanning domain of the mitochondrial inner membrane protein Pet100 and enhanced green fluorescent protein was expressed in a Saccharomyces cerevisiae mutant deleted for ARE1 and ARE2 encoding acyl-CoA:sterol acyltransferases. Microscopic observation and subcellular fractionation suggested that this fusion protein, which was named mito-SatA-EGFP, was localized in the mitochondria.

Induction of non-specific suppression in chicks by specific combination of maternal antibody and related antigen.

Specific immune suppression in newly hatched chicks induced by specific maternal antibodies has been reported. Laying hens were immunized with dinitrophenyl-keyhole limpet hemocyanin (DNP-KLH). Purified maternal anti-DNP and non-specific immunoglobulin (Ig) Y antibodies were transferred by yolk sac inoculation to newly hatched chicks, and then, they were immunized with an optimum immunogenic dose of DNP-KLH at 1 and 4 weeks of age.

Involvement of acyl-CoA synthetase genes in n-alkane assimilation and fatty acid utilization in yeast Yarrowia lipolytica.

Here, we investigated the roles of YAL1 (FAA1) and FAT1 encoding acyl-CoA synthetases (ACSs) and three additional orthologs of ACS genes FAT2-FAT4 of the yeast Yarrowia lipolytica in the assimilation or utilization of n-alkanes and fatty acids. ACS deletion mutants were generated to characterize their function. The FAT1 deletion mutant exhibited decreased growth on n-alkanes of 10-18 carbons, whereas the FAA1 mutant showed growth reduction on n-alkane of 16 carbons.

Transportation of Aspergillus nidulans Class III and V Chitin Synthases to the Hyphal Tips Depends on Conventional Kinesin.

Cell wall formation and maintenance are crucial for hyphal morphogenesis. In many filamentous fungi, chitin is one of the main structural components of the cell wall. Aspergillus nidulans ChsB, a chitin synthase, and CsmA, a chitin synthase with a myosin motor-like domain (MMD) at its N-terminus, both localize predominantly at the hyphal tip regions and at forming septa.

Neoplastic spindle cells are an independent prognostic factor in pancreatic cancer.

Objective: Several reports showed that neoplastic spindle cells (NSCs) may be strongly involved in the invasion, metastasis, and poor prognosis, as well as in epithelial-mesenchymal transition (EMT). It has not yet been investigated that NSCs relate to the recurrence and prognosis in various cancers. Furthermore, NSCs participate in EMT in pancreatic cancer (PC) too.