Species identification of animal cells by nested PCR targeted to mitochondrial DNA.

We developed a highly sensitive and convenient method of nested polymerase chain reaction (PCR) targeted to mitochondrial deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA) to identify animal species quickly in cultured cells. Fourteen vertebrate species, including human, cynomolgus monkey, African green monkey, mouse, rat, Syrian hamster, Chinese hamster, guinea pig, rabbit, dog, cat, cow, pig, and chicken, could be distinguished from each other by nested PCR. The first PCR amplifies mitochondrial DNA fragments with a universal primer pair complementary to the conserved regions of 14 species, and the second PCR amplifies the DNA fragments with species-specific primer pairs from the first products.

A novel oxyiminoalkanoic acid derivative, TAK-559, activates human peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor subtypes.

A novel oxyiminoalkanoic acid derivative, TAK-559, (E)-4-[4-[(5-methyl-2-phenyl-1, 3-oxazol-4-yl)methoxy]benzyloxyimino]-4-phenylbutyric acid, was synthesized as a candidate of a new type of insulin-sensitizing agent. We report here activation of human peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor (hPPAR) subtypes by TAK-559. In a transient transactivation assay, TAK-559 was a potent hPPARgamma1 and hPPARalpha agonist with EC50 values of 31 and 67 nM, respectively.