A nonsynonymous polymorphism in cannabinoid CB2 receptor gene is associated with eating disorders in humans and food intake is modified in mice by its ligands.

Marijuana use activates cannabinoid receptors (CB-Rs) producing several behavioral effects related to addiction, mood, and appetite. We investigated the association between CNR2 gene, which encodes cannabinoid CB2 receptor (CB2-R) and eating disorders in 204 subjects with eating disorders and 1876 healthy volunteers in Japanese population. The effect of treatment with CB2-R ligands on mouse food consumption was also determined.

Modified intra-cerebral challenge assay for acellular pertussis vaccines: comparisons among whole cell and acellular vaccines.

The modified intra-cerebral challenge assay for acellular pertussis vaccines is used in Japan, Korea, China and possibly other Asian countries as the potency assay for routine release of acellular pertussis (aP) and combination vaccines. National reference standards, typically of whole cell pertussis (Pw) vaccine, are in use in these countries, but there is no agreed international reference standard for acellular pertussis vaccines. We report here the results of a collaborative study initiated in September 2006 in which fourteen laboratories performing the modified intra-cerebral challenge assay took part.

Increase of regulatory T cells in the peripheral blood of dogs with metastatic tumors.

It is well known that lymphocytes from patients with advanced-stage cancer have impaired immune responsiveness and that type1 T lymphocyte subsets in tumor bearing hosts are suppressed. Treg have been reported to comprise a subgroup which inhibits T cell mediated immune responses. In the present study, the percentage of Treg, Th1 and Tc1 in the peripheral blood of tumor bearing dogs with or without metastases was evaluated.

Oocyte hydration in the Japanese eel (Anguilla japonica) during meiosis resumption and ovulation.

In this study, to elucidate the mechanisms of oocyte hydration in the Japanese eel (Anguilla japonica), we examined the in vivo and in vitro morphological changes and hydration process occurring during oocyte maturation and ovulation. We also investigated the effects of the presence of ovarian follicles, aquaporin water permeability (HgCl(2)), and yolk proteolysis (bafilomycin A1) inhibitors, gap junction uncouplers (carbenoxolone and 1-octanol), a 3beta-hydroxysteroid dehydrogenase inhibitor (trilostane), and a P450 antagonist (aminoglutethimide) on oocyte hydration during in vitro oocyte maturation and ovulation. The oocytes underwent more than threefold increase in volume during maturation and ovulation, which was artificially induced by injecting salmon pituitary extracts and 17,20beta-dihydroxy-4-pregnen-3-one (DHP).

Symptomatic osteochondroma of the spine in elderly patients. Report of 3 cases.

Whereas osteochondroma is a common benign bone tumor in adolescence, it is rarely observed in elderly patients. It is unknown why osteochondromas, which usually develop during skeletal growth, rarely develop in elderly patients. The authors report 3 cases of symptomatic spinal osteochondroma in elderly patients and discuss the possible reasons for the onset of the enlargement of osteochondromas in elderly patients.

Evaluation of immunological status in tumor-bearing dogs.

The purpose of this study was to evaluate immunological status in dogs with cancers at different stages, in comparison with normal dogs. The population of canine peripheral blood lymphocytes (cPBL), lymphocyte phenotypes, interleukin (IL)-6 activity and alpha 1-acid glycoprotein (alpha(1)-AG) level were analyzed. The tumor-bearing dogs had higher numbers of leukocytes than normal dogs, the count being higher in dogs with more advanced tumors.

SNEP: Simultaneous detection of nucleotide and expression polymorphisms using Affymetrix GeneChip.

Background: High-density short oligonucleotide microarrays are useful tools for studying biodiversity, because they can be used to investigate both nucleotide and expression polymorphisms. However, when different strains (or species) produce different signal intensities after mRNA hybridization, it is not easy to determine whether the signal intensities were affected by nucleotide or expression polymorphisms. To overcome this difficulty, nucleotide and expression polymorphisms are currently examined separately.

Comparison of acellular pertussis-based combination vaccines by Japanese control tests for toxicities and laboratory models for local reaction.

Two batches each of diphtheria -- tetanus -- acellular pertussis vaccine (DTaP) and that combined with inactivated polio vaccine purchased from the U.S.A.

Involvement of SMARCA2/BRM in the SWI/SNF chromatin-remodeling complex in schizophrenia.

Chromatin remodeling may play a role in the neurobiology of schizophrenia and the process, therefore, may be considered as a therapeutic target. The SMARCA2 gene encodes BRM in the SWI/SNF chromatin-remodeling complex, and associations of single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) to schizophrenia were found in two linkage disequilibrium blocks in the SMARCA2 gene after screening of 11 883 SNPs (rs2296212; overall allelic P = 5.8 x 10(-5)) and subsequent screening of 22 genes involved in chromatin remodeling (rs3793490; overall allelic P = 2.

Kinetics and effect of integrin expression on human CD34(+) cells during murine leukemia virus-derived retroviral transduction with recombinant fibronectin for stem cell gene therapy.

The CH-296 recombinant fragment of human fibronectin is essential for murine leukemia virus (MLV)-derived retroviral transduction of CD34(+) cells for the purpose of stem cell gene therapy. Although the major effect of CH-296 is colocalization of the MLV-derived retrovirus and target cells at specific adhesion domains of CH-296 mediated by integrins expressed on CD34(+) cells, the precise roles of the integrins are unclear. We examined the kinetics of integrin expression on CD34(+) cells during the course of MLV-derived retrovirus-mediated gene transduction with CH-296.

Supportive evidence for reduced expression of GNB1L in schizophrenia.

Background: Chromosome 22q11 deletion syndrome (22q11DS) increases the risk of development of schizophrenia more than 10 times compared with that of the general population, indicating that haploinsufficiency of a subset of the more than 20 genes contained in the 22q11DS region could increase the risk of schizophrenia. In the present study, we screened for genes located in the 22q11DS region that are expressed at lower levels in postmortem prefrontal cortex of patients with schizophrenia than in those of controls.

Methods: Gene expression was screened by Illumina Human-6 Expression BeadChip arrays and confirmed by real-time reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction assays and Western blot analysis.

Radar chart deviation analysis of prion protein amino acid composition defines characteristic structural abnormalities of the N-terminal octa-peptide tandem repeat.

Analysis of the amino acid composition of prion protein using a newly developed program for radar-chart deviation analysis has identified an abnormality or irregularity of the N-terminal flexible domain. Aromatic amino acids Trp and His together with Gly are abnormally abounding in this N-terminal domain, in which octapeptide GQPHGGGW is connected four times in tandem. This tetrarepeat structure has been suggested to be essential for the prion protein not only to play an intrinsic functional role in the physiological condition, but also to bring on structural abnormalities in prion disease.

The resin glycosides from the sweet potato (Ipomoea batatas L. LAM.).

Four new and two known ether-soluble resin glycosides were isolated from popular sweet potato (the roots of Ipomoea batatas L. LAM., Kokei 14 go, Convolvulaceae) in Japan.

Lactoferrin is associated with a decrease in oocyte depletion in mice receiving cyclophosphamide.

Objective: To investigate new important molecules involved in the regulation of chemotherapy-induced ovarian damage and, based on those results, to examine the effect of lactoferrin on cyclophosphamide (CPM)-induced ovarian failure.

Design: Complementary DNA microarray and the administration of lactoferrin.

Setting: Experimental animal study.

Transferability of dermal temperature histamine sensitization test for estimation of pertussis toxin activity in vaccines.

All current acellular pertussis vaccines (ACVs) contain detoxified pertussis toxin (PT) as a major component. An essential part of the safety evaluation of these vaccines, required by regulatory authorities, is to monitor their active PT content and to check for reversion to toxicity of the detoxified PT. Although various in vitro tests are under investigation, the only practicable means for detecting active PT at present is the histamine sensitization test.

Application of quantitative gene expression analysis for pertussis vaccine safety control.

Although vaccines are routinely used to prevent infectious diseases, little is known about the comprehensive influences caused by vaccines. In this study, we showed, using comprehensive gene expression analysis, that pertussis vaccine affected many genes in multiple organs of vaccine-treated animals. In particular, lung was revealed to be the most suitable target to evaluate pertussis vaccine toxicity.

B-cell-activating factor inhibits CD20-mediated and B-cell receptor-mediated apoptosis in human B cells.

B-cell-activating factor (BAFF) is a survival and maturation factor for B cells belonging to the tumour necrosis factor superfamily. Among three identified functional receptors, the BAFF receptor (BAFF-R) is thought to be responsible for the effect of BAFF on B cells though details of how remain unclear. We determined that a hairy-cell leukaemia line, MLMA, expressed a relatively high level of BAFF-R and was susceptible to apoptosis mediated by either CD20 or B-cell antigen receptor (BCR).

Treatment of severe Class II Division 1 deep overbite malocclusion without extractions in an adult.

This case report describes the orthodontic treatment and retention of an adult with severe Class II Division 1 deep overbite malocclusion; treatment was completed without premolar extractions. We used improved superelastic nickel-titanium alloy wire (L&H Titan, Tomy, Tokyo, Japan) with J-hook headgear for the combined intrusion of the anterior segment and the distalization of the maxillary posterior segments. The overbite was corrected from 6.

Association of polymorphisms in the haplotype block spanning the alternatively spliced exons of the NTNG1 gene at 1p13.3 with schizophrenia in Japanese populations.

Chromosome 1p13 is linked with schizophrenia in Japanese families, and one of the candidate genes in this region is the netrin G1 (NTNG1) gene at 1p13.3. Associations of 56 tag single-nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) with schizophrenia were explored by transmission disequilibrium analysis in 160 Japanese trios and by case-control analysis in 2,174 Japanese cases and 2,054 Japanese controls.

Isolated volar dislocation of the fifth carpometacarpal joint: a case report.

Isolated volar dislocation of the fifth carpometacarpal joint is a very rare injury. We present two cases of isolated volar dislocation of the fifth carpometacarpal joint treated successfully with percutaneous skeletal fixation.

WHO Working Group on revision of the Manual of Laboratory Methods for Testing DTP Vaccines-Report of two meetings held on 20-21 July 2006 and 28-30 March 2007, Geneva, Switzerland.

This report reflects the discussion and conclusions of a WHO group of experts from National Regulatory Authorities (NRAs), National Control Laboratories (NCLs), vaccine industries and other relevant institutions involved in standardization and control of diphtheria, tetanus and pertussis vaccines (DTP), held on 20-21 July 2006 and 28-30 March 2007, in Geneva Switzerland for the revision of WHO Manual for quality control of DTP vaccines. Taking into account recent developments and standardization in quality control methods and the revision of WHO recommendations for D, T, P vaccines, and a need for updating the manual has been recognized. In these two meetings the current situation of quality control methods in terms of potency, safety and identity tests for DTP vaccines and statistical analysis of data were reviewed.

Pathway-based association analysis of genome-wide screening data suggest that genes associated with the gamma-aminobutyric acid receptor signaling pathway are involved in neuroleptic-induced, treatment-resistant tardive dyskinesia.

Objective: Neuroleptic-induced tardive dyskinesia (TD) is an involuntary movement disorder that develops in patients who have undergone long-term treatment with antipsychotic medications, and its etiology is unclear. In this study, a genome-wide association screening was done to identify the pathway(s) in which genetic variations influence susceptibility to neuroleptic-induced TD.

Methods: Screening with Sentrix Human-1 Genotyping BeadChip (Illumina, San Diego, California, USA) was done for 50 Japanese schizophrenia patients with treatment-resistant TD and 50 Japanese schizophrenia patients without TD.

A polymorphism of the metabotropic glutamate receptor mGluR7 (GRM7) gene is associated with schizophrenia.

Introduction: Glutamate dysfunction has been implicated in the pathophysiology of schizophrenia. The metabotropic glutamate receptors (mGluRs) are G-protein-coupled receptors. GRM7, the gene that encodes mGluR7, is expressed in many regions of the human central nervous system.

Preferential localization of SSEA-4 in interfaces between blastomeres of mouse preimplantaion embryos.

The monoclonal antibody 6E2 raised against the embryonal carcinoma cell line NCR-G3 had been shown to also react with human germ cells. Thin-layer chromatography (TLC) immunostaining revealed that 6E2 specifically reacts with sialosylglobopenta osylceramide (sialylGb5), which carries an epitope of stage-specific embryonic antigen-4 (SSEA-4), known as an important cell surface marker of embryogenesis. The immunostaining of mouse preimplantation embryos without fixation showed that the binding of 6E2 caused the clustering and consequent accumulation of sialylGb5 at the interface between blastomeres.