Amphiphilic phospholipid polymers as a cryoprotectant for vitrification and nanowarming of rat livers.

Liver biobanking is a promising approach that saves the lives of patients with end-stage liver disease. Cryopreservation based on vitrification enables semi-permanent organ preservation, contributing to overcome the shortage of donors for liver transplants. A technical challenge in cryopreservation of transplantable organs lies in thawing methodology, and conventional convective warming cannot maintain the glassy state during thawing because of the large temperature gradient between the inner and outer parts of the organs, leading to ice formation and damage of cells in the organ.

Recent advances in animal cell technologies for industrial and medical applications.

The industrial use of living organisms for bioproduction of valued substances has been accomplished mostly using microorganisms. To produce high-value bioproducts such as antibodies that require glycosylation modification for better performance, animal cells have been recently gaining attention in bioengineering because microorganisms are unsuitable for producing such substances. Furthermore, animal cells are now classified as products because a large number of cells are required for use in regenerative medicine.

Regulatory mechanism of chicken lysozyme gene expression in oviducts examined using transgenic technology.

The use of promoters that strongly express target genes in the chicken oviduct is beneficial for the production of proteinaceous materials into egg white by transgenic chickens. To examine the regulatory mechanisms of chicken lysozyme gene expression in vivo, genetically manipulated chickens that express human erythropoietin under the control of a lysozyme promoter-enhancer were established. By using several deletion mutants of the promoter-flanking region, we found that a -1.

Primordial germ cell-specific expression of eGFP in transgenic chickens.

PR domain zinc finger protein 14 (PRDM14) plays an essential role in the development of primordial germ cells (PGCs) in mice. However, its functions in avian species remain unclear. In the present study, we used CRISPR/Cas9 to edit the PRDM14 locus in chickens in order to demonstrate its importance in development.

Siglec-F is induced by granulocyte-macrophage colony-stimulating factor and enhances interleukin-4-induced expression of arginase-1 in mouse macrophages.

Siglecs are cell surface lectins that recognize sialic acids and are primarily expressed in hematopoietic cells. Previous studies showed that some Siglecs regulate macrophage function. In the present study, we examined the induction and putative roles of mouse Siglec-F in bone-marrow-derived macrophages in mice.

PRDM14 and BLIMP1 control the development of chicken primordial germ cells.

The differentiation of primordial germ cells (PGCs) is a fundamental step in development. PR domain-containing protein 14 (PRDM14) and B lymphocyte-induced maturation protein 1 (BLIMP1) play pivotal roles in mouse PGC specification. In the present study, we assessed the roles of chicken orthologs of PRDM14 and BLIMP1 in PGC development.

Molecular cloning of chicken TET family genes and role of chicken TET1 in erythropoiesis.

Ten-eleven translocation (TET) methylcytosine dioxygenase has potential as an active eraser to regulate the genomic DNA methylation status. We herein cloned chicken TET (cTET) family genes, and confirmed their functions. Quantitative reverse-transcription PCR showed that cTET1 was strongly expressed in erythrocytes throughout development.

Characterization of chicken interferon-inducible transmembrane protein-10.

Interferon-inducible transmembrane protein (IFITM) family proteins are antivirus factors. In the present study, we examined the expression pattern of chicken IFITM10 using quantitative reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction. In adult chickens, IFITM10 levels were markedly lower than those of IFITM3, which exhibits antivirus activity.

Analyses of chicken sialyltransferases related to O-glycosylation.

The chicken β-galactoside α2,3-sialyltransferase 1, 2, and 5 (ST3Gal1, 2, and 5) genes were cloned, and their enzymes were expressed in 293FT cells. ST3Gal1 and 2 exhibited enzymatic activities toward galactose-β1,3-N-acetylgalactosamine and galactose-β1,3-N-acetylglucosamine. ST3Gal5 only exhibited activity toward lactosylceramide.

Expression of interferon-inducible transmembrane proteins in the chicken and possible role in prevention of viral infections.

In mammals, interferon-inducible transmembrane proteins (IFITMs) prevent infections by various enveloped viruses. The expression of IFITMs in chicken was herein examined in the adult and embryonic organs using a quantitative reverse-transcription-polymerase chain reaction. The results obtained revealed that IFITM3 was expressed at a higher level than IFITM1, 2 and 5, in both embryonic and adult organs.

Implication of SUMO E3 ligases in nucleotide excision repair.

Post-translational modifications alter protein function to mediate complex hierarchical regulatory processes that are crucial to eukaryotic cellular function. The small ubiquitin-like modifier (SUMO) is an important post-translational modification that affects transcriptional regulation, nuclear localization, and the maintenance of genome stability. Nucleotide excision repair (NER) is a very versatile DNA repair system that is essential for protection against ultraviolet (UV) irradiation.

Functional analysis of iPSC-derived myocytes from a patient with carnitine palmitoyltransferase II deficiency.

Introduction: Carnitine palmitoyltransferase II (CPT II) deficiency is an inherited disorder involving β-oxidation of long-chain fatty acids (FAO), which leads to rhabdomyolysis and subsequent acute renal failure. The detailed mechanisms of disease pathogenesis remain unknown; however, the availability of relevant human cell types for investigation, such as skeletal muscle cells, is limited, and the development of novel disease models is required.

Methods: We generated human induced pluripotent stem cells (hiPSCs) from skin fibroblasts of a Japanese patient with CPT II deficiency.

Three novel mutations in the carnitine-acylcarnitine translocase (CACT) gene in patients with CACT deficiency and in healthy individuals.

Carnitine-acylcarnitine translocase (CACT) and carnitine palmitoyltransferase II (CPT2) are key enzymes for transporting long-chain fatty acids into mitochondria. Deficiencies of these enzymes, which are clinically characterized by life-threatening non-ketotic hypoglycemia and rhabdomyolysis, cannot be distinguished by acylcarnitine analysis performed using tandem mass spectrometry. We had previously reported the CPT2 genetic structure and its role in CPT2 deficiency.

SUMOylation of damaged DNA-binding protein DDB2.

Damaged DNA-binding protein (DDB) is a heterodimer composed of two subunits, p127 and p48, which have been designated DDB1 and DDB2, respectively. DDB2 recognizes and binds to UV-damaged DNA during nucleotide excision repair. Here, we demonstrated that DDB2 was SUMOylated in a UV-dependent manner, and its major SUMO E3 ligase was PIASy as determined by RNA interference-mediated knockdown.

Moloney murine leukemia virus integrase and reverse transcriptase interact with PML proteins.

Pull-down assay and co-immunoprecipitation of cell extracts in which the integrase or reverse transcriptase of Moloney murine leukemia virus was transiently expressed showed that both enzymes interacted with PML proteins. In infected cells, interaction between the integrase and PML was also observed. Transient expression of PIASy and SUMO proteins facilitated SUMOylation of the integrase but had no apparent effects on the interaction with PML.

Constitutive expression of the brg1 gene requires GC-boxes near to the transcriptional start site.

We previously reported that BRG1, an ATPase subunit of SWI/SNF chromatin remodelling complexes, is constitutively expressed and that the alternative ATPase subunit (BRM) is inducibly expressed through differentiation in mammalian cells. In the present study, the regulatory elements that confer constitutive expression on brg1 were explored. First, we analysed the promoter proximal region surrounding its transcriptional start site.

Interactions between the nuclear matrix and an enhancer of the tryptophan oxygenase gene.

The gene for tryptophan oxygenase (TO) is expressed in adult hepatocytes in a tissue- and differentiation-specific manner. The TO promoter has two glucocorticoid-responsive elements (GREs), and its expression is regulated by glucocorticoid hormone in the liver. We found a novel GRE in close proximity to a scaffold/matrix attachment region (S/MAR) that was located around -8.

Anemia and hypertension are risk factors for both renal prognosis and survival in patients with diabetes mellitus.

Background: Diabetic nephrosclerosis is the most common cause of renal failure in the industrialized countries. At the same time, the mortality rate of patients with diabetes mellitus is high.

Methods: To clarify the factors influencing the prognosis and survival of patients with diabetic nephrosclerosis, we carried out a retrospective follow-up study of 166 cases (age, 55.

Membranoproliferative glomerulonephritis-like glomerular disease and concurrent tubulointerstitial nephritis complicating IgG4-related autoimmune pancreatitis.

Autoimmune pancreatitis is characterized by diffuse enlargement of the pancreas, irregular narrowing of the pancreatic duct, high serum levels of IgG4, and lymphoplasmacytic infiltration in the pancreatic parenchyma. Accumulating evidence suggests that this autoimmune disease could present with diffuse infiltration of IgG4-positive plasmacytes in multiple organs. Recently, a new concept of IgG4-related systemic disease including autoimmune pancreatitis, characterized by high serum IgG4 level and tissue infiltration by IgG4-positive plasma cells, has been proposed.

GATA4 inhibits expression of the tryptophan oxygenase gene by binding to the TATA box in fetal hepatocytes.

The glucocorticoid receptor regulates liver-specific expression of the tryptophan oxygenase gene through glucocorticoid responsive elements located -0.45 and -1.2 kb from the transcription start site.

YY1 binds to regulatory element of chicken lysozyme and ovalbumin promoters.

Chicken lysozyme is highly expressed in the oviduct. The 5' regulatory region of this gene contains a negative element that represses transcription. To assess the molecular basis underlying the regulation of lysozyme gene expression, we investigated the binding protein to this region.

Effect of alendronate on glucocorticoid-induced osteoporosis in Japanese women with systemic autoimmune diseases: versus alfacalcidol.

Glucocorticoids-induced osteoporosis is a serious problem for patients with systemic autoimmune disease requiring relatively long-term glucocorticoid treatment. Effectiveness of alendronate for the prevention of glucocorticoids-induced osteoporosis was evaluated in comparison with that of alfacalcidol in Japanese women with autoimmune disease excluding rheumatoid arthritis. Loss of bone mass was evaluated with bone mineral density (BMD) of lumber vertebrae, bone resorption was with urinary N-telopeptide for type I collagen (NTX), and bone formation was with serum bone-specific alkaline phosphatase (B-ALP).