Signal Peptides and Their Fragments in Post-Translation: Novel Insights of Signal Peptides.

Signal peptides (SPs), peptide sequences located at the N-terminus of newly synthesized proteins, are primarily known for their role in targeting proteins to the endoplasmic reticulum (ER). It has traditionally been assumed that cleaved SPs are rapidly degraded and digested near the ER. However, recent evidence has demonstrated that cleaved SP fragments can be detected in extracellular fluids such as blood flow, where they exhibit bioactivity.

Photosensitizer-singlet oxygen sensor conjugated silica nanoparticles for photodynamic therapy and bioimaging.

Intracellular singlet oxygen (O) generation and detection help optimize the outcome of photodynamic therapy (PDT). Theranostics programmed for on-demand phototriggered O release and bioimaging have great potential to transform PDT. We demonstrate an ultrasensitive fluorescence turn-on sensor-sensitizer-RGD peptide-silica nanoarchitecture and its O generation-releasing-storing-sensing properties at the single-particle level or in living cells.

Distribution of Signal Peptides in Microvesicles from Activated Macrophage Cells.

Extracellular vesicles, such as microvesicles (LEV) and exosomes (SEV), play an important role in intercellular signaling by encapsulating functional molecules and delivering them to specific cells. Recent studies showed that signal peptides (SPs), which are derived from sequences at the N-terminal of newly synthesized proteins, exhibited biological activity in the extracellular fluid. We previously reported that SPs were secreted into the extracellular fluid via SEV; however, it remains unclear whether the release of SPs occurs via LEV.

Calmodulin as a Key Regulator of Exosomal Signal Peptides.

Signal peptides (SPs) and their fragments play important roles as biomarkers and substances with physiological functions in extracellular fluid. We previously reported that SP fragments were released into extracellular fluid via exosomes and bound to calmodulin (CaM), an exosomal component, in a cell-free system. However, it currently remains unclear whether CaM intracellularly interacts with SP fragments or is involved in the trafficking of these fragments to exosomes.

Toward Feature-Preserving Vector Field Compression.

The objective of this work is to develop error-bounded lossy compression methods to preserve topological features in 2D and 3D vector fields. Specifically, we explore the preservation of critical points in piecewise linear and bilinear vector fields. We define the preservation of critical points as, without any false positive, false negative, or false type in the decompressed data, (1) keeping each critical point in its original cell and (2) retaining the type of each critical point (e.

Signal Sequence-Dependent Orientation of Signal Peptide Fragments to Exosomes.

Signal peptides (SPs) not only mediate targeting to the endoplasmic reticulum (ER) but also play important roles as biomarkers and substances with physiological activity in extracellular fluids including blood. SPs are thought to be degraded intracellularly, making it unclear how they are transported from the ER to the extracellular fluid. In a recent study, we showed that a C-terminal fragment of the SP of a type I membrane protein, amyloid precursor protein (APP), was secreted into the extracellular fluid via exosomes using transformed HEK293 cells expressing APP SP flanking a reporter protein.

Efficient compressed database of equilibrated configurations of ring-linear polymer blends for MD simulations.

To effectively archive configuration data during molecular dynamics (MD) simulations of polymer systems, we present an efficient compression method with good numerical accuracy that preserves the topology of ring-linear polymer blends. To compress the fraction of floating-point data, we used the Jointed Hierarchical Precision Compression Number - Data Format (JHPCN-DF) method to apply zero padding for the tailing fraction bits, which did not affect the numerical accuracy, then compressed the data with Huffman coding. We also provided a dataset of well-equilibrated configurations of MD simulations for ring-linear polymer blends with various lengths of linear and ring polymers, including ring complexes composed of multiple rings such as polycatenane.

The sodium-glucose cotransporter-2 inhibitor Tofogliflozin prevents the progression of nonalcoholic steatohepatitis-associated liver tumors in a novel murine model.

Background: Diabetes and obesity contribute to the pathogenesis of nonalcoholic steatohepatitis (NASH) and hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). However, how diabetes and obesity accelerate liver tumorigenesis remains to be fully understood. Moreover, to verify the therapeutic potential of anti-diabetic drugs, there exists a strong need for appropriate animal models that recapitulate human pathophysiology of NASH and HCC.

Secretion of signal peptides via extracellular vesicles.

Signal peptides (SPs) consist of short peptide sequences present at the N-terminal of newly synthesizing proteins and act as a zip code for the translocation of the proteins to the endoplasmic reticulum (ER). It was thought that the SPs are intracellularly degraded after translocation to the ER; however, recent studies showed cleaved SPs have diverse roles for controlling cell functions in auto- and/or intercellular manners. In addition, it still remains obscure how SP fragments translocate away from the site where they are produced.

A case of pleuroperitoneal communication in which establishing a laparoscopic pneumoperitoneum was useful for the detection of a fistula.

Background: Pleuroperitoneal communication (PPC) is rarely observed, accounting for 1.6% of all patients who undergo continuous ambulatory peritoneal dialysis (CAPD). Although there have been several reports concerning the management of this condition, we have encountered several cases in which control failed.

Voxel-based simulation of flow and temperature in the human nasal cavity.

The nasal airway is an extremely complex structure, therefore grid generation for numerical prediction of airflow in the nasal cavity is time-consuming. This paper describes the development of a voxel-based model with a Cartesian structured grid, which is characterized by robust and automatic grid generation, and the simulation of the airflow and air-conditioning in an individual human nasal airway. Computed tomography images of a healthy adult nose were used to reconstruct a virtual three-dimensional model of the nasal airway.

Unusual giant multilocular mesothelial cyst of mediastinum.

Background: Intrathoracic mesothelial cysts are congenital lesions induced by the abnormal development of the pericardial coelom. There have been a few reports of giant mesothelial cyst of the superior mediastinum, but the preferred treatment remains a controversial topic. We herein report a rare case of successful removal of giant mesothelial cyst that was incidentally detected during a medical checkup.

Multifocal cholesterol granulomas of the anterior mediastinum.

Background: Cholesterol granuloma in the mediastinum is rarely observed, accounting for 1% of all mediastinum tumors. There have been only a few reports of multifocal cholesterol granulomas of the thymus. We herein report a rare case of multifocal cholesterol granuloma in the thymus that was incidentally detected during follow-up of an aortic aneurysm.

Chemical sequential extraction of O horizon samples from Fukushima forests: Assessment for degradability and radiocesium retention capacity of organic matters.

To investigate how radiocesium (Cs) is retained in the O horizon via interactions with organic matter, we collected O horizon samples in Japanese cedar (Cryptomeria japonica) and konara oak (Quercus serrata) forest sites in Fukushima during the 8 years following the Fukushima Dai-ichi Nuclear Power Plant accident. To assess degradability and Cs retention capacity of organic matter, we conducted chemical sequential extraction with organic solvent and sulfuric acid, collecting the following fractions: organic solvent extractives (Fraction 1), acid-soluble carbohydrates (Fraction 3), and acid-insoluble residue (Fraction 4). In all samples, across sampling years and sites, Cs content in Fractions 1, 3, and 4, as a proportion of the total Cs content, was 0.

Superior vena cava replacement combined with venovenous shunt for thymic carcinoma.

Introduction: Advanced-stage thymic malignancies are a heterogeneous group of mediastinal tumors that include thymoma and thymic carcinoma infiltrating the surrounding thoracic structures. When the tumor infiltrates the superior vena cava (SVC), radical resection can be selectively achieved via en bloc SVC resection and its prosthetic conduit replacement. We herein report a case of SVC replacement for thymic carcinoma en bloc radical resection.

A minimally invasive and safe surgical approach to resect anterior superior sulcus tumors.

Introduction: Superior sulcus tumors (SSTs) are a wide range of tumors invading a section of the apical chest wall called the thoracic inlet. The unique characteristics of SSTs lie in the anatomy of the region where these tumors occur. For this reason, a surgical approach to treating these tumors is technically demanding, and complete resection may be difficult to accomplish.

Two extremely rare cases of extrapleural hematoma.

Background: Extrapleural hematoma is uncommon. However, according to the size of hematoma and/or the progression of anemia, surgical treatment to control bleeding might be necessary because a huge hematoma can cause ventilator and circulatory disturbances to press heart and lung. We present two unusual cases of huge extrapleural hematoma in an anticoagulated patient with no apparent history of trauma or otherwise traumatic episodes.

Novel Oxindole-Curcumin Hybrid Compound for Antioxidative Stress and Neuroprotection.

Oxidative stress plays an important role in the pathogenesis of Parkinson's disease and other neurodegenerative disorders. The oxindole compound GIF-2165X-G1 is a hybrid molecule composed of the oxindole skeleton of the neuroprotective compound GIF-0726-r and the polyphenolic skeleton of the antioxidant curcumin. We previously reported that novel oxindole derivatives such as GIF-0726-r and GIF-2165X-G1 prevent endogenous oxidative stress-induced cell death in mouse hippocampal HT22 cells.

Voxel-based modeling of airflow in the human nasal cavity.

This paper describes the simulation of airflow in human nasal airways using voxel-based modeling characterized by robust, automatic, and objective grid generation. Computed tomography scans of a healthy adult nose are used to reconstruct 3D virtual models of the nasal airways. Voxel-based simulations of restful inspiratory flow are then performed using various mesh sizes to determine the level of granularity required to adequately resolve the airflow.

Frankia communities at revegetating sites in Mt. Ontake, Japan.

In 1984 at Mt. Ontake in Japan, an earthquake caused a devastating landslide, and as a result, the vegetation on the south slope of the mountain was completely eliminated. In higher elevation (2000 m) areas, revegetation has not yet been completed even 30 years after the landslide.

High-density lipoprotein suppresses tumor necrosis factor alpha production by mycobacteria-infected human macrophages.

Immune responses to parasitic pathogens are affected by the host physiological condition. High-density lipoprotein (HDL) and low-density lipoprotein (LDL) are transporters of lipids between the liver and peripheral tissues, and modulate pro-inflammatory immune responses. Pathogenic mycobacteria are parasitic intracellular bacteria that can survive within macrophages for a long period.

Inducible nitric oxide synthase during the late phase of sepsis is associated with hypothermia and immune cell migration.

Hypothermia is a significant sign of sepsis, which is associated with poor prognosis, but few mechanisms underlying the regulation of hypothermia are known. Inducible nitric oxide synthase (iNOS) is a key inflammatory mediator of sepsis. However, the therapeutic benefit of iNOS inhibition in sepsis is still controversial, and requires elucidation in an accurate model system.

Visualization of Arc promoter-driven neuronal activity by magnetic resonance imaging.

Visualization of direct neuronal activity to understand brain function is one of the most important challenges in neuroscience. We have previously demonstrated that in vivo and in vitro gene expression of the ferritin reporter system could be detected by magnetic resonance imaging (MRI). In addition, increased neuronal activity induces Arc, an immediate early gene, and insertion of a destabilized fluorescent reporter dVenus under Arc promoter control has been used for monitoring neuronal activities in the brain by optical imaging.

Extracellular Lactate Dehydrogenase A Release From Damaged Neurons Drives Central Nervous System Angiogenesis.

Angiogenesis, a prominent feature of pathology, is known to be guided by factors secreted by living cells around a lesion. Although many cells are disrupted in a response to injury, the relevance of degenerating cells in pathological angiogenesis is unclear. Here, we show that the release of lactate dehydrogenase A (LDHA) from degenerating neurons drives central nervous system (CNS) angiogenesis.

LC-MS/MS imaging with thermal film-based laser microdissection.

Mass spectrometry (MS) imaging is a useful tool for direct and simultaneous visualization of specific molecules. Liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry (LC-MS/MS) is used to evaluate the abundance of molecules in tissues using sample homogenates. To date, however, LC-MS/MS has not been utilized as an imaging tool because spatial information is lost during sample preparation.