Advanced application of porcine intramuscular adipocytes for evaluating anti-adipogenic and anti-inflammatory activities of immunobiotics.

We previously established a clonal porcine intramuscular preadipocyte (PIP) line and we were able to establish a protocol to obtain functional mature adipocytes from PIP cells. We hypothesized that both PIP cells and mature adipocytes are likely to be useful in vitro tools for increasing our understanding of immunobiology of adipose tissue, and for the selection and study of immunoregulatory probiotics (immunobiotics) able to modulate adipocytes immune responses. In this study, we investigated the immunobiology of PIP cells and mature adipocytes in relation to their response to TNF-α stimulation.

Inhibitory/suppressive oligodeoxynucleotide nanocapsules as simple oral delivery devices for preventing atopic dermatitis in mice.

Here, we report a simple and low-cost oral oligodeoxynucleotide (ODN) delivery system targeted to the gut Peyer's patches (PPs). This system requires only Dulbecco's modified eagle's medium, calcium chloride, ODNs, and basic laboratory equipment. ODN nanocapsules (ODNcaps) were directly delivered to the PPs through oral administration and were taken up by macrophages in the PPs, where they induced an immune response.

The toll-like receptor family protein RP105/MD1 complex is involved in the immunoregulatory effect of exopolysaccharides from Lactobacillus plantarum N14.

The radioprotective 105 (RP105)/MD1 complex is a member of the Toll-like receptor (TLR) family. It was reported that RP105/MD1 cooperates with the lipopolysaccharide (LPS) receptor TLR4/MD2 complex and plays a crucial role in the response of immune cells to LPS. This work evaluated whether RP105, TLR4 or TLR2 were involved in the immunoregulatory capacities of Lactobacillus plantarum N14 (LP14) or its exopolysaccharides (EPS).

Tachycardia-dependent augmentation of "notched J waves" in a general patient population without ventricular fibrillation or cardiac arrest: not a repolarization but a depolarization abnormality?

Background: J waves can be observed in individuals of the general population, but electrocardiographic characteristics are poorly understood.

Objective: The purpose of this study was to examine the J-wave dynamicity in a general patient population.

Methods: The responses of J waves (>0.

Speciation of radioactive soil particles in the Fukushima contaminated area by IP autoradiography and microanalyses.

Radioactive soil particles several tens of micrometers in size were collected from litter soil in the radiation contaminated area by the Fukushima nuclear plant accident and characterized using electron and X-ray microanalyses. The radioactive particles were discriminated by autoradiography using imaging plates (IP) on which microgrids were formed by laser ablation in order to find the particles under microscopy. Fifty radioactive particles were identified and classified into three types from their morphology and chemical composition, namely: (1) aggregates of clay minerals, (2) organic matter containing clay mineral particulates, and (3) weathered biotite originating from local granite.

Application of moisturizer to neonates prevents development of atopic dermatitis.

Background: Recent studies have suggested that epidermal barrier dysfunction contributes to the development of atopic dermatitis (AD) and other allergic diseases.

Objective: We performed a prospective, randomized controlled trial to investigate whether protecting the skin barrier with a moisturizer during the neonatal period prevents development of AD and allergic sensitization.

Methods: An emulsion-type moisturizer was applied daily during the first 32 weeks of life to 59 of 118 neonates at high risk for AD (based on having a parent or sibling with AD) who were enrolled in this study.

Regulation of toll-like receptors-mediated inflammation by immunobiotics in bovine intestinal epitheliocytes: role of signaling pathways and negative regulators.

Intestinal epithelial cells (IECs) detect bacterial and viral associated molecular patterns via germline-encoded pattern-recognition receptors (PRRs) and are responsible for maintaining immune tolerance to the communities of resident commensal bacteria while being also capable to mount immune responses against pathogens. Toll-like receptors (TLRs) are a major class of PRRs expressed on IECs and immune cells, which are involved in the induction of both tolerance and inflammation. In the last decade, experimental and clinical evidence was generated to support the application of probiotics with immunoregulatory capacities (immunobiotics) for the prevention and treatment of several gastrointestinal inflammatory disorders in which TLRs exert a significant role.

Papaverine-induced QT interval prolongation and ventricular fibrillation in a patient with a history of drug-induced QT prolongation.

A 64-year-old woman underwent a coronary flow reserve evaluation using intracoronary-administered papaverine into the left anterior descending artery. Her baseline electrocardiogram (ECG) was normal, but toward the end of papaverine administration, the QTU intervals were excessively prolonged and torsade de pointes occurred, leading to ventricular fibrillation. Ten months previously, the patient's ECG showed mildly prolonged QTc (480 ms(1/2)), which normalized after the cessation of bepridil.

Lactobacillus delbrueckii TUA4408L and its extracellular polysaccharides attenuate enterotoxigenic Escherichia coli-induced inflammatory response in porcine intestinal epitheliocytes via Toll-like receptor-2 and 4.

Scope: Immunobiotics are known to modulate intestinal immune responses by regulating Toll-like receptor (TLR) signaling pathways, which are responsible for the induction of cytokines and chemokines in response to microbial-associated molecular patterns. However, little is known about the immunomodulatory activity of compounds or molecules from immunobiotics.

Methods And Results: We evaluated whether Lactobacillus delbrueckii subsp.

Immunobiotic Lactobacillus jensenii as immune-health promoting factor to improve growth performance and productivity in post-weaning pigs.

Background: Immunoregulatory probiotics (immunobiotics) have been proposed to improve piglets' immune system to avoid intestinal infections and reduce unproductive inflammation after weaning. Previously, it was demonstrated that Lactobacillus jensenii TL2937 (LjTL2937) attenuated the inflammatory response triggered by activation of Toll-like receptor 4 (TLR-4) in porcine intestinal epithelial (PIE) cells and antigen presenting cells (APCs) from porcine Peyer's patches (PP).

Objective: In view of the critical importance of PIE-APCs interactions in the regulation of intestinal immune responses, we aimed to examine the effect of LjTL2937 on activation patterns of APCs from swine PPs in co-cultures with PIE cells.

Bifidobacterium breve MCC-117 Induces Tolerance in Porcine Intestinal Epithelial Cells: Study of the Mechanisms Involved in the Immunoregulatory Effect.

Bifidobacterium breve MCC-117 is able to significantly reduce the expression of inflammatory cytokines in porcine intestinal epithelial (PIE) cells and to improve IL-10 levels in CD4(+)CD25(high) Foxp3(+) lymphocytes in response to heat-stable enterotoxigenic Escherichia coli (ETEC) pathogen-associated molecular patterns (PAMPs), while the immunoregulatory effect of B. adolescentis ATCC15705 was significantly lower than that observed for the MCC-117 strain. Considering the different capacities of the two bifidobacterium strains to activate toll-like receptor (TLR)-2 and their differential immunoregulatory activities in PIE and immune cells, we hypothesized that comparative studies with both strains could provide important information regarding the molecular mechanism(s) involved in the anti-inflammatory activity of bifidobacteria.

Rice RCN1/OsABCG5 mutation alters accumulation of essential and nonessential minerals and causes a high Na/K ratio, resulting in a salt-sensitive phenotype.

Mineral balance and salt stress are major factors affecting plant growth and yield. Here, we characterized the effects of rice (Oryza sativa L.) reduced culm number1 (rcn1), encoding a G subfamily ABC transporter (OsABCG5) involved in accumulation of essential and nonessential minerals, the Na/K ratio, and salt tolerance.

Brugada syndrome and idiopathic left ventricular tachycardia unmasked by exercise and a class Ic drug.

The patient was a 33-year-old male. Twenty years ago, he underwent radiofrequency catheter ablation for idiopathic sustained monomorphic ventricular tachycardia (VT) with an RBBB and superior axis pattern. The VT was inducible by programmed stimulation and entrained by rapid pacing.

Immunobiotic Lactobacillus rhamnosus strains differentially modulate antiviral immune response in porcine intestinal epithelial and antigen presenting cells.

Background: Previous findings suggested that Lactobacillus rhamnosus CRL1505 is able to increase resistance of children to intestinal viral infections. However, the intestinal cells, cytokines and receptors involved in the immunoregulatory effect of this probiotic strain have not been fully characterized.

Results: We aimed to gain insight into the mechanisms involved in the immunomodulatory effect of the CRL1505 strain and therefore evaluated in vitro the crosstalk between L.

Modulation of Respiratory TLR3-Anti-Viral Response by Probiotic Microorganisms: Lessons Learned from Lactobacillus rhamnosus CRL1505.

Respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) is the leading cause of lower respiratory tract illness in infants and young children. Host immune response is implicated in both protective and immunopathological mechanisms during RSV infection. Activation of Toll-like receptor (TLR)-3 in innate immune cells by RSV can induce airway inflammation, protective immune response, and pulmonary immunopathology.

Evaluation of A Novel Information-Sharing Instrument for Home-Based Palliative Care: A Feasibility Study.

Aim: To examine the feasibility and usefulness of a novel region-based pathway: the Regional Referral Clinical Pathway for Home-Based Palliative Care.

Method: This was a feasibility study to evaluate the frequency of variances and the perceived usefulness of pathway using in-depth interviews. All patients with cancer referred to the palliative care team between 2011 and 2013 and received home care services were enrolled.

Effect of peripheral 5-HT on glucose and lipid metabolism in wether sheep.

In mice, peripheral 5-HT induces an increase in the plasma concentrations of glucose, insulin and bile acids, and a decrease in plasma triglyceride, NEFA and cholesterol concentrations. However, given the unique characteristics of the metabolism of ruminants relative to monogastric animals, the physiological role of peripheral 5-HT on glucose and lipid metabolism in sheep remains to be established. Therefore, in this study, we investigated the effect of 5-HT on the circulating concentrations of metabolites and insulin using five 5-HT receptor (5HTR) antagonists in sheep.

Modulation of Intestinal TLR4-Inflammatory Signaling Pathways by Probiotic Microorganisms: Lessons Learned from Lactobacillus jensenii TL2937.

The intestinal mucosa plays a critical role in the host's interactions with innocuous commensal microbiota and invading pathogenic microorganisms. Intestinal epithelial cells (IECs) and gut associated immune cells recognize the bacterial components via pattern-recognition receptors (PRRs) and are responsible for maintaining tolerance to the large communities of resident luminal bacteria while being also able to mount inflammatory responses against pathogens. Toll-like receptors (TLRs) are a major class of PRRs that are present on IECs and immune cells which are involved in the induction of both tolerance and inflammation.

Long-term PT-INR levels and the clinical events in the patients with non-valvular atrial fibrillation: a special reference to low-intensity warfarin therapy.

Background: Anticoagulation therapy is essential in atrial fibrillation (AF), and in Japan, less intense control is popular.

Purpose: To assess the efficacy and safety with a special reference to low intensity warfarin therapy.

Subjects And Methods: In 488 out of 508 patients with non-valvular AF, prothrombin time-international normalized ratio (PT-INR) was kept at 1.

Immunobiotic lactobacilli reduce viral-associated pulmonary damage through the modulation of inflammation-coagulation interactions.

The exacerbated disease due to immune- and coagulative-mediated pulmonary injury during acute respiratory viruses infection results in severe morbidity and mortality. Identifying novel approaches to modulate virus-induced inflammation-coagulation interactions could be important alternatives for treating acute respiratory viruses infections. In this study we investigated the effect of the probiotic strain Lactobacillus rhamnosus CRL1505 on lung TLR3-mediated inflammation, and its ability to modulate inflammation-coagulation interaction during respiratory viral infection.

Genetic selection for resistance to mycoplasmal pneumonia of swine (MPS) in the Landrace line influences the expression of soluble factors in blood after MPS vaccine sensitization.

We recently developed a Landrace line that is resistant to mycoplasmal pneumonia of swine (MPS) infection by genetic selection for five generations, and we reported that the immunophenotype of this line is different from that of the non-selected line in terms of changes in peripheral blood leukocyte population after MPS vaccination. This study followed up previous findings demonstrating changes in soluble factors in blood, namely, hormones, Mycoplasma hyopneumoniae-specific immunoglobulin G (IgG), and cytokines. These two lines were injected with MPS vaccine on days -7 and 0 after blood sampling on those days, and blood samples were collected on days -14, -7, 0, 2, 7 and 14.

Role of hyperfine coupling in magnetic and quadrupolar ordering of Pr3Pd20Si6.

We study the ternary clathrate Pr3Pd20Si6 in specific heat and ac susceptibility measurements on a high-quality single crystal, distinguishing antiferromagnetic and antiferroquadrupolar ordering, as well as a hitherto unknown magnetic low-temperature transition. The specific heat shows the direct involvement of nuclear spin degrees of freedom in the antiferromagnetic ordering, which is well supported by our calculation of the hyperfine level scheme without adjustable parameters. Pr3Pd20Si6 is, therefore, one of the rare materials where the nuclear moments are involved in the formation of the magnetic ground state.

Nasally administered Lactobacillus rhamnosus strains differentially modulate respiratory antiviral immune responses and induce protection against respiratory syncytial virus infection.

Background: Some studies have shown that nasally administered immunobiotics had the potential to improve the outcome of influenza virus infection. However, the capacity of immunobiotics to improve protection against respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) infection was not investigated before.

Objective: The aims of this study were: a) to evaluate whether the nasal administration of Lactobacillus rhamnosus CRL1505 (Lr05) and L.

Magic number Pt13 and misshapen Pt12 clusters: which one is the better catalyst?

A relationship between the size of metal particles and their catalytic activity has been established over a nanometer scale (2-10 nm). However, application on a subnanometer scale (0.5-2 nm) is difficult, a possible reason being that the activity no longer relies on the size but rather the geometric structure as a cluster (or superatomic) compound.

Class I/II hybrid inhibitory oligodeoxynucleotide exerts Th1 and Th2 double immunosuppression.

We designed class I/II hybrid inhibitory oligodeoxynucleotides (iODNs), called iSG, and found that the sequence 5'-TTAGGG-3', which has a six-base loop head structure, and a 3'-oligo (dG)3-5 tail sequence are important for potent immunosuppressive activity. Interestingly, splenocytes isolated from ovalbumin (OVA)-immunized mice and treated with iSG3 showed suppression of not only interleukin (IL)-6, IL-12p35, IL-12p40, and interferon (IFN) γ mRNA expression, but also IL-4 and IL-13 mRNA expression. Thus, both Th2 and Th1 immune responses can be strongly suppressed by iODNs in splenocytes from allergen-immunized mice, suggesting usefulness in the treatment of diseases induced by over-active immune activation.