NAD deficiency plays essential roles in the hyperuricemia of stroke-prone spontaneously hypertensive rat via xanthine dehydrogenase to xanthine oxidase conversion.

Inhibition of xanthine oxidoreductase (XOR) was shown to ameliorate the stroke susceptibility in the stroke-prone spontaneously hypertensive rat (SHRSP), suggesting hyperuricemia had a pathological role in this rat model. In this study, we thus aimed to explore mechanisms inducing hyperuricemia in SHRSP. XOR is known to have two forms, xanthine dehydrogenase (XDH) as the prototype and xanthine oxidase (XO) as the converted form through cleavage of a peptide bond or through formation of disulfide bonds in the enzyme.

Performance evaluation of PM, NO, and hydrocarbon removal in diesel engine exhaust by surface discharge-induced plasma.

Diesel engines are characterized by low CO emissions and high fuel efficiency. However, their exhausts contain nitrogen oxides (NO), particulate matter (PM), and hydrocarbons (HC) that require removal by aftertreatment. A novel low-temperature plasma-based aftertreatment method has been developed for the simultaneous removal of NO, PM, and HC.

Treatment of spontaneously hypertensive rats during pregnancy and lactation with the antioxidant tempol lowers blood pressure and reduces oxidative stress.

Genetic and environmental factors interact in a complex manner in the pathogenesis of essential hypertension in humans. Oxidative stress is considered one of the more important environmental factors. We used the spontaneously hypertensive rat (SHR) model to test whether continuous feeding with the antioxidant tempol reduces maternal oxidative stress during pregnancy and potentially contributes to the prevention of cardiovascular disease onset.

Apolipoprotein E-depletion accelerates arterial fat deposition in the spontaneously hypertensive rat.

Hypertension and atherosclerosis are often found in one patient causing serious cardiovascular events. An animal model simultaneously expressing hypertension and atherosclerosis would be useful to study such a complex risk status. We therefore attempted to introduce a null mutation of the apolipoprotein E (ApoE) gene into the spontaneously hypertensive rat (SHR) using CRISPR/Cas9 to establish a genetic model for atherosclerosis with hypertension.

Changes in prevalence of in Japan from 2008 to 2018: a repeated cross-sectional study.

Objectives: To understand the recent prevalence and time trends of infection rates in the Japanese population.

Design: Repeated cross-sectional study.

Participants: A total of 22 120 workers (age: 35-65 years) from one Japanese company, who underwent serum antibody tests in a health check-up between 2008 and 2018.

COL1A1 expression induced by overexpression of both a 15‑amino acid peptide from the fibrinogen domain of tenascin‑X and integrin α11 in LX‑2 cells.

Extracellular matrix tenascin‑X (TNX) is the largest member of the tenascin family. Our previous study demonstrated that TNX was involved in hepatic dysfunction, including fibrosis, in mice that were administered a high‑fat and high‑cholesterol diet with high levels of phosphorus and calcium. The present study investigated whether overexpression of both the fibrinogen domain of TNX (TNX‑FG) and integrin α11, one of the TNX cell surface receptors, induces fibrosis in LX‑2 human hepatic stellate cells.

Effects of hydrogen-rich water and ascorbic acid treatment on spontaneously hypertensive rats.

Hydrogen-rich water (HW) has been suggested to possess antioxidant properties of value in treatments of lifestyle diseases and for prevention of latent pathologies. To date, the potential benefits of HW against the deleterious effects of excessive salt intake and hypertension have not been investigated. Here, we first examined the effects of HW or HW supplemented with 0.

Adsorption of phosphate onto lanthanum-doped coal fly ash-Blast furnace cement composite.

We develop a high-performance adsorbent for phosphate removal from water or wastewater by impregnating lanthanum (La) on a coal fly ash-blast furnace cement composite (La-FACC). The optimized impregnation percentage of La and calcination conditions of the La-FACC were 1% and 800 ℃ for 2 h, respectively. The adsorption kinetics of phosphate onto the La-FACC was well fit by the intra-particle diffusion model, indicating that film and intra-particle diffusion were the rate-controlling step in the adsorption process of phosphate onto the La-FACC.

TNX deficiency results in bone loss due to an increase in multinucleated osteoclasts.

Tenascin-X (TNX), a glycoprotein of the extracellular matrix (ECM), is expressed in various tissues and plays an important role in ECM architecture. The TNXB gene encoding TNX is known as the gene responsible for classic-like Ehlers-Danlos syndrome (clEDS). To date, the role of TNX in dermal, muscular and obstetric features has been reported, but its role in bone homeostasis remains to be clarified.

Screening for 15 pathogenic viruses in human cell lines registered at the JCRB Cell Bank: characterization of human cells by viral infection.

Human cell lines have been used in a variety of research fields as an model. These cells are all derived from human tissue samples, thus there is a possibility of virus infection. Virus tests are routinely performed in clinical practice, but are limited in cell lines.

Antihypertensive Effect of γ-Aminobutyric Acid-Enriched Brown Rice on Spontaneously Hypertensive Rats.

'Haiibuki' is a giant embryo rice cultivar that contains abundant γ-aminobutyric acid (GABA) compared with conventional rice cultivars. Here, we performed a functional evaluation of 'GABA-enriched brown rice' (GEBR) prepared by modifying the 'Haiibuki' cultivar to contain more GABA. Study 1: Spontaneously hypertensive rats were divided into three groups [control (cornstarch), normal brown rice, and GEBR] and fed an orally administered diet for 4 wk.

Suppression of hepatic dysfunction in tenascin‑X‑deficient mice fed a high‑fat diet.

Extracellular matrix glycoprotein tenascin‑X (TNX) is the largest member of the tenascin family. In the present study, the contribution of TNX to liver dysfunction was investigated by administration of high‑fat and high‑cholesterol diet with high levels of phosphorus and calcium (HFCD) to wild‑type (WT) and TNX‑knockout (KO) mice. After 16 weeks of HFCD administration, the ratio of liver weight to body weight was approximately 22% higher in the HFCD‑fed WT mice compared with the HFCD‑fed TNX‑KO mice, indicating hepatomegaly in HFCD‑fed WT mice.

A potential contribution of tenascin-X to blood vessel formation in peripheral nerves.

Tenascin-X (TNX), an extracellular matrix protein, is abundantly expressed in peripheral nerves. However, the physiological role of TNX in peripheral nerves remains unknown. In this study, we found that actin levels in sciatic nerves of TNX-deficient mice were markedly decreased.

Prevalence of Helicobacter pylori infection with healthy subjects in Japan.

Background And Aim: Only few large-scale epidemiological studies have examined the prevalence of Helicobacter pylori (H. pylori) infection in Japan. The aim of the present study was to estimate the prevalence and incidence of H.

Trends of second-line eradication therapy for Helicobacter pylori in Japan: a multicenter study in the Tokyo metropolitan area.

Background: In Japan, the eradication rate of first-line therapy for Helicobacter pylori (H. pylori) with a proton pump inhibitor (PPI), amoxicillin (AMPC) and clarithromycin (CAM) has been decreasing because of a high prevalence of CAM resistance. A possible decrease of the eradication rate for second-line therapy with a PPI, AMPC and metronidazole (MNZ) is of concern.

Color preferences of laboratory mice for bedding materials: evaluation using radiotelemetry.

Preferences for different housing conditions in mice were evaluated by radiotelemetry. Male C57BL/6J and ICR mice were used. Preference for bedding materials in mice was compared among three materials, wood shavings (WS), paper (CF) and cloth (AG), using the length of stay in cages as a parameter.

Narrow-band imaging on screening of esophageal lesions using an ultrathin transnasal endoscopy.

Background And Aim: Ultrathin transnasal endoscopy, used extensively in Japan, is considered to have inferior image quality and suction performance, and questionable diagnostic performance. So the aim of the present study was to compare the diagnostic performance of white light (WL) examination and non-magnified narrow-band imaging (NBI) examination in screening for esophageal disorders with ultrathin transnasal endoscopy.

Methods: A prospective case study of 105 consecutive patients screened for upper gastrointestinal disorders at a single clinic in Tokyo Medical University Hospital.

Behavioral alterations in mice lacking the gene for tenascin-x.

Tenascin-X (TNX) is the largest member in the tenascin family of large oligomeric glycoproteins of the extracellular matrix (ECM). TNX is expressed in the leptomeningeal trabecula and connective tissue of choroid plexus in the brain as well as in muscular tissues. Interestingly, single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) analysis in human showed that TNX is significantly associated with schizophrenia.

A 1.8-Mbp fragment on chromosome 1 affects sympathetic response to stress: evaluation in reciprocal congenic strains between stroke-prone spontaneously hypertensive rat and Wistar-Kyoto rat.

Background: In the previous studies, we indicated that a gene (or genes) responsible for exaggerated sympathetic response to stress was located in a chromosome 1 QTL for blood pressure (BP) in stroke-prone spontaneously hypertensive rat (SHRSP). In this study, we narrowed down the candidate region to a 1.8-Mbp fragment between D1Rat171 and D1Wox33, and established reciprocal congenic strains for this region.

Helicobacter pylori infection and reflux esophagitis in young and middle-aged Japanese subjects.

Background And Aims: Helicobacter pylori infection rates are reported to be high in people over the age of 40 years, but are decreasing in younger age groups. A negative correlation has been reported between H. pylori infection and reflux esophagitis (RE).

A study on bone mineral density in patients with Crohn's disease.

Decreased bone mineral density is a complication to which we should always pay attention in the treatment of Crohn's disease (CD). However, there is still no clear consensus with regard to evaluation methods and the appropriate observation period for its detection. In the present study, we measured the bone mineral density of 30 CD patients who were treated at the outpatient clinic of our institution and investigated its relationship with various clinical characteristics including sex, age, duration of illness, history of enterectomy, total steroid consumption, body weight, and body mass index (BMI) and with bone metabolism markers.