Persistently High Platelet Factor 4 Levels in an Adolescent with Recurrent Late Thrombotic Complications after SARS-CoV-2 mRNA Vaccination.

Thrombosis after severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 vaccination is a serious complication in patients with a thrombophilic predisposition. Herein, we present a 17-year-old female who had underlying antiphospholipid syndrome (APS) and developed deep vein thrombosis (DVT) 6 months after her second BNT162b2 vaccine dose. Although she had no family history of thrombosis, she had previously developed DVT at 6 years of age, with thrombus formation in the right common iliac vein and the inferior vena cava, along with concomitant left pulmonary infarction.

Slowly progressive cell death induced by GPx4-deficiency occurs via MEK1/ERK2 activation as a downstream signal after iron-independent lipid peroxidation.

Glutathione peroxidase 4 (GPx4) is an antioxidant enzyme that reduces phospholipid hydroperoxide. Studies have reported that the loss of GPx4 activity through anticancer drugs leads to ferroptosis, an iron-dependent lipid peroxidation-induced cell death. In this study, we established Tamoxifen-inducible GPx4-deficient Mouse embryonic fibroblast (MEF) cells (ETK1 cells) and found that Tamoxifen-inducible gene disruption of GPx4 induces slow cell death at ~72 h.

Identification of Fungal and Bacterial Denitrification Inhibitors Targeting Copper Nitrite Reductase.

The usage of nitrification inhibitors is one of the strategies that reduce or slow down the denitrification process to prevent nitrogen loss to the atmosphere in the form of NO. Directly targeting microbial denitrification could be one of the mitigation strategies; however, until now little efforts have been devoted toward the development of denitrification inhibitors. Here, we have identified small-molecule inhibitors of one of the proteins involved in the fungal denitrification pathway.

Recurrent tandem duplication of UNC13D in familial hemophagocytic lymphohistiocytosis type 3.

Familial hemophagocytic lymphohistiocytosis type 3 is a fatal inborn error of immunity due to abnormal cytotoxic activity of T and NK cells and is caused by variants in UNC13D, which encodes Munc13-4. One published case was reported to carry a tandem duplication of UNC13D exons 7-12, and we here present another case with the exact same duplication breakpoints. The patient carried the tandem duplication from maternal origin, and a c.

Mitochondrial glutathione peroxidase 4 is indispensable for photoreceptor development and survival in mice.

Glutathione peroxidase 4 (GPx4) is known for its unique function in the direct detoxification of lipid peroxides in the cell membrane and as a key regulator of ferroptosis, a form of lipid peroxidation-induced nonapoptotic cell death. However, the cytosolic isoform of GPx4 is considered to play a major role in inhibiting ferroptosis in somatic cells, whereas the roles of the mitochondrial isoform of GPx4 (mGPx4) in cell survival are not yet clear. In the present study, we found that mGPx4 KO mice exhibit a cone-rod dystrophy-like phenotype in which loss of cone photoreceptors precedes loss of rod photoreceptors.

Detection of material-derived differences in the stiffness of egg yolk phosphatidylcholine-containing liposomes using atomic force microscopy.

Naturally sourced phospholipids are used in many liposomal pharmaceuticals. The present report describes a method to detect the effects of different egg yolk phosphatidylcholines (EPCs) on liposomal physicochemical properties. Five EPC-containing liposomes were prepared using five different EPCs obtained from different suppliers.

Characterization of a large UNC13D gene duplication in a patient with familial hemophagocytic lymphohistiocytosis type 3.

Familial hemophagocytic lymphohistiocytosis (FHL) type 3 is a life-threatening immune dysregulation syndrome caused by mutations in the UNC13D gene, encoding the munc13-4 protein, which is important for function of cytotoxic lymphocytes. FHL3 accounts for 30-40% of FHL cases, and more than 100 mutations in the UNC13D gene have been described to date. We describe the first case of FHL3 carrying an intragenic duplication of UNC13D, apparently mediated by recombination of Alu elements.

Colon cancer with rapid growth in 16 months confirmed by computed tomographic colonography.

This report describes a case of rapidly growing colon cancer confirmed by computed tomographic colonography (CTC). A 75-year-old woman presented at our clinic with complaints of abdominal discomfort and melena. Colorectal examination was performed via CTC.

Lipid Peroxidation-Dependent Cell Death Regulated by GPx4 and Ferroptosis.

Glutathione peroxidase 4 (Phospholipid hydroperoxide glutathione peroxidase, PHGPx) can directly reduce phospholipid hydroperoxide. Depletion of GPx4 induces lipid peroxidation-dependent cell death in embryo, testis, brain, liver, heart, and photoreceptor cells of mice. Administration of vitamin E in tissue specific GPx4 KO mice restored tissue damage in testis, liver, and heart.

Discovery of Fungal Denitrification Inhibitors by Targeting Copper Nitrite Reductase from Fusarium oxysporum.

The efficient application of nitrogenous fertilizers is urgently required, as their excessive and inefficient use is causing substantial economic loss and environmental pollution. A significant amount of applied nitrogen in agricultural soils is lost as nitrous oxide (NO) in the environment due to the microbial denitrification process. The widely distributed fungus Fusarium oxysporum is a major denitrifier in agricultural soils and its denitrification activity could be targeted to reduce nitrogen loss in the form of NO from agricultural soils.

Isolation and characterization of a thermostable lipase from Bacillus thermoamylovorans NB501.

Two thermophilic bacterial strains, Bacillus thermoamylovorans NB501 and NB502, were isolated from a high-temperature aerobic fermentation reactor system that processes tofu refuse (okara) in the presence of used soybean oil. We cloned a lipase gene from strain NB501, which secretes a thermophilic lipase. The biochemical characteristics of the recombinant enzyme (Lip501r) were elucidated.

Capecitabine and oxaliplatin combined with bevacizumab are feasible for treating selected Japanese patients at least 75 years of age with metastatic colorectal cancer.

Background: Although number of elderly patients with metastatic colorectal cancer (mCRC) is rapidly increasing, this population is often underrepresented in clinical trials. Recently, a phase II trial demonstrated that capecitabine and oxaliplatin (XELOX) combined with bevacizumab XELOX plus bevacizumab was effective and well tolerated by elderly patients with mCRC who reside in Western countries. The aim of this study was to evaluate the safety and efficacy of XELOX plus bevacizumab for Japanese patients aged ≥ 75 years with mCRC.

TKI dasatinib monotherapy for a patient with Ph-like ALL bearing ATF7IP/PDGFRB translocation.

We report a 10-year-old male with relapsing Ph-like acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL) bearing ATF7IP/PDGFRB translocation. He was refractory to conventional therapy, and was finally treated with single-agent second-generation TKI dasatinib. The therapeutic response was prompt, with the disappearance of minimum residual disease (MRD) based on genomic PCR analysis within 3 months, and he has maintained complete molecular remission for 12 months.

ATF7IP as a novel PDGFRB fusion partner in acute lymphoblastic leukaemia in children.

We identified ATF7IP as a novel PDGFRB fusion partner in B-progenitor acute lymphoblastic leukaemia (B-ALL) and showed that B-ALL with ATF7IP/PDGFRB translocation is included within the genomic lesions of a Philadelphia chromosome (Ph)-like ALL subgroup. Comprehensive analyses of previous repositories of gene expression data sets disclosed that B-ALL cases with high PDGFRB expression level in the context of the Ph-like ALL gene are likely to have a PDGFRB translocation. Thus, it is possible that measurement of the PDGFRB expression level can be utilized as a screening test for the detection of the cryptic PDGFRB translocation, especially within the Ph-like ALL subgroup.

Genome-wide and heterocyst-specific circadian gene expression in the filamentous Cyanobacterium Anabaena sp. strain PCC 7120.

The filamentous, heterocystous cyanobacterium Anabaena sp. strain PCC 7120 is one of the simplest multicellular organisms that show both morphological pattern formation with cell differentiation (heterocyst formation) and circadian rhythms. Therefore, it potentially provides an excellent model in which to analyze the relationship between circadian functions and multicellularity.

A phase I study of triplet combination chemotherapy of paclitaxel, cisplatin and S-1 in patients with advanced gastric cancer.

Objective: S-1 and cisplatin combination therapy is a standard regimen for patients with advanced gastric cancer in Japan. The primary objective of this study was to determine the maximum tolerated dose and dose-limiting toxicities of a triplet regimen adding paclitaxel to S-1 and cisplatin combination therapy.

Methods: Patients with previously untreated metastatic or recurrent gastric cancer were enrolled.

Transcatheter arterial chemoembolization using cisplatin powder mixed with degradable starch microspheres for colorectal liver metastases after FOLFOX failure: results of a phase I/II study.

Purpose: To report the results of a phase I/II study of a transcatheter arterial chemoembolization protocol using cisplatin powder and degradable starch microspheres (DSM) for unresectable colorectal liver metastases after failure of FOLFOX (5-flourouracil, leucovorin plus oxaliplatin) chemotherapy conducted to determine the recommended dose of cisplatin powder and to assess the efficacy and safety of the protocol.

Materials And Methods: A fine-powder formulation of cisplatin was mixed with DSM and administered via the hepatic artery every 4 weeks. In phase I, three cohorts of patients received escalating doses of cisplatin powder: 50 mg/m(2), 65 mg/m(2), and 80 mg/m(2).

Bioaugmentation of a wastewater bioreactor system with the nitrous oxide-reducing denitrifier Pseudomonas stutzeri strain TR2.

In bioaugmentation technology, survival of inoculant in the treatment system is prerequisite but remains to be a crucial hurdle. In this study, we bioaugmented the denitrification tank of a piggery wastewater treatment system with the denitrifying bacterium Pseudomonas stutzeri strain TR2 in two pilot-scale experiments, with the aim of reducing nitrous oxide (N(2)O), a gas of environmental concern. In the laboratory, strain TR2 grew well and survived with high concentrations of nitrite (5-10 mM) at a wide range of temperatures (28-40°C).

Advenella faeciporci sp. nov., a nitrite-denitrifying bacterium isolated from nitrifying-denitrifying activated sludge collected from a laboratory-scale bioreactor treating piggery wastewater.

Strain M-07(T) was isolated from nitrifying-denitrifying activated sludge treating piggery wastewater. Phylogenetic analysis based on 16S rRNA gene sequences demonstrated that strain M-07(T) belonged to the genus Advenella. 16S rRNA gene sequence similarity between M-07(T) and Advenella incenata CCUG 45225(T), Advenella mimigardefordensis DPN7(T) and Advenella kashmirensis WT001(T) was 96.

[A surgical (pancreatoduodenectomy) case of lymph node metastatic recurrence of colon cancer after chemotherapy].

A woman in her fifties underwent a right hemicolectomy (D3) for cancer of the ascending colon in October 2007, definitively and pathologically diagnosed as papillary adenocarcinoma invading to the subserosa, and no metastasis was detected to lymph node. But 13 months after the surgery, she was found to have a mass near the anastomosis by an abdominal CT scan. Colonoscopy showed an evaluating lesion with ulcer in the anal side of the anastomosis.

[A surgical (right lobectomy) case of liver metastasis of colon cancer after chemotherapy using mFOLFIRI and cetuximab].

A man in his early seventies underwent low anterior resection and partial resection of the liver for the rectal cancer and liver metastasis. However, 4 months after the surgery, he was found to have a liver tumor at S5 and S7 by abdominal CT scan. Then, he underwent chemotherapy (mFOLFOX6), but the metastatic tumor was progressive.

Hepatic arterial infusion of 5-fluorouracil for patients with liver metastases from colorectal cancer refractory to standard systemic chemotherapy: a multicenter, retrospective analysis.

Introduction: This retrospective study evaluated the safety and efficacy of hepatic arterial infusion chemotherapy (HAIC) with 5-fluorouracil (5-FU) for patients with liver metastases from colorectal cancer refractory to standard systemic chemotherapy.

Patients And Methods: Fifty-five patients who had shown disease progression during the prior standard systemic chemotherapy with oxaliplatin, irinotecan, and 5-FU were enrolled. The treatment was weekly HAIC with 5-FU 1000 mg/m2/5 hours through an indwelling catheter-port system.