Copolymerized Polymers Based on Cyclodextrins and Cationic Groups Enhance Therapeutic Effect of Rebamipide in the N-Acetylcysteine-Treated Dry Eye Model.

Purpose: We aimed to prepare a β-cyclodextrin (β-CD) polymer using radical polymerization with co-monomers, 6-deoxy-6-(2-methacryloyloxyethylsuccinamide)-β-cyclodextrin (CD-MSAm) and N,N,N-trimethyl-N-(2-hydroxy-3-metacryloyloxopropyl)-ammonium chloride (QA) to design cyclodextrins suitable for use in ophthalmology. In addition, we evaluated their solubility and inclusion properties with rebamipide (REB), a poorly soluble drug, and investigated the usefulness of the β-CD polymer and REB (REB@CDQA) combination in treating dry eye.

Methods: The β-CD polymer (CD-MSAm-co-QA, CDQA) based on CD-MSAm/QA was prepared via radical polymerization, and the usefulness of REB@CDQA in treating dry eye was evaluated using a rabbit treated with N-acetylcysteine (dry eye model).

The Hox code responsible for the patterning of the anterior vertebrae in zebrafish.

The vertebral column is a characteristic structure of vertebrates. Genetic studies in mice have shown that Hox-mediated patterning plays a key role in specifying discrete anatomical regions of the vertebral column. Expression pattern analyses in several vertebrate embryos have provided correlative evidence that the anterior boundaries of Hox expression coincide with distinct anatomical vertebrae.

Teleost code defines regional identities competent for the formation of dorsal and anal fins.

The dorsal and anal fins can vary widely in position and length along the anterior-posterior axis in teleost fishes. However, the molecular mechanisms underlying the diversification of these fins remain unknown. Here, we used genetic approaches in zebrafish and medaka, in which the relative positions of the dorsal and anal fins are opposite, to demonstrate the crucial role of genes in the patterning of the teleost posterior body, including the dorsal and anal fins.

Radial polarity in the first cranial neuromast of selected teleost fishes.

The neuromast is a sensory structure of the lateral line system in aquatic vertebrates, which consists of hair cells and supporting cells. Hair cells are mechanosensory cells, generally arranged with bidirectional polarity. Here, we describe a neuromast with hair cells arranged radially instead of bidirectionally in the first cranial neuromast of four teleost species: red seabream (Pagrus major), spotted halibut (Verasper variegatus), brown sole (Pseudopleuronectes herzensteini), and marbled sole (Pseudopleuronectes yokohamae).

Maturation of the medaka immune system depends on reciprocal interactions between the microbiota and the intestinal tract.

The interactions between the host immune system and intestinal microorganisms have been studied in many animals, including fish. However, a detailed analysis has not been performed in medaka, an established fish model for biological studies. Here, we investigated the effect of immunodeficiency on the microbiota composition and the effect of gut bacteria on intestinal epithelial development and immune responses in medaka.

Effective Blocking and Stabilizing Methods Using Synthetic Polymer on ELISA.

In ELISA, blocking reagents and stabilizers are important to improve the sensitivity and/or quantitative nature of the measurement system. Usually, biological substances such as bovine serum albumin and casein are used, but they still have problems such as lot-to-lot differences and biohazard. Here, we describe the methods using a chemically synthesized polymer, BIOLIPIDURE®, as a new blocking agent and stabilizer that can solve these problems.

A Case of TAV-in-SAV in a Patient with Structural Valve Deterioration after Surgical Aortic Valve Replacement with the INSPIRIS RESILIA Valve.

The INSPIRIS RESILIA valve is designed to dilate its valve annulus in transcatheter aortic valve-in-surgical aortic valve (TAV-in-SAV), a catheter therapy for biological valve deterioration. RESILIA tissue has improved anti-calcification properties. An 83-year-old man on hemodialysis undergoing surgical aortic valve replacement (SAVR) with a 25-mm INSPIRIS for severe aortic stenosis 22 months ago presented with general malaise.

Evolutionarily conserved role of hps1 in melanin production and blood coagulation in medaka fish.

Hermansky-Pudlak syndrome is an autosomal recessive disease characterized by albinism, visual impairment, and blood platelet dysfunction. One of the genes responsible for Hermansky-Pudlak syndrome, hps1, regulates organelle biogenesis and thus plays important roles in melanin production, blood clotting, and the other organelle-related functions in humans and mice. However, the function of hps1 in other species remains poorly understood.

The complete mitochondrial genome sequences of Japanese earthworms and (Clitellata: Megascolecidae).

Many studies have reported the complete mitochondrial genome sequences of Chinese Megascolecidae earthworms, however, there have been no reports on sequences originating from Japanese Megascolecidae earthworms. In this study, we determined complete mitochondrial genome sequences of two Japanese earthworms belonging to the complex within the Megascolecidae family. is one of the most common earthworms in Japan and was found to be morphologically similar to .

Minimizing scattering-induced phase errors in differential interference contrast microscopy.

Significance: Differential interference contrast (DIC) microscopes allow noninvasive in vivo observation of transparent microstructures in tissue without the use of fluorescent dyes or genetic modification. We show how to modify a DIC microscope to measure the sample phase distribution accurately and in real-time even deep inside sample tissue.

Aim: Our aim is to improve the DIC microscope's phase measurement to remove the phase bias that occurs in the presence of strong scattering.

Parallel Evolution of Two dmrt1-Derived Genes, dmy and dm-W, for Vertebrate Sex Determination.

Animal sex-determining genes, which bifurcate for female and male development, are diversified even among closely related species. Most of these genes emerged independently from various sex-related genes during species diversity as neofunctionalization-type genes. However, the common mechanisms of this divergent evolution remain poorly understood.

Erratum: Video-rate quantitative phase analysis by a DIC microscope using a polarization camera: errata.

[This corrects the article on p. 1273 in vol. 10, PMID: 30891345.

Video-rate quantitative phase analysis by a DIC microscope using a polarization camera.

This paper describes how to take advantage of the replacement of an intensity camera with a polarization camera in a standard differential interference contrast (DIC) microscope. Using a polarization camera enables snapshot quantitative phase analysis so that real-time imaging of living transparent tissues become possible. Using our method, we quantify the phase measurement accuracy using a phantom consisting of glass beads embedded in lacquer.

Structural investigation of α-l-fucosidase from the pancreas of Patiria pectinifera, based on molecular cloning.

An α-l-fucosidase (Pap-Alf) was purified from the pancreas of a starfish Patiria pectinifera by ammonium sulfate precipitation followed by several column chromatographies. The molecular mass of the purified enzyme was estimated to be 52.6 kDa by SDS-PAGE, although gel filtration analysis of the native enzyme suggests it exists as a homodimer in solution.

Evolution of the sex-determining gene in the teleostean genus Oryzias.

In the genetic sex determination of vertebrates, the gonadal sex depends on the combination of sex chromosomes that a zygote possesses. Despite the discovery of the sex-determining gene (SRY/Sry) in mammals in 1990s, the sex-determining gene in non-mammalian vertebrates remained an enigma for over a decade. In most mammals, the male-inducing master sex-determining gene is located on the Y chromosome and is therefore absent from XX females.

Mutation of Gonadal soma-derived factor induces medaka XY gonads to undergo ovarian development.

Gonochoristic species have a bipotential gonad that develops into a testis or an ovary. In species whose sex is determined by a genetic factor, the expression of a sex-determining gene is the first cue that directs the development of a bipotential gonad. Subsequent expression of downstream genes induces the gonad to develop into a testis or an ovary.

Developmental and morphological studies in Japanese medaka with ultra-high resolution optical coherence tomography.

We propose ultra-high resolution optical coherence tomography to study the morphological development of internal organs in medaka fish in the post-embryonic stages at micrometer resolution. Different stages of Japanese medaka were imaged after hatching in vivo with an axial resolution of 2.8 µm in tissue.

The habenulo-raphe serotonergic circuit encodes an aversive expectation value essential for adaptive active avoidance of danger.

Anticipation of danger at first elicits panic in animals, but later it helps them to avoid the real threat adaptively. In zebrafish, as fish experience more and more danger, neurons in the ventral habenula (vHb) showed tonic increase in the activity to the presented cue and activated serotonergic neurons in the median raphe (MR). This neuronal activity could represent the expectation of a dangerous outcome and be used for comparison with a real outcome when the fish is learning how to escape from a dangerous to a safer environment.

TALEN-mediated mutagenesis in zebrafish reveals a role for r-spondin 2 in fin ray and vertebral development.

R-spondin (Rspo) encodes a multi-domain protein that modulates the Wnt-signaling pathway. Two distinct rspo2 zebrafish mutants were generated by TALEN-mediated mutagenesis: a null mutant, rspo2(null), lacking all functional domains, and a hypomorphic mutant, rspo2(tsp), lacking the two N-terminal domains. Mutants were analyzed mainly for abnormalities in the skeletal system.

Co-option of Sox3 as the male-determining factor on the Y chromosome in the fish Oryzias dancena.

Sex chromosomes harbour a primary sex-determining signal that triggers sexual development of the organism. However, diverse sex chromosome systems have been evolved in vertebrates. Here we use positional cloning to identify the sex-determining locus of a medaka-related fish, Oryzias dancena, and find that the locus on the Y chromosome contains a cis-regulatory element that upregulates neighbouring Sox3 expression in developing gonad.

Spontaneous germline excision of Tol1, a DNA-based transposable element naturally occurring in the medaka fish genome.

DNA-based transposable elements are ubiquitous constituents of eukaryotic genomes. Vertebrates are, however, exceptional in that most of their DNA-based elements appear to be inactivated. The Tol1 element of the medaka fish, Oryzias latipes, is one of the few elements for which copies containing an undamaged gene have been found.

Ol4E-T, a eukaryotic translation initiation factor 4E-binding protein of medaka fish (Oryzias latipes), can interact with nanos3 and vasa in vitro.

Maternal factors have essential roles in the specification and development of germ cells in metazoans. In Drosophila, a number of genes such as oskar, vasa, nanos, and tudor are required for specific steps in pole cell formation and further germline development. Drosophila cup, another maternal factor, is confirmed as a main factor in normal oogenesis, maintenance, and survival of female germ-line stem cells by interaction with Nanos.

Tracing the emergence of a novel sex-determining gene in medaka, Oryzias luzonensis.

Three sex-determining (SD) genes, SRY (mammals), Dmy (medaka), and DM-W (Xenopus laevis), have been identified to date in vertebrates. However, how and why a new sex-determining gene appears remains unknown, as do the switching mechanisms of the master sex-determining gene. Here, we used positional cloning to search for the sex-determining gene in Oryzias luzonensis and found that GsdfY (gonadal soma derived growth factor on the Y chromosome) has replaced Dmy as the master sex-determining gene in this species.

Expression of 3β-hydroxysteroid dehydrogenase (hsd3b), star and ad4bp/sf-1 during gonadal development in medaka (Oryzias latipes).

In most vertebrates, sex steroids play a critical role in gonadal development, maturation of germ cells, and development of secondary sexual characteristics. Sex steroids are synthesized in steroid-producing cells (SPCs) in the testis known as Leydig cells, as well as in thecal and granulosa cells in the ovary. In SPCs, cholesterol is sequentially catalyzed by a set of steroidogenic factors and enzymes in order to produce sex steroids.

Dmrt1 mutation causes a male-to-female sex reversal after the sex determination by Dmy in the medaka.

DMRT1, which is found in many vertebrates, exhibits testis-specific expression during the sexual differentiation period, suggesting a conserved function of DMRT1 in the testicular development of vertebrate gonads. However, functional analyses have been reported only in mammals. The current study focused on the Dmrt1 function in the teleost medaka, Oryzias latipes, which has an XX-XY sex determination system.