MAP kinases are integral to the mechanisms by which cells respond to a wide variety of environmental stresses. In Caenorhabditis elegans, the KGB-1 JNK signaling pathway regulates the response to heavy metal stress. In this study, we identified FOS-1, a bZIP transcription factor, as a target of KGB-1-mediated phosphorylation.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFThe validity of the Birmingham Vasculitis Activity Score (BVAS) as an index of disease activity and a predictor of the prognosis and outcome in patients with MPA has not yet been established in Japan. We conducted a retrospective study of the data of 73 patients with MPA who were followed up for at least 2 years. We divided the patients into two groups according to the BVAS, namely, the high-BVAS group (≥16) and the low-BVAS group (<16), and compared the clinical characteristics.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFNascent peptide-dependent translation arrest is crucial for the quality control of eukaryotic gene expression. Here we show that the receptor for activated C kinase 1 (RACK1) participates in nascent peptide-dependent translation arrest, and that its binding to the 40S subunit is crucial for this. Translation arrest by a nascent peptide results in Dom34/Hbs1-independent endonucleolytic cleavage of mRNA, and this is stimulated by RACK1.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFBackground/aims: We conducted a broad survey of 99 patients with anti-neutrophil cytoplasmic antibody (ANCA)-associated vasculitis and investigated both prognosis and outcomes.
Methods: Clinical data evaluated were age, sex, patient survival, renal survival, serum albumin, serum creatinine, urinary protein, hematuria, C-reactive protein (CRP), ANCA titer, IgG and the Birmingham Vasculitis Activity Score (BVAS).
Results: The patient survival rate at 6 months after onset was 84.
The role of decreased active vitamin D levels on vascular calcification has not been elucidated in hemodialysis (HD) patients. The aim of the present study was to evaluate the relationship between progression of aortic arch calcification (AoAC) and prescribed dose of 1alpha-hydroxy vitamin D. The enrolled study subjects were 65 (40 men and 25 women) HD patients.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFBackground/aim: Atherosclerosis is evaluated by carotid mean intima-media thickness (mean IMT), pulse wave velocity (PWV), and the aortic calcification index (ACI). We have attempted to examine if these atherosclerotic parameters are associated with each other and which parameters are closely related to cardiac function in chronic HD patients.
Methods: The mean IMT, PWV and ACI were examined in 69 maintenance HD patients using carotid ultrasonography, a blood volume plethysmographic apparatus and abdominal CT, respectively.
Objective: Although aortic arch calcification (AoAC) is reported as a predictor for cardiovascular mortality in the general population, it is unknown whether this is also true in hemodialysis (HD) patients in whom vascular calcification and cardiovascular diseases are highly prevalent.
Methods: The enrolled study subjects were 401 patients (270 men and 131 women) on chronic HD therapy. Calcification of the aortic arch was semiquantitatively estimated with a score (AoACS) on plain chest radiography.