Chronic Renal Failure as a Possible Risk Factor for Allergic Reaction in Therapeutic Plasma Exchange Using Fresh Frozen Plasma.

The incidence of allergic reactions in patients with chronic renal failure during plasma exchange using fresh frozen plasma is not well known. We retrospectively reviewed 62 patients who underwent plasma exchange between January 2013 and May 2018. The most common indication for plasma exchange was desensitization/preconditioning for kidney transplant (61.

Visualization of Arc promoter-driven neuronal activity by magnetic resonance imaging.

Visualization of direct neuronal activity to understand brain function is one of the most important challenges in neuroscience. We have previously demonstrated that in vivo and in vitro gene expression of the ferritin reporter system could be detected by magnetic resonance imaging (MRI). In addition, increased neuronal activity induces Arc, an immediate early gene, and insertion of a destabilized fluorescent reporter dVenus under Arc promoter control has been used for monitoring neuronal activities in the brain by optical imaging.

LC-MS/MS imaging with thermal film-based laser microdissection.

Mass spectrometry (MS) imaging is a useful tool for direct and simultaneous visualization of specific molecules. Liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry (LC-MS/MS) is used to evaluate the abundance of molecules in tissues using sample homogenates. To date, however, LC-MS/MS has not been utilized as an imaging tool because spatial information is lost during sample preparation.

Common Hepatic Branch of Vagus Nerve-Dependent Expression of Immediate Early Genes in the Mouse Brain by Intraportal L-Arginine: Comparison with Cholecystokinin-8.

Information from the peripheral organs is thought to be transmitted to the brain by humoral factors and neurons such as afferent vagal or spinal nerves. The common hepatic branch of the vagus (CHBV) is one of the main vagus nerve branches, and consists of heterogeneous neuronal fibers that innervate multiple peripheral organs such as the bile duct, portal vein, paraganglia, and gastroduodenal tract. Although, previous studies suggested that the CHBV has a pivotal role in transmitting information on the status of the liver to the brain, the details of its central projections remain unknown.

Original Research: Potential of urinary nephrin as a biomarker reflecting podocyte dysfunction in various kidney disease models.

Urinary nephrin is a potential non-invasive biomarker of disease. To date, however, most studies of urinary nephrin have been conducted in animal models of diabetic nephropathy, and correlations between urinary nephrin-to-creatinine ratio and other parameters have yet to be evaluated in animal models or patients of kidney disease with podocyte dysfunction. We hypothesized that urinary nephrin-to-creatinine ratio can be up-regulated and is negatively correlated with renal nephrin mRNA levels in animal models of kidney disease, and that increased urinary nephrin-to-creatinine ratio levels are attenuated following administration of glucocorticoids.

[Causal relationship between assertiveness and adjustment in children: A short-term longitudinal study].

This study examined the causal relationships between assertiveness and both internal and external adjustment in children. Elementary school children in grades four through six (N = 284) participated in the study, which used a short-term longitudinal design. The children completed questionnaires twice during a 6-months period.

Synaptic plasticity associated with a memory engram in the basolateral amygdala.

Synaptic plasticity is a cellular mechanism putatively underlying learning and memory. However, it is unclear whether learning induces synaptic modification globally or only in a subset of neurons in associated brain regions. In this study, we genetically identified neurons activated during contextual fear learning and separately recorded synaptic efficacy from recruited and nonrecruited neurons in the mouse basolateral amygdala (BLA).

Whole-brain imaging with single-cell resolution using chemical cocktails and computational analysis.

Systems-level identification and analysis of cellular circuits in the brain will require the development of whole-brain imaging with single-cell resolution. To this end, we performed comprehensive chemical screening to develop a whole-brain clearing and imaging method, termed CUBIC (clear, unobstructed brain imaging cocktails and computational analysis). CUBIC is a simple and efficient method involving the immersion of brain samples in chemical mixtures containing aminoalcohols, which enables rapid whole-brain imaging with single-photon excitation microscopy.

Globular adiponectin induces LKB1/AMPK-dependent glucose uptake via actin cytoskeleton remodeling.

Previous studies have shown that many metabolic actions of adiponectin are mediated via the activation of AMP kinase and that adiponectin stimulates GLUT4 translocation and glucose uptake in the muscle. In this study, we demonstrate that adiponectin stimulates actin cytoskeleton remodeling, with increased phosphorylation of cofilin, and that blocking of cytoskeletal remodeling with cytochalasin D prevents adiponectin-stimulated AMPK phosphorylation in L6 myoblasts. LKB1 is an upstream kinase of AMPK, and we observed the colocalization of LKB1 with filamentous actin in response to adiponectin.

Orchestrated experience-driven Arc responses are disrupted in a mouse model of Alzheimer's disease.

Experience-induced expression of immediate-early gene Arc (also known as Arg3.1) is known to be important for consolidation of memory. Using in vivo longitudinal multiphoton imaging, we found orchestrated activity-dependent expression of Arc in the mouse extrastriate visual cortex in response to a structured visual stimulation.

Diabetes influences cardiac extracellular matrix remodelling after myocardial infarction and subsequent development of cardiac dysfunction.

This study was conducted to examine the influence of acute streptozotocin-induced diabetes on cardiac remodelling and function in mice subjected to myocardial infarction (MI) by coronary artery ligation. Echocardiography analysis indicated that diabetes induced deleterious cardiac functional changes as demonstrated by the negative differences of ejection fraction, fractional shortening, stroke volume, cardiac output and left ventricular volume 24 hrs after MI. Temporal analysis for up to 2 weeks after MI showed higher mortality in diabetic animals because of cardiac wall rupture.

[Relationship between assertiveness including consideration for others and adjustment in children].

The relationship between assertiveness and internal and external adjustment was investigated. Elementary school children in grades four to six (n=207) and their classroom teachers (n=8) participated in the study. Internal and external adjustments were measured by using self-ratings, and self- and other- ratings respectively.

Ischemia-reperfusion injury leads to distinct temporal cardiac remodeling in normal versus diabetic mice.

Diabetes is associated with higher incidence of myocardial infarction (MI) and increased propensity for subsequent events post-MI. Here we conducted a temporal analysis of the influence of diabetes on cardiac dysfunction and remodeling after ischemia reperfusion (IR) injury in mice. Diabetes was induced using streptozotocin and IR performed by ligating the left anterior descending coronary artery for 30 min followed by reperfusion for up to 42 days.

Lipocalin-2 induces cardiomyocyte apoptosis by increasing intracellular iron accumulation.

Our objective was to determine whether lipocalin-2 (Lcn2) regulates cardiomyocyte apoptosis, the mechanisms involved, and the functional significance. Emerging evidence suggests that Lcn2 is a proinflammatory adipokine associated with insulin resistance and obesity-related complications, such as heart failure. Here, we used both primary neonatal rat cardiomyocytes and H9c2 cells and demonstrated for the first time that Lcn2 directly induced cardiomyocyte apoptosis, an important component of cardiac remodeling leading to heart failure.

Right-hemispheric dominance of spatial memory in split-brain mice.

Left-right asymmetry of human brain function has been known for a century, although much of molecular and cellular basis of brain laterality remains to be elusive. Recent studies suggest that hippocampal CA3-CA1 excitatory synapses are asymmetrically arranged, however, the functional implication of the asymmetrical circuitry has not been studied at the behavioral level. In order to address the left-right asymmetry of hippocampal function in behaving mice, we analyzed the performance of "split-brain" mice in the Barnes maze.

Equilibrative nucleoside transporter 1 plays an essential role in cardioprotection.

To better understand the role of equilibrative nucleoside transporters (ENT) in purine nucleoside-dependent physiology of the cardiovascular system, we investigated whether the ENT1-null mouse heart was cardioprotected in response to ischemia (coronary occlusion for 30 min followed by reperfusion for 2 h). We observed that ENT1-null mouse hearts showed significantly less myocardial infarction compared with wild-type littermates. We confirmed that isolated wild-type adult mouse cardiomyocytes express predominantly ENT1, which is primarily responsible for purine nucleoside uptake in these cells.

Neural activity changes underlying the working memory deficit in alpha-CaMKII heterozygous knockout mice.

The alpha-isoform of calcium/calmodulin-dependent protein kinase II (alpha-CaMKII) is expressed abundantly in the forebrain and is considered to have an essential role in synaptic plasticity and cognitive function. Previously, we reported that mice heterozygous for a null mutation of alpha-CaMKII (alpha-CaMKII+/-) have profoundly dysregulated behaviors including a severe working memory deficit, which is an endophenotype of schizophrenia and other psychiatric disorders. In addition, we found that almost all the neurons in the dentate gyrus (DG) of the mutant mice failed to mature at molecular, morphological and electrophysiological levels.

In vivo and in vitro visualization of gene expression dynamics over extensive areas of the brain.

In vivo monitoring of gene expression using promoter-destabilized fluorescence protein constructs is a powerful method for examining the expression dynamics of immediate-early genes in the brain. However, weak fluorescence signals derived from such constructs have hampered analyses of gene expression over extensive areas of the brain. We succeeded in producing transgenic mice with brains exhibiting high level expression of the reporter gene driven by the Arc gene promoter, which is activated in association with various brain functions (reporter mRNA abundance was near 100-fold greater than endogenous Arc mRNAs).

Leptin protects H9c2 rat cardiomyocytes from H2O2-induced apoptosis.

Obesity is a known risk factor for induction of myocardial infarction, but, paradoxically, may also confer a protective effect against subsequent remodeling leading to heart failure. In this study, we investigated the effect of leptin, the product of the obese (ob) gene, on cardiomyocyte apoptosis, a well-characterized component of cardiac remodeling after myocardial infarction. Exposing H9c2 cells to H(2)O(2) decreased cell viability, and this was attenuated by pretreating cells with leptin for 1 h, but not 24 h.

Double transfection into primary dissociated neurons.

Synapses play a fundamental role in the processing of information in a neuronal network by mediating communication between neurons. To monitor presynaptic and postsynaptic structures simultaneously in living neurons, we developed double transfection method on the basis of calcium phosphate coprecipitation and introduced two fluorescent reporters into cultured neurons. The optimized protocol allowed different populations of neurons to be visualized by different color fluorescences, and presynaptic and postsynaptic structures to be observed in the same field of view of a microscope.

Globular and full-length forms of adiponectin mediate specific changes in glucose and fatty acid uptake and metabolism in cardiomyocytes.

Objective: Our aim was to investigate the regulation of glucose and fatty acid metabolism in cardiomyocytes by the globular (gAd) and full-length (fAd) forms of adiponectin.

Methods: We produced fAd (consisting of high, medium and low molecular weight oligomers) in a mammalian expression system and gAd in bacteria. These were used to treat primary neonatal rat cardiomyocytes (up to 48 h), and we employed 3H- or 14C-labeled substrates to monitor glucose uptake and subsequent metabolism via oxidation, glycogen synthesis or lactate production and fatty acid uptake and oxidation.

Regulation of SOCS-3 expression by leptin and its co-localization with insulin receptor in rat skeletal muscle cells.

Obesity is a well-defined risk factor for the development of insulin resistance in target tissues, such as skeletal muscle, and thus type 2 diabetes. This may occur due to endocrine effects mediated by adipokines including leptin, the product of the obese (ob) gene, whose circulating levels positively correlate with body mass index. Induction of suppressor of cytokine-3 (SOCS-3) protein expression has been implicated as a possible mechanism of leptin-induced insulin resistance.

Distinct effects of short- and long-term leptin treatment on glucose and fatty acid uptake and metabolism in HL-1 cardiomyocytes.

Alterations in cardiac glucose and fatty acid metabolism are possible contributors to the pathogenesis of heart failure in obesity. Here we examined the effect of leptin, the product of the obese (ob) gene, on metabolism in murine cardiomyocytes. Neither short-term (1 hour) nor long-term (24 hours) treatment with leptin (60 nmol/L) altered basal or insulin-stimulated glucose uptake and oxidation, glycogen synthesis, insulin receptor substrate 1 tyrosine, Akt, or glycogen synthase kinase 3beta phosphorylation.