The Tokyo subway sarin attack has long-term effects on survivors: A 10-year study started 5 years after the terrorist incident.

Objectives: The Tokyo subway sarin attack in 1995 was an unprecedented act of terrorism that killed 13 people and sickened more than 6,000. The long-term somatic and psychological effects on its victims remain unknown.

Methods: We conducted analyses on the self-rating questionnaire collected annually by the Recovery Support Center (RSC) during the period from 2000 to 2009.

The sarin-like organophosphorus agent bis(isopropyl methyl)phosphonate induces ER stress in human astrocytoma cells.

Organophosphorus (OP) compounds such as sarin are toxic agents that irreversibly inhibit the enzyme acetylcholinesterase. A recent study showed that OP compounds also have multiple toxicity mechanisms, and another suggested that endoplasmic reticulum (ER) dysfunction contributes to OP toxicity. However, the signaling pathway and mechanisms involved are poorly understood.

The Sarin-like Organophosphorus Agent bis (isopropyl methyl)phosphonate Induces Apoptotic Cell Death and COX-2 Expression in SK-N-SH Cells.

Organophosphorus compounds, such as sarin, are highly toxic nerve agents that inhibit acetylcholinesterase (AChE), but not cholinesterase, via multiple mechanisms. Recent studies have shown that organophosphorus compounds increase cyclooxygenase-2 (COX-2) expression and induce neurotoxicity. In this study, we examined the toxicity of the sarin-like organophosphorus agent bis(isopropyl methyl)phosphonate (BIMP) and the effects of BIMP on COX-2 expression in SK-N-SH human neuroblastoma cells.

Acute effects of a sarin-like organophosphorus agent, bis(isopropyl methyl)phosphonate, on cardiovascular parameters in anaesthetized, artificially ventilated rats.

The organophosphorus compound sarin irreversibly inhibits acetylcholinesterase. We examined the acute cardiovascular effects of a sarin-like organophosphorus agent, bis(isopropyl methyl)phosphonate (BIMP), in anaesthetized, artificially ventilated rats. Intravenous administration of BIMP (0.

[Comparison of four immunoassay screening devices for detection of benzodiazepine and its metabolites in urine: mainly detection of etizolam, thienodiazepine and its metabolites].

The immunoassay screening of benzodiazepines in urine is one of the most important methods of drug analysis in clinical and forensic laboratories. We experienced an unusual case of poisoning wherein the result of Triage DOA immunoassay screening was negative, although Depas (etizolam) was detected in the blood of the victim who had been suspected to prescribe Depas by gas chromatography-mass spectrometry. Depas has been widely used for the treatment of anxiety in Japan.

Acute intoxication caused by overdose of flunitrazepam and triazolam: high concentration of metabolites detected at autopsy examination.

A 52-year-old woman was found dead on the floor of the living room on the first floor of a house, which belonged to the man with whom she shared the house. On visiting the site, her clothes were found to be undisturbed. Packages of flunitrazepam (Silece, 2 mg/tablet) and triazolam (Halcion, 0.

Transcriptional coactivator with PDZ-binding motif is essential for normal alveolarization in mice.

Rationale: Transcriptional coactivator with PDZ-binding motif (TAZ) is assumed to act as a coactivator of several transcription factors including smad2/3. In the lung, surfactant protein C (Sftpc) is known to be a downstream target of thyroid transcription factor-1 (TTF-1)-TAZ transcriptional coactivation.

Objectives: The lung phenotype of Taz-deficient mice was explored.

The Hippo signaling pathway components Lats and Yap pattern Tead4 activity to distinguish mouse trophectoderm from inner cell mass.

Outside cells of the preimplantation mouse embryo form the trophectoderm (TE), a process requiring the transcription factor Tead4. Here, we show that transcriptionally active Tead4 can induce Cdx2 and other trophoblast genes in parallel in embryonic stem cells. In embryos, the Tead4 coactivator protein Yap localizes to nuclei of outside cells, and modulation of Tead4 or Yap activity leads to changes in Cdx2 expression.

Multiple renal cysts, urinary concentration defects, and pulmonary emphysematous changes in mice lacking TAZ.

TAZ (transcriptional coactivator with PDZ-binding motif), also called WWTR1 (WW domain containing transcription regulator 1), is a 14-3-3-binding molecule homologous to Yes-associated protein. TAZ acts as a coactivator for several transcription factors as well as a modulator of membrane-associated PDZ domain-containing proteins, but its (patho)physiological roles remain unknown. Here we show that gene inactivation of TAZ in mice resulted in pathological changes in the kidney and lung that resemble the common human diseases polycystic kidney disease and pulmonary emphysema.

Transcriptional activity of Pax3 is co-activated by TAZ.

Pax3 is a transcription factor which functions in embryonic development and human diseases. In a yeast two-hybrid screen with full-length Pax3 as bait, we isolated a clone encoding transcriptional co-activator with PDZ-binding motif (TAZ) from an E10.5 mouse embryo cDNA library.

Identification of multiple novel epididymis-specific beta-defensin isoforms in humans and mice.

Defensins comprise a family of cationic antimicrobial peptides that are characterized by the presence of six conserved cysteine residues. We identified two novel human beta-defensin (hBD) isoforms by mining the public human genomic sequences. The predicted peptides conserve the six-cysteine motif identical with hBD-4, termed hBD-5 and hBD-6.

Transgenesis of newt with exogenous gene expression facilitated by satellite 2 repeats.

Genetiç transduction of newt was undertaken in search of conditions allowing high exogenous gene expression in stages from late embryo to larva when regeneration experiments, which are advantageous for this group of animals, are possible. DNA of a β-galactosidase-encoding gene miwZ was injected in the cytoplasm of fertilized eggs in different molecular forms, and its fate and gene expression were studied in individual embryos. When DNA was injected in a linear form, DNA concatemerized quickly and the majority of the exogenous sequences were localized in the nuclear fraction from early gastrula onwards.