The effect of Fc region affinity of protein-based antibody-recruiting molecules on antibody-dependent cellular cytotoxicity.

Previously, we reported anticancer molecules, Fc-binding antibody-recruiting molecules (Fc-ARMs), which crosslink proteins on cancer cells with endogenous immunoglobulin Gs (IgGs) their Fc region. The mobilized IgGs on cancer cells can accommodate natural killer cells to induce antibody-dependent cellular cytotoxicity (ADCC). Because previous Fc-ARMs utilized Fc-binding peptides, their affinity to IgGs is weak, which resulted in the limited induction capability of ADCC.

Uniaxial Magnetization and Electrocatalytic Performance for Hydrogen Evolution on Electrodeposited Ni Nanowire Array Electrodes with Ultra-High Aspect Ratio.

Ni nanowire array electrodes with an extremely large surface area were made through an electrochemical reduction process utilizing an anodized alumina template with a pore length of 320 µm, pore diameter of 100 nm, and pore aspect ratio of 3200. The electrodeposited Ni nanowire arrays were preferentially oriented in the (111) plane regardless of the deposition potential and exhibited uniaxial magnetic anisotropy with easy magnetization in the axial direction. With respect to the magnetic properties, the squareness and coercivity of the electrodeposited Ni nanowire arrays improved up to 0.

Membrane-Vesicle-Mediated Interbacterial Communication Activates Silent Secondary Metabolite Production.

Most bacterial biosynthetic gene clusters (BGCs) are "silent BGCs" that are expressed poorly or not at all under normal culture conditions. However, silent BGCs, even in part, may be conditionally expressed in response to external stimuli in the original bacterial habitats. The growing knowledge of bacterial membrane vesicles (MVs) suggests that they could be promising imitators of the exogenous stimulants, especially given their functions as signaling mediators in bacterial cell-to-cell communication.

Characterization of polypropyleneimine as an alternative transfection reagent.

Polypropyleneimine (PPI) was examined as a transfection reagent comparing with most widely used polymer, polyethyleneimine (PEI). PPI had better responsiveness to the endosomal pH and showed more condensation ability of plasmid DNA than PEI. Although the cytotoxicity of PPI was somewhat higher than PEI, the transfection efficacy of PPI was comparable with PEI or higher than PEI in some cell line.

Synthesis of Unsymmetrical Ketones Using Chelation-Controlled Sequential Substitution of -Triazinylamide/Weinreb Amide by Organometallic Reagents.

-(2,4-Dimethoxy-1,3,5-triazinyl)amide was found to exhibit similar behavior to -methoxy--methylamide (Weinreb amide) but higher reactivity for nucleophilic substitution by organometallic reagents. Triazinylamide suppresses overaddition, leading to the formation of a tertiary alcohol by the chelating ability of the triazinyl and carbonyl groups. Ureas possessing both triazinylamino and methoxy(methyl)amino groups underwent sequential nucleophilic substitution with different organometallic reagents, which furnished unsymmetrical ketones without any detectable tertiary alcohols.

Quantitative Analysis of Lactone Enantiomers in Butter and Margarine through the Combination of Solvent Extraction and Enantioselective Gas Chromatography-Mass Spectrometry.

We quantified the enantiomeric distributions of δ- and γ-lactones in butter, fermented butter, and margarine through the combination of solvent extraction and enantioselective gas chromatography-mass spectrometry. The main lactones in butter and fermented butter comprised ()-δ-decalactone, ()-δ-dodecalactone, ()-δ-tetradecalactone, ()-δ-hexadecalactone, and ()-γ-dodecalactone. In contrast, margarine samples consisted of only δ-decalactone and δ-dodecalactone in racemic forms, indicating that synthetic aroma chemicals were added to margarine.

Charge-reversible lipid derivative: A novel type of pH-responsive lipid for nanoparticle-mediated siRNA delivery.

RNA interference induced by small interfering RNA (siRNA) is a promising strategy for the treatment of various intractable diseases including cancer. Lipid nanoparticles (LNP) composed of ionizable lipids and siRNA are known as a leading siRNA delivery system. However, LNPs composed of conventional ionizable lipids will be aggregated in the physiological environment because of loss of ionization.

Determination of Activation Overpotential during the Nucleation of Hcp-Cobalt Nanowires Synthesized by Potentio-Static Electrochemical Reduction.

The crystal growth process and ferromagnetic properties of electrodeposited cobalt nanowires were investigated by controlling the bath temperature and cathodic overpotential. The cathodic overpotential during electrodeposition of cobalt nanowire arrays, Δ, was theoretically estimated by the difference between the cathode potential, , and the equilibrium potential, , calculated by the Nernst equation. On the other hand, the activation overpotential, Δ, was experimentally determined by the Arrhenius plot on the growth rate of cobalt nanowire arrays, , versus (vs.

Effect of Growth Rate on the Crystal Orientation and Magnetization Performance of Cobalt Nanocrystal Arrays Electrodeposited from Aqueous Solution.

The formation work of a two-dimensional hcp-Co (metallic cobalt crystal with hexagonal close packed structure) nucleus, , was calculated by Pangarov's theory. was estimated to be smaller than in a cathode potential range nobler than the transition potential, (ca. -0.

Metal catalyst-free substitution of allylic and propargylic phosphates with diarylmethyl anions.

Substitution of secondary allylic phosphates with the anions derived from Ar2CH2 with BuLi or LDA proceeded regioselectively and stereoselectively without a metal catalyst, affording inversion products in good yield. Similarly, propargylic phosphates gave propargylic products selectively.

Tissue distribution and safety evaluation of a claudin-targeting molecule, the C-terminal fragment of Clostridium perfringens enterotoxin.

We previously found that claudin (CL) is a potent target for cancer therapy using a CL-3 and -4-targeting molecule, namely the C-terminal fragment of Clostridium perfringens enterotoxin (C-CPE). Although CL-3 and -4 are expressed in various normal tissues, the safety of this CL-targeting strategy has never been investigated. Here, we evaluated the tissue distribution of C-CPE in mice.

A claudin-targeting molecule as an inhibitor of tumor metastasis.

Tumor metastasis of epithelium-derived tumors is the major cause of death from malignant tumors. Overexpression of claudin is observed frequently in malignant tumors. However, claudin-targeting antimetastasis therapy has never been investigated.

Claudin-4-targeting of diphtheria toxin fragment A using a C-terminal fragment of Clostridium perfringens enterotoxin.

Claudin (CL)-4, a tight junction protein, is overexpressed in some human neoplasias, including ovarian, breast, pancreatic and prostate cancers. The targeting of CL-4 is a novel strategy for tumor therapy. We previously found that the C-terminal fragment of Clostridium perfringens enterotoxin (C-CPE) binds to CL-4.

A novel tumor-targeted therapy using a claudin-4-targeting molecule.

Carcinogenesis is often accompanied by dysfunctional tight junction (TJs), resulting in the loss of cellular polarity. Claudin, a tetra-transmembrane protein, plays a pivotal role in the barrier and fence functions of TJs. Claudin-4 is deregulated in various cancers, including breast, prostate, ovarian, and gastric cancer.

Mutagenicity of anaerobic fenitrothion metabolites after aerobic biodegradation.

Previous studies have revealed that the mutagenicity of fenitrothion increases during anaerobic biodegradation, suggesting that this insecticide's mutagenicity could effectively increase after it pollutes anaerobic environments such as lake sediments. To investigate possible changes to the mutagenicity of fenitrothion under aerobic conditions after it had already been increased by anaerobic biodegradation, batch incubation cultures were maintained under aerobic conditions. The mutagenicity, which had increased during anaerobic biodegradation, decreased under aerobic conditions with aerobic or facultative bacteria, but did not disappear completely in 22 days.

Intratumoral genomic heterogeneity in human hepatocellular carcinoma detected by restriction landmark genomic scanning.

Background/aims: One of the unique features of advanced hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) is the morphological heterogeneity in a single tumor nodule. In order to investigate the intratumoral genomic heterogeneity of HCC, we performed Restriction Landmark Genomic Scanning (RLGS), which allows genomic DNAs to be surveyed at approximately 2000 landmark sites in a single 2-dimensional gel electrophoresis.

Methods: RLGS profiles of two regions from a single HCC nodule in six patients were compared with non-tumorous liver tissue.

Effects of chenodeoxycholic and ursodeoxycholic acids on interferon-gamma production by peripheral blood mononuclear cells from patients with primary biliary cirrhosis.

Ursodeoxycholic acid (UDCA) administration can obtain marked improvement of primary biliary cirrhosis (PBC). Recently, UDCA has been demonstrated to have a direct effect on immunological reactions in patients with PBC in that the aberrant expression of major histocompatibility complex (MHC) class I molecules was markedly reduced after UDCA treatment. To understand the immunological effect of UDCA, we analyzed interferon (IFN)-gamma production in peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMCs) from 29 patients with PBC treated with UDCA (group 1), 19 patients with PBC who were not treated with UDCA (group 2), 11 healthy subjects (group 3), and 12 patients with chronic viral hepatitis (group 4).

Clinical pathoepidemiology of hepatocellular carcinoma in Japan.

There has been a rapid increase in the number of patients with hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) in Japan. This may be the result of an increased number of patients with hepatitis C virus (HCV)-related liver disease, and of prolonged survival of these patients due to improvement in the management of cirrhosis. Indeed, 96% of recent HCC patients admitted to our hospital were related to viral hepatitis B or C, and HCV infection accounted for three-fourths of these cases.

Aberration of genomic DNA in association with human hepatocellular carcinomas detected by 2-dimensional gel analysis.

Alterations of genomic DNAs in primary hepatocellular carcinomas (HCCs) were examined by restriction landmark genomic scanning (I. Hatada et al., Proc.

Mixed types of chronic active hepatitis and primary biliary cirrhosis associated with the anti-phospholipid antibody syndrome: a case report.

An understanding of the pathogenesis of mixed types of chronic active hepatitis and primary biliary cirrhosis is important for the treatment of the patients. A 40-year-old Japanese woman with antiphospholipid syndrome has been treated with prednisolone for two years since she was diagnosed as having a mixed type of chronic active hepatitis and primary biliary cirrhosis. Biochemical tests for liver function were normal during treatment.

Detection of chemiluminescence in lipid peroxidation of biological systems and its application to HPLC.

A combined system of chemiluminescence detection and high performance liquid chromatography (CL-HPLC) was developed to determine primary peroxidation products in biological tissues, such as phosphatidylcholine hydroperoxide (PCOOH). The CL-HPLC assay consists of separation of lipid classes with HPLC and detection of hydroperoxide-specific chemiluminescence. Hydroperoxides react with heme compounds to produce oxidants as suggested by our early studies on tissue low-level chemiluminescence in which singlet molecular oxygen is generated as one of the excited species in several biological systems involving free radical events.