Association analysis of non-synonymous polymorphisms of interleukin-4 receptor-α and interleukin-13 genes in canine atopic dermatitis.

Interleukin-4 (IL4) and interleukin-13 (IL13) are involved in the initial response of T helper 2 lymphocytes through the activation of the IL4 receptor alpha (IL4RA), which is a common receptor chain for these cytokines. In humans, several single-nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) identified in the IL4R and in interleukin coding genes were associated with atopic disorders. However, the association between canine IL4R polymorphisms and atopic disorders has not been investigated yet.

The dynamics of ultrastructural changes during encystation.

Entamoeba histolytica infection causes amoebiasis, which is a global public health problem. The major route of infection is oral ingestion of E. histolytica cysts, cysts being the sole form responsible for host-to-host transmission.

National survey of radiation oncologists' practice patterns regarding hormone-naïve prostate cancer with bone metastases.

Objective: To explore radiation oncologists' attitudes and practice patterns of radiotherapy for hormone-naïve prostate cancer with bone metastases in Japan.

Methods: An internet-based survey was distributed to board-certified radiation oncologists of the Japanese Society of Radiation Oncology. Three hypothetical cases were assumed: hormone-naïve prostate cancer with single, three or multiple non-symptomatic bone metastases.

Successful Treatment of Cyst Infection in an Infant With Autosomal Dominant Polycystic Kidney Disease Using Trimethoprim/Sulfamethoxazole.

Autosomal dominant polycystic kidney disease (ADPKD) is the most common genetic disease causing renal cysts. Reports on kidney cyst infection in children are rare despite cyst infections being important complications of ADPKD. Here, we report a case of a child without any medical history who had a urinary tract infection with sepsis at 7 months.

Synergistic regulation of hepatic Fsp27b expression by HNF4α and CREBH.

The CIDE (cell death-inducing DFF45-like effector) family composed of CIDEA, CIDEB, CIDEC/FSP27 (fat-specific protein 27), has a critical role in growth of lipid droplets. Of these, CIDEB and CIDEC2/FSP27B are abundant in the liver, and the steatotic livers, respectively. Hepatocyte nuclear factor 4α (HNF4α) has an important role in lipid homeostasis because liver-specific HNF4α-null mice (Hnf4a mice) exhibit hepatosteatosis.

Post-endoscopic retrograde cholangiopancreatography pancreatitis in single-stage endoscopic common bile duct stone removal.

Background And Aims: Papillary treatment, such as endoscopic sphincterotomy or endoscopic papillary balloon dilation, and subsequent single-stage endoscopic stone removal are often performed for choledocholithiasis; however, the incidence of postendoscopic retrograde cholangiopancreatography pancreatitis (PEP) is unclear. This study aimed to compare the overall incidence of PEP between single- and two-stage stone removal groups and the incidence of PEP between these two groups based on cannulation time.

Methods: We included 897 patients with native papilla who underwent papillary treatment and stone removal for choledocholithiasis with no inflammation or mild-to-moderate acute cholangitis at three institutions between April 2012 and March 2018 in Japan.

Sparse Activity of Hippocampal Adult-Born Neurons during REM Sleep Is Necessary for Memory Consolidation.

The occurrence of dreaming during rapid eye movement (REM) sleep prompts interest in the role of REM sleep in hippocampal-dependent episodic memory. Within the mammalian hippocampus, the dentate gyrus (DG) has the unique characteristic of exhibiting neurogenesis persisting into adulthood. Despite their small numbers and sparse activity, adult-born neurons (ABNs) in the DG play critical roles in memory; however, their memory function during sleep is unknown.

Histidine-Rich Glycoprotein Inhibits High-Mobility Group Box-1-Mediated Pathways in Vascular Endothelial Cells through CLEC-1A.

High-mobility group box-1 (HMGB1) protein has been postulated to play a pathogenic role in severe sepsis. Histidine-rich glycoprotein (HRG), a 75 kDa plasma protein, was demonstrated to improve the survival rate of septic mice through the regulation of neutrophils and endothelium barrier function. As the relationship of HRG and HMGB1 remains poorly understood, we investigated the effects of HRG on HMGB1-mediated pathway in endothelial cells, focusing on the involvement of specific receptors for HRG.

IgE sensitivity to Malassezia pachydermatis and mite allergens in dogs with atopic dermatitis.

In this study, dogs with atopic dermatitis were separated into non-food-induced atopic dermatitis (NFIAD) group (n = 15) and food-induced atopic dermatitis (FIAD) group (n = 37) based on an elimination diet test. IgE reactivity for crude Malassezia pachydermatis (M. pachydermatis) and house dust mites (HDM) allergen extracts was investigated in the two groups using fluorometric enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) and intradermal skin test (IDST).

Neuroplastinβ-mediated upregulation of solute carrier family 22 member 18 antisense (SLC22A18AS) plays a crucial role in the epithelial-mesenchymal transition, leading to lung cancer cells' enhanced motility.

Our recent study revealed an important role of the neuroplastin (NPTN)β downstream signal in lung cancer dissemination in the lung. The molecular mechanism of the signal pathway downstream of NPTNβ is a serial activation of the key molecules we identified: tumor necrosis factor (TNF) receptor-associated factor 2 (TRAF2) adaptor, nuclear factor (NF)IA/NFIB heterodimer transcription factor, and SAM pointed-domain containing ETS transcription factor (SPDEF). The question of how dissemination is controlled by SPDEF under the activated NPTNβ has not been answered.

Berberine-induced nucleolar stress response in a human breast cancer cell line.

We investigated the novel molecular mechanisms of the antitumor effect of berberine. In this study, two different human cell lines (breast cancer MCF7 cells and non-tumorigenic epithelial MCF12A cells) were treated with various concentrations of berberine. Treatment with 1 and 10 μM berberine inhibited proliferation with G/G cell cycle arrest in both cell lines, and treatment with 100 μM berberine triggered a marked level of cell death in MCF7 cells but not in MCF12A cells.

Measurement of the concentration of serum soluble interleukin-2 receptor alpha chain in dogs with lymphoma.

Soluble interleukin-2 receptor (sIL-2r) is released directly from the surface of lymphocytes expressing interleukin-2 receptor alpha chain (CD25), and its serum concentration has been found to reflect the prognosis of human lymphoproliferative malignancies. In this study, we demonstrated the presence of sIL-2r in canine serum and developed a specific sandwich enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) to quantify the concentration of canine serum sIL-2r. In the immunoprecipitation (IP) assay, CD25 protein weighing approximately 45 kDa was detected in canine serum, smaller than the membrane-bound CD25 (approximately 55 kDa).

Galectin-9 expression as a poor prognostic factor in patients with renal cell carcinoma.

Recently, the effectiveness of anti-programmed death 1 (PD-1) antibody therapy in the treatment of renal cell carcinoma (RCC) has been established. Nevertheless, efficacy has been reported to be limited to only 10-30% of patients. To develop more effective immunotherapy for RCC, we analyzed the immunological characteristics in RCC tissues by immunohistochemistry (IHC).

exMCAM-Fc, an S100A8/A9-mediated-metastasis blocker, efficiently reduced the number of circulating tumor cells that appeared in the blood flow.

Metastasis is the major cause of treatment failure in cancer patients and of cancer-associated death so that therapeutic regulation of metastasis is very important subject for the cancer treatment. We have been reported that S100A8/A9, a heterodimer complex of S100A8 and S100A9, and its receptors play a crucial role in the lung tropic cancer metastasis, i.e.

Human BST-2/tetherin inhibits Junin virus release from host cells and its inhibition is partially counteracted by viral nucleoprotein.

Bone marrow stromal cell antigen-2 (BST-2), also known as tetherin, is an interferon-inducible membrane-associated protein. It effectively targets enveloped viruses at the release step of progeny viruses from host cells, thereby restricting the further spread of viral infection. Junin virus (JUNV) is a member of which causes Argentine haemorrhagic fever that is associated with a high rate of mortality.

The sensitivity of the -ITD detection method is an important consideration when diagnosing acute myeloid leukemia.

-internal tandem duplication (-ITD) is a key predictive factor for the prognosis of acute myeloid leukemia (AML). We compared the detection sensitivity of fragment analysis with that of PCR-electrophoresis using MV4-11 (-ITD) and NKM-1 (-wild type) cell lines. DNA of these cells was mixed at different ratios and subjected to PCR-electrophoresis or fragment analysis.

Antitumor Effects of Pan-RAF Inhibitor LY3009120 Against Lung Cancer Cells Harboring Oncogenic Mutation.

Background/aim: The therapeutic strategy for patients with non-small-cell lung cancer (NSCLC) harboring the BRAF non-V600E mutation has not been established. LY3009120, a newly discovered pan-RAF inhibitor, has shown strong antitumor effects in cancers with various BRAF genotypes. This study investigated the antitumor effects of LY3009120 in NSCLC cells harboring the BRAF non-V600E mutation.

Quantification of chitooligosaccharides by FACE method: Determination of combinatory effects of mouse chitinases.

Fluorophore-assisted carbohydrate electrophoresis (FACE) enables detection and quantification of degradation products from artificial and natural chitin substrates such as 4-NP-(GlcNAc), (GlcNAc) and colloidal chitin. The FACE method has been improved by our group for analysis of chitooligosaccharides in the presence of several buffer systems commonly used in the biochemical evaluation of chitinolytic activities of enzymes at pH 2.0-8.

Progressive Changes in Sleep and Its Relations to Amyloid-β Distribution and Learning in Single Knock-In Mice.

Alzheimer's disease (AD) patients often suffer from sleep disturbances. Alterations in sleep, especially rapid eye movement sleep (REMS), can precede the onset of dementia. To accurately characterize the sleep impairments accompanying AD and their underlying mechanisms using animal models, it is crucial to use models in which brain areas are affected in a manner similar to that observed in the actual patients.

The Effect of Chemotherapy on Stroke Risk in Cancer Patients.

Background:  Chemotherapy may be a cause of cancer-associated stroke, but whether it increases stroke risk remains uncertain. We investigated how chemotherapy affects stroke risk in cancer patients.

Methods:  Of 27,932 patients in a hospital-based cancer registry (which contains clinical data on all patients treated for cancer at Osaka University Hospital) screened between 2007 and 2015, medical records of 19,006 patients with complete data were investigated.

Xylitol acts as an anticancer monosaccharide to induce selective cancer death via regulation of the glutathione level.

Herbal medicines and their bioactive compounds are increasingly being recognized as useful drugs for cancer treatments. The parasitic fungus Cordyceps militaris is an attractive anticancer herbal since it shows very powerful anticancer activity due to its phytocompound cordycepin. We previously discovered and reported that a high amount of xylitol is present in Cordyceps militaris extract, and that xylitol unexpectedly showed anticancer activity in a cancer-selective manner.

Presence of Promyelocytes in Peripheral Blood as a Novel Predictor of Optimal Timing for Single-Step Peripheral Blood Stem Cell Collection.

Background: Because peripheral blood stem cell (PBSC) collection places a burden on the patient and should ideally be completed in a single procedure, a convenient clinical predictive factor is needed.

Methods: This retrospective study included 72 patients who underwent autologous PBSC collection. A median volume of 3.

Laparoscopic surgery for ventrally located epiphrenic diverticulum with esophageal achalasia.

Epiphrenic diverticulum is frequently associated with esophageal motility disorder, including esophageal achalasia. Heller's myotomy should accompany diverticulectomy to reduce the bulging pressure in surgery for epiphrenic diverticulum with esophageal achalasia. In such cases, designing myotomy is sometimes difficult, depending on the size and location of the diverticulum.

Computational design of substrate selective inhibition.

Most enzymes act on more than a single substrate. There is frequently a need to block the production of a single pathogenic outcome of enzymatic activity on a substrate but to avoid blocking others of its catalytic actions. Full blocking might cause severe side effects because some products of that catalysis may be vital.

S100 Soil Sensor Receptors and Molecular Targeting Therapy Against Them in Cancer Metastasis.

The molecular mechanisms underlying the 'seed and soil' theory are unknown. S100A8/A9 (a heterodimer complex of S100A8 and S100A9 proteins that exhibits a 'soil signal') is a ligand for Toll-like receptor 4, causing distant melanoma cells to approach the lung as a 'seeding' site. Unknown soil sensors for S100A8/A9 may exist, e.