[Internet survey of the relationship between vertigo and stress].

We studied the relationship between vertigo and stress, using an internet survey. A questionnaire posted on our homepage quantified and measured 4 categories: cause of anxiety, behavioral characteristics, mean of relaxation, and frequency of vertigo. There were 6065 responses.

Recent advances in the structural biology of chondroitin sulfate and dermatan sulfate.

Recent glycobiology studies have suggested fundamental biological functions for chondroitin, chondroitin sulfate and dermatan sulfate, which are widely distributed as glycosaminoglycan sidechains of proteoglycans in the extracellular matrix and at cell surfaces. They have been implicated in the signaling functions of various heparin-binding growth factors and chemokines, and play critical roles in the development of the central nervous system. They also function as receptors for various pathogens.

[The relationship between postoperative body temperature for 24 hours and central nervous system dysfunction in patients of selective cerebral perfusion].

Background: Postischemic hyperthermia is known to exert detrimental effect on neurological outcome even 24 hours after brain ischemia in animal experiments. The purpose of this study is to investigate the effect of postoperative hyperthermia in cardiac surgery.

Methods: We studied consecutive patients in elective or emergency cardiac surgery with selective cerebral perfusion.

Interadductor approach to obturator nerve block for transurethral resection procedure: comparison with traditional approach.

Purpose: We compared the interadductor approach of obturator nerve block with the traditional approach in terms of the insertion-adductor contraction interval (ICI), success rate, completion of the block, and plasma lidocaine concentration.

Methods: An obturator nerve block by the interadductor approach was performed by needle insertion 1 cm behind the adductor longus tendon and 2 cm lateral to the pubic arch in 12 patients, and by the traditional approach in 12 patients.

Results: The ICI with the interadductor approach was significantly shorter than that with the traditional approach.

Spinal heat shock protein (70) expression: effect of spinal ischemia, hyperthermia (42 degrees C)/hypothermia (27 degrees C), NMDA receptor activation and potassium evoked depolarization on the induction.

The present study shows that anoxic neuronal depolarization or NMDA receptor activation are potent stimuli for inducing spinal neuronal heat shock protein 70 (Hsp70). Spinal hyperthermia, despite its significant glutamate releasing effect, induced only glial Hsp70 upregulation. No significant increase in spinal Hsp70 expression after potassium depolarization was seen.

Heat shock transcription factor HSF1 is required for survival of sensory hair cells against acoustic overexposure.

To analyze the role of heat shock response in the cochleae, we induced major heat shock proteins, Hsp70, Hsp90, and Hsp27 by perfusion of hot saline into the middle ear cavity (called 'local heat shock') in guinea pigs. Hsps were induced in almost all of the cochlear cells including the sensory hair cells in the organ of Corti. We showed that loss of both the sensory hair cells and the auditory function induced by acoustic overexposure was inhibited by pretreatment of the inner ear with local heat shock.

Identification of EloA-BP1, a novel Elongin A binding protein with an exonuclease homology domain.

The Elongin complex stimulates the rate of transcription elongation by RNA polymerase II by suppressing the transient pausing of the polymerase at many sites along the DNA template. Elongin is composed of a transcriptionally active A subunit, and two positive regulatory B and C subunits. Although the NH(2)-terminal approximately 120 amino acid region of Elongin A is dispensable for its transcriptional activity in vitro, it shares significant sequence similarity with the NH(2)-terminus of other class of transcription factors SII and CRSP70, suggesting that the NH(2)-terminus mediates interactions important for the regulation of transcription in vivo.

Oversulfated dermatan sulfate exhibits neurite outgrowth-promoting activity toward embryonic mouse hippocampal neurons: implications of dermatan sulfate in neuritogenesis in the brain.

Brain-specific chondroitin sulfate (CS) proteoglycan (PG) DSD-1-PG/6B4-PG/phosphacan isolated from neonatal mouse brains exhibits neurite outgrowth-promoting activity toward embryonic rat and mouse hippocampal neurons in vitro through the so-called DSD-1 epitope embedded in its glycosaminoglycan side chains. Oversulfated CS variants, CS-D from shark cartilage and CS-E from squid cartilage, also possess similar activities. We have proposed that the neuritogenic property of the DSD-1 epitope may be attributable to a distinct CS structure characterized by the disulfated D disaccharide unit [GlcUA(2S)-GalNAc(6S)].

Expression and functional analyses of breast cancer resistance protein in lung cancer.

Purpose: Breast cancer resistance protein (BCRP/ABCG2), an ATP binding cassette half-transporter, confers resistance to mitoxantrone, doxorubicin, and topoisomerase I inhibitors of irinotecan and topotecan. Recently, we reported that BCRP efficiently transported SN-38 (the active metabolite of irinotecan) with a high affinity in lung cancer cells in vitro (K. Nakatomi et al.

Mucosal sulfhydryl compounds evaluation by in vivo electron spin resonance spectroscopy in mice with experimental colitis.

Background: Sulfhydryl (SH) compounds are essential in maintaining mucosal integrity in the gastrointestinal tract. A decrease in colonic mucosal SH compounds affects the redox status of the mucosa, resulting in vulnerability to further attacks. Therefore, there is a strong need for in vivo evaluation of SH compounds in the colonic mucosa.

[Coma caused by hypermagnesemia in a pregnant woman complicated with HELLP syndrome].

This case report describes a pregnant woman with acute renal failure, caused by aggravation of HELLP syndrome, who developed coma induced by overdose of continuous magnesium sulfate administration for eclampsia. Before examination of serum concentration of magnesium, coma was suspected to be the result of brain vascular problem or brain infarction. Patient was treated in ICU and hemodialysis was started, and she recovered fully from abnormal neurological symptoms.

In vitro heparan sulfate polymerization: crucial roles of core protein moieties of primer substrates in addition to the EXT1-EXT2 interaction.

Heparan, the common unsulfated precursor of heparan sulfate (HS) and heparin, is synthesized on the glycosaminoglycan-protein linkage region tetrasaccharide GlcUA-Gal-Gal-Xyl attached to the respective core proteins presumably by HS co-polymerases encoded by EXT1 and EXT2, the genetic defects of which result in hereditary multiple exostoses in humans. Although both EXT1 and EXT2 exhibit GlcNAc transferase and GlcUA transferase activities required for the HS synthesis, no HS chain polymerization has been demonstrated in vitro using recombinant enzymes. Here we report in vitro HS polymerization.

Activation of heat shock genes is not necessary for protection by heat shock transcription factor 1 against cell death due to a single exposure to high temperatures.

Heat shock response, which is characterized by the induction of a set of heat shock proteins, is essential for induced thermotolerance and is regulated by heat shock transcription factors (HSFs). Curiously, HSF1 is essential for heat shock response in mammals, whereas in avian HSF3, an avian-specific factor is required for the burst activation of heat shock genes. Amino acid sequences of chicken HSF1 are highly conserved with human HSF1, but those of HSF3 diverge significantly.

Effects of leptin gene expression in mice in vivo by electroporation and hydrodynamics-based gene delivery.

In vivo electroporation and hydrodynamics-based gene delivery were utilized to test the effect of leptin gene transfer on food intake, and body and fat weights of mice. Gene transfer of pVRmob by electroporation caused a significant reduction in body weight compared with the control counterpart (p<0.05), although a lesser effect was found in food intake, and the weights of interscapular brown and epididymal fat by electroporation.

Spontaneous elimination of serum hepatitis C virus (HCV) RNA in chronic HCV carriers: a population-based cohort study.

The natural course of hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection has not been fully elucidated. To investigate whether HCV is spontaneously eliminated in chronic carriers, a long-term population-based cohort study was conducted on 435 chronic HCV carriers. Individual characteristics, serum HCV RNA, and liver function tests were analyzed, and ultra sonography (US) was performed in all subjects.

Specificities of three distinct human chondroitin/dermatan N-acetylgalactosamine 4-O-sulfotransferases demonstrated using partially desulfated dermatan sulfate as an acceptor: implication of differential roles in dermatan sulfate biosynthesis.

4-O-Sulfation of GalNAc is a high frequency modification of chondroitin sulfate and dermatan sulfate (DS), and three major GalNAc 4-O-sulfotransferases including dermatan 4-O-sulfotransferase-1 (D4ST-1) and chondroitin 4-O-sulfotransferases-1 and -2 (C4ST-1 and -2) have been identified. 4-O-Sulfation of GalNAc during DS biosynthesis had long been postulated to be a prerequisite for iduronic acid (IdoUA) formation by C5-epimerization of GlcUA. This hypothesis has recently been argued based on enzymological studies using microsomes that C5-epimerization precedes 4-O-sulfation, which was further supported by the specificity of the cloned D4ST-1 with predominant preference for IdoUA-GalNAc flanked by GlcUA-GalNAc over IdoUA-GalNAc flanked by IdoUA-GalNAc in exhaustively desulfated dermatan.

Interruption of p16 gene expression in adult T-cell leukaemia/lymphoma: clinical correlation.

We previously reported that p16 gene deletion is involved in the development and progression of adult T-cell leukaemia/lymphoma (ATLL). To further investigate the significance of this gene in ATLL, we examined its expression status in 63 patients. Samples were analysed at DNA, mRNA and protein levels using real-time polymerase chain reaction (PCR), reverse transcription (RT)-coupled real-time PCR and Western blot respectively.

Heterogeneity of the chondroitin sulfate portion of phosphacan/6B4 proteoglycan regulates its binding affinity for pleiotrophin/heparin binding growth-associated molecule.

PTP zeta is a receptor-type protein-tyrosine phosphatase that is synthesized as a chondroitin sulfate proteoglycan and uses pleiotrophin as a ligand. The chondroitin sulfate portion of this receptor is essential for high affinity binding to pleiotrophin. Here, we purified phosphacan, which corresponds to the extracellular domain of PTP zeta, from postnatal day 7 (P7) and P12 rat cerebral cortex (PG-P7 and PG-P12, respectively) and from P20 rat whole brain (PG-P20).

Central, but not peripheral, glucagon-like peptide-1 inhibits crop emptying in chicks.

We investigated the effect of central and peripheral glucagon-like peptide-1 (GLP-1) on crop emptying in growing chicks. Intracerebroventricular injection of two concentrations of GLP-1 (15 and 60 pmol) similarly suppressed crop emptying, compared with control chicks. The delay in crop emptying induced by GLP-1 (15 pmol) was partly attenuated by co-administration with exendin (5-39) (600 pmol), a GLP-1 receptor antagonist, although exendin (5-39) alone did not affect crop emptying.

Relationship between whole-blood interferon-gamma production and extent of radiographic disease in patients with pulmonary tuberculosis.

The aim of this study was to determine whether whole-blood interferon-gamma (IFN-gamma) production correlates with the radiographic extent of pulmonary tuberculosis before treatment. The subjects were 40 human immunodeficiency virus-negative patients with pulmonary tuberculosis and 36 healthy volunteers. The concentrations of IFN-gamma in whole blood stimulated with Mycobactrium tuberculosis purified protein derivatives (tuberculous PPD) and phytohemagglutinin (PHA) were evaluated.