5, 6, 11-trideoxy tetrodotoxin attracts tiger puffer Takifugu rubripes.

Tetrodotoxin (TTX) is a potent neurotoxin that binds to voltage-gated sodium channels and blocks the passage of sodium ions. TTX is widely distributed in both terrestrial and marine organisms, and the toxic puffers are believed to accumulate TTX through the food chain. Although pufferfish was previously thought to be attracted by TTX, recent finding from electroolfactogram (EOG) studies have indicated that the olfactory epithelium of T.

Ductus diameter and left pulmonary artery end-diastolic velocity at 3 days of age predict the future need for surgical closure of patent ductus arteriosus in preterm infants: A post-hoc analysis of a prospective multicenter study.

Background: There is inconsistent evidence suggesting the clinical relevance of the early detection of future needs of preterm patent ductus arteriosus (PDA) surgery. We tested the hypothesis that echocardiographic indices at 3 days of age predict the future need for PDA surgery.

Methods: We analyzed a database including the clinical and echocardiographic data of 710 preterm infants with gestational ages between 23 and 29 weeks in 34 Japanese neonatal intensive care units, and prospectively collected data over 14 months.

Prediction of postnatal clinical course in primary congenital dilated cardiomyopathy.

Background: The aim of this study was to investigate the prediction of postnatal prognosis using fetal and perinatal data in patients with primary congenital dilated cardiomyopathy (PCDCM), and to estimate the incidence of this disease.

Methods: We examined correlations between fetal or perinatal data and postnatal clinical course in a multicenter retrospective study of eight patients with PCDCM. Incidence was calculated in a population-based study.

What echocardiographic indices are predictive of patent ductus arteriosus surgical closure in early preterm infants? A prospective multicenter cohort study.

Background: No echocardiographic indices for predicting the need for preterm patent ductus arteriosus (PDA) surgery have been tested with an adequate sample size. We tested the hypothesis that some echocardiographic indices have better predictive ability for the need for PDA surgery.

Methods: We prospectively collected data from infants with gestational ages between 23 and 29 weeks at 34 Japanese neonatal intensive care units over 14 months.

Immunohistochemical localization of GnRH-immunoreactive cell bodies and fibers in the nerve ganglion of Perinereis aibuhitensis (Annelida: Polychaeta).

The gonadotropin-releasing hormone (GnRH) gene sequence has been identified in an annelid polychaete marine worm using continual genome sequencing. The distribution of GnRH immunoreactive (ir) cell bodies and fibers in the nerve ganglion of the clam worm Perinereis aibuhitensis (Polychaeta) was examined by immunohistochemistry using a newly produced rabbit polyclonal antibody raised against the marine worm GnRH (mwGnRH). The specificity of the antibody was confirmed by dot blot assay.

Changes in free amino acid concentrations and associated gene expression profiles in the abdominal muscle of kuruma shrimp () acclimated at different salinities.

Shrimps inhabiting coastal waters can survive in a wide range of salinity. However, the molecular mechanisms involved in their acclimation to different environmental salinities have remained largely unknown. In the present study, we acclimated kuruma shrimp () at 1.

Ascending Aortic Aneurysm in a Child With Fibulin-4 Deficiency.

EFEMP2 (alias FBLN4) encodes extracellular matrix protein fibulin-4, and its mutation is associated with autosomal recessive cutis laxa type 1B and leads to severe aortopathy with aneurysm formation and vascular tortuosity. A 4-month-old child presented with a large ascending aortic aneurysm, and genetic testing revealed an EFEMP2 mutation. We achieved successful repair of the ascending aortic aneurysm at 33 months of age and report the macroscopic and microscopic findings.

The presence of free d-aspartate in marine macroalgae is restricted to the Sargassaceae family.

The presence of d-aspartate (d-Asp), a biologically rare amino acid, was evaluated in 38 species of marine macroalgae (seaweeds). Despite the ubiquitous presence of free l-Asp, free d-Asp was detected in only 5 species belonging to the Sargassaceae family of class Phaeophyceae (brown algae) but not in any species of the phyla Chlorophyta (green algae) and Rhodophyta (red algae). All other members of Phaeophyceae, including 3 species classified into the section Teretia of Sargassaceae did not contain d-Asp.

Simultaneous determination of primary and secondary d- and l-amino acids by reversed-phase high-performance liquid chromatography using pre-column derivatization with two-step labelling method.

This work describes a method for the simultaneous determination of primary d- and l-amino acids and secondary amino acids such as d- and l-proline. In order to remove interferences in the simultaneous determination of primary and secondary amines, the primary amines were derivatized with o-phthalaldehyde/N-acetyl-l-cysteine (OPA/NAC) and subsequently with 1-(9-fluorenyl)ethyl chloroformate (FLEC) for secondary amines, in a pre-column separation derivatization technique. These fluorescent diastereomers of the amino acids were obtained within 3 min at room temperature and determined simultaneously by changing wavelengths during analysis in a single eluting run in the high-performance liquid chromatography column.

Immunohistochemical detection of corticotropin-releasing hormone (CRH) in the brain and pituitary of the hagfish, Eptatretus burgeri.

The distribution of corticotropin-releasing hormone (CRH) in the brain and pituitary of the hagfish Eptatretus burgeri, representing the earliest branch of vertebrates, was examined by immunohistochemistry to better understand the neuroendocrine system of hagfish. CRH-immunoreactive (ir) cell bodies were detected in the preoptic nucleus, periventricular preoptic nucleus, infundibular nucleus of the hypothalamus, and in the nucleus "A" of Kusunoki et al. (1982) in the medulla oblongata.

Immunohistochemical localization of endogenous D-Aspartate in the marine brown Alga Sargassum fusiforme.

Immunohistochemical localization (cellular localization) of endogenous D-aspartate in the marine brown alga Sargassum fusiforme was investigated by the use of a specific polyclonal antibody raised against D-aspartate. D-Aspartate immunoreactivity was evident in the medullary layer in the blade of the alga, and weak staining was found in the cortical layer, whereas epidermal cells were found to lack D-aspartate. Within the cells of the layers, immunoreactivity was confirmed only in the cytosol and not in the cell wall, chloroplast, or vacuole.

Biochemical and immunohistochemical analyses of GnRH-like peptides in the nerve ganglion of the chiton, Acanthopleura japonica.

We examined whether a gonadotropin-releasing hormone (GnRH)-like peptide is present in the nerve ganglion of the chiton Acanthopleura japonica (Mollusca, Polyplacophora) using reverse-phase high performance liquid chromatography (rpHPLC) combined with time-resolved fluoroimmunoas-say (TR-FIA) analysis, and immunohistochemistry. An extract of the chiton head region showed a similar retention time to that of synthetic lamprey GnRH-II on rpHPLC combined with TR-FIA analysis using a rabbit polyclonal antibody raised against chicken GnRH-II (aCII6). Cell bodies immunostained with LRH13 (a mouse monoclonal antibody raised against the common amino acid sequence of vertebrate GnRH) were detected in the cerebrobuccal ring (CBR).

Complementary DNA cloning and molecular evolution of opine dehydrogenases in some marine invertebrates.

The complete complementary DNA sequences of genes presumably coding for opine dehydrogenases from Arabella iricolor (sandworm), Haliotis discus hannai (abalone), and Patinopecten yessoensis (scallop) were determined, and partial cDNA sequences were derived for Meretrix lusoria (Japanese hard clam) and Spisula sachalinensis (Sakhalin surf clam). The primers ODH-9F and ODH-11R proved useful for amplifying the sequences for opine dehydrogenases from the 4 mollusk species investigated in this study. The sequence of the sandworm was obtained using primers constructed from the amino acid sequence of tauropine dehydrogenase, the main opine dehydrogenase in A.

Presence of free D-amino acids in microalgae.

Several species of microalgae (phytoplankton), 4 species of freshwater algae and 4 species of marine diatoms, were cultured germ-free in the laboratory. The presence of free D-amino acids was verified in these species by a reversed-phase HPLC analysis. D-Aspartate was detected in all the microalgae examined, but D-alanine was only present in the marine diatoms.