NMR characterization of the interaction between the PUB domain of peptide:N-glycanase and ubiquitin-like domain of HR23.

PUB domains are identified in several proteins functioning in the ubiquitin (Ub)-proteasome system and considered as p97-binding modules. To address the further functional roles of these domains, we herein characterized the interactions of the PUB domain of peptide:N-glycanase (PNGase) with Ub and Ub-like domain (UBL) of the proteasome shuttle factor HR23. NMR data indicated that PNGase-PUB exerts an acceptor preferentially for HR23-UBL, electrostatically interacting with the UBL surface employed for binding to other Ub/UBL motifs.

Angiogenesis and developmental expression of vascular endothelial growth factor in rat lingual papillae.

We used an embryological approach to investigate development and microvasculature of lingual papillae, and expression of vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) in the rat tongue. Temporal changes in the rat tongue at each developmental stage from embryonic day 13 (E13) to postnatal day 7 (P7) were observed by intravascular injection of India ink and immunohistochemistry using a VEGF antibody. At E13, the primordium of circumvallate papilla was observed among various lingual papillae.

Fbs1 protects the malfolded glycoproteins from the attack of peptide:N-glycanase.

Fbs1 is a cytosolic lectin putatively operating as a chaperone as well as a substrate-recognition subunit of the SCF(Fbs1) ubiquitin ligase complex. To provide structural and functional basis of preferential binding of Fbs1 to unfolded glycoproteins, we herein characterize the interaction of Fbs1 with a heptapeptide carrying Man3GlcNAc2 by nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) spectroscopy and other biochemical methods. Inspection of the NMR data obtained by use of the isotopically labeled glycopeptide indicated that Fbs1 interacts with sugar-peptide junctions, which are shielded in native glycoprotein, in many cases, but become accessible to Fbs1 in unfolded glycoproteins.

A case of pulmonary type of ovarian small cell carcinoma.

Small cell carcinoma is a rare form of ovarian cancer with a poor prognosis. It is divided into two types, the hypercalcemic and the pulmonary type, of which the latter is extremely rare. A 49-year-old woman presented with an acute abdomen and was suspected to have torsion of a left ovarian tumor, which was followed up with an emergency operation.

Anatomical study of the vertebral artery in Japanese adults.

The aim of the present study was to examine the vertebral arteries. The origins of the right and left vertebral arteries and their entrance points into the cervical transverse foramen were examined in dissections of 515 Japanese cadavers (303 males, 212 females) at Kurume University School of Medicine from 1990 to 2003. There were 515 right vertebral arteries and 514 left vertebral arteries.

Intermittent pneumatic compression for prevention of pulmonary thromboembolism after gynecologic surgery.

Background: To investigate the incidence of pulmonary embolism and risk factors for this condition after obstetric and gynecologic surgery, as well as the efficacy of intermittent pneumatic compression.

Methods: A total of 6,218 patients operated at Keio University Hospital excluding obstetric or infertility-related surgery and uterine cervical conization were evaluated retrospectively to determine the preventive effect of intermittent pneumatic compression on postoperative pulmonary embolism.

Results: Pulmonary embolism occurred in 42 patients (0.

Clinicopathologic manifestations of early-onset endometrial cancer in Japanese women with a familial predisposition to cancer.

Aim: The number of patients under 40 years of age with early-onset endometrial cancer is on the rise in Japan. Preservation of fertility in younger patients is a critical issue. In order to examine the clinical and pathological characteristics of these patients, cases of early-onset endometrial cancer at a single hospital were analyzed.

An anomalous case of the left gastric artery, the splenic artery and hepato-mesenteric trunk independently arising from the abdominal aorta.

This report describes a rare case of an arterial anomaly in the celiaco-mesenteric region, encountered in a Japanese female cadaver for dissection at the gross anatomy laboratory of Kurume University School of Medicine in 2003. The usual celiac trunk was not identified, and the left gastric artery, the splenic artery and the hepato-mesenteric trunk independently arose from the abdominal aorta. Moreover, the hepatic artery arising from the hepato-mesenteric trunk ran behind the portal vein.

Clinical characteristics of prognostic factors in poorly differentiated (G3) endometrioid adenocarcinoma in Japan.

Background: It has been reported that prognosis is less favorable in poorly (G3) differentiated endometrioid adenocarcinoma than in well (G1) or moderately (G2) differentiated endometrioid adenocarcinoma. The goal of this study is therefore to analyze the prognosis of G3 endometrioid adenocarcinoma and various factors that may predict a favorable prognosis.

Method: This study included 699 Japanese cases of endometrioid adenocarcinoma at the International Federation of Gynaecology and Obstetrics (FIGO) surgical stages I-IV (including 74 G3 cases).

Association of HNPCC and endometrial cancers.

Hereditary nonpolyposis colorectal cancer (HNPCC) is among the representative familial cancers that are autosomally dominant inherited disorders. Because endometrial cancers develop at high rates in women with HNPCC, it is suggested that some endometrial cancers are familial cancers that are induced by mutations of the DNA mismatch repair (MMR) genes, as in HNPCC. To understand the clinical pathology of familial endometrial cancers that are associated with HNPCC, we surveyed the family histories of 385 patients with endometrial cancer and found that 0.

Two Japanese kindreds occurring endometrial cancer meeting new clinical criteria for hereditary non-polyposis colorectal cancer (HNPCC), Amsterdam Criteria II.

Hereditary non-polyposis colorectal cancer (HNPCC), also called Lynch syndrome, is an autosomal dominantly inherited disorder of cancer susceptibility. Patients with HNPCC exhibit an increased risk for HNPCC-associated extracolonic tumors such as cancer of the endometrium. HNPCC is associated with germline mutations in DNA mismatch repair (MMR) genes: hMLH1, hMSH2 and hMSH6.

Structural basis of sugar-recognizing ubiquitin ligase.

SCF(Fbs1) is a ubiquitin ligase that functions in the endoplasmic reticulum (ER)-associated degradation pathway. Fbs1/Fbx2, a member of the F-box proteins, recognizes high-mannose oligosaccharides. Efficient binding to an N-glycan requires di-N-acetylchitobiose (chitobiose).

Identification of germline MSH2 gene mutations in endometrial cancer not fulfilling the new clinical criteria for hereditary nonpolyposis colorectal cancer.

Endometrial cancer is the second most common malignancy in patients with hereditary nonpolyposis colorectal cancer (HNPCC). This cancer is caused by germline mutations in one of the DNA mismatch repair (MMR) genes. The present study was undertaken to analyze the relation between microsatellite instability (MSI) and germline mutations of MMR genes.