Change in Surface Roughness on the Inner and Outer Surfaces of the Microtube during Hollow Sinking.

Hollow sinking experiments and tensile tests were conducted to clarify the evolution of surface roughness during hollow sinking. Stainless steel tubes (outer diameter: 1.5 mm; wall thickness: 0.

A non-toxic equinatoxin-II reveals the dynamics and distribution of sphingomyelin in the cytosolic leaflet of the plasma membrane.

Sphingomyelin (SM) is a major sphingolipid in mammalian cells. SM is enriched in the extracellular leaflet of the plasma membrane (PM). Besides this localization, recent electron microscopic and biochemical studies suggest the presence of SM in the cytosolic leaflet of the PM.

Inhibition Mechanism of SARS-CoV-2 Infection by a Cholesterol Derivative, Nat-20(S)-yne.

The coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is caused by the etiological agent severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). COVID-19, with the recurrent epidemics of new variants of SARS-CoV-2, remains a global public health problem, and new antivirals are still required. Some cholesterol derivatives, such as 25-hydroxycholesterol, are known to have antiviral activity against a wide range of enveloped and non-enveloped viruses, including SARS-CoV-2.

Single-molecule localization microscopy reveals STING clustering at the trans-Golgi network through palmitoylation-dependent accumulation of cholesterol.

Stimulator of interferon genes (STING) is critical for the type I interferon response to pathogen- or self-derived DNA in the cytosol. STING may function as a scaffold to activate TANK-binding kinase 1 (TBK1), but direct cellular evidence remains lacking. Here we show, using single-molecule imaging of STING with enhanced time resolutions down to 5 ms, that STING becomes clustered at the trans-Golgi network (about 20 STING molecules per cluster).

Plasma membrane phosphatidylinositol (4,5)-bisphosphate is critical for determination of epithelial characteristics.

Epithelial cells provide cell-cell adhesion that is essential to maintain the integrity of multicellular organisms. Epithelial cell-characterizing proteins, such as epithelial junctional proteins and transcription factors are well defined. However, the role of lipids in epithelial characterization remains poorly understood.

Phospholipid flippases and Sfk1 are essential for the retention of ergosterol in the plasma membrane.

Sterols are important lipid components of the plasma membrane (PM) in eukaryotic cells, but it is unknown how the PM retains sterols at a high concentration. Phospholipids are asymmetrically distributed in the PM, and phospholipid flippases play an important role in generating this phospholipid asymmetry. Here, we provide evidence that phospholipid flippases are essential for retaining ergosterol in the PM of yeast.

TRIM37 contributes to malignant outcomes and CDDP resistance in gastric cancer.

TRIM37 (Tripartite Motif Containing 37) is an E3 ubiquitin ligase for histone H2A and inhibits transcription in several genes. However, it is not known whether it plays a role in gastric cancer (GC). In this study, we tested whether TRIM37 acts as a cancer-promoting factor by being overexpressed in GC.

A complex genetic interaction implicates that phospholipid asymmetry and phosphate homeostasis regulate Golgi functions.

In eukaryotic cells, phospholipid flippases translocate phospholipids from the exoplasmic to the cytoplasmic leaflet of the lipid bilayer. Budding yeast contains five flippases, of which Cdc50p-Drs2p and Neo1p are primarily involved in membrane trafficking in endosomes and Golgi membranes. The ANY1/CFS1 gene was identified as a suppressor of growth defects in the neo1Δ and cdc50Δ mutants.

Vasovagal Reaction and Ischemic Colitis Following Blood Donation.

Vasovagal reactions are the most common type of adverse reaction after blood donation; however, there are no reports of ischemic colitis as an adverse reaction after blood donation. A previously healthy 55-year-old woman suffered loss of consciousness at the end of her first plasma donation. She was diagnosed with a vasovagal reaction and received hydration.

Cholesterol asymmetry at the tip of filopodia during cell adhesion.

During adhesion, cells develop filopodia to facilitate the attachment to the extracellular matrix. The small guanosine triphosphate (GTP)-binding protein, Cdc42, plays a central role in the formation of filopodia. It has been reported that Cdc42 activity is regulated by cholesterol (Chol).

Plasma microRNA profiles: identification of miR-1229-3p as a novel chemoresistant and prognostic biomarker in gastric cancer.

This study aimed to explore novel microRNAs in plasma for predicting chemoresistance in adjuvant chemotherapy for patients with gastric cancer (GC). We used the Toray 3D-Gene microRNA array-based approach to compare preoperative plasma microRNA levels between GC patients with and without recurrences after curative gastrectomy. All patients underwent adjuvant chemotherapy with S-1, an oral fluoropyrimidine.

Phospholipid flippases and Sfk1p, a novel regulator of phospholipid asymmetry, contribute to low permeability of the plasma membrane.

Phospholipid flippase (type 4 P-type ATPase) plays a major role in the generation of phospholipid asymmetry in eukaryotic cell membranes. Loss of Lem3p-Dnf1/2p flippases leads to the exposure of phosphatidylserine (PS) and phosphatidylethanolamine (PE) on the cell surface in yeast, resulting in sensitivity to PS- or PE-binding peptides. We isolated Sfk1p, a conserved membrane protein in the TMEM150/FRAG1/DRAM family, as a multicopy suppressor of this sensitivity.

[A Case of Laparoscopic Distal Gastrectomy after Abdominal Incisional Hernia Repair].

Re-laparotomy with resection of the mesh after abdominal incisional hernia repair may cause recurrence of the hernia and infection of the mesh. In the present study, we performed laparoscopic distal gastrectomy(LDG)for early gastric cancer without the resection of the mesh in such a case. A 82-year-old man who had undergone abdominal vascular replacement, cholecystectomy, abdominal incisional hernia repair with the mesh, sigmoidectomy had local recurrence of gastric cancer after endoscopic submucosal resection.

[A Case of Resection for Metastatic Osseous Tumor from Rectal Cancer].

A 67-year-old male was referred to our hospital for further investigation of fecal occult blood. We diagnosed him with rectal cancer with osseous metastasis. Chemo-and radiation therapy were administered following resection of the rectal cancer.

Airway obstruction caused by rapid enlargement of cervical lymphangioma in a five-month-old boy.

Cervical lymphangioma can cause airway obstruction secondary to enlargement following infection. Physicians should be aware that the airway obstruction can progress rapidly when patients with cervical lymphangioma have respiratory symptoms. Sclerotherapy for lymphangioma can cause both transient swelling and airway obstruction; thus, prophylactic and elective tracheostomy should be considered.

A novel sphingomyelin/cholesterol domain-specific probe reveals the dynamics of the membrane domains during virus release and in Niemann-Pick type C.

We identified a novel, nontoxic mushroom protein that specifically binds to a complex of sphingomyelin (SM), a major sphingolipid in mammalian cells, and cholesterol (Chol). The purified protein, termed nakanori, labeled cell surface domains in an SM- and Chol-dependent manner and decorated specific lipid domains that colocalized with inner leaflet small GTPase H-Ras, but not K-Ras. The use of nakanori as a lipid-domain-specific probe revealed altered distribution and dynamics of SM/Chol on the cell surface of Niemann-Pick type C fibroblasts, possibly explaining some of the disease phenotype.

Phospholipase Cβ1 induces membrane tubulation and is involved in caveolae formation.

Lipid membrane curvature plays important roles in various physiological phenomena. Curvature-regulated dynamic membrane remodeling is achieved by the interaction between lipids and proteins. So far, several membrane sensing/sculpting proteins, such as Bin/amphiphysin/Rvs (BAR) proteins, are reported, but there remains the possibility of the existence of unidentified membrane-deforming proteins that have not been uncovered by sequence homology.

Detectors for evaluating the cellular landscape of sphingomyelin- and cholesterol-rich membrane domains.

Although sphingomyelin and cholesterol are major lipids of mammalian cells, the detailed distribution of these lipids in cellular membranes remains still obscure. However, the recent development of protein probes that specifically bind sphingomyelin and/or cholesterol provides new information about the landscape of the lipid domains that are enriched with sphingomyelin or cholesterol or both. Here, we critically summarize the tools to study distribution and dynamics of sphingomyelin and cholesterol.

VAMP7 Regulates Autophagy to Maintain Mitochondrial Homeostasis and to Control Insulin Secretion in Pancreatic β-Cells.

VAMP7 is a SNARE protein that mediates specific membrane fusions in intracellular trafficking and was recently reported to regulate autophagosome formation. However, its function in pancreatic β-cells is largely unknown. To elucidate the physiological role of VAMP7 in β-cells, we generated pancreatic β-cell-specific VAMP7 knockout (Vamp7(flox/Y);Cre) mice.

Postoperative complications associated with extubation strategies following palatoplasty: a single-center retrospective analysis.

Purpose: Palatoplasty carries a high risk of airway obstruction as a postoperative complication. Since 2007, the protocol in our hospital has been to leave an endotracheal tube in place after surgery while the patient is moved to the pediatric intensive care unit. Extubation is then performed after achievement of hemostasis and recovery of consciousness.