Cortex glia clear dead young neurons via Drpr/dCed-6/Shark and Crk/Mbc/dCed-12 signaling pathways in the developing Drosophila optic lobe.

The molecular and cellular mechanism for clearance of dead neurons was explored in the developing Drosophila optic lobe. During development of the optic lobe, many neural cells die through apoptosis, and corpses are immediately removed in the early pupal stage. Most of the cells that die in the optic lobe are young neurons that have not extended neurites.

Cell death in neural precursor cells and neurons before neurite formation prevents the emergence of abnormal neural structures in the Drosophila optic lobe.

Programmed cell death is a conserved strategy for neural development both in vertebrates and invertebrates and is recognized at various developmental stages in the brain from neurogenesis to adulthood. To understand the development of the central nervous system, it is essential to reveal not only molecular mechanisms but also the role of neural cell death (Pinto-Teixeira et al., 2016).

The role of the effector caspases drICE and dcp-1 for cell death and corpse clearance in the developing optic lobe in Drosophila.

In the developing Drosophila optic lobe, cell death occurs via apoptosis and in a distinctive spatio-temporal pattern of dying cell clusters. We analyzed the role of effector caspases drICE and dcp-1 in optic lobe cell death and subsequent corpse clearance using mutants. Neurons in many clusters required either drICE or dcp-1 and each one is sufficient.

Ecdysone-dependent and ecdysone-independent programmed cell death in the developing optic lobe of Drosophila.

The adult optic lobe of Drosophila develops from the primordium during metamorphosis from mid-3rd larval stage to adult. Many cells die during development of the optic lobe with a peak of the number of dying cells at 24 h after puparium formation (h APF). Dying cells were observed in spatio-temporal specific clusters.

Spatio-temporal pattern of programmed cell death in the developing Drosophila optic lobe.

A large number of cells die via programmed cell death during the normal development of the Drosophila optic lobe. In this study, we report the precise spatial and temporal pattern of cell death in this organ. Cell death in the developing optic lobe occurs in two distinct phases.

Assessment of an ELISA kit for platelet-derived microparticles by joint research at many institutes in Japan.

Aim: Platelet-derived microparticles (PDMPs) play roles in normal hemostatic responses to vascular injury because they possess prothrombinase activity. Although the most widely used method for studying PDMP is flow cytometry, we previously developed an enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) method as an easier and more reproducible PDMP assay. The purpose of this study was to use various clinical settings to verify whether this ELISA method can produce equivalent results to flow cytometry for PDMP.

[Left ventricular dysfunction without brain natriuretic peptide elevation: two case reports].

Brain natriuretic peptide (BNP) is an useful marker for the differential diagnosis of dyspnea and pleural effusion of unknown origin. BNP elevation indicates myocardial overload. Two patients were admitted to our hospital with abnormal electrocardiogram or dyspnea.

Carvedilol prevents myocardial fibrosis in hamsters.

The objective of the present study was to determine if carvedilol protects against myocardial degeneration and fibrotic change, and reduces mortality in TO2 hamsters. Carvedilol was administered intraperitoneally to 8 week-old TO2 hamsters for 21 weeks at a dose of 11 mg/kg/day. There were 15 TO2 hamsters in the carvedilol group (group C) and 10 in the untreated group (group N).

Effects of long-term administration of methionine on vascular endothelium in rabbits.

Background And Aim: We studied the effects of long-term methionine administration on the vascular endothelium of Japanese white rabbits.

Methods And Results: Eleven rabbits were divided into a control group (n = 6) and a methionine-fed group (n = 5), and reared for 22 weeks. Blood samples were collected at baseline and after 22 weeks for the measurement of serum homocysteine and cysteine, serum lipids and serum superoxide dismutase activity.

[Prediction of effect of beta-blocker therapy in patients with dilated cardiomyopathy by using 123I-BMIPP, 123I-MIBG scintigraphy].

We investigated prediction of the efficacy of beta-blocker therapy in patients with dilated cardiomyopathy (DCM) by using myocardial scintigraphy with 123I-BMIPP (BMIPP) and 123I-MIBG (MIBG). Thirty-seven patients with DCM were examined by myocardial scintigraphy with BMIPP and MIBG before beta-blocker therapy. Patients were classified into two groups, based on whether they improved > 10% of the left ventricular ejection fraction (LVEF) (improved group, n = 21) or not (unimproved group, n = 16).

Protective roles of endogenous carbon monoxide in neointimal development elicited by arterial injury.

We reported that carbon monoxide (CO) generated through heme oxygenase (HO) inhibits mitogen-induced proliferation of vascular smooth muscle cells (VSMCs). We report that balloon injury induces HO-1, the stress-inducible isozyme of HO, in VSMCs and inhibits neointimal formation through the action of endogenous CO. Northern blot analysis and immunohistochemistry revealed that HO-1 is markedly induced in the media as early as 1 day after injury, whereas only a little expression was detected in the intact carotid artery.

Evaluation of the cardiac autonomic nervous system in spontaneously non-insulin-dependent diabetic rats by 123I-metaiodobenzylguanidine imaging.

Objective: To evaluate the sensitivity of 123I-labeled metaiodobenzylguanidine (123I-MIBG) scintigraphy in detecting diabetic autonomic nervous system disorders.

Materials And Methods: Thirty-one-week-old male Otsuka Long-Evans Tokushima Fatty (OLETF) rats, an animal model of spontaneous non-insulin-dependent diabetes mellitus, were maintained for 8 weeks with or without 30% sucrose solution as a drinking water (n = 3 each). Long-Evans Tokushima Otsuka (LETO) rats (n = 3), served as controls.