Relationship between the Rod complex and peptidoglycan structure in Escherichia coli.

Peptidoglycan for elongation in Escherichia coli is synthesized by the Rod complex, which includes RodZ. Although various mutant strains of the Rod complex have been isolated, the relationship between the activity of the Rod complex and the overall physical and chemical structures of the peptidoglycan have not been reported. We constructed a RodZ mutant, termed RMR, and analyzed the growth rate, morphology, and other characteristics of cells producing the Rod complexes containing RMR.

Noradrenaline activation of hippocampal dopamine D receptors promotes antidepressant effects.

Dopamine D receptors (DRs) in the hippocampal dentate gyrus (DG) are essential for antidepressant effects. However, the midbrain dopaminergic neurons, the major source of dopamine in the brain, only sparsely project to DG, suggesting possible activation of DG DRs by endogenous substances other than dopamine. We have examined this possibility using electrophysiological and biochemical techniques and found robust activation of DRs in mouse DG neurons by noradrenaline.

Relationship between maximum occlusal force and gastrointestinal cancer in community-dwelling older Japanese adults.

Globally, the cancer burden is expected to increase as populations are ageing. Therefore, cancer prevention among older age groups is important. This prospective cohort study examined the relationship between the number of remaining teeth, maximum occlusal force, and incidence of gastrointestinal cancer in community-dwelling older Japanese individuals using data from the Tsurugaya project; 847 participants were included.

Relationship Between Oral Health and Fractures in Community-Dwelling Older Japanese Adults.

Objective: To investigate the relationship between poor oral health and the incidence of fall-related fractures in older Japanese individuals.

Design: A 9-year prospective cohort study.

Setting And Participants: Participants comprised 937 community-dwelling older Japanese adults aged 70 years or older.

Preliminary exploration for evaluating acuity of oral texture perception.

Despite the important role of oral texture perception in feeding and nutritional homeostasis, its impairment has not been of particular clinical interest, and no clinical protocol is available to evaluate its acuity. This preliminary study aimed to establish a method to evaluate the acuity of oral texture perception. Because texture perception is regarded as reflecting integrity of the sensorimotor system of the jaw and mouth, we hypothesized that the ability to perceive various aspects of food texture would correlate with each other, and tested our hypothesis in 11 healthy adults.

Imaging of intracellular rearrangement of photosynthetic proteins in Chlamydomonas cells upon state transition.

Oxygenic photosynthesis is conducted by two photoactive units, photosystem I (PSI) and photosystem II (PSII), that utilize light energy to generate the electron flow from water to NADPH. Photosynthetic organisms have developed a mechanism called state transition (ST) to regulate the excitation balance between the two units, since the balance is constantly disturbed by fluctuation in light quality. The traditional ST model assumes shuttling of a light-harvesting complex called LHCII between the two PSs.

Stalled Polη at its cognate substrate initiates an alternative translesion synthesis pathway via interaction with REV1.

DNA polymerase η (Polη), whose gene mutation is responsible for the inherited disorder xeroderma pigmentosum variant (XP-V), carries out accurate and efficient translesion synthesis (TLS) across cyclobutane pyrimidine dimer (CPD). As Polη interacts with REV1, and REV1 interacts with other TLS polymerases including Polι, Polκ and Polζ, Polη may play a role in recruitment of these TLS polymerases at lesion site. But it is unclear whether UV sensitivity of XP-V patients is caused not only by defect of Polη activity but also by dysfunction of network between Polη and other TLS polymerases.

Nematode homologue of PQBP1, a mental retardation causative gene, is involved in lipid metabolism.

Background: PQBP1 is a causative gene for X-linked mental retardation (MR) whose patients frequently show lean body. C. elegans has a strictly conserved homologue gene of PQBP1, T21D12.

3-Amino-1,4-dimethyl-5H-pyrido[4,3-b]indole induces apoptosis and necrosis with activation of different caspases in rat splenocytes.

A dietary carcinogen, 3-amino-1,4-dimethyl-5H-pyrido[4,3-b]indole (Trp-P-1) at 20 microM activates caspase-3-like proteases as an apoptotic marker in rat splenocytes. The present study demonstrated 100 microM Trp-P-1 induced necrosis with activation of caspase-3-like proteases. The activation in necrosis and apoptosis resulted from the activation of caspase-9 and caspase-8, respectively.

Sterilized, freeze-dried amniotic membrane: a useful substrate for ocular surface reconstruction.

Purpose: To examine the feasibility of using sterilized, freeze-dried amniotic membrane (FD-AM) as a substrate for cultivating autologous corneal epithelial cells for ocular surface reconstruction.

Methods: Human AM deprived of amniotic epithelial cells by incubation with EDTA was freeze dried, vacuum packed, and sterilized with gamma-irradiation. The resultant FD-AM was characterized for its physical, biological, and morphologic properties by stretch stress tests, immunohistochemistry, electron microscopy, and cell culture.

Apoptosis in the thymus after intraperitoneal injection of rats with Trp-P-1.

3-Amino-1,4-dimethyl-5H-pyrido[4,3-b]indole (Trp-P-1), a contaminant in our daily diet, induces apoptosis in cultured immunocytes. In this study, Trp-P-1 (1 mg/kg) was injected intraperitoneally into male Wistar rats to investigate whether Trp-P-1 induces apoptosis in immune tissues in vivo. In the thymus, Trp-P-1 induced DNA fragmentation and morphological changes.

3-amino-1,4-dimethyl-5H-pyrido[4,3-b]indole (trp-P-1) is incorporated into rat splenocytes, thymocytes, and hepatocytes through monoamine transporters and induces apoptosis.

3-Amino-1,4-dimethyl-5H-pyrido[4,3-b]indole (Trp-P-1), which is a tryptophan pyrolysate formed during cooking, induces apoptosis in rat splenocytes, thymocytes, and hepatocytes. In this study, we investigated whether Trp-P-1 is transported into these cells and causes apoptosis. Trp-P-1 was immediately incorporated into rat splenocytes, thymocytes, and hepatocytes in a dose- and time-dependent manner.