Tas2R signaling enhances mouse neutrophil migration a ROCK-dependent pathway.

Type-2 bitter taste receptors (Tas2Rs) are a large family of G protein-coupled receptors that are expressed in the oral cavity and serve to detect substances with bitter tastes in foods and medicines. Recent evidence suggests that Tas2Rs are also expressed extraorally, including in immune cells. However, the role of Tas2Rs in immune cells remains controversial.

Micro- and Macro-Anatomical Frameworks of Lymph Nodes Indispensable for the Lymphatic System Filtering Function.

In the lymphatic vascular system, lymph nodes (LNs) play a pivotal role in filtering and removing lymph-borne substances. The filtering function of LNs involves resident macrophages tightly associated with unique lymphatic sinus structures. Moreover, an intermittently arranged LN in the lymphatic pathway is considered to cooperatively prevent lymph-borne substances from entering blood circulation.

Isolation of six isoprenylated biflavonoids from the leaves of Garcinia subelliptica.

The acetone-soluble parts of Garcinia subelliptica leaves were analyzed and six new biflavonoids were isolated, i.e., garciniaflavones A-F (1-6), as well as the five known biflavonoids amentoflavone (7), podocarpusflavone A (8), (+)-morelloflavone (9), (+)-morelloflavone-7"-O-β-glucopyranoside (10), and (+)-4'''-O-methylmorelloflavone (11) and the three triterpenoids oleanan-3-one, β-amyrin, and cycloartenol.

Quantification of polyphenols and pharmacological analysis of water and ethanol-based extracts of cultivated agarwood leaves.

Mangiferin (3) and genkwanin 5-O-β-primeveroside (5) are the two major bioactive polyphenols with laxative property present in the extracts of agarwood (Aquilaria sinensis) leaves (AL). Here we developed an HPLC method to determine these bioactive components and four other major polyphenols in AL extracts and evaluated the pharmacological equivalence of organic and water extracts. Using mobile phase gradient conditions combined with UV detection at 330 nm, all six compounds were separated and we determined the relative extraction ratios of the six compounds present in A.

Tertiary hyperparathyroidism resistant to cinacalcet treatment.

Cinacalcet hydrochloride (cinacalcet) has been reported to be efficacious for patients with tertiary hyperparathyroidism (THPT). We experienced five patients with THPT requiring parathyroidectomy (PTx) because of resistance to cinacalcet treatment and investigated their clinical characteristics and clinical course. The maximum diameter of the parathyroid gland estimated by ultrasonography before renal transplantation was evaluated.

Pure vasogenic edema caused by cerebral hyperperfusion after superficial temporal artery to middle cerebral artery anastomosis--case report.

A 63-year-old patient presented with cerebral hyperperfusion manifesting as transient aphasia and general tonic convulsions 3 and 4 days after superficial temporal artery to middle cerebral artery (STA-MCA) anastomosis. Diffusion-weighted magnetic resonance (MR) imaging revealed a focal low-intensity area at the site of anastomosis in the left temporal lobe, with high apparent diffusion coefficient, together with focal intense increase in cerebral blood flow in the same region. This lesion was considered to be pure vasogenic edema caused by cerebral hyperperfusion.

Is central obesity a good predictor of carotid atherosclerosis in Japanese type 2 diabetes with metabolic syndrome?

Metabolic syndrome has been revealed to be a major risk factor for cardiovascular disease (CVD) and early mortality in non-diabetic and diabetic patients. In 2005, the International Diabetes Federation (IDF) and the Examination Committee of Criteria for Diagnosis of Metabolic Syndrome in Japan published new definitions of metabolic syndrome in which central obesity was an indispensable factor. However, the significance of this new definition to CVD in type 2 diabetes has not yet been clarified.

PAX6 mutation as a genetic factor common to aniridia and glucose intolerance.

A paired homeodomain transcription factor, PAX6, is a well-known regulator of eye development, and its heterozygous mutations in humans cause congenital eye anomalies such as aniridia. Because it was recently shown that PAX6 also plays an indispensable role in islet cell development, a PAX6 gene mutation in humans may lead to a defect of the endocrine pancreas. Whereas heterozygous mutations in islet-cell transcription factors such as IPF1/IDX-1/STF-1/PDX-1 and NEUROD1/BETA2 serve as a genetic cause of diabetes or glucose intolerance, we investigated the possibility of PAX6 gene mutations being a genetic factor common to aniridia and diabetes.

Evaluation of gut motility in type II diabetes by the radiopaque marker method.

Background: The clinical usefulness of the radiopaque marker method for detecting diabetic gastrointestinal motility disturbances, was evaluated by examining 21 type II diabetes subjects who did not have any neuropathic symptoms.

Methods: After administration of a Sitzmark capsule, markers were located using plain abdominal radiographs, and the transit time of the markers through seven areas of digestive tract was calculated by Arhan's methods. The plasma concentration of acetaminophen at 45 min after oral administration was measured to evaluate gastric emptying time.

Insulin resistance contributes to carotid arterial wall thickness in patients with non-insulin-dependent-diabetes mellitus.

The aim of this study was to clarify whether insulin resistance contributes to atherosclerosis in patients with non-insulin-dependent diabetes mellitus (NIDDM). Fifty-three NIDDM patients (36 males and 17 females, 53+/-10 years old (mean+/-SD)) were studied. As an index of atherosclerosis, we measured the average thickness (IMT) as well as basal thickness excluding the maximum thickness and the height of the maximum thickness of the carotid artery wall.

Sensitive, selective gas chromatographic-mass spectrometric analysis with trifluoroacetyl derivatives and a stable isotope for studying tissue sorbitol-producing activity.

One of the major mechanisms involved in diabetic microangiopathy is considered to be an altered polyol pathway. However, clarifying the pathophysiology is difficult due to the lack of a sensitive method for measuring the reduction of glucose to sorbitol in tissue. Here we report a sensitive and selective method for polyol measurement using trifluoroacetyl (TFA) derivatives of polyols and stable isotope-labeled D-sorbitol (U-[13C]sorbitol, 13C6H14O6, 98.

Cloning and sequencing of the gene encoding tannase and a structural study of the tannase subunit from Aspergillus oryzae.

We cloned the Aspergillus oryzae tannase gene using three oligodeoxyribonucleotide (oligo) probes synthesized according to the tannase N-terminal and an internal amino acid (aa) sequence. The nucleotide (nt) sequence of the tannase gene was determined and compared with that of a tannase DNA complementary to RNA (cDNA) by means of reverse transcriptase PCR. The results indicated that there was no intron in the tannase gene and that it coded for 588 aa with a molecular weight of about 64,000.

Recurrent Cushing's disease associated with nephrotic syndrome.

A case of recurrent Cushing's disease with nephrotic syndrome due to membranoproliferative glomerulonephritis (MPGN) is presented. Functional pituitary adenoma recurred 6 years after transsphenoidal pituitary adenomectomy. Due to infiltration into the surrounding tissues, transcranial surgery was performed.

Effect of strict metabolic control on glucose handling by the liver and peripheral tissues in non-insulin-dependent diabetes mellitus.

To examine the effect of strict glycemic control on the insulin resistance of non-insulin-dependent diabetes mellitus (NIDDM), we applied euglycemic hyperinsulinemic clamp combined with an oral glucose load (OGL) to nine non-obese subjects with NIDDM and quantitated insulin-mediated glucose uptake by the liver (HGU) and peripheral tissues (PGU) simultaneously before and after 3 to 4 weeks of intimate glycemic control by preprandial regular insulin injections 3 times a day. The glucose infusion rate (GIR) required to maintain euglycemia during the clamp before OGL was considered as PGU. After OGL, the fraction of ingested glucose that is not extracted by the liver enters the systemic circulation and reduces the GIR required for the clamp.

Effects of the contents of dietary crude protein on growth rate and NK activity.

The relationship between body weight gain and food intake was examined using 3 strains of mice, C3H/He, C57BL/6 and A/J mice, that were fed 4 kinds of diets differing in crude protein contents. Body weight gain of the mice fed the diet containing 3% protein was extremely small, while that of the mice fed the diet containing 40% protein was smaller than that of the mice fed the diet containing 10% or 20% protein. Mice were shown to possess a characteristic ability to intake an almost constant amount of calories irrespective of crude protein contents in diets, with some exceptions.

Comparison of the continuously calculated fractional splanchnic extraction of insulin with its fractional disappearance using a new double-tracer technique.

These studies were designed to calculate the fractional disappearance rate (FDR) and splanchnic extraction of insulin in response to an exogenous (intraperitoneal) input of insulin. A double-tracer technique using insulin tritiated on both the A1 and B1 positions was introduced for the measurement of hepatic extraction. The A1 tracer, not previously characterized in vivo, was compared in terms of its kinetics with H3-B1-insulin and unlabeled insulin.

Inhibitory effect of methylguanidine on insulin binding to its receptor. Mechanism underlying insulin resistance in uremia.

To elucidate the mechanism responsible for the decreased insulin binding to erythrocytes in uremic patients, the effects of incubation with sera obtained from uremic patients or with methylguanidine, respectively, on insulin binding were examined. Insulin binding to erythrocytes from uremic patients was lower than that from normal subjects (3.1 +/- 0.

Dephosphorylation of the insulin receptor partially restores the decreased autophosphorylation in streptozotocin induced diabetic rats.

The insulin resistance seen in diabetes mellitus has been attributed partly to impaired autophosphorylation of the insulin receptor. It has been suggested that the phosphorylation of serine and/or threonine residues of the insulin receptor may reduce tyrosine autophosphorylation in streptozotocin-induced diabetic rats (STZ-D rats). To elucidate the mechanisms of decreased autophosphorylation of the insulin receptor in diabetic rats, we have investigated the effect of dephosphorylation of the insulin receptor by alkaline phosphatase on the insulin- and protein kinase-stimulating incorporation of 32P into the receptor of the liver from STZ-D rats.

Two patients with insulin resistance due to decreased levels of insulin-receptor mRNA.

Mutations have been identified in the insulin-receptor gene in insulin-resistant patients. We studied two patients with acanthosis nigricans and insulin resistance caused by a decrease in the number of cell surface insulin receptors. Patient 1 was an 11-yr-old boy with a fasting insulin level of 2130 pM; patient 2 was a 14-yr-old girl with hyperandrogenism and a fasting insulin level of 580-740 pM.