Epigenetic Modification of Muscarinic Acetylcholine Receptors in Squamous Cell Carcinoma of the Head and Neck.

Background/aim: The five members of the mammalian muscarinic acetylcholine receptor family are encoded by the cholinergic receptor, muscarinic, 1-5 (CHRM1-5) genes. CHRM genes are incriminated in formation of various cancer types, but their roles in head and neck squamous cell carcinoma (HNSCC) are improperly understood. Aberrant epigenetic modifications of specific tumor-suppressor genes and oncogenes are known to promote cancer development.

Transcriptome analysis reveals selectively high expression of beige adipocyte marker genes in mouse perinephric fat.

To reveal the differences in the properties of visceral adipose tissue in healthy unstimulated mice, we performed transcriptome analysis using RNA sequencing. Among visceral adipose tissues, perinephric adipose tissue was found to exclusively express beige adipocyte markers while expressing white adipocyte markers. These results imply potential specific roles of perinephric adipose tissue in both physiological and pathological conditions.

Biochemical Aspects of Putative Aminotransferase Responsible for Converting Vanillin to Vanillylamine in the Capsaicinoid Biosynthesis Pathway in Plants.

The biosynthesis pathway of capsaicinoids includes the conversion of vanillin to vanillylamine, where putative aminotransferase (pAMT) is thought to be the enzyme responsible in plants. The objectives of this study were to prove that pAMT is the enzyme responsible for this conversion in plants and to clarify its catalytic properties using biochemical methods. Both an extract of habanero placenta and recombinant pAMT (rpAMT) constructed by using an expression system were able to convert vanillin to vanillylamine in the presence of γ-aminobutyric acid as an amino donor and pyridoxal phosphate as a coenzyme.

Super-resolution vibrational imaging based on photoswitchable Raman probe.

Super-resolution vibrational microscopy is promising to increase the degree of multiplexing of nanometer-scale biological imaging because of the narrower spectral linewidth of molecular vibration compared to fluorescence. However, current techniques of super-resolution vibrational microscopy suffer from various limitations including the need for cell fixation, high power loading, or complicated detection schemes. Here, we present reversible saturable optical Raman transitions (RESORT) microscopy, which overcomes these limitations by using photoswitchable stimulated Raman scattering (SRS).

Development of fluorogenic substrates for colorectal tumor-related neuropeptidases for activity-based diagnosis.

The M3 metalloproteases, neurolysin and THOP1, are neuropeptidases that are expressed in various tissues and metabolize neuropeptides, such as neurotensin. The biological roles of these enzymes are not well characterized, partially because the chemical tools to analyse their activities are not well developed. Here, we developed a fluorogenic substrate probe for neurolysin and thimet oligopeptidase 1 (THOP1), which enabled the analysis of enzymatic activity changes in tissue and plasma samples.