Introduction: Parkinson's disease (PD) is a disorder characterized by motor symptoms, such as rigidity, akinesia, and resting tremor, as well as non-motor symptoms, including psychiatric manifestations and autonomic failure. The prevalence of PD increases with age, and the condition is more common in men than in women. Conversely, polypharmacy has emerged as a paramount medical concern, especially among older patients, correlating with medicines' adverse effects, interactions between medicines, frequent admissions to the hospital, and a high risk of morbidity and mortality.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFTo enhance the flavor characteristics of milk coffee, steam distillation was applied to roasted ground coffee to obtain extracts that were then added to the hot water extract of the residue. The effects of different condensation temperatures for steam distillation on the volatile compounds of condensates and the flavor characteristics of the milk coffees prepared with each condensate were investigated. The volatile compounds were analyzed by gas chromatography/mass spectrometry, and principal component analysis (PCA) was performed on the mean peak areas of the volatiles that showed significant differences between the samples.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFHydroxynitrile lyase (HNL) from the cyanogenic millipede Oxidus gracillis (OgraHNL) is a crucial enzyme in the cyanogenesis pathway. Here, the crystal structures of OgraHNL complexed with sulfate, benzaldehyde (BA), (R)-mandelonitrile ((R)-Man), (R)-2-chloromandelonitrile ((R)-2-Cl-Man), and acetone cyanohydrin (ACN) were solved at 1.6, 1.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFNitriles (R-CN) comprise a broad group of chemicals industrially produced and used in fine chemicals, pharmaceuticals, and bulk applications, polymer chemistry, solvents, etc. Nitriles are important starting materials for producing carboxylic acids, amides, amines, and several other compounds. In addition, some volatile nitriles have been evaluated for their potential as ingredients in fragrance and flavor formulations.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFFish Shellfish Immunol
March 2024
In jawed vertebrates, the T cell receptor alpha (TRA) and delta (TRD) genes, which encode the TRα and TRδ chains, respectively, are located as a nested structure on a single chromosome. To date, no animal has been reported to harbor multiple TRA/TRD loci on different chromosomes. Therefore, herein, we describe the first full annotation of the TRA/TRD genomic regions of common carp, an allo-tetraploid fish species that experiences cyprinid-specific whole-genome duplication (WGD) in evolution.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFBiosci Biotechnol Biochem
January 2024
Aldoxime (R1R2C=NOH) and nitrile (R-C≡N) are nitrogen-containing compounds that are found in species representing all kingdoms of life. The enzymes discovered from the microbial "aldoxime-nitrile" pathway (aldoxime dehydratase, nitrile hydratase, amidase, and nitrilase) have been thoroughly studied because of their industrial importance. Although plants utilize cytochrome P450 monooxygenases to produce aldoxime and nitrile, many biosynthetic pathways are yet to be studied.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFThe mechanisms underlying bimanual coordination have not yet been fully elucidated. Here, we evaluated the clinical features of bimanual movement impairment in a patient following surgery for a frontal lobe tumor. The patient was an 80-year-old man who had undergone subtotal tumor resection for a tumor in the right superior frontal gyrus.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFTransient receptor potential ankyrin 1 (TRPA1) is a nonselective cation channel that is activated by a variety of stimuli and acts as a nociceptor. Mouse and human TRPA1 exhibit different reactivity to some stimuli, including chemicals such as menthol as well as cold stimuli. The cold sensitivity of TRPA1 in mammalian species is controversial.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFWe have developed an innovative system, AI QM Docking Net (AQDnet), which utilizes the three-dimensional structure of protein-ligand complexes to predict binding affinity. This system is novel in two respects: first, it significantly expands the training dataset by generating thousands of diverse ligand configurations for each protein-ligand complex and subsequently determining the binding energy of each configuration through quantum computation. Second, we have devised a method that incorporates the atom-centered symmetry function (ACSF), highly effective in describing molecular energies, for the prediction of protein-ligand interactions.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFBroad-spectrum herbicide resistance (BSHR), often linked to weeds with metabolism-based herbicide resistance, poses a threat to food production. Past studies have revealed that overexpression of catalytically promiscuous enzymes explains BSHR in some weeds; however, the mechanism of BSHR expression remains poorly understood. Here, we investigated the molecular basis of high-level resistance to diclofop-methyl in BSHR late watergrass (Echinochloa phyllopogon) found in the United States, which cannot be solely explained by the overexpression of promiscuous cytochrome P450 monooxygenases CYP81A12/21.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFCytochrome P450 CYP77A59 is responsible for the biosynthesis of phenylacetonitrile in loquat flowers. Flowers of some plants emit volatile nitrile compounds, but the biosynthesis of these compounds is unclear. Loquat (Rhaphiolepis bibas) flowers emit characteristic N-containing volatiles, such as phenylacetonitrile (PAN), (E/Z)-phenylacetaldoxime (PAOx), and (2-nitroethyl)benzene (NEB).
View Article and Find Full Text PDFSevere lodging has recurrently occurred at strong typhoon's hitting in recent climate change. The identification of quantitative trait loci and their responsible genes associated with a strong culm and their pyramiding are important for developing high-yielding varieties with a superior lodging resistance. To evaluate the effects of four strong-culm genes on lodging resistance, the temperate japonica near isogenic line (NIL) with the introgressed SCM1 or SCM2 locus of the indica variety, Habataki and the other NIL with the introgeressed SCM3 or SCM4 locus of the tropical japonica variety, Chugoku 117 were developed.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFBackground: CYP81A cytochrome P450s (CYP81As) play a key role in herbicide detoxification in Poaceae plants. Crop CYP81As confer natural tolerance to multiple herbicides, whereas CYP81As in weeds disrupt herbicide action. Identifying differences in CYP81A herbicide specificity between crops and weeds could provide valuable information for controlling weeds.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFMicrobial production of bioactive glucosides using uridine diphosphate glucosyltransferase (UGT) is an efficient glucoside production method. Here, we describe a detailed method for the construction of a UDP-glucose biosynthetic enzyme gene coexpression plasmid, that is, pCDF-PGP and the microbial production of prunasin from racemic mandelonitrile using Escherichia coli possessing UGT85A47 obtained from Japanese apricot. Furthermore, this constructed vector can find application in the production of various other glucosides that utilize other UGTs and aglycons.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFImmune checkpoint inhibitors (ICIs) have revolutionized the treatment of cancer in the clinic. Further discovery of novel drugs or therapeutic protocols that enhance efficacy requires reliable animal models that recapitulate human immune responses to ICI treatment in vivo. In this study, we utilized an immunodeficient NOG mouse substrain deficient for mouse FcγR genes, NOG-FcγR mice, to evaluate the anti-cancer effects of nivolumab, an anti-programmed cell death-1 (PD-1) antibody.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFMicrowave transmission measurements were performed for a three-dimensional (3D) layer-by-layer chiral photonic crystal (PhC), whose photonic band structure contains 3D singular points, Weyl points. For the frequency and wavevector in the vicinity of a Weyl point, the transmitted intensity was found to be inversely proportional to the square of the propagation length. In addition, the transmitted wave was well-collimated in the plane parallel to the PhC layers, even for point-source incidence.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFDespite recent advances in immunodeficient mouse models bearing human red blood cells (hRBCs), the elimination of circulating hRBCs by residual innate immune systems remains a significant challenge. In this study, we evaluated the role of mouse complement C3 in the elimination of circulating hRBCs by developing a novel NOG substrain harboring a truncated version of the murine C3 gene (NOG-C3). Genetic C3 deletion prolonged the survival of transfused hRBCs in the circulation.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFNitro groups are often associated with synthetically manufactured compounds such as medicines and explosives, and rarely with natural products. Loquat emits a nitro compound, (2-nitroethyl)benzene, as a flower scent. The nitro compound exhibits fungistatic activity and is biosynthesised from l-phenylalanine via (E/Z)-phenylacetaldoxime.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFAn 80 year old male who had received immunosuppressive therapy for myelodysplastic syndrome presented with fever, fatigue, and elevated serum Aspergillus antigen. Computed tomography revealed infiltrative shadows in the left lower lung and subcutaneous nodules. A polymerase chain reaction assay from lung and subcutaneous nodule samples identified the presence Aspergillus udagawae.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFBackground: Clomazone is a potent herbicide for controlling weeds that have evolved resistance to other herbicides due to its unique mode of action. Clomazone is used in rice cultivation, but is limited to long-grain cultivars because other cultivars are highly sensitive to it. In this study, we investigated the mechanism of clomazone tolerance in a long-grain cultivar.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFRelated interleukin-2, -15, and -15-like (IL-2, -15, and -15L) are ancient cytokines, with all three genes surviving in extant fish and some mammals. The present study is the first to identify IL-15L functions, namely in rainbow trout. In isolated trout splenocytes, and , purified recombinant IL-15L+IL-15Rα molecules induced expression of and homologs, which are markers of type 2 immunity.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFHydroxynitrile lyase (HNL) catalyzes the reversible synthesis and degradation of cyanohydrins, which are important synthetic intermediates for fine chemical and pharmaceutical industries. Here, we report the discovery of HNL from (PlamHNL) millipedes, purification of the HNL to homogeneity, expression of the gene for the enzyme in heterologous expression hosts, and increase in the reaction rate and enantioselectivity in the synthesis of 2-chloromandelonitrile by protein engineering. The recombinant PlamHNL expressed in is glycosylated and has a higher thermostability and pH stability than the nonglycosylated HNL expressed in .
View Article and Find Full Text PDFHydroxynitrile lyases (HNLs) catalyze the cleavage of cyanohydrin into cyanide and the corresponding aldehyde or ketone. Moreover, they catalyze the synthesis of cyanohydrin in the reverse reaction, utilized in industry for preparation of enantiomeric pure pharmaceutical ingredients and fine chemicals. We discovered a new HNL from the cyanogenic millipede, Chamberlinius hualienensis.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFA 58-year-old man had rectal cancer directly invading the urinary bladder and small intestine, without distant metastasis. We successfully performed complete resection using a hybrid approach, including laparoscopic surgery and transanal total pelvic exenteration (TaTPE) with the patient in the prone jackknife (PJK) position. In the PJK position, gravity and pelvic morphology lead to a clear and wide surgical field.
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