The histone H3K36 demethylase Fbxl11 plays pivotal roles in the development of retinal late-born cell types.

Histone methylation plays a vital role in retinal development. However, the role of histone H3K36 methylation in retinal development is not clear. We examined the role of H3K36 methylation by loss-of-function analysis of H3K36me1/2 demethylases, Fbxl10, and Fbxl11.

Cerebral Microbleeds, Cerebrospinal Fluid, and Neuroimaging Markers in Clinical Subtypes of Alzheimer's Disease.

Lobar cerebral microbleeds (CMBs) in Alzheimer's disease (AD) are associated with cerebral amyloid angiopathy (CAA) due to vascular amyloid beta (Aβ) deposits. However, the relationship between lobar CMBs and clinical subtypes of AD remains unknown. Here, we enrolled patients with early- and late-onset amnestic dominant AD, logopenic variant of primary progressive aphasia (lvPPA) and posterior cortical atrophy (PCA) who were compatible with the AD criteria.

Cd9 Protects Photoreceptors from Injury and Potentiates Edn2 Expression.

Purpose: Cd9 is a tetraspanin membrane protein that plays various roles in tissue development and disease pathogenesis, especially in cancer, but the expression patterns and function of Cd9 in retinal development and disease are not well understood. We asked its roles during retinal photoreceptor degeneration by using CD9-knockout mice.

Methods: Cd9 knockout mice and rd1 mice were used to examine roles of Cd9 for progression of photoreceptor degeneration.

MicroRNA-7a regulates Müller glia differentiation by attenuating Notch3 expression.

miRNA-7a plays critical roles in various biological aspects in health and disease. We aimed to reveal roles of miR-7a in mouse retinal development by loss- and gain-of-function analyses of miR-7a. Plasmids encoding miR-7a or miR-7a-decoy (anti-sense miR-7a) were introduced into mouse retina at P0, and the retina was cultured as explant.

Induction of intermediate mesoderm by retinoic acid receptor signaling from differentiating mouse embryonic stem cells.

Renal lineages including kidney are derived from intermediate mesoderm, which are differentiated from a subset of caudal undifferentiated mesoderm. The inductive mechanisms of mammalian intermediate mesoderm and renal lineages are still poorly understood. Mouse embryonic stem cells (mESCs) can be a good in vitro model to reconstitute the developmental pathway of renal lineages and to analyze the mechanisms of the sequential differentiation.

[Neuromelanin-related contrast in the substantia nigra semiquantitatively evaluated by magnetic resonance imaging at 3T: comparison between normal aging and Parkinson disease].

Fast spin-echo (FSE) T1-weighted magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) at 3T, which was optimized to detect neuromelanin-related contrast (NRC), was applied to quantitative estimation of signal alterations in the substantia nigra pars compacta (SNc) of 72 normal volunteers and 59 patients with Parkinson disease (PD). We examined relationship between NRC in SNc and clinical parameters. The NRC showed significant positive correlation with normal aging and was slightly but significantly higher in women than in men.

Induction of neural crest cells from mouse embryonic stem cells in a serum-free monolayer culture.

The neural crest (NC) is a group of cells located in the neural folds at the boundary between the neural and epidermal ectoderm. NC cells differentiate into a vast range of cells,including neural cells, smooth muscle cells, bone and cartilage cells of the maxillofacial region, and odontoblasts. The molecular mechanisms underlying NC induction during early development remain poorly understood.

BMP4 induction of trophoblast from mouse embryonic stem cells in defined culture conditions on laminin.

Because mouse embryonic stem cells (mESCs) do not contribute to the formation of extraembryonic placenta when they are injected into blastocysts, it is believed that mESCs do not differentiate into trophoblast whereas human embryonic stem cells (hESCs) can express trophoblast markers when exposed to bone morphogenetic protein 4 (BMP4) in vitro. To test whether mESCs have the potential to differentiate into trophoblast, we assessed the effect of BMP4 on mESCs in a defined monolayer culture condition. The expression of trophoblast-specific transcription factors such as Cdx2, Dlx3, Esx1, Gata3, Hand1, Mash2, and Plx1 was specifically upregulated in the BMP4-treated differentiated cells, and these cells expressed trophoblast markers.

The Xenopus Bowline/Ripply family proteins negatively regulate the transcriptional activity of T-box transcription factors.

Bowline, which is a member of the Xenopus Bowline/Ripply family of proteins, represses the transcription of somitogenesis-related genes before somite segmentation, which makes Bowline indispensable for somitogenesis. Although there are three bowline/Ripply family genes in each vertebrate species, it is not known whether the Bowline/Ripply family proteins share a common role in development. To elucidate their developmental roles, we examined the expression patterns and functions of the Xenopus Bowline/Ripply family proteins Bowline, Ledgerline, and a novel member of this protein family, xRipply3.

PMesogenin1 and 2 function directly downstream of Xtbx6 in Xenopus somitogenesis and myogenesis.

T-box transcription factor tbx6 and basic-helix-loop-helix transcription factor pMesogenin1 are reported to be involved in paraxial mesodermal differentiation. To clarify the relationship between these genes in Xenopus laevis, we isolated pMesogenin2, which showed high homology with pMesogenin1. Both pMesogenin1 and 2 appeared to be transcriptional activators and were induced by a hormone-inducible version of Xtbx6 without secondary protein synthesis in animal cap assays.

[Clinical features and laboratory findings in children with both anti-dsDNA and anti-U1-RNP antibody].

Mixed connective tissue disease (MCTD) includes clinical features of systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE), dermatomyositis/polymyositis (DM/PM), and systemic sclerosis (SSc) occurring in conjunction with a high anti-U1-RNP antibody titer. Childhood MCTD rarely manifests the symptoms and signs of DM/PM and SSc, and mostly does those of SLE. Thus, the diagnosis of childhood MCTD is inevitably based on the two major findings, Raynaud's phenomenon and a high titer of anti-U1-RNP antibody.

[A case of aortitis syndrome diagnosed with 18F-fluorodeoxyglucose-positron tomography (18F-FDG-PET) in the early pre-pulseless phase].

A 14-year-old girl with aortitis syndrome in the early pre-pulseless phase was admitted to our hospital because of slight fever, neck bruit, asymmetrical blood pressure, stenosis or dilatation of the main branch arteries in aorta on chest computed tomography. Laboratory examination revealed a high level of C-reactive protein and an elevated erythrocyte sedimentation rate, as well as hypergammaglobulinemia, and 18F-FDG-PET revealed an accumulation of 18 fluorodeoxyglucose in the great vessels. She was first given pulse therapy with a combination of methylprednisolone and intravenous cyclophosphamide, and then maintenance therapy with oral prednisolone and azathioprine.

[A case of autoimmune hepatitis needed to be differentiated from EBV hepatitis, in that the histology of liver biopsy specimen was useful for diagnosis].

A 10-year-old girl with autoimmune hepatitis (AIH) was reported. She was admitted to our hospital because of cholestasis and elevation of liver enzymes for 2 months. Laboratory examination revealed that EBV-DNA copy number in the PBMNC (peripheral mononuclear cells) was 1.

[Intravenous cyclophosphamide pulse therapy for refractory juvenile dermatomyositis].

We described three children with juvenile dermatomyositis (JDM) refractory to the conventional therapy. They were successfully treated with intravenous cyclophosphamide (IVCY) pulses, and two of them were administered plasma exchange (PE) before IVCY. Case 1.

[A case of classical polyarteritis nodosa diagnosed by myocardial biopsy].

We experienced a girl with polyarteritis nodosa (PN) diagnosed by myocardial biopsy. The symptoms began with high fever and skin rash. These symptoms and laboratory findings temporarily improved by oral prednisolone, however, she flared up with chest pain about 40 days after onset of the disease.