[Yezo virus and emerging orthonairovirus diseases].

A new etiological agent of an acute febrile illness following tick bite has been found in Hokkaido, Japan, in 2019 and designated as Yezo virus. Seven cases of Yezo virus infection were identified from 2014 to 2020 by passive and retrospective surveillance. Yezo virus is classified into the genus Orthonairovirus, family Nairoviridae and forms Sulina genogroup together with Sulina virus, which was identified in ticks in Romania.

Solution structure and dynamics of Ufm1, a ubiquitin-fold modifier 1.

The ubiquitin-fold modifier 1 (Ufm1) is one of various ubiquitin-like modifiers and conjugates to target proteins in cells through Uba5 (E1) and Ufc1 (E2). The Ufm1-system is conserved in metazoa and plants, suggesting its potential roles in various multicellular organisms. Herein, we analyzed the solution structure and dynamics of human Ufm1 (hsUfm1) by nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy.

[Structure and function of Ca2+ channels].

Ca(2+) influx across plasma membrane is critical to evoke increase in intracellular Ca(2+) concentration ([Ca(2+)](i)) that controls various physiological and pathological responses. Recently, diverse Ca(2+) channels responsible for Ca(2+) influx have been identified. In this review, we attempt to overview molecular entities of Ca(2+) channels, and their structure, function, and biological roles.

Comparative uterine gene expression analysis after dioxin and estradiol administration.

The environmental pollutant 2,3,7,8-tetrachlorodibenzo-p-dioxin (TCDD) adversely affects many organisms. TCDD exposure is known to be associated with abnormal development, hepatotoxicity and endocrine effects. It has also been reported to have antiestrogenic activity in addition to estrogenic activity.

Tissue-specific estrogenic and non-estrogenic effects of a xenoestrogen, nonylphenol.

Alkylphenols perturb the endocrine system and are considered to have weak estrogenic activities. Although it is known that nonylphenol can bind weakly to the estrogen receptor, it is unclear whether all reported effects of nonylphenol are attributable to its estrogen receptor-binding activity. In order to examine whether alkylphenols have similar effects to the natural hormone, estradiol, we used a mouse model to examine the effects of nonylphenol on gene expression and compared it with estradiol.

Path integral hybrid Monte Carlo algorithm for correlated Bose fluids.

Path integral hybrid Monte Carlo (PIHMC) algorithm for strongly correlated Bose fluids has been developed. This is an extended version of our previous method [S. Miura and S.

Bridging nanogap electrodes by in situ electropolymerization of a bis(terthiophenylphenanthroline)ruthenium complex.

A novel complex containing a 3,8-bis[terthiophenyl-(1,10-phenanthroline)] ligand coordinated to [Ru(bpy)(2)] was synthesized and characterized by electrochemical and spectroscopic techniques. The complex was shown to be a suitable starting material for the electrodeposition of functionalized molecular wires between nanogap electrodes to generate stable molecular nanodevices. Temperature-dependent nonlinear I-V curves were obtained at 80-300 K.

Rotation of F1-ATPase: how an ATP-driven molecular machine may work.

F1-ATPase is a rotary motor made of a single protein molecule. Its rotation is driven by free energy obtained by ATP hydrolysis. In vivo, another motor, Fo, presumably rotates the F1 motor in the reverse direction, reversing also the chemical reaction in F1 to let it synthesize ATP.

Resonance Raman study on synergistic activation of soluble guanylate cyclase by imidazole, YC-1 and GTP.

Soluble guanylate cyclase (sGC), a physiological nitric oxide (NO) receptor, is a heme-containing protein and catalyzes the conversion of GTP to cyclic GMP. We found that 200 mM imidazole moderately activated sGC in the coexistence with 3-(5'-hydroxymethyl-2'-furyl)-1-benzylindazole (YC-1), although imidazole or YC-1 alone had little effect for activation. GTP facilitated this process.

Improvement of retroviral vectors by coating with poly(ethylene glycol)-poly(L-lysine) block copolymer (PEG-PLL).

Background: Although some cationic reagents, such as polybrene, improve gene transduction in vitro, their use in vivo is prohibited due to their toxicity to the exposed cells. This paper demonstrates that a new cationic reagent, poly(ethylene glycol)-poly(L-lysine) block copolymer (PEG-PLL), improves gene transduction with retroviral vectors without increasing cell toxicity.

Methods: A retroviral vector derived from the Moloney leukemia virus, containing the lacZ gene, was modified with PEG-PLL prior to transduction into NIH3T3, Lewis lung carcinoma, and primary cultured mouse brain cells.

Essential Amino Acid Residues Controlling the Unique Regioselectivity of Heme Oxygenase in Pseudomonas aeruginosa.

Heme oxygenase (HO), an amphipathic microsomal protein, catalyzes the oxygen-dependent degradation of heme (iron-protoporphyrinIX) to alpha-biliverdin, CO, and free iron ion. Interestingly, all of HO regiospecifically oxidize the alpha-meso position of the heme to form alpha-biliverdin isomer while nonenzymatic heme degradation forms all four possible alpha-, beta-, gamma-, delta-biliverdin isomers at nearly identical yield. Recently, an interesting example has been found in HO (PigA) of the Gram-negative bacterium Pseudomonas aeruginosa, which does not produce alpha-biliverdin at all, but forms the mixture of beta- and gamma-biliverdins at a ratio of 3:7.

Core structure of amyloid fibril proposed from IR-microscope linear dichroism.

A new approach for studying a peptide conformation of amyloid fibril has been developed. It is based on infrared linear dichroism analysis using an IR-microscope for aligned amyloid fibril. The polarization directions of amide I and II bands were perpendicular similarly for beta2-microglobulin and its #21-31 peptide.

Molecular cloning of the estrogen and progesterone receptors of the American alligator.

Steroid hormones perform many essential roles in vertebrates during embryonic development, reproduction, growth, water balance, and responses to stress. The estrogens are essential for normal reproductive activity in female and male vertebrates and appear to have direct actions during sex determination in some vertebrates. To begin to understand the molecular mechanisms of estrogen action in alligators, we have isolated cDNAs encoding the estrogen receptors (ER) from the ovary.

Cloning of a G-protein-coupled receptor that shows an activity to transform NIH3T3 cells and is expressed in gastric cancer cells.

The present study was directed towards the identification of novel factors involved in the transformation process leading to the formation of gastric cancer. A cDNA library from human gastric cancer cells was constructed using a retroviral vector. Functional cloning was performed by screening for transformation activity in transduced NIH3T3 cells.

Similarities and differences in uterine gene expression patterns caused by treatment with physiological and non-physiological estrogens.

Administration of physiological and non-physiological estrogens during pregnancy or after birth is known to have adverse effects on the development of the reproductive tract and other organs. Although it is believed that both estrogens have similar effects on gene expression, this view has not been tested systematically. To compare the effects of physiological (estradiol; E2) and non-physiological (diethylstilbestrol; DES) estrogens, we used DNA microarray analysis to examine the uterine gene expression patterns induced by the two estrogens.

Biochemical and biophysical properties of the CO-sensing transcriptional activator CooA.

Studies of heme-containing gas sensor proteins have revealed a novel function for heme, which acts as an active site for sensing the corresponding gas molecule of a physiological effector. Heme-based O(2), NO, and CO sensor proteins have now been described in which these gas molecules act as a signaling factor that regulates the functional activity of the sensor proteins. CooA is a CO-sensing transcriptional activator found in the photosynthetic bacterium Rhodospirillum rubrum.

Sperm motility-activating complex formed by t-complex distorters.

Transmission ratio distortion is a dramatic example of non-Mendelian transmission. In mice, t-haplotype males produce dysfunctional +-sperm and normal t-sperm, leading to transmission in favor of t-sperm. Genetic studies have indicated that the t-complex responder locus, Tcr, rescues t-sperm but not +-sperm from defective products of t-complex distorter loci, Tcds.

Amplification of receptor signalling by Ca2+ entry-mediated translocation and activation of PLCgamma2 in B lymphocytes.

In non-excitable cells, receptor-activated Ca2+ signalling comprises initial transient responses followed by a Ca2+ entry-dependent sustained and/or oscillatory phase. Here, we describe the molecular mechanism underlying the second phase linked to signal amplification. An in vivo inositol 1,4,5-trisphosphate (IP3) sensor revealed that in B lymphocytes, receptor-activated and store-operated Ca2+ entry greatly enhanced IP3 production, which terminated in phospholipase Cgamma2 (PLCgamma2)-deficient cells.

Evidence for a second wave of oligodendrogenesis in the postnatal cerebral cortex of the mouse.

The existing view is that cortical oligodendrocytes (OLs) in rodents are born from the cortical subventricular zone (SVZ) after birth, but recent data suggest that many forebrain oligodendrocyte progenitor cells (OPCs) are specified much earlier (between E9.5 and E13.5 in the mouse) in the ventricular zone of the ventral forebrain under the control of sonic hedgehog (Shh) and migrate into the cortex afterward.

The ascidian dihydropyridine-resistant calcium channel as the prototype of chordate L-type calcium channel.

This review describes recent findings on voltage-gated Ca channel (Cav channel) cloned from ascidians, the most primitive chordates. Ascidian L-type like Cav channel has several unusual features: (1). it is closely related to the prototype of chordate L-type Cav channels by sequence alignment; (2).

Simian virus 40 VP1 capsid protein forms polymorphic assemblies in vitro.

The simian virus 40 (SV40) capsid is composed of 72 pentamers of VP1, the major protein of SV40. These pentamers are arranged in a T=7d icosahedral surface lattice, which is maintained by three types of appropriately arranged, non-equivalent interactions between the pentamers. However, it remains unclear how these interactions are achieved.

FTIR detection of protonation/deprotonation of key carboxyl side chains caused by redox change of the Cu(A)-heme a moiety and ligand dissociation from the heme a3-Cu(B) center of bovine heart cytochrome c oxidase.

FTIR spectral changes of bovine cytochrome c oxidase (CcO) upon ligand dissociation from heme a(3)() and redox change of the Cu(A)-heme a moiety (Cu(A)Fe(a)()) were investigated. In a photosteady state under CW laser illumination at 590 nm to carbonmonoxy CcO (CcO-CO), the C-O stretching bands due to Fe(a3)()(2+)CO and Cu(B)(1+)CO were identified at 1963 and 2063 cm(-)(1), respectively, for the fully reduced (FR) state [(Cu(A)Fe(a)())(3+)Fe(a3)()(2+)Cu(B)(1+)] and at 1965 and 2061 cm(-)(1) for the mixed valence (MV) state [(Cu(A)Fe(a)())(5+)Fe(a3)()(2+)Cu(B)(1+)] in H(2)O as well as in D(2)O. For the MV state, however, another band due to Cu(B)(1+)CO was found at 2040 cm(-)(1), which was distinct from the alpha/beta conformers in the spectral behaviors, and therefore was assigned to the (Cu(A)Fe(a)())(4+)Fe(a3)()(3+)Cu(B)(1+)CO generated by back electron transfer.

Analysis of temporal changes in the expression of estrogen-regulated genes in the uterus.

In order to understand early events caused by estrogen in vivo, temporal uterine gene expression profiles at early stages were examined using DNA microarray analysis. Ovariectomized mice were exposed to 17beta-estradiol and the temporal mRNA expression changes of ten thousand various genes were analyzed. Clustering analysis revealed that there are at least two phases of gene activation during the period up to six hours.

[TRP channels: formation of signal complex and regulation of cellular functions].

Cellular stimulation from the surrounding extracellular environment via receptors and other pathways evoke activation of Ca(2+)-permeable cation channels. An important clue to understand the molecular mechanisms underlying these receptor-activated cation channels (RACC) was first provided through molecular studies of the transient receptor potential (trp) protein (TRP), which controls light-induced deporlarization in Drosophila photoreceptor cells. Recent studies have revealed that these TRP channels are also activated by diverse stimuli such as heat, osmotic stress, and oxidative stress.