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Major depression （MD） is the most prevalent mood disorder worldwide. Electroconvulsive treatment （ECT） is a highly effective treatment in psychiatry and shows efficacy in patients who were resistant to pharmacotherapy. Recent retrospective cohort studies have shown that ECT is highly effective in ameliorating depressive symptoms. Similar ECT efficacy has been established also in various rodent models of MD. To establish further efficacy of ECT in rodent depression models, we investigated the effect of ECT on depressive-like behaviour induced by lipopolysaccharide （LPS） in rats. Methods: Adult male Sprague-Dawley （SD） rats were randomly divided into four groups, namely, control, LPS, sham ECT, and LPS + ECT. The SD rats received intraperitoneal injection of LPS or sterile saline, followed by ECT or sham treatment for 7 consecutive days. Subsequently, the forced swimming test （FST） and Y-maze test were performed. Results: The FST showed that the immobility time in the LPS group （169.73 ± 15.46 s） was significantly longer than that in the control group （63.16 ± 4.48 s）. However, ECT administration to LPS-injected rats significantly shortened the prolonged immobility. The Y-maze test showed a significant decrease in % spontaneous alternation behaviour （SAB） in the LPS group compared to the control group. ECT administration to LPS-injected rats significantly restored such a decrease in % SAB. Conclusions: Our results suggest that repeated ECT ameliorated LPS-induced depressive-like behaviour in SD rats. Further studies are warranted to elucidate the molecular mechanism of such therapeutic effects of ECT.

Major depression （MD） is the most prevalent mood disorder worldwide. Electroconvulsive treatment （ECT） is a highly effective treatment in psychiatry and shows efficacy in patients who were resistant to pharmacotherapy. Recent retrospective cohort studies have shown that ECT is highly effective in ameliorating depressive symptoms. Similar ECT efficacy has been established also in various rodent models of MD. To establish further efficacy of ECT in rodent depression models, we investigated the effect of ECT on depressive-like behaviour induced by lipopolysaccharide （LPS） in rats. Methods: Adult male Sprague-Dawley （SD） rats were randomly divided into four groups, namely, control, LPS, sham ECT, and LPS + ECT. The SD rats received intraperitoneal injection of LPS or sterile saline, followed by ECT or sham treatment for 7 consecutive days. Subsequently, the forced swimming test （FST） and Y-maze test were performed. Results: The FST showed that the immobility time in the LPS group （169.73 ± 15.46 s） was significantly longer than that in the control group （63.16 ± 4.48 s）. However, ECT administration to LPS-injected rats significantly shortened the prolonged immobility. The Y-maze test showed a significant decrease in % spontaneous alternation behaviour （SAB） in the LPS group compared to the control group. ECT administration to LPS-injected rats significantly restored such a decrease in % SAB. Conclusions: Our results suggest that repeated ECT ameliorated LPS-induced depressive-like behaviour in SD rats. Further studies are warranted to elucidate the molecular mechanism of such therapeutic effects of ECT.

ZnO nanoparticles (NPs) have been widely used in various commercial products. Application of ZnO NPs is expected to apply to cancer diagnosis and therapy, used as drug delivery carriers. In the present study, the lethal dose 50 (LD50) of intravenously administered ZnO NPs (0.3 mg/kg) was calculated in mice. Blood kinetics and tissue distribution of a toxic dose of ZnO NPs (0.2 mg/kg, 0.05 mg/kg) were investigated after intravenous exposure. In addition, 8-hydroxy-2’-deoxyguanosine (8-OHdG) was evaluated. Following the injection, ZnO NPs were rapidly removed from the blood and distributed to organs. Pulmonary emphysema was observed pathologically study in mice at 3 days after the 0.2 mg/kg dose and at 6 days after the 0.05 mg/kg dose. ZnO NPs were mainly accumulated in the lung and spleen within 60 min. From the long-term tissue distribution study, the liver showed peak concentration at 6 days, and spleen peaked at 1 day. The lungs kept high levels until 6 days. Tissue distribution and pathological study showed that the spleen, liver, and lungs are target organs for ZnO NPs. Accumulation in the liver and spleen may be due to the phagocytosis by macrophages. A dose-dependent increase in 8-OHdG was observed in mice treated with ZnO NPs. This study is the first to show information on kinetics and target organs following intravenous ZnO injection.

type:text, Adult height is a highly heritable trait involving multiple genes. Recent genome-wide association studies have identified that SNP rs12338076 in the LHX3-QSOX2 locus, and rs1457595 and rs17032362 in the IGF1 locus are associated with human height in the Japanese population (Okada et al. (2010)[9]). We performed a replication study to examine the associations between these three SNPs and adult height in the Japanese population based on autopsy cases. However, it was not possible to confirm that all these SNPs influenced adult height in the study population. We first conducted a wide-ranging survey of these three SNPs in the above genes using nine different populations including Asians, Africans and Caucasians, and demonstrated that the genotypes of rs12338076 and rs17032362 were distributed in an ethnicity-dependent manner; even within Asian populations, the genotype distributions of the SNPs differed widely. Although there are differences in height distribution between different populations, possibly due to genetic factors and/or gene-environmental interactions, the contradictory results of the association study and ethnic differences in genotype distribution allow us to assume that these height-related SNPs in the genes may contribute to adult height to a slight extent, at least in the Japanese population. It is anticipated that the present information will be useful for developing a reliable tool for personal identification through elucidation of the genetic basis of human height.

Adult height is a highly heritable trait involving multiple genes. Recent genome-wide association studies have identified that SNP rs12338076 in the LHX3-QSOX2 locus, and rs1457595 and rs17032362 in the IGF1 locus are associated with human height in the Japanese population (Okada et al. (2010)[9]). We performed a replication study to examine the associations between these three SNPs and adult height in the Japanese population based on autopsy cases. However, it was not possible to confirm that all these SNPs influenced adult height in the study population. We first conducted a wide-ranging survey of these three SNPs in the above genes using nine different populations including Asians, Africans and Caucasians, and demonstrated that the genotypes of rs12338076 and rs17032362 were distributed in an ethnicity-dependent manner; even within Asian populations, the genotype distributions of the SNPs differed widely. Although there are differences in height distribution between different populations, possibly due to genetic factors and/or gene-environmental interactions, the contradictory results of the association study and ethnic differences in genotype distribution allow us to assume that these height-related SNPs in the genes may contribute to adult height to a slight extent, at least in the Japanese population. It is anticipated that the present information will be useful for developing a reliable tool for personal identification through elucidation of the genetic basis of human height.

Adult height is a highly heritable trait involving multiple genes. Recent genome-wide association studies have identified that SNP rs12338076 in the LHX3-QSOX2 locus, and rs1457595 and rs17032362 in the IGF1 locus are associated with human height in the Japanese population (Okada et al. (2010)[9]). We performed a replication study to examine the associations between these three SNPs and adult height in the Japanese population based on autopsy cases. However, it was not possible to confirm that all these SNPs influenced adult height in the study population. We first conducted a wide-ranging survey of these three SNPs in the above genes using nine different populations including Asians, Africans and Caucasians, and demonstrated that the genotypes of rs12338076 and rs17032362 were distributed in an ethnicity-dependent manner; even within Asian populations, the genotype distributions of the SNPs differed widely. Although there are differences in height distribution between different populations, possibly due to genetic factors and/or gene-environmental interactions, the contradictory results of the association study and ethnic differences in genotype distribution allow us to assume that these height-related SNPs in the genes may contribute to adult height to a slight extent, at least in the Japanese population. It is anticipated that the present information will be useful for developing a reliable tool for personal identification through elucidation of the genetic basis of human height.

Adult height is a highly heritable trait involving multiple genes. Recent genome-wide association studies have identified that SNP rs12338076 in the LHX3-QSOX2 locus, and rs1457595 and rs17032362 in the IGF1 locus are associated with human height in the Japanese population (Okada et al. (2010)[9]). We performed a replication study to examine the associations between these three SNPs and adult height in the Japanese population based on autopsy cases. However, it was not possible to confirm that all these SNPs influenced adult height in the study population. We first conducted a wide-ranging survey of these three SNPs in the above genes using nine different populations including Asians, Africans and Caucasians, and demonstrated that the genotypes of rs12338076 and rs17032362 were distributed in an ethnicity-dependent manner; even within Asian populations, the genotype distributions of the SNPs differed widely. Although there are differences in height distribution between different populations, possibly due to genetic factors and/or gene-environmental interactions, the contradictory results of the association study and ethnic differences in genotype distribution allow us to assume that these height-related SNPs in the genes may contribute to adult height to a slight extent, at least in the Japanese population. It is anticipated that the present information will be useful for developing a reliable tool for personal identification through elucidation of the genetic basis of human height.

Joint Research on Environmental Science and Technology for the Earth

Joint Research on Environmental Science and Technology for the Earth