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Background The purpose of the present study was to examine the relationship between ankle joint laxity and general joint laxity (GJL) in relation to the menstrual cycle, which was divided into four phases based on basal body temperature and ovulation, assessed using an ovulation kit. Methods Participants were 14 female college students (21–22 years) with normal menstrual cycles (cis gender). Anterior drawer stress to a magnitude of 120 N was applied for all participants. Anterior talofibular ligament (ATFL) length was measured as the linear distance (mm) between its points of attachment on the lateral malleolus and talus using ultrasonography. Data on ATFL length from each subject were used to calculate each subject’s normalized length change with anterior drawer stress (AD%). The University of Tokyo method was used for evaluation of GJL. AD% and GJL were measured once in each menstrual phase. Results There was no statistically significant difference between AD% in each phase. GJL score was significantly higher in the ovulation and luteal phases compared with the early follicular phase. AD% and GJL showed a positive correlation with each other in the ovulation phase. Conclusions Although it is unclear whether estrogen receptors are present in the ATFL, the present study suggests that women with high GJL scores might be more sensitive to the effects of estrogen, resulting in ATFL length change in the ovulation phase.

α‐Amylase, which plays an essential role in starch degradation, is expressed mainly in the pancreas and salivary glands. Human α‐amylase is also detected in other tissues, but it is unclear whether the α‐amylase is endogenously expressed in each tissue or mixed exogenously with one expressed by the pancreas or salivary glands. Furthermore, the biological significance of these α‐amylases detected in tissues other than the pancreas and salivary glands has not been elucidated. We discovered that human α‐amylase is expressed in intestinal epithelial cells and analyzed the effects of suppressing α‐amylase expression. α‐Amylase was found to be expressed at the second‐highest messenger RNA level in the duodenum in human normal tissues after the pancreas. α‐Amylase was detected in the cell extract of Caco‐2 intestinal epithelial cells but not secreted into the culture medium. The amount of α‐amylase expressed increased depending on the length of the culture of Caco‐2 cells, suggesting that α‐amylase is expressed in small intestine epithelial cells rather than the colon because the cells differentiate spontaneously upon reaching confluence in culture to exhibit the characteristics of small intestinal epithelial cells rather than colon cells. The α‐amylase expressed in Caco‐2 cells had enzymatic activity and was identified as AMY2B, one of the two isoforms of pancreatic α‐amylase. The suppression of α‐amylase expression by small interfering RNA inhibited cell differentiation and proliferation. These results demonstrate for the first time that α‐amylase is expressed in human intestinal epithelial cells and affects cell proliferation and differentiation. This α‐amylase may induce the proliferation and differentiation of small intestine epithelial cells, supporting a rapid turnover of cells to maintain a healthy intestinal lumen.

Moloney murine leukemia virus (MMLV) reverse transcriptase (RT) is widely used in research and clinical diagnosis. Improvement of MMLV RT thermostability has been an important topic of research for increasing the efficiency of cDNA synthesis. In this study, we attempted to increase MMLV RT thermostability by introducing a disulfide bridge in its RNase H region using site-directed mutagenesis. Five variants were designed, focusing on the distance between the two residues to be mutated into cysteine. The variants were expressed in Escherichia coli and purified. A551C/T662C was determined to be the most thermostable variant.

Preeclampsia is a major complication of pregnancy and is associated with significant fetal and maternal morbidity and mortality. Timely prediction of preeclampsia facilitates referral of potential patients to an adequate tertiary center, which helps reduce adverse outcomes associated with the disease. Moreover, by accurately ruling out preeclampsia, patients can be discharged safely and relieved of anxiety. Numerous candidate biomarkers have been proposed for the diagnosis and prediction of preeclampsia. Among these, maternal circulating factors such as soluble FMS-like tyrosine kinase-1 (sFlt-1), an anti-angiogenic factor, and placental growth factor (PlGF), an angiogenic factor, are considered the most promising. Measuring these factors as a ratio allows assessment of the angiogenic imbalance that characterizes incipient or overt preeclampsia. The sFlt-1/PlGF ratio increases before the onset of preeclampsia and thus may help predict the disease. The test is used as a predictive tool in several countries but not yet routinely performed in Japanese hospitals. We performed a systematic review of studies that assessed the performance of the sFlt-1/PlGF ratio in predicting preeclampsia in Japanese patients. Three studies were included in the systematic review. All studies reported high negative predictive values of the sFlt-1/PlGF ratio (i.e., for ruling out PE), in agreement with the current evidence of the test performance worldwide. The sFlt-1/PlGF ratio could be of significant relevance in the Japanese population.

Background: Anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) injury has been reported to have a higher incidence in women than in men. Purpose/Hypothesis: The purpose was to examine the relationship of anterior knee laxity (AKL), stiffness, and generalized joint laxity (GJL) with respect to the menstrual cycle. It was hypothesized that AKL and GJL would increase during the ovulation phase, when estrogen levels are high. Study Design: Descriptive laboratory study. Methods: A total of 15 female university students aged >20 years and with normal menstrual cycles were evaluated. AKL was measured as anterior tibial displacement of the femur after application of 44-, 89-, and 133-N loads to the tibia. Stiffness was calculated as Δ force/Δ displacement at loads between 44 and 89 N and between 89 and 133 N. The University of Tokyo joint laxity test was used for evaluation of GJL. The participants’ menstrual cycle was divided into the early follicular, late follicular, ovulation, and luteal phases using the basal body temperature method and an ovulation kit; AKL and GJL were measured once during each phase. Participants were also stratified according to the presence or absence of genu recurvatum (GR). Results: There was no significant difference in AKL, stiffness, or GJL among the menstrual phases. In the GR group, AKL values at 89 N and 133 N were significantly higher in the ovulation phase than in the early follicular phase ( P = .025 and P =.018, respectively); there were no significant differences in AKL among the phases in the non-GR group. In addition, the GR group in the ovulation phase had significantly higher AKL values at 44 N, 89 N, and 133 N compared with the non-GR group ( P = .013, P = .005, and P = .010, respectively). There were no significant differences in GJL among the phases in the GR or non-GR groups. Conclusion: Women with GR may have increased AKL in the ovulation phase when compared with the early follicular phase, which may be a risk factor for ACL injury. Clinical Relevance: The results of this study suggest that the ovulation phase may be related to the greater incidence of ACL injuries in women.

Diets high in fat can result in obesity and non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD). The improvement of obesity and NAFLD is an important issue.β-Conglycinin, one of the soya proteins, is known to prevent hyperlipidaemia, obesity and NAFLD. Therefore, we aimed to investigate the effects ofβ-conglycinin on the improvement of obesity and NAFLD in high-fat (HF) diet-induced obese (DIO) mice and clarify the mechanism underlying these effects in liver and white adipose tissue (WAT). DIO male ddY mice were divided into six groups: HF, medium-fat (MF) and low-fat (LF) groups fed casein, and HF, MF and LF groups in all of which the casein was replaced byβ-conglycinin. A period of 5 weeks later, theβ-conglycinin-supplemented group resulted in lower body weight, relative weight of subcutaneous WAT, and hepatic TAG content (P=0·001). Furthermore,β-conglycinin suppressed the hepatic expression ofPparγ2in the HF dietary group, sterol regulatory element-binding protein-1c and the target genes. The expressions of inflammation-related genes were significantly low in the epididymal and subcutaneous WAT from the mice fedβ-conglycinin compared with those fed casein in the HF dietary group. Moreover, the expressions ofPparγ1andPparγ2mRNA were suppressed in subcutaneous WAT in the HF dietary group but not in epididymal WAT. The concentrations of insulin and leptin were low in the serum of the mice fedβ-conglycinin. In conclusion,β-conglycinin effectively improved obesity and NAFLD in DIO mice, and it appears to be a promising dietary protein for the amelioration of NAFLD and obesity.

Graphical abstract, Diet-induced thermogenesis (DIT) refers to energy expenditure (EE) related to food consumption. Enhancing DIT can lead to weight loss. Factors that increase DIT are expected to lower body mass index and body fat mass. Although various methods have been developed for measuring DIT in humans, there is currently no method available for calculating absolute DIT values in mice. Therefore, we attempted to measure DIT in mice by applying the method more commonly used for humans. Mouse energy metabolism was first measured under fasting conditions; EE was plotted against the square root of the activity count, and a linear regression equation was fit to the data. Then, energy metabolism was measured in mice that were allowed to feed ad libitum, and EE was plotted in the same way. We calculated the DIT by subtracting the predicted EE value from the fed EE value for the same activity count. The methodology for measuring DIT in mice may be helpful for researching ways of combatting obesity by increasing DIT. • The methodology for measuring absolute DIT values in mice is developed. • For mice, the proportion of DIT compared with calorie intake and EE are 12.3% and 21.7%, respectively.

Immunohistochemical localisation of indoleamine 2,3-dioxygenase was studied in order to better understand the pathophysiology of placenta accreta spectrum. In the decidua staining for indoleamine 2,3-dioxygenase was found in the glandular epithelium with some additional positive cells. Extravillous cytotrophoblast invasion was present in the myometrium which was not covered by the decidual tissue whereas myometrial invasion of cytotrophoblasts was absent where this tissue lay deep to decidua. These results suggest that indoleamine 2,3-dioxygenase expression in the decidua may normally control trophoblast invasion and absence of its expression where decidua is absent may be involved in the pathogenesis of the over-invaded placenta., We are grateful to the Grant-in-Aid for Scientific Research (17K11238), Japan Society for the Promotion of Science for financial support.

Obesity is prevalent in modern society because of a lifestyle consisting of high dietary fat and sucrose consumption combined with little exercise. Among the consequences of obesity are the emerging epidemics of hepatic steatosis and nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD). Sterol regulatory element-binding protein-1c (SREBP-1c) is a transcription factor that stimulates gene expression related to de novo lipogenesis in the liver. In response to a high-fat diet, the expression of peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor (PPAR) γ2, another nuclear receptor, is increased, which leads to the development of NAFLD. β-Conglycinin, a soy protein, prevents NAFLD induced by diets high in sucrose/fructose or fat by decreasing the expression and function of these nuclear receptors. β-Conglycinin also improves NAFLD via the same mechanism as for prevention. Fish oil contains n-3 polyunsaturated fatty acids such as eicosapentaenoic acid and docosahexaenoic acid. Fish oil is more effective at preventing NAFLD induced by sucrose/fructose because SREBP-1c activity is inhibited. However, the effect of fish oil on NAFLD induced by fat is controversial because fish oil further increases PPARγ2 expression, depending upon the experimental conditions. Alcohol intake also causes an alcoholic fatty liver, which is induced by increased SREBP-1c and PPARγ2 expression and decreased PPARα expression. β-Conglycinin and fish oil are effective at preventing alcoholic fatty liver because β-conglycinin decreases the function of SREBP-1c and PPARγ2, and fish oil decreases the function of SREBP-1c and increases that of PPARα.

Reporter assays that use luciferases are widely employed for monitoring cellular events associated with gene expression in vitro and in vivo. To improve the response of the luciferase reporter to acute changes of gene expression, a destabilization sequence is frequently used to reduce the stability of luciferase protein in the cells, which results in an increase of sensitivity of the luciferase reporter assay. In this study, we identified a potent destabilization sequence (referred to as the C9 fragment) consisting of 42 amino acid residues from human calpain 3 (CAPN3). Whereas the half-life of Emerald Luc (ELuc) from the Brazilian click beetle Pyrearinus termitilluminans was reduced by fusing PEST (t1/2=9.8 to 2.8h), the half-life of C9-fused ELuc was significantly shorter (t1/2=1.0h) than that of PEST-fused ELuc when measurements were conducted at 37°C. In addition, firefly luciferase (luc2) was also markedly destabilized by the C9 fragment compared with the humanized PEST sequence. These results indicate that the C9 fragment from CAPN3 is a much more potent destabilization sequence than the PEST sequence. Furthermore, real-time bioluminescence recording of the activation kinetics of nuclear factor-κB after transient treatment with tumor necrosis factor α revealed that the response of C9-fused ELuc is significantly greater than that of PEST-fused ELuc, demonstrating that the use of the C9 fragment realizes a luciferase reporter assay that has faster response speed compared with that provided by the PEST sequence.

Chinese hamster ovary (CHO) cell lines are widely used for therapeutic protein production. When a transgene is integrated into the genome of a CHO cell, the expression level is highly dependent on the site of integration because of positional effects such as gene silencing. To overcome negative positional effects and establish stable CHO cell lines with high productivity, several regulatory DNA elements are used in vector construction. Previously, we established the CHO DR1000L-4N cell line, a stable and high copy number Dhfr gene-amplified cell line. It was hypothesized that the chromosomal location of the exogenous gene-amplified region in the CHO DR1000L-4N genome contains regulatory motifs for stable protein production. Therefore, we isolated DNA regulatory motifs from the CHO DR1000L-4N cell line and determined whether these motifs act as an insulator. Our results suggest that stable expression of a transgene can be promoted by the CHO genome sequence, and it would be a powerful tool for therapeutic protein manufacturing.

The liver is a major organ of lipid metabolism, which is markedly changed in response to physiological nutritional demand; however, the regulation of hepatic lipogenic gene expression in early life is largely unknown. In this study, we show that expression of glycerol-3-phosphate acyltransferase 1 (GPAT1; Gpam), a rate-limiting enzyme of triglyceride biosynthesis, is regulated in the mouse liver by DNA methylation, an epigenetic modification involved in the regulation of a diverse range of biological processes in mammals. In the neonatal liver, DNA methylation of the Gpam promoter, which is likely to be induced by Dnmt3b, inhibited recruitment of the lipogenic transcription factor sterol regulatory element–binding protein-1c (SREBP-1c), whereas in the adult, decreased DNA methylation resulted in active chromatin conformation, allowing recruitment of SREBP-1c. Maternal overnutrition causes decreased Gpam promoter methylation with increased GPAT1 expression and triglyceride content in the pup liver, suggesting that environmental factors such as nutritional conditions can affect DNA methylation in the liver. This study is the first detailed analysis of the DNA-methylation–dependent regulation of the triglyceride biosynthesis gene Gpam, thereby providing new insight into the molecular mechanism underlying the epigenetic regulation of metabolic genes and thus metabolic diseases.

Aims Obesity is commonly associated with hypertension. Increased sympathetic tonus in obese subjects contributes to the underlying mechanism. However, the precise mechanisms whereby obesity induces this sympathetic activation remain unclear. Hepatic peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor (PPAR)-γ2 expression, which is reportedly upregulated during obesity development, affects sympathetic activation via hepatic vagal afferents. Herein, we report involvement of this neuronal relay in obesity-related hypertension. Methods and results Peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor-γ and a direct PPARγ target, fat-specific protein 27 (Fsp27), were adenovirally overexpressed or knocked down in the liver, in combination with surgical dissection or pharmacological deafferentation of the hepatic vagus. Adenoviral PPARγ2 expression in the liver raised blood pressure (BP) in wild-type but not in β1/β2/β3 adrenergic receptor-deficient mice. In addition, knockdown of endogenous PPARγ in the liver lowered BP in murine obesity models. Either surgical dissection or pharmacological deafferentation of the hepatic vagus markedly blunted BP elevation in mice with diet-induced and genetically-induced obesity. In contrast, BP was not elevated in other models of hepatic steatosis, DGAT1 and DGAT2 overexpressions, in which PPARγ is not upregulated in the liver. Thus, hepatic PPARγ upregulation associated with obesity is involved in BP elevation during obesity development. Furthermore, hepatic expression of Fsp27 raised BP and the effect was blocked by hepatic vagotomy. Hepatic Fsp27 is actually upregulated in murine obesity models and its knockdown reversed BP elevation. Conclusion The hepatic PPARγ–Fsp27 pathway plays important roles in the development of obesity-related hypertension via afferent vagal signals from the liver.

The objective of the present study was to present 4 recently encountered ovarian large-cell neuroendocrine carcinoma (LCNEC) cases, and to evaluate their clinicopathological features in the context of the previously reported 29 LCNEC cases. First, we described the clinical features of 4 recently encountered cases. Routine H&E staining and immunohistochemistry for CD56, synaptophysin and chromogranin A were performed on sections of both the LCNEC and epithelial carcinoma components. Clinical data for the total of 33 LCNEC cases were summarized, and the Kaplan-Meier survival curve was estimated. Our cases were observed in women aged 42–81 years. One case is clinically classified as FIGO stage IV with multiple metastases, and the others are classified as FIGO stages Ic, IIc and IIIb by post-surgical findings. Pathological features, assessed by H&E staining, were similar to lung LCNEC, and at least one neuroendocrine marker was positive staining in both LCNEC and the epithelial component. One case was pure type LCNEC and the others were mixed carcinoma. Paclitaxel/carboplatin chemotherapy was performed for all cases and 3 of the 4 treatments were effective. The prognoses of our cases were as follows: 1 in stage Ic died from the disease after only 2 months, but the others survived, with or without recurrence, for 32–64 months, whereas the total 5-year survival of the 33 LCNEC cases was 34.9%. In summary, our 3 LCNEC cases revealed ordinary chemo-sensitivity, resulting in a better prognosis than those previously described, apart from 1 case which exhibited aggressive behavior. For the future, a retrospective survey to elucidate the prognostic factors and prospective clinical studies to evaluate the efficacy of treatment modalities of ovarian LCNEC are necessary, particularly for aggressive LCNEC cases.

Diets high in sucrose/fructose or fat can result in hepatic steatosis (fatty liver). We analyzed the effects of dietary fish oil on fatty liver induced by sucrose, safflower oil, and butter in ddY mice. In experiment I, mice were fed a high-starch diet [70 energy% (en%) starch] plus 20% (wt/wt) sucrose in the drinking water or fed a high-safflower oil diet (60 en%) for 11 weeks. As a control, mice were fed a high-starch diet with drinking water. Fish oil (10 en%) was either supplemented or not. Mice supplemented with sucrose or fed safflower oil showed a 1.7-fold or 2.2-fold increased liver triglyceride content, respectively, compared with that of control mice. Fish oil completely prevented sucrose-induced fatty liver, whereas it exacerbated safflower oil-induced fatty liver. Sucrose increased SREBP-1c and target gene messenger RNAs (mRNAs), and fish oil completely inhibited these increases. In experiment II, mice were fed a high-safflower oil or a high-butter diet, with or without fish oil supplementation. Fish oil exacerbated safflower oil–induced fatty liver but did not affect butter-induced fatty liver. Fish oil increased expression of peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor gamma (PPARγ) and target CD36 mRNA in safflower oil-fed mice. These increases were not observed in sucrose-supplemented or butter-fed mice. Conclusion: The effects of dietary fish oil on fatty liver differ according to the cause of fatty liver; fish oil prevents sucrose-induced fatty liver but exacerbates safflower oil-induced fatty liver. The exacerbation of fatty liver may be due, at least in part, to increased expression of liver PPARγ. (HEPATOLOGY 2007.)

It is experimentally known that a flat surface vibrating at ultrasonic frequencies generates forces in both vertical and parallel directions to a vibrating surface, and these forces can support a floating object without any contact. However, the cause of the force parallel to the vibrating surface (called a holding force in this paper) has not been clarified yet. Therefore, this paper investigates the cause of the parallel force generated by a vibrating surface, experimentally and numerically. In numerical calculations, computational fluid dynamics (CFD) was used in order to obtain the pressure distribution of air surrounding a floating object and a vibrating plate. It was consequently found that the holding force acting to a floating object is due to an average minus pressure generated at the edge of a floating object on the vibrating flat surface.

Acyl-CoA:diacylglycerol acyltransferases (DGATs) catalyze the last step in triglyceride (TG) synthesis. The genes for two DGAT enzymes, DGAT1 and DGAT2, have been identified. To examine the roles of liver DGAT1 and DGAT2 in TG synthesis and very low density lipoprotein (VLDL) secretion, liver DGAT1- and DGAT2-overexpressing mice were created by adenovirus-mediated gene transfection. DGAT1-overexpressing mice had markedly increased DGAT activity in the presence of the permeabilizing agent alamethicin. This suggests that DGAT1 possesses latent DGAT activity on the lumen of the endoplasmic reticulum. DGAT1-overexpressing mice showed increased VLDL secretion, resulting in increased gonadal (epididymal or parametrial) fat mass but not subcutaneous fat mass. The VLDL-mediated increase in gonadal fat mass might be due to the 4-fold greater expression of the VLDL receptor protein in gonadal fat than in subcutaneous fat. DGAT2-overexpressing mice had increased liver TG content, but VLDL secretion was not affected. These results indicate that DGAT1 but not DGAT2 has a role in VLDL synthesis and that increased plasma VLDL concentrations may promote obesity, whereas increased DGAT2 activity has a role in steatosis.

教室の過去のLおよびM領域の単発SM胃癌切除例(n=258)のリンパ節転移,再発形式より, SM胃癌の至適リンパ節郭清について検討した.リンパ節転移はpN0 79.8%, pN1 16.3%, pN2 3.1%, pN3 0.8%であった. pN2症例にNo.11p, 12a, 14v転移は認めなかった.多変量解析で有意差を認めた予後因子はリンパ節転移と静脈侵襲の有無であり,リンパ節郭清程度は有意ではなかった.再発形式は血行性再発が60%と最多であり, pN0, pN1例の再発死亡は各3例でリンパ節再発は認めなかった.また, sN0例に再発は認めず, sN1例にリンパ節再発は認めなかった.以上より, sT1 (SM), sN1例に対する,ガイドラインで推奨されている現規約D2郭清による予後改善の可能性は低いことが示唆された.

症例は42歳,男性.心窩部痛を主訴に来院.上部消化管内視鏡検査で十二指腸潰瘍,腹部超音波検査で脾臓に直径1.2cmのhypoechoic massを認めた.脾臓腫瘤に対し精査したところ, CTで脾臓下極に直径1cmのlow density area, MRIではT1強調でiso intensity, T2強調で不均-なlow intensity, Gd造影ではdelayed enhancementされるmassがみられたが,悪性を強く示唆する所見が認められず経過観察とした. 2年3カ月後massは約2.5cm径に増大したため手術目的にて入院.腹腔鏡下脾臓摘出術を行い,病理結果は炎症性偽腫瘍であった.脾腫瘍の確定診断には病理学的検索が必要となることが多く,腹腔鏡下脾臓摘出術は診断・治療の両面からみても有用な手段と思われた.

We carried out an analysis of para-aortic lymph node dissection in stage IIIVa advanced gastric cancer to evaluate the extended surgery. The subjects were 32 patients undergoing para-aortic lymph node dissection (D4), and 77 patients undergoing Group 2 and 3 lymph node dissection (D2, 3) which were conducted at the department from 1988 to 1995. No patients with double cancer, liver metastasis, and peritoneal dissemination were involved in the subjects. In case of stage IIIIIb advanced gastric cancer, the 5-year survival rate of patients with D4 (79.5%) was significantly higher than that of patients with D2, 3 (p

Postprandial hyperlipidemia (lipemia) is a risk factor for atherosclerosis. However, mouse models of postprandial hyperlipidemia have not been reported. Here, we report that ddY mice display marked postprandial hypertriglyceridemia in response to dietary fat. In ddY mice, the fasting serum total triacylglyceride (TG) concentration was 134 mg/dl, which increased to 571 mg/dl after an intragastric safflower oil load (0.4 ml/mouse). In C57BL/6J mice, these concentrations were 57 and 106 mg/dl, respectively. By lipoprotein analysis, ddY mice showed increases in chylomicron- and VLDL-sized TG fractions (remnants and VLDL) after fat load. In C57BL/6J mice, post-heparin plasma LPL activity after fat load was increased 4.8-fold relative to fasting. However, in ddY mice, the increase of LPL activity after fat load was very small (1.2-fold) and not significant. High fat feeding for 10 weeks led to obesity in ddY mice. A difference in LPL amino acid composition between C57BL/6J and ddY mice was detected but was deemed unlikely to cause hypertriglyceridemia because hypertriglyceridemia was not evident in other strains harboring the ddY-type LPL sequence. These findings indicate that postprandial hypertriglyceridemia in ddY mice is induced by decreased LPL activity after fat load and is associated with obesity induced by a high-fat diet.

As concerned with accidents of mobile offshore structures, a risk analysis for previous prevention of accidents is recently getting more and more important. In this paper, in order to satisfy both needs of safety and economy one of which is related to the other in the manner of trade off, we construct a strategy for reasonable decision making of countermeasures to prevent accidents and a system to support it. In the system, the constraint condition is the feeling of people for safety, and the most economical combination of countermeasures to prevent accidents is decided under such constraint condition by means of a genetic algorithm.

Peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor-gamma co-activator-1alpha (PGC-1alpha) is a key nuclear receptor co-activator for mitochondrial biogenesis. Here we report that overexpression of PGC-1alpha in skeletal muscles increased mitochondrial number and caused atrophy of skeletal muscle, especially type 2B fiber-rich muscles (gastrocnemius, quadriceps, and plantaris). Muscle atrophy became evident at 25 weeks of age, and a portion of the muscle was replaced by adipocytes. Mice showed increased energy expenditure and reduced body weight; thyroid hormone levels were normal. Mitochondria exhibited normal respiratory chain activity per mitochondrion; however, mitochondrial respiration was not inhibited by an ATP synthase inhibitor, oligomycin, clearly indicating that oxidative phosphorylation was uncoupled. Accordingly, ATP content in gastrocnemius was markedly reduced. A similar phenotype is observed in Luft's disease, a mitochondrial disorder that involves increased uncoupling of respiration and muscle atrophy. Our results indicate that overexpression of PGC-1alpha in skeletal muscle increases not only mitochondrial biogenesis but also uncoupling of respiration, resulting in muscle atrophy.

Cathepsin G is a serine protease located in the azurophil granules of neutrophils. We have shown previously that cathepsin G stimulates human lymphocytes. In this study, we demonstrate that cathepsin G exhibits specific, saturable and reversible binding to lymphocytes: B cells, CD4+ T cells, CD8+ T cells, and natural killer (NK) cells. Phenylmethylsulfonyl fluoride (PMSF) -inhibited cathepsin G also bound to lymphocytes, although both the number of binding sites and the affinity were less than those of native cathepsin G. The binding of cathepsin G to lymphocytes showed cooperativity, but that of PMSF-inhibited cathepsin G did not. PMSF-inhibited cathepsin G was able to partially displace bound cathepsin G. These results suggest that molecules on the lymphocyte surface that bind cathepsin G recognize not only the active site of cathepsin G but also other sites of this molecule, but the active site has an important function in this binding because stimulation of lymphocytes requires the binding of proteolytically active cathepsin G.

We examined the cross reaction of Chlamydia trachomatis (C. trachomatis) by antigen detection method using EIA against the aerobic bacteria which colonize in the respiratory tract of children. Chlamydiazyme showed a cross reaction among 5 out of 7 species of Gram negative bacteria (= 71.4%) and Neisseria and Branhamella catarrhalis showed a cross reaction even in low concentrations of 1 X 10(3-4) CFU/ml. There were no Gram positive bacteria which showed cross reaction. IDEIA Mark III did not react to Gram negative bacteria even in high concentrations of 1 X 10(7-10) CFU/ml. One strain of coagulase positive staphylococcus (CPS) showed positive at a concentration of 1 X 10(8): however, other Gram positive bacteria including two other strains of CPS exhibited no cross reaction. The detectable concentration of C. trachomatis (D/UW 3 strain) using IDEIA Mark III was 1 X 10(3) IFU/ml. Low cross reaction rate and sensitivity suggest IDEIA Mark III is preferable for diagnosis of respiratory infection of C. trachomatis though further clinical studies are necessary.

0.1% NH2OH (2.5 ml), 5 N HCl (2.5 ml) and 1% m-aminophenol solution (1 ml) were added to unsaturated fatty acid methyl enters (10 mg), and the mixture was heated in a boiling water bath at 100°C for 20 min. The reaction mixtures were measured for their fluorescence intensity at Ex. 356 nm and Em. 505 nm, and the amounts of acrolein formed were determined from its calibration curve. Methyl linolenate oxidized for 20 h at 80°C, 2258.2μg/g of acrolein were formed, whereas 208.1μg/g of malondialdehyde were determined by the thiobarbituric acid method. Thus the determination of acrolein in oxidized lipid may have some fundamental significance for the evaluation of lipid oxidation. It was of interest that acrolein is formed not only from glycerin and triglyceride but also from unsaturated fatty acids by their autoxidation.

SummaryIn obese patients with type 2 diabetes, insulin delivery to and insulin-dependent glucose uptake by skeletal muscle are delayed and impaired. The mechanisms underlying the delay and impairment are unclear. We demonstrate that impaired insulin signaling in endothelial cells, due to reduced Irs2 expression and insulin-induced eNOS phosphorylation, causes attenuation of insulin-induced capillary recruitment and insulin delivery, which in turn reduces glucose uptake by skeletal muscle. Moreover, restoration of insulin-induced eNOS phosphorylation in endothelial cells completely reverses the reduction in capillary recruitment and insulin delivery in tissue-specific knockout mice lacking Irs2 in endothelial cells and fed a high-fat diet. As a result, glucose uptake by skeletal muscle is restored in these mice. Taken together, our results show that insulin signaling in endothelial cells plays a pivotal role in the regulation of glucose uptake by skeletal muscle. Furthermore, improving endothelial insulin signaling may serve as a therapeutic strategy for ameliorating skeletal muscle insulin resistance.