The first nurse practitioner graduate programme in Japan

Aim

This paper describes the establishment of the first Japanese nurse practitioner graduate programme and legislative activities to institutionalize nurse practitioners in Japan.

Background

To address the super-ageing population, Oita University of Nursing and Health Sciences initiated the first academic graduate level nurse practitioner programme in Japan, based upon the global standard defined by the International Council of Nurses.

Conclusion

In 2010, Oita University of Nursing and Health Sciences graduated the first nurse practitioner. We believe that nurse practitioners will be highly valued in Japan for thoughtful nursing care to the fragile elders living in rural and urban Japan.

Effects of the proteasome inhibitor, bortezomib, on cytodifferentiation and mineralization of periodontal ligament cells

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVE

The proteasome inhibitor, bortezomib, is known to induce osteoblastic differentiation in a number of cell lines, such as mesenchymal stem cells and osteoblastic precursor cells. As periodontal ligament (PDL) cells are multipotent, we examined whether bortezomib may induce the differentiation of PDL cells into hard-tissue-forming cells.

MATERIAL AND METHODS

A mouse PDL clone cell line, MPDL22 cells, was cultured in mineralization medium in the presence or absence of bortezomib. Expression of calcification-related genes and calcified-nodule formation were evaluated by real-time PCR and Alizarin Red staining, respectively.

RESULTS

Bortezomib increased the expression of calcification-related mRNAs, such as tissue nonspecific alkaline phosphatase isoenzyme (ALPase), bone sialoprotein (Bsp), runt-related transcription factor 2 (Runx2) and osteopontin, and calcified-nodule formation in MPDL22 cells. These effects were induced, in part, by increasing the cytosolic accumulation and nuclear translocation of β-catenin, leading to an increase in expression of bone morphogenetic protein (Bmp)-2, -4 and -6 mRNAs. In addition, bortezomib enhanced BMP-2-induced expression of Bsp and osteopontin mRNAs and increased calcified-nodule formation in MPDL22 cells.

CONCLUSION

Bortezomib induced cytodifferentiation and mineralization of PDL cells by enhancing the accumulation of β-catenin within the cytosol and the nucleus and increasing the expression of Bmp-2, -4 and -6 mRNAs. Moreover, bortezomib enhanced the BMP-2-induced cytodifferentiation and mineralization of PDL cells, suggesting that bortezomib may be efficacious for use in periodontal regeneration therapy.

Natural killer T cells mediate alveolar bone resorption and a systemic inflammatory response in response to oral infection of mice with Porphyromonas gingivalis

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVE

T and B cells are known to be involved in the disease process of periodontitis. However, the role of natural killer T cells in the pathogenesis of periodontitis has not been clarified.

MATERIALS AND METHODS

To examine the role of these cells, C57BL/6J (wild-type), CD1d(-/-) and α-galactosylceramide (αGC)-stimulated wild-type mice were orally infected with Porphyromonas gingivalis strain W83.

RESULTS

Apart from CD1d(-/-) mice, the level of alveolar bone resorption was elevated by the infection and was further accelerated in αGC-stimulated mice. The infection induced elevated levels of serum amyloid A and P. gingivalis-specific IgG in the sera, although the degree of elevation was much smaller in the CD1d(-/-) mice. Infection-induced RANKL elevation was only observed in αGC-stimulated mice. Although the cytokines produced by splenocytes were mainly T-helper 1 type in wild-type mice, those in αGC-stimulated mice were predominantly T-helper 2 type. In the liver, the infection demonstrated no effect on the gene expression for interferon-γ, interleukin-4 and RANKL except αGC-stimulated mice in which the infection upregulated the gene expressions.

CONCLUSION

This study is the first to show that natural killer T cells upregulated systemic and local inflammatory responses induced by oral infection with P. gingivalis, thereby contributing to the progression of alveolar bone resorption.

Expression of a bacterial xylanase in Trichoderma reesei under the egl2 and cbh2 glycosyl hydrolase gene promoters

Expression vectors were constructed for Trichoderma reesei using the promoters, secretion signals and the modular structure of the efficiently expressed and secreted cellulase enzymes EGL2 (Cel5A) and CBH2 (Cel6A) as a prelude to establishing a platform where a gene of interest can be expressed under several promoters simultaneously. The designs featured (i) EGL2sigpro (egl2 promoter and secretion signal), (ii) EGL2cbmlin (egl2 promoter, secretion signal, EGL2 cellulose binding module and linker), (iii) CBH2sigpro (cbh2 promoter and secretion signal) and (iv) CBH2cbmlin (cbh2 promoter, secretion signal, CBH2 cellulose binding module and linker). Recombinant vectors were introduced individually into the high protein-secreting T. reesei RUT-C30 strain to generate single-promoter transformants expressing the Dictyoglomus thermophilum xynB gene that encodes a thermophilic xylanase enzyme (XynB). Ten transformants producing XynB representing each of the four different types of vectors were selected for further testing and the highest XynB production was achieved from a transformant containing 1-2copies of the EGL2cbmlin vector. Best xylanase producers did not show any particular pattern in terms of the number of gene copies and their mode of integration into the chromosomal DNA. Transformants generated with the cbmlin-type vectors produced multiple forms of XynB which were decorated with various N- and O-glycans. One of the O-glycans was identified as hexuronic acid, whose presence had not been observed previously in the glycosylation patterns of T. reesei.

Autism susceptibility genes and the transcriptional landscape of the human brain

Autism is the most severe end of a spectrum of neurodevelopmental conditions, autism spectrum disorders (ASD). ASD are genetically heterogeneous, and hundreds of genes have been implicated in the etiology of the disease. Here, we discuss the contribution of brain transcriptome studies in advancing our understanding of the genetic mechanisms of ASD and review recent work characterizing the spatial and temporal variation of the human brain transcriptome, with a focus on the relevance of these data to autism susceptibility genes.