Direct formation of a surface-relief grating on glass by ultraviolet visible laser irradiation

Surface-relief gratings were directly fabricated onto a glass surface by UV-visible laser irradiation. The glass surface was pretreated by molten salt, including Ag ions. Periodic intensity modulation of the laser light was conducted with a phase mask or by an interference technique. A pattern generated by intensity modulation was precisely transcribed onto the glass surface and a surface-relief grating was formed. The period and depth of the grating were 0.5 to 10 microm and less than 0.8 microm, respectively. The cross-sectional profile of the grating was sinusoidal or triangular, with very smooth surface morphology.

A domain containing the Cdc42/Rac interactive binding (CRIB) region of p65PAK inhibits transcriptional activation and cell transformation mediated by the Ras-Rac pathway

The molecular bases of the versatile functions of Rho-like GTPases are still unknown. Using luciferase assays with rat 3Y1 cells, we found that Rac1 is integrated downstream of Ras in the TRE (TPA response element) activation pathway. Coexpression of a mutant of p65PAK, PAK/RD, lacking the kinase domain but containing the Cdc42/Rac interactive binding (CRIB) region, suppressed the TRE activation and cell transformation caused by constitutively activated forms of Ras (RasV12) and Rac1 (Rac1V12). PAK/RD is a good tool to investigate the signaling pathways in which Rac and Cdc42 are involved.

The base specificities of tomato ribonuclease (RNase LE) and its Asp44 mutant enzyme expressed from yeast cells

RNase LE from cultured tomato cells is a member of the RNase T2 family. It is, however, distinguishable from RNase Rh from Rhizopus niveus, a typical RNase of the RNase T2 family, by its CD spectrum in the 200-250 nm region. In order to reinvestigate the base specificity of RNase LE and to study the role of Asn44 in RNase LE, which is considered to correspond to the base recognition site Asp51 of RNase Rh, RNase LE, and its Asp mutant at the 44th position were expressed from yeast cells with the same expression system as RNase Rh [K. Ohgi, et al., J. Biochem., 109, 776-785 (1991)]. RNase LE with four extra amino acid residues at the 2nd amino acid residue of mature RNase LE and its Asp44 mutant were secreted from yeast cells to give a yield of 10 mg/liter and 0.5 mg/liter culture broth, respectively. The expressed RNase LE (RNase RNAP LE) had the same characteristics as native RNase LE in the CD spectrum and specific activity. This is the first example of the expression of plant RNase from microbes and in sufficient amount to perform further enzymological research. The base specificity of RNase LE was guanylic acid preferential and that of N44D was changed to a more adenylic acid preference as compared to that of RNase LE. These experiments showed that Asn44 of RNase LE is crucial for base recognition as the case of Asp51 in RNASE Rh, and also suggested that the base recognition mechanism of RNase LE is very similar to that of RNase Rh.

Urinary procoagulant activity and tissue factor levels in patients with diabetes mellitus

We characterized a factor important for the normal procoagulant activity in human urine and measured urinary tissue factor (TF) and thrombomodulin (TM) levels in patients with diabetes mellitus (DM). Urine shortened normal plasma-based clotting time, which is inhibited by antibody to the human TF. TF in urine presents in membrane-nonassociated and associated forms. The urine TF antigen levels in DM patients were significantly lower than those in healthy subjects, particularly in DM patients without retinopathy. Levels of TM in patients with DM and normal subjects were similar. Although urinary TF might be necessary to repair tissue injury of damaged sites in the excretory pathway of urine, the clinical relevance of the reduced TF in the urine needs further investigation.

The capillarity of left ventricular tissue of rats subjected to coronary artery occlusion

OBJECTIVE

The effects of chronic coronary occlusion on the capillarity of left ventricular tissue in rat heart.

METHODS

The heart was exposed through a left-sided thoracotomy in ethylether-anesthetized and ventilated rats. The left coronary artery was occluded with a thin suture and the thorax was closed. Thirty days after the surgery the heart was removed and cross-sections were made for morphometric analyses.

RESULTS

The cross-sectional area of cardiomyocytes increased markedly in the subepi- and subendocardia with a concomitant increase in the capillary to myocyte ratio. The total capillary density increased in the non-ischemic zone. The balance between the increase in capillary density and myocyte hypertrophy was assessed from the capillary domain area (CDA). CDAs were significantly smaller for the venular capillary portion in the subendocardial non-ischemic zone. However, CDAs in the transition zone around the necrosis were significantly increased in the venular capillary portion in the subendocardium and in all capillary portions in the subepicardium compared with those in the non-ischemic zone. Immunohistological staining for basic fibroblast growth factor (bFGF) revealed punctate bFGF distribution in both the non-ischemic and transition zones of ventricular tissues 30 days after occlusion, suggesting a persistent stimulation for capillary angiogenesis.

CONCLUSION

The remodelling of the capillary bed is not uniform throughout the cardiac tissue in coronary-occluded rat hearts. CDAs decreased in the non-ischemic zone but increased in the transition zone. The rate of capillary angiogenesis failed to parallel the development of hypertrophy in the transition zone over 30 days, as could be seen from the significant reduction in the percentage of venular capillary portions.

Effects of serotonergic agents on the up-regulation of dopamine D2 receptors induced by haloperidol in rat striatum

We examined the modulatory effect of serotonergic activities on haloperidol-induced up-regulation of dopamine D2 receptors in rat striatum. Chronic treatment with haloperidol (0.1, 0.5 mg/kg, i.p., 3 weeks) increased the number of dopamine D2 receptors, while no increase was observed with the atypical antipsychotic drugs clozapine (10 mg/kg) and trans-5-chloro-2-methyl-2,3,3a, 12b-tetrahydro-1 H-dibenz[2,3:6,7]oxepino[4,5-c]pyrrolidine maleate (ORG 5222; 0.25 mg/kg). Chronic treatment with 6-chloro-2-(1-piperazinyl)pyrazine (MK-212), a nonselective serotonin (5-hydroxytryptamine, 5-HT) receptor agonist (2.5 mg/kg), or with citalopram, a 5-HT reuptake inhibitor (10 mg/kg), potentiated the haloperidol (0.1 mg/kg)-induced up-regulation of dopamine D2 receptors, while that with (+/-)-8-hydroxy-2-(di-n-propylamino)tetralin (8-OH-DPAT), a 5-HT1A receptor agonist (0.1 mg/kg) had no influence on the dopamine D2 receptor up-regulation. Coadministration of ritanserin (1 mg/kg), a 5-HT2A/2C receptor antagonist, with a low dose of haloperidol (0.1 mg/kg), but not with a high dose of the agent (0.5 mg/kg) attenuated the dopamine D2 receptor up-regulation, Drug occupation of 5-HT2A and dopamine D2 receptors in vivo examined using N-ethoxycarbonyl-2-ethoxy-1,2-dihydroquinoline (EEDQ) was 69.8% and 45.1%, respectively, after the acute administration of haloperidol (0.1 mg/kg) plus ritanserin (1 mg/kg). This profile, that 5-HT2A receptors are highly occupied compared with dopamine D2 receptors, was similar to that of clozapine or ORG 5222. These results suggest that potent 5-HT2A receptor antagonism versus weak dopamine D2 receptor blockade may be involved in the absence of up-regulation of dopamine D2 receptors after chronic treatment with clozapine or ORG 5222.

Effects of treadmill training on the arteriolar and venular portions of capillary in soleus muscle of young and middle-aged rats

The effects of a 6-week programme of endurance training on soleus muscle capillarity were examined, in terms particularly of the proportions of arteriolar and venular capillaries and their capillary domain area, in young (3-week-old) and middle-aged (54-week-old) Wistar rats. Exercise protocols for the young training group were: 10-22.5 m min-1 60 min day-1 for 6 days a week, with a gradient of 7 degrees during the final 2 weeks; for the middle-aged training group, the protocols were: 10-20 m min-1. 50 min day-1 for 6 days a week. In both young and middle-aged training groups, the density of arteriolar capillaries was significantly increased (P < 0.05), but that of venular and intermediate capillaries was decreased slightly. The proportion of arteriolar capillaries therefore was significantly (P < 0.05) increased, from 63.9 to 73.1% in young rats and from 33.0 to 48.4%, in middle-aged rats after training. The increase in the proportion of arteriolar capillaries is an advantageous adaptation to exercise-induced increases in oxygen demand. In both young and middle-aged rats, capillary domain area and Krogh's tissue cylinder radii in all capillary portions decreased after training. These results suggest that adaptive changes in oxygen transport system, identified as an increase in the arteriolar capillary and a reduction in diffusion distance for oxygen, were observed in middle-aged as well as in young rats. However, capillary angiogenesis induced by exercise appeared to be greater in young than in middle-aged rats.

Right hepatectomy for pyogenic liver abscesses with true multiloculation

We report the case of 61-year-old woman with cryptogenic liver abscesses who had been profoundly ill with severe upper abdominal pain, impaired consciousness, prostration, continuous high fever secondary to sepsis, and thrombocytopenia (platelets, 1-5 x 10(4)/mm3) since admission. Ultrasonograms and computed tomograms revealed two separate multiloculated lesions in the right lobe of the liver, consistent with the liver abscesses. Immediately after diagnosis, percutaneous abscess drainage was performed under ultrasonographic guidance; however, only a small amount of pus was drained, prompting continuous irrigation of the abscess cavity. Four days later, transcatheter hepatic arterial infusion of antibiotics was attempted. However, the abscesses had enlarged and her general condition had worsened. On hospital day 8, she underwent right hepatectomy because the multiloculated lesions were refractory to drainage. The operation was successful in terms of hepatectomy, although she continued to suffer from sepsis, secondary right subphrenic abscess formation, and prolonged thrombocytopenia with associated coagulation disorders for two months. Examination of multiple cross sections of the resected specimen disclosed that the lesions consisted of aggregations of multiple small locules. There was no communication between the locules and there were true septations, rather than multiloculated lesions with pseudoseptations. The patient has been well for 2 years without recurrent abscess of the liver or any infectious disease.

Two cistrons of the gerC operon of Bacillus subtilis encode the two subunits of heptaprenyl diphosphate synthase

The two proteins (GerC1 and GerC3) encoded by the gerC locus of Bacillus subtilis, which has been shown to be involved in vegetative cell growth and spore germination, were identified as dissociable heterodimers of the heptaprenyl diphosphate synthase involved in the biosynthesis of the side chain of menaquinone-7.

Different enzyme activities in coronary capillary endothelial cells

Differential distributions of alkaline phosphatase (AP) and dipeptydylpeptidase IV (DPPIV) were studied in coronary microvascular endothelial cells. Endothelial cells were obtained by the perfusion of coronary vessels with 0.1% trypsin PBS solution and cultured in uncoated culture dishes. Staining of cultured endothelial cells with AP- and DPPIV-sensitive reagents revealed blue or red staining, respectively. Most colonies showed cells of only one color, blue or red, even at the fifth passage. AP-sensitive cells, which were originally elongated, shortened and widened, proliferating to form monolayer colonies of cobble stone-like cells. AP-stainability became weak with repeated passages. DPPIV-sensitive endothelial cells remained elongated even after repeated passages. The cell shape and stainability seemed to be coupled and maintained through the five passages studied.

Isolation of coccidian enteroepithelial stages of Toxoplasma gondii from the intestinal mucosa of cats by Percoll density-gradient centrifugation

A method for isolation of enteroepithelial stages of Toxoplasma gondii from the intestinal mucosa of experimentally infected cats was developed using Percoll density-gradient centrifugation. Gamonts and merozoites were obtained essentially free of host-cell debris. A recovery rate of nearly 30% of the parasites in the original preparations was obtained by this method. Merozoites were separated from gamonts by filtration through a 3-micron polycarbonate filter.

Amplification of a full-length Borna disease virus (BDV) cDNA from total RNA of cells persistently infected with BDV

We have developed a novel reverse transcriptase-polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) to amplify the full-length 8.9 kilobase (kbp) cDNA of the Borna disease virus (BDV) RNA genome from the total cellular RNA of MDCK cells persistently infected with BDV (MDCK/BDV). Antigenomic BDV cDNA was reverse transcribed using a 53-mer oligonucleotide primer, corresponding to the 5'-terminus of a putative 3'-leader sequence of the BDV RNA genome, for 2 hr at 42 C followed by 30 min at 55 C. PCR was performed in the presence of this 53-mer antigenomic primer and a 25-mer primer, corresponding to the 3'-terminus of the BDV antigenomic cDNA, by use of an rTth DNA polymerase with proof-reading activity. The amplified full-length BDV cDNA was detected in as little as 20 ng of total cellular RNA of MDCK/BDV. This RT-PCR method should be a useful technique to study the molecular quasispecies of BDV.

[Plasma cell leukemia with amyloid deposition and osteogenetic change at the site of an extramedullary plasmacytoma]

A 49-year-old man was admitted with swelling in the left lower extremity, and a mass in the left lower abdomen. Laboratory findings showed an increased WBC of 15,000/microliter with 41% plasma cells, and immunoglobulin (Ig) A of 2,557mg/dl with a monoclonal component. A roentgenogram and computed tomograph of the abdomen revealed that a 5 x 10 cm mass with calcification located in the iliopsoas muscle. Plasma cell leukemia with extramedullary plasmacytoma was diagnosed, and the patient was treated with high-dose dexamethasone (40 mg/day for 4 days), resulting in a good response with the disappearance of plasma cells in peripheral blood and a marked decrease in serum Ig A. However, the patient's condition deteriorated in spite of various treatments, and he died of heart failure 5 months after admission. With informed consent from relatives, a necropsy was performed and infiltration of plasma cells in the mass in the iliopsoas muscle was noted. We reported this case because plasma cell leukemia with amyloid deposition and osteogenesis at the site of extramedullary plasmacytoma is very rare.

Polyprenyl diphosphate synthases

It is noteworthy that in spite of the similarity of the reactions catalyzed by these prenyltransferases, the modes of expression of catalytic function are surprisingly different, varying according to the chain length and stereochemistry of reaction products. These enzymes are summarized and classified into four groups, as shown in Figure 13. Short-chain prenyl diphosphates synthases such as FPP and GGPP synthases require no cofactor except divalent metal ions, Mg2+ or Mn2+, which are commonly required by all prenyl diphosphate synthases. Medium-chain prenyl diphosphate synthases, including the enzymes for the synthesis of all-E-HexPP and all-E-HepPP, are unusual because they each consist of two dissociable dissimilar protein components, neither of which has catalytic activity. The enzymes for the synthesis of long-chain all-E-prenyl diphosphates, including octaprenyl (C40), nonaprenyl-(C45), and decaprenyl (C50) diphosphates, require polyprenyl carrier proteins that remove polyprenyl products from the active sites of the enzymes to maintain efficient turnovers of catalysis. The enzymes responsible for Z-chain elongation include Z,E-nonaprenyl-(C45) and Z,E-undecaprenyl (C55) diphosphate synthases, which require a phospholipid. The classification of mammalian synthases seems to be fundamentally similar to that of bacterial synthases except that no medium-chain prenyl diphosphate synthases are included. The Z-prenyl diphosphate synthase in mammalian cells is dehydrodolichyl PP synthase, which catalyzes much longer chain elongations than do bacterial enzymes. Dehydrodolichyl PP synthase will be a major target of future studies in this field in view of its involvement in glycoprotein biosynthesis.

Antibodies to hepatitis C virus and elevated transaminase levels in a town of hyperendemicity in Iwate, Japan

In an annual survey for liver function tests in persons aged > 35 years in Iwate Prefecture, Japan, a town was identified where high levels of alanine aminotransferase abounded. Of 5152 inhabitants aged > 35 years in this town, antibodies to hepatitis C virus (HCV) determined by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay with HCV core peptides were detected in 798 (15.5%) people, hepatitis B surface antigen was detected in 47 (0.9%) people and antibodies to hepatitis B surface antigen and/or hepatitis B core antigen unaccompanied by surface antigenaemia were detected in 1748 (33.9%) people. Antibodies to HCV core peptides correlated closely with the antibodies detected by passive haemagglutination with recombinant HCV proteins of the second generation. Antibodies to HCV core peptides were particularly common in one of the nine districts of the town (district 8), where 276 (45.3%) of 609 inhabitants tested positive; there were no differences in the frequency of serological markers of hepatitis B virus (HBV) infection among residents in the nine districts. Of the 798 individuals with antibodies to HCV core peptides, 257 (32.2%) were found to have elevated transaminase levels. A history of transfusion was associated with a high frequency of antibodies to HCV core peptides, except in district 8 where such antibodies were equally frequent in residents irrespective of transfusions. These results indicate an epidemiology of HCV distinct from that of HBV in this town and a very local spread of HCV, as well as a high frequency of hepatic injuries in individuals with antibodies to HCV.

Myocyte hypertrophy and capillarization in spontaneously hypertensive stroke-prone rats

Stroke-prone spontaneously hypertensive rats (SHRSP) are liable to suffer a stroke between 25 and 40 weeks of age. Left ventricular capillarity was studied in 40-week-old SHRSP to clarify the effects of hypertrophic changes in cardiomyocytes on oxygen transport capacity within the tissue. The innermost region of the left ventricular subendocardium at the level of the maximum diameter of the heart was investigated. Methods for sectioning and differential staining of arteriolar, intermediate and venular capillaries, and measurements for determining capillarity parameters were as previously described. Total capillary density decreased, while capillary domain areas increased along the whole capillary pathway. These changes in SHRSP seemed unfavorable for oxygen supply to ventricular tissues. To minimize the effects of the adverse changes, the ratio of the capillary to myocyte number increased markedly. The proportion of arteriolar capillaries increased and the venular proportion decreased.

Central phenotype and related varieties of spinocerebellar ataxia 2 (SCA2): a clinical and genetic study with a pedigree in the Japanese

The gene for SCA2 has been mapped to chromosome 12q23-q24.1, but the mutant gene remained to be identified. When studying a Japanese family with SCA2, we noted that clinical features and disability varied among patients, with the central feature being progressive ataxia-slow eye movement-hyporeflexia syndrome. Additional symptoms were parkinsonism with minor cerebellar deficits, and severe ataxia with choreoathetosis. Our experience plus related literature documentation indicates that choreoathetosis is not so rare at the advanced stage of the disease, with onset at an early age, and that the variety of SCA2 phenotype depends on age at onset and duration of the disorder.

[Unresectable gastric cancer followed by remarkably effective tumor disappearance and good quality of life for 10 months after CDDP/5'-DFUR combination chemotherapy--a case report]

A 40-year-old woman was admitted to the hospital because of dysphagia and severe anemia (Hb 4.5 g/dl). She was diagnosed as having an advanced gastric cancer, which was unresectable because of liver metastasis, esophageal invasion and paraaortic lymph node metastasis. Combination chemotherapy with CDDP/5'-DFUR was started. CDDP of 80 mg/m2 was administered twice every 4 weeks by a 24-hour drip infusion method, and oral 5'-DFUR of 1,400 mg/m2 was administered for 4 days prior to the first administration of CDDP. Then, 5'-DFUR of 500 mg/m2 was given every day except for 7 days after the first administration of CDDP. Her performance status before the chemotherapy was 3, and improved to 1 a month after the first administration of CDDP. The patient was discharged very much improved on the 45th day after the first administration of CDDP. The side effect was nausea but tolerable. Six months after the first administration, her cancer disappeared on X-ray films, endoscopic and CT examinations. Her PS improved to 0, and she has remained alive with a good QOL for 10 months after the second administration of CDDP.

Clonal identification of Burkitt's lymphoma arising from lymphocyte-predominant Hodgkin's disease

The occurrence of large cell lymphomas subsequent to, or concurrent with, lymphocyte predominant Hodgkin's disease (LPHD) is a well-documented phenomenon. We present a case of Burkitt's lymphoma of the bladder, occurring after the successful treatment of LPHD of a cervical lymph node. To evaluate the clonal relationship of the two tumours, we amplified the complementarity-determining-region 3 of two samples from paraffin-embedded slides, using the polymerase chain reaction (PCR). The sequences of the PCR products showed 96% homology to each other. These results indicate that the malignant clone of Burkitt's lymphoma arose from the corresponding LPHD.