Spontaneous echo contrast mimicking aortic root thrombus in a patient supported with extracorporeal membrane oxygenation

Aortic root spontaneous echo contrast is a rare but significant finding. We report a 31‐year‐old female who was placed on venoarterial extracorporeal membrane oxygenation emergently for acute mitral regurgitation secondary to papillary muscle rupture. Following stabilization, subsequent transesophageal echocardiography suggested aortic root thrombus and prompted emergent surgery. However, further inspection with intraoperative transesophageal echocardiography revealed a spontaneous echo contrast which aided us in the intraoperative decision making.     

Combined administration of lauric acid and glucose improved cancer‐derived cardiac atrophy in a mouse cachexia model

Cancer‐derived myocardial damage is an important cause of death in cancer patients. However, the development of dietary interventions for treating such damage has not been advanced. Here, we investigated the effect of dietary intervention with lauric acid (LAA) and glucose, which was effective against skeletal muscle sarcopenia in a mouse cachexia model, on myocardial damage. Treatment of H9c2 rat cardiomyoblasts with lauric acid promoted mitochondrial respiration and increased ATP production by Seahorse flux analysis, but did not increase oxidative stress. Glycolysis was also promoted by LAA. In contrast, mitochondrial respiration and ATP production were suppressed, and oxidative stress was increased in an in vitro cachexia model in which cardiomyoblasts were treated with mouse cachexia ascites. Ascites‐treated H9c2 cells with concurrent treatment with LAA and high glucose showed that mitochondrial respiration and glycolysis were promoted more than that of the control, and ATP was restored to the level of the control. Oxidative stress was also reduced by the combined treatment. In the mouse cachexia model, myocardiac atrophy and decreased levels of a marker of muscle maturity, SDS‐soluble MYL1, were observed. When LAA in CE‐2 diet was orally administered alone, no significant rescue was observed in the cancer‐derived myocardial disorder. In contrast, combined oral administration of LAA and glucose recovered myocardial atrophy and MYL1 to levels observed in the control without increase in the cancer weight. Therefore, it is suggested that dietary intervention using a combination of LAA and glucose for cancer cachexia might improve cancer‐derived myocardial damage.     

Correction to: Features of the gut prokaryotic virome of Japanese patients with Crohn’s disease

Journal of Gastroenterology -     

Determination of (E)-ferulic acid content in the root of Angelica acutiloba: a simple chemical evaluation method for crude drug quality control

Journal of Natural Medicines - The root of Angelica acutiloba Kitagawa is an important crude drug in Kampo medicines (traditional Japanese medicine). Chemical evaluation of crude drugs is crucial...     

In silico analysis‐based identification of the target residue of integrin α6 for metastasis inhibition of basal‐like breast cancer

Metastasis causes death in breast cancer patients. To inhibit breast cancer metastasis, we focused on integrin α6, a membrane protein that contributes to cell migration and metastasis. According to in silico analysis, we identified Asp‐358 as an integrin α6‐specific vertebrate‐conserved residue and consequently as a potential therapeutic target. Because Asp‐358 is located on the surface of the β propeller domain that interacts with other molecules for integrin α6 function, we hypothesized that a peptide with the sequence around Asp‐358 competitively inhibits integrin α6 complex formation. We treated basal‐like breast cancer cells with the peptide and observed reductions in cell migration and metastasis. The result of the immunoprecipitation assay showed that the peptide inhibited integrin α6 complex formation. Our immunofluorescence for phosphorylated paxillin, a marker of integrin‐regulated focal adhesion, showed that the peptide reduced the number of focal adhesions. These results indicate that the peptide inhibits integrin α6 function. This study identified the functional residue of integrin α6 and designed the inhibitory peptide. For breast cancer patients, metastasis inhibition therapy may be developed in the future based on this study.     

Involvement of the centrosomal protein 55 (cep55) gene in zebrafish head formation

Mammalian CEP55 (centrosomal protein 55 kDa) is a coiled‐coil protein localized to the centrosome in interphase cells and is required for cytokinesis. A homozygous non‐sense mutation in human CEP55 has been recently identified in perinatal lethal MARCH (multinucleated neurons, anhydramnios, renal dysplasia, cerebellar hypoplasia and hydranencephaly) syndrome. We have isolated zebrafish cep55 mutants defective in head morphology. The zebrafish cep55 gene was expressed in the head including the retina and the pectoral fin at 1 day post‐fertilization (dpf), and extensive cell death was widely observed in the head and tail of the cep55 mutant. In the cep55 mutant, the anterior–posterior distance of the ventral pharyngeal arches was short, and retinal lamination was disorganized. Neural cells, such as islet1‐positive cells and pax2‐positive cells, and fli1b‐positive vascular cells were reduced in the head of the cep55 mutant. Thus, we propose that the zebrafish cep55 mutant is a model organism for human MARCH syndrome.