A cryptic lysis gene near the start of the Qbeta replicase gene in the +1 frame

The maturation/lysis (A2) protein encoded by the group B single-stranded RNA bacteriophage Qbeta mediates lysis of host Escherichia coli cells. We found a frameshift mutation in the replicase (beta-subunit) gene of Qbeta cDNA causes cell lysis. The mutant has a single base deletion 73 nucleotides (nt) 3' from the start of the replicase gene with consequent translation termination at a stop codon 129-131 nt further 3'. The 43-amino acid C-terminal part of the 67-amino acid product encoded by what in WT (wild-type) is the +1 frame, is rich in basic amino acids This 67-aa protein can mediate cell lysis whose characteristics indicate that the protein may cause lysis by a different mechanism and via a different target, than that caused by the A2 maturation/lysis protein. Synthesis of a counterpart of the newly discovered lysis product in wild-type phage infection would require a hypothetical ribosomal frameshifting event. The lysis gene of group A RNA phages is also short, 75 codons in MS2, and partially overlaps the first part of their equivalently located replicase gene, raising significant evolutionary implications for the present finding.     

Clinical over- and under-estimation in patients who underwent hysterectomy for atypical endometrial hyperplasia diagnosed by endometrial biopsy: the predictive value of clinical parameters and diagnostic imaging

OBJECTIVE: The aim of this study was to analyze the clinical and imaging characteristics in patients diagnosed with atypical endometrial hyperplasia based on endometrial biopsy in comparison with the final diagnosis from resected uteri; i.e. to determine the rates of underestimation (endometrial cancer), equivalent diagnosis (atypical hyperplasia), and overestimation (hyperplasia without atypia or non-hyperplastic lesion). MATERIALS AND METHODS: We reviewed 33 patients who were diagnosed with atypical endometrial hyperplasia by endometrial biopsy using a small curette and then underwent total abdominal hysterectomy between September 1992 and May 2002. Clinical parameters obtained from patients' charts, and imaging analyses using transvaginal ultrasonography (TUS) and magnetic resonance (MR) imaging were retrospectively re-examined. RESULTS: Among 33 patients who underwent hysterectomy due to a diagnosis of atypical hyperplasia, nine cases (27.2%) were underestimated (cancer), nine cases (27.2%) were equivalent and 15 cases (45.6%) were overestimated as indicated by examination of the endometrium of the resected uterus. There was no difference among these groups in either clinical parameters or diagnostic images obtained by TUS or MR. CONCLUSION: Diagnosis of atypical endometrial hyperplasia by endometrial biopsy often resulted in under- or over-estimation, as shown by examination after hysterectomy. As there is neither a reliable clinical parameter nor imaging feature to distinguish between these groups, hysterectomy is still the best treatment for these patients if they are willing to give up their fertility.     

The Teramoto distal tibial oblique osteotomy (DTOO): surgical technique and applicability for ankle osteoarthritis with varus deformity

We have devised a medial peri-articular osteotomy, the distal tibial oblique osteotomy (DTOO), and have used this technique since 1994 for ankle osteoarthritis of advanced and late stages associated with varus inclination. This report describes the surgical technique and its applicability. DTOO can be used for cases of varus ankle osteoarthritis with a range of the ankle joint movement of at least 10° or more. The osteotomy is obliquely directed cut across the distal tibia from proximal-medial to distal lateral and is of an opening-wedge type with the centre of rotation coincident with the centre of the tibiofibular joint. A laminar spreader instrument is inserted in the osteotomy to open the wedge until the lateral surface of the talar body is seen on X-ray to be in contact and congruent with medial articular surface of the lateral malleolus. Common obstacles which may prevent this contact and congruency are bony spurs present on the anterior side of fibula or on the lateral side of the tibia; these require removal. The opening-wedge osteotomy is held in position by an Ilizarov external fixator or internally fixed with a plate. Bone graft is taken from the iliac crest and inserted into the open wedge. If, after completion of the osteotomy, the dorsiflexion angle of the ankle joint does not exceed 0°, a Z-lengthening is performed of the Achilles tendon. In the DTOO for ankle osteoarthritis, the contact area of the ankle joint increases and decreases the load pressure per unit area. Furthermore, as the width of the ankle mortice is restored through the realignment of the body of the talus, instability at the ankle joint decreases. There is additional improvement with restoration of the inclination of the distal tibial articular surface as this directs the hindfoot valgus and corrects the alignment of the foot, with consequent improvement of ankle pain.     

Laparoscopic splenectomy for idiopathic thrombocytopenic purpura in a woman with situs inversus: Report of a Case

A 51-year-old woman with previously diagnosed situs inversus (SI) totalis was admitted to our hospital with nasal bleeding. Blood tests showed severe thrombocytopenia, with a platelet count of 1.9 × 104/mm³, and idiopathic thrombocytopenic purpura (ITP) was diagnosed. She was refractory to medical treatment, so we performed laparoscopic splenectomy (LS). The mirrorimage anatomy made the procedure difficult for the right-handed surgeon, so we modified the technique to enable it to be performed via an anterior approach through the subxiphoid area using the right hand, with an ultrasonic dissecting device and an endostapling device. The operation was performed safely, the patient recovered uneventfully, and her platelet count normalized. To our knowledge, there has been no other report of LS in a patient with SI; however, it can be performed safely with careful management.     

Protective effects of the whisky congeners on ethanol-induced gastric mucosal damage

BACKGROUND: The ingestion of both ethanol and whisky can induce acute gastrointestinal bleeding. The effects of the congeners, substances other than ethanol in whisky, on the ethanol-induced gastric mucosal damage were examined in the rat model. METHODS: After the whisky congeners were intragastrically administered previous to or simultaneous with ethanol ingestion, the gastric damage was macroscopically and microscopically measured. RESULTS: The simultaneous administration of the whisky congeners at a dose of 5 mg/kg body weight, which corresponds to the concentration of congeners contained in whisky, with 50% ethanol did not inhibit the hemorrhagic lesions, but inhibited them at a dose of 150 mg/kg. The treatment with the whisky congeners 30 minutes before the ethanol ingestion prevented the ethanol-induced gastric damage in a dose-dependent manner at 0.5 to 150 mg/kg. The butanol extract of the congeners revealed the strongest prevention compared with the ethyl acetate extract or the water fraction. The administration of indomethacin 60 minutes before the congener treatment partly inhibited the protective effects of the congeners, indicating the partial contribution of prostaglandins in this mechanism. The congeners did not prevent the mucosa by action as a "mild irritant" because the immunohistochemical studies using the antimucin monoclonal antibodies showed that no damage was induced by the administration of the congeners. CONCLUSION: The present results showed that the whisky congeners have a protective activity against ethanol-induced gastric mucosal injury.     

The development of a gene vector electrostatically assembled with a polysaccharide capsule

The purpose of this study was to develop a gene vector electrostatically assembled with a polysaccharide capsule. We used pDNA/polyethylenimine (PEI) complexes as efficient non-viral vectors. The pDNA/PEI complex was electrostatically encapsulated with various polysaccharides such as fucoidan, λ-carrageenan, xanthan gum, alginic acid, hyaluronic acid, and chondroitin sulfate (CS). The pDNA/PEI complex was shown as nanoparticles with positive ζ-potential, although the ternary complexes encapsulated with polysaccharides were shown as nanoparticles with negative ζ-potential. The pDNA/PEI complex showed high agglutination activity and cytotoxicity, although the ternary complexes encapsulated with polysaccharides had no agglutination activities and lower cytotoxicities. The pDNA/PEI complex showed high uptake and high transgene efficiency in B16-F10 cells. On the other hand, most of the ternary complexes show little uptake and gene expression. The ternary complex encapsulated by CS, however, showed comparable transgene efficiency to the pDNA/PEI complex. The uptake and gene expression of the ternary complex encapsulated by CS were significantly inhibited by hypothermia and the addition of CS, suggesting that the ternary complex was taken by CS-specific receptor-mediated energy-dependent process.     

Antiobesity effects of <Emphasis Type="Italic">Kaempferia parviflora</Emphasis> in spontaneously obese type II diabetic mice

Kaempferia parviflora Wall. Ex Baker (KP) has been used as a folk medicine in Laos and Thailand to lower blood glucose levels, improve blood flow, and increase vitality. This study investigated the preventive effects of KP on obesity and its downstream symptoms (various metabolic disorders) using Tsumura, Suzuki, Obese Diabetes (TSOD) mice, a multifactorial genetic disease animal model in which metabolic diseases develop spontaneously, similar to metabolic syndrome in humans, and Tsumura, Suzuki, Non-Obesity (TSNO) mice as the corresponding control mice. When feed that was mixed with KP (1 or 3%) was given ad libitum to TSOD and TSNO mice for 8 weeks, body weight increase, visceral fat accumulation, lipid metabolism abnormalities, hyperinsulinemia, glucose intolerance, insulin resistance, hypertension, and peripheral neuropathy were suppressed in TSOD mice, but no marked differences were observed in TSNO mice. Because KP had preventive effects on metabolic diseases, including antiobesity effects, only in obese animals, we propose that KP will be extremely valuable as a medicine or component of food in alternative health care.