Toll-like receptor 9 is expressed on follicle-associated epithelia containing M cells in swine Peyer's patches

The precise distribution and expression of Toll-like receptor (TLR) 9 in gut-associated lymphoid tissues (GALTs) has not been elucidated. In this study, we investigated the expression pattern of TLR9 in adult and neonatal swine GALTs by real-time quantitative PCR, western blot, confocal laser microscopy and flow cytometric analysis. The swine TLR9 gene was preferentially expressed in adult Peyer's patches (Pps) and mesenteric lymph nodes (MLNs), which contained approximately three times higher TLR9 than the spleen. Other tissues exhibited only weak expression of TLR9. In neonatal swine, elevated expression of TLR9 was detected only in MLNs. We firstly showed that highly expressive (TLR9(+)) cells were formed in Pps and MLNs. In addition, TLR9(+) cells were present not only in immune cells such as dendritic cells and B cells but also in follicle-associated epithelia (FAE) including membranous cells (M cells) in Pps. These results suggest that Pps and MLNs provide the host defense with the ability to respond to a variety of bioactive oligonucleotides (ODNs) from bacteria at a conductive site of initial immune responses.     

Laboratory testing for rheumatic diseases]

The diagnosis of rheumatic diseases is primarily based on clinical symptoms and laboratory findings. However, diagnosis of rheumatic disease is often difficult because of the variations even in the same disease. Routine laboratory tests are valuable in detecting renal dysfunctions. In this review, the important auto-antibodies and inflammatory markers associated with rheumatic diseases are described. Further, their utility as diagnostic and prognostic tools, including their specificity, sensitivity and practical applications, is discussed.     

Technical quality evaluation of EEG recording based on electroencephalographers' knowledge

The aim of this study is to develop a technical quality evaluation system of electroencephalogram (EEG) recording in order to acquire technically satisfactory EEG records, which may contribute to the accuracy improvement of EEG interpretation. In our developed system, the evaluation of EEG recording comprises the detection of technical artifacts and physiological status, which indicates the recording status objectively. In addition, the caution signals to users are generated in the system according to the undesired status detected. The information displayed to users includes the updated EEG records and instant evaluation results. Two examples of evaluation results are introduced in this paper, illustrating unsatisfactory records and artifact free records, respectively. The experimental results are proposed to verify the effectiveness of the technical quality evaluation of EEG recording. The implementation of the technical quality evaluation of EEG recording is helpful to acquire technically satisfactory EEG records, which may improve the accuracy of results in both the visual and the automatic EEG interpretation, and ease the laborious work of EEG technicians in the recording progress.     

Chromophobe renal cell carcinoma

Chromophobe renal cell carcinoma (RCC) is a recently established subtype of RCC, which has rarely been reported in Japan. In this communication, the authors report two Japanese cases of chromophobe RCC together with the immunohistochemical findings. The tumors were composed of sheets and cribriform glands formed by tumor cells with cloudy and reticular cytoplasm. Ultrastructurally, the cytoplasm was filled with numerous microvesicles. The tumor cells were positive for cytokeratin, epithelial membrane antigen, and Tamm-Horsfall protein. Occasionally, LeuM1-positive cells were also noted. Vimentin was negative, unlike the usual RCC. Reactivity for peanut agglutinin was more frequent than that to Lotus tetragonolobus agglutinin. The results of this study suggest that the tumor cellq possessed phenotypes similar to the distal nephron rather than to the proximal tubular cells.     

Interleukin-18 null mice show diminished microglial activation and reduced dopaminergic neuron loss following acute 1-methyl-4-phenyl-1,2,3,6-tetrahydropyridine treatment

Recent reports have revealed an involvement of microglial cells in dopaminergic neurodegeneration. In the present study, we tested the hypothesis that interleukin-18 (IL-18) plays a role in the microglial activation. The present study investigated microglial activation and dopaminergic neurodegeneration in substantia nigra pars compacta (SNpc) following 1-methyl-4-phenyl-1,2,3,6-tetrahydropyridine (MPTP) treatment in wild type (WT) and IL-18 knockout (KO) mice. The number of dopaminergic neuron loss in WT mice was significantly decreased 7 days after MPTP treatment compared with IL-18 KO mice. In WT mice microglial activation occurred in the SN at 1 day after MPTP treatment, progressively increased within the SNpc until 7 days post MPTP, and subsided by 14 days. In contrast, in IL-18 KO mice microglial activation occurred in the SN at 1 day post-MPTP, and decreased by 7 days, earlier than in WT mice. The lesser microglial activation and dopaminergic neurodegeneration in the SNpc following MPTP treatment in WT indicates the possibility that IL-18 may participate in microglial activation and dopaminergic neurodegeneration.     

Mucopolysaccharidosis type II (Hunter disease): Identification and characterization of eight point mutations in the iduronate-2-sulfatase gene in Japanese patients

Mucopolysaccharidosis type II (Hunter disease) is a lysosomal storage disorder caused by a deficiency of the enzyme iduronate-2-sulfatase. Varied clinical phenotypes of this disease have been described. To identify mutations in individual patients and to examine possible correlations between mutations and clinical phenotypes, we analyzed the iduronate-2-sulfatase gene in Japanese patients with different clinical phenotypes. Five missense mutations, S333L (severe), R468Q (severe), R468L (severe), W337R (intermediate), R48P (mild), and three nonsense mutations, W345X (severe), R443X (intermediate), Q531X (mild), were identified by the RT-PCR method. Transient expression in the enzyme-deficient fibroblasts revealed that all five missense mutant enzymes were synthesized as the normal-size precursor (73 kD), and the nonsense mutant enzymes were synthesized as truncated ones (W345X:54 kD, R443X:59 kD, and Q531X:69 kD), although stable mature enzymes (45–56 kD) were not detected by Western blot analysis. Further more, expression of the eight mutant cDNAs resulted in severe reductions of iduronate-2-sulfatase enzyme activity in comparison with a normal cDNA. © 1995 Wiley-Liss, Inc.     

Synthesis and properties of polymers containing 4- or 4′-chalconecarbonyl groups in side chains

Photocrosslinkable polymers containing chalconecarbonyl units were prepared. 2-Methacryloyloxyethyl 4-chalconecarboxylate ( 1 ) and 2-methacryloyloxyethyl 4′chalconecarboxylate ( 2 ) were synthesized and polymerized by a radical initiator. 1 was copolymerized with methyl methacrylate. The properties of the resulting polymers as photosensitive resins are described.     

The combination of IFN-alpha2 and IFN-alpha8 exhibits synergistic antiproliferative activity on renal cell carcinoma (RCC) cell lines through increased binding affinity for IFNAR-2.

Although there are at least 13 interferon-alpha (IFN-alpha) subtypes in humans, interactions between the subtypes remain unknown. To understand IFN-alpha interactions, we examined the antiproliferative activities and the receptor binding affinities of different combinations of IFN-alpha2 and IFN-alpha8 using six renal cell carcinoma (RCC) cell lines. Although IFN-alpha8 was the more potent subtype, synergistic and antagonistic antiproliferative effects were also observed in certain combinations of IFN-alpha2 and IFN-alpha8. To analyze the interactions between IFN-alpha2 and IFN-alpha8, the receptor-binding kinetics of different combinations of IFN-alpha2 and IFN- alpha8 to the IFN-alpha receptors, IFNAR-1 or IFNAR-2, were measured using a surface plasmon resonance-based biosensor. Unexpectedly, the receptor binding kinetics to IFNAR-2 but not to IFNAR-1 were mutually related to antiproliferative activity and increase in the binding speed (K(a)) for IFNAR-2. Moreover, we observed the increased fluorescence intensity (FI) of biotin-labeled IFN-alpha8 to IFNAR-2 by receptor binding inhibition assay with unlabeled IFN-alpha2 but not the other combinations. These findings indicate that the binding manner of IFN-alpha8 for IFNAR-2 is different from that of IFN-alpha2, suggesting that binding of IFN-alpha8 rather than binding of IFN-alpha2 to IFNAR-2 leads to activation and subsequent antiproliferative activity despite the same antiviral activity in RCC.