Immunopathology in Aujeszky's disease virus-infected pigs exposed to fluctuating temperatures.

Pigs exposed to fluctuating temperatures (high, 30 +/- 2 degrees C; low, 4 +/- 1 degrees C) were intranasally inoculated with Aujeszky's disease virus (ADV). ADV-infected pigs, exposed to the fluctuating temperatures, showed severe clinical signs and ADV in the nasal secretions persisted longer than in the ADV-infected control pigs kept at the normal temperature (20 +/- 2 degrees C). High concentrations of ADV were isolated from nasal secretions on the 1st day after inoculation of the virus. Pathologically, all ADV-infected pigs had non-suppurative encephalitis and trigeminal ganglionitis. The lesions were more widely distributed in pigs exposed to fluctuating temperatures than in infected control pigs. Two infected pigs given the stress had severe malacic foci in the frontal lobe and four of them had prominent interstitial pneumonia. In the pigs exposed to fluctuating temperatures, a significant number of immunoglobulin-containing cells, especially IgM-containing cells, did not respond to ADV infection. A significant (P < 0.01) difference in the number of IgG- and IgM-containing cells was observed between the ADV-infected pigs exposed to the fluctuating temperature and ADV-infected control pigs, respectively. These results demonstrated that the stress of fluctuating temperatures enhanced the susceptibility to ADV infection.     

Functional monomers and polymers, 105. Synthesis of poly(β-alanine) from a new type of active amino acid ester

Active β-alanine esters having dipeptide groups, which are capable of forming hydrogen bonds between the side chains, were prepared in the form of hydrogen chloride salts. The polycondensation of these salts was studied in non-polar solvents, in the presence of triethylamine. In the case of the ester with β-alanyl-β-alanine as dipeptide moiety, the polycondensation proceeded smoothly in chloroform solution. To explain the characteristic feature of the polycondensation, an ordered aggregation of the ester molecules is assumed to play an important role. The ester with glycylglycine as dipeptide moiety, however, did not undergo a polycondensation.     

Localization of sex steroid receptor cells, with special reference to thymulin (FTS)-producing cells in female rat thymus

Using monoclonal antibodies against progestin receptors (PR) and estrogen receptors (ER), and polyclonal antibodies to thymulin (FTS) and keratin, localization of the sex steroid receptors was studied immunohistochemically in ovariectomized estrogen-treated rat thymus, with special reference to FTS-producing cells. Both ER- and PR-immunostained cells were mainly localized in the medullary region, especially at its periphery (i.e., the corticomedullary junction). A few cells were also situated in the subcapsular area. They were medium- to large-sized and had a dendritic cell process, some of which were immunohistochemically keratin- and FTS-positive, indicative of reticuloepithelial (RE) cells. Hassall's corpuscles were also receptor-positive and FTS-positive. T-cells were not immunostained with anti-ER, anti-PR or anti-FTS. Light microscopically, both ER and PR immunostainings were localized in the cytoplasm and/or nucleus of keratin-stained RE cells. Electron microscopically, both steroid receptors were shown more precisely to distribute as aggregates of osmiophilic black dots on polysomes and perinuclear space in the cytoplasm and on the euchromatin area in the nucleus. These results suggest that the sex steroids E and P exert their effects through receptors within RE cells which produce FTS to regulate T-cell differentiation.     

An improved method for recovery of F-defective Sendai virus expressing foreign genes from cloned cDNA

An improved system is described to recover non-transmissible Sendai virus that lack the envelope fusion (F) gene from cloned cDNA. The system (1) used plasmids that expressed the F and the HN viral envelope proteins, as well as the plasmids that expressed the viral NP, P, and L proteins as helper plasmids for recovery, and (2) overlaid packaging cells that expressed the F protein. With this improved system, we have succeeded in recovery of F-defective Sendai virus expressing two foreign proteins, and expression vectors that do not contain the EGFP reporter gene. This system may provide the basis for constructing recombinant F-defective Sendai virus for preventing and treating human diseases in the form of vaccines and vectors for gene therapy.     

Localization of estrogen receptors and estrogen receptor-mRNA in female mouse thymus.

The present study was performed to demonstrate estrogen receptor (ER) and ER-mRNA in female mouse thymus. The results are as follows: (i) thymic tissue contains ER in both reticuloepithelial(RE)- and T-cell fractions, the ER level being three-fold higher in the former fraction than in the latter; and (ii) thymic tissue contains ER-mRNA at 6.2 kb, a large amount of which was localized in the RE cells and less in the T cells. From these results it is suggested that estrogen (E) mediates some immune function of the mouse thymus through its receptor within RE cells and/or T cells.     

Face area representation of primary somatosensory cortex in humans identified by whole-head magnetoencephalography

The feasibility of precise mapping was investigated noninvasively on the face component in predominantly unilateral primary somatosensory cortices (SI) in six healthy subjects. We recorded somatosensory evoked magnetic fields (SEFs) from the SI and secondary somatosensory cortices (SII) following the electrical stimulation of six skin sites: the infraorbital foramen, the angle of mouth, the upper lip, the lower lip, the mental foramen, and the mandibular angle. The median nerve at the wrist was stimulated as a standard of the map. The location of the equivalent current dipoles (ECDs) estimated from the distribution of magnetic fields was identified on MR images of the brain on each subject. The ECDs of the early components of SEF with peaks of 20-30 ms aligned along the SI in the hemisphere contralateral to the stimulation site. Late components with peaks of 80-150 ms were recorded from the bilateral hemispheres, and their ECDs were identified in the SII of the bilateral hemispheres. There was a distinct separation between the ECD locations representing discrete sites on the face and thumb in the SI of the contralateral hemisphere. Five sites of the face area in SI at the contralateral hemisphere were compatible with the conventional arrangement of homunculus in one subject. However, the remaining subjects had variations in the arrangement. The face area reorganization in the SI is possible to be related to the use-dependent cortical plasticity of the individual or to the perceptual experience by vision and proprioception.     

Peroxyl radical scavenging capability of fish sauces measured by the chemiluminescence method

Oxygen-related free radicals have been suggested as a cause of aging and various diseases, for example, various cancers and rheumatoid arthritis. A radical scavenger as an antioxidant has been sought in foods. Fish sauces are traditional Asian fermented seasonings. Using the luminol chemiluminescence method, the peroxyl radical scavenging capability of fish sauces was examined. From the IC50 values, many fish sauces have been shown to have a strong scavenging capability as well as soy sauces. A scavenging mechanism is also proposed.     

Studies on formaldehyde resins, 19. General base catalysis in hydroxymethylation of melamine with formaldehyde

Hydroxymethylation of melamine with formaldehyde to form N-(hydroxymethyl)melamine (2,4-diamino-6-hydroxymethylamino-1,3,5-triazine) was investigated kinetically by the use of hydrogen phosphate/phosphate buffers in aqueous media at pH 11 ? 12. This reaction was found to follow a general base catalysis which results from the kinetic investigation, showing that the reaction takes place by a concerted mechanism involving base, melamine, and formaldehyde. This mechanism differs from that of the base catalyzed hydroxymethylation of phenol or benzamide with formaldehyde, because the acidic phenol and benzamide easily form their conjugate bases by addition of the basic catalyst in a preceding equilibrium step.     

MORPHOLOGICAL AND BIOCHEMICAL STUDIES OF A CASE OF MUCOPOLYSACCHARIDOSIS II (HUNTER'S SYNDROME)

An autopsy case of a 19-year-old boy who had shown typical gargoyle features, strictly consistent with mucopolysaccharidosis type II (Hunter's syndrome) was reported. Histologically, cytoplasmic vacuolar change was found In hepatocytes, sinusoidal epithelium of spleen, follicular cells of thyroid, Sertoli cells of testis, chromophobe cell of pituitary and generalized fibroblast-like cells including meninges, cardiac valve and periosteum. The vacuoles consisting of membrane-bound structures with flocculus protein-like material and occasional electron dense bodies on electron microscopy, were considered to be the site of mucopolysaccharide deposition by histochemical analysis. Deposition of lipid material consistent with so-called membranous cytoplasmic body was observed in the neurons of central, peripheral and autonomic nervous system. Hepatosplenomegaly could be explained by cytoplasmic deposition, but the cause of cardiomegaly remained further to be studied. Biochemically hepatic mucopolysaccharide was identified as heparan sulfate, while in the kidney dermatan sulfate and heparan sulfate were detected. The correlation between morphology and biochemistry, and between deposition and degeneration was discussed.     

Arpp,a new homolog of carp,is preferentially expressed in type 1 skeletal muscle fibers and is markedly induced by denervation

In this study, we isolated and characterized a murine counterpart of the human Arpp (hArpp) gene. Sequence analysis revealed that the murine Arpp (mArpp) gene is almost identical to the Ankrd2 gene, which has recently been isolated as a mouse gene induced in stretched skeletal muscle. The mArpp gene encodes a protein of 332 amino acids that contains four well-conserved ankyrin-repeat domains in the central portion of the protein. The amino acid sequence of mArpp protein (mArpp) is highly homologous to that of mouse cardiac-restricted ankyrin-repeat protein (Carp), which is proposed to be a putative genetic marker for cardiac hypertrophy. Immunohistochemical analysis revealed that mArpp is preferentially expressed in type 1 skeletal muscle fibers, and that mArpp is localized in both the nucleus and the sarcomeric I-band of muscle fibers, suggesting that Arpp may function as a nuclear and sarcomeric protein. Furthermore, mArpp was also expressed in neurons of the cerebellum and cerebrum, the islets of Langerhans in the pancreas, and the esophageal epithelium, suggesting that mArpp may play a functional physiologic role in brain, pancreas, and esophagus as well as in type 1 muscle fibers. Interestingly, although mArpp was localized in both nucleus and cytoplasm in neurons, its localization was restricted to nucleus in pancreas and esophagus, suggesting that intracellular localization of mArpp is regulated in a tissue-specific manner. Furthermore, we found that mArpp- and Carp-expression in skeletal muscle were markedly up-regulated after denervation. Although the elevated expression level of Carp was kept only for two weeks after denervation, that of Arpp was kept at least for 4 weeks, suggesting that mArpp and Carp may play distinct functional roles in denervated skeletal muscle.