Efficacy of oral immunotherapy with a rice-based edible vaccine containing hypoallergenic Japanese cedar pollen allergens for treatment of established allergic conjunctivitis in mice

Background

We have previously shown that prophylactic oral administration of transgenic rice seeds expressing hypoallergenic modified antigens suppressed the development of allergic conjunctivitis induced by Japanese cedar pollen. We have now investigated the efficacy of oral immunotherapy with such transgenic rice for established allergic conjunctivitis in mice.

Risk factors for diabetes mellitus and impaired glucose tolerance following allogeneic hematopoietic stem cell transplantation in pediatric patients with hematological malignancies

Long-term surviving recipients of allogeneic hematopoietic stem cell transplantation (HSCT) often suffer from diabetes mellitus (DM). We sought to identify risk factors for the development of post-transplant DM and impaired glucose tolerance (IGT) in pediatric HSCT patients. Glucose tolerance statuses were evaluated in 22 patients aged 6.3–21.8 years who had received allogeneic HSCT between the ages of 0.8–13.5 years. Five patients were diagnosed as having type 2 DM, and treated with insulin or oral hypoglycemic agents. Five patients were included in the IGT group, and the remaining 12 children were in the normal glucose tolerance (NGT) group. The cumulative incidence of DM plus IGT was 11.6 % at 5 years and 69.3 % at 10 years. None of the patients were obese/overweight and none had a family history of DM. There were no significant differences in serum levels of leptin and adiponectin between the DM + IGT and the NGT groups. An average preprandial glucose levels in the DM + IGT group were significantly higher than those in the NGT group from preparative conditioning to 60 days after HSCT. In multivariate analysis, an age of ≥6 years at the time of HSCT was significantly associated with the development of DM + IGT. Additionally, careful follow-up is necessary, even for NGT patients.     

High-quality Fluorescence Imaging of the Human Acrosyringium Using a Transparency: Enhancing Technique and an Improved,Fluorescent Solvatochromic Pyrene Probe

Two-photon, excitation fluorescent microscopy featuring autofluorescence or immunofluorescence, combined with optical clearance using a transparency-enhancing technique, allows deep imaging of three-dimensional (3D) skin structures. However, it remains difficult to obtain high-quality images of individual cells or 3D structures. We combined a new dye with a transparency-enhancing technology and performed high-quality structural analysis of human epidermal structures, especially the acrosyringium. Human fingertip skin samples were collected, formalin-fixed, embedded in both frozen and paraffin blocks, sliced, stained with propidium iodide, optically cleared using a transparency-enhancing technique, and stained with a new fluorescent, solvatochromic pyrene probe. Microscopy revealed fine skin features and detailed epidermal structures including the stratum corneum (horny layer), keratinocytes, eccrine sweat glands, and peripheral nerves. Three-dimensional reconstruction of an entire acrosyringium was possible in one sample. This new fluorescence microscopy technique yields high-quality epidermal images and will aid in histopathological analyses of skin disorders.     

ClpB chaperone passively threads soluble denatured proteins through its central pore

ClpB disaggregase forms a ring‐shaped hexamer that threads substrate proteins through the central pore using energy from ATP. The ClpB protomer consists of an N‐terminal domain, a middle domain, and two AAA+ modules. These two AAA+ modules bind and hydrolyze ATP and construct the core of the hexameric ring. Here, we investigated the roles of the two AAA+ modules in substrate threading. BAP is an engineered ClpB that can bind ClpP proteolytic chamber; substrates threaded by BAP are degraded by ClpP. We combined BAP with conserved motif mutations in two AAA+ modules and measured the steady‐state rates of threading of soluble denatured proteins by these mutants over a range of substrate concentrations. By fitting the data to the Michaelis‐Menten equation, k_cat and K_m values were determined. We found that the kinetic parameters of the substrate threading correlate with the type of mutation introduced rather than the ATPase activity of the mutant. Moreover, some mutants having no or marginal ATPase activity could thread denatured proteins significantly. These results indicate that ClpB can passively thread soluble denatured proteins.