A learned odor decreases the number of Fos-immunopositive granule cells in the olfactory bulb of young rats

Olfactory stimulation evokes a column of activity within the olfactory bulb extending from the glomerular layer to the granule cell layer that can be visualized with 2-deoxyglucose autoradiography, optical imaging, Fos protein immunohistochemistry and c-fos mRNA in situ hybridization. The Fos response to odors is typified by the activity of relatively few juxtaglomerular cells, which often occur in foci, and a large number of granule cells extending through much of the bulb. In this study, we characterized the granule cell response to an odor for which young rats had acquired a preference. Fos-like immunoreactive granule cells were quantified by image analysis, and densely stained cells were counted in a region previously shown to be responsive to peppermint odor. We found that odor-trained pups have about half the number of Fos-immunopositive superficial granule cells which respond to a learned odor than do control pups. We then determined whether there was a correlation between the juxtaglomerular cell response and the response of the superficial granule cells deep to those glomerular layer cells. We found a positive correlation between the number of juxtaglomerular cells and the number of granule cells demonstrating Fos immunoreactivity in both control and trained pups, a relationship that changed with early olfactory training.     

Upper Gastrointestinal Irritation and Arrhythmia

Abstract: The influence of endoscopic examination on the occurrence of arrhythmia was investigated electrocardiographically in 30 patients with cardiovascular disease who underwent transesophageal echocardiography (TEE) (group A) and 38 patients with digestive tract disease who underwent upper gastrointestinal endoscopy (UGIE) (group B). The mode and frequency of arrhythmia during the examination were compared between the two groups. (1) Arrhythmia was more frequently observed in group A (22 of 30, 73.3%) than in group B (9 of 38, 23.7%) patients (p<0.001). The common arrhythmias in both groups were supraventricular premature beat and ventricular premature beat. Serious arrhythmias, such as 2nd degree atrioventricular block and ventricular fibrillation were detected only in group A patients. (2) The region of the esophagus where the tip of the probe or scope was located was classified into three segments: upper (0–15 cm), middle (15–35 cm) and lower (35 cm<). Arrhythmias tended to be frequent when the tip of the probe or scope was located in the middle segment of the esophagus. These data indicate that arrhythmias observed during TEE or UGIE are related to the underlying heart disease. Furthermore, the middle segment of the esophagus appears to be particularly susceptible to the provocation of arrhythmia.     

Deletion of Mycobacterium tuberculosis sigma factor E results in delayed time to death with bacterial persistence in the lungs of aerosol-infected mice

The stress-induced extracytoplasmic sigma factor E (SigE) of Mycobacterium tuberculosis shows increased expression after heat shock, sodium dodecyl sulfate treatment, and oxidative stress, as well as after phagocytosis in macrophages. We report that deletion of sigE results in delayed lethality in mice without a significant reduction of bacterial numbers in lungs.     

Evaluation of dengue IgM detection tests using sera from patients with autoimmune diseases

Three commercial dengue IgM test kits and 'in-house' IgM-capture enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) were examined for false positive reactions, using 49 serum samples from patients with autoimmune diseases. All the samples were found to be negative by the 'in-house' IgM-capture ELISA. Five samples were determined to be positive by the immunochromatographic test and three of the five samples were also found positive by one commercial IgM-capture ELISA kit. These results suggest that a possibility of false positive reaction should be considered when serum samples from autoimmune disease patients are tested for dengue IgM by some commercial dengue IgM test kits.     

Fine structure of soft and hard tissues involved in eye migration in metamorphosing Japanese flounder (Paralichthys olivaceus)

The body of a Japanese flounder (Paralichthys olivaceus) changes from a symmetrical to an asymmetrical form during metamorphosis. To obtain detailed information on the mechanisms of the migration of the right eye to the left side, soft and hard tissues in the head of larval flounders were examined using transmission electron microscopy (TEM). Retrorbital vesicles (Rvs) are pairs of sac-like structures under the eyes. It has been suggested that the asymmetrical development of Rvs, with the right (blind) one being bigger than the left, is the driving force behind eye migration. The present study revealed that the ultrastructure of the Rv sheath is quite similar to that of a lymphatic capillary. Thus, it is possible that the Rv is a part of the lymph system, and is probably related to the secondary vascular system in teleosts. If we assume that the Rv sheath has a high permeability to liquid, similar to lymphatic capillaries, it is not plausible that the active expansion of the Rv pushes the eyeball. On the other hand, the pseudomesial bar (Pb) is a bone that is unique to flounders and is present only on the right (blind) side. At the beginning of eye migration, an aggregation of fibroblast-like cells is observed in the dermis under the right eye, where the Pb will subsequently be formed. These cells have a well-developed rough endoplasmic reticulum (rER) and mitochondria, and are probably responsible for formation of the thick layers of collagen fibrils around them. Since it is unlikely that the active expansion of the Rv causes eye migration, the role played by the Pb and its rudiment becomes more significant in right eye migration in the Japanese flounder becomes more significant.     

Adenosquamous carcinoma of the gall-bladder with gastric foveolar-type epithelium

An 80 year old Japanese man had adenosquamous carcinoma of the gall-bladder characterized by an adenocarci-noma (AC) in the gall-bladder lumen and a squamous cell carcinoma (SCC) in the Invaded region of the liver. In the AC, the tumor cells consisted of atypical columnar epithelium with pseudostratification, mimicking gastric foveolar epithelium, while atypical signet-ting cells were scattered within the SCC. There was an abrupt transition between the AC and SCC areas. The tumor cells in the AC area were intensely positive for galactose oxidase-Schiff staining, and paradoxical concanavalin A staining revealed these tumor cells to have Class II mucins. lmmunohistochemically, the tumor cells in foveolar-type adenocarcinoma were diffusely positive for cathepsin D. Flow cytometrical analysis of DNA content showed the AC area to be diploid and the SCC area to be aneuploid. The Sphase fraction of the SCC area (46.9%) was larger than that of the AC area (19.5%). The positive rate of immunostaining for proliferating cell nuclear antigen in the SCC area (mean 50.627%) was larger than that of the AC area (mean 3.048%, P < 0.01). These resutts suggest that the AC area of this tumor, histochemically and immunohistochemically, showed gastric foveolar-type characteristics, the SCC component was squamous cell metaplasia of the preexisting AC, and that the SCC area had a greater proliferating capacity than the AC area.     

TCR repertoire in early fetal mouse thymus

We investigated the rearrangement and expression of TCR genesin mouse fetal thymus organ culture, a system that avoids subsequententry of hematopoietic precursor cells. The first observablerearranged TCR gene was homogeneous V2-J2, detectable as earlyas fetal day 11 (d11) in the thymic primordla. The productiveTCR was homogeneous V5-J1, first detectable in d13 thymocytes,followed by adult-type TCR (V4 and V7). Sequence analysis ofTCR revealed five types of V-J junctional sequences. In thevery early stage, a homogeneous V-J junction is generated viaa short homology sequence in the coding region (Type I), whilea short homology sequence in the P-nucleotlde rather than thecoding region is used in the following stage (Type II). In thelater embryonic stages, diverse V-J junctions are generatedby well-known mechanisms, such as P-nucleotide (Type III), N-regioninsertion (Type IV) or trimming of the coding ends (Type V).These findings suggest that the generation of homogeneous TCR (V2 and V5) in the early fetal stages is due to the intrinsicrearrangement mechanisms and is in stage specific manner.     

Granulocytic sarcoma presenting with lymph node infarction at disease onset

A completely infarcted lymph node is an unusual event. However, lymph node infarction should alert the pathologist to the considerable likelihood of malignant lymphoma. We report two unusual cases of acute myeloid leukemia presenting with granulocytic sarcoma at disease onset with a lymph node lesion exhibiting extensive lymph node infarction. The infarcted tissue contained numerous eosinophilic cell ghosts. There were some islands of degenerated, pyknotic medium-sized nuclei resembling lymphoblasts present in the necrotic area. By immunohistochemistry, these medium sized cells were CD3-, CD20-, CD34+, CD43+, CD45RO-, CD68-, CD79a- and myeloperoxidase+ in both cases. Differentiation of granulocytic sarcoma from malignant lymphomas is important for adequate therapy. The present cases indicate that granulocytic sarcoma should be added to the list of differential diagnoses for lymph node infarction.     

Identification and characterization of PDZRN3 and PDZRN4 genes in silico

NUMB and NUMBL are implicated in cell fate determination through the inhibition of Notch signaling. LNX, binding to NUMB and CXADR (CAR), functions as E3 ubiquitin ligase at least for NUMB. LNX is the paralog of PDZRN1 (PDZ domain containing RING finger 1). Here, we identified two novel homologs of LNX and PDZRN1 by using bioinformatics, which were designated PDZRN3 (LNX3 or SEMCAP3) and PDZRN4 (LNX4 or SAMCAP3L), respectively. KIAA1095 cDNA (AB029018) was the representative PDZRN3 cDNA. Complete coding sequence of PDZRN4 cDNA was determined by assembling nucleotide sequences of ESTs (BF059062 and AW297403), FLJ33777 cDNA (AK091096) and IMAGE5767589 cDNA (BC040922). PDZRN4 gene, consisting of 11 exons, was found to encode two isoforms with N-terminal divergence (PDZRN4 and PDZRN4S) due to an alternative promoter. PDZRN3-CNTN3 locus at human chromosome 3p13-p12.3 and PDZRN4-CNTN1 locus at human chromosome 12q12 were paralogous regions within the human genome. PDZRN3 (1066 aa) and PDZRN4 (1036 aa) showed 59.9% total-amino-acid identity. Two bipartite nuclear localization signals (NLS) were located within the C-terminal region of PDZRN3 and PDZRN4. PR34H1 and PR34H2 domains were identified as the regions conserved among PDZRN3, PDZRN4 and Drosophila CG1783. PDZRN3 and PDZRN4 consist of RING, two PDZ, PR34H1, PR34H2 domains and two NLS, while PDZRN1 and LNX consist of RING and four PDZ domains. PDZRN family proteins were classified into the LNX-PDZRN1 subfamily and the PDZRN3-PDZRN4 subfamily. This is the first report on the PDZRN3 and PDZRN4 genes.