Construction of an infectious cDNA clone of radish mosaic virus, a crucifer-infecting comovirus

Radish mosaic virus (RaMV) is a crucifer-infecting comovirus that has been detected worldwide. Here, we report the successful construction of a full-length infectious cDNA clone of RaMV. The full-length cDNA clones corresponding to RNA1 and RNA2 of a Japanese isolate of RaMV were cloned into the pBlueScript plasmid or the binary vector pCAMBIA1301 downstream of the cauliflower mosaic virus 35S promoter. Mechanical inoculation or agroinoculation of Nicotiana benthamiana with these vectors resulted in systemic RaMV infections causing symptoms similar to those caused by the wild-type parental virus. The presence of progeny virus was verified by western blot analysis and electron microscopy.     

A complete right bundle-branch block masking Brugada syndrome

A 69-year-old man without structural heart disease was admitted for syncope. His electrocardiogram displayed complete right bundle branch (CRBBB). A coved type ST elevation was observed with transient normalization of CRBBB giving rise to a normal QRS. These findings suggest that Brugada syndrome can be masked by CRBBB.     

Visual rightward spatial bias varies as a function of age

Age-related changes in visual spatial biases in children, young adults, and older adults were studied with unilateral and bilateral stimulus conditions in fast-paced linguistic and non-linguistic attention tasks. Only rightward spatial biases were observed. The incidence of the biases changed as a function of age: in childhood and in old age the rightward spatial biases were more common than in young adulthood. The present rightward spatial biases were similar to those observed in the corresponding auditory spatial linguistic and non-linguistic attention tests (Takio, Koivisto, Laukka, & Hämäläinen, 2011) and in the dichotic listening forced-attention task (Takio et al., 2009). We suggest that the multimodal rightward spatial bias observed under intensive attentional load is related to a right hemispace preference and modulated by age-dependent changes in executive functions.     

A case of pneumonitis and hepatic injury caused by a herbal drug (sho-saiko-to)]

We report a case of pneumonitis and hepatic injury caused by Sho-saiko-to. A 56-year-old man was admitted to our hospital because of hepatic disorder. The levels of serum transaminases returned to normal within two months without specific treatment and he was discharged. Four weeks later, he was readmitted because of severe pneumonitis and mild hepatic disorder. Under the suspicion of drug-induced pneumonitis, all medications were discontinued and high-dose glucocorticoid including "pulse therapy" was given. Consequently, pneumonitis and hepatic function markedly improved. Careful history taking revealed the ingestion of Sho-saiko-to before both admissions. Lymphocyte stimulation test against Sho-saiko-to was positive. Challenge test using Sho-saiko-to resulted in decrease of PaO2 and elevation of serum transaminases. Based on these findings, the diagnosis of pneumonitis and hepatic injury induced by Sho-saiko-to was established.     

Light chain cardiac amyloidosis in a nonagenarian

Cardiac amyloidosis is an infiltrative and restrictive cardiomyopathy caused by the extracellular deposition of amyloid fib-rils within the heart as systemic amyloidosis,lead-ing to heart failure,reduced quality of life,and death.[1]There are two major amyloid fibril proteins that af-fect the heart:amyloid immunoglobulin light chain(AL)and amyloid transthyretin(ATTR).The latter is further subdivided into wild-type ATTR and variant types based on the presence of a mutation in the transthyretin gene.     

The Production of Tumor Necrosis Factor-α by Macrophages in Rats With Acute Alcohol Loading

Background: It is suggested that endotoxin, proinflammatory cytokines, and lipopolysaccharide-binding protein (LBP) play an important role in the development of alcoholic liver disease. Our previous study showed that splenic macrophages were important for endotoxin uptake and excessive production of tumor necrosis factor (TNF) in rats given large amounts of alcohol. To study the pathophysiological roles of macrophages in alcoholic liver diseases, we examined the production of TNF-α by rat Kupffer cells, splenic macrophages, and alveolar macrophages with acute alcohol loading in the presence or absence of LBP.
Methods: Kupffer cells, splenic macrophages, and alveolar macrophages were isolated from male Wistar rats given 5 mg/g body weight of ethanol intraperitoneally after an hour. The production of TNF-α by these cells incubated with endotoxin 100 ng/ml in the presence or absence of LBP (1% rat serum) was determined.
Results: Acute alcohol loading did not affect the production of TNF-α by Kupffer cells. With acute alcohol loading, splenic macrophages tended to produce more TNF-α. Alveolar macrophages produced more TNF-α than Kupffer cells, and although the production of TNF-α by alveolar macrophages tended to be suppressed by acute alcohol loading, the production of TNF-α by alveolar macrophages still remained high in the presence of rat serum.
Conclusions: Splenic macrophages and alveolar macrophages may be related to excessive production of TNF-α in acute alcoholics with endotoxemia.     

Histochemistry,Cytochemistry and Epigenetics

Over the past few decades, many researchers have individually identified tumor-related genes, and have accumulated information on their basic research in a database. With the development of technology that can comprehensively test the expression status within a short time, oncogene panel testing has become attainable. On the other hand, changes in gene expression that do not depend on changes in base sequences, that is, epigenetics, or more comprehensively, epigenomes, are also highly involved in the development and progression of disease. Oncogene panel tests tend to focus on DNA base mutations such as point mutations, deletions, duplications, and chimera formation. Elucidation leads to correct interpretation of diseases and treatment choices, and we are in an era where integrated understanding of the genome and epigenome is indispensable. In this review, we make every effort to cover a wide range of knowledge, including data on histone protein modification, non-coding (nc)RNA and DNA methylation, and recent application trials for demonstrating epigenetic alterations in histologic and cytologic specimens. We hope this review will help marshal the knowledge accumulated by researchers involved in genomic and epigenomic studies.     

Duodenal gastric heterotopia,sporadic or fundic gland polyp-associated,frequently carries β-catenin mutation

Duodenal gastric heterotopia (DGH) is a benign asymptomatic condition assumed to be of congenital origin. Since DGH is often associated with fundic gland polyps (FGPs) that frequently carry a somatic β-catenin gene mutation, we examined whether DGH, either sporadic or FGP-associated, is attributable to alterations of the Wnt/β-catenin pathway. Genetic analysis revealed frequent somatic β-catenin gene mutations in DGH; some of which showed the same mutation pattern as coexisting FGPs. All missense mutations were confined to codons 32, 33, and 37. No such mutations were observed, however, in any of the specimens from focal gastric foveolar metaplasia (GFM). Therefore, DGH is not a mere congenital lesion due to aberrant migration of normal gastric mucosa or a simple reactive metaplasia after regenerative stimuli of the duodenal mucosa, but a distinct condition based upon molecular genetic changes in the Wnt/β-catenin pathway.