Construction of Canine Herpesvirus Vector Expressing Foreign Genes Using a lacZ-TK Gene Cassette as a Double Selectional Marker

An improved method for constructing canine herpesvirus (CHV) recombinants expressing foreign genes by using the lacZ-TK gene cassette as a double selectional marker was developed. A recombinant CHV carrying the lacZ-TK gene at a targeted gene locus was constructed and used as a parental virus for generating new recombinants. The parental virus formed blue plaques and was sensitive to TK-specific drugs, while newly generated recombinants, in which the lacZ-TK gene was replaced with the desired foreign gene, become both resistant to the TK-specific drugs and formed white plaques. Recombinants were isolated by using the combination of drug selection and color selection. This improved method allows construction of recombinant CHV with great ease, because the drug selection can enrich the frequency of recombinant CHV from 0.01–0.1% to 10–80%. This method was employed to construct a recombinant CHV that expressed rabies virus (RV) glycoprotein (G protein). This revised version was published online in July 2006 with corrections to the Cover Date.     

Climatic adaptation in thermogenesis and thermal insulation in wood mice (Apodemus argenteus)

Wood mice (Apodemus argenteus) were trapped live at three different altitudes (below 1,000, 1,900, and 2,400 m) during a 1-year period (Feb. 1984-Jan. 1985). After remaining at the trapped locations for 10-14 days, they were transferred into a climatic chamber at an altitude of 610 m. Oxygen consumption (VO2) and colonic temperature (Tco) were measured at chamber temperatures (Ta) of five steps (30, 20, 10, 0, and -10 degrees C) in freely moving conditions. In response to Ta of 0 degrees C for the mice trapped in winter when their mean local habitat temperature (Te) were lower than 0 degrees C, there was a significant inverse correlation between VO2 and Te (r = -0.70, p less than 0.001) whereas no significant correlation (r = 0.23) was observed in the mice trapped in other seasons when Te was higher than 0 degrees C. The correlation between Tco and Te was significant (r = -0.66, p less than 0.001) over the entire range of Te. The pelt weight of the mice trapped at Te higher than 0 degrees C had a significant inverse correlation with Te (r = -0.65, p less than 0.001), but not in the mice trapped at Te lower than 0 degrees C. After measurement of VO2 and Tco at Ta of 0 degrees C, the mice who had lived in colder habitats (below 0 degrees C) showed 0% mortality, whereas the mortality of the populations which had lived in warmer habitats was 13%. These results suggest that, in wood mice, adaptation to severe cold is established by an enhanced thermogenesis and by an increased insulation of the pelt in moderate cold.     

Genetic control in the susceptibility of germfree inbred mice to infection by Escherichia coli O115a,c:K(B).

We studied the susceptibility of five germfree inbred strains of mice to oral infection by murine pathogenic Escherichia coli O115a,c:K(B) (MPEC), the causative agent of mouse megaenteron. Although MPEC colonized all strains of mice at 10(9)/g of feces, the mouse strains could be divided into three groups according to their intestinal lesions. In CF1 and C3H/He mice, intestinal lesions were produced in the cecum and colon with hyperplasia of epithelial cells accompanied by severe inflammatory reactions and erosion. The lesions in NC and C57BL/6 mice were restricted to the tip of the cecum, and hyperplasia of epithelial cells was more severe in these mice than in CF1 or C3H/He mice. BALB/c mice had no lesions. Analysis of F1 hybrids of CF1, NC, and BALB/c mice and offsprings from backcrosses of F1 mice to parental strains showed that susceptibility to MPEC seemed to be controlled genetically by a single locus which may be related to the receptors on epithelial cells for MPEC adherence. However, the differences in lesions between CF1 and NC mice suggest that a combination of this locus and another locus to which it may be related regulates the hyperplasia of intestinal epithelial cells.     

Mixed connective tissue disease with fatal pulmonary hypertension and a review of literature

Summary The paper presents an autopsy case of mixed connective tissue disease (MCTD) with pulmonary hypertension (PH) and a review of literature. A 33-year-old woman with Raynaud's phenomenon and dyspnea of one year duration was diagnosed as having MCTD on the basis of a higher titer (1:163,840) of serum antibodies to the ribonucleoprotein (RNP). Cardiac catheterization showed complicating PH, confirmed an autopsy by the findings of concentric intimal cellular proliferation and typical plexiform lesions in the small arteries and arterioles of the lung, suggesting primary PH. Fatal PH with MCTD has been reported only 6 cases in literature including our case. All were young females, with histopathological findings consistent with plexogenic pulmonary arteriopathy in 5 cases and with recurrent pulmonary thromboembolism in the other. The aetiology of PH is still unknown, but it may be due to vasoconstriction evoked by the hyper-reactivity of the vessels.     

Structure-activity relationship of mycoloyl glycolipids derived from Rhodococcus sp. 4306

Novel mycoloyl glycolipids with short carbon chains were isolated and purified from Rhodococcus sp. 4306, a soil origin of Actinomycetales. Their chemical structures were identified as trehalose 6,6'-dimycolate (TDM), trehalose 6-monomycolate, glucose 6-monomycolate, mannose 6-monomycolate and fructose 6-monomycolate. The length of carbon chains and number of double bonds of mycolic acids were C(34), C(36)and C(38)saturated, monoenoic and dienoic molecular species, which were much shorter than those of Mycobacterium tuberculosis (C(78-88)monoenoic and dienoic). Among them, only TDM could induce prominent granulomatous inflammation of the lung and spleen in mice. By contrast, other mycoloyl glycolipids induced mild lesions. The small-sized TDM of Rhodococcus possessed granulomatogenic activity, however, the toxicity was much lower than that of M. tuberculosis. Rhodococcal TDM was composed of mycolic acid with the shortest carbon chains, when compared to granulomatogenic TDM of Mycobacterium, Nocardia and Rhodococcus reported previously. Our results imply that rhodococcal TDM is a pathogenetic factor similar to that of M. tuberculosis, although rhodococcal TDM exhibits low toxicity.     

Exponential hyperbolic sine function fitting of heart rate response to constant load exercise

We attempted to fit heart rate (HR) changes induced by constant exercise loads of different intensities to an exponential hyperbolic sine curve by the least-squares method, and we compared the results with the fitting of the changes to exponential curves. Seven healthy male volunteers performed three different intensities of constant-load exercise on a bicycle ergometer. The exponential hyperbolic sine function adequately fitted the HR responses induced by all three different intensities of loads: low (30 W: correlation coefficient, r = 0.68 +/- 0.13, mean +/- SD), moderate (75 W: r = 0.93 +/- 0.07) and high (125 W: r = 0.97 +/- 0.02). The first-order exponential curve fitted only the moderate load response. Although the second-order exponential equation fitted the HR response for both the moderate and high loads, the equation did not fit the low-load response (r = 0.43 +/- 0.26). In low-load exercise, the sum of the power of the residuals for the exponential hyperbolic sine curve fitting was significantly smaller than that for the first- or second-order exponential curve fitting. In conclusion, the exponential hyperbolic sine function is useful for quantitative analyses of the HR response to exercise loads of various intensities.     

The effects of prostaglandin E1 on the pepsin activities in gastric mucosa and juice.

Prostaglandin E1 elevated pepsin activity in gastric mucosa but lowered pepsin activity in the gastric juice of rats treated by pylorus ligation and intragastric administration of hydrochloric acid. In these animals zymogen granules with low electron density were numerous in the gastric chief cells following prostaglandin E1 treatment. The prostaglandin E1-induced increase in mucosal pepsin activity was slightly inhibited by actinomycin D and there was no apparent increase in 3H-thymidine incorporation into gastric mucosa following treatment with prostaglandin E1. It is suggested that prostaglandin E1 causes an elevation of pepsin activity in the gastric mucosa by stimulating pepsin synthesis and perhaps also by facilitating pepsin release from zymogen granules. However, it also appears to inhibit pepsin release from the mucosa into the gastric cavity judging by the decrease of pepsin activity in gastric juice. The reduced pepsin activity in gastric juice may account, in part, for the reported anti-ulcerative action of prostaglandin.     

Two cases of limited cutaneous nodular amyloidosis with primary Sj?gren's syndrome]

We described two female patients with primary Sj?gren's syndrome associated with localized cutaneous nodular amyloidosis (LCNA), in which amyloid protein was derived from immunoglobulin light chain. Case 1; a 70-year-old female had complained with polyarthralgia, low-grade fever and parotid gland swelling. She was diagnosed as primary Sj?gren's syndrome. Three years later she noticed brown color small tumor on the thigh and yellow to brown nodules on the bilateral calves of legs. Skin biopsy from the left thigh revealed amyloid L protein deposition, which was positive for anti-lambda light chain staining, in almost entire dermis. Infiltration of lymphocytes and plasma cells around the amyloid deposit were prominent. Case 2; a 51-year-old female had noticed increasing eruption on the hip. Skin biopsy revealed amyloid L protein deposition in the dermis, which was negative for anti-lambda nor kappa light chain staining. When she was refereed to our hospital, she complained of xerostomia and xerophthalmia. She was diagnosed as primary Sj?gren's syndrome. In both cases, histological examination of a minor salivary gland biopsy revealed infiltration of lymphocytes and plasma cells but not amyloid deposit. Serum M protein and urine Bence-Jones protein were not detected. These cases represent localized amyloidosis without systemic involvement. It is widely recognized that Sj?gren's syndrome is frequently accompanied by B cell lymphoproliferative disorders. In LCNA, infiltration of plasma cells around the amyloid deposits was frequently prominent. The relation between these two disorders is discussed.     

Genetic control of nonresponsiveness to hepatitis B virus vaccine by an extended HLA haplotype.

We previously reported evidence for a statistical association between the serologically determined HLA-Bw54, DR4 and DRw53 alleles and the non-immune responsiveness to hepatitis B virus surface antigen (HBsAg) in the Japanese population. To identify the locus and allele within the HLA region associated with the nonresponsiveness to HBsAg, serological HLA typing, DNA typing of HLA-DQ and DP alleles using amplified HLA genes and sequence-specific oligonucleotide probes, and restriction fragment length polymorphism (RFLP) analysis of the fourth component of complement (C4) genes were performed in healthy unrelated Japanese vaccinees who were immunized subcutaneously three times with plasma-derived HBsAg vaccine. In nonresponders to HBsAg, the frequencies of HLA-Bw54 cross-reactive epitope group (CREG); (Bw54, Bw55, Bw56 and other Bw22), C4 RFLP (6.5 kb + 12.0 kb), DR4, DRw53 and DQw4 (DQA1*0301-DQB1*0401) were increased and the frequencies of HLA-DR1, DRw6 and DQw1 were decreased as compared with those in healthy unrelated controls. Further analysis revealed that the coexistence of HLA-Bw54CREG and DR4-DRw53-DQw4 (DQA1*0301-DQB1*0401) was associated with the nonresponder group, whereas, donors positive for exclusively either Bw54 CREG or DR4-DRw53-DQw4 (DQA1*0301-DQB1*0401) were not associated with the nonresponder group. Because there is a strong linkage disequilibrium between HLA-Bw54CREG, C4 RFLP (6.5 kb + 12.0 kb) and HLA-DR4-DRw53-DQw4 (DQA1*0301-DQB1*0401) in the Japanese population, the extended HLA-Bw54CREG-C4 RFLP (6.5 kb + 12.0 kb)-DR4-DR-w53-DQw4 (DQA1*0301-DQB1*0401) haplotype may well control nonimmune responsiveness to HBsAg. This extended HLA haplotype controls nonresponsiveness as a dominant genetic trait because all ten heterozygotes and two of three probable homozygotes of this extended HLA haplotype were nonresponders.