Polycystic ovary syndrome in a patient with type B insulin resistance syndrome can improve with glucocorticoid treatment: a case report and literature review.

Polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS) frequently exhibits hyperinsulinemia due to insulin resistance, but there are many unknown aspects of this disease. This report presents the case of a 31-year-old woman with PCOS and type B insulin resistance syndrome (TBIRS). The patient had repeated hyperglycemia and hypoglycemia, and prominent hyperinsulinemia. The insulin receptor antibody was positive, leading to a diagnosis of TBIRS. She also had amenorrhea during the previous 3 months, high blood testosterone levels, and enlarged polycystic ovaries, leading to a diagnosis of PCOS at the same time. The patient was treated with glucocorticoid for TBIRS. The insulin receptor antibody eliminated at 8 weeks after initiation of glucocorticoid treatment, and the blood glucose levels and hyperinsulinemia improved at 9 weeks. Then, the enlargement of both ovaries diminished at 32 weeks, and the menstruation had normalized since 36 weeks. The blood testosterone level normalized at 41 weeks. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first report to demonstrate that enlarged polycystic ovaries and a menstrual disorder in TBIRS improved after glucocorticoid treatment. It is possible that elimination of insulin receptor antibodies by glucocorticoid treatment attenuated insulin resistance and subsequently improved PCOS in TBIRS.

Neural map of the larval central nervous system in the ascidian Ciona intestinalis.

We examined the distribution patterns and axonal pathways of cholinergic, GABAergic, and dopaminergic neurons in the central nervous system of Ciona intestinalis larvae, based on the expression patterns of two reporter genes (GFP and LacZ) driven by the promoters of several neuron-specific genes (vesicular acetylcholine transporter, glutamic acid decarboxylase, tyrosine 3-hydroxylase and dopa decarboxylase). Putative cholinergic and GABAergic cells were found in the sensory vesicle (SV) and visceral ganglion (VG), while putative dopaminergic cells were found only in the SV. The axons of almost all putative cholinergic and GABAergic cells in the SV extend posteriorly towards the VG and seem to connect with motor neurons. Some cells extend axons to the proximal region of the tail beyond the trunk-tail boundary. As this tail region contains several neurons, these cells may modulate larval behavior through the latter neurons. We also found that some putative cholinergic and GABAergic cells in the dorsal VG form a complex and extend axons anteriorly to the SV, posteriorly to the tail, and possibly ventrally to some motor neurons. Finally, we observed that one pair of the anterior most putative cholinergic cells in the ventral VG extends axons contralaterally to the right and left caudal axon tracts. We discuss the similarity of these cells to the Mauthner cells in vertebrates.

Identification and functional analysis of type III effector proteins in Mesorhizobium loti.

Mesorhizobium loti MAFF303099, a microsymbiont of the model legume Lotus japonicus, possesses a cluster of genes (tts) that encode a type III secretion system (T3SS). In the presence of heterologous nodD from Rhizobium leguminosarum and a flavonoid naringenin, we observed elevated expression of the tts genes and secretion of several proteins into the culture medium. Inoculation experiments with wild-type and T3SS mutant strains revealed that the presence of the T3SS affected nodulation at a species level within the Lotus genus either positively (L. corniculatus subsp. frondosus and L. filicaulis) or negatively (L. halophilus and two other species). By inoculating L. halophilus with mutants of various type III effector candidate genes, we identified open reading frame mlr6361 as a major determinant of the nodulation restriction observed for L. halophilus. The predicted gene product of mlr6361 is a protein of 3,056 amino acids containing 15 repetitions of a sequence motif of 40 to 45 residues and a shikimate kinase-like domain at its carboxyl terminus. Homologues with similar repeat sequences are present in the hypersensitive-response and pathogenicity regions of several plant pathogens, including strains of Pseudomonas syringae, Ralstonia solanacearum, and Xanthomonas species. These results suggest that L. halophilus recognizes Mlr6361 as potentially pathogen derived and subsequently halts the infection process.