Three new acridone alkaloids from Glycosmis lanceolata (Blume) D.Dietr. and their cytotoxic effects on tumour cell lines.

We separated and structurally elucidated three new acridone alkaloids (glycomontamine A (1), B (2), and C (3)), together with three known compounds (glycofoline, kokusaginine and dictamnine) from the acetone extract of Glycosmis lanceolata (Blume) D.Dietr. branches collected in Thailand. The compounds were assayed for cell viability using human lung adenocarcinoma cell line A549, breast adenocarcinoma cell line T47D, cervix epithelioid carcinoma cell line Hela, acute lymphoid leukaemia B cell line NALM-6, and human dermal fibroblasts. The viability of Hela cells treated with compound 1 (IC50 17.6 µM) and T47D cells treated with compound 2 (IC50 17.4 µM) decreased dose-dependently. Both compounds also showed cytotoxicity against NALM-6 cells (IC50 16.5 and 9.3 µM). Additionally, compound 1 decreased the mitochondrial membrane potential of Hela cells, whereas compound 2 did not change the mitochondrial membrane potential in T47D cells.

Development of an Adhesive Gel System for Changing the Structure and Properties of Its Adhesive Joint via Reactions with Amine Molecules after Adhesion.

Adhesive gel systems are attracting increasing interest from researchers to use gel materials for artificial biomaterials and engineering materials. Humans, among other living beings, eat foods, get nutrients from them, and use these nutrients to grow up day by day. The shapes and characteristics of their bodies change depending on the nutrients they get. This research develops an adhesive gel system that the chemical structure of the adhesive joint and their properties can be changed and regulated after adhesion, like the growth of living beings. The adhesive joint, which is constructed using a linear polymer comprising a cyclic trithiocarbonate monomer and acrylamide, developed in this research reacts with amines and forms chemical structures depending on amines. The differences in chemical structures endow the adhesive joint with the characteristics and properties that depend on the reaction of amines with the adhesive joint.

Regulation of NFKBIZ gene promoter activity by STAT3, C/EBPß, and STAT1.

Interleukin-17A (IL-17A) is a cytokine that affects the functions of non-immune cells, including keratinocytes, and thereby amplifies immune responses. An IκB family protein IκB-ζ, encoded by the NFKBIZ gene, mediates IL-17A-induced inflammatory cellular responses. Previously we reported that a transcription factor STAT3 mediates the transcriptional induction of NFKBIZ through its binding to the specific binding site existing in the NFKBIZ promoter. However, it remains unclear how other transcription factors regulate NFKBIZ transcription. Here, we investigated the NFKBIZ promoter regulation by transcription factors C/EBPß and STAT1 and revealed opposing roles of C/EBPß and STAT1 in NFKBIZ transcription. We found that siRNA-mediated knockdown of C/EBPß attenuates IL-17A-induced upregulation of NFKBIZ in the HaCaT cell line. A putative C/EBP-binding site is located adjacent to the STAT-binding site in the NFKBIZ promoter, the deletion of which abolished C/EBPß-driven promoter activation in transient NFKBIZ promoter-luciferase assay. Deleting the STAT-binding site also led to a reduction in C/EBPß-driven promoter activation, suggesting a cooperative action between C/EBP- and STAT-binding sites. Furthermore, Co-overexpression of STAT1 suppressed both C/EBPß- and STAT3-driven NFKBIZ promoter activation independently of its tyrosine 701 phosphorylation. siRNA-mediated STAT1 knockdown augmented IκB-ζ induction in IL-17A-treated HaCaT cells, with enhanced expression of an IκB-ζ target gene DEFB4A. Together, these results indicate that both C/EBPß and STAT3 are transcription factors that coordinately induce NFKBIZ promoter activation, indicating that STAT1 has an inhibitory role. Thus, these could be a fine-tuning mechanism of IL-17A-IκB-ζ-mediated cellular responses.

BRCA2 represses the transcriptional activity of pS2 by E2-ERα.

Germline mutations to the breast cancer 2 (BRCA2) gene have been associated with hereditary breast cancer. In addition to estrogen uptake, BRCA2 expression increases in the S phase of the cell cycle and largely contributes to DNA damage repair associated with DNA replication. However, the role of BRCA2 in estrogen induction remains unclear. An expression plasmid was created to induce BRCA2 activation upon the addition of estradiol by introducing mutations to the binding sequences for the transcription factors USF1, E2F1, and NF-κB within the promoter region of BRCA2. Then, the estrogen receptor (ER) sites of the proteins that interact with BRCA2 upon the addition of estradiol were identified. Both proteins were bound by the helical domain of BRCA2 and activation function-2 of the ER, suggesting that this binding may regulate the transcriptional activity of pS2, a target gene of the estradiol-ER, by suppressing the binding of SRC-1, a coactivator required for activation of the transcription factor.

Velamentous cord insertion ruptured during labour leading to acute fetal blood loss.

Umbilical cord rupture (UCR) in utero is a very rare and critical emergency that can cause fetal death within minutes. A 38-year-old nulliparous woman was admitted at 39 weeks in labour. Sudden watery vaginal discharge and bleeding with a rapid drop in the fetal heart rate to 60 beats/min necessitated an emergency caesarean section. A male infant weighing 2632 g was delivered 21 min after the onset of bradycardia; Apgar scores were 0 and 1 at 1 and 5 min, respectively. He was extremely pale; the umbilical arterial blood pH was 6.89 and haemoglobin was 9.0 g/dL. The umbilical cord had a velamentous insertion and was lacerated, with haemorrhage in the outer layer of an umbilical artery close to the placental end. The presentation was typical of UCR: vaginal bleeding following the rupture of membranes. Prompt diagnosis of UCR and termination of pregnancy are essential for fetal survival.

[A Case of HER2 Positive Gastric Cancer That Was Highly Responsive to Fifth-Line Chemotherapy with Trastuzumab].

A 76-year-old male underwent distal gastrectomy for gastric cancer and pathological findings showed Stage Ⅳ(T4a, N3a, M1, H0, P0, CY1)with HER2 positivity. He received chemotherapy with S-1 and oxaliplatin(SOX)plus trastuzumab and no disease progression was shown. However, because of Grade 3 adverse skin effects to S-1, he could not continue with the regimen. He switched to a regimen of ramucirumab plus paclitaxel, followed by nivolumab, and later irinotecan. However, the disease progressed and multiple lung metastases as well as a left adrenal metastasis appeared. Fifth-line chemotherapy with trastuzumab was administered. After 4 courses, the lung metastases reduced and the left adrenal metastasis shrank from 46 mm to 33 mm. These results were consistent with a partial response on the Response Evaluation Criteria in Solid Tumors. In addition, CEA and CA19-9 also decreased significantly. Unfortunately, after 10 courses, the patient's disease progressed.

[Two Cases of Locally Advanced Colorectal Cancer Involving Pathological Complete Response after Chemotherapy].

We report 2 cases of locally advanced colorectal cancer in which complete response(CR)was achieved after chemotherapy. Case 1 involved a 71-year-old male diagnosed with rectal cancer invading the bladder. Chemotherapy with SOX plus bevacizumab and IRIS plus bevacizumab was administered for rectal cancer. Post-chemotherapy, the disease showed clinical CR(cCR)according to the Response Evaluation Criteria in Solid Tumors(RECIST). A laparoscopic abdominoperineal resection was then performed, with pathological findings showing no viable cancer cells. Eleven months postoperatively, the patient remains alive without disease recurrence. Case 2 involved a 54-year-old female diagnosed with a peritoneal abscess resulting from perforated sigmoid colon cancer. She received chemotherapy with SOX plus bevacizumab. Post-chemotherapy, the disease showed cCR according to the RECIST. A sigmoidectomy was performed, with pathological findings showing no viable cancer cells. Ten months postoperatively, the patient remains alive without disease recurrence. We believe that neoadjuvant chemotherapy is a feasible treatment option for locally advanced colorectal cancer.

Dimethyl fumarate dampens IL-17-ACT1-TBK1 axis-mediated phosphorylation of Regnase-1 and suppresses IL-17-induced IκB-ζ expression.

The signaling elicited by the cytokine interleukin-17A (IL-17) is important for antimicrobial defense responses, whereas excessive IL-17 production leads to autoimmune diseases such as psoriasis and multiple sclerosis. IL-17-induced stabilization of mRNAs has been recognized as a unique and important feature of IL-17 signaling. Previously, we demonstrated that IL-17 signaling protein ACT1 is required to counteract constitutive inhibitor of nuclear factor kappa B zeta (IκB-ζ) mRNA degradation by the ribonuclease Regnase-1. However, information about the mechanism of mRNA stabilization in IL-17-stimulated cells remains insufficient. In the present study, we aimed to clarify the mechanism in more detail and identify an agent that can inhibit IL-17-induced mRNA stabilization. Experiments using small interfering RNA and an inhibitor of TANK-binding kinase 1 (TBK1) revealed that TBK1 was required for IκB-ζ mRNA stabilization through Regnase-1 phosphorylation. Intriguingly, this TBK1-mediated phosphorylation of Regnase-1 was suppressed by the addition of dimethyl fumarate (DMF), an electrophilic small molecule that has been used to treat IL-17-related autoimmune diseases. Confocal microscopic observation of the cellular localization of ACT1 revealed that DMF treatment resulted in the disappearance of ACT1 nuclear dots and perinuclear accumulation of ACT1. These results suggested that DMF is a small molecule that compromises IL-17-induced activation of the ACT1-TBK1 pathway, thereby inhibiting IL-17-induced mRNA stabilization.

IκB-ζ Expression Requires Both TYK2/STAT3 Activity and IL-17-Regulated mRNA Stabilization.

Cytokine IL-17A (IL-17) acts on various cell types, including epidermal keratinocytes, and induces antimicrobial peptide and chemokine production to elicit antibacterial and antifungal defense responses. Excess IL-17 leads to inflammatory skin diseases such as psoriasis. The IκB family protein IκB-ζ mediates IL-17-induced responses. However, the mechanism controlling IκB-ζ expression in IL-17-stimulated cells remains elusive. In this study, we showed that JAK kinase TYK2 positively regulates IL-17-induced IκB-ζ expression. TYK2-deficient mice showed reduced inflammation and concomitant reduction of IκB-ζ mRNA compared with wild-type mice in imiquimod-induced skin inflammation. The analysis of the IκB-ζ promoter activity using human cell lines (HaCaT and HeLa) revealed that catalytic activity of TYK2 and its substrate transcription factor STAT3, but not IL-17, is required for IκB-ζ promoter activity. In contrast, IL-17-induced signaling, which did not activate STAT3, posttranscriptionally stabilized IκB-ζ mRNA via its 3'-untranslated region. IL-17 signaling protein ACT1 was required to counteract constitutive IκB-ζ mRNA degradation by RNase Regnase-1. These results suggested that transcriptional activation by TYK2-STAT3 pathway and mRNA stabilization by IL-17-mediated signals act separately from each other but complementarily to achieve IκB-ζ induction. Therefore, JAK/TYK2 inhibition might be of significance in regulation of IL-17-induced inflammatory reactions.

Acute kidney injury in an adult patient with IgA nephropathy and chronic replicative Epstein-Barr virus infection.

Most of the adult population are infected with Epstein-Barr virus (EBV), but as EBV replication is usually under immune system control, the majority of individuals remain asymptomatic. On the other hand, some individuals continuously retain a high EBV antibody titer and a high EBV DNA load in their blood, suggesting a defect of EBV replication control. To date, only a limited number of reports have addressed the relationship between this chronic form of EBV infection and renal involvement. Here, we describe an 80-year-old woman who developed acute kidney injury shortly after an episode of mosquito bites, accompanied by a severe skin rash, which raised a suspicion of chronic EBV infection. She was subsequently diagnosed as having chronic replicative EBV infection. Renal biopsy revealed a diagnosis of IgA nephropathy with crescent formation. Although the relationship between IgA nephropathy and EBV infection has been discussed, no substantial understanding has yet emerged. The patient's characteristic clinical course suggested that the renal failure may have been partly attributable to chronic EBV infection. This case suggests that physicians may need to consider the possibility that chronic EBV infection may affect the clinical course of IgA nephropathy, or exacerbate the disease.

Lactococcus lactis subsp. cremoris FC triggers IFN-γ production from NK and T cells via IL-12 and IL-18.

Lactic acid bacteria (LAB) benefit health as probiotics in a strain-dependent way. In this study, we investigated the immunomodulatory effects of Lactococcus lactis subsp. cremoris FC (LcFC) on dendritic cells (DCs), natural killer (NK) cells and T cells. LcFC induced the production of cytokines such as IL-10, IL-12, IL-6 and TNF-α from murine bone marrow DCs (BMDCs) via MyD88-dependent pathway. In comparison with the type strain L. lactis subsp. cremoris ATCC 19257, LcFC induced particularly high production of IL-12 while induction of IL-6 was moderate. Consequently, LcFC triggered IFN-γ production in splenic NK, CD8(+), and CD4(+) cells. Most prominent effect of LcFC on IFN-γ production was observed in NK cells, followed by CD8(+) cells, which was completely inhibited by combination of neutralizing anti-IL-12 and anti-IL-18 mAbs. Moreover, oral administration of LcFC enhanced the production of IFN-γ and IL-10 from splenocytes of treated mice. These findings suggest that this LAB strain is an efficient activator of protective cellular immunity via stimulation of myeloid cells including DCs.

Rice Brittle culm 6 encodes a dominant-negative form of CesA protein that perturbs cellulose synthesis in secondary cell walls.

The brittle culm (bc) mutants of Gramineae plants having brittle skeletal structures are valuable materials for studying secondary cell walls. In contrast to other recessive bc mutants, rice Bc6 is a semi-dominant bc mutant with easily breakable plant bodies. In this study, the Bc6 gene was cloned by positional cloning. Bc6 encodes a cellulose synthase catalytic subunit, OsCesA9, and has a missense mutation in its highly conserved region. In culms of the Bc6 mutant, the proportion of cellulose was reduced by 38%, while that of hemicellulose was increased by 34%. Introduction of the semi-dominant Bc6 mutant gene into wild-type rice significantly reduced the percentage of cellulose, causing brittle phenotypes. Transmission electron microscopy analysis revealed that Bc6 mutation reduced the cell wall thickness of sclerenchymal cells in culms. In rice expressing a reporter construct, BC6 promoter activity was detected in the culms, nodes, and flowers, and was localized primarily in xylem tissues. This expression pattern was highly similar to that of BC1, which encodes a COBRA-like protein involved in cellulose synthesis in secondary cell walls in rice. These results indicate that BC6 is a secondary cell wall-specific CesA that plays an important role in proper deposition of cellulose in the secondary cell walls.

[Evaluation of an adaptive filter for CT under low-CNR condition: comparison with linear filter].

The use of an adaptive filter for CT images is becoming a common procedure and is said to reduce image noise while preserving sharpness and helping to reduce the required X-ray dose. Although many reports support this view, the validity of such evaluations is arguable. When the linearity of a system is in question, physical performance indexes should be measured under conditions similar to those of clinical use. Evaluations of diagnosis using clinical images may be fallible because the non-filtered image used as the reference might not have been optimally reconstructed. We have chosen simple, but commonly used, adaptive filters for our evaluation. As a reference for comparing performance, we designed linear filters that best approximate the noise characteristics of the adaptive filters. MTF is measured through observation of the edge-spread function. Clinical abdominal images are used to compare the performance of adaptive filters and linear filters. We conclude that the performance of the type of adaptive filter we have chosen is virtually the same as that of the linear filter, as long as the image quality of soft tissues is our interest. Both the noise SD and MTF are virtually the same if the contrast of the object is not substantially higher than 150 HU. Images of soft tissues obtained with the use of adaptive filters are also virtually the same as those obtained by linear filters. The edge-preservation characteristic of this adaptive filter is not observable for soft tissues.