[Management of pregnancy induced hypertension].

Pregnancy induced hypertension (PIH) is classified according to the severity of hypertension. The Japan Society of Hypertension made practice guidelines in 2014, and the Japan Society for the Study of Hypertension in Pregnancy made guidelines subsequently in 2015, too. Both guidelines state that the basic treatment for PIH is the interruption of pregnancy, and antihypertensive therapy should be given for protection in mother complicated by severe hypertension. The fetal heart rates should be monitored enough due to worsening fetal circulation. It recommends that methyldopa, hydralazine, labetalol, and long-acting nifedipine (only after 20 weeks of gestation) should be used as the first-choice antihypertensive oral drugs. Intravenous administration should be selected when a hypertensive emergency occurs.

A multicenter prospective study of home blood pressure measurement (HBPM) during pregnancy in Japanese women.

In the near future, hypertensive disorders of pregnancy (HDP) have been diagnosed by home blood pressure monitoring (HBPM) instead of clinic BP monitoring. A multicenter study of HBPM was performed in pregnant Japanese women in the non-high risk group for HDP. Participants were women (n = 218), uncomplicated pregnancy who self-measured and recorded their HBP daily. Twelve women developed HDP. HBP was appropriate (100 mmHg in systole and 63 mmHg in diastole), bottoming out at 17 to 21 weeks of gestation. It increased after 24 weeks of gestation and returned to non-pregnant levels by 4 weeks of postpartum. The upper limit of normal HBP was defined as the mean value +3 SD for systolic and mean +2 SD for diastolic with reference to the criteria for non-pregnant women. Using the polynomial equation, the hypertensive cut-off of systolic HBP was 125 mmHg at 15 weeks and 132 mmHg at 30 weeks of gestation, while it for diastolic HBP was 79 mmHg at 15 weeks and 81 mmHg at 30 weeks of gestation. Systolic HBP in women who developed HDP was higher after 24 weeks of gestation, and diastolic HBP was higher during most of the pregnancy compared to normal pregnancy. When the variability of individual HBP in women developed HDP compared to normal pregnant women was examined using the coefficient of variation (CV), the CV was lower in HDP before the onset of HDP. HBPM can be used not only for HDP determination, but also for early detection of HDP.

Glycogen storage disease type Ia (GSD Ia) during pregnancy: report of a case complicated by fetal growth restriction and preeclampsia.

Glycogen storage disease type Ia (GSD Ia) leads to disturbed glycogenolysis and gluconeogenesis due to a deficiency in the enzyme glucose-6-phosphatase. A patient with GSD Ia showed hypoglycemia and proteinuria without dietary management since early pregnancy. The patient's condition was complicated by hypertension with increase in proteinuria at 22 weeks of gestation. In spite of administration of antihypertensive drugs and dietary management, the disease became more severe with deterioration in the fetal status and inhibition of fetal growth. Thus, a cesarean section was performed at 26 weeks of gestation. The delivered male infant weighing 412 g died at 2 days after birth. The patient's blood pressure had normalized within 3 months after delivery, while proteinuria persisted.

Characterization of short-chain poly3-hydroxybutyrate in baker's yeast.

A short-chain poly3-hydroxybutyrate including four comonomers, originating from a complex with calcium polyphosphate, was isolated from commercial baker's yeast cells (Saccharomyces cerevisiae) and characterized as the second complexed poly(3-hydroxyalkanoate) (cPHA) in eukaryotes. The number-average molecular weight of 4982.5 Da with a polydispersity index of 1.11 was much lower than that of beet cPHA previously isolated. End-group analysis suggested that at least 60% of the molecules form the cyclic structures. Here, the organism-dependent structural diversity of cPHAs was completely established. It was also found that a change of culture medium influences the molecular weight but not the polydispersity of baker's yeast cPHA.

Establishment of a polymerase chain reaction method for detection of Escherichia coli in amniotic fluid in patients with chorioamnionitis.

OBJECTIVE: We investigated whether Escherichia coli could be detected by E. coli of reference (ECOR) grouping and virulence factors (VFs) in amniotic fluid using polymerase chain reaction (PCR). METHOD: From 18 patients with clinical symptoms, such as cyclic uterine contraction, genital bleeding and cervical ripening, who subsequently developed abortion or labor before term, and from 40 normal pregnant women undergoing diagnostic amniocentesis, amniotic fluid was obtained. All samples were negative for standard culture. Six patients with symptoms were classified into the ECOR group, and with VFs, E. coli was detected in 6 patients. Thus, 4 patients were positive for both tests. CONCLUSION: We could establish a detection method for E. coli in amniotic fluid using both ECOR grouping and VFs with PCR.

Effect of norflurazon on resorcinolic lipid metabolism in rye seedlings.

Norflurazon is a selective pyridazinone herbicide excessively employed in the control of many annual grasses and broad-leaved weeds. This chemical causes plant bleaching due to the inhibition of the carotenoid pigment biogenesis as well as induces irreparable changes to chloroplasts, which are considered the organelles where the biosynthesis of resorcinolic lipids takes place. Resorcinolic lipids, a group of phenolic compounds, constitute not only an essential part of the plant antifungal defense system, but also are an important component of the human cereal diet. The aim of this study was to investigate the effect of norflurazon on the biosynthesis of resorcinolic lipids in 5-day-old rye plants (Secale cereale L.) that were grown at three different temperatures under light or dark conditions. At all tested temperatures, norflurazon decreased the fresh biomass of light-grown rye seedlings and increased the weight of plants grown in darkness. Compared with respective controls, this herbicide caused an increase in total content of alkylresorcinols in both green and etiolated plants with the exception of dark-grown norflurazon-treated rye at 29 degrees C. The general level of saturated homologues was markedly decreased by norflurazon in all etiolated plants and in light-grown seedlings at 15 degrees C. Independent of thermal and light conditions, in all norflurazon-treated samples two alkylresorcinol derivatives predominated: 1,3-dihydroxy-5-n-heptadecylbenzene and 1,3-dihydroxy-5-n-nonadecylbenzene. Thus, our results suggest that norflurazon affected the metabolism of alkylresorcinols in rye seedlings and its action was dependent on external stimuli.

Characteristics of attenuated endothelium-dependent relaxation seen in rabbit intrapulmonary vein following chronic nitroglycerine administration.

1 This study was undertaken to determine whether long-term in vivo administration of nitroglycerine (NTG) downregulates the endothelium-dependent relaxation induced by acetylcholine (ACh) in the rabbit intrapulmonary vein and, if so, whether the type 1 angiotensin II receptor (AT(1)R) blocker valsartan normalizes this downregulated relaxation. 2 In strips treated with the cyclooxygenase inhibitor diclofenac, ACh induced a relaxation only when the endothelium was intact. A small part of this ACh-induced relaxation was inhibited by coapplication of two Ca(2+)-activated K(+)-channel blockers (charybdotoxin (CTX)+apamin) and the greater part of the response was inhibited by the nitric-oxide-synthase inhibitor N(omega)-nitro-L-arginine (L-NNA). 3 The endothelium-dependent relaxation induced by ACh, but not the endothelium-independent relaxation induced by the nitric oxide donor NOC-7, was significantly reduced in NTG-treated rabbits (versus those in NTG-nontreated control rabbits). The attenuated relaxation was normalized by coapplication of valsartan with the NTG. 4 In the vascular wall, both the amount of localized angiotensin II and the production of superoxide anion were increased by in vivo NTG treatment. These variables were normalized by coapplication of valsartan with the NTG. 5 It is suggested that long-term in vivo administration of NTG downregulates the ACh-induced endothelium-dependent relaxation, mainly through an inhibition of endothelial nitric oxide production in the rabbit intrapulmonary vein. A possible role for AT(1)R is proposed in the mechanism underlying this effect.

Chronic nitroglycerine administration reduces endothelial nitric oxide production in rabbit mesenteric resistance artery.

We investigated whether 10 days' in vivo treatment with nitroglycerine (NTG) would inhibit nitric oxide production by the endothelial cells of resistance arteries ex vivo and, if so, what the underlying mechanism might be. ACh increased the intracellular nitric oxide concentration ([NO]i; estimated using the nitric oxide-sensitive fluorescent dye diaminofluorescein-2) within the endothelial cells of rabbit mesenteric resistance arteries. This effect was significantly smaller in arteries isolated from NTG-treated rabbits than in those from control rabbits. The reduction in endothelial [NO]i in NTG-treated rabbits was prevented when olmesartan (blocker of type 1 angiotensin II receptors (AT1Rs)) was coadministered in vivo with NTG and also when the superoxide scavenger manganese (III) tetrakis-(4-benzoic acid) porphyrin (Mn-TBAP), the protein kinase C (PKC) inhibitor GF109203X or L-arginine (with or without the active form of folate (5-methyltetrahydrofolate)) was incubated with the arteries in vitro. Endothelial cell superoxide production (estimated by ethidium fluorescence) was greatly increased in arteries from NTG-treated rabbits. This was normalized by in vivo coadministration of olmesartan with NTG and also by in vitro application of Mn-TBAP or GF109203X (but not of 5-methyltetrahydrofolate+L-arginine). ACh increased the intracellular Ca2+ concentration (estimated using the Ca2+-sensitive dye Fura 2) within endothelial cells, the increase being not significantly different between NTG-treated rabbits and control rabbits. We conclude that in NTG-treated rabbits, endothelial nitric oxide production in mesenteric resistance arteries is reduced, possibly through a reduction in the bioavailability of L-arginine via an action mediated by superoxide. Activation of the AT1R-PKC pathway may be involved in increasing superoxide production.

Reduced hyperpolarization in endothelial cells of rabbit aortic valve following chronic nitroglycerine administration.

This study was undertaken to determine whether long-term in vivo administration of nitroglycerine (NTG) downregulates the hyperpolarization induced by acetylcholine (ACh) in aortic valve endothelial cells (AVECs) of the rabbit and, if so, whether antioxidant agents can normalize this downregulated hyperpolarization. ACh (0.03-3 microM) induced a hyperpolarization through activations of both apamin- and charybdotoxin-sensitive Ca2+-activated K+ channels (K(Ca)) in rabbit AVECs. The intermediate-conductance K(Ca) channel (IK(Ca)) activator 1-ethyl-2-benzimidazolinone (1-EBIO, 0.3 mM) induced a hyperpolarization of the same magnitude as ACh (3 microM). The ACh-induced hyperpolarization was significantly weaker, although the ACh-induced [Ca2+]i increase was unchanged, in NTG-treated rabbits (versus NTG-untreated control rabbits). The hyperpolarization induced by 1-EBIO was also weaker in NTG-treated rabbits. The reduced ACh-induced hyperpolarization seen in NTG-treated rabbits was not modified by in vitro application of the superoxide scavengers Mn-TBAP, tiron or ascorbate, but it was normalized when ascorbate was coadministered with NTG in vivo. Superoxide production within the endothelial cell (estimated by ethidium fluorescence) was increased in NTG-treated rabbits and this increased production was normalized by in vivo coadministration of ascorbate with the NTG. It is suggested that long-term in vivo administration of NTG downregulates the ACh-induced hyperpolarization in rabbit AVECs, possibly through chronic actions mediated by superoxide.

Further studies of lipid droplets in the bombykol-producing pheromone gland of Bombyx mori.

Lipid droplets are abundant in the pheromone-producing cells of B. mori at adult eclosion, followed by daily fluctuations in both their size and number. Their dynamics are related to PBAN-stimulated de novo bombykol production. To elucidate associated events, we performed the following: (1) extraction, purification, and partial characterization of lipid droplet-associated proteins found on their surface since their function could possibly be to transport and/or dock putative lipases that are responsible for the lipolysis of triglycerides in them; (2) separation, purification, and initial analysis of lipids carried by lipophorins and lipid transfer particles originating from pupal and adult hemolymph because of their role in the formation and accumulation of lipid droplets.

Screening of putative oxygenase genes in the Fusarium graminearum genome sequence database for their role in trichothecene biosynthesis.

In the biosynthesis of type B trichothecenes, four oxygenation steps remain to have genes functionally assigned to them. On the basis of the complete genome sequence of Fusarium graminearum, expression patterns of all oxygenase genes were investigated in Fusarium asiaticum (F. graminearum lineage 6). As a result, we identified five cytochrome P450 monooxygenase (CYP) genes that are specifically expressed under trichothecene-producing conditions and are unique to the toxin-producing strains. The entire coding regions of four of these genes were identified in F. asiaticum. When expressed in Saccharomyces cerevisiae, none of the oxygenases were able to transform trichodiene-11-one to expected products. However, one of the oxygenases catalyzed the 2beta-hydroxylation rather than the expected 2alpha-hydroxylation. Targeted disruption of the five CYP genes did not alter the trichothecene profiles of F. asiaticum. The results are discussed in relation to the presence of as-yet-unidentified oxygenation genes that are necessary for the biosynthesis of trichothecenes.

Isolation and structure determination of complexed poly(3-hydroxyalkanoate) from beet (Beta vulgaris L.).

Complexed poly(3-hydroxyalkanoate)s (cPHAs), one of two types of natural PHAs, occur in both prokaryotes and eukaryotes as a complex with biomacromolecules and could be involved in various physiological functions. In this study, a cPHA-component derived from a complex with calcium polyphosphate was isolated from sugar beet (Beta vulgaris L.) and determined to be a homopolymer composed of 3-hydroxybutyrate. MALDI MS provided the number-average molecular weight (Mn = 9,124 Da) and polydispersity index (PDI = 1.01), showing that beet cPHA has a slightly lower molecular mass than the known Escherichia coli cPHA. In addition, the structural analysis of both end groups showed that (i) 100 mol-% of the carboxyl end is free, while about 30 mol-% of the hydroxyl end is free and about 70 mol-% masked and (ii) the end hydroxyl group is masked by at least six identified short-chain alkanoic and alkanedioic acids. Based on such end-group characteristics, the polymerization mechanism of beet cPHA is discussed.

Role of PKC in the attenuation of the cGMP-mediated relaxation of skinned resistance artery smooth muscle seen in glyceryl-trinitrate-tolerant rabbit.

We examined whether 10 days' in vivo treatment with glyceryl trinitrate (GTN) might reduce cGMP-induced relaxation in the smooth muscle of rabbit mesenteric resistance arteries and, if so, whether protein kinase C (PKC) plays a role in this downregulation. The relaxation responses to GTN and the nitric oxide donor NOC-7 were significantly reduced in endothelium-denuded strips from GTN-treated rabbits. In beta-escin-skinned smooth muscle, the ability of 8-bromoguanosine 3',5' cyclic monophosphate (8-Br-cGMP, a phosphodiesterase-resistant cGMP analogue) to relax the contraction induced by 0.3 microM Ca2+ was significantly reduced in GTN-treated rabbits. In beta-escin-skinned smooth muscle, an inhibitor of conventional and/or novel PKCs, GF109203X (0.6 microM), inhibited the Ca2+ -induced contraction and enhanced the 8-Br-cGMP-induced relaxation. However, since the relaxing ability of 8-Br-cGMP was found to be unchanged by GF109203X when contractions were amplitude-matched (0.2 microM Ca2+ alone vs 0.3 microm Ca2+ + GF109203X), the increase in the 8-Br-cGMP-response seen with GF109203X was probably due to its inhibitory action on the Ca2+ -induced contraction. Furthermore, although the PKC activator phorbol 12,13-dibutyrate (PDBu, 0.1 microM) decreased the 8-Br-cGMP-induced relaxation of the Ca2+ (0.3 microM) contraction, this was probably due to its enhancement of the Ca2+ -induced contraction since no such effect of PDBu was seen when the Ca2+ -induced contractions were amplitude-matched (0.2 microM Ca2+ + PDBu vs 0.3 microM Ca2+ alone). These results suggest that the relaxing response to cGMP is reduced in the smooth muscle of mesenteric resistance arteries in GTN-treated rabbits but that conventional and/or novel PKCs do not play a major role in maintaining this downregulation. British Journal of Pharmacology (2004) 141, 391-398. doi:10.1038/sj.bjp.0705625

Conservative treatment by angiographic artery embolization of an 11-week cervical pregnancy after a period of heavy bleeding.

OBJECTIVE: To describe a rare case of conservative treatment of an 11-week cervical pregnancy after a period of heavy bleeding. DESIGN: Case report. SETTING: A university hospital. PATIENT(S): A 33-year-old woman was admitted to our hospital for treatment of a cervical pregnancy. Two-and-a-half years thereafter, she gave birth to a healthy baby by vaginal delivery at 38 weeks of gestation. INTERVENTION(S): Systemic methotrexate treatment, ligation of descending branches of uterine arteries, cervical cerclage, and unilateral internal iliac artery embolization. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURE(S): Transvaginal ultrasound, magnetic resonance imaging, and arteriography findings. RESULT(S): The patient was successfully treated with unilateral internal iliac artery embolization on the same side as the pregnancy in the 11th gestational week. CONCLUSION(S): After failed methotrexate and vessel ligation in cervical pregnancy, unilateral internal iliac artery embolization is an effective and conservative treatment that allows preservation of reproduction potential.

Antibacterial diterpenes and their fatty acid conjugates from rice leaves.

Six structurally oryzalide-related compounds, oryzadione (1), 2, 3, 4, 5 and 6, were isolated from a neutral fraction of the extract of healthy leaves using a bacterial leaf blight-resistant cultivar of a rice plant, "Norin-27", as a group of antimicrobial substances. Their structures were determined by spectroscopic studies to be kaurane analogues and kaurane analogues conjugated with fatty acids, i.e., 1: ent-15,16-epoxy-kauran-2,3-dione (enol form: ent-15,16-epoxy-2-hydroxy-kauran-1-en-3-one), 2: ent-15,16-epoxy-3beta-hydroxy-kauran-2-one, 3: ent-15,16-epoxy-3-oxa-kauran-2-one, 4: ent-15,16-epoxy-3beta-myristoyloxy-kauran-2-one, 5: ent-15,16-epoxy-3alpha-palmitoyloxy-kauran-2-one, and 6: ent-15,16-epoxy-2beta-palmitoyloxy-kauran-2-one.

Propeptin, a new inhibitor of prolyl endopeptidase produced by microbispora II. Determination of chemical structure.

The structure of propeptin, a new inhibitor of prolyl endopeptidase isolated from Microbispora sp. SNA-115, was determined. FAB/MS, Edman degradation and amino acid analysis revealed propeptin to be a cyclic polypeptide consisting of 19 common L-amino acids. By FAB/MS and protein chemical methods, the primary sequence of propeptin was determined to be Gly1-Tyr-Pro-Trp-Trp-Asp-Tyr-Arg-Asp9-Leu-Phe-Gly-Gly-His-Thr-Phe-Ile-Ser-Pro19, which cyclizes between the beta-carboxyl group of Asp9 and the a-amino group of Gly1.

SNA-60-367 components, new peptide enzyme inhibitors of aromatase: structure of the fatty acid side chain and amino acid sequence by mass spectrometry.

SNA-60-367 components, new peptide enzyme inhibitors of aromatase, were isolated from the culture broth of soil bacterium, Bacillus sp. SNA-60-367. These inhibitors are a family of acylated decapeptides that differ from each other in terms of amino acid composition and the nature of the fatty acid side chain. The structures of the fatty acid moieties were shown to be (3-hydroxy)heptadecanoic acid and (3-hydroxy)hexadecanoic acid that possess normal-, iso- or anteiso-type alkyl groups. The amino acid sequence of the open form of the lactone ring of the acylpeptides is RCO-L-Glu-D-Orn-L(or D)-Tyr3-D-allo-Thr-L-Glu-D-X1 (Ala, Aba or Val)-L-Pro-L-Gln-D(or L)-Tyr-L-X2(10)(Ile or Val)-OH. The lactone ring of SNA-60-367 components is formed between Tyr3 and X2(10).

5-n-Alkylresorcinols from grains of winter barley (Hordeum vulgare L.).

The resorcinolic lipid content and homologue composition of winter barley grains harvested at two field locations were evaluated. Depending on the crop location, the predominant alkylresorcinols identified were 1,3-dihydroxy-5-n-heneicosylbenzene or 1,3-dihydroxy-5-n-pentacosylbenzene. Both resorcinol concentration and their homologue profiles were diverse in samples harvested at different fields indicating a prevailing role of the environment upon the alkylresorcinol biosynthesis in cereals.

Alkyl- and alkenylresorcinols of wheat grains and their chemotaxonomic significance.

Resorcinolic lipid contents and homologue compositions in extracts isolated from soft winter, soft spring and hard (durum) wheat grains were evaluated by both instrumental and chromatography means. Resorcinol concentrations determined in wheat were diverse and varied in samples harvested within two consecutive vegetative years, whereas their homologue profiles were found to be rather invariable. The predominant alkylresorcinols identified in wheat grains were saturated 1,3-dihydroxy-5-n-heneicosylbenzene and 1,3-dihydroxy-5-n-nonadecylbenzene. 1,3-Dihydroxy-5-n-heptadecylbenzene and 1,3-dihydroxy-5-n-tricosylbenzene were also determined, whereas 1,3-dihydroxy-5-n-pentadecylbenzene and 1,3-dihydroxy-5-n-pentacosylbenzene were present in these extracts only in spurious amounts. Furthermore, our results show that alk(en)ylresorcinols may be useful as chemotaxonomic markers for a distinction between soft and hard wheat plants. Cluster analysis with Ward's amalgamation algorithm and five different distance linkage types clearly discriminated particular wheats into species- and cultivar-specific clusters, whereas the use of principal component analysis allowed us to specify, which of the variables analysed were decisive. This approach may be useful for both plant breeders and taxonomists to classify wheat species/cultivars.

Alkylresorcinols in barley (Hordeum vulgare L. distichon) grains.

This study was carried out to compare grains of barley (Hordeum vulgare L. distichon) regarding contents and compositions of 5-n-alkylresorcinols. Mixtures of resorcinol homologues were isolated from acetone extracts from five barley cultivars. These polyketide metabolites were identified by chromatographic and spectroscopic means. The content and homologue patterns among different varieties were similar. The predominant compounds were 1,3-dihydroxy-5-n-heneicosylbenzene (C21:0), 1,3-dihydroxy-5-n-nonadecylbenzene (C19:0) and 1,3-dihydroxy-5-n-pentacosylbenzene (C25:0). The alkylresorcinol concentrations, in contrast to their compositions, depended on environmental and agricultural factors.