A highly specific antibody against the core fucose of the N-glycan in IgG identifies the pulmonary diseases and its regulation by CCL2.

Glycan structure is often modulated in disease or predisease states, suggesting that such changes might serve as biomarkers. Here, we generated a monoclonal antibody (mAb) against the core fucose of the N-glycan in human IgG. Notably, this mAb can be used in Western blotting and ELISA. ELISA using this mAb revealed a low level of the core fucose of the N-glycan in IgG, suggesting that the level of acore fucosylated (noncore fucosylated) IgG was increased in the sera of the patients with lung cancer, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, and interstitial pneumonia compared to healthy subjects. In a coculture analysis using human lung adenocarcinoma A549 cells and antibody-secreting B cells, the downregulation of the FUT8 (α1,6 fucosyltransferase) gene and a low level of core fucose of the N-glycan in IgG in antibody-secreting B cells were observed after coculture. A dramatic alteration in gene expression profiles for cytokines, chemokines, and their receptors were also observed after coculturing, and we found that the identified C-C motif chemokine 2 was partially involved in the downregulation of the FUT8 gene and the low level of core fucose of the N-glycan in IgG in antibody-secreting B cells. We also developed a latex turbidimetric immunoassay using this mAb. These results suggest that communication with C-C motif chemokine 2 between lung cells and antibody-secreting B cells downregulate the level of core fucose of the N-glycan in IgG, i.e., the increased level of acore fucosylated (noncore fucosylated) IgG, which would be a novel biomarker for the diagnosis of patients with pulmonary diseases.

Research on radiation protection in the application of new technologies for proton and heavy ion radiotherapy.

Particle radiotherapy using proton and heavy ion beams has shown improved clinical results and is a promising cancer therapy which is expected to gradually spread in Japan. There are, however, no special regulations for radiotherapy treatment facilities. They have been operated under the same safety regulations as for a research facility using a research accelerator. Significantly high-energy radiation is necessary for particle radiotherapy compared with conventional radiation therapy. The treatment facility, therefore, should have a large accelerator, which is installed in a room with a thick shield wall. Data on radiation protection for such high energy medical facilities is fragmentary and insufficient. In this study, we examined the necessity of other regulations for the safe operation of medical facilities for particle radiotherapy. First, we measured activation levels of the therapeutic devices and of patients. Next the safety level of the medical facility was evaluated from the viewpoint of radiation protection. We have confirmed the facilities can be safely operated by present regulations given in the Law Concerning Prevention from Radiation Hazards due to Radiation Isotopes, etc. or the Law for Health Protection and Medical Care.

Histone acetyltransferase 1 is dispensable for replication-coupled chromatin assembly but contributes to recover DNA damages created following replication blockage in vertebrate cells.

Histone acetyltransferase 1 (HAT1) is implicated for diacetylation of Lys-5 and Lys-12 of newly synthesized histone H4, the biological significance of which remains unclear. To investigate the in vivo role of HAT1, we generated HAT1-deficient DT40 clone (HAT1(-/-)). HAT1(-/-) cells exhibited greatly reduced diacetylation levels of Lys-5 and Lys-12, and acetylation level of Lys-5 of cytosolic and chromatin histones H4, respectively. The in vitro nucleosome assembly assay and in vivo MNase digestion assay revealed that HAT1 and diacetylation of Lys-5 and Lys-12 of histone H4 are dispensable for replication-coupled chromatin assembly. HAT1(-/-) cells had mild growth defect, conferring sensitivities to methyl methanesulfonate and camptothecin that enforce replication blocks creating DNA double strand breaks. Such heightened sensitivities were associated with prolonged late-S/G2 phase. These results indicate that HAT1 participates in recovering replication block-mediated DNA damages, probably through chromatin modulation based on acetylation of Lys-5 and Lys-12 of histone H4.