Nocturnal Scratching and Quality of Sleep in Children with Atopic Dermatitis.

Itching due to atopic dermatitis causes sleep disorders in children, but its pathology is unknown. The aim of this study is to investigate nocturnal scratching as an indirect index of itching during sleep and its relationship with depth of sleep in children with atopic dermatitis. Nocturnal scratching was measured in a total of 20 children with atopic dermatitis, using a smartwatch installed with the application Itch Tracker. Depth of sleep was analysed using polysomnography. The severity of atopic dermatitis was scored using Eczema Area and Severity Index (EASI) and Patient-Oriented Eczema Measure (POEM). The number and time of nocturnal scratching measured by Itch Tracker had a significantly positive correlation with EASI scores, whereas POEM scores were not correlated with EASI scores. Mean sleep efficiency was 90.0% and scratching episodes (n = 67) started mainly during the awake stage or light sleep stages. In the scratching episodes that started during sleep stages (n = 34), the sleep stage changed to a lighter one or to the awake stage in 35.5% of episodes. Itch Tracker is applicable to measure nocturnal scratching in children. Nocturnal scratching can deteriorate quality of sleep by changing the sleep stage to a lighter one or to the awake stage.

[Fatal nontuberculous mycobacterial lung disease caused by Mycobacterium kyorinense: a case report with five years of follow-up].

An 85-year-old man with dementia first visited our hospital 5 years ago, complaining of hemoptysis. He was hospitalized 2 years later owing to fever, cough, and dyspnea. A chest computed tomography scan showed infiltration with a cavity in the left upper lobe. He was diagnosed with nontuberculous mycobacterial lung infection on the basis of the presence of acid-fast bacilli in the sputum and repeated bronchoalveolar lavage specimens; however, we were unable to identify the isolate by DNA-DNA hybridization. Although his general condition had slightly improved after treatment initiation, intermittent chemotherapy owing to the adverse effects of the drugs and dementia led to rapid disease progression and death. After his death, the isolated mycobacterium was identified as Mycobacterium kyorinense by sequence analysis of the hsp 65 and rpoB genes.

Purification and Characterization of α-Mannosidase from Onion, Allium cepa.

α-Mannosidase (ALMAN) extracted from onion (Allium cepa) was purified by column chromatography such as hydrophobic and gel filtration. ALMAN is an acidic α-mannosidase that exhibits maximum activity against pNP-α-Man at pH 4.0-5.0 at 50°C. Amino acid sequence analysis of ALMAN was consistent with α-mannosidase deduced from Allium cepa transcriptome analysis. The gene alman was amplified by PCR using mRNA extracted from onions, and a full-length gene of 3,054 bp encoding a protein of 1,018 amino acid residues was revealed. ALMAN is classified as Glycoside Hydrolase Family (GH) 38 and showed homology with other plant-derived α-mannosidases such as tomato and hot pepper.

Novel proteoglycan glycotechnology: chemoenzymatic synthesis of chondroitin sulfate-containing molecules and its application.

Proteoglycans consist of a protein core, with one or more glycosaminoglycan chains (i.e., chondroitin sulfate, dermatan sulfate and heparin sulfate) bound covalently to it. The glycosaminoglycan chains account for many of the functions and properties of proteoglycans. The development of proteoglycan glycotechnology to exploit the functionality of glycosaminoglycan chains is an extremely important aspect of glycobiology. Here we describe an efficient and widely applicable method for chemoenzymatic synthesis of conjugate compounds comprising intact long chondroitin sulfate (ChS) chains. An alkyne containing ChS was prepared by an enzymatic transfer reaction and linked with a chemically synthesized core compound containing an azido group using click chemistry. This method enabled highly efficient introduction of ChS into target materials. Furthermore, the ChS-introduced compounds had marked stability against proteolysis, and the chemically linked ChS chain contributed to the stability of these core compounds. We believe the present method will contribute to the development of proteoglycan glycobiology and technology.

Novel products in hyaluronan digested by bovine testicular hyaluronidase.

When the products of hyaluronan (HA) digested by bovine testicular hyaluronidase (BTH) were analyzed by high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC), minor peaks were detected just before the main even-numbered oligosaccharide peaks. The amount of each minor peak was dependent on the reaction conditions for transglycosylation, rather than hydrolysis, by the BTH. Mainly based on HPLC and MS analysis, each minor peak was found to correspond to its oligosaccharide with one N-acetyl group removed from the reducing terminal N-acetylglucosamine. Enzymatic studies showed that the N-deacetylation activity was closely related to reaction temperature, pH, and the concentration of NaCl contained in the buffer, and glycosaminoglycan types and chain lengths of substrates. These findings strongly suggest that the N-deacetylation reaction in minor peaks was due to a novel enzyme contaminant in the BTH, N-deacetylase, that carries out N-deacetylation at the reducing terminal N-acetylglucosamine of oligosaccharides and is dependent on HA hydrolysis by BTH.

Structural interactions in chondroitin 4-sulfate mediated adherence of Plasmodium falciparum infected erythrocytes in human placenta during pregnancy-associated malaria.

Infection with Plasmodium falciparum during pregnancy results in the adherence of infected red blood cells (IRBCs) in placenta, causing pregnancy-associated malaria with severe health complications in mothers and fetuses. The chondroitin 4-sulfate (C4S) chains of very low sulfated chondroitin sulfate proteoglycans (CSPGs) in placenta mediate the IRBC adherence. While it is known that partially sulfated but not fully sulfated C4S effectively binds IRBCs, structural interactions involved remain unclear and are incompletely understood. In this study, structurally defined C4S oligosaccharides of varying sulfate contents and sizes were evaluated for their ability to inhibit the binding of IRBCs from different P. falciparum strains to CSPG purified from placenta. The results clearly show that, with all parasite strains studied, dodecasaccharide is the minimal chain length required for the efficient adherence of IRBCs to CSPG and two 4-sulfated disaccharides within this minimal structural motif are sufficient for maximal binding. Together, these data demonstrate for the first time that the C4S structural requirement for IRBC adherence is parasite strain-independent. We also show that the carboxyl group on nonreducing end glucuronic acid in dodecasaccharide motif is important for IRBC binding. Thus, in oligosaccharides containing terminal 4,5-unsaturated glucuronic acid, the nonreducing end disaccharide moiety does not interact with IRBCs due to the altered spatial orientation of carboxyl group. In such C4S oligosaccharides, 14-mer but not 12-mer constitutes the minimal motif for inhibition of IRBC binding to placental CSPG. These data have important implications for the development and evaluation of therapeutics and vaccine for placental malaria.

Diversity in the degree of sulfation and chain length of the glycosaminoglycan moiety of urinary trypsin inhibitor isomers.

Five isomers with different electric charge were fractionated from human urinary trypsin inhibitor (UTI) by anion exchange HPLC. Intact low-sulfated chondroitin 4-sulfate chains from the isomers were analyzed by HPLC and mass spectrometry. Unsaturated disaccharide composition analysis of the chondroitin sulfate chain revealed that the five isomers differ in the numbers of 4-sulfated disaccharide units. Intriguingly, we detected the presence of multiple novel isomers with different numbers of non-sulfated disaccharide units even in the same charge isomer fraction. Our results demonstrate that UTI can vary in terms of both the degree of sulfation and the length of the low-sulfated chondroitin 4-sulfate chain.

Computed tomography imaging findings in erythrodermic psoriasis treated with infliximab: A case report.

Erythrodermic psoriasis (EP), 1 of the most rare and severe forms of psoriasis, is characterized by general erythema with silvery scales. Systemic vasodilatation in EP is potentially life-threatening, however, the degree and extent of inflammation in subcutaneous tissues are difficult to estimate accurately using standard skin inspections or ultrasound examinations. Computed tomography can be a useful modality in solving this problem. The authors report a case of EP. Sequential contrast-enhanced whole-body computed tomography before and after treatment with a tumor necrosis factor-α inhibitor (infliximab) visualized the inflammation and the effect of the treatment.

Isolation and Characterization of Two Types of Xyloglucanases from a Phytopathogenic Fungus, Verticillium dahliae.

Xyloglucan is a major hemicellulosic component in plant cell walls. Phytopathogenic fungi secrete cell wall-degrading enzymes on their infection to hosts, while the nature of the cell wall-lytic enzymes of such fungi are yet to be fully understood. Verticillium dahliae is a soil-borne fungus that causes vascular wilt diseases in a variety of commercially important crops worldwide. We purified two types of xyloglucanases, XEG12A and XEG74B, from the culture of naturally isolated Verticillium dahliae strain 2148. XEG12A showed a molecular size of 23 kDa with its maximal activity at pH 7.5. XEG12A specifically hydrolyzed xyloglucan with no activity on other ß-glucans. XEG74B had a molecular size of 110 kDa with its optimum pH at 6.0. XEG74B primarily hydrolyzed xyloglucan, with a slight activity on ß-1,3-1,4-glucan. Analysis of hydrolytic products of xyloglucanooligasaccharide (XXXGXXXG) by matrix-assisted laser desorption/ionization time-of-flight mass spectrometry (MALDI-TOF MS) revealed that the both enzymes cleaved ß-1,4-glucosidic linkage at the position of unbranched chain, while XEG74B showed a little fluctuation with the cleavage site. Both enzymes did not hydrolyzed xyloglucanoheptasaccharide (XXXG) at all. N-Terminal and internal amino acid sequencing of the enzymes revealed that XEG12A and XEG74B belonged to Glycoside Hydrolase (GH) Families 12 and 74, respectively. Based on these results we concluded that V. dahliae XEG12A and XEG74B were xyloglucan-specific endo-ß-1,4-glucanases (EC 3.2.1.151).

Marine bacterial sulfated fucoglucuronomannan (SFGM) lyase digests brown algal SFGM into trisaccharides.

Three kinds of trisaccharides were prepared by digesting fucoidan from the brown alga Kjellmaniella crassifolia, with the extracellular enzymes of the marine bacterium Fucobacter marina. Their structures were determined as delta 4,5GlcpUA1-2(L-Fucp(3-O-sulfate)alpha 1-3)D-Manp, delta 4,5GlcpUA1-2(L-Fucp(3- O-sulfate)alpha 1-3)D-Manp(6-O-sulfate), and delta 4,5GlcpUA1-2(L-Fucp(2,4-O-disulfate)alpha 1-3)D-Manp(6-O-sulfate), which indicated the existence of a novel polysaccharide in the fucoidan and a novel glycosidase in the extracellular enzymes. In order to determine the complete structure of the polysaccharide and the reaction mechanism of the glycosidase, the fucoidan was partially hydrolyzed to obtain glucuronomannan, which is the putative backbone of the polysaccharide, and its sugar sequence was determined as (-4-D-GlcpUAbeta 1-2D-Manpalpha 1-)n, which disclosed that the main structure of the polysaccharide is (-4-D-GlcpUAbeta 1-2(L-Fucp(3-O-sulfate)alpha 1-3)D-Manpalpha 1-)n. Consequently, the glycosidase was deduced to be an endo-alpha-D-mannosidase that eliminatively cleaves the alpha-D-mannosyl linkage between D-Manp and D-GlcpUA residues in the polysaccharide and produces the above trisaccharides. The novel polysaccharide and glycosidase were tentatively named as sulfated fucoglucuronomannan (SFGM) and SFGM lyase, respectively.

A case of renal angioleiomyoma with rapid growing: CT findings with histopathological correlation.

We present a rare case of renal angioleiomyoma with rapid growing during one-year and seven-months' follow-up. The CT findings correlated well with the histopathological findings. The patient was a 62-year-old man with right renal mass that was incidentally found on CT. The first CT showed a solitary mass lesion that was 2.0 cm in diameter with a well-defined margin at the right renal medulla. It was gradually enhanced on contrast-enhanced CT. Follow-up CT was performed after one year and seven months, and the mass had grown to 3.8 cm in diameter and showed heterogeneous density on unenhanced CT. The mass had an early enhanced area in the corticomedullary phase, and this enhancement lasted into the nephrographic phase. Another area was gradually enhanced heterogeneously. Right radical nephrectomy was performed, and the histopathological diagnosis was renal angioleiomyoma. The early enhanced area of the mass corresponded to large vessels filled with blood, and the other area was mainly composed of bundles of smooth muscle, fibrous tissue, and minute blood vessels. It is important to know that the CT findings of real angioleiomyoma may show hypervascularity but are atypical for renal cell carcinoma (RCC), and a tendency for growth may be present.

Renal cell carcinoma with double synchronous contralateral adrenal metastases.

A 63-year-old male patient visited our hospital with a right incidental renal tumor, which was found by ultrasonography for the follow-up study of chronic hepatitis B virus infection and diabetes mellitus. Consecutive computed tomography revealed a right renal tumor and two left adrenal tumors. Further systemic imaging study and hormonal examination suggested one right renal cell carcinoma and left adrenal metastases. We performed right nephrectomy and left adrenalectomy. The pathological diagnoses of all resected tumors were renal cell carcinoma. The patient has been in good health without any recurrence for 12 months since the operation. In patients with renal cell carcinoma, contralateral adrenal metastasis is usually associated with multiple metastases to other organs. There are a few cases of solitary and synchronous contralateral adrenal metastasis in the English literature. To our knowledge, this is the first report of a case of renal cell carcinoma with double synchronous contralateral adrenal metastases.

Mechanism for the hydrolysis of hyaluronan oligosaccharides by bovine testicular hyaluronidase.

Synthetic hyaluronan oligosaccharides with defined structures and their pyridylaminated derivatives were used to investigate the mechanism of hydrolysis of hyaluronan by bovine testicular hyaluronidase. The products of the hydrolysis were analyzed by HPLC and ion-spray mass spectroscopy (MS). It was confirmed that the minimum substrate for bovine testicular hyaluronidase is the hyaluronan hexasaccharide, even though it is a poor substrate that is barely cleaved, even on prolonged incubation. When hyaluronan octasaccharide was the substrate, increasing amounts of tetrasaccharide and hexasaccharide were produced with increasing time of incubation. Whereas disaccharide was not detectable in the reaction mixture by HPLC, MS analysis revealed trace amounts. The data suggest that the enzyme generates a disaccharide intermediate from hyaluronan oligosaccharide, the majority of which is transferred to the nonreducing ends of other oligosaccharides, only traces being released as free disaccharide. When hyaluronan octasaccharide, with an unsaturated glucuronic acid at the nonreducing end, was used as a substrate, only a tetrasaccharide was detected by HPLC. However, MS showed that the product was a mixture of equal amounts of two tetrasaccharides, one with and the other without the unsaturated glucuronic acid. This suggests that, in the case of substrates with a double bond at the nonreducing end, a tetrasaccharide is cleaved off instead of a disaccharide. The results of the experiments with pyridylaminated oligosaccharides were entirely consistent with these conclusions, and in addition showed the importance of the reducing end of the substrate for the enzyme to recognize the length of the saccharide.

A novel mechanism for the inhibition of hyaluronan biosynthesis by 4-methylumbelliferone.

Specific inhibitors of hyaluronan (HA) biosynthesis can be valuable therapeutic agents to prevent cancer invasion and metastasis. We have found previously that 4-methylumbelliferone (MU) inhibits HA synthesis in human skin fibroblasts and in group C Streptococcus. In this paper, the inhibition mechanism in mammalian cells was investigated using rat 3Y1 fibroblasts stably expressing HA synthase (HAS) 2. Exposure of the transfectants to the inhibitor resulted in significant reduction of HA biosynthesis and matrix formation. The evaluation of HAS transcripts and analysis of cell-free HA synthesis demonstrated the post-transcriptional suppression of HAS activity by MU. Most interesting, the post-transcriptional suppression of HAS activity was also observed using p-nitrophenol, a well known substrate for UDP-glucuronyltransferases (UGT). We investigated whether the inhibition was exerted by the glucuronidation of MU using both high pressure liquid chromatography and TLC analyses. The production of MU-glucuronic acid (GlcUA) was consistent with the inhibition of HA synthesis in HAS transfectants. MU-GlcUA was also detected at a similar level in control cells, suggesting that the glucuronidation was mediated by an endogenous UGT. Elevated levels of UGT significantly enhanced the inhibitory effects of MU. In contrast, the inhibition by MU was diminished to the control level when an excess of UDP-GlcUA was added to the cell-free HA synthesis system. We propose a novel mechanism for the MU-mediated inhibition of HA synthesis involving the glucuronidation of MU by endogenous UGT resulting in a depletion of UDP-GlcUA.