Daisaikoto improves fatty liver and obesity in melanocortin-4 receptor gene-deficient mice via the activation of brown adipose tissue.

Melanocortin 4 receptor gene-knockout (MC4R-KO) mice are known to develop obesity with a high-fat diet. Meanwhile, daisaikoto, one of Kampo medicines, is a drug that is expected to have therapeutic effects on obesity. Here, we report the efficacy of daisaikoto in MC4R-KO mice. Eight-week-old MC4R-KO male mice (n = 12) were divided into three groups as follows: the SD group, which is fed with a standard diet; the HFD group, fed a high-fat diet; and the DSK group, fed with a high-fat diet containing 10% of daisaikoto. After the four-week observation period, mice in each group were sacrificed and samples were collected. The body weights at 12 weeks were significantly higher in the HFD group than in the other groups, indicating that daisaikoto significantly reduced body weight gain and fat deposition of the liver. The metabolome analysis indicated that degradation of triglycerides and fatty acid oxidation in the liver were enhanced by daisaikoto administration. In MC4R-KO mice, the cytoplasm and uncoupling protein 1 expression of brown adipose tissue was decreased; however, it was reversed in the DSK group. In conclusion, daisaikoto has potentially improved fatty liver and obesity, making it a useful therapeutic agent for obesity and fatty liver.

Platelet-derived growth factor receptor-tyrosine kinase inhibitor, imatinib, is effective for treating pulmonary hypertension induced by pulmonary tumor thrombotic microangiopathy.

Pulmonary hypertension (PH) induced by pulmonary tumor thrombotic microangiopathy (PTTM) can be fatal because its rapid progression confounds diagnosis, and it is difficult to control with therapy. Here we describe a woman with symptomatic PTTM-PH accompanying gastric cancer that was suspected from perfusion scintigraphy. PTTM-PH was diagnosed by gastroesophageal endoscopy and lung biopsy after partial control of PH using the platelet-derived growth factor (PDGF) receptor (PDGFR) tyrosine kinase inhibitor, imatinib. Treatment with sildenafil and ambrisentan further decreased PH, and she underwent total gastrectomy followed by adjuvant TS-1 chemotherapy. PH did not recur before her death from metastasis. Postmortem histopathology showed recanalized pulmonary arteries where the embolized cancer masses disappeared. PDGF-A, -B, and PDGFR-α, ß expression was detected in cancer cells and proliferating pulmonary vascular endothelial cells. Thus, PTTM-PH was successfully controlled using a combination of imatinib, drugs to treat pulmonary arterial hypertension, and cancer management.

Nondestructive prediction of oren extract powder, a herbal medicine, in suppositories by chemometric near-infrared spectroscopy.

Near-infrared (NIR) spectroscopy combined with chemometrics has been utilized in predictions of natural medicine content without destroying samples. Suppositories (oren powdered extract content 0, 0.5, 1.0, 2.5, 10, 12.5, and 15%) were produced by mixing oren powdered extract with macrogol mixture consisting of 1 part macrogol 1500 and 2.5 parts macrogol 4000 at 54°C, and pouring the melt mixture into a plastic container. NIR spectra of the 10 prepared samples were recorded 10 times, and a total of 100 spectra were randomly divided into two data sets, one for calibration and the other for validation. The calibration model for the oren content of the suppository was calculated based on NIR spectra using a partial least-squares regression analysis after pre-treatment (smoothing and the multiplicative scatter correction). The relationship between the actual and predicted values for calibration and validation models had a straight line with correlation coefficients of 0.9936 and 0.9898, respectively. The regression vector result of the calibration model indicates that the peaks at 6945, 5747, and 5160 cm(-1) in the regression vector were consistent with those in oren powder extracts. NIR spectroscopy combined with chemometrics offers promise as a method of predicting the oren powder content in suppositories without destroying the samples.

Lactate and adenosine triphosphate in the extender enhance the cryosurvival of rat epididymal sperm.

We evaluated the cryosurvival of rat epididymal sperm preserved in raffinose-modified Krebs-Ringer bicarbonate-egg yolk extender supplemented with various energy-yielding substrates (glucose, pyruvate, lactate, and ATP) and assessed the effect on sperm oxygen consumption. The incubation of sperm at 37 degrees C for 10 min in lactate-free extender decreased sperm motility and oxygen consumption before and after thawing compared with those of sperm in glucose- and pyruvate-free mediums. We then focused on the effect of supplementing the extender with lactate (0, 10.79, 21.58, 32.37, and 43.16 mM) and found that sperm frozen and thawed in extender supplemented with 32.37 mM lactate exhibited the highest motility. When we supplemented extender containing 32.37 mM lactate with ATP (0, 0.92, 1.85, 3.70, and 5.55 mM), sperm frozen and thawed in the extender supplemented with 1.85 mM ATP exhibited considerably higher motility and viability than those of sperm frozen and thawed in ATP-free extender. These results provide the first evidence that supplementation of the raffinose-modified Krebs-Ringer bicarbonate-egg yolk extender with 32.37 mM lactate and 1.85 mM ATP increases of number of motile sperm before freezing and enhances the cryosurvival of rat sperm. These supplements to the extender may enhance sperm cryosurvival by improving the metabolic capacity of sperm before freezing.

Is complete resection of hypertrophic adenoma of the prostate possible with TURP?

Whether complete resection was possible with TURP was explained. A lot of adenoma remains after transurethral resection of the prostate (TURP), the other hand transurethral enucleation of the prostate (TUE) is useful for complete resection of an adenoma.

Effects of serum deprivation on expression of proteolytic-related genes in chick myotube cultures.

We previously reported that serum deprivation stimulates myofibrillar proteolysis in chick myotubes. In the present study, we examined the effect of serum deprivation on expression of the proteolytic-related genes (ubiquitin, proteasome, calpains, and cathepsin B) by real-time PCR of cDNA in chick myotubes. Myotubes were incubated with serum-free medium for 24 h. Ubiquitin and proteasome subunits (C1 and C2) and calpains (m-, mu-, and p94/calpain-3) but not cathepsin B mRNA expression were increased by serum deprivation. These results indicate that serum deprivation stimulates ubiquitin-proteasome and calpain proteolytic pathways, resulting in an increase in myofibrillar proteolysis in chick myotubes.

Measurement of residual adenoma after transurethral resection of the prostate by transurethral enucleation technique.

OBJECTIVE: Transurethral resection of the prostate (TURP) leaves a lot of residual adenoma and has a high recurrence rate, but the residual adenoma weight has not been measured surgically. Using surgery we tried to measure the residual adenoma after TURP. MATERIAL AND METHODS: Total adenoma resection was performed via standard TURP in 64 cases with benign prostatic hyperplasia and the weight of the residual adenoma was measured by transurethral enucleation (TUE) of the prostate. RESULTS: Prostate volume averaged 37.4 ml and adenoma volume averaged 20.6 ml by TRUS. The average weight of the prostate removed by TURP was 9.8 g. After TURP residual adenoma was confirmed in all cases by TUE, and the average weight of the residual adenoma was 10.2 g. The total average prostate volume removed by TURP and TUE was 20.1 g. The average residual rate of the adenoma removed by TURP was 54.5%. CONCLUSION: TURP leaves about half of the adenoma. Therefore, TURP might be very difficult for complete resection of an adenoma.

Stimulation of the proliferation and differentiation of mouse pink-eyed dilution epidermal melanocytes by excess tyrosine in serum-free primary culture.

The epidermal cell suspensions of the neonatal dorsal skin derived from wild type mouse at the pink-eyed dilution (p) locus (black, C57BL/10JHir-P/P) and their congenic mutant mouse (pink-eyed dilution, C57BL/10JHir-p/p) were cultured with a serum-free melanocyte growth medium supplemented with additional L-tyrosine (Tyr) from initiation of the primary culture. L-Tyr inhibited the proliferation of P/Pmelanocytes in a dose-dependent manner, whereas L-Tyr stimulated the proliferation of p/p melanoblasts and melanocytes regardless of dose. On the other hand, L-Tyr stimulated (P/P) or induced (p/p) the differentiation of epidermal melanocytes in a dose-dependent manner. In both P/P and p/p melanoblasts and melanocytes cultured with 2.0 mM L-Tyr for 14 days, slight increases in contents of eumelanin marker, pyrrole-2,3,5-tricarboxylic acid (PTCA) and pheomelanin marker, aminohydroxyphenylalanine (AHP) were observed. The average number of total melanosomes (stages I, II, III, and IV) per P/P melanocyte was not changed by L-Tyr treatment, but the proportion of stage IV melanosomes in the total melanosomes was increased. On the contrary, in p/p melanoblasts and melanocytes L-Tyr increased dramatically the number of stage II, III, and IV melanosomes as well as the proportion of stage III melanosomes. Contents of PTCA and eumelanin precursor, 5,6-dihydroxyindole-2-carboxylic acid (DHICA) of cultured media in p/p melanocytes were much more greatly increased than in P/P melanocytes. However, contents of AHP and pheomelanin precursor, 5-S-cysteinyldopa (5-S-CD) of cultured media in p/p melanocytes were increased in a similar tendency to P/Pmelanocytes. These results suggest that p/p melanocytes in the primary culture are induced to synthesize eumelanin by excess L-Tyr, but difficult to accumulate them in melanosomes.