Human T-lymphotropic virus type 1 (HTLV-1) genetic typing in Kakeroma Island, an island at the crossroads of the ryukyuans and Wajin in Japan, providing further insights into the origin of the virus in Japan.

Peripheral blood samples were collected from 23 human T-lymphotropic virus type-1 (HTLV-1) carriers residing in Kakeroma Island, Japan (Kagoshima Prefecture, Oshima County, Setouchi Town), one of the most highly endemic areas in Japan. The samples were subjected to amplification by PCR and sequencing of the Long Terminal Repeat in order to reconstruct a phylogenetic tree of HTLV-1 isolates. Restriction Fragment Length Polymorphism (RFLP) analysis of env region was also conducted for subgrouping of HTLV-1. Although one sample could not be amplified by PCR, and three more could not be sequenced due to the existence of conspicuous nonspecific bands or repeated sequences, the phylogenetic analysis revealed that the remaining 19 isolates obtained from Kakeroma Island belonged to either the Transcontinental or the Japanese subgroups of the Cosmopolitan subtype, one of the three major subtypes. The RFLP data corresponded closely with the typing data throughout the sequencing. The proportion of the Transcontinental subgroup among the isolates was 26.3% (5 of 19) by sequence analysis and 27.3% (6 of 22) by RFLP. Unlike in Taiwan, China and Okinawa, the Japanese subgroup was dominant in Kakeroma Island. The analysis would also suggest that the Japanese subgroup seems not to have derived from the Transcontinental subgroup, but rather that the Transcontinental subgroup came to Japan first and was followed later by the Japanese one.

Relative frequencies of polymorphisms of variation in Block 2 repeats and 5' recombinant types of Plasmodium falciparum msp1 alleles.

The mechanisms producing the genetic polymorphism at Plasmodium falciparum merozoite surface antigen-1 locus (pfmsp1) include the insertion and deletion of the different type of dimorphic Block 2 9-nucleotide repeat units as well as the intragenic recombination. To study relative occurrence frequencies of these two distinct mechanisms, we have developed a sensitive PCR strategy to identify both 5' recombinant types and the number of Block 2 repeats from the same sample. This method can specifically detect the target 5' recombinant type (Blocks 2-6) at the sensitivity of 1-4 copies of the pfmsp1. Applying the new method to field isolates from the Solomon Islands enabled us to identify six different 5' recombinant types and variation in Block 2 repeat number in three of them, thus distinguishing 10 different alleles. Distribution of these alleles in local three villages in the study area suggests that frequencies of variation in the number of Block 2 9-bp repeats and recombination events within Blocks 2-6 are mutually independent and the frequency of repeat variation is relatively high as compared to that of recombination events at the pfmsp1 locus in P. falciparum populations from the Solomon Islands.

Effects of mefloquine usage on genetic polymorphism of Plasmodium falciparum in Thai-Myanmarese border.

We studied the polymorphism of msp-1, which encodes a major surface protein on the merozoite, isolated from blood samples from western Thailand in 1999. Our study area was a low-transmission area for malaria, where mefloquine has been used as an antimalarial drug since 1994. Forty-nine patients were confirmed to have contracted falciparum malaria twice within 24 weeks. The number of detected haplotypes in 49 patients was 89 at the first diagnosis and 68 at the second diagnosis. The mean number of haplotypes per patient significantly decreased from 1.82 to 1.39 but the frequency distributions of msp-1 haplotypes did not change significantly with the use of mefloquine. Our study strongly suggests that the antigenic diversity of Plasmodium falciparum is retained during mefloquine therapy in low-transmission areas.

[Toxin profiles in fish implicated in ciguatera fish poisoning in Amami and Kakeroma Islands, Kagoshima Prefecture, Japan].

Ciguatoxins (CTXs) responsible for ciguatera fish poisoning (CFP) in Amami Islands, Kagoshima, Japan in 2008 were determined by LC-MS/MS analysis. Ciguatoxin-1B (CTX1B), 54-deoxyCTX1B, and 52-epi-54-deoxyCTX1B were detected in Variola louti and Lutjanus monostigma. The toxin profile distinctly differed from that of a CFP-related fish from Miyazaki, which mainly contained ciguatoxin-3C type toxins. Toxin profiles were species-specific, as observed in fish from Okinawa. The LC-MS/MS and mouse bioassay (MBA) methods produced comparable data, though 54-deoxyCTX1B was not taken into consideration owing to the lack of toxicity data. To improve assessment, toxicity data for this compound are needed. A reef fish caught on the same occasion and judged nontoxic by MBA (<0.025 MU/g) was found to contain low levels of CTX, indicating a potential risk for CFP.

Mean field with tensor force and shell structure of exotic nuclei.

The tensor force is implemented into the mean-field model so that the evolution of nuclear shells can be described for exotic nuclei as well as stable ones. Besides the tensor-force part simulating the meson exchange, the model is an extension of the successful Gogny model. One of the major issues of rare-isotope beam physics is a reduced spin-orbit splitting in neutron-rich exotic nuclei. It will be shown that the effect of the tensor force on this splitting is larger than or about equal to the one due to the neutron skin. We will present predictions for stable and exotic nuclei with comparisons to conventional results and experimental data.