Characteristics of various synthetic peptide calpain inhibitors and their application for the analysis of platelet reaction

Calpeptin (a cell permeable synthetic peptide calpain inhibitor) inhibited the generation of thromboxane B2 (TxB2) by the direct inhibition on Tx synthetase in platelets at the concentrations more than 30 microM. Calpeptin, its analogues and E-64d (EST) were further examined with regard to cell permiability and inhibitory spectra. Among all compounds, only calpeptin inhibited the degradation of substrate proteins of calpain with negligible effect on TxB2 generation in intact platelets at the concentrations less than 30 microM. These concentrations of calpeptin did not inhibit the platelet aggregation, the elevation of [Ca2+], nor the formation of inositol 1,4,5-trisphosphate (IP3) in thrombin or collagen activated platelets. These results indicate that calpain dose not participate in the process of platelet activation induced by thrombin or collagen.     

The Nutritional Value of D-Amino Acid in the Chick Nutrition

The nutritional values of 16 D-amino acids in chick growth were studied on the purified diets containing crystalline amino acids as a sole source of nitrogen. Growth rate, feed consumption and nitrogen retention were measured. The nutritional values of D-amino acids were studied by comparing individually with the control groups fed on the diet containing all L-amino acids and negative control groups fed with the diet omitted the corresponding L-isomer. The following results were obtained. Essential amino acids: 1. Equal or almost equal nutritional value to the corresponding L-isomer; methionine, phenylalanine, leucine, proline. 2. Half nutritional value compared with L-isomer; valine. 3. Small nutritional value compared with L-isomer; tryptophan, isoleucine, histidine. 4. No nutritional value; lysine, threonine, arginine. Non-essential amino acid: 1. Equal or almost equal nutritional value to the corresponding L-isomer; serine, tyrosine, cystine. 2. There is a possibility that it has a slight growth retardation effect; alanine. 3. The growth retardation effect was found; aspartic acid.     

Legumain/asparaginyl endopeptidase controls extracellular matrix remodeling through the degradation of fibronectin in mouse renal proximal tubular cells

Legumain/asparaginyl endopeptidase (EC 3.4.22.34) is a novel cysteine protease that is abundantly expressed in the late endosomes and lysosomes of renal proximal tubular cells. Recently, emerging evidence has indicated that legumain might play an important role in control of extracellular matrix turnover in various pathological conditions such as tumor growth/metastasis and progression of atherosclerosis. We initially found that purified legumain can directly degrade fibronectin, one of the main components of the extracellular matrix, in vitro. Therefore, we examined the effect of legumain on fibronectin degradation in cultured mouse renal proximal tubular cells. Fibronectin processing can be inhibited by chloroquine, an inhibitor of lysosomal degradation, and can be enhanced by the overexpression of legumain, indicating that fibronectin degradation occurs in the presence of legumain in lysosomes from renal proximal tubular cells. Furthermore, in legumain-deficient mice, unilateral ureteral obstruction (UUO)-induced renal interstitial protein accumulation of fibronectin and renal interstitial fibrosis were markedly enhanced. These findings indicate that legumain might have an important role in extracellular matrix remodeling via the degradation of fibronectin in renal proximal tubular cells.     

Genome-wide association study of idiopathic hypersomnia in a Japanese population

Sleep and Biological Rhythms - Idiopathic hypersomnia (IH) is a rare sleep disorder characterized by excessive daytime sleepiness, great difficulty upon awakening, and prolonged sleep time. In...     

Synthesis and characterization of the sweet protein brazzein

The sweet protein brazzein isolated from the fruit of the African plant, Pentadiplandra brazzeana Baillon is 2000-500 times sweeter than sucrose, and consists of 54 amino acid residues with four intramolecular disulfide bonds. Brazzein was prepared by the fluoren-9-yl-methoxycarbonyl solid-phase method, and was identical to natural brazzein by high performance liquid chromatography, mass spectroscopy, peptide mapping, and taste evaluation. The D enantiomer of brazzein was also synthesized, and was shown to be the mirror image of brazzein. The D enantiomer (ent-brazzein) was devoid of any sweetness and was essentially tasteless. © 1996 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.     

Periosteum-derived podoplanin-expressing stromal cells regulate nascent vascularization during epiphyseal marrow development

Bone marrow development and endochondral bone formation occur simultaneously. During endochondral ossification, periosteal vasculatures and stromal progenitors invade the primary avascular cartilaginous anlage, which induces primitive marrow development. We previously determined that bone marrow podoplanin (PDPN)-expressing stromal cells exist in the perivascular microenvironment and promote megakaryopoiesis and erythropoiesis. In this study, we aimed to examine the involvement of PDPN-expressing stromal cells in postnatal bone marrow generation. Using histological analysis, we observed that periosteum-derived PDPN-expressing stromal cells infiltrated the cartilaginous anlage of the postnatal epiphysis and populated on the primitive vasculature of secondary ossification center. Furthermore, immunophenotyping and cellular characteristic analyses indicated that the PDPN-expressing stromal cells constituted a subpopulation of the skeletal stem cell lineage. In vitro xenovascular model cocultured with human umbilical vein endothelial cells and PDPN-expressing skeletal stem cell progenies showed that PDPN-expressing stromal cells maintained vascular integrity via the release of angiogenic factors and vascular basement membrane-related extracellular matrices. We show that in this process, Notch signal activation committed the PDPN-expressing stromal cells into a dominant state with basement membrane-related extracellular matrices, especially type IV collagens. Our findings suggest that the PDPN-expressing stromal cells regulate the integrity of the primitive vasculatures in the epiphyseal nascent marrow. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first study to comprehensively examine how PDPN-expressing stromal cells contribute to marrow development and homeostasis.