Age and gender effect on alexithymia in large, Japanese community and clinical samples: a cross-validation study of the Toronto Alexithymia Scale (TAS-20)

Background  

The construct validity of alexithymia and its assessment using the 20-item Toronto Alexithymia Scale (TAS-20) in Japan is unknown. Low reliability has been found for the third factor of the TAS-20 in some cultures, and the factor structure for psychosomatic disorder patients has not been adequately investigated. Although alexithymia most likely has certain developmental aspects, this has infrequently been investigated.     

Prevalence and species richness of trematode parasites only partially recovers after the 2011 Tohoku,Japan, earthquake tsunami

Trematode parasites have complex life cycles and use a variety of host species across different trophic levels. Thus, they can be used as indicators of disturbance and recovery of coastal ecosystems. Estuaries on the Pacific coast of northeastern Japan were heavily affected by the 2011 Tohoku earthquake tsunami. To evaluate the effect of the tsunami on the trematode community, we examined trematodes in the mud snail, Batillaria attramentaria, at five study sites (three sites severely exposed to the tsunami and two sites sheltered from the tsunami) in Sendai Bay for 2 years prior to and 8 years after the tsunami. While the trematode prevalence decreased at all study sites, the species richness decreased only at the sites exposed to the tsunami. Although parasitism increased over the study period post-tsunami, the community had not fully recovered 8 years after the event. Trematode community structure has changed every year since the tsunami and has not stabilised. This could be explained by the alteration of first and second intermediate host communities. Our study suggests that it will take more time for the recovery of the trematode community and the associated coastal ecosystem in the Tohoku region.     

Clinical and Molecular Manifestations of Congenital Muscular Alpha-Dystroglycanopathy due to an ISPD Gene Mutation

Neurophysiology - Congenital muscular alpha-dystroglycanopaties (MDDGAs) are rare congenital muscular dystrophies that are accompanied by a variety of brain and eye malformations. More than 19 gene...     

Hemorrhagic protease from the venom of Calloselasma rhodostoma.

1. A hemorrhagic protease I (HP-I) was isolated from Calloselasma rhodostoma venom by Sephadex G-75, DEAE-Sephacel and Q-Sepharose column chromatographies. 2. Homogeneity was established by the formation of a single band in acrylamide gel electrophoresis. 3. HP-I has a molecular weight of 34,800 and possesses hemorrhagic and proteolytic activities. Both activities are inhibited by ethylenediaminetetraacetic acid (EDTA), 1,10-phenanthroline, ethyleneglycolbis-(beta-aminoethyl ether) N,N'-tetraacetic acid (EGTA), and tetraethylenepentamine (TEP). However neither soybean trypsin inhibitor nor p-chlorobenzoic acid (PCMB) were found to have any effect. 4. The toxin contains 311 amino acid residues and exhibits an isoelectric point of 4.5. 5. The A alpha chain of fibrinogen was cleaved first, followed later by the B beta chain.     

Correlation between messenger RNA expression of cytochrome P450 aromatase and its enzyme activity during oocyte development in the red seabream (Pagrus major)

In teleosts, estradiol-17beta (E2) is an important hormone responsible for oocyte development. To elucidate the molecular mechanisms underlying E2 biosynthesis, we characterized the structure of red seabream (Pagrus major) cytochrome P450 aromatase (P450(arom)) that is directly involved in E2 biosynthesis and found changes in mRNA levels of P450(arom) during oocyte development induced by implantation of gonadotropin-releasing hormone analogue. A cDNA clone encoding P450(arom) is 1779 base pairs in length and encodes a protein of 519 amino acids in length, with a calculated molecular weight of 58.9 kDa. Northern blot analysis showed that P450(arom) mRNA levels increased gradually from Day 8, when oocytes reached the secondary yolk globule stage, and were maintained at high levels at the day of spawning (Day 15). The P450(arom) mRNA levels increased in association with an increase of the gonadosomatic index (gonad weight/body weight x 100%), serum E2, and P450(arom) enzyme activity (in vitro conversion of testosterone to E2 in the ovarian fragments). Furthermore, an increase in mRNA levels of the LHbeta, but not FSHbeta, correlated with increased P450(arom) mRNA levels during the course of ovarian development. In addition, the levels of P450(arom) mRNA increased in isolated ovarian follicles during the course of vitellogenic oocyte growth and became undetectable in follicles at the migratory nucleus and the mature stages. These findings, together with those of the previous studies, suggest that LH, not FSH, may regulate E2 biosynthesis via increased levels of P450(arom) mRNA during oocyte development of red seabream.     

Precultivation technique for studies of microorganisms exhibiting overflow metabolism

A precultivation technique for microorganisms exhibiting overflow metabolism is presented. It is based on a low initial medium volume in the fermenter. The medium feed contains all the nutrients, but is diluted with respect to sugar, the concentration of which determines the biomass concentration at the end of the preculture. By this method, effects of varying activity of the inocula from shake flask cultures are minimised and the metabolic state, i.e. oxido-reductive, oxidative growth on sugar plus overflow metabolite or oxidative growth on sugar alone, can be controlled at the start of the main fermentation.     

p38alpha mitogen-activated protein kinase plays a critical role in cardiomyocyte survival but not in cardiac hypertrophic growth in response to pressure overload

The molecular mechanism for the transition from cardiac hypertrophy, an adaptive response to biomechanical stress, to heart failure is poorly understood. The mitogen-activated protein kinase p38alpha is a key component of stress response pathways in various types of cells. In this study, we attempted to explore the in vivo physiological functions of p38alpha in hearts. First, we generated mice with floxed p38alpha alleles and crossbred them with mice expressing the Cre recombinase under the control of the alpha-myosin heavy-chain promoter to obtain cardiac-specific p38alpha knockout mice. These cardiac-specific p38alpha knockout mice were born normally, developed to adulthood, were fertile, exhibited a normal life span, and displayed normal global cardiac structure and function. In response to pressure overload to the left ventricle, they developed significant levels of cardiac hypertrophy, as seen in controls, but also developed cardiac dysfunction and heart dilatation. This abnormal response to pressure overload was accompanied by massive cardiac fibrosis and the appearance of apoptotic cardiomyocytes. These results demonstrate that p38alpha plays a critical role in the cardiomyocyte survival pathway in response to pressure overload, while cardiac hypertrophic growth is unaffected despite its dramatic down-regulation.     

DmGEN, a novel RAD2 family endo-exonuclease from Drosophila melanogaster

A novel endo-exonuclease, DmGEN (Drosophila Melanogaster XPG-like endonuclease), was identified in D.melanogaster. DmGEN is composed of five exons and four introns, and the open reading frame encodes a predicted product of 726 amino acid residues with a molecular weight of 82.5 kDa and a pI of 5.36. The gene locus on Drosophila polytene chromosomes was detected at 64C9 on the left arm of chromosome 3 as a single site. The encoded protein showed a relatively high degree of sequence homology with the RAD2 nucleases, especially XPG. Although the XPG-N- and XPG-I-domains are highly conserved in sequence, locations of the domains are similar to those of FEN-1 and EXO-1, and the molecular weight of the protein is close to that of EXO-1. In vitro, DmGEN showed endonuclease and 3'-5' exonuclease activities with both single-stranded DNA (ssDNA) and double-stranded DNA (dsDNA), but the endonuclease action with dsDNA was quite specific: 5'-3' exonuclease activity was found to occur with nicked DNA, while dsDNA was endonucleolytically cut at 3-4 bp from the 5' end. Homologs are widely found in mammals and higher plants. The data suggest that DmGEN belongs to a new class of RAD2 nuclease.     

Variations in the C3, C3a receptor, and C5 genes affect susceptibility to bronchial asthma

Bronchial asthma (BA) is a common chronic inflammatory disease characterized by hyperresponsive airways, excess mucus production, eosinophil activation, and the production of IgE. The complement system plays an immunoregulatory role at the interface of innate and acquired immunities. Recent studies have provided evidence that C3, C3a receptor, and C5 are linked to airway hyperresponsiveness. To determine whether genetic variations in the genes of the complement system affect susceptibility to BA, we screened single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) in C3, C5, the C3a receptor gene (C3AR1), and the C5a receptor gene (C5R1) and performed association studies in the Japanese population. The results of this SNP case-control study suggested an association between 4896C/T in the C3 gene and atopic childhood BA (P=0.0078) as well as adult BA (P=0.010). When patient data were stratified according to elevated total IgE levels, 4896C/T was more closely associated with adult BA (P=0.0016). A patient-only association study suggested that severity of childhood BA was associated with 1526G/A of the C3AR1 gene (P=0.0057). We identified a high-risk haplotype of the C3 gene for childhood (P=0.0021) and adult BA (P=0.0058) and a low-risk haplotype for adult BA (P=0.00011). We also identified a haplotype of the C5 gene that was protective against childhood BA (P=1.4×10^–6) and adult BA (P=0.00063). These results suggest that the C3 and C5 pathways of the complement system play important roles in the pathogenesis of BA and that polymorphisms of these genes affect susceptibility to BA.