Nitric oxide production in the basal forebrain is required for recovery sleep

Sleep homeostasis is the process by which recovery sleep is generated by prolonged wakefulness. The molecular mechanisms underlying this important phenomenon are poorly understood. Here, we assessed the role of the intercellular gaseous signaling agent NO in sleep homeostasis. We measured the concentration of nitrite and nitrate, indicative of NO production, in the basal forebrain (BF) of rats during sleep deprivation (SD), and found the level increased by 100 +/- 51%. To test whether an increase in NO production might play a causal role in recovery sleep, we administered compounds into the BF that increase or decrease concentrations of NO. Infusion of either a NO scavenger, 2-(4-carboxyphenyl)-4,4,5,5-tetramethylimidazoline-1-oxyl-3-oxide, or a NO synthase inhibitor, N(omega)-nitro-L-arginine methyl ester (L-NAME), completely abolished non-rapid eye movement (NREM) recovery sleep. Infusion of a NO donor, (Z)-1-[N-(2-aminoethyl)-N-(2-ammonioethyl)amino]diazen-1-ium-1,2diolate (DETA/NO), produced an increase in NREM that closely resembled NREM recovery after prolonged wakefulness. The effects of inhibition of NO synthesis and the pharmacological induction of sleep were effective only in the BF area. Indicators of energy metabolism, adenosine, lactate and pyruvate increased during prolonged wakefulness and DETA/NO infusion, whereas L-NAME infusion during SD prevented the increases. We conclude that an increase in NO production in the BF is a causal event in the induction of recovery sleep.     

Pax3/7BP is a Pax7- and Pax3-binding protein that regulates the proliferation of muscle precursor cells by an epigenetic mechanism

In mouse skeletal muscles, Pax7 uniquely marks muscle satellite cells and plays some important yet unknown functions at the perinatal stage. To elucidate its in vivo functions, we initiated a yeast two-hybrid screening to look for Pax7-interacting proteins and identified a previously uncharacterized Pax7- and Pax3-binding protein (Pax3/7BP). Pax3/7BP is a ubiquitously expressed nuclear protein, enriched in Pax7+ muscle precursor cells (MPCs), and serves as an indispensable adaptor for Pax7 to recruit the histone 3 lysine 4 (H3K4) methyltransferase (HMT) complex by bridging Pax7 and Wdr5. Knockdown of Pax3/7BP abolished the Pax3/7-associated H3K4 HMT activity and inhibited the proliferation of Pax7+ MPCs from young mice both in culture and in vivo. Id3 and Cdc20 were direct target genes of Pax7 and Pax3/7BP involved in the proliferation of Pax7+ MPCs. Collectively, our work establishes Pax3/7BP as an essential adaptor linking Pax3/7 with the H3K4 HMT to regulate the proliferation of MPCs.     

Phylogenetic Analysis of AA-genome Oryza Species (Poaceae) Based on Chloroplast, Mitochondrial, and Nuclear DNA Sequences

Species in the genus Oryza (Poaceae) contain 10 genomic types and are distributed in pan-tropics of the world. To explore phylogenetic relationships of Oryza species having the AA-genome, DNA sequences of the chloroplast trnL intron and trnL-trnF spacer, mitochondrial nad1 intron 2, and nuclear internal transcribed spacer were analyzed, based on materials from 6 cultivated (O. sativa and O. glaberrima) and 13 wild accessions, in addition to a CC-genome species (O. officinalis) that was used as an outgroup. Analyses of the combined sequence data set from different sources provide a much better resolution of the AA-genome species than the individual data set, indicating the limitation of a single gene in phylogenetic reconstruction. The phylogeny based on the combined data set demonstrated an apparent grouping of the AA-genome Oryza species that was well associated with their geographic origin, although the Australian O. meridionalis showed its affinity with the African species. The geographic pattern of the phylogenetic relationship was probably attributed to the frequent genetic exchange and introgression among the AA-genome species from the same continents. In addition, Asian cultivated rice O. sativa showed its close relation to O. rufipogon and O. nivara, whereas African cultivated rice O. glaberrima was closely linked to O. barthii and O. longistaminata, indicating the independent domestication of the two cultivated species in different geographic locations.     

Extraskeletal myxoid chondrosarcoma in the lung: asymptomatic lung mass with severe anemia

ABSTRACT: Extraskeletal myxoid chondrosarcoma (EMC) is a rare soft-tissue sarcoma, which primarily occurs deep in the extremities, especially in skeletal muscle, or tendon. EMC of the pleura has been described, however, no case of primary EMC arising from lung has been previously reported. We describe herein, a 51-year-old Asian female initially manifested with signs of severe anemia who presented with a lung mass unrelated to pleura that was morphologically typical EMC, with strong immunoreactivity for vimentin and NSE. Two weeks after resection, the anemia was cured. The patient continued with follow-up, without sign of abnormality 32 months after operation.Virtual slidesThe virtual slides for this article can be found here: http://www.diagnosticpathology.diagnomx.eu/vs/2882199847396682.     

Observations on the division characterization of diploid nuclear in <Emphasis Type="Italic">Porphyra</Emphasis> (Bangiales,Rhodophyta)

Nuclear divisions of carpospores, conchocelis and conchospores of Porphyra yezoensis, P. haitanensis, P. katadai var. hemiphylla and P. oligospermatangia from China were investigated. The observations showed diploid chromosome numbers of 2n = 6 for P. yezoensis and P. oligospermatangia, and 2n = 10 for P. haitanensis and P. katadai var. hemiphylla. For all four species, somatic pairing of chromosome sets was observed in late prophase. Sister chromosomes separated at anaphase as mitosis took place in carpospores, conchocelis filamentous cells, conchosporangial branch cells and sporangial cells (conchospore formation). Chromosome configurations of tetrad and ring-shaped in conchospore germination were observed, demonstrating the occurrence of meiosis. The characteristics of diploid nuclear division in 2n = 6 species are the same as those of 2n = 10 species. The influence of somatic pairing on nuclear division of diploid cells in Porphyra was discussed.     

Genome-wide analysis of mammalian DNA segment fusion/fission

As a powerful tool for gene function prediction, gene fusion has been widely studied in prokaryotes and certain groups of eukaryotes, but it has been little applied in studies of mammalian genomes. With the first fully sequenced mammalian genomes (human, mouse, rat) now available, we defined and collected a set of fusion/fission event-linked segments (FFLS) based on structured organized genomic alignment. The statistics of the sequence features highlighted the FFLSs against their random context. We found that there are three groups of FFLSs with different component pairs (i.e. gene-gene, gene-noncoding and noncoding-noncoding) in all three mammalian genomes. The proteins encoded by the components of FFLSs in the first group shown a strong tendency to interact with each other. The segmental components in the last two groups which did not contain any protein-coding genes, were found not only to be transcribed to some level, but also more conserved than the random background. Thus, these segments are possibly carrying certain biologically functional elements. We propose that FFLS may be a potential tool for prediction and analysis of function and functional interaction of genetic elements, including both genes and noncoding elements, in mammalian genomes. The full list of the FFLSs in the genomes of the three mammals is available as supporting information at doi:10.1016/j.jtbi.2005.09.016.     

Entire hemithorax irradiation for Masaoka stage IVa thymomas

Thymomas are rare neoplasms that have an indolent growth with a preferentially intra-thoracic dissemination pattern. Surgery is currently the standard treatment of thymomas; however radiotherapy is often used in an adjuvant setting due to a high sensitivity of these tumors to such treatment. Postoperative entire hemithoracic irradiation has been used in selected Masaoka stage IVa cases after complete surgical excision of metastatic lesions.In the present article, the authors report three cases of Masaoka stage IVa thymoma that underwent entire hemithorax irradiation after surgical excision of metastatic lesions. The first two patients presented as stage IVa thymomas. The third case consisted of a pleural recurrence of a thymoma.Hemithoracic irradiation with low doses has been used by different authors; the available data shows that it is a well-tolerated treatment that could potentially lead to better loco-regional control and increased overall survival.     

An apoA-I mimetic peptibody generates HDL-like particles and increases alpha-1 HDL subfraction in mice

The aim of this study is to investigate the capability of an apoA-I mimetic with multiple amphipathic helices to form HDL-like particles in vitro and in vivo. To generate multivalent helices and to track the peptide mimetic, we have constructed a peptibody by fusing two tandem repeats of 4F peptide to the C terminus of a murine IgG Fc fragment. The resultant peptidbody, mFc-2X4F, dose-dependently promoted cholesterol efflux in vitro, and the efflux potency was superior to monomeric 4F peptide. Like apoA-I, mFc-2X4F stabilized ABCA1 in J774A.1 and THP1 cells. The peptibody formed larger HDL particles when incubated with cultured cells compared with those by apoA-I. Interestingly, when administered to mice, mFc-2X4F increased both pre-β and α-1 HDL subfractions. The lipid-bound mFc-2X4F was mostly in the α-1 migrating subfraction. Most importantly, mFc-2X4F and apoA-I were found to coexist in the same HDL particles formed in vivo. These data suggest that the apoA-I mimetic peptibody is capable of mimicking apoA-I to generate HDL particles. The peptibody and apoA-I may work cooperatively to generate larger HDL particles in vivo, either at the cholesterol efflux stage and/or via fusion of HDL particles that were generated by the peptibody and apoA-I individually.     

Structural basis of electron transfer modulation in the purple CuA center

The X-ray structure of an engineered purple CuA center in azurin from Pseudomonas aeruginosa has been determined and refined at 1.65 A resolution. Two independent purple CuA azurin molecules are in the asymmetric unit of a new P21 crystal, and they have nearly identical conformations (rmsd of 0.27 A for backbone atoms). The purple CuA azurin was produced by the loop-engineering strategy, and the resulting overall structure is unperturbed. The insertion of a slightly larger Cu-binding loop into azurin causes the two structural domains of azurin to move away from each other. The high-resolution structure reveals the detailed environment of the delocalized mixed-valence [Cu(1.5).Cu(1.5)] binuclear purple CuA center, which serves as a useful reference model for other native proteins, and provides a firm basis for understanding results from spectroscopic and functional studies of this class of copper center in biology. The two independent Cu-Cu distances of 2.42 and 2.35 A (with respective concomitant adjustments of ligand-Cu distances) are consistent with that (2.39 A) obtained from X-ray absorption spectroscopy with the same molecule, and are among the shortest Cu-Cu bonds observed to date in proteins or inorganic complexes. A comparison of the purple CuA azurin structure with those of other CuA centers reveals an important relationship between the angular position of the two His imidazole rings with respect to the Cu2S2(Cys) core plane and the distance between the Cu and the axial ligand. This relationship strongly suggests that the fine structural variation of different CuA centers can be correlated with the angular positions of the two histidine rings because, from these positions, one can predict the relative axial ligand interactions, which are responsible for modulating the Cu-Cu distance and the electron transfer properties of the CuA centers.     

Pyrethroids as Promising Marine Antifoulants: Laboratory and Field Studies

Due to the regulations and bans regarding the use of traditional toxic chemicals against marine fouling organisms and the practical impediments to the commercialization of natural product antifoulants, there is an urgent need for compounds that are antifouling-active, environmentally friendly, and have a potential for commercial application. In this study, a series of common, commercially available pyrethroid products, which are generally used as environmentally safe insecticides, was evaluated for antifouling activity in the laboratory using an anti-settlement test with cyprids of the barnacle Balanus albicostatus and also in a field experiment. Laboratory assay showed that all eleven pyrethroids (namely, rich d-trans-allethrin, Es-biothrin, rich d-prallethrin, S-prallethrin, tetramethrin, rich d-tetramethrin, phenothrin, cyphenothrin, permethrin, cypermethrin, and high active cypermethrin) were able to inhibit barnacle settlement (EC₅₀ range of 0.0316 to 87.00 μg/ml) without significant toxicity. Analysis of structure–activity relationships suggested that the cyano group at the α-carbon position had a significant influence on the expression of antifouling activity in pyrethroids. In the field, the antifouling activity of pyrethroids was further confirmed, with the most potent pyrethroids being cypermethrin and high active cypermethrin, which displayed efficiency comparable with that of tributyltin. In summary, our investigation indicated that these pyrethroids have a great and practical commercial potential as antifouling agents.