A method of identifying chimpanzee hairs in lion feces

Hairs were detected in the feces of wild lions collected at the Mahale Mountains National Park, Tanzania. The materials were examined for their scale pattern, medulla arrangement, and ultrastructure of longitudinal sections. The observed features coincided with those of the chimpanzee, so that the hairs were judged to be from chimpanzees. The present results suggest that black hairs in lion feces can be identified as belonging to chimpanzees based on observations by scanning electron microscopy.     

Comparison between the diameter of hair cross-sections and the thickness of the enclosed hairs in Japanese monkeys (Macaca fuscata fuscata)

The thickness of hairs from Japanese monkeys was measured by enclosing the hairs on slide glasses with balsam. Nine monkeys were used for the study. Forty to 69 hairs from the back were examined per head. High correlations between the thickness of the enclosed hairs and the diameter of cross-sections were obtained in all monkeys. In the Japanese monkey, therefore, it is considered possible to utilize enclosed hairs for measuring the thickness without preparing cross-sections. Moreover, the medullae of which the air layers are strongly related to thermoregulation, were readily observed in the enclosed hairs.     

Dictyopyrones, novel alpha-pyronoids isolated from Dictyostelium spp., promote stalk cell differentiation in Dictyostelium discoideum

Dictyopyrones A and B (DpnA and B), whose function(s) is not known, were isolated from fruiting bodies of Dictyostelium discoideum. In the present study, to assess their function(s), we examined the effects of Dpns on in vitro cell differentiation in D. discoideum monolayer cultures with cAMP. Dpns at 1-20 microM promoted stalk cell formation to some extent in the wild-type strain V12M2. Although Dpns by themselves could hardly induce stalk cell formation in a differentiation-inducing factor (DIF)-deficient strain HM44, both of them dose-dependently promoted DIF-1-dependent stalk cell formation in the strain. In the sporogenous strain HM18, Dpns at 1-20 microM suppressed spore formation and promoted stalk cell formation in a dose-dependent manner. Analogs of Dpns were less effective in affecting cell differentiation in both HM44 and HM18 cells, indicating that the activity of Dpns should be chemical structure specific. It was also shown that DpnA at 2-20 microM dose-dependently suppressed spore formation induced with 8-bromo cAMP and promoted stalk cell formation in V12M2 cells. Interestingly, it was shown by the use of RT-PCR that DpnA at 10 microM slightly promoted both prespore- and prestalk-specific gene expressions in an early phase of V12M2 and HM18 in vitro differentiation. The present results suggest that Dpns may have functions (1) to promote both prespore and prestalk cell differentiation in an early stage of development and (2) to suppress spore formation and promote stalk cell formation in a later stage of development in D. discoideum.     

Phosphatidylinositol 4,5-bisphosphate rescues TRPM4 channels from desensitization

TRPM4 is a Ca(2+)-activated nonselective cation channel that regulates membrane potential in response to intracellular Ca(2+) signaling. In lymphocytes it plays an essential role in shaping the pattern of intracellular Ca(2+) oscillations that lead to cytokine secretion. To better understand its role in this and other physiological processes, we investigated mechanisms by which TRPM4 is regulated. TRPM4 was expressed in ChoK1 cells, and currents were measured in excised patches. Under these conditions, TRPM4 currents were activated by micromolar concentrations of cytoplasmic Ca(2+) and progressively desensitized. Here we show that desensitization can be explained by a loss of phosphatidylinositol 4,5-bisphosphate (PI(4,5)P(2)) from the channels. Poly-l-lysine, a PI(4,5)P(2) scavenger, caused rapid desensitization, whereas MgATP, at concentrations that activate lipid kinases, promoted recovery of TRPM4 currents. Application of exogenous PI(4,5)P(2) to the intracellular surface of the patch restored the properties of TRPM4 currents. Our results suggest that PI(4,5)P(2) acts to uncouple channel opening from changes in the transmembrane potential, allowing current activation at physiological voltages. These data argue that hydrolysis of PI(4,5)P(2) underlies desensitization of TRPM4 and support the idea that PI(4,5)P(2) is a general regulator for the gating of TRPM ion channels.     

Pfaffosides and nortriterpenoid saponins from Pfaffia paniculata

Three new nortriterpene glucuronides named pfaffosides A, B and C have been isolated from roots of Pfaffia paniculata. Their structures have been established as 3β-O-[β-d-xylopyranosyl-(1→2)β-d-glucuronopyranosyl]-pfaffic acid, 3β-O-[β-d-xylopyranosyl-(1→2)-β-d-glucuronopyranosyl]-pfaffic acid-(28→1)-β-d-glucopyranosyl ester and 3β-O-[β-d-glucuronopyranosyl]-pfaffic acid-(28→ l)-β-d-glucopyranosyl ester, respectively, based on their chemical and spectroscopic properties.     

ALG-2-interacting Tubby-like protein superfamily member PLSCR3 is secreted by an exosomal pathway and taken up by recipient cultured cells

PLSCRs (phospholipid scramblases) are palmitoylated membrane-associating proteins. Regardless of the given names, their physiological functions are not clear and thought to be unrelated to phospholipid scrambling activities observed in vitro. Using a previously established cell line of HEK-293 (human embryonic kidney-293) cells constitutively expressing human Scr3 (PLSCR3) that interacts with ALG-2 (apoptosis-linked gene 2) Ca²⁺-dependently, we found that Scr3 was secreted into the culture medium. Secretion of Scr3 was suppressed by 2-BP (2-bromopalmitate, a palmitoylation inhibitor) and by GW4869 (an inhibitor of ceramide synthesis). Secreted Scr3 was recovered in exosomal fractions by sucrose density gradient centrifugation. Palmitoylation sites and the N-terminal Pro-rich region were necessary for efficient secretion, but ABSs (ALG-2-binding sites) were dispensable. Overexpression of GFP (green fluorescent protein)-fused VPS4B^E235Q, a dominant negative mutant of an AAA (ATPase associated with various cellular activities) ATPase with a defect in disassembling ESCRT (endosomal sorting complex required for transport)-III subunits, significantly reduced secretion of Scr3. Immunofluorescence microscopic analyses showed that Scr3 was largely localized to enlarged endosomes induced by overexpression of a GFP-fused constitutive active mutant of Rab5A (GFP–Rab5A^Q79L). Secreted Scr3 was taken up by HeLa cells, suggesting that Scr3 functions as a cell-to-cell transferable modulator carried by exosomes in a paracrine manner.     

A preliminary study on hair length in the Japanese monkey (Macaca fuscata fuscata)

The hair length of Japanese monkeys was investigated. The hair of the Japanese monkey is long on the back and the lateral side of the upper arm and short on the back of the hand. There was variation in the length of hairs in the same region of the body. The distribution of hair length approximated to a normal curve and did not display any marked bias or skewness. The increase in length of hairs was remarkable from 0 to 1 year of age, and then continued at a constant rate. Sex differences in hair length were not so remarkable at any age.     

Phylogenetic relationships of Pythium and Phytophthora species based on ITS rDNA, cytochrome oxidase II and beta-tubulin gene sequences

Fifty-eight isolates representing 39 Pythium species and 17 isolates representing nine Phytophthora species were chosen to investigate intra- and intergeneric relationships with sequence analysis of three genomic areas. The internal transcribed spacer regions (ITS1 and ITS2), including the 5.8S gene of the ribosomal DNA were PCR amplified with the universal primers ITS1 and ITS4. On the other hand 563 bp of the cytochrome oxidase II (cox II) gene was amplified with the primer pair FM66 and FM58 for Pythium and FM75 and FM78 for Phytophthora. The 658 bp partial beta-tubulin gene was amplified with the forward primer BT5 and reverse primer BT6. Maximum parsimony analysis of the three DNA regions revealed four major clades, reflective of sporangial morphology. Clade 1 was composed of Pythium isolates that bear filamentous to lobulate sporangia. Clade 2 represents Pythium isolates that bear globose to spherical zoosporangia or spherical hyphal swellings. Meanwhile Phytophthora isolates were lumped into Clade 3 wherein the papillate, semipapillate and nonpapillate species occupied separate subclades. Lastly, Clade 4 was composed of Pythium species that bear subglobose sporangia resembling the papillate sporangia observed in Phytophthora. Hence a number of species (Ph. undulata, P. helicoides, P. ostracodes, P. oedochilum and P. vexans) have been proposed to be the elusive intermediate species in the Pythium-to-Phytophthora evolutionary line.