Light effects on cell development and secondary metabolism in Monascus

In nature, light is one of most crucial environmental signals for developmental and physiological processes in various organisms, including filamentous fungi. We have found that both red light and blue light affect development in Monascus, influencing the processes of mycelium and spore formation, and the production of secondary metabolites such as -aminobutyric acid, red pigments, monacolin K and citrinin. Additionally, we observed that the wavelength of light affects these developmental and physiological processes in different ways. These findings suggest that Monascus possesses a system for differential light response and regulation.     

Anxiolytic effect of Gardeniae Fructus-extract containing active ingredient from Kamishoyosan (KSS), a Japanese traditional Kampo medicine

Kamishoyosan (KSS), a Kampo formula used to treat menopausal psychotic syndromes in women, consists of ten crude herbal drugs. The anxiolytic effect of KSS was investigated by the social interaction (SI) test using mice, and whether the effect of KSS was due to the stimulating and/or sedating effects was examined by the open field locomotion test. Furthermore, the present study examined the effect of individual crude drugs in KSS by the SI test to clarify its active components. Oral administration of KSS increased the total SI time in a dose-dependent manner (50--200 mg/kg), but this effect was not observed over a dose of 300 mg/kg. On the other hand, there were no significant changes observed for the open field locomotion test. These results suggest that the appearance of KSS-induced SI behavior is due to an anxiolytic effect. The unaltered results of the open field test indicated that KSS was neither a stimulant nor sedative. To identify the essential herbs in KSS, the effects of "the component herbs in KSS" and "KSS minus one component herb" using the SI test were examined. An increase in the SI time was observed for hot water extracts of Menthae herba and Gardeniae Fructus, the same as for the KSS treatment. On the other hand the effect of KSS on the SI time was reduced to the control level for KSS minus Gardeniae Fructus, KSS minus Paeoniae Radix, KSS minus Glycyrrhizae Radix and KSS minus Hoelen. Oral administration of Gardeniae Fructus-extract or its common constituent, geniposide increased the SI time in a dose-dependent manner. These results indicate that Gardeniae Fructus and geniposide play a role in the anxiolytic effect of KSS.     

Further Studies of the Polysaccharide of Klebsiella pneumoniae Possessing Strong Adjuvanticity: III. Augmentation of the Antibody Response to Subcutaneously Injected Sheep Red Blood Cells by the Adjuvant Polysaccharide

The adjuvant action of the O3 antigen of Klebsiella (KO3) on the antibody response to sheep red blood cells (SRBC) was elucidated by injecting both KO3 and SRBC subcutaneously at the right inguinal region of SMA mice. We demonstrated that KO3 exhibits a novel ability to augment anti-SRBC plaque-forming cell responses in both the local lymph node and the spleen at a relatively late stage of immunization. Escherichia coli lipopolysaccharide, dextran sulfate and concanavalin A showed such an action only minimally. In parallel with the development of the adjuvant action, KO3 definitely activated B cells in the local lymph node polyclonally for either IgM or IgG synthesis, suggesting that the mechanism of the adjuvant action includes direct stimulation of B cells by KO3 at the late stage. Neither increase in trapping of lymphocytes in the local lymph node nor change in tissue distribution of antigen was shown to be primarily involved in the mechanism of the adjuvant action.     

Role of Humoral Antibodies in Resistance to Mycoplasma pneumoniae Pneumonia in Hamsters

Golden Syrian hamsters adoptively immunized with hyperimmune Mycoplasma pneumoniae rabbit antiserum, immunoglobulin (Ig) M-rich (IgM) fraction, IgG-rich (IgG) fraction, antiserum absorbed with either killed M. pneumoniae or killed Staphylococcus aureus organisms, or antiserum treated with 2-mercaptoethanol (2-ME) were examined for resistance against aerosol infection with virulent M. pneumoniae. Significant resistance to the establishment of infection in the respiratory tract was shown in hamsters pretreated with the untreated antiserum, IgG fraction or 2-ME-treated antiserum, whereas animals pretreated with the IgM fraction and the antisera absorbed with M. pneumoniae or S. aureus organisms were not significantly resistant. Histopathologically, lung lesions were markedly suppressed in animals with high resistance, but were typically pneumonic in animals with low or no resistance. The efficacy of adoptively administered serum preparations was closely related to their antibody titers. The results indicate that humoral antibody plays an important role in protection against experimental M. pneumoniae pneumonia in hamsters, although the participation of the cell-mediated immune response was not determined.     

Nullipotent Teratocarcinoma Cells Acquire the Pluripotency for Differentiation by Fusion with Somatic Cells

Abstract. By fusion of nullipotent embryonal carcinoma F9 cells with certain somatic cells freshly collected from differentiated tissues such as thymus and lens, pluripotent hybrid cell lines were obtained. They exhibited a wide spectrum of differentiation, including neural tubes, cartilages, skeletal muscles, ciliated epithelia and others, in solid tumors formed after injection into syngeneic mice. Cells from these tumors differentiated into several cell types when cultured in vitro. A possibility of the introduction of genes to code the factors for regulating differentiation into F9 cells by fusion is suggested.     

Distribution of clubroot disease of a cruciferous weed, Cardamine flexuosa, in major isolated islands, Hokkaido and Okinawa in Japan

To investigate the distribution of clubroot of a cruciferous weed, Cardamine flexuosa, caused by Plasmodiophora brassicae, field surveys were conducted in Hokkaido, Aomori, and Okinawa, and major isolated islands in Japan during 1993–2004. The disease was newly recorded in Aomori and nine islands in five different prefectures, including Sado (Niigata), Oki (Shimane), Mishima (Yamaguchi), Tsushima, Iki and Goto (Nagasaki), and Koshiki, Yakushima, and Tanegashima (Kagoshima). The diseased plants were not found in Hokkaido and Okinawa (islands of Okinawa, Kumejima, Ishigaki, Iriomote, and Kohama). However, inoculation tests showed that most C. flexuosa collected from Hokkaido and Okinawa included many susceptible plants. The result suggests that resistance of the plants is not the reason that the disease was not found in these areas. An erratum to this article is available at .     

Effects of large-scale forest fire followed by illegal logging on the regeneration of boreal forests in Mongolia

Landscape and Ecological Engineering - We aimed to test the hypothesis that large-scale forest fire followed by illegal logging inhibits the regeneration of boreal forests in Mongolia. For this...     

Rapid Detection of SNP (c.309T>G) in the MDM2 Gene by the Duplex SmartAmp Method

Background

Genetic polymorphisms in the human MDM2 gene are suggested to be a tumor susceptibility marker and a prognostic factor for cancer. It has been reported that a single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) c.309T>G in the MDM2 gene attenuates the tumor suppressor activity of p53 and accelerates tumor formation in humans.

Methodology

In this study, to detect the SNP c.309T>G in the MDM2 gene, we have developed a new SNP detection method, named “Duplex SmartAmp,” which enabled us to simultaneously detect both 309T and 309G alleles in one tube. To develop this new method, we introduced new primers i.e., nBP and oBPs, as well as two different fluorescent dyes that separately detect those genetic polymorphisms.

Results and Conclusions

By the Duplex SmartAmp method, the genetic polymorphisms of the MDM2 gene were detected directly from a small amount of genomic DNA or blood samples. We used 96 genomic DNA and 24 blood samples to validate the Duplex SmartAmp by comparison with results of the conventional PCR-RFLP method; consequently, the Duplex SmartAmp results agreed totally with those of the PCR-RFLP method. Thus, the new SNP detection method is considered useful for detecting the SNP c.309T>G in the MDM2 gene so as to judge cancer susceptibility against some cellular stress in the clinical setting, and also to handle a large number of samples and enable rapid clinical diagnosis.