Kinetic study on ESR signal decay of nitroxyl radicals,potent redox probes for in vivo ESR spectroscopy,caused by reactive oxygen species

The effect of the chemical structure of nitroxyl spin probes on the rate at which ESR signals are lost in the presence of reactive oxygen species (ROS) was examined. When the spin probes were reacted with either hydroxyl radical (.OH) or superoxide anion radical (O(2)(.-)) in the presence of cysteine or NADH, the probes lost ESR signal depending on both their ring structure and substituents. Pyrrolidine nitroxyl probes were relatively resistant to the signal decay caused by O(2)(.-) with cysteine/NADH. Signal decay rates for these reactions correlated with reported redox potentials of the nitroxyl/oxoammonium couple of spin probes, suggesting that the signal decay mechanism in both cases involves the oxidation of a nitroxyl group. The apparent rate constants of the reactions between the spin probe and .OH and between the spin probe and O(2)(.-) in the presence of cysteine were estimated using mannitol and superoxide dismutase (SOD), respectively, as competitive standards. The rate constants for spin probes and .OH were in the order of 10(9) M(-1) s(-1), much higher than those for the probes and O(2)(.-) in the presence of cysteine (10(3)-10(4) M(-1) s(-1)). These basic data are useful for the measurement of .OH and O(2)(.-) in living animals by in vivo ESR spectroscopy.     

Possible relationship of PFGE patterns of Moraxella catarrhalis between hospital- and community-acquired respiratory infections in a community hospital

We describe a prospective study of molecular analysis of Moraxella catarrhalis isolated from a community hospital. Our study was designed to investigate the possible relationship of pulsed-field gel electrophoresis (PFGE) patterns of M. catarrhalis between hospital- and community-acquired respiratory infections. A nosocomial outbreak of M. catarrhalis was observed between September 2000 and September 2001. During the study period, 40 strains of M. catarrhalis were isolated from a total of 32 patients with respiratory infections (26 strains from 18 inpatients, and 14 strains from 14 outpatients). We compared the PFGE patterns in 40 strains of M. catarrhalis isolated from the respiratory tract of the study patients. The genomic types of M. catarrhalis were classified into three PFGE patterns (A, B, and C). Interestingly, the nosocomial outbreak of M. catarrhalis included two patterns (A and B). Of the three patterns, two patterns (A and B) were found in both inpatients and outpatients. More interestingly, two subtypes of pattern B (B1 and B4) were simultaneously found in both inpatients and outpatients. Our results indicated that PFGE with SmaI chromosomal digestion is a suitable technique to establish the inter-strain genetic relatedness of M. catarrhalis, and suggested that the outbreak of M. catarrhalis occasionally included miscellaneous PFGE patterns. The results also showed that PFGE patterns of M. catarrhalis isolates were similar between hospital- and community-acquired respiratory infections. Analysis of the subtypes suggested that there might be some association between hospital- and community-acquired respiratory infections caused by M. catarrhalis.     

Factors influencing eating ability of old in-patients in a rehabilitation hospital in Japan

Objectives: This study was designed to determine the factors influencing eating ability of old in‐patients in a rehabilitation hospital. Design: Cross‐sectional investigation. Setting: Forty‐six in‐patients in the rehabilitation ward of Hashimoto Hospital in Kagawa Prefecture in Japan were investigated using a multi‐disciplinary approach. Main outcome measures: Age, gender, state of dentition, muscle activity of lip, cheek and tongue, biting force, salivary flow rate per a minute (SFR), masticatory ability for gummy jelly, swallowing ability, texture of meal, independency of walking (Functional Independence Measure=FIM) and ability to communicate. Results: Bivariate analysis for the relationship between surveyed items and masticatory ability (chi‐square test) identified that better masticatory ability for gummy jelly was associated with age (<85 years), gender (male), state of dentition (dentate), SFR (high), activity of lip (good), biting force (high), swallowing ability (good) and activity of communication (high). Among these items, SFR (p=0.001), gender (p=0.004), ability to communicate (p=0.005) and age (p=0.012) were found having an influence on the masticatory ability (logistic regression analysis). On the other hand, age (<85years), gender (male), SFR (high), activity of lip (good), activity of cheek (good), biting force (high), masticatory ability (good) and swallowing ability (good) had a relationship with normal texture of meal. In regression analysis, only two items, activity of lip (p=0.003) and swallowing ability (p=0.024) emerged as factors on texture of meal. Conclusions: Masticatory ability for gummy jelly was influenced by cognitive function and was excluded from the factors on the state of meal. These results suggested the limitation of evaluation using test food, so dentists should observe eating behaviour of in‐patients. In addition, dentists should pay attention to the activity of the lip and swallowing ability as well as dentition and prostheses in the rehabilitation of eating ability. As SFR was the most significant factor on masticatory ability, this emphasizes the necessity of care for dry mouth caused by side effects of multi‐medication     

ESR spin trapping of hydroxyl radicals in aqueous solution irradiated with high-LET carbon-ion beams

The aim of this study was to quantify the hydroxyl radicals (*OH) produced when aqueous solutions are decomposed by high-linear energy transfer (LET) 290 MeV/nucleon carbon-ion beams using an electron spin resonance (ESR) spectrometer. Aerated cell culture medium containing 200 mM 5,5-dimethyl-1-pyrroline-N-oxide (DMPO) was irradiated with doses of 0 to 20 Gy with an LET of 20 to 90 keV/ micro m. We were able to obtain ESR spectra 10 min after irradiation, and the formation of *OH and hydrogen atoms was confirmed by radiolysis of deuterium oxide and ethanol containing DMPO. Our results showed that the yield of *OH by carbon-ion radiolysis increased in proportion to the absorbed dose over the range of 0 to 20 Gy. Furthermore, we discovered that the yield of *OH decreased linearity as LET increased logarithmically from 20 to 90 keV/ micro m. The generation of *OH by carbon-ion radiolysis at LETs of 20, 40, 60, 80 and 90 keV/ micro m was 64, 58, 52, 49 and 50%, respectively, of that for low-LET X radiolysis. These unique findings provide a further understanding of the indirect effect of high-LET radiation.     

Single-molecule PCR using water-in-oil emulsion

Polymerase chain reaction (PCR) using a single molecule of DNA is very useful for analysis, detection and cloning of the desired DNA fragment. We developed a simple PCR method utilizing a water-in-oil (W/O) emulsion that included numerous droplets of reaction mixture in bulk oil phase. These droplets, which were stable even at high temperatures, functioned as micro-reactors. This allows the effective concentration of template DNA to be increased, even for low concentrations of template DNA. The present method consists of a two-step thermal cycle. The first step was carried out using the W/O emulsion. During this step, the template DNA was amplified in the limited volume of the droplets in the W/O emulsion. The W/O emulsion was broken and the second PCR step was carried out. This method can be easily applied to amplify a single DNA molecule.     

Hic-5 communicates between focal adhesions and the nucleus through oxidant-sensitive nuclear export signal

hic-5 was originally isolated as an H(2)O(2)-inducible cDNA clone whose product was normally found at focal adhesions. In this study, we found that Hic-5 accumulated in the nucleus in response to oxidants such as H(2)O(2). Other focal adhesion proteins including paxillin, the most homologous to Hic-5, remained in the cytoplasm. Mutation analyses revealed that the C- and N-terminal halves of Hic-5 contributed to its nuclear localization in a positive and negative manner, respectively. After the finding that leptomycin B (LMB), an inhibitor of nuclear export signal (NES), caused Hic-5 to be retained in the nucleus, Hic-5 was demonstrated to harbor NES in the N-terminal, which was sensitive to oxidants, thereby regulating the nuclear accumulation of Hic-5. NES consisted of a leucine-rich stretch and two cysteines with a limited similarity to Yap/Pap-type NES. In the nucleus, Hic-5 was suggested to participate in the gene expression of c-fos. Using dominant negative mutants, we found that Hic-5 was actually involved in endogenous c-fos gene expression upon H(2)O(2) treatment. Hic-5 was thus proposed as a focal adhesion protein with the novel aspect of shuttling between focal adhesions and the nucleus through an oxidant-sensitive NES, mediating the redox signaling directly to the nucleus.     

Distinct regulators for Plk1 activation in starfish meiotic and early embryonic cycles

The Polo-like kinase, Plk, has multiple roles in regulating mitosis. In particular, Plk1 has been postulated to function as a trigger kinase that phosphorylates and activates Cdc25C prior to the activation of cyclin B-Cdc2 and thereby initiates its activation. However, the upstream regulation of Plk1 activation remains unclear. Here we have studied the interplay between Plk1 and Cdc2 through meiotic and early embryonic cycles in starfish. Distinct kinases, cyclin B-Cdc2, MAPK along with cyclin B- and/or cyclin A-Cdc2 and cyclin A-Cdc2, were unique upstream regulators for Plk1 activation at meiosis I, meiosis II and embryonic M-phase, respectively, indicating that Plk1 is not the trigger kinase at meiotic reinitiation. When Plk1 was required for cyclin B-Cdc2 activation, the action of Plk1 was mediated primarily through suppression of Myt1 rather than through activation of Cdc25. We propose that Plk1 can be activated by either cyclin A- or cyclin B-Cdc2, and its primary target is Myt1.     

Enhanced Tolerance Against Salt-Stress and Freezing-Stress of Escherichia coli Cells Expressing Algal bbc1 Gene

The expression of the eukaryotic bbc1 (breast basic conserved) gene (the bbc1 gene of the marine green alga Chlamydomonas sp. W-80 strain) enhanced the tolerance against salt-stress and freezing-stress in E. coli cells. The expression of the BBC1 protein in the E. coli cells carrying the algal bbc1 gene and that in the Chlamydomonas W-80 cells were examined by Western blotting analysis. The result suggests that the eukaryotic BBC1 protein expressed in the E. coli cells has a protective function against the cellular dehydration. Received: 24 April 2000 / Accepted: 21 August 2000     

Optical fiber biosensor for the determination of low biochemical oxygen demand

An optical fiber biosensor was developed for the evaluation of low Biochemical Oxygen Demand (BOD) values in river waters. Artificial wastewater (AWW) solution was employed as standards for the calibration of the BOD sensor. The response time of the sensor was 15 min, and the optimal BOD response was observed at 30 degrees C, pH 7.0. A linear relationship was obtained between the output voltage and BOD5 values, and the range of determination was 1-10 mg l(-1) BOD. The sensor response was almost not influenced by chloride ion up to 1000 mg l(-1), and also not affected by heavy metal ions (Fe3+, Cu2+, Mn2+, Cr3+, Zn2+). The BOD of river waters was estimated by using the optical fiber biosensor, and good correlation between the sensor and BOD5 test was obtained (r2 = 0.971).