Elevated oxidative stress in erythrocytes due to a SOD1 deficiency causes anaemia and triggers autoantibody production

Reactive oxygen species are involved in the aging process and diseases. Despite the important role of Cu/Zn SOD (superoxide dismutase) encoded by SOD1, SOD1-/- mice appear to grow normally under conventional breeding conditions. In the present paper we report on a novel finding showing a distinct connection between oxidative stress in erythrocytes and the production of autoantibodies against erythrocytes in SOD1-/- mice. Evidence is presented to show that SOD1 is primarily required for maintaining erythrocyte lifespan by suppressing oxidative stress. A SOD1 deficiency led to an increased erythrocyte vulnerability by the oxidative modification of proteins and lipids, resulting in anaemia and compensatory activation of erythropoiesis. The continuous destruction of oxidized erythrocytes appears to induce the formation of autoantibodies against certain erythrocyte components, e.g. carbonic anhydrase II, and the immune complex is deposited in the glomeruli. The administration of an antioxidant, N-acetylcysteine, suppressed erythrocyte oxidation, ameliorated the anaemia, and inhibited the production of autoantibodies. These data imply that a high level of oxidative stress in erythrocytes increases the production of autoantibodies, possibly leading to an autoimmune response, and that the intake of antioxidants would prevent certain autoimmune responses by maintaining an appropriate redox balance in erythrocytes.     

The N-terminus zinc finger domain of Xenopus SIP1 is important for neural induction, but not for suppression of Xbra expression

Smad-interacting protein-1 (SIP1), also known as deltaEF2, ZEB2 and zfhx1b, is essential for the formation of the neural tube and the somites. Overexpression of Xenopus SIP1 causes ectopic neural induction via inhibition of bone morphogenetic protein (BMP) signaling and inhibition of Xbra expression. Here, we report the functional analyses of 4 domain-deletion mutants of XSIP1. Deletion of the N-terminus zinc finger domain suppressed neural induction and BMP inhibition, but these were not affected by deletion of the other domains (the Smad binding domain, the DNA-binding homeodomain together with the CtBP binding site and the C-terminus zinc finger). Therefore SIP1 does not inhibit BMP signaling by binding to Smad proteins. In contrast, all of the deletion constructs inhibited Xbra expression. These results suggest that the N-terminus zinc finger domain of XSIP1 has an important role in neural induction and that Xbra suppression occurs via a mechanism separate from the neural inducing activity.     

Microbial degradation of polyurethane, polyester polyurethanes and polyether polyurethanes

Polyurethane (PUR) is a polymer derived from the condensation of polyisocyanate and polyol and it is widely used as a base material in various industries. PUR, in particular, polyester PUR, is known to be vulnerable to microbial attack. Recently, environmental pollution by plastic wastes has become a serious issue and polyester PUR had attracted attention because of its biodegradability. There are many reports on the degradation of polyester PUR by microorganisms, especially by fungi. Microbial degradation of polyester PUR is thought to be mainly due to the hydrolysis of ester bonds by esterases. Recently, polyester-PUR-degrading enzymes have been purified and their characteristics reported. Among them, a solid-polyester-PUR-degrading enzyme (PUR esterase) derived from Comamonas acidovorans TB-35 had unique characteristics. This enzyme has a hydrophobic PUR-surface-binding domain and a catalytic domain, and the surface-binding domain was considered as being essential for PUR degradation. This hydrophobic surface-binding domain is also observed in other solid-polyester-degrading enzymes such as poly(hydroxyalkanoate) (PHA) depolymerases. There was no significant homology between the amino acid sequence of PUR esterase and that of PHA depolymerases, except in the hydrophobic surface-binding region. Thus, PUR esterase and PHA depolymerase are probably different in terms of their evolutionary origin and it is possible that PUR esterases come to be classified as a new solid-polyester-degrading enzyme family. Received: 20 July 1998 / Received revision: 9 October 1998 / Accepted: 11 October 1998     

安徽宁国毛竹山发现的旧石器早期遗存

1997年在安徽宁国毛竹山发掘的旧石器时代早期遗存 ,轮廓略呈半圆形 ,长 10m、宽 6m ,由 110 0多件砾石和石制品构成 ,中间部分是面积 4 7× 4m2 的空白区。遗存埋藏在网纹红土的底部 ,地质时代为中更新世中期 ,距今约 6 0万年。此类现象在中国旧石器时代早期尚属首次发现 ,可能属于储料场和石器制造场 ,也可能还有其他用途。     

A at Single Nucleotide Polymorphism-358 Is Required for G at -420 to Confer the Highest Plasma Resistin in the General Japanese Population

Insulin resistance is a feature of type 2 diabetes. Resistin, secreted from adipocytes, causes insulin resistance in mice. We previously reported that the G/G genotype of single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) at −420 (rs1862513) in the human resistin gene (RETN) increased susceptibility to type 2 diabetes by enhancing its promoter activity. Plasma resistin was highest in Japanese subjects with G/G genotype, followed by C/G, and C/C. In this study, we cross-sectionally analyzed plasma resistin and SNPs in the RETN region in 2,019 community-dwelling Japanese subjects. Plasma resistin was associated with SNP-638 (rs34861192), SNP-537 (rs34124816), SNP-420, SNP-358 (rs3219175), SNP+299 (rs3745367), and SNP+1263 (rs3745369) (P<10⁻¹³ in all cases). SNP-638, SNP -420, SNP-358, and SNP+157 were in the same linkage disequilibrium (LD) block. SNP-358 and SNP-638 were nearly in complete LD (r² = 0.98), and were tightly correlated with SNP-420 (r² = 0.50, and 0.51, respectively). The correlation between either SNP-358 (or SNP-638) or SNP-420 and plasma resistin appeared to be strong (risk alleles for high plasma resistin; A at SNP-358, r² = 0.5224, P = 4.94×10⁻³²⁴; G at SNP-420, r² = 0.2616, P = 1.71×10⁻¹³³). In haplotypes determined by SNP-420 and SNP-358, the estimated frequencies for C-G, G-A, and G-G were 0.6700, 0.2005, and 0.1284, respectively, and C-A was rare (0.0011), suggesting that subjects with A at −358, generally had G at −420. This G-A haplotype conferred the highest plasma resistin (8.24 ng/ml difference/allele compared to C-G, P<0.0001). In THP-1 cells, the RETN promoter with the G-A haplotype showed the highest activity. Nuclear proteins specifically recognized one base difference at SNP-358, but not at SNP-638. Therefore, A at -358 is required for G at −420 to confer the highest plasma resistin in the general Japanese population. In Caucasians, the association between SNP-420 and plasma resistin is not strong, and A at −358 may not exist, suggesting that SNP-358 could explain this ethnic difference.     

Long-Term Low Carbohydrate Diet Leads to Deleterious Metabolic Manifestations in Diabetic Mice

We investigated long-term effects of low carbohydrate diets on wild type mice, streptozotocin-injected and KKAy obese diabetic mice. These mice were pair-fed three different types of diets, standard chow (SC, C∶P∶F = 63∶15∶22), a low carbohydrate (LC, C∶P∶F = 38∶25∶37) diet and a severely carbohydrate restricted (SR, C∶P∶F = 18∶45∶37) diet for 16 weeks. Despite comparable body weights and serum lipid profiles, wild type and diabetic mice fed the low carbohydrate diets exhibited lower insulin sensitivity and this reduction was dependent on the amount of carbohydrate in the diet. When serum fatty acid compositions were investigated, monounsaturation capacity, i.e. C16:1/C16:0 and C18:1/C18:0, was impaired in all murine models fed the low carbohydrate diets, consistent with the decreased expression of hepatic stearoyl-CoA desaturase-1 (SCD1). Interestingly, both the hepatic expressions and serum levels of fibroblast growth factor 21 (FGF21), which might be related to longevity, were markedly decreased in both wild type and KKAy mice fed the SR diet. Taking into consideration that fat compositions did not differ between the LC and SR diets, we conclude that low carbohydrate diets have deleterious metabolic effects in both wild type and diabetic mice, which may explain the association between diets relatively low in carbohydrate and the elevated risk of cardiovascular events observed in clinical studies.     

Prevalence of staphylococcal enterotoxins in Staphylococcus pseudintermedius isolates from dogs with pyoderma and healthy dogs

To investigate the role of staphylococcal enterotoxins (SEs) produced by Staphylococcus pseudintermedius in the pathogenesis of pyoderma, isolates from dogs with pyoderma and healthy dogs were analyzed. According to reverse passive latex agglutination, 14/184 isolates (7.6%) from dogs with pyoderma and 9/87 (10.3%) from healthy dogs produced SEs (SEA, SEC or SED). According to multiplex PCR, 99 isolates (53.7%) from dogs with pyoderma and 97 (90.8%) from healthy dogs possessed one or more se genes. There was no significant difference regarding ses between dogs with pyoderma and healthy dogs. Therefore, SEs may not be a direct virulence factor in pyoderma.