Seven sesquiterpene lactones from Inula britannica var. chinensis

Four known sesquiterpene lactones, tomentosin, ivalin, 4-epi-isoinuviscolide and gaillardin, together with three new lactones, inuchinenolides A, B and C, were identified in the whole plant of Inula britannica var. chinensis.     

Qualitative and quantitative morphologic study of Peyer's patches of the mouse after neonatal thymectomy and hydrocortisone injection

Peyer's patches in normal adult mice, neonatally thymectomized mice and mice injected with hydrocortisone were studied qualitatively and quantitatively by light microscopy. The patch was divided into germinal center, follicular area, parafollicular area and dome area. In normal mice, the volumetric ratio of the germinal center to the entire patch was 30.9%; that of the follicular area, 33.3%; that of the parafollicular area, 27.7%; and that of the dome area, 8.2%. Thymus-dependent small lymphocytes were 40% of small lymphocytes in the patch. Out of the total thymus-dependent small lymphocytes in the patch, 13% were included in the germinal center; 19%, in the follicular area; 62%, in the parafollicular area; and 6%, in the dome area. Hydrocortisone-sensitive small lymphocytes were 65% of the total small lymphocytes in the patch, the germinal center contained 9%; the follicular area, 84%; the parafollicular area, 2%; and the dome area, 5%. The epithelium over the dome area was invaded by numerous small lymphocytes. Forty-eight percent of lymphocytes within the epithelium over the dome were thymus-dependent and 67% were hydrocortisone-sensitive. It is concluded that Peyer's patch may be considered as a peripheral lymphatic tissue, functionally as well as morphologically.     

Unusual base sequence arrangement in phage phi 29 DNA.

Susceptibility of Bacillus subtilis phage phi 29 DNA to 34 different restriction endoculceases was determined. Three enzymes, BglI, XbaI and BstEII, were found to cleave phi 29 DNA only once at specific sites. The sites of these single cleavages have been mapped. Thirteen enzymes did not cut phi 29 DNA. phi 29 HindIII DNA fragments inserted into pBR313 plasmid and propagated in Escherichia coli, were resistant to these restriction endonucleases. This result suggests that the insusceptibility is due to the absence of the nucleotide sequences on phi 29 recognized by the enzymes, and not to the presence of modified nucleotides.     

Protease inhibitors inhibit production of protein I of the outer membrane in Escherichia coli

Effects of protease inhibitors on composition of newly synthesized protein were studied by pulse-labeling E. coli cells with [³H]leucine and analyzing the labeled proteins by sodium dodecylsulfate gel electrophoresis. In addition to tosyl-lysine chloromethylketone that had been studied previously, antipain, leupeptin and diisopropyl fluorophosphate all inhibited production of a major outer membrane protein, protein I. Synthesis of protein I was specifically inhibited by antipain or leupeptin in strain K12, whereas several other proteins were also affected in strain B. Protein synthesis in strain B was generally more sensitive to inhibition by antipain than that in strain K12.     

Neuromechanisms of reciprocal interrelation between jaw-opening and jaw-closing muscles in the cat (author's transl)]

Neural controlling mechanisms between the digastric (jaw-opening) and masseter (jaw-closing) muscles were studied in the cat. High threshold afferent impulses from the anterior belly of the digastric muscle to masseteric montoneurons in the trigeminal motor nucleus induced an EPSP-IPSP sequence of potentials with long latency, and high threshold afferent impulses from the masseter muscle also exerted a similar effect on digastric motoneurons in the same nucleus innervating the anterior belly of the digastric muscle. These results suggest that reciprocal inhibition via Ia interneurons as observed between the flexor and extensor muscles in the spinal cord does not exist between the digastric and masseter muscles in the cat. However, the respective motoneurons innervating the masseter and digastric muscles receive inputs of early excitation-late inhibition via high threshold afferent nerve fibers from each antagonistic muscle. As such, since EPSPs preceding IPSPs are recognized, these high threshold afferent impulses may exert not only a reciprocal inhibitory effect, but also a synchronous excitatory or inhibitory effect on the antagonistic motoneurons.     

Procedure for the efficient acquisition of progeny seeds from crossed potato plants grafted onto tomato

Potato, Solanum tuberosum L. is an important crop. However, it is difficult to breed potato cultivars by applying conventional crossing methods because potato has a tetraploid genome and is vegetatively propagated. Flower formation and tuber development occur simultaneously. Many potato cultivars hardly produce any fruits after crossing and fail to produce seeds. We report an improved procedure for obtaining progeny seeds by grafting potatoes onto tomatoes. The rate of fruit formation was more than 19% when the grafted potatoes were used for the crossing experiments, whereas crossing using the ungrafted plants showed a rate of 1.1%. This result suggests that our procedure results in the easy acquisition of null-segregant progenies by crossing mutant lines. It is also expected to improve conventional potato breeding.     

Identification of asymptomatic Entamoeba histolytica infection by a serological screening test: A cross-sectional study of an HIV-negative men who have sex with men cohort in Japan

BackgroundAmebiasis, caused by Entamoeba histolytica, is spreading in developing countries and in many developed countries as a sexually transmitted infection. Here, we evaluated the efficacy of serological screening to identify asymptomatic E. histolytica infection as a potential epidemiological control measure to limit its spread.Methodology/Principal findingsThis cross-sectional study was carried out between January and March 2021 in an HIV-negative men who have sex with men (MSM) cohort at the National Center for Global Health and Medicine. Serological screening was performed using a commercially available ELISA kit. For seropositive individuals, we performed stool polymerase chain reaction (PCR) to determine current E. histolytica infection. We performed E. histolytica serological screening of 312 participants. None had a history of E. histolytica infection prior to the study. The overall E. histolytica seropositivity was 6.7% (21/312), which was similar to that found by the rapid plasma reagin test (17/312). We identified current infection in 8 of 20 seropositive participants (40.0%) by stool PCR.Conclusions/SignificanceOur serological screening approach constitutes a potentially practical epidemiological strategy. Active epidemiological surveys, in combination with an effective screening strategy for asymptomatically infected individuals, should be applied to help reduce sexually transmitted E. histolytica infections.     

Clinicopathological assessment of cancer/testis antigens NY-ESO-1 and MAGE-A4 in osteosarcoma

The cancer/testis antigens (CTAs), New York esophageal squamous cell carcinoma-1 (NY-ESO-1) and melanoma antigen gene (MAGE)-A4 are normally restricted to male germ cells but are aberrantly expressed in several cancers. Considering the limited information regarding their significance in osteosarcoma (OS), the purpose of this study was to determine the clinical significance of NY-ESO-1 and MAGE-A4 expression in OS. Nine patients with OS treated at Kindai University Hospital were included in the study. The median age was 27 years, and median follow-up period was 40 months. The specimens obtained at the time of biopsy were used to perform immunostaining for NY-ESO, MAGE-A4, p53, and Ki-67. The positive cell rates and positive case rates of NY-ESO, MAGE-A4, p53, and Ki-67 were calculated. The correlation between the positive cell rate of immunohistochemical markers was also calculated. The correlation between the positive cell rate of NY-ESO-1 or MAGE-A4 and tumor size or maximum standardized uptake (SUV-max) was also determined. The positive cell rates of NY-ESO-1 or MAGE-A4 in continuous disease-free (CDF) cases were also compared with those in alive with disease (AWD) or dead of disease (DOD) cases. The average positive cell rates of NY-ESO, MAGEA4, p53, and Ki-67 were 71.7%, 85.1%, 16.2%, and 14.7%, and their positive case rates were 33.3%, 100%, 44.4%, and 100%, respectively. The positivity rates of NY-ESO-1 and p53 were strongly correlated, whereas those of NY-ESO-1 and Ki-67 were moderately correlated. The MAGE-A4 and p53 positivity rates and the MAGE-A4 and Ki-67 positive cell rates were both strongly correlated. The NY-ESO-1 and MAGE-A4 positivity rates were moderately correlated. The positive correlation between the NY-ESO-1 positive cell rate and tumor size was medium, and that between the MAGE-A4 positivity rate and SUV-max was very strong. There was no significant difference in the positive cell rates of NY-ESO-1 or MAGE-A4 between CDF cases and AWD or DOD cases. Overall, our results suggest that NY-ESO-1 and MAGE-A4 may be involved in the aggressiveness of OS.Key words: New York esophageal squamous cell carcinoma-1 (NY-ESO-1), melanoma antigen gene (MAGE)- A4, osteosarcoma, prognosis, cancer/testis antigen (CTA), immunohistochemistry