Hydrophobic Components in Delipidated Granule of Egg Yolk

Dimethyl sulfide (DMS) is volatile compound important as one of the characteristic flavor compounds of marine food products. The precursor of DMS in marine products is dimethyl-β- propiothetin (DMPT), which is abundunt in green algae. DMPT was effectively extracted by the use of hydrophilic solvents from dried hitoegusa (Monostroma nitidum), a green alga. At around pH 4 and at over pH 9, the extracted DMPT was rapidly degraded to DMS; at around pH 7.5, this degradation was much slower. The DMS obtained volatilized immediately from aqueous solution. However, when the DMPT was formed into a powder with dextrin and heated to release the DMS, 40 — 60% of the DMS remained in the powder. The amount of DMS remaining was 80 % when cyclodextrin was used to form the powder.     

Kinetic Memory Based on the Enzyme-Limited Competition

Cellular memory, which allows cells to retain information from their environment, is important for a variety of cellular functions, such as adaptation to external stimuli, cell differentiation, and synaptic plasticity. Although posttranslational modifications have received much attention as a source of cellular memory, the mechanisms directing such alterations have not been fully uncovered. It may be possible to embed memory in multiple stable states in dynamical systems governing modifications. However, several experiments on modifications of proteins suggest long-term relaxation depending on experienced external conditions, without explicit switches over multi-stable states. As an alternative to a multistability memory scheme, we propose “kinetic memory” for epigenetic cellular memory, in which memory is stored as a slow-relaxation process far from a stable fixed state. Information from previous environmental exposure is retained as the long-term maintenance of a cellular state, rather than switches over fixed states. To demonstrate this kinetic memory, we study several models in which multimeric proteins undergo catalytic modifications (e.g., phosphorylation and methylation), and find that a slow relaxation process of the modification state, logarithmic in time, appears when the concentration of a catalyst (enzyme) involved in the modification reactions is lower than that of the substrates. Sharp transitions from a normal fast-relaxation phase into this slow-relaxation phase are revealed, and explained by enzyme-limited competition among modification reactions. The slow-relaxation process is confirmed by simulations of several models of catalytic reactions of protein modifications, and it enables the memorization of external stimuli, as its time course depends crucially on the history of the stimuli. This kinetic memory provides novel insight into a broad class of cellular memory and functions. In particular, applications for long-term potentiation are discussed, including dynamic modifications of calcium-calmodulin kinase II and cAMP-response element-binding protein essential for synaptic plasticity.     

High-dose zolpidem abuse in a patient with insomnia comorbid with major depressive disorder

Sleep and Biological Rhythms - A 39-year-old married woman was referred to a psychiatry outpatient clinic for treatment of major depressive disorder (MDD). The dose of zolpidem she had been taking...     

Two ANGUSTIFOLIA genes regulate gametophore and sporophyte development in Physcomitrella patens

In Arabidopsis thaliana the ANGUSTIFOLIA (AN) gene regulates the width of leaves by controlling the diffuse growth of leaf cells in the medio‐lateral direction. In the genome of the moss Physcomitrella patens, we found two normal ANs (PpAN1‐1 and 1‐2). Both PpAN1 genes complemented the A. thaliana an‐1 mutant phenotypes. An analysis of spatiotemporal promoter activity of each PpAN1 gene, using transgenic lines that contained each PpAN1‐promoter– uidA (GUS) gene, showed that both promoters are mainly active in the stems of haploid gametophores and in the middle to basal region of the young sporophyte that develops into the seta and foot. Analyses of the knockout lines for PpAN1‐1 and PpAN1‐2 genes suggested that these genes have partially redundant functions and regulate gametophore height by controlling diffuse cell growth in gametophore stems. In addition, the seta and foot were shorter and thicker in diploid sporophytes, suggesting that cell elongation was reduced in the longitudinal direction, whereas no defects were detected in tip‐growing protonemata. These results indicate that both PpAN1 genes in P. patens function in diffuse growth of the haploid and diploid generations but not in tip growth. To visualize microtubule distribution in gametophore cells of P. patens, transformed lines expressing P. patens α‐tubulin fused to sGFP were generated. Contrary to expectations, the orientation of microtubules in the tips of gametophores in the PpAN1‐1/1‐2 double‐knockout lines was unchanged. The relationships among diffuse cell growth, cortical microtubules and AN proteins are discussed.     

Expression of sodium/hydrogen exchanger 3 and cation-chloride cotransporters in the kidney of Japanese eel acclimated to a wide range of salinities

Reabsorption of monovalent ions in the kidney is essential for adaptation to freshwater and seawater in teleosts. To assess a possible role of Na⁺/H⁺ exchanger 3 (NHE3) in renal osmoregulation, we first identified a partial sequence of cDNA encoding NHE3 from the Japanese eel kidney. For comparison, we also identified cDNAs encoding kidney specific Na⁺–K⁺–2Cl^? cotransporter 2 (NKCC2α) and Na⁺–Cl^? cotransporter (NCCα). In eels acclimated to a wide range of salinities from deionized freshwater to full-strength seawater, the expression of NHE3 in the kidney was the highest in eel acclimated to full-strength seawater. Meanwhile, the NCCα expression exhibited a tendency to increase as the environmental salinity decreased, whereas the NKCC2α expression was not significantly different among the experimental groups. Immunohistochemical studies showed that NHE3 was localized to the apical membrane of epithelial cells composing the second segments of the proximal renal tubule in seawater-acclimated eel. Meanwhile, the apical membranes of epithelial cells in the distal renal tubule and collecting duct showed more intense immunoreactions of NKCC2α and NCCα, respectively, in freshwater eel than in seawater eel. These findings suggest that renal monovalent-ion reabsorption is mainly mediated by NKCC2α and NCCα in freshwater eel and by NHE3 in seawater eel.     

Synthesis and Biological Evaluation of 9-(f-2, c-3-Bishydroxymethyl-r-cyclopropylmethyl)-9H-adenine (A Lower Methylene Homolog of Carbocyclic Oxetanocin) and Related Compounds

Abstract

Adenine (7 and 16), thymine (9a and 18a), and 5-fluorouracil (9b and 18b) involving f-2, c-3-bishydroxymethyl-r-1-cyclopropylmethyl- and t-2 t-3-bishydroxymethyl-r-1-cyclopropylmethyl residues were synthesized, starting from trans-1, 4-dibenzyloxy-2-butene and its cis isomer, respectively. These compounds were evaluated for anti HSV-1 activity.     

Studies on Griseolic Acid Derivatives X. Synthesis and Phosphodiesterase Inhibitory Activity of 2-Substituted Derivatives of Griseolic Acid

Abstract

Griseolic acid derivatives which were modified at the 2-and/or 6-positions were first synthesized from griseolic acid by a ring opening—reclosure reaction of the adenine ring. Among these derivatives, the 2-amino-6-deamino-6-hydroxyl (guanine) derivative showed 3.3 and 45 times stronger inhibitory activity against cAMP and cGMP PDE, respectively, than those of griseolic acid. Structure-activity relationships among these derivatives are also discussed.