Effects of dietary Korean proso-millet protein on plasma adiponectin, HDL cholesterol, insulin levels, and gene expression in obese type 2 diabetic mice

We investigated the effect of dietary Korean proso-millet protein concentrate (PMP) on glycemic responses, plasma lipid levels, and the plasma level and gene expression of adiponectin in obese type 2 diabetic mice under normal and high-fat feeding conditions. The findings were that the feeding of PMP clearly elevated plasma high-density lipoprotein cholesterol (HDL cholesterol) and adiponectin levels and brought about effective reduction in the levels of glucose and insulin in mice under high-fat diet conditions as compared with a control diet. Gene expression study revealed that the diet up-regulated expression of adiponectin and down-regulated tumor necrosis factor-alpha (TNF-alpha). Considering the central role of adiponectin and HDL cholesterol in improving and ameliorating type 2 diabetes, obesity, and cardiovascular disease, our findings imply that PMP may have potential for therapeutic intervention in type 2 diabetes.     

Neuropeptides trigger oocyte maturation and subsequent spawning in the hydrozoan jellyfish Cytaeis uchidae

Oocyte maturation and subsequent spawning in hydrozoan jellyfish are generally triggered by light‐dark cycles. To examine if the initiation of the maturation process after light stimulus is mediated by neurotransmitters, neuropeptides isolated originally from Hydra magnipapillata were applied to sexually mature female medusae of the hydrozoan jellyfish Cytaeis uchidae. Among the Hydra neuropeptides tested, Hym‐53 (NPYPGLW‐NH₂), as well as a nonphysiological peptide, CGLWamide (CGLW‐NH₂), were most effective in inducing oocyte maturation and spawning. Hym‐355 (FPQSFLPRG‐NH₂) also triggered these events, but the stimulatory effect was weaker. Since Hym‐53‐OH (NPYPGLW) and Hym‐355‐OH (FPQSFLPRG) had no effect, amidation at the C‐terminus may be critical for the stimulatory activities of the peptides. Exposure to Hym‐53 for 2 min was sufficient to trigger of oocyte maturation, and the spawned eggs were able to be fertilized and to develop normally. Transmission electron microscopy confirmed that bundles of axon‐like structures that contain dense‐core synaptic vesicles and microtubules are present in the ovarian ectodermal epithelium overlying the oocytes. In addition, immunohistological analyses revealed that some of the neurons in the ectodermal epithelium are GLWamide‐ and PRGamide‐positive. These results suggest that a neuropeptide signal transduction pathway is involved in mediating the induction of oocyte maturation and spawning in this jellyfish. Mol. Reprod. Dev. 80: 223–232, 2013. © 2013 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.     

Cyclic stretch-induced stress fiber dynamics - Dependence on strain rate, Rho-kinase and MLCK

Stress fiber realignment is an important adaptive response to cyclic stretch for nonmuscle cells, but the mechanism by which such reorganization occurs is not known. By analyzing stress fiber dynamics using live cell microscopy, we revealed that stress fiber reorientation perpendicular to the direction of cyclic uniaxial stretching at 1 Hz did not involve disassembly of the stress fiber distal ends located at focal adhesion sites. Instead, these distal ends were often used to assemble new stress fibers oriented progressively further away from the direction of stretch. Stress fiber disassembly and reorientation were not induced when the frequency of stretch was decreased to 0.01 Hz, however. Treatment with the Rho-kinase inhibitor Y27632 reduced stress fibers to thin fibers located in the cell periphery which bundled together to form thick fibers oriented parallel to the direction of stretching at 1 Hz. In contrast, these thin fibers remained diffuse in cells subjected to stretch at 0.01 Hz. Cyclic stretch at 1 Hz also induced actin fiber formation parallel to the direction of stretch in cells treated with the myosin light chain kinase (MLCK) inhibitor ML-7, but these fibers were located centrally rather than peripherally. These results shed new light on the mechanism by which stress fibers reorient in response to cyclic stretch in different regions of the actin cytoskeleton.     

Roles of ES Cell-Derived Gliogenic Neural Stem/Progenitor Cells in Functional Recovery after Spinal Cord Injury

Transplantation of neural stem/progenitor cells (NS/PCs) following the sub-acute phase of spinal cord injury (SCI) has been shown to promote functional recovery in rodent models. However, the types of cells most effective for treating SCI have not been clarified. Taking advantage of our recently established neurosphere-based culture system of ES cell-derived NS/PCs, in which primary neurospheres (PNS) and passaged secondary neurospheres (SNS) exhibit neurogenic and gliogenic potentials, respectively, here we examined the distinct effects of transplanting neurogenic and gliogenic NS/PCs on the functional recovery of a mouse model of SCI. ES cell-derived PNS and SNS transplanted 9 days after contusive injury at the Th10 level exhibited neurogenic and gliogenic differentiation tendencies, respectively, similar to those seen in vitro. Interestingly, transplantation of the gliogenic SNS, but not the neurogenic PNS, promoted axonal growth, remyelination, and angiogenesis, and resulted in significant locomotor functional recovery after SCI. These findings suggest that gliogenic NS/PCs are effective for promoting the recovery from SCI, and provide essential insight into the mechanisms through which cellular transplantation leads to functional improvement after SCI.     

Induction of protective immune responses against R5 human immunodeficiency virus type 1 (HIV-1) infection in hu-PBL-SCID mice by intrasplenic immunization with HIV-1-pulsed dendritic cells: possible involvement of a novel factor of human CD4(+) T-cell origin

The potential of a dendritic cell (DC)-based vaccine against human immunodeficiency virus type 1 (HIV-1) infection in humans was explored with SCID mice reconstituted with human peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMC). HIV-1-negative normal human PBMC were transplanted directly into the spleens of SCID mice (hu-PBL-SCID-spl mice) together with autologous mature DCs pulsed with either inactivated HIV-1 (strain R5 or X4) or ovalbumin (OVA), followed by a booster injection 5 days later with autologous DCs pulsed with the same respective antigens. Five days later, these mice were challenged intraperitoneally with R5 HIV-1(JR-CSF). Analysis of infection at 7 days postinfection showed that the DC-HIV-1-immunized hu-PBL-SCID-spl mice, irrespective of the HIV-1 isolate used for immunization, were protected against HIV-1 infection. In contrast, none of the DC-OVA-immunized mice were protected. Sera from the DC-HIV-1- but not the DC-OVA-immunized mice inhibited the in vitro infection of activated PBMC and macrophages with R5, but not X4, HIV-1. Upon restimulation with HIV-1 in vitro, the human CD4(+) T cells derived from the DC-HIV-1-immunized mice produced a similar R5 HIV-1 suppressor factor. Neutralizing antibodies against human RANTES, MIP-1alpha, MIP-1beta, alpha interferon (IFN-alpha), IFN-beta, IFN-gamma, interleukin-4 (IL-4), IL-10, IL-13, IL-16, MCP-1, MCP-3, tumor necrosis factor alpha (TNF-alpha), or TNF-beta failed to reverse the HIV-1-suppressive activity. These results show that inactivated HIV-1-pulsed autologous DCs can stimulate splenic resident human CD4(+) T cells in hu-PBL-SCID-spl mice to produce a yet-to-be-defined, novel soluble factor(s) with protective properties against R5 HIV-1 infection.     

Interspecies Transmission of Feline Immunodeficiency Virus from the Domestic Cat to the Tsushima Cat (Felis bengalensis euptilura) in the Wild

Feline immunodeficiency virus (FIV) was isolated from a wild-caught Tsushima cat (Felis bengalensis euptilura), an endangered Japanese nondomestic subspecies of leopard cat (F. bengalensis). Phylogenetic analysis of the env gene sequences indicated that the FIV from the Tsushima cat belonged to a cluster of subtype D FIVs from domestic cats. FIVs from both the Tsushima cat and the domestic cat showed similar levels of replication and cytopathicity in lymphoid cell lines derived from these two species. The results indicated the occurrence of interspecies transmission of FIV from the domestic cat to the Tsushima cat in the wild.     

Chloroplast DNA phylogeography of Betula maximowicziana, a long-lived pioneer tree species and noble hardwood in Japan

Betula maximowicziana is an ecologically and economically important tree species in Japan. In order to examine the phylogeographical pattern of the species in detail, maternally inherited chloroplast (cp) DNA variations of 25 natural populations of Betula maximowicziana and a total of 12 populations of three related species were evaluated by PCR-RFLP analysis. Two main haplotypic groups of B. maximowicziana populations (northern and southern) were detected, with the main boundary passing through the Tohoku region in northeastern Japan; in addition there was high genetic differentiation among the 25 populations studied (G _ST = 0.950, G_\textST^￠ = 0. 9 7 7 G_{\text{ST}}^{\prime } = 0. 9 7 7 ). The phylogeographical pattern exhibited by B. maximowicziana was much more similar to that of alpine plants than to that of beech and oak. Comparison of the patterns of genetic structure obtained from the cpDNA with previously and newly acquired data on bi-parentally inherited nuclear DNA indicates that the nuclear genome was transferred via pollen from the northern haplotypic group to the southern group more frequently than it moved in the opposite direction. Although common haplotypes were detected among B. maximowicziana and the two related species examined, these haplotypes were not shared sympatrically, suggesting very rare hybridization among the species currently occurring in their natural populations.