Effect of Lifestyle on Asthma Control in Japanese Patients: Importance of Periodical Exercise and Raw Vegetable Diet

Background

The avoidance of inhaled allergens or tobacco smoke has been known to have favorable effects on asthma control. However, it remains unclear whether other lifestyle-related factors are also related to asthma control. Therefore, a comprehensive study to examine the associations between various lifestyle factors and asthma control was conducted in Japanese asthmatic patients.

Methods

The study subjects included 437 stable asthmatic patients recruited from our outpatient clinic over a one-year period. A written, informed consent was obtained from each participant. Asthma control was assessed using the asthma control test (ACT), and a structured questionnaire was administered to obtain information regarding lifestyle factors, including tobacco smoking, alcohol drinking, physical exercise, and diet. Both bivariate and multivariate analyses were conducted.

Results

The proportions of total control (ACT = 25), well controlled (ACT = 20-24), and poorly controlled (ACT < 20) were 27.5%, 48.1%, and 24.5%, respectively. The proportions of patients in the asthma treatment steps as measured by Global Initiative for Asthma 2007 in step 1, step 2, step 3, step 4, and step 5 were 5.5%, 17.4%, 7.6%, 60.2%, and 9.4%, respectively. Body mass index, direct tobacco smoking status and alcohol drinking were not associated with asthma control. On the other hand, younger age (< 65 years old), passive smoking, periodical exercise (> 3 metabolic equivalents-h/week), and raw vegetable intake (> 5 units/week) were significantly associated with good asthma control by bivariate analysis. Younger age, periodical exercise, and raw vegetable intake were significantly associated with good asthma control by multiple linear regression analysis.

Conclusions

Periodical exercise and raw vegetable intake are associated with good asthma control in Japanese patients.     

Konjac-mannanase from the Tubers of Amorphophallus konjac C. Koch

A crude enzyme preparation hydrolyzing konjac mannan was extracted from germinating konjac tubers, and purified by chromatography with DEAE-cellulose and alkali-swollen cellulose, and by gel-filtration on Sephadex G-100. The purified enzyme preparation showed optimal activity at pH 4.7, optimum temperature at 40°C. It was considerably stable at pH’s between 4.0 and 8.0, but inactivated rapidly by temperaters above 50°C. Hydrolysis of the mannan by this enzyme proceeded by typical random mechanism, and the rate was in agreement with an empirical equation, p=0.43 E^0.77 to^0.5. As the Km and V_max values for mannan, 7.14×10^-2(%)and 23.8×10^-3 (ΔOD_500nm) were obtained, respectively.     

d-Ribose Formation by Pseudomonas reptilivora

During the course of some works on sugar metabolism in bacteria, we could find out bacteria having producibility of free d-ribose. Among 1395 strains isolated from soil, only nine strains were found to be able to produce aldopentose which was identified chromato-graphically as ribose. From cultured broth of Pseudomonas reptilivora S-1104, a representative strain among these nine strains, d-ribose was isolated in crystalline form as aldopentose. It was also found that ribose was formed not only from glucose but also from d-fructose, d-arabitol, gluconic acid, etc., and that d-fructose and a glucoside (remained unknown) were also accumulated at the same time in the culture broth of Pseudomonas reptilivora S-1104.     

Determination of Anomeric Configuration of Furanoside Derivatives by Carbon-13 NMR

A 24 kDa protein was isolated from tartary buckwheat seeds by using chromatography of Superdex 75 gel filtration and Resource Q ion-exchange column. SDS-PAGE and Sephacryl S-200 gel filtration were used to provide information about the molecular mass of the protein purified from tartary buckwheat. The protein was composed of 215 amino acid residues and showed strong IgE binding activity in an ELISA test to the sera colleted from two patients allergic to buckwheat. These results suggested that the purified 24 kDa protein from tartary buckwheat seeds was an important functional protein and was relatively specific for buckwheat-allergic patients. It should be a very useful tool in the diagnosis of buckwheat allergy in the future.     

Synthesis and Toxicity of Allethrin-(Z)-metabolites

(±)-trans-Allethrin-(Z)-ol (IV), (±)-trans-allethrin-(Z)-al (V) and (±)-trans-allethrin-(Z)-acid (VI), the minor components of allethrin metabolites in the insect body, were synthesized. The toxicities of newly synthesized allethrin derivatives (IV, V, VI) and of (±)-trans-allethrin-(E)-acid (Xc) to houseflies (Musca domestica L.) were examined by the injection method. And their low toxicities seem to support the hypothesis that oxidation at the isobutenyl side chain of the acid moiety of the allethrin molecule is a detoxication process in the insect body.     

Effects of Dietary Glutathione on Plasma and Liver Lipid Levels in Rats Fed on a High Cholesterol Diet

The effects of dietary glutathione (GSH) on plasma and liver lipid concentrations were investigated with rats fed on a high cholesterol diet. When graded levels of GSH, 0.75 to 5.0%, were added to the 25% casein basal diet, the plasma total cholesterol level was significantly decreased and the HDL-cholesterol level was inversely increased in all addition levels without influence on the growth of animals except for the 5% addition level; the dietary addition of 5% GSH markedly depressed the growth and food consumption of rats and caused a slight diarrhea. Plasma triglyceride and phospholipid levels were decreased by the dietary addition of GSH. The contents of cholesterol and triglyceride in the liver were decreased as the dietary addition level of GSH was increased. The dietary addition of a mixture of glutamic acid, cysteine and glycine, or cysteine alone corresponding to 2.5% GSH resulted in a cholesterol-lowering effect which could not be distinguished from the effect of GSH in rats fed on the 25% casein diet. When 1.5% GSH was added to a low (10%) casein diet, the plasma cholesterol-lowering effect of GSH was also observed and the effect was comparable to that of cysteine. These results indicate that dietary-added GSH has a plasma and liver cholesterol-lowering efficacy and that this effect is largely attributable to the cysteine residue of GSH rather than to the tripeptide itself or the other amino acid residues.     

Synthesis and Absolute Configuration of Pyriculol

A total synthesis of optically active pyriculol is described. The Wittig reaction between an aldehyde 19 and a triphenylphosphonium ylide 12 gave an intermediate 20. Successive treatment of 20 with p-toluenesulfonic acid, active manganese dioxide, and potassium carbonate gave (3′R,4′S)-pyriculol (23), which was identical with natural pyriculol (1) in all respects. From this synthesis, the absolute stereochemistry of pyriculol (1) was determined to be 2-[(3′R,4′S)-3′,4′-dihydroxy- (1′E,5′E)-1′,5′-heptadienyl]-6-hydroxybenzaldehyde     

Effect of single pyrrole replacement with β-alanine on DNA binding affinity and sequence specificity of hairpin pyrrole/imidazole polyamides targeting 5′-GCGC-3′

N-Methylpyrrole (Py)–N-methylimidazole (Im) polyamides are small organic molecules that can recognize predetermined DNA sequences with high sequence specificity. As many eukaryotic promoter regions contain highly GC-rich sequences, it is valuable to synthesize and characterize Py–Im polyamides that recognize GC-rich motifs. In this study, we synthesized four hairpin Py–Im polyamides 1–4, which recognize 5′-GCGC-3′ and investigated their binding behavior with surface plasmon resonance assay. Py–Im polyamides 2–4 contain two, one, and one β-alanine units, replacing the Py units of 1, respectively. The binding affinities of 2–4 to the target DNA increased 430, 390, and 610-fold, respectively, over that of 1. The association and dissociation rates of 2 to the target DNA were improved by 11 and 37-fold, respectively, compared with those of 1. Interestingly, the association and dissociation rates of 3 and 4 were higher than those of 2, even though the binding affinities of 2, 3, and 4 to the target DNA were comparable to each other. The binding affinity of 2 to DNA with a 2 bp mismatch was reduced by 29-fold, compared with that to the matched DNA. Moreover, the binding affinities of 3 and 4 to the same mismatched DNA were reduced by 270 and 110-fold, respectively, indicating that 3 and 4 have greater specificities than 2 and are suitable as DNA-binding modules for engineered epigenetic regulation.     

Anti-inflammatory effects of miRNA-146a induced in adipose and periodontal tissues

MicroRNA (miRNA) plays an important role in diverse cellular biological processes such as inflammatory response, differentiation and proliferation, and carcinogenesis. miR-146a has been suggested as a negative regulator of the inflammatory reaction. Although, it has been reported as expressed in inflamed adipose and periodontal tissues, however, miR-146a's inhibitory effects against inflammatory response in both the tissues, are not well understood. Therefore, in this study, the inhibitory effects of miR-146a on both adipose and periodontal inflammation, was investigated. In vitro study has revealed that miR-146a transfection into either adipocytes or gingival fibroblasts, has resulted in a reduced cytokine gene expression, observed on co-culturing the cells with macrophages in the presence of lipopolysaccharides (LPS), in comparison to the control miRNA transfected. Similarly, miR-146a transfection into macrophages resulted in a reduced expression of TNF-α gene and protein in response to LPS stimulation. In vivo study revealed that a continuous intravenous miR-146a administration into mice via tail vein, protected the mice from developing high-fat diet-induced obesity and the inflammatory cytokine gene expression was down-regulated in both adipose and periodontal tissues. miR-146a appeared to be induced by macrophage-derived inflammatory signals such as TNF-α by negative feed-back mechanism, and it suppressed inflammatory reaction in both adipose and periodontal tissues. Therefore, miR-146a could be suggested as a potential therapeutic molecule and as a common inflammatory regulator for both obesity-induced diabetes and related periodontal diseases.