Parvalbumin and collagen have been identified as cross-reactive allergens for fish allergies. Although doctors realize that various fish elicit allergies, the targets of food allergen labeling laws ...were only mackerels and salmons in Japan and mackerels in South Korea. This study aimed to reveal the causative species for fish allergy via questionnaires and blood tests.
Questionnaire research was conducted in Japan via the internet concerning allergies for fish-allergic patients or their family members. Next, IgE reactivities and cross-reactivities of 26 fish species were analyzed using sera obtained from 16 Japanese patients who were allergic to fish parvalbumin or collagen by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) and inhibition ELISA.
Questionnaire research revealed that 88% patients cannot eat mackerel and salmon in addition to other fish. In addition, 85% respondents were not satisfied with the current food allergen labeling law. In ELISA analyses, we clarified that pooled serum obtained from patients with fish parvalbumin-specific allergies exhibited IgE reactivity to the extracts of most fish species, and pooled serum obtained from patients with fish collagen-specific allergies displayed IgE reactivity to the extracts of all types of fish. Inhibition ELISA experiments revealed cross-reactivities of parvalbumin or collagen to extracts from all fish tested.
Most patients with fish allergies displayed allergic symptoms following the intake of various fish species. In addition, fish parvalbumin and collagen were causative factors of fish allergy and were highly cross-reactive fish panallergens. Therefore, current laws should be revised in Japan and South Korea.
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GEOZS, IJS, IMTLJ, KILJ, KISLJ, NLZOH, NUK, OILJ, PNG, SAZU, SBCE, SBJE, UILJ, UL, UM, UPCLJ, UPUK, ZAGLJ, ZRSKP
The novel organic selenium compound, selenoneine, is found in the blood of tuna and has metal-binding activity. In this report, selenoneine displays tyrosinase inhibitory activity. When murine B16 ...melanoma cells were cultured in the presence of 1.0 μM selenoneine, the melanin content in the cells was reduced to 46.5% compared with the cell-induced melanin synthesis, and cellular tyrosinase activity was suppressed. In 3D-cultured human melanocytes, melanin accumulation was also decreased, to 39.7% and 23.0% by 1.0 and 5.0 μM selenoneine, respectively, compared with the control cells. Both cellular and purified enzyme assays showed that selenoneine inhibited tyrosinase activity against the substrate,
l
-3,4-dihydroxyphenylalanine (
l
-DOPA). An in silico docking simulation study supported a molecular mechanism in which selenoneine chelates copper ions in the active center of tyrosinase and prevents the reaction between tyrosinase and
l
-DOPA. These findings suggest that selenoneine has a novel biological function by inhibiting tyrosinase via copper chelation.
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CEKLJ, DOBA, EMUNI, FIS, FZAB, GEOZS, GIS, IJS, IMTLJ, IZUM, KILJ, KISLJ, MFDPS, NLZOH, NUK, OBVAL, OILJ, PILJ, PNG, SAZU, SBCE, SBJE, SBMB, SBNM, UILJ, UKNU, UL, UM, UPUK, VKSCE, ZAGLJ
De novo variants (DNVs) cause many genetic diseases. When DNVs are examined in the whole coding regions of genes in next-generation sequencing analyses, pathogenic DNVs often cluster in a specific ...region. One such region is the last exon and the last 50 bp of the penultimate exon, where truncating DNVs cause escape from nonsense-mediated mRNA decay NMD(−) region. Such variants can have dominant-negative or gain-of-function effects. Here, we first developed a resource of rates of truncating DNVs in NMD(−) regions under the null model of DNVs. Utilizing this resource, we performed enrichment analysis of truncating DNVs in NMD(−) regions in 346 developmental and epileptic encephalopathy (DEE) trios. We observed statistically significant enrichment of truncating DNVs in semaphorin 6B (SEMA6B) (p value: 2.8 × 10−8; exome-wide threshold: 2.5 × 10−6). The initial analysis of the 346 individuals and additional screening of 1,406 and 4,293 independent individuals affected by DEE and developmental disorders collectively identified four truncating DNVs in the SEMA6B NMD(−) region in five individuals who came from unrelated families (p value: 1.9 × 10−13) and consistently showed progressive myoclonic epilepsy. RNA analysis of lymphoblastoid cells established from an affected individual showed that the mutant allele escaped NMD, indicating stable production of the truncated protein. Importantly, heterozygous truncating variants in the NMD(+) region of SEMA6B are observed in general populations, and SEMA6B is most likely loss-of-function tolerant. Zebrafish expressing truncating variants in the NMD(−) region of SEMA6B orthologs displayed defective development of brain neurons and enhanced pentylenetetrazole-induced seizure behavior. In summary, we show that truncating DNVs in the final exon of SEMA6B cause progressive myoclonic epilepsy.
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GEOZS, IJS, IMTLJ, KILJ, KISLJ, NLZOH, NUK, OILJ, PNG, SAZU, SBCE, SBJE, UILJ, UL, UM, UPCLJ, UPUK, ZAGLJ, ZRSKP
Cerebellar ataxia, neuropathy, vestibular areflexia syndrome (CANVAS) is a late-onset, slow-progressing multisystem neurodegenerative disorder. Biallelic AAGGG repeat expansion in RFC1 has been ...identified as causative of this disease, and repeat conformation heterogeneity (ACAGG repeat) was also recently implied. To molecularly characterize this disease in Japanese patients with adult-onset ataxia, we accumulated and screened 212 candidate families by an integrated approach consisting of flanking PCR, repeat-primed PCR, Southern blotting and long-read sequencing using Sequel II, GridION or PromethION. We identified 16 patients from 11 families, of whom seven had ACAGG expansions (ACAGG)exp/(ACAGG)exp (ACAGG homozygotes), two had ACAGG and AAGGG expansions (ACAGG)exp/(AAGGG)exp (ACAGG/AAGGG compound heterozygotes) and seven had AAGGG expansions (AAGGG)exp/(AAGGG)exp (AAGGG homozygotes). The overall detection rate was 5.2% (11/212 families including one family having two expansion genotypes). Long-read sequencers revealed the entire sequence of both AAGGG and ACAGG repeat expansions at the nucleotide level of resolution. Clinical assessment and neuropathology results suggested that patients with ACAGG expansions have similar clinical features to previously reported patients with homozygous AAGGG expansions, although motor neuron involvement was more notable in patients with ACAGG expansions (even if one allele was involved). Furthermore, a later age of onset and slower clinical progression were implied in patients with ACAGG/AAGGG compound heterozygous expansions compared with either ACAGG or AAGGG homozygotes in our very limited cohort. Our study clearly shows the occurrence of repeat conformation heterogeneity, with possible different impacts on the affected nervous systems. The difference in disease onset and progression between compound heterozygotes and homozygotes might also be suspected but with very limited certainty due to the small sample number of cases in our study. Studies of additional patients are needed to confirm this.
Coffin-Siris syndrome (CSS) is a congenital disorder characterized by growth deficiency, intellectual disability, microcephaly, characteristic facial features and hypoplastic nails of the fifth ...fingers and/or toes. We previously identified mutations in five genes encoding subunits of the BAF complex, in 55% of CSS patients. Here we perform whole-exome sequencing in additional CSS patients, identifying de novo SOX11 mutations in two patients with a mild CSS phenotype. sox11a/b knockdown in zebrafish causes brain abnormalities, potentially explaining the brain phenotype of CSS. SOX11 is the downstream transcriptional factor of the PAX6-BAF complex, highlighting the importance of the BAF complex and SOX11 transcriptional network in brain development.
The nuclear pore complex (NPC) is a huge protein complex embedded in the nuclear envelope. It has central functions in nucleocytoplasmic transport, nuclear framework, and gene regulation. Nucleoporin ...107 kDa (NUP107) is a component of the NPC central scaffold and is an essential protein in all eukaryotic cells. Here, we report on biallelic NUP107 mutations in nine affected individuals who are from five unrelated families and show early-onset steroid-resistant nephrotic syndrome (SRNS). These individuals have pathologically focal segmental glomerulosclerosis, a condition that leads to end-stage renal disease with high frequency. NUP107 is ubiquitously expressed, including in glomerular podocytes. Three of four NUP107 mutations detected in the affected individuals hamper NUP107 binding to NUP133 (nucleoporin 133 kDa) and NUP107 incorporation into NPCs in vitro. Zebrafish with nup107 knockdown generated by morpholino oligonucleotides displayed hypoplastic glomerulus structures and abnormal podocyte foot processes, thereby mimicking the pathological changes seen in the kidneys of the SRNS individuals with NUP107 mutations. Considering the unique properties of the podocyte (highly differentiated foot-process architecture and slit membrane and the inability to regenerate), we propose a “podocyte-injury model” as the pathomechanism for SRNS due to biallelic NUP107 mutations.
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GEOZS, IJS, IMTLJ, KILJ, KISLJ, NLZOH, NUK, OILJ, PNG, SAZU, SBCE, SBJE, UILJ, UL, UM, UPCLJ, UPUK, ZAGLJ, ZRSKP
Statins inhibit HMG-CoA reductase, a key enzyme in cholesterol synthesis, and are widely used to treat hypercholesterolemia. These drugs can lead to a number of side effects in muscle, including ...muscle fiber breakdown; however, the mechanisms of muscle injury by statins are poorly understood. We report that lovastatin induced the expression of atrogin-1, a key gene involved in skeletal muscle atrophy, in humans with statin myopathy, in zebrafish embryos, and in vitro in murine skeletal muscle cells. In cultured mouse myotubes, atrogin-1 induction following lovastatin treatment was accompanied by distinct morphological changes, largely absent in atrogin-1 null cells. In zebrafish embryos, lovastatin promoted muscle fiber damage, an effect that was closely mimicked by knockdown of zebrafish HMG-CoA reductase. Moreover, atrogin-1 knockdown in zebrafish embryos prevented lovastatin-induced muscle injury. Finally, overexpression of PGC-1alpha, a transcriptional coactivator that induces mitochondrial biogenesis and protects against the development of muscle atrophy, dramatically prevented lovastatin-induced muscle damage and abrogated atrogin-1 induction both in fish and in cultured mouse myotubes. Collectively, our human, animal, and in vitro findings shed light on the molecular mechanism of statin-induced myopathy and suggest that atrogin-1 may be a critical mediator of the muscle damage induced by statins.
Selenoneine is a selenium-containing compound that exhibits strong radical-scavenging activity. Here we present a novel function of selenium in which selenoneine exhibits inhibitory activity against ...angiotensin-converting enzyme (ACE). ACE activity was strongly inhibited by selenoneine as compared to a typical peptide that decreases blood pressure in vitro. Kinetics analysis suggested that selenoneine inhibits ACE by competitive inhibition via the binding of selenoneine to zinc in the active center of ACE.
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CEKLJ, DOBA, EMUNI, FIS, FZAB, GEOZS, GIS, IJS, IMTLJ, IZUM, KILJ, KISLJ, MFDPS, NLZOH, NUK, OBVAL, OILJ, PILJ, PNG, SAZU, SBCE, SBJE, SBMB, SBNM, UILJ, UKNU, UL, UM, UPUK, VKSCE, ZAGLJ
Cell division cycle 48 (CDC48), a ubiquitin-dependent molecular chaperone, is thought to mediate a variety of degradative and regulatory processes and maintain cellular homoeostasis. To investigate ...the protective function of CDC48 against accumulated ubiquitinated proteins during neurodevelopment, we developed an in vivo bioassay technique that detects expression and accumulation of fluorescent proteins with a polyubiquitination signal at the N terminus. When we introduced CDC48 antisense morpholino oligonucleotides into zebrafish embryos, the morphant embryos were lethal and showed defects in neuronal outgrowth and neurodegeneration, and polyubiquitinated fluorescent proteins accumulated in the inner plexiform and ganglion cell layers, as well as the diencephalon and mesencephalon, indicating that the degradation of polyubiquitinated proteins by the ubiquitin-proteasome system was blocked. These abnormal phenotypes in the morphant were rescued by CDC48 or human valosin-containing protein overexpression. Therefore, the protective function of CDC48 is essential for neurodevelopment.
Background: CDC48, a ubiquitin-dependent molecular chaperone, mediates a variety of degradative and regulatory processes.
Results: CDC48 deficiency produced lethal embryonic phenotypes, i.e. defects in neuronal outgrowth and neurodegeneration.
Conclusion: The abnormal phenotypes in the morphant were not rescued by the catalytically inactive CDC48 mutant that had two impaired ATPase domains.
Significance: CDC48 is essential for survival during neurodevelopment.
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GEOZS, IJS, IMTLJ, KILJ, KISLJ, NLZOH, NUK, OILJ, PNG, SAZU, SBCE, SBJE, UILJ, UL, UM, UPCLJ, UPUK, ZAGLJ, ZRSKP