A variety of nanotubes were addressed to particular directions by using external forces such as microfluidics, magnetic fields, electric fields, and the Langmuir−Blodgett technique. Recently in ...another approach, nanotubes were assembled by chemical interactions. For example, nanotubes coated by proteins were assembled onto the complimentary ligand-patterned substrates in solution. Molecular recognitions, hydrogen bonding, hydrophobic interactions, and charge interactions were also applied to locate nanotubes in the specific regions on substrates. In this report, we assembled thiolated peptide nanotubes by using one of the stronger chemical interactions, thiol−Au interaction. Due to the strong thiol−Au interaction, the nanotubes show a strong affinity toward Au substrates and the nanotubes were only addressed to Au regions on the substrates. Because of the strong affinity, the nanotube assembly could be scaled up to form nanotube arrays by patterning Au pads on the substrates with AFM-based nanolithography. This technique may lead to an alternative nontraditional fabrication method for electric circuits because the physical properties of aligned peptide nanotubes can be tuned after the targeted positioning with semiconductor/metal coatings on the nanotubes with simple chemical procedures.
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IJS, KILJ, NUK, PNG, UL, UM
There is controversy over whether nitric oxide (NO) mediates acute negative inotropic actions of cytokines including tumor necrosis factor-alpha (TNF- α). The reports from established laboratories ...have appeared inconsistent, which could be due to species differences. Thus, we tried to elucidate the mechanisms underlying negative inotropic actions of interleukin-6 (IL-6) and TNF- α in the same model. We studied the effects of cytokines on Ca2+itransients (using indo-1), cell shortening (CS) (using a video motion detector) and thel -type Ca2+channel current (ICa) (using the whole cell perforated patch clamp technique) in isolated guinea-pig ventricular myocytes. IL-6 (1000 U/ml) or TNF- α (500 U/ml) decreased both peak systolic Ca2+i(IL-6: 0.43±0.01 to 0.40±0.01, n=5, P<0.05; TNF- α: 0.42±0.02 to 0.39±0.02, n=5, P<0.05) and the amplitude of CS (IL-6: 7.5±0.9 to 6.2±0.5 μ m, n=5, P<0.05; TNF- α: 6.7±0.7 to 5.8±0.7 μ m, n=5, P<0.05) without detectable reductions in ICa(IL-6: 0.9±0.1 to 0.9±0.1 nA, n=4, N.S.; TNF- α: 1.1±0.3 to 1.1±0.2 nA,n =4, N.S.) within 5 min. The nitric oxide synthase (NOS) inhibitor, NG-monomethyl- l arginine (300 μ mol/l), blocked the effects of IL-6 but not of TNF- α. When pretreated with 20 nmol/l isoproterenol, exposure to IL-6 decreased both ICa(2.8±0.5 to 2.0±0.3 nA) and the amplitude of CS (10.4±2.4 to 7.5±1.9 μ m) within 5 min. TNF- α also clearly depressed ICa(2.9±0.9 to 2.3±0.7 nA) and the amplitude of CS (7.0±1.4 to 5.5±1.3 μ m) inβ -adrenergic stimulated cells. TNF- α significantly increased the content of sphingosine (product of sphingomyelin pathway) in isolated heart. The effects of low dose sphingosine (5 μ mol/l) mimicked those of TNF-α on cardiac myocytes. IL-6 produced an acute negative inotropic effect through a NO-dependent pathway while TNF-α did so via a sphingomyelin-dependent pathway in isolated guinea-pig ventricular myocytes.
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IJS, IMTLJ, KILJ, KISLJ, NUK, SAZU, SBCE, SBJE, UL, UM, UPCLJ, UPUK
We assessed the usefulness of combined multi-voxel magnetic resonance spectroscopy (MRS) and MR imaging (MRI) in the diagnosis of prostate cancer localization.
MRS and MRI were performed in 21 ...patients with prostate cancer. On T2-weighted images, tumor localization was based on low signal intensity in the peripheral zone. At MRS, cancer patterns were diagnosed when the ratio of choline plus creatine to citrate was greater than 0.86. The results were analyzed with reference to pathological confirmation of prostate cancer at bilateral or unilateral lobe.
Six out of 11 patients with unilateral positive biopsy specimens were diagnosed as unilateral cancer, and 9 of 10 patients with bilateral positive biopsy specimens were diagnosed as bilateral cancer on MRI. Two of 4 patients with unilateral cancer, who were not detected on MRI alone, were diagnosed as unilateral cancer on combined MRI and MRS. The accuracy of MRI alone was 71.4%, while that of combined MRI and MRS was 81.0%.
Combined MRI and MRS improved the diagnostic accuracy for localization of prostate cancer.
Estrogen is crucial for development of benign prostate hyperplasia and prostate cancer. Aromatase (CYP19) is a key enzyme for estrogen synthesis in males. The genetic polymorphism of the CYP19 intron ...4 TTTAn tetranucleotide has been studied in relation to breast cancer susceptibility.
We examined the association of the tetranucleotide repeat polymorphism of the CYP19 gene with familial prostate cancer risk in a Japanese population by performing a case-control study consisting of 99 familial prostate cancer cases and 116 normal controls.
TTTA repeats ranged from 7 to 13 and were designated as A1 to A7 according to the repeat number. We did not observe any A3 allele among cases and controls, nor A7 among cases. Short repeat alleles, A1 and A2, had a tendency to be frequently observed in cases (odds ratio OR = 1.43, 95% confidence interval CI = 0.96-2.14, p = 0.080). Analysis of polymorphic genotypes showed that short genotypes, i.e., A1A1, A1A2 and A2A2, significantly increased prostate cancer risk in comparison with other longer genotypes (OR = 1.80, 95% CI = 1.04-3.11, p = 0.035). Stratification of cases according to the pathological grade or the clinical stage showed no significant differences among categories.
In the present study, we found that short polymorphic genotypes of TTTAn repeats of the CYP19 gene were associated with familial prostate cancer risk.
Here we developed a microcontact printing (small mu CP) process to directly pattern enzymes in a single step without the loss of enzyme activity after printing. By modifying the substrate to display ...aldehyde groups, the direct stamping of urease enables the simultaneous patterning and covalent cross-linking of urease under the reducing agent NaCNBH4, which does not degrade the enzyme activity. Because the enzyme was not treated by the cross-linker prior to the sampling but rather pre-assembled on the surface of the substrate, only the contact areas of the PDMS stamp reacted with the cross-linker on the substrate, minimizing the poisoning of the enzymatic sites. The exposed urease particles on the substrate, free from the cross-linker, were still catalytically active and utilized to grow crystalline ZnO nanoparticles on the enzyme patterns in ambient conditions and in aqueous solution.
Objective: We investigated the factors for improving serum LDL-cholesterol (s-LDL-C) levels from the perspective of physical characteristics and lifestyles of male medical examinees. Subjects and ...Methods: Subjects were the 340 male medical examinees of our medical clinic during the same period in 2017 and 2018. We classified them into four groups (maintained, improved, worsened and non-improved) based on the change in s-LDL-C levels. χ2 tests were conducted to compare factors among the four groups and pairwise comparisons with Bonferroni adjustment were conducted for each statistically significant factor. Logistic regression analysis was also performed to examine the association between s-LDL-C levels and each factor. Results: There were significant differences among the four groups in BMI, body fat percentage, fatty liver, long-term weight gain, physical activities and snacking between meals. The non-improved group had higher proportions of BMI above 25 kg/m2 (obesity), body fat percentage over 25%, fatty liver and long-term weight gain than the maintained group. The maintained and improved groups had a higher proportion of physical activities than the non-improved group. The worsened group was more likely to snack between meals than the maintained and non-improved groups. In logistic regression analysis stratified by s-LDL-C level in the previous year, snacking between meals showed a negative association with improved s-LDL-C levels in the <140 mg/dL group, and non-obesity and physical activities showed positive associations in the ≥140 mg/dL group. Conclusion: Examinees who snacked between meals increased their levels to ≥140 mg/dL, while those who were not obese or who engaged in physical activity decreased their s-LDL-C levels to <140 mg/dL.
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