(1) Background:
is a dioecious plant, whose sex is determined by XY-type sex chromosomes.
is a smut fungus that infects
plants and causes masculinization in female flowers, as if
were acting as a ...sex-determining gene. Recent large-scale sequencing efforts have promised to provide candidate genes that are involved in the sex determination machinery in plants. These candidate genes are to be analyzed for functional characterization. A virus vector can be a tool for functional gene analyses; (2) Methods: To develop a viral vector system in
plants, we selected
(ALSV) as an appropriate virus vector that has a wide host range; (3) Results: Following the optimization of the ALSV inoculation method,
plants were infected with ALSV at high rates in the upper leaves. In situ hybridization analysis revealed that ALSV can migrate into the flower meristems in
plants. Successful VIGS (virus-induced gene silencing) in
plants was demonstrated with knockdown of the phytoene desaturase gene. Finally, the developed method was applied to floral organ genes to evaluate its usability in flowers; (4) Conclusion: The developed system enables functional gene analyses in
plants, which can unveil gene functions and networks of
plants, such as the mechanisms of sex determination and fungal-induced masculinization.
The livelihood reconstruction plan implemented in villages affected by the Nam Theun 2 Dam has been facing the limited sustainability of resource use and increasing economic and social disparity ...among the 16 relocated villages. The objective of this paper is to describe the problems that arose despite a carefully planned resettlement scheme, which included the participation of the residents from affected villages. Issues can be categorized into three types, based on whether risks were identified before decision-making and whether appropriate mitigation measures were considered for the identified risks. Local consensus may not be in agreement with development goals, and the issues that can be addressed by local consultation are limited. Therefore, whether to use local consultation or not should be considered carefully.
2′,3′,5′-Tri-O-acetyl-6,8-dithioguanosine (taDTGuo) is an analogue of nucleosides and currently under investigation as a potential agent for photodynamic therapy (PDT). Excitation by simultaneous ...two-photon absorption of visible or near-infrared light would provide an efficient PDT for deep-seated tumors. The two-photon absorption spectrum of taDTGuo was obtained by optical-probing photoacoustic spectroscopy (OPPAS). A two-photon absorption band corresponding to the S5 ← S0 transition was observed at 556 nm, and the two-photon absorption cross-section σ(2) was determined to be 26 ± 3 GM, which was much larger than that of other nucleobases and nucleosides. Quantum chemical calculations suggested that the large σ(2) value of taDTGuo was responsible for large transition dipole moments and small detuning energy resulting from the thiocarbonyl group at 6- and 8-positions. This is the first report on two-photon absorption spectra and cross-sections of thionucleoside analogues, which could be used to develop a more specific PDT for cancers in deep regions.
Abstract Background: MicroRNA-125a (miR-125a) has been shown to function as tumor suppressive miRNA by pre-clinical in vitro studies. However, to the best of our knowledge, there has been no study ...that investigated the clinical relevance of miR-125a in breast cancer patients. We hypothesized that miR-125a expression in breast cancer associate with its aggressiveness and can be a prognostic biomarker. Material and Methods: Non-tumorigenic epithelial cell line, MCF-10A and breast cancer cell lines, MCF-7, T47D, and MDA-MB231, were used to analyze the expression levels of miR-125a as well as cell viability. The data of 2042 patients were extracted from publicly available databases, The Molecular Taxonomy of Breast Cancer International Consortium (METARBRIC), The Cancer Genome Atlas (TCGA), and GSE57897. These databases included clinicopathological and survival data as well as transcriptome data. The survival analysis, gene set enrichment analysis (GSEA) were conducted comparing miR-125a high expressing and low expressing tumors, divided by the median cutoff. The association between the miR-125a expression and tumor immune microenvironment was assessed by xCell. Results: The expression levels of miR-125a were suppressed in breast cancer cell lines, MCF-7, T47D, and MDA-MB231compared with MCF-10A. This was concordant with human samples. The expression levels of miR-125a were lower in tumors compared with normal breast tissues in both TCGA and GSE57897 cohorts. These results were in agreement with the notion that it is a tumor suppressive miRNA (p< 0.001 and p< 0.001, respectively). ER-positive/HER2-negative (ER+/HER2-) showed the highest miR-125a expression among the subtypes in TCGA (p< 0.001). MiR-125a expression was not associated with cancer staging in any of the subtypes in neither TCGA nor METABRIC cohorts. To our surprise, high miR-125a tumors demonstrated worse disease free survival (DFS), disease specific survival (DSS), and overall survival (OS) compared with low expressing in ER+/HER2- breast cancer patients (p=0.008, p=0.005, and p=0.037) which was not the case for the other subtypes in METABRIC cohort. Interestingly, miR-125a expression was associated with Nottingham histological grade only in ER+/HER2- among the subtypes (p< 0.001). Also, high miR-125a tumors significantly demonstrated higher expression of MKI67, one of the most commonly used parameters for cell proliferation, correlated with miR-125a expression in ER+/HER2- (p=0.02), but not in other subtypes. Furthermore, high miR-125a tumors enriched four out of five cell proliferation-related gene sets in Hallmark collection, such as E2F Targets, G2M Checkpoint, Mitotic Spindle, and MYC Targets V2 in ER+/HER2- subtype, but not in TNBC. This was also the case in immune-related gene sets; interferon-alpha response and interferon-gamma response that enriched to high miR-125a tumors in ER+/HER2-, but not in TNBC. Anti-tumor immune cells, CD8 cells, T-helper type 1 cells, and M1 macrophages, were all elevated in high miR-125a tumors in ER+/HER2- subtype (all p< 0.03), but none in TNBC. Also, pro-cancerous immune cell such as T-helper type 2 cells were similarly highly infiltrated with high miR-125a tumors only in ER+/HER2- subtype (p=0.026). Given its association with the survival outcome, we cannot help but speculate that miR-125a expression is parallel with highly proliferative ER+/HER2- breast cancer, but its tumor suppressive effect is not enough to improve survival outcome. Conclusion: High miR-125a levels in tumors were associated with aggressive biology and worse survival, thus it can be a candidate for a prognostic biomarker in ER+/HER2- patients. Citation Format: Yoshihisa Tokumaru, Masanori Oshi, Mai Okawa, Saki Ando, Yoshimi Niwa, Ryutaro Mori, Kazuaki Takabe, Manabu Futamura. Can intratumoral microRNA-125a levels be a prognostic biomarker of a ER-positive breast cancer patients？ abstract. In: Proceedings of the 2023 San Antonio Breast Cancer Symposium; 2023 Dec 5-9; San Antonio, TX. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Cancer Res 2024;84(9 Suppl):Abstract nr PO3-25-03.
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Background: Adolescent and young adult (AYA)-generation breast cancer has characteristics of high clinicopathological malignancy and poor prognosis compared to cancers of other age groups. In ...recent advances in cancer research, the tumor microenvironment is involved in cancer invasion. In this study, we investigated the biology of AYA-generation breast cancer and the prognostic effects of the cancer microenvironment in breast cancer patients. Methods: In the current study, we analyzed 2042 breast cancer patients with clinical and intratumoral gene expression data from the open public databases TCGA and METABRIC. Patients aged 15-39 were defined as AYA-generation breast cancer, and patients aged 40-65 as middle-aged breast cancer. Tumor biology and cancer microenvironment were assessed using gene set enrichment analysis (GSEA) and the xCell algorithm. Disease-specific survival (DSS) and disease-free survival (DFS) were used to evaluate the prognosis of AYA-generation breast cancer compared to that of middle-aged and elderly breast cancer. Results: In METABRIC, the proportion of advanced stages was higher in AYA generation breast cancer than in middle-aged and elderly breast cancer (p<0.01). However, this was not the case with TCGA cohort. In the prognostic analysis, AYA-generation breast cancer showed shortened DSS and DFS compared with middle-aged breast cancer only in METABRIC. To clarify the association between prognosis and cancer biology, we performed GSEA. AYA-generation breast cancer enriched cell proliferation-related gene sets such as E2F Targets, G2M Checkpoints, and MYC Targets V1 in METABRIC. The analysis of TCGA also confirmed this result. Interestingly, the infiltration of macrophage M1 (p<0.001) and helper T cell Th1 (p=0.007), which act as tumor suppressors, was significantly higher in AYA generation breast cancer in METABRIC cohort. In TCGA, there was only a tendency for Th1 infiltration to be high in AYA generation breast cancer. Conclusions: AYA-generation breast cancer enriched gene sets associated with cell proliferation which might explain the worse prognosis of AYA-generation breast cancer.
Joubert syndrome is an extremely rare disorder that presents with dysplasia of the cerebellum and brainstem, intellectual disability, hypotonia, movement disorders, and respiratory problems in the ...neonatal period. We present a case of Joubert syndrome with self-mutilation of the lower lip. The patient was a boy aged 3 years and 2 months old with Joubert syndrome. At the age of 3 years and 0 month, the patient suffered a penetrating wound due to severe biting of the lower lip. The lower lip was sutured under general anesthesia at the oral surgery department of a hospital, and soft-type mouth guards were placed in the upper and lower jaws. However, the patient was referred to our hospital because of poor fit after about 1 month. He complained of severe lower lip injury due to his self-mutilation at the age of 3 years and 7 months. Therefore, we made a mandibular mouth guard for him, but it could not prevent the self-mutilation. At the age of 3 years and 8 months, we made a maxillary mouth guard at the request of his parents. At the age of 3 years and 10 months, the patient still had a bite wound on the lower lip. To prevent mandibular lip entrapment, we made a mouth guard with augmentation on the mandibular anterior teeth on the labial side. As a result, new severe lower lip injury was not observed. At present, no recurrence of the self-mutilation behavior has been observed, but the possibility of recurrence cannot be ruled out because the cause is not clear. It is important to continue to support him and his family.
Previously, a parent support program was implemented through interdisciplinary efforts by special care dentistry, clinical philosophy, clinical psychology, and pediatric nursing. At that time, it was ...not possible to provide support to the most troubled parents or to connect to social welfare services. This time, we planned to develop a new parent support program with an interdisciplinary team that newly added experts in social welfare. We also conducted a questionnaire survey to explore the psychological support needs and mental health of parents of patients visiting special care dentistry and their background.We investigated psychological support needs, health-related quality of life and parenting stress in parents of patients with special needs who visited the Special Care Dentistry Department, Osaka University Dental Hospital. The number of responding parents was 32, and the age range was 38 to 83 years (2 non-responders). There were 30 mothers, 1 father, and 1 unlisted. The children were 17 with autism spectrum disorder, 6 with intellectual disability, 6 with Down syndrome, and 3 with physical disabilities. Parents’ psychological support needs were high, and on average, health-related quality of life was low, and parenting stress tended to be strong. It was shown that parenting stress, QOL related to mental health, and high psychological support needs are interrelated. Furthermore, it was shown that the use of welfare services may reduce parents’ psychological support needs.From the above, in parental support in special care dentistry, it is important to have a place for psychological support, including dealing with parenting stress and connecting to social welfare services. Accordingly, it is useful to build a special care dental setting as a “place” for providing psychological support to parents and discussing daily difficulties such as parenting stress, and as a “place” that connects to psychological counseling and social welfare services.
In recent years, the need for professional dental treatment for patients with disabilities has increased, and thus the necessity of training dentists to treat them has also increased.The Special Care ...Dentistry Division of the Osaka University School of Dentistry has been giving second-year dental students the opportunity to visit a nursing home for persons with disabilities as the first step in studying special care dentistry.We verified the effect of this educational visit by qualitatively examining the students’ reports after the visit and evaluating their learning and change of perspective of disabled people through the visit.The students’ learning and perspective of disabled people, derived from the qualitative research of the reports, can be summarized as follows. 1） Emotional changes through the educational visit, 2） Formation of students’ perspective of disabled people, 3） Learning about the oral condition of persons with disabilities, and 4） Awareness of special care dentistry. Many students’ feelings changed from negative to positive through the visits and some of them described how to interact with persons with disabilities and what disabilities are.These results showed that many students have prejudice due to lack of knowledge about disabilities. However, the students may have learned about various communication methods and the characteristics of persons with disabilities through the education. Furthermore, it is thought that the students could understand the difficulty of daily oral care for persons with disabilities and discovered for themselves how to interact with persons with disabilities and problems such as the necessity of visiting dental treatment.It is suggested that it is important to give dental students the opportunity to visit nursing homes for persons with disabilities in order to understand such disabilities. It is also suggested that such opportunities motivate students to study special care dentistry and to discover the dental problems of persons with disabilities by themselves.
In the field of dermatology and plastic surgery, laser equipment have been more sophisticated and compact since the 1990s, and many types of medical laser equipment have become to be available. In ...addition, the number of manufacturers dealing with medical laser equipment has increased, making it easy to use medical laser equipment in many facilities. On the other hand, since the maintenance of medical laser equipment and the laser safety measures have not been so problematic, various accident reports concerning about the medical laser safety have been reported. In this manuscript, we introduce our 44-years’ efforts toward laser safety, and make a practical proposal on laser safety in our fields.
In the field of dermatology and plastic surgery, laser equipment have been more sophisticated and compact since the 1990s, and many types of medical laser equipment have become to be available. In ...addition, the number of manufacturers dealing with medical laser equipment has increased, making it easy to use medical laser equipment in many facilities. On the other hand, since the maintenance of medical laser equipment and the laser safety measures have not been so problematic, various accident reports concerning about the medical laser safety have been reported. In this manuscript, we introduce our 44-years’ efforts toward laser safety, and make a practical proposal on laser safety in our fields.
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