Summary Although recent animal studies have shown that undercarboxylated osteocalcin acts as a hormone regulating glucose metabolism and fat mass, little is known about the relationships in humans. ...We reported here for the first time that undercarboxylated osteocalcin were associated with glucose/fat metabolism in patients with type 2 diabetes. Introduction Recent studies have shown that undercarboxylated osteocalcin (ucOC) acts as a hormone regulating glucose metabolism and fat mass. We investigated the relationship between ucOC as well as other bone turnover markers serum OC, bone-specific alkaline phosphatase (BAP), and urinary N-terminal cross-linked telopeptide of type-I collagen versus serum levels of glucose, fasting serum C-peptide, and adiponectin as well as the amount of fat mass in type 2 diabetes. Methods A total of 180 men and 109 postmenopausal women were consecutively recruited, and radiographic and biochemical characteristics were collected. Fat mass was measured by dual X-ray absorptiometry (DXA) and computed tomography (CT). Results In men, ucOC negatively correlated with percent trunk fat (%trunk fat; by DXA) and visceral/subcutaneous fat ratio (by CT) as well as fasting plasma glucose and HbA₁c (at least p < 0.05). Multiple regression analysis showed that these associations were still significant independent of age, duration of diabetes, body stature, and renal function as well as glucose or fat metabolism, whereas BAP, another bone formation marker, did not correlate with any variable. On the other hand, although ucOC also negatively correlated with %fat and %trunk fat as well as HbA₁c (at least p < 0.05) in postmenopausal women, we found no significant association in multiple regression analysis. Conclusions These findings suggest that ucOC is associated with plasma glucose level and fat mass in men with type 2 diabetes.
Lipoma preferred partner (LPP) is a LIM domain protein, which has multiple functions as an actin-binding protein and a transcriptional coactivator, and it has been suggested that LPP has some roles ...in cell migration or invasion, however, its role in cancer cells remains to be elucidated. Here, we showed that LPP degraded N-cadherin in lung cancer, PC14PE6 cells via regulating the expression of matrix metalloproteinase 15 (MMP-15), and loss-of-LPP increases collective cell migration (CCM) and dissemination consequently. Knockdown of LPP and its functional partner, Etv5, markedly restores the full-length N-cadherin and increases cell-cell adhesion. We investigated the common target of LPP and Etv5, and found that MMP-15 is transcribed as their direct transcriptional target. Furthermore, MMP-15 could directly digest the N-cadherin extracellular domain. LPP knockdown in PC14PE6 cells increases N-cadherin-dependent CCM in the three-dimensional collagen gel invasion assays, and promoted the dissemination of cancer cells when they were orthotopically implanted in nude mice. Immunohistochemistry of lung adenocarcinoma specimens revealed the heterogeneity of LPP intensity and complementary expression of LPP and N-cadherin in the primary tumors. These findings suggest that loss-of-LPP, Etv5 or MMP-15 can be a prognostic marker of increasing malignancy.
Pulmonary lymphangioleiomyomatosis (LAM) is a rare disease that affects women in the reproductive years. It is occasionally associated with tuberous sclerosis, especially in the incomplete form. As ...it is likely that oestrogen plays a central role in disease progression, exogenous oestrogen will cause a deterioration in LAM. However, the early stage of this disease is easy to miss unless the physician is a specialist. Although there have been some reports in menopausal women given exogenous oestrogen for osteoporosis, this is the first report of pulmonary LAM caused by exogenous oestrogen used for the treatment of infertility.
The twospotted spider mite Tetranychus urticae Koch (Acari: Tetranychidae) aggregates on its host plant until mated females collectively disperse by walking to a new colony. Some females disperse ...singly and found new colonies. I experimentally investigated the role of trails in collective and solitary behaviors and found that dispersing females simply follow the trails left by preceding females. This behavior seemed to induce an amplification process, resulting in aggregation at a new colony. A solitary female readily joined a trail made by other females if she came upon one. Otherwise, a female should encounter her own trail at a new feeding site and automatically establish a colony, presumably by following her own trail. Thus, the collective and solitary behaviors that constitute the basic structure of the T. urticae colony life cycle seem to be induced by one rule: follow a trail.
The usefulness of contrast-enhanced 3D T2-FLAIR MR imaging for the evaluation of leptomeningeal diseases has not been systematically investigated. The purpose of this study was to assess the value ...added by contrast-enhanced 3D T2-FLAIR and MPRAGE sequences to conventional postcontrast T1-weighted images in the evaluation of leptomeningeal diseases. We also undertook in vitro studies in attempts to understand the consequences of our patient study.
Twelve patients with confirmed leptomeningeal diseases underwent postcontrast T1-weighted, MPRAGE, and 3D T2-FLAIR imaging at 3T. Two radiologists independently assessed the presence of additional information on postcontrast 3D MR images compared with postcontrast T1-weighted images. The effect of different Gd concentrations and flow velocities on the signal intensity on 3D T2-FLAIR images was investigated in vitro.
According to both reviewers, 3D T2-FLAIR images yielded significantly more information than did MPRAGE images (P < .05 and P < .01, respectively). In the in vitro study, 3D T2-FLAIR was more highly sensitive to low Gd concentrations and less sensitive to high Gd concentrations than were T1-weighted or MPRAGE sequences. On 3D T2-FLAIR sequences, at a flow velocity exceeding 1.0 cm/s, the signal intensity of blood-mimicking fluids at concentrations of 0 and 0.1 mmol/L was as low as at 1.3 mmol/L.
For the depiction of leptomeningeal diseases, postcontrast 3D T2-FLAIR provides more additional information than postcontrast MPRAGE imaging. The superiority of the 3D T2-FLAIR sequence is associated with its high sensitivity to flow.
The impact of the conditioning intensity and TBI on acute GVHD (aGVHD) is still a matter of debate. We analyzed 6848 adult recipients who received allogeneic hematopoietic cell transplants (HCT) ...between 2006 and 2011 in Japan. The subjects were divided into groups who had received myeloablative conditioning (MAC) or reduced-intensity conditioning (RIC), either with or without TBI. There was a significant difference in the incidence of aGVHD 2-4 among the different conditioning types: 39% in TBI-MAC, 35% in TBI-RIC and 32% in both no-TBI MAC and no-TBI-RIC (P<0.001). In a multivariate analysis, TBI-MAC, but not no-TBI MAC, was significantly associated with an increased risk of aGVHD 2-4 (hazard ratio (HR) 1.33, P<0.01), whereas TBI-RIC was associated with an increased risk of GVHD 3-4 (HR 1.36, P=0.048). TBI-MAC and TBI-RIC were significantly associated with skin and gastrointestinal aGVHD. Subgroup analyses demonstrated that not only TBI-MAC, but also TBI-RIC, was significantly associated with aGVHD 2-4 in older patients. Furthermore, high-dose TBI only had an adverse impact on aGVHD 2-4 in HLA-matched HCT. Impacts of intensity and TBI on aGVHD differ by patient backgrounds, and this difference should be considered to establish a risk-adapted strategy for the prevention of aGVHD.
•Aquatic vegetation can contribute to carbon capture in a lagoon system.•A Seasonal NEP (SNEP) model is presented to estimate the change in DIC.•The model can be applied to estimate lagoon ...productivity with limited information.•Model results highlight the importance of estimating residence time.•The SNEP model proves benefit of seagrass restoration on effective carbon capture.
Net absorption of CO2 by vegetated coastal ecosystems has been revealed as a key mechanism to capture and store carbon via the renewal of epigeal stem and rhizome biomass. Submerged aquatic ecosystems, such as seagrass meadows, have been termed “blue carbon” ecosystems because they absorb CO2 for their underwater growth. Irradiance and water temperature are significant factors controlling net ecological production (NEP) by seagrass. As seagrass tends to grow in calm coastal areas subject to water-column stratification, such as lagoons, a new method for evaluating NEP accurately to access blue carbon capture in these enclosed waters is required. This study aimed to develop a model to investigate thermal effects, considering irradiance, on changes in dissolved inorganic carbon dynamics in a lagoon system, and assessment of the model to understand controls on carbon dynamics in Komuke Lagoon, Japan. NEP was successfully modelled by verifying its robustness against field observations. Furthermore, the proposed model can be applied to assess and enhance the effectiveness of blue carbon capture and storage as part revegetation measures to mitigate against global warming.
Intracellular transduction pathways that are dependent on activation of the CaR by Cao²⁺ have been studied extensively in parathyroid and other cell types, and include cytosolic calcium, ...phospholipases C, A₂, and D, protein kinase C isoforms and the cAMP/protein kinase A system. In this study, using bone marrow cells isolated from CaR⁻/⁻ mice as well as DN-CaR-transfected RAW 264.7 cells, we provide evidence that expression of the CaR plays an important role in osteoclast differentiation. We also establish that activation of the CaR and resultant stimulation of PLC are involved in high Cao²⁺-induced apoptosis of mature rabbit osteoclasts. Similar to RANKL, Cao²⁺ (20 mM) appeared to trigger rapid and significant nuclear translocation of NF-κB in a CaR- and PLC-dependent manner. In summary, our data suggest that stimulation of the CaR may play a pivotal role in the control of both osteoclast differentiation and apoptosis in the systems studied here through a signaling pathway involving activation of the CaR, phospholipase C, and NF-κB.--Mentaverri, R., Yano, S., Chattopadhyay, N., Petit, L., Kifor, O., Kamel, S., Terwilliger, E. F., Brazier, M., Brown, E. M. The calcium sensing receptor is directly involved in both osteoclast differentiation and apoptosis.
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