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Ultrasound injection effect on a magnetic Bragg peak of yttrium iron garnet has been studied by quasielastic neutron scattering. The magnetic Bragg peak is vastly enhanced with decreasing temperature. The energy width increases proportionally to the square root of the sample temperature increase induced by the ultrasound injection. Based on a liquid model, the estimated effective mass becomes light when magnetic domain walls are removed under a magnetic field. Because the magnetic Bragg peak is enhanced by the lattice vibration, the enhancement is expected to closely relate to the spin-lattice coupling. The sharp drop is observed above 100 K for the longitudinal mode, indicating the degradation of the spin-lattice coupling. It is consistent with the suppression of the spin Seebeck effect when the temperature rises above 100 K, demonstrating the spin-lattice coupling as the degradation mechanism.

Activated macrophages have been classified into classical (M1) and alternative (M2) macrophages. We aimed to establish a method to yield enough number of macrophages to analyze their molecular, biological and immunological functions. We used drugs; adjuvant albumin from chicken egg whites—Imject Alum (OVA- Alum) and OVA Complete Freund Adjuvant (OVA-CFA), to induce macrophages to M2 and M1 respectively.We analyzed the phenotype of purified macrophages induced under these immune conditions, using flow cytometry (FACS) to detect cell-surface molecules and the enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) was used to detect cytokines. The cDNA microarray was employed to measure changes in expression level of cell surface protein between M1 and M2 macrophages.Phenotype analysis of purified macrophages, induced under these immune conditions, showed macrophages induced by OVA-Alum was almost M2 while the proportion of M1 macrophages induced by OVA-CFA was significantly higher. The results also showed higher expression level of macrophage galactose N- acetyl-galactosamine specific lectin-2 protein (MGL1/2-PE), a known M2 macrophage marker, on the surface of Alum-induced macrophages. On the basis of these preliminary data, ELISA results revealed that after macrophage stimulation with lipopolysaccharides (LPS), the level of interleukin (IL)-10 produced by Alum- induced macrophages was higher than the level of IL-10 produced by CFA-induced macrophages. In contrast, the level of tumor necrosis factor-alpha (TNF-α) produced by CFA-induced macrophages was higher than Alum-induced macrophages.The cDNA microarray confirmed previous results and suggest immunoglobulin-like type 2 receptor alpha (Pilra) as a new marker for M1, macrophage galactose N-acetylgalactosamine-specific lectin 2 (Mgl2) as M2 macrophages marker.

Humoral and cellular immune responses communicate with each other via Fc receptors (FcR) expressed on various hematopoietic cells. Recent studies on several FcR knockout mice demonstrated pivotal roles of an IgG/FcγR system in the regulation of immune responses and the onset of hypersensitivity. The γ subunit of FcR is an essential component of the complex and is required for both receptor assembly and signal transduction. FcR γ chain-deficient mice have lost the functional expression of FcεRI, FcγRI, and FcγRIII and are unable to mount several types of hypersensitive reactions, including the skin Arthus reaction. In contrast, FcγRII-deficient mice exhibit augmented humoral immune responses and IgG-mediated anaphylaxis reactions. Thus, the regulatory system of murine hypersensitive responses involves both positive and negative signaling through FcR. In B cells, FcγRIIb modulates membrane Ig-induced Ca2+ mobilization by inhibiting Ca2+ influx through phosphorylation of its immunoreceptor tyrosine-based inhibition motif and recruitment of cytoplasmic phosphatases. Elucidation of the detailed mechanisms of negative regulatory signaling in the inflammatory effector cells by FcγRIIb as well as several groups of potent inhibitory molecules expressed on such cells should be valuable in the development of novel therapeutic procedures for allergic disorders.

Autoantibodies against integral membrane proteins are usually pathogenic. Although anti-endothelial cell antibodies (AECAs) are considered to be critical, especially for vascular lesions in collagen diseases, most molecules identified as autoantigens for AECAs are localized within the cell and not expressed on the cell surface. For identification of autoantigens, proteomics and expression library analyses have been performed for many years with some success. To specifically target cell-surface molecules in identification of autoantigens, we constructed a serological identification system for autoantigens using a retroviral vector and flow cytometry (SARF). Here, we present an overview of recent research in AECAs and their target molecules and discuss the principle and the application of SARF. Using SARF, we successfully identified three different membrane proteins: fibronectin leucine-rich transmembrane protein 2 (FLRT2) from patients with systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE), intercellular adhesion molecule 1 (ICAM-1) from a patient with rheumatoid arthritis, and Pk (Gb3/CD77) from an SLE patient with hemolytic anemia, as targets for AECAs. SARF is useful for specific identification of autoantigens expressed on the cell surface, and identification of such interactions of the cell-surface autoantigens and pathogenic autoantibodies may enable the development of more specific intervention strategies in autoimmune diseases.

Prolyl isomerase Pin1 may be involved in innate immunity against microbial infection, but the mechanism how Pin1 controls the innate immunity is poorly understood.Injection of lipopolysaccharide (LPS) into the mice induces inflammatory pulmonary disorder and sometimes the serious damages lead to death. Comparing to the wild-type (WT) mice, the Pin1⁻/⁻ mice showed more serious damages in lung and the lower survival rate after the LPS injection. We compared the levels of typical inflammatory cytokines. Pin1⁻/⁻ mice overreacted to the LPS injection to produce inflammatory cytokines, especially IL-6 more than WT mice. We showed that Pin1 binds phosphorylated PU.1 and they localize together in a nucleus. These results suggest that Pin1 controls the transcriptional activity of PU.1 and suppresses overreaction of macrophage that causes serious damages in lung.Pin1 may protect the mice from serious inflammation by LPS injection by attenuating the increase of IL-6 transcription of the mouse macrophages.

To investigate diffusion phenomenon at the interface between Cu and brass under a strong gravitational field generated by ultracentrifuge apparatus, we performed gravity experiments on samples prepared by electroplating with interfaces normal and parallel to the direction of gravity. For the parallel-mode sample, for which sedimentation cannot occur thorough the interface, the concentration change was significant within the lower gravity region; many pores were observed in this region. Many vacancies arising from crystal strain due to the strong gravitational field moved into the lower gravity region, and enhanced the atoms mobilities. For the two normal-mode samples, which have interface normal to the direction of gravity, the composition gradient of the brass-on-Cu sample was steeper than that for Cu-on-brass. This showed that the atoms of denser Cu diffuse in the direction of gravity, whereas Zn atoms diffuse in the opposite direction by sedimentation. The interdiffusion coefficients became higher in the Cu-on-brass sample, and became lower in the brass-on-Cu sample. This rise may be related to the behavior of the vacancies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

While the vascular healing process after drug-eluting stent implantation is not fully elucidated, it is generally accepted that macrophages play an important role in inflammation. It is also known that macrophages involved in the pathogenesis of atherosclerosis may stem from several origins, that is, monocyte-derived macrophages versus resident macrophages. However, little is known about the role of human macrophages on reperfusion of culprit coronary arteries in patients with atherosclerotic disease who have sustained acute coronary syndrome. In this present case report, we describe the presence of cluster of differentiation (CD) 163-positive macrophages in close proximity to the stent struts at the luminal site 72 hours after drug-eluting stent implantation in the culprit coronary lesion for ST elevation myocardial infarction by postmortem examination. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The sedimentation of atoms or crystal-chemical instability in solids under an ultrastrong gravitational field is examined. The back-reflection Laue method was used for investigating the crystalline state.

We report the observation of the rotational Doppler effect using nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR). We have developed a coil-spinning technique that enables measurements by rotating a detector and fixing a sample. We found that the rotational Doppler effect gives rise to NMR frequency shifts equal to the rotation frequency. We formulate the rotational Doppler effect and the Barnett field using a vector model for the nuclear magnetic moment. This formulation reveals that, with just the sample rotating, both effects cancel each other, thereby explaining the absence of an NMR frequency shift in conventional sample-spinning NMR measurements. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Acute necrotizing encephalopathy (ANE) is characterized by symmetrical brain necrosis, suggested to be due to breakdown of the blood-brain barrier (BBB). We experienced a rare case of ANE complicated with systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE), and found that the patient's serum (V10-5) had binding activity to human umbilical vein endothelial cells (HUVECs). By SARF (Serological identification system for Autoantigens using a Retroviral vector and Flow cytometry) method using V10-5 IgG, a clone bound to V10-5 IgG was isolated. This cell clone was integrated with cDNA identical to EphB2, which plays critical roles in neuronal cells and endothelial cells. HUVECs and human brain microvascular endothelial cells expressed EphB2 and the V10-5 IgG bound specifically to EphB2- transfected cells. Anti-EphB2 antibody was not detected in other SLE patients without ANE. In this report, we identified EphB2 as a novel autoantigen, and anti-EphB2 antibody may define a novel group of brain disorders. Anti-EphB2 antibody can interfere not only with endothelial cells including those of the BBB (acting as an anti-endothelial cell antibody), but also neuronal cells (acting as an anti-neuronal antibody) if the BBB has been breached. Future studies should determine the clinical prevalence and specificity of anti-EphB2 antibody, and the molecular mechanisms by which anti-EphB2 antibody mediates neuronal and vascular pathological lesions [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

AbstractBackground:The lymphatics in the interlobular and subpleural parenchyma contribute to alveolar clearance in the lung, but the information on the remodeling of these lymphatics is quite limited in idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis lungs that contain severe fibrosis in these regions. We compared the alteration of these lymphatics and lymphangiogenesis among idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis and nonfibrotic interstitial pneumonias with a better prognosis.Methods and Results:The lung tissue specimens of eighteen patients with idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis (ten surgical biopsies and eight autopsies), six with organizing pneumonia, six with cellular nonspecific interstitial pneumonia, and five normal controls were examined by morphometric analysis of the lymphatics identified by immunohistochemistry. In addition, three-dimensional reconstruction of lymphatics, apoptosis of lymphatic endothelial cells and the cells producing growth factors for lymphangiogenesis were also evaluated. Both the subpleural and the interlobular lymphatics in idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis lungs were significantly decreased in the severe fibroconnective lesions, with rare lymphangiogenesis. The three-dimensional images of the subpleural lymphatics in idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis clearly revealed destruction by fibrosis; apoptosis was observed in these lymphatic endothelial cells. In contrast, organizing pneumonia and cellular nonspecific interstitial pneumonia preserved these lymphatics, and active lymphangiogenesis occurred in the alveolar lesions.Conclusions:These results reveal severe damage of the subpleural and interlobular lymphatics in idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis lungs, and suggest impaired alveolar clearance as another pathogenesis of its refractoriness. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract  Fatty acids have a great influence on the process of lymphocyte apoptosis which is considered as a modulating factor of immune response in both humans and animals. However the mechanism underlying the function of fatty acids in the process of lymphocyte apoptosis is not fully understood. In this study we show that the appearance of adipocyte-type fatty acid binding protein (A-FABP) is induced upon administration of dexamethasone (DEX) in both in vivo and cultured lymphocytes, and its distinct nuclear localization occurs in close relation to the DEX-induced apoptosis process. In immuunohistochemistry of mouse spleen, A-FABP-immunoreactivity starts to occur 3 h after DEX stimulation, and it massively localizes in the nucleus 8 h after the treatment, while no A-FABP-immunoreactivity is discerned in the lymphocytes of normal as well as 24 h post-injection spleen. In the murine T-cell leukemia CTLL-2 cells, A-FABP-immunoreactivity is also induced in both of the cytoplasm and nucleus when the apoptosis is induced by IL-2 retrieval together with DEX treatment, while in the presence of IL-2 A-FABP-immunoreactivity is confined to the cytoplasm with DEX trreatment. On the other hand, A-FABP-immunoreactivity is not detected by IL-2 retrieval alone. The present findings altogether suggest that A-FABP and its ligands, fatty acids, play an important role in the process of apoptosis and the immune modulation induced by DEX. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Crescent formation in the renal glomerulus is a typical manifestation of progressive glomerulopathy associated with fatal renal failure; therefore, its prevention is of clinical importance. Little is known about the pathogenic mechanism for crescent formation. This study was undertaken in an attempt to identify the events that are critical for crescent formation in immune complex crescentic glomerulonephritis (CGN) by analyzing a novel mutant strain of mice.A spontaneous mutant strain of mice was isolated from the autoimmune‐prone strain EOD, which stably develops fatal CGN. The mutant phenotypes were assessed histopathologically, hematologically, and immunologically. The mutation was searched for with positional cloning using microsatellite markers.Compared with wild‐type EOD (WT‐EOD) mice, mutant EOD (mut‐EOD) mice showed marked improvement in CGN in conjunction with an improvement in spontaneous mortality. In WT‐EOD mice, an inverse correlation between blood urea nitrogen concentration and blood platelet count and massive accumulation of platelets in the glomerulus were evident, suggesting that an accumulation of platelets in the glomerulus contributes to the progression of CGN. The mutant platelets showed an abnormal aggregation in response to collagen and thrombin, associated with a bleeding tendency in mut‐EOD mice. Genetic analysis revealed a deleterious mutation in the cappuccino gene (cno), which encodes a protein that belongs to a complex called the biogenesis of lysosome‐related organelle complex 1 and is profoundly involved in platelet function. Morphologic examination revealed a partial defect in dense body formation in the δ‐granule of platelets.The present findings suggest that platelet functions have a critical role in crescent formation in autoimmune GN. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

To analyze the influence of the genetic background of an arthritis‐prone strain of mice, MRL, on the spontaneous development of arthropathy in DBA/1 mice, which histopathologically resembles enthesopathy in humans, and to clarify the strain‐specific gene loci and their interactions that confer susceptibility to arthropathy.MRL, DBA/1, (MRL × DBA/1)F1, and (MRL × DBA/1)F2 intercross mice were prepared, and the severity and onset of arthropathy of the ankle joints in individual mice were quantified (0–3 and 0–5 scale, respectively). A genome‐wide scan of 271 male F2 intercross mice with polymorphic microsatellite markers was performed. Only male DBA/1, (MRL × DBA/1)F1, and (MRL × DBA/1)F2 mice developed arthropathy. The macroscopic and histopathologic findings of arthropathy in the F2 mice were similar to those in the parental DBA/1 mice, but the onset was significantly earlier. In the quantitative trait locus analysis of male F2 mice, 1 susceptibility locus for both the severity and early onset of the disease in the region of an MRL allele, Amd1, was located at marker D10Mit259 (map position 40.0 cM), which was common to 1 of the sialadenitis susceptibility loci in MRL mice, Asm1. Another susceptibility locus for the severity and early onset of arthropathy in the region of a DBA allele, Amd2, was located at D3Mit46 (29.5 cM). These loci manifested an additive effect on the development of arthropathy. Arthropathy in DBA/1 mice is under the control of an allelic combination of gene loci, one of which is common to the locus for sialadenitis in MRL/MpJ‐lpr/lpr mice. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A 37-year-old man was admitted to our hospital because of fever, polyarthralgia, and subcutaneous tumors. There was swelling of the bilateral wrists and ankles, and subcutaneous tumors over the bilateral elbow joints. Despite his complaints of multiple symptoms, clinical investigations failed to reveal any abnormality. Although laboratory parameters improved rapidly after steroid therapy, the symptoms remained unchanged, and there was an enormous discrepancy between the laboratory data and his symptoms. A biopsy specimen from one of the subcutaneous tumors revealed foreign-body granuloma associated with a foreign body fragment. Because the nursing staff later discovered that the patient had been carrying out self-injection, a diagnosis of Munchausen syndrome was made. Munchausen syndrome should be included in the differential diagnosis of rheumatic diseases. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

To clarify the mode of inheritance of the tissue distribution of vasculitis in MRL/Mp-lpr/lpr (MRL/lpr) lupus-prone mice and to identify the susceptibility loci. Vasculitis in individual MRL/lpr, C3H/HeJ-lpr/lpr (C3H/lpr), (MRL/lpr × C3H/lpr)F1, and (MRL/lpr × C3H/lpr)F2 intercross mice was analyzed by histopathologic grading of main branches of the aorta and of medium-sized arteries in the lower limbs. Genomic DNA samples from F2 intercross mice were examined by simple sequence-length polymorphism analysis, and the polymorphic microsatellite markers highly associated with vasculitis in each tissue were determined as vasculitis susceptibility loci. A susceptibility locus with significant linkage to vasculitis of main branches of the aorta was mapped on chromosome 4 at D4Mit213 (map position 13.3cM) selectively in males, while vasculitis of medium-sized arteries in the lower limbs was mapped to different chromosomes: at D8Mit31 on chromosome 8 (map position 33.0) selectively in females and at D5Mit36 on chromosome 5 (map position 65.0). All of these were different from the previously defined loci governing susceptibility to vasculitis involving the kidneys. Systemic vasculitis in MRL/lpr mice is genetically controlled with cumulative effects of multiple gene loci, each of which has tissue specificity. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We had realized the composition gradient of elements or isotopes in some binary alloys or single element by solid-state centrifugation. While, it might difficult to realize graded structure of elements in binary ionic crystal by centrifugation as it strongly keeps their stoichiometry. However, isotope fractionation in binary ionic crystal by centrifugation might be expected as the self-diffusion of ions occurs. We have planed the ultracentrifuge experiments onȘ-AgI superionic conductor to investigate the isotope effect in binary ionic crystal under a strong centrifugal acceleration field. Ș-AgI superionic conductor is suitable for the confirmation experiment as it is an intrinsic ionic crystal and Ag ions have high diffusivity. For the first stage, we have experimentally searched the experimental conditions of magnitude of centrifugal acceleration and temperature that ensure the experiment without decomposition. It is confirmed that the combination of experimental conditions of up to 6.1x105 g, 350*C, 24h ensure the experiment without decomposition at least. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) measurements for a nuclear spin 1/2 system in an external magnetic field and mechanical rotation in kHz range are reported. NMR signals are measured by the synchronous rotation of a sample and a detector coil under the condition that the rotation axis is perpendicular to the external field. NMR line splits into two despite the system having a single Zeeman level separation. We analytically show that the splitting originates in the nuclear spin motion under mechanical rotation, and is determined by only the angular velocity of the rotation without any material parameters. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A magnetic field is predicted to emerge on a particle in a rotating material body even if the body is electrically neutral. This emergent field is called a Barnett field. We show that nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) enables direct measurement of the Barnett field in solids. We rotated both a sample and an NMR coil synchronously at high speed and found an NMR shift whose sign reflects that of the nuclear magnetic moments. This result provides direct evidence of the Barnett field. The use of NMR for Barnett field measurement enables the unknown signs of nuclear magnetic moments in solids to be determined. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]