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Methods. We quantified a total of 8 serum cytokines before, during, and after treatment in 79 genotype 1 chronic HCV patients. Viral ISDR and core region variants were determined by direct sequencing. Results. High levels of interleukin (IL)-12 and IL-18 and more than 2 mutations in the ISDR were associated with a sustained virological response (SVR). Conversely, high baseline IL-10 levels and glutamine at amino acid 70 of the HCV core protein (Gln70) were significantly associated with a nonresponse to treatment, and patients with Gln70 had significantly higher IL-10 levels. In multivariate analysis, low IL-10, high IL-12, and high IL-18 levels were independently associated with an SVR. These 3 cytokine levels were decreased from baseline levels 4 weeks into treatment and remained low in patients with an SVR. Conclusion. Serum IL-10, IL-12, and IL-18 levels are predictive of the response to HCV treatment with pegylated interferon and ribavirin and are associated with amino acid substitutions in the ISDR and core region., Article, JOURNAL OF INFECTIOUS DISEASES. 203(8):1087-1095 (2011)

— In order to search for some parameters that would make it possible to predict a potentially high risk of evolution from liver cirrhosis to hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC), the DNA content of hepatocytes in patients with liver cirrhosis with or without development to HCC was investigated by means of microspectrophotometry in Feulgen-stained specimens. In patients without development of HCC in more than 5 years of follow-up, 90% or more of tested hepatocytes were diploid, whereas in patients with liver cirrhosis who developed HCC within 3 years the frequency histogram of nuclear DNA content was widely spread from diploid to hyperpolyploid with a small peak of triploid. Furthermore, in the latter group of patients, many of the binucleate cells had different DNA contents in each paired nucleus. In noncancerous portions of HCC, the ploidy histogram of nuclear DNA content was widely spread from diploid to polyploid with different DNA contents of each paired nucleus in binucleate cells, without the small peak of triploid. These results suggest that the deranged cell kinetics of hepatocytes in cirrhosis may be considered to be a state of potentially high risk for the evolution of HCC, and that a patient with liver cirrhosis with such an abnormal hepatocyte DNA content should be followed up carefully for the early diagnosis of HCC.

We report on the identification of the required configuration and binding orientation of nor-tropane alkaloid calystegines against β-glucocerebrosidase. Calystegine B2 is a potent competitive inhibitor of human lysosomal β-glucocerebrosidase with Ki value of 3.3 μM. A molecular docking study revealed that calystegine B2 had a favorable van der Waals interactions (Phe128, Trp179, and Phe246) and the hydrogen bonding (Glu235, Glu340, Asp127, Trp179, Asn234, Trp381 and Asn396) was similar to that of isofagomine. All calystegine isomers bound into the same active site as calystegine B2 and the essential hydrogen bonds formed to Asp127, Glu235 and Glu340 were maintained. However, their binding orientations were obviously different. Calystegine A3 bound to β-glucocerebrosidase with the same orientations as calystegine B2 (Type 1), while calystegine B3 and B4 had different binding orientations (Type 2). It is noteworthy that Type 1 orientated calystegines B2 and A3 effectively stabilized β-glucocerebrosidase, and consequently increased intracellular β-glucocerebrosidase activities in N370S fibroblasts, while Type 2 orientated calystegines B3 and B4 could not keep the enzyme activity. These results clearly indicate that the binding orientations of calystegines are changed by the configuration of the hydroxyl groups on the nor-tropane ring and the suitable binding orientation is a requirement for achieving a strong affinity to β-glucocerebrosidase.

The enantiomers of tagatose are converted to L-DGJ [a noncompetitive inhibitor of human lysosome α-galactosidase A (α-Gal A), K(i) 38.5 μM] and DGJ [a competitive inhibitor of α-Gal A, K(i) 15.1 nM] in 66% yield. L-DGJ and DGJ provide the first examples of pharmacological chaperones that (a) are enantiomeric iminosugars and (b) have synergistic activity with implications for the treatment of lysosomal storage disorders and other protein deficiencies.

The distribution of pyrrolidine-type iminosugars with a long-side chain appears to be restricted to the relatively unrelated plant families Moraceae, Campanulaceae, and Hyacinthaceae. In a search for glycosidase inhibitors in these plant families, we isolated the 1,4-dideoxy-1,4-imino-d-lyxitol (DIL) glucoside bearing the 1,2,11-trihydroxyundec-4-ene side chain at the C-1α position from the roots of Adenophora triphylla. This iminosugar was a powerful and selective inhibitor of coffee bean α-galactosidase, with an IC 50 value of 8 μM. © 2010 Phytochemical Society of Europe.

HBV-DNAの組込みのあるPLC/PRF/5と組込みのないMahlavu, KIM-1の3種のヒト由来培養肝癌細胞を基材とし,112名の肝癌患者血清を用いて,蛍光抗体補体法により肝癌細胞特異的核抗原の検索を行った.2名のB型肝癌患者血清がPLC/PRF/5の核と反応した.他の2細胞系には特異な核抗原はみられなかった.PLC/PRF/5にみられた特異蛍光は,すでに報告されたHepatitis B Nuclear Antigen (HBNA)である.抗HBNA抗体を含む2血清はMahlavu, KIM-1および肝癌以外の癌細胞(HeLa, HEp 2)と反応せず,正常肝,胎児肝,正常細胞とも反応しなかった.この2血清中の抗体はPLC/PRF/5以外の培養細胞により吸収されず,また牛胎児血清でも吸収されなかった.以上よりHBNAはPLC/PRF/5に特異的な核抗原であることが確認された.HBNAはB型肝癌発生過程で何等かの役割を担っている核蛋白と考えられる.