Search

The land crabs, Chiromantes haematocheir (Akate-gani) and Chiromantes dehaani (Kurobenkei-gani) inhabit seaside forests in Japan. The crabs mainly consume plant material and its detritus. Therefore, they are expected to possess the ability to degrade the major components of biomass, cellulose and lignin in order to digest plant materials. In this study, we analyzed biomass-degrading activities of the land crabs, especially guaiacol oxidation activity, which seems to be related to lignin degradation. Cellulase activity was detected from almost all gut samples including the stomach, midgut gland and intestine of all dissected crabs. Conversely, high guaiacol oxidation activity was detected in the midgut gland of all C. dehaani and several female C. haematocheir crabs. This is consistent with a previous study showing that female crabs were more herbivorous than male crabs were and observation that C. dehaani crabs are more herbivorous than C. haematocheir. Guaiacol oxidation activity might play an important role in the herbivorous behavior of land crabs., (Copyright © 2019 The Society for Biotechnology, Japan. Published by Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.)

In this study, we investigated antioxidant activity of proteins from the red alga dulse (Palmaria sp.) harvested in Hokkaido, Japan. The dulse proteins that contain phycoerythrin (PE) as the main component showed a high radical scavenging activity. To clarify the key constituent of antioxidant activity in dulse proteins, we prepared recombinant dulse PE β-subunit (rPEβ) (apoprotein) and chromophores from the dulse proteins. As a result, the rPEβ showed lower radical scavenging activity than that of dulse proteins. On the other hand, the dulse chromophores composed mainly of phycoerythrobilin (PEB) indicated extremely higher radical scavenging activity (90.4% ± 0.1%) than that of dulse proteins (17.9% ± 0.1%) on ABTS assay. In addition, on cell viability assay using human neuroblastoma SH-SY5Y cells, the dulse chromophores showed extracellular and intracellular cytoprotective effects against H 2 O 2 -induced cell damage. From these data, we concluded that the dulse proteins have antioxidant ability and the activity principally derives from the chromophores. PRACTICAL APPLICATION: Dulse is an abundant and underused resource, which contains a lot of proteins, especially phycoerythrin. We here demonstrated that the practically prepared dulse proteins possessed antioxidant activity and clarified that chromophores from the dulse proteins were the key components. Therefore, the dulse proteins have a potential for functional material., (© 2018 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.)

Hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection is a serious global health problem. Previous studies have suggested that the interleukin 28B (IL28B) rs8099917 genotype is related to spontaneous clearance of HCV in Caucasian populations. Our objective was to investigate the association of the IL28B rs8099917 genotype with spontaneous clearance of HCV by community-dwelling Japanese. A cross-sectional community-based population study of 993 Japanese residents was conducted. Based on anti-HCV antibody and HCV RNA levels, 50 subjects were assigned to the spontaneous-clearance group, 155 to the chronic-infection group, and 788 to the control group. Logistic regression analysis was done to examine the roles of the IL28B rs8099917 genotype and sex. To analyze the interactions between these factors, an "IL28B rs809991 genotype × sex" interaction term was included in the multivariate analysis. Significantly more subjects in the spontaneous-clearance group than in the chronic-infection group had the favorable IL28B rs8099917 genotype and were female. Multivariate logistic regression analysis extracted the favorable IL28B rs8099917 TT genotype (odds ratio [OR] 9.39; 95% confidence interval [CI], 2.16-40.83, P = 0.003) and female sex (OR, 2.27; 95% CI, 1.16-4.45, P = 0.017) as factors contributing to the spontaneous clearance of HCV. No significant interaction was found between the IL28B rs8099917 genotype and sex (P for interaction = 0.428). Both the favorable IL28B rs8099917 genotype and female sex were associated with the spontaneous clearance of HCV in this Japanese population.

Objective: To examine whether or not subclinical atherosclerosis independently predicts the incidence of chronic kidney disease (CKD) in the Japanese general population., Methods: This study is part of the Kyushu and Okinawa Population Study (KOPS), a survey of vascular events associated with lifestyle-related diseases. Participants who attended both baseline (2004-2007) and follow-up (2009-2012) examinations were eligible. The common carotid intima-media thickness (IMT) was assessed for each participant at baseline. The end point was the incidence of CKD, defined as an estimated glomerular filtration rate (eGFR) < 60 mL/min/1.73 m(2) during the follow-up of participants without CKD at baseline., Results: During the five-year follow-up, 224 of the 1824 participants (12.3%) who developed CKD had higher carotid IMT (0.74 ± 0.22 vs. 0.65 ± 0.14 mm, P < 0.001), higher triglycerides (1.6 ± 0.8 vs. 1.3 ± 0.7 mmol/L, P < 0.001), and lower high density lipoprotein cholesterol (1.5 ± 0.4 vs. 1.6 ± 0.4 mmol/L, P < 0.001) at baseline than those who did not. In logistic regression analysis adjusted for significant covariates, eGFR (Odds ratio [OR] 0.83, 95% confidence interval (CI) 0.80-0.85, P < 0.001), carotid IMT (0.10 mm increase: OR 1.17, 95% CI 1.04-1.33, P = 0.010), and triglycerides (OR 1.35, 95% CI 1.06-1.73, P = 0.015) at baseline were independent predictors for the development of CKD., Conclusions: Higher carotid IMT and hypertriglyceridemia were independently associated with the development of CKD in the population studied., (Copyright © 2014 Elsevier Ireland Ltd. All rights reserved.)

Aim: This epidemiological study was done to generate normal ranges for the cholesterol and triglyceride levels in serum lipoprotein subclasses isolated from healthy adults based on gender and menopausal status., Methods: Cholesterol and triglyceride levels in 20 lipoprotein subclasses as separated by high performance liquid chromatography were measured in serum obtained from 825 fasting healthy subjects (267 men, 558 women)., Results: For serum cholesterol, 13.7% was found in very low density lipoprotein (VLDL) subclasses, 55.6% in low density lipoprotein (LDL) subclasses, and 30.4% in high density lipoprotein (HDL) subclasses. For serum triglycerides, these values were 52.1%, 27.9%, and 17.4%, respectively. Levels of cholesterol in some VLDL subclasses were inversely correlated with the levels of some HDL subclasses, while for triglycerides, elevated levels in any one subclass were generally strongly associated with elevated levels in all other subclasses. Men had significantly higher large VLDL-cholesterol levels than women (P < 0.05), while women had significantly higher small VLDL-cholesterol levels than men (P < 0.001). Women had significantly higher large LDL- and large and medium HDL-cholesterol levels than men (P < 0.001). Men had significantly higher chylomicron (CM), large and medium VLDL-, and small LDL-triglyceride levels than women (P < 0.001). Women had significantly higher very large and large HDL-triglyceride levels than men (P < 0.01). Postmenopausal women had significantly higher CM, all VLDL, and large, medium and small LDL-cholesterol levels, and significantly higher all VLDL, LDL, and HDL-triglyceride levels than premenopausal women (P < 0.001)., Conclusions: Our data document important gender and menopausal status differences in cholesterol and triglyceride subclass levels, as well as significant correlations between values in the various serum lipoprotein subclasses., (Copyright © 2013 Elsevier Ireland Ltd. All rights reserved.)

Background: The authors describe the clinical and pathologic characteristics of the Fukuoka 1 family, the first Japanese family recognized to have hereditary parkinsonism associated with depression, weight loss, and central alveolar hypoventilation., Methods: The pedigree contains 14 family members spanning four generations, with five affected individuals. All available medical records were collected for affected members, including autopsy results., Results: The inheritance pattern was autosomal dominant. The average age at onset of symptoms was 41 years. All patients had parkinsonism characterized by rigidity, bradykinesia, and resting and postural tremor. Bradykinesia and depression developed in the proband at age 43 years. He responded to levodopa in the initial stage only. A year later, he had weight loss and central hypoventilation leading to respiratory failure. Symptoms developed in his cousin at age 38 years. The proband's father developed a resting tremor and depression at age 43 years. The tremor was initially responsive to levodopa therapy, but the disease was relentlessly progressive, leading to severe bradykinesia, rigidity, weight loss, and respiratory distress. He died of respiratory failure at age 49 years. Autopsy showed marked neuronal loss and gliosis in the substantia nigra and locus ceruleus. Lewy bodies, neurofibrillary tangles, senile plaques, and other abnormal structures were not seen in the cortical and subcortical regions., Conclusions: The Fukuoka 1 family shares many clinical and pathologic features with five previously reported kindreds from North America and Europe, suggesting that this syndrome has a worldwide distribution and can occur in different ethnic populations.

We describe a 34-year-old Japanese man with generalized angiokeratomas and various neurological symptoms since childhood. A number of reddish papules were scattered over his entire body and were especially numerous on his elbows, knees, penis and scrotum. An electron-microscopic study revealed a number of vacuoles in the cytoplasm of the vascular endothelial cells. This finding suggests that the angiokeratomas resulted from an injury of the endothelial cells due to the storage of metabolic material. A laboratory examination demonstrated a deficiency of both the beta-galactosidase and neuramidase activity in his leukocytes and fibroblasts. A restriction site analysis of PCR-amplified genomic DNA revealed that the patient had an mRNA splicing junction mutation at the 5' donor splice site of the exon 7/intron 7 junction in the protective protein gene.

We report the first Japanese case of familial Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease (CJD) with the heterozygous point mutation at codon 200 of the prion protein gene. This suggests that the mutation is not race-specific. The clinical and pathologic features of this case are not different from those of sporadic CJD without point mutations. Some healthy members of the family also carry the same mutation in the autosomal dominant inheritance expression.

We examined 7 patients with Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease (CJD) with a methionine-to-valine change at prion protein (PrP) codon 129 (CJD129 patients). These CJD129 patients did not have either a codon 117 or 198 point mutation. For comparison, we also examined 7 patients with Gerstmann-Sträussler syndrome (GSS) with a proline-to-leucine change at PrP codon 102 (GSS102 patients) and 13 patients without any known mutations at codons 102, 117, 129, 178, or 200 (CJDwild patients). CJD129 patients had a long clinical duration and ataxia at onset, but rarely had any periodic synchronous discharge in their electroencephalogram. Unlike CJDwild patients, all CJD129 patients have typical congophilic PrP plaques in their brain. These clinicopathological findings were similar to those of GSS102. However, the distribution and morphology of PrP deposits revealed by immunohistochemistry were different between CJD129 and GSS102. In GSS102 more numerous and various types of PrP plaques are seen throughout the brain, while in CJD129 patients a unicentric core was the major feature of PrP plaques. The change in codon 129 influences the clinical course and pathological findings in CJD.

During a 4-month period we encountered three patients with Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease (CJD). All lived in a limited area near Fukuoka City in Japan. Such a significantly close spatial and temporal clustering of cases suggests exposure to a common CJD infectious agent. Except for dental-related treatments, there were no evident causative agents common to these three patients.

A 27-year-old woman was admitted to Nagasaki University Hospital complaining of abdominal pain and fever. Percutaneous transhepatic cholangiography showed multiple cystic dilatations of the intrahepatic bile ducts without stone formation. The illness was diagnosed as a pure type of Caroli's disease. No surgical intervention was made. Subsequently, the patient suffered repeated attacks of cholangitis, and six years later, computed tomography demonstrated cystic lesions of both lobes of the liver and stones within the cystic lesions of the right lobe. We collected 62 cases of Caroli's disease reported in the Japanese literature, including our own case. Among them, cholangitis was found in 43.5%, hepatolithiasis in 30.6%, esophageal varices in 17.7% and cholangiocarcinoma in 8.1%. It is difficult to successfully treat Caroli's disease involving both lobes of the liver. Long-term repeated cholangitis could lead to fibrosis of the liver, hepatolithiasis, portal hypertension and cholangiocarcinoma. Considering the above-mentioned aspects of the disease, careful follow-up studies are required in each case.

Reports of 35 long-term more than five years survivors after resectional surgery which was performed for carcinoma of the pancreas from 1966 to 1980 were collected from major institutions in Japan and analyzed. Male to female ratio was 0.94:1 and average age was 56 years old. In 34 of the 35, the tumor was located at the head of the pancreas, 32 received pancreatoduodenectomy and two underwent total pancreatectomy. One patient with carcinoma of the tail received distal pancreatectomy. There was no correlation between the size of tumor and the postoperative prognosis. It seems that lymph node metastasis is not an obstacle to long postoperative survivals when they are removed, and also invasion to the pancreatic capsule shows no relationship to prognosis. However, there were no definite or severe invasions to the retroperitoneal tissue, nor to the portal venous system in the 35 patients at all. It is considered that invasion to the retroperitoneal tissues and to the portal venous system may be the most influential factor to the postoperative prognosis.