Effects of yogurt supplemented with brewer's yeast cell wall on constipation and intestinal microflora in rats

Brewer's yeast cell wall (BYC) is a valuable foodstuff that prevents constipation in rats. In this study, the effects of yogurt supplemented with brewer's yeast cell wall (BYC-Y) on constipated male Sprague-Dawley rats induced by loperamide (2 mg/kg body weight) were investigated. The preventive effect of BYC-Y on experimentally constipated rats was examined and compared with that of nonfiber diet (Control) and standard yogurt (Yogurt) as the control diets. The number of feces and fecal dry weight were greater in rats fed with BYC-Y than in those fed with Control or Yogurt. Moreover, the effect of BYC on the improvement of cecal microflora in constipated experimental model rats was evaluated. The number of Lactobacillus, Eubacterium, and total anaerobes per unit cecal contents increased (p<0.03) as a result of BYC ingestion. These findings indicate that BYC-Y or BYC is effective for the alleviation of constipation and bowel environment.

Localization of gelatinolytic activity can be detected in breast cancer tissues by film in situ zymography

BACKGROUND

Extracellular matrix-degrading proteinases secreted by malignant tumor cells have been thought to play an essential role in the processes of invasion and metastasis. However, existence and localization of gelatinase activity in breast cancer tissues have not been clarified.

METHODS

We developed a novel film for highly reproducible detection and the localization of gelatinolytic activity. This film has a gelatin layer with a constant thickness 7 microm, and adequate crosslinking to control the speed of degradation by proteases. Cryosections of several breast cancer tissues were put on this gelatin film and incubated for 16 hrs at 37 degrees C. After staining with ponceau 3R dye, the digested area was evaluated under light microscopy.

RESULTS

Digestion of gelatin was detected in more than 90%of breast cancer specimens, although it varied in degree and area for each case. In most cases, the gelatinolytic activity was located within cancer nests, and was not detected in stromal cells surrounding cancer cells. The gelatinolytic activity was inhibited by 1,10-phenanthroline, an inhibitor of matrix metalloproteinases (MMPs).

CONCLUSIONS

In this study, the localization of net MMP activity was confirmed in breast cancer nest using film in situ zymography. Detailed analysis on the relationship between the strength or distribution of MMP activity and malignancy are anticipated in the future.

Auditory nerve fiber differences in the normal and neurofilament deficient Japanese quail

A primary axonal disease affecting the central and peripheral nervous system was discovered in a mutant strain of the Japanese quail, named quiver (Quv). We have previously demonstrated altered auditory evoked potentials in the neurofilament (NF) deficient quail. In this current study we attempt to find relationships between the auditory evoked potential results and the histo-pathological abnormalities of the auditory neurons. No abnormalities in the external auditory meatus and tympanic cavity were observed in either Quv or control quails and the ganglion cell bodies and their nuclei appeared normal by light microscopy. The myelin staining pattern was found to be similar in both strains with hematoxylin and eosin and Klüver-Barrera staining. The frequency histograms of fiber and axonal diameters of myelinated fibers showed an unimodal pattern in both strains. In Quv quails myelinated fibers and their axoplasm were smaller in diameter than in controls resulting in smaller neural tissue mass. In electron microscopic observation the axons of the Quv quail were composed of mitochondria and microtubules and smooth endoplasmic reticuli. In Quv quail electron micrographs of cochlear nerve myelinated fibers NFs were not seen in the axons and the neuronal cell bodies. Our current findings indicate that the previously reported reduction of conduction velocity of auditory evoked potentials may be due to smaller fiber and/or axonal diameter. The g-ratio, myelin thickness and fiber circularity were found to be the same for both strains. In conclusion, loss of axonal cytoskeletal elements (NFs) correlates well with our electrophysiological findings. Reduced conduction velocity and severely distorted auditory evoked potentials in NF deficient quails seem to be primarily due to axonal hypotrophy.

Selective interaction of triazole derivatives with DWF4, a cytochrome P450 monooxygenase of the brassinosteroid biosynthetic pathway, correlates with brassinosteroid deficiency in planta

Brassinazole, a synthetic chemical developed in our laboratory, is a triazole-type brassinosteroid biosynthesis inhibitor that induces dwarfism in various plant species. The target sites of brassinazole were investigated by chemical analyses of endogenous brassinosteroids (BRs) in brassinazole-treated Catharanthus roseus cells. The levels of castasterone and brassinolide in brassinazole-treated plant cells were less than 6% of the levels in untreated cells. In contrast, campestanol and 6-oxocampestanol levels were increased, and levels of BR intermediates with hydroxy groups on the side chains were reduced, suggesting that brassinazole treatment reduced BR levels by inhibiting the hydroxylation of the C-22 position. DWF4, which is an Arabidopsis thaliana cytochrome P450 isolated as a putative steroid 22-hydroxylase, was expressed in Escherichia coli, and the binding affinity of brassinazole and its derivatives to the recombinant DWF4 were analyzed. Among several triazole derivatives, brassinazole had both the highest binding affinity to DWF4 and the highest growth inhibitory activity. The binding affinity and the activity for inhibiting hypocotyl growth were well correlated among the derivatives. In brassinazole-treated A. thaliana, the CPD gene involved in BR biosynthesis was induced within 3 h, most likely because of feedback activation caused by the reduced levels of active BRs. These results indicate that brassinazole inhibits the hydroxylation of the C-22 position of the side chain in BRs by direct binding to DWF4 and that DWF4 catalyzes this hydroxylation reaction.

Analysis of tyrosine phosphorylation-dependent protein-protein interactions in TrkB-mediated intracellular signaling using modified yeast two-hybrid system

Activated receptor tyrosine kinases induce a large number of tyrosine phosphorylation-dependent protein-protein interactions through which they mediate their various ligand-exerted functions including regulation of proliferation, differentiation and survival. TrkB receptor tyrosine kinase activated by binding of brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF) also stimulates various protein interactions in a tyrosine phosphorylation-dependent manner in neuronal cells. To examine tyrosine phosphorylation-dependent interactions stimulated by active TrkB, we developed a modified yeast two-hybrid system, which we call the yeast two-and-a-half-hybrid system. In this system, yeast was engineered to express a tyrosine kinase domain of TrkB as an effector, in addition to two fusion proteins with GAL4 DNA-binding and GAL4 activation domains as bait and prey proteins, respectively. Using this system with Shp2 as the bait, we demonstrated that Shp2 interacts directly with BIT/SHPS-1 (also called SIRP) and Grb2 depending on tyrosine phosphorylation mediated by TrkB. Furthermore, we screened an adult human brain cDNA library with the yeast two-and-a-half-hybrid system in order to identify other Shp2-binding proteins in TrkB-stimulated tyrosine phosphorylation signaling. We found that fibroblast growth factor receptor substrate 2beta (FRS2beta), also called SNT2, interacts with Shp2 dependently on TrkB-mediated tyrosine phosphorylation of FRS2beta/SNT2. Therefore, we show that the two-and-a-half-hybrid system is a powerful tool for studying tyrosine phosphorylation-dependent protein-protein interactions in intracellular signaling pathways stimulated by TrkB receptor tyrosine kinase.

Regular consumption of green tea and the risk of breast cancer recurrence: follow-up study from the Hospital-based Epidemiologic Research Program at Aichi Cancer Center (HERPACC), Japan

Experimental studies suggest various features of anticancer activity of green tea including inhibitory effect of tumor invasion and metastasis. This study was conducted to examine the association between regular green tea consumption prior to diagnosis and subsequent risk of breast cancer recurrence. The Hospital-based Epidemiologic Research Program at Aichi Cancer Center (HERPACC) was started in 1988, in which information on lifestyle has routinely been collected from all first-visit outpatients by questionnaire. A total of 1160 new surgical cases of female invasive breast cancers with HERPACC information diagnosed between June 1990 and August 1998 were followed up through December 1999, and the risk (hazard ratio: HR) of recurrence was assessed with reference to daily green tea consumption using a Cox proportional hazard model. During 5264 person-years of follow-up, 133 subjects (12%) were documented to suffer recurrence of breast cancer. A decreased HR for recurrence adjusted for stage was observed with consumption of three or more daily cups of green tea (HR=0.69, 95% confidence interval (95%CI)=0.47-1.00). Particularly in stage I, the HR was decreased statistically significantly (HR=0.43, 95%CI=0.22-0.84). A similar tendency was observed for stage II subjects, but was not present among more advanced stages. Although careful interpretation is needed, these results suggest the possibility that regular green tea consumption may be preventive against recurrence of breast cancer in early stage cases.

A new triplex STR system without irregular alleles by silver staining and its potential application to forensic analysis

In order to increase the discriminating power of DNA analysis in forensic science, we devised a new triplex STR system using three novel STR loci we previously reported, D14S299 (wglc5), D15S233 (wgldl), and 9q2h2. We designated this system a CDH triplex system. The CDH triplex system showed a high discriminating power, especially in Caucasians. This system is composed of three STR loci showing only regular tetranucleotide repeat alleles. We easily enlarged the databases mainly of Japanese, using this system, and compared them with those of Caucasian and Chinese. This CDH triplex system therefore appears to be useful for forensic practice.

Dependence of the laser two-photon ionization process in solution on the laser pulse width

The laser two-photon ionization process has been investigated using simultaneous irradiation of an UV beam and an IR beam. When the laser pulse width was 300 ps, it proceeded through a geminate pair state (a stepwise process), as indicated by the signal enhancement with simultaneous irradiation of the two laser beams. Although no signal enhancement was observed when the laser pulse width was 100 fs, and because molecules with no absorption at the laser wavelength showed an intense signal, the two-photon ionization excited by a femtosecond laser should proceed through a simultaneous two-photon process. The detection limit was quite susceptible to the laser fluctuations.

Histopathologic features of masseter muscle in the distrophic hamster (UM-X7.1 Syrian hamster)

Dystrophic hamster has been regarded as the useful model animal for Severe childhood autosomal recessive muscular dystrophy (SCARMD). Although, many studies on Dystrophic hamster have utilized the muscular tissue of the trunk, however no study have been analyzed for the masticatory muscle. For this study, we used a Dystrophic hamster (UM-X7.1 Syrian hamster) to histochemically investigate the effect of muscular dystrophy on the masseter muscle. Large and small regenerated muscle fibers, and necrotic fibers were detected almost in all areas. Opaque fiber, hypertrophic fiber with fiber splitting structure and necrotic fiber filled up by mononuclear phagocytes were recognized. The region, in which the mononuclear phagocytic cells infiltrated, showed strong positivity to acid phosphatase, and lysosome enzyme. There were many muscle fibers with reduced levels of succinate dehydrogenase (SDH) activities in the muscle fiber. Some TUNEL-positive cells were confirmed in both necrotic and non-necrotic areas. It was suggested that a part of TUNEL-positive cells are the cells originated from the connective tissue or immunocytes. In this result, histopathologic changes of the masseter muscle of the UM-X7.1 Syrian hamster was similar to muscle of the body trunk in the past reports. As the result, it was suggested that jaw closing movements may be negatively affected caused by the decline of the masseter muscle twitch. And, the point of view by which apoptosis is the trigger for the muscle fiber collapse were not seen in the Dystrophic hamster masseter muscle. We suggest that apoptosis is a one step in the process of regeneration of muscle fibers.

Effects of brewer's yeast cell wall on constipation and defecation in experimentally constipated rats

Brewer's yeast cell wall (BYC) was tested on constipated male Sprague-Dawley rats that had been induced by loperamide (2 mg/kg of body weight). The preventive effect of BYC on constipation was examined and compared with that of a non-fiber diet (NF) as the control. The dose-response of BYC and the effect on defecation by constipated experimental rats were also compared with the characteristics of cellulose diet (CE) group which served as a control. Defecation was observed to be greater by the rats fed with BYC than by those fed with NF or CE. The fecal water content and level of volatile fatty acids (VFA) in the cecal contents were likewise higher in the rats fed with BYC. These results indicate that the administration of BYC was effective for improving defecation and other parameters related to defecation. These favorable effects of BYC supplemented to the diet are attributed to the fermentation ability, water holding capacity and swelling force in the large intestine.

Effect of digoxin noncompliance on hospitalization and mortality in patients with heart failure in long-term therapy: a prospective cohort study

BACKGROUND

As outpatients with long-term chronic illness often show a high incidence of medication noncompliance, we investigated the influence of digoxin noncompliance on hospitalization, left ventricular ejection fraction, and mortality in outpatients in long-term therapy having congestive heart failure with tachycardia at a rate over 100 beats/min before starting digoxin therapy, but abnormal sinus rhythm.

METHODS

Before starting this study, the digoxin compliance/noncompliance of patients was determined by measuring the serum digoxin concentration (SDC). SDC was determined once a month, followed for six consecutive months, and patients were defined as noncompliant if their SDC was zero (0.0 ng/ml) on at least three consecutive occasions. According to SDC data, 218 patients were assigned to the compliant group and 213 patients were assigned to the noncompliant group. All 431 patients received diuretics, angiotensin converting-enzyme inhibitors, or nitrates as well as conventional therapy with digoxin throughout the trial. The duration of follow-up was 72 months.

FINDINGS

After 72 months of follow-up, the digoxin noncompliant patients showed significant increases in the number and duration of hospitalizations compared with the compliant patients. The digoxin noncompliant patients had a marked decrease in the left ventricular ejection fraction from 49.1% to 41.8%. The cumulative rate of mortality from any cause in noncompliant patients was twofold higher (15.0%) than in compliant patients (7.8%; risk ratio when noncompliant was compared with compliant: 1.95; 95% confidence interval 1.11, 3.45; P = 0.029) at the 72-month follow-up. The higher mortality in digoxin noncompliant patients was exclusively attributed to worsening heart failure rather than other cardiac and noncardiac causes (risk ratio 2.13; 95% confidence interval 1.12, 4.07; P = 0.033). In addition, multiple regression analyses demonstrated that patient noncompliance as well as lower left ventricular ejection fraction at baseline were significantly involved in increased mortality.

CONCLUSION

These results indicate that digoxin noncompliance, at least in part, increases the rate of both hospitalization and mortality due to worsening heart failure in outpatients who have congestive heart failure with tachycardia in long-term therapy.

Electrophysiological measures of auditory function in the neurofilament-deficient mutant quail (Quv)

Auditory pathway electrophysiological studies were performed on the mutant quail 'Quv'. This mutation is known to result in neurofilament deficiencies of both the peripheral and central nervous systems. Auditory evoked brainstem responses (ABRs), electrocochleograms (EcochGs) and middle latency responses (MLRs) were evaluated. ABRs in Quv quails demonstrated markedly altered waveforms exhibiting longer latencies, absence of the later peaks and lower amplitudes. The EcochG showed normal cochlear microphonics with no obvious abnormalities in amplitude or latency and normal latencies for peak N1. Quv quails had a mild threshold elevation with a normal latency for the first peak of the ABR (P1). The Quv MLRs showed no significant differences in amplitude but they revealed a latency prolongation for peaks N0, Pa and Na relative to the controls. We have discovered abnormal findings of auditory evoked potentials in the neurofilament-deficient quail (Quv). We suggest that the smaller axonal size and axonal hypotrophy due to altered neurofilament expression underlies these abnormal auditory evoked potential responses.

Drainage for acute pancreatitis

In severe acute pancreatitis, the drainage of activated pancreatic enzymes, infectious substances and necrotic tissue from the abdominal cavity is critical, especially after the operation. We use Faycon drainage tubes together with multi-use feeding tubes. Just after the operation, normal saline is added through the feeding tube and the Faycon drainage tube is suctioned continuously. Irrigation is necessary for more than two weeks.

The application of minisatellite variant repeat mapping by PCR (MVR-PCR) in a paternity case showing false exclusion due to STR mutation

A boy and a girl with their mother brought a paternity suit against an alleged but deceased father. We tested six conventional genetic markers, the AmpliType PM+ DQA1 and twelve STR loci the children and mother together with the alleged paternal grandparents. We also DNA typed the bloodstain found later in the alleged father's medical record. Only the result at D3S1358 in a nineplex STR system excluded the alleged father from parentage of the boy, whereas all markers were inclusive for the girl. Accordingly, we performed sequence analysis at D3S1358 to confirm the presence of a paternal exclusion or mutation. The sequence analysis indicated that the boy's allele 17 could have originated from either of the alleged father's allele 16 or 18 by a single-step mutation associated with slippage mutation in STR loci. We carried out minisatellite variant repeat mapping by PCR (MVR-PCR) at loci D1S8 (MS32) and D7S21 (MS31A) and mapped allele haplotypes of all individuals except the deceased alleged father. The MVR-PCR analysis showed that the boy has no inconsistency with the relationship between the alleged grandparents, and was very effective at increasing the paternity index (PI) value. We conclude that there is biological relationship between not only the girl but also the boy and the alleged father.

Limited association between a catechol-O-methyltransferase (COMT) polymorphism and breast cancer risk in Japan

BACKGROUND

Catechol-O-methyltransferase (COMT) inactivates the estradiol metabolites, 2-hydroxy estradiol and 4-hydroxy estradiol. To date, three studies in Caucasians and one study in Chinese have been conducted to determine the association with breast cancer risk of a functional polymorphism (G-to-A, Val158Met) of this enzyme, but the results were inconsistent. In order to examine the impact of this polymorphism on breast cancer risk in Japan, a case-control study was conducted, at Aichi Cancer Center Hospital.

METHODS

The cases were 150 patients with histologically confirmed breast cancer who had been diagnosed within 4 years before enrollment at this hospital. The controls were 165 non-cancer patients, mainly from the gastroenterology and breast surgery clinics at the hospital. COMT-H (Val) is the wild-type allele, with high enzyme activity, while the COMT-L (Met) allele has low activity. Genotyping was conducted by a polymerase chain reaction (PCR)-restriction fragment length polymorphism (RFLP) method.

RESULTS

The allele frequency of COMT-L was 36.0% for cases and 33.0% for controls. Age-adjusted odds ratios relative to the COMT-HH genotype were 1.46 (95% confidence interval [CI], 0.90-2.36) for COMT-HL, and 0.99 (95% CI, 0.49-2.02) for the COMT-LL genotype. Significant odds ratios were not observed for any subgroup stratified by menopausal status, age at menarche, age at birth of first child, body mass index, and breast cancer history of mother and/or sister(s).

CONCLUSION

The present study suggested that any association of the COMT polymorphism with breast cancer risk is limited in Japanese.

Chicken microsatellite primers are not efficient markers for Japanese quail

Domestic fowl or chicken (Gallus gallus) and Japanese quail (Coturnix japonica) belong to the family Phasianidae. The exchange of marker information between chicken and quail is an important step towards the construction of a high-resolution comparative genetic map in Phasianidae, which includes several poultry species of agricultural importance. We tested chicken microsatellite markers to see if they would be suitable as genetic linkage markers in Japanese quail. Twenty-six per cent (31/120) of chicken primers amplified individual loci in Japanese quail and 65% (20/31) of the amplified loci were found to be polymorphic. Eleven of the polymorphic loci were excluded as uninformative because of the lack of amplification in some individuals or high frequency of nonspecific amplification. The sequence information of the remaining nine loci revealed six of them to contain microsatellites that were nearly identical with those of the orthologous regions in chicken. For these six loci, allele frequencies were estimated in 50 unrelated quails. Although the very few chicken markers that do work well in quail could be used as anchor points for a comparative mapping, most chicken markers are not useful for studies in quail. Therefore, more effort should be committed to developing quail-specific markers rather than attempting to adapt chicken markers for work in quail.

Selected mutations in a mesophilic cytochrome c confer the stability of a thermophilic counterpart

Mesophilic cytochrome c(551) of Pseudomonas aeruginosa (PA c(551)) became as stable as its thermophilic counterpart, Hydrogenobacter thermophilus cytochrome c(552) (HT c(552)), through only five amino acid substitutions. The five residues, distributed in three spatially separated regions, were selected and mutated with reference to the corresponding residues in HT c(552) through careful structure comparison. Thermodynamic analysis indicated that the stability of the quintuple mutant of PA c(551) could be partly attained through an enthalpic factor. The solution structure of the mutant showed that, as in HT c(552), there were tighter side chain packings in the mutated regions. Furthermore, the mutant had an increased total accessible surface area, resulting in great negative hydration free energy. Our results provide a novel example of protein stabilization in that limited amino acid substitutions can confer the overall stability of a natural highly thermophilic protein upon a mesophilic molecule.

2',5'-oligoadenylate synthetase gene in chicken: gene structure, distribution of alleles and their expression

We have cloned the gene for chicken 2',5'-oligoadenylate synthetase (ChOAS) by the method of polymerase chain reaction with use of ChOAS cDNA sequence. The ChOAS gene is composed of five introns and six exons containing all of the sequence of the ChOAS cDNA from the start to the stop codon. The first five exons of ChOAS gene which encode the OAS catalytic domain have a similar structure to HuOAS1 gene including the exon-intron boundaries. However, the length of introns of ChOAS gene is only 1/7 of those of HuOAS1 gene. The sixth exon of the ChOAS gene encodes the ubiquitin-like (UbL) domain of two consecutive sequence (UbL1 and UbL2) homologous to ubiquitin. ChOAS encoded in a single copy gene has at least two alleles, OAS(*)A and OAS(*)B. The differences between these two alleles are in the sixth exon of the gene; a 96-nucleotide sequence in the UbL1 portion of OAS(*)A is deleted from OAS(*)B. No OAS(*)B gene was detected in nine lines of chickens tested other than Leghorns. Almost the same levels of ChOAS-A and -B proteins induced physiologically in erythrocytes were detected in infant chickens (2-week-old), but in grown-up chickens (6-month-old) the level of erythrocyte OAS-B was markedly reduced in most of B/B chickens. Thus, the UbL domain of ChOAS is responsible for the maintenance of the OAS level in the tissue.

Response of capillary cell death to aminoguanidine predicts the development of retinopathy: comparison of diabetes and galactosemia

PURPOSE

To examine the relationship between early retinal capillary cell apoptosis and late histologic lesions of diabetic retinopathy and to compare the effects of aminoguanidine (AMG) on the retinopathies caused by diabetes and galactose feeding.

METHODS

Rats with alloxan-induced diabetes and rats fed a 30% galactose diet (known to induce diabetic-like retinopathy) were assigned randomly to receive diet with (2.5 g/kg diet) or without AMG. After 6 to 8 months of diabetes or galactosemia, retinal trypsin digests were prepared, and capillary cell apoptosis was quantitated using the Tdt-mediated dUTP nick-end labeling (TUNEL) reaction in association with morphologic evidence of nuclear fragmentation. At 18 months duration, pericyte ghosts and acellular capillaries were quantitated in the isolated vasculature. Several advanced glycation end products (AGEs) were measured at 4 months of study and at 18 months of study by established methods to assess biochemical effects of AMG.

RESULTS

As expected, both diabetic and galactosemic rats showed increased frequency of TUNEL-positive capillary cells at 6 to 8 months and vascular lesions characteristic of retinopathy at 18 months. AMG inhibited both the early apoptosis and late histopathology in the diabetic rats, but neither of these abnormalities in the galactosemic rats. In contrast to its preventative effect on retinopathy in the diabetic rats, AMG showed no inhibitory effect on levels of hemoglobin AGE, or tail collagen pentosidine, fluorescence, and thermal breaking time. Diabetes of 4 months' duration did not cause a detectable increase in retinal levels of several AGEs.

CONCLUSIONS

The frequency of early apoptosis in retinal microvascular cells predicted the development of the histologic lesions of retinopathy in diabetes as well as in galactosemia. The beneficial effect of AMG on retinal lesions in diabetes is exerted on pathways that are either not operative or are less important in galactosemia and that may not relate to the accumulation of AGEs.

Genetic analyses of plumage color mutations on the Z chromosome of Japanese quail

Genetic analyses were performed with four sex-linked plumage color mutations (roux, brown, imperfect albino, and cinnamon) in Japanese quail (Coturnix japonica). Roux and brown quail have similar plumage color, but plumage of roux quail is paler. Pure, F1 and F2 matings were carried out with roux and brown stocks, and 357, 338, and 273 progeny with either roux or brown plumage color were obtained from each mating type, respectively. These allelism tests showed that mutations for roux and brown colors were alleles (*R and *B) from the same locus BR, and that BR*B was dominant over BR*R. Two alleles at the AL locus, AL*A (imperfect albino) and AL*C (cinnamon) were used to estimate the recombination frequency between the BR and AL loci on the Z chromosome. It was estimated to be 38.1+/-1.0% based on 4615 chicks from the test crosses.

Fifty microsatellite markers for Japanese quail

A Japanese quail genomic library enriched for (CA/GT)n simple sequence repeats was screened and positive clones were sequenced. Fifty original microsatellite sequences were isolated that consisted mainly of perfect repeats of the dinucleotide (CA/GT)n motif and a corresponding number of polymerase chain reaction (PCR) primer pairs complementary to unique DNA sequences flanking the microsatellite repeats were designed to detect the repeats. Forty-six percent (23 of 50) of the markers revealed polymorphism in two unrelated quail individuals (one male and one female) randomly sampled from a population of wild quail origin. All 50 primer pairs were tested in the PCR for their ability to amplify chicken genomic DNA. Amplification products were obtained for 14 (28.0%) of the markers at the annealing temperature optimized for quail. These results provide an opportunity to begin characterizing the quail genome for the development of a genetic map for this economically valuable species and the eventual construction of a comparative genetic map in Phasianidae, which comprises a number of agriculturally important species of poultry.

Water stimulation of the posterior oral cavity induces inhibition of gastric motility

The response of gastric motility to the administration of water and saline in the larynx and epiglottis was investigated in urethan-chloralose anesthetized rats. Administration of water inhibited motility of the distal stomach, but 0.15 M NaCl did not induce the inhibitory response. Bilateral sectioning of the superior laryngeal nerve (SLN) abolished the inhibitory response induced by water. Bilateral cervical vagotomies abolished the inhibitory responses, although spinal transection did not affect the inhibitory response. These inhibitory responses have been observed in immobilized animals. The degree of inhibition by water and hypotonic saline was negatively correlated with the sodium concentration. In contrast, the degree of inhibition to hypertonic saline was positively correlated with the sodium concentration. The proximal stomach also showed a reduction in intragastric pressure in response to the administration of water. These findings suggest that water-responsive afferent neurons in the SLN suppress gastric motility via the vagal efferent nerve.

No association of the 5' promoter region polymorphism of CYP17 with breast cancer risk in Japan

To examine the association between breast cancer risk and a T-to-C substitution polymorphism at the 5' promoter region of CYP17, a case-control study was conducted at Aichi Cancer Center Hospital in Japan. Subjects were 144 histologically confirmed breast cancer patients diagnosed in the past 4 years and 166 hospital controls without cancer. Allele frequency among controls was 44.9% (95% confidence interval; 39.5 - 50.2) for C allele. Odds ratio (OR) of the polymorphism relative to TT-genotype was 0.97 (0.58 - 1.64) for TC-genotype and 0.81 (0.39 - 1.68) for CC-genotype. Subgroup analyses revealed that the OR was not statistically significant for the subgroups stratified by interval after diagnosis, age at menarche, age at first birth, menopausal status, body mass index, and mother / sisters' history of breast cancer. Consistent with previous studies conducted in other countries, the 5' promoter region polymorphism of CYP17 affected breast cancer risk of Japanese women to a limited extent. Although this is not a large-scale case-control study with population controls, these findings provide enough information to discourage further studies on the association between this polymorphism and breast cancer risk in Japan at large, and suggest that this polymorphism is useless for breast cancer risk estimation.

Hereditary persistent right oviduct in the chicken PNP/DO line

Hereditary, persistent, right oviduct manifested in an inbred line (PNP/DO line) from the Fayoumi breed of chickens was investigated for form of expression and mode of inheritance. Females in the PNP/DO line have varying lengths of elongated right oviducts, besides the normal left ovary, and oviducts that generally possess, irrespective of their total length, regions similar to those normally observed in a left oviduct. Observations of embryos indicated that the existence of right oviduct in this line could be attributed to the slow regression of right Müllerian duct during the embryonic stage, and left-right asymmetry in female genital system is intrinsic in this line. Intracrosses of the PNP/DO line produced 93% of female embryos with persistent right Müllerian ducts at the next generation, and reciprocal crosses of the PNP/DO line and control strains produced 5 and 30% of female embryos with persistent right Müllerian ducts in the F1 and N2 generations, respectively. Mating results suggested that this mutant trait is controlled by two pairs of autosomal recessive genes with major effects and numerous loci that have minor effects. Thus, expression of this trait is due to the interaction of major loci and the background genotype.