In situ synthesis of Au-shelled Ag nanoparticles on PDMS for flexible, long-life, and broad spectrum-sensitive SERS substrates

A simple, fast, one-step fabrication of silver nanoparticles with atomically thin gold coatings on polydimethylsiloxane affords oxidation-resistant and highly sensitive surface enhanced Raman scattering (SERS) substrates.

Following the stability of amphiphilic nanoaggregates by using intermolecular energy transfer

An intermolecular energy transfer system is developed for studying the stability of nanoaggregate(s) (NAs) in complex solution and cell culture by one- and two-photon fluorescence microscopy and optical imaging. The system allows facile addition of one or more tumor targeting molecules, one of which is exemplified here. NAs functionalized with an MRI and optical probe, with and without folic acid, remain stable in fetal bovine serum for at least 4 hours. HeLa cell cultures showed a clear difference between NAs non-targeted and targeted to folate receptors, with both NAs appearing to be taken up by the cells through different mechanisms. An MRI relaxivity, r₁, of 9 mM^-1 s^-1 at 310 K and 1.4 T was measured associated with the increased rotational correlation time of the NAs. These NAs may have application in the targeted drug delivery of hydrophobic drugs such as doxorubicin (DOX).

Two-Proton Radioactivity of ^{67}Kr

In an experiment with the BigRIPS separator at the RIKEN Nishina Center, we observed two-proton (2p) emission from ^{67}Kr. At the same time, no evidence for 2p emission of ^{59}Ge and ^{63}Se, two other potential candidates for this exotic radioactivity, could be observed. This observation is in line with Q value predictions which pointed to ^{67}Kr as being the best new candidate among the three for two-proton radioactivity. ^{67}Kr is only the fourth 2p ground-state emitter to be observed with a half-life of the order of a few milliseconds. The decay energy was determined to be 1690(17) keV, the 2p emission branching ratio is 37(14)%, and the half-life of ^{67}Kr is 7.4(30) ms.

Effect of Intensive Walking Exercise on Skeletal Muscle Blood Flow in Intermittent Claudication

Walking exercise is generally accepted as a valid therapeutic regimen in the treatment of peripheral arterial occlusive disease (PAOD) of Fontaine stage II. In order to quantify the effect of walking exercise and/or drug therapy on regional muscular blood flow, PAOD Fontaine stage II was induced by multiple ligations of the femoral artery and of all side branches in one hindlimb of mongrel dogs; the contralateral extremity served as control.

The animals underwent walking exercise with increasing intensities on a tread mill five days per week over one year; one group received 600 mg buflomedil (BF) per day orally in addition. At the end of the training period, the regional blood flow in all skeletal muscles of both hindlimbs was quantified by means of 15 μm radioactively labeled microspheres at resting conditions, after treadmill exercise (ten minutes) with or without preinjection of BF (3 mg/kg body weight) into the abdominal aorta.

At resting condition and at the end of treadmill exercise the regional muscular blood flow did not differ significantly between the diseased and control extremity Supplementary oral treatment with BF over one year had no significant effect; the increase in muscular blood flow during treadmill exercise was not enhanced after intra- aortic injection of BE

Consequently walking exercise has the potential to increase the functional capacity of collaterals in intermittent claudication and to restore blood supply to skeletal muscle.

Development of an activity-based probe for amyloid β-hydrolyzing antibodies

We report developing an activity-based probe containing an amyloid β peptide (Aβ) 17-27 and an electrophilic phosphonate diester at the C-terminus. A probe containing an electrophilic moiety is able to react with the nucleophiles on an antibody or an antibody with proteinase activity. The probe reacted with an Aβ specific monoclonal antibody and formed a covalent complex. The covalent binding also occurred specifically when the probe reacted with serum containing anti-Aβ antibodies. These results suggest that the probe would serve as a powerful tool to isolate Aβ specific antibodies that are capable of Aβ hydrolysis activity.

Deletion of JMJD2B in neurons leads to defective spine maturation, hyperactive behavior and memory deficits in mouse

JMJD2B is a histone demethylase enzyme that regulates gene expression through demethylation of H3K9me3. Although mutations of JMJD2B have been suggested to be responsible for neurodevelopmental disorders, the function of JMJD2B in the central nervous system (CNS) remains to be elucidated. Here we show that JMJD2B has a critical role in the development of the CNS. We observed JMJD2B expression, which was especially strong in the hippocampus, throughout the CNS from embryonic periods through adulthood. We generated neuron-specific JMJD2B-deficient mice using the cre-loxP system. We found an increase in total spine number, but a decrease in mature spines, in the CA1 region of the hippocampus. JMJD2B-deficient mice exhibited hyperactive behavior, sustained hyperactivity in a novel environment, deficits in working memory and spontaneous epileptic-like seizures. Together these observations indicate that JMJD2B mutant mice display symptoms reminiscent of neurodevelopmental disorders. Our findings provide evidence for the involvement of histone demethylation in the formation of functional neural networks during development.

6-(4-Amino-2-butyl-imidazoquinolyl)-norleucine: Toll-like receptor 7 and 8 agonist amino acid for self-adjuvanting peptide vaccine

Generally, small peptides by themselves are weak to induce antibody responses. Toll-like receptor (TLR) ligands are attractive candidates of vaccine adjuvants to improve their antigenicity. The covalent conjugation of TLR ligands with antigens to produce self-adjuvanting peptide vaccine is a promising approach. Based on the structure of TLR7/8 ligands, a series of synthetic amino acids 6-imidazoquinolyl-norleucines were synthesized, wherein an imidazoquinoline structure as the TLR7/8 agonistic pharmacophores was constructed on the ε-NH2 group of Lys. Of them, 6-(4-amino-2-butyl-imidazoquinolyl)-norleucine showed the most potent TLR7 and TLR8 agonistic activities with EC50 values of 8.55 and 106 μM, respectively. Subsequently, mice were immunized with the influenza A virus M2e antigen mixed with or covalently conjugated to the TLR7/8 agonist amino acid, which led to induction of M2e specific antibody productions in the absence of other adjuvant. We successfully developed a novel efficient tool for self-adjuvanting peptide vaccines targeting TLR7/8.

CNTFR Genotype and Sprint/power Performance: Case-control Association and Functional Studies

The aim of this study was to investigate whether rs41274853 in the 3'-untranslated region of the ciliary neurotrophic factor receptor gene (CNTFR) is associated with elite sprint/power athletic status and assess its functional significance. A total of 211 Japanese sprint/power track and field athletes (62 international, 72 national, and 77 regional athletes) and 814 Japanese controls were genotyped at rs41274853. Luciferase reporter assay was conducted to investigate whether this C-to-T polymorphism affects binding of microRNA miR-675-5p to this region. The TT genotype was significantly more frequent among international sprint/power athletes (19.4%) than in the controls after Bonferroni correction (7.9%, P=0.036, OR=2.81 [95% CI: 1.43-5.55]). Furthermore, in non-athletic young/middle-aged men (n=132), TT genotype carriers exhibited significantly greater leg extension power (26.6±5.4 vs. 24.0±5.4 W/kg BW, P=0.019) and vertical jump performance (50.1±6.9 vs. 47.9±7.5 cm, P=0.047) than the CC+CT genotype carriers. Reporter assays revealed that the miR-675-5p binds to this polymorphic region within the CNTFR mRNA, irrespective of the rs41274853 allele present. Although the functional significance of the rs41274853 polymorphism remains unclear, the CNTFR is one of the candidate genes contributing to sprint/power performance.

Pro-inflammatory responses and oxidative stress induced by ZnO nanoparticles in vivo following intravenous injection

OBJECTIVE

To determine the toxicological effect of ZnO nanoparticles (NPs), inflammatory responses, serum biological parameters and oxidative stress markers of Superoxide dismutase (SOD) were evaluated followed by intravenous treatment of ZnO NPs in mice.

MATERIALS AND METHODS

Inflammatory responses induced by a dose of 0.2 mg/kg ZnO NPs, followed by a single intravenous treatment were examined in mice. In addition, the serum biological parameters and oxidative stress markers were evaluated. Blood and spleen were collected following treatment. The mRNA transcript levels of inflammatory-related genes (TNF-α and IL1-β) were elevated in the spleen cells of mice treated with ZnO NPs at 12h.

RESULTS

The elevated levels of TNF-α and IL1-β in supernatants of spleen cell cultures of mice treated with ZnO NPs were also observed at 24h. The serum aspartate aminotransferase, glutamate pyruvate alanine aminotransferase, and lactate dehydrogenase levels significantly increased at 6h and 12h in ZnO NPs treated group, indicating liver cell injury and tissue damage. On the other hand, no elevation was observed in BUN and Cre, biochemical markers of kidney damage. SOD activities were significantly elevated at 24 h and 48 h.

CONCLUSIONS

This study shows the ZnO induced pro-inflammatory response in vivo, that this response may be related to oxidative stress, and to show hepatic damage at an early stage.