Asian-Pacific clinical practice guidelines on the management of hepatitis B: a 2015 update

Worldwide, some 240 million people have chronic hepatitis B virus (HBV), with the highest rates of infection in Africa and Asia. Our understanding of the natural history of HBV infection and the potential for therapy of the resultant disease is continuously improving. New data have become available since the previous APASL guidelines for management of HBV infection were published in 2012. The objective of this manuscript is to update the recommendations for the optimal management of chronic HBV infection. The 2015 guidelines were developed by a panel of Asian experts chosen by the APASL. The clinical practice guidelines are based on evidence from existing publications or, if evidence was unavailable, on the experts' personal experience and opinion after deliberations. Manuscripts and abstracts of important meetings published through January 2015 have been evaluated. This guideline covers the full spectrum of care of patients infected with hepatitis B, including new terminology, natural history, screening, vaccination, counseling, diagnosis, assessment of the stage of liver disease, the indications, timing, choice and duration of single or combination of antiviral drugs, screening for HCC, management in special situations like childhood, pregnancy, coinfections, renal impairment and pre- and post-liver transplant, and policy guidelines. However, areas of uncertainty still exist, and clinicians, patients, and public health authorities must therefore continue to make choices on the basis of the evolving evidence. The final clinical practice guidelines and recommendations are presented here, along with the relevant background information.

Synthesis of highly crystalline and monodisperse maghemite nanocrystallites without a size-selection process

The synthesis of highly crystalline and monodisperse gamma-Fe(2)O(3) nanocrystallites is reported. High-temperature (300 degrees C) aging of iron-oleic acid metal complex, which was prepared by the thermal decomposition of iron pentacarbonyl in the presence of oleic acid at 100 degrees C, was found to generate monodisperse iron nanoparticles. The resulting iron nanoparticles were transformed to monodisperse gamma-Fe(2)O(3) nanocrystallites by controlled oxidation by using trimethylamine oxide as a mild oxidant. Particle size can be varied from 4 to 16 nm by controlling the experimental parameters. Transmission electron microscopic images of the particles showed 2-dimensional and 3-dimensional assembly of particles, demonstrating the uniformity of these nanoparticles. Electron diffraction, X-ray diffraction, and high-resolution transmission electron microscopic (TEM) images of the nanoparticles showed the highly crystalline nature of the gamma-Fe(2)O(3) structures. Monodisperse gamma-Fe(2)O(3) nanocrystallites with a particle size of 13 nm also can be generated from the direct oxidation of iron pentacarbonyl in the presence of oleic acid with trimethylamine oxide as an oxidant.

ZnO nanowire UV photodetectors with high internal gain

ZnO nanowire (NW) visible-blind UV photodetectors with internal photoconductive gain as high as G approximately 108 have been fabricated and characterized. The photoconduction mechanism in these devices has been elucidated by means of time-resolved measurements spanning a wide temporal domain, from 10-9 to 102 s, revealing the coexistence of fast (tau approximately 20 ns) and slow (tau approximately 10 s) components of the carrier relaxation dynamics. The extremely high photoconductive gain is attributed to the presence of oxygen-related hole-trap states at the NW surface, which prevents charge-carrier recombination and prolongs the photocarrier lifetime, as evidenced by the sensitivity of the photocurrrent to ambient conditions. Surprisingly, this mechanism appears to be effective even at the shortest time scale investigated of t < 1 ns. Despite the slow relaxation time, the extremely high internal gain of ZnO NW photodetectors results in gain-bandwidth products (GB) higher than approximately 10 GHz. The high gain and low power consumption of NW photodetectors promise a new generation of phototransistors for applications such as sensing, imaging, and intrachip optical interconnects.

Universal Approximation Using Radial-Basis-Function Networks

There have been several recent studies concerning feedforward networks and the problem of approximating arbitrary functionals of a finite number of real variables. Some of these studies deal with cases in which the hidden-layer nonlinearity is not a sigmoid. This was motivated by successful applications of feedforward networks with nonsigmoidal hidden-layer units. This paper reports on a related study of radial-basis-function (RBF) networks, and it is proved that RBF networks having one hidden layer are capable of universal approximation. Here the emphasis is on the case of typical RBF networks, and the results show that a certain class of RBF networks with the same smoothing factor in each kernel node is broad enough for universal approximation.

DaliLite workbench for protein structure comparison

SUMMARY

DaliLite is a program for pairwise structure comparison and for structure database searching. It is a standalone version of the search engine of the popular Dali server. A web interface is provided to view the results, multiple alignments and 3D superimpositions of structures.

Protein kinase SGK mediates survival signals by phosphorylating the forkhead transcription factor FKHRL1 (FOXO3a)

Serum- and glucocorticoid-inducible kinases (SGKs) form a novel family of serine/threonine kinases that are activated in response to a variety of extracellular stimuli. SGKs are related to Akt (also called PKB), a serine/threonine kinase that plays a crucial role in promoting cell survival. Like Akt, SGKs are activated by the phosphoinositide-3 kinase (PI3K) and translocate to the nucleus upon growth factor stimulation. However the physiological substrates and cellular functions of SGKs remained to be identified. We hypothesized that SGKs regulate cellular functions in concert with Akt by phosphorylating common targets within the nucleus. The best-characterized nuclear substrates of Akt are transcription factors of the Forkhead family. Akt phosphorylates Forkhead transcription factors such as FKHRL1, leading to FKHRL1's exit from the nucleus and the consequent shutoff of FKHRL1 target genes. We show here that SGK1, like Akt, promotes cell survival and that it does so in part by phosphorylating and inactivating FKHRL1. However, SGK and Akt display differences with respect to the efficacy with which they phosphorylate the three regulatory sites on FKHRL1. While both kinases can phosphorylate Thr-32, SGK displays a marked preference for Ser-315 whereas Akt favors Ser-253. These findings suggest that SGK and Akt may coordinately regulate the function of FKHRL1 by phosphorylating this transcription factor at distinct sites. The efficient phosphorylation of these three sites on FKHRL1 by SGK and Akt appears to be critical to the ability of growth factors to suppress FKHRL1-dependent transcription, thereby preventing FKHRL1 from inducing cell cycle arrest and apoptosis. These findings indicate that SGK acts in concert with Akt to propagate the effects of PI3K activation within the nucleus and to mediate the biological outputs of PI3K signaling, including cell survival and cell cycle progression.

Valleytronics. The valley Hall effect in MoS₂ transistors

Electrons in two-dimensional crystals with a honeycomb lattice structure possess a valley degree of freedom (DOF) in addition to charge and spin. These systems are predicted to exhibit an anomalous Hall effect whose sign depends on the valley index. Here, we report the observation of this so-called valley Hall effect (VHE). Monolayer MoS2 transistors are illuminated with circularly polarized light, which preferentially excites electrons into a specific valley, causing a finite anomalous Hall voltage whose sign is controlled by the helicity of the light. No anomalous Hall effect is observed in bilayer devices, which have crystal inversion symmetry. Our observation of the VHE opens up new possibilities for using the valley DOF as an information carrier in next-generation electronics and optoelectronics.

Phylogenetic affiliation of the pseudomonads based on 16S rRNA sequence

The broad and vague phenotypic definition allowed the genus Pseudomonas to become a dumping ground for incompletely characterized polarly flagellated, gram-negative, rod-shaped, aerobic bacteria, and a large number of species have been accommodated in the genus Pseudomonas. The 16S rRNA sequences of 128 valid and invalid Pseudomonas species, which included almost valid species of the genus Pseudomonas listed in the Approved Lists of Bacterial Names, were obtained: sequences of 59 species were determined and those of 69 species were obtained from the GenBank/EMBL/DDBJ databases. These sequences were compared with the sequences of other species of the Proteobacteria. Fifty-seven valid or invalid species including Pseudomonas aeruginosa (type species of the genus Pseudomonas Migula 1894) belonged to the genus Pseudomonas (sensu stricto). Seven subclusters were formed in the cluster of the genus Pseudomonas (sensu stricto), and the resulting clusters conformed well to the rRNA-DNA hybridization study by Palleroni (1984). The other species did not belong to the genus Pseudomonas (sensu stricto) and were related to other genera, which were placed in four subclasses of the Proteobacteria (alpha, beta, gamma and gamma-beta subclasses). Twenty-six examined species, which were not included in the cluster of the Pseudomonas (sensu stricto) and have not been transferred to other genera as yet, are listed alphabetically: 'Pseudomonas abikonensis', Pseudomonas antimicrobica, Pseudomonas beijerinckii, Pseudomonas beteli, Pseudomonas boreopolis, 'Pseudomonas butanovora', Pseudomonas carboxydohydrogena, Pseudomonas cissicola, Pseudomonas doudoroffii, Pseudomonas echinoides, Pseudomonas elongata, Pseudomonas flectens, Pseudomonas geniculata, Pseudomonas halophila, Pseudomonas hibiscicola, Pseudomonas huttiensis, Pseudomonas iners, Pseudomonas lanceolata, Pseudomonas lemoignei, Pseudomonas mephitica, Pseudomonas pictorum, Pseudomonas saccharophila, Pseudomonas spinosa, Pseudomonas stanier, Pseudomonas syzygii and Pseudomonas woodsii. The phylogenetic affiliations of these 26 pseudomonads species are shown.

Differential transcriptional regulation of the two vascular endothelial growth factor receptor genes. Flt-1, but not Flk-1/KDR, is up-regulated by hypoxia

Vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) and its two endothelial cell-specific receptor tyrosine kinases, Flk-1/KDR and Flt-1, play a key role in physiological and pathological angiogenesis. Hypoxia has been shown to be a major mechanism for up-regulation of VEGF and its receptors in vivo. When we exposed human umbilical vein endothelial cells to hypoxic conditions in vitro, we observed increased levels of Flt-1 expression. In contrast, Flk-1/KDR mRNA levels were unchanged or slightly repressed. These findings suggest a differential transcriptional regulation of the two receptors by hypoxia. To identify regulatory elements involved in the hypoxic response, promoter regions of the mouse Flt-1 and Flk-1/KDR genes were isolated and tested in conjunction with luciferase reporter gene. In transient transfection assays, hypoxia led to strong transcriptional activation of the Flt-1 promoter, whereas Flk-1/KDR transcription was essentially unchanged. Promoter deletion analysis demonstrated a 430-bp region of the Flt-1 promoter to be required for transcriptional activation in response to hypoxia. This region includes a heptamer sequence matching the hypoxia-inducible factor-1 (HIF) consensus binding site previously found in other hypoxia-inducible genes such as the VEGF gene and erythropoietin gene. We further narrowed down the element mediating the hypoxia response to a 40-base pair sequence including the putative HIF binding site. We show that this element acts like an enhancer, since it activated transcription irrespective of its location or orientation in the construct. Furthermore, mutations within the putative HIF consensus binding site lead to impaired transcriptional activation by hypoxia. These findings indicate that, unlike the KDR/Flk-1 gene, the Flt-1 receptor gene is directly up-regulated by hypoxia via a hypoxia-inducible enhancer element located at positions -976 to -937 of the Flt-1 promoter.

Microvascular and macrovascular reactivity is reduced in subjects at risk for type 2 diabetes

Abnormalities in vascular reactivity in the micro- and macrocirculation are well established in type 2 diabetes. However, little is known about changes in vascular reactivity in those at risk for developing type 2 diabetes. To address this situation, the vascular reactivity in both the micro- and macrocirculation was studied in four age and sex comparable groups: 30 healthy normoglycemic subjects with no history of type 2 diabetes in a first-degree relative (controls), 39 healthy normoglycemic subjects with a history of type 2 diabetes in one or both parents (relatives), 32 subjects with impaired glucose tolerance (IGT), and 42 patients with type 2 diabetes without vascular complications (diabetes). Laser Doppler perfusion imaging was used to measure vasodilation in the forearm skin in response to iontophoresis of 1% acetylcholine chloride (Ach) (endothelium-dependent) and 1% sodium nitroprusside (SNP) (endothelium-independent), whereas high-resolution ultrasound images were used to measure brachial artery diameter changes during reactive hyperemia. Plasma concentrations of endothelin-1 (ET-1), von Willebrand factor (vWF), soluble intercellular adhesion molecule (sICAM), and soluble vascular cell adhesion molecule (sVCAM) were also measured as indicators of endothelial cell activation. The vasodilatory responses to Ach, expressed as percent increase of blood flow over baseline, were reduced in relatives (98 +/- 48, mean +/- SD), IGT (94 +/- 52), and diabetes (74 +/- 45) compared with controls (126 +/- 67) (P < 0.001 controls versus relatives, IGT, and diabetes). The responses to SNP were similarly reduced: controls (123 +/- 46), relatives (85 +/- 46), IGT (83 +/- 48), and diabetes (65 +/- 31) (P < 0.001 controls versus relatives, IGT, and diabetes) as were the responses in the brachial artery diameter during reactive hyperemia: controls (13.7 +/- 6.1), relatives (10.5 +/- 6.7), IGT (9.8 +/- 4.5), and diabetes (8.4 +/- 5.0) (P < 0.01 controls versus relatives, IGT, and diabetes). Women had greater responses than men in both the micro- and macrovascular circulatory tests, but a similar progressive reduction was observed in both sexes with increasing degrees of glucose intolerance. A significant inverse correlation was found between microvascular reactivity and systolic blood pressure, fasting plasma glucose, HDL cholesterol, fasting plasma insulin, and homeostasis model assessment (HOMA) values, an index of insulin resistance. BMI and diastolic blood pressure had a significant inverse correlation only with endothelium-dependent vasodilation. In the macrocirculation, systolic blood pressure, HbA1c, HDL cholesterol, and HOMA had significant correlation with brachial artery diameter changes. Compared with control subjects, ET-1 was significantly higher in all groups, vWF was higher only in the diabetic group, sICAM levels were higher in the IGT and diabetic groups, while sVCAM concentrations were higher in the relatives and those with diabetes (P < 0.05). On stepwise multivariate analysis, age, sex, fasting plasma glucose, and BMI were the most important contributing factors to the variation of vascular reactivity. Addition of all clinical and biochemical measures explained only 32-37% of the variation in vascular reactivity. These results suggest that abnormalities in vascular reactivity and biochemical markers of endothelial cell activation are present early in individuals at risk of developing type 2 diabetes, even at a stage when normal glucose tolerance exists, and that factors in addition to insulin resistance may be operative.

Characterization of the distinct orthotopic bone-forming activity of 14 BMPs using recombinant adenovirus-mediated gene delivery

Efficacious bone regeneration could revolutionize the clinical management of bone and musculoskeletal disorders. Although several bone morphogenetic proteins (BMPs) (mostly BMP-2 and BMP-7) have been shown to induce bone formation, it is unclear whether the currently used BMPs represent the most osteogenic ones. Until recently, comprehensive analysis of osteogenic activity of all BMPs has been hampered by the fact that recombinant proteins are either not biologically active or not available for all BMPs. In this study, we used recombinant adenoviruses expressing the 14 types of BMPs (AdBMPs), and demonstrated that, in addition to currently used BMP-2 and BMP-7, BMP-6 and BMP-9 effectively induced orthotopic ossification when either AdBMP-transduced osteoblast progenitors or the viral vectors were injected into the quadriceps of athymic mice. Radiographic and histological evaluation demonstrated that BMP-6 and BMP-9 induced the most robust and mature ossification at multiple time points. BMP-3, a negative regulator of bone formation, was shown to effectively inhibit orthotopic ossification induced by BMP-2, BMP-6, and BMP-7. However, BMP-3 exerted no inhibitory effect on BMP-9-induced bone formation, suggesting that BMP-9 may transduce osteogenic signaling differently. Our findings suggest that BMP-6 and BMP-9 may represent more effective osteogenic factors for bone regeneration.

Chemosensitivity prediction by transcriptional profiling

In an effort to develop a genomics-based approach to the prediction of drug response, we have developed an algorithm for classification of cell line chemosensitivity based on gene expression profiles alone. Using oligonucleotide microarrays, the expression levels of 6,817 genes were measured in a panel of 60 human cancer cell lines (the NCI-60) for which the chemosensitivity profiles of thousands of chemical compounds have been determined. We sought to determine whether the gene expression signatures of untreated cells were sufficient for the prediction of chemosensitivity. Gene expression-based classifiers of sensitivity or resistance for 232 compounds were generated and then evaluated on independent sets of data. The classifiers were designed to be independent of the cells' tissue of origin. The accuracy of chemosensitivity prediction was considerably better than would be expected by chance. Eighty-eight of 232 expression-based classifiers performed accurately (with P < 0.05) on an independent test set, whereas only 12 of the 232 would be expected to do so by chance. These results suggest that at least for a subset of compounds genomic approaches to chemosensitivity prediction are feasible.

Serum and glucocorticoid-inducible kinase (SGK) is a target of the PI 3-kinase-stimulated signaling pathway

Serum and glucocorticoid-inducible kinase (SGK) is a novel member of the serine/threonine protein kinase family that is transcriptionally regulated. In this study, we have investigated the regulatory mechanisms that control SGK activity. We have established a peptide kinase assay for SGK and present evidence demonstrating that SGK is a component of the phosphoinositide 3 (PI 3)-kinase signaling pathway. Treatment of human embryo kidney 293 cells with insulin, IGF-1 or pervanadate induced a 3- to 12-fold activation of ectopically expressed SGK. Activation was completely abolished by pretreatment of cells with the PI 3-kinase inhibitor, LY294002. Treatment of activated SGK with protein phosphatase 2A in vitro led to kinase inactivation. Consistent with the similarity of SGK to other second-messenger regulated kinases, mutation of putative phosphorylation sites at Thr256 and Ser422 inhibited SGK activation. Cotransfection of PDK1 with SGK caused a 6-fold activation of SGK activity, whereas kinase-dead PDK1 caused no activation. GST-pulldown assays revealed a direct interaction between PDK1 and the catalytic domain of SGK. Treatment of rat mammary tumor cells with serum caused hyperphosphorylation of endogenous SGK, and promoted translocation to the nucleus. Both hyperphosphorylation and nuclear translocation could be inhibited by wortmannin, but not by rapamycin.

Cross-tissue immune cell analysis reveals tissue-specific features in humans

Despite their crucial role in health and disease, our knowledge of immune cells within human tissues remains limited. We surveyed the immune compartment of 16 tissues from 12 adult donors by single-cell RNA sequencing and VDJ sequencing generating a dataset of ~360,000 cells. To systematically resolve immune cell heterogeneity across tissues, we developed CellTypist, a machine learning tool for rapid and precise cell type annotation. Using this approach, combined with detailed curation, we determined the tissue distribution of finely phenotyped immune cell types, revealing hitherto unappreciated tissue-specific features and clonal architecture of T and B cells. Our multitissue approach lays the foundation for identifying highly resolved immune cell types by leveraging a common reference dataset, tissue-integrated expression analysis, and antigen receptor sequencing.

Melanin-concentrating hormone is the cognate ligand for the orphan G-protein-coupled receptor SLC-1

The underlying causes of obesity are poorly understood but probably involve complex interactions between many neurotransmitter and neuropeptide systems involved in the regulation of food intake and energy balance. Three pieces of evidence indicate that the neuropeptide melanin-concentrating hormone (MCH) is an important component of this system. First, MCH stimulates feeding when injected directly into rat brains; second, the messenger RNA for the MCH precursor is upregulated in the hypothalamus of genetically obese mice and in fasted animals; and third, mice lacking MCH eat less and are lean. MCH antagonists might, therefore, provide a treatment for obesity. However, the development of such molecules has been hampered because the identity of the MCH receptor has been unknown until now. Here we show that the 353-amino-acid human orphan G-protein-coupled receptor SLC-1 expressed in HEK293 cells binds MCH with sub-nanomolar affinity, and is stimulated by MCH to mobilize intracellular Ca2+ and reduce forskolin-elevated cyclic AMP levels. We also show that SLC-1 messenger RNA and protein is expressed in the ventromedial and dorsomedial nuclei of the hypothalamus, consistent with a role for SLC-1 in mediating the effects of MCH on feeding.

Cloning and functional expression of a rat kidney extracellular calcium/polyvalent cation-sensing receptor

The maintenance of a stable extracellular concentration of ionized calcium depends on the integrated function of a number of specialized cells (e.g., parathyroid and certain kidney epithelial cells). We recently identified another G protein-coupled receptor (BoPCaRI) from bovine parathyroid that responds to changes in extracellular Ca2+ within the millimolar range and provides a key mechanism for regulating the secretion of parathyroid hormone. Using an homology-based strategy, we now report the isolation of a cDNA encoding an extracellular Ca2+/polyvalent cation-sensing receptor (RaKCaR) from rat kidney. The predicted RaKCaR protein shares 92% identity with BoPCaR1 receptor and features a seven membrane-spanning domain, characteristic of the G protein-coupled receptors, which is preceded by a large hydrophilic extracellular NH2 terminus believed to be involved in cation binding. RaKCaR cRNA-injected Xenopus oocytes responded to extracellular Ca2+, Mg2+, Gd3+, and neomycin with characteristic activation of inositol phospholipid-dependent, intracellular Ca(2+)-induced Cl- currents. In rat kidney, Northern analysis revealed RaKCaR transcripts of 4 and 7 kb, and in situ hybridization showed localization primarily in outer medulla and cortical medullary rays. Our results provide important insights into the molecular structure of an extracellular Ca2+/polyvalent cation-sensing receptor in rat kidney and provide another basis on which to understand the role of extracellular divalent cations in regulating kidney function in mineral metabolism.

Identification of vascular endothelial growth factor determinants for binding KDR and FLT-1 receptors. Generation of receptor-selective VEGF variants by site-directed mutagenesis

Vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) expression in various cell types is induced by hypoxia and other stimuli. VEGF mediates endothelial cell proliferation, angiogenesis, vascular growth, and vascular permeability via the endothelial cell receptors, kinase insert domain-containing receptor (KDR)/fetal liver kinase 1 (Flk-1) and FLT-1. Alanine-scanning mutagenesis was used to identify a positively charged surface in VEGF that mediates binding to KDR/Flk-1. Arg82, Lys84 and His86, located in a hairpin loop, were found to be critical for binding KDR/Flk-1, while negatively charged residues, Asp63, Glu64, and Glu67, were associated with FLT-1 binding. A VEGF model based on PDGFb indicated these positively and negatively charged regions are distal in the monomer but are spatially close in the dimer. Mutations within the KDR site had minimal effect on FLT-1 binding, and mutants deficient in FLT-1 binding did not affect KDR binding. Endothelial cell mitogenesis was abolished in mutants lacking KDR affinity; however, FLT-1 deficient mutants induced normal proliferation. These results suggest dual sets of determinants in the VEGF dimer that cross-link cell surface receptors, triggering endothelial cell growth and angiogenesis. Furthermore, this mutational analysis implicates KDR, but not FLT-1, in VEGF induction of endothelial cell proliferation.

Autosomal dominant hypocalcaemia caused by a Ca(2+)-sensing receptor gene mutation

Defects in the human Ca(2+)-sensing receptor gene have recently been shown to cause familial hypocalciuric hypercalcaemia and neonatal severe hyperparathyroidism. We now demonstrate that a missense mutation (Glu128Ala) in this gene causes familial hypocalcaemia in affected members of one family. Xenopus oocytes expressing the mutant receptor exhibit a larger increase in inositol 1,4,5-triphosphate in response to Ca2+ than oocytes expressing the wild-type receptor. We conclude that this extracellular domain mutation increases the receptor's activity at low Ca2+ concentrations, causing hypocalcaemia in patients heterozygous for such a mutation.

Sequence comparisons using multiple sequences detect three times as many remote homologues as pairwise methods

The sequences of related proteins can diverge beyond the point where their relationship can be recognised by pairwise sequence comparisons. In attempts to overcome this limitation, methods have been developed that use as a query, not a single sequence, but sets of related sequences or a representation of the characteristics shared by related sequences. Here we describe an assessment of three of these methods: the SAM-T98 implementation of a hidden Markov model procedure; PSI-BLAST; and the intermediate sequence search (ISS) procedure. We determined the extent to which these procedures can detect evolutionary relationships between the members of the sequence database PDBD40-J. This database, derived from the structural classification of proteins (SCOP), contains the sequences of proteins of known structure whose sequence identities with each other are 40% or less. The evolutionary relationships that exist between those that have low sequence identities were found by the examination of their structural details and, in many cases, their functional features. For nine false positive predictions out of a possible 432,680, i.e. at a false positive rate of about 1/50,000, SAM-T98 found 35% of the true homologous relationships in PDBD40-J, whilst PSI-BLAST found 30% and ISS found 25%. Overall, this is about twice the number of PDBD40-J relations that can be detected by the pairwise comparison procedures FASTA (17%) and GAP-BLAST (15%). For distantly related sequences in PDBD40-J, those pairs whose sequence identity is less than 30%, SAM-T98 and PSI-BLAST detect three times the number of relationships found by the pairwise methods.

Mechanism of Formation of Monodispersed Colloids by Aggregation of Nanosize Precursors

It has been experimentally established in numerous cases that precipitation of monodispersed colloids from homogeneous solutions is a complex process. Specifically, it was found that in many systems nuclei, produced rapidly in a supersaturated solution, grow to nanosize primary particles (singlets), which then coagulate to form much larger final colloids in a process dominated by irreversible capture of these singlets. This paper describes a kinetic model that explains the formation of dispersions of narrow size distribution in such systems. Numerical simulations of the kinetic equations, with experimental model parameter values, are reported. The model was tested for a system involving formation of uniform spherical gold particles by reduction of auric chloride in aqueous solutions. The calculated average size, the width of the particle size distribution, and the time scale of the process agreed reasonably well with the experimental values. Copyright 1999 Academic Press.

Mitochondrial decay in hepatocytes from old rats: membrane potential declines, heterogeneity and oxidants increase

Mitochondrial function during aging was assessed in isolated rat hepatocytes to avoid the problem of differential lysis when old, fragile mitochondria are isolated. Rhodamine 123, a fluorescent dye that accumulates in mitochondria on the basis of their membrane potential, was used as a probe to determine whether this key function is affected by aging. A marked fluorescent heterogeneity was observed in hepatocytes from old (20-28 months) but not young (3-5 months) rats, suggesting age-associated alterations in mitochondrial membrane potential, the driving force for ATP synthesis. Three distinct cell subpopulations were separated by centrifugal elutriation; each exhibited a unique rhodamine 123 fluorescence pattern, with the largest population from old rats having significantly lower fluorescence than that seen in young rats. This apparent age-associated alteration in mitochondrial membrane potential was confirmed by measurements with radioactive tetraphenylphosphonium bromide. Cells from young rats had a calculated membrane potential of -154 mV, in contrast to that of the three subpopulations from old rats of -70 mV (the largest population), -93 mV, and -154 mV. Production of oxidants was examined using 2',7'dichlorofluorescin, a dye that forms a fluorescent product upon oxidation. The largest cell subpopulation and a minor one from old animals produced significantly more oxidants than cells from young rats. To investigate the molecular cause(s) for the heterogeneity, we determined the levels of an age-associated mtDNA deletion. No significant differences were seen in the three subpopulations, indicating that the mitochondrial decay is due to other mutations, epigenetic changes, or both.

Treatment of paracetamol (acetaminophen) poisoning with N-acetylcysteine

Fifteen patients with paracetamol (acetaminophen) poisoning were treated with intravenous N-acetylcystein (300 mg/kg given over 20 h). Mean admission and 4 h plasma-paracetamol concentrations were 262 and 369 microgram/ml, respectively. Liver-function tests remained normal or were only slightly disturbed in 11 of 12 patients treated within 10 h of paracetamol ingestion. Severe liver damage developed in the other patient and in the three in whom treatment was started more than 10 h after paracetamol ingestion. In contrast to cysteamine, N-acetylcysteine was very well tolerated and has the advantage of being available as a pharmaceutical preparation in a 20% sterile solution.

Glutathione S-transferase mu modulates the stress-activated signals by suppressing apoptosis signal-regulating kinase 1

Apoptosis signal-regulating kinase 1 (ASK1) is a mitogen-activated protein kinase kinase kinase that can activate the c-Jun N-terminal kinase and the p38 signaling pathways. It plays a critical role in cytokine- and stress-induced apoptosis. To further characterize the mechanism of the regulation of the ASK1 signal, we searched for ASK1-interacting proteins employing the yeast two-hybrid method. The yeast two-hybrid assay indicated that mouse glutathione S-transferase Mu 1-1 (mGSTM1-1), an enzyme involved in the metabolism of drugs and xenobiotics, interacted with ASK1. We subsequently confirmed that mGSTM1-1 physically associated with ASK1 both in vivo and in vitro. The in vitro binding assay indicated that the C-terminal portion of mGSTM1-1 and the N-terminal region of ASK1 were crucial for binding one another. Furthermore, mGSTM1-1 suppressed stress-stimulated ASK1 activity in cultured cells. mGSTM1-1 also blocked ASK1 oligomerization. The ASK1 inhibition by mGSTM1-1 occurred independently of the glutathione-conjugating activity of mGSTM1-1. Moreover, mGSTM1-1 repressed ASK1-dependent apoptotic cell death. Taken together, our findings suggest that mGSTM1-1 functions as an endogenous inhibitor of ASK1. This highlights a novel function for mGSTM1-1 insofar as mGSTM1-1 may modulate stress-mediated signals by repressing ASK1, and this activity occurs independently of its well-known catalytic activity in intracellular glutathione metabolism.

Immunosuppressive drugs prevent a rapid dephosphorylation of transcription factor NFAT1 in stimulated immune cells

The immunosuppressive drugs cyclosporin A and FK506 interfere with the inducible transcription of cytokine genes in T cells and in other immune cells, in part by preventing the activation of NF-AT (nuclear factor of activated T cells). We show that transcription factor NFAT1 in T cells is rapidly dephosphorylated on stimulation, that dephosphorylation occurs before translocation of NFAT1 into the cell nucleus, and that dephosphorylation increases the affinity of NFAT1 for its specific sites in DNA. Cyclosporin A prevents the dephosphorylation and the nuclear translocation of NFAT1 in T cells, B cells, macrophages, and mast cells, delineating at least one mechanism that contributes to the profound immunosuppressive effects of this compound.

The green tea polyphenol (-)-epigallocatechin gallate attenuates beta-amyloid-induced neurotoxicity in cultured hippocampal neurons

Previous evidence has indicated that the neuronal toxicity of amyloid beta (betaA) protein is mediated through oxygen free radicals and can be attenuated by antioxidants and free radical scavengers. Recent studies have shown that green tea polyphenols reduced free radical-induced lipid peroxidation. The purpose of this study was to investigate whether (-)-epigallocatechin gallate (EGCG) would prevent or reduce the death of cultured hippocampal neuronal cells exposed to betaA because EGCG has a potent antioxidant property as a green tea polyphenol. Following exposure of the hippocampal neuronal cells to betaA for 48 hours, a marked hippocampal neuronal injuries and increases in malondialdehyde (MDA) level and caspase activity were observed. Co-treatment of cells with EGCG to betaA exposure elevated the cell survival and decreased the levels of MDA and caspase activity. Proapoptotic (p53 and Bax), Bcl-XL and cyclooxygenase (COX) proteins have been implicated in betaA-induced neuronal death. However, in this study the protective effects of EGCG seem to be independent of the regulation of p53, Bax, Bcl-XL and COX proteins. Taken together, the results suggest that EGCG has protective effects against betaA-induced neuronal apoptosis through scavenging reactive oxygen species, which may be beneficial for the prevention of Alzheimer's disease.