Pyogenic spondylitis with acute course caused by Corynebacterium simulans

Corynebacterium simulans was first reported in 2000. Although it is a member of the normal skin flora, some cases of C. simulans infection have been reported. Other Corynebacterium spp. rarely cause chronic pyogenic spondylitis, and pyogenic spondylitis caused by C. simulans has not been reported at all. Here we report a case of acute pyogenic spondylitis due to C. simulans. A 78-year-old man with diabetes mellitus visited our hospital with a 3-day history of lower back pain and fever. Blood culture revealed C. simulans and magnetic resonance images of lumbar vertebrae showed pyogenic spondylitis. He recovered after treatment by vancomycin for 9 weeks and was discharged home. No recurrence has been observed for half a year. This is likely the first reported case of pyogenic spondylitis by C. simulans. In general, Corynebacterium spp. cause chronic pyogenic spondylitis, but this case showed an acute course.

Meeting report of the OECD conference on "Genome Editing: Applications in Agriculture-Implications for Health, Environment and Regulation"

The "OECD Conference on Genome Editing: Applications in Agriculture-Implications for Health, Environment and Regulation" was held on the 28-29 June 2018 at the OECD headquarter and conference centre in Paris, France. It brought together policy makers, academia, innovators and other stakeholders involved in the topic, in order to take stock of the current technical developments and implementations of genome editing, as well as their applications in various areas of agriculture and the implications they give rise to (More information on the "OECD Conference on Genome Editing: Applications in Agriculture-Implications for Health, Environment and Regulation" can be found on the OECD Genome Editing hub: http://www.oecd.org/environment/genome-editing-agriculture/ ; the hub also contains the detailed conference programme, the biographies of all conference speakers, the detailed conference abstracts, and the presentations of the two-day conference). The conference aimed to provide a clearer understanding of the regulatory considerations raised by products of genome editing, pointing towards a coherent policy approach to facilitate innovations involving genome editing.

Longitudinal changes in 18 F-THK5351 positron emission tomography in corticobasal syndrome

BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE

Corticobasal syndrome (CBS) is pathologically characterized by tau deposits in neuronal and glial cells and by reactive astrogliosis. In several neurodegenerative disorders, ¹⁸ F-THK5351 has been observed to bind to reactive astrocytes expressing monoamine oxidase B. In this study, the aim was to investigate the progression of disease-related pathology in the brains of patients with CBS using positron emission tomography with ¹⁸ F-THK5351.

METHODS

Baseline and 1-year follow-up imaging were acquired using magnetic resonance imaging and positron emission tomography with ¹⁸ F-THK5351 in 10 subjects: five patients with CBS and five age-matched normal controls (NCs).

RESULTS

The 1-year follow-up scan images revealed that ¹⁸ F-THK5351 retention had significantly increased in the superior parietal gyrus of the patients with CBS compared with the NCs. The median increases in ¹⁸ F-THK5351 accumulation in the patients with CBS were 6.53% in the superior parietal gyrus, 4.34% in the precentral gyrus and 4.33% in the postcentral gyrus. In contrast, there was no significant increase in the regional ¹⁸ F-THK5351 retention in the NCs.

CONCLUSIONS

Longitudinal increases in ¹⁸ F-THK5351 binding can be detected over a short interval in the cortical sites of patients with CBS. A monoamine oxidase B binding radiotracer could be useful in monitoring the progression of astrogliosis in CBS.

Modification of the hepatic mitochondrial proteome in response to ischemic preconditioning following ischemia-reperfusion injury of the rat liver

BACKGROUND/AIM

Ischemic preconditioning (IPC) may reduce hepatic ischemia-reperfusion (IR) injury, but efficacy of IPC on mitochondrial proteome is not demonstrated. We investigated how IPC modifies the mitochondrial proteome after IR injury.

METHODS

Rats were subjected to 25 min of portal triad crossclamping (IR group, n = 8). In the IPC group (n = 8), 10 min of temporal portal triad clamping was performed before 25 min of portal clamping. Samples were obtained after 24 h. The mitochondrial inner-membrane potential was measured by the uptake of a lipophilic cationic carbocyanine probe and mitochondrial proteome was also investigated using 2-dimensional differential in-gel electrophoresis and liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry.

RESULTS

Mitochondrial inner-membrane potential and glutathione were lower and serum transaminase was higher in the IPC group than in the IR group. The mitochondrial precursor of aldehyde dehydrogenase 2 and alpha-methylacyl-CoA-racemase were upregulated in the IPC group in comparison to the IR group. In contrast, protein disulfide-isomerase A3 precursor, 60S acid ribosomal protein P0, carbonic anhydrase 3 and superoxide dismutase were significantly more downregulated in the IPC group than in the IR group.

CONCLUSIONS

A hepatoprotective effect by IPC was not shown; however, IPC caused significant up- or downregulation of several mitochondrial proteins.

Preparation of platinum nanoparticles by sonochemical reduction of the Pt(IV) ions: role of surfactants

Sonochemical reduction processes of Pt(IV) ions in water have been investigated in the presence of various kinds of surfactants such as sodium dodecylsulfate (SDS) and sodium dodecylbenzenesulfonate (DBS) as anionic surfactants, and polyethylene glycol monostearate (PEG-MS) as non-ionic, dodecyltrimethylammonium chloride (DTAC) and bromide (DTAB) as cationic surfactants. An improved colorimetric determination reveals that Pt(IV) ion is reduced to zero valent metal in two steps: step (1)--Pt(IV) ion to Pt(II) ion, and step (2)--Pt(II) ion to Pt(0), and after the completion of step (1), step (2) sets in. It appears that rapid scrambling reactions among platinum ions and/or atoms, that is, Pt(I) + Pt(IV)-->Pt(II) + Pt(III), etc. take place. In the sonolysis of aqueous solutions of SDS, DBS or PEG-MS, two kinds of organic reducing radicals, R(ab) and R(py), are proposed to contribute to the reduction. Radical R(ab) is formed from the reaction of the surfactants with primary radicals such as hydroxyl radicals and hydrogen atoms originated from the sonolysis of water, and radical R(py) is formed from the direct thermal decomposition of surfactants in the interfacial region between the collapsing cavities and the bulk water. R(ab) is effective for both the reduction steps, whereas R(py) is involved only in the reduction step (1). This fact coincides with the previous reported sonochemical reduction of Pt(II) ions. Hydrogen atoms themselves scarcely participate in the reduction. The average diameter (1.0 nm) of platinum particles prepared from the system of PEG-MS is smaller than those from the aqueous solution of anionic surfactant SDS (3.0 nm) and DBS (3.0 nm).

Probucol treatment attenuates the aortic atherosclerosis in Watanabe heritable hyperlipidemic rabbits

We examined the effect of probucol on the aortic atherosclerosis already developed in Watanabe heritable hyperlipidemic (WHHL) rabbits at the initiation of treatment. In WHHL rabbits treated with probucol for 5 months from 8 months old, the lesion area in the aorta was significantly (P < 0.05) reduced when compared with that in untreated animals as well as animals at age 8 months. In contrast, plasma cholesterol levels in the probucol-treated group and untreated group during the experiment were not significantly different. LDL prepared from rabbits receiving probucol for 5 months showed resistance to oxidation by copper ions. Plasma CETP activity was significantly (P < 0.05) increased by probucol treatment. An immunohistochemical study showed that macrophages were abundant in the atherosclerotic lesions of untreated rabbits whereas smooth muscle cells were predominant in lesions of probucol-treated rabbits. These results suggest that the atherosclerotic lesion in WHHL rabbits can regress when treated by probucol and that the attenuation of atherosclerosis in this animal involves effects of probucol other than a decrease in plasma cholesterol, for example anti-oxidant activity.

The presence of a manganese-rich particle in lysosome of rat pancreas due to excess manganese treatment

Manganese (Mn) accumulates at a higher level in the pancreas than in any other organs when excess Mn is administered to the rat. The present study is carried out to analyze the intracellular localization of Mn existed in the pancreatic cell of Mn-treated rats. Transmission electron microscope and X-ray micro-analysis connected with a rapid freezing fixation technique showed that a large amount of Mn was localized in lysosomal particles of the pancreatic cell of Mn-treated rats. The Mn-rich particles disappeared when the element-administration was discontinued, showing that the accumulation of Mn is reversible. To confirm that Mn is in the lysosomes, a centrifugal subcellular-fractionation and a neutron activation analysis were carried out. The result indicated that much Mn existed in the lysosomal fraction.

Synthesis and biological activity of new 3-hydroxy-3-methylglutaryl-CoA synthase inhibitors: 2-oxetanones with a meta-substituent on the benzene ring in the side chain

Isosteric side chain analogs of 3a were synthesized and tested for inhibitory activities towards 3-hydroxy-3-methylglutaryl coenzyme A (HMG-CoA) synthase and upon cholesterol production in Hep G2 cells and in mouse liver. It became clear that the lipophilic substituent on the aromatic ring and the terminal hydrophilic group in the side chain were important in the enhancement of activity. 4-[2-(3-n-Hexyloxyphenyl)ethyl]-3-hydroxy-methyl-2-oxetanone (5a) showed equivalent inhibitory activity in vivo to that of 1233A.

Synthesis of water-soluble, branched polysaccharides having D-mannopyranose, D-arabinofuranose, or oligo-D-arabinofuranose side-chains and their antitumor activity

Branched polysaccharides having D-mannopyranose, D-arabinofuranose, or oligo-D-arabinofuranose side-chains were synthesized by the reaction of 3,4,6-tri-O-acetyl-(1,2-O-ethylorthoacetyl)-beta-D-mannopyranose, 3,5-di-O-benzoyl-(1,2-O-ethylorthobenzoyl)-beta-D-arabinofuranose, or 3-O-benzoyl-(1,2,5-O-orthobenzoyl)-beta-D-arabinofuranose with cellulose acetate or curdlan acetate, followed by desterification. The structure and antitumor activity of the water-soluble portion of the polysaccharides thus obtained were investigated. Polysaccharides synthesized from (1----3)-beta-D-glucan as the main chain with oligo-D-arabinofuranose side-chains exhibited high antitumor activity.

H1 histone and nucleosome repeat length alterations associated with the in vitro differentiation of murine embryonal carcinoma cells to extra-embryonic endoderm

The histone compositions and average distance between nucleosomes have been determined for F9.22 and PSA1 murine embryonal carcinoma cell lines, for primary extra-embryonic endoderm derived from the in vitro differentiation of PSA1 embryonal carcinoma cells, and for two long-term extra-embryonic endodermal cell lines. A change in the relative proportions of two forms of the H1 histones (H1A and H1B) was found to correlate with the extra-embryonic endodermal differentiated phenotype. The embryonal carcinoma cells had a ratio of H1A/H1B of 1.49 or greater. In contrast, extra-embryonic endoderm from either cell lines or freshly isolated from differentiating embryonal carcinoma cell cultures had a ratio of H1A/H1B of less than 0.9. Partial peptide mapping of gel purified H1A and H1B suggest the two proteins differ in primary structure. The nucleosome repeat length of the embryonal carcinoma cell lines was 196 bp of DNA. Primary extra-embryonic endoderm was found to have a value of 205 bp, but the long-term extra-embryonic endodermal cell lines had an average nucleosome repeat length of 187 bp. Since both freshly isolated primary endoderm and the long-term endodermal cell lines express differentiated functions (basement membrane glycoproteins and plasminogen activator activity), there appears to be no simple correlation between the nucleosome repeat length and the expression of these differentiated functions.

Stimulation of the clonal growth and differentiation of feeder layer dependent mouse embryonal carcinoma cells by beta-mercaptoethanol

Embryonal carcinoma cells are the undetermined stem cells of teratocarcinomas. Supplementation of culture medium with beta-mercaptoethanol permits the feeder layer independent clonal growth and differentiation of normally feeder layer dependent embryonal carcinoma cell lines. Differentiated cells within the clones appeared less than 6 days after plating and were distinguished from embryonal carcinoma cells by their morphology, lack of histochemically detectable alkaline phosphatase activity, and secretion of plasminogen activator. Over 70% of the colonies secreted plasminogen activator after 6 days. In comparison, a different embryonal carcinoma cell line which has lost the potential for substantial differentiation, either in vitro or in vivo forms very few clones (less than 1%) which secrete plasminogen activator. Embryonal carcinoma cells derived from the rare clones which secrete plasminogen activator have the same frequency of production of plasminogen activator secreting colonies as the parental cell line.