AIM: Lysyl oxidase-like 2 (LOXL2) has emerged as a biomarker for oral squamous cell carcinoma (OSCC). Its overexpression is associated with poor prognosis in patients, however, the reason behind it is not well understood. The aim of this study is to determine the target for LOXL2 on human gingival fibroblasts (HGF) treated with cancer-conditioned media. MATERIAL AND METHODS: 30 large (150 x 20mm) plates of human gingival fibroblast cells (HGF) were cultured. For serum depletion, HGF or cancer cells were washed two times with PBS and treated with serum-free DMEM for 24 h. Condition media (CM) was produced by growing cancer cells till they were confluent. Then, 10 plates of HSC3 cells were washed twice with PBS, and were treated with serum-free DMEM for 24 h and the conditioned media was collected. Three (A – CMI, B - CM, C- SF) groups of 10 plates each respectively were made. After incubation for 6 hours, HGFs were washed with ice cold PBS and scraped in about and equal volume of glass beads were added and were subjected to dialysis. Proteins from human fibroblasts were extracted and bioyinylated with biotin hydrazide followed by sodium cyanoborohydride reduction. For affinity binding to Neutravidin, 200 microliters of suspended Neutravidin-agarose was then added to a Neutravidin column at room temperature and equilibrated with 1 ml binding buffer. . The bound proteins were collected and subjected to SDS Page western blot and probed for PDGF Beta, Integrin Alpha V and Beta Actin. RESULTS: PDGFR beta in fibroblasts displayed marked reduction in oxidation when PSX-S1C inhibitor of LOXL2 was added to cancer cell condition media. CONCLUSION: The reduction of affinity of PDGF-BB for PDGFR in both the samples indicates the priming role of LOXL2 on PDGFR, which was evident when the inhibitor was added to the samples.

No description available.

BACKGROUND: In their lifetime, 42% of men and 38% of women will be diagnosed with cancer. One of the most prominent cancers in women is breast cancer, which represents 14.8% of newly diagnosed cancers. Research has demonstrated the importance of the lysyl oxidase (LOX) gene, more specifically the lysyl oxidase propeptide (LOX-PP), in the attenuation of breast cancer and in mouse xenograft models, making it an important and ongoing area of investigation. In recent, unpublished experiments, mice with a variant of LOX-PP were treated with 7,12-Dimethylbenz[a]anthracene (DMBA) to induce breast cancer. However, some of the treated mice developed poor body conditions without any signs of having developed breast cancer. Published studies have demonstrated that, following treatment with DMBA, some mice generate leukemia or other lymphoproliferative diseases. Research has shown that identification of these diseases is possible via histological analyses or immunohistochemistry. Objective: To determine the cause of poor body conditions in mice treated with DMBA that did not develop mammary tumors by histological analyses and immunohistochemistry. Additionally, to determine the difference between a variant of LOX-PP (LOX-PPv) knock-in (Ki) and wild type (WT) mice in the generation of poor body conditions or leukemia/lymphoproliferative disease. METHODS: A total of 48 mice, 24 LOX-PPv Ki and 24 WT, were treated with DMBA and observed for mammary tumor formation. Body conditions of the mice were observed and noted, and liver samples from these mice were obtained and analyzed via histological and immunohistochemistry interventions. In Hematoxylin & Eosin (H&E) assessments of mice livers, mice were classified as normal or as having possible lymphocyte infiltration, mild lymphocyte infiltration, or massive lymphocyte infiltration. Staining with the Ki-67 antibody in immunohistochemistry allowed for classification of mouse livers as normal or as having slightly positive or massively positive expression of the Ki-67 antigen. The degree to which each liver sample was positive for both readings was compared and further analyzed. RESULTS: A total of 9 mice (30.4% of Ki mice and 8.7% of WT mice) displayed poor body conditions following DMBA treatment. Of the 9 (7 Ki and 2 WT) mice having poor body condition, 2 Ki mice suffered from severe dermatitis. For the 7 remaining mice, no cause for such poor body conditions was obvious. 6 of these mice (85.7%) were diagnosed with leukemia. In all other DMBA-treated mice, 52.6% of Ki and 23.8% of WT displayed some degree of abnormal lymphocyte infiltration in the liver, while a total of 39.1% of the K¬I mice and 69.6% of the WT mice had normal liver histologies. 60.9% of Ki and 45.5% of WT mice displayed some degree of positivity for expression of Ki-67. CONCLUSIONS: Mice not diagnosed with breast cancer but that were suffering from poor body conditions likely had developed leukemia or some other lymphoproliferative disease. In the mice not definitively diagnosed with leukemia by a pathologist, H&E analyses and immunohistochemistry of the livers showed lymphocyte infiltration and cellular proliferation possibly indicative of leukemia., but further tests are necessary to confirm this. Furthermore, LOX-PPv Ki mice appeared to have a greater likelihood of generating poor body conditions or some observable sign of abnormal lymphocyte infiltration in the liver versus their WT counterparts when treated with DMBA. / 2018-06-16T00:00:00Z

京都大学 / 0048 / 新制・課程博士 / 博士(医学) / 甲第18125号 / 医博第3845号 / 新制||医||1001(附属図書館) / 30983 / 京都大学大学院医学研究科医学専攻 / (主査)教授 横出 正之, 教授 柳田 素子, 教授 岩井 一宏 / 学位規則第4条第1項該当 / Doctor of Medical Science / Kyoto University / DFAM

Neotyphodium species, endophytic fungi associated with cool-season grasses, enhance host fitness and stress tolerance, but also produce biologically active alkaloids including ergot alkaloids associated with fescue toxicosis in grazing animals. One approach to reduce fescue toxicosis is to manipulate genes in the ergot alkaloid pathway. The gene, dmaW, encoding the first pathway-specific step in ergot alkaloid biosynthesis, was cloned previously from Claviceps spp. and its function was demonstrated by expression in yeast. Putative homologs have been cloned from Neotyphodium coenophialum (from tall fescue) and Neotyphodium sp. Lp1 (from perennial ryegrass). In order to confirm the function of dmaW in ergot alkaloid production, dmaW in Neotyphodium sp. isolate Lp1 was knocked out by gene replacement. The dmaW knockout mutant produced no detectable ergovaline or simpler ergot alkaloids. Complementation with Claviceps fusiformis dmaW restored ergovaline production. These results confirmed that the cloned endophyte gene was dmaW, and represented the first genetic experiments to show the requirement of dmaW for ergot alkaloid biosynthesis. Neotyphodium coenophialum, endophyte of the grass tall fescue (Lolium arundinaceum) has two homologs of dmaW. Considering the possible field applications in future, the Cre/lox site-specific recombination system was chosen because of the potential to sequentially knock out both homologs and obtain marker-free dmaW mutants of N. coenophialum. One homolog, dmaW-2, was disrupted by marker exchange, and the marker was eliminated by Cre, thus demonstrating the application of Cre/lox system in N. coenophialum to eliminate a marker gene. The dmaW-2 knockout did not eliminate ergovaline production, indicating that the dmaW-1 was probably also active in N. coenophialum. A putative ergot alkaloid biosynthesis gene cluster was identified in Claviceps purpurea and C. fusiformis. C. purpurea and C. fusiformis produce different subsets of ergot alkaloids. Identification of nine common genes between them suggests the possible role of these genes in the early part of the ergot alkaloid biosynthetic pathway.

Glutamic Acid Decarboxylase (GAD) is a rate-limiting enzyme responsible for synthesis of the inhibitory neurotransmitter GABA. Dopaminergic denervation in rodents by unilateral injections of 6-OHDA or MPTP causes an increase in Gad67 mRNA in the striatum, which is further exacerbated by administration of L-Dopa (Horvath et al., 2011; Katz et al., 2005 Bacci et al., 2002). Denervation of nigrostriatal neurons is the key pathological hallmark of Parkinson's disease, which results in hypokinetic movement and rigidity. Medium spiny projection neurons of the striatum comprise 95% of the neuronal population and utilize Gad67 (encoded by the Gad1 gene) for the synthesis of basal levels of GABA. The contribution of Gad67 to GABA signaling in medium spiny projection neurons in the striatum has not been thoroughly understood in normal or Parkinsonian states. Mice with a deletion in Gad67 in Gpr88 expressing neurons were generated by crossing mice with a floxed exon 2 of Gad1 with mice expressing Cre recombinase under the control of the Gpr88 promoter. The aim of this study was first, to characterize mice with a deletion in striatal Gad67 by immunohistochmical, electriophysiological and behavioral examination to determine whether Gad67 expression contributes to sensorimotor and learning tasks. And next, to investigate whether a downregulation in striatal Gad67 would decrease dyskinesia and affect the impaired motor symptoms following dopaminergic denervation with a unilateral 6-OHDA lesion and subsequent treatment with L-Dopa. In this study, neuronal Gpr88 expression was indicated by GFP reporter expression, which resulted from Cre-mediated excision of exon 2 of the Gad1 gene. Gpr88 expression was confirmed in the striatum, olfactory tubercle, cortex and brain stem. Furthermore, Gpr88 was confined to striatonigral and striatopallidal MSNs in the striatum. Additionally, Cre-mediated GFP reporter expression indicated that Gpr88 expression occurs throughout various brain regions, including the motor and visual areas of the cortex, amygdala, hippocampus and cerebellum during development. The developmental expression of Gpr88 seems to be a highly regulated process that occurs throughout the brain. In the conditional knockout mouse, deleting striatal Gad67 resulted in an upregualtion of Gad67 in the globus pallidus and downregulation in the substantia nigra. The changes in Gad67 expression indicate the effects of inactivating GABAergic signaling in striatonigral and striatopallidal MSNs in the direct and indirect pathways. Mice with a deletion in striatal Gad67 demonstrated compromised performance in spatial learning in the Morris water maze, suggesting that GABAergic striatal signaling in the direct and indirect pathways accounts for cue-based learning and spatial memory. However, inactivation of GABAergic signaling in striatonigral and striatopallidal MSNs does not account for motor deficits such as bradykinesia, akinesia or hypokinesia in intact mice; instead it perpetuates hyperkinetic motor activity. In the second experiment of this study, dopaminergic denervation by a unilateral 6-OHDA lesion induced bradykinesia and hypokinetic motor behavior, as demonstrated by impaired performance in the rota-rod and pole test. Additionally, L-Dopa administration to 6-OHDA lesioned mice evoked abnormal involuntary movements (AIMs) to the same degree in all dyskinetic mice. A deletion in striatal Gad67 did not decrease symptoms of dyskinesia, nor cause a lessening of motor impairment caused by dopaminergic denervation. Complete inactivation of the indirect pathway is believed to limit the inhibition of unwanted actions and may perpetuate dyskinesia, even when striatonigral MSNs of the direct pathway are inactive.

Abstract The complete exon-intron organization of the gene coding for the mouse α1(XIII) collagen chain, Col13a1, was characterized from genomic clones and multiple transcription initiation points were determined. Detailed comparison of the human and mouse genes showed that the exon-intron structures are completely conserved between the species, and both genes have their 5' untranslated region preceded by a highly conserved putative promoter region. The chromosomal location of the mouse gene was determined to be at chromosome 10, band B4, between markers D10Mit5 – (2.3 ± 1.6 cM) – Col13a1 – (3.4 ± 1.9 cM) – D10Mit15. The location of the genes for both the catalytically important α-subunit of prolyl 4-hydroxylase (P4HA) and human type XIII collagen (COL13A1) were previously mapped to 10q21.3-23.1. Prolyl-4-hydroxylase catalyzes the formation of 4-hydroxyproline in collagens by the hydroxylation of peptide-bound proline and plays a crucial role in the synthesis of these proteins. The order and transcriptional orientation of the COL13A1 and P4HA was determined. These two genes were found to lie at tail to tail orientation on chromosome 10 and the distance between these genes was determined to be about 550 kbp. To study the function of type XIII collagen we used gene targeting in ES cells to generate a mouse line that carries a mutated type XIII collagen gene. Instead of normal protein, mutant mice express type XIII collagen with an altered amino-terminus in which the cytosolic and the transmembrane domains have been replaced with an unrelated sequence. The homozygous mice are fertile and viable but they show alterations in skeletal muscles, mainly wavy sarcolemma and increased variation in muscle fiber diameter. Ultrastructural studies revealed additional abnormalities such as streaming of z-disks, accumulation and enlargement of mitochondria, and disorganized myofilaments. The basement membranes of the muscle cells showed areas of detachment from the plasma membrane and the fibrillar matrix of the cells was less compact than in control animals. Fibroblasts cultured from mutant mice had normal levels of type XIII collagen but exhibited decreased adhesion to substratum which might be explained by a reduced anchoring strength of the altered protein.

Colorectal cancer is the second leading cause of cancer-related deaths in the United States and the third most common cancer in men and women. Vitamin E is a lipid soluble antioxidant that exists as eight structurally different isoforms of tocopherols and tocotrienols. Recent experimental, and molecular studies suggest that γ-tocotrienol (GT3) may be a more potent cancer-preventive form of vitamin E. 15-lipoxygenase-1 (15-LOX-1) and its product 13-S-hydroxyoctadecadienoic acid (13-S-HODE) are decreased in colon cancer cells. 15 LOX-1 is considered a tumor suppressor gene in colon carcinogenesis. Non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drug (NSAID)-induced 15-LOX-1 expression is critical to aspirin and NSAID-induced apoptosis in colorectal cancer cells. HCT-116 is a microsatellite-instability (MSI) colon cancer cell line. MSI is a marker of chemo-resistance but is associated with improved survival as compared to microsatellite-stable (MSS) colon cancers. The effects of GT3 on cytotoxicity and 15 LOX-1 expression was studied on the human colon cancer cell line HCT-116. HCT-116 colon cancer cell lines were cultured in DMEM media and dosed with increasing concentrations of GT3 (20µM-50µM). Cytotoxicity of the drugs was studied using Cell Titer Glo and MTS assays 24 hours after dosing. Cells were then plated in 6-well plates and grown for 24 hours. Cells were then dosed with 2 mL of GT3 at 20 uM at the respective time periods (2h, 4h, 6h, 12h, 16h, 24h) and lysates were harvested. Gel electrophoresis was run according to BCA protein assay from the time-dependent lysates and blots were tagged with a rabbit 15-lox antibody. Ongoing experiments include RNA PCR. RNA is being isolated at 2, 4, 6 and 12 hours. The RNA as reversed transcribed using a 15 lox 1 primer and that cDNA is being quantified using Quantitative PCR. GT3 induced cytotoxicity in MTS assay and Cell Titer Glo assay when added to HCT-116 cell line. 15 LOX 1 protein expression was found to be up-regulated in the colon cancer cell line HCT-116 when GT3 was added at 12h, 16h and 24h with the maximum expression at 16 hours. Chemotherapeutic drugs can have significant side effects. Understanding the role of GT3 on colon cancer cell lines could lead to the development of novel drugs to supplement current chemotherapy regimens and allow for lower doses of chemotherapeutic agents. Modulation of 15-LOX-1 suggests that GT3 may induce apoptosis through induction of the lipoxygenase pathway. Further experiments are under way to study the mechanism of action of GT3 on the 15 LOX-1 pathway. Since HCT-116 is a MSI- colon cancer cell line, effects of GT3 on MSS- colon cancer cell lines will also be studied.

No description available.

This work presents a preliminary design of a liquid rocket engine test platform to support research into liquid propulsion systems and rocket engine components, including injectors, ignition systems, combustion chambers and engine cooling systems. The liquid propellants, specifically liquid oxygen and ethanol, are pressure-fed using gaseous nitrogen. The test platform supports engine thrust values up to 1 kN, as well as varying oxidizer/fuel ratios up to 4.0 and varying ethanol concentrations between 70 and 100%. The test platform will integrate with a mobile control centre, which was designed concurrently, and provides remote control of the test procedures and data acquisition of all relevant pressure, temperature, mass flow and thrust data. The propellant feed assembly can support both cold and hot fire testing campaigns and is equipped with numerous safety features including inert gas purge lines, emergency drain lines and emergency shut-down and de-pressurization procedures.