Composition and Regiodistribution of Fatty Acids in Triacylglycerols and Phospholipids from Red and Black Rices

Regiospecific profiles of fatty acids (FA) of triacylglycerols (TAG) and phospholipids (PL) isolated from red and black rices were investigated. The lipids extracted from red and black rices were separated by thin‐layer chromatography (TLC) into eight subfractions, respectively. With a few exceptions, the major lipid components were TAG (76.4–80.5%), free FA (7.2–9.8%), and phospholipids (3.5–3.6%), while hydrocarbons, steryl esters, diacylglycerols (1,3‐DAG and 1,2‐DAG), and monoacylglycerols were present in minor proportions (0.1–4.1%). The PL components isolated from the two cultivars were phosphatidyl choline (52.3–53.7%), phosphatidyl ethanolamine (22.3–23.1%), phosphatidyl inositol (20.6–21.3%), and others (<3.4%). No significant differences (P < 0.05) in FA distribution were found when these cultivars were compared. The principal characteristics of the FA distribution in the TAG and PL were evident in the rices between the two cultivars: unsaturated FA were predominantly located at the sn‐2 position (77.3–96.8%), while saturated FA primary occupied the sn‐1 or the sn‐3 position (35.0–78.7%) in these lipids. The results of this study could provide useful information to both consumers and producers during manufacture of traditional rice foods in Japan.     

Activation of an O-ethyl S-n-propyl phosphorothiolate,TIA-230, in the central nerve of Spodoptera larvae

TIA-230, O-[1-(4-chlorophenyl)-4-pyrazolyl] O-ethyl S-propyl phosphorothiolate, showed strong insecticidal activity against Spodoptera larvae, in spite of its weak in vitro anti-AChE activity. Head AChE of Spodoptera was, however, inhibited with the progress of TIA-230 intoxication. When the isolated central nerve cord was incubated with TIA-230, AChE in the tissue was strongly inhibited even by concentration (10^?5M) lower than in vitro I₅₀ against AChE (10^?4M). The frequency of spontaneous firing of the nerve cord was increased by treatment of TIA-230 at low concentrations (10^?6–10^?5M) after a latent time of several minutes. The firing was increased by fenitroxon, but without the latent time. The length of the latent time agreed well with the time necessary for rising the inhibition of nerve cord AChE by TIA-230. AChE inhibition of TIA-230 in the nerve cord was reduced by the treatment of piperonyl butoxide, an inhibitor of mixed-function oxidases. From these results, TIA-230 was regarded as being activated oxidatively in the nerve cord to inhibit AChE. Profenofos was also activated in the nerve cord. It was concluded, therefore, that O-ethyl S-n-propyl phosphorothiolate insecticides were activated in the central nerve of the insect.     

Distribution of protoporphyrin in female broiler chickens affected with protoporphyria

One hundred thirty-seven broiler chickens at a poultry meat processing plant had dark green to black livers. Thirty-one chickens of these were collected at random and examined pathologically and biochemically. All of thirty-one chickens were female. The chickens showed mild retarded growth and a remarkable atrophy of the gallbladders. Microscopically, the livers showed dark brown pigments in the Kupffer cells, hepatocytes, and portal triads. These pigments showed birefringence with a Maltese-cross pattern under polarized light. Hyperplasia of the cholangioles, fibrosis, and infiltration of inflammatory cells were present in the portal triads. All the examined samples showed the same dark brown pigments in alveolar walls of the lungs. A high concentration of protoporphyrin was detected in affected livers, marrow, and feces (489, 104, and 116 microg/g wet wt., respectively) by biochemical assay.     

Pigments in green tea leaves (Camellia sinensis) suppress transformation of the aryl hydrocarbon receptor induced by dioxin

Environmental contaminants such as dioxins enter the body mainly through diet and cause various toxicities through transformation of the aryl hydrocarbon receptor (AhR). We previously reported that certain natural flavonoids at the dietary level suppress the AhR transformation induced by 2,3,7,8-tetrachlorodibenzo-p-dioxin (TCDD). In this study, we identified lutein and chlorophyll a and b from green tea leaves as the novel antagonists for AhR. These active compounds suppressed AhR transformation dose-dependently with the 50% inhibitory concentration (IC(50)) values against 0.1 nM TCDD-induced AhR transformation at 3.2, 5.0, and 5.9 microM, respectively. (-)-Epigallocatechin gallate, which is the most abundant flavonoid in green tea leaves, also showed stronger suppressive effects than did other major tea components, with the IC(50) value of 1.7 microM. Thus, these pigments of green tea leaves have the potential to protect from dioxin toxicity through the suppression of AhR transformation.     

Metabolism of fenitrothion and conjugation of 3-methyl-4-nitrophenol in tomato plant (Lycopersicon esculentum)

The metabolism of (14)C-labeled fenitrothion (Sumithion, [O,O-dimethyl-O-(3-methyl-4-nitrophenyl)phosphorothioate]) in tomato plant (Lycopersicon esculentum Mill., cv. Ponderosa) grown in the greenhouse equipped with quartz glass was conducted to investigate the effect of sunlight on the behavior of fenitrothion and to elucidate the detailed structure of conjugated metabolites. Tomato plants (BBCH 85) were topically treated with (14)C-labeled fenitrothion twice with a 2 week interval between applications. At 15 days after the second application, more than half of the recovered (14)C was detected as unaltered fenitrothion, glucose, and cellobiose esters of 3-methyl-4-nitrophenol (NMC) in extracts from tomato fruit. The photoinduced formation of the S-methyl isomer of fenitrothion via thiono-thiolo rearrangement was detected only in the surface rinse but at trace amounts. In the whole tomato fruit, fenitrothion, the S isomer, NMC-beta-glucoside, and NMC cellobioside were detected at 34.16, 1.28, 7.47, and 15.07% of the recovered (14)C, respectively. Trace amounts of the oxon analogue of fenitrothion were detected only on tomato leaves. The chemical structure of the cellobiose conjugate of NMC, 1-O-beta-d-glucopyranosyl-(1-->4)-beta-d-glucopyranosyl-3-methyl-4-nitrophenol, was determined by spectroscopic analyses (liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry, NMR), using the metabolite obtained from leaves and stems of tomato plant hydroponically grown with (14)C-labeled NMC.     

Establishment of a patient-derived xenograft mouse model of pleomorphic leiomyosarcoma

Soft tissue sarcomas are difficult to treat using chemotherapy owing to a current deficiency in candidate drugs for specific targets. Screening candidate compounds and analyzing therapeutic targets in sarcomas is insufficient, given the lack of an appropriate human sarcoma animal model to accurately evaluate their efficacy, as well as the lack of an adequate technical protocol for efficient transplantation and engraftment of sarcoma specimens in patient-derived xenograft (PDX) models. Accordingly, in this study, we sought to identify the optimal type of sarcoma and develop a protocol for generating a PDX model. We characterized a PDX mouse model using histopathological and immunohistochemical analyses to determine whether it would show pathological characteristics similar to those of human sarcomas. We achieved engraftment of one of the 10 transplanted sarcoma specimens, the xenografted tumor of which exhibited massive proliferation. Histologically, the engrafted sarcoma foci resembled a primary tumor of pleomorphic leiomyosarcoma and maintained their histological structure in all passages. Moreover, immunohistochemical analysis revealed the expression of specific markers of differentiation to smooth muscle, which is consistent with the features of leiomyosarcoma. We thus demonstrated that our pleomorphic leiomyosarcoma PDX mouse model mimics at least one aspect of human sarcomas, and we believe that this model will facilitate the development of novel therapies for sarcomas.     

Novel loss-of-function putative aminotransferase alleles cause biosynthesis of capsinoids, nonpungent capsaicinoid analogues, in mildly pungent chili peppers (Capsicum chinense)

Capsinoids are a group of nonpungent capsaicinoid analogues produced in Capsicum fruits. They have similar bioactivities to capsaicinoids such as suppression of fat accumulation and antioxidant activity. They are more palatable ingredients in dietary supplements than capsaicinoids because of their low pungency. Previous studies on nonpungent Capsicum annuum cultivars showed that capsinoid biosynthesis is caused by loss-of-function putative aminotransferase (p-amt) alleles. This study showed that three mildly pungent cultivars of Capsicum chinense (Zavory Hot, Aji Dulce strain 2, and Belize Sweet) contain high levels of capsinoid. It was shown that these cultivars have novel p-amt alleles, which contain mutations that differ from those of C. annuum. Sequence analysis of p-amt in Belize Sweet revealed that a 5 bp insertion (TGGGC) results in a frameshift mutation. A transposable element (Tcc) was found in the p-amt of Zavory Hot and Aji Dulce strain 2. Tcc has features similar to those of the hAT transposon family. This was inserted in the fifth intron of Zavory Hot and in third intron of Aji Dulce strain 2. The p-amt alleles harboring Tcc cannot produce an active p-AMT. These mildly pungent cultivars will provide a new natural source of capsinoids.     

鹿类体外受精技术研究现状

鹿类体外受精技术研究方面已有新西兰和法国的技术体系,但培养系统尚未建立,还处在起始阶段。作者阐述了鹿卵巢的采集、运输和卵母细胞的采集;卵母细胞的体外成熟培养;精子的体外获能和体外受精及受精卵的体外培养等方面研究报道的一些试验技术和方法。     

<Emphasis Type="Italic">Verticillium tricorpus</Emphasis> causing lettuce wilt in Japan differs genetically from California lettuce isolates

In January 2002, Verticillium wilt of lettuce (Lactuca sativa L.) caused by Verticillium tricorpus occurred in upland paddy fields in Hyogo Prefecture for the first time in Japan. This fungal species was first isolated from lettuce in California, USA. In the present study, the genetic relationships between the American and Japanese isolates of V. tricorpus from lettuce were analyzed to determine whether the pathogen could have migrated to Japan from the USA, the major lettuce-seed supplier for Japan. Nucleotide sequences of the rDNA internal transcribed spacer regions, as well as the genes coding for translation elongation factor 1-alpha and RNA polymerase II were compared among American and Japanese V. tricorpus isolates from lettuce. The Japanese isolates of V. tricorpus were distinct from the American. Random amplified polymorphic DNA analyses also supported this conclusion. These results demonstrated that Verticillium wilt on lettuce caused by V. tricorpus in Japan was not related to the isolates causing the disease in California.