Transactivational property of chemicals via medaka glucocorticoid receptor 1b using a stable reporter gene assay

The transactivational property of natural and synthetic chemicals via medaka GR1b was investigated after development of a stable cell line for the reporter gene assay. In our study, cortisol was the most potent agonist among the natural corticoids assayed for potency [EC₅₀ (concentration of agonist provoking a response halfway between the baseline and maximum response) 68 nM] and efficacy. Three artificial corticosteroids, namely, dexamethasone [EC₅₀ 16 nM, relative agonistic activity to cortisol (RAA) 144 %], prednisolone (EC₅₀ 81 nM, RAA 116 %) and clobetasol propionate (EC₅₀ 0.10 nM, RAA 220 %), showed strong agonistic activity and were more potent than the original corticoid, F. All synthetic corticoids used in our study were full agonists. Interestingly, melengestrol acetate, a synthetic progestogen, induced luciferase activity in a dose-dependent manner. Based on its EC₅₀ value and RAA of 29 nM and 57 %, respectively, this molecule was assessed as a partial agonist. None of the other steroids and chemicals assayed in our study induced an agonistic response. In conclusion, we successfully developed a stable reporter gene assay that can be used to assess the transactivational property of glucocorticoid-like chemicals toward medaka GR1b.     

Safety of alternate-day treatment with TS-1TM (tegafur/gimeracil/oteracil) in tumor-bearing dogs: a pilot study

Tegafur is a prodrug of fluoropyrimidine 5-fluorouracil (5-FU), while TS-1^TM is an oral fixed-dose combination of three active drugs, tegafur, gimeracil, and oteracil. This pilot study evaluated the safety of tegafur/gimeracil/oteracil in the treatment of cancers in dogs. Tegafur/gimeracil/oteracil was administered orally at a mean dose of 1.1 mg/kg twice daily on alternate days, Monday-Wednesday-Friday, every week to 11 dogs with tumors. Partial response and stable disease were observed in one dog each, whereas six exhibited progressive disease. Three dogs were not assessed. Adverse events, the most serious being grade 2, were noted in seven dogs. Adverse events were acceptable, and the drug was effective in some dogs. Therefore, tegafur/gimeracil/oteracil may be useful for treating malignant solid tumors in canines.     

Thermogravimetric evaluation of chitin degradation in soil: implication for the enhancement of ammonification of native organic nitrogen by chitin addition

Degradation of chitin, which is an aminopolysaccharide used as a soil amendment, has been often monitored in soil via its degradation products such as carbon dioxide and ammonium. We report here the applicability of thermogravimetry to measure the amount of chitin added to soil. The maximum pyrolysis rate of the upland surface soil of Brown Forest soil supplemented with chitin was strongly correlated with added chitin content (r = 0.999) when the content exceeded 6.0 g kg^?1. The maximum pyrolysis rates of chitin-added soil (around 385°C) was distinctive from those of soil supplemented with cellulose, chitosan, N-acetylglucosamine, and N,N’-diacetylchitobiose (around 340°C, 300°C, 200°C, and 240°C, respectively), indicating the specific detection of chitin. Soil incubation study demonstrated that 60 g kg^?1 chitin added to the soil declined exponentially (r = 0.993) within days and could not be detected at 90 days after the addition of chitin. Total carbon (C) content also decreased within days whereas total nitrogen (N) remained almost constant over the 90 days. The amount of ammonium-N increased in the initial 30 days after the addition of chitin and reached about 3.6 g kg^?1, which corresponded to the amount of N in the added chitin (4.1 g kg^?1) while the amount of nitrite-N and nitrate-N were below 2.0 and 15 mg kg^?1, respectively. Comparison of the measured ammonium-N and total-C contents with those calculated from the measured chitin-content implied that addition of chitin enhanced degradation of native organic compounds in soil.     

Expression levels of taste‐related genes in palate and tongue tip,and involvement of transient receptor potential subfamily M member 5 (TRPM5) in taste sense in chickens

The elucidation of the mechanisms underlying the taste sense of chickens will contribute to improvements in poultry feeding, because the molecular mechanism of chickens’ taste sense defines the feeding behavior of chickens. Here we focused on the gene expressions in two different oral tissues of chickens – the palate, which contains many taste buds, and the tongue tip, which contains few taste buds. Using the quantitative real‐time polymerase chain reaction method, we found that the molecular markers for taste buds of chickens, that is α‐gustducin and vimentin, were expressed significantly highly in the palate compared to the tongue tip. Our analyses also revealed that transient receptor potential subfamily M member 5 (TRPM5), a cation channel involved in taste transduction in mammals, was also highly expressed in the palate compared to the tongue tip. Our findings demonstrated that the expression patterns of these genes were significantly correlated. We showed that the aversion to bitter solution was alleviated by a TRPM5 inhibitor in behavior of chickens. Taken together, our findings enabled us to develop a simple method for screening taste‐related genes in chickens. The use of this method demonstrated that TRPM5 was involved in chickens’ taste transduction, and that a TRPM5 inhibitor can alleviate chickens’ bitter taste perception of feed ingredients.     

东莞石马河沿岸土壤重金属污染及生态毒性研究

为研究河水-地下水交互作用对河流沿岸土壤环境质量的影响,以东莞石马河沿岸土壤为研究对象,采集沿岸距离河道不等的6个土壤剖面共31个土样,测定土壤重金属(As、Cd、Cr、Cu、Fe、Mn、Ni、Pb和Zn)含量和土壤水提取液对发光菌的抑制率。结果表明,Cd、Cu、Ni和Zn的含量分别为2.80~11.2mg kg-1、9.70~298mg kg-1、11.4~69.7mg kg-1和40.4~465mg kg-1;Cd的地累积系数为6.06,达到极度污染水平;土壤重金属污染的地累积系数排序为CdZnCuNiCrMnAsPbFe;重金属含量差异与土壤有机质(SOM)含量和土壤微粒组分(63μm)有关,Cr、Cu、Ni、Zn、Mn和Cr、Ni与SOM含量和微粒组分分别呈显著正相关(p0.05或p0.01);土壤剖面毒性单位(∑TU)评价结果为剖面S3S2SbS1S4Sa,其中剖面S3的值最大,为5.51,属于中毒;土壤水提取液对发光菌的抑制率为2.45%~16.5%,为无毒或低毒。     

First isolation of rose yellow mosaic virus in Japan

Rose yellow mosaic virus, which belongs to the Roymovirus genus in the Potyviridae family, was isolated here in Japan from a rose cultivar, Irish Mist. The full-length genomic sequence was similar to a strain in Minnesota, United States, which was the first ever isolated, with 85% nucleotide and 94% amino acid sequence similarities. Unlike the Minnesota strain, which lacks 220 nt including the 6K1 protein region, the Japanese isolate contains this coding region, which is commonly found in those of the Potyviridae.

     

Pneumocystis Pneumonia in a Thoroughbred Racehorse

Pneumocystis pneumonia is an opportunistic respiratory infection that occurs in immunocompromised animals. In horses, pneumocystic pneumonia is observed mostly in foals and often progresses rapidly. Here, we report pneumocystic pneumonia in a Thoroughbred racehorse. A 3-year-old Thoroughbred racehorse colt had marked respiratory symptoms for 3 weeks and was unresponsive to antibiotic treatment. At necropsy, firm, tan, patchy lesions were scattered diffusely in the lungs. Microscopically, alveolar septa thickened by proliferation of collagen fibers and infiltration of inflammatory cells were observed. In the alveolar spaces, many brown-black yeast-like organisms similar to cystic forms of Pneumocystis carinii were recognized by staining with Gomori's methenamine silver. Bronchoalveolar lavage fluid (BALF) obtained before necropsy included macrophages engulfing the fungus bodies. Amplified products were obtained from BALF and lung tissue samples by Pneumocystis-specific nested PCR. Phylogenetic analysis based on the 18S rRNA gene sequence revealed that the P. carinii organism from BALF was related to the Pneumocystis spp. detected in other animals and was especially close to P. carinii derived from ferrets. This is a rare case of pneumocystic pneumonia in a colt with chronic pulmonary lesions.