Regulation of mammalian tooth cusp patterning by ectodin     

Kassai Y  Munne P  Hotta Y  Penttilä E  Kavanagh K  Ohbayashi N  Takada S  Thesleff I  Jernvall J  Itoh N 《Science (New York, N.Y.)》2005,309(5743):2067-2070

Mammalian tooth crowns have precise functional requirements but cannot be substantially remodeled after eruption. In developing teeth, epithelial signaling centers, the enamel knots, form at future cusp positions and are the first signs of cusp patterns that distinguish species. We report that ectodin, a secreted bone morphogenetic protein (BMP) inhibitor, is expressed as a "negative" image of mouse enamel knots. Furthermore, we show that ectodin-deficient mice have enlarged enamel knots, highly altered cusp patterns, and extra teeth. Unlike in normal teeth, excess BMP accelerates patterning in ectodin-deficient teeth. We propose that ectodin is critical for robust spatial delineation of enamel knots and cusps.  相似文献   

Development of Expressed Sequence Tag (EST)-based Cleaved Amplified Polymorphic Sequence (CAPS) markers of tea plant and their application to cultivar identification     

Ujihara T  Taniguchi F  Tanaka J  Hayashi N 《Journal of agricultural and food chemistry》2011,59(5):1557-1564

To develop cleaved amplified polymorphic sequence (CAPS) markers for cultivar identification of the tea leaf, 5 primer pairs designed on the basis of genes that encode proteins related to nitrogen assimilation and 26 primer pairs based on expressed sequence tag (EST) sequences of the root of tea plant were screened. From combinations of primer pair and restriction enzyme that showed polymorphism among tea plants, 16 markers were selected and applied to DNA fingerprinting of Japanese tea cultivars. Sixty-three cultivars, except for a bud sport (Kiraka) and its original cultivar (Yabukita) and a pair that was the progeny of the same crossing parent (Harumoegi and Sakimidori), were distinguished from one another. By combining the 16 markers with previously developed CAPS markers and observing the physical appearance, 67 cultivars were distinguishable. The cultivars involve approximately 95% of total tea cultivating area in Japan; therefore, about 95% of tea leaves produced in Japan can be authenticated by labeling their cultivars.  相似文献   

Three new algorithms to calculate the irreplaceability index for presence/absence data     

Nobuyuki Tsuji  Yoshitaka Tsubaki 《Biological conservation》2004,119(4):487-494

The irreplaceability index is used for determining the priority of sites for conservation. We propose three new and simple algorithms for calculating it from presence/absence data without any statistical assumptions when the representative combination size is the minimum. The rare species algorithm gives accurate results but takes the longest calculation time. The species richness algorithm gives approximated results and takes the shortest calculation time. The combined algorithm is intermediate in accuracy and calculation time. We applied the combined algorithm to real data of butterflies in the Kanto district, central Japan, and derived irreplaceability values.  相似文献   

Effects of protein engineering of canola procruciferin on its physicochemical and functional properties     

Tandang MR  Adachi M  Inui N  Maruyama N  Utsumi S 《Journal of agricultural and food chemistry》2004,52(22):6810-6817

The primary structure of Brassica napus procruciferin 2/3a was engineered to elucidate structure-function relationships and to improve the functionality of cruciferin. The following mutants were constructed: (1) C287T, (2) DeltaII, variable region II was deleted; (3) C287T/DeltaII, mutation involving (1) and (2); (4) DeltaIV + A1aIV; and (5) DeltaIV + A3IV, variable region IV was replaced with variable region IV containing many charged residues from soybean glycinin A1aB1b and A3B4 subunits. Differential scanning calorimetry analysis revealed that the A1aIV region has a more favorable interaction with the procruciferin molecule than does A3IV as well as the original regions. On the basis of heat-induced precipitation analysis, it was concluded that replacement of the free cysteine residue with threonine (C287T) and insertion of charged regions (DeltaIV + A1aIV and DeltaIV + A3IV) could lead procruciferin to form soluble aggregates after heating. Low solubility was observed in mutants DeltaIV + A3IV, DeltaII, and C287T/DeltaII, especially between pH 4 and 6 at mu = 0.08, but not in DeltaIV + A1aIV, indicating that the number of acidic amino acid residues and the high number of glutamine residues are important factors for solubility at mu = 0.08. None of the mutants showed any improvements in emulsifying ability, indicating that destabilization and addition of the hydrophilic region are not effective for emulsification. The insertion of the A1aIV region in procruciferin made the molecule more susceptible to alpha-chymotrypsin.  相似文献   

Antioxidative, antimutagenic, and anticarcinogenic activities of rice bran extracts in chemical and cell assays   总被引：4，自引：0，他引：4  

Nam SH  Choi SP  Kang MY  Kozukue N  Friedman M 《Journal of agricultural and food chemistry》2005,53(3):816-822

Ethanol-water (70:30 v/v) extracts from rice brans removed from seeds of two blackish-purple pigmented (Sanhaehyanghyulla and Suwon 415) and one nonpigmented (Chuchung) brown rice cultivars were evaluated for antioxidative, anti-tumor-promoting, and anticarcinogenic activities in chemical assays and in mammalian cells (human leukemia HL-60, marmoset B lymphoblastoid B95-8, and Chinese hamster V79 lung cells) by the following tests: inhibition of xanthine oxidase activity; chelation of ferrous ions; reduction of potassium ferricyanide; scavenging of superoxide anions, hydroxyl radicals, and intracellular peroxides; inhibition of 4-nitroquinoline N-oxide-induced mutagenesis; and inhibition of phorbol ester-induced tumor promotion. The extracts from the pigmented rice seeds had generally higher activities in all tests than did the extract from the nonpigmented variety. The results suggest that brans from pigmented rice varieties may provide a source of new natural antioxidants and anticarcinogens and that such rice cultivars with high antioxidative potential also provide a genetic resource for the development of new, improved rice cultivars that may make it possible to enhance both the nutritional and medical value of rice-based diets.  相似文献   

Glycoalkaloids and metabolites inhibit the growth of human colon (HT29) and liver (HepG2) cancer cells   总被引：4，自引：0，他引：4  

Lee KR  Kozukue N  Han JS  Park JH  Chang EY  Baek EJ  Chang JS  Friedman M 《Journal of agricultural and food chemistry》2004,52(10):2832-2839

As part of an effort to improve plant-derived foods such as potatoes, eggplants, and tomatoes, the antiproliferative activities against human colon (HT29) and liver (HepG2) cancer cells of a series of structurally related individual compounds were examined using a microculture tetrazolium (MTT) assay. The objective was to assess the roles of the carbohydrate side chain and aglycon part of Solanum glycosides in influencing inhibitory activities of these compounds. Evaluations were carried out with four concentrations each (0.1, 1, 10, and 100 microg/mL) of the the potato trisaccharide glycoalkaloids alpha-chaconine and alpha-solanine; the disaccharides beta(1)-chaconine, beta(2)-chaconine, and beta(2)-solanine; the monosaccharide gamma-chaconine and their common aglycon solanidine; the tetrasaccharide potato glycoalkaloid dehydrocommersonine; the potato aglycon demissidine; the tetrasaccharide tomato glycoalkaloid alpha-tomatine, the trisaccharide beta(1)-tomatine, the disaccharide gamma-tomatine, the monosaccharide delta-tomatine, and their common aglycon tomatidine; the eggplant glycoalkaloids solamargine and solasonine and their common aglycon solasodine; and the nonsteroidal alkaloid jervine. All compounds were active in the assay, with the glycoalkaloids being the most active and the hydrolysis products less so. The effectiveness against the liver cells was greater than against the colon cells. Potencies of alpha-tomatine and alpha-chaconine at a concentration of 1 microg/mL against the liver carcinoma cells were higher than those observed with the anticancer drugs doxorubicin and camptothecin. Because alpha-chaconine, alpha-solanine, and alpha-tomatine also inhibited normal human liver HeLa (Chang) cells, safety considerations should guide the use of these compounds as preventative or therapeutic treatments against carcinomas.  相似文献   

Analysis of the contents of pungent compounds in fresh Korean red peppers and in pepper-containing foods     

Choi SH  Suh BS  Kozukue E  Kozukue N  Levin CE  Friedman M 《Journal of agricultural and food chemistry》2006,54(24):9024-9031

An HPLC method has been developed for the analysis of extracts of fresh peppers containing capsaicinoids and of both capsaicinoids and piperines in pepper-containing foods produced and sold in Korea. The HPLC method was optimized by defining how composition of the mobile phase affected retention times. Both identification and quantification were based on retention times and the following criteria: linearity of the UV response at 280 nm in HPLC, recoveries from spiked samples, and observed individual molecular ions in the mass spectra of the extracts determined by liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry. This method, with a limit of detection of approximately 15-30 ng, was used to quantify the distribution of capsaicinoids in 11 Korean whole peppers and in 12 commercial pepper-containing foods. Total capsaicinoid levels of whole peppers ranged from 1.21 microg/g for the PR Gang ja variety to 121.1 microg/g for the Chung yang variety. The levels in food extracts, four of which also included two piperines, ranged from 11.0 microg/g for radish kimuchi to 3752 microg/g for capsaicin sauce. The results demonstrate (a) the usefulness of the HPLC method for the simultaneous analysis of capsaicinoids derived from red peppers and piperines derived from black and white peppers extracted from complex food matrices and (b) the wide-ranging spread of levels of pungent pepper compounds in fresh peppers and in pepper-containing foods consumed in Korea.  相似文献   

Studies on genome structure and function of fruit tree viruses     

Nobuyuki Yoshikawa 《Journal of General Plant Pathology》2012,78(6):417-420

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Plasma adrenomedullin concentration in dogs with myxomatous mitral valvular disease     

Kanno N  Asano K  Teshima K  Seki M  Edamura K  Uechi M  Tanaka S 《The Journal of veterinary medical science / the Japanese Society of Veterinary Science》2012,74(6):739-743

Adrenomedullin (AM), a peptide identified to have vasodilating and natriuretic effects, is involved in the regulation of the cardiovascular system. To evaluate plasma AM concentration in dogs with myxomatous mitral valvular disease (MMVD), and to investigate the associations between the concentrations of plasma AM and natriuretic peptides and the echocardiographic data, we evaluated plasma AM concentrations in 31 healthy control dogs and 57 dogs with MMVD. Plasma AM concentrations in dogs with MMVD were higher than that in the control subjects. The plasma AM concentration increased in conjunction with the severity of heart failure according to the International Small Animal Cardiac Health Council (ISACHC). The AM concentrations were 25.1 ± 5.0 fmol/ml (ISACHC class Ia), 29.9 ± 11.0 fmol/ml (ISACHC class Ib), 43.4 ± 19.8 fmol/ml (ISACHC class II) and 73.5 ± 21.7 fmol/ml (ISACHC class III) and 7.5 ± 5.1 fmol/ml (control group), respectively. The receiver operating characteristic curve indicated an area of 0.93 (95% CI, 0.8801-0.9889; <0.0001), a cutoff value of 30.5 fmol/ml, a sensitivity of 87.1%, and a specificity of 82.5% for the determination of congestive heart failure. Plasma AM concentrations correlated with atrial natriuretic peptide concentrations, LA/Ao ratio, and left ventricular diameter. In conclusion, AM may be a potential diagnostic marker for canine MMVD and possibly plays a pathophysiological role in collaboration with the other neurohumoral factors such as natriuretic peptides.  相似文献   

Microvascular architecture of the rabbit eye: a scanning electron microscopic study of vascular corrosion casts     

Ninomiya H  Inomata T  Kanemaki N 《The Journal of veterinary medical science / the Japanese Society of Veterinary Science》2008,70(9):887-892

The microvasculature of the eyes of 5 rabbits was investigated using scanning electron microscopy on corrosion casts. The study revealed that the pars plana vessels draining blood from the iris and ciliary body coursed directly into the anterior vortex venous system constituting the scleral venous plexus (the venous circle of Hovius). The episcleral vasculature was found to possess a specialized morphology, with channels draining the aqueous humor. The capillaries of the third palpebral, bulbar and palpebral conjunctiva formed a single-layered capillary network approximately parallel to the epithelium and formed a well-developed venous plexus in the stroma. The retina was found to be merangiotic, meaning that vessels were present only in a small part of the retina, extending in a horizontal direction to form bands on either side of the optic disc. Channels representing the aqueous veins that drained blood mixed with aqueous humor were found to derive directly from the suprachoroidal space and communicate with the scleral venous plexus via the anterior vortex veins. The functional significance of the microvasculature of the iris, cilia, retina and choroid is discussed in this report as well. The elaborate microvasculature of the conjunctiva may be a prerequisite for the exchange of nutrients and gasses between the cornea and the vessels across the conjunctival epithelium when the eyelids are shut during sleep, and possibly for the dynamics of eye drop delivery. The scleral venous plexus in rabbits may be analogous to the scleral venous sinus (Schlemm's canal) in rats, primates and humans.  相似文献