Acta Medica Okayama volume63 issue2

Vitis coignetiae Pulliat (Yamabudo) is used as a health juice and wine based on the abundant polyphenols and anthocyanins in its fruit. However, it is not known whether the leaves of this plant confer similar benefits. This study investigated the hepatoprotective effects of aqueous extracts from Vitis coignetiae Pulliat leaves (VCPL) in an animal model of nonalcoholic steatohepatitis (NASH). Rats were fed a choline-deficient high-fat diet for four weeks to generate fatty livers. NASH was induced by oxidative stress loading. Ten weeks later, blood and liver samples were collected from anesthetized animals and assessed biochemically, histologically, and histochemically to determine the extent of oxidative stress injury and the overall effects of VCPL. Six-week VCPL extract supplementation reduced serum levels of liver enzymes, decreased CYP2E1 induction, increased plasma antioxidant activities and delayed the progression of liver fibrosis. The findings suggested that VCPL has strong radical-scavenging activity and may be beneficial in preventing NASH progression.

Reportedly, thyroid mucosa-associated lymphoid tissue (MALT) lymphoma is closely associated with Hashimoto's thyroiditis. However, it remains unknown which antigen is closely associated with thyroid MALT lymphoma. We examined whether B cell response to thyroglobulin (Tg), which is a common thyroid-specific autoantigen, is related etiologically to the pathogenesis of thyroid MALT lymphoma. Expression of human Tg antigens and Cluster of differentiation (CD) 35 was examined immunohistochemically in 15 cases of thyroid MALT lymphoma using paraffin-embedded, formalin-fixed tissue specimens. In all cases of thyroid MALT lymphoma, human Tg was detected immunohistochemically in the follicular epithelial cells and follicular dendritic cells (FDCs). These FDCs were positive by double immunostaining for anti-human Tg rabbit polyclonal antibody (Ab) and for CD35. Results showed that the Tg, a thyroid autoantigen, had immunostained the germinal center of the thyroid MALT lymphoma. The Tg was present in the FDCs, as revealed by the staining pattern of the germinal center;this fact was confirmed by double immunostaining of anti-human Tg mouse monoclonal Ab and anti-CD35 mouse monoclonal Ab. The results of our study suggest that Tg is an autoantigen that is recognized by thyroid MALT lymphoma cells.

The present study aimed to investigate the status of physical activity and the differences in psychological factors associated with physical activity from the perspective of transtheoretical model stages between prime- and middle-aged Japanese. The study involved 375 prime-aged volunteers (175 men, 200 women) and 557 middle-aged volunteers (247 men, 310 women) living in Kuse, a town in Okayama Prefecture, Japan. We found that the prime-aged men at the preparation stage had significantly higher self-efficacy scores than at the contemplation stage (p<0.01). Middle-aged men had significantly higher self-efficacy scores at the contemplation stage than at the precontemplation stage (p<0.001). Middle-aged women, meanwhile, had significantly higher self-efficacy scores at the maintenance stage than at the action stage (p<0.01), and at the contemplation stage than at the precontemplation stage (p<0.001). The present findings provide valuable information about the differences in psychological factors affecting physical activity between prime-aged and middle-aged community-dwelling Japanese. This information may be useful to health professionals as they develop effective community-based intervention programs for target populations.

Little information is available on the mechanism of diastolic left ventricular (LV) dysfunction in patients with chronic respiratory disease complicated by hypoxia. The purpose of this study was to investigate how chronic hypoxia impairs LV diastolic function in an hypoxic animal model. Thirty-six male Wistar rats 8 weeks old were assigned to normoxia (N), chronic hypoxia (CH), and re-normoxia (RN) groups, 12 rats per group. The N group rats were kept in ambient air for 8 weeks, while the CH group was kept hypoxic for 8 weeks. After 8 weeks of hypoxia the RN group rats were kept for a further 8 weeks in ambient air. LV systolic and diastolic functions, as well as right ventricular (RV) function, were analyzed using Doppler echocardiography;we also measured the hematocrit, and weighed the LV and RV. Hematocrit, RV weight/body weight, and RV weight/LV weight were higher in the CH group than in the other 2 groups. However, most of these parameters returned to normoxia levels after re-normoxia. In the CH group, LV dimension and area were smaller than in the other 2 groups. LV systolic function was preserved in all groups;however, in the CH group, mitral flow showed a restrictive pattern, while pulmonary flow demonstrated a pulmonary hypertensive pattern with prolonged RV ejection time. In conclusion, chronic hypoxia induced pulmonary hypertension and RV hypertrophy. Although LV systolic function was preserved, diastolic function was impaired in hypoxia. Ventricular interaction may impair LV diastolic function.

ADAMTS1 (a disintegrin and metalloproteinase with thrombospondin motifs 1) is an inflammatory-induced gene. We have previously reported that ADAMTS1 was strongly but transiently expressed in the infarcted heart. In this study, we investigated whether a 3'-untranslated region (UTR) affects the mRNA stability of this gene. When stimulated with tissue necrosis factor (TNF)-alpha, the expression level of ADAMTS1 mRNA rapidly increased, but the induction of ADAMTS1 mRNA peaked at 6h after stimulation, after which the expression levels of ADAMTS1 mRNA decreased. The 3'-UTR ADAMTS1 mRNA contains multiple adenine and uridine-rich elements, suggesting that the 3'-UTR may regulate gene stability. The addition of actinomycin D, an RNA synthesis inhibitor, demonstrated the decay of induced ADAMTS1 mRNA by TNF-alpha. Furthermore, a region containing multiple AUUUA motifs within the ADAMTS1 3'-UTR destabilized transfected Enhanced Green Fluorescence Protein (EGFP) mRNA expression. These results demonstrated that the ADAMTS1 3'-UTR may regulate the expression of ADAMTS1 mRNA.

The authors previously developed a mobile ecological momentary assessment (EMA) system as a real-time data collection device using a mobile phone. In this study, a real-time advice function and real-time reporting function were added to the previous system as a supportive intervention. The improved system was found to work effectively and was applied to several clinical cases, including patients with depressive disorder, dizziness, smoking habit, and bronchial asthma. The average patient compliance rate was high (89%) without the real-time advice and higher (93%) with the advice. The trends in clinical data for patients using a mobile EMA with/without the new function were analyzed for up to several months. In the case of dizziness, an improving trend in its clinical data was observed after applying the real-time advice, and in the case of depressive disorder, a stabilizing trend was observed. The mobile EMA system with the real-time advice function could be useful as a supportive intervention in behavior modification and for motivating patients in self-management of their disease.