Selection of acid tolerant bifidobacteria and evidence for a low-pH-inducible acid tolerance response in Bifidobacterium longum

Acidity is an environmental condition commonly encountered by lactic acid bacteria and bifidobacteria in the gastrointestinal tract and fermented foods. In the present study, 22 strains of Bifidobacterium were screened for acid tolerance in artificial gastric juice (AGJ, pH 3.0) and fermented milk. AGJ tolerance was found to be strain-specific, with a pronounced variation among the strains. Several strains with a high survival rate in AGJ that belonged to Bifid. longum, Bifid. breve and Bifid. adolescentis were selected. Among them, only strain BL1 of Bifid longum was found to possess a high survival rate in fermented milk during refrigerated storage. Strain BL1 exhibited a survival rate of more than 25% in AGJ at pH 3.0 for 2 h and maintained a viable cfu level of more than 10(8) per gram of product in fermented milk (pH 4.6) under refrigerated conditions for 2 weeks. The acid tolerance of strain BL1 was found to depend on the final growth pH (<4.5). Rapid loss of acid tolerance was observed when the cells were shifted from acid to neutral conditions by addition of NaOH. Strain BL1 cells were able to maintain much higher intracellular pH under acid conditions, in comparison with those of AGJ sensitive mutant (BL1-S) or cells that lost acid tolerance following pH shifting from acid to neutral conditions. These results suggested that a cytoplasmic pH homeostasis system may function in the acid tolerance response in this strain.     

NOTE: SOLVENT EXTRACTION OF PLATINUM(IV) BY TRIOCTYLPHOSPHINE OXIDE

The equilibrium distribution of platinum(IV) between hydrochloric acid and trioctylphosphine oxide (T0P0) in toluene at 303 K was examined. From the concentration dependencies of the distribution ratio, it was determined that platinum(IV) is extracted as follows:

The extraction.equilibrium constant was found to be Ke = 3.6×10³.     

SOLVENT EXTRACTION EQUILIBRIA OF GALLIUM (III) WITH ACIDIC ORGANOPHOSPHORUS COMPOUNDS FROM AQUEOUS NITRATE MEDIA

A comparative investigation on the solvent extraction equilibria of gallium(III) from aqueous nitrate media was conducted with three kinds of acidic organophosphorus compounds, di (2-ethylhexyl) phosphoric acid (D2EHPA), 2-ethylhexyl 2-ethyl-hexylphosphonic acid (EHEHPA) and di (2,4,4'-trimethylpentyl) phosphinic acid (DTMPPA), in toluene at 303 K. It was found that gallium(III) is extracted as 1:4 metal:reagent complexes with D2EHPA and EHEHPA and as a 1:3 complex with DTMPPA in the region of low loading ratio while it is extracted as 1:3 complexes with all reagents at high loading ratio. The extraction equilibrium constants with these extractants were evaluated for the former complexes as follows: K_e = 2.3xl0^-2, 8.5xl0^-3 and 1.3xl0^-4 for D2EHPA, EHEHPA and DTMPPA respectively.     

Adsorption of Metal Ions on A Novel Amine-Type Chelating Resin

Distribution equilibria were investigated for the adsorption of metal ions and acids on Sumichelate MC-10 resin, a polyethylene polyamine type of novel chelating resin. The total exchange capacities for HCl and HNO₃ were evaluated as 5.6 and 6.3 mol/kg dry resin, respectively. Adsorption of various divalent transition metals and precious metals was investigated from HCl on the chloride form of the resin. The adsorption of transition metals took place in the sequence Cd>Zn>Cu>Co>Mn. The adsorption of Pt(IV) was only slightly selective over Pd(II); however, the latter was selectively eluted with high concentrations of HCl. Adsorption of Ag(I), Zn(II) and Cu(II) was investigated from 1 mol/dm³ NH₄NO₃ on the free base form of the resin. It took place in the sequence Cu>Ag>Zn. The mechanism of the adsorption of metal ions mentioned above was qualitatively discussed.     

Fabrication of GaN epitaxial thin film on InGaZnO4 single-crystalline buffer layer

Epitaxial (0001) films of GaN were grown on (111) YSZ substrates using single-crystalline InGaZnO₄ (sc-IGZO) lattice-matched buffer layers by molecular beam epitaxy with a NH₃ source. The epitaxial relationships are (0001)_GaN//(0001)_IGZO//(111)_YSZ in out-of-plane and [112¯0]_GaN//[112¯0]_IGZO//[11¯0]_YSZ in in-plane. This is different from those reported for GaN on many oxide crystals; the in-plane orientation of GaN crystal lattice is rotated by 30° with respect to those of oxide substrates except for ZnO. Although these GaN films showed relatively large tilting and twisting angles, which would be due to the reaction between GaN and IGZO, the GaN films grown on the sc-IGZO buffer layers exhibited stronger band-edge photoluminescence than GaN grown on a low-temperature GaN buffer layer.     

Mutated KIT Tyrosine Kinase as a Novel Molecular Target in Acute Myeloid Leukemia

KIT is a type-III receptor tyrosine kinase that contributes to cell signaling in various cells. Since KIT is activated by overexpression or mutation and plays an important role in the development of some cancers, such as gastrointestinal stromal tumors and mast cell disease, molecular therapies targeting KIT mutations are being developed. In acute myeloid leukemia (AML), genome profiling via next-generation sequencing has shown that several genes that are mutated in patients with AML impact patients’ prognosis. Moreover, it was suggested that precision-medicine-based treatment using genomic data will improve treatment outcomes for AML patients. This paper presents (1) previous studies regarding the role of KIT mutations in AML, (2) the data in AML with KIT mutations from the HM-SCREEN-Japan-01 study, a genome profiling study for patients newly diagnosed with AML who are unsuitable for the standard first-line treatment (unfit) or have relapsed/refractory AML, and (3) new therapies targeting KIT mutations, such as tyrosine kinase inhibitors and heat shock protein 90 inhibitors. In this era when genome profiling via next-generation sequencing is becoming more common, KIT mutations are attractive novel molecular targets in AML.     

Uterine Deletion of Bmal1 Impairs Placental Vascularization and Induces Intrauterine Fetal Death in Mice

Recently, it was demonstrated that the expression of BMAL1 was decreased in the endometrium of women suffering from recurrent spontaneous abortion. To investigate the pathological roles of uterine clock genes during pregnancy, we produced conditional deletion of uterine Bmal1 (cKO) mice and found that cKO mice could receive embryo implantation but not sustain pregnancy. Gene ontology analysis of microarray suggested that uterine NK (uNK) cell function was suppressed in cKO mice. Histological examination revealed the poor formation of maternal vascular spaces in the placenta. In contrast to WT mice, uNK cells in the spongiotrophoblast layer, where maternal uNK cells are directly in contact with fetal trophoblast, hardly expressed an immunosuppressive NK marker, CD161, in cKO mice. By progesterone supplementation, pregnancy could be sustained until the end of pregnancy in some cKO mice. Although this treatment did not improve the structural abnormalities of the placenta, it recruited CD161-positive NK cells into the spongiotrophoblast layer in cKO mice. These findings indicate that the uterine clock system may be critical for pregnancy maintenance after embryo implantation.     

Antimutagenic activity of Camembert cheese on the Trp-P-1-induced mutagenicity to streptomycin-dependent strain SD510 of Salmonella typhimurium TA98

Antimutagenic activity of Camembert cheese during ripening against the mutagenicity of an amino acid pyrolysate, Trp-P-1, using the streptomycin-dependent strain (SD510) of Salmonella typhimurium TA98, was studied. The starter used for the manufacture of Camembert cheese consisted of four strains of lactic acid bacteria and one strain of Penicillium candidum. The antimutagenicity of Camembert cheese was very high and increased during ripening. When 1% cheese suspension was used, the antimutagenicity was 19% at zero week, 36% at 1 week, 50% at 2 weeks, 60% at 3 weeks and 64% at 4 weeks. It was difficult to correlate between the ripening time and antimutagenicity at a higher concentration. At a lower concentration, the activity was too low to study.     

Purification and some properties of ribonuclease from Xenopus laevis eggs

A 122 kDa RNase from eggs of Xenopus laevis was purified by sequential chromatography on Sephadex G-75, DEAE-cellulose, heparin-Sepharose and TSK gel G3000SW columns, and gave a single 60 kDa band on SDS-polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis under reducing and nonreducing conditions. The RNase composed of two 60 kDa subunits is able to recognize pyrimidine bases specifically. The pH optimum of the RNase was 7.5 in Tris-HCl buffer. The enzyme activity was abolished by treatment at 80 degrees C for 5 min and pH 2 or 12 for 1 h. Since egg lectins with RNase activity obtained from Rana catesbeiana and R. japonica and bovine pancreatic RNase A show about 30% protein homology and these three proteins are 12-14 kDa heat-stable RNases, [K. Titani, K. Takio, M. Kuwada, K. Nitta, F. Sakakibara, H. Kawauchi, G. Takayanagi and S. Hakomori, Biochemistry, 26, 2189 (1987); Y: Kamiya, F. Oyama, R. Oyama, F. Sakakibara, K. Nitta, H. Kawauchi, Y. Takayanagi and K. Titani, J. Biochem. (Tokyo), 108, 139 (1990)], the data suggest that the X. laevis egg RNase is a unique protein compared with RNases from not only amphibians, but also mammals.