Association of HLA class I and class II alleles with myositis in Japanese patients

OBJECTIVE: To investigate the correlation of HLA class I and class II antigens and alleles with various forms of myositis in Japanese patients. METHODS: Eighty-four Japanese patients with myositis [22 with polymyositis (PM), 46 with dermatomyositis (DM), 16 with myositis overlapping with other collagen vascular diseases] were typed serologically for HLA-A, B, C antigens. HLA-DRB1, DQA1, and DQB1 alleles were determined by polymerase chain reaction dependent DNA typing methods. Fifty-eight Japanese controls were typed serologically while HLA-DRB1, DQA1, and DQB1 allele typing was carried out in 175, 95, and 104 controls, respectively. RESULTS: HLA-B7 was higher in patients than controls [20.2 vs 6.9% in controls: p=0.02, odds ratio (OR)=3.4]. The increase of HLA-B7 was largely dependent on the increase in overlap patients (37.5%; p=0.005, OR=8.1). HLA-A24 and B52 were significantly decreased in PM as compared to DM, while CW3 was significantly increased in PM versus DM. DRB1*08 alleles were significantly increased in patients (36.9 vs 20.5% in controls; p=0.004, OR=2.3), especially in PM and DM. DQA1*0501 and DQB1*0301 were significantly decreased in patients [4.8 vs 13.7% in controls; p=0.04, OR=0.32, and 8.3 vs 20.2% in controls; p=0.02, OR=0.36, respectively]. CONCLUSION: HLA-class I and class II alleles associated with Japanese patients with myositis may be different from those associated with Caucasian patients.     

Telomerase activity in benign proliferative breast disease and breast cancer

The application of telomerase activity is expected to serve as a reliable indicator of biological malignancy in breast tumors. We performed a study to quantify telomerase activity, the results of which revealed that this activity tends to be unexpectedly low in scirrhous carcinoma having low histological differentiation. It is therefore felt that additional studies at the tissue level using in situ hybridization will be required in the future. Although we think that atypical cystic duct is a true pre-cancerous lesion in the sense of having a high possibility of progressing into breast cancer, it will be interesting to determine whether or not the tissue is composed of cells having telomerase activity.     

Site-directed mutational analysis for the membrane binding of DnaA protein. Identification of amino acids involved in the functional interaction between DnaA protein and acidic phospholipids

DnaA protein, the initiator of chromosomal DNA replication in Escherichia coli, interacts with acidic phospholipids, such as cardiolipin, and its activity seems to be regulated by membrane binding in cells. In this study we introduced site-directed mutations at the positions of hydrophobic or basic amino acids which are conserved among various bacteria species and which are located in the putative membrane-binding region of DnaA protein (from Asp357 to Val374). All mutant DnaA proteins showed much the same ATP and ADP binding activity as that of the wild-type protein. The release of ATP bound to the mutant DnaA protein, in which three hydrophobic amino acids were mutated to hydrophilic ones, was stimulated by cardiolipin, as in the case of the wild-type protein. On the other hand, the release of ATP bound to another mutant DnaA protein, in which three basic amino acids were mutated to acidic ones, was not stimulated by cardiolipin. These results suggest not only that the region is a membrane-binding domain of DnaA protein but also that these basic amino acids are important for the binding and the ionic interaction between the basic amino acids and acidic residues of cardiolipin and is involved in the interaction between DnaA protein and cardiolipin.     

Successful radiofrequency current catheter ablation of accessory atrioventricular pathway after tricuspid replacement in Ebstein's anomaly

A 15-year-old female with Ebstein's anomaly was referred to hospital for radiofrequency (RF) current catheter ablation of her refractory paroxysmal supraventricular tachycardia (PSVT) after tricuspid valve replacement. A surface ECG showed ventricular preexcitation of type B Wolff-Parkinson-White (WPW) syndrome. In a baseline electrophysiological study, two types of PSVT with left and right bundle branch block (LBBB and RBBB) configurations were induced. The LBBB type was antidromic and the RBBB type was orthodromic atrioventricular reciprocating tachycardia (AVRT) with a right posterolateral accessory pathway. RF current was successfully delivered at the posterolateral site above the prosthetic valve (V-delta interval = -30 msec). The patient has been free from arrhythmias during a follow-up period of 9 months. RF current ablation seems to be useful for AVRT patients with corrected Ebstein's anomaly.     

Surgical removal of right atrial myxoma with severe hypoxemia caused by right to left shunt through persistent foramen ovale]

A 41-year-old woman was referred to our hospital due to dyspnea and cyanosis. Echocardiography revealed a right atrial tumor with right to left shunt through PFO. There was no evidence of pulmonary embolism from the tumor. The tumor was removed under cardiopulmonary bypass and PFO was closed. The patient is doing well now.     

Transmission properties of 1.3-/spl mu/m InGaAlAs MQW FP lasers in 10-gb/s uncooled operation

Limitations on transmission by an uncooled InGaAlAs Fabry-Perot (FP) laser in 10-Gb/s operation are experimentally and theoretically investigated. The InGaAlAs laser has both high relaxation-oscillation frequency and superior light-current characteristics over a wide temperature range, making it suitable for uncooled operation at 10 Gb/s. Over most of the temperature range used in transmission testing with standard-dispersion fiber, a small power penalty of 1 dB for a bit error rate (BER) of 10/sup -12/ was obtained in transmission over 4-7 km at the measured temperature range, whereas an error floor was seen in transmission over greater distance, despite the negative chromatic dispersion between the fiber and laser light. Theoretical analysis of these results indicates that mode-partition noise (MPN) imposes the major limitation on transmission distance. Moreover, the minimum transmission distance was estimated as 2.1 km, even when the production tolerance of lasing characteristics and zero-dispersion range of installed fiber are taken into account.     

Investigation of the self‐assembly process for discrete and polymerized bivalve DNA origami structures

A unique ‘bivalve DNA origami’ structure that can simultaneously form discrete and polymerized structures due to its conformational flexibility is proposed. The self‐assembly behavior of the bivalve DNA origami is investigated by varying the annealing factors. The particular annealing factors that facilitate the formation of discrete DNA origami and polymerized DNA origami structures are determined. The results offer insights into the underlying mechanism of DNA origami self‐assembly processes and highlight its dependence on scaffold/staple design strategies and annealing factors. © 2016 Institute of Electrical Engineers of Japan. Published by John Wiley & Sons, Inc.