Maturity-onset diabetes of the young (MODY) is a form of diabetes mellitus characterized by autosomal dominant inheritance, early onset, and the absence of pancreatic autoimmune markers. MODY-causing mutations have been identified in 14 genes, and carboxyl ester lipase (CEL) has been implicated in MODY8. We report a Japanese patient with MODY who harbored a heterogeneous mutation in CEL exon 2 (NM_001807.4:c.146_147delCT; NP_001798.2:p.Ser49CysfsTer52). A 13-year-old girl experienced her first episode of diabetic ketoacidosis, during which her endogenous insulin secretion was poor. However, her insulin secretion had apparently recovered 2 months after the commencement of insulin treatment, and no further treatment was required for the following 2 years. Diabetic ketoacidosis recurred when the patient was 15 years old, when her insulin secretion was again poor. Since that time, the patient, who is now 18 years old, has been undergoing continuous insulin treatment. The large fluctuations in her insulin secretory capacity led us to suspect MODY. MODY8 patients that carry a mutation in the variable number of tandem repeats in the last exon of the CEL gene typically show pancreatic exocrine dysfunction. However, in the present case, which features premature termination, there is no involvement of exocrine dysfunction, potentially demonstrating a genotype-phenotype correlation.
Venoms of solitary wasps are utilized for prey capture (insects and spiders), paralyzing them with a stinger injection to be offered as food for their larvae. Thus, the identification and characterization of the components of solitary wasp venoms can have biotechnological application. In the present study, the venom components profile of a solitary scoliid wasp, Campsomeriella annulata annulata, was investigated through a comprehensive analysis using LC-MS and -MS/MS. Online mass fingerprinting revealed that the venom extract contains 138 components, and MS/MS analysis identified 44 complete sequences of the peptide components. The peptides are broadly divided into two classes: bradykinin-related peptides, and linear alpha-helical peptides. Among the components of the first class, the two main peptides, alpha-campsomerin (PRLRRLTGLSPLR) and beta-campsomerin (PRLRRLTGLSPLRAP), had their biological activities evaluated. Both peptides had no effects on metallopeptidases [human neprilysin (NEP) and angiotensin-converting enzyme (ACE)] and acetylcholinesterase (AChE), and had no cytotoxic effects. Studies with PC12 neuronal cells showed that only alpha-campsomerin was able to enhance cell viability, while beta-campsomerin had no effect. It is noteworthy that the only difference between the primary structures from these peptides is the presence of the AP extension at the C-terminus of beta-campsomerin, compared to alpha-campsomerin. Among the linear alpha-helical peptides, annulatin (ISEALKSIIVG-NH(2)) was evaluated for its biological activities. Annulatin showed histamine releasing activity from mast cells and low hemolytic activity, but no antimicrobial activities against all microbes tested were observed. Thus, in addition to providing unprecedented information on the whole components, the three peptides selected for the study suggest that molecules present in solitary scoliid wasp venoms may have interesting biological activities.
Supercentenarians (those aged >=110 years) are approaching the current human longevity limit by preventing or surviving major illness. Identifying specific biomarkers conducive to exceptional survival might provide insights into counter-regulatory mechanisms against aging-related disease. Here, we report associations between cardiovascular disease-related biomarkers and survival to the highest ages using a unique dataset of 1,427 oldest individuals from three longitudinal cohort studies, including 36 supercentenarians, 572 semi-supercentenarians (105-109 years), 288 centenarians (100-104 years), and 531 very old people (85-99 years). During follow-up, 1,000 participants (70.1%) died. Overall, N-terminal pro-B-type natriuretic peptide (NT-proBNP), interleukin-6, cystatin C and cholinesterase are associated with all-cause mortality independent of traditional cardiovascular risk factors and plasma albumin. Of these, low NT-proBNP levels are statistically associated with a survival advantage to supercentenarian age. Only low albumin is associated with high mortality across age groups. These findings expand our knowledge on the biology of human longevity.
BACKGROUND: Observational studies have demonstrated similarities between the underpinning of frailty and biological features of centenarians, suggesting that adaptability to age-related multiple physiological decline may be a core component of successful aging. The aim of this study is to determine whether hormonal pathways potentially involved in energy homeostasis contribute to survival beyond 100 years of age. METHODS: We assessed a total of 252 centenarians (mean [standard deviation (SD)] age, 101.5 (1.8) years, range 100-108 years) using a complete set of biomarkers of adipose endocrine function and the insulin-like growth factor-1 (IGF-1) axis. Conventional risk factors at baseline were also assessed. The participants were followed up for all-cause mortality every 12 months by telephone contact. RESULTS: During 2253 days of follow-up, 208 centenarians (82.5%) died. The lowest tertile of leptin and the highest tertile of tumor necrosis factor-alpha were associated with higher mortality risk among centenarians after adjusting for age (per 6-month increase), sex, education, smoking, activities of daily living (ADL), cognitive function, and comorbidities (hazard ratio [HR] 1.6; 95% confidence interval [CI], 1.14-2.35; and HR 1.45; 95% CI, 1.00-2.08, respectively). The lowest tertiles of both IGF-1 and IGF binding protein 3 (IGFBP3) were also associated with increased mortality. The adipose risk score, indicating cumulative effects of adipokine dysregulation, was strongly associated with increased mortality risk; ADL; cognitive function; and levels of albumin, cholinesterase, high-density lipoprotein-cholesterol, C-reactive protein, interleukin 6, and IGF-1 at baseline. CONCLUSIONS: The results suggested that preservation of adipose endocrine function and the IGF-1 axis may be potentially important for maintaining health and function and promoting survival at an extremely old age.
Multiple myeloma (MM) remains an incurable disease and further development of novel agents is needed. Because constitutive expression of topoisomerase I (TopoI) in MM cells and the efficacy of SN-38, an active metabolite of irinotecan (CPT-11), have been reported, we investigated the therapeutic potential of CPT-11. Of the eight MM cell lines analyzed, four showed 50% inhibitory concentration values of less than 2 microg/mL for CPT-11 and less than 2 ng/mL for SN-38. This efficacy was partly explained by the high expression level of human carboxylesterase-2 (hCE-2) in MM cells. Interestingly, high expression of hCE-2 represented the nature of normal plasma cells, suggesting that hCE-2 could efficiently generate SN-38 within the plasma cells. As expected, higher sensitivity to CPT-11 was observed in hCE-2-overexpressing U266 cells than mock U266 cells. On the other hand, the expression levels of hCE-1, TopoI, UGT1A and ABCG2 did not seem to be associated with the sensitivity of MM cells to CPT-11. In a murine xenograft model inoculated s.c. with RPMI8226 cells, administration of CPT-11 alone significantly reduced the tumor volume. When a combination of CPT-11 and bortezomib was administered, the subcutaneous tumors completely disappeared. Thus, clinical trials on CPT-11 in patients with relapsed or refractory MM are warranted.
As a base for human transcriptome and functional genomics, we created the "full-length long Japan" (FLJ) collection of sequenced human cDNAs. We determined the entire sequence of 21,243 selected clones and found that 14,490 cDNAs (10,897 clusters) were unique to the FLJ collection. About half of them (5,416) seemed to be protein-coding. Of those, 1,999 clusters had not been predicted by computational methods. The distribution of GC content of nonpredicted cDNAs had a peak at approximately 58% compared with a peak at approximately 42%for predicted cDNAs. Thus, there seems to be a slight bias against GC-rich transcripts in current gene prediction procedures. The rest of the cDNAs unique to the FLJ collection (5,481) contained no obvious open reading frames (ORFs) and thus are candidate noncoding RNAs. About one-fourth of them (1,378) showed a clear pattern of splicing. The distribution of GC content of noncoding cDNAs was narrow and had a peak at approximately 42%, relatively low compared with that of protein-coding cDNAs.
Cholesteryl ester transfer protein (CETP) is one of the key proteins in reverse cholesterol transport (RCT). The role of CETP in atherosclerosis remains controversial. In this study we investigated the associations between polymorphisms of CETP (mutations in intron 14 and exon 15, and Taq1B), hepatic lipase (C-514T), lipoprotein lipase ( PvuII and HindIII), and ATP-binding cassette transporter 1 (R219K) loci and longevity in 256 centenarians and 190 healthy younger controls. Although heterozygous CETP deficiency and the B2 allele of the Taq1B polymorphism was consistently associated with higher HDL-C concentrations both in centenarians and controls, the allelic frequencies of those polymorphisms did not differ between the two groups. The allelic frequencies of other gene polymorphisms in RCT were not different between the two groups. Centenarians with lipoprotein lipase P(-/-) genotype had significantly higher HDL-C concentration than those with P(-/+) or with P(+/+), in contrast, there was no such a relationship among controls. In stepwise multiple regression analysis, serum albumin, CETP deficiency and lipoprotein lipase PvuII genotype were independently associated with HDL-C in centenarians. Sex, CETP deficiency, and the Taq1B genotype were also independently associated with HDL-C; however, lipoprotein lipase PvuII genotype had no significant effect on their HDL-C in controls. In conclusion, we observed that CETP deficiency and other gene polymorphisms in RCT have no impact on longevity for Japanese centenarians.
Title: Method for the analysis of the methylphosphonic acid metabolites of sarin and its ethanol-substituted analogue in urine as applied to the victims of the Tokyo sarin disaster Minami M, Hui DM, Katsumata M, Inagaki H, Boulet CA Ref: Journal of Chromatography B Biomed Sci Appl, 695:237, 1997 : PubMed
An analysis method for the methylphosphonic acid metabolites of sarin in urine using trimethylsilyl derivatization and flame photometric detection is described in this report. Authentic reference standards of isopropyl methylphosphonic acid (IMPA) and ethyl methylphosphonic acid (EMPA) as well as methylphosphonic acid were employed to estimate the concentration in human urine. A sample pretreatment procedure was developed for urine using a column of cation-loaded ion-exchange resins (Ag+ -, Ba2+ - or H+ -Dowex) and adjusting the pH of the eluate from the column to 3.75-3.85 improved recovery of the target compounds. The eluate was evaporated to dryness under vacuum prior to trimethylsilylation, to remove water and any hydroxy- or amino-carrying volatile substances. The sarin metabolites, because of their low volatility, were concentrated and could be derivatized for analysis. The use of synthesized authentic sarin and ethylsarin metabolites, i.e., IMPA and EMPA, made it possible to establish the necessary sample pretreatment procedures for derivatization and gas chromatography-flame photometric detection (GC-FPD) analysis. The detection limits were 0.025 ppm both for EMPA and [MPA, and 0.625 microM for MPA, respectively. This method can be useful for estimating the exposure level to sarin by assaying the metabolites in urine and it is applicable to a large numbers of samples.
