Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) is a widespread fatal disease and the third most common cause of cancer deaths. Here, we show the potent anti-HCC effect of the circulating protein AIM. As in adipocytes, AIM is incorporated into normal hepatocytes, where it interferes with lipid storage. In contrast, AIM accumulates on the HCC cell surface and activates the complement cascade via inactivating multiple regulators of complement activation. This response provokes necrotic cell death specifically in AIM-bound HCC cells. Accordingly, AIM(-/-) mice were highly susceptible to steatosis-associated HCC development, whereas no AIM(+/+) mouse developed the disease despite comparable liver inflammation and fibrosis in response to a long-term high-fat diet. Administration of AIM prevented tumor development in AIM(-/-) mice, and HCC induction by diethylnitrosamine was more prominent in AIM(-/-) than wild-type mice. These findings could be the basis for novel AIM-based therapeutic strategies for HCC.

We observed the J = 9−8 and 16−15 rotational transitions of the normal species and five 13 C isotopologues of HC 5 N to study its formation mechanisms toward the cyanopolyyne peak in Taurus Molecular Cloud-1, with the 45-m radio telescope of the Nobeyama Radio Observatory. We detected the five 13 C isotopologues with high signal-to-noise ratios between 12 and 20, as well as the normal species. The abundance ratios of the five 13 C isotopologues of HC 5 N are found to be 1.00:0

Bovine mastitis is an inflammation of the mammary gland caused by bacterial infection in dairy cattle. It is the most costly disease in the dairy industry because of the high use of antibiotics. Staphylococcus aureus is one of the major causative agents of bovine mastitis and antimicrobial resistance. Therefore, new strategies to control bacterial infection are required in the dairy industry. One potential strategy is bacteriophage (phage) therapy. In the present study, we examined the host range of previously isolated S. aureus phages ΦSA012 and ΦSA039 against S. aureus strains isolated from mastitic cows. These phages could kill all S. aureus (93 strains from 40 genotypes) and methicillin-resistant S. aureus (six strains from six genotypes) strains tested. Using a mouse mastitis model, we demonstrated that ΦSA012 reduced proliferation of S. aureus and inflammation in the mammary gland. Furthermore, intravenous or intraperitoneal phage administration reduced proliferation of S. aureus in the mammary glands. These results suggest that broad host range phages ΦSA012 is potential antibacterial agents for dairy production medicine.

Recent radio astronomical observations have revealed that HC 5 N, the second shortest cyanopolyyne (HC 2n+1 N), is abundant around some massive young stellar objects (MYSOs), which is not predicted by classical carbon-chain chemistry. For example, the observed HC 5 N abundance toward the G28.28−0.36 MYSO is higher than that in L1527, which is one of the warm carbon chain chemistry (WCCC) sources, by more than one order of magnitude . In this paper, we present chemical simulations of hot-core models with a warm-up period using the astrochemical code Nautilus. We find that the cyanopolyynes are formed initially in the gas phase and accreted onto the bulk and surface of granular ice mantles during the lukewarm phase, which occurs at 25 < T < 100 K. In slow warm-up period models, the peak abundances occur as the cyanopolyynes desorb from dust grains after the temperature rises above 100 K. The lower limits of the abundances of HC 5 N, CH 3 CCH, and CH 3 OH observed in the G28.28−0.36 MYSO can be reproduced in our hot-core models, after their desorption from dust grains. Moreover, previous observations suggested chemical diversity in envelopes around different MYSOs. We discuss possible interpretations of relationships between stages of the star-formation process and such chemical diversity, such as the different warm-up timescales. This timescale depends not only on the mass of central stars but also on the relationship between the size of warm regions and their infall velocity.