No abstract

Acrolein and 4-hydroxy-2-nonenal (HNE) are both byproducts of a lipid peroxidation reaction. Actinic elastosis in photodamaged skin of aged individuals is characterized by the accumulation of fragmented elastic fibers in the sun-exposed areas. To study whether a lipid peroxidation reaction is involved in the accumulation of altered elastic fibers in actinic elastosis, skin specimens obtained from sun-damaged areas were immunohistochemically examined using the antibodies against acrolein and HNE. Both antibodies were found to react with the accumulations of elastic material. Double immunofluorescence labeling demonstrated that acrolein/elastin and HNE/elastin were colocalized in the actinic elastosis. Western blot analysis showed that the polypeptide with a molecular weight of 62 kDa reacted with anti-acrolein, anti-HNE and anti-elastin antibodies. The results suggest that acrolein and HNE may be associated with actinic elastosis.

No abstract

The altitudinal zonation of forests on Mount Kerinci, Sumatra (3800 m) is described and compared with that in the temperate region of east Asia. Nine plots were selected between 1750 m in altitude and the upper limit of vegetation at 3250 m, at intervals of about 200 m in altitude. The plots are distinguished according to their main dominants, and the population structure of the dominant species is examined. The lower forests have species showing the whole range of size classes as well as solitary giants as dominants, but the upper forests lack these giants and are floristically poorer. Between 1750 m (the start of well preserved natural vegetation) and 2950 m (the forest limit) three forest zones are distinguished, and between 2950 and 3250 m a scrub zone. Upper forest zones tend to be dominated by species of the same genus or family which form important understory components of the zone below. Based on floristic comparisons with mountains of higher latitudes (i.e. Himalayas and Japan), the two lower forest zones (up to 2400 m) represent a subtropical zone, and the upper forest zone a warm-temperate zone. Climatic conditions at the forest limit on Mount Kerinci are similar to those at the latitudinal limit of warm-temperate evergreen trees; in the Himalayas the forest limit represents the latitudinal limit of the cool-temperate, and in Japan of the subarctic Altitudinal zonation patterns change with latitude, reaching their most complex on subtropical mountains where the two floristic realms, the Boreal and Palaeotropical, meet. A scheme for the pattern of vegetation zonation in east Asia is proposed.

These results suggest that inflammatory mediators such as IL-1 beta or TNF-alpha secreted by dermal neutrophils may be involved in overexpression of elafin in keratinocytes; this could protect the epidermis from degradation by dermal neutrophil infiltration.

In the silkworm, Bombyx mori (female, ZW; male, ZZ), femaleness is determined by the presence of a single W chromosome, irrespective of the number of autosomes or Z chromosomes. The W chromosome is devoid of functional genes, except the putative female-determining gene (Fem). However, there are strains in which chromosomal fragments containing autosomal markers have been translocated on to W. In this study, we analysed the W chromosomal regions of the Zebra-W strain (T(W;3)Ze chromosome) and the Black-egg-W strain (T(W;10)+(w-2) chromosome) at the molecular level. Initially, we undertook a project to identify W-specific RAPD markers, in addition to the three already established W-specific RAPD markers (W-Kabuki, W-Samurai and W-Kamikaze). Following the screening of 3648 arbitrary 10-mer primers, we obtained nine W-specific RAPD marker sequences (W-Bonsai, W-Mikan, W-Musashi, W-Rikishi, W-Sakura, W-Sasuke, W-Yukemuri-L, W-Yukemuri-S and BMC1-Kabuki), almost all of which contained the border regions of retrotransposons, namely portions of nested retrotransposons. We confirmed the presence of eleven out of twelve W-specific RAPD markers in the normal W chromosomes of twenty-five silkworm strains maintained in Japan. These results indicate that the W chromosomes of the strains in Japan are almost identical in type. The Zebra-W strain (T(W;3)Ze chromosome) lacked the W-Samurai and W-Mikan RAPD markers and the Black-egg-W strain (T(W;10)+(w-2) chromosome) lacked the W-Mikan RAPD marker. These results strongly indicate that the regions containing the W-Samurai and W-Mikan RAPD markers or the W-Mikan RAPD marker were deleted in the T(W;3)Ze and T(W;10)+(w-2) chromosomes, respectively, due to reciprocal translocation between the W chromosome and the autosome. This deletion apparently does not affect the expression of Fem; therefore, this deleted region of the W chromosome does not contain the putative Fem gene.

Metabolic diseases are a worldwide problem but the underlying genetic factors and their relevance to metabolic disease remain incompletely understood. Genome-wide research is needed to characterize so-far unannotated mammalian metabolic genes. Here, we generate and analyze metabolic phenotypic data of 2016 knockout mouse strains under the aegis of the International Mouse Phenotyping Consortium (IMPC) and find 974 gene knockouts with strong metabolic phenotypes. 429 of those had no previous link to metabolism and 51 genes remain functionally completely unannotated. We compared human orthologues of these uncharacterized genes in five GWAS consortia and indeed 23 candidate genes are associated with metabolic disease. We further identify common regulatory elements in promoters of candidate genes. As each regulatory element is composed of several transcription factor binding sites, our data reveal an extensive metabolic phenotype-associated network of co-regulated genes. Our systematic mouse phenotype analysis thus paves the way for full functional annotation of the genome.

The W chromosome of the silkworm Bombyx mori is devoid of functional genes, except for the putative female-determining gene (Fem). To localize Fem, we investigated the presence of W-specific DNA markers on strains in which an autosomal fragment containing dominant marker genes was attached to the W chromosome. We produced new W-chromosomal fragments from the existing Zebra-W strain (T(W;3)Ze chromosome) by X-irradiation, and then carried out deletion mapping of these and sex-limited yellow cocoon strains (T(W;2)Y-Chu, -Abe and -Ban types) from different Japanese stock centers. Of 12 RAPD markers identified in the normal W chromosomes of most silkworm strains in Japan, the newly irradiated W(B-YL-YS)Ze chromosome contained three, the T(W;2)Y-Chu chromosome contained six, and the T(W;2)Y-Abe and -Ban chromosomes contained only one (W-Rikishi). To investigate the ability of the reduced W-chromosome translocation fragments to form heterochromatin bodies, which are found in nuclei of normal adult female sucking stomachs, we examined cells of the normal type p50 strain and the T(W;2)Y-Chu and -Abe strains. A single sex heterochromatin body was found in nuclei of p50 females, whereas we detected only small sex heterochromatin bodies in the T(W;2)Y-Chu strain and no sex heterochromatin body in the T(W;2)Y-Abe strain. Since adult females of all strains were normal and fertile, we conclude that only extremely limited region, containing the W-Rikishi RAPD sequence of the W chromosome, is required to determine femaleness. Based on a comparison of the normal W-chromosome and 7 translocation and W-deletion strains we present a map of Fem relative to the 12 W-specific RAPD markers.