Abstract. In the spring of 1992 and 1993, an epizootic with severe mortality occurred among cultured goldfish. Carassius auratus (L.), in Aichi and Nara Prefectures in Japan. A herpes‐virus was isolated from moribund goldfish that induced cytopathic effects in FHM and EPC cells. The isolate was sensitive to IUdR (5‐iodo‐2‐deoxyuridine), acid (pH 3) and ether. Transmission studies confirmed the pathogenicity of the viral isolate for goldfish while it was not pathogenic for fancy carp, Cyprinus carpio L. Diseased fish had no visible external signs except for listlessness, but internally there was softening and discolouration of the spleen and kidney, and necrotic foci in the haematopoietic tissue, splenic pulp, pancreas, and lamina propria and submucosa of the intestine. Electron microscopy revealed enveloped visions ranging from 170 to 220nm in diameter with hexagonal nucleocapsids (115–117nm edge‐to‐edge diameter). The disease has been designated as herpesviral haematopoietic necrosis (HVHN), and to date, is the only herpesvirus infection to be described in goldfish.

Rice (Oryza sativa L.) is a tropical crop, but is also grown in temperate regions in late spring to summer. Cold temperature damage is a common problem for early‐planted rice in temperate countries. Physiological responses to chilling, including antioxidative enzyme activity, were investigated in rice to identify mechanisms of chilling tolerance. Plants were exposed to 15°C (cold‐acclimated) or 25°C (nonacclimated) for 3 d, under 250 μmol m−2 s−1 photosynthetically active radiation (PAR). All plants were then exposed to chilling temperature at 5°C for 3 d and allowed to recover at 25°C for 5 d. Leaf fresh weight, relative water content, lipid peroxidation, chlorophyll a fluorescence, and quantum yield showed that cold‐acclimated leaves were less affected by chilling compared to nonacclimated leaves. Cold‐acclimated leaves also recovered faster from chilling injury than nonacclimated leaves. We analyzed the isozyme profile and activity of superoxide dismutase (SOD), catalase (CAT), ascorbate peroxidase (APX), and glutathione reductase (GR). Significant induction of expression and activity of antioxidative enzymes CAT and APX in leaves and SOD, CAT, APX, and GR in roots were observed. We deduced that CAT and APX are most important for cold acclimation and chilling tolerance. Increased activity of antioxidants in roots is more important for cold tolerance than increased activity in shoots. Chilling‐sensitive rice plants can be made tolerant by cold acclimation.

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A controlled flow of porphyrin metabolites is critical for organisms, but little is known about the control of porphyrin biosynthesis under environmental stress. We monitored transgenic rice (Oryza sativa) plants expressing Myxococcus xanthus protoporphyrinogen oxidase (PPO) for their response to drought stress. Transgenic plants showed significantly improved drought tolerance, as indicated by a higher shoot water potential, less oxidative damage, and a more favorable redox balance compared with wild-type plants. Both transgenic and wild-type plants responded to the onset of drought stress, even prior to changes in shoot water potential and oxidative metabolism, by drastically scavenging porphyrin intermediates in leaves, which was crucial for alleviating reactive oxygen species-induced stress. Protoporphyrin IX, protochlorophyllide, magnesiumprotoporphyrin IX, and its methyl ester were absent or hardly detected with the intensification of water stress (-3.1 MPa) in the wild type, whereas transgenic plants retained these intermediates to some extent. Additionally, the expression and activity of most enzymes involved in porphyrin biosynthesis, particularly in the chlorophyll branch, were primarily down-regulated under dehydrating conditions, with stronger repression in the wild type than in transgenic plants. There was up-regulation of Glutamate 1-Semialdehyde Aminotransferase, PPO1, and Fe Chelatase2 transcripts in drought-stressed transgenic plants, enabling the transgenic plants to make larger pools of 5-aminolevulinic acid and protoporphyrin IX available for subsequent steps in the heme branch. Overexpression of PPO ultimately protected the transgenic plants from drought-induced cytotoxicity, demonstrating clearly that manipulation of porphyrin biosynthesis can produce drought-tolerant plants. Our results support a possible role for tetrapyrroles in signaling their metabolic state and in plant protection under drought stress conditions.

Serum levels of TWEAK were significantly elevated in patients with RA, and reflected disease activity and short-term response to etanercept treatment.

The aim of this study was to investigate the prevalence and associated factors of glucocorticoid-induced diabetes mellitus (GDM) in patients with systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) receiving high-dose glucocorticoid therapy. Patients with SLE who had received high-dose glucocorticoid therapy (prednisolone ≥1 mg/kg/day) at Yonsei University Medical Center, Seoul, Korea, were recruited between January 1999 and June 2009. In total 127 patients with SLE were evaluated. Sixteen (12.6%) of them developed GDM after high-dose glucocorticoid therapy (95% confidence interval, 6.8-18.4%). Univariate analysis showed that old age, family history of diabetes mellitus (DM), hypertension, higher body mass index, higher mean dose of prednisolone before high-dose glucocorticoid therapy, and concurrent use of mycophenolate mofetil (MMF) were factors that would increase the likelihood of GDM. Multivariate analysis determined that age, family history of DM, mean dose of prednisolone before high-dose glucocorticoid therapy and concurrent use of MMF were independent associated factors for GDM. In summary, GDM was developed among 12.6% of patients with SLE after high-dose glucocorticoid therapy. Old age, family history of DM, higher mean dose of prednisolone before high-dose glucocorticoid therapy and concurrent use of MMF were determined to be factors responsible for increasing the risk of developing GDM.