In order to understand the mechanism of the endocannabinoid (eCB) signal, which has so far been shown to work in oocyte genesis and maturation, it is critical to clarify detailed localization of the eCB synthesizing enzyme molecules as well as receptors for eCBs in oocytes in the ovary in situ. For this purpose, diacylglycerol lipase (DGL) α and β are involved in the synthesis of an eCB 2-arachidonoylglycerol (2-AG). DGLα/β and the cannabinoid receptor 1 (CB1) for 2-AG were shown to be localized to the primary oocytes of postnatal mice using immuno-light and electron microscopy. It was found that two types of localization existed: first, immunoreactivities for DGLα and β were weakly detected throughout the ooplasm in light microscopy for which the intracellular membranes of vesicles forming tiny scattered aggregates were responsible.Secondly, DGLβ-immunoreactivity was distinctly confined to the nuage of Balbiani bodies and small nuage-derivative structures; both amorphous materials and membranes of vesicles were responsible for their localization. On the other hand, the weak immunoreactivity for CB1 was localized in a pattern similar to the first one for DGLs, but not found in a pattern for the Balbiani nuage. Two routes of functional exertion of 2-AG synthesized by DGLs were suggested from the two types of localization: one was that the eCB synthesized at all the sites of DGLs is released from the oocytes and exerts paracrine or autocrine effects on adjacent intra-ovarian cells as well as the oocytes themselves. The other was that the eCB synthesized within the nuage was involved in the modulation of the posttranscriptional processing of oocytes. Owing to the failure in the detection of CB1 in the Balbiani nuage, however, the validity of the latter possibility remains to be elucidated.

Phosphatidylinositol 4-phosphate 5-kinase (PIP5K) catalyzes the production of phosphatidylinositol bisphosphate (PIP 2 ) by phosphorylating the 5-position on the inositol ring of phosphatidylinositol 4-phosphate. This phospholipid PIP 2 is generally known to function as a lipid anchor, a component involved in membrane trafficking and a regulator of intramembranous channels/transporters, and also to function in apoptosis and autophagy, as well as a precursor of such second messengers as diacylglycerol, inositol triphosphate and phosphatidylinositol 3,4,5-triphosphate in the phosphoinositide (PI)

Little attention has been paid to adrenal sustentacular cells, and several major histology textbooks do not even describe them. This study presents a detailed morphological description of sustentacular cells using immunolight microscopy and an antibody against brain-type fatty acid-binding protein. The immunopositive sustentacular cells and processes formed lattices with holes of various sizes and compactnesses or openness. In addition, weakly immunostained sheet-like structures with ill-defined contours were often associated with the processes and lattices. In the carotid body, which has traditionally been classified under the name of paraganglia in common with the adrenal medulla, immunostained sustentacular cell processes formed lattices in association with the weakly immunostained sheet-like structures, but the lattices with sheets were more compact and rigid than the adrenal medulla, and appeared like individually distinct compartments. In the ganglion, the immunostained satellite cell processes with the sheets tightly enclosed individual neurons. As a result, the immunostained sheet-like structures were regarded as en-face views of thinly flattened sustentacular cytoplasmic envelopes partially covering the chromaffin cells in the adrenal medulla, and widely in the carotid body in a way rather similar to the satellite cells in the ganglion. In brief, the terminal enclosing portions of adrenal sustentacular cell processes, in cut-views, were too thin/flat to be recognized as distinct lines in immuno-light microscopy because of its resolution limit. They are recognized in en-face views as entities of a substantially spacious extension in immuno-light microscopy.

Localization of cannabinoid receptor type 1 (CB1) immunoreactivity on mitochondrial membranes, at least their outer membranes distinctly, was detected in progesterone-producing cells characterized by mitochondria having tubular cristae and aggregations of lipid droplets in ovarian interstitial glands in situ of adult mice. Both immunoreactive and immunonegative mitochondria were contained in one and the same cell. Considering that the synthesis of progesterone is processed in mitochondria, the mitochondrial localization of CB1 in the interstitial gland cells suggests the possibility that endocannabinoids modulate the synthetic process of progesterone in the cells through CB1:

No abstract

EFA6 (exchange factor for ARF6) activates Arf6 (ADP ribosylation factor 6) by exchanging ADP to ATP, and the resulting activated form of Arf6 is involved in the membrane dynamics and actin re-organization of cells. The present study was attempted to localize EFA6 type D (EFA6D) in mouse adrenocortical cells in situ whose steroid hormone secretion is generally considered not to depend on the vesicle-involved regulatory mechanism. In immunoblotting, an immunoreactive band with the same size as brain EFA6D was detected in homogenates of adrenal cortical tissues almost free of adrenal capsules and medulla. In immuno-light microscopy, EFA6D-immunoreactivity was positive in adrenocortical cells and it was often distinct along the plasmalemma, especially along portions of the cell columns facing the interstitium. In immuno-electron microscopy, the gold-labeling was more dense in the peripheral intracellular domains than the central domain of the immunopositive cells. The labeling was deposited on the plasma membranes in a discontinuous pattern and in cytoplasmic domains rich in filaments. It was also associated with some, but not all, of pleiomorphic vesicles and coated pits/vesicles. No labeling was seen in association with lipid droplets or smooth endoplasmic reticulum. The present finding is in support of the importance of EFA6D for activation of Arf6 in adrenocortical cells.

The present immunohistochemical study was attempted to localize in the submandibular glands of mice at various postnatal stages a diacylglycerol kinase (DGK) isoform termed DGKζ which is characterized by a nuclear localization signal and a nuclear export signal. This attempt was based on following facts: the continuous postnatal differentiation of glandular cells in the rodent submandibular gland, the regulatory role of DGK in the activity of protein kinase C (PKC) through attenuation of diacylglycerol (DAG), and the possible involvement of PKC in various cellular activities including the saliva secretion as well as the cell differentiation. As a result, a selective localization of immunoreactivity for DGKζ was detected in terminal tubule (TT) cells which comprise a majority of the newborn acinar structure and differentiate into the intercalated duct cells and/or the acinar cells. The immunoreactivity was deposited in portions of the cytoplasm lateral and basal to the nucleus, but not in the nuclei themselves. Although the immunoreactive TT cells remained until later stages in female specimen than in male, they eventually disappeared in both sexes by young adult stages. The present finding suggests that the regulatory involvement of DGKζ in PKC functions via control of DAG is exerted in the differentiation of the TT cells. In addition, another possible involvement of DGKζ in the regulation of secretion of the TT cells as well as its functional significance of its nuclear localization in the submandibular ganglion cells was also discussed.

The human intestine is a natural environment ecosystem of a complex of diversified and dynamic microorganisms, determined through a process of competition and natural selection during life. Those intestinal microorganisms called microbiota and are involved in a variety of mechanisms of the organism, they interact with the host and therefore are in contact with the organs of the various systems. However, they play a crucial role in maintaining host homeostasis, also influencing its behaviour. Thus, microorganisms perform a series of biological functions important for human well-being. The host provides the microorganisms with the environment and nutrients, simultaneously drawing many benefits such as their contribution to metabolic, trophic, immunological, and other functions. For these reasons it has been reported that its quantitative and qualitative composition can play a protective or harmful role on the host health. Therefore, a dysbiosis can lead to an association of unfavourable factors which lead to a dysregulation of the physiological processes of homeostasis. Thus, it has previously noted that the gut microbiota can participate in the pathogenesis of autoimmune diseases, chronic intestinal inflammation, diabetes mellitus, obesity and atherosclerosis, psychic disorders (e.g., neurological diseases, autism, etc. ) colorectal cancer, and more.