Notes

The C-terminal peptide of CCL21 significantly increases CCL21 exercise from the dendritic cellular lymph node homing receptor CCR7 by simply conversation with the receptor N-terminus.
There are various purification methods have been developed and applied to industrial wastewater with contaminated microorganisms. We previously reported that high-voltage pulsed discharge plasma with cavitation effectively kills Escherichia coli cells. We attempted to expand the application of this disinfection method by using microorganisms such as Bacillus subtilis, Deinococcus radiodurans, and Schizosaccharomyces pombe. These microbial cells were treated with the discharge plasma, and the cell viability, DNA damage, and morphological changes were analyzed to evaluate the bactericidal effect. Interestingly, D. radiodurans, a radio-resistant bacterium showed relatively high sensitivity to the discharge plasma. On the other hand, B. subtilis and S. pombe showed the resistance, showing both sporogenesis. The amount of DNA damage in the treated cells corresponded to the cell viability, but most of the treated cells did not show any morphological changes.Calcineurin (CN) is a conserved Ca2+-calmodulin activated protein phosphatase, which plays important roles in immune regulation, cardiac hypertrophy, and apoptosis in humans. In pathogenic fungi, CN is essential for stress survival, sexual development, and virulence. The immunosuppressant tacrolimus (FK506) is a specific inhibitor of CN in humans and fungi including nonpathogenic fission yeast. Although calcineurin inhibition by FK506 or CN deletion in fission yeast does not induce growth defects, treatment with some anti-fungal drugs such as micafungin and valproic acid, induced synthetic lethality with calcineurin inhibition. Here, we searched for the compounds that induce synthetic growth defects with CN inhibition in fission yeast. We found that ellagic acid (EA) preferentially induced growth inhibition in CN deletion cells. Consistently, co-treatment with EA and FK506 induced severe growth inhibition in the wild-type cells, whereas neither of the single treatment with each compound did so. Moreover, deletion of the calcineurin-regulated transcription factor Prz1 also induced a marked EA sensitivity. Intriguingly, EA also enhanced the growth inhibitory effect of other anti-fungal drugs, including micafungin and miconazole. Thus, our data suggesting the synergistic growth inhibitory effect of the calcineurin inhibitor FK506 and EA may be useful to understand the mechanism to overcome the antifungal resistance.Acanthamoeba castellanii is a ubiquitous organism found in environmental water. The amoeba is pathogenic to toward humans and is also a reservoir of bacteria of the genus Legionella, a causative agent of legionellosis. Oakmoss, a source of natural fragrance ingredients, and its components are antibacterial agents that are specifically active against the genus Legionella. In the present study, oakmoss and its components were investigated for their inhibitory effects on total (extra- and intracellular) Legionella pneumophila within A. castellanii and on L. pneumophila within A. castellanii. Among the oakmoss components, 3-hydroxy-5-methylphenyl 2,4-dihydroxy-6-methylbenzoate (1), 3-methoxy-5-methylphenyl 2,4-dihydroxy-6-methylbenzoate (2), and 8-(2,4-dihydroxy-6-(2-oxoheptyl)phenoxy)-6-hydroxy-3-pentyl-1H-isochromen-1-one (8) reduced the number of total bacteria (extra- and intracellular) in a test culture and also exhibited high amoebicidal activity against L. pneumophila within A. castellanii at concentrations lower than their IC50 values for A. castellanii. In contrast, 6,8-dihydroxy-3-pentyl-1H-isochromen-1-one (5) reduced the total number of L. pneumophila and, also that of total bacteria after 24 h of treatment (P less then 0.05), whereas the compound did not exhibit amoebicidal activity against L. pneumophila within A. castellanii at concentrations lower than its IC50 value against A. castellanii. Thus, it is suggested that these oakmoss components could be good candidates for disinfectants to protect from Legionella infection.A kind of citrus fruit with special flavor, Citrus sudachi harvested in Japan, are exported to various countries. However, the Citrus sudachi needs to be sterilized using aqueous solution of sodium hypochlorite because there is a possibility of the adhesion of citrus bacterial canker (CBC) which is not found in Europe. Due to the sterilization with time-consuming work, a more effective decontamination technique is required. A decontamination method using ultraviolet (UV) light irradiation is thus anticipated. Especially, the use of light emitting diodes (LEDs) wi UV light has many advantages in terms of energy consumption, lifetime, and compactness； although an appropriate method is yet to be established. In this study, we evaluate the fundamental effectiveness of UV-LED decontamination on the basis of the bactericidal ability on CBC in petri dishes, using six kinds of UV-LEDs (265, 280, 285, 300, 310, and 365 nm) . For each irradiation, the resultant bactericidal abilities (BAs) were evaluated precisely taking into account the differences in their optical absorptions. In addition, BAs per unit photon number were also estimated, as a fundamental wavelength-dependence of BA. As a result, the effectiveness of UV-LED irradiation with relatively short wavelengths was demonstrated clearly.Autoinflammatory diseases are systemic disorders caused by genetic or acquired abnormalities in certain signaling pathways of the innate immune system. Dysregulated activation of the inflammasome, i.e. molecular platforms responsible for the activation of caspase-1 and production of interleukin-1β, causes autoinflammation. Familial Mediterranean fever (FMF), the most common genetic autoinflammatory disease, is characterized by a periodic fever and serositis. The complex and heterogeneous genetic background of Japanese FMF patients, accompanied by potential overlap with other rheumatic diseases, suggests crosstalk between genetic and environmental factors. Recently, FMF has been recognized as being part of a spectrum of autoinflammatory syndromes named pyrin-associated autoinflammatory diseases. The discovery of a new monogenic autoinflammatory disease, A20 haploinsufficiency, may provide novel insights into early-onset Behçet's-like diseases. In contrast, adult-onset Still's disease and Schnitzler's syndrome are acquired autoinflammatory diseases without a monogenic abnormality. Although the concept of autoinflammatory diseases originally applied to monogenic hereditary recurrent fevers, it has been expanded to include non-genetic complex autoinflammatory diseases. Information concerning monogenic autoinflammatory diseases may prove useful for elucidating the molecular mechanisms underlying non-genetic autoinflammatory diseases.Objective A high NOBLADS score reflecting the severity of lower gastrointestinal bleeding contributes to the identification of stigmata of recent hemorrhage (SRH) in colonic diverticular bleeding (CDB). The burden of colonoscopy is particularly high in elderly patients; therefore, we investigated the utility of the NOBLADS score for managing CDB by age stratification. Adenosine 5′-diphosphate mw The NOBLADS score performance in SRH prediction was estimated by the area under the receiver operating characteristic calculation and a multiple logistic regression model. Methods This was a single-center, retrospective cohort study. Patients who underwent initial colonoscopy with CDB between April 2008 and December 2019 were divided into a young group ( less then 65 years old) and an elderly group (≥65 years old). We further categorized patients according to colonoscopy findings as SRH-positive, with successful endoscopic hemostasis performance, and SRH-negative, with suspected CDB. The main outcome measure was successful SRH identification. Results Four-hundred and seventeen CDB patients were included, of whom 250 (60.0%) were elderly. There were 72 (43.1%) SRH-positive patients in the young group and 94 (37.6%) in the elderly group. The areas under the receiver operating characteristic curves of the NOBLADS score predicting SRH identification were 0.76, 0.71, and 0.81 for all ages, young patients, and elderly patients, respectively. A multiple logistic regression analysis showed that SRH identification was significantly associated with NOBLADS scores in both groups. Eighty-one patients (32.4%) scored ≥4 in the elderly group, and 60 of those were SRH-positive (74.1%). All 27 patients (10.8%) who scored ≥4 with extravasation on computed tomography were found to have SRH. Conclusion The NOBLADS score is useful for predicting SRH identification, especially in elderly patients.We herein report two cases of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) vaccine-induced immune thrombocytopenia (ITP). A 69-year-old Japanese man developed severe thrombocytopenia after COVID-19 vaccination. He had oral bleeding and hemoptysis but no thrombotic symptoms. He improved rapidly with oral prednisolone therapy. A 34-year-old Japanese woman had generalized purpura after COVID-19 vaccination. Her platelet count improved rapidly after treatment with prednisolone and eltrombopag. The occurrence of two cases of ITP after COVID-19 vaccination at a single institution suggests that there could be more such undiagnosed cases, especially cases of mild secondary ITP.Introduction Invasive fungal infections have been attracting attention as significant fatal complications in patients with febrile neutropenia (FN) who undergo intensive chemotherapy or hematopoietic stem cell transplantation to treat hematological malignancies. Although clinical trials are already underway in other countries, evidence supporting the use of caspofungin (CAS) in FN patients in Japan is still insufficient. Patients and Methods A retrospective study of patients treated with CAS for FN associated with hematological diseases between April 2015 and March 2018 was conducted to determine the treatment efficacy and safety. The study was conducted as a multicenter collaboration, and the data of 52 patients who met all of the inclusion criteria were analyzed. A five-composite-endpoint method was used, and the treatment was judged to be effective when all five endpoints (defervescence during neutropenia; no breakthrough fungal infections; resolution of baseline fungal infections; a survival for seven days or more after the completion of therapy; and no discontinuation of therapy due to side effects or invalidity) were met. Results The efficacy rate was 53.8% (28/52), which is close to the average reported efficacy rate. Adverse events included liver dysfunction and electrolyte abnormalities, but no renal dysfunction or serious events were seen. Conclusions These results suggest that the use of CAS in FN patients with hematological diseases is effective and well-tolerated, and we believe that the use of CAS could become a significant treatment in Japan.Cat scratch disease (CSD) is a zoonotic infection caused by Bartonella henselae typically resulting in self-limited regional lymphadenopathy. Encephalitis is a complication with a supposedly benign prognosis, but we encountered an exceptional case. A 19-year-old Japanese woman presented with status epilepticus. She was diagnosed with CSD-associated encephalitis based on her history of contact with a kitten and a high titre of serum IgG to B. henselae. Multimodal treatment ameliorated her encephalitis, but neurological sequelae including spastic paraparesis, persisted. After several months, she developed age-disproportionate parkinsonism inconsistent with a neurodegenerative disease. In conclusion, CSD-associated encephalitis can result in severe neurological sequelae and post-encephalitic parkinsonism.
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