Hiroshi Inui

Aerobically grown Euglena gracilis , a bleached mutant, shows a prompt synthesis of wax esters with the concomitant fall of the paramylon (a β‐1,3‐glucan) content upon exposure to anaerobiosis. Bringing the anaerobic cells back to aerobiosis causes the reverse conversions. The anaerobic wax ester formation is accompanied by a net synthesis of ATP. The transition between the fermentation and respiration occurs at 10 −5 –10 −7 M of the O 2 concentration.

When a series of chitin oligosaccharides was added into a rice suspension culture, N-acetylchito- hexaose, N-acetylchitopentaose, and N-acetylchitotetraose caused an increase in extracellular chitinase activity, mainly due to induction of a class III chitinase. In the case of N-acetylchitohexaose, a substantial increase in the chitinase activity was observed at a concentration higher than 0.01 μg/ml, and a maximum effect was reached at 1 μg/ml. In contrast, N-acetylchitotriose, N-acetylchitobios

A malonyl-CoA-independent fatty acid synthetic system, different from the systems in other subcellular fractions, occurred in mitochondria of Euglena gracilis. The system had ability to synthesize fatty acids directly from acetyl-CoA as both primer and C2 donor using NADH as an electron donor. Fatty acids were synthesized by reversal of beta-oxidation with the exception that enoyl-CoA reductase functioned instead of acyl-CoA dehydrogenase in degradation system. A fairly high activity of enoyl-Co

Cultured vascular smooth muscle cells (VSMC) from spontaneously hypertensive rats express both alpha and beta isoforms of the platelet-derived growth factor (PDGF) receptors at high levels (100,000 and 240,000 sites/cell, respectively). In this cell type, PDGF-BB elicited a mitogenic response; however, PDGF-AA increased only protein synthesis without activating DNA synthesis. Protein kinase C (PKC) was activated by PDGF-AA as well as PDGF-BB with concomitant translocation from cytosol to membran

In the photodecompositions of 4-methoxyphenyl azide (1) and 4-methylthiophenyl azide (5) in argon matrixes at cryogenic temperatures, benzazirine intermediates were identified on the basis of IR spectra. As expected, the benzazirines photochemically rearranged to the corresponding ketenimines and triplet nitrenes. Interestingly, with the methylthio substituent, the rearrangement of benzazirine 8 to ketenimine 7 occurred at 1.49 × 10–5 s–1 even in the dark at 10 K, despite a computed activation b

The photochemistry of 3-methyl-2-(1-naphthyl)-2H-azirine (1a) was investigated by the direct observation of reactive intermediates in matrixes at 10 K and by the characterization of reaction products in solutions. As already reported, the photolysis of the azirine 1a with the short-wavelength light (>300 nm) caused the C-C bond cleavage of the 2H-azirine ring to produce the nitrile ylide 2. However, the products derived from the C-N bond cleavage were exclusively obtained in the irradiation of 1

Pyruvate:NADP+ oxidoreductase was homogeneously purified from crude extract of Euglena gracilis. The Mr of the enzyme was estimated to be 309,000 by gel filtration. The enzyme migrated as a single protein band with Mr of 166,000 by sodium dodecyl sulfate-polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis, suggesting that the enzyme consists of two identical polypeptides. The absorption spectrum of the native enzyme exhibited maxima at 278, 380, and 430 nm, and a broad shoulder was observed around 480 nm; the ma

(1983). Production and Composition of Wax Esters by Fermentation of Euglena gracilis. Agricultural and Biological Chemistry: Vol. 47, No. 11, pp. 2669-2671.

Low molecular weight chitosan (LMWC) (a mixture of chitooligosaccharides with high degrees of polymerization; an average degree of polymerization is 6.8) stimulated mitogenic response to platelet-derived growth factor (PDGF) in a dose-dependent manner in cultured rat vascular smooth muscle cells, and a maximum effect was observed at 100 micrograms/ml. However, the mitogenic response was not induced when cells were incubated with LMWC alone. This stimulatory effect of LMWC on the mitogenic respon

This study aimed to review the causes of failure after total knee arthroplasty (TKA), focusing on the causes of revision and persistent pain. A literature search was conducted in the databases of PubMed, Cochrane Library, and Google Scholar for articles published before October 4, 2022. In addition, registry data from 11 countries were obtained from national registry archives. National registry data and recent articles show that aseptic loosening, infection, instability, patellofemoral complicat

In cultured rat vascular smooth muscle cells, platelet-derived growth factor (PDGF) beta receptor was expressed at a high level, whereas PDGF-alpha receptor was not detected. PDGF-BB showed a high binding activity at 4 degrees C in the cells and was not displaced by PDGF-AA or -AB. This result indicates that PDGF-AB as well as PDGF-AA does not bind to the cells lacking PDGF-alpha receptor at 4 degrees C. However, at 37 degrees C, PDGF-AB bound to the cells and induced the internalization of PDGF