OBJECTIVE To identify metabolites showing changes in serum levels among Japanese male with diabetes. METHODS We performed metabolite profiling by coupling capillary electrophoresis with electrospray ionization time-of-flight mass spectrometry using fasting serum samples from Japanese male subjects with diabetes (n=17), impaired glucose tolerance (IGT; n=5) and normal glucose tolerance (NGT; n...

A particulate preparation isolated from Escherichia coli B catalyzes the acylation of 1-acyl-an-glycerol j-phosphate (I-acyl-GP) with both oleoyl-CoA and pahnitoyl-CoA. The optimum conditions were determined for the acyl-CoA: I-acyl-GP acyltransferase. The acyltransferase is specific for the I-acyl-GP and does not acylate 2-acyl-sn-glycerol 3-phosphate (2-acyl-GP) under the conditions used. The...

To consider possible interaction of the phospholipid membrane with calcium ions, crystal structures of calcium dl-alpha- and beta-glycerophosphates (alpha- and beta-CaGs, respectively) were investigated by X-ray diffraction methods. After many attempts, relatively large single crystals of beta-CaG were prepared from the aqueous solution containing HCl, while crystals of CaHPO4.2H2O were obtaine...

AIM To study the effect of Dlx5 introduced by replication-competent avian splice-acceptor (RCAS) in mouse calvarial and bone marrow stromal cells, and to demonstrate that RCAS vector can be a useful system for studying gene expression in mammalian cells derived from Beta-AKE mouse. METHOD Beta-AKE mouse used in experiments is a transgenic mouse line expressing the receptor for the Bryant poly...

An approach for 3D bone tissue generation from embryonic stem (ES) cells was investigated. The ES cells were induced to differentiate into osteogenic precursors, capable of proliferating and subsequently differentiating into bone-forming cells. The differentiated cells and the seeded scaffolds were characterized using von Kossa and Alizarin Red staining, electron microscopy, and RT-PCR analysis...

Dental preparation sometimes causes transient congestion, edema, and necrosis of the pulp. We hypothesized that nitric oxide (NO) is involved in the pathophysiological changes in pulp after preparation. The mRNA and protein expression of the inducible isoform of NO synthase (iNOS) was examined in murine pulp after dental preparation. The effects of NO on the proliferation, mineralization, and a...

Glycosomes, purified from trypomastigote forms of Trypanosoma brucei, contained all the enzymes necessary to convert glucose to alpha-glycerophosphate and 3-phosphoglycerate. The multienzyme reaction which produces 2 alpha-glycerophosphate, 2 ADP, and 2 NAD+ from 1 glucose, 2 ATP, and 2 NADH was studied spectrophotometrically. Intact glycosomes, suspended with 5.6 mM alpha-glycerophosphate and ...

Phospholipids from Mycobacteria have an unusual fatty acid pattern; palmitic acid is mainly on position 2 while oleic acid is found predominantly at position 1 of glycerophospholipids (Okuyama, H., Kankura, T., and Nojima, S. (1967) J. Biochem. (Tokyo) 61, 732-737). Membrane preparations were obtained from Mycobacterium butyricum, which had acyl-CoA:glycerophosphate and acyl-CoA:monoacylglycero...

Glycerophosphate (GP)-dependent, ferricyanide-induced hydrogen peroxide production was studied in brown adipose tissue mitochondria from newborn rats. Relations between the rate of hydrogen peroxide production and total amount of hydrogen peroxide produced at different GP and ferricyanide concentrations were determined. It was found that the rate of hydrogen peroxide production increases with i...