A noninvasive method for the characterization of cardiomyocyte contractile behavior is presented. Light microscopic video images of cardiomyocytes were captured with a high-speed camera, and motion vectors (which have a velocity dimension) were calculated with a high spatiotemporal resolution using a block-matching algorithm. This method could extract contraction and relaxation motions of cardiomyocytes separately and evaluate characteristics such as the beating rate, orientation of contraction, beating cooperativity/homogeneity in the monolayer, and wave propagation of impulses. Simultaneous phase-contrast imaging and calcium (Ca2+) fluorescence measurements confirmed that the timing of the maximum shortening velocity of cardiomyocytes correlated well with intracellular Ca2+ transients. Based on our analysis, gap junction inhibitors, 1-heptanol (2 mM) or 18-β-glycyrrhetinic acid (30 μM), resulted in clear changes in beating cooperativity and the propagation pattern of impulses in the cardiomyocyte monolayer. Additionally, the time dependence of the motion vector length indicated a prolonged relaxation process in the presence of potassium (K+) channel blockers, dl-sotalol (1 μM), E-4031 (100 nM), or terfenadine (100 nM), reflecting the prolonged QT (Q wave and T wave) interval of cardiomyocytes. Effects of autonomic agents (acetylcholine or epinephrine [EPI]) or EPI and propranolol on cardiomyocytes were clearly detected by the alterations of beating rate and the motion vector length in contraction and relaxation processes. This method was noninvasive and could sensitively evaluate the contractile behavior of cardiomyocytes; therefore, it may be used to study and/or monitor cardiomyocyte tissue during prolonged culture periods and in screens for drugs that may alter the contraction of cardiomyocytes.

Ataxia-telangiectasia (A-T) patients occasionally develop diabetes mellitus. However, only limited attempts have been made to gain insight into the molecular mechanism of diabetes mellitus development in A-T patients. We found that Atm mice were insulin resistant and possessed less subcutaneous adipose tissue as well as a lower level of serum adiponectin than Atm mice. Furthermore, in vitro studies revealed impaired adipocyte differentiation in Atm cells caused by the lack of induction of C/EBPα and PPARγ, crucial transcription factors involved in adipocyte differentiation. Interestingly, ATM was activated by stimuli that induced differentiation, and the binding of ATM to C/EBPβ and p300 was involved in the transcriptional regulation of C/EBPα and adipocyte differentiation. Thus, our study sheds light on the poorly understood role of ATM in the pathogenesis of glucose intolerance in A-T patients and provides insight into the role of ATM in glucose metabolism.

Adipocyte differentiation requires a well‐defined programme of gene expression in which the transcription factor C/EBPα (CCAAT/enhancer‐binding protein) has a central function. Here, we show that Hzf (haematopoietic zinc‐finger), a previously identified p53 transcriptional target, regulates C/EBPα expression. Hzf is induced during differentiation of preadipocyte cell lines, and its suppression by short hairpin RNA disrupts adipogenesis. In Hzf's absence, expression of C/EBPα is severely impaired because of reduced translation of its mRNA. Hzf physically interacts with the 3′ untranslated region of C/EBPα mRNA to enhance its translation. Taken together, these findings underscore a critical role of Hzf in the adipogenesis regulatory cascade.

In the vertebrate circadian feedback loop, CLOCK:BMAL heterodimers induce the expression of Cry genes. The CRY proteins in turn inhibit CLOCK:BMAL-mediated transcription closing the negative feedback loop. Four CRYs, which all inhibit CLOCK:BMAL-mediated transcription, exist in zebrafish. Although these zebrafish Crys (zCry1a, 1b, 2a, and 2b) show a circadian pattern of expression, previous studies have indicated that the circadian oscillation of zCry1a could be CLOCK:BMAL-independent. Here we show that abrogation of CLOCK:BMAL-dependent transcription in zebrafish cells by the dominant negative zCLOCK3-DeltaC does not affect the circadian oscillation of zCry1a. Moreover, we provide several lines of evidence indicating that the extracellular signal-regulated kinase (ERK) signaling cascade modulates the circadian expression of zCry1a gene in constant darkness. Taken together, our data strongly support the notion that circadian oscillation of zCry1a is CLOCK:BMAL-independent and further indicate that mechanisms involving non-canonical clock genes could contribute to the circadian expression of zCry1a gene in a cell autonomous manner.