No abstract

Maintenance-type DNA methyltransferase (Dnmt1) is usually down-regulated in non-proliferating cells. In the present study, we detected significant expression of Dnmt1 protein in adult mouse brain where the majority of the cells are in a post-mitotic state. A significant amount of Dnmt1 protein was fractionated into the post-nuclear fraction for both cerebrum and cerebellum. The Dnmt1 in this fraction was enzymatically active. An immunofluorescence study revealed that Dnmt1 protein was mainly expressed in neurons and seemed to be localized in the cytoplasmic compartment. Primary culturing of neurons confirmed the expression and localization of Dnmt1 in the cytoplasmic compartment. The findings that the Dnmt1 transcript in the brain utilized the somatic-type exon and that the apparent size of the Dnmt1 protein in the cytoplasm was identical to that in proliferating culture cells indicate that the cytoplasmic Dnmt1 in neurons was of the somatic-type.

Summary:Some cytokines are believed to play a role in the development of acute and chronic GVHD after allo-hematopoietic stem cell transplantation. It has been reported that TNF-␣ and IL-10 gene polymorphisms are associated with the production of those cytokines and the development of graft failure after organ transplantation and systemic lupus erythematosus. We examined whether TNF-␣ and IL-10 gene polymorphisms affect the severity of acute GVHD (aGVHD) and chronic GVHD (cGVHD). Sixty-two and 54 patients were available for the analysis of aGVHD and cGVHD, respectively. We analyzed the gene polymorphisms derived from preand post-transplant blood cells. Donor-derived TNF2 allele (A) was more frequently detected in patients with aGVHD III/IV than those aGVHD 0-II (2/6 vs 2/56) (P ‫؍‬ 0.04). The donors of the patients with cGVHD more frequently possessed a greater number of alleles (allele 13 or more which contain 26 or more CA repeats) in IL-10·G than those without (13/26 vs 5/28) (P ‫؍‬ 0.02), and the patients with cGVHD had more CA repeats in donor-derived IL-10·G than those without (mean ‫؍‬ 25.2 vs 23.4) (P ‫؍‬ 0.01). Donor-derived TNF-308 and IL-10·G alleles may contribute to severe aGVHD and cGVHD, respectively, and will help us distinguish those patients at high risk for GVHD. Bone Marrow Transplantation (2000) 26, 1317-1323.

Abstract-Pre␤1-high density lipoprotein (pre␤1-HDL), the initial acceptor of cell-derived cholesterol, can be generated from HDL 2 by hepatic lipase. Because bezafibrate elevates lipase activity, it may increase pre␤1-HDL at the expense of HDL 2 . To answer this question, we determined the apolipoprotein A-I (apoA-I) distribution in 20 hypertriglyceridemics (triglyceridesϾ2.26 mmol/L) and 20 sex-matched normolipidemics by native 2-dimensional gel electrophoresis. At baseline, pre␤1-HDL was 70% higher in hypertriglyceridemics than in normolipidemics (123.5Ϯ49.