Antiserum generated against synthetic urotensin II of the goby, Gillichthys mirabilis, was used to localize urotensin II in the caudal neurosecretory system in six species of freshwater teleosts: Cyprinus carpio, Carassius auratus, Oreochromis mossambicus, Oreochromis niloticus, Salmo gairdneri and Plecoglossus altivelis, and six species of seawater teleosts: Acanthogobius flavimanus, Pagrus major, Parapristipoma trilineatum, Trachurus japonicus, Seriola dumerili and Seriola quinqueradiata. In the carp, urotensin II-immunoreactive perikarya were classified into three groups according to their size and shape. Small cells were located in the spinal cord dorsal to the urophysis, medium-sized cells immediately anterior to the urophysis, and large cells anterior to the medium-sized cells. In each group, a small number of nonreactive cells was found. Urotensin II-immunoreactive nerve fibers extended toward the urophysis and terminated around the blood vessels. Other species of teleosts showed a similar immunoreaction to that observed in the carp. The immunoreaction of the urophysis was stronger in seawater fish than freshwater fish. Urotensin II-immunoreactive elements could not be detected in the brains of the carp, goldfish and goby.

In the four species of elasmobranchs examined (Triakis scyllia, Heterodontus japonicus, Scyliorhinus torazame, Dasyatis akajei), all identifiable caudal neurosecretory cells and their corresponding neurohemal areas showed urotensin II (UII)-immunoreactivity with varied intensity. To localize urotensin I (UI) in the caudal neurosecretory system of the dogfish, Triakis scyllia, h-CRF (1-20) antiserum that cross-reacts with UI was used in place of UI antiserum. CRF/UI-immunoreactivity was demonstrated in the neurosecretory cells and neurohemal areas. A considerable number of neurons showed both UII- and CRF/UI-immunoreactivities, suggesting that UII and UI are produced in the same neurosecretory cells. However, some neurons exhibited UII-immunoreactivity, but no CRF/UI-immunoreactivity. Cells immunoreactive only to CRF antiserum were not detected. At least two populations of neurons exist in the dogfish caudal neurosecretory system: (i) cells immunoreactive for both CRF/UI and UII, and (ii) cells immunoreactive for UII. The dorsal cells of the lamprey, Lampetra japonica, did not react with either UII or CRF antiserum.

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Background: Overweight and obese is shown to be associated with a high risk for cardiovascular morbidity and mortality in the general population. While, inverse relationship between body mass index (BMI) and a risk for all-cause death was observed in dialysis patients. Thinner dialysis patients are supposed to be a high risk population. However, whether cardiovascular death contributes to a high risk for all-cause mortality or whether non-cardiovascular death contributes to a high risk for all-cause mortality in thinner dialysis patients has not been fully elucidated. Methods: A population-based prospective study of adult hemodialysis patients was carried out. A total of 1209 male and female hemodialysis patients were enrolled and divided into four groups according to BMI (G1: BMI < 17.0; G2: 17.0 ≤ BMI < 18.5; G3: 18.5 ≤ BMI < 25.0; G4: BMI ≥ 25.0 kg/ m 2 ). Main outcomes were all-cause death (ACD), cardiovascular death (CVD), infectious disease-related death (IFD), malignant disease-related death (MAD), incident acute myocardial infarction (AMI) and stroke. Sex- and age-adjusted mortality and incidence rates were estimated in the groups using Poisson’s regression analysis. Results: A total of 453 patients died during the 5 year observation period (4,790 person-years). Overweight (BMI ≥ 25.0 kg/ m 2 ) was not associated with a high risk for ACD, CVD, IFD, MAD, AMI and stroke, while moderate to severe thinness was strongly associated with excessive risks of ACD, CVD, IFD and stroke. Associations between BMI and risks for MAD and AMI were not observed (see table). Conclusion: Skinny hemodialysis patients are supposed to be a high risk population for infectious disease-related and stroke-related death and the findings should be known to hemodialysis patients and their caretakers.