No abstract

Eggs of the hermaphrodite, self-sterile ascidian, Ciona intestinalis, were washed with acid seawater (pH 3.2), and the washing solution was then adjusted to pH 8.2. This solution was found to inhibit only the binding of non-autologous sperm to the vitelline coat (VC) of eggs, indicating that it contained self-nonself recognition activity. This activity was heat-stable and insensitive to trypsin, but was destroyed by V-8 protease and a-glucosidase. Both the hydrophobic and hydrophilic components of a lyophilized powder of the extract showed allo-recognizing activity. On TLC, the hydrophobic components gave a major spot of glucose (Glc) and a peptide spot(s) containing mainly glutarnic acid and/or glutamine (Glx). The glucosyl conjugate was purified by HPLC and shown to block sperm-egg binding to various extents. Individual peptide subfractions had no inhibitory activity, but in combination they showed inhibitory activity. These findings suggest that the acid extract of Ciona eggs contains a Glc-enriched nonspecific inhibitor of sperm-egg binding, which could be the primary effector of self-incompatibility, and Glx-enriched modulators, which serve as acceptors of allo-sperm. The cooperative interactions of these components may be responsible for the diversity of allo-recognition in Ciona gametes.

These results suggest that carbocisteine could exert anti-inflammatory and anti-oxidant effects through directly scavenging ROS in addition to its previously known mucoregulatory effect.

SUMMARYWe evaluated the long-term efficacy of losartan and low-dose hydrochlorothiazide combination therapy in the treatment of hypertension.We enrolled 15 Japanese hypertensive outpatients whose 24-hour ambulatory blood pressure was ≥ 135/80 mmHg after candesartan 8 mg (CND group; n = 10) monotherapy or amlodipine 5 mg (AML group; n = 5) monotherapy for 2 months or more. The monotherapy was then switched to losartan 50 mg and hydrochlorothiazide 12.5 mg combination therapy. Ambulatory blood pressure and indices of glucose and lipid metabolism were measured at the end of the monotherapy and after 3 and 12 months of the combination therapy.In the CND group, 24-hour blood pressure decreased significantly from 137 ± 9/89 ± 4 to 126 ± 8/81 ± 7 mmHg after 3 months (P < 0.05/ P < 0.001) and to 123 ± 7/81 ± 4 mmHg after 12 months (P < 0.01/P < 0.001). In the AML group, 24-hour blood pressure decreased significantly from 137 ± 11/81 ± 7 to 125 ± 12/75 ± 6 mmHg after 3 months (P < 0.05/P < 0.05) and to 124 ± 9/77 ± 7 mmHg after 12 months (P < 0.05/NS). There were significant decreases in systolic blood pressure during the daytime (6:00-21:30), nighttime (22:00-5:30) and early morning (6:00-8:00) after 12 months in both groups. No adverse changes in the indices of glucose or lipid metabolism were observed in either group.In conclusion, long-term combination therapy with losartan and low-dose hydrochlorothiazide was effective in the treatment of hypertensive patients whose blood pressure was not controlled by candesartan or amlodipine monotherapy alone. (Int Heart J 2007; 48: 177-186) Key words: Angiotensin II receptor blocker, Thiazide, Calcium channel blocker, Ambulatory blood pressure, Uric acid EPIDEMIOLOGIC studies and clinical trials have shown that the inhibition of From the

The present study tested the effects of valsartan, an angiotensin II receptor blocker, on the progression of renal insufficiency in patients with nondiabetic renal diseases. The study subjects were 22 patients with nondiabetic renal diseases whose serum creatinine (Cr) ranged from 1.