Prevention of onset in an insulin-dependent diabetes mellitus model, NOD mice, by oral feeding of Lactobacillus casei. APMIS 105: [643][644][645][646][647][648][649] 1997.The effects of Lactobacillus casei (LC) on the onset of diabetes in an insulin-dependent diabetes mellitus model, nonobese diabetic (NOD) mice, were examined. From the age of 4 weeks, female NOD mice were fed a diet of either standard laboratory chow (n= 12) or the same chow containing 0.05% weight heat-killed cells of LC (n= 12), and the onset of diabetes was thereafter recorded. The incidence of diabetes in the control group (10112) was significantly higher than that in the LC-treated group (31 12) (p

The aim of the present study was to establish a progressive steatohepatitis mouse model because few reported animal models of non-alcoholic steatohepatitis (NASH) show the progression from fatty liver to steatohepatitis. C57BL/6N mice were fed a high-fat diet (HFD) to develop obesity and were either administered carbon tetrachloride (CCl4 ) eight times (0.05 mL/kg, s.c., once, followed by 0.1 mL/kg, s.c., seven times) or not. Serum parameters and hepatic histopathology were examined. In a separate experiment, CCl4 was administered subcutaneously from 0 to eight times to HFD-fed obese mice to investigate progressive changes. Markers of oxidative stress, inflammation and apoptosis, as well as histopathological changes in the liver, were analysed. The HFD-fed obese mice showed fatty liver but not steatohepatitis. In contrast, HFD-fed mice administered CCl4 eight times showed histopathological features of steatohepatitis (fatty liver, inflammation, hepatocellular ballooning and fibrosis) and increased serum alanine aminotransferase levels. However, the multiple administration of CCl4 to obese mice reduced the ratio of reduced glutathione to oxidized glutathione, superoxide dismutase activity and mitochondrial DNA copy number, leading to the development of chronic oxidative stress, increased numbers of apoptotic cells and increased levels of both tumour necrosis factor-α and transforming growth factor-β mRNA. The resulting inflammation led to increased hydroxyproline content in the liver and fibrosis. The present study demonstrates that multiple administration of CCl4 to HFD-fed obese mice induces chronic oxidative stress that triggers inflammation and apoptosis and leads to the development of fibrosis in the liver, resulting in progression from fatty liver to steatohepatitis. This murine model will be useful in the research of hepatic disorders.

Yokokura, T. Effect of oral administration of Lactobacillus casei on alloxan-induced diabetes in mice. APMIS 105: [637][638][639][640][641][642] 1997.The effects of Lactobacillus casei (LC) on the onset of alloxan (AXN)-induced diabetes in 7-week-old BALBic mice were examined. It was observed that the mice given a diet containing 0.1%1 or 0.05% LC or orally administered LC showed significantly decreased incidence of diabetes induced by intravenous injection of AXN and that the plasma glucose level was slightly lower than that in the control group.The body weight in the LC-treated groups was higher than that in the control group, although the food intake weights were almost the same. Pathological analysis revealed that the XXN-induced disappearance of insulin-secreting p-cells in the islets of Langerhans was strongly inhibited in the LCtreated groups. It was also shown that the serum nitric oxide level was maintained at a normal level in LC-treated mice, whereas the level in the control group was increased by AXN administration. Taken together, these findings suggest that oral administration of LC to AXN-treated BALBic mice contributed to the reduction of diabetes and the increase in plasma glucose level.

To study the mechanism of spermatogenesis, we have isolated many monoclonal antibodies (mAb) which recognize specific steps of mouse germ cell differentiation and then have evaluated the specific expression and characterization of antigenic molecules using immunohistochemistry and Western blotting. Monoclonal antibody TRA 54 recognized specific organelles in germ cell cytoplasm from spermatocytes to spermatids; that is, a large granule was stained in mid-late pachytene, diplotene and secondary spermatocytes and in round spermatids at stage I while the acrosome of spermatids at steps 2-3 to step 12 were also positive. Thereafter, the antigens disappeared from spermatids at more advanced stages of differentiation. Western blots using TRA 54 revealed broad bands with approximate molecular weights of >200, 190 and 85 kDa in the testis. The expression of these antigens during testicular germ cell development should be of interest in relation to the biogenesis of organelles such as the chromatoid body and acrosome and will be a useful stage-specific molecular marker for the study of spermatogenesis.

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