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N Aoki

Publications and source records attributed to N Aoki.

At least 55 records · Page 3Linked to original sources
PubMed2001

Azurin involved in alcohol oxidation system in Pseudomonas putida HK5: expression analysis and gene cloning.

Expression of azurin in Pseudomonas putida HK5 was examined by immunoblot analysis. Similar amounts of azurin were found in the cells grown into the stationary phase on any carbon sources, including LB medium without alcohol, where no quinoprotein alcohol dehydrogenases appeared. In the early exponential phase, the highest amount of azurin was found in the cells grown on 1-butanol, but here was none in the case of LB medium, suggesting that expression of azurin is cooperative with that of the alcohol oxidase system, especially the system including quinohemoprotein alcohol dehydrogenase IIB. The azurin gene (azu) was cloned and sequenced. azu is monocistronic, and in its promoter region, FNR-binding consensus sequence was found. However, its relative position suggests different transcriptional regulation from that in azu of P. aeruginosa. The molecular weight of the mature protein without copper ion calculated from the amino acid sequence was consistent with the value of the purified azurin measured by mass spectrometry.

Alcohols↗
PubMed2001

Smoking, alcohol, sleep and risk of idiopathic sudden deafness: a case-control study using pooled controls.

Sudden deafness sometimes has an identifiable cause, but in most cases the cause is unknown (idiopathic sudden deafness). Vascular impairment has been proposed as an aetiological mechanism for this condition, but it is unclear whether traditional cardiovascular risk factors, such as smoking or alcohol intake, are associated with this condition. We accordingly investigated associations of idiopathic sudden deafness with smoking, alcohol intake and sleep duration in a case-control study. Cases were consecutive patients diagnosed with idiopathic sudden deafness between October 1996 and August 1998 at collaborating hospitals in Japan. Controls were obtained from a nationwide database of pooled controls, with matching for age, gender and residential district. Exposure variables were assessed from a self-administered questionnaire. Subgroup analyses were performed using audiometric subtypes of sudden deafness. Data were obtained for 164 cases and 20,313 controls. Increased risks of idiopathic sudden deafness were observed among participants who consumed two or more units of alcohol per day (OR=1.90, 95% CI=1.12-3.21), and among participants who slept less than seven hours per night (OR=1.61, 95% CI=1.09-2.37). The direct association with alcohol intake was particularly strong for the participants with profound hearing loss. There was little evidence of an association with smoking. This study suggests that alcohol intake and short sleep duration might be risk factors for idiopathic sudden deafness.

Alcohol Drinking↗
PubMed2001

Cytarabine added to interferon improves the cost-effectiveness of initial therapy for patients with early chronic phase chronic myelogenous leukemia.

The French Chronic Myeloid Leukemia Study Group prospective randomized study results indicate that the addition of cytarabine to alpha interferon (IFN-alpha) increases the rate of major cytogenetic response and prolongs survival in patients with early chronic phase chronic myelogenous leukemia (CML). The French group study design permitted a single crossover to include or discontinue cytarabine or interferon. Endpoints were overall survival, complete hematologic remission (CHR) at six months, and major cytogenetic response at 12 months. We modified a published Markov model that compared IFN-alpha alone to IFN-alpha plus cytarabine and included the possibility of crossover as in the French study. The model permits allogeneic and autologous stem cell transplantation (SCT), and follows cytogenetic response and acceleration of CML through death. Treatment response, toxicity, and survival are drawn from the French Chronic Myeloid Leukemia Study Group population of 810 patients on an intention-to-treat model. Survivals are extended to 62 months based on currently available follow-up. Costs from a United States oncology specialty institution, and state utilities from previous research and a quality-adjusted Time Without Symptoms or Toxicity analysis of the subject study were discounted at 3% per annum. At the median cohort age of 50, cytarabine offers 21 months of added median survival to IFN-alpha, which itself is superior to conventional chemotherapy by 21 months. Cost-effectiveness estimates for cytarabine added to IFN-alpha range from $7,000 per quality-adjusted life year (QALY) to $35,000 per QALY, under all plausible assumptions superior to IFN-alpha alone. The model is sensitive to the quality of life on therapy, as well as to remission rate with additive cytarabine, although the cost-effectiveness calculations are robust over the entire range of clinical assumptions. Based on data from the French study, cytarabine added to IFN-alpha substantially improves the cost-effectiveness of initial therapy for early chronic phase CML.

Antineoplastic Combined Chemotherapy Protocols↗
PubMed2001

[Susceptibilities of bacteria isolated from patients with lower respiratory infectious diseases to antibiotics (1999)].

From October 1999 to September 2000, we collected the specimen from 430 patients with lower respiratory tract infections in 17 institutions in Japan, and investigated the susceptibilities of isolated bacteria to various antibacterial agents and antibiotics and patients' characteristics. Of 515 strains that were isolated from specimen (mainly from sputum) and assumed to be bacteria causing in inflammation, 506 strains were investigated. The breakdown of the isolated bacteria were: Staphylococcus aureus 78, Streptococcus pneumoniae 101, Haemophilus influenzae 104, Pseudomonas aeruginosa (non-mucoid) 58, P. aeruginosa (mucoid) 11, Moraxella subgenus Branhamella catarrhalis 41, Klebsiella pneumoniae 18, etc. Of 78 S. aureus strains, those with 4 micrograms/ml or above of MIC of oxacillin (methicillin-resistant S. aureus: MRSA) occupied 57.7%. Vancomycin and arbekacin showed the most potent activities against MRSA without detection of ABK-resistant strain (MIC: 64 micrograms/ml) and decrease of VCM-sensitive strains those were found in 1998. The frequency of S. pneumoniae exhibiting low sensitivity to penicillin (penicillin-intermediate S. pneumoniae: PISP + penicillin-resistant S. pneumoniae: PRSP) decreased to 34.7% from 46.0% in 1998. The frequency of PRSP was 3.0%, being the least number after 1991. Carbapenems showed strong activities against S. pneumoniae. Especially, panipenem inhibited the growth of all 101 strains with MIC of 0.063 microgram/ml. Generally, all drugs showed strong activities against H. influenzae with MIC80s of 4 micrograms/ml or below. MICs of ofloxacin ranged between 0.063 microgram/ml and 4 micrograms/ml in 1998, however, those were 0.125 microgram/ml or below in all H. influenzae in 1999 showing the strongest activity. Tobramycin and ciprofloxacin showed strong activities against P. aeruginosa (both mucoid and non-mucoid) with MIC80s of 1 microgram/ml. Number of isolated P. aeruginosa (mucoid) was little as 11, however, the susceptibilities to all drugs were better than P. aeruginosa (non-mucoid). K. pneumoniae showed good susceptibilities to all drugs except for ampicillin with decreasing of low-sensitive strains compared to those detected in 1998. Also, all drugs generally showed strong activities against M. (B.) catarrhalis. MIC80s of all drugs were 2 micrograms/ml or below. The drug which showed the strongest activity was imipenem inhibiting all 41 strains with MIC of 0.063 microgram/ml. On the patients' characteristics, the number of patients aged 80 years or older who had been increased was decreased in 1999 in the distribution by age. The percentage of the elderly patients aged 70 years or older was 47.0%, which occupied almost a half number of the total patients as in the last year. As for the incidence by disease, bacterial pneumonia and chronic bronchitis were the highest. They were noted in 37.9% and 30.5% of the patients, respectively. In 1999, bronchial asthma was frequently observed as compared in recent years. It was noted in about 10% of the patients which is the same % as in bronchiectasis. We examined the number of strains from these patients with infections before and after administration of antibiotics. In patients with bacterial pneumonia, the number of isolated strains was almost the same between those before and after administration. However, in patients with chronic bronchitis, the number of strains remarkably decreased to less than the half of the total after administration of antibiotics in the last year, but it decreased to 2/3 of the total in 1999. On the administration of antibiotics and isolated bacteria by the day of administration, the bacteria which were isolated more before administration were H. influenzae in 28.4%, S. pneumoniae in 25.7%, M. (B.) catarrhalis in 12.0% and S. aureus in 10.6%. The frequency of S. aureus after administration over 15 days was almost the same as that before administration, but the frequency of P. aeruginosa (both mucoid and non-mucoid) was 36.8% which was higher than that before administration. The frequency of isolated S. pneumoniae was decreased after administration and none of them was isolated after completion of administration. However, that of H. influenzae was decreased to 7.1% after administration within 3 days, and many H. influenzae were isolated after completion of administration as 21.4%.

Adolescent↗
PubMed2001

Decisions at hand: a decision support system on handhelds.

One of the applications of clinical information systems is decision support. Although the advantages of utilizing such aids have never been theoretically disputed, they have been rarely used in practice. The factor that probably often limits the utility of clinical decision support systems is the need for computing power at the very site of decision making--at the place where the patient is interviewed, in discussion rooms, etc. The paper reports on a possible solution to this problem. A decision-support shell LogReg is presented, which runs on a handheld computer. A general schema for handheld-based decision support is also proposed, where decision models are developed on personal computers/workstations, encoded in XML and then transferred to handhelds, where the models are used within a decision support shell. A use case where LogReg has been applied to clinical outcome prediction in crush injury is presented.

Confidence Intervals↗
PubMed2000

A cytosolic protein-tyrosine phosphatase PTP1B specifically dephosphorylates and deactivates prolactin-activated STAT5a and STAT5b.

Prolactin (PRL) plays a central and crucial role in the regulation of milk protein gene expression in mammary epithelial cells. PRL binding to its cognate receptor leads to receptor dimerization and activation of the tyrosine kinase Janus kinase 2 (JAK2), associated with the membrane-proximal, intracellular domain of the receptor. In turn, JAK2 phosphorylates and activates STAT5, a member of the signal transducers and activators of transcription (STAT) family. We have recently reported that 16 different protein-tyrosine phosphatases (PTP) were expressed in lactating mouse mammary gland and mammary epithelial cells (Aoki, N., Kawamura, M., Yamaguchi-Aoki, Y., Ohira, S., and Matsuda, T. (1999) J. Biochem. (Tokyo) 125, 669-675). We investigated the involvement of each PTP in PRL signaling. Among the 12 phosphatases including SHP-2 examined, a cytosolic phosphatase PTP1B was found to specifically dephosphorylate STAT5a and STAT5b in transfected COS7 and in vitro. Nuclear translocation of STAT5a and STAT5b was largely inhibited upon overexpression of PTP1B. The PRL-dependent transcriptional activation of the beta-casein gene promoter was also inhibited by PTP1B. Furthermore, retrovirus-mediated overexpression of PTP1B resulted in dephosphorylation of endogenous STAT5 and down-regulation of beta-casein gene expression in mammary epithelial COMMA-1D cells when the cells were treated with lactogenic hormones. Endogenous tyrosine-phosphorylated STAT5 proteins in mammary epithelial COMMA-1D cells as well as tyrosine-phosphorylated STAT5a and STAT5b expressed in COS7 cells were co-precipitated by substrate-trapping mutants of recombinant PTP1B. These results strongly suggest that PTP1B dephosphorylates PRL-activated STAT5a and STAT5b, thereby negatively regulating PRL-mediated signaling pathway.

Animals↗
PubMed2000

The role of the DAP12 signal in mouse myeloid differentiation.

DAP12 is a recently cloned, immunoreceptor tyrosine-based activation motif-bearing transmembrane adapter molecule that is associated with the NK-activating receptors. Previous reports showed that the DAP12 message could be detected not only in NK cells but also in granulocytes, monocytes, dendritic cells, and macrophages. In this study we found a significant level of DAP12 protein expression in macrophage-related cell lines and organs. Additionally, we observed increased expression of DAP12 after LPS-induced differentiation of M1 cells into macrophages. To examine the role of DAP12 in the myeloid cell lineage, we established M1 FLAG-DAP12 transfectants (FDAP-M1) and demonstrated the marked morphological changes in FDAP-M1 cells caused by signaling through DAP12. Cell surface phenotypic analysis showed up-regulation of macrophage markers CD11b, 2.4G2, and adhesion molecule B7-2. Additionally, after stimulation through DAP12, phosphorylated FLAG -DAP12 could be immunoprecipitated using anti-phosphotyrosine mAbs. Collectively, these findings indicate that direct DAP12 signaling has an important role in macrophage differentiation.

Adaptor Proteins, Signal Transducing↗
PubMed2000

Spontaneous galactosylation of agalactoglycoproteins in colostrum.

We have found that spontaneous galactosylation of GlcNAc residues occurs in bovine colostrum, but not in dialyzed colostrum, without adding UDP-Gal as a donor substrate. UDP-Gal was shown to be present in bovine colostrum at a level ranging from 200 to 600 microM. When a tracer UDP-[(14)C]Gal was added to the dialyzed colostrum together with a Gal beta1,4-specific beta-galactosidase, remarkable incorporation of radioactivity into 24-28 kDa and 33 kDa RCA1-positive glycoproteins was demonstrated by SDS-PAGE/autoradiography. Some 100-140 kDa agalactoglycoproteins of a CHO mutant cell line were also galactosylated on a blotted membrane by the incubation in the colostrum.

Animals↗
PubMed2000

Mental stress and physical exercise increase platelet-dependent thrombin generation.

Thrombin generation is an important factor in the pathogenesis of thrombogenic disorders and acute coronary syndromes. Increase in mental stress has been associated with the initiation of the acute coronary syndromes, but the exact mechanism is not known. The present study examined the effects of physical exercise and mental stress on platelet-dependent thrombin generation. Twelve healthy men (mean age 34.2 +/- 2.4 years) underwent a treadmill exercise test and a mental stress test by performing mental arithmetic. Platelet-dependent thrombin generation and plasma concentrations of catecholamines, thrombin-antithrombin III complex (TAT), plasmin-alpha2 plasmin inhibitor complex (PIC), and plasminogen activator inhibitor-1 (PAI-1) were measured before, immediately after, and at 10 and 30 min after stress. Thrombin generation increased significantly immediately after exercise, followed by rapid normalization. Mental stress caused a significant increase in thrombin generation 10 min after stress. While plasma concentrations of epinephrine, norepinephrine, and dopamine were elevated immediately after exercise, and rapidly returned to baseline, only plasma norepinephrine increased immediately after mental stress. TAT and PIC concentrations did increase immediately after exercise; however, PAI-1 remained unchanged. The increase in thrombin generation with exercise and mental stress was unaffected by treatment with 81 mg/day of aspirin of 7 days. However, it was inhibited by a single oral 40-mg dose of metoprolol. Both exercise and mental stress cause an increase in platelet-dependent thrombin generation, which was suppressed by beta-blocker therapy, but not by aspirin.

Adrenergic beta-Antagonists↗
PubMed2000

Predictive model for survival at the conclusion of a damage control laparotomy.

BACKGROUND: We employed modern statistical and data mining methods to model survival based on preoperative and intraoperative parameters for patients undergoing damage control surgery. METHODS: One hundred seventy-four parameters were collected from 68 damage control patients in prehospital, emergency center, operating room, and intensive care unit (ICU) settings. Data were analyzed with logistic regression and data mining. Outcomes were survival and death after the initial operation. RESULTS: Overall mortality was 66.2%. Logistic regression identified pH at initial ICU admission (odds ratio: 4.4) and worst partial thromboplastin time from hospital admission to ICU admission (odds ratio: 9.4) as significant. Data mining selected the same factors, and generated a simple algorithm for patient classification. Model accuracy was 83%. CONCLUSION: Inability to correct pH at the conclusion of initial damage-control laparotomy and the worst PTT can be predictive of death. These factors may be useful to identify patients with a high risk of mortality.

Critical Illness↗
PubMed2000

Acute epidural hematoma developing during twist-drill craniostomy: a complication of percutaneous subdural tapping for the treatment of chronic subdural hematoma.

BACKGROUND: This case illustrates that although percutaneous subdural tapping for patients with chronic subdural hematoma (CSDH) is successful and minimally invasive, it can be complicated by acute epidural hematoma. CASE PRESENTATION: A 62-year-old woman presented with headache two months after minor head trauma. Computed tomography (CT) scanning revealed CSDH with mixed density on the right side. Prior to percutaneous subdural tapping, twist-drill craniostomy was performed at the parietal tuber. When the drill-needle reached the dura mater, the patient began to complain of headache, which was followed by altered consciousness. CT scanning disclosed acute epidural hematoma abutting the CSDH; both hematomas were evacuated by emergency craniotomy. At surgery, no definite bleeding source was identified apart from oozing on the dura mater. CONCLUSION: Hemorrhagic complications after percutaneous subdural tapping are rare. The formation of acute epidural hematoma during twist-drill craniostomy has not been reported in the literature. This complication can occur when the blunt tip of the drill-needle remains on the dura mater without penetrating into the subdural hematoma cavity.

Acute Disease↗
PubMed2000

Cornified cell envelope formation is distinct from apoptosis in epidermal keratinocytes.

In order to maintain epidermal structural homeostasis, keratinocytes need to modulate their proliferation, differentiation, and cell death. Although terminal differentiation of keratinocytes is characterized by cornified cell envelope (CE) formation and one major mechanism of cell death is apoptosis, the precise relationship between these processes remains obscure. Using normal human cultured keratinocytes (NHK), we compared A23187-induced CE formation and ultraviolet B irradiation (UVB)-induced apoptosis. A23187 stimulated CE formation in 1 mM Ca(2+)-pretreated NHK cells. CE formation was detected by 1 h and the maximal induction was observed at 6 h. Morphological analysis using acridine orange staining revealed that UVB-irradiated NHK cells show distinctive round, homogeneous fragmented nuclear beads, a characteristic feature of apoptotic cells, while A23187-treated cells showed enlarged nuclei with weak chromatin staining, which is not typical of apoptosis. The UVB-irradiated NHK cells did not show CE formation. Caspase activation is a characteristic event during apoptosis. Although UVB irradiation increased caspase 3 activity, no increase in caspase 3 activity was detected during A23187-induced CE formation. Multiple nucleosome-sized fragments of DNA were observed in UVB-treated NHK cells, but not in A23187-treated NHK cells. FACS analyses using anti-annexin V antibody and propidium iodide (PI) showed that UVB irradiation induced both annexin V-positive and PI-negative early apoptotic cells and annexin V-positive and PI-positive late apoptotic cells. On the other hand, A23187-treated NHK cells showed only annexin V-negative and PI-positive non-apoptotic dying cells. Cell death assay revealed a significantly increased apoptotic cells in UVB-irradiated NHK cells, but not in A23187-treated NHK cells. UVB irradiated NHK cells showed increased cytosolic transglutaminase activity, while A23187-treated NHK cells showed increased membrane-associated transglutaminase activity. These results indicate that CE formation is distinct from apoptosis in epidermal keratinocytes.

Anti-Bacterial Agents↗
PubMed2000

Copper, zinc-superoxide dismutase protects from ultraviolet B-induced apoptosis of SV40-transformed human keratinocytes: the protection is associated with the increased levels of antioxidant enzymes.

It has been reported that cellular oxidative stress induces apoptosis. Ultraviolet radiation that generates reactive oxygen intermediates (ROIs) also induces apoptosis. Superoxide dismutase (SOD) is among the most active scavengers of ROIs, providing defense against the cellular oxidative stress. Mammalian cells express two isozymes of SOD, copper, zinc-SOD (Cu, Zn-SOD) and manganese-SOD (Mn-SOD). Using SV40-transformed human keratinocytes (SVHK cells), we investigated the role of SODs in the ultraviolet B (UVB) irradiation-induced apoptosis. UVB irradiation decreased transiently Cu, Zn- and Mn-SOD activities and their protein levels, with subsequent recovery to the basal levels by 24 h. The UVB-induced decrease in SOD activity was dose-dependent and the maximal effect was obtained at 75 mJ/cm(2). The decrease in Cu, Zn-SOD was more marked than that in Mn-SOD. The cell death assay, annexin-V/propidium iodide flow cytometry, and DNA fragmentation analysis revealed that UVB irradiation induces apoptosis in SVHK cells. The UVB-induced apoptosis was suppressed by the treatment of antioxidants, catalase, glutathione, and alpha-tochopherol. The stable transfection of Cu, Zn-SOD expression vectors into SVHK cells was accompanied by the increased activities of antioxidant enzymes, catalase, and glutathione reductase, as well as glutathione and the cells were shown to be more resistant to UVB-induced apoptosis. In contrast, the transfection of Mn-SOD affected neither activities of antioxidant enzymes nor the UVB-induced apoptosis. The transfection of Cu, Zn-SOD antisense oligomers but not sense oligomers into SVHK or Cu, Zn-SOD cDNA-transfected SVHK (C2) cells significantly decreased the antioxidant enzyme activities and increased the UVB-induced apoptosis. On the other hand, the transfection of Mn-SOD antisense oligomers did not affect the UVB-induced apoptosis. These results suggest that the transfection of Cu, Zn-SOD expression vector, which is accompanied by the increased level of antioxidant enzymes, suppresses the UVB-induced apoptosis of SVHK cells.

Antioxidants↗
PubMed2000

Clinical features of multiple endocrine neoplasia type 1 (MEN1) phenocopy without germline MEN1 gene mutations: analysis of 20 Japanese sporadic cases with MEN1.

OBJECTIVE: Multiple endocrine neoplasia type 1 (MEN1) is a familial tumour syndrome of endocrine tumours involving parathyroids, anterior pituitary and enteropancreatic neuroendocrine tissues, and is inherited in an autosomal dominant manner with high penetrance. Recently, the gene responsible for this syndrome, MEN1, was positionally cloned from chromosome 11q13. PATIENTS: To characterize sporadic MEN1 patients, we analysed the MEN1 gene by direct sequencing of the entire open reading frame from 20 individuals. RESULTS: We identified heterozygous germline mutations of the MEN1 gene in 8 of 20 (40%) cases. Seven were novel MEN1 germline mutations. Three mutations were splicing abnormalities, and all were confirmed to be splicing defects by RT-PCR. The clinical significance of detecting germline MEN1 mutations, not only in familial MEN1 but also in sporadic MEN1, was confirmed by the finding of asymptomatic mutant carriers among family members of the sporadic MEN1 patients. Seven of 8 cases with MEN1 mutations had enteropancreatic lesions in contrast to 4 of 12 (P < 0.018) in those cases with no mutation. Ten of the 12 cases without MEN1 mutation were more than 50-year-old. Six of these 10 cases had the same clinical features; primary hyperparathyroidism and a GH-secreting pituitary tumour. CONCLUSIONS: It is likely that the six cases without mutations were MEN1 phenocopies due to (i) two kinds of tumours with high natural incidence in older subjects developed by chance (ii) another familial tumour syndrome with low penetrance, e. g. familial acromegaly with primary hyperparathyroidism by mutation of another gene, or (iii) somatic mutation during early embryonic stages.

Adult↗
PubMed2000

Differential expression and regulation of K(+) channels in the maize coleoptile: molecular and biophysical analysis of cells isolated from cortex and vasculature.

UNLABELLED: Recently, two K(+) channel genes, ZMK1 and ZMK2, were isolated from maize coleoptiles. They are expressed in the cortex and vasculature, respectively. Expression in Xenopus oocytes characterized ZMK1 as an inwardly rectifying K(+) channel activated by external acidification, while ZMK2 mediates voltage-independent and proton-inhibited K(+) currents. In search of the related gene products in planta, we applied the patch-clamp technique to protoplasts isolated from the cortex and vasculature of Zea mays coleoptiles and mesocotyls. In the cortex, a 6-8 pS K(+) channel gave rise to inwardly rectifying K(+) currents. Like ZMK1, this channel was activated by apoplastic acidification. In contrast, protoplasts from vascular tissue expressing the sucrose transporter ZmSUT1 were dominated by largely voltage-independent K(+) currents with a single-channel conductance of 22 pS. The pronounced sensitivity to the extracellular protons Ca(2+), Cs(+) and Ba(2+) is reminiscent of ZMK2 properties in oocytes. Thus, the dominant K(+) channels in cortex and vasculature most likely represent the gene products of ZMK1 and ZMK2. Our studies on the ZMK2-like channels represent the first in planta analysis of a K+ channel that shares properties with the AKT3 K(+) channel family. KEYWORDS: K(+) channel, voltage-independent, proton block, maize coleoptile.

Cotyledon↗
PubMed2000

mu-Crystallin, thyroid hormone-binding protein, is expressed abundantly in the murine inner root sheath cells.

In an attempt to investigate the genes expressed during the development of mouse hair follicles, we employed RNA differential display and identified a cDNA encoding micro-crystallin, that is a major component of kangaroo lens and a cytosolic NADP-regulated thyroid hormone-binding protein in human kidney. In northern blot study, mu-crystallin transcripts were detected in skin at the highest level among the mouse tissues, whereas lower but detectable in the eye, brain, kidney, heart, lung, and liver. Furthermore, in mouse skin, the gene expression of mu-crystallin followed hair cycle fundamentally, increased significantly during mid- and late anagen phases and decreased during the catagen, telogen, and early anagen phases. In situ hybridization revealed that mu-crystallin gene starts to be activated in hair cone of anagen III, and that in anagen VI, its expression is detected predominantly in the cuticle layer of the inner root sheath from the upper hair bulb to the middle portion of the keratogenous zone and in the Huxley's layer through the keratogenous zone. The expression was not detected in catagen, telogen, and early anagen hair follicles, and any other skin components. These results suggest the possible involvement of mu-crystallin in the development of mouse hair follicles during the anagen phase.

Animals↗