Dominant role of the niche in melanocyte stem-cell fate determination

Stem cells which have the capacity to self-renew and generate differentiated progeny are thought to be maintained in a specific environment known as a niche. The localization of the niche, however, remains largely obscure for most stem-cell systems. Melanocytes (pigment cells) in hair follicles proliferate and differentiate closely coupled to the hair regeneration cycle. Here we report that stem cells of the melanocyte lineage can be identified, using Dct-lacZ transgenic mice, in the lower permanent portion of mouse hair follicles throughout the hair cycle. It is only the population in this region that fulfils the criteria for stem cells, being immature, slow cycling, self-maintaining and fully competent in regenerating progeny on activation at early anagen (the growing phase of hair follicles). Induction of the re-pigmentation process in K14-steel factor transgenic mice demonstrates that a portion of amplifying stem-cell progeny can migrate out from the niche and retain sufficient self-renewing capability to function as stem cells after repopulation into vacant niches. Our data indicate that the niche has a dominant role in the fate determination of melanocyte stem-cell progeny.     

Migration of “storage PNA” from cotyledon into growing organs of bean seed embryo

Zusammenfassung Die in den Kotyledonen der LeguminoseVigna sesquipedalis als «Reserve-PNA» reichlich gespeicherte Pentosenukleinsäure (PNA) nimmt rasch ab, sobald der Same zu keimen beginnt. In den frühen Stadien der Keimung ist die Abnahme des «Reserve -PNA» scheinbar aufgehoben durch die Zunahme des PNA in den wachsenden Geweben des Keimlings, während später, wenn das Alter der Gewebe sich erhöht, die Gesamtzunahme an PNA in den wachsenden Geweben allmählich die PNA-Abnahme in den Reserveorganen überwiegt. Kotyledonen, die von den Keimlingen abgetrennt und auf feuchtem Filtrierpapier geeignet warm gehalten wurden, zeigen praktisch keine Abnahme im Gehalt an «Reserve-PNA».Wenn Samen zuerst mit einer Phosphatlösung behandelt werden, die P³² enthält und dann zum Keimen gebracht werden, so findet man die Radioaktivität nicht nur im akkumulierten PNA der wachsenden Gewebe, sondern auch in dem im Abbau begriffenen PNA der Kotyledonen. Auf diesen Tatsachen fussend, wird die Möglichkeit einer makromolekularen Wanderung des «Reserve-PNA» von den Kotyledonen in den Keimling kurz diskutiert.

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We are indebted to Dr.Ch. Koyama, Chemical Institute of Nagoya University, for the use of a Lauritsen apparatus, and also to Dr.A. Sibatani, Laboratory of Cytochemistry, Yamaguti Medical School, for his valuable suggestions during this work. P³² used in this experiment was provided by Oak Ridge National Laboratory, Oak Ridge, Tennessee, U.S.A.     

Purification of galactose-binding phytoagglutinins and phytotoxin by affinity column chromatography using sepharose

Zusammenfassung Phytoagglutinine, welche Galaktose spezifisch binden, wurden mit Chromatographie an Sepharose gereinigt. Zwei Fraktionen ausRicinus communis-Agglitomom wiurden durch Gelfiltration mittels Bio-gel getrennt: die früh eluierte Fraktion zeigte starke Agglutinationsaktivität und schwache Toxizität, während die später eluierte Fraktion eine schwache Agglutinatinsaktivität bei starker Toxizität zeigt.

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We thank Dr. Y.Sakurai, Department of Chemotherapy, Cancer Istitute, for his constant interest and encouragement during the execution of this work.     

Variants in KCNQ1 are associated with susceptibility to type 2 diabetes mellitus

We carried out a multistage genome-wide association study of type 2 diabetes mellitus in Japanese individuals, with a total of 1,612 cases and 1,424 controls and 100,000 SNPs. The most significant association was obtained with SNPs in KCNQ1, and dense mapping within the gene revealed that rs2237892 in intron 15 showed the lowest Pvalue (6.7 x 10(-13), odds ratio (OR) = 1.49). The association of KCNQ1 with type 2 diabetes was replicated in populations of Korean, Chinese and European ancestry as well as in two independent Japanese populations, and meta-analysis with a total of 19,930 individuals (9,569 cases and 10,361 controls) yielded a P value of 1.7 x 10(-42) (OR = 1.40; 95% CI = 1.34-1.47) for rs2237892. Among control subjects, the risk allele of this polymorphism was associated with impairment of insulin secretion according to the homeostasis model assessment of beta-cell function or the corrected insulin response. Our data thus implicate KCNQ1 as a diabetes susceptibility gene in groups of different ancestries.     

中国创新机器崛起

正长期以来,中国一直是全球热门消费电子公司的代工厂,而中国科技公司的产品很少被认为能取得行业领先。然而,这一状况正在发生改变。越来越多的中国科技公司开始挑战全球的行业领先者,并引领电信、移动设备和在线服务等行业的趋势。在庞大的中国国内市场,许多全球知名厂商正陷入困境。另一方面,中国科技公司开始聘请硅谷知名高管,并与著名体育娱乐明星合作,积极开展营销活动,开拓全球市场。在全球许多地区,中国公司目前仍面临用户的认知问题。     

Prokaryotic genetic code

The prokaryotic genetic code has been influenced by directional mutation pressure (GC/AT pressure) that has been exerted on the entire genome. This pressure affects the synonymous codon choice, the amino acid composition of proteins and tRNA anticodons. Unassigned codons would have been produced in bacteria with extremely high GC or AT genomes by deleting certain codons and the corresponding tRNAs. A high AT pressure together with genomic economization led to a change in assignment of the UGA codon, from stop to tryptophan, in Mycoplasma.