Cloning of adiponectin receptors that mediate antidiabetic metabolic effects

Adiponectin (also known as 30-kDa adipocyte complement-related protein; Acrp30) is a hormone secreted by adipocytes that acts as an antidiabetic and anti-atherogenic adipokine. Levels of adiponectin in the blood are decreased under conditions of obesity, insulin resistance and type 2 diabetes. Administration of adiponectin causes glucose-lowering effects and ameliorates insulin resistance in mice. Conversely, adiponectin-deficient mice exhibit insulin resistance and diabetes. This insulin-sensitizing effect of adiponectin seems to be mediated by an increase in fatty-acid oxidation through activation of AMP kinase and PPAR-alpha. Here we report the cloning of complementary DNAs encoding adiponectin receptors 1 and 2 (AdipoR1 and AdipoR2) by expression cloning. AdipoR1 is abundantly expressed in skeletal muscle, whereas AdipoR2 is predominantly expressed in the liver. These two adiponectin receptors are predicted to contain seven transmembrane domains, but to be structurally and functionally distinct from G-protein-coupled receptors. Expression of AdipoR1/R2 or suppression of AdipoR1/R2 expression by small-interfering RNA supports our conclusion that they serve as receptors for globular and full-length adiponectin, and that they mediate increased AMP kinase and PPAR-alpha ligand activities, as well as fatty-acid oxidation and glucose uptake by adiponectin.     

Columns for visual features of objects in monkey inferotemporal cortex.

At early stages of the mammalian visual cortex, neurons with similar stimulus selectivities are vertically arrayed through the thickness of the cortical sheet and clustered in patches or bands across the surface. This organization, referred to as a 'column', has been found with respect to one-dimensional stimulus parameters such as orientation of stimulus contours, eye dominance of visual inputs, and direction of stimulus motion. It is unclear, however, whether information with extremely high dimensions, such as visual shape, is organized in a similar columnar fashion or in a different manner in the brain. Here we report that the anterior inferotemporal area of the monkey cortex, the final station of the visual cortical stream crucial for object recognition, consists of columns, each containing cells responsive to similar visual features of objects.     

压下量对高纯超低碳深冲钢板再结晶主织构的影响

借助三维取向分布函数探讨了压下量对含有不同固溶碳量的高纯超低碳深冲钢板再结晶主织构的影响。结果表明：随压下量的增大，主织构｛１１１｝〈１１０〉和｛１１１｝〈１１２〉的强度呈上升趋势；｛１１１｝〈１１０〉和｛１１１｝〈１１２〉织构最强点朝高碳含量方向移动。     

Cardiac hypertrophy in surgically denervated dogs with aortic stenosis

Summary Left ventricular cell hypertrophy in dogs with aortic stenosis was accelerated by surgical denervation of the left ventricle. We conclude that there are neural mechanisms which, when present, inhibit cardiac cell hypertrophy.This work was supported by a grant of the Ministry of Education in Japan for 1981.     

Cloning by functional expression of platelet-activating factor receptor from guinea-pig lung.

Platelet-activating factor (PAF), a unique phospholipid mediator, possesses potent proinflammatory, smooth-muscle contractile and hypotensive activities, and appears to be crucial in the pathogenesis of bronchial asthma and in the lethality of endotoxin and anaphylactic shock. Despite this, little is known of the molecular properties of the PAF receptor and related signal transduction systems. Although several lines of evidence suggest that activation of the PAF receptor stimulates phospholipase C and subsequent inositol trisphosphate formation through G protein(s), the PAF receptor and calcium channel are reported to show a close relation. As a first approach to cloning lipid autacoid receptors, we have isolated complementary DNA for the PAF receptors. Our strategy involved gene expression in Xenopus laevis oocytes and electrophysiological detection of PAF-induced responses. Sequence analysis indicates that the receptor belongs to the superfamily of G protein-coupled receptors.     

Structure and function of a membrane component SecDF that enhances protein export

Protein translocation across the bacterial membrane, mediated by the secretory translocon SecYEG and the SecA ATPase, is enhanced by proton motive force and membrane-integrated SecDF, which associates with SecYEG. The role of SecDF has remained unclear, although it is proposed to function in later stages of translocation as well as in membrane protein biogenesis. Here, we determined the crystal structure of Thermus thermophilus SecDF at 3.3?? resolution, revealing a pseudo-symmetrical, 12-helix transmembrane domain belonging to the RND superfamily and two major periplasmic domains, P1 and P4. Higher-resolution analysis of the periplasmic domains suggested that P1, which binds an unfolded protein, undergoes functionally important conformational changes. In vitro analyses identified an ATP-independent step of protein translocation that requires both SecDF and proton motive force. Electrophysiological analyses revealed that SecDF conducts protons in a manner dependent on pH and the presence of an unfolded protein, with conserved Asp and Arg residues at the transmembrane interface between SecD and SecF playing essential roles in the movements of protons and preproteins. Therefore, we propose that SecDF functions as a membrane-integrated chaperone, powered by proton motive force, to achieve ATP-independent protein translocation.