Localization of substance P-immunoreactive nerve fibers in the human digital skin

Substance P-immunoreactive nerve endings were localized in human digital skin by the use of indirect immunohistochemical technique. It was found that substance P-like immunoreactivity was present in free nerve endings in the dermal papillae and in the epidermis. Some Meissner's corpuscles also contained substance P positive nerve endings. Furthermore, substance P-immunoreactive nerves were localized in close connection to sweat gland ducts and blood vessels. The functional significance of these findings was discussed with regard to pain mediation and inflammatory response.     

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.     

Common variants on chromosome 5p12 confer susceptibility to estrogen receptor-positive breast cancer

We carried out a genome-wide association study of breast cancer predisposition with replication and refinement studies involving 6,145 cases and 33,016 controls and identified two SNPs (rs4415084 and rs10941679) on 5p12 that confer risk, preferentially for estrogen receptor (ER)-positive tumors (OR = 1.27, P = 2.5 x 10(-12) for rs10941679). The nearest gene, MRPS30, was previously implicated in apoptosis, ER-positive tumors and favorable prognosis. A recently reported signal in FGFR2 was also found to associate specifically with ER-positive breast cancer.     

Autoradiographic demonstration of uptake and accumulation of3H-6-hydroxydopamine in adrenergic nerves

Zusammenfassung Die Regenbogenhaut der Maus wurde in einer physiologischen Pufferlösung mit radioaktivem 6-Hydroxydopamin (³H-6-OH-DA) inkubiert. Mit Hilfe autoradiographischer und fluoreszenz-histochemischer Untersuchungen konnte gezeigt werden, dass³H-6-OH-DA in die adrenergischen Nervenfasern der Regenbogenhaut aufgenommen und gespeichert wird. Dieser Befund bringt die direkte Erklärung der durch 6-Hydroxydopamin induzierten Degeneration der adrenergen Fasern.