Expressed emotion and family distress in relatives of patients with schizophrenia in Japan.

We evaluated the association between distress and expressed emotion (EE) in family members of patients with schizophrenia by the General Health Questionnaire (GHQ), the Camberwell Family Interview (CFI), and the Five-Minute Speech Sample (FMSS). The GHQ score was higher in the high-EE group determined by both the CFI and FMSS. The difference in the GHQ score between high-EE and low-EE groups was more marked for the CFI. Family distress is closely associated with the EE classification, but the EE classification by the CFI more markedly reflected family distress versus the FMSS. Even in relatives with low EE, distress was marked, and therefore, coping with mental health in family members is important.

Validity of a Five-Minute Speech Sample in measuring expressed emotion in the families of patients with schizophrenia in Japan.

The Five-Minute Speech Sample (FMSS) is a brief measure for the assessment of expressed emotion (EE). No prior studies have investigated the validity of the FMSS in comparison to the Camberwell Family Interview (CFI) in Japan. Therefore, we administered the CFI and the FMSS to schizophrenic families in an attempt to evaluate the usefulness of the FMSS. The ratings obtained from the CFI were then used to estimate the validity of the FMSS. The overall agreement of the two methods was 53.8%. We conclude that the FMSS may be a useful screening method for the evaluation of EE. Borderline low-EE subjects may have to be included in the high-EE group to improve the sensitivity.

Schizophrenia and the influenza epidemics of 1957 in Japan.

BACKGROUND: We tested the hypothesis that the exposure to an influenza epidemic during the second trimester of gestation is associated with an increased risk of later development of schizophrenia. METHODS: There were three influenza epidemics (A/B mixed type, the first A2 type and the second A2 type) in 1957 in Kochi, Japan. We compared the risk of developing schizophrenia in birth cohorts exposed to these three influenza epidemics during gestation with that in birth cohorts not exposed. To identify subjects who had developed schizophrenia, we surveyed patients with schizophrenia who received medical care at all psychiatric institutions in Kochi prefecture. RESULTS: There is a pattern that schizophrenic births increase twice or more among female subjects who were exposed to each of three influenza epidemics in the fifth month of gestation. The increase in the female births exposed to the second A2 epidemic was significant (relative risk 2.86, 95% confidence interval 1.37-5.26). This pattern across the three epidemics was not observed in male subjects. CONCLUSIONS: Prenatal exposure to an influenza epidemic during the second trimester increased the risk of later development of schizophrenia in female births.

Hepatoma-derived growth factor belongs to a gene family in mice showing significant homology in the amino terminus.

Hepatoma-derived growth factor (HDGF) is an acidic polypeptide with mitogenic activity for fibroblasts performed outside the cells despite the presence of a putative nuclear localization signal (NLS). We have now cloned three related mouse cDNAs: one for a mouse homologue of human HDGF and two for additional HDGF-related proteins provisionally designated HDGF-related proteins 1 and 2 (HRP-1 and -2). Their deduced sequences have revealed that HDGF belongs to a new gene family with a highly conserved 98-amino-acid sequence at the amino terminus (hath region, for homologous to the amino terminus of HDGF). HRP-1 and HRP-2 proteins are 46 and 432 amino acids longer than mouse HDGF, respectively, and have no conserved amino acid sequence other than the hath region. HRP-1 is a highly acidic protein (26% acidic) and also has a putative NLS. HRP-2 protein carries a mixed charge cluster, a sharp switch of positive-to negative-charge residues, which is often found in some nuclear proteins. Northern blotting shows that mouse HDGF and HRP-2 are expressed predominantly in testis and skeletal muscle, to intermediate extents in heart, brain, lung, liver, and kidney, and to a minimal extent in spleen. HRP-1 is expressed specifically in testis. These findings suggest that the HDGF gene family might play a new role in the nucleus especially in testis.

Detection of Salmonella gallinarum and S. typhimurium DNA in experimentally infected chicks by polymerase chain reaction.

DNA detection with polymerase chain reaction (PCR) as a mean of identifying Salmonella infection in chickens was compared with the conventional culture procedure. DNA was extracted from organs of experimentally infected chicks with either S. Gallinarum or S. Typhimurium. The pair of primers used were those directed at the InvA gene. Bacteria isolation was done by inoculating the pre-enrichment media with samples. As was expected a 284 bp fragment DNA was amplified from extracted DNA of infected organs by PCR. The results of our studies indicate that the PCR method is more sensitive than the conventional culture procedure since we were able to detect both S. Gallinarum and S. Typhimurium DNA not only in samples positive for bacteria isolation but also in negative samples. It was possible to detect Salmonella DNA in 15 out of 20 organ samples from chicks infected with S. Gallinarum 21 hr after infection, but, only five were positive for bacteria isolation. Salmonella DNA was detected throughout the entire test period. The results of this study confirm that PCR is a useful tool for the detection of Salmonella infection in poultry.

Molecular cloning of complementary DNA for a novel human hepatoma-derived growth factor. Its homology with high mobility group-1 protein.

A novel hepatoma-derived growth factor was purified from the conditioned medium of human hepatoma-derived cell line, HuH-7, by the assay of [3H]thymidine incorporation into Swiss 3T3 cells. Molecular cloning of a complementary DNA from the cDNA library of HuH-7 cells was done on the basis of the N-terminal amino acid sequence. This protein was acid- and heat-labile heparin-binding protein and inactivated by reducing condition. The cDNA is 2.4 kilobase pairs long, and the deduced amino acid sequence from cDNA contained 240 amino acids without a signal peptide-like N-terminal hydrophobic sequence. Heparin column-eluted fraction of the conditioned medium of Cos-7 cells transfected by the cDNA stimulated the DNA synthesis. Northern blot analysis revealed its ubiquitous expression in several tumor-derived cell lines, as well as in normal tissues. The primary sequence shares homology with the high mobility group (HMG)-1 protein (23.4% amino acid identity and 35.6% similarity). However, its hydrophobic profile was distinct from that of HMG-1 except for the C-terminal acidic region, and it contained no apparent HMG box motif. Immunofluorescence study showed that it is localized in the cytoplasma of hepatoma cells. These findings suggest that this factor is a novel heparin-binding protein, with mitogenic activity for fibroblasts.

Cloning and nucleotide sequence of the gene for NADH:FMN oxidoreductase from Vibrio harveyi.

The gene encoding the enzyme NADH:FMN oxidoreductase (EC 1.6.99.3) from Vibrio harveyi has been isolated from a recombinant library of genomic DNA and sequenced. The deduced amino acid sequence, 237 amino acids long, shows 48% identity with E. coli NAD(P)H:flavin oxidoreductase and 40% identity with Vibrio harveyi luxG gene product.

The conformation of mature human alpha-amylase conditions its secretion from yeast.

The yeast Saccharomyces cerevisiae expresses the cloned cDNA (Amy) encoding human salivary alpha-amylase (Amy) under control of the yeast PHO5 promoter, and secretes the active enzyme into the culture medium. Two approaches were utilized to define the moiety of Amy, which is required for proper secretion and glycosylation. In one approach, chimeras were constructed with a variety of secretion signal sequences (yeast mating factor precursor sequence, yeast acid phosphatase signal sequence and human gastrin signal sequence) fused to the secretion signal-deleted Amy cDNA. The other approach involved analysis of a set of deletion series and a set of point mutations in the Amy-encoding region. The results showed that heterologous signal sequences were sufficient for proper secretion in yeast, irrespective of the insertion of some extra amino acids. In most cases, enzymes with deletions and Cys-465 substitution were not secreted, even though they had complete secretion signal sequences. Instead, they accumulated in the cell in a glycosylated form. Thus, proper secretion seems to require an appropriate conformation in the polypeptide moiety to be secreted.

Molecular cloning and nucleotide sequence of human pancreatic prechymotrypsinogen cDNA.

The cDNA clone encoding human prechymotrypsinogen was isolated from a human pancreas cDNA library and its nucleotide sequence was determined. The sequence consists of a 16 bp 5' non-coding region, a 789 bp amino acid coding region and a 60 bp 3' non-coding region. The predicted product consists of 263 amino acids, including 18 amino acids for a signal peptide and 15 amino acids possible for an activation peptide. Southern blot analyses using the cloned cDNA as a probe revealed that human genomic DNA carries at least two genes that are related to chymotrypsinogen.

Cloning of the fic-1 gene involved in cell filamentation induced by cyclic AMP and construction of a delta fic Escherichia coli strain.

PA3092 is an Escherichia coli mutant that forms filaments at 43 degrees C in the presence of cyclic AMP (cAMP). The mutation responsible for this phenotype is called fic-1. We cloned fic-1 from PA3092 by selection for the neighboring argD gene. The fic-1 gene product had a relative molecular mass of 21 kilodaltons by the maxicell method. A strain with the fic gene completely deleted was constructed by replacing fic with a kanamycin resistance gene. In one of the fic-deleted strains derived from PA3092, cAMP did not induce cell filamentation at 43 degrees C, but it did in the same strain harboring a plasmid containing the fic-1 gene. These results indicate that the fic-1 gene product is necessary for the induction of cell filamentation by cAMP but is dispensable to the cell. We also found that high levels of NaCl suppressed the cell filamentation induced by cAMP.

Expression of human pancreatic secretory trypsin inhibitor in Saccharomyces cerevisiae.

Human pancreatic secretory trypsin inhibitor (PSTI) cDNA was expressed in Saccharomyces cerevisiae using the yeast acid phosphatase PHO5 promoter. The product encoded by the PSTI-coding cDNA was correctly processed in yeast cells, and the PSTI molecules were efficiently secreted into the medium. The amino acid composition and the N-terminal amino acid sequence of the secreted PSTI molecules were identical to those of the authentic PSTI polypeptides from human pancreas, and the product exhibited trypsin-inhibitory activity.