Increased lodging resistance in long-culm, low-lignin gh2 rice for improved feed and bioenergy production.

Lignin modification has been a breeding target for the improvements of forage digestibility and energy yields in forage and bioenergy crops, but decreased lignin levels are often accompanied by reduced lodging resistance. The rice mutant gold hull and internode2 (gh2) has been identified to be lignin deficient. GH2 has been mapped to the short arm of chromosome 2 and encodes cinnamyl-alcohol dehydrogenase (CAD). We developed a long-culm variety, 'Leaf Star', with superior lodging resistance and a gh phenotype similar to one of its parents, 'Chugoku 117'. The gh loci in Leaf Star and Chugoku 117 were localized to the same region of chromosome 2 as the gh2 mutant. Leaf Star had culms with low lignin concentrations due to a natural mutation in OsCAD2 that was not present in Chugoku 117. However, this variety had high culm strength due to its strong, thick culms. Additionally, this variety had a thick layer of cortical fiber tissue with well-developed secondary cell walls. Our results suggest that rice can be improved for forage and bioenergy production by combining superior lodging resistance, which can be obtained by introducing thick and stiff culm traits, with low lignin concentrations, which can be obtained using the gh2 variety.

Pregnancy outcomes after emergent laparoscopic surgery for acute adnexal disorders at less than 10 weeks of gestation.

AIM: To report our experience with pregnancy outcomes after emergent laparoscopic surgery for acute adnexal disorders at less than 10 weeks of gestation when surgical intervention could be more invasive to intrauterine pregnancy. METHODS: Gasless multiport laparoscopic surgery or transumbilical laparoendoscopic single-site surgery was performed with securing of the surgical view by the abdominal wall-lift method. Intraoperative autologous blood salvage and donation was performed in cases associated with significant hemoperitoneum. RESULTS: Six cases of ovarian bleeding with ruptured corpus luteal cyst, three cases of adnexal torsion with corpus luteal cyst, and one case each of ruptured heterotopic ampullary pregnancy and heterotopic tubal stump isthmic pregnancy after salpingectomy were managed. For ruptured corpus luteal cyst, hemostasis was achieved by removal of hematoma followed by suturing. For adnexal torsion, detorsion with cyst aspiration was performed in two cases and detorsion alone was performed in one case. For ruptured heterotopic ampullary pregnancy, unilateral salpingectomy was performed. For ruptured heterotopic tubal stump isthmic pregnancy after salpingectomy, removal of the expelled villous tissue followed by hemostatic coagulation was performed. In five cases associated with massive hemoperitoneum, intraoperative autologous blood salvage and donation were performed to avoid homologous blood transfusion. After surgery, seven live births were achieved, while two cases of biochemical pregnancy loss and a case of complete miscarriage were noted. CONCLUSION: Although miscarriage could be a significant concern in the perioperative period, gasless laparoscopic surgery appeared to be feasible for management of acute adnexal disorders at less than 10 weeks of gestation.

Uterine adenomyoma with exophytic subserosal growth: case report of rare manifestation with image diagnosis and laparoscopic-assisted excision.

Uterine adenomyoma is a nodular aggregated form of adenomyosis composed of heterotopic endometrial or endometrium-like structures in the myometrium, with adjacent myometrial hyperplasia. Although adenomyoma is not extremely rare, reports of adenomyoma showing exophytic subserosal growth are limited. A 32-year-old nulligravida woman had sudden onset of lower abdominal pain. In addition to a left endometriotic cyst, a heterogeneous mass lesion showing mural and exophytic subserosal growth was noted in the posterior wall of the uterus. In a two-port laparoscopic-assisted procedure, the subserosal nodule was excised using ultrasonic coagulating shears, followed by excision of the mural lesion using a round loop electrode and a high-frequency electrosurgical unit. The histopathologic diagnosis was adenomyoma.

Ectopic expression of GIP in pancreatic ß-cells maintains enhanced insulin secretion in mice with complete absence of proglucagon-derived peptides.

Glucagon and glucagon-like peptide-1 (GLP-1) are produced in pancreatic α-cells and enteroendocrine L-cells, respectively, in a tissue-specific manner from the same precursor, proglucagon, that is encoded by glucagon gene (Gcg), and play critical roles in glucose homeostasis. Here, we studied glucose homeostasis and ß-cell function of Gcg-deficient mice that are homozygous for a Gcg-GFP knock-in allele (Gcg(gfp/gfp)). The Gcg(gfp/gfp) mice displayed improved glucose tolerance and enhanced insulin secretion, as assessed by both oral glucose tolerance test (OGTT) and intraperitoneal glucose tolerance test (IPGTT). Responses of glucose-dependent insulinotropic polypeptide (GIP) to both oral and intraperitoneal glucose loads were unexpectedly enhanced in Gcg(gfp/gfp) mice, and immunohistochemistry localized GIP to pancreatic ß-cells of Gcg(gfp/gfp) mice. Furthermore, secretion of GIP in response to glucose was detected in isolated islets of Gcg(gfp/gfp) mice. Blockade of GIP action in vitro and in vivo by cAMP antagonism and genetic deletion of the GIP receptor, respectively, almost completely abrogated enhanced insulin secretion in Gcg(gfp/gfp) mice. These results indicate that ectopic GIP expression in ß-cells maintains insulin secretion in the absence of proglucagon-derived peptides (PGDPs), revealing a novel compensatory mechanism for sustaining incretin hormone action in islets.

Fertility and pregnancy-associated ß-cell proliferation in mice deficient in proglucagon-derived peptides.

Proglucagon, which is encoded by the glucagon gene (Gcg), is the precursor of several peptide hormones, including glucagon and glucagon-like peptide 1 (GLP-1). Whereas glucagon stimulates hepatic glycogenolysis and gluconeogenesis, GLP-1 stimulates insulin secretion to lower blood glucose and also supports ß-cell proliferation and protection from apoptotic stimuli. Pregnancy is a strong inducer of change in islet function, however the roles of proglucagon-derived peptides in pregnancy are only partially understood. In the present study, we analyzed fertility and pregnancy-associated changes in homozygous glucagon-green fluorescent protein (gfp) knock-in mice (Gcg(gfp/gfp)), which lack all the peptides derived from proglucagon. Female Gcg(gfp/gfp) mice could deliver and raise Gcg(gfp/gfp) pups to weaning and Gcg(gfp/gfp) pups from Gcg(gfp/gfp) dams were viable and fertile. Pregnancy induced ß-cell proliferation in Gcg(gfp/gfp) mice as well as in control mice. However, serum insulin levels in pregnant Gcg(gfp/gfp) females were lower than those in control pregnant females under ad libitum feeding, and blood glucose levels in pregnant Gcg(gfp/gfp) females were higher after gestational day 12. Gcg(gfp/gfp) females showed a decreased pregnancy rate and smaller litter size. The rate of successful breeding was significantly lower in Gcg(gfp/gfp) females and was not improved by experience of breeding. Taken together, proglucagon-derived peptides are not required for pregnancy-associated ß-cell proliferation, however, are required for regulation of blood glucose levels and normal reproductive capacity. Gcg(gfp/gfp) mice may serve as a novel model to analyze the effect of mild hyperglycemia during late gestational periods.