Comparison between coacervation property and secondary structure of synthetic peptides, Ile-containing elastin-derived pentapeptide repeats.

A series of Ile-containing elastin-derived peptide-analogs, (Ile-Pro-Gly-Val-Gly)n (n = 7-10) possessing remarkable and reversible coacervation property were newly synthesized. In comparison with the known elastin-derived peptide-analogs, which were so-called polypeptides, the obtained 35 to 50 mer peptides, (IPGVG)n (n = 7-10) were significantly low molecular sized-polypeptides. However, they clearly exhibited coacervation property as same as the polypeptides did. Because of their low molecular size, spectrographic analyses of (IPGVG)n (n = 7-10) became feasible to carry out. As results of secondary structural analyses by CD and FT-IR, it was found that the coacervation property of the peptides is clearly attributed to the ordered secondary-structures, mainly, type II ß-turn.

Relationship between expression of tight junction-related molecules and perturbed epidermal barrier function in UVB-irradiated hairless mice.

In epithelia, tight junctions (TJs) create a primary barrier to the diffusion of solutes through the paracellular pathway. Although TJ-related molecules are present in the epidermis, the precise mechanisms underlying TJ functions in this tissue remain unclear. In this study, we use an ultraviolet (UV) B-irradiated murine skin model, in which the epidermal barrier function has been perturbed, to demonstrate a correlation between the expression patterns of TJ-related molecules and the epidermal permeability of TJs. Occludin remained localized in the upper epidermis, regardless of UVB irradiation (0.15 J per cm(2)). ZO-1 was localized in the upper portion of normal epidermis, and within 3-4 days of UVB irradiation, it was expressed throughout the upper epidermis and their expression coincided with epidermal thickening. Protein expression of claudin-1 and occludin did not alter until 3 and 4 days after UVB irradiation, respectively and thereafter expression remained elevated above pre-irradiation levels. An in vivo epidermal permeability assay revealed that tight junction-barrier function was perturbed by UVB irradiation, whereby biotinylated markers clearly permeated the stratum granulosum 3-5 days after irradiation. These results suggest that TJ-related molecules play important roles in epidermal barrier function in murine skin and show that changes in their expression patterns are associated with epidermal barrier perturbation after UVB irradiation. Specifically, it appears that epidermal barrier recovery is accelerated by the increased production and dense localization of occludin in the cell-cell contact region of the stratum granulosum.

The effect of adjuvant 5'-deoxy-5-fluorouridine in early stage breast cancer patients: results from a multicenter randomized controlled trial.

To assess the efficacy of 5'-DFUR, an intermediate of capecitabine, for adjuvant treatment of early breast cancer, we conducted an open-labeled multi-center randomized controlled trial to compare postoperative 5'-DFUR treatment with surgery alone. We enrolled 1217 primary breast cancer patients and randomly assigned them into two treatment groups; one received six-month postoperative 5'-DFUR treatment by consecutive or intermittent administration, and the other surgery alone. Follow-up surveys were conducted once a year for all subjects simultaneously and examined their outcome/presence or absence of the cancer recurrence. The central study committee reviewed all follow-up data and judged the recurrence data to be used for the analysis. Eight-year follow-up data showed no significant differences in relapse-free and overall survival between the two groups, and 5'-DFUR treatment regimen showed an extremely high tolerance. Possible explanations are discussed for the finding of no significant survival difference between adjuvant 6-month 5'-DFUR monotherapy and surgery alone in early breast cancer.