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BACKGROUND: Marbling defined by the amount and distribution of intramuscular fat, so-called Shimofuri, is an economically important trait of beef cattle in Japan. Our previous study detected 3 single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs), g.231054C > T, g.3109537C > T and c.*188G > A, respectively, in the 5' flanking region of the titin (TTN), the 5' flanking region of the ribosomal protein L27a (RPL27A) and the 3' untranslated region of the akirin 2 genes (AKIRIN2), which have been considered as positional functional candidates for the genes responsible for marbling, and showed association of these SNPs with marbling in Japanese Black beef cattle. In the present study, we investigated the allele frequency distribution of the 3 SNPs among the 5 cattle breeds, Japanese Black, Japanese Brown, Japanese Shorthorn, Holstein and Brown Swiss breeds. FINDINGS: We genotyped the TTN g.231054C > T, RPL27A g.3109537C > T and AKIRIN2 c.*188G > A SNPs by polymerase chain reaction-restriction fragment length polymorphism method, using 101 sires and 1,705 paternal half sib progeny steers from 8 sires for Japanese Black, 86 sires and 27 paternal half sib progeny steers from 3 sires for Japanese Brown, 79 sires and 264 paternal half sib progeny steers from 14 sires for Japanese Shorthorn, 119 unrelated cows for Holstein, and 118 unrelated cows for Brown Swiss breeds. As compared to the frequencies of the g.231054C > T T, g.3109537C > T T and c.*188G > A A alleles, associated with high marbling, in Japanese Black breed that has been subjected to a strong selection for high marbling, those in the breeds, Japanese Shorthorn, Holstein and Brown Swiss breeds, that have not been selected for high marbling were null or lower. The Japanese Brown breed selected slightly for high marbling showed lower frequency than Japanese Black breed in the g.3109537C > T T allele, whereas no differences were detected between the 2 breeds in the frequencies of the g.231054C > T T and c.*188G > A A alleles. CONCLUSIONS: Based on this finding, we hypothesized that the pressure of the strong selection for high marbling in Japanese Black breed has increased the frequencies of the T, T and A alleles at the TTN g.231054C > T, RPL27A g.3109537C > T and AKIRIN2 c.*188G > A SNPs, respectively. This study, together with the previous association studies, suggested that the 3 SNPs may be useful for effective marker-assisted selection to increase the levels of marbling.

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Two alpha-N-acetylgalactosaminidases, alpha-N-acetylgalactosaminidase (alpha-GalNAcase) I and II, were purified from the digestive organ of starfish. Purified alpha-GalNAcase I and II gave nearly single protein bands on SDS-polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis, individually. Even the final preparation of alpha-GalNAcase I contained alpha-galactosidase activity, while alpha-GalNAcase II was almost free from that activity with p-nitrophenyl and 4-methylumbelliferyl alpha-N-acetylgalactosaminides as substrates. alpha-GalNAcase I and II both hydrolyzed terminal alpha-N-acetylgalactosaminyl linkages of the natural compounds investigated: Forssman hapten glycolipid, blood group A active oligosaccharide and GalNAc-alpha1-O-serine. On the other hand, oligosaccharides, and glycolipid containing alpha-galactosyl terminals were hydrolyzed by alpha-GalNAcase I but not by alpha-GalNAcase II. The substrate specificities and other enzymatic properties of alpha-GalNAcase I were similar to those of human placental alpha-GalNAcase, but distinct from alpha-GalNAcase II.

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Our previous study detected a single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP), g.1471620G>T, in the 5' flanking region of the endothelial differentiation sphingolipid G-protein-coupled receptor 1 (EDG1) gene, which has been considered as a positional functional candidate for the gene responsible for marbling, and showed association of the g.1471620G>T SNP with marbling in Japanese Black beef cattle. In the present study, we investigated the allele frequency distribution of the g.1471620G>T SNP among the 5 cattle breeds, Japanese Black, Japanese Brown, Japanese Short Horn, Holstein, and Brown Swiss breeds. The T allele at the g.1471620G>T SNP associated with high marbling was found at high frequency in Japanese Black breed that has been subjected to a strong selection for high marbling, while the allele was absent or at very low frequencies in the other breeds that have not been strongly selected for high marbling. Based on this finding, we hypothesized that the pressure of the strong selection for high marbling in Japanese Black breed has increased the frequency of the T allele at the g.1471620G>T SNP in the EDG1.

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Pseudoaneurysm after pancreas resection poses serious complications, including rupture and hemorrhage. Here we report a case of delayed massive hemorrhage from celiac and superior mesenteric arteries, which was successfully treated with a combined endovascular and surgical approach. The patient was a 52-year-old man who presented with pseudoaneurysms of the celiac and superior mesenteric arteries after distal pancreatectomy. Following the detection of sentinel bleeding from the abdominal drain, emergency angiography of the celiac and superior mesenteric arteries revealed stenosis of the celiac artery and pseudoaneurysms in the superior mesenteric artery. We occluded these lesions with a platinum coil, using an interventional radiological technique combined with bypass grafting between the abdominal aorta and the SMA, using the saphenous vein. However, re-bleeding into the abdominal cavity occurred from the proximal SMA pseudoaneurysm. We inserted an endoluminal stent-graft into the abdominal aorta and completed bypass grafting between the aorta and bilateral renal arteries. The hemorrhage ceased and the postoperative course was uneventful. The patient was discharged 34 days after the treatment (149 days after the initial operation). In conclusion, this combined endovascular and surgical approach is feasible and seems appropriate for pseudoaneurysms arising from proximal sites in visceral arteries.

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A sialidase [EC 3.2.1.18] from the ovary of starfish Asterina pectinifera was isolated and highly purified by preparative PAGE. The SDS-PAGE separation of the purified enzyme revealed two natures of protein bands, upper (50 kDa) and a lower (47 kDa). To identify the protein, N-terminal amino acid sequence of the upper band was done. The sequence matched with the N-terminal amino acid sequence of human lysosomal mature cathepsin D and cathepsin D activity was also found in all the preparation steps. Protease inhibitor pepstatin A inhibited the proteolysis activity of cathepsin D against a synthetic substrate. The two enzymes sialidase and cathepsin D were separated from each other by using high-performance gel-filtration chromatography. The Western blot analysis and isoelectric focusing showed the co-purified cathepsin D is a 50 kDa protein with a PI value of 4.2.

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