Kazuhiko Osoda

Effects of non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs on Aβ deposition in Aβ1–42 transgenic C. elegans

Although epidemiological studies have shown that long-term treatment with non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) may protect against Alzheimers disease (AD), the mechanism(s) by which NSAIDs reduce the risk of AD remain to be determined. As C. elegans possess neither inflammatory cells nor the arachidonate cascade, we could evaluate the effects of NSAIDs on amyloid beta (Abeta) deposition in the absence of immune cells using Abeta-transgenic C. elegans. For this purpose, we established a strain of Abeta-transgenic C. elegans in which thioflavin S-reactive deposits are reproducibly detectable by confocal microscopy. Among the NSAIDs examined, ibuprofen and naproxen reduced the number of thioflavin S-reactive deposits. Furthermore, ibuprofen and naproxen neither affect the thioflavin S binding to Abeta nor Abeta expression in transgenic C. elegans. These data suggest that ibuprofen and naproxen, the most frequently used NSAIDs for the treatment of AD, have an inhibitory effect on Abeta deposition that is independent of the arachidonate cascade and cellular immune systems.

Rapid synthesis of 11C-labeled FK506 for positron emission tomography

Abstract The present study describes a rapid synthesis method for labeled [ 11 C]FK506 for positron emission tomography (PET). A one-pot reaction from [ 11 C]CH 3 I, involving a Wittig reaction as the key carboncarbon bond formation was developed. The chemical process was accomplished using a designed, fully automated synthetic apparatus, and an injectable solution of [ 11 C]FK506 was obtained in only 34 min from [ 11 C]CH 3 I. The decay-corrected radiochemical yield based on [ 11 C]CH 3 I was 11.9%, and the specific activity was 39.8 GBq/μmol.