Incomplete development and severe malformation of the heart result in miscarriage of embryos because of its malfunction as a pump for circulation. During cardiogenesis, development of the heart is precisely coordinated by the genetically-primed program that is revealed by the sequential expression of transcription factors. It is important to investigate how spatial allocation of the heart containing cardiomyocytes and other mesoderm-derived cells is determined. In addition, the molecular mechanism underlying cardiomyocyte differentiation still remains elusive. The location of ectoderm-, mesoderm-, and endoderm-derived organs is determined by their initial allocation and subsequent mutual cell-cell interactions or paracrine-based regulation. In the present work, we provide an overview of cardiac development controlled by the germ layers and discuss the points that should be uncovered in future for understanding cardiogenesis.
Abortion, Spontaneous ; Cilia ; Embryonic Development* ; Embryonic Structures ; Female ; Germ Layers ; Heart ; Humans ; Myocytes, Cardiac* ; Pregnancy ; Transcription Factors ; Zebrafish*

In this study, we examined the feasibility of using subzonal cell injection with electrofusion for interspecies somatic cell nuclear transfer (iSCNT) to produce sei whale embryos and to improve their developmental capacity by investigating the effect of osmolarity and macromolecules in the culture medium on the in vitro developmental capacity. Hybrid embryos produced by the electrofusion of fetal whale fibroblasts with enucleated porcine oocytes were cultured in modified porcine zygote medium-3 to examine the effects of osmolarity and fetal serum on their in vitro developmental capacity. More than 66% of the whale somatic cells successfully fused with the porcine oocytes following electrofusion. A portion (60~81%) of the iSCNT whale embryos developed to the two- to four-cell stages, but no embryos were able to reach the blastocyst stage. This developmental arrest was not overcome by increasing the osmolarity of the medium to 360 mOsm or by the addition of fetal bovine or fetal whale serum. Our results demonstrate that sei whale-porcine hybrid embryos may be produced by SCNT using subzonal injection and electrofusion. The pig oocytes partly supported the remodeling and reprogramming of the sei whale somatic cell nuclei, but they were unable to support the development of iSCNT whale embryos to the blastocyst stage.
Animals ; Cloning, Organism/*veterinary ; Culture Media ; Embryo, Mammalian ; Karyotyping ; Nuclear Transfer Techniques/*veterinary ; *Oocytes ; Swine/*embryology ; Whales/*embryology

Pneumonia is common among elderly patients and the incidence among older adults is increasing in aging societies. If pulmonologists were to treat all cases of pneumonia, their work volume would be immense and the risk of burnout would increase. We reviewed cases of consecutive patients 70 years of age or older who were treated for pneumonia between November 2017 and October 2018 at Akita Kousei Medical Center. Of a total of 372 patients recruited for this study (214 men, mean age 85.6 years), 288 patients recovered and 84 (29.2%) died. The duration of admission differed significantly between the cardiovascular department and surgery department (p=0.03), between the renal unit of the internal medicine department and the neurosurgery department (p=0.01), and the renal unit of the internal medicine department and the surgery department (p=0.0005). Outcome was not significantly different among departments. It is crucial that pulmonologists and non-pulmonologists collaborate to treat pneumonia in old adults.