Publications by authors named "A Kizu"
Carcinomas are associated with metastasis to specific organs while sparing others. Breast cancer presents with lung metastasis but rarely kidney metastasis. Using this difference as an example, we queried the mechanism(s) behind the proclivity for organ-specific metastasis.
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- Glomerular filtration is dependent on a specific collagen type IV network, which includes the α3, α4, and α5 chains; mutations in these genes lead to Alport syndrome (AS) and impaired kidney function.
- A study identified that podocytes create α3 chains in the glomerular basement membrane, and lacking these chains severely disrupts filtration, mirroring AS symptoms.
- Researchers discovered that horizontal gene transfer techniques, enhanced by TGFβ1 and using stem cells, can restore α3 chain expression and improve kidney function in mice with Col4a3 deficiency, suggesting potential for cell-based therapies in treating AS.
As a space project, in "Stem Cells" by the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA), frozen mouse ES cells were stored on the International Space Station (ISS) in the Minus Eighty Degree Laboratory Freezer for ISS (MELFI) for 1584 days. After taking these cells back to the ground, the cells were thawed and cultured, and their gene expressions were comprehensively analyzed using RNA sequencing in order to elucidate the early response of the cells to long-time exposure to space radiation consisting of various ionized particles. The comparisons of gene expression involved in double-stranded break (DSB) repair were examined.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFNowadays, ordinary people can travel in space, and the possibility of extended durations in an environment such as moon of the Earth and Mars with higher space radiation exposures compared to past missions, is increasing. Until now, the physical doses of space radiation have been measured, but measurement of direct biological effects has been hampered by its low dose and low dose-rate effect. To assess the biological effects of space radiation, we launched and kept frozen mouse embryonic stem (ES) cells in minus eighty degree Celsius freezer in ISS (MELFI) on the International Space Station (ISS) for a maximum of 1,584 days.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFBackground: Malnutrition and sarcopenia are frequently observed in patients undergoing maintenance hemodialysis (MHD). To elucidate whether malnutrition is associated with sarcopenia in those cases, the relationship of nutritional status with sarcopenia was investigated.
Methods: Nutritional status was assessed using a nutritional risk index (NRI) developed for patients undergoing MHD.