A nationwide questionnaire study evaluated kidney injury associated with Beni-koji tablets in Japan.

Red yeast rice, traditionally used in Asian cuisine and increasingly marketed as a dietary supplement for cholesterol management, has recently been linked to kidney dysfunction in Japan. In late 2023 to early 2024, multiple cases involving specific Beni-koji (red yeast rice) tablets from three different Beni-koji preparations, prompted a safety reevaluation. Although citrinin, a known nephrotoxin of red yeast rice, was not produced by the implicated strains, new safety concerns emerged.

Administration of Young Coconut ( L.) Juice Ameliorates Memory Impairment in a Menopausal Rat Model.

Background/objectives: In Southeast Asia, the traditional use of young coconut ( L.) juice (YCJ) by women to alleviate postmenopausal symptoms suggests potential estrogenic properties. However, few studies explore the impact of YCJ on pathologies associated with estrogen deficiency in postmenopausal animal models.

Endogenous activation of peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor-α in proximal tubule cells in counteracting phosphate toxicity.

Increased dietary phosphate consumption intensifies renal phosphate burden. Several mechanisms for phosphate-induced renal tubulointerstitial fibrosis have been reported. Considering the dual nature of phosphate as both a potential renal toxin and an essential nutrient for the body, kidneys may possess inherent protective mechanisms against phosphate overload, rather than succumbing solely to injury.

Straightforward and affordable agroinfiltration with RUBY accelerates RNA silencing research.

Transient expression and induction of RNA silencing by agroinfiltration is a fundamental method in plant RNA biology. Here, we introduce a new reporter assay using RUBY, which encodes three key enzymes of the betalain biosynthesis pathway, as a polycistronic mRNA. The red pigmentation conferred by betalains allows visual confirmation of gene expression or silencing levels without tissue disruption, and the silencing levels can be quantitatively measured by absorbance in as little as a few minutes.

Children's and adults' evaluations of self-enhancement and self-deprecation depend on the usual performance of the self-presenter.

This study examined how evaluations of self-presentation vary with age depending on the self-presenter's usual performance. People's usual performance is a key factor because it generally influences the social evaluations and judgments that others make about them. Children aged 7 and 8 years (second graders) and 10 and 11 years (fifth graders), as well as adults, were presented with scenarios in which protagonists responded to praise after a good performance using either self-enhancement or self-deprecation.

The association between embedded catheter implantation and hospitalization costs for peritoneal dialysis initiation: a retrospective cohort study.

Background: Compared with the conventional peritoneal dialysis (PD) catheter insertion, embedding PD catheter implantation is one of the procedures for planned PD initiation. However, facilities where embedded PD catheter implantation is available are limited, and the impact of embedded PD catheter implantation on hospitalization cost and length of hospitalization is unknown.

Methods: This retrospective single-center cohort study included 132 patients with PD initiation between 2005 and 2020.

Spatiotemporally quantitative in vivo imaging of mitochondrial fatty acid β-oxidation at cellular-level resolution in mice.

Mitochondrial fatty acid β-oxidation (FAO) plays a key role in energy homeostasis. Several FAO evaluation methods are currently available, but they are not necessarily suitable for capturing the dynamics of FAO in vivo at a cellular-level spatial resolution and seconds-level time resolution. FAOBlue is a coumarin-based probe that undergoes β-oxidation to produce a fluorescent substrate, 7-hydroxycoumarin-3-(-(2-hydroxyethyl))-carboxamide (7-HC).

Investigation of the efficacy and adverse effects of lacosamide over 36 months.

Objective: To evaluate the efficacy and retention rate of lacosamide (LCM) over 36 months as a treatment for children and adolescents with focal and generalized epilepsy based on a retrospective study.

Methods: All patients prescribed LCM as monotherapy and add-on therapy between October 2016 and September 2019 at Jichi Children's Medical Center Tochigi were included in the study. The response rate, retention rate, and adverse effects were calculated.

Hepatic phosphate uptake and subsequent nerve-mediated phosphaturia are crucial for phosphate homeostasis following portal vein passage of phosphate in rats.

Fibroblast growth factor 23, parathyroid hormone, and 1,25-dihydroxyvitamin D are critical in phosphate homeostasis. Despite these factors' importance, regulators of phosphaturia in the acute postprandial phase remain largely unknown. This study investigated the mechanism of acute phosphate regulation in the postprandial phase in rats.

Molecular diagnosis of 405 individuals with autism spectrum disorder.

Autism spectrum disorder (ASD) is caused by combined genetic and environmental factors. Genetic heritability in ASD is estimated as 60-90%, and genetic investigations have revealed many monogenic factors. We analyzed 405 patients with ASD using family-based exome sequencing to detect disease-causing single-nucleotide variants (SNVs), small insertions and deletions (indels), and copy number variations (CNVs) for molecular diagnoses.

Lack of GPR180 ameliorates hepatic lipid depot via downregulation of mTORC1 signaling.

Our previous genome-wide association study to explore genetic loci associated with lean nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) in Japan suggested four candidate loci, which were mapped to chr6, chr7, chr12 and chr13. The present study aimed to identify the locus involved functionally in NAFLD around the association signal observed in chr13. Chromosome conformation capture assay and a database survey suggested the intermolecular interaction among DNA fragments in association signals with the adjacent four coding gene promoters.

KBTBD11, encoding a novel PPARγ target gene, is involved in NFATc1 proteolysis by interacting with HSC70 and HSP60.

We previously revealed that Kbtbd11 mRNA levels increase during 3T3-L1 differentiation and Kbtbd11 knockdown suppresses whereas its overexpression promotes adipogenesis. However, how Kbtbd11 mRNA is regulated during adipocyte differentiation and how the KBTBD11 protein functions in adipocytes remain elusive. This study aimed to examine the transcriptional regulatory mechanism of Kbtbd11 during adipocyte differentiation, KBTBD11-interacting protein functions, and elucidate the role of KBTBD11 in adipocytes.

A case of congenital fiber-type disproportion syndrome presenting dilated cardiomyopathy with ACTA1 mutation.

Background: Actin, alpha, skeletal muscle 1 (ACTA1) is one of the causative genes of nemaline myopathy (NM) and congenital fiber-type disproportion (CFTD). CFTD is characterized by type 1 fiber atrophy and distinguished from NM in the absence of rods. Eight patients with CFTD, including one patient with dilated cardiomyopathy (DCM), have previously been reported.

An Adolescent Patient with Sick Sinus Syndrome Complicated by Hypothyroidism Carrying an SCN5A Variant.

Previous studies have reported that hypothyroidism can lead to sick sinus syndrome (SSS) or other rhythm disturbances. Variants in the alpha subunit of the cardiac sodium channel (SCN5A) are known to be among the genetic causes of SSS. We encountered an adolescent patient with SSS and hypothyroidism who also harbored an SCN5A variant.

Association of HLA-DPB1, NLRP10, OVOL1, and ABCC11 with the axillary microbiome in a Japanese population.

Background: The distinct diversity of the human skin microbiome depends not only on the body site but also the individual. Host-commensal interactions have been described for the gut microbiome, but little is known about the epidermal microbiome.

Objective: The present study investigated whether genetic variants associated with skin traits affect the axillary microbiome.

A versatile Tn transposon-based bioluminescence tagging tool for quantitative and spatial detection of bacteria in plants.

Investigation of plant-bacteria interactions requires quantification of bacterial titers by means of cumbersome and time-consuming colony-counting assays. Here, we devised a broadly applicable tool for bioluminescence-based quantitative and spatial detection of bacteria in plants. We developed vectors that enable Tn transposon-mediated integration of the luciferase operon into a specific genomic location found ubiquitously across bacterial phyla.

Renoprotection by long-term low-dose tolvaptan in patients with heart failure and hyponatremia.

Aims: In previous randomized controlled trials, the use of tolvaptan (TLV) at a fixed dose of 30 mg/day for 1 year did not provide renal benefits in patients with heart failure (HF). This retrospective, cohort study examined the renoprotective effects of long-term, flexible-dose, and lower-dose TLV use.

Methods And Results: Tolvaptan users were defined as patients receiving TLV for at least 180 consecutive days or those who continued it until death, any cardiac events, or renal replacement therapy even if it was taken for <180 days.

Quantitative Analyses of Foot Processes, Mitochondria, and Basement Membranes by Structured Illumination Microscopy Using Elastica-Masson- and Periodic-Acid-Schiff-Stained Kidney Sections.

Introduction: Foot process effacement and mitochondrial fission associate with kidney disease pathogenesis. Electron microscopy is the gold-standard method for their visualization, but the observable area of electron microscopy is smaller than light microscopy. It is important to develop alternative ways to quantitatively evaluate these microstructural changes because the lesion site of renal diseases can be focal.