Endothelial cell-specific LAT1 ablation normalizes tumor vasculature.

Some endothelial cells in the tumor vasculature express a system L amino acid transporter, LAT1. To elucidate the role of LAT1 in tumor-related endothelial cells, tumor cells were injected into endothelial cell-specific LAT1 conditional knockout mice (Slc7a5flox/flox; Cdh5-Cre-ERT2), and we found that the shape of the tumor vasculature was normalized and the size and numbers of lung metastasis was reduced. TNF-α-induced expression of VCAM1 and E-selectin at the surface of HUVEC, both of which are responsible for enhanced monocyte attachment and premetastatic niche formation, was reduced in the presence of LAT1 inhibitor, nanvuranlat.

[Posterior Mediastinal Desmoid Tumor Suspected to be a Neurogenic Tumor Before Surgery:Report of a Case].

A man in his 50s who presented an abnormal shadow on chest X-ray was diagnosed with posterior mediastinal tumor that had grown compared to the previous chest X-ray. Computed tomography showed a 5.7×3.

Activator of KAT3 histone acetyltransferase family ameliorates a neurodevelopmental disorder phenotype in the syntaxin 1A ablated mouse model.

Syntaxin-1A (stx1a) repression causes a neurodevelopmental disorder phenotype, low latent inhibition (LI) behavior, by disrupting 5-hydroxytryptaminergic (5-HTergic) systems. Herein, we discovered that lysine acetyltransferase (KAT) 3B increases stx1a neuronal transcription and TTK21, a KAT3 activator, induces stx1a transcription and 5-HT release in vitro. Furthermore, glucose-derived CSP-TTK21 could restore decreased stx1a expression, 5-HTergic systems in the brain, and low LI in stx1a (+/-) mice by crossing the blood-brain barrier, whereas the KAT3 inhibitor suppresses stx1a expression, 5-HTergic systems, and LI behaviors in wild-type mice.

[Giant Mature Cystic Teratoma Causing Loss of Consciousness before Surgery].

A 30-year-old woman who presented loss of consciousness was diagnosed as having large anterior mediastinal tumor. Computed tomography (CT) showed a 17.0×13.

Esophageal Intramural Pseudodiverticulosis Diagnosed by Combining Esophagogastroduodenoscopy, Esophagography, and High-resolution Manometry.

Esophageal intramural pseudodiverticulosis (EIPD) is a rare disease. A 78-year-old man with dysphagia presented to our hospital. The presence of diffuse esophageal spasm was suspected by his primary-care doctor.

A Novel Mouse Model of Idiopathic Nephrotic Syndrome Induced by Immunization with the Podocyte Protein Crb2.

Background: The cause of podocyte injury in idiopathic nephrotic syndrome (INS) remains unknown. Although recent evidence points to the role of B cells and autoimmunity, the lack of animal models mediated by autoimmunity limits further research. We aimed to establish a mouse model mimicking human INS by immunizing mice with Crb2, a transmembrane protein expressed at the podocyte foot process.

Perioperative Administration of Cystine and Theanine Suppresses Inflammation and Facilitates Early Rehabilitation and Recovery after Esophagectomy: A Randomized, Double-Blind, Controlled Clinical Trial.

Oral administration of cystine and theanine (CT) increases glutathione levels to modulate the inflammatory response, which has yet to be sufficiently explored for patients' recovery and early rehabilitation. We planned a randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled trial to determine whether perioperative oral administration of CT promotes recovery after esophagectomy. Patients were randomized into either CT or placebo groups, who received preoperative and postoperative treatments for 4 and 13 days, respectively.

USP40 deubiquitinates HINT1 and stabilizes p53 in podocyte damage.

Podocyte damage is a major pathological lesion leading to focal segmental glomerulosclerosis (FSGS). Podocytes damaged by cellular stress undergo hypertrophy to compensate for podocytopenia. It is known that cyclin-dependent kinase inhibitors induced by p53 ensure podocytes hypertrophy; however, its precise mechanism remains to be further investigated.

Tumor Microenvironment in Mixed Neuroendocrine Non-Neuroendocrine Neoplasms: Interaction between Tumors and Immune Cells, and Potential Effects of Neuroendocrine Differentiation on the Tumor Microenvironment.

The tumor microenvironment is considered to play a pivotal role in various human malignancies. Neuroendocrine and non-neuroendocrine neoplasms are considered to have different tumor microenvironments. However, owing to differences in the systemic and/or local immune statuses, tumor microenvironments in different patients may be difficult to compare.

A Case of Esophageal Cancer Treated by Thoracoscopic Esophagectomy after Bilateral Cadaveric Lung Transplantation.

Purpose: With de novo cancer, esophagectomy after lung transplantation (LTx) can be challenging because of intrathoracic adhesions, delayed wound healing, and postoperative pulmonary complications, which might be lethal.

Case Presentation: A 52-year-old woman with esophageal cancer had undergone bilateral LTx for end-stage diffuse panbronchiolitis at 50 years of age. Thoracoscopic esophagectomy was performed.

Correlation between TXNRD1/HO-1 expression and response to neoadjuvant chemoradiation therapy in patients with esophageal squamous cell carcinoma.

Background: Thioredoxin reductase 1 (TXNRD1) and heme oxygenase-1 (HO-1) are both involved in the nuclear factor erythroid 2-related factor 2 (Nrf2) pathway and play key roles in antioxidant responses. In patients with esophageal squamous cell carcinoma (ESCC), the correlation between the expression of these two proteins and the therapeutic response to neoadjuvant chemoradiation therapy (NACRT), as well as the difference in their expression after chemoradiotherapy, remains unknown.

Methods: Proteins involved in the Nrf2 pathway were immunolocalized in carcinoma cells in ESCC patients on NACRT with 5-fluorouracil and cisplatin, followed by esophagectomy.

The association between acute fatty liver disease and nitric oxide during malaria in pregnancy.

Background: Liver disease is a common feature of malaria in pregnancy, but its pathogenesis remains unclear.

Methods: To understand the pathogenesis of liver disease during malaria in pregnancy, comparative proteomic analysis of the liver in a mouse model of malaria in pregnancy was performed.

Results: Decreased levels of mitochondrial and peroxisomal proteins were observed in the livers of pregnant mice infected with the lethal rodent malaria parasite Plasmodium berghei strain NK65.

Malaria in the postpartum period causes damage to the mammary gland.

Mastitis is an inflammation of the mammary gland in the breast and is typically due to bacterial infection. In malaria-endemic areas, mastitis with accompanying fever can be challenging to differentiate from malaria. At the same time, it is unclear whether malaria infection is directly involved in the development of mastitis.

Physical Activity Attenuates the Obesity-Induced Dysregulated Expression of Brown Adipokines in Murine Interscapular Brown Adipose Tissue.

In recent years, brown adipose tissue (BAT), which has a high heat-producing capacity, has been confirmed to exist even in adults, and it has become a focal point for the prevention and the improvement of obesity and lifestyle-related diseases. However, the influences of obesity and physical activity (PA) on the fluid factors secreted from BAT (brown adipokines) are not well understood. In this study, therefore, we focused on brown adipokines and investigated the effects of obesity and PA.

Roles and Cellular Localization of GBP2 and NAB2 During the Blood Stage of Malaria Parasites.

The quality control and export of mRNA by RNA-binding proteins are necessary for the survival of malaria parasites, which have complex life cycles. Nuclear poly(A) binding protein 2 (NAB2), THO complex subunit 4 (THO4), nucleolar protein 3 (NPL3), G-strand binding protein 2 (GBP2) and serine/arginine-rich splicing factor 1 (SR1) are involved in nuclear mRNA export in malaria parasites. However, their roles in asexual and sexual development, and in cellular localization, are not fully understood.

Necroptosis in Esophageal Squamous Cell Carcinoma: An Independent Prognostic Factor and Its Correlation with Tumor-Infiltrating Lymphocytes.

Necroptosis is a pivotal process in cancer biology; however, the clinical significance of necroptosis in esophageal squamous cell carcinoma (ESCC) has remained unknown. Therefore, in this study, we aimed to verify the potential involvement of necroptosis in the clinical outcome, chemotherapeutic resistance, and tumor microenvironment of ESCC. Mixed lineage kinase domain-like protein (MLKL) and phosphorylated MLKL (pMLKL) were immunohistochemically examined in 88 surgically resected specimens following neoadjuvant chemotherapy (NAC) and 53 pre-therapeutic biopsy specimens, respectively.

Thoracoscopic esophagectomy for esophageal carcinoma after peroral endoscopic myotomy for esophageal achalasia: a case report.

Background: Esophageal achalasia causes dysphagia following impaired relaxation of the lower esophageal sphincter due to the degeneration of Auerbach's plexus in the esophageal smooth muscle. Recently, peroral endoscopic myotomy (POEM) has become one of the preferred treatment options for esophageal achalasia. However, pathomorphological changes after POEM have not been well examined.

HO-1 in lymph node metastasis predicted overall survival in patients with esophageal squamous cell carcinoma receiving neoadjuvant chemoradiation therapy.

Background: Lymph node metastasis is one of the pivotal factors of the clinical outcomes of patients with esophageal cancer receiving neoadjuvant chemoradiation therapy (NACRT). Both the nuclear factor-erythroid 2-related factor 2 (Nrf2) signaling pathway and heme oxygenase-1 (HO-1) are frequently upregulated in various human malignancies and associated with resistance to chemoradiation therapy, subsequently resulting in adverse clinical outcomes. However, the Nrf2 and HO-1 status in lymph node metastasis and their differences between primary and metastatic lesions are unknown.