Publications by authors named "Hikari Taka"

Objective: Although the effects of an unhealthy diet on the risks of diabetes and its renal complications are well understood, the effects of hygiene status have not been fully elucidated.

Research Methods And Procedures: We created four groups of mice according to the diet fed (standard [SD] or high-fat [HFD]) and their living environment (conventional [CV] or specific pathogen-free [SPF]), and characterized the extent of their kidney pathology, their gut microbiota, and their fecal short-chain fatty acid (SCFA) concentrations.

Results: The body masses and glycated hemoglobin levels of the HFD and CV groups were significantly higher than those of the SD and SPF groups, respectively.

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The spread of malarial parasites resistant to first-line treatments such as artemisinin combination therapies is a global health concern. Differentiation-inducing factor 1 (DIF-1) is a chlorinated alkylphenone (1-(3,5-dichloro-2,6-dihydroxy-4-methoxyphenyl) hexan-1-one) originally found in the cellular slime mould Dictyostelium discoideum. We previously showed that some derivatives of DIF-1, particularly DIF-1(+2) (1-(3,5-dichloro-2,6-dihydroxy-4-methoxyphenyl) octan-1-one), exert potent antimalarial activities.

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The mammalian oviductal lumen is a specialized chamber that provides an environment that strictly regulates fertilization and early embryogenesis, but the regulatory mechanisms to gametes and zygotes are unclear. We evaluated the oviductal regulation of early embryonic development using Ovgp1 (encoding an oviductal humoral factor, OVGP1)-knockout golden hamsters. The experimental results revealed the following: (1) female Ovgp1-knockout hamsters failed to produce litters; (2) in the oviducts of Ovgp1-knockout animals, fertilized eggs were sometimes identified, but their morphology showed abnormal features; (3) the number of implantations in the Ovgp1-knockout females was low; (4) even if implantations occurred, the embryos developed abnormally and eventually died; and (5) Ovgp1-knockout female ovaries transferred to wild-type females resulted in the production of Ovgp1-knockout egg-derived OVGP1-null litters, but the reverse experiment did not.

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Purpose: Chemotherapy for the hemodialysis (HD) patient is a challenging situation because it requires special considerations including dose modifications and timing of drug administration in relation with HD sessions. Polaltuzumab vedotin (PV), an antibody-drug conjugate in which monomethyl auristatin E (MMAE) is linked to an anti-CD79b monoclonal antibody, is an extremely promising therapeutic for treating diffuse large B cell lymphoma (DLBCL), but the pharmacokinetics are unknown in HD patients.

Methods: We carried out pharmacokinetic studies of PV when administered at 1.

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Inactivity causes insulin resistance in skeletal muscle and exacerbates various lifestyle-related diseases. We previously found that 24-h hindlimb cast immobilization (HCI) of the predominantly slow-twitch soleus muscle increased intramyocellular diacylglycerol (IMDG) and insulin resistance by activation of lipin1, and HCI after a high-fat diet (HFD) further aggravated insulin resistance. Here, we investigated the effects of HCI on the fast-twitch-predominant plantaris muscle.

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Article Synopsis
  • Autophagy plays a key role in regulating the degradation of specific biomolecular structures, such as p62/SQSTM1 bodies, to prevent diseases like cancer.
  • Researchers developed a new method to purify and analyze the components of p62 bodies in human cells, revealing that a complex called vault is involved in this process.
  • The study identifies a mechanism called vault-phagy, where major vault protein interacts with NBR1 to facilitate the degradation of vaults, and suggests that disruptions in this process may link to certain liver cancers.
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The main molecular mechanism underlying acute suppression of iodine organification in normal thyroids after an excessive iodine load, that is, the Wolff-Chaikoff effect, is assumed to be suppression of iodine oxidation and iodothyronine synthesis. However, the mechanism underlying chronic antithyroid action of inorganic iodine in Graves' disease is not fully understood. Using a mouse model of Graves' hyperthyroidism, we examined changes in iodothyronine content and gene expression profiles in the thyroid glands after inorganic iodine loading.

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The mitochondria of adult and plerocercoid Spirometra mansoni were characterized in isolated mitochondria and in situ by electron microscopic histochemistry with special attention to the respiratory chain. Although the specific activities of the constituent enzyme complexes of succinate oxidase are fairly similar in adult and plerocercoid mitochondria, those of succinate oxidase and NADH-FRD are approximately 4- and 25-fold higher in adult mitochondria than in plerocercoid mitochondria, respectively. Quinone analysis by high performance liquid chromatography and mass spectrometry showed that adult and plerocercoid mitochondria contained both rhodoquinone-10 and ubiquinone-10 at concentrations of 4.

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Objectives: Since esophageal carcinoma progresses asymptomatically, for many patients the disease is already advanced at the time of diagnosis. The main methods that are currently used to diagnose esophageal carcinoma are upper gastrointestinal radiographic contrast examinations and upper gastrointestinal endoscopy, but early discovery of this disease remains difficult. There is a need to develop a diagnostic method using biomarkers that is non-invasive while both highly sensitive and specific.

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We previously reported that healthy adult males who consumed coix seeds for 1 week demonstrated an increased intestinal abundance of and altered peripheral lymphocyte subset percentages. However, the mechanism underlining these effects has not been elucidated. Therefore, cytokines and metabolites in plasma obtained in this study are comprehensively analyzed.

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Physical inactivity impairs muscle insulin sensitivity. However, its mechanism is unclear. To model physical inactivity, we applied 24-h hind-limb cast immobilization (HCI) to mice with normal or high-fat diet (HFD) and evaluated intramyocellular lipids and the insulin signaling pathway in the soleus muscle.

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Objective: Aging is the highest risk factor for Parkinson disease (PD). Under physiological conditions, spermidine and spermine experimentally enhance longevity via autophagy induction. Accordingly, we evaluated the ability of each polyamine metabolite to act as an age-related, diagnostic, and severity-associated PD biomarker.

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Adipocytes are the prevalent stromal cell type in adult bone marrow (BM), and leukemia cells continuously adapt to deficiency of nutrients acquiring chemoresistant profiles in the BM microenvironment. We have previously shown that fatty acid metabolism is a key energy pathway for survival of acute myeloid leukemia (AML) cells in the adipocyte-abundant BM microenvironment. The novel fatty acid β-oxidation (FAO) inhibitor avocatin B, an odd-numbered carbon lipid derived from the avocado fruit, induced apoptosis and growth inhibition in mono-cultured AML cells.

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This study was performed to examine the choline status on term and preterm infants using urinary metabolome analysis. Samples were collected from 19 term and 20 preterm infants between 15 days and 1 month, respectively. The infants were separated into four groups: the term-breast group (TB,  = 13), the term-formula group (TF,  = 6), the preterm-breast (PB,  = 11), and the preterm-mixed group (PM,  = 9).

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Nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) plays a crucial role in type 2 diabetes and hepatocellular carcinoma. The major underlying pathogenesis is hepatic insulin resistance. The aim of the present study was to characterize patients with NAFLD with paradoxically normal hepatic insulin sensitivity relative to patients with NAFLD with hepatic insulin resistance.

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Objective: To investigate the kinetics and metabolism of caffeine in serum from patients with Parkinson disease (PD) and controls using liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry.

Methods: Levels of caffeine and its 11 metabolites in serum from 108 patients with PD and 31 age-matched healthy controls were examined by liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry. Mutations in caffeine-associated genes were screened by direct sequencing.

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Background: This study aimed to examine the nutritional effect of breast feeding on healthy term infants by using urinary metabolome analysis.

Methods: Urine samples were collected from 19 and 14 infants at 1 and 6 months, respectively. Infants were separated into two groups: the breast-fed group receiving <540 mL/week of their intake from formula (n=13 at 1 month; n=9 at 6 months); and the formula-fed group receiving no breast milk (BM) (n=6 at 1 month; n=5 at 6 months).

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Mantle cell lymphoma (MCL) is an aggressive B-cell lymphoma with poor prognosis, characterized by aberrant expression of growth-regulating and oncogenic effectors and requiring novel anticancer strategies. The nuclear transporter exportin-1 (XPO1) is highly expressed in MCL and is associated with its pathogenesis. mTOR signaling, a central regulator of cell metabolism, is frequently activated in MCL and is also an important therapeutic target in this cancer.

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Amino-group carrier proteins (AmCPs) mediate the biosynthesis of lysine and arginine in some bacteria and archaea. Here we demonstrate that an uncharacterized AmCP-mediated biosynthetic system functions to biosynthesize the previously uncharacterized and nonproteinogenic amino acid (2S,6R)-diamino-(5R,7)-dihydroxy-heptanoic acid (DADH) in Streptomyces sp. SANK 60404.

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Background: Airway fibrosis is one of the pathological features of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), and recent studies revealed that acetylcholine plays an important role in the development of airway remodeling by stimulating proliferation and collagen synthesis of lung fibroblasts. This study was designed to examine the effects of a long-acting muscarinic receptor antagonist (LAMA) glycopyrronium and a long-acting β2 adrenergic receptor agonist (LABA) indacaterol on acetylcholine-mediated fibrotic responses in lung fibroblasts.

Methods: After carbachol (CCh) or transforming growth factor-β1 (TGF-β1) exposure, the response to glycopyrronium and indacaterol was determined in vitro in fibroblasts isolated from mild-to-moderate COPD lung tissue.

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Context: Although metabolic abnormalities are often developed in Asians with body mass index (BMI) of 23-25 kg/m, the characteristics of the nonobese Asians with metabolic abnormality have not been fully understood.

Objective: The aim of this study was to investigate the clinical significance of insulin sensitivity in Japanese men with BMI of 23-25 kg/m.

Design And Participants: In this study, we defined hypertension, hyperglycemia, and dyslipidemia as cardiometabolic risk factors (CMRFs).

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The remodelling of organelle function is increasingly appreciated as a central driver of eukaryotic biodiversity and evolution. Kinetoplastids including Trypanosoma and Leishmania have evolved specialized peroxisomes, called glycosomes. Glycosomes uniquely contain a glycolytic pathway as well as other enzymes, which underpin the physiological flexibility of these major human pathogens.

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Nonalcoholic steatohepatitis (NASH) is a progressive form of nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) that can develop into liver cirrhosis and cancer. Elongation of very long chain fatty acids (ELOVL) family member 6 (Elovl6) is a microsomal enzyme that regulates the elongation of C12-16 saturated and monounsaturated fatty acids (FAs). We have previously shown that Elovl6 plays an important role in the development of hepatic insulin resistance and NASH by modifying FA composition.

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Article Synopsis
  • - Oxidative stress is linked to serious health issues like ischemia/reperfusion injury, atherosclerosis, and aging, causing harm to cells which leads to apoptosis (cell death) through unknown mechanisms.
  • - Researchers discovered that a protein called eIF5A is released by cardiac myocytes (heart muscle cells) during episodes of hypoxia (low oxygen) and reoxygenation, promoting apoptosis; blocking this protein with antibodies reduced cell death in lab tests.
  • - Elevated levels of eIF5A in the bloodstream were found after myocardial ischemia/reperfusion events, suggesting it could serve as a novel biomarker and potential therapeutic target for treating injuries caused by oxidative stress.
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