Publications by authors named "Junsuke Yamashita"

Tumor suppressive microRNA (miR)-150 inhibits metastasis by combining with the C-C chemokine receptor 6 (CCR6) "seed sequence" mRNA of the 3'-untranslated region (3'-UTR) in advanced cutaneous T-cell lymphoma (CTCL). Because the histone deacetylase inhibitor (HDACI) vorinostat showed excellent outcomes for treating advanced CTCL, HDACIs may reduce the metastasis of CTCL by targeting miR-150 and/ or CCR6. To examine whether these candidate molecules are essential HDACI targets in advanced CTCL, we used the My-La, HH, and HUT78 CTCL cell lines for functional analysis because we previously demonstrated that their xenografts in NOD/Shi-scid IL-2γnul mice (CTCL mice) induced multiple metastases.

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Mammalian erythroblasts undergo enucleation through a process thought to be similar to cytokinesis. Microtubule-organizing centers (MTOCs) mediate organization of the mitotic spindle apparatus that separates the chromosomes during mitosis and are known to be crucial for proper cytokinesis. However, the role of MTOCs in erythroblast enucleation remains unknown.

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In this study, we show that microRNA-150 (miR-150) is significantly downregulated in advanced cutaneous T-cell lymphoma (CTCL), and that this downregulation is strongly associated with tumor invasion/metastasis. Inoculation of CTCL cell lines into nonobese diabetic/Shi-scid interleukin 2γ (IL-2γ) null mice led to CTCL cell migration to multiple organs; however, prior transfection of the cells with miR-150 substantially reduced the invasion/metastasis by directly downregulating CCR6, a specific receptor for the chemokine CCL20. We also found that IL-22 and its specific receptor subunit, IL22RA1, were aberrantly overexpressed in advanced CTCL, and that production of IL-22 and CCL20 was increased in cultured CTCL cells.

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Toll-like receptor 3 (TLR3), retinoic acid-inducible gene I, and melanoma differentiation-associated antigen 5 (RIG-I/MDA-5) helicases are known to sense double-stranded RNA (dsRNA) virus and initiate antiviral responses, such as production of type-I interferons (IFNs). Recognition of dsRNA by TLR3 or RIG-I/MDA-5 is cell-type-dependent and recent studies have shown a direct link between TLRs and hematopoiesis. We hypothesized that viral dsRNA recognized by either TLR3 or RIG-I/MDA-5, affects the growth of human hematopoietic stem/progenitor cells.

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Recent studies have shown that anemia is commonly observed after exposure to pathogens or pathogen-derived products, which are recognized via Toll-like receptor 9 (TLR9). In the current study, we demonstrate that CpG oligodeoxynucleotide-2006, a TLR9 ligand with phosphodiester (PO; 2006-PO) but not with the phosphorothioate backbone, selectively inhibits the erythroid growth derived from human CD34(+) cells. The 2006-PO was internalized by the erythroid progenitors within 30 minutes; however, expression of TLR9 mRNA was not detected in these cells.

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The gene(s) responsible for natural killer (NK)-cell lymphoma/leukemia have not been identified. In the present study, we found that in NK-cell lymphoma lines (n = 10) and specimens of primary lymphoma (n = 10), levels of miR-21 and miR-155 expression were inversely related and were significantly greater than those found in normal natural killer (CD3(-)CD56(+)) cells (n = 8). To determine the functions of these microRNAs in lymphomagenesis, we examined the effects of antisense oligonucleotides (ASOs) targeting miR-21 (ASO-21) and/or miR-155 (ASO-155) in NK-cell lymphoma lines overexpressing one or both of these miRNAs.

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Tumor necrosis factor-alpha (TNF-alpha) has been shown to induce the differentiation of CD34(+) cells toward dendritic cells (DCs). We have previously shown that DCs are co-generated from human CD34(+) cells during erythroid or megakaryocytic differentiation in the presence of TNF-alpha, and those DCs are able to stimulate autologous T cell proliferation. The aim of this study was to learn whether the co-stimulation of granulocyte colony-stimulating factor (G-CSF) and TNF-alpha would generate neutrophil progenitors and DCs together from human CD34(+) cells, and if this was the case, to clarify the phenotypic and functional characteristics of these DCs.

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Tumor necrosis factor-alpha (TNF-alpha) and thrombopoietin (TPO) have been shown to induce the differentiation and proliferation of CD34+ cells toward dendritic cells (DCs) in the presence of multiacting cytokines. We hypothesized that the costimulation of TPO and TNF-alpha generates megakaryocytic progenitors and DCs together from human CD34+ cells and that the interaction of these cells may indicate a physiologic and/or a pathologic role of DCs in megakaryopoiesis. When highly purified human CD34+ cells were cultured for 7 days with TPO alone, the generated cells expressed megakaryocytic markers, such as CD41, CD42b, and CD61.

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