Prebiotic effects of commercial apple juice in high-fat diet fed rat.

Objectives: Apples are one of the most frequently consumed fruits and are effective in preventing lifestyle-related and other diseases. However, few studies have been conducted to evaluate health benefits of processed apple products such as juice. In this study, we analyzed the health benefits of consuming apple juice, focusing on changes in the gut microbiota, which plays an important role in maintaining human health.

Effect of the gut microbiota on the expression of genes that are important for maintaining skin function: Analysis using aged mice.

The gut microbiota changes greatly at the onset of disease, and the importance of intestinal bacteria has been highlighted. The gut microbiota also changes greatly with aging. Aging causes skin dryness, but it is not known how changes in the gut microbiota with aging affects the expression of genes that are important for maintaining skin function.

Placental extract suppresses lipid droplet accumulation by autophagy during the differentiation of adipose-derived mesenchymal stromal/stem cells into mature adipocytes.

Objective: Placental extract, which contains various bioactive compounds, has been used as traditional medicine. Many studies have demonstrated additional applications of placental extract and provided a scientific basis for the broad spectrum of its effects. We have previously reported that porcine placental extract (PPE) strongly suppresses adipogenesis in a 3T3-L1 preadipocyte cell line, inhibiting differentiation.

Optimization of QuEChERS Extraction for Determination of Carotenoids, Polyphenols, and Sterols in Orange Juice Using Design of Experiments and Response Surface Methodology.

Several compounds with different physical properties are present in foods, biological components, and environmental samples, and there are cases in which these must be analyzed simultaneously. However, it is difficult to extract compounds with different physical properties from the same sample using a single method. In the present study, we examined the optimal conditions for the QuEChERS extraction of several kinds of compounds from orange juice using design of experiments (DoE) and response surface methodology (RSM) to determine the optimal ratio of organic solvent to sodium chloride.

Development of a novel drug information provision system for Kampo medicine using natural language processing technology.

Background: Kampo medicine is widely used in Japan; however, most physicians and pharmacists have insufficient knowledge and experience in it. Although a chatbot-style system using machine learning and natural language processing has been used in some clinical settings and proven useful, the system developed specifically for the Japanese language using this method has not been validated by research. The purpose of this study is to develop a novel drug information provision system for Kampo medicines using a natural language classifier® (NLC®) based on IBM Watson.

Green tea extract prevents CPT-11-induced diarrhea by regulating the gut microbiota.

Irinotecan (CPT-11) is an anticancer drug with indications for use in treating various cancers, but severe diarrhea develops as a side effect. We investigated the effects of green tea extract (GTE) on CPT-11-induced diarrhea, focusing on β-glucuronidase and intestinal UGT1A1. When CPT-11 was administered to rats alone, the fecal water content was approximately 3.

Effect of partially hydrolyzed guar gum on the expression of aquaporin-3 in the colon.

In recent years, the development of functional foods targeting gastrointestinal disorders has been in progress. Partially hydrolyzed guar gum (PHGG), which is a water-soluble dietary fiber, is known to have a constipation-improving effect. However, many aspects of the mechanism remain unclear.

Downregulation of Sparc-like protein 1 during cisplatin-induced inhibition of myogenic differentiation of C2C12 myoblasts.

Patients with cancer often experience muscle atrophy, which worsens their prognosis. Decreased muscle regenerative capacity plays an important role in the complex processes involved in muscle atrophy. Administration of cisplatin, a cancer chemotherapeutic agent, has been implicated as a cause of muscle atrophy.

Effect of Chimpi, dried citrus peel, on aquaporin-3 expression in HaCaT human epidermal keratinocytes.

Background: Chimpi, the dried peel of Citrus unshiu or Citrus reticulata, has various pharmacological effects. Chimpi extract was recently shown to affect the skin, including its inhibitory effect against atopic dermatitis. In this study, we analyzed the effects of Chimpi extract on the functional molecule aquaporin-3 (AQP3), which is involved in water transport and cell migration in the skin.

Inhibition of Spred/Sprouty Expression in the Skin of a Contact Dermatitis-Like Model.

We have previously reported that swellings caused by haptens, such as 2,4,6-trinitrochlorobenzene (TNCB), may be associated with the extracellular signal-regulated kinase (ERK)-induced proliferation pathway. However, the involvement of the Spred/Sprouty family as critical negative regulators of the Ras/Raf/ERK signaling pathway at disease sites is not well-established. Thus, in the present study, the effects of hapten-challenge on the expression levels of genes and proteins associated with the Spred/Sprouty family in the ear of mice were investigated.

Copper-Induced Interactions of Caffeic Acid and Sinapic Acid to Generate New Compounds in Artificial Biological Fluid Conditions.

Active ingredients may be ingested through foods, and they can cause several interactions in the human body. Although drug-drug or drug-food interactions are evaluated before the approval of medicines, several functional food interactions are not well-documented because of the wide range of possible combinations of interactions. In this study, we examined the chemical reactions between hydroxycinnamic acids (HCAs), a group of polyphenols, and metal ions in artificial gastric juice or artificial intestinal fluid.

Increased 20S Proteasome Expression and the Effect of Bortezomib during Cisplatin-Induced Muscle Atrophy.

Cisplatin is a chemotherapy drug used to treat a variety of cancers. Muscle loss in cancer patients is associated with increased cancer-related mortality. Previously, we suggested that cisplatin administration increases the atrophic gene expressions of ubiquitin E3 ligases, such as atrogin-1 and muscle RING finger-1 (MuRF1), which may lead to muscle atrophy.

Determination of neurotransmitters in mouse brain using miniaturized and tableted QuEChERS for the sample preparation.

Neurotransmitters (NTs) are important endocrine molecules in the human body that have several characteristics and functions. Therefore, it is necessary to determine the accuracy and precision of the proposed method for the assessment of NTs functions. This study proposes a quick, easy, cheap, effective, rugged, and safe (QuEChERS) tablet for easy sample preparation and application to low-volume samples.

The Mechanism of Pertussis Cough Revealed by the Mouse-Coughing Model.

Pertussis, also known as whooping cough, is a contagious respiratory disease caused by the Gram-negative bacterium Bordetella pertussis. This disease is characterized by severe and uncontrollable coughing, which imposes a significant burden on patients. However, its etiological agent and the mechanism are totally unknown because of a lack of versatile animal models that reproduce the cough.

Eicosapentaenoic acid suppresses cisplatin-induced muscle atrophy by attenuating the up-regulated gene expression of ubiquitin.

Previously it was shown that cisplatin causes muscle atrophy. Under this condition, cisplatin increased the expression of atorogenes, such as muscle ring finger 1 and atrogin-1 (also known as muscle atrophy F-box protein), in mouse skeletal muscle. It was reported recently that ubiquitin (Ub) and ubiquitinated protein levels in skeletal muscle were also up-regulated in cisplatin-induced muscle atrophy, and cisplatin-induced ubiquitinated proteins were degraded by the 26S proteasome pathway.

[Recent Findings on the Mechanism of Cough Hypersensitivity as a Cause of Chronic Cough].

An increasing number of patients complain to medical institutions about a cough that persists for more than 8 weeks, namely chronic cough. The cough observed in patients with chronic cough is not responsive to conventional antitussive agents such as dihydrocodeine and dextromethorphan, and this is a major clinical problem. The most common pathology of chronic cough in Japan is dry cough.

Cannabidiol Application Increases Cutaneous Aquaporin-3 and Exerts a Skin Moisturizing Effect.

Cannabidiol (CBD) is a major nonpsychotropic component of with various pharmacological activities. In this study, we investigated the skin moisturizing effect of CBD and its mechanism. A 1% CBD solution was applied daily to skin of HR-1 hairless (Seven-week-old, male) for 14 days.

Using Mobile Phone Data to Estimate the Relationship between Population Flow and Influenza Infection Pathways.

This study aimed to analyze population flow using global positioning system (GPS) location data and evaluate influenza infection pathways by determining the relationship between population flow and the number of drugs sold at pharmacies. Neural collective graphical models (NCGMs; Iwata and Shimizu 2019) were applied for 25 cell areas, each measuring 10 × 10 km, in Osaka, Kyoto, Nara, and Hyogo prefectures to estimate population flow. An NCGM uses a neural network to incorporate the spatiotemporal dependency issue and reduce the estimated parameters.

Exogenous insulin-like growth factor 1 attenuates cisplatin-induced muscle atrophy in mice.

Background: A reduction in the skeletal muscle mass worsens the prognosis of patients with various cancers. Our previous studies indicated that cisplatin administration to mice caused muscle atrophy. This is a concern for human patients receiving cisplatin.

Wound-Healing and Skin-Moisturizing Effects of Extract.

() is a traditional herb derived from the bamboo genus, which is collectively called Kumazasa. Although Kumazasa extract is believed to have various effects on the skin, there is little scientific evidence for these effects. In this study, we aimed to obtain scientific evidence regarding the wound-healing and skin-moisturizing effects of Kumazasa extract.

Increase in brain l-lactate enhances fear memory in diabetic mice: Involvement of glutamate neurons.

Previous reports suggest that diabetes mellitus is associated with psychiatric disorders, including depression and anxiety, but the mechanisms involved are unknown. We have reported that streptozotocin (STZ)-induced diabetic mice show enhancement of conditioned fear memory. To clarify the mechanisms through which diabetes affects conditioned fear memory, the present study investigated the role of l-lactate and glutamatergic function in enhancement of conditioned fear memory in diabetes.

Neuropeptide Y and glutamatergic mechanisms in the amygdala and ventral hippocampus differentially mediate impaired social behavior in diabetic mice.

Though patients with diabetes mellitus are reported to show deficits in social interaction, the mechanisms of these impairments are unclear. The present study investigated the role of AMPA and neuropeptide Y (NPY) receptors in the ventral hippocampus (vHC) and basolateral amygdala (BLA) in the social behavior of diabetic mice. In the three-chamber test, streptozotocin (STZ)-induced diabetic mice showed impairment in social novelty preference, but not in sociability.

Role of Cutaneous Aquaporins in the Development of Xeroderma in Type 2 Diabetes.

Xeroderma is induced by diabetes, reducing patients' quality of life. We aimed to clarify the roles of cutaneous water channel aquaporin-3 (AQP3) in diabetic xeroderma using type 2 diabetes model mice. Blood glucose levels were unchanged in 5-week-old mice compared to mice (control mice), but the pathophysiology of type 2 diabetes was confirmed in 12-week-old mice.