Publications by authors named "Katsuhiko Ito"

Herbivorous insects can identify their host plants by sensing plant secondary metabolites as chemical cues. We previously reported the two-factor host acceptance system of the silkworm Bombyx mori larvae. The chemosensory neurons in the maxillary palp (MP) of the larvae detect mulberry secondary metabolites, chlorogenic acid (CGA), and isoquercetin (ISQ), with ultrahigh sensitivity, for host plant recognition and feeding initiation.

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In recent years, bridge to surgery(BTS), in which surgery is performed after colorectal stenting for obstructive colorectal cancer, has gradually become popular, and laparoscopic surgery is also a treatment option. From January 2020 to December 2022, we retrospectively evaluated clinicopathological factors in 18 colorectal cancer cases who underwent radical resection after colorectal stenting. We found no difference in patient background, histopathological factors, primary anastomosis rate, stoma creation rate, operative time, postoperative complication rate and length of hospital stay between the laparoscopic surgery(L)and open surgery(O)groups.

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Introduction: Exercise training is an established intervention method for improving exercise capacity and survival rates in patients with heart failure with preserved ejection fraction (HFpEF). However, most reports have focused on European and American patients, with limited data regarding the effects of exercise training on cardiac function, hemodynamics, and exercise capacity in East Asian patients. This study investigated the effects of exercise training on cardiac function, hemodynamics, and exercise capacity in Japanese patients aged 65-80 years with HFpEF.

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Antimicrobial resistance is a phenomenon that the present-day world is witnessing that poses a serious threat to global health. The decline in the development of novel therapeutics over the last couple of decades has exacerbated the situation further. In this scenario, the pursuit of new alternative therapeutics to commonly used antibiotics has gained predominance amongst researchers across the world.

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Background: Type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) is a frequently observed complication in patients with heart failure with preserved ejection fraction (HFpEF). Although a characteristic finding in such patients is a decrease in objective exercise capacity represented by peak oxygen uptake (peakVO), exercise capacity and its predictors in HFpEF with T2DM remain not clearly understood. This case-control study aimed to investigate the association between exercise capacity and hemodynamics indicators and T2DM comorbidity in patients with HFpEF aged 65-80 years.

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Article Synopsis
  • The midgut of organisms plays a critical role in detecting food contents to regulate hormones and digestion, with taste receptors (TRs) found in gut enteroendocrine cells (EECs) that sense dietary compounds.
  • Research on the Bombyx mori (silkworm) has revealed that the Gr receptor BmGr6 is expressed in midgut EECs, responds to specific dietary compounds, and is key in regulating the secretion of the peptide hormone Bommo-myosuppressin (BMS).
  • Knockout studies show that absence of BmGr6 results in reduced BMS secretion and negative impacts on growth and metabolic levels, highlighting the receptor’s essential role in linking dietary
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A 72-year-old man was presented with anemia and diagnosed with sigmoid colon cancer by colonoscopy. CT showed a soft tissue density around the retroperitoneum, leading to the diagnosis of retroperitoneal fibrosis. Stenosis of left ureter, inferior mesenteric artery, and left colic artery due to the soft tissues were detected.

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Nodule formation is a two-step cell-mediated immune response that is elicited by the cytokine spätzle1. Spätzle1 is activated within 30 s of invasion by microorganisms via an extracellular signaling pathway that consists of pathogen-associated molecular pattern recognition receptors, C-type lectins, and serine proteases. Here, we investigated a hemocyte molecule that is involved in eliciting the first step of nodule formation.

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Bombyx mori densovirus 1 (BmDV1) is a pathogen that causes flacherie disease in mulberry silkworms (B. mori). The absolute resistance (non-susceptibility) to BmDV1 of certain silkworm strains is determined independently by two genes, nsd-1 and Nid-1.

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The Indian isolate of bidensovirus (BDV) is a bipartite virus that comprises of a segmented, non-homologous, two linear single-strands of DNA molecules (VD1 and VD2). It is one of the causative agents of the fatal silkworm disease 'Flacherie' that causes severe crop loss for the sericulture farmers. Genome analyses of the Indian isolate of BDV revealed that it consists of 6 putative ORFs similar to the Japanese and Chinese isolates.

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Antheraea mylitta, the Tropical tasar silkworm, is frequently affected by a vomiting disease called Virosis by sericulturists although not confirmed being of viral origin. Based on the symptoms and the disease pattern, the causal agent is however suspected to be a virus. The condition involves a series of characteristic and progressive symptoms that generally culminates in the death of the larva.

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Epicardial adipose tissue may affect hemodynamics and cardiorespiratory fitness as it is a metabolically active visceral adipose tissue and a source of inflammatory bioactive substances that can substantially modulate cardiovascular morphology and function. However, the associations between epicardial adipose tissue and hemodynamics and cardiorespiratory fitness remain unclear. This cross-sectional study aimed to examine the association between epicardial adipose tissue volume and hemodynamics, and cardiorespiratory fitness among Japanese individuals of various ages and of both sexes.

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Silk cocoons obtained from silkworms are the primary source of commercial silk, making the silkworm an economically important insect. However, the silk industry suffers significant losses due to various virus infections. bidensovirus (BmBDV) is one of the pathogens that cause flacherie disease in silkworms.

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Aims: This study aimed to elucidate whether the volume of epicardial adipose tissue (EAT) is associated with left ventricular (LV) structural and functional abnormalities and exercise capacity in patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM).

Methods: EAT thickness and LV structural and functional abnormality components (e.g.

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Bombykol (EZ) is the single component of the female sex pheromone in the silkmoth Bombyx mori. EZ alone evokes full courtship behaviors from conspecific males; however, its geometric isomer (EE) was consistently detected in the pheromone glands (PG) of 16 B. mori strains and a field population of the wild silkmoth Bombyx mandarina, which also uses EZ as the single pheromone component.

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Bombyx mori bidensovirus (BmBDV) is a pathogen that replicates only in the midgut columnar cells of silkworms, causing fatal disease. Resistance to BmBDV, which does not depend on the viral dose, is determined by a single gene, nsd-2 (resistance gene). Previously, we identified nsd-2 by positional cloning using B.

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Bombyx mori densovirus type 1 (BmDV) is a pathogen that causes flacherie disease in the silkworm. The absolute nonsusceptibility to BmDV among certain silkworm strains is determined independently by two genes, nsd-1 and Nid-1. However, neither of these genes has been molecularly identified to date.

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The bipartite genome of an Indian isolate of Bombyx mori bidensovirus (BmBDV), one of the causative agents of the fatal silkworm disease 'Flacherie', was cloned and completely sequenced. Nucleotide sequence analysis of this Indian isolate of BmBDV revealed two viral DNA segments, VD1 and VD2 as well as a DNA polymerase motif which supports its taxonomical status as the type species of a new family of Bidnaviridae. The Indian isolate of BmBDV was found to have a total of six putative ORFs four of which were located on the VD1 with the other two being on the VD2 DNA segment.

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The pH-sensitive chloride channels (pHCls) are broadly expressed in insects, but little is known about their physiologic role, diversity, and sensitivity to insecticides acting on relevant chloride channels. Here we have sequenced 50 transcripts of the pHCl-1 gene from the brain, third thoracic ganglion (T3G), and midgut of larvae of silkworm It was found that >50 variants were expressed with distinct splicing in the T3G compared with the brain and midgut. Of the variants detected, variant 9, which was expressed most abundantly in the larvae, was reconstituted in oocytes to characterize its pH and ivermectin sensitivity.

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Background: Various insect species have been added to genomic databases over the years. Thus, researchers can easily obtain online genomic information on invertebrates and insects. However, many incorrectly annotated genes are included in these databases, which can prevent the correct interpretation of subsequent functional analyses.

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Several mutants of the silkworm Bombyx mori show body color variation at the larval and adult stages. The Wild wing spot (Ws) mutant exhibits a phenotype in which the moth has a spot on the apex of the forewing. In this study, we investigated this trait to elucidate the molecular mechanism underlying the color pattern.

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Bombyx mori bidensovirus (BmBDV), which causes fatal flacherie disease in the silkworm, replicates only in midgut columnar cells. The viral resistance expressed by some silkworm strains, which is characterized as non-susceptibility irrespective of the viral dose, is determined by a single gene, nsd-2. We previously identified nsd-2 by positional cloning and found that this gene encodes a putative amino acid transporter that might function as a receptor for BmBDV.

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Bombyx mori (silkworm) is the most famous lepidopteran in Japan. B. mori has long been used in the silk industry and also as a model insect for agricultural research.

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One way that aerobic biological systems counteract the generation of reactive oxygen species (ROS) is with superoxide dismutase proteins SOD1 and SOD2 that metabolize superoxide radicals to molecular oxygen and hydrogen peroxide or scavenge oxygen radicals produced by the extensive oxidation-reduction and electron-transport reactions that occur in mitochondria. We characterized SOD1 and SOD2 of Bombyx mori isolated from the fat body of larvae. Immunological analysis demonstrated the presence of BmSOD1 and BmSOD2 in the silk gland, midgut, fat body, Malpighian tubules, testis and ovary from larvae to adults.

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Female Ascotis selenaria (Geometridae) moths use 3,4-epoxy-(Z,Z)-6,9-nonadecadiene, which is synthesized from linolenic acid, as the main component of their sex pheromone. While the use of dietary linolenic or linoleic fatty acid derivatives as sex pheromone components has been observed in moth species belonging to a few families including Geometridae, the majority of moths use derivatives of a common saturated fatty acid, palmitic acid, as their sex pheromone components. We attempted to gain insight into the differentiation of pheromone biosynthetic pathways in geometrids by analyzing the desaturase genes expressed in the pheromone gland of A.

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