Publications by authors named "M Akagi"

The purpose of the present study is to investigate changes in the kynurenine pathway after intracerebral hemorrhage (ICH) and its effects on ICH-induced injury. The exposure of a primary rat microglial culture to thrombin increased the mRNA level of kynurenine 3-monooxygenase (KMO), and this increase was attenuated by a p38 MAPK inhibitor. Thrombin also increased the protein level of KMO.

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Objectives: Leflunomide (LEF) is a conventional synthetic disease-modifying antirheumatic drug and suppresses T-cell proliferation and activity by inhibiting pyrimidine synthesis using dihydroorotase dehydrogenase (DHODH); however, several studies have demonstrated that LEF possesses anticancer and antiangiogenic effects in some malignant tumors. Therefore, we investigated the anticancer and antiangiogenic effects of LEF on oral squamous cell carcinoma (OSCC).

Methods: To evaluate the inhibitory effect of LEF on OSCC, cell proliferation and wound-healing assays using human OSCC cell lines were performed.

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CPX-351 (NS-87; Vyxeos®) has a characteristic liposomal formulation and contains cytarabine and daunorubicin at a 5:1 molar ratio, which demonstrates synergistic activity in both in vitro and in vivo animal models. It has been approved in several countries for the treatment of newly diagnosed, therapy-related acute myeloid leukemia (t-AML) or AML with myelodysplasia-related changes (AML-MRC). Since there are very few Asian patients, especially Japanese adult and pediatric patients, only a small clinical study has been conducted in Japanese adult patients and no study in Japanese pediatric patients.

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The members of glutathione -transferase (GST) belonging to the Phi class of the GST family are known to play a role in anthocyanin transport to the vacuole. We isolated a GST orthologue from the torenia petal cDNA library. Transgenic plants transcribing GST double stranded RNA were generated from a torenia cultivar having blue flowers.

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There are many commercially available artificial nerve conduits, used mostly to repair short gaps in sensory nerves. The stages of nerve regeneration in a nerve conduit are fibrin matrix formation between the nerve stumps joined to the conduit, capillary extension and Schwann cell migration from both nerve stumps, and, finally, axon extension from the proximal nerve stump. Artificial nerves connecting transected nerve stumps with a long interstump gap should be biodegradable, soft and pliable; have the ability to maintain an intrachamber fibrin matrix structure that allows capillary invasion of the tubular lumen, inhibition of scar tissue invasion and leakage of intratubular neurochemical factors from the chamber; and be able to accommodate cells that produce neurochemical factors that promote nerve regeneration.

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