Publications by authors named "Maiko Kato"

Article Synopsis
  • In December 2019, SARS-CoV-2 was identified as the virus causing COVID-19, which mainly leads to respiratory issues but also has various skin manifestations.
  • These skin reactions can be categorized into seven types, including chilblain-like lesions and urticaria, and may arise due to the virus itself or as reactions to COVID-19 vaccinations.
  • Future research is needed to better understand the mechanisms behind these skin reactions and establish clear causal relationships between them and COVID-19 or the vaccines.
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Peptides are attractive drug candidates, but their utility is greatly limited by their inherent susceptibility to proteolytic degradation and their inability to pass through the cell membrane. Here, we employ a strategy of temporary cyclization to develop a cell-active lysine-specific demethylase 1 (LSD1/KDM1A) inhibitor peptide. We first identified a highly potent LSD1-inhibitory linear peptide, with the assistance of X-ray crystal structure data of inhibitor peptide-bound LSD1·CoREST.

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Geminiviruses and their diseases are a considerable economic threat to a vast number of crops worldwide. Investigating how and where these viruses replicate and accumulate in their hosts may lead to novel molecular resistance strategies. In this study, we used the Rep-inducible In Plant Activation (INPACT) expression platform, based on the genome of tobacco yellow dwarf virus (TYDV), to determine where this model mastrevirus replicates in its host tobacco.

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Recent studies have identified autoantibodies against synaptic molecules in patients with encephalitis. Autoantibodies against the N-Methyl-d-Aspartate receptor have been reported in patients with schizophrenia; however, autoantibodies against other molecules are yet to be identified. This study used a cell-based assay to examine serum samples from individuals with schizophrenia and healthy controls.

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Article Synopsis
  • - The probiotic strain MIYAIRI 588 (CBM 588) was found to significantly extend the lifespan and enhance locomotion in model animals compared to those fed a standard diet of OP50.
  • - Animals that consumed CBM 588 also showed increased resistance to stressors such as pathogenic bacteria, UV radiation, and metal exposure.
  • - The lifespan extension effects of CBM 588 were not observed in certain mutant strains, suggesting its benefits may involve the regulation of the insulin/IGF-1 signaling pathway and the Nrf2 transcription factor.
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Human vitronectin (hVN) is a glycoprotein that functions as a cell adhesion molecule and a regulator of coagulation in blood plasma and the extracellular matrix. In vitro, hVN is added to serum-free media in order to promote the adhesion of animal cells to tissue culture surfaces and the proliferation of undifferentiated stem cells. Here, we report the production of hVN in Nicotiana benthamiana using the inducible In Plant ACTivation (INPACT) hyperexpression platform.

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Aim: To investigate the acute effects of the ingestion of a fructose-containing beverage combinedwith fat on postprandial lipoprotein metabolism.

Methods: Twelve young healthy Japanese women with apolipoprotein E phenotype 3/3 were enrolled in this study. At each of four sessions, the subjects ingested one of four sugar beverages containing fructose and/or glucose (total: 0.

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Toll-like receptor 7 and Myd88 are required for antiretroviral antibody and germinal center responses, but whether somatic hypermutation and class-switch recombination are required for antiretroviral immunity has not been examined. Mice deficient in activation-induced cytidine deaminase (AID) resisted Friend virus infection, produced virus-neutralizing antibodies, and controlled viremia. Passive transfer demonstrated that immune IgM from AID-deficient mice contributes to Friend virus control in the presence of virus-specific CD4+ T cells.

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Aim: To investigate the acute effects of the ingestion of a fructose-containing beverage combined with fat on postprandial lipoprotein metabolism.

Methods: Twelve young healthy Japanese women with apolipoprotein E phenotype 3/3 were enrolled in this study. At each of four sessions, the subjects ingested one of four sugar beverages containing fructose and/or glucose (total: 0.

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Virus-based transgene expression systems have become particularly valuable for recombinant protein production in plants. The dual-module in-plant activation (INPACT) expression platform consists of a uniquely designed split-gene cassette incorporating the cis replication elements of Tobacco yellow dwarf geminivirus (TYDV) and an ethanol-inducible activation cassette encoding the TYDV Rep and RepA replication-associated proteins. The INPACT system is essentially tailored for recombinant protein production in stably transformed plants and provides both inducible and high-level transient transgene expression with the potential to be adapted to diverse crop species.

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In chronic viral infections, persistent antigen presentation causes progressive exhaustion of virus-specific CD8+ T cells. It has become clear, however, that virus-specific naïve CD8+ T cells newly generated from the thymus can be primed with persisting antigens. In the setting of low antigen density and resolved inflammation, newly primed CD8+ T cells are preferentially recruited into the functional memory pool.

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A 14-year-old girl with acute lymphocytic leukemia complained of right flank pain and fever. As her fever was prolonged, she underwent renal biopsy and was diagnosed with mucormycosis. We performed right nephrectomy, and subsequent pathological examination of her tissue specimen also detected mucormycosis.

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In this study, we describe a novel protein production platform that provides both activation and amplification of transgene expression in planta. The In Plant Activation (INPACT) system is based on the replication machinery of tobacco yellow dwarf mastrevirus (TYDV) and is essentially transient gene expression from a stably transformed plant, thus combining the advantages of both means of expression. The INPACT cassette is uniquely arranged such that the gene of interest is split and only reconstituted in the presence of the TYDV-encoded Rep/RepA proteins.

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Circadian timekeeping in plants increases photosynthesis and productivity. There are circadian oscillations in the abundance of many chloroplast-encoded transcripts, but it is not known how the circadian clock regulates chloroplast transcription or the photosynthetic apparatus. We show that, in Arabidopsis, nuclear-encoded SIGMA FACTOR5 (SIG5) controls circadian rhythms of transcription of several chloroplast genes, revealing one pathway by which the nuclear-encoded circadian oscillator controls rhythms of chloroplast gene expression.

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Chloroplasts have their own DNA and gene expression systems. Transcription in chloroplasts is regulated by two types of RNA polymerase, nuclear-encoded plastid RNA polymerase (NEP) and plastid-encoded plastid RNA polymerase (PEP), and multiple sigma factors for PEP. To study transcriptional regulation in chloroplasts, a molecular genetic approach has extensively been used.

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Introduction: Recombinant thrombomodulin (rTM), which degrades factors Va and VIIIa by activating protein C, has been developed as a new drug for treating disseminated intravascular coagulation (DIC).

Materials And Methods: Since July 2009, we have treated 25 children with DIC using rTM (380 U/kg/day, or 130 U/kg/day for newborns) as a first-line therapy. Median duration of rTM administration was 5 consecutive days (range, 2-13 days).

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