Publications by authors named "Masataka Hirasaki"

Dedifferentiated liposarcoma is a malignant lipomatous tumor that rarely occurs in the gastrointestinal tract, including the ileocecal region. In this case, computed tomography and magnetic resonance imaging showed no fatty mass located in the mesenteric or submucosal lesion, and positron emission tomography-computed tomography showed a high maximum standardized uptake value, collectively indicating the gastrointestinal stroma tumor and lymphoma. The pathological findings resemble leiomyosarcoma; the immunohistochemistry findings including mouse double minute 2 homolog and cyclin D-dependent kinase-4 and amplification of mouse double minute 2 homolog in fluorescence hybridization just favored the diagnosis of dedifferentiated liposarcoma with leiomyosarcoma phenotype and not leiomyosarcoma.

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  • - The case discusses a rare instance of pulmonary metastasis from renal angiomyolipoma (AML) in an 82-year-old woman, highlighting the need to differentiate between multicentric growth and true metastasis.
  • - This patient had pulmonary nodules that were uniquely composed of fat, and her condition remained benign over a decade, emphasizing the atypical behavior of AML.
  • - Whole-exome sequencing revealed specific mutations in the lung lesions, including a TSC2 mutation not found in her blood, suggesting that these lesions originated from her renal AML, which underscores the importance of recognizing such presentations for better diagnosis and treatment.
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  • Sevoflurane and desflurane are popular inhalational anesthetics, with desflurane gaining popularity comparable to sevoflurane.
  • A study used next-generation sequencing to compare their effects on gene expression in rats' livers, focusing on genes related to metabolism and immune response.
  • Results showed that both anesthetics activated genes for metabolizing foreign substances, with desflurane having a stronger effect, while sevoflurane notably reduced immune response-related gene expression.
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We previously reported a novel compound called S-nitroso- N -pivaloyl- d -penicillamine (SNPiP), which was screened from a group of nitric oxide donor compounds with a basic chemical structure of S-nitroso- N -acetylpenicillamine, to activate the nonneuronal acetylcholine system. SNPiP-treated mice exhibited improved cardiac output and enhanced diastolic function, without an increase in heart rate. The nonneuronal acetylcholine-activating effects included increased resilience to ischemia, modulation of energy metabolism preference, and activation of angiogenesis.

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Background: Fluoropyrimidine-based postoperative adjuvant chemotherapy is globally recommended for high-risk stage II and stage III colon cancer. However, adjuvant chemotherapy is often associated with severe adverse events and is not highly effective in preventing recurrence. Therefore, discovery of novel molecular biomarkers of postoperative adjuvant chemotherapy to identify patients at increased risk of recurrent colorectal cancer is warranted.

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Vimentin is a stable mesenchymal immunohistochemical marker and is widely recognized as a major marker of mesenchymal tumors. The purpose of the present study was to investigate if the vimentin expression status might serve as a significant predictor of outcomes in patients with invasive breast carcinoma of no special type (IBC-NST) and to investigate, by comprehensive RNA sequencing analyses, the mechanisms involved in the heightened malignant potential of vimentin-positive IBC-NSTs. This study, conducted using the data of 855 patients with IBC-NST, clearly identified vimentin expression status as a very important independent biological parameter for accurately predicting the outcomes in patients with IBC-NST.

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  • * Whole-exome sequencing was performed on 324 oral cancer patients to analyze genetic variants, with a focus on the differences between nonsmokers and smokers.
  • * Results indicated that variants in the gene HECTD4 were significantly more common in nonsmokers, suggesting it may play a critical role in oral cancer for this group, warranting further research.
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  • Researchers developed a stress-induced premature senescence (SIPS) model using human fibroblast MRC-5 cells, treating them with either a proteasome inhibitor (MG132) or a vacuolar-type ATPase inhibitor (BAFA1).
  • They investigated how mitochondrial function affects SIPS by using inhibitors for the electron transport chain and a mitochondrial uncoupler, finding that a complex III inhibitor (antimycin A) significantly reduced the effects of SIPS, unlike complex I inhibitors or the uncoupler.
  • The study concluded that inhibiting mitochondrial respiration temporarily can protect against premature senescence by decreasing reactive oxygen species, protein aggregation, and improving mitochondrial health.
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Unlabelled: In advanced urothelial carcinoma (UC), approximately 20% of patients respond to pembrolizumab, an anti-programmed cell death-1 (PD-1) antibody. Herein, we reported a single case of UC showing coexistence of sarcomatoid subtype and glandular differentiation. Notably, only glandular differentiation was recurrent, probably progressive, and metastatic, which showed complete response to pembrolizumab.

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Tumor budding grade is a very useful histological prognostic indicator for colorectal cancer patients. Recently, it has been also reported as a significant prognostic indicator in invasive breast carcinoma patients. Our group and others have previously reported that the presence of a fibrotic focus in the tumor is a very useful histological finding for accurately predicting the prognosis in patients with invasive carcinoma of no special type (ICNST) of the breast.

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Peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor (PPAR) γ1, a nuclear receptor, is abundant in the murine placenta during the late stage of pregnancy (E15-E16), although its functional roles remain unclear. PPARγ1 is encoded by two splicing isoforms, namely Pparγ1 and Pparγ1sv, and its embryonic loss leads to early (E10) embryonic lethality. Thus, we generated knockout (KO) mice that carried only one of the isoforms to obtain a milder phenotype.

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Although the physiological meaning of the high potential of mouse embryonic stem cells (ESCs) for meiotic entry is not understood, a rigid safeguarding system is required to prevent ectopic onset of meiosis. PRC1.6, a non-canonical PRC1, is known for its suppression of precocious and ectopic meiotic onset in germ cells and ESCs, respectively.

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A non-canonical PRC1 (PRC1.6) prevents precocious meiotic onset. Germ cells alleviate its negative effect by reducing their amount of MAX, a component of PRC1.

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Background: Human papillomavirus (HPV)-negative oropharyngeal squamous cell carcinoma shows a higher rate of radiation resistance than HPV-positive oropharyngeal squamous cell carcinoma (OPSCC). Radioresistant HPV-negative OPSCC is associated with unfavourable outcomes, but validated prognostic biomarkers remain lacking.

Aims/objectives: This study investigated biomarkers for radioresistant HPV-negative OPSCC.

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Ezetimibe inhibits Niemann-Pick C1-like 1 (NPC1L1) protein, which mediates intracellular cholesterol trafficking from the brush border membrane to the endoplasmic reticulum, where chylomicron assembly takes place in enterocytes or in the intestinal absorptive epithelial cells. Cholesterol is a minor lipid constituent of chylomicrons; however, whether or not a shortage of cholesterol attenuates chylomicron assembly is unknown. The aim of this study was to examine the effect of ezetimibe, a potent NPC1L1 inhibitor, on trans-epithelial lipid transport, and chylomicron assembly and secretion in enterocytes.

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  • - The study investigates a long noncoding RNA (602-nt) linked to the cyclin D1 gene that is affected by osmotic stress and interacts with the RNA-binding protein TLS/FUS, which plays a role in inhibiting its expression.
  • - Osmotic stress leads to changes in RNA and protein methylation levels, particularly reducing mA (N6-methyladenosine) methylation of the long noncoding RNA and arginine methylation of TLS, influencing their interaction and extending the RNA's lifespan.
  • - Experimental manipulation, like knockdown of methylation enzymes and deletion of mA sites, disrupts interactions affecting cell cycle progression, showing that mA modification is key for regulating gene expression and potentially controlling
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Background/aim: We have previously reported that alternate-day S-1 had comparable effects and milder adverse events than the respective consecutive-day regimen in head and neck cancer (HNC) patients. The aim of this study was to investigate the anticancer effects of both regimens and underlying mechanisms in vitro.

Materials And Methods: Two head and neck squamous cell carcinoma (HNSCC) cell lines were treated with 5-FU given on an alternate-day or consecutive-day schedule.

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YAP (also known as YAP1 or YAP65) is a transcriptional coactivator that interacts with a number of transcription factors including RUNX and TEAD and plays a pivotal role in controlling cell growth. YAP is classified as a proto-oncogene. However, the mechanism by which activated YAP induces cancerous changes is not well known.

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It is thought that the spleen contains stem cells that differentiate into somatic cells other than immune cells. We investigated the presence of these hypothetical splenic cells with stem cell characteristics and identified adherent cells forming densely-packed colonies (Splenic Adherent Colony-forming Cell; SACC) in the spleen. Splenic Adherent Colony-forming Cell was positive for alkaline phosphatase staining and stage-specific embryonic antigen (SSEA)-1 antigen.

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  • Embryonic stem cells (ESCs) are important for regenerative medicine because they can self-renew indefinitely and can develop into various cell types (pluripotency).
  • Mbd3 is a key regulator of pluripotency, and while ESCs without Mbd3 can still self-renew, they struggle with differentiating into specific lineages.
  • Research shows that the coiled-coil domain of Mbd3c helps maintain proper lineage commitment in stem cells, mainly by interacting with a complex that silences genes related to development.
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The Oct4 gene is a master regulator of the pluripotent properties of embryonic stem cells (ESCs). Recently, Oct4 loci were shown to frequently localize in close proximity to one another during the early stage of cellular differentiation, implicating this event as an important prerequisite step for ESCs to exert their full differentiation potential. Although the differentiation capacity of embryonal carcinoma cells (ECCs), such as F9 and P19 ECC lines, is severely restricted compared with ESCs, ECCs bear a highly similar expression profile to that of ESCs including expression of Oct4 and other pluripotency marker genes.

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Meiosis is a central event of sexual reproduction. Like somatic cells, germ cells conduct mitosis to increase their cell number, but unlike somatic cells, germ cells switch their cell division mode from mitosis to meiosis at a certain point in gametogenesis. However, the molecular basis of this switch remains elusive.

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