Publications by authors named "Muneo Numasaki"

In this study, we sought to elucidate the roles of the interleukin (IL)-32β and IL-32γ in mesothelioma cell growth, and vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF)-A and C-X-C motif chemokine ligand 8 (CXCL8) expression. IL-32 elicited a growth-promoting effect against one of the six mesotheliomas lines and exerted diverse regulatory functions in VEGF-A and CXCL8 secretion from mesotheliomas stimulated with or without IL-17A. Retroviral-mediated transduction of mesothelioma lines with IL-32γ resulted in enhanced IL-32β expression, which facilitated or suppressed the in vitro growth, and VEGF-A and CXCL8 expression.

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Background: Interleukin (IL)-17A possesses biological activities to promote vascular endothelial cell migration and microvessel development.

Objective: To clarify which angiogenic factors are involved in IL-17A-modified angiogenesis-related functions of vascular endothelial cell migration and microtube development or not.

Methods: The potential contribution of various angiogenic stimulators to in vitro angiogenic activities of IL-17A was assessed with both modified Boyden Chemotaxicell chamber assay and in vitro angiogenesis assay.

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In sepsis, the pathology involves a shift from a proinflammatory state toward an immunosuppressive phase. We previously showed that an agonistic anti-TLR4 antibody induced long-term endotoxin tolerance and suppressed antigen-specific secondary IgG production when primed prior to immunization with antigen. These findings led us to speculate that TLR4-induced innate tolerance due to primary infection causes an immunosuppressive pathology in sepsis.

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Aim: The use of problem lists is encouraged to overcome the inconsistency in reporting comprehensive geriatric assessment results. The present study aimed to identify the latent variables influencing the use of geriatrician problem lists.

Methods: Surveys were sent to all geriatricians registered with the Japan Geriatrics Society (n = 1439) as of November 2015, and responses (n = 204) were analyzed with univariate and exploratory factor analyses.

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Toll-like receptor 4 (TLR4) is an indispensable immune receptor for lipopolysaccharide (LPS), a major component of the Gram-negative bacterial cell wall. Following LPS stimulation, TLR4 transmits the signal from the cell surface and becomes internalized in an endosome. However, the spatial regulation of TLR4 signaling is not fully understood.

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Lipopolysaccharide (LPS)-induced activation of Toll-like receptor 4 (TLR4) elicits the innate immune response and can trigger septic shock if excessive. Two antibodies (HT4 and HT52) inhibit LPS-induced human TLR4 activation via novel LPS binding-independent mechanisms. The HT52 epitope resides on leucine-rich repeat 2 (LRR2) and is a feature of many inhibitory antibodies; antigen specificity of HT4 does not reside in LRR2.

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The interleukin (IL)-17 family, consisting of six homodimeric cytokines IL-17A, IL-17B, IL-17C, IL-17D, IL-17E/IL-25, and IL-17F, mediates a variety of biological activities including regulation of chemokine secretion and angiogenesis. Among the IL-17 family members, IL-17A and IL-17E/IL-25 are angiogenesis stimulators, while IL-17B and IL-17F are angiogenesis inhibitors. Recently, IL-17A/F heterodimer, comprised of the IL-17A and IL-17F subunits, was found as another member of the IL-17 cytokine family.

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Th17 cytokines IL-17A and IL-17F play a critical role in the activation and recruitment of neutrophils at airway inflammation mainly through the induction of CXC chemokines in the lungs. Vascular endothelial cells belong to the category of major CXC chemokine-producing cells. However, until now, the precise role of Th17 cytokines in CXC chemokine secretion in lung microvascular endothelial cells (LMVECs) has not been fully elucidated.

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The antitumor activities of type III interferon (IFN) (interleukin [IL]-28 and IL-29) and the combination of type III IFN and type I IFN (IFN-α) were evaluated using human non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC). The expression of type III and type I receptor complexes was detected in NSCLC lines. IL-29 significantly inhibited the in vitro growth of a wide range of NSCLC lines in a dose-dependent fashion.

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A total of 23 strains of bifidobacteria taxonomically belonging to five species were tested for their potent immunomodulatory effect using a combination of two methods: the NF-κB-reporter assay using a toll-like receptor 2-expressing transfectant (HEK(pTLR2) system) and the mitogenic assay using porcine Peyer's patches immunocompetent cells. Among the four preselected strains from different immunomodulatory groups, Bifidobacterium breve MCC-117 was able to efficiently modulate the inflammatory response triggered by enterotoxigenic Escherichia coli (ETEC) in a porcine intestinal epithelial (PIE) cell line. Moreover, using PIE cells and swine Peyer's patches immunocompetent cell co-culture system, we demonstrated that the immunoregulatory effect of B.

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Peptidoglycan recognition proteins (PGRPs) are innate immune molecules that are present in most invertebrates and vertebrates. Mammals have four PGRPs, PGLYRP1-4. In the present study, we cloned the cDNAs encoding porcine PGLYRP3 and 4 from the esophagus of adult swine.

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Signal pathways of novel type III interferons (IFN-lambdas) are similar to those of type I IFNs (IFN-alpha/beta) but their distinct functions have not been well characterised. We examined the growth suppressive activity of IFN-lambda1 with nine human oesophageal carcinoma cell lines expressing the IFN-lambda receptor complexes. Among them, three lines but not others showed IFN-lambda1-mediated growth suppression by inducing G1 phase arrest or apoptosis.

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Background And Objective: It is now considered that the major component of mucus, MUC5AC, is mainly produced by goblet cells but not submucosal glands, and the role of the submucosal glands in the production of MUC5AC is unclear. The aim of this study was to clarify whether human submucosal glands produce MUC5AC.

Methods: Immunohistochemical analysis with MUC5AC antibody of lower airways resected from six lung cancer patients and three patients with acute myocardial infarction was performed.

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Background And Objective: The common cold is a major cause of asthma exacerbation and chronic obstructive lung disease. Rhinovirus is reported to be responsible for more than 50% of cases of the common cold. In a previous study, we reported that rhinovirus infection of cultured airway cells induced MUC5AC mucin overproduction and hypersecretion by activating the p44/42 mitogen-activated protein kinase (p44/42 MAPK) pathway.

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IL-28 is a recently described antiviral cytokine. In this study, we investigated the biological effects of IL-28 on tumor growth to evaluate its antitumor activity. IL-28 or retroviral transduction of the IL-28 gene into MCA205 cells did not affect in vitro growth, whereas in vivo growth of MCA205IL-28 was markedly suppressed along with survival advantages when compared with that of controls.

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The effects of IL-17A on mucin production and growth of airway epithelial cells were examined. Histological and immunohistochemical analyses revealed that IL-17A increased the mucin production and number of tracheal epithelial cells in air-liquid interface cultures. The biological property of IL-17A to stimulate the mucin production by tracheal epithelial cells was determined using an ELISA.

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Mucus hypersecretion relates to exacerbations of bronchial asthma and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) caused by rhinovirus (RV) infection. We examined the mechanisms of RV infection-induced mucin production in human tracheal surface epithelial cells and submucosal gland cells. RV14 up-regulated the mRNA expression of MUC2, MUC3, MUC5AC, MUC5B and MUC6, and increased MUC5AC and total mucin concentration in supernatants and lysates of the surface cells.

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In this study, we examined the biological action of IL-17 on human non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC). Although IL-17 had no direct effect on the in vitro growth rate of NSCLC, IL-17 selectively augmented the secretion of an array of angiogenic CXC chemokines, including CXCL1, CXCL5, CXCL6, and CXCL8 but not angiostatic chemokines, by three different NSCLC lines. Endothelial cell chemotactic activity (as a measure of net angiogenic potential) was increased in response to conditioned medium from NSCLC stimulated with IL-17 compared with those from unstimulated NSCLC.

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Interleukin-17 (IL-17) is a CD4 T cell-derived proinflammatry and proangiogenic cytokine. In this study, we investigated the effects of this cytokine on vascular endothelial cell growth induced by a well-known direct angiogenic factor bFGF, HGF, VEGF, CXCL5/ENA-78 or CXCL8/IL-8. While a wide range of doses of IL-17 alone did not show the ability to stimulate the growth of human dermal microvascular endothelial cells (HMVECs), bFGF, HGF, VEGF, CXCL5 or CXCL8 significantly induced the growth of HMVECs in vitro.

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In this study, we investigated the roles of CD4 T cell cytokines IL-17 and IL-17F in GM-CSF production from lung microvascular endothelial cells (LMVECs). While a wide range of doses of IL-17 or IL-17F alone did not induce GM-CSF release from LMVECs, IL-17 had an enhancing effect on macrophage-derived IL-1beta- and TNF-alpha-induced GM-CSF mRNA expression and production, whereas IL-17F had an enhancing effect on IL-1beta-induced GM-CSF production, but a marked inhibitory effect on TNF-alpha-induced secretion. GM-CSF production was further enhanced with the combination of three cytokines IL-1beta, TNF-alpha and IL-17 or IL-17F.

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The role of the interleukin (IL)-17 family members in the regulation of G-CSF production by lung microvasculature has not been elucidated yet. We therefore investigated the effects of IL-17 and IL-17F on the regulation of G-CSF production by lung microvascular endothelial cells (LMVECs). While a wide range of doses of IL-17 or IL-17F alone did not up-regulate G-CSF production from primary human LMVECs, IL-17 had an enhancing effect on macrophage-derived IL-1beta- and TNF-alpha-induced G-CSF production, whereas IL-17F had an enhancing effect on IL-1beta-induced production, but an inhibitory effect on TNF-alpha-induced secretion.

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Interleukin-17 (IL-17) is a CD4 T cell cytokine. In this report, we investigated the effects of this cytokine on the elaboration of proangiogenic factors by lung fibroblasts. After stimulation with a wide range of doses of IL-17, fibroblasts produced more amount of various kinds of angiogenic factors including NO, HGF, MCP-1, KC, MIP-2, PGE1, PGE2 and VEGF in a dose-dependent manner.

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Tissue repair often occurs in organs damaged by an inflammatory response. Inflammatory stimuli induce a rapid and massive release of inflammatory cells including neutrophils from the bone marrow. Recently, many studies suggested that bone marrow cells have the potential to differentiate into a variety of cell types.

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