Publications by authors named "Nagasawa R"

We present the X-ray crystal structure of a complex between a G-clamp and an internal loop motif of pre-mir-125a, selected from high affinity RNAs identified in a large-scale RNA-binding profile. This X-ray crystal structure reveals that the G-clamp interacts with three distinct guanine bases, forming robust bonds through hydrogen bonding and stacking interactions.

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  • Low HDL-cholesterol and corneal opacity are linked to diseases like fish-eye disease and familial LCAT deficiency, with diagnosis typically requiring both clinical and biochemical tests, particularly LCAT activity, which isn't accessible in all clinics.
  • A case study revealed a patient with compound heterozygous FED whose CE/TC ratio was normal, contrasting with the expectation of low levels due to LCAT gene variants.
  • The patient showed 20% LCAT α-activity, which is enough to normalize their CE/TC ratio but insufficient to prevent corneal opacity, highlighting a distinction in LCAT activity's effects on disease symptoms.
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  • Immune checkpoint inhibitors (ICIs) have improved cancer treatment outcomes but identifying effective biomarkers for patient selection is essential due to current markers like PD-L1 showing limited predictive accuracy.
  • * This study analyzes blood-based factors, like neutrophil-to-lymphocyte ratio and red cell distribution width (RDW), to predict benefits from ICI therapy using data from a Clinical Data Warehouse (CDW) and electronic medical records (EMR).
  • * Results showed a significant correlation between high RDW and the likelihood of receiving fewer doses of the ICI pembrolizumab, highlighting its potential as a prognostic marker for predicting treatment efficacy.
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  • - Biologics, like benralizumab, are key treatments for severe asthma, but there's limited data on their effects in elderly patients (70+ years old).
  • - A study analyzed 51 patients (22 elderly, 29 non-elderly) treated with benralizumab, showing significant reductions in asthma exacerbations for both groups during treatment.
  • - The medication was well-tolerated in elderly patients, with a similar rate of discontinuation due to side effects compared to non-elderly patients.
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  • - The study investigates the link between HLA genotypes and the severity of COVID-19 in 209 Japanese patients, identifying how specific alleles correlate with severe respiratory cases over different epidemic periods (pre-Omicron and Omicron).
  • - Significant associations were found, particularly with alleles HLA-DQA1*01:03 and HLA-DQB1*06:01, showing higher frequencies in severe COVID-19 cases compared to non-severe cases, primarily during the pre-Omicron period.
  • - There was a strong correlation between the two significant alleles (r = 0.91), indicating they are often inherited together, and their presence in the severe group highlights potential genetic factors influencing COVID-19
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  • Benralizumab, an antibody for eosinophilic asthma, helps reduce flare-ups and reliance on corticosteroids, but its prescribing varies significantly across Japan’s 47 prefectures.
  • A study using national insurance claim data found that higher average income correlates with increased benralizumab prescriptions, while correlations with physician density were weaker.
  • The findings highlight that income is the most significant factor affecting access to advanced asthma treatments in Japan, suggesting that addressing financial barriers is crucial for improving patient care and outcomes.
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The large-scale analysis of small-molecule binding to diverse RNA structures is key to understanding the required interaction properties and selectivity for developing RNA-binding molecules toward RNA-targeted therapies. Here, we report a new system for performing the large-scale analysis of small molecule-RNA interactions using a multiplexed pull-down assay with RNA structure libraries. The system profiled the RNA-binding landscapes of G-clamp and thiazole orange derivatives, which recognizes an unpaired guanine base and are good probes for fluorescent indicator displacement (FID) assays, respectively.

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  • Research aimed to create a panel of fewer tumor markers for lung cancer diagnosis, balancing sensitivity with the risk of false positives.
  • The study involved 1,733 patients and used logistic regression to identify three key markers (CEA, CYFRA, NSE) linked to lung cancer diagnosis.
  • The three-marker panel demonstrated better diagnostic accuracy and reduced false positives compared to a panel that included all six tumor markers.
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Background: The ILD-GAP scoring system is known to be useful in predicting prognosis in patients with interstitial lung disease (ILD). An elevated monocyte count was associated with increased risks of IPF poor prognosis. We examined whether the ILD-GAP scoring system combined with the monocyte ratio (ILD-GAPM) is superior to the conventional ILD-GAP model in predicting ILD prognosis.

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  • * In a study of 51 patients, those who died within 12 weeks had significantly higher serum HO-1 levels compared to survivors, highlighting its role in mortality prediction.
  • * The study suggests that measuring serum HO-1 could help assess the prognosis and mortality risk for patients experiencing acute exacerbations of ILDs.
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  • Acute exacerbation (AE) of interstitial pneumonia (IP) has a poor prognosis due to severe lung damage combined with existing fibrosis.
  • A study compared clinical data from 66 patients with AE of idiopathic interstitial pneumonias (IIPs) and 19 patients with collagen vascular disease-associated interstitial pneumonia (CVD-IP), focusing on factors like age, health status (Charlson Comorbidity Index score), blood biomarkers, treatment, and mortality.
  • Findings revealed that the Charlson Comorbidity Index score and serum lactate dehydrogenase levels were significant predictors of 3-month mortality, indicating that these metrics may be more crucial indicators of patient outcomes than the specific type of interstitial pneumonia.
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  • * Researchers reviewed data from 130 IPF patients who underwent AFT between 2009 and 2019, noting factors like age, sex, and pulmonary function, but found no significant differences in outcomes based on CCIS scores.
  • * While the CCIS did not correlate with disease outcomes overall, a longer duration of AFT appeared to improve results for patients with a low CCIS score.
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  • The study investigated the differences in acute exacerbation (AE) between fibrotic hypersensitivity pneumonitis (HP) and idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis (IPF).
  • A total of 469 patients were analyzed, revealing that fibrotic HP had better survival rates and lower cumulative AE rates compared to IPF.
  • The research concluded that while respiratory function tests predicted AE in fibrotic HP, high-resolution CT changes did not, indicating a differing prognostic significance between the two conditions.
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We herein report a case of bilateral pneumothorax after a unilateral transbronchial lung cryobiopsy (TBLC). A 73-year-old man with no history of cardiothoracic surgery underwent a TBLC for the reevaluation of interstitial lung disease. Five hours later, he developed bilateral pneumothorax, pneumomediastinum, and subcutaneous emphysema.

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Objective Dexamethasone, remdesivir (REM), and baricitinib (BAR) are commonly used to treat coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19). High-dose steroids have also been reported to be well tolerated, even when used in combination with multiple drugs. In this retrospective study, we assessed the safety and therapeutic efficacy of a three-drug combination of high-dose steroids, REM, and BAR in hospitalized COVID-19 patients.

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Streptococcus mutans is a major caries-causing bacterium that forms firmly attached biofilms on tooth surfaces. Biofilm formation by S. mutans consists of polysaccharide-dependent and polysaccharide-independent processes.

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Backgrounds: Catheter ablation for non-paroxysmal atrial fibrillation (non-PAF) remains challenging and more effective strategy has been required to reduce postoperative arrhythmia recurrences. This study aims to investigate the efficacy and safety of a novel extensive ablation strategy for non-PAF, that is based on a combination of cryoballoon (CBA), radiofrequency (RFA), and Marshall-vein ethanol ablations (EA-VOM).

Methods: The study was a single-center, retrospective observational study.

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Microorganisms develop into communities in nearly every environmental niche, which is typically replete with micrometer-scale gaps and features. In each of these habitats, microorganisms adapt to and are affected by their physical environment. Conventional culture methods use glass bottom dishes or millimeter-scale flow cells, which poorly mimic the complexity of natural micrometer-scale environments; therefore, the limitations associated with the creation of microbe-scale environments with granularity hinder the ability to examine their ecological behavior.

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Background: The ILD-GAP scoring system has been widely used to predict the prognosis of patients with interstitial lung disease (ILD). The ability of the ILD-GAP scoring system combined with the Charlson Comorbidity Index score (CCIS) (ILD-GAPC) to predict ILD prognosis was investigated.

Methods: In ILD patients, including idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis (IPF), idiopathic nonspecific interstitial pneumonia (iNSIP), collagen vascular disease-related interstitial pneumonia (CVD-IP), chronic hypersensitivity pneumonitis (CHP), and unclassifiable ILD (UC-ILD), treated between April 2013 and April 2017, the relationships between baseline clinical parameters, including age, sex, CCIS, ILD diagnosis, pulmonary function test results, and disease outcomes, were retrospectively assessed, and the ability to predict prognosis was compared between the ILD-GAP and ILD-GAPC models, respectively.

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  • * Blood samples from 90 patients revealed that those experiencing AEs had significantly higher levels of HO-1 (35.2 ng/mL) compared to those without AEs (16.4 ng/mL), indicating a strong correlation.
  • * ROC curve analysis showed that serum HO-1 had a high accuracy in identifying AEs (AUC of 0.87 for IIPs and 0.86 for SIPs), suggesting it could be a clinically valuable tool
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Background: This study was aimed to investigate the efficacy of the over-the-wire (OTW) microelectrodes catheter in coronary venous system (CVS) mapping and treatment of outflow tract ventricular arrhythmia (OTVA) arising from the vicinity of the left ventricular summit (LVS).

Methods: Consecutive 62 patients with idiopathic OTVA in whom the OTW microelectrodes catheter was routinely used for CVS mapping were analyzed. CVS mapping was performed for both main trunk (from great cardiac vein to anterior interventricular vein) and branches including the annular branch or septal branch.

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Purpose: To evaluate the influence of respiratory motion on the robustness of radiomic features on four-dimensional computed tomography (4DCT)-based average intensity projection (AIP) images by employing an anthropomorphic chest phantom.

Methods: Three spherical objects (φ30 mm), namely, acrylic (100 Hounsfield unit [HU], homogeneous), rubber (-140 HU, homogeneous), and cork (-630 HU, heterogeneous), were moved with motion amplitudes of 0, 1, 2.5, 4, 6, 8, and 10 mm in the phantom, and 4DCT scans were repeated at four different locations.

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Background: Serum Krebs von den Lungen-6 (KL-6) measurement is widely used to assess disease activity or prognosis in patients with interstitial lung diseases (ILDs). However, the clinical differences between high and low serum KL-6 levels at the time of acute exacerbation (AE) of ILD are not well known.

Methods: Clinical parameters including age, sex, Charlson Comorbidity Index score (CCIS), blood biomarkers, high-resolution CT findings, and disease mortality were retrospectively compared between high and low KL-6 (cutoff value: 1000 U/mL) patients at the time of diagnosis of AE of ILDs.

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Background: The purpose of this retrospective study was to clarify whether the presence of honeycombing on computed tomography (CT) can affect the prognosis of patients with acute exacerbations (AEs) of interstitial lung diseases (ILDs).

Methods: Clinical parameters including age, sex, Charlson Comorbidity Index Score (CCIS), blood biomarkers, and 3-month mortality were retrospectively compared between the CT honeycombing present and absent groups at the diagnosis of AEs of ILDs.

Results: Ninety-five patients who were on corticosteroid pulse therapy were assessed.

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Acromegaly is a chronic systemic disease characterized by facial and peripheral changes caused by soft tissue overgrowth and is associated with multiple comorbidities. Despite available surgical and medical therapies, suitable treatments for acromegaly are still lacking. Efficient drug development requires an understanding of the exposure-response (E-R) relationship based on nonclinical and early clinical studies.

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