Publications by authors named "Narumi Suzuki"

Article Synopsis
  • Protein misfolding is a significant contributor to neurodegenerative diseases, particularly affecting post-mitotic neurons which can't dilute protein aggregates through cell division.
  • LONRF2 is identified as a protein quality control ubiquitin ligase that helps manage misfolded proteins in post-mitotic cells, primarily neurons.
  • The absence of LONRF2 leads to motor neuron degeneration and functional decline, while adding LONRF2 can protect against deterioration seen in conditions like amyotrophic lateral sclerosis.
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Cellular senescence is involved in the pathogenesis of various diseases, including acute kidney injury (AKI). AKI is defined as a sudden loss of kidney function. In severe AKI, irreversible loss of kidney cells can occur.

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Asthma is airway inflammatory diseases caused by the activation of group 2 innate lymphoid cells (ILC2s) and type 2 helper T (T2) cells. Cysteine proteases allergen cause tissue damage to airway epithelial cells and activate ILC2-mediated type 2 airway inflammation. FK506 is an immunosuppressive agent against calcium-dependent NFAT activation that is also effective against asthmatic inflammation.

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The accumulation of senescent cells is a major cause of age-related inflammation and predisposes to a variety of age-related diseases. However, little is known about the molecular basis underlying this accumulation and its potential as a target to ameliorate the ageing process. Here we show that senescent cells heterogeneously express the immune checkpoint protein programmed death-ligand 1 (PD-L1) and that PD-L1 senescent cells accumulate with age in vivo.

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APOBEC3 proteins play pivotal roles in defenses against retroviruses, including HIV-1, as well as retrotransposons. Presumably due to the evolutionary arms race between the hosts and retroelements, APOBEC3 genes have rapidly evolved in primate lineages through sequence diversification, gene amplification and loss, and gene fusion. Consequently, modern primates possess a unique set or "repertoire" of APOBEC3 genes.

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As the hosts of lentiviruses, almost 40 species of felids (family ) are distributed around the world, and more than 20 feline species test positive for feline immunodeficiency virus (FIV), a lineage of lentiviruses. These observations suggest that FIVs globally infected a variety of feline species through multiple cross-species transmission events during a million-year history. Cellular restriction factors potentially inhibit lentiviral replication and limit cross-species lentiviral transmission, and cellular APOBEC3 deaminases are known as a potent restriction factor.

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Preconditioning with a mild stressor such as fasting is a promising way to reduce severe side effects from subsequent chemo- or radiotherapy. However, the underlying mechanisms have been largely unexplored. Here, we demonstrate that the TP53/p53-FBXO22-TFEB (transcription factor EB) axis plays an essential role in this process through upregulating basal macroautophagy/autophagy.

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Removal of senescent cells (senolysis) has been proposed to be beneficial for improving age-associated pathologies, but the molecular pathways for such senolytic activity have not yet emerged. Here, we identified glutaminase 1 () as an essential gene for the survival of human senescent cells. The intracellular pH in senescent cells was lowered by lysosomal membrane damage, and this lowered pH induced kidney-type glutaminase (KGA) expression.

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Animal cells undergo rapid rounding during mitosis, ensuring proper chromosome segregation, during which an outward rounding force abruptly increases upon prometaphase entry and is maintained at a constant level during metaphase. Initial cortical tension is generated by the actomyosin system to which both myosin motors and actin network architecture contribute. However, how cortical tension is maintained and its physiological significance remain unknown.

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The agonistic/antagonistic biocharacter of selective estrogen receptor modulators (SERMs) can have therapeutic advantages, particularly in the case of premenopausal breast cancers. Although the contradictory effects of these modulators have been studied in terms of crosstalk between the estrogen receptor α (ER) and coactivator dynamics and growth factor signaling, the molecular basis of these mechanisms is still obscure. We identify a series of regulatory mechanisms controlling cofactor dynamics on ER and SERM function, whose activities require F-box protein 22 (Fbxo22).

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The reaction of (1R)-(-)-myrtenal-derived benzothiazoline with nickel(II) acetate in ethanol exclusively gave a Schiff base-type nickel(II) complex having M helical configurational myrtenyl arms, which is reversibly converted to a non-innocent-type complex having additional S,S configurational asymmetric carbon centres.

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