Blood DNA virome associates with autoimmune diseases and COVID-19.

Aberrant immune responses to viral pathogens contribute to pathogenesis, but our understanding of pathological immune responses caused by viruses within the human virome, especially at a population scale, remains limited. We analyzed whole-genome sequencing datasets of 6,321 Japanese individuals, including patients with autoimmune diseases (psoriasis vulgaris, rheumatoid arthritis (RA), systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE), pulmonary alveolar proteinosis (PAP) or multiple sclerosis) and coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19), or healthy controls. We systematically quantified two constituents of the blood DNA virome, endogenous HHV-6 (eHHV-6) and anellovirus.

A genome-wide meta-analysis reveals shared and population-specific variants for allergic sensitization.

Background: Allergic diseases are major causes of morbidity in both developed and developing countries and represent a global burden on health care systems. Allergic sensitization is defined as the production of immunoglobulin E (IgE) specific to common environmental allergens, and it is an important indicator in the assessment of allergic diseases.

Objectives: This study aimed to clarify the genetic basis of allergic sensitization.

Characterization of microbial diversity and eosinophilic otitis media biomarkers using next-generation sequencing.

Objective: Eosinophilic otitis media (EOM) is a chronic eosinophilic inflammatory disease linked to bronchial asthma and nasal polyps. EOM is often accompanied by tympanic membrane perforation. Although the primary treatment, steroid therapy, is generally effective, its efficacy may be limited in advanced cases, particularly those involving significant thickening of the middle ear mucosa.

Apomorphine Suppresses the Progression of Steatohepatitis by Inhibiting Ferroptosis.

The role of ferroptosis in steatohepatitis development is largely unknown. We investigated (1) whether hepatocyte ferroptosis occurs in a gene-modified steatohepatitis model without modifying dietary components, (2) whether ferroptosis occurs at an early stage of steatohepatitis, and (3) whether apomorphine, recently reported as a ferroptosis inhibitor, can ameliorate steatohepatitis. Hepatocyte-specific PTEN KO mice were used.

Trop-2 expression and the tumor immune microenvironment in cervical cancer.

Objective: Trophoblast Cell Surface Antigen 2 (Trop-2) is a transmembrane glycoprotein that is overexpressed in various cancers, with immunological significance as a target for tumor-reactive T-cells. We aimed to investigate the association between the expression of Trop-2 and the tumor immune microenvironment in cervical cancer.

Methods: The study included 123 patients with cervical cancer who underwent primary surgery between 2000 and 2020 in our hospital.

Predicting Trabectedin Efficacy in Soft Tissue Sarcoma: Inflammatory Biomarker Analysis.

Background/aim: Trabectedin is used as a treatment for advanced-stage soft tissue sarcomas (STSs), particularly liposarcoma and leiomyosarcoma. Aside from its direct effect on tumor cells, trabectedin can affect the immune system in the tumor microenvironment. This study aimed to evaluate whether inflammatory biomarkers predict trabectedin efficacy in STSs.

The impact of rare cancer and early-line treatments on the benefit of comprehensive genome profiling-based precision oncology.

Background: Comprehensive genome profiling (CGP) serves as a guide for suitable genomically matched therapies for patients with cancer. However, little is known about the impact of the timing and types of cancer on the therapeutic benefit of CGP.

Materials And Methods: A single hospital-based pan-cancer prospective study (TOP-GEAR; UMIN000011141) was conducted to examine the benefit of CGP with respect to the timing and types of cancer.

Gut microbiota of one-and-a-half-year-old food-allergic and healthy children.

Background: Intestinal bacteria may play a role in the development of food allergies. This study aimed to analyze and compare the gut microbiota of food-allergic children with that of healthy children of the same age.

Methods: Stool samples were collected from one-and-a-half-year-old food-allergic (FA group, n = 29) and healthy controls (HC group, n = 19).

Differences in Characteristics Between Patients Who Met or Partly Met the Diagnostic Criteria for Food Protein-Induced Enterocolitis Syndrome (FPIES).

Background: Some patients with food protein-induced enterocolitis (FPIES)-like allergy do not completely fulfill the diagnostic criteria of the international consensus guideline for FPIES. However, it is unclear whether such FPIES-like patients represent a completely different population from FPIES.

Objective: This study aimed to clarify differences in characteristics between patients with FPIES who fully met diagnostic criteria and those who partly met them.

Influence of household pet ownership and filaggrin loss-of-function mutations on eczema prevalence in children: A birth cohort study.

Background: The association between pet exposure in infancy, early childhood eczema, and FLG mutations remains unclear.

Methods: This was a birth cohort study performed in Tokyo, Japan. The primary outcome was current eczema based on questionnaire responses collected repeatedly from birth to 5 years of age.

The p53 DNA damage response and Fanconi anemia DNA repair pathway protect against acetaldehyde-induced replication stress in esophageal keratinocytes.

Alcohol contributes to cellular accumulation of acetaldehyde, a primary metabolite of alcohol and a major human carcinogen. Acetaldehyde can form DNA adducts and induce interstrand crosslinks (ICLs) that are repaired by the Fanconi anemia DNA repair pathway (FA pathway). Individuals with deficiency in acetaldehyde detoxification or in the FA pathway have an increased risk of squamous-cell carcinomas (SCCs) including those of the esophagus.

Lymphocyte-to-monocyte ratio as a prognostic and potential tumor microenvironment indicator in advanced soft tissue sarcoma treated with first-line doxorubicin therapy.

Prognostic value of hematologic indices and their association with the tumor microenvironment (TME) remain unclear in advanced soft tissue sarcoma (STS). We aimed to evaluate their prognostic value and correlation with the TME status in advanced STS treated with first-line doxorubicin (DXR) therapy. Clinical data and three hematological indices, including lymphocyte-to-monocyte ratio (LMR), platelet-to-lymphocyte ratio, and neutrophil-to-lymphocyte ratio, were collected from 149 patients with advanced STS.

Development of a Detection System for Mutations in Circulating Tumour DNA Using PNA-LNA-Mediated PCR Clamping.

Although circulating tumour DNA (ctDNA)-based next-generation sequencing (NGS) is a less invasive method for assessing mutations that are essential mechanisms of endocrine therapy resistance in patients with oestrogen receptor-positive breast cancer, adequate amounts of DNA are required to assess polyclonal mutations. By combining a peptide nucleic acid and locked nucleic acid polymerase chain reaction (PNA-LNA PCR) clamping assay, we have developed a novel detection system to screen for polyclonal mutations in ctDNA. A validation assay was prospectively performed on clinical samples and compared with the NGS results.

A novel de-novo RB1 mutation identified in a patient with bilateral retinoblastoma.

Retinoblastoma manifests as ocular malignancy due to mutations in the RB1 gene. A 17-month-old girl with bilateral retinoblastoma having no family history was admitted to our hospital. The right eye was enucleated but the other was preserved with systemic chemotherapy and topical treatment.

Outcomes of Patients with an Intermediate-Risk Group According to the Japanese Risk Classification of Papillary Thyroid Carcinoma.

Background: The management of intermediate-risk group of papillary thyroid cancer (PTC) is still vague, particularly regarding whether or not total thyroidectomy, postoperative radioactive iodine ablation (RAI-a), and postoperative TSH suppression are mandatory.

Methods: This retrospective study evaluated 680 PTC patients from 2010 to 2017, who were classified into the three risk groups as low, intermediate, and high-risk groups according to the criteria of the Japanese Association of Endocrine Surgeons (JAES) 2010 and underwent surgery according to the JAES guidelines. We retrospectively collected patient data for analyses of disease-free survivals in the intermediate-risk group patients.