Publications by authors named "Okuda K"

The antiausterity strategy in anticancer drug discovery has attracted much attention as a way to exterminate cancer cells under nutrient deprived conditions which are commonly found in solid tumors. These tumors under low nutrient stress are known to be malignant and often resist conventional drug therapy. As a potential drug candidate, we focused on the meroterpenoid natural product callistrilone O which has demonstrated extremely potent antiausterity properties toward PANC-1 pancreatic carcinoma in vitro.

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Background: Calf circumference (CC), which is easy to measure and noninvasive, may be a predictor of functional outcome in patients with acute stroke. However, the association between CC and long-term functional outcome is unclear. The purpose of this study was to investigate whether low CC is associated with functional outcome at 12 months post-stroke.

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Fluorogenic probes containing the β-ketoester structure were developed for selective hydrazine detection. The probe equipped with a cyclopropane moiety, having reduced steric hindrance, showed a higher reaction rate than its dimethyl counterpart. In live cell imaging, the probe detects intracellular hydrazine with minimal cytotoxicity.

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Near-infrared photoimmunotherapy (NIR-PIT) is a newly developed treatment. We report a successful case of NIR-PIT for post-irradiation locoregionally recurrent oropharyngeal cancer at the tongue base. A 60-year-old man following primary treatment for oropharyngeal cancer at the tongue base by endoscopy (rT1N0M0).

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Aims: Depression is a prevalent, burdensome, and difficult mental health disorder to treat. Significant heterogeneity in clinical characteristics and course of depression hinders treatment success. Efforts to identify more homogeneous subgroups of depression could reduce heterogeneity of depression and therefore improve treatment development and randomized clinical trial outcomes.

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Many previous studies have reported various phospholipids and elements that affect sake production; however, it seems to be challenging to investigate individual types in each rice variety due to their high diversity, not to mention their distribution patterns. Since its introduction, mass spectrometry imaging (MSI) has gained attention in various fields as a simple compound visualization technique. The current study highlights the progress of powerful MSI in comprehensively analyzing phospholipids and minerals in brown rice for sake production.

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We developed a novel next-generation sequencing-based single-nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) genotyping method for second- and third-degree kinship analysis, and designed 1144- and 2045-SNP panels using one (Set A) and two sets (Sets A and B) of primers. These SNP loci were analyzed in 120 Japanese individuals, and likelihood ratios (LRs) for kinship discrimination were calculated to evaluate the effect of number of SNP loci in simulated analysis. Likelihood evaluation was performed using DNA profiles from two individuals, namely, the unknown and one reference relative.

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Introduction and importance: Most extrahepatic metastases of hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) are to the lungs and bones, metastases to the colon are rare. In the present study, we experienced a case of metastasis to the ascending colon during repeated treatment for HCC. Case Presentation: A 63-year-old man was diagnosed with multiple HCCs (T4N0M0 stage IIIB) associated with portal vein invasion.

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Article Synopsis
  • The prevalence of non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD), now referred to as metabolic dysfunction-associated steatotic liver disease (MASLD), is rising, especially among patients undergoing liver surgery (hepatectomy) due to liver cancer.
  • A study of 106 hepatectomy patients found that those with MASLD had a significantly higher incidence of post-hepatectomy portal vein thrombosis (PH-PVT) compared to those without steatosis.
  • MASLD and its variant associated with moderate alcohol consumption (MetALD) were identified as major risk factors for PH-PVT, suggesting that metabolic dysfunction plays a critical role in thrombosis risk post-surgery.
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  • Current HPV vaccines protect against specific types but have limited effectiveness against other HPV strains, highlighting the need for a broader vaccine approach.
  • This study developed a multivalent L2-based mRNA vaccine targeting prevalent HPV types and evaluated its performance in mice using different delivery methods.
  • The results showed that the new vaccine induced strong immune responses and provided cross-protection against both targeted and non-targeted HPV types, suggesting it could significantly reduce HPV-related cancers globally.
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  • Lung adenocarcinoma (LUAD) is a common and serious type of lung cancer, making up about 50% of lung cancer cases, with poor patient outcomes despite advancements in treatment.
  • This study focused on a specific type of cell death called necroptosis and how a signature of long non-coding RNAs (NecroLncSig) could help predict how well LUAD patients respond to immunotherapy.
  • The researchers identified seven key necro-related lncRNAs, which allowed them to categorize patients into high-risk and low-risk groups, revealing that higher risk was linked to significantly worse overall survival in patients.
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  • The study evaluated the effectiveness of a 30-second additional observation using either linked color imaging (LCI) or narrow band imaging (NBI) for detecting adenomas in the right-sided colon, finding both methods improve detection rates.
  • Researchers analyzed data from over 2,000 cases, comparing the performance of LCI and NBI after initial white light imaging.
  • Results showed no significant difference in adenoma detection between the two imaging techniques, but both significantly enhanced the adenoma detection rate (ADR) in the right colon.
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Effective treatment and immunoprophylaxis of viral respiratory infections with neutralizing monoclonal antibodies (mAbs) require maintaining inhibitory concentrations of mAbs at the airway surface. While engineered mAbs with increased affinity to the neonatal Fc receptor (FcRn) are increasingly employed, little is known how increased affinity of Fc to FcRn influences basal-to-apical transepithelial transport (transcytosis) of mAbs across the airway epithelium. To investigate this, we utilized a model of well-differentiated human airway epithelium (WD-HAE) that exhibited robust FcRn expression, and measured the transepithelial transport of a mAb against SARS-CoV-2 Spike protein (CR3022) with either wildtype IgG-Fc or Fc modified with YTE or LS mutations known to increase affinity for FcRn.

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Di-(2-ethylhexyl) phthalate (DEHP) is widely used as a plasticizer in polyvinyl chloride products. DEHP exposure in humans is of great concern due to its endocrine-disrupting properties. In this study, we characterized the agonistic activities of DEHP and its five metabolites, mono-(2-ethylhexyl) phthalate (MEHP), 5OH-MEHP, 5oxo-MEHP, 5cx-MEPP and 2cx-MMHP against human nuclear receptors, peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor α (PPARα), pregnane X receptor (PXR), and constitutive androstane receptor (CAR) using transactivation assays.

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  • Hyper IgE syndrome (STAT3-HIES), also known as Job's syndrome, results from mutations in the STAT3 gene, leading to chronic respiratory infections due to compromised pulmonary defense mechanisms.
  • The study aimed to investigate how these STAT3 mutations affect the airway epithelium's ability to defend against infections, analyzing sputum properties and lung tissue from patients.
  • Findings revealed that STAT3 deficiency disrupts critical airway functions, including mucus secretion and ciliary movement, contributing to increased infection risk and inflammation in patients with this syndrome.*
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A 72-year-old man presented with severe pulmonary contusions and multiple traumas, including aortic injury, pelvic fracture, and renal injury. The patient required multidisciplinary treatment, including transcatheter arterial embolization, thoracic endovascular aortic repair, right lung upper lobe partial resection, and massive transfusion. During the initial treatment, the patient experienced respiratory failure due to endotracheal bleeding, and we attempted isolated lung ventilation with a 37 Fr double-lumen endotracheal intubation tube.

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  • Enhanced glucose metabolism, particularly involving the enzyme G6PD, plays a crucial role in cancer, with low G6PD expression linked to stronger anti-tumor immune responses.
  • Testing conducted on melanoma cells and mice demonstrated that inhibiting G6PD induced immunogenic cell death and boosted the effectiveness of immune checkpoint inhibitors (ICIs).
  • Clinical data from melanoma and lung cancer patients revealed that those with lower G6PD levels had a significantly better prognosis following ICI treatment, indicating the potential of G6PD inhibition as a therapeutic approach in cancer treatment.
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Adenoviruses are non-enveloped DNA viruses that cause a wide range of symptoms, from mild infections to life-threatening diseases in a broad range of hosts. Due to the unique characteristics of these viruses, they have also become a vehicle for gene-transfer and cancer therapeutic instruments. Adenovirus vectors can be used in gene therapy by modifying wild-type viruses to render them replication-defective.

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Background/aim: Laparoscopic anatomical liver resection (LAR) for hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) is technically demanding. Therefore, this study aimed to compare the perioperative and long-term oncological outcomes of LAR and open anatomical liver resection (OAR) for HCC.

Patients And Methods: We retrospectively analyzed 460 consecutive patients who underwent anatomical liver resection as the initial treatment for primary HCC between January 2010 and February 2024.

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Background: The global impact of the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic has resulted in significant morbidity and mortality. Immunocompromised patients, particularly those treated for B-cell lymphoma, have shown an increased risk of persistent infection with SARS-CoV-2 and severe outcomes and mortality. Multi-mutational SARS-CoV-2 variants can arise during the course of such persistent cases of COVID-19.

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Purpose: Recent radiation therapy (RT), such as intensity modulated radiation therapy and particle RT, has improved the concentration of the radiation field targeting tumors. However, severe adverse effects still occur, possibly due to genetic factors in patients. We aimed to investigate the mechanism of exacerbated inflammation during RT.

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During angiogenesis, vascular tip cells guide nascent vascular sprouts to form a vascular network. Apelin, an agonist of the G protein-coupled receptor Aplnr, is enriched in vascular tip cells, and it is hypothesized that vascular-derived Apelin regulates sprouting angiogenesis. We identify an -expressing neural progenitor cell population in the dorsal neural tube.

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  • Lysine demethylase 5 (KDM5) proteins play a role in neurological disorders like Alzheimer's, and targeting them could be a therapeutic approach.
  • Conventional KDM5 inhibitors are limited because they only affect the enzyme's activity, not its overall function.
  • Researchers developed new compounds called PROTACs that degrade KDM5 proteins, leading to enhanced neurite growth in neuroblastoma cells, indicating their potential as drug candidates for treating neurological disorders.
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Thymic epithelial tumors (TETs) are rare and the major symptoms are not obvious until the tumor progresses to a relatively large size and compresses the surrounding organs. As its growth is aggressive and it metastasizes to distant organs, it is important to find novel effective therapies. Lenvatinib, a vascular endothelial growth factor receptor (VEGFR) inhibitor, is approved as a drug therapy for thymic carcinoma (TC); however, although it is a molecular targeted therapy, there are no obvious predictors of therapeutic efficacy.

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We examined whether the administration of growth hormone (GH) improves insulin resistance in females of a non-obese hyperglycemic mouse model after birth with low birth weight (LBW), given that GH is known to increase muscle mass. The intrauterine Ischemia group underwent uterine artery occlusion for 15 min on day 16.5 of gestation.

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