Publications by authors named "R Okada"

The order currently comprises five viral families with positive-sense RNA [(+)RNA] genomes that infect plants, fungi, and insects. Virion morphologies within the order differ between families, with icosahedral virions in the and filamentous virions in the other families. Despite their different morphologies, these viruses are placed in the same order based on phylogenetic analyses of replicase-associated polyproteins.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Near-infrared photoimmunotherapy (NIR-PIT) is a novel antitumor therapy that selectively kills cancer cells by NIR light-triggered photochemical reaction of IRDye700DX within Ab-photoabsorber conjugates (APCs). NIR-PIT induces immunogenic cell death, causing immune cell migration between the tumor and tumor-draining lymph nodes, and expanding multiclonal tumor-infiltrating CD8 T cells. Crucially, the cytotoxic effects of NIR-PIT are limited to cancer cells, sparing immune cells such as antigen-presenting cells and T cells, which are key players in boosting antitumor host immunity.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Trans-resveratrol (Res) has been reported to possess many biological activities, including neuroprotective effects, owing to its anti-inflammatory and antioxidant properties. However, Res has very low water solubility, which limits its therapeutic application. In this work, we formulated water-soluble micellar formulations incorporating Res using polyethylene glycol monostearate (stPEG).

View Article and Find Full Text PDF
Article Synopsis
  • Long-duration spaceflight can stress the skeletal and immune systems, but the specific response mechanisms are still not fully understood.
  • A study with mice on the ISS evaluated how different gravitational conditions (microgravity, lunar gravity, and Earth gravity) affected their bone, thymus, and spleen over 25-35 days.
  • Results showed that while bone density loss in microgravity was mostly restored in Earth gravity, lunar gravity only offered partial recovery; microgravity also caused thymus shrinkage, partially reversible by both lunar and Earth gravity but with ongoing gene expression issues.
View Article and Find Full Text PDF