Publications by authors named "Shigeo Takashima"

Edible bird's nest (EBN) is a functional food renowned for its numerous health benefits. While its nutritional and therapeutic value is well-documented, the metabolites contributing to the bioactivities of EBN remain poorly understood. This study aimed to identify the metabolites present in EBN subjected to different treatments, including double-boiled EBN (EBN), EBN hydrolysate (EBN), EBN fermented with Lactobacillus helveticus (EBN), Latilactobacillus curvatus (EBN), and Latilactobacillus sakei (EBN) using liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry (LC-MS) and correlate the identified bioactive metabolites with the bioactivities of EBN.

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  • Fluoroquinolone antibiotics, like ciprofloxacin and norfloxacin, can be found in places like wastewater treatment plants and can harm the environment.
  • A study used an enzyme called laccase, which comes from spent mushroom waste, to break down these antibiotics in water.
  • The best results for breaking down the antibiotics happened at a pH of 4.5 and a temperature of 30°C, and the products were found to be safe for bacteria, which means they were less harmful afterwards.
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The islets of Langerhans are clusters of endocrine cells surrounded by exocrine acinar cells in the pancreas. Prosaposin is a housekeeping protein required for normal lysosomal function, but its expression level is significantly different among tissues. Prosaposin also exists in various body fluids including serum.

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  • Flavonoids, known for their health benefits, share structural similarities with donepezil, a drug for Alzheimer's disease.
  • Researchers aimed to create flavonoid-derived agents to alleviate Alzheimer's symptoms, synthesizing various derivatives that inhibited acetylcholinesterase (AChE) activity in lab tests.
  • The study found that aurone derivative salts not only protected brain cells from certain types of damage but also prevented amyloid-β aggregation, suggesting their potential as effective treatments for Alzheimer's.
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C16 monounsaturated fatty acid (C16:1) show antibacterial activity against , a pathogen associated with various diseases such as atopic dermatitis and bacteremia, while the compound does not exhibit antibacterial activity against , an epidermal commensal that inhibits the growth of . In this study, we aimed to find bifidobacterial strains with the ability to produce C16:1 and to find a practical manner to utilize C16:1-producing strains in industry. Various strains were screened for their content of C16:1.

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  • - The study analyzed the mRNA profiles of small extracellular vesicles (sEVs) in milk from cattle infected with Bovine Leukemia Virus (BLV), identifying 23 mRNAs more abundant in infected versus uninfected cows.
  • - Milk samples were collected from both control and infected cattle, with infected animals split into low proviral load (LPVL) and high proviral load (HPVL) groups, revealing significant differences in mRNA expression levels across the groups.
  • - Results showed higher mRNA expression in LPVL cattle compared to HPVL and control groups, suggesting that these mRNA signatures could be relevant for understanding BLV progression and developing potential biomarkers for monitoring infection.
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  • ARL-17477 is a selective inhibitor of neuronal nitric oxide synthase (NOS1) discovered in the 1990s, showing additional anticancer properties beyond its original function.
  • This compound demonstrates significant micromolar activity against various cancers, particularly effective against cancer stem-like and KRAS-mutant cells, while also functioning independently of NOS1.
  • The study reveals that ARL-17477 inhibits the autophagy-lysosomal system, leading to increased levels of key proteins, disturbed lysosomal function, and ultimately reduced tumor growth in vivo, suggesting its potential as a dual cancer therapeutic.
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  • PIKfyve is crucial for maintaining melanosome function in melanocytes, and its inhibition leads to hypopigmentation due to impaired melanosome metabolism.
  • In a study using B16F10 melanoma cells, prolonged PIKfyve inhibition showed altered vesicle dynamics and led to the formation of intracellular vacuoles, indicating disturbed melanosome integrity.
  • The research suggests that the degradation of melanosomes during intermittent PIKfyve inhibition is not primarily governed by typical autophagy processes, as evidenced by changes in protein levels related to melanin synthesis and autophagy markers.
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This study aimed to identify a suitable RNA extraction kit and stable internal control microRNA (miRNA) in bovine milk small extracellular vesicles (sEVs) for a quantitative polymerase chain reaction (qPCR) analysis. Two RNA extraction kits, miRNeasy Micro Kit, and Maxwell RSC miRNA Tissue Kit, were compared and evaluated using bovine milk sEVs via qPCR analysis. Five miRNAs, bta-miR-29a, bta-miR-200a, bta-miR-26b, hsa-miR-27b-3p, and hsa-miR-30b-5p, were selected by microarray analyses, and their cycle threshold (Ct) values were further evaluated mathematically using geNorm, NormFinder, BestKeeper, and ∆Ct algorithms.

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  • The study focuses on bile acid intermediates THCA and DHCA, which accumulate in certain peroxisomal disorders (PDs) like Zellweger spectrum disorder (ZSD), and aims to measure their levels for diagnosis and treatment evaluation.* -
  • By using liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry on serum samples from patients with ZSD and other PDs, researchers found significant increases in bile acid levels for those with severe conditions, indicating the method's effectiveness in differentiating PDs.* -
  • The results showed that primary bile acid treatment can alter levels of these intermediates, providing insight into treatment effectiveness and potential prognosis for patients with PDs.*
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Introduction: Myocardial dysfunction occurs in patients with sepsis due to vascular endothelial injury. Recombinant human thrombomodulin (rhTM) attenuates vascular endothelial injuries through endothelial glycocalyx (eGC) protection.

Hypothesis: We hypothesized that rhTM attenuates myocardial dysfunction via the inhibition of vascular endothelial injury during sepsis.

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  • Enzootic bovine leukosis (EBL) is a type of cancer in cattle caused by the bovine leukemia virus (BLV), with many infected animals showing no symptoms and limited understanding of how EBL develops.
  • Researchers analyzed the microRNA (miRNA) profiles in milk small extracellular vesicles (sEVs) from EBL-infected and healthy cattle, identifying specific miRNAs linked to cancer.
  • Two miRNAs, bta-miR-1246 and hsa-miR-424-5p, were found at significantly higher levels in the milk of EBL cattle, suggesting they could be used as biomarkers for early detection of the disease.
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  • Zellweger spectrum disorder (ZSD) is a congenital metabolic disease caused by mutations in PEX genes, leading to disrupted peroxisome assembly and affecting multiple organs.
  • The study discovered "peroxisomal mosaicism" in patients with mild ZSD, characterized by varying peroxisome distribution across cell populations, which was reproduced in HEK293 cells using PEX3 gene mutation.
  • Findings suggest that despite oscillations in peroxisome biogenesis over time, some cells retain metabolic function and may offer insights for developing new treatments for ZSD patients with this mosaicism.
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Enzootic bovine leukosis (EBL) is a disease caused by bovine leukemia virus (BLV); only a small percentage of BLV-infected cattle develop EBL and present with B-cell lymphosarcoma. There is no vaccine against BLV, treatment for EBL, or method for predicting the possibility of EBL onset, thus making EBL control difficult. Herein, to explore biomarkers for EBL in milk, we examined the mRNA profiles of small extracellular vesicles (sEVs) in milk from four BLV-uninfected and four EBL cattle by microarray analysis.

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Enzootic bovine leukosis (EBL) is a B-cell lymphosarcoma caused by bovine leukemia virus (BLV) infection. In Japan, cattle diagnosed with EBL are not permitted for human consumption by the law, thereby causing serious economic losses to farmers. The prevalence of BLV is high in Japan (40.

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Bovine milk small extracellular vesicles (sEVs) contain many biologically important molecules, including mRNAs. Quantitative real-time polymerase chain reaction (qRT-PCR) is a widely used method for quantifying mRNA in tissues and cells. However, the use, selection, and stability of suitable putative internal control genes in bovine milk sEVs for normalization in qRT-PCR have not yet been identified.

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  • - D-bifunctional protein (DBP) deficiency is a peroxisomal disorder that can lead to various symptoms, including progressive leukodystrophy and hearing loss, particularly in children.
  • - A case study of a 6-year-old boy showed developmental regression and brain imaging revealed leukodystrophy, but plasma levels of very long chain fatty acids (VLCFAs) were normal.
  • - Genetic testing identified two variants in the DBP gene, with one being likely pathogenic; despite normal VLCFAs, the accumulation of specific fatty acids confirmed a diagnosis of type III DBP deficiency.
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Bovine milk contains small extracellular vesicles (sEVs) that provide proteins, miRNAs, mRNAs, DNAs, and lipids to target cells and play a role in intracellular communications. Previous studies have characterized proteins in milk sEVs from early- and mid-stage lactation. However, the proteins in milk sEVs from late-stage lactation are mostly unexplored.

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We established a diagnostic system for adrenoleukodystrophy (ALD) and peroxisomal disorders (PD) over 35 years ago in Japan, and have diagnosed 237 families with ALD and more than 100 cases of PD other than ALD using biochemical and molecular analyses. In particular, since the only treatment for the cerebral form of ALD is hematopoietic stem cell transplantation at an early stage of onset, we have developed a protocol for the rapid diagnosis of ALD that can provide the measurements of the levels of very-long-chain fatty acids in the serum and genetic analysis within a few days. In addition, to improve the prognosis of patients with ALD, we are working on the detection of pre-symptomatic patients by familial analysis from the proband, and the introduction of newborn screening.

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  • Sepsis-induced endothelial acute respiratory distress syndrome is linked to dysfunction in small blood vessels caused by damage to the endothelial glycocalyx.
  • Recombinant antithrombin (rAT) has shown promise in protecting this glycocalyx and improving survival rates in mice experiencing endotoxemia, demonstrating a survival rate of 75% compared to 20% in untreated mice.
  • rAT treatment also appears to reduce inflammation, with lower levels of interleukin-1β, and enhance DNA repair processes, helping to mitigate the severity of acute respiratory distress syndrome linked to endothelial injury.
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In this study, we analysed the intracellular fatty acid profiles of Komagataella phaffii during methylotrophic growth. K. phaffii grown on methanol had significantly lower total fatty acid contents in the cells compared with glucose-grown cells.

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  • Mitochondria are essential organelles in eukaryotic cells that produce ATP and are involved in apoptosis, featuring both outer and inner membranes with a positive charge in the intermembrane space.
  • Traditional fluorescent dyes for imaging mitochondria in living cells, like MitoTracker® and rhodamine 123, are unstable and can interfere with double staining due to their varied emission spectra.
  • New imaging technologies, including the MitoMM1/2 dyes that are derivatives of ATTO565, have been developed to improve mitochondrial imaging, as they are sensitive to membrane potential, resistant to detergents, and do not overlap with green fluorescence, enabling better multi-color labeling.
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In Zellweger syndrome (ZS), lack of peroxisome function causes physiological and developmental abnormalities in many organs such as the brain, liver, muscles, and kidneys, but little is known about the exact pathogenic mechanism. By disrupting the zebrafish pex2 gene, we established a disease model for ZS and found that it exhibits pathological features and metabolic changes similar to those observed in human patients. By comprehensive analysis of the fatty acid profile, we found organ-specific accumulation and reduction of distinct fatty acid species, such as an accumulation of ultra-very-long-chain polyunsaturated fatty acids (ultra-VLC-PUFAs) in the brains of pex2 mutant fish.

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Milk small extracellular vesicles (sEV) contain proteins that provide potential information of host physiology and immunology. Bovine leukemia virus (BLV) is an oncogenic virus that causes progressive B-cell lymphosarcoma in cattle. In this study, we aimed to explore the proteomic profile of milk sEV from BLV-infected cattle compared with those from uninfected cattle.

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  • Gliomas are difficult to treat due to their ability to invade healthy brain tissue, characterized by features like perineuronal and perivascular satellitosis, which are not yet fully understood.
  • Researchers created a mouse glioma cell line that mimics this invasive behavior, allowing for the study of underlying mechanisms and potential therapies.
  • The study found that increasing a protein called Glut1 is crucial for the invasion process and may serve as a target for new treatments in human gliomas, offering a way to suppress this harmful phenotype.
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