Publications by authors named "Shimano H"

Certain somatic mutations provide a fitness advantage to hematopoietic stem cells and lead to clonal expansion of mutant blood cells, known as clonal hematopoiesis (CH). Among the most common CH mutations, ASXL1 mutations pose the highest risk for cardiovascular diseases (CVDs), yet the mechanisms by which they contribute to CVDs are unclear. Here we show that hematopoietic cells harboring C-terminally truncated ASXL1 mutant (ASXL1-MT) accelerate the development of atherosclerosis in Ldlr mice.

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A man in his late 30s with gait difficulty, dysarthria, impaired consciousness and polyuria was diagnosed with left thalamic infarction. Hypercalcaemia (3.52 mmol/L (2.

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  • The study aimed to investigate the link between dietary potassium intake, sodium intake, and the incidence of cardiovascular disease (CVD) in Japanese patients with type 2 diabetes (T2DM).
  • Analysis of 1,477 participants over a median follow-up of 7 years revealed no significant correlation between high potassium intake and CVD events.
  • However, low potassium intake combined with high sodium intake was significantly associated with an increased risk of CVD in these individuals.
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Toll-like receptors (TLRs) on macrophages sense microbial components and trigger the production of numerous cytokines and chemokines that mediate the inflammatory response to infection. Although many of the components required for the activation of the TLR pathway have been identified, the mechanisms that appropriately regulate the magnitude and duration of the response and ultimately restore homeostasis are less well understood. Furthermore, a growing body of work indicates that TLR signaling reciprocally interacts with other fundamental cellular processes, including lipid metabolism but only a few specific molecular links between immune signaling and the macrophage lipidome have been studied in detail.

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  • A high-protein diet leads the liver to increase enzymes for amino acid breakdown, particularly enhancing the urea cycle for nitrogen excretion.
  • KLF15 is crucial for amino acid metabolism, and recent research shows that FoxO transcription factors are significant regulators of KLF15 in the liver.
  • The study found that FoxOs directly affect urea cycle-related amino acids and regulate hepatic Ass1 expression independently of KLF15, particularly under high-protein conditions.
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  • The study aimed to investigate how the urinary albumin to creatinine ratio (UACR) and estimated glomerular filtration rate (eGFR) fluctuate with the seasons and how these fluctuations affect the eGFR over three years in individuals with type 2 diabetes (T2D).
  • Researchers analyzed data from 1,135 T2D patients in Japan and found that UACR varied with seasons, peaking in winter, while eGFR remained stable throughout the year.
  • Results indicated that both the variability in UACR and eGFR significantly influenced the eGFR decline over the three years, especially in patients not changing their medication during the study.
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Rheumatoid arthritis (RA) is an autoimmune disease characterized by a polyarticular synovitis. In recent years, elderly onset rheumatoid arthritis (EORA) has been increasing. Treg cells in RA have been reported to be dysfunctional, but the relationship between aging and their functional changes is unclear.

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Objective: Dietary medium-chain fatty acids (MCFAs), characterized by chain lengths of 8-12 carbon atoms, have been proposed to have beneficial effects on glucose and lipid metabolism, yet the underlying mechanisms remain elusive. We hypothesized that MCFA intake benefits metabolic health by inducing the release of hormone-like factors.

Methods: The effects of chow diet, high-fat diet rich in long-chain fatty acids (LCFA HFD) fed ad libitum or pair-fed to a high-fat diet rich in MCFA (MCFA HFD) on glycemia, hepatic gene expression, circulating fibroblast growth factor 21 (FGF21), and liver fat content in both wildtype and Fgf21 knockout mice were investigated.

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Background: Numerous epidemiological studies have shown that hypertriglyceridemia is a significant risk factor for cardiovascular diseases (CVD). However, large clinical studies on triglyceride-lowering therapy have yielded inconsistent results. In the current review, we reassess the importance of triglyceride-lowering therapy in preventing CVD based on previous literature and the recently published findings of the PROMINENT trial.

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Recent advances in fatty acid analysis have highlighted the links between lipid disruption and disease development. Lipid abnormalities are well-established risk factors for many of the most common chronic illnesses, and their involvement in asthma is also becoming clear. Here, we review research demonstrating the role of abnormal lipid metabolism in asthma, with a focus on saturated fatty acids and sphingolipids.

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  • The text refers to a correction made to a previously published article.
  • The article has a DOI (Digital Object Identifier) of 10.3389/fimmu.2023.1251784, which allows for easy access and citation of the work.
  • This correction is important for ensuring the accuracy and integrity of the published research.
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Objectives: During fasting, liver pivotally regulates blood glucose levels through glycogenolysis and gluconeogenesis. Kidney also produces glucose through gluconeogenesis. Gluconeogenic genes are transactivated by fasting, but their expression patterns are chronologically different between the two organs.

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  • The study investigates two cases of extremely low HDL cholesterol levels linked to mutations in the ABCA1 gene, which is important for cholesterol transport, particularly in Tangier disease.
  • In the first case, a 20-year-old woman with multiple health issues showed mutations leading to decreased cholesterol efflux and ABCA1 protein levels, while also having another condition called Krabbe disease.
  • The second case involved a 51-year-old woman with similar low HDL levels and different mutations confirming Tangier disease, highlighting the complexity of mutations and their pathogenic mechanisms.
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  • A study analyzed 10,827 Japanese participants to investigate the relationship between bone mineral density (BMD) and various body measurements, focusing on differences by age and sex.
  • Results showed that in older individuals (50+ years), weight had a stronger correlation with BMD compared to body mass index (BMI), while younger age groups showed weak correlations.
  • The findings suggest that weight is a key indicator of osteopenia (lower bone density) in older women; however, it may not effectively predict future bone loss across all demographics.
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One of the extracellular matrix proteins, tenascin-C (TN-C), is known to be upregulated in age-related inflammatory diseases such as cancer and cardiovascular diseases. Expression of this molecule is frequently detected, especially in the macrophage-rich areas of atherosclerotic lesions; however, the role of TN-C in mechanisms underlying the progression of atherosclerosis remains obscure. Previously, we found a hidden bioactive sequence termed TNIIIA2 in the TN-C molecule and reported that the exposure of this sequence would be carried out through limited digestion of TN-C by inflammatory proteases.

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Macrophages are essential for the proper inflammatory and reparative processes that lead to regeneration of skeletal muscle after injury. Recent studies have demonstrated close links between the function of activated macrophages and their cellular metabolism. Sterol regulatory element-binding protein 1 (SREBP1) is a key regulator of lipid metabolism and has been shown to affect the activated states of macrophages.

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The trigeminocerebellar artery(TCA)is a unique branch of the basilar artery. The TCA was first described in detail by Markovic et al. in 1996.

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Oral drug absorption involves drug permeation across the apical and basolateral membranes of enterocytes. Although transporters mediating the influx of anionic drugs in the apical membranes have been identified, transporters responsible for efflux in the basolateral membranes remain unclear. Monocarboxylate transporter 6 (MCT6/SLC16A5) has been reported to localize to the apical and basolateral membranes of human enterocytes and to transport organic anions such as bumetanide and nateglinide in the Xenopus oocyte expression system; however, its transport functions have not been elucidated in detail.

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Aims: We attempted to clarify whether the multiple criteria for metabolic syndrome (MetS) can sufficiently predict cardiovascular disease, whether waist circumference (WC) should be required, and whether sex-specific thresholds for each component are necessary. Only a few large-scale studies among East Asians have addressed the ability of MetS to predict cardiovascular disease.

Methods: We analyzed the data of 330,051 men and 235,028 women aged 18-74 years with no history of coronary artery disease (CAD) or cerebrovascular disease (CVD) from a nationwide Japanese claims database accumulated during 2008-2016.

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The endoplasmic reticulum (ER)-embedded transcription factors, sterol regulatory element-binding proteins (SREBPs), master regulators of lipid biosynthesis, are transported to the Golgi for proteolytic activation to tune cellular cholesterol levels and regulate lipogenesis. However, mechanisms by which the cell responds to the levels of saturated or unsaturated fatty acids remain underexplored. Here, we show that RHBDL4/RHBDD1, a rhomboid family protease, directly cleaves SREBP-1c at the ER.

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Article Synopsis
  • Type 2 diabetes is linked to hyperglycemia and impaired insulin secretion, involving a decline in β-cell function and mass, but the exact mechanisms remain unclear.
  • Researchers used single-cell RNA sequencing on pancreatic islet cells from db/db mice (a model for type 2 diabetes) and identified a unique transcriptome landscape in prediabetes and diabetes with different β- and α-cell subpopulations.
  • They discovered a new prediabetic gene, Anxa10, which affects calcium influx and insulin secretion in β-cells, highlighting processes like mitochondria dysfunction and the transdifferentiation of β-cells into acinar-like cells during diabetes progression.
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Metabolism is one of the vital functions of cells and living organisms, and the systems to sense and respond to the metabolic alterations play pivotal roles in a plethora of biological processes, including cell proliferative activities, immune cell functions, aging processes, and neuronal functions. Recently, we have reported that a transcriptional cofactor, C-terminal binding protein 2 (CtBP2), serves as a critical metabolite sensor in this context. CtBP2 has a structural pocket called Rossmann fold to accommodate metabolites, and it has been reported to be activated upon binding to NADH/NAD.

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During periods of fasting, the body undergoes a metabolic shift from carbohydrate utilization to the use of fats and ketones as an energy source, as well as the inhibition of de novo lipogenesis and the initiation of gluconeogenesis in the liver. The transcription factor sterol regulatory element-binding protein-1 (SREBP-1), which plays a critical role in the regulation of lipogenesis, is suppressed during fasting, resulting in the suppression of hepatic lipogenesis. We previously demonstrated that the interaction of fasting-induced Kruppel-like factor 15 (KLF15) with liver X receptor serves as the essential mechanism for the nutritional regulation of SREBP-1 expression.

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  • In the early stages of obesity, insulin secretion increases as a protective measure to keep glucose levels stable, but this can’t last forever, leading to the failure of β cells and the onset of diabetes.
  • The protein CtBP2 plays a vital role in regulating insulin gene expression in β cells by interacting with another factor, NEUROD1, which helps to open up chromatin at the insulin gene promoter.
  • Reduced levels of CtBP2 in pancreatic islets are observed in both mouse models and humans with obesity, and mice lacking CtBP2 specifically in β cells show glucose intolerance and impaired insulin secretion, indicating its importance in maintaining β cell health and offering potential targets for obesity-related treatments.
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  • Maintaining the balance of metabolism is really important, but too much food can mess it up, especially in obesity.
  • Researchers found out how two important proteins, PPARα and CtBP2, interact in a way that can slow down fat processing when there's extra fat in the body.
  • In obese people, this interaction gets stronger, making it harder for the body to break down fat, which could lead to new treatments for obesity-related diseases.
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