Publications by authors named "Shimizu D"

Background/aim: MicroRNAs (miRNAs) have been highlighted as non-invasive clinical biomarkers in liquid biopsy. This study aimed to investigate the clinical significance of circulating tumor suppressors, precursor-miR-488 (pre-miR-488) and miR-488-5p, in the blood of patients with gastric cancer (GC).

Materials And Methods: The expression levels of pre-miR-488 and miR-488-5p in tumor tissues and blood were measured using RT-qPCR, and the clinicopathological and prognostic significance of their expression was assessed in patients with GC.

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Background/aim: The development of new biomarkers to predict cancer patient prognosis is expected to aid in treatment selection, contributing to improved outcomes. In this study, we extracted a candidate gene associated with patient prognosis from a public database and investigated the molecular and biological functions and clinical significance of the gene in gastric cancer.

Materials And Methods: We analyzed The Cancer Genome Atlas database and identified the family with sequence similarity 32 member a (FAM32A) as a candidate gene.

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: The usefulness of bevacizumab (BEV) as first-line chemotherapy for advanced ovarian clear cell carcinoma (CCC) was retrospectively evaluated at Tohoku Gynecologic Cancer Unit institutions. : A total of 81 patients (52 patients without BEV and 29 with BEV) with advanced ovarian CCC who received initial platinum-based chemotherapy were enrolled. We selected 26 patients each without and with BEV according to propensity score matching methods, and compared the platinum-resistant recurrence rate, response rate, progression-free survival (PFS), overall survival (OS), and adverse events between the two groups.

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Herein, we report the synthesis and properties of triptycene-based C- and C-symmetric stable triradicals. SQUID magnetometry showed the propeller-shaped triradicals were both an antiferromagnetic equilateral triangle spin system with small spin-spin interactions J/k~-120 K and -106 K, leading to ca. 4/6 coexistence of the doublet/quartet states in thermal equilibrium at room temperature.

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The synthesis of bowl-shaped antiaromatic molecules is challenging because the molecular distortion further destabilizes these already inherently reactive molecules. Here, we report the synthesis and properties of bowl-shaped fused anthrylnorcorroles that exhibit near-infrared (NIR) absorption reaching 1900 nm. The oxidation of meso-anthryldibromodipyrrin provides fused anthryldibromodipyrrin, which was converted to the fused mono- and bisanthrylnorcorroles through Ni(0)-mediated intramolecular coupling with a bis(dibromodipyrrin) Ni(II) complex.

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  • - The study investigates the link between molecular changes in pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma (PDAC) and local invasiveness, emphasizing the importance of identifying gene profiles that predict surgical margin positivity to improve surgical outcomes.
  • - Researchers compared genome-wide miRNA expressions between positive and negative molecular surgical margins (MSM) and found that high levels of miR-210-3p are significantly associated with poor recurrence-free survival, larger tumor size, and increased metastasis.
  • - The findings indicate that inhibiting miR-210-3p in PDAC cell lines reduces cancer cell growth and invasiveness, with ISCU identified as a target gene affected by miR-210-3p, suggesting potential avenues for therapeutic interventions
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Background/objectives: Colorectal neoplasia developing from ulcerative colitis mucosa (CRNUC) can be divided into ulcerative colitis-associated neoplasia (UCAN) and non-UCAN; however, it is often difficult to distinguish UCAN from non-UCAN during a biopsy diagnosis. We investigated whether a genomic analysis could improve the diagnostic accuracy of UCAN using biopsy specimens.

Methods: In step 1, 14 CRNUCs were used to examine whether the genomic landscape of biopsy and resection specimens matched.

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  • * Researchers developed a strong protocol to culture mesothelial progenitor cells (MPCs) from pig and mouse thorax, discovering that BMP4 aids in differentiation into smooth muscle cells, while FGF2 helps expand the MPC pool but inhibits this differentiation.
  • * The study highlighted key signaling pathways involving BMP4, FGF2, and a Wnt activator (CHIR99021) that regulate MPC behaviors, offering insights into potential mechanisms underlying mesothelial cell functions and their role in conditions like mesothelioma.
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  • A water-soluble aromatic nanobelt was created through a straightforward reaction that modified a parent compound, resulting in an alkyne-functionalized version.
  • This modified nanobelt underwent a specific chemical reaction to attach a dye, making it suitable for cellular studies.
  • Experiments with HeLa cells showed unique uptake patterns of the nanobelt, which were influenced by its belt-like shape, as confirmed by control experiments and theoretical analysis.
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  • Inhibition of WEE1, which controls a checkpoint in the cell cycle, triggers cell death by forcing cell division without fixing DNA damage, but its impact on colorectal cancer (CRC) immunity wasn't well understood.
  • Researchers found that WEE1 expression was not linked to CRC characteristics but that WEE1 inhibitors reduced cancer cell growth and increased cell death, particularly in mutated cells.
  • In mouse models, WEE1 inhibitor treatment resulted in smaller tumors and enhanced immune responses against the cancer, indicating its potential benefits for CRC patients, especially those with specific mutations.
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Esophageal squamous cell carcinoma (ESCC) is recognized as one of the most aggressive cancers with a poor prognosis. Global expression profiling was conducted on primary ESCC tissues with distant metastases. We investigated the identification of secretogranin V (SCG5) as a promising biomarker for the detection and assessment of ESCC.

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Background: The objective of this study was to develop an innovative treatment strategy utilizing antisense oligonucleotides (ASOs) that target the gene encoding protocadherin alpha 11 (PCDHA11) and to elucidate the role of PCDHA11 in gastric cancer cells.

Methods: We designed and screened 54 amido-bridged nucleic acid (AmNA)-modified ASOs, selecting them based on PCDHA11-knockdown efficacy, in vitro and in vivo activity, and off-target effects. We assessed the impact of AmNA-modified anti-PCDHA11 ASOs on cellular functions and signaling pathways, and investigated the effects of Pcdha11 deficiency in mice.

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Near-infrared (NIR)-absorbing dyes are valuable for various applications, such as bioimaging and electronic devices. This work introduces a novel approach for designing NIR dyes, oxidation of weakly coupled diradicals. Our approach features a weak exchange interaction in diradicals, which potentially leads to bonding/antibonding molecular orbitals with a small energy gap.

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  • * An analysis of 3,575 patients showed that type 4 tumors had significantly lower overall survival rates compared to large type 3 tumors, but when comparing large type 3 undifferentiated tumors to type 4, their outcomes were similar.
  • * The findings suggest that large type 3 tumors with an undifferentiated phenotype and type 4 tumors may be treated as a new category in future clinical trials, highlighting the need for more specific classifications.
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Introduction: In recent decades, interpersonal coordination and synchrony have been extensively examined in the field of psychology and cognitive science. Studies suggest that perceptual information enables interpersonal coordination and that perceptual noise may even enhance coordination. However, how these perceptual factors influence interpersonal coordination dynamics between head and body movements remains unclear.

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Purpose Of Review: Blastocyst complementation represents a promising frontier in next-generation lung replacement therapies. This review aims to elucidate the future prospects of lung blastocyst complementation within clinical settings, summarizing the latest studies on generating functional lungs through this technique. It also explores and discusses host animal selection relevant to interspecific chimera formation, a challenge integral to creating functional human lungs via blastocyst complementation.

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Interest is growing in transition metal-free compounds for small molecule activation and catalysis. We discuss the opportunities arising from synthesizing sodium-doped amorphous silicon-boron-nitride (Na-doped a-SiBN). Na cations and 3-fold coordinated B moieties were incorporated into an amorphous silicon nitride network via chemical modification of a polysilazane followed by pyrolysis in ammonia (NH) at 1000 °C.

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  • Tumor-associated macrophages (TAMs) and cancer-associated fibroblasts (CAFs) interact in colorectal cancer (CRC), impacting tumor immunity and development.
  • This study found that colon-cancer-derived CAFs promote the differentiation of monocytes into M2 macrophages, which are linked to tumor growth.
  • Combining a CAF inhibitor (PLX3397) with anti-PD-1 therapy enhanced anti-tumor immunity and reduced tumor growth in a mouse CRC model, suggesting a potential new treatment strategy.
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Ni porphyrin (P) and Ni 5,15-diazaporphyrin (DAP) hybrid tapes were synthesized by Suzuki-Miyaura cross-coupling reactions of - or β-borylated P with β-brominated DAP followed by intramolecular oxidative fusion reactions. -β doubly linked hybrid tapes were synthesized by oxidation of singly linked precursors with DDQ-FeCl. Synthesis of triply linked hybrid tapes was achieved by oxidation with DDQ-FeCl-AgOTf with suppression of peripheral β-chlorination.

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Enterovesical fistula (EVF) in Crohn's disease (CD) often does not improve with medical treatment and requires surgical treatment. The surgical treatment strategy for EVF in CD is definitive resection of the intestinal tract side, and performing a leak test using dye injection into the bladder after EVF dissection to determine the appropriate surgical procedure for the bladder side. This study aimed to evaluate the outcomes of surgical treatment for EVF in CD.

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In the animal kingdom, evolutionarily conserved mechanisms known as cell competition eliminate unfit cells during development. Interestingly, cell competition also leads to apoptosis of donor cells upon direct contact with host cells from a different species during interspecies chimera formation. The mechanisms underlying how host animal cells recognize and transmit cell death signals to adjacent xenogeneic human cells remain incompletely understood.

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Whole salivary gland generation and transplantation offer potential therapies for salivary gland dysfunction. However, the specific lineage required to engineer complete salivary glands has remained elusive. In this study, we identify the Foxa2 lineage as a critical lineage for salivary gland development through conditional blastocyst complementation (CBC).

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Singly-linked aromatic [22]smaragdyrin BF complex dimer was synthesized by the reductive coupling of 16-brominated [22]smaragdyrin BF complex, which was oxidized to a stable diradical with PbO. As the first example of fused smaragdyrin dimer, a fused [22]smaragdyrin BF complex dimer was synthesized by the oxidation of a CuCl-BF complex dimer with FeCl and subsequent reduction with NaBH. After removal of the BF group, the singly-linked and fused aromatic dimers were oxidized to the corresponding antiaromatic [20]smaragdyrin free base dimers.

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Background/aim: Organs of the digestive system are frequent sites of cancer development, and digestive tract cancers are the leading causes of death worldwide, including in Japan. Most of these cancers are associated with smoking or drinking habits. This study focused on the clinical and genomic characteristics of patients with these cancers using the Center for Cancer Genomics and Advanced Therapeutics (C-CAT) database, which comprises a large volume of data on Japanese patients who have undergone tumor profiling gene panel tests.

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