Generation of high-resolution MPRAGE-like images from 3D head MRI localizer (AutoAlign Head) images using a deep learning-based model.

Purpose: Magnetization prepared rapid gradient echo (MPRAGE) is a useful three-dimensional (3D) T1-weighted sequence, but is not a priority in routine brain examinations. We hypothesized that converting 3D MRI localizer (AutoAlign Head) images to MPRAGE-like images with deep learning (DL) would be beneficial for diagnosing and researching dementia and neurodegenerative diseases. We aimed to establish and evaluate a DL-based model for generating MPRAGE-like images from MRI localizers.

Quantitative Assessment of Gadolinium Deposition in Dentate Nuclei with MR Fingerprinting.

Rationale And Objectives: Gadolinium deposition in the dentate nucleus (DN) has been evaluated by T1-weighted imaging (T1WI) and T1 (R1) mapping, but not MR fingerprinting (MRF). This study investigated associations between T1 and T2 values of DN and gadolinium-based contrast agents (GBCAs) using 2-dimensional MRF.

Materials And Methods: This study included 101 patients.

The effect of Fc region affinity of protein-based antibody-recruiting molecules on antibody-dependent cellular cytotoxicity.

Previously, we reported anticancer molecules, Fc-binding antibody-recruiting molecules (Fc-ARMs), which crosslink proteins on cancer cells with endogenous immunoglobulin Gs (IgGs) their Fc region. The mobilized IgGs on cancer cells can accommodate natural killer cells to induce antibody-dependent cellular cytotoxicity (ADCC). Because previous Fc-ARMs utilized Fc-binding peptides, their affinity to IgGs is weak, which resulted in the limited induction capability of ADCC.

Comprehensive analysis of microRNAs modulated by histone deacetylase inhibitors identifies microRNA-7-5p with anti-myeloma effect.

Basic research to expand treatment options for multiple myeloma is greatly needed due to the refractory nature of the disease. Histone deacetylase (HDAC) inhibitors, which are epigenetic regulators, are attractive but have limited applications. MicroRNAs (miRNAs), which are also epigenetic regulators, are important molecules that may lead to future therapeutic breakthroughs.

Thin-slice reverse encoding distortion correction DWI facilitates visualization of non-functioning pituitary neuroendocrine tumor (PitNET)/pituitary adenoma and surrounding normal structures.

Background: To evaluate the clinical usefulness of thin-slice echo-planar imaging (EPI)-based diffusion-weighted imaging (DWI) with an on-console distortion correction technique, termed reverse encoding distortion correction DWI (RDC-DWI), in patients with non-functioning pituitary neuroendocrine tumor (PitNET)/pituitary adenoma.

Methods: Patients with non-functioning PitNET/pituitary adenoma who underwent 3-T RDC-DWI between December 2021 and September 2022 were retrospectively enrolled. Image quality was compared among RDC-DWI, DWI with correction for distortion induced by B inhomogeneity alone (B-corrected-DWI), and original EPI-based DWI with anterior-posterior phase-encoding direction (AP-DWI).

Enterocolic granulomatous phlebitis associated with epidermal growth factor-containing fibulin-like extracellular matrix protein 1 deposition and focal amyloid properties: A case report.

A woman in her 60s with rheumatoid arthritis was admitted with fever and abdominal pain. Laparoscopic examination with the differential diagnosis of peritoneal neoplasm and infection revealed granulomatous phlebitis in the resected greater omentum. Amorphous eosinophilic deposits observed in the resected tissue exhibited focal, weak positivity for Congo red but were strongly positive for thioflavin S, confirming their focal amyloid properties.

Vessel wall MRI in moyamoya disease: arterial wall enhancement varies depending on age, arteries, and disease progression.

Objective: To investigate the relationship of followings for patients with moyamoya disease (MMD): arterial wall enhancement on vessel wall MRI (VW-MRI), cross-sectional area (CSA), time-of-flight MR angiography (MRA), age, locations from intracranial internal carotid artery (ICA) to proximal middle cerebral artery (MCA), disease progression, and transient ischemic attack (TIA).

Methods: Patients who underwent VW-MRI between October 2018 and December 2020 were enrolled in this retrospective study. We measured arterial wall enhancement (enhancement ratio, ER) and CSA at five sections of ICA and MCA.

Incidence of neurocutaneous melanosis in Japanese pediatric patients with congenital melanocytic nevi.

Neurocutaneous melanosis (NCM) is a rare, non-hereditary neurocutaneous disorder characterized by excessive melanocytic proliferation in the skin and central nervous system. As no major studies have covered the incidence of NCM among Japanese patients with congenital melanocytic nevi (CMN), we prospectively investigated the incidence of NCM among Japanese patients who underwent initial treatment for CMN. The relationship of CMN and NCM was also investigated.

The hepatic niche leads to aggressive natural killer cell leukemia proliferation through the transferrin-transferrin receptor 1 axis.

Aggressive natural killer cell leukemia (ANKL) is a rare lymphoid neoplasm frequently associated with Epstein-Barr virus, with a disastrously poor prognosis. Owing to the lack of samples from patients with ANKL and relevant murine models, comprehensive investigation of its pathogenesis including the tumor microenvironment (TME) has been hindered. Here we established 3 xenograft mice derived from patients with ANKL (PDXs), which enabled extensive analysis of tumor cells and their TME.

Hypoxia-induced oxidative stress promotes therapy resistance via upregulation of heme oxygenase-1 in multiple myeloma.

Background: Multiple myeloma (MM) is a hematopoietic malignancy for which proteasome inhibitors have become available in recent years. However, many patients develop resistance to these drugs during treatment. Therefore, it is important to elucidate the mechanisms underlying resistance acquisition by proteasome inhibitors.

Hemosiderin Detection inside the Mammillary Bodies Using Quantitative Susceptibility Mapping on Patients with Wernicke-Korsakoff Syndrome.

Hemorrhage inside the mammillary bodies (MMBs) is known to be one of the findings of Wernicke encephalopathy. Brain MRI of two patients with Wernicke-Korsakoff syndrome (WKS) demonstrated high susceptibility values representing hemosiderin deposition in MMBs by using quantitative susceptibility mapping (QSM). QSM provided additional information of susceptibility values to susceptibility-weighted imaging in diagnosis of WKS.

Accuracy, repeatability, and reproducibility of T and T relaxation times measurement by 3D magnetic resonance fingerprinting with different dictionary resolutions.

Objectives: To assess the accuracy, repeatability, and reproducibility of T and T relaxation time measurements by three-dimensional magnetic resonance fingerprinting (3D MRF) using various dictionary resolutions.

Methods: The ISMRM/NIST phantom was scanned daily for 10 days in two 3 T MR scanners using a 3D MRF sequence reconstructed using four dictionaries with varying step sizes and one dictionary with wider ranges. Thirty-nine healthy volunteers were enrolled: 20 subjects underwent whole-brain MRF scans in both scanners and the rest in one scanner.

Diagnostic advantage of thin slice 2D MRI and multiplanar reconstruction of the knee joint using deep learning based denoising approach.

The purpose of this study is to evaluate whether thin-slice high-resolution 2D fat-suppressed proton density-weighted image of the knee joint using denoising approach with deep learning-based reconstruction (dDLR) with MPR is more useful than 3D FS-PD multi planar voxel image. Twelve patients who underwent MRI of the knee at 3T and 13 knees were enrolled. Denoising effect was quantitatively evaluated by comparing the coefficient of variation (CV) before and after dDLR.

AGN as potential factories for eccentric black hole mergers.

There is some weak evidence that the black hole merger named GW190521 had a non-zero eccentricity. In addition, the masses of the component black holes exceeded the limit predicted by stellar evolution. The large masses can be explained by successive mergers, which may be efficient in gas disks surrounding active galactic nuclei, but it is difficult to maintain an eccentric orbit all the way to the merger, as basic physics would argue for circularization.

A mechanism of cooling hot tumors: Lactate attenuates inflammation in dendritic cells.

Turning non-inflamed (cold) tumors into inflamed (hot) tumors is important for maximizing the effect of immune checkpoint inhibitors (ICIs) against malignancies. We showed that lactate, a product of the Warburg effect, inhibited the efficacy of ICIs and suppressed IL-12 p40 expression in dendritic cells (DCs) through reducing NF-κB p65, p50, and c-Rel DNA-binding activity to the IL-12 p40 promoter. Additionally, lactate promoted the expression of early growth response protein 1 (EGR1), whose expression was increased in human invasive melanoma compared with non-invasive melanoma.

Comparative Evaluation of Natural Killer Cell-mediated Cell Killing Assay Based on the Leakage of an Endogenous Enzyme or a Pre-loaded Fluorophore.

A cell-killing ability of natural killer (NK) cells has been evaluated by the leakage of marker molecules from target cells. Lactate dehydrogenase (LDH) and calcein are two major non-radioisotope markers used for the killing assay. The spontaneous death of NK cells during the killing-assay of cells is a major issue in the assay because it provides background signals to increase errors.

A collision between vascular adrenal cyst and adrenocortical adenoma.

We report a patient with sigmoid colon cancer who revealed a unique collision of hemorrhagic vascular adrenal cyst and adrenocortical adenoma with myelolipomatous changes. Two months before referral to our hospital, anticoagulant therapy was started for acute myocardial infarction. The components of the adrenocortical adenoma demonstrated a typical signal drop in opposed-phase magnetic resonance (MR) images although macroscopic fat was also depicted both on CT and MR images.

Fc-Binding Antibody-Recruiting Molecules Targeting Prostate-Specific Membrane Antigen: Defucosylation of Antibody for Efficacy Improvement*.

Synthetic small molecules that redirect endogenous antibodies to target cells are promising drug candidates because they overcome the potential shortcomings of therapeutic antibodies, such as immunogenicity and the need for intravenous delivery. Previously, we reported a novel class of bispecific molecules targeting the antibody Fc region and folate receptor, named Fc-binding antibody-recruiting molecules (Fc-ARMs). Fc-ARMs can theoretically recruit most endogenous antibodies, inducing antibody-dependent cell-mediated cytotoxicity (ADCC) to eliminate cancer cells.

Hypoxia-inducible hexokinase-2 enhances anti-apoptotic function via activating autophagy in multiple myeloma.

Multiple myeloma (MM) is an incurable hematopoietic neoplasm derived from plasma cells, and existing in the bone marrow. Recent developments in the field of myeloma onco-biology have enabled the use of proteasome inhibitors (PIs) as key drugs for MM. PIs can increase cell sensitivity to endoplasmic reticulum stress, leading to apoptosis of myeloma cells.

Factors associated with health-related quality of life in patients with glioma: impact of symptoms and implications for rehabilitation.

Objective: The factors associated with health-related quality of life in patients with glioma remain unclear; particularly, the impact of symptoms on quality of life has not been studied comprehensively. This study aims to document the quality of life of patients with glioma and clarify the impact of symptoms.

Methods: In this cross-sectional study, participants were recruited from patients at The University of Tokyo Hospital and from patients who were registered at the Japan Brain Tumor Alliance.

Induction of ADCC by a folic acid-mAb conjugate prepared by tryptophan-selective reaction toward folate-receptor-positive cancer cells.

We developed conjugates between monoclonal antibody (mAb) and folic acid (FA) by using a tryptophan (Trp)-selective reaction, which yields relatively homogenous products compared to conventional methods. The obtained mAb-FA conjugates showed significant cellular cytotoxicity toward folate receptor-expressing cancer cells, demonstrating that the conjugates retained the Fc region's original function.

Modification of nitric oxide donors onto a monoclonal antibody boosts accumulation in solid tumors.

Although monoclonal antibodies (mAbs) have revolutionized cancer treatment, their accumulation in solid tumors is limited and requires improvement to enhance therapeutic efficacy. Here we developed a strategy to modify mAb with a donor of nitric oxide (NO) because NO functions to vasodilate as well as to enhance the permeability of vascular endothelium, which will contribute to enhancing the tumor accumulation of mAb. We selected S-nitrosothiol as a NO donor and established the procedure to modify S-nitrosothiol group on mAb under ambient conditions.