Serinc5 Regulates Sequential Chondrocyte Differentiation by Inhibiting Sox9 Function in Pre-Hypertrophic Chondrocytes.

The growth plate is the primary site of longitudinal bone growth with chondrocytes playing a pivotal role in endochondral bone development. Chondrocytes undergo a series of differentiation steps, resulting in the formation of a unique hierarchical columnar structure comprising round, proliferating, pre-hypertrophic, and hypertrophic chondrocytes. Pre-hypertrophic chondrocytes, which exist in the transitional stage between proliferating and hypertrophic stages, are a critical cell population in the growth plate.

Slc26a2-mediated sulfate metabolism is important in tooth development.

The sulfate transporter gene SLC26A2 is crucial for skeletal formation, as evidenced by its role in diastrophic dysplasia, a type of skeletal dysplasia in humans. Although SLC26A2-related chondrodysplasia also affects craniofacial and tooth development, its specific role in these processes remains unclear. In this study, we explored the pivotal roles of SLC26A2-mediated sulfate metabolism during tooth development.

Expression analysis of genes including Zfhx4 in mice and zebrafish reveals a temporospatial conserved molecular basis underlying craniofacial development.

Background: Embryonic craniofacial development involves several cellular and molecular events that are evolutionarily conserved among vertebrates. Vertebrate models such as mice and zebrafish have been used to investigate the molecular and cellular etiologies underlying human craniofacial disorders, including orofacial clefts. However, the molecular mechanisms underlying embryonic development in these two species are unknown.

Increased SPARC in brain microvessels of ob/ob mice accelerates molecular transport into the brain accompany with albumin.

Cytotoxic metabolites originating from the peripheral circulation can induce central nervous system complications associated with diabetes. Since a large proportion of these metabolites bind to plasma albumin, mechanisms for transporting albumin-metabolite complexes into the brain exist under diabetic conditions. Secreted protein acidic and rich in cysteine (SPARC) is one of the vesicular transport receptors responsible for albumin transport.

Circulating myostatin levels as a prognostic biomarker in patients with acute liver failure and late-onset hepatic failure.

Aim: Myostatin is a myokine involved in muscle mass regulation. The associations between circulating myostatin levels and clinical characteristics in patients with acute liver failure (ALF) and late-onset hepatic failure (LOHF) are unclear.

Methods: In this retrospective study, 51 patients with ALF or LOHF were included.

Daphnia uses its circadian clock for short-day recognition in environmental sex determination.

Some organisms have developed a mechanism called environmental sex determination (ESD), which allows environmental cues, rather than sex chromosomes or genes, to determine offspring sex. ESD is advantageous to optimize sex ratios according to environmental conditions, enhancing reproductive success. However, the process by which organisms perceive and translate diverse environmental signals into offspring sex remains unclear.

Characteristics of peripheral blood mononuclear cells and potential related molecular mechanisms in patients with autoimmune hepatitis: a single-cell RNA sequencing analysis.

Autoimmune hepatitis (AIH) is an immune disorder characterized by hypergammaglobulinemia, autoantibodies, and chronic active hepatitis on liver histology. However, immune cell population characteristics in AIH patients remain poorly understood. This study was designed to analyze peripheral blood mononuclear cell (PBMC) characteristics in AIH through single-cell RNA sequencing (scRNA-seq) and explore potential AIH-related molecular mechanisms.

Anti-EJ antibody-positive interstitial pneumonia with breast cancer improved by combining immunosuppressive therapy and chemotherapy.

We present a case of a 45-year-old woman diagnosed with interstitial pneumonia (IP) during a comprehensive breast cancer evaluation. Although the patient showed no obvious clinical symptoms of polymyositis or dermatomyositis, the presence of anti-glycyl-transfer ribonucleic acid synthetase antibodies confirmed anti-synthetase syndrome. The patient began methylprednisolone for treatment of the IP.

Influence of serum Gas6 levels on prognosis in patients with hepatocellular carcinoma.

Objective: The prediction of prognosis in hepatocellular carcinoma patients is important for switching treatment. The association between circulating growth arrest-specific 6 levels and prognosis in hepatocellular carcinoma patients is unknown.

Methods: We retrospectively analysed the association between serum growth arrest-specific 6 levels and clinical findings in 132 patients with hepatocellular carcinoma.

Consumer Awareness of Food Defense Measures at Food Delivery Service Providers and Food Manufacturers: Web-Based Consumer Survey Study.

Background: Various stages of the food chain, from production to processing to distribution, can impact food safety. The concept of "food defense" has emerged as a countermeasure against intentional contamination of food with foreign substances. Although knowledge of food hygiene is common among consumers, there are currently no reports of consumer surveys on food defense.

Association between equol and non-alcoholic fatty liver disease in Japanese women in their 50s and 60s.

Background And Aim: Equol is a metabolite of soy isoflavone and has estrogenic activity. The incidence of non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) increases after menopause in women, which is thought to result in a decrease in estrogen. This study aimed to evaluate the association between equol and NAFLD.

Acute myeloid leukemia and myelodysplastic syndrome associated with a combination of immune checkpoint inhibitor and platinum-based chemotherapy.

Therapy related-acute myeloid leukemia (t-AML) and myelodysplastic syndrome (t-MDS) are complications of chemotherapy and/or radiation therapy for malignant diseases. In this report, we describe a patient with advanced lung adenocarcinoma who developed autoimmune hemolytic anemia and MDS associated with a combination of atezolizumab and platinum-based chemotherapy. The patient showed progression from t-MDS to t-AML 20 months after the treatment was initiated.

Immuno-Mass Spectrometry Workflow for Quantification of Serum α-Fetoprotein Using Antibody-Immobilized Magnetic Beads and Modified Eluents.

Immuno-mass spectrometry (MS) is a powerful method for the quantitative analysis of low-abundance proteins in biological specimens. In these procedures, collecting specifically and efficiently the target protein antigens from the antigen-antibody complex generated on the surface of nanocarrier beads is crucial and can be performed by hydrolyzing the proteins directly on the beads or after elution. Herein, we optimized the conditions of the immunoaffinity purification via elution using serum α-fetoprotein (AFP) as a model and its specific antibody immobilized covalently on magnetic beads.

Resection of tracheal mucosa-associated lymphoid tissue (MALT) lymphoma by bronchoscopic high-frequency electrosurgical snare: Case report.

There is no standard method of bronchoscopic local therapy for tracheal tumours. We herein present a case involving a 61-year-old woman who was diagnosed with tracheal mucosa-associated lymphoid tissue lymphoma and underwent resection by a bronchoscopic high-frequency electrosurgical snare. Few reports to date have described such use of high-frequency electrosurgical snares; however, they are effective for the treatment of tracheal tumours, especially pedunculated tumours.

My studies of primates: Sex, affinity, and competition.

In this essay, I summarize my research career, with reference to the early days of the Laboratory of Physical Anthropology (LPA) at Kyoto University led by Kinji Imanishi and Junichiro Itani. When I started conducting research on the sexual behavior of Japanese macaques in 1975, I made some unexpected observations. High-ranking males did not obtain high mating success.

A multicenter comparative study of endoscopic ultrasound-guided fine-needle biopsy using a Franseen needle versus conventional endoscopic ultrasound-guided fine-needle aspiration to evaluate microsatellite instability in patients with unresectable pancreatic cancer.

Background/aims: Immune checkpoint blockade has recently been reported to be effective in treating microsatellite instability (MSI)-high tumors. Therefore, sufficient sampling of histological specimens is necessary in cases of unresectable pancreatic cancer (UR-PC). This multicenter study investigated the efficacy of endoscopic ultrasound-guided fine-needle biopsy (EUS-FNB) using a Franseen needle for MSI evaluation in patients with UR-PC.

Semaphorin 4D induces articular cartilage destruction and inflammation in joints by transcriptionally reprogramming chondrocytes.

Proinflammatory cytokines play critical roles in the pathogenesis of joint diseases. Using a mass spectrometry-based cloning approach, we identified Semaphorin 4D (Sema4D) as an inflammatory cytokine that directly promoted cartilage destruction. -deficient mice showed less cartilage destruction than wild-type mice in a model of rheumatoid arthritis.

Allelic variation of a clubroot resistance gene () in Japanese cultivars of Chinese cabbage ( L.).

Clubroot resistance (CR) is an important trait in Chinese cabbage breeding worldwide. Although , the gene responsible for clubroot-resistance, has been cloned and shown to encode the NLR protein, its allelic variation and molecular function remain unknown. Here, we investigated the sequence variation and function of three alleles cloned from six CR F cultivars of Chinese cabbage.