Publications by authors named "Takashi Owaki"

Article Synopsis
  • Insulin-like growth factor-1 (IGF-1) plays a significant role in non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) by reducing fatty accumulation in the liver, activated by growth hormone (GH), but the specific interplay between GH and IGF-1 in NAFLD development needs further exploration.
  • The study investigated GH and IGF-1 levels in mouse models of diet-induced NAFLD, examining how the autonomic nervous system and hypothalamic neuropeptides influence GH secretion and IGF-1 expression.
  • The results suggest that IGF-1 release, influenced by neural pathways, is crucial for maintaining liver function in NAFLD, highlighting its potential as a target for therapeutic interventions.
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Serotonin (5-HT) is one of the key bioamines of nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD). Its mechanism of action in autonomic neural signal pathways remains unexplained; hence, we evaluated the involvement of 5-HT and related signaling pathways via autonomic nerves in NAFLD. Diet-induced NAFLD animal models were developed using wild-type and melanocortin 4 receptor (MC4R) knockout (MC4RKO) mice, and the effects of the autonomic neural axis on NAFLD physiology, 5-HT and its receptors (HTRs), and lipid metabolism-related genes were assessed by applying hepatic nerve blockade.

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Melanocortin 4 receptor gene-knockout (MC4R-KO) mice are known to develop obesity with a high-fat diet. Meanwhile, daisaikoto, one of Kampo medicines, is a drug that is expected to have therapeutic effects on obesity. Here, we report the efficacy of daisaikoto in MC4R-KO mice.

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The most common sites of breast cancer metastasis include the lymph nodes, bones, lungs, liver, and brain. Gastrointestinal tract metastasis is rarely seen, and hypopharyngeal metastasis is extremely rare. We herein report a case of late distant recurrence of breast cancer and synchronous metastasis to the hypopharynx, stomach, ileum, bones, and lymph nodes almost 24 years after surgery.

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This research developed an easy-to-use, reproducible pancreatic cancer animal model utilizing pancreas-targeted hydrodynamic gene delivery to deliver human pancreatic cancer-related genes to the pancreas of wild-type rats. -induced pancreatic intraepithelial neoplasia lesions showed malignant transformation in the main pancreatic duct at 4 weeks and developed acinar-to-ductal metaplasia, which led to pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma within 5 weeks, and the gene combination of and enhanced these effects. The repeat hydrodynamic gene delivery of  + combination at 4 weeks showed acinar-to-ductal metaplasia in all rats and pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma in 80% of rats 1 week later.

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Cyclin D1 binding protein 1 (CCNDBP1) is considered a tumor suppressor, and when expressed in tumor cells, CCNDBP1 can contribute to the viability of cancer cells by rescuing these cells from chemotherapy-induced DNA damage. Therefore, this study focused on investigating the function of CCNDBP1, which is directly related to the survival of cancer cells by escaping DNA damage and chemoresistance. Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) cells and tissues obtained from knockout mice were used for the in vitro and in vivo examination of the molecular mechanisms of CCNDBP1 associated with the recovery of cells from DNA damage.

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Objective: Nonalcoholic steatohepatitis (NASH) is a disease entity with an increasing incidence, with involvement of several metabolic pathways. Various organs, including the liver, kidneys, and the vasculature, are damaged in NASH, indicating the urgent need to develop a standard therapy. Therefore, this study was conducted to investigate the effects of drugs targeting various metabolic pathways and their combinations on a high-fat diet (HFD)-induced NASH medaka model.

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Article Synopsis
  • The study investigates how non-alcoholic steatohepatitis (NASH) and inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) together influence the development of hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) using a mouse model.
  • Mice were divided into groups based on diet and colitis induction, revealing that the combination of high-fat diet and induced colitis resulted in variations in liver health and significantly increased risk of HCC.
  • The research highlights that severe steatohepatitis paired with mild colitis plays a crucial role in the onset of HCC among patients suffering from both conditions, pointing to the complexities in predicting HCC occurrence.
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The etiology of non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) consists of various factors, including neural signal pathways. However, the molecular mechanisms of the autonomic neural signals influencing NAFLD progression have not been elucidated. Therefore, we examined the involvement of the gut-liver neural axis in NAFLD development and tested the therapeutic effect of modulation of this axis in this study.

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Article Synopsis
  • Chronic intestinal pseudo-obstruction (CIPO) is a rare and severe disorder affecting intestinal motility, which has not been well understood due to its complexity and difficulty in studying its pathology.* -
  • The study involved 11 CIPO patients, identifying esophageal motility issues through high-resolution manometry (HRM), where five patients showed significant impairments linked to triggers like pregnancy and surgery.* -
  • Results suggest that HRM can help assess the severity of CIPO and guide treatment options, with histological findings indicating a correlation between intestinal nerve damage and the clinical severity of the disease.*
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Background: The correlation of the growth hormone (GH) and insulin-like growth factor-1 (IGF-1) with non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) has been reported in epidemiological studies. However, the mechanisms of molecular and inter-organ systems that render these factors to influence on NAFLD have not been elucidated. In this study, we examined the induction of ghrelin which is the GH-releasing hormone and IGF-1, and involvement of autonomic neural circuits, in the pathogenesis of NAFLD.

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Anti-programmed cell death-1 therapy with microspheres is an effective treatment for metastatic liver tumors.

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Eosinophilic esophagitis (EoE) is a chronic, immune-mediated disorder in the esophagus characterized by symptoms related to esophageal dysfunction and eosinophil-predominant inflammation. EoE and Gastro Esophageal Reflux Disease (GERD) are known not to be mutually exclusive and share a complex relationship. Proton pump inhibitors (PPIs), which are generally used in the treatment of GERD, could be used to treat esophageal eosinophilia in suspected EoE.

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A 76-year-old female was referred to our hospital because of liver dysfunction. Abdominal contrasted computed tomography (CT) revealed a tumor of 7.5cm in the hepatic hilar area.

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Article Synopsis
  • - The study aimed to understand eosinophilic esophagitis (EoE) characteristics in Japan, where awareness of the disease has increased.
  • - Out of 8589 patients undergoing gastrointestinal endoscopies, only 17 (0.20%) were diagnosed with esophageal eosinophilia, revealing that many were asymptomatic or had mild symptoms.
  • - Findings suggest that EoE in Japanese patients is generally mild and progresses slowly, highlighting the potential for early diagnosis during routine medical check-ups.
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Article Synopsis
  • A significant gap exists in current research regarding the quantitative features used to predict neuron responses in the inferior temporal cortex when exposed to various objects, hindering a complete understanding of object representation.
  • The authors introduce a fragment-based method to analyze face neurons by leveraging a large set of natural image fragments, positing that features can be identified through correlating predicted responses derived from these fragments with actual neural responses.
  • This innovative approach yielded an average correlation coefficient of 0.68 from 560,000 feature candidates, successfully distinguishing between face and non-face objects and predicting responses to both upright and inverted faces, shedding light on the mechanisms behind face inversion effects.
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We describe a 52-year-old male who underwent endoscopic retrograde biliary drainage for acute cholangitis associated with common bile duct stones. Endoscopic papillary balloon dilatation was performed, and the stones were removed using a balloon catheter. Simultaneously, we initiated edoxaban for portal vein thrombosis.

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Background: Eosinophilic gastroenteritis (EoGE) can be diagnosed on the basis of histologic criteria; however, the pathology is considered to be heterogeneous. There is no consensus on the management of this enigmatic disorder with an unknown etiology.

Patients And Methods: Data for patients diagnosed with EoGE and followed up over a 1-year period were analyzed.

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The optimum retreatment strategy for chronic hepatitis C virus (HCV) patients who failed directly-acting antiviral agents (DAA)-based therapy is unknown. We herein report the outcomes of an HCV genotype (GT) 2a-infected patient with virologic failure following treatment with sofosbuvir plus ribavirin (SOF+RBV) who was successfully retreated with ombitasvir/paritaprevir/ritonavir plus ribavirin (OBV/PTV/r+RBV).

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Background/aim: Balloon-occluded transcatheter arterial chemoembolization (B-TACE) using miriplatin (MPT) is anticipated as a new strategy for hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). This study was aimed at evaluating the hemodynamic changes with/without balloon occlusion of the hepatic artery, correlation of cone-beam CT (CBCT) pixels, and CT value after B-TACE for HCC.

Methods: A total of 52 patients with HCC, who underwent B-TACE using MPT in addition to the balloon-occluded CBCT hepatic arteriography, were studied.

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Neuronal activities have recently been reported to exhibit power-law scaling behavior. However, it has not been demonstrated that the power-law component can play an important role in human perceptual functions. Here, we demonstrate that the power spectrum of magnetoencephalograph recordings of brain activity varies in coordination with perception of subthreshold visual stimuli.

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