Publications by authors named "Tetsuya Kuhara"

Background: Probiotic supplementation reestablishes microbiome diversity and improves brain function in Alzheimer's disease (AD); their molecular mechanisms, however, have not yet been fully illustrated.

Objective: We investigated the effects of orally supplemented Bifidobacterium breve MCC1274 on cognitive function and AD-like pathologies in AppNL-G-F mice.

Methods: Three-month-old AppNL-G-F mice were orally supplemented with B.

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We previously reported that 1-methyl-4-phenyl-1,2,3,6-tetrahydropyridine-induced Parkinson's disease (PD) model mice (PD mice) facilitate hippocampal memory extinction, which may be the cause of cognitive impairment in PD. Recent studies on the consumption of probiotics have reported a variety of beneficial effects on the central nervous system via the microbiota-gut-brain axis. In this study, we investigated the effects of oral administration of strain A1 [MCC1274] ( A1) on the facilitation of hippocampal memory extinction observed in PD mice.

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Gut microbiota-derived tryptophan metabolites such as indole derivatives are an integral part of host metabolome that could mediate gut-brain communication and contribute to host homeostasis. We previously reported that infant-type Human-Residential Bifidobacteria (HRB) produced higher levels of indole-3-lactic acid (ILA), suggesting the former might play a specific role in microbiota-host crosstalk by producing ILA in human infants. Nonetheless, the biological meaning of bifidobacteria-derived ILA in infant health development remains obscure.

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A previous clinical study on pre-obesity subjects revealed that B-3 shows anti-obesity effects and possibly increases muscle mass. Here, we investigated the effects of B-3 on muscle function, such as muscle strength and metabolism, and some signaling pathways in skeletal muscle. Male rodents were orally administered live B-3 (B-3L) or heat-killed B-3 (B-3HK) for 4 weeks.

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Bifidobacteria are one of the most abundant bacterial groups in the infant gut microbiota and are closely associated with infant health and can potentially affect health in later life. However, the details regarding the source of bifidobacteria have yet to be completely elucidated. This study aimed to assess neonatal oral fluid (OF) as a transmission route for bifidobacteria to the infant gut during delivery.

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The gut microbiota is involved in the pathogenesis of stress-related disorders. Probiotics can benefit the central nervous system via the microbiota-gut-brain axis, which raises the possibility that probiotics are effective in managing depression. In the present study, we examined the effects of heat-killed strain MCC1848 in subchronic and mild social defeat stress (sCSDS) model mice (a widely used animal model of depression).

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It has previously been shown that the consumption of probiotics may have beneficial effects not only on peripheral tissues but also on the central nervous system and behavior via the microbiota-gut-brain axis, raising the possibility that treatment with probiotics could be an effective therapeutic strategy for managing neurodegenerative disorders. In this study, we investigated the effects of oral administration of Bifidobacterium breve strain A1 (B. breve A1) on behavior and physiological processes in Alzheimer's disease (AD) model mice.

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Accumulating evidence suggests that orally ingested lactoferrin protects against inflammation. To assess the efficacy of orally administered bovine lactoferrin (bLF) against hepatitis and to identify the underlying mechanism, in the present study, we used four mouse models of hepatitis induced by d-galactosamine (GalN), carbon tetrachloride (CCl4), GalN plus lipopolysaccharide (LPS) and zymosan plus LPS. Intraperitoneal (i.

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Intelectin 1 (IntL) is known as a lectin expressed in intestinal epithelia and also as a receptor for an iron-binding protein, lactoferrin (LF). Uptake of LF with bound iron by enterocytes via receptor-mediated endocytosis has been well investigated, whereas subsequent fate of endocytized LF and LF/IntL complexes remains largely unknown. In the present study, we examined contribution of IntL to the uptake, sub-cellular localization and subsequent release of LF by intestinal Caco-2 IntL-transfectants using two-site ELISA and fluorescence confocal microscopy.

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Purpose: Orally administered bovine lactoferrin (bLF) exerts an anti-inflammatory effect on hepatitis and colitis animal models. To investigate the mechanism underlying the action of bLF, we explored the expression of inflammation-related factors in the intestine of a hepatitis mouse model after the oral administration of bLF and in several human intestinal cell lines treated with bLF.

Methods: The effects of bLF on the expression of interleukin-11 (IL-11) and bone morphogenetic protein 2 (BMP2) in the intestinal mucosa of a hepatitis mouse model as well as in cell cultures of human intestinal epithelial cells, myofibroblasts, and monocytes were examined using the real-time reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction.

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Evidence that lactoferrin (LF) influences various immune functions is now accumulating. Recent reports have shown that bovine LF (BoLF) enhances antimicrobial, antiviral, and antitumor immune activities when orally administered. Here, we report that orally administered BoLF increases natural killer (NK) cell populations in peripheral blood and spleen in a dose-dependent manner and enhances interferon-gamma (IFN-gamma) production by NK cells.

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The purpose of this study was to evaluate the effect of coadministration of macrophage colony-stimulating factor (M-CSF) and interferon-alpha (IFN-alpha) on NK1.1(+) cells in mice. Administration of M-CSF, but not IFN-alpha, increased the number of NK1.

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