Publications by authors named "Tomohiro Takano"

We synthesized ridaifen-B boron dipyrromethene () using 2-methyl-6-nitro benzoic anhydride (MNBA)-mediated dehydration condensation reaction between amino alkyl-tethered RID and BODIPY FL. Comparative experiments between dicyclohexylcarbodiimide (DCC) and MNBA for their coupling reactions demonstrated that MNBA is an effective condensation reagent for amines and BODIPY FL. A cell staining study with showed intracellular localization of BODIPY FL fluorescence, attributed to the structure, indicating the successful development of a tool for analyzing intracellular molecular behavior efficiently.

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Background: Polygenic risk scores (PRS) derived from European individuals have reduced portability across global populations, limiting their clinical implementation at worldwide scale. Here, we investigate the performance of a wide range of PRS models across four ancestry groups (Africans, Europeans, East Asians, and South Asians) for 14 conditions of high-medical interest.

Methods: To select the best-performing model per trait, we first compared PRS performances for publicly available scores, and constructed new models using different methods (LDpred2, PRS-CSx and SNPnet).

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Immunological imprinting by ancestral SARS-CoV-2 strains is thought to impede the robust induction of Omicron-specific humoral responses by Omicron-based booster vaccines. Here, we analyzed the specificity and neutralization activity of memory B (B) cells after repeated BA.5 exposure in individuals previously imprinted by ancestral strain-based mRNA vaccines.

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Introduction: The intestinal immune system plays a pivotal role in the induction of immune responses against food. In the case of T cell response, dendritic cells (DCs) are especially important. However, the regulation of immune responses to food by intestinal DCs has been poorly described.

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Severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2-neutralizing antibodies primarily target the spike receptor binding domain (RBD). However, B cell antigen receptors (BCRs) on RBD-binding memory B (B) cells have variation in the neutralizing activities. Here, by combining single B cell profiling with antibody functional assessment, we dissected the phenotype of B cell harboring the potently neutralizing antibodies in coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19)-convalescent individuals.

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Article Synopsis
  • The study analyzes the immunogenicity of mRNA vaccines like BNT162b2 and compares them with the S-268019-b spike protein booster, focusing on the antibody responses against SARS-CoV-2 variants.
  • Results indicate that the S-268019-b booster generates stronger and longer-lasting IgG titers and neutralizing activity against variants like Omicron BA.1 and BA.5 compared to the BNT162b2 booster, particularly in groups without systemic side effects.
  • High-dimensional immune profiling reveals specific immune changes, such as CD16 natural killer cell dynamics, that correlate with the enhanced antibody responses prompted by the S-268019-b booster, suggesting advantages of heterologous boosting in immune response durability and
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Introduction: Chronic inflammation caused by dietary obesity has been considered to induce lifestyle-related diseases and functional ingredients with anti-inflammatory effects are attracting attention. Although multiple studies on obesity had proved the anti-inflammatory effects of ingestion of lactic acid bacteria (LAB) and other functional ingredients on adipose tissue, the precise effects on the intestine, especially on the individual intestinal segments have not been made clear. In this study, we elucidated the mechanisms of (basonym: ) OLL2712 in suppressing obesity-induced inflammation using high fat diet (HFD)-fed mice obesity model.

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Vaccination for the prevention of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus type 2 (SARS-CoV-2) infection is considered the most promising approach to control the pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19). Although various COVID-19 vaccines have been developed worldwide using several modalities, the vaccines that have shown the highest efficacy to date are mRNA vaccines. Despite their extensive usage, the mechanisms that stimulate the immune responses associated with their immunogenicity and reactogenicity remain largely unknown.

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Introduction: A major challenge to enabling precision health at a global scale is the bias between those who enroll in state sponsored genomic research and those suffering from chronic disease. More than 30 million people have been genotyped by direct-to-consumer (DTC) companies such as 23andMe, Ancestry DNA, and MyHeritage, providing a potential mechanism for democratizing access to medical interventions and thus catalyzing improvements in patient outcomes as the cost of data acquisition drops. However, much of these data are sequestered in the initial provider network, without the ability for the scientific community to either access or validate.

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Determinants of memory T cell longevity following severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) infection remain unknown. In addition, phenotypes associated with memory T cell longevity, antibody titers, and disease severity are incompletely understood. Here, we longitudinally analyzed SARS-CoV-2-specific T cell and antibody responses of a unique cohort with similar numbers of mild, moderate, and severe coronavirus disease 2019 cases.

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Macrophages are classified into classically activated M1 macrophages and alternatively activated M2 macrophages, and the two phenotypes of macrophages are present during the development of various chronic diseases, including obesity-induced inflammation. In the present study, β-elemene, which is contained in various plant substances, is predicted to treat high-fat diet (HFD)-induced macrophage dysfunction based on the Gene Expression Omnibus (GEO) database and experimental validation. β-elemene impacts the imbalance of M1-M2 macrophages by regulating pro-inflammatory cytokines in mouse white adipose tissue both in vitro and in vivo.

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Two doses of Pfizer/BioNTech BNT162b2 mRNA vaccine elicit robust severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2)-neutralizing antibodies with frequent adverse events. Here, by applying a high-dimensional immune profiling on 92 vaccinees, we identify six vaccine-induced immune dynamics that correlate with the amounts of neutralizing antibodies, the severity of adverse events, or both. The early dynamics of natural killer (NK)/monocyte subsets (CD16 NK cells, CD56 NK cells, and non-classical monocytes), dendritic cell (DC) subsets (DC3s and CD11c Axl Siglec-6 [AS]-DCs), and NKT-like cells are revealed as the distinct cell correlates for neutralizing-antibody titers, severity of adverse events, and both, respectively.

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Multiple SARS-CoV-2 variants have mutations in the spike receptor binding domain (RBD) with potential to evade neutralizing antibody. In particular, the Beta and Omicron variants escape from antibody neutralizing activity in those who received two doses of BNT162b2 mRNA vaccine. Nonetheless, boosting with a third vaccine dose or by breakthrough infection improves the overall breadth of the neutralizing antibodies, but the mechanism remains unclear.

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Article Synopsis
  • The study investigates the link between intestinal inflammation and osteoporosis, focusing on a specific food-allergic model using mice that express OVA-specific T-cell receptors.* -
  • Findings show that feeding these mice an egg-white diet leads to bone loss and increased pathogenic T cells in both mesenteric lymph nodes (MLNs) and bone marrow.* -
  • The research highlights that IL-4 production from these immune cells plays a crucial role in promoting bone damage, with anti-IL-4 treatment showing potential to mitigate bone loss during initial inflammation.*
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Article Synopsis
  • Antibody levels against SARS-CoV-2 decrease over time, but their ability to neutralize the virus improves as the immune response matures.
  • A study of convalescent plasma showed that while total antibody levels declined, the potency of these antibodies against the original virus increased significantly.
  • Late-stage antibodies demonstrated better effectiveness against emerging variants like B.1.351 and P.1, indicating that even as overall antibody levels drop, protection against the virus may still be maintained.
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As a kind of metabolically triggered inflammation, obesity influences the interplay between the central nervous system and the enteral environment. The present study showed that β-elemene, which is contained in various plant substances, had effects on recovering the changes in metabolites occurring in high-fat diet (HFD)-induced obese C57BL/6 male mice brains, especially in the prefrontal cortex (PFC) and hippocampus (HIP). β-elemene also partially reversed HFD-induced changes in the composition and contents of mouse gut bacteria.

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Purpose: This study aimed to create an animal model of type Ia endoleak that creates persistent problems after thoracic endovascular aortic repair.

Materials And Methods: In six swine, thoracic aortic aneurysms were created using the harvested jugular vein. We created a type Ia endoleak using a composite stent-graft comprising the first stent-graft (reverse-tapered: thicker part, 16 mm; thinner part, 10 mm) and the second stent-graft (tapered: thicker part, 18-20 mm; thinner part, 16 mm).

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HLA-A, -C, -B, and -DRB1 genotypes were analyzed in 178 Japanese COVID-19 patients to investigate the association of HLA with severe COVID-19. Analysis of 32 common HLA alleles at four loci revealed a significant association between HLA-DRB1*09:01 and severe COVID-19 (odds ratio [OR], 3.62; 95% CI, 1.

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Reflected wave increases after endovascular aortic repair (EVAR) in patients with aortic aneurysm. This affects the left ventricular (LV) diastolic function and leads to a poor prognosis. This study aimed to evaluate the relationship between increased reflected wave amplitude and aortic diameter after EVAR.

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Article Synopsis
  • An increase in myeloid cells is a key feature of severe COVID-19, but previous research focused mainly on Europe, where the mortality rates are higher compared to Japan.
  • A study of blood samples from Japanese COVID-19 patients showed that polymorphonuclear myeloid-derived suppressor cells (PMN-MDSCs) increased in severe cases but not in milder cases, and this expansion was seen in survivors but not in those who did not survive.
  • The findings suggest that the presence of PMN-MDSCs correlates with higher levels of IL-8 and is linked to better clinical outcomes, indicating that this cell type may serve as a potential predictor for recovery in severe COVID-19 patients in Japan.
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Background: This study investigated the effect of outpatient cardiac rehabilitation (OCR) and physical activity on the estimated glomerular filtration rate based on serum cystatin C (eGFRcys) in patients with heart disease (HD) aged ≥75 years.

Methods and results: This non-randomized prospective intervention study involved 136 patients (non-OCR group, n=66; OCR group, n=70), 55 of whom were aged ≥75 years (non-OCR group, n=29; OCR group, n=26). Renal function (eGFRcys) was evaluated at discharge and 3 months thereafter.

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The role of the intestinal immune system in the inhibition of fat tissue-related inflammation by dietary material is yet to be elucidated. Oral administration of β-elemene, contained in various foodstuffs, downregulated expressions of inflammatory cytokines and increased Foxp3CD4 T cells in adipose tissue of obese mice. However, β-elemene did not affect the inflammatory response of adipose tissue , suggesting that the inhibition observed was not due to direct interactions of adipose tissue with β-elemene.

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A decline in immune function with aging has been reported. Regulatory T cell (Treg) induction is known to decrease with age, and elucidating the underlying mechanism is important for preventing age-related diseases due to age-related chronic inflammation. In the intestine, dendritic cells (DCs) play an important role in inducing Tregs specific to oral antigens, and they efficiently induce Tregs via production of retinoic acid (RA), a vitamin A metabolite, catalyzed by the enzyme retinaldehyde dehydrogenase 2 (RALDH2).

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