Publications by authors named "Yasunaga K"

Angiogenesis begins as endothelial cells migrate, forming a sprouting tip and subsequent growth-rich stalk cells. Here, we present a protocol for transcriptomic and epigenomic analyses of tip-like cells in cultured endothelial cells. We describe steps for stimulating human umbilical vein endothelial cells (HUVECs) with vascular endothelial cell growth factor (VEGF) to generate tip-like cells.

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Hematopoietic stem cells (HSCs) develop from hemogenic endothelial cells (HECs) during mouse embryogenesis. Understanding the signaling molecules required for HSC development is crucial for the in vitro derivation of HSCs. We previously induced HSCs from embryonic HECs, isolated at embryonic day 10.

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Ethyl furfuryl ether (EFE), which is synthesized etherification of furfuryl alcohol (FFalc) with ethanol over Brønsted acid catalysts, is used as an additive in gasoline to reduce its consumption and CO emission. In this work, we demonstrate that the performance of this synthesis route can be improved by using commercially available, low-cost, and environmentally friendly montmorillonite K10, which produces EFE in a relatively high yield of 45.3% and a FFalc conversion of 94.

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Hematopoietic stem cells (HSCs) develop from hemogenic endothelial cells (HECs) in vivo during mouse embryogenesis. When cultured in vitro, cells from the embryo phenotypically defined as pre-HSC-I and pre-HSC-II have the potential to differentiate into HSCs. However, minimal factors required for HSC induction from HECs have not yet been determined.

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Meiotic prophase progression is differently regulated in males and females. In males, pachytene transition during meiotic prophase is accompanied by robust alteration in gene expression. However, how gene expression is regulated differently to ensure meiotic prophase completion in males remains elusive.

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Utility of a recently developed long-read pipeline, Emu, was assessed using an expectation-maximization algorithm for accurate read classification. We compared it to conventional short- and long-read pipelines, using well-characterized mock bacterial samples. Our findings highlight the necessity of appropriate data-processing for taxonomic descriptions, expanding our understanding of the precise microbiome.

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box O (FOXO) family proteins are expressed in various cells, and play crucial roles in cellular metabolism, apoptosis, and aging. FOXO1-null mice exhibit embryonic lethality due to impaired endothelial cell (EC) maturation and vascular remodeling. However, FOXO1-mediated genome-wide regulation in ECs remains unclear.

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Meiosis is differently regulated in males and females. In females, germ cells initiate meiosis within a limited time period in the fetal ovary and undergo a prolonged meiotic arrest until puberty. However, how meiosis initiation is coordinated with the cell cycle to coincide with S phase remains elusive.

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We have successfully developed a bioinertized nanoflow LC/MS/MS (nanoLC/MS/MS) system for the highly sensitive analysis of phosphopeptides by depleting metal ions from the mobile phase. We found that not only direct contact of phosphopeptides with metal components, but also indirect contact with nanoLC pumps through the mobile phase causes significant losses during the recovery of phosphopeptides. Moreover, electrospray ionization was adversely affected by the mobile phase containing multiple metal ions as well as by the sample solvents contaminated with metal ions used in immobilized metal ion affinity chromatography for phosphopeptide enrichment.

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Article Synopsis
  • Familial lecithin: cholesterol acyltransferase (LCAT) deficiency (FLD) is a serious genetic disorder leading to issues like low HDL levels, corneal opacity, hemolytic anemia, and kidney damage, with no effective treatments available.
  • Researchers created genetically modified adipocytes (LCAT-GMAC) derived from a patient's fat cells to produce LCAT as a potential gene therapy, with a focus on assessing its safety and effectiveness in a patient over time.
  • The implantation of LCAT-GMACs proved safe, resulting in a significant increase in serum LCAT activity for three years; however, while it helped with some symptoms like hemolysis, the patient experienced fluctuating kidney function and hypertension, which
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Adult skeletal muscle is a highly plastic tissue that readily reduces or gains its mass in response to mechanical and metabolic stimulation; however, the upstream mechanisms that control muscle mass remain unclear. Notch signalling is highly conserved, and regulates many cellular events, including proliferation and differentiation of various types of tissue stem cell via cell-cell contact. Here we reveal that multinucleated myofibres express Notch2, which plays a crucial role in disuse- or diabetes-induced muscle atrophy.

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Although organisms are exposed to various pressure and temperature conditions, information remains limited on how pressure affects biological rhythms. This study investigated how hydrostatic pressure affects the circadian clock (KaiA, KaiB, and KaiC) of cyanobacteria. While the circadian rhythm is inherently robust to temperature change, KaiC phosphorylation cycles that were accelerated from 22 h at 1 bar to 14 h at 200 bars caused the circadian-period length to decline.

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Postprandial blood glucose excursions are important for achieving optimal glycemic control. In normal-weight individuals, glucose tolerance is diminished in the evening compared to glucose tolerance in the morning. Wheat albumin (WA) has the potential to suppress the postprandial glucose response with a relatively small dose, compared to the dose required when using dietary fiber.

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Pancreatic cancer is a malignant neoplasm that originates from acinar cells. Acinar cells get reprogrammed to become duct cells, resulting in pancreatic cancer. Pancreatitis is an acinar cell inflammation, leading to "impaired autophagy flux".

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Aim: To evaluate the clinical outcome of endoscopic submucosal dissection using the Clutch Cutter (ESDCC) in older patients.

Methods: We reviewed 232 consecutive patients with early gastric cancer who underwent ESDCC between June 2010 and February 2014 at Aso Iizuka Hospital. We divided patients into two groups according to age: Older patients (> 80 years, = 64) and non-older patients (≤ 80 years, = 168).

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Background: Tea catechins are considered to be important preventive factors of cancer on several organs; however, the relationships of the actual daily intakes (ADIs) on the preventive effects have not been adequately addressed. We measured the ADIs of tea catechins as annual averages derived from every their ingested cups recorded by each subject, and the estimation models were established considering tea origin. Methods: Fifty-nine Japanese men and women completed four season 3 day weighed dietary records (WDRs) and a food frequency questionnaire (FFQ), and samples of green, oolong and black teas, ingested during a total 12 days were collected for the analysis.

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Objective The selective arterial secretagogue injection (SASI) test is considered indispensable for the accurate localization of insulinoma. However, the optimum timing of the post-injection evaluation is controversial, as some studies recommend 60 seconds [SASI (60 seconds)] while others support 120 seconds [SASI (120 seconds)]. The aim of this study was to determine the optimum timing for the SASI test evaluation for insulinoma localization.

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Objectives: To evaluate the utility of serum Wisteria floribunda agglutinin-positive Mac-2 binding protein (WFA -M2BP) level as a marker for chronic pancreatitis (CP).

Methods: We measured the serum WFA -M2BP level of 74 patients with CP who had undergone endoscopic retrograde cholangiopancreatography and 30 normal controls (NC) using a glycan sugar chain-based immunoassay and investigated the relationship between serum WFA -M2BP levels and the Cambridge classification of CP.

Results: Serum WFA -M2BP level was significantly higher in patients with CP than in NC (0.

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Objective: Currently, serum chromogranin A is a well-established biomarker for pancreatic neuroendocrine tumors; however, other pancreatic diseases, oral use of a proton pump inhibitor and renal impairment can affect chromogranin A. Meanwhile, chromogranin B, belonging to the same granin family as chromogranin A, is not fully examined in these conditions. The present study aimed to evaluate the utility of chromogranin B as a pancreatic neuroendocrine tumor biomarker.

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The thermogenic effects of green tea catechin have been repeatedly reported, but their mechanisms are poorly understood. The aim of this study was to investigate the acute and chronic effects of catechin on brown adipose tissue (BAT), a site specialized for nonshivering thermogenesis, in humans. Fifteen healthy male volunteers underwent fluorodeoxyglucose-positron emission tomography to assess BAT activity.

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Chemical investigation of the aerial parts of Atraphaxis frutescens resulted in the isolation of five 7-methoxyflavonols with pyrogallol B-ring moieties (1-5), a fisetinidol glucoside (13), and a benzyl glycoside (18), together with 26 known compounds including flavonoids, phenylpropanoid amides, anthraquinone glycosides, lignans, and a benzyl derivative. The principal chemical structural feature of the isolated compounds was either a pyrogallol or catechol B-ring moiety, and they showed potent 1,1-diphenyl-2-picrylhydrazyl radical scavenging activities. To assess the effects of these antioxidants on biological enzymes, their inhibitory effects against an insect phenoloxidase and a mushroom tyrosinase were evaluated.

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Background/objectives: Brown adipose tissue (BAT) is a potential therapeutic target against obesity and diabetes through thermogenesis and substrate disposal with cold exposure. The role of BAT in energy metabolism under thermoneutral conditions, however, remains controversial. We assessed the contribution of BAT to energy expenditure (EE), particularly diet-induced thermogenesis (DIT), and substrate utilization in human adults.

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Sensitivity and/or specificity of the in vivo erythrocyte micronucleus (MN) and transgenic rodent mutation (TGR) tests to detect rodent carcinogens and non-carcinogens were investigated. The Carcinogenicity and Genotoxicity eXperience (CGX) dataset created by Kirkland et al. was used for the carcinogenicity and in vitro genotoxicity data, i.

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Sensory neurons with common functions are often nonrandomly arranged and form dendritic territories in stereotypic spatial patterns throughout the nervous system, yet molecular mechanisms of how neurons specify dendritic territories remain largely unknown. In Drosophila larvae, dendrites of class IV sensory (C4da) neurons completely but nonredundantly cover the whole epidermis, and the boundaries of these tiled dendritic fields are specified through repulsive interactions between homotypic dendrites. Here we report that, unlike the larval C4da neurons, adult C4da neurons rely on both dendritic repulsive interactions and external positional cues to delimit the boundaries of their dendritic fields.

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