Editorial: Special Issue, "Molecular Advances in Skin Diseases 2.0".

Recently, the pathomechanisms of various skin diseases have been progressively elucidated [...

Quantitative control of subcellular protein localization with a photochromic dimerizer.

Artificial control of intracellular protein dynamics with high precision provides deep insight into complicated biomolecular networks. Optogenetics and caged compound-based chemically induced dimerization (CID) systems are emerging as tools for spatiotemporally regulating intracellular protein dynamics. However, both technologies face several challenges for accurate control such as the duration of activation, deactivation rate and repetition cycles.

Adaptive gene expression of alternative splicing variants of PGC-1α regulates whole-body energy metabolism.

The transcriptional coactivator PGC-1α has been implicated in the regulation of multiple metabolic processes. However, the previously reported metabolic phenotypes of mice deficient in PGC-1α have been inconsistent. PGC-1α exists as multiple isoforms, including variants transcribed from an alternative first exon.

Short- and long-term outcomes of surgical treatment for inguinal lymph node metastasis in rectal and anal canal adenocarcinoma.

Aim: The significance of lymphadenectomy and its indications in patients with inguinal lymph node metastasis (ILNM) of anorectal adenocarcinoma is unclear. This study aimed to clarify the surgical outcomes and prognostic factors of inguinal lymphadenectomy for ILNM.

Method: This study included patients who underwent surgical resection for ILNM of rectal or anal canal adenocarcinoma with pathologically positive metastases between 1997 and 2011 at 20 participating centres in the Study Group for Inguinal Lymph Node Metastasis from Colorectal Cancer organized by the Japanese Society for Cancer of the Colon and Rectum.

Cross-sectional study of therapy-related expectations/concerns of patients with metastatic renal cell carcinoma and physicians in Japan.

Objective: To achieve patient-centricity in metastatic renal cell carcinoma (mRCC) treatment, it is essential to clarify the differences in perspectives between patients and physicians. This cross-sectional analysis of a web survey aimed to clarify the differences in expectations and concerns between mRCC patients and physicians regarding systemic mRCC therapy in Japan.

Methods: Surveys from 83 patients and 165 physicians were analyzed.

Caution to psychiatry ward: COVID-19 pneumonia can manifest weeks or months after testing positive with a PCR test in individuals on preexisting immune-suppressing medication.

Background: Some patients are reported to develop depression immediately after COVID-19 infection. Typically, hospitalization is arranged a week to 10 days after symptom onset to avoid outbreak in the psychiatric ward when infectivity is almost eliminated. However, in patients on immunosuppressive drugs, infection is known to persist beyond the 10th day after testing positive with a polymerase chain reaction (PCR) test.

descSPIM: an affordable and easy-to-build light-sheet microscope optimized for tissue clearing techniques.

Despite widespread adoption of tissue clearing techniques in recent years, poor access to suitable light-sheet fluorescence microscopes remains a major obstacle for biomedical end-users. Here, we present descSPIM (desktop-equipped SPIM for cleared specimens), a low-cost ($20,000-50,000), low-expertise (one-day installation by a non-expert), yet practical do-it-yourself light-sheet microscope as a solution for this bottleneck. Even the most fundamental configuration of descSPIM enables multi-color imaging of whole mouse brains and a cancer cell line-derived xenograft tumor mass for the visualization of neurocircuitry, assessment of drug distribution, and pathological examination by false-colored hematoxylin and eosin staining in a three-dimensional manner.

A Patient with Tarsal Tunnel Syndrome Associated with the Flexor Digitorum Accessorius Longus Muscle.

The flexor digitorum accessorius longus muscle (ALM) can be overlooked as the eliciting factor in patients with tarsal tunnel syndrome (TTS), an entrapment neuropathy of the posterior tibial nerve that elicits sole numbness and pain. Most elicitations are idiopathic, however, mass lesions within the tarsal tunnel can be also implicated. We report an 80-year-old woman whose flexor digitorum ALM led to the onset of bilateral TTS.

Visual functions and multimodal imaging of patients with idiopathic focal choroidal excavation.

This study aimed to evaluate visual function and perform multimodal imaging on patients with focal choroidal excavation without any chorioretinal disease (idiopathic focal choroidal excavation [iFCE]). Seventeen eyes of 15 patients with iFCE (8 men, 7 women; mean ± standard deviation age, 56.0 ± 10.

The extracellular-to-total body water ratio reflects improvement in the activities of daily living in patients who experienced acute stroke.

Objectives: To determine the relationship between bioelectrical impedance analysis (BIA) parameters, including the extracellular water-to-total body water ratio (ECW/TBW), and the activities of daily living (ADL) improvement, in patients who experienced acute stroke.

Materials And Methods: This retrospective cohort study included 307 patients (mean age, 72 years; 39 % female) who experienced acute stroke and were admitted to the stroke unit of the Nippon Medical School Hospital (Bunkyo-ku, Tokyo, Japan) between April 2021 and March 2022. The Functional Independence Measure (FIM) was assessed at initial rehabilitation and discharge, and FIM effectiveness was calculated as ADL improvement in the participating acute care hospitals.

From Time to Timer in Wound Healing Through the Regeneration.

Hard-to-heal wounds are an important public health issue worldwide, with a significant impact on the quality of life of patients. It is estimated that approximately 1-2% of the global population suffers from difficult wounds, which can be caused by a variety of factors such as trauma, infections, chronic diseases like diabetes or obesity, or poor health conditions. Hard-to-heal wounds are often characterized by a slow and complicated healing process, which can lead to serious complications such as infections, pressure ulcers, scar tissue formation, and even amputations.

α7 nicotinic acetylcholine receptor agonist attenuates allergen-induced immediate nasal response in murine model of allergic rhinitis.

The expression of nicotinic acetylcholine receptor (nAChR) subunits on various immune cells suggests their involvement in allergic rhinitis. However, how exactly they contribute to this pathogenesis is not yet confirmed. Our present study examined the therapeutic potential of GTS-21, an α7 nAChR agonist, for treating allergic rhinitis by employing its mouse models.