Articles

CTGF in kidney fibrosis and glomerulonephritis

Glomerulonephritis, which causes inflammation in glomeruli, is a common cause of end-stage renal failure. Severe and prolonged inflammation can damage glomeruli and lead to kidney fibrosis. Connective tissue g...

Authors: Naohiro Toda, Masashi Mukoyama, Motoko Yanagita and Hideki Yokoi

Enhanced expression of IL-34 in an inflammatory cyst of the submandibular gland: a case report

Cysts of the salivary glands are common lesions that occur in the context of various etiologies. Although the diagnostic importance of cysts in salivary gland diseases has been well studied, molecular mechanis...

Authors: Muhammad Baghdadi, Kozo Ishikawa, Hiraku Endo, Yui Umeyama, Tsukasa Ataka, Haruka Wada, Yumiko Oyamada, Naoki Hyakushima and Ken-ichiro Seino

New application of anti-TLR monoclonal antibodies: detection, inhibition and protection

Monoclonal antibody (mAb) is an essential tool for the analysis in various fields of biology. In the field of innate immunology, mAbs have been established and used for the study of Toll-like receptors (TLRs),...

Authors: Ryutaro Fukui, Yusuke Murakami and Kensuke Miyake

Zoledronic acid exacerbates inflammation through M1 macrophage polarization

Zoledronic acid (Zol), one of the bisphosphonates, is frequently utilized for the treatment of osteoporosis and bone metastasis. However, the onset of medication-related osteonecrosis of the jaw (MRONJ) follow...

Authors: Junya Kaneko, Toshinori Okinaga, Hisako Hikiji, Wataru Ariyoshi, Daigo Yoshiga, Manabu Habu, Kazuhiro Tominaga and Tatsuji Nishihara

Maintenance of memory-type pathogenic Th2 cells in the pathophysiology of chronic airway inflammation

Immunological memory is critical for long-standing protection against microorganisms; however, certain antigen-specific memory CD4⁺ T helper (Th) cells drive immune-related pathology, including chronic allergic i...

Authors: Kiyoshi Hirahara, Kenta Shinoda, Yusuke Endo, Tomomi Ichikawa and Toshinori Nakayama

Functional similarities of microRNAs across different types of tissue stem cells in aging

Restoration of tissue homeostasis by controlling stem cell aging is a promising therapeutic approach for geriatric disorders. The molecular mechanisms underlying age-related dysfunctions of specific types of a...

Authors: Koichiro Watanabe, Yasuaki Ikuno, Yumi Kakeya, Hirotaka Kito, Aoi Matsubara, Mizuki Kaneda, Yu Katsuyama and Hayato Naka-Kaneda

Periodontal Infectogenomics

Periodontal diseases are chronic infectious disease in which the pathogenic bacteria initiate the host immune response leading to the destruction of tooth supporting tissue and eventually result in the tooth l...

Authors: Gurjeet Kaur, Vishakha Grover, Nandini Bhaskar, Rose Kanwaljeet Kaur and Ashish Jain

Control of articular synovitis for bone and cartilage regeneration in rheumatoid arthritis

Rheumatoid arthritis is an autoimmune inflammatory disease, the specific feature of which is progressive joint destruction induced by synovitis. The universal consensus is that alleviation of the synovitis is ...

Authors: Hiromu Ito, Furu Moritoshi, Motomu Hashimoto, Masao Tanaka and Shuichi Matsuda

Deterioration in saliva quality in patients with Sjögren’s syndrome: impact of decrease in salivary epidermal growth factor on the severity of intraoral manifestations

Sjögren’s syndrome (SS) is a chronic inflammatory autoimmune disease characterized by lymphocytic infiltration of the exocrine glands, especially the salivary and lacrimal glands. As a result of salivary gland...

Authors: Naoto Azuma, Yoshinori Katada and Hajime Sano

Maintenance of intestinal homeostasis by mucosal barriers

The intestine is inhabited by a tremendous number of microorganisms, which provide many benefits to nutrition, metabolism and immunity. Mucosal barriers by intestinal epithelial cells make it possible to maint...

Authors: Ryu Okumura and Kiyoshi Takeda

Use of mesenchymal stem cells seeded on the scaffold in articular cartilage repair

Articular cartilage has poor capacity for repair. Once damaged, they degenerate, causing functional impairment of joints. Allogeneic cartilage transplantation has been performed for functional recovery of arti...

Authors: Kaoru Yamagata, Shingo Nakayamada and Yoshiya Tanaka

Enhanced IL-34 expression in Nivolumab-resistant metastatic melanoma

Immunotherapies that target immune-checkpoint molecules such PD-1 have helped to achieve durable responses in melanoma treatment. However, 25% of melanoma patients who showed objective responses to PD-1 blocka...

Authors: Nanumi Han, Muhammad Baghdadi, Kozo Ishikawa, Hiraku Endo, Takuto Kobayashi, Haruka Wada, Keisuke Imafuku, Hiroo Hata and Ken-ichiro Seino

Piezoelectric smart biomaterials for bone and cartilage tissue engineering

Tissues like bone and cartilage are remodeled dynamically for their functional requirements by signaling pathways. The signals are controlled by the cells and extracellular matrix and transmitted through an el...

Authors: Jaicy Jacob, Namdev More, Kiran Kalia and Govinda Kapusetti

Circulating plasma microRNA profiling in patients with polymyositis/dermatomyositis before and after treatment: miRNA may be associated with polymyositis/dermatomyositis

MicroRNAs (miRNAs) are involved in the regulation of key biological processes and have been implicated in various diseases, including autoimmune disorders. The pathogenesis of polymyositis (PM) and dermatomyos...

Authors: Takuya Hirai, Keigo Ikeda, Hiroshi Tsushima, Maki Fujishiro, Kunihiro Hayakawa, Yuko Yoshida, Shinji Morimoto, Ken Yamaji, Yoshinari Takasaki, Kenji Takamori, Naoto Tamura and Iwao Sekigawa

Imaging of inflammation and regeneration: a novel trend dissecting dynamic features of biological phenomena in vivo

Authors: Masaru Ishii

Human LYPD8 protein inhibits motility of flagellated bacteria

We previously reported that the mouse Ly6/Plaur domain containing 8 (mLypd8), a GPI-anchored protein highly and selectively expressed on colonic epithelia, contributes to segregation of intestinal microbiota a...

Authors: Chiao-Ching Hsu, Ryu Okumura and Kiyoshi Takeda

Introduction of vasculature in engineered three-dimensional tissue

With recent developments in tissue engineering technology, various three-dimensional tissues can be generated now. However, as the tissue thickness increases due to three-dimensionalization, it is difficult to...

Authors: Sachiko Sekiya and Tatsuya Shimizu

Effects of CTLA4-Ig on human monocytes

Abatacept, a CTLA4-Ig fusion protein attenuates T cell activation by inhibiting the CD80/86-CD28 costimulatory pathway that is required for the proper T cell activation and thus displays beneficial effects in ...

Authors: Toshihiro Tono, Satoko Aihara, Takayuki Hoshiyama, Yoshiyuki Arinuma, Tatsuo Nagai and Shunsei Hirohata

Characterization of polydactyly-derived chondrocyte sheets versus adult chondrocyte sheets for articular cartilage repair

We previously conducted a first-in-human clinical study of articular cartilage repair using autologous chondrocyte sheets and confirmed the regeneration of hyaline-like cartilage in all eight patients. However...

Authors: Miki Maehara, Masato Sato, Eriko Toyoda, Takumi Takahashi, Eri Okada, Tomomi Kotoku and Masahiko Watanabe

Cell transfer technology for tissue engineering

We recently developed novel cell transplantation method “cell transfer technology” utilizing photolithography. Using this method, we can transfer ex vivo expanded cells onto scaffold material in desired patter...

Authors: Keiko Akazawa, Kengo Iwasaki, Mizuki Nagata, Naoki Yokoyama, Hirohito Ayame, Kazumasa Yamaki, Yuichi Tanaka, Izumi Honda, Chikako Morioka, Tsuyoshi Kimura, Motohiro Komaki, Akio Kishida, Yuichi Izumi and Ikuo Morita

Roles of nitric oxide and ethyl pyruvate after peripheral nerve injury

Short-lived reactive nitrogen species and reactive oxygen species have acquired significant attention in the field of biomedical science. Nitric oxide (NO), which was thought to be an unstable gas and pollutan...

Authors: Sandesh Panthi and Kripa Gautam

The crystal-induced activation of NLRP3 inflammasomes in atherosclerosis

Atherosclerosis is an inflammatory disease, which is accompanied by the deposition of cholesterol-rich lipids and the infiltration of macrophages. Other well-known features of atherosclerotic lesions include t...

Authors: Tadayoshi Karasawa and Masafumi Takahashi

Effects of acute exposure to low-dose radiation on the characteristics of human bone marrow mesenchymal stromal/stem cells

In recent years, increasing attention has been paid to the effects of low-dose irradiation on human health. We examined whether low-dose irradiation affected the functions of mesenchymal stromal/stem cells (MS...

Authors: Aya Fujishiro, Yasuo Miura, Masaki Iwasa, Sumie Fujii, Noriko Sugino, Akira Andoh, Hideyo Hirai, Taira Maekawa and Tatsuo Ichinohe

Resident fibroblasts in the kidney: a major driver of fibrosis and inflammation

Chronic kidney disease (CKD) is a leading cause of end stage renal disease (ESRD) and cardiovascular morbidity and mortality worldwide, resulting in a growing social and economic burden. The prevalence and bur...

Authors: Yuki Sato and Motoko Yanagita

Role of fibroblast growth factors in bone regeneration

Bone is a metabolically active organ that undergoes continuous remodeling throughout life. However, many complex skeletal defects such as large traumatic bone defects or extensive bone loss after tumor resecti...

Authors: Pornkawee Charoenlarp, Arun Kumar Rajendran and Sachiko Iseki

Pathophysiology and therapeutic potential of cardiac fibrosis

Inflammatory and fibrotic responses to myocardial damage are essential for cardiac repair; however, these responses often result in extensive fibrotic remodeling with impaired systolic function. Recent reports...

Authors: Hironori Hara, Norifumi Takeda and Issei Komuro

Regulation of blood vascular permeability in the skin

Regulation of blood vessel permeability is essential for the homeostasis of peripheral tissues. This regulation controls the trafficking of plasma contents, including water, vitamins, ions, hormones, cytokines...

Authors: Sachiko Ono, Gyohei Egawa and Kenji Kabashima

Clinical trials using mesenchymal stem cells in liver diseases and inflammatory bowel diseases

Mesenchymal stem cell (MSC) therapies have been used in clinical trials in various fields. These cells are easily expanded, show low immunogenicity, can be acquired from medical waste, and have multiple functi...

Authors: Atsunori Tsuchiya, Yuichi Kojima, Shunzo Ikarashi, Satoshi Seino, Yusuke Watanabe, Yuzo Kawata and Shuji Terai

Recent advances in the treatment of skin involvement in systemic sclerosis

Skin fibrosis is a devastating clinical condition commonly seen in skin-restricted and systemic disorders. The goal of skin fibrosis treatment is the restoration of abnormally activated dermal fibroblasts prod...

Authors: Yoshihide Asano

The etiopathogenesis of atopic dermatitis: barrier disruption, immunological derangement, and pruritus

Atopic dermatitis (AD) is a common chronic skin inflammatory disorder characterized by recurrent eczema accompanied by an intractable itch that leads to an impaired quality of life. Extensive recent studies ha...

Authors: Pawinee Rerknimitr, Atsushi Otsuka, Chisa Nakashima and Kenji Kabashima

Cancer cell reprogramming to identify the genes competent for generating liver cancer stem cells

The cancer stem cell (CSC) hypothesis postulates that cancer originates from the malignant transformation of stem/progenitor cells and is considered to apply to many cancers, including liver cancer. Identifica...

Authors: Kenly Wuputra, Chang-Shen Lin, Ming-Ho Tsai, Chia-Chen Ku, Wen-Hsin Lin, Ya-Han Yang, Kung-Kai Kuo and Kazunari K. Yokoyama

Applications of reconstituted inflammasomes in a cell-free system to drug discovery and elucidation of the pathogenesis of autoinflammatory diseases

The inflammasome, typically consisting of a Nod-like receptor, apoptosis-associated speck-like protein, and pro-caspase-1, has recently been identified as a huge intracellular complex, which plays a crucial ro...

Authors: Naoe Kaneko, Tomoyuki Iwasaki, Yuki Ito, Hiroyuki Takeda, Tatsuya Sawasaki, Shinnosuke Morikawa, Naoko Nakano, Mie Kurata and Junya Masumoto

Isolation of dental pulp stem cells with high osteogenic potential

Dental pulp stem cells/progenitor cells (DPSCs) can be easily obtained and can have excellent proliferative and mineralization potentials. Therefore, many studies have investigated the isolation and bone forma...

Authors: Takazumi Yasui, Yo Mabuchi, Satoru Morikawa, Katsuhiro Onizawa, Chihiro Akazawa, Taneaki Nakagawa, Hideyuki Okano and Yumi Matsuzaki

Pharmacological targeting of bone marrow mesenchymal stromal/stem cells for the treatment of hematological disorders

The therapeutic effects of mesenchymal stromal/stem cells (MSCs) are mainly based on three characteristics: immunomodulation, tissue regeneration, and hematopoietic support. Cell therapy using culture-expanded...

Authors: Noriko Sugino, Tatsuo Ichinohe, Akifumi Takaori-Kondo, Taira Maekawa and Yasuo Miura

The roles of RGMa-neogenin signaling in inflammation and angiogenesis

Repulsive guidance molecule (RGM) is a glycosylphosphatidylinositol (GPI)-anchored glycoprotein that has diverse functions in the developing and pathological central nervous system (CNS). The binding of RGM to...

Authors: Yuki Fujita and Toshihide Yamashita

Prostaglandin E₂-EP2 signaling as a node of chronic inflammation in the colon tumor microenvironment

Colorectal cancer is the third most common cancer. Involvement of prostaglandin (PG) system in the pathogenesis of colorectal cancer has been suggested from clinical studies demonstrating therapeutic effect of...

Authors: Tomohiro Aoki and Shuh Narumiya

Effect of human umbilical cord blood stem cell transplantation on oval cell response in 2-AAF/CCL4 liver injury model: experimental immunohistochemical study

Oval cells, specific liver progenitors, are activated in response to injury. The human umbilical cord blood (hUCB) is a possible source of transplantable hepatic progenitors and can be used in cases of severe ...

Authors: Hussein Abdellatif, Gamal Shiha, Dalia M. Saleh, Huda Eltahry and Kamal G. Botros

Epithelial stem cell culture: modeling human disease and applications for regenerative medicine

The inability to maintain the immaturity of stem cell populations in vitro restricts the long-term expansion of various types of human epithelial stem cells. However, recent technical advances in epithelial st...

Authors: Yusuke Yamamoto and Takahiro Ochiya

Quantitative assessment of angiogenesis and pericyte coverage in human cell-derived vascular sprouts

Pericytes, surrounding the endothelium, fulfill diverse functions that are crucial for vascular homeostasis. The loss of pericytes is associated with pathologies, such as diabetic retinopathy and Alzheimer’s d...

Authors: Jan Eglinger, Haiko Karsjens and Eckhard Lammert

Neuroprotective effects of human umbilical cord-derived mesenchymal stem cells on periventricular leukomalacia-like brain injury in neonatal rats

Periventricular leukomalacia (PVL) is a type of multifactorial brain injury that causes cerebral palsy in premature infants. To date, effective therapies for PVL have not been available. In this study, we exam...

Authors: Chikako Morioka, Motohiro Komaki, Atsuko Taki, Izumi Honda, Naoki Yokoyama, Kengo Iwasaki, Sachiko Iseki, Tomohiro Morio and Ikuo Morita

Dissecting cellular senescence and SASP in Drosophila

Cellular senescence can act as both tumor suppressor and tumor promoter depending on the cellular contexts. On one hand, premature senescence has been considered as an innate host defense mechanism against car...

Authors: Takao Ito and Tatsushi Igaki

Immunosuppressive effect of mesenchymal stem cell-derived exosomes on a concanavalin A-induced liver injury model

This study aimed to evaluate the effect of mesenchymal stem cell (MSC)-derived exosomes on an immune-induced liver injury model. MSCs show a unique function to modulate immune reaction although the molecular m...

Authors: Ryo Tamura, Shinji Uemoto and Yasuhiko Tabata

Organ dysfunction as a new standard for defining sepsis

Despite advances in intensive care and the widespread use of standardized care included in the Surviving Sepsis Campaign Guidelines, sepsis remains a leading cause of death, and the prevalence of sepsis increa...

Authors: Seitaro Fujishima

Heart regeneration for clinical application update 2016: from induced pluripotent stem cells to direct cardiac reprogramming

Cardiovascular disease remains a major cause of death for which current therapeutic regimens are limited. Following myocardial injury, endogenous cardiac fibroblasts, which account for more than half of the ce...

Authors: Hiroyuki Yamakawa

Liver regeneration and fibrosis after inflammation

The liver is a unique organ with an extraordinary capacity to regenerate upon various injuries. In acute and transient liver injury by insults such as chemical hepatotoxins, the liver in rodents returns to the...

Authors: Minoru Tanaka and Atsushi Miyajima

The pathophysiological role of acute inflammation after spinal cord injury

Traumatic spinal cord injury (SCI) causes irreparable severe motor and sensory dysfunction. Mechanical trauma rapidly leads to blood-spinal cord barrier disruption, neural cell death, axonal damage, and demyel...

Authors: Seiji Okada

Inflammation and regeneration in cross-organs

Authors: Seiji Okada and Toru Ogata

Inflammatory responses in the initiation of lung repair and regeneration: their role in stimulating lung resident stem cells

The lungs are the primary organs for respiration, the process by which carbon dioxide and oxygen are exchanged. The alveolus, which is the site of gas exchange in the lungs, consists of multiple cell types inc...

Authors: Mitsuhiro Yamada, Naoya Fujino and Masakazu Ichinose

Receptor-associated prorenin system contributes to development of inflammation and angiogenesis in proliferative diabetic retinopathy

The renin-angiotensin system (RAS) plays a potential role in the development of end-organ damage, and tissue RAS activation has been suggested as a risk factor of several diseases including diabetes. So far, u...

Authors: Atsuhiro Kanda and Susumu Ishida

Age-related sarcopenia and its pathophysiological bases

Age-related loss of the skeletal muscle and its function is known as sarcopenia. Definition and diagnostic criteria for sarcopenia have been outlined as consensus statements from several study groups, includin...

Authors: Sumito Ogawa, Mitsutaka Yakabe and Masahiro Akishita