Articles

Amyloid β directly interacts with NLRP3 to initiate inflammasome activation: identification of an intrinsic NLRP3 ligand in a cell-free system

Alzheimer’s disease is a neurodegenerative disease characterized by the interstitial deposition of amyloid β (Aβ) plaque, which is thought to be related to chronic neuroinflammation. Aβ is known to make fibril...

Authors: Ayaka Nakanishi, Naoe Kaneko, Hiroyuki Takeda, Tatsuya Sawasaki, Shinnosuke Morikawa, Wei Zhou, Mie Kurata, Toshihiro Yamamoto, Sheikh Mohammad Fazle Akbar, Tamotsu Zako and Junya Masumoto

Transcriptome analysis of peripheral blood from patients with rheumatoid arthritis: a systematic review

In the era of precision medicine, transcriptome analysis of whole gene expression is an essential technology. While DNA microarray has a limited dynamic range and a problem of background hybridization, RNA seq...

Authors: Shuji Sumitomo, Yasuo Nagafuchi, Yumi Tsuchida, Haruka Tsuchiya, Mineto Ota, Kazuyoshi Ishigaki, Akari Suzuki, Yuta Kochi, Keishi Fujio and Kazuhiko Yamamoto

Biological functions of 12(S)-hydroxyheptadecatrienoic acid as a ligand of leukotriene B₄ receptor 2

Although 12(S)-hydroxyheptadecatrienoic acid (12-HHT) is an abundant fatty acid, it is long considered a byproduct of thromboxane A₂ production. We identified a leukotriene B₄ receptor 2 (BLT2)-specific agonistic...

Authors: Toshiaki Okuno and Takehiko Yokomizo

PINK1-PARK2-mediated mitophagy in COPD and IPF pathogeneses

Mitochondria regulate not only cell functions through energy generation but also aging-associated cell phenotypes. Impaired mitochondrial structural and functional integrity accompanied by excessive mitochondr...

Authors: Kazuya Tsubouchi, Jun Araya and Kazuyoshi Kuwano

Human iPS cell-engineered three-dimensional cardiac tissues perfused by capillary networks between host and graft

Stem cell-based cardiac regenerative therapy is expected to be a promising strategy for the treatment of severe heart diseases. Pluripotent stem cells enabled us to reconstruct regenerated myocardium in injure...

Authors: Hidetoshi Masumoto and Jun K. Yamashita

Considerations in hiPSC-derived cartilage for articular cartilage repair

A lack of cell or tissue sources hampers regenerative medicine for articular cartilage damage.

Authors: Akihiro Yamashita, Yoshihiro Tamamura, Miho Morioka, Peter Karagiannis, Nobuyuki Shima and Noriyuki Tsumaki

Endocannabinoids and related N-acylethanolamines: biological activities and metabolism

The plant Cannabis sativa contains cannabinoids represented by Δ⁹-tetrahydrocannabinol, which exert psychoactivity and immunomodulation through cannabinoid CB1 and CB2 receptors, respectively, in animal tissues. ...

Authors: Kazuhito Tsuboi, Toru Uyama, Yasuo Okamoto and Natsuo Ueda

Myeloid-derived suppressor cells in non-neoplastic inflamed organs

Myeloid-derived suppressor cells (MDSCs) are a highly heterogeneous population of immature myeloid cells with immunosuppressive function. Although their function in tumor-bearing conditions is well studied, le...

Authors: Sho Sendo, Jun Saegusa and Akio Morinobu

Morphology regulation in vascular endothelial cells

Morphological change in endothelial cells is an initial and crucial step in the process of establishing a functional vascular network. Following or associated with differentiation and proliferation, endothelia...

Authors: Kiyomi Tsuji-Tamura and Minetaro Ogawa

M cell-dependent antigen uptake on follicle-associated epithelium for mucosal immune surveillance

The follicle-associated epithelium (FAE) covering mucosa-associated lymphoid tissue is distinct from the villous epithelium in cellular composition and functions. Interleukin-22 binding protein (IL-22BP), prov...

Authors: Yutaka Nakamura, Shunsuke Kimura and Koji Hase

Linagliptin inhibits lipopolysaccharide-induced inflammation in human U937 monocytes

Atherosclerosis and inflammation are more common in patients with diabetes than in patients without diabetes, and atherosclerosis progression contributes to inflammation. Therefore, anti-inflammatory therapy i...

Authors: Shiho Yamadera, Yuya Nakamura, Masahiro Inagaki, Sachiyo Kenmotsu, Tetsuhito Nohara, Naoki Sato, Tatsunori Oguchi, Mayumi Tsuji, Isao Ohsawa, Hiromichi Gotoh, Yoshikazu Goto, Akihiko Yura, Yuji Kiuchi and Shinichi Iwai

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