Article
Biochemistry & Molecular Biology
Xiaomeng Gao, Jingyue Chang, Yi Chang, Lili Fan, Ziqian Liu, Cuijuan Zhang, Tatsuo Shimosawa, Fan Yang, Qingyou Xu
Summary: Renal fibrosis, a common process in chronic kidney disease (CKD), is influenced by angiogenesis. Vascular endothelial cells contribute to renal fibrosis through phenotypic transformation and extracellular matrix secretion. Aldosterone, an inflammatory mediator, stimulates angiogenesis via mineralocorticoid receptor (MR) activation. Clinical evidence suggests that MR blockers (MRBs) protect damaged kidneys possibly by inhibiting angiogenesis. In this study, aldosterone infusion in mice induced angiogenesis and endothelial-mesenchymal transition (EndMT), highlighting their involvement in renal fibrosis. Aldosterone induced inflammation and macrophages secreted vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF)-A to regulate angiogenesis through MR activation, while EndMT occurred in response to transforming growth factor (TGF)-β1 induction, contributing to renal fibrosis. These effects were counteracted by the MRB esaxerenone. These findings suggest that reducing angiogenesis may be an effective strategy for treating renal fibrosis.
INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF MOLECULAR SCIENCES
(2023)
Article
Pharmacology & Pharmacy
Peter Kolkhof, Amer Joseph, Ulrich Kintscher
Summary: Over the past 30 years, there has been significant progress in understanding the role of aldosterone and mineralocorticoid receptor in cardiovascular and kidney diseases. Ongoing research is focused on developing safer and more effective nonsteroidal MR antagonists.
PHARMACOLOGICAL RESEARCH
(2021)
Review
Urology & Nephrology
Nobuhiro Ayuzawa, Toshiro Fujita
Summary: Hypertension and its comorbidities are major public health concerns related to modern lifestyle factors. Aldosterone and its receptor, MR, play crucial roles in salt-sensitive hypertension and renal injuries. Obesity-related overproduction of aldosterone and ligand-independent signaling are identified as novel mechanisms of MR activation.
JOURNAL OF THE AMERICAN SOCIETY OF NEPHROLOGY
(2021)
Article
Peripheral Vascular Disease
Daigoro Hirohama, Mitsuhiro Nishimoto, Nobuhiro Ayuzawa, Wakako Kawarazaki, Wataru Fujii, Shigeyoshi Oba, Shigeru Shibata, Takeshi Marumo, Toshiro Fujita
Summary: The study revealed that the activation of the Rac1-MR pathway contributes to the progression of DKD by causing hypertension and podocyte injury, highlighting MR antagonism and Rac1 inhibition as a novel strategy for DKD treatment.
Article
Pharmacology & Pharmacy
Qian Lu, Chao Jiang, Jialong Hou, Hao Qian, Feifan Chu, Weiqi Zhang, Mengke Ye, Ziyi Chen, Jian Liu, Hanbing Yao, Jianfeng Zhang, Jiake Xu, Te Wang, Shunwu Fan, Qingqing Wang
Summary: The incidence of osteoporosis is increasing, especially in postmenopausal women. Patchouli alcohol (PA), a natural compound with anti-inflammatory effects, has shown inhibitory effects on osteoclasts and may be a potential treatment for osteoporosis in the future.
FRONTIERS IN PHARMACOLOGY
(2021)
Review
Biochemistry & Molecular Biology
Michael Crompton, Laura J. Skinner, Simon C. Satchell, Matthew J. Butler
Summary: The renin angiotensin aldosterone system plays a crucial role in blood pressure regulation. Excessive stimulation of mineralocorticoid receptors by aldosterone can lead to various pathological effects in the heart, kidney, and endothelial cells. In this article, we discussed the association between hyperaldosteronism and fibrosis, cardiac dysfunction, maladaptive hypertrophy, proteinuria, and fibrosis. We also reviewed how aldosterone exposure damages the endothelial glycocalyx and suggested that preventing glycocalyx remodeling may offer a novel strategy for limiting endothelial damage.
Article
Urology & Nephrology
Murray Epstein
Summary: Understanding the mechanisms of action of aldosterone and its interaction with the mineralocorticoid receptor (MR) provides a theoretical framework to predict the therapeutic potential of MR antagonists (MRAs) in CKD and heart failure. Recent studies have shown that aldosterone plays a wider role in modulating inflammation, collagen formation, fibrosis, and necrosis, beyond its initial focus on renal excretory function. Blockade of the MR is being investigated as a novel treatment to slow the progression of CKD, as demonstrated in the FIDELIO-DKD study.
AMERICAN JOURNAL OF NEPHROLOGY
(2021)
Article
Peripheral Vascular Disease
Hiroko Ogata, Yuto Yamazaki, Yuta Tezuka, Xin Gao, Kei Omata, Yoshikiyo Ono, Yoshihide Kawasaki, Tomoaki Tanaka, Hidekazu Nagano, Norio Wada, Yutaka Oki, Akira Ikeya, Kenji Oki, Yoshiyu Takeda, Mitsuhiro Kometani, Kazunori Kageyama, Ken Terui, Celso E. Gomez-Sanchez, Shujun Liu, Ryo Morimoto, Kensuke Joh, Hiroshi Sato, Mariko Miyazaki, Akihiro Ito, Yoichi Arai, Yasuhiro Nakamura, Sadayoshi Ito, Fumitoshi Satoh, Hironobu Sasano
Summary: Research found that patients with hyperaldosteronism have more pronounced renal damage, characterized by global and segmental glomerulosclerosis, interstitial fibrosis, arteriosclerosis, and arteriolar hyalinization. These results suggest the potential clinical significance of early intervention using mineralocorticoid receptor antagonists or blockers.
Article
Peripheral Vascular Disease
Ryo Nakamaru, Koichi Yamamoto, Hiroshi Akasaka, Hiromi Rakugi, Isao Kurihara, Takashi Yoneda, Takamasa Ichijo, Takuyuki Katabami, Mika Tsuiki, Norio Wada, Tetsuya Yamada, Hiroki Kobayashi, Kouichi Tamura, Yoshihiro Ogawa, Junji Kawashima, Nobuya Inagaki, Megumi Fujita, Kenji Oki, Kohei Kamemura, Akiyo Tanabe, Mitsuhide Naruse
Summary: The study found that female patients with bilateral primary aldosteronism have worse renal outcomes compared to male patients after receiving mineralocorticoid receptor antagonist treatment. Despite similar systolic blood pressure levels between the sexes, women experienced a greater decline in estimated glomerular filtration rate, especially during the late phase of 6 to 60 months post-treatment initiation.
Article
Pharmacology & Pharmacy
Huijiang Liu, Ronghe Gu, Qian Huang, Yun Liu, Chong Liu, Shijie Liao, Wenyu Feng, Tianyu Xie, Jinmin Zhao, Jiake Xu, Qian Liu, Xinli Zhan
Summary: This study found that isoliensinine can inhibit the differentiation of osteoclasts and reduce bone loss, showing great potential for treating osteoporosis.
FRONTIERS IN PHARMACOLOGY
(2022)
Article
Peripheral Vascular Disease
Sho Katsuragawa, Atsushi Goto, Satoru Shinoda, Kosuke Inoue, Kazuki Nakai, Jun Saito, Tetsuo Nishikawa, Yuya Tsurutani
Summary: The study suggests that reversing renin suppression with optimal mineralocorticoid receptor antagonist titration may help mitigate adverse renal outcomes in medically treated primary aldosteronism patients.
Article
Cell Biology
Ya Gao, Boting Xi, Jiani Li, Zimeng Li, Jie Xu, Mingli Zhong, Qiongmei Xu, Yuanyu Lian, Riming Wei, Liping Wang, Houkang Cao, Ling Jin, Kefeng Zhang, Jianghui Dong
Summary: This study demonstrated that scoparone alleviates hepatic fibrosis by inhibiting the TLR-4/NF-κB signaling pathway, with the most significant effect observed at high doses.
JOURNAL OF CELLULAR PHYSIOLOGY
(2021)
Article
Peripheral Vascular Disease
Benjamin Bonnard, Soumaya El Moghrabi, Kohei Ueda, Lionel Lattenist, Matthieu Soulie, Natalia Lopez-Andres, Constance Xhaard, Tatsuo Shimosawa, Patrick Rossignol, Frederic Jaisser
Summary: Our study highlights the correlation between NGAL/lcn2 with blood pressure and urinary sodium excretion, and its important role in salt-sensitive hypertension. NGAL/lcn2 modulates the activity of the renal sodium transporter NCC, thereby affecting sodium balance and blood pressure control.
Article
Urology & Nephrology
Guibao Ke, Xueqin Chen, Ruyi Liao, Lixia Xu, Li Zhang, Hong Zhang, Sujuan Kuang, Yue Du, Juan Hu, Zhiwen Lian, Caoshuai Dou, Qianmei Zhang, Xingchen Zhao, Fengxia Zhang, Shuangshuang Zhu, Jianchao Ma, Zhuo Li, Sijia Li, Chaosheng He, Xia Chen, Yingzhen Wen, Zhonglin Feng, Minghao Zheng, Ting Lin, Ruizhao Li, Bohou Li, Wei Dong, Yuanhan Chen, Wenjian Wang, Zhiming Ye, Chunyu Deng, Houqin Xiao, Jie Xiao, Xinling Liang, Wei Shi, Shuangxin Liu
Summary: The expression of Receptor activator of NF-kappa B (RANK) is increased in podocytes of patients with diabetic nephropathy. Mouse models of podocyte-specific RANK depletion and overexpression showed that RANK depletion alleviated the development of kidney diseases, while RANK overexpression aggravated the condition. The findings suggest that RANK mediates the development of diabetic nephropathy by promoting glomerular oxidative stress and proinflammatory cytokine production.
KIDNEY INTERNATIONAL
(2021)
Article
Peripheral Vascular Disease
Vadym Buncha, Alena Cherezova, Sati Alexander, Irina Baranovskaya, Kathleen A. Coleman, Mary Cherian-Shaw, Michael W. Brands, Jennifer C. Sullivan, Paul M. O'Connor, Mykola Mamenko
Summary: In female rats, the MR-ENaC axis plays a crucial role in determining AngII-dependent hypertension, while its effects are limited in males.
Article
Cardiac & Cardiovascular Systems
Tomohisa Sakaue, Mika Hamaguchi, Jun Aono, Koh-ichi Nakashiro, Fumiaki Shikata, Natsuki Kawakami, Yusuke Oshima, Mie Kurata, Daisuke Nanba, Junya Masumoto, Osamu Yamaguchi, Shigeki Higashiyama, Hironori Izutani
ANNALS OF THORACIC SURGERY
(2020)
Article
Radiology, Nuclear Medicine & Medical Imaging
Kanako Okada, Megumi Matsuda, Takaharu Tsuda, Teruhito Kido, Akihiro Murata, Hikaru Nishiyama, Kanako Nishiyama, Haruna Yamasawa, Yoshiaki Kamei, Mie Kurata, Mana Fukushima, Riko Kitazawa, Teruhito Mochizuki
JAPANESE JOURNAL OF RADIOLOGY
(2020)
Article
Clinical Neurology
Akihiro Inoue, Takanori Ohnishi, Shohei Kohno, Shiro Ohue, Masahiro Nishikawa, Satoshi Suehiro, Shirabe Matsumoto, Saya Ozaki, Mana Fukushima, Mie Kurata, Riko Kitazawa, Seiji Shigekawa, Hideaki Watanabe, Takeharu Kunieda
Summary: GBM largely caused by GSCs that cannot be fully removed during surgery; Met-PET imaging helps identify areas with infiltrating GSCs and active tumor cells; aggressive surgical excision including Met-positive areas at TNR 1.4 is recommended for maximum resection of GBMs.
NEUROSURGICAL REVIEW
(2021)
Article
Multidisciplinary Sciences
Naoe Kaneko, Mie Kurata, Toshihiro Yamamoto, Tomonari Shigemura, Kazunaga Agematsu, Takashi Yamazaki, Hiroyuki Takeda, Tatsuya Sawasaki, Tomohiro Koga, Atsushi Kawakami, Akihiro Yachie, Kiyoshi Migita, Koh-ichiro Yoshiura, Takeshi Urano, Junya Masumoto
SCIENTIFIC REPORTS
(2020)
Article
Radiology, Nuclear Medicine & Medical Imaging
Megumi Matsuda, Takaharu Tsuda, Rui Ebihara, Wataru Toshimori, Shiori Takeda, Kanako Okada, Kaori Nakasuka, Yasuhiro Shiraishi, Hiroshi Suekuni, Yoshiaki Kamei, Mie Kurata, Riko Kitazawa, Teruhito Mochizuki, Teruhito Kido
Summary: The study evaluated the diagnostic value of combining DCE-MRI and synthetic MRI in differentiating between benign and malignant breast masses, with the findings showing that the T(1) relaxation time acquired by synthetic MRI was a significant quantitative value for differentiation. The AUC for the combination of DCE-MRI + Synthetic MRI was significantly higher than that of DCE-MRI or synthetic MRI alone, especially for category 4 masses.
JOURNAL OF MAGNETIC RESONANCE IMAGING
(2021)
Editorial Material
Cardiac & Cardiovascular Systems
Haruhiko Higashi, Takashi Nishimura, Jun Aono, Tomohisa Sakaue, Mie Kurata, Hironori Izutani, Osamu Yamaguchi
Summary: Additional digital content is available in the text.
CIRCULATION-HEART FAILURE
(2021)
Article
Biology
Toshiki Ochi, Masaki Maruta, Kazushi Tanimoto, Fumitake Kondo, Toshihiro Yamamoto, Mie Kurata, Hiroshi Fujiwara, Junya Masumoto, Katsuto Takenaka, Masaki Yasukawa
Summary: Ochi et al. have established a system to generate and screen a library of CAR-T cells expressing different immunoglobulin variable regions, which can enhance the anti-tumour activities of CAR-T cells in vivo. By optimizing the variable region of CAR-T cells, target-specific recognition can be fine-tuned, resulting in better proliferation capacity and durable phenotypes against advanced tumors.
COMMUNICATIONS BIOLOGY
(2021)
Article
Urology & Nephrology
Ayu Makita, Tomoaki Nagao, Ken-ichi Miyoshi, Yohei Koizumi, Mie Kurata, Fumikazu Kondo, Satoru Shichijo, Masashi Hirooka, Osamu Yamaguchi
Summary: Real-time tissue elastography is a promising, non-invasive method for assessing renal fibrosis in patients with CKD, showing a significant positive correlation between renal elasticity and the grade of renal fibrosis.
CLINICAL AND EXPERIMENTAL NEPHROLOGY
(2021)
Article
Radiology, Nuclear Medicine & Medical Imaging
Megumi Matsuda, Takaharu Tsuda, Rui Ebihara, Wataru Toshimori, Kanako Okada, Shiori Takeda, Aya Okumura, Yasuhiro Shiraishi, Hiroshi Suekuni, Yoshiaki Kamei, Mie Kurata, Riko Kitazawa, Teruhito Mochizuki, Teruhito Kido
Summary: Pre-T2 obtained using synthetic MRI and P-RIM identified on DCE-MRI were significant and independent predictors of TNBC, with the combination of Pre-T2 and P-RIM showing higher ability to distinguish between TNBCs and non-TNBCs compared to using either Pre-T2 or P-RIM alone. These results suggest the potential of using specific imaging features to differentiate between TNBC and non-TNBC, but further studies are needed for verification.
EUROPEAN JOURNAL OF RADIOLOGY
(2021)
Article
Endocrinology & Metabolism
Ryuta Watanabe, Masashi Maekawa, Takeshi Kiyoi, Mie Kurata, Noriyoshi Miura, Tadahiko Kikugawa, Shigeki Higashiyama, Takashi Saika
Summary: It was found that PSMA-positive tumor endothelial cells exist in some prostate cancer patients, enhancing tumor angiogenesis in prostate cancer tissues. In vitro experiments showed that the 10,000g pellet fraction of the LNCaP-derived CM containing PSMA-positive microvesicles transformed PSMA-negative HUVECs and significantly promoted tube formation, mimicking angiogenesis.
Article
Surgery
Takeshi Utsunomiya, Katsunori Sakamoto, Daiki Tsukamoto, Mikiya Shine, Yusuke Nishi, Takashi Matsui, Kei Tamura, Hitoshi Inoue, Akihiro Takai, Kohei Ogawa, Kotaro Sunago, Yoichi Hiasa, Nobuhiko Sakao, Hisayuki Shigematsu, Yoshifumi Sano, Mie Kurata, Mana Fukushima, Riko Kitazawa, Sohei Kitazawa, Yasutsugu Takada
Summary: A 56-year-old woman presented with acute abdomen due to a rupture of a synchronous metastatic liver tumor secondary to a thymoma. After surgical treatment and thymectomy, the patient had no tumor recurrence at 30 months post-treatment. Careful preoperative management and aggressive treatment may improve the prognosis of patients with this rare condition.
JOURNAL OF SURGICAL CASE REPORTS
(2021)
Article
Biochemistry & Molecular Biology
Kaho Kanno, Tomohisa Sakaue, Mika Hamaguchi, Kenji Namiguchi, Daisuke Nanba, Jun Aono, Mie Kurata, Junya Masumoto, Shigeki Higashiyama, Hironori Izutani
Summary: The study suggests that culturing aortic valve interstitial cells (VICs) under 2% hypoxia conditions can promote cell growth and prevent oxidative stress-induced cellular senescence. Additionally, hypoxic conditions lead to cell cycle acceleration and upregulation of key genes.
INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF MOLECULAR SCIENCES
(2021)
Review
Immunology
Junya Masumoto, Wei Zhou, Shinnosuke Morikawa, Sho Hosokawa, Haruka Taguchi, Toshihiro Yamamoto, Mie Kurata, Naoe Kaneko
Summary: This review explores the molecular mechanisms underlying several autoinflammatory diseases, which are typically associated with dysregulation of pattern recognition receptors and can lead to inflammasomopathies, relopathies, interferonopathies, and proteasome-associated autoinflammatory syndromes.
INFLAMMATION AND REGENERATION
(2021)
Review
Oncology
Takaharu Yoshimatsu, Kozo Nagai, Reiji Miyawaki, Kyoko Moritani, Kazuhiro Ohkubo, Jun Kuwabara, Kyosuke Tatsuta, Mie Kurata, Mana Fukushima, Riko Kitazawa, Junpei Hamada, Fumihiro Ochi, Minenori Eguchi-Ishimae, Hisamichi Tauchi, Mariko Eguchi
CASE REPORTS IN ONCOLOGY
(2020)
Article
Oncology
Akihiro Inoue, Takanori Ohnishi, Shohei Kohno, Shirabe Matsumoto, Masahiro Nishikawa, Shiro Ohue, Saya Ozaki, Satoshi Suehiro, Mie Kurata, Mana Fukushima, Riko Kitazawa, Seiji Shigekawa, Hideaki Watanabe, Takeharu Kunieda
INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF CLINICAL AND EXPERIMENTAL PATHOLOGY
(2019)