Article
Biochemistry & Molecular Biology
Genta Kamiya, Nobuo Kitada, Tadaomi Furuta, Takashi Hirano, Shojiro Maki, Sung Bae Kim
Summary: The present study introduces a unique BL signature imaging system with novel CTZ analogues named C-series. It examines the BL intensity patterns and spectra of nine C-series CTZ analogues according to marine luciferases. The results show that four CTZ analogues, C3, C4, C6, and C7, luminesce with distinctive BL spectral signatures and intensity patterns according to different luciferases. These findings provide a unique methodology to specify each signal in a single- or multi-reporter system using unique BL signatures and patterns of reporter luciferases.
INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF MOLECULAR SCIENCES
(2022)
Article
Biochemical Research Methods
Joshua Philippe Olorocisimo, Jeric Briones, Kiyotaka Sasagawa, Makito Haruta, Hironari Takehara, Hiroyuki Tashiro, Norihiro Ishida-Kitagawa, Yasumasa Bessho, Jun Ohta
Summary: The study aims to develop smaller, more cost-effective, and versatile imaging capabilities for gene expression analysis compared with conventional devices. By using a bioluminescence reporter-based approach and micro-CMOS image sensors, the researchers achieved lower dark current, lower temporal noise, and higher sensitivity in imaging living mammalian cells. These improvements make it possible to measure bioluminescence reporter-based gene expression and potentially use the device for in vivo applications like simultaneous gene expression imaging, behavioral analysis, and optogenetic modulation.
JOURNAL OF BIOMEDICAL OPTICS
(2021)
Article
Biochemistry & Molecular Biology
Gaku Mizuno, Daichi Yano, Jose Paitio, Hiromitsu Endo, Yuichi Oba
Summary: The lantern shark genus Etmopterus consists of approximately 40 species of bioluminescent cartilaginous fishes that emit blue light mainly from their ventral body surface. This study detected both coelenterazine and coelenterazine-dependent luciferase activity in the ventral photophore tissue of Etmopterus molleri, suggesting that bioluminescence in lantern sharks is produced using coelenterazine as a substrate for the luciferin-luciferase reaction, similar to some luminous bony fishes.
BIOCHEMICAL AND BIOPHYSICAL RESEARCH COMMUNICATIONS
(2021)
Article
Biochemistry & Molecular Biology
Daichi Yano, Manabu Bessho-Uehara, Jose Paitio, Masakazu Iwasaka, Yuichi Oba
Summary: Research suggests that the luciferase of lanternfish may consist of 14-3-3 proteins, which share similar molecular weights and properties. The addition of specific compounds could potentially inhibit the luciferase activity.
PHOTOCHEMICAL & PHOTOBIOLOGICAL SCIENCES
(2022)
Article
Biochemistry & Molecular Biology
Genta Kamiya, Nobuo Kitada, Tadaomi Furuta, Takashi Hirano, Shojiro A. Maki, Sung-Bae Kim
Summary: A unique combinatorial bioluminescence imaging system was developed to determine molecular events in mammalian cells. This system utilizes various colors and BL intensity patterns by using reporter luciferases and novel coelenterazine analogues. The synthesized substrates showed unique specificity and BL intensity patterns with marine luciferases, enabling the identification of different reporters and ligand-specific fold intensities in mammalian cells.
INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF MOLECULAR SCIENCES
(2023)
Article
Biochemistry & Molecular Biology
Sung-Bae Kim, Ryo Nishihara, Ramasamy Paulmurugan
Summary: We identified the best resonance energy donor for near infrared bioluminescence resonance energy transfer (NIR-BRET) templates and achieved high sensitivity in monitoring molecular events in cells. The established templates, fused with fluorescent proteins, showed a large blue-to-red shift and were used in new NIR-BRET systems for imaging steroid hormone activities. The NIR-BRET systems demonstrated specific luminescence signals upon exposure to different steroid hormones.
INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF MOLECULAR SCIENCES
(2023)
Article
Biology
Svetlana V. Markova, Marina D. Larionova, Igor A. Korotov, Eugene S. Vysotski
Summary: We have identified the minimal sequence required for the bioluminescent activity of copepod luciferases from Metridia longa and Gaussia princeps. This sequence displays high homology with other copepod luciferases, suggesting that the boundaries of the catalytic domain are the same for all known copepod luciferases. We have also demonstrated the involvement of the flexible C-terminus in retaining the bioluminescent reaction product and the successful use of a shortened mutant as a miniature bioluminescent reporter in living cells.
Article
Biochemistry & Molecular Biology
Shusei Kanie, Mami Komatsu, Yasuo Mitani
Summary: Lucensosergia lucens lacks known or homologous coelenterazine-dependent luciferase genes, but RNA-Seq analysis suggests the presence of unknown proteinaceous components for coelenterazine luminescence.
BIOSCIENCE BIOTECHNOLOGY AND BIOCHEMISTRY
(2022)
Article
Chemistry, Analytical
Aaiyas Mujawar, Pratham Phadte, Ksenia A. Palkina, Nadezhda M. Markina, Ameena Mohammad, Bhushan L. Thakur, Karen S. Sarkisyan, Anastasia V. Balakireva, Pritha Ray, Ilia Yamplosky, Abhijit De
Summary: This study presents the development of a humanized luciferase imaging reporter based on a mushroom luciferase called Luz. In vitro and in vivo assessments demonstrate that the human-codon-optimized Luz has higher activity than native Luz in cancer cell types. The importance of live cell multiplexed measurement of gene regulatory function using more than two luciferases is suggested to address realistic situations in disease biology.
Review
Chemistry, Multidisciplinary
Aisha J. Syed, James C. Anderson
Summary: Bioluminescence is a natural phenomenon where living creatures produce light through a reaction between luciferin and luciferase. Various luciferin-luciferase pairs have different applications, such as gene assays and drug discovery. In recent years, bioluminescence has found increasing applications in biomedicine, including photodynamic therapy and neuron control.
CHEMICAL SOCIETY REVIEWS
(2021)
Article
Chemistry, Analytical
Sung-Bae Kim, Tadaomi Furuta, Nobuo Kitada, Shojiro A. A. Maki
Summary: A series of new artificial luciferases (ALucs) were created by compensating missing peptide blocks in the alignment of existing ALuc sequences. These new ALucs formed an independent branch genetically isolated from other natural marine luciferases and showed bioluminescent properties in living mammalian cells. The success of this study can provide new insights into engineering and functionalizing marine luciferases for various applications in bioassays and molecular imaging.
Review
Chemistry, Analytical
Mina Oliayi, Rahman Emamzadeh, Mojgan Rastegar, Mahboobeh Nazari
Summary: For many years, researchers have been using protein-fragment complementation assay (PCA) approaches to study protein-protein interactions in various areas. NanoLuc (NLuc), a smaller and brighter engineered luciferase, has emerged as a beneficial reporter in PCA. Two split NLuc systems, including binary and ternary NLuc, have been reported. While the binary NLuc system NanoBiT® has been extensively used, the application of the ternary NLuc has been limited. However, the ternary NLuc has the potential to become a multifunctional and powerful tool, despite its drawbacks and challenges. This review focuses on various aspects of the ternary NLuc and provides a brief comparison with NanoBiT®.
ANALYTICAL METHODS
(2023)
Article
Biochemistry & Molecular Biology
Sung-Bae Kim, Tadaomi Furuta, Yuki Ohmuro-Matsuyama, Nobuo Kitada, Ryo Nishihara, Shojiro A. Maki
Summary: In this study, a near-infrared bioluminescence (BL) imaging system was developed using copepod luciferases ALuc30 and its miniaturized version picALuc. The system was characterized and analyzed with different coelenterazine analogues and Cy5. The results showed that picALuc-based system enhances BL intensities in the red and NIR region, while both ALuc30- and picALuc-based systems exhibit unique spectral bands in the NIR region with a Cy5-conjugated coelenterazine analogue.
PHOTOCHEMICAL & PHOTOBIOLOGICAL SCIENCES
(2023)
Article
Chemistry, Analytical
Mu-Shen Chang, Chia-Yi Lee, En-Shuo Liu, Hsuan Chao, Hsin-Yu Wu, Yu-Yen Chang, Yen-Ling Liu, Yu-Tung Chen, Yu-Cheng Su, Yeng-Tseng Wang, Tian-Lu Cheng, Chia-Hung Yen, Cheng-Wei Lin, Hsin-Kai Huang, Wen-Wei Lin
Summary: Researchers have developed a new gene reporter system called mHRP, which uses a cell membrane-expressed HRP to preserve enzymatic activity on the cell surface, avoiding cell lysis and the use of expensive luciferase substrates. The mHRP system provides stable detection signals and has a longer substrate half-life.
ANALYTICAL CHEMISTRY
(2023)
Article
Biochemistry & Molecular Biology
Yuki Ohmuro-Matsuyama, Tadaomi Furuta, Hayato Matsui, Masaki Kanai, Hiroshi Ueda
Summary: Luciferases are widely used as sensitive reporters in various fields. Scientists have been working on improving their brightness and stability. A smaller, brighter, and more stable luciferase called picALuc has been developed and shown to have advantages in bioluminescence resonance energy transfer-based assays.
ACS CHEMICAL BIOLOGY
(2022)
Article
Urology & Nephrology
Takafumi Yanagisawa, Shun Sato, Yasushi Hayashida, Yohei Okada, Kosuke Iwatani, Akihiro Matsukawa, Takahiro Kimura, Hiroyuki Takahashi, Shin Egawa, Shahrokh F. Shariat, Jun Miki
Summary: The clinical significance of repeat transurethral resection (reTUR) and surgical margin status after en bloc resection of bladder tumor (ERBT) for pathological T1 (pT1) bladder cancer was assessed. It was found that reTUR did not improve recurrence or progression after ERBT for pT1 bladder cancer. Surgical margin status affected prognosis and reTUR outcomes.
Editorial Material
Oncology
Takafumi Yanagisawa, Akihiro Matsukawa, Kosuke Iwatani, Shun Sato, Yasushi Hayashida, Yohei Okada, Takashi Yorozu, Wataru Fukuokaya, Keigo Sakanaka, Fumihiko Urabe, Shoji Kimura, Shunsuke Tsuzuki, Masayuki Shimoda, Hiroyuki Takahashi, Jun Miki, Shahrokh F. Shariat, Takahiro Kimura
ANNALS OF SURGICAL ONCOLOGY
(2023)
Letter
Urology & Nephrology
Takafumi Yanagisawa, Jun Miki, Shun Sato, Hiroyuki Takahashi, Shahrokh F. Shariat, Takahiro Kimura
Review
Urology & Nephrology
Takafumi Yanagisawa, Tatsushi Kawada, Hadi Mostafaei, Reza Sari Motlagh, Fahad Quhal, Ekaterina Laukhtina, Pawel Rajwa, Markus von Deimling, Alberto Bianchi, Maximilian Pallauf, Benjamin Pradere, Pierre I. Karakiewicz, Jun Miki, Takahiro Kimura, Shahrokh F. Shariat
Summary: This study aimed to assess the clinical value of routine pelvic drain (PD) placement and early removal of urethral catheter (UC) in patients undergoing robot-assisted radical prostatectomy (RARP). The results showed that routine PD placement has no benefit and early removal of UC may increase the risk of urinary retention.
Review
Urology & Nephrology
Takafumi Yanagisawa, Tatsushi Kawada, Markus von Deimling, Ekaterina Laukhtina, Takahiro Kimura, Shahrokh F. Shariat
Summary: This review comprehensively summarizes the evidence on the diagnostic, prognostic, and therapeutic impact of lymph node dissection (LND) during radical nephroureterectomy (RNU) in upper tract urothelial carcinoma (UTUC) patients. The studies show that LND is important for accurate N-staging and has positive effects on prognosis and treatment. Overall, LND during RNU is a standard procedure for high-risk nonmetastatic UTUC, and template-based LND should be recommended.
CURRENT OPINION IN UROLOGY
(2023)
Editorial Material
Oncology
Takafumi Yanagisawa, Manuela Schmidinger, Harun Fajkovic, Pierre I. Karakiewicz, Takahiro Kimura, Shahrokh F. Shariat
EXPERT REVIEW OF ANTICANCER THERAPY
(2023)
Article
Oncology
Soshi Kadena, Fumihiko Urabe, Kosuke Iwatani, Hirotaka Suzuki, Yu Imai, Kojiro Tashiro, Shunsuke Tsuzuki, Mariko Honda, Yusuke Koike, Tatsuya Shimomura, Manabu Aoki, Shun Sato, Hiroyuki Takahashi, Kenta Miki, Takahiro Kimura
Summary: This study evaluated the long-term outcomes of patients with locally advanced prostate cancer (PCa) who underwent high-dose-rate brachytherapy (HDR-BT) and external beam radiation therapy (EBRT). The clinical T stage and Grade Group status were identified as significant prognostic factors for patients with locally advanced PCa. HDR-BT was effective in patients with Grade Group <= 4 PCa, even in those with cT3b or cT4 PCa. However, careful monitoring is essential for patients with Grade Group5 PCa, particularly those with cT3b or cT4 PCa.
INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF CLINICAL ONCOLOGY
(2023)
Review
Health Care Sciences & Services
Takafumi Yanagisawa, Pawel Rajwa, Fahad Quhal, Tatsushi Kawada, Kensuke Bekku, Ekaterina Laukhtina, Markus von Deimling, Marcin Chlosta, Pierre I. Karakiewicz, Takahiro Kimura, Shahrokh F. Shariat
Summary: This study reviewed several studies on the efficacy of adding androgen receptor signaling inhibitors (ARSIs) as a neoadjuvant treatment for patients with prostate cancer (PCa) undergoing radical prostatectomy (RP). The results suggest that neoadjuvant ARSI + ADT combination therapy improves pathologic response compared to ADT or ARSI alone.
JOURNAL OF PERSONALIZED MEDICINE
(2023)
Article
Oncology
Keiichiro Miyajima, Hirotaka Suzuki, Fumihiko Urabe, Kosuke Iwatani, Yu Imai, Keiji Yasue, Takafumi Yanagisawa, Shoji Kimura, Kojiro Tashiro, Shunsuke Tsuzuki, Yusuke Koike, Jun Miki, Steffi Yuen, Takaya Sasaki, Manabu Aoki, Shun Sato, Hiroyuki Takahashi, Kenta Miki, Takahiro Kimura
Summary: A retrospective study was conducted to explore the correlations between clinical attributes and secondary bladder cancer in patients with localized prostate cancer who underwent different types of brachytherapy. The study found that there was no significant increase in the risk of secondary bladder cancer after brachytherapy compared to non-irradiation therapy, but brachytherapy patients had a higher incidence of invasive bladder cancer.
INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF CLINICAL ONCOLOGY
(2023)
Review
Oncology
Takafumi Yanagisawa, Pawel Rajwa, Tatsushi Kawada, Kensuke Bekku, Ekaterina Laukhtina, Markus von Deimling, Muhammad Majdoub, Marcin Chlosta, Pierre I. Karakiewicz, Axel Heidenreich, Takahiro Kimura, Shahrokh F. Shariat
Summary: This study systematically assessed and summarized the safety, oncologic, and functional outcomes of cytoreductive prostatectomy (cRP) in patients with low-volume metastatic prostate cancer (mPCa). The results showed that cRP reduced the risk of cancer-specific survival (CSS) and overall survival (OS) in mPCa patients and had acceptable perioperative complication rates and functional outcomes.
Article
Urology & Nephrology
Kai Ozaki, Shingo Hatakeyama, Shintaro Narita, Kenichi Hata, Takafumi Yanagisawa, Toshikazu Tanaka, Kyo Togashi, Tomoko Hamaya, Teppei Okamoto, Hayato Yamamoto, Takahiro Yoneyama, Yasuhiro Hashimoto, Takahiro Kimura, Tomonori Habuchi, Chikara Ohyama
Summary: This study compared the real-world efficacy and medical costs of upfront treatment with docetaxel (DOC) and abiraterone acetate (ABI) in patients with metastatic hormone-sensitive prostate cancer (mHSPC). The results showed that the upfront DOC group had similar PFS2 rates but lower medical costs compared to the upfront ABI group.
WORLD JOURNAL OF UROLOGY
(2023)
Letter
Urology & Nephrology
Fumihiko Urabe, Kagenori Ito, Takahiro Kimura
INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF UROLOGY
(2023)
Article
Cell & Tissue Engineering
Shutaro Yamamoto, Kenji Matsui, Yoshitaka Kinoshita, Hiroshi Sasaki, Hidekazu Sekine, Yatsumu Saito, Yasuhide Nakayama, Haruki Kume, Takahiro Kimura, Takashi Yokoo, Eiji Kobayashi
Summary: This study aimed to reconstruct the ureter using subcutaneously prepared autologous collagen tubes in a rat model. It was found that urinary flow supported the epithelial spread of the urothelium into the reconstructed ureter, and neonatal rat cardiomyocyte sheets supported the patency of the regenerated ureter with a layered urothelium.
REGENERATIVE THERAPY
(2023)
Review
Urology & Nephrology
Keiichiro Mori, Takafumi Yanagisawa, Satoshi Katayama, Ekaterina Laukhtina, Benjamin Pradere, Hadi Mostafaei, Fahad Quhal, Pawel Rajwa, Marco Moschini, Francesco Soria, David D'andrea, Mohammad Abufaraj, Simone Albisinni, Wojciech Krajewski, Wataru Fukuokaya, Jun Miki, Takahiro Kimura, Shin Egawa, Jeremy Y. C. Teoh, Shahrokh F. Shariat
Summary: Sex is associated with worse survival outcomes in patients with muscle-invasive bladder urothelial carcinoma (MIBC) but not in those with non-muscle-invasive bladder urothelial carcinoma (NMIBC).
WORLD JOURNAL OF UROLOGY
(2023)
Article
Urology & Nephrology
Takafumi Yanagisawa, Takahiro Kimura, Kenichi Hata, Shintaro Narita, Shingo Hatakeyama, Keiichiro Mori, Takayuki Sano, Takashi Otsuka, Yuya Iwamoto, Yuki Enei, Minoru Nakazono, Keigo Sakanaka, Kosuke Iwatani, Akihiro Matsukawa, Mahito Atsuta, Hideomi Nishikawa, Shunsuke Tsuzuki, Jun Miki, Tomonori Habuchi, Chikara Ohyama, Shahrokh F. Shariat, Shin Egawa
Summary: This study found that combining docetaxel with androgen deprivation therapy significantly prolonged overall survival and cancer-specific survival in patients with high-volume metastatic hormone-sensitive prostate cancer compared to nonsteroidal antiandrogen therapy.
WORLD JOURNAL OF UROLOGY
(2023)