The ASTRO-H X-ray Observatory

The joint JAXA/NASA ASTRO-H mission is the sixth in a series of highly successful X-ray missions initiated by the Institute of Space and Astronautical Science (ISAS). ASTRO-H will investigate the physics of the high-energy universe via a suite of four instruments, covering a very wide energy range, from 0.3 keV to 600 keV. These instruments include a high-resolution, high-throughput spectrometer sensitive over 0.3-2 keV with high spectral resolution of Delta E < 7 eV, enabled by a micro-calorimeter array located in the focal plane of thin-foil X-ray optics; hard X-ray imaging spectrometers covering 5-80 keV, located in the focal plane of multilayer-coated, focusing hard X-ray mirrors; a wide-field imaging spectrometer sensitive over 0.4-12 keV, with an X-ray CCD camera in the focal plane of a soft X-ray telescope; and a non-focusing Compton-camera type soft gamma-ray detector, sensitive in the 40-600 keV band. The simultaneous broad bandpass, coupled with high spectral resolution, will enable the pursuit of a wide variety of important science themes.Comment: 22 pages, 17 figures, Proceedings of the SPIE Astronomical Instrumentation "Space Telescopes and Instrumentation 2012: Ultraviolet to Gamma Ray

Hitomi (ASTRO-H) X-ray Astronomy Satellite

The Hitomi (ASTRO-H) mission is the sixth Japanese x-ray astronomy satellite developed by a large international collaboration, including Japan, USA, Canada, and Europe. The mission aimed to provide the highest energy resolution ever achieved at E  >  2  keV, using a microcalorimeter instrument, and to cover a wide energy range spanning four decades in energy from soft x-rays to gamma rays. After a successful launch on February 17, 2016, the spacecraft lost its function on March 26, 2016, but the commissioning phase for about a month provided valuable information on the onboard instruments and the spacecraft system, including astrophysical results obtained from first light observations. The paper describes the Hitomi (ASTRO-H) mission, its capabilities, the initial operation, and the instruments/spacecraft performances confirmed during the commissioning operations for about a month

Comparative marker analysis of extracellular vesicles in different human cancer types

Several cell types, including tumour cells, secrete extracellular vesicles (EVs), and tumour-derived EVs play a role in cancer initiation and progression. These vesicles include both a common set of membrane and cytosolic proteins and origin-specific subsets of proteins that likely correlated to cell type&#x2013;associated functions. To confirm the presence of EVs in the preparations, researchers have identified so-called EV marker proteins, including the tetraspanin family proteins and such cytosolic proteins as heat shock 70 kDa protein 4 (HSP70) and tumour susceptibility gene 101 (TSG101). However, studies have shown that some EV markers are not always present in all EVs, which not only complicates the identification of EVs but also precludes the quantitative evaluation of EV proteins. Thus, it is strongly required to explore well-conserved EV marker proteins that are present at similar levels, regardless of their tissue or cellular origin. In this study, we compared the presence of 11 well-known EV marker proteins by immunoblotting using EVs isolated from 4 human prostate cell lines and 5 human breast cell lines, including cancer cells with different phenotypes. We found that all the tested EVs were positive for CD9 and CD81, with similar abundance that was irrespective of the EV origin. In contrast, other EV marker proteins, such as TSG101, Rab-5b and CD63, were detected in an inconsistent manner, depending on the origin of the EVs. Thus, we propose that the detection of CD9 and/or CD81 should ensure the presence of EVs

Development of Bifunctional Three-Dimensional Cysts from Chemically Induced Liver Progenitors

Chemically induced liver progenitors (CLiPs) have promising applications in liver regenerative medicine. Three-dimensional (3D) structures generated from liver progenitor cells possess wide applications in cell transplantation, disease model, and drug testing. Here, we report on the spontaneous formation of 3D cystic structures comprising maturing rat CLiPs on gelatin-coated dishes. Our 3D cysts contained Alb+/+CK19+/- and Ck19+/+Alb+/- cells. These cell types gradually diverged into specialized mature cells, as demonstrated by the expression of mature biliary markers (CFTR, Ae2, and Aqp1) and hepatic markers (Alb and Mrp2). The 3D cysts also expressed functional multidrug resistance protein 1 (Mdr1), as indicated by epithelial efflux of rhodamine. Furthermore, we observed bile canaliculi functions between hepatocytes and cholyl-lysyl-fluorescein extrusions, indicating that the functional characteristics of 3D cysts and active bile salt export pump (Bsep) transporters were intact. Thus, our study revealed a natural characteristic of rat CLiPs to spontaneously form 3D cystic structures accompanied with cell maturation in vitro, offering a platform for studies of liver development and drug screening

Generation of functional liver organoids on combining hepatocytes and cholangiocytes with hepatobiliary connections ex vivo

胆管上皮細胞と肝前駆細胞を共培養することで，肝細胞の毛細胆管と胆管が機能的に接続したHepatobiliary Tubular Organoid（HBTO）の誘導に成功した．HBTO誘導によって，生体外で高度な肝細胞機能の誘導と長期維持および肝細胞代謝産物の肝組織内動態の再現が可能になった

Generation of functional liver organoids on combining hepatocytes and cholangiocytes with hepatobiliary connections ex vivo

Combining mouse hepatocyte progenitors and cholangiocytes ex vivo, the authors form an organoid that can drain bile ex vivo and transport metabolites, as in the liver