Anti-angiogenic effect of siphonaxanthin from green alga, Codium fragile.

Since anti-angiogenic therapy has becoming a promising approach in the prevention of cancer and related diseases, the present study was aimed to examine the anti-angiogenic effect of siphonaxanthin from green alga (Codium fragile) in cell culture model systems and ex vivo approaches using human umbilical vein endothelial cells (HUVECs) and rat aortic ring, respectively. Siphonaxanthin significantly suppressed HUVEC proliferation (p<0.05) at the concentration of 2.5 μM (50% as compared with control) and above, while the effect on chemotaxis was not significant. Siphonaxanthin exhibited strong inhibitory effect on HUVEC tube formation. It suppressed the formation of tube length by 44% at the concentration of 10 μM, while no tube formation was observed at 25 μM, suggesting that it could be due to the suppression of angiogenic mediators. The ex vivo angiogenesis assay exhibited reduced microvessel outgrowth in a dose dependent manner and the reduction was significant at more than 2.5 μM. Our results imply a new insight on the novel function of siphonaxanthin in preventing angiogenesis related diseases

Inhibitory effects of vitamin K3 on DNA polymerase and angiogenesis

Vitamins play essential roles in cellular reactions and maintain human health. Recent studies have revealed that some vitamins including D3, B6 and K2 and their derivatives have an anti-cancer effect. As a mechanism, their inhibitory effect on cancer-related angiogenesis has been demonstrated. Vitamin K2 (menaquinones) has an anti-cancer effect in particular for hepatic cancer and inhibits angiogenesis. In the current study, we demonstrated that sole vitamin K3 (menadione) selectively inhibits the in vitro activity of eukaryotic DNA polymerase γ, which is a mitochondrial DNA polymerase, and suppresses angiogenesis in a rat aortic ring model. The anti-angiogenic effect of vitamin K3 has been shown in angiogenesis models using human umbilical vein endothelial cells (HUVECs) with regard to HUVEC growth, tube formation on reconstituted basement membrane and chemotaxis. These results suggest that vitamin K3 may be a potential anti-cancer agent like vitamin K2.This work was supported by the ‘Academic Frontier’ Project for Private Universities (Kobe-Gakuin University), matching fund subsidy from MEXT, 2006-2010, (K.M., H.Y. and Y.M.) and in part by a grant from the Japanese Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology (MEXT). K.M. acknowledges a Grant-in-Aid for Young Scientists (B) (No. 18700608) from MEXT. Y.M. also acknowledges a Grant-in-Aid for Young Scientists (A) (No. 19680031) from MEXT, and Grants-in-Aid from the Nakashima Foundation and the Foundation of Oil & Fat Industry, Kaikan, Japan

Framework for a cooperative program curriculum among elementary, junior, and senior high schools to develop students' qualities and competence in home economics: Proposal for implementing a cooperative program curriculum for encouraging students to develop an understanding of food cultures and deepen their learning

The purpose of this study is to use surveys to clarify students' awareness at the elementary, junior, and senior high school levels of food cultures and their related issues, and to formulate and implement a class program for junior and senior high schools based on the clarified results. The program will develop students' understanding of food cultures and seeks to combine and systematize home economics education among the three levels of schooling. The study found transformations among elementary and junior high school students, in terms of their understanding of the ideas of food cultures and related issues. In addition, class programs were formulated for Grade 9 students, to broaden their views on a range of topics, and for Grade 10 students, to broaden their view of changes over time, both of which ended with successful results

Examination of Home Economics Teacher Training Curriculum in Human Life Sciences Education of Hiroshima University: Concepts and results of introduction to clothing, dietary, and living life

In order to reconceptualize the curriculum for home economics teacher training in the Department of Human Life Sciences Education of the Faculty of Education, Hiroshima University, we created and presented a new set of major subjects in the revised curriculum from 2019. As part of this study, we presented the concepts of “Introduction to Clothing Life”, “Introduction to Dietary Life”, and “Introduction to Living Life,” with background sciences and academic disciplines relevant to the three introductions, to the first semester students in 2020. In addition, we analyzed the changes in the views of students concerning life and the three subjects before and after taking each introduction through questionnaires. On the base of these results and the issues highlighted by the faculty members, we improved each introduction. After taking the introductions, the students came to possess the knowledge and skills required to solve their daily life and social problems related to clothing, diet, and living. This is because we have included in the subjects “performance task” to encourage independent learning, and group activities and practical tasks to broaden and deepen students’ awareness and understanding of the issues in their life and society. In addition, the conceptual diagrams with the structure of background sciences, showing the relationship between home economics and other sciences, would help students understand the framework of academic discipline constructing home economics and have a subjective view of home economics.本研究は，JSPS科研費JP19K02814（代表者 鈴木明子）の助成を受けたものである

An Association Analysis between Mitochondrial DNA A10398G Polymorphism and Temperament in Japanese Young Adults

The mitochondrial (mt) DNA C5178A and A10398G polymorphisms have been reported to be associated with mental disorders such as bipolar disorder. However, the effects of these polymorphisms on temperament in healthy people are poorly understood. Evaluating healthy subjects can have the advantage of providing new strategies for maintaining psychological health and preventing mental illness. We examined the association between mtDNA polymorphisms and temperament in Japanese students. There was no significant difference in examined temperament when analysed by genotypes, 5178–10398 haplotypes, or sex. The subgroup analysis based on sex indicated that there was an interactive effect of the mtDNA A10398G polymorphism and sex on anxiety and obsession. This finding is preliminary and cannot exclude the possibility of false-positive due to small sample size (144 subjects) and multiple statistical testing. Further studies involving a larger sample size or other ethnic groups are necessary to confirm that mtDNA A10398G polymorphism can be a genetic factor for temperament

Emerging concepts in biomarker discovery; The US-Japan workshop on immunological molecular markers in oncology

Supported by the Office of International Affairs, National Cancer Institute (NCI), the "US-Japan Workshop on Immunological Biomarkers in Oncology" was held in March 2009. The workshop was related to a task force launched by the International Society for the Biological Therapy of Cancer (iSBTc) and the United States Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to identify strategies for biomarker discovery and validation in the field of biotherapy. The effort will culminate on October 28th 2009 in the "iSBTc-FDA-NCI Workshop on Prognostic and Predictive Immunologic Biomarkers in Cancer", which will be held in Washington DC in association with the Annual Meeting. The purposes of the US-Japan workshop were a) to discuss novel approaches to enhance the discovery of predictive and/or prognostic markers in cancer immunotherapy; b) to define the state of the science in biomarker discovery and validation. The participation of Japanese and US scientists provided the opportunity to identify shared or discordant themes across the distinct immune genetic background and the diverse prevalence of disease between the two Nations

Recent Development in Vitamin B6 Research: Anti-tumorigenetic and Anti-angiogenetic Effects

ビタミンB6を大量に投与するとがんの増殖や転移が抑制されると考えられていた。しかしながら最近, 実際の食生活に近い適量のビタミンB6を食餌に加えると大腸腫瘍の発現が抑制されることがマウスを使った実験によって明らかになった。その作用は, 大腸の細胞増殖や酸化ストレス, 一酸化窒素 (NO) 産生の抑制によるものであることが示唆された。さらに, ビタミンB6には, がんの成長や転移に重要な役割を果たす血管新生を抑制する作用があることも明らかになった。これらの結果は, ビタミンB6が大腸がん予防に有効な栄養素であることを示唆するものとして注目される。It has been considered that supraphysiological doses of vitamin B6 suppress tumor growth and metastasis in rodents. However, our recent studies have demonstrated that azoxymethane-induced colon tumorigenesis in mice is markedly suppressed by moderate doses of dietary vitamin B6 similar to the dietary level for humans. The anti-tumorigenetic effect of vitamin B6 appears to be mediated by suppressing cell proliferation, oxidative stress and nitric oxide (NO) synthesis in the colon. Furthermore, we have found that vitamin B6 inhibits angiogenesis, which plays an important role in tumor growth and metastasis. Taken together, vitamin B6 would be an attractive nutrient to prevent the development of colon cancer

Docosahexaenoic- and Eicosapentaenoic Acid-bound Lysophospholipids are More Effective in Suppressing Angiogenesis than Conjugated Docosahexaenoic Acid

Suppression of leukemia, colon cancer, myeloma, and fibrosarcoma to some extent by omega 3 fatty acid bound phospholipids has been reported in the last two decade. However, the anti-angiogenic activity of those phospholipids is still not known. Four kinds of marine phospholipid molecular species i.e. starfish EPA bound diacyl phospholipid (EPA-PC), EPA bound monoacyl phospholipid (EPA-LPC) which was prepare via Lipozyme RMIM mediated partial hydrolysis of EPA-PC, squid DHA bound diacyl phospholipid (DHA-PC), and DHA bound monoacyl phospholipid (DHA-LPC) which was also prepare via Lipozyme RMIM mediated partial hydrolysis of DHA-PC, were subjected to antiangiogenic activity assay by using a piece of rat main artery and a human umbilical cord vein endothelial cell. The lengths of micro vein generated from those tissues after incubation with the above four kinds of phospholipid molecular species were measured and compared. EPA-LPC and DHA-LPC showed strong antiangiogenic activity on the rat main artery tissue, while on the human umbilical cord vein endothelial cells, 100 μM of EPA-LPC in the culture medium, exhibited the most effective suppression on angiogenesis, followed by 100 μM of DHA-LPC. It was concluded that EPA-LPC obtained via Lipozyme RMIM mediated partial hydrolysis of EPA-PC is the most effective omega 3 phospholipid on anti-angiogenesis