A survey of T Tauri stars with AKARI toward the Taurus-Auriga region

Aims: We search new T Tauri star (TTS) candidates with the mid-infrared (MIR) part of the AKARI All-Sky Survey at 9 and 18 um wavelengths. Methods: We used the point source catalogue (PSC), obtained by the Infrared Camera (IRC) on board AKARI. We combined the 2MASS PSC and the 3rd version of the USNO CCD Astrograph Catalogue (UCAC) with the AKARI IRC-PSC, and surveyed 517 known TTSs over a 1800-square-degree part of the Taurus-Auriga region to find criteria to extract TTSs. We considered asymptotic giant branch (AGB) stars, post-AGB stars, Planetary Nebulae (PNe), and galaxies, which have similar MIR colours, to separate TTSs from these sources. Results: Of the 517 known TTSs, we detected 133 sources with AKARI. Based on the colour-colour and colour-magnitude diagrams made from the AKARI, 2MASS, and UCAC surveys, we propose the criteria to extract TTS candidates from the AKARI All-Sky data. On the basis of our criteria, we selected 176/14725 AKARI sources as TTS candidates which are located around the Taurus-Auriga region. Comparing these sources with SIMBAD, there are 148 previously identified sources including 115 Young Stellar Objects (YSOs), and 28 unidentified sources. Conclusions: Based on SIMBAD identifications, we take the TTS-identification probability using our criteria to be ~75 %. We find 28 TTS candidates, of which we expect 21 to be confirmed once follow-up observations can be obtained. Although the probability of ~75 % is not so high, it is affected by the completeness of the SIMBAD database, and we can search for TTSs over the whole sky, over all star forming regions.Comment: 12 pages, 9 figures, accepted for publication in A&

Sweet Taste Receptor Serves to Activate Glucose- and Leptin-Responsive Neurons in the Hypothalamic Arcuate Nucleus and Participates in Glucose Responsiveness

The hypothalamic feeding center plays an important role in energy homeostasis. In the feeding center, whole-body energy signals including hormones and nutrients are sensed, processed, and integrated. As a result, food intake and energy expenditure are regulated. Two types of glucose-sensing neurons exist in the hypothalamic arcuate nucleus (ARC): glucose-excited neurons and glucose-inhibited neurons. While some molecules are known to be related to glucose sensing in the hypothalamus, the mechanism underlying glucose sensing in the hypothalamus are not fully understood. The sweet taste receptor is a heterodimer of taste type 1 receptor 2 (T1R2) and taste type 1 receptor 3 (T1R3) and senses sweet tastes. T1R2 and T1R3 receptors are distributed in multiple organs including the tongue, pancreas, adipose tissue, and hypothalamus. However, the role of sweet taste receptors in the ARC remains to be clarified. To examine the role of sweet taste receptors in the ARC, cytosolic Ca2+ concentration ([Ca2+]i) in isolated single ARC neurons were measured using Fura-2 fluorescent imaging. An artificial sweetener, sucralose at 10-5 M-10-2 M dose dependently increased [Ca2+]i in 12-16% of ARC neurons. The sucralose-induced [Ca2+]i increase was suppressed by a sweet taste receptor inhibitor, gurmarin. The sucralose-induced [Ca2+]i increase was inhibited under an extracellular Ca2+-free condition and in the presence of an L-type Ca2+ channel blocker, nitrendipine. Sucralose-responding neurons were activated by high-concentration of glucose. This response to glucose was markedly suppressed by gurmarin. More than half of sucralose-responding neurons were activated by leptin but not ghrelin. Percentage of proopiomelanocortin (POMC) neurons among sucralose-responding neurons and sweet taste receptor expressing neurons were low, suggesting that majority of sucralose-responding neurons are non-POMC neurons. These data suggest that sweet taste receptor-mediated cellular activation mainly occurs on non-POMC leptin-responding neurons and contributes to glucose responding. Endogenous sweet molecules including glucose may regulate energy homeostasis through sweet taste receptors on glucose-and leptin-responsive neurons in the ARC

Spindle checkpoint activation at meiosis I advances anaphase II onset via meiosis-specific APC/C regulation

During mitosis, the spindle assembly checkpoint (SAC) inhibits the Cdc20-activated anaphase-promoting complex/cyclosome (APC/CCdc20), which promotes protein degradation, and delays anaphase onset to ensure accurate chromosome segregation. However, the SAC function in meiotic anaphase regulation is poorly understood. Here, we examined the SAC function in fission yeast meiosis. As in mitosis, a SAC factor, Mad2, delayed anaphase onset via Slp1 (fission yeast Cdc20) when chromosomes attach to the spindle improperly. However, when the SAC delayed anaphase I, the interval between meiosis I and II shortened. Furthermore, anaphase onset was advanced and the SAC effect was reduced at meiosis II. The advancement of anaphase onset depended on a meiosis-specific, Cdc20-related factor, Fzr1/Mfr1, which contributed to anaphase cyclin decline and anaphase onset and was inefficiently inhibited by the SAC. Our findings show that impacts of SAC activation are not confined to a single division at meiosis due to meiosis-specific APC/C regulation, which has probably been evolved for execution of two meiotic divisions

内耳前庭細胞由来因子とオルガノイド培養を組み合わせたES細胞から内耳前庭有毛細胞への分化誘導

Vestibular hair cells (V-HCs) residing in the inner ear have important roles related to balance. Although differentiation of pluripotent stem cells into HCs has been shown, an effective method has yet to be established. We previously reported that use of vestibular cell-derived conditioned medium (V-CM) was helpful to induce embryonic stem (ES) cells to differentiate into V-HC-like cells in two-dimensional (2D) cultures of ES-derived embryoid bodies (EBs). In the present report, V-CM was used with three-dimensional (3D) cultures of EBs, which resulted in augmented expression of V-HC-related markers (Math1, Myosin6, Brn3c, Dnah5), but not of the cochlear HC-related marker Lmod3. Gene expression analyses of both 2D and 3D EBs cultured for two weeks revealed a greater level of augmented induction of HC-related markers in the 3D-cultured EBs. These results indicate that a 3D culture in combination with use of V-CM is an effective method for producing V-HCs.博士（医学）・甲第877号・令和5年3月15

カフェイン酸フェネチルエステル（CAPE）がラット象牙芽細胞様細胞のVEGF発現と産生に与える影響

Caffeic acid phenethyl ester (CAPE), the main component of propolis, has various biological activities including anti-inflammatory effect and wound healing promotion. Odontoblasts located in the outermost layer of dental pulp play crucial roles such as production of growth factors and formation of hard tissue termed reparative dentin in host defense against dental caries. In this study, we investigated the effects of CAPE on the upregulation of vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) and calcification activities of odontoblasts, leading to development of novel therapy for dental pulp inflammation caused by dental caries. CAPE significantly induced mRNA expression and production of VEGF in rat clonal odontoblast-like KN-3 cells cultured in normal medium or osteogenic induction medium. CAPE treatment enhanced nuclear factor-kappa B (NF-κB) transcription factor activation, and furthermore, the specific inhibitor of NF-κB significantly reduced VEGF production. The expression of VEGF receptor- (VEGFR-) 2, not VEGFR-1, was up regulated in KN-3 cells treated with CAPE. In addition, VEGF significantly increased mineralization activity in KN-3 cells. These findings suggest that CAPE might be useful as a novel biological material for the dental pulp conservative therapy

cis interaction of CD153 with TCR/CD3 is crucial for the pathogenic activation of senescence-associated T cells

老化T細胞が自己免疫病や慢性炎症疾患を引き起こすメカニズムを解明 --老化関連疾患克服への新しいアプローチ--. 京都大学プレスリリース. 2022-09-22.With age, senescence-associated (SA) CD4+ T cells that are refractory to T cell receptor (TCR) stimulation are increased along with spontaneous germinal center (Spt-GC) development prone to autoantibody production. We demonstrate that CD153 and its receptor CD30 are expressed in SA-T and Spt-GC B cells, respectively, and deficiency of either CD153 or CD30 results in the compromised increase of both cell types. CD153 engagement on SA-T cells upon TCR stimulation causes association of CD153 with the TCR/CD3 complex and restores TCR signaling, whereas CD30 engagement on GC B cells induces their expansion. Administration of an anti-CD153 antibody blocking the interaction with CD30 suppresses the increase in both SA-T and Spt-GC B cells with age and ameliorates lupus in lupus-prone mice. These results suggest that the molecular interaction of CD153 and CD30 plays a central role in the reciprocal activation of SA-T and Spt-GC B cells, leading to immunosenescent phenotypes and autoimmunity