Gene Expression and the Physiological Role of Transforming Growth Factor-α in the Mouse Pituitary

Transforming growth factor-alpha (TGF-alpha), a member of the epidermal growth factor (EGF) family, is produced within the mouse anterior pituitaries. However, the cell types of TGF-alpha-expressing cells and the physiological roles of TGF-a within mouse pituitary glands remain unclear. The aim of the present study was to localize TGF-alpha mRNA-expressing cells, and to clarify the involvement of TGF-alpha in estrogen-induced DNA replication in mouse anterior pituitary cells. Northern blot analysis demonstrated TGF-alpha mRNA expression in adult male and female mouse anterior pituitaries. In situ hybridization analysis of the pituitaries in these mice showed that TGF-alpha mRNA-expressing cells in the anterior pituitary are round, oval, and medium-sized. TGF-alpha mRNA was colocalized in most of the growth hormone (GH) mRNA-expressing cells, while only some of the prolactin (PRL) mRNA-expressing cells. DNA replication in the anterior pituitary cells was detected by monitoring the cellular uptake of a thymidine analogue, bromodeoxyuridine (BrdU) in a primary serum-free culture system. Estradiol-17beta (E2) and TGF-alpha treatment increased the number of BrdU-labelled mammotrophs, indicating that E2 and TGF-alpha treatment stimulates the DNA replication in mammotrophs. Immunoneutralization of TGF-alpha with anti-TGF-alpha-antibodies nullified the E2-induced increase in DNA replication. RT-PCR analysis of TGF-alpha mRNA expression in ovariectomized female mice revealed that E2 increases TGF-alpha mRNA levels. These results indicate that the TGF-alpha produced primarily in the somatotrophs mediates the stimulatory effects of estrogen on the DNA replication of pituitary cells in a paracrine or autocrine manner

Integrated Collection of Stem Cell Bank Data, a Data Portal for Standardized Stem Cell Information

世界中で樹立されたiPS細胞の数や疾患の種類が明らかに. 京都大学プレスリリース. 2021-03-19.The past decade has witnessed an extremely rapid increase in the number of newly established stem cell lines. However, due to the lack of a standardized format, data exchange among stem cell line resources has been challenging, and no system can search all stem cell lines across resources worldwide. To solve this problem, we have developed the Integrated Collection of Stem Cell Bank data (ICSCB) (http://icscb.stemcellinformatics.org/), the largest database search portal for stem cell line information, based on the standardized data items and terms of the MIACARM framework. Currently, ICSCB can retrieve >16, 000 cell lines from four major data resources in Europe, Japan, and the United States. ICSCB is automatically updated to provide the latest cell line information, and its integrative search helps users collect cell line information for over 1, 000 diseases, including many rare diseases worldwide, which has been a formidable task, thereby distinguishing itself from other database search portals

Impairment in the Ability to Operate the Internal Representation of Kanji and Kana Characters in Japanese Patients with Pure Agraphia

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Restrictions on monetary payments for human biological substances in Japan: The mu-shou principle and its ethical implications for stem cell research

Introduction: Restrictions on financial gains from the sale of human body parts is a leading policy issue surrounding the use of human tissues and cells. However, discrepancies exist between regulations and reality. In stem cell research, in which diverse sources of tissues and cells can be used, unclear regulations can impede research. Thus, using the Japanese system as a case study, we examined the challenges in the implementation of the “no payment” or the mu-shou principle in stem-cell research over the years. Methods: We reviewed 28 Japanese laws and governmental guidelines and summarized the scope of restrictions on payments for the donation and supply of human biological samples (HBS). Results: As part of restrictions on financial rewards, the mu-shou principle emerged in Japanese laws and administrative documents in the 1990s. Although the Japanese mu-shou generally means “free” or “gratis” in English, its interpretation in research and development settings remains ambiguous. Traditionally, this principle was used to deny remuneration to donors. However, it is also inconsistently applied while processing and transferring human tissue after donation, which creates confusion among the various stakeholders. Recent policies have interpreted the principle in multiple ways: (1) treating the use of HBS for cell-processing as a non-profit activity; (2) a flexible interpretation of the principle to broaden the scope of user payments; and (3) removal of the principle itself to allow for commercial use. Conclusions: The inconsistencies in the monetary payment requirements for HBS could hinder research and development. After scrutinizing the principle's background, an effective approach is needed that considers the concerns of the providers, users, and society alike

Sagace: A web-based search engine for biomedical databases in Japan

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>In the big data era, biomedical research continues to generate a large amount of data, and the generated information is often stored in a database and made publicly available. Although combining data from multiple databases should accelerate further studies, the current number of life sciences databases is too large to grasp features and contents of each database.</p> <p>Findings</p> <p>We have developed Sagace, a web-based search engine that enables users to retrieve information from a range of biological databases (such as gene expression profiles and proteomics data) and biological resource banks (such as mouse models of disease and cell lines). With Sagace, users can search more than 300 databases in Japan. Sagace offers features tailored to biomedical research, including manually tuned ranking, a faceted navigation to refine search results, and rich snippets constructed with retrieved metadata for each database entry.</p> <p>Conclusions</p> <p>Sagace will be valuable for experts who are involved in biomedical research and drug development in both academia and industry. Sagace is freely available at <url>http://sagace.nibio.go.jp/en/</url>.</p