Neurotropin suppresses inflammatory cytokine expression and cell death through suppression of NF-κB and JNK in hepatocytes.

Inflammatory response and cell death in hepatocytes are hallmarks of chronic liver disease, and, therefore, can be effective therapeutic targets. Neurotropin® (NTP) is a drug widely used in Japan and China to treat chronic pain. Although NTP has been demonstrated to suppress chronic pain through the descending pain inhibitory system, the action mechanism of NTP remains elusive. We hypothesize that NTP functions to suppress inflammatory pathways, thereby attenuating disease progression. In the present study, we investigated whether NTP suppresses inflammatory signaling and cell death pathways induced by interleukin-1β (IL-1β) and tumor necrosis factor-α (TNFα) in hepatocytes. NTP suppressed nuclear factor-κB (NF-κB) activation induced by IL-1β and TNFα assessed by using hepatocytes isolated from NF-κB-green fluorescent protein (GFP) reporter mice and an NF-κB-luciferase reporter system. The expression of NF-κB target genes, Il6, Nos2, Cxcl1, ccl5 and Cxcl2 induced by IL-1β and TNFα was suppressed after NTP treatment. We also found that NTP suppressed the JNK phosphorylation induced by IL-1β and TNFα. Because JNK activation contributes to hepatocyte death, we determined that NTP treatment suppressed hepatocyte death induced by IL-1β and TNFα in combination with actinomycin D. Taken together, our data demonstrate that NTP attenuates IL-1β and TNFα-mediated inflammatory cytokine expression and cell death in hepatocytes through the suppression of NF-κB and JNK. The results from the present study suggest that NTP may become a preventive or therapeutic strategy for alcoholic and non-alcoholic fatty liver disease in which NF-κB and JNK are thought to take part

Giant Retroperitoneal Mucinous Tumor Supportively Diagnosed as a Dedifferentiated Liposarcoma by Fluorescence In Situ Hybridization of MDM2 Gene

Surgical resection was performed on a 47-year-old woman for a retroperitoneal mass that weighed 8.5 kg. Histological examination revealed a myxoid sarcomatous tumor. Because diagnosis could not be determined by immunohistochemistry, attention was focused on MDM2 (murine double minute) gene amplification by fluorescence in situ hybridization (FISH) analysis. The tumor was finally determined to be a dedifferentiated liposarcoma. We experienced a case of a giant retroperitoneal dedifferentiated liposarcoma. FISH analysis was useful for the diagnosis and determination of the therapeutic strategy

Molecular pathogenesis of dialysis-related amyloidosis—A fusion of the in vitro model and the animal model—

課題番号：1839012

Polymorphism of β2-Microglobulin Amyloid Fibrils Manifested by Ultrasonication-enhanced Fibril Formation in Trifluoroethanol

This research was originally published in the Journal of Biological Chemistry. Eri Chatani, Hisashi Yagi, Hironobu Naiki and Yuji Goto. Polymorphism of β2-Microglobulin Amyloid Fibrils Manifested by Ultrasonication-enhanced Fibril Formation in Trifluoroethanol. J. Biol. Chem. 2012; 287, 22827-22837. © the American Society for Biochemistry and Molecular Biolog

Ultrasonication-induced Amyloid Fibril Formation of β2-Microglobulin

This research was originally published in the Journal of Biological Chemistry. Yumiko Ohhashi, Miho Kihara, Hironobu Naiki and Yuji Goto. Ultrasonication-induced Amyloid Fibril Formation of β2-Microglobulin. J. Biol. Chem. 2005; 280, 32843-32848. © the American Society for Biochemistry and Molecular Biolog

Introduction of a case of high school-university collaborative program supported by Japanese governments : Promotion of earth science education in high school

The author conducted earth science course as a part of high school earth science education in collaboration with universities and research institutes. These sessions consisted of lectures, field excursions, laboratory experiments and a summary presentation. During the fiscal periods between 2003 and 2014, the author carried out 15 Science Partnership Programs (SPP) with the support of the Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology of Japan (MEXT) or Japan Science and Technology Agency (JST). These programs were of great significance for the development and promotion of earth science education and beneficial to many students, schools, teachers, universities and research institutes that participated