👤 Yoichi Takami

Schematic presentation of possible mechanisms of hypertensive dementia, including amyloid beta metabolism (A), NVU dysfunction (B), vulnerability of the hippocampus (C), and activation of RAS (D), and possible new therapeutic approaches for discovering antihypertensive drugs with anti-dementia actions (E). See text for details. Aβ, amyloid β; APP, amyloid β precursor protein; BACE1, β-site amyloid precursor protein cleaving enzyme 1; BBB, blood-brain barrier; CBF, cerebral blood flow; eNOS, endothelial nitric oxide synthase; FDA, Food and Drug Administration; IL, interleukin; NOX, NADPH oxidase; NVU, neurovascular unit; RAS, renin-angiotensin system; ROS, reactive oxygen species. Show less

Central neurocytoma (CN) is classically defined by its intraventricular location, neuronal/neurocytic differentiation, and histological resemblance to oligodendroglioma. Extraventricular neurocytoma (EVN) shares similar histological features with CN, while it distributes any site without contact with the ventricular system. CN and EVN have distinct methylation landscapes, and EVN has a signature fusion gene, FGFR1-TACC1. These characteristics distinguish between CN and EVN. A 30-year-old female underwent craniotomy and resection of a left intraventricular tumor at our institution. The histopathology demonstrated the classical findings of CN. Adjuvant irradiation with 60 Gy followed. No recurrence has been recorded for 25 years postoperatively. RNA sequencing revealed FGFR1-TACC1 fusion and methylation profile was discrepant with CN but compatible with EVN. We experienced a case of anatomically and histologically proven CN in the lateral ventricle. However, the FGFR1-TACC1 fusion gene and methylation profiling suggested the molecular diagnosis of EVN. The representative case was an "intraventricular" neurocytoma displaying molecular features of an "extraventricular" neurocytoma. Clinicopathological and molecular definitions have collided in our case and raised questions about the current definition of CN and EVN. Show less

The mass spectrometry-based peptidomics approaches have proven its usefulness in several areas such as the discovery of physiologically active peptides or biomarker candidates derived from various biological fluids including blood and cerebrospinal fluid. However, to identify biomarkers that are reproducible and clinically applicable, development of a novel technology, which enables rapid, sensitive, and quantitative analysis using hundreds of clinical specimens, has been eagerly awaited. Here we report an integrative peptidomic approach for identification of lung cancer-specific serum peptide biomarkers. It is based on the one-step effective enrichment of peptidome fractions (molecular weight of 1,000-5,000) with size exclusion chromatography in combination with the precise label-free quantification analysis of nano-LC/MS/MS data set using Expressionist proteome server platform. We applied this method to 92 serum samples well-managed with our SOP (standard operating procedure) (30 healthy controls and 62 lung adenocarcinoma patients), and quantitatively assessed the detected 3,537 peptide signals. Among them, 118 peptides showed significantly altered serum levels between the control and lung cancer groups (p<0.01 and fold change >5.0). Subsequently we identified peptide sequences by MS/MS analysis and further assessed the reproducibility of Expressionist-based quantification results and their diagnostic powers by MRM-based relative-quantification analysis for 96 independently prepared serum samples and found that APOA4 273-283, FIBA 5-16, and LBN 306-313 should be clinically useful biomarkers for both early detection and tumor staging of lung cancer. Our peptidome profiling technology can provide simple, high-throughput, and reliable quantification of a large number of clinical samples, which is applicable for diverse peptidome-targeting biomarker discoveries using any types of biological specimens. Show less

Oxidative stress is involved in the progression of non-alcoholic steatohepatitis (NASH). However, there are few biomarkers that are easily measured and accurately reflect the disease states. The aim of this study was to identify novel oxidative stress markers using the 2-nitrobenzenesulfenyl (NBS) stable isotope labeling method and to examine the clinical utility of these diagnostic markers for NASH. Proteins extracted from phosphate buffered saline- and hydrogen peroxide-loaded human primary hepatocyte were labeled with the [(12)C]- and [(13)C]-NBS reagents, respectively. Pairs of peaks with 6-Da differences in which the [(13)C]-NBS labeling was more intense than the [(12)C]-NBS labeling were detected by MALDI-TOF/MS and identified by MS/MS ion searching. Four pairs of peaks, m/z 1705-1711, m/z 1783-1789, m/z 1902-1908 and m/z 2790-2796, were identified as cytochrome c oxidase VIb (COX6B), liver carboxylesterase 1 (CES1), carbamoyl-phosphate synthase 1 (CPS1) and superoxide dismutase (MnSOD), respectively. Furthermore, serum MnSOD protein levels were significantly higher in NASH patients than in simple steatosis (SS) patients. The serum MnSOD levels tended to increase in parallel with the stage of fibrosis. The NBS labeling technique was useful to identify biomarkers. Serum MnSOD may be a useful biomarker that can distinguish between SS and NASH. Show less