Kagawa University

About: Kagawa University is a education organization based out in Takamatsu, Japan. It is known for research contribution in the topics: Cancer & Population. The organization has 6028 authors who have published 11918 publications receiving 224111 citations. The organization is also known as: Kagawa Daigaku.

SCA8 repeat expansion: large CTA/CTG repeat alleles are more common in ataxic patients, including those with SCA6.

Abstract: We analyzed the SCA8 CTA/CTG repeat in a large group of Japanese subjects. The frequency of large alleles (85–399 CTA/CTG repeats) was 1.9% in spinocerebellar ataxia (SCA), 0.4% in Parkinson disease, 0.3% in Alzheimer disease, and 0% in a healthy control group; the frequency was significantly higher in the group with SCA than in the control group. Homozygotes for large alleles were observed only in the group with SCA. In five patients with SCA from two families, a large SCA8 CTA/CTG repeat and a large SCA6 CAG repeat coexisted. Age at onset was correlated with SCA8 repeats rather than SCA6 repeats in these five patients. In one of these families, at least one patient showed only a large SCA8 CTA/CTG repeat allele, with no large SCA6 CAG repeat allele. We speculate that the presence of a large SCA8 CTA/CTG repeat allele influences the function of channels such as α1A-voltage–dependent calcium channel through changing or aberrant splicing, resulting in the development of cerebellar ataxia, especially in homozygous patients.

Tectonic boundary between the Sanbagawa belt and the Shimanto belt in central Shikoku, Japan

Abstract: In order to make it clear the mode of occurrence of the Sanbagawa belt, we carried out in situ U-Pb isotope analyses of igneous zircon grains from the Oboke area that was a type area of the Sanbagawa belt in central Shikoku, Japan. Analyzed igneous zircons were separated from psammitic schist in the Minawa and Kawaguchi Formations and from igneous cobbles in the Koboke Formation. Spot analyses were performed on the laser ablation-inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometer (LA-ICP-MS). The youngest U-Pb ages of zircon grains from the Koboke Formation and the Kawaguchi Formation showed 92±4 Ma and 82±11 Ma, respectively. On the other hand, zircons from the Minawa Formation yielded remarkably older ages clustered around 1900-1800 Ma. There is a large chronological gap between protolith sedimentary clasts of the Minawa and those of the other two formations. The protolith sedimentary ages of the Sanbagawa belt have been well constrained as older than 130 Ma based on fossil and U-Pb isotopic ages. The peak metamorphism occurred in 120-110 Ma. Therefore, both Koboke and Kawaguchi Formations must not belong to the Sanbagawa belt, because the timing of formation of accretionary complex must be later than 92±4 Ma for the Koboke Formation and 82±11 Ma for the Kawaguchi Formation. Both the Koboke and Kawaguchi Formations correspond to the late Cretaceous accretionary complex, and they are equivalent to the Northern Shimanto belt. The tectonic boundary between the Sanbagawa and the Northern Shimanto belts is reverse fault and the Northern Shimanto belt appears as a tectonic window in the Sanbagawa belt, central Shikoku. The whole package of the Sanbagawa and underlying Shimanto belts are deformed by the secondary fault movement and doming after the tectonic juxtaposition at the mid-crustal levels.

Blood–brain barrier and blood–cerebrospinal fluid barrier in normal and pathological conditions

Abstract: Blood-borne substances can invade into the extracellular spaces of the brain via endothelial cells in sites without the blood-brain barrier (BBB), and can travel through the interstitial fluid (ISF) of the brain parenchyma adjacent to non-BBB sites. It has been shown that cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) drains directly into the blood via the arachnoid villi and also into lymph nodes via the subarachnoid spaces of the brain, while ISF drains into the cervical lymph nodes through perivascular drainage pathways. In addition, the glymphatic pathway of fluids, characterized by para-arterial pathways, aquaporin4-dependent passage through astroglial cytoplasm, interstitial spaces, and paravenous routes, has been established. Meningeal lymphatic vessels along the superior sagittal sinus were very recently discovered. It is known that, in mice, blood-borne substances can be transferred to areas with intact BBB function, such as the medial regions of the hippocampus, presumably through leaky vessels in non-BBB sites. In the present paper, we review the clearance mechanisms of interstitial substances, such as amyloid-β peptides, as well as summarize models of BBB deterioration in response to different types of insults, including acute ischemia followed by reperfusion, hypertension, and chronic hypoperfusion. Lastly, we discuss the relationship between perivascular clearance and brain disorders.

Three- and four-dimensional HDlive rendering images of normal and abnormal fetuses: pictorial essay.

Abstract: Our objective is to present our experience of normal embryonic development and fetal anatomy and fetal anomalies reconstructed employing the three-dimensional (3D) and four-dimensional (4D) HDlive rendering mode A total of 18 normal embryos and fetuses and 21 abnormal fetuses (one case each of thoracic meningocele, thickened nuchal translucency, multicystic dysplastic kidney, gastroschisis, omphalocele, and ovarian cyst, five of hydrops fetalis, three of skeletal abnormality, three of chromosome abnormality, two of cystic hygroma, and two of amniotic band syndrome) at 7–36 weeks’ gestation were studied using the 3D/4D HDlive rendering mode In normal fetuses, marked embryonic development with advancing gestation was clearly shown in the first trimester of pregnancy, and various realistic facial expressions were noted in the second and third trimesters In abnormal fetuses, anatomically realistic features such as gross specimens were obtained In particular, 3D/4D HDlive provides new, realistic sensations for the diagnosis of amniotic band syndrome, skeletal abnormalities, and facial abnormalities 3D/4D HDlive rendering images seem to be more readily discernible than those obtained by conventional 3D/4D sonography 3D/4D HDlive may be an important modality in future embryonic research, fetal neurobehavioral assessment, and the evaluation of fetal anomalies