Kumamoto University

About: Kumamoto University is a education organization based out in Kumamoto, Kumamoto, Japan. It is known for research contribution in the topics: Cancer & Population. The organization has 19602 authors who have published 35513 publications receiving 901260 citations. The organization is also known as: Kumamoto Daigaku.

Prevention of HIV-1 infection in chimpanzees by gp120 V3 domain-specific monoclonal antibody.

Abstract: THE acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS) is the late-stage clinical manifestation of long-term persistent infection with the human immunodeficiency virus type 1 (HIV-1). Immune responses directed against the virus and against virus-infected cells during the persistent infection fail to mediate resolution of the infection. As a result, a successful AIDS vaccine must elicit an immune state that will prevent the establishment of the persistent infection following introduction of the virus into the host. The third hyper-variable (V3) domain of the HIV-1 gp120 envelope glycoprotein is a disulphide-linked closed loop of about 30 amino acids which binds and elicits anti-HIV-1 type-specific virus-neutralizing antibodies1–7. The in vitro characteristics of anti-V3 domain antibody suggest that this antibody could by itself prevent HIV-1 infection in vivo8,9, an idea supported by chimpanzee challenge studies in which protection against the HIV-1 persistent infection seemed to correlate with the presence of anti-V3 domain antibody10–12. Here we directly demonstrate the protective efficacy of anti-V3 domain antibody in vivo and propose that this antibody is potentially useful as both a pre- and post-exposure prophylactic agent.

Driver Inattention Monitoring System for Intelligent Vehicles: A Review

Abstract: In this paper, we review the state-of-the-art technologies for driver inattention monitoring, which can be classified into the following two main categories: 1) distraction and 2) fatigue. Driver inattention is a major factor in most traffic accidents. Research and development has actively been carried out for decades, with the goal of precisely determining the drivers' state of mind. In this paper, we summarize these approaches by dividing them into the following five different types of measures: 1) subjective report measures; 2) driver biological measures; 3) driver physical measures; 4) driving performance measures; and 5) hybrid measures. Among these approaches, subjective report measures and driver biological measures are not suitable under real driving conditions but could serve as some rough ground-truth indicators. The hybrid measures are believed to give more reliable solutions compared with single driver physical measures or driving performance measures, because the hybrid measures minimize the number of false alarms and maintain a high recognition rate, which promote the acceptance of the system. We also discuss some nonlinear modeling techniques commonly used in the literature.

Endoplasmic reticulum stress-mediated apoptosis in pancreatic β-cells

Abstract: Apoptotic cell death in pancreatic β-cells is involved in the pathogenesis of diabetes. Signals from death receptors and DNA damage have been widely accepted as being triggers of apoptosis in β-cells. Recent studies indicated that the endoplasmic reticulum (ER) can sense and transduce apoptotic signals. Various genetic and environmental stresses interfere with protein folding in the ER and induce ER stress. In mammals, ER stress transducer proteins IRE1, PERK and ATF6 activate both survival and apoptotic pathways. The former includes transcriptional induction of ER chaperones, translational attenuation, and ER-associated degradation (ERAD) while the latter includes transcriptional induction of CHOP/GADD153, the activation of cJUN NH2-terminal kinase, and the activation of caspase-12. A characteristic feature of β-cells is the highly developed ER apparently due to a heavy engagement in insulin secretion. β-cells are most susceptible to ER stress. The recent studies reviewed in this article revealed that ER stress-mediated apoptosis in β-cells plays an important role in the development of diabetes.

Pathogenesis of influenza virus-induced pneumonia: involvement of both nitric oxide and oxygen radicals

Abstract: The role of nitric oxide (NO) in the pathogenesis of influenza virus-induced pneumonia in mice was investigated Experimental influenza virus pneumonia was produced with influenza virus A/Kumamoto/Y5/67(H2N2) Both the enzyme activity of NO synthase (NOS) and mRNA expression of the inducible NOS were greatly increased in the mouse lungs; increases were mediated by interferon gamma Excessive production of NO in the virus-infected lung was studied further by using electron spin resonance (ESR) spectroscopy In vivo spin trapping with dithiocarbamate-iron complexes indicated that a significant amount of NO was generated in the virus-infected lung Furthermore, an NO-hemoglobin ESR signal appeared in the virus-infected lung, and formation of NO-hemoglobin was significantly increased by treatment with superoxide dismutase and was inhibited by N(omega)-monomethyl-L-arginine (L-NMMA) administration Immunohistochemistry with a specific anti-nitrotyrosine antibody showed intense staining of alveolar phagocytic cells such as macrophages and neutrophils and of intraalveolar exudate in the virus-infected lung These results strongly suggest formation of peroxynitrite in the lung through the reaction of NO with O2-, which is generated by alveolar phagocytic cells and xanthine oxidase In addition, administration of L-NMMA resulted in significant improvement in the survival rate of virus-infected mice without appreciable suppression of their antiviral defenses On the basis of these data, we conclude that NO together with O2- which forms more reactive peroxynitrite may be the most important pathogenic factors in influenza virus-induced pneumonia in mice