Osaka University

About: Osaka University is a education organization based out in Osaka, Japan. It is known for research contribution in the topics: Laser & Population. The organization has 83778 authors who have published 185669 publications receiving 5158122 citations. The organization is also known as: Ōsaka daigaku.

Notch-RBP-J signaling is involved in cell fate determination of marginal zone B cells.

Abstract: RBP-J is a key mediator of Notch signaling that regulates cell fate determination in various lineages. To investigate the function of Notch-RBP-J in mature B cell differentiation, we generated mice that selectively lacked B cell RBP-J expression using conditional mutagenesis. Absence of RBP-J led to the loss of marginal zone B (MZB) cells with a concomitant increase in follicular B cells; in contrast, B1 cells in the peritoneal cavity were unaffected. Lack of RBP-J caused no defects in B cells maintenance, survival, plasma cell differentiation or activation. It is therefore likely that Notch-RBP-J signaling regulates the lineage commitment of mature B cells into follicular versus MZB cells. In addition, in mice with RBP-J-deficient B cells, had no obvious changes in immunoglobulin production in response to Ficoll, lipopolysaccharide or chicken gammaglobulin. In contrast, these mice exhibited increased mortality rates after blood-borne bacterial infection, which indicates that MZB cells play pivotal roles in the clearance of these bacteria.

Comparison between carotid-femoral and brachial-ankle pulse wave velocity as measures of arterial stiffness.

Abstract: BackgroundArterial stiffness is an important risk factor for cardiovascular disease. Carotid-femoral pulse wave velocity (cfPWV) is the most recognized and established index of arterial stiffness. An emerging automatic measure of PWV primarily used in the Asian countries is brachial-ankle PWV (baPWV

A synthetic host-guest system achieves avidin-biotin affinity by overcoming enthalpy-entropy compensation.

Abstract: The molecular host cucurbit[7]uril forms an extremely stable inclusion complex with the dicationic ferrocene derivative bis(trimethylammoniomethyl)ferrocene in aqueous solution. The equilibrium association constant for this host-guest pair is 3 x 10(15) M(-1) (K(d) = 3 x 10(-16) M), equivalent to that exhibited by the avidin-biotin pair. Although purely synthetic systems with larger association constants have been reported, the present one is unique because it does not rely on polyvalency. Instead, it achieves its extreme affinity by overcoming the compensatory enthalpy-entropy relationship usually observed in supramolecular complexes. Its disproportionately low entropic cost is traced to extensive host desolvation and to the rigidity of both the host and the guest.

Interleukin-6: discovery of a pleiotropic cytokine

Abstract: In the late 1960s, the essential role played by T cells in antibody production was reported This led to our hypothesis that certain molecules would have to be released from T cells to effect the stimulation of B cells This hypothesis was shown to be true There were certain factors present in the culture supernatant of T cells that induced proliferation and differentiation of B cells The factor that induced B cells to produce immunoglobulins was initially named B cell stimulatory factor-2 The cDNA encoding the human B cell stimulatory factor-2 was cloned in 1986 At the same time, IFN-β2 and a 26 kDa protein in the fibroblasts were independently cloned and found to be identical to B cell stimulatory factor-2 Later, a hybridoma/plasmacytoma growth factor and a hepatocyte stimulating factor were also proven to be the same molecule as B cell stimulatory factor-2 Various names were used for this single molecule because of its multiple biological activities, but these have all been unified and the molecule is now known as IL-6 Since the discovery of IL-6, rapid progress has been made in our understanding of IL-6 activities, the IL-6 receptor system and the IL-6 signal transduction mechanism More importantly, it has been shown to be involved in a number of diseases such as rheumatoid arthritis and Castleman's disease When taking into account all the accumulated basic research on the various aspects of this molecule, it appeared that blocking the activity of IL-6 was a feasible, new therapeutic approach for chronic inflammatory diseases