Otsuma Women's University

About: Otsuma Women's University is a education organization based out in Tokyo, Japan. It is known for research contribution in the topics: Population & Differential scanning calorimetry. The organization has 422 authors who have published 913 publications receiving 12796 citations. The organization is also known as: Otsuma-Joshi-Daigaku.

Role of the Toll-like Receptor 4/NF-κB Pathway in Saturated Fatty Acid-induced Inflammatory Changes in the Interaction Between Adipocytes and Macrophages

Abstract: Objective— Previous studies demonstrated that obese adipose tissue is characterized by increased infiltration of macrophages, suggesting that they might represent an important source of inflammation. Using an in vitro coculture system composed of 3T3-L1 adipocytes and RAW264 macrophages, we previously demonstrated that saturated fatty acids (FAs) and tumor necrosis factor (TNF)-α derived from adipocytes and macrophages, respectively, play a major role in the coculture-induced inflammatory changes. Methods and Results— Coculture of adipocytes and macrophages resulted in the activation of nuclear factor-κB (NF-κB), a primary regulator of inflammatory responses, in both cell types. Pharmacological inhibition of NF-κB markedly suppressed the coculture-induced production of proinflammatory cytokines and adipocyte lipolysis. Peritoneal macrophages obtained from Toll-like receptor 4 (TLR4) mutant mice exhibited marked attenuation of TNFα production in response to saturated FAs. Notably, coculture of hypertrophied adipocytes and TLR4-mutant macrophages resulted in marked inhibition of proinflammatory cytokine production and adipocyte lipolysis. We also observed that endogenous FAs, which are released from adipocytes via the β 3 -adrenergic stimulation, resulted in the activation of the TLR4/NF-κB pathway. Conclusion— These findings suggest that saturated FAs, which are released in large quantities from hypertrophied adipocytes via the macrophage-induced adipocyte lipolysis, serve as a naturally occurring ligand for TLR4, thereby inducing the inflammatory changes in both adipocytes and macrophages through NF-κB activation.

Pseudospin symmetry in relativistic mean field theory

Abstract: Relating the pseudospin symmetry back to the Dirac equation through the framework of relativistic Hartree-Bogoliubov (RHB) theory, the pseudospin approximation in real nuclei is discussed. From the Dirac equation, the mechanism behind the pseudospin symmetry was studied and the pseudospin symmetry is shown to be connected with the competition between the centrifugal barrier (CB) and the pseudospin orbital potential (PSOP), which is mainly decided by the derivative of the difference between the scalar and vector potentials. With the scalar and vector potentials derived from a self-consistent relativistic Hartree-Bogoliubov calculation, the pseudospin symmetry and its energy dependence in real nuclei is discussed.

Increased Adiponectin Secretion by Highly Purified Eicosapentaenoic Acid in Rodent Models of Obesity and Human Obese Subjects

Abstract: Objectives— Fish oil rich in n-3 polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFAs) or n-3 PUFAs have been shown to reduce the incidence of coronary heart disease. Here we investigated the effect of highly purifi...

Pseudospin symmetry in Zr and Sn isotopes from the proton drip line to the neutron drip line

Abstract: Based on the Relativistic continuum Hartree-Bogoliubov (RCHB) theory, the pseudo-spin approximation in exotic nuclei is investigated in Zr and Sn isotopes from the proton drip line to the neutron drip line. The quality of the pseudo-spin approximation is shown to be connected with the competition between the centrifugal barrier (CB) and the pseudo-spin orbital potential ( PSOP ). The PSOP depends on the derivative of the difference between the scalar and vector potentials dV/dr. If dV/dr = 0, the pseudo-spin symmetry is exact. The pseudo-spin symmetry is found to be a good approximation for normal nuclei and to become much better for exotic nuclei with highly diffuse potential, which have dV/dr ∼ 0. The energy splitting of the pseudo-spin partners is smaller for orbitals near the Fermi surface ( even in the continuum ) than the deeply bound orbitals. The lower components of the Dirac wave functions for the pseudo-spin partners are very similar and almost equal in

A novel myokine, secreted protein acidic and rich in cysteine (SPARC), suppresses colon tumorigenesis via regular exercise

Abstract: Objective Several epidemiological studies have shown that regular exercise can prevent the onset of colon cancer, although the underlying mechanism is unclear. Myokines are secreted skeletal muscle proteins responsible for some exercise-induced health benefits including metabolic improvement and anti-inflammatory effects in organs. The purpose of this study was to identify new myokines that contribute to the prevention of colon tumorigenesis. Methods To identify novel secreted muscle-derived proteins, DNA microarrays were used to compare the transcriptome of muscle tissue in sedentary and exercised young and old mice. The level of circulating secreted protein acidic and rich in cysteine (SPARC) was measured in mice and humans that performed a single bout of exercise. The effect of SPARC on colon tumorigenesis was examined using SPARC-null mice. The secretion and function of SPARC was examined in culture experiments. Results A single bout of exercise increased the expression and secretion of SPARC in skeletal muscle in both mice and humans. In addition, in an azoxymethane-induced colon cancer mouse model, regular low-intensity exercise significantly reduced the formation of aberrant crypt foci in wild-type mice but not in SPARC-null mice. Furthermore, regular exercise enhanced apoptosis in colon mucosal cells and increased the cleaved forms of caspase-3 and caspase-8 in wild-type mice but not in SPARC-null mice. Culture experiments showed that SPARC secretion from myocytes was induced by cyclic stretch and inhibited proliferation with apoptotic effect of colon cancer cells. Conclusions These findings suggest that exercise stimulates SPARC secretion from muscle tissues and that SPARC inhibits colon tumorigenesis by increasing apoptosis.