M. Tanaka

Development of a high throughput system to screen compounds that revert the activated hepatic stellate cells to a quiescent-like state

The paper develops a high throughput system to screen compounds that revert activated hepatic stellate cells to a quiescent-like state, showing that a single compound can induce deactivation.

Spatio-temporal Coordination of Active Deformation Forces and Wnt / Hippo-Yap Signaling in Hydra Regeneration

The paper investigates how Wnt signaling and tissue deformation coordinate during Hydra regeneration, finding that biomechanical symmetry breaking is regulated by Wnt and stabilized by Hippo-Yap signaling.

A high-sensitivity ELISA for detection of human FGF18 in culture supernatants from tumor cell lines

This paper develops a high-sensitivity ELISA for detecting human FGF18 in tumor cell culture supernatants and validates its use in detecting murine FGF18 in mouse sera.

Genomic surveillance of antimicrobial-resistant Escherichia coli in fecal sludge and sewage in Uganda

This study uses genomic surveillance of E. coli from Ugandan fecal sludge and sewage to track antimicrobial resistance patterns and identify key resistance determinants.

Tumor cell heterogeneity drives spatial organization of the intratumoral immune response in squamous cell skin carcinoma

This study shows that tumor cell heterogeneity influences the spatial organization of immune responses in squamous cell skin carcinoma, affecting immunotherapy outcomes.

Hybridization and its impact on the ontogenetic allometry of skulls in macaques

This study examines how hybridization affects skull ontogenetic allometry in macaques, finding additive and transgressive variation in skull shape and maxillary sinus growth.

2-Thiouridine is a broad-spectrum antiviral nucleoside analogue against positive-strand RNA viruses

This study identifies 2-thiouridine as a broad-spectrum antiviral against SARS-CoV-2 and other positive-strand RNA viruses by inhibiting viral RNA synthesis.

Human Dectin-1 is O-glycosylated and serves as a ligand for C-type lectin receptor CLEC-2

This study identifies human Dectin-1 as a ligand for CLEC-2, showing its O-glycosylation enables it to function as a physiological ligand for immune regulation.

Cell-surface protein YwfG of Lactococcus lactis binds to α-1,2-linked mannose

This study identifies YwfG as a cell-surface protein in Lactococcus lactis that binds α-1,2-linked mannose, revealing its role in interactions with yeast cells.

Non-cell-adhesive hydrogel promotes formation of human blastoid from primed human pluripotent stem cells.

A non-cell-adhesive hydrogel enables blastoid formation from primed hPSC, mimicking blastocyst structure and differentiation.

Chromosomal integration of blaCTX-M genes in diverse Escherichia coli isolates recovered from river water in Japan

This study characterizes the genetic contexts of blaCTX-M genes in environmental Escherichia coli isolates from river water in Japan, revealing diverse chromosomal and plasmid-associated configurations.

A quiescent resident progenitor pool is the central organizer of tendon healing

This study identifies Axin2+ tenocytes as quiescent progenitors critical for tendon healing, showing they activate and organize repair after injury.

A mitochondria-specific mutational signature of aging: increased rate of A>G substitutions on a heavy chain.

The paper identifies an AH>GH substitution signature in mtDNA linked to aging and TSSS, showing higher frequency in species with longer generation lengths.

Emergence of rare carbapenemases (FRI, GES-5, IMI, SFC, and SFH-1) in Enterobacterales isolated from surface waters in Japan

This study identifies rare carbapenemases in environmental Enterobacterales from Japan, revealing their genetic contexts and plasmid locations.

A high resolution single molecule sequencing-based Arabidopsis transcriptome using novel methods of Iso-seq analysis

This paper introduces a new Arabidopsis transcriptome dataset with improved accuracy and resolution using novel Iso-seq analysis methods, enhancing transcript expression and splicing analysis.

Liquid-liquid phase separation of florigen activation complex induces flowering

This study shows that the florigen activation complex (FAC) undergoes liquid-liquid phase separation, which is essential for flowering in plants.

Small Vessel Diseases: 3D Characteristics of the Vasculature and White Matter

This study examines 2D and 3D vascular and white matter changes in CADASIL, HTRA1-AD, and sSVD using light-sheet fluorescence microscopy, revealing distinct patterns of degeneration.

All-optical mechanobiology interrogation of YAP in human cancer and normal cells using a novel multi-functional system

This paper introduces an integrated system for automated multi-functional imaging and analysis to study YAP mechanosensitivity in human cells.

Group II truncated haemoglobin YjbI prevents reactive oxygen species-induced protein aggregation in Bacillus subtilis

This study identifies YjbI, a truncated haemoglobin in Bacillus subtilis, as a protein hydroperoxide peroxidase that prevents oxidative damage to cell-surface proteins.

Mammalian mitochondrial mutational spectrum as a hallmark of cellular and organismal aging.

The paper investigates mtDNA mutational spectra across species and tissues, finding a correlation between AH>GH substitutions and longevity, suggesting it as a potential oxidative damage signature in mtDNA.

Automatic Multi-functional Integration Program (AMFIP) towards All-optical Mechanobiology Interrogation

AMFIP enables automatic multi-functional live-cell imaging by integrating hardware and software without extra costs or hardware, demonstrating its utility in mechanobiology studies.

The histidine phosphotransfer AHP4 plays a negative role in Arabidopsis plant response to drought

This study shows AHP4 negatively regulates Arabidopsis drought response by modulating gene expression related to stress tolerance mechanisms.

A>G substitutions on a heavy chain of mitochondrial genome marks an increased level of aerobic metabolism in warm versus cold vertebrates .

The paper examines A>G substitutions in mtDNA across vertebrates, finding higher rates in warm-blooded species, suggesting temperature influences oxidative damage and mutational patterns.

Aberrant claudin-6-adhesion signal promotes endometrial cancer progression via estrogen receptor α

The paper shows that CLDN6 promotes endometrial cancer progression by activating estrogen receptor α through SFK/PI3K signaling, independent of ligand.

Are there Physical Linkages between Genes that have Synergistic Fitness Effects?

This study investigates the relationship between epistatic fitness effects and meiotic recombination rates using meta-analysis and simulations in Drosophila melanogaster.

Helicobacter small RNA regulates host adaptation and carcinogenesis

This study identifies HPnc4160, a small RNA in H. pylori, that negatively regulates host adaptation and gastric cancer by modulating gene expression and bacterial colonization.

A single CRISPR base editor to induce simultaneous C-to-T and A-to-G mutations

This paper introduces Target-ACE, a CRISPR base editor that induces both C-to-T and A-to-G mutations, showing higher efficiency than using separate editors.

A regulatory module controlling stress-induced cell cycle arrest in Arabidopsis

This study identifies ANAC044 and ANAC085 as key regulators of DNA damage-induced G2 arrest in Arabidopsis, showing their role in enhancing Rep-MYB accumulation and cell cycle arrest under specific stress conditions.

Homologous expression and characterization of gassericin T and gassericin S, a novel class IIb bacteriocin produced by Lactobacillus gasseri LA327

This study identifies and characterizes gassericin S, a novel class IIb bacteriocin produced by Lactobacillus gasseri LA327, and demonstrates its activity and stability.

HIV-1 initiates genomic RNA packaging in a unique subset of host RNA granules

This paper identifies the packaging initiation complex of HIV-1 genomic RNA as a co-opted host RNA granule and defines the two-step mechanism by which Gag enters this granule to initiate RNA packaging.